#but I want to build up skills in the field I’m interested in so I can enter to job market with more on my belt

[hamable]

“Don’t trust anything you think about your life after 9pm” I chant almost religiously as I consider buying a desktop and learning how to do VFX in Unreal Engine bc I’m spiraling about my current college/career prospects

[art]

Creator Spotlight: @tinypaint

My name is Michelle Fus. I’m a Jewish, non-binary artist. I graduated from the School of Visual Arts for Computer Art and Animation in 2011. I’ve interned at Pixar and worked for a few years at Dreamworks Animation. Over the past ten years, I’ve self-published two books and have run three successful Kickstarters. I now work with Skybound (The Walking Dead, Invincible) in developing my webcomic, Ava’s Demon, as a physical book series for stores. I like hiking, cultivating plants, caring for my cats, and hanging out with my beautiful husband. You can read my webcomic at avasdemon.com.

Check out our interview with Michelle below!

How did you get your start in art, and more specifically, with Ava's Demon?

I’ve always been into art since I was very young. I started to gravitate towards it in first grade, where we were required to keep a daily journal. I found myself drawing in it more than actually keeping entries. From there, I got more and more interested in honing my skills as an artist. I started making my own comics for fun. I signed up for classes outside of school and put together a portfolio for the School of Visual Arts, where I majored in Computer Art and Animation. After getting my first job in the field, I realized that it wasn’t what I wanted to do with my life. After working my day job, I would come home and work towards building a career in comics for myself by creating and uploading my webcomic, Ava’s Demon.

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

Looking things up to learn more before I make art or write. For instance, how many livable planets are in a Galaxy? What does a black hole actually look like, and can it give off light? How long would it actually take to travel through space if you had the fastest ship possible? I look up all of these things and then ignore most of them for the sake of writing a fun story and making fun art.

From idea to final piece, how long does it take for you to create something?

It depends on the feeling I want to convey. Sometimes I’ll work for a whole week on a drawing and then delete it because I just don’t feel good about it. Other times I’ll make something in a day that I absolutely love from beginning to end. Some drawings I never delete nor finish, and instead, the files just kind of sit in a folder. The time it takes varies a lot.

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

I really love good stories. So movies and books with captivating stories usually motivate and inspire me; stories that stay with you permanently, with twists and turns that you can’t stop thinking about. I also love finding characters whose struggles I can deeply relate to. I try to hold onto those feelings and emulate them through my art.

What is the hardest part of your process?

Actually finishing a drawing. The anxiety of it piles on me sometimes. I’ll work for a while on a drawing and constantly ask myself, “Is this drawing really finished? What terrible things about it am I not seeing?”. My desire to avoid making something terrible can sometimes put me in a mental prison where I keep chipping away at a drawing until I no longer know what I am looking at.

What is one interaction you had from a fan of yours that has stuck with you over the years?

In general, I like letting young artists in middle school, and high school know that I wasn’t very good at art at their age (I really wasn’t, I didn’t have the same resources they have now, and I didn’t have any perspective on what it takes to have a career in art, it’s a different world). Kids have come to me at conventions with their work for critique and advice, and I have to tell them that they’re already miles ahead of what I could make at their age. I have to tell them that it’s okay if they can’t make what all the professionals make online, to know that they have SO much time ahead of them to work at what they love. If you love making art, do it often, study art throughout history, and over time you’ll be able to create everything your heart desires.

What is something other people find hard to draw that you find enjoyable?

I have no idea. Sometimes it feels like drawing anything is suffering, even if you like what you’re making.

Who on Tumblr inspires you and why?

@loish has been consistently inspiring me since my days in high school. Every new painting has so much grace and power and is so excellent to look at. Her skill in shape and form seems limitless, and I hope to someday achieve even a small fraction of her understanding of art. Seeing her new work on my timeline also makes my dopamine spike, so I’m always looking forward to updates from her.

Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing, Michelle! Be sure to check out their Tumblr blog over at @tinypaint and follow their webcomic, Ava’s Demon, over at avasdemon.com.

[local-philocalist]

Entry to your 20s, advice to the 20-year-old women

Four pieces of advice for the twenty-year-old women from a twenty-something year old woman.

1. Move Your Body

I cannot stress this enough, if you can, please move your body! Move your joints and build your muscles. The doctors, scientists and our parents were unfortunately right, the older one becomes, the weaker they get. If you want to still be able to run around in your fifties, sixties, etc. You need to start the habit now. Get a routine, start working out, try a sport, attempt a dance class, and get active in general.

I’ve recently gotten a gym membership and have begun pilates once or twice a week. Although at first, my muscles were burning, my body soon got used to it and I found my stamina and flexibility improving.

However, you don't need to spend money on a gym membership or Pilates to get fit. You can take a run around your local park, start a sports team with your friends, or try a YouTube workout from the comfort of your home. There are so many different ways to stay fit without emptying your pockets.

2. Eat Your Vegetables

I understand that some people are genuinely picky eaters and their parents never took the initiative to introduce different textures and flavours healthily. Thus this has followed into adulthood and are now unable to eat anything outside the same four meals.

I also understand I cannot say too much as someone who can eat almost anything but as a reformed vegetable hater I do have a little bit to offer. To live a long, healthy life vegetables are a necessity. So if you find yourself unable to eat certain vegetables, I would suggest cooking the vegetables differently, or incorporating ingredients you enjoy in your meals, think outside the box!

There are many articles about breaking picky eating, as adults we should try to expand our tastebuds, there's so much food to enjoy in this life. Nobody likes to be the person ordering chicken fingers at a Michelin restaurant.

3. Feed Your Brain

[edited: the previous paragraph has been published on my personal substack as a full piece; I've rewritten and changed this section for publication and privacy purposes].

I urge young women to nurture their brains; you are so blessed to be in a society and world where education is so accessible for women. If you live in the West, take advantage and don't feed into the propaganda of "I'm just a girl". Women are being minimised, and I don't want young ladies falling down the rabbit hole of this recent no-purpose lifestyle that's advertised.

Looks are essential, and don't get me wrong, I know attraction still plays a huge part in society, but it isn't the only important thing. It's not cute to be ignorant, lack life skills and use social media concepts like "I'm just a girl" as excuses. Stupidity isn't hot, so while it's okay to indulge in media consumption, find yourself hobbies outside of that and put in the effort to grow intellectually and further yourself.

4. High Self-esteem Will Protect You

Most of my girlfriends are in the dating field, and from the stories they tell me its clear these men are crazy. Good discernment is needed and for you to trust your discernment you need a healthy level of self-worth.

I’m not just talking about romantic interest, in general, high self-esteem will take you far in life. From romantic partners to career paths, when you know your value and do not settle, that translates to every crevice of your life. People treat you with more respect, you're likely to find yourself in fewer abusive scenarios and get better opportunities in your place of work.

Nothing good comes from beating yourself down and letting others treat you horribly. Overall your twenties can be fun but also filled with anxiety so take it step-by-step, don't beat yourself up and remember comparison is the thief.

[femmefatalevibe]

Hi, I’m trying to change industries to my dream industry. I’m on my 30s but I couldn’t do it before because of personal reasons and taking care of family members and mental health.

My friends, some of them, think I’m wasting my time and they don’t support me and my mum is trying to let me know in a not subtle way that she’s expecting me to grow up of this idea. But I really want to go for it!

However, because all of this, I’m getting anxious that maybe it’s late, that I should have done it before, that because I don’t have experience in this industry I won’t get hired and because it’s a new industry and my city is small (not small us but small village in a country in Europe) I can’t do networking but in LinkedIn and it’s hard because I don’t know someone. And im starting to second guess myself and thinking I’m eating my time but I really hate the industry I’m working now, so I feel really stuck and I can’t move forward with the industry change because all of this. Do you have any advice? Do you think it’s late? Thank you so much <3

Hi love! I believe there are two important points to be made here.

The best time to start is years ago. The second best time to start is now. Time will continue to pass for several more decades, so consider whether you want to "what if" yourself about pursuing your dreams 20 years from now. In my opinion, it's better to go after what you want and fail fast. Living with regrets, at least for me, feels worse than pursuing something I wanted and it not unfolding as my expectations lead me to believe.

While going after what you want is important, especially with your career, you need to be practical and a little more methodical (even a bit conservative) in your approach to ensure you don't run into financial trouble. No dream is worth struggling with life-hindering debt – at least in my opinion.

With these two considerations in mind, I would consider beginning to pursue this career path as a hobby in the meantime while maintaining whatever stable employment you have at the moment. Prioritize your time engaging in this "hobby" like it's a mandatory appointment with yourself.

Consume articles, books, and podcasts. Take courses/build skills in your dream industry/role. Create a portfolio of your own spec work to demonstrate your commitment and talent within this field. Use LinkedIn/virtual conferences to network strategically. Follow people in your dream industry and key leaders. Comment/engage with their material. Send them personalized messages with praise/feedback on posts or insights they shared.

Message people attending the same conferences to connect. Set up informational interviews/coffee chats if possible (offer to pay for a virtual coffee, etc.). If there are any gig/job opportunities, share this spec work to demonstrate your skills and frame your background as a series of transferable skills.

Also, never underestimate the power of your second-degree network on LinkedIn, but mainly IRL. Let your trusted, supportive friends and acquaintances know you're interested in the field. You never know who knows someone.

Hope this helps! Best of luck xx

[alica-tech]

A Crash Course to Design Thinking: Empathy

●~•──────── Introduction  ─────────•~●

Hello! Today I wanted to talk about UX design. This post was supposed to be longer but Tumblr deleted my draft and I’m feeling (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ so here is just part one.. We’ll be covering the “Empathy” step which includes:

Exploring the problem space

Conducting User Research

Defining User Personas

I believe that taking time to do design thinking when creating a product avoids bad door knobs and confusing app interfaces. Here’s a handful of hilariously bad UI demos for taste: https://mattw.io/bad-ui/.

Here’s some other common pitfalls: 

Too many choices for a user (overcrowded toolbars)

Not enough options for users (accessibility)

Poor feedback (“Did that form actually go through?”)

Inconsistent interfaces (“Do I push or pull on this door…It says push, but has a pull handle!”)

●~•────────What is a prototype? ─────────•~●

A prototype is an early model mock-up of the product you want to build. We’re focusing on digital products in this case, so the product can be an app, website, or any other applications. Prototypes are useful for conceptualizing and visualizing your ideas for the product. It's also meant to showcase the "flow" of using the app from a user's perspective, as well as show the layout and organization of your product.

●~•───────What is the design thinking process? ────────•~●

The design thinking process is an iterative process to approaching designing products. It's not necessarily linear, but we'll walk through what you should consider at each step. In practice, you may find yourself revisiting steps to refine your problem, ideas, and mock-up itself after getting user feedback. Let’s talk about the first step, empathizing!

Part 1: Empathize

●~•─────── Step 1 ────────•~●

⭐ Pick a problem space.

What problem are you trying to find a potential solution for? It could be as simple as "Tumblr’s draft system sucks" or maybe your friend just said "This book tracking app could be better.." Sources of inspiration are everywhere! 

Coming up with your own: Think about your own experiences as a user of different products or services. Have you encountered any frustrating issues or pain points that could be addressed with a potential solution? Maybe you struggle with finding parking in your city and wish there was a more efficient way to find available spots. Or perhaps you find it difficult to keep track of all your passwords and would like a more secure and user-friendly password manager. Consider your own needs and experiences as a starting point for identifying potential problem spaces.

Interacting with others: Talk to people in different industries or fields, or attend events or conferences related to areas you're interested in. This can give you exposure to different perspectives and potential problem spaces that you may not have considered before. For example, if you're interested in education technology, attending an education conference could help you identify common challenges and needs in that space. Or even reading through r/professors or talking to your own instructors!

📚 Resources:

https://www.uxchallenge.co/  - List of problems 

https://uxtools.co/challenges/ - Walkthroughs on tackling specific problems focused on UX skills

●~•─────── Step 2 ────────•~●

⭐ Understand the users affected by the problem.

Once you have a problem space, don’t jump ahead and start thinking of solutions! First, we must understand the problem from a variety of user perspectives. Why? Because by understanding the users affected by the problem, we can gain insights into their needs, pain points, and behaviors. This understanding can help us develop effective solutions that address their needs and improve their experiences.

There’s a variety of user research methods we can use to collect user perspectives, this is just a handful of them:

Survey: If the product already exists (and it’s yours), you could add a survey in-app for feedback on a specific feature. Otherwise, you can create a survey assessing a user’s impressions on a problem they might have (“Do you encounter this..?”, “Would you be interested in a product that..”, “What kind of features are most important to you?”).

User Interviews: This involves talking to users one-on-one to gain insights into their experiences, needs, and pain points. It's important to ask open-ended questions and actively listen to their responses to understand their perspectives fully. 

Online Research: Checkout user impressions on products by looking up existing reviews online. This can be from Amazon, Reddit, the app store, whatever. To make this kind of data useful, you can identify patterns of what is often mentioned or common pain points users express online. It’s going to be better if you can connect more directly with users about your specific problem area, but this is something to start with.

📚 Resources: (I love nngroup…)

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ux-research-cheat-sheet/

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/guide-ux-research-methods/

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/which-ux-research-methods/

●~•─────── Step 3 ────────•~●

⭐ Create User Personas to represent the types of users your product will be addressing the needs of.

The user persona shouldn’t represent a specific (real) person, rather it should represent a realistic archetype of a person. I think of it as like a character sheet. For example, if we’re creating an app for book tracking our user personas might be “Reader Rhea - A college student looking to organize books from her classes” or “Bookworm Bryan - A young adult looking to get book recommendations”. The persona should be based on the research you did prior. Creating user personas will help you better understand and empathize with your users, and make design decisions that align with their needs and goals.

Here’s a quick checklist of what to include in a user persona:

Name: Give your persona a name that reflects their characteristics and needs.

Demographics: Include details like age, gender, occupation, and location.

Goals: What are the persona's primary goals and objectives when using your product?

Pain points: What are the main challenges or problems that the persona faces when using your product?

Behaviors: What are the typical behaviors and habits of the persona when using your product?

Motivations: What motivates the persona to use your product?

Personality: What are the persona's personality traits and characteristics?

Scenario: Describe a scenario in which the persona would use your product or service.

Quote: Include a quote that summarizes the persona's attitude or perspective.

📚 Resources:

https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/product/ux/persona-creation/

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/personas-study-guide/

https://www.justinmind.com/blog/user-persona-templates/ - lots of examples and explanations here

●~•─────── That's All! ────────•~●

Phew, ok that is all for now! In a future post, I will go over the second step in the design process. If you have anything to add to this topic, pls share! :D Thanks for reading

[acacia-may]

Enough [A Frank Denouement and Kit Snicket Friendship Ficlet]

A ficlet centric on one of my favorite ASOUE underrated friendships: Frank Denouement and Kit Snicket for Woevember 2023 hosted by @asouefanworkevent Day 4: Hotel Denouement. Dewey x Kit is also mentioned. Thank you for reading!

(Warnings: Sparring. Some mild spoilers)

“Hey. Hey, not the face,” Frank protested as he dodged one of Kit’s punches. Another soon followed. “If you give me a black eye again, I won’t be able to pretend I’m Ernest.” 

“That was an accident,” she insisted as he tried and failed to catch her in a hold. “And why do you do that again?” 

Her movements were so quick and agile, he could barely keep up with them—not to mention frustratingly unpredictable even after how many times they had sparred together. He supposed he had an excuse. Since he had been put on “hotel duty,” his sparring skills were severely lacking especially compared to Kit who spent most of her time in the field, but still he had thought that with practice he would’ve improved at least somewhat. He huffed, struggling to catch his breath as he quickly weaved in and out of her attacks. “Listen, when you have a boring desk job like me, you have to find ways to keep life interesting.”

“It just confuses everyone,” she argued as she turned, leaving her right side open. When he raised his arm, however, she effortlessly swerved away from his hand, completely unphased and he was back on the defensive. “If your point was to be deceptive, I could understand, but you just want to mess with everyone—why?” 

“What do you care?” he huffed as he managed to get a kick in causing her to stumble. He gripped her arms holding her in place. “You can tell us apart.” She could, of course, frustratingly enough so he never got to have any fun with tricking her that he was either of his brothers. “So I don’t know why it would matter to—Ow!” 

Frank winced as Kit elbowed him, and within moments she had him pinned to the ground. Pathetic, he thought with a slight shake of his head as he struggled to wriggle free. She was kind enough to practice with him whenever she was around which was getting more and more frequent. That gave him an idea. 

“Before you punch me, picture me as someone you love—shouldn’t be too hard,” he teased with a wink and a grin. Kit lowered her hand and loosened her hold on him. The glare she gave him as she got up from the ground made Frank shiver.  

“Listen, I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just teasing…” he insisted, but Kit huffed, leaning against the wall with her back to him. 

Even though Frank was sure she probably didn’t want him to, he joined her. The roof of the hotel was their favourite sparring place, and probably Ernest’s as well as he insisted it was the least disruptive to the guests. It was one of Frank’s favourite places in general since it had the most beautiful view of the city—especially at night when all of the buildings were illuminated by dim lights and the night sky was filled with stars.

After a long, heavy silence, Kit half-asked, half-stated, “So you know…?”  

Frank’s brow furrowed. “About you and my brother? Yeah.” 

“I had thought that since his entire existence is a secret, he’d be better at keeping one,” she teased with a twitch of a smile in the corners of her mouth. 

“When he’s this happy? Absolutely not,” chuckled Frank. “You are all he ever talks about besides books and the Dewey Decimal System. I guess I just figured that since you were hanging around here a lot more that you two were in some kind of relationship now…” Frank stopped. “Are you in some kind of relationship?”  

Kit frowned. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business.” 

“Kit, my brother adores you. He would do anything for you—even die for you or follow you into hell if you asked. That level of devotion knows no bounds. I have no doubt that you are the person my brother loves the most in the world, and he is the person I love the most so I…”

“You’re worried about him,” she finished with a sigh. “And you should be.” 

“I wouldn’t say…” 

“You know about me and Olaf…?” she interrupted again, and Frank tilted his head. 

“Well, yeah. Everybody knows about that.” 

“Then you know I’m no good for your brother and that he deserves someone so much better.” 

“Maybe that’s true,” Frank conceded. “But he doesn’t want anyone else.” Frank sighed. “Look, we’ve all done things that we’re not proud of—I know I have so I’m in no position to judge you or anybody else. The way I see it, there are very few genuinely good people in this world, but Dewey is one of them and he deserves to be happy. And Kit..." he paused—meeting her eyes. "You have made my brother happier than I have ever seen him and as far as I’m concerned that makes you good enough.” 

[iheartgod175]

Some Thoughts!

Man, I haven’t done a post like this in a while! But I figured I might as well before I work on one of my numerous WIPs XD

—So, I’ve been back on a Zula Patrol kick like you wouldn’t believe. Though that should be obvious with all the memes I’ve been making, haha! I promise this won’t become a Zula Patrol only blog, haha!

—I’ll be working on building my graphic design/editing skills so I can properly redesign my blogs ^^ You can expect a few graphics throughout the month! :)

—Chapter 4 of The Zula Patrol: Dreamscape Crusade Remastered is also coming along pretty nicely. I’ve been enjoying adding the layers of mystery and horror to the world that Multo ends up in. Oh, and a couple of new characters are making their appearance, too. And that’s all I’m going to say about the subject!

—I’ve also been steadily working on Love Language for the last couple of months. I thought FOR SURE that I’d be posting its first chapter by the end of the month, but life happened—not to mention that I keep coming up with MORE headcanons for Multo and Zeeter that I just have to write down and put in the story. XD Also, the story’s grown to the point where I had to break it up into FIVE chapters, now, with the fifth being the actual conclusion. This story’s been so fun to work on, and I hope you’ll all enjoy it when I finally publish it.

—That being said, I did have a few insecurities regarding the writing of Love Language. I wondered if anybody would actually read this story since 1. ZP isn’t a very well-known cartoon, and 2. Even for rarepair standards, Multo/Zeeter sure seems like it came out of left field. And for about a few weeks, I did leave it alone, out of worry that nobody would read it. But then I came across posts in my feed that said that it’s important to write the stories that you’d like to read, even if they don’t get any readership, because telling your story is what matters. I’ve dealt with this a lot since writing all of my stories, namely my Zula Patrol series. And while I struggle with it occasionally, I’m not going to let that whole “nobody will probably read this” mentality stop me from writing about these goofy aliens, and my favorite opposites-attract ship, of which I’m the sole captain.

—While I’ve been working on Blazin’ Trails content off and on, I’m having a deuce of a time trying to work on the final chapter of the original BT. I’ll literally sit down and open the document, looking for something to leap out at me and inspire me to work…but nothing’s working. And I really want to get things started with Blazin’ Trails Redux as well…*sigh*

—As for Super Why stuff, I’m looking forward to seeing the new shorts that are debuting next month! I got to see the first short, and it’s adorable. And I also can’t wait to see more of Power Paige in action! I just really hope that Woofster and Alpha Pig aren’t written out of the show :(

—Speaking of PBS Kids stuff…I kinda sorta got back into both WordGirl and Arthur. GOD, I feel old! And now, I’m half-tempted to have WG guest star in SRBA like Santiago will. The SRBA ‘verse? More like Into the Reader-verse, LOL XD

—Sodor Magic Crusaders MAY be getting an update in the near future. I thought about working on it for the first time in months, and I remembered that I only have a few episodes left until I can get to write the second season.

—Slowly but surely getting back into Honkai Impact 3rd. I still haven’t gotten a chance to watch the part 2 trailer, but it looks like it’s gonna be interesting!

—One thing’s for sure. Power Paige will definitely appear in the SRBA ‘verse. I just have to figure out what her backstory would be as well as her powers and what kind of fighting style she’d have. I know for sure it won’t be a sword—we already have four sword fighters in SRBA thus far (Super Why, Presto, Muse and Jackson).

—In Super Why news, I HAVE been working on the fifth chapter bit by bit, and I’d like to say that it’s about 65% finished. I don’t think it’ll be quite as long as the last update, but I don’t want to speak too soon ^^;

—I haven’t drawn anime in ages, not since I first started uploading on DeviantArt. And I admit, the pic that I’m going to post of Usagi isn’t the best..but you know what? Screw it! The only way I can improve is to practice, even if it’s wonky or incorrect! ^^

[confessmau]

this is less of a hot take more like a complaint but something I think isn’t nearly as talked abt is the magic system and how it works in MS/MCD. In McD it’s slightly more explored.

Jess just kinda threw a lot of… stuff at us and expected us to just digest it without further explaining what’s in the dish.

it’s the equivalent of a stranger walking up to you, handing you a plate of somewhat appealing food, and telling you to eat it. Like most people want to know what’s in the food.

there’s two different forms of it, kinda not really, magic and magik’s. With no real meaningful difference between the two.

we know there’s a high magic council, that’s off busy doing god knows what during MS’s climax.

We know that aside from magik’s and magic there’s multiple different classifications of magic. By extension we know most of magic is drawn from emotion (it’s still stated extremely vaguely tho), and healing magic is done through equivalent exchange.

we know there’s demons and other mythical humanoid/animal like creatures.

we know there’s a spirit world.

we know there’s like familiars, and some of those spells that come with it.

And we know there’s other gods besides the divine. (They’re technically not gods, but they’re still treated like it in dialogue so)

and we know that there’s magic laws, colleges, maybe even governments and places that are purely inhabited by magic users alla Harry Potter.

my point being, with all these jumping points you would thing at least would be expanded on, but nope, magic in this world is just, accepted as a factor and treated like a relatively unimpressive spectacle.

which is weird because despite there being lots ways to show off how society, both physically and psychologically would change. There’s so many cool world building you could do, but Jess just- opts to shove goofy ass spells in our face.

at least until season 4 where the really bad forbidden spell is made which, isn’t even investigated by this magic council that put the rule that you can’t make it in place. But if Jess did that then she’d have to do several things we know she wouldn’t want to do like; explain why forever potions are band and love potions aren’t, actually focus on characters and the world bigger than our cast of characters mainly aph and Aaron, come up with actual world building and discuss the conflicts that may arise out of having magic being used so freely in schools and just public areas in general.

like there’s so many deeper topics that you could present with it but no; cat potionsssss, love potion misunderstandings/conflicts that we’ve seen a million other times and done so much better in a handful of them, teleportation which does have a bit of a limit granted, more destructive chaotic potions that multiple characters have not accidentally/purposefully caused 100’s of 1,000 dollars with, but also put people in actual physical danger in both schools and public settings, potions that allow you to swap fantasy races for comedy.

The main problem is that Jess kinda just, pulled out random generic spells as she went along and only put debuffs on it later to nerf it. Again like the teleportation, or forever potion victims just needing to feel a “strong emotion”. It’s not thought out at all, which I’m not surprised by but god, it could’ve been so interesting.

oh i can explain the magic differences sorta ~~

magicks/magics plural is exclusive to mcd. people who use magicks have to be born with an innate connection to the magicks that flows through the world. and your abilities tend to fall into a specific category of spell (ex. kc specializes in animation magicks, zoey has barrier magicks etc.) some magicks users can perform witchcraft in spells related to their field, but witchcraft is for the most part a seperate skill. it is the best explained out of the three.

magic is a mystreet concept and allegedly anyone can use it with a "strong emotion". there are only a couple categories of spell, and specific emotions are required for each one (happy is creation, anger for destruction, sorrow for elemental, and love for healing). only the healing magic is ever used, and its mostly unrelated to witchcraft even through lucinda exposits about it. [imo adding a magic with such a loose requirement and never using it only serves to dampen any emotional scenes after its introduction since (ex. zane couldn't have been THAT sad about aph's death if he didn't become the avatar) but that's a little unrelated lol)

witchcraft is the jack of all trades of magic in both worlds and is characterized by using specific incantations and ingrediants for spells to work. anyone can do it with training or only some people can do it depending on the timeline. it is the most lawless of the three, mostly due to the fact that lucinda is the only important witch and her primary role is plot device. the majority of magic use is witchcraft, including the forever potions.

[shes-an-oddbird]

911 Lone Star Tag Game: Beginnings

(1) Which 911 Lone Star season premiere is your favorite?

Probably the season three premiere but I really liked the season two one as well. Tommy being introduced and having to get used to being back in the field. That little bit of hesitation and the discomfort with leaving the twins when she feels like they need her.

I’ve already said this but the season three premiere was just really good. A good balance of the stories, updating us on what happened over the time skip, where everyone is and reconnecting everyone throughout the episode.

(2) Which character do you think had the best introduction or first scene in the show?

I’m going to say Judd had the best introduction over the course of the 1st episode. We learn so much about him so quickly and I think the writers did a great job with it. He loses his entire house in one shot. We learn about his relationship with Grace. They give him this major conflict with Owen right off the bat and you think its going to be drawn out through the entire show but really by the end of the episode they realize they’re just not communicating well because Judd is suffering from PTSD and Owen’s dealing with his own issues but they both want to honor the old 126 and build something new.

(3) What is your favorite moment of 1x01?

My very favorite part is the interviews. They’re so much fun. It is such a quick and easy way to dump a lot of information about the characters in a short span of time and it worked well because they’re interesting characters and it sets up so much potential and if I’m being honest, a little disappointment.

First of all, Paul actually tackled a guy with a gun. I know the takeaway is supposed to be that he was able to pick the guy out in the crowd but he just, no fear, punched a guy with a gun (definitely explains why he and Marjan bonded so quickly).

Marjan doesn’t showcase enough insubordination considering it was half her interview. She says she’s allergic to poor leadership, so the takeaway is obviously that she has some respect for Owen. We do see a lot of reckless Marjan outside of work but as often as Owen acts up, I feel like we should have seen more of this side of her on calls. Also, Marjan just jumping off the pier/bridge to save someone is fantastic. Way to become the coolest character in like less than 10 seconds.

Finally, one thing I will never let go of is the fact that Mateo broke several academy records in field work. Like they brushed that off way too quickly. Even Mateo himself isn’t impressed by this fact because he can’t past the written tests. Assuming those records were in timed skills assessments like the training we see Owen and Paul go through in later episodes, why are we not actually seeing it used in the field? Maybe they could explain it away when he was a probie but he is a full-fledged firefighter now so no excuses.

Anyways the interviews were great. And TK during each interview reading over the resumes and smiling in the background. You just know he’s thinking, “I’m going to befriend you, I’m going to befriend you so much!”

(4) When did you first start watching Lone Star and how did you find out about it?

I think I started watching it somewhat inconsistently when it would come on after OG 911. It was definitely during season 2. I remember getting pulled into a few episodes and I think I finally I sat down and binge watched it in between season two and three. That’s when I got hooked. I really loved OG 911 and didn’t expect to get so much more attached to the lone star characters but I did and they’ve been living rent free in my head ever since.

(5) What is one wish you have for the season 5 premiere?

I know this is very specific but I have a very clear moment in my mind where Paul and Marjan ask TK, Nancy and Mateo who they think would make a better lieutenant and Nancy just refuses to answer because she’s a paramedic and is not qualified to say. TK attempts to get out of answering the same way and while they argue with him that he was a firefighter and could answer, Mateo just bolts and spends the rest of the episode hiding from them because he refuses to choose between them.

(Evenly distributed screentime would also be high on my wish list. I hate when an entire episode goes by and a character or worse, multiple characters only have one or two lines. I know it’s a big cast but please please please I know it can be done.)

thank you for tagging me @lonestar-s5countdown

[cat-in-the-desert]

Okay @imaginethat0327 you asked about my summons au- gonna talk about it a bit in a separate post here

So I actually got the idea sort of from this post about an alien abducting someone for help with a paper for school about humans, I went, yk, I can edit that a bit and do something probably! Also mildly inspired by the other concept/idea/(was it a post?) about a human getting summoned by… *something* that sees humans the same way humans see demons. Anyway, those are the vague concepts that inspired the story! Edited them, ofc, and developed my very own au concept— which, uh, accidentally *also* ended up taking inspiration from The Owl House— but the vague premise should be obvious from all that

(Sorry, uh, as could probably be told by the amount of notes- this is my au that I’m most passionate about that I’m not actively posting. I actually came up with it before VMGGNS AU- and I started posting that one as a lighter, less-stressed-about au that I could get out there while developing this one— but then I developed that au a lot more that I expected XD. Anyway, point is, I’m really passionate about my Summons AU, just waiting to post anything until I’ve got it all ironed out)

(This also is a Scarian au, full disclosure)

So to set the stage: Grian lives in a world where magic and hybrids and such are more than commonplace. There aren’t really “normal humans”- everyone’s got some sort of hybrid ancestry; everyone can do some level of magic. Grian’s got a good amount of magic himself (enough that a cult took interest in him at one point— but that’s in that past….right? He’s no longer associated with them).

He’s actually in, basically magic graduate school; his skills were enough to get him a scholarship, so he decided to give it a shot. It’s not like he has anything to lose; he may be a few years late, but having a master’s degree in general magic (there's multiple fields; he opted for a moderate skillset in each rather than a high skillset in one or two) opens up pretty any job opportunity he could want. The year this fic takes place, he's rooming with Cub (vex hybrid, shooting for a masters in mental and modal magic, which includes things like illusion and levitation).

Scar, meanwhile, is a normal human. Went to college, got his degree in Business, runs his own shop, lives in the same apartment building as his former college roommate Mumbo; overall, not really the life he was hoping for, but it's a life. Could be worse; could be much worse!

But then one day, while tidying his shop after close, he finds himself… not there, anymore. Really, he doesn’t know where he is; there’s a guy he doesn’t know standing in front of him, and he seems to be in… some sort of bedroom, and there’s what looks to be a mess of chalk-drawn symbols on the floor—

See, Grian was getting a bit desperate; he procrastinated too much on his paper about how worlds would function without magic, and he may have picked up some, ah, sketchier spells in his time…. away… not that he’d ever use them for what they used them for….

But, well, he hadn’t accounted for just how much magic this would take out of him, and now it’ll be a bit until he can send Scar home. Cub, thankfully, is willing to help “hide” him in plain sight; it’ll only take a bit of illusion magic to make him look like a hybrid, and Cub is always up for a bit of rule bending and mischief.

Scar himself is A-OK with this, as long as G can send Mumbo a message asking him to feed Jellie— and maybe that pushes G’s magic a bit more, maybe that results in him having to stay a bit longer— but getting to stay longer in a world that has magic in exchange for his cat being fed isn’t much of a hard decision, is it?

I’ve planned out roles and home worlds and abilities etc for every single Hermit and Lifer in this AU. They’ll all make an appearance. There will be a considerable amount of time spent in both worlds; there’s plot lines happening in the background and before the story that affect everything in subtle ways— I have put so much thought into this AU, and I want it to be perfect before I post it!

It’s also all Scar POV.

Summary I gave basically just sums up some basic worldbuilding, and the catalyst of it all in Chapter 1. There’s so much more at play than just that, but I hope it’s a good enough summary both to explain the idea and.. maybe? interest a few people to want to read it when I do post it?

Genuinely didn’t mean for it to get this long. Whoops!

[roninkairi]

And Now, for Pride Month, A Story I Have Always Wanted To Tell But Never Had The Time To Do So Until Today. And There Is A Toaster At The End.

She laid back on the plush red chaise longue sofa with a sigh. The situation she was in was something someone of her intelligence was not used to, but she was going through a bit of a identity crisis and right now, Velma could use all the help she could get.

Velma Dinkley, youngest member of the 5-member team known as Mystery Inc (Or the Scooby Gang for the general public) had a lot of this going for her: she was a highly motivated young woman, excelled in many different fields of study (and surprisingly enough, hockey and pro wrestling), had gained numerous awards in her academic pursuits and had even developed a large following of admirers over the years.

However, there was one thing that was a mystery to many: her love life. Or rather at this point, her lack of one. She had been spotted with many a potential suitor, but she barely showed any interest in anyone beyond a romantic one. She even admitted to one possible man she met that her work with the team had taken precedence over the matters of the heart (he was kinda cute in his own boorish way, she had admitted to herself afterwards).

That all changed one year ago after the latest case.

Velma’s first glimpse of the career criminal known as Coco Diablo (the woman responsible for just about every costumed villain the team had encountered over the years) had set off an immediate chain reaction of emotions that she was not properly ready to comprehend rationally in a coherent sense.

“In other words, as Daphne would probably put on it, I was going gaga for Coco big time!” Velma explained to the therapist she was with this day. “I’m not used to having affection for another person like that…especially another girl! It was just so SUDDEN and I’m still trying to deal with it!”

“There there Velms. It’s perfectly natural to feel anxious about this sort of thing. If you didn’t I’d be worried it was going to be a sign of something WORSE. I mean really bad, like Ivo Shandor level kind of worse.”

The therapist in question was someone that no one ever expected Velma to seek out but for the sake of plot building, we will say this was both done at the behest of Daphne and a certain caped crusader. Sitting in the seat behind Velma, holding a notepad was one Dr. Harleen Quinzel, aka Harley Quinn. Despite her most recent crimes and misadventures, she was still a very good psychoanalyst/therapist. Pushing her glasses up, she said to Velma patiently “I’m still surprised Daph and Bats referred you to me though, especially since I thought the Justice League had a good support group. But that was before a certain incident. Maybe they thought this would be good for both of us, hard to tell with them.”

“You think?”

“Believe me, I have gone through odder things. But we’re getting off track. This is about you. How are you adjusting these days since you met Coco?” Harley wanted to know how Velma’s mind was assessing her current situation. Keeping her focused was step one.

“To put it bluntly, it’s been a very taxing time,” Velma sighed. “I’ve found myself thinking a lot about Coco, more so after the case was finished. She’s got this very self-confident vibe going for her, and she knows how to take control of a situation when she needs to. Her deductive skills, proficiency in engineering and advanced mechanics, the way she can describe the molecular components of a basic combustion engine—”

“And her smoking booty.”

“Oh hell yeah her smoking booty—wait I mean her physical attributes---you did that on purpose didn’t you?”

“Totally,” Harley snickered. “Having a physical attraction to her is something you should not be ashamed of, you two are both young and healthy adults. Seriously, I still can’t get over people still calling you all meddling kids. At least two of you are legal drinking age now.”

“Anyway, I do think about her a lot. I kind of hope when she does get out of prison we could have some real quality time together but, well, this is still something I’m trying to navigate. I still can’t believe Daphne was able to catch on faster than me that I’m…well…”

“Still having a bit of a hard time admitting it, huh Velms?”

“Yeah.” Velma sighed.

“It’s ok. You’re here with me now and believe it or not, that is more important than you realize. Not everyone awakens to certain aspects of their psyche and it can come out in different ways. Some people try to distract themselves by throwing themselves head-first into a task. Take me for example. Believe it or not, I had started collecting a shit load of Beanie Babies when I tied to deny having feelings for Denise Whitbourne back in my days of high school.”

“Wait, I thought your first female crush was—”

“No. Technically speaking, Ives was my 3rd. My second was Tall Dark and Amazonian.”

Velma nodded her head. She could not blame her.

“So, accepting that part of yourself is very crucial because if you don’t, it can hurt ya in many ways, trust me. At the worst, you could date someone and try to trick yourself into believing it’s the best thing for you.”

“Yes, I ALMOST did that with Shaggy,” Velma admitted.

“Really? I never really could see you two together, I’ll be honest. If anything, I would have bet you’d try to hook up with Daph at least ONCE.”

“I know, I know,” Velma agreed, rubbing her temple “and while the occasional naughty thought did go through my mind, I don’t think she is my type. Maybe a one-night stand at best, but it would probably get AWKWARD the day after. And then there would be the temptation to resist thinking about her in that one nightgown over and over.”

“Do tell.” Harley smiled, eagerly scribbling. The notes she had for her Daph x Velma fanfic were getting juicier.

“This…just feels natural all of a sudden.” Velma admitted.

“GOOD! Progress. See, all it takes is just one good day.”

“I recognize that but…people…”

“People can suck, I know,” Harley picked up a can of soda and drank from it quickly as she continued “Sexual identities are still a hot button topic no matter what era we are in. There will always be someone who thinks they can speak for everyone and try to make them conform. Those are the kind of people I like punching in the face really, REALLY hard. They’re like, number 5 on my list!”

“You have a list?”

“Oh yeah. I know what you’re thinking and yeah, Bats is on that list. Also, on said list is my loser ex-boyfriend, Nazis, drug dealers, pedos, Amanda Waller, Puritans, Nazis again, Proud Boys, conservative extremists, That Orange Bastard, Nazis because why not and that bitch who works at the local Cinnibuns. SHE KNOWS WHAT SHE DID.” Harley shook her hand in the air at that last part. The sins that woman committed could never be forgiven.

“I’ll make a note not to go to that Cinnibuns. But yeah, people becoming aware of this now is still new to me. Believe it or not I’ve gotten…popular with a lot of ladies. And maybe a few guys.”

“You were ALWAYS popular. Believe me, there are people who like academic types. I’m an academic type, believe it or not.” Harley pointed out.

“But you’re very attractive You can get away with looking hot in a tube top and denim shorts.”

“And you can’t? When was the last time you were in a swimsuit?”

“Uh, last summer at Camp Little Big Moose.”

“Ok. And did a lot of people stare at you in that time?”

“Yeah but…I always thought it was because I was with Daphne.” Velma observed. The wheels were slowly turning in her mind…

“Understandable. But did they stop staring when you weren’t with her?”

“…No, actually they didn’t.”

“Mystery solved.” Harley chirped. “Congrats, you just realized people think you are HOT.”

“I’m surprised it took me that long to address that revelation,” Velma said in amazement.

“See, progress! Now we can take that important next step. And you gotta vocalize it. It’s best to get it all out.”

“Do…do I have to?” Velma was beet red. It was quite cute, Harley thought.

“Yup! This session can’t go on to the next step until we pass that hurdle.” Getting up, Harley grasped one of Velma’s hands and said in a very assuring tone “Now take a deep breath there Velma…and say to me what you need to say.”

She gulped. She was even more afraid than the time the gang took on Mamba Wamba and Mano Tiki Tia at the same time in Samoa (oh you just HAD to be there for that one, really man, it was NUTS!!!). But she needed to get it out there.

“Come on, you got this…”

One deep sigh later…

“My name is Velma Dinkley…and I…really…REALLY…LIKE WOMEN.”

“Well, I was hoping you say ‘I’m a lesbian’, but what the hell, YOU DID IT!” Harley gave her the thumbs up and handed her a toaster as she sat up.

“Why a toaster?”

“Its an Ellen gag. Trust me, someone somewhere knows the meaning behind this. Now that we got that out of the way, we need to get you out on the field. There’s a girl I think you should spend some time with. Her name is Marcie Fleach…”

[citrus-blade]

Time

Day 4 of Citrus Dreamnoblade Week with the prompt 'Angst'.

Link to AO3 or read it under here!

Techno had one goal and that was being with Dream, his lover from College. The two were scientists working in different fields in the hope of creating amazing stuff for the future. And Techno had done it and he decided to use his biggest creation, a time machine, to save the love of his life.

Story under the cut! Words: 5,429 Warnings: Character Death (multiple times), hit and run, car accident, mentioned explosion

There were events that were always supposed to happen and no matter what you did to prevent them, they would. Some of them were happy ones, other were unimportant for you but live saving for others and some were just painful.

And sometimes learning that those can’t be changed was the worst thing, because no matter what you tried, it didn’t work you. Techno had learned that the hard way, he had done the almost impossible.

Techno had loved Dream. He had loved him oh so much, that no poet could write a poem beautiful and heartbreaking enough to describe his love. And Dream had loved him back, Dream had been the one to stand by his side and support him when everyone called Techno crazy.

Dream was the reason Techno could reach his goal, before and after his death.

When Techno opened his eyes he found himself in an old building, run down and unused. Only the machine behind him looked new, looked like it didn’t fit in. It looked like something from the future, so Techno covered it up with a blanket he had carried in his arms before rushing out of the building. Rain fell, hard and unforgiving it dripped on his face, wetting his hair and beard.

Techno looked around, trying to find some orientation.

“You’re a human compass!” Dream had said, his arm wrapped around Techno’s as they walked through the alleys of the city. A shopping bag swung between them and Dream had a bright smile on his lips.

“I told you that I knew of a shop where you’d get new guitar strings without using all your money,” said Techno, earning a scoff from his boyfriend who rolled his eyes. “Didn’t I?”

“You did,” Dream admitted, shoving against the pinket lightly with a laugh. “I got everything I needed, is there something you wanted to get?”

“There is,” Techno announced, taking Dream’s hand in his own to move a bit faster, “we gotta hurry though, it’s gonna close soon!” And with a loud laugh Dream let Techno drag him through the narrow allays of the city. They didn’t care the people who looked weird at them, they were too happy to.

Techno blinked as he remembered that, the day Techno had sealed Dream’s fate. If today wouldn’t work, then that was going to be his next try. But he hoped today would be his last visit to the past, that it would be the last time where he returned with a broken heart.

He walked through the allays, hood over his face to make sure no one would look at him too weird. One misstep and he’d change more than wanted, he couldn’t risk it. There was just one reason for him to be here, the day that had ruined his life.

Back then he was a student living a good life, one that was supposed to go to NASA one day and change the world with his skills. With a full ride scholar ship and a part-time job by his professor he had no problem with money. Other than Dream.

He remembered how he had met the blond for the first time. It was a normal day filled with classes and Techno was in the laboratory afterwards, as almost every day. Without him noticing someone had stepped up behind him, looking over his shoulder and watching how Techno worked on a machine.

“That’s looks interesting,” the voice spooked Techno and made him jump in his seat, not much, but it was a flinch at least. When he turned in his chair the person had taken a step back and a bashful look on his face, a light blush visible. Cute. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!”

“Well, you did,” Techno sighed, leaning back in his chair and eyeing the stranger. “Who are you and what do you want?”

“My name’s Dream,” the blonde introduced himself with a weak smile, stepping a bit closer, “I’m a student here, obviously, I just- ehm, I’m part of the physics department! And I, well, I read about you on the campus app and wanted to, like, you know, check what you’re working on right now.”

The young man had stumbled over almost every single word he had spoke, but it had some kind of charm. He was nervous for whatever reason and Techno told himself not to hope it was because of him, but simply because Techno was a stranger. He glanced over his shoulder at the machine and sighed, standing up.

“I don’t think you’re actually interested in it, most people say I’m crazy for working on it,” he said while cleaning his working space, making sure nothing is left behind. Dream watched him with big eyes, every little movement was caught by green eyes.

When Techno pulled a blanket over his project Dream cleared his throat, stepping up next to the other. “You don’t know that,” he said, eyeing the now hidden apparatus. “I’ve once tried to speedrun cloning my food cause I was hungry, can’t get much more crazy.”

Techno blinked at the man with wide eyes before he started laughing, Dream joining him. The two walked out of the room together, the light switched off. “That IS something crazy, and speedrunning it? Really?”

“You don’t even know how hungry I was, okay?” Scoffed Dream and earned an eye roll. “Now come one, what are you working on?”

A deep breath escaped Techno and he looked at Dream, deciding it wouldn’t hurt to tell him. All he could do was call him crazy and delusional like everyone else. “I am working on a time machine.”

There was silence for a few seconds, just them talking. When they arrived at the door of the dorm Techno looked up surprised to see a smile on Dream’s face. “That sounds pretty cool,” he just said with a shrug, chuckling when Techno held the door open for him. “And you think you can do it?”

Techno was still a bit shocked from the reaction and had to shake his head lightly before he could talk again. “I mean, I am trying so…”

“That’s really cool, I hope you can do it,” they stopped in front of a door on the second floor that lead into a hallway with dorms. “If you ever need help with that ask me, I will do whatever I can.”

Those words had meant a lot to Techno back then, they still meant a lot. Dream had been the only person who didn’t laugh at Techno’s dream, who had just encouraged him and, later on, helped him any time he could.

The two eventually started working together, even though sometimes all Dream could do was bring Techno something to eat or remind him to stay hydrated. But that was more than enough, more than anyone else had offered and more than Techno had ever expected from anyone. And with every new breakthrough and every new step Dream was there.

He had truly believed that Techno could do it, kept telling him that his hard work would pay out in the end. And the best days were the ones when Dream was just there with him, when he sat at the table and read a book or worked on his own stuff for his classes. When all he provided was his presence, that was when Techno got the most stuff done.

Finally, he had arrived at the spot, a normal looking road crossing point with a traffic light. Not many cars drove here, he had been here so many times already and was never able to change the outcome. Not by calling the police and warning them, not by sending the man behind the wheel a threat not to drive that day.

Nothing had ever worked. This time it just had to, he was running out of ideas.

He still had ten minutes for them to appear, ten minutes to prepare himself from stopping the love of his life to die. Ten minutes usually weren’t too long, but when you knew what you were about to witness it seemed like forever. The rain didn’t stop, it was something he could never influence, the rain was harsh and real and unstoppable.

He checked his clock just to be on the safe side, watched the people pass by without them sparing him a second glance. Some of his old classmates ran by, fleeing from the rain without knowing that Techno had done it, he had proofed them wrong. He had built the time machine everyone laughed about, everyone had said it was a dream no one could ever reach.

But he did it, he was the one person in existence who managed to built a time machine and for what? To safe his dead lover. During the time Techno had travelled two Dream and him had been together for three and a half years, close to finishing college and starting their actual life together. They had found an apartment and Techno was about to sell a patent of one of his machines.

The time machine was going to be a private project, he was looking for somewhere to store and work on it. Meanwhile Dream would be taken over by the laboratory he was working half time for at the time. Both of them had a bright future ahead of them, had it all planned through. And then it happened.

Techno stared at the street, people crossing over it without any care in the world. He checked his clock and just as he was about to look around he heard a voice he dearly missed.

“Techno!” Dream yelled as he ran after the man, the rain making their vision a bit blurred. “Wait for me!” And just in time Techno made it over the street, the traffic light turned red before Dream stood so he had to wait.

Techno stood on the other side with a winning grin, making Dream roll his eyes with a chuckle. “You’re just too lame!” He had shouted, hands around his mouth to make his voice louder. He wore a ring on his middle finger, Dream wore a matching one. It was what he had gotten Dream that one day.

Dream shook his head in amusement and mirrored the man’s stance. “Just you wait till I get you!” Both laughed, watching as some cars went by before they eventually had to stop, they never had to wait long to cross the street here, cares rarely drove here.

As soon as they had green they both ran to each other, ignoring the looks of the few people being there as well. They met in the middle and Dream fell in Techno’s arms, laughing loudly. Only when they knew the traffic light was about to change did they separate wand crossed the street together.

Then it happened, once at the side walk Techno turned around and his ring, due to all the water, slipped off. Dream watched it fall on the street, rolling onto it and without thinking, he had followed. Techno called after him, watched how his lover bent down to pick it up.

And then it happened, in a matter of a second a car came racing around the corner, not able to press the breaks in time., A crash, screams and a car that just drove away while Dream lay on the street, Techno’s ring next to him.

Everything was muted around Techno as he ran to his lover, kneeling down to him on the wet concrete. Dream’s eyes were close, mouth open with a weak breath. Around him people called the ambulance. Then Dream was taken to the hospital, his parents were called and waited together with Techno, all that just to get the news that they couldn’t do anything.

The man was later found by the police, questioned and taken in. He had forgotten to pick his daughter up from school and was scared of his wife – who had already threatened with divorce – to yell at him. Dream had lost his life because someone tried to safe a hopeless marriage.

Now Techno stood there, watched how Dream was held in Techno’s arms, how he wished that he had held him tighter, that he had told him how much he loved him. He wished that he had never gotten those dumb couple rings.

Seeing Dream hurt more with each time, seeing all the lost moments they would have shared in the future. But he was there to fix it, this was his chance to make everything better. He would safe his lover and return to the future with the man he loved in it.

He pulled the hood more over his face and got ready, watched as the ring fell off of Techno’s finger. Just as Dream had stopped on the middle of the road did Techno run up to him and pushed him away. The car came racing around the corner and Techno jumped away, glancing over his shoulder at Dream who had watched the car drive past with wide eyes.

The ring still lay on the concrete street and fast the Techno from the past pulled Dream away, talking to him. Surely he was asking if he was okay, checked him for any injuries. People gathered around them and Techno used the distraction to run off, away from the scene. He heard Dream yell for him, but he didn’t react, he had saved him and now he had to return home.

Stepping into the building Techno pulled the cloth from his machine and stepped inside, entered the date and pressed the button to sent him back. After around a minute the machine died down and Techno slowly opened the door. What he found was his laboratory, but it looked different.

Usually most of his stuff flew around on the tables and the floor, but now everything was put neatly where it belonged. Even his notes and scribbles for projects were in folders and sorted after dates. When he walked up to a table with a small project on it, something different than he remembered working on, he saw a picture standing there.

He gasped loudly as he looked at it, slowly picked it up with trembling hands. Tears gathered in his eyes as he saw Dream on the picture standing next to Techno, obviously a selfie taken by Dream himself. They looked around the age Techno was in, so forty. Dream had died when he was twenty-four, he had missed sixteen years with him, and now he was going to see him again.

Fast Techno used his phone to look at himself, surprised that his appearance had changed with the time travel. He now was the Techno he had always been in the timeline Dream had survived. Then he checked the time, it was evening and the sun must have been about to set.

Considering that this was his laboratory it should also be Dream’s and his home, just like in Techno’s normal timeline. He walked up the stairs and opened the door to the hallway and got greeted by a friendly looking one, not his more dark one. Jackets hung on the wall, shoes lay on the ground and pictures lined the walls.

“Dream?” He called out as he took off his own shoes, he walked towards the living room and found it empty. Then he turned to the kitchen and froze, eyes wide as he stared at the man standing in front of his stove, back turned to him. Fluffly dark blond curls placed on his head and a green shirt over his shoulder. There was a headphone over his ear and he could hear music coming from it.

Without much hesitation Techno walked up to Dream and wrapped his arms around his waist to pull him close. Dream flinched lightly before he relaxed again, laughing happily while pulling off the headphones. “Hey baby,” he giggled, his free hand coming up to stroke through Techno’s hair, his other occupied with stirring something that looked like potato soup.

“Hey,” Techno mumbled in his neck, inhaling his scent. Dream still smelled like he did back then, like home, like his future. Eventually Techno pulled his face away, kissing Dream’s cheek which made the man chuckle amused. “What you doing?”

“Your favorite!” Dream announced proudly, living the wooden cooking spoon for a second before using it to stir again. “Potato soup with some potato pieces and sausages!” He seemed so proud, Techno couldn’t stop looking at him and placed his cheek on his shoulder, knowing he must have looked like a teenager in love. And he felt like one, finally he felt like he could breath and love again. “You’re all cuddly today, everything fine?”

“Yeah, just perfect,” he said, leaning close and pressing a kiss to Dream’s soft lifts, feeling them press back. “I love you. So much.”

“I love you, too,” Dream echoed his words, eyes mirroring Techno’s feelings just as strong. He couldn’t believe he had missed sixteen years of this, of domestic bliss and the perfect life. “Carefully, I need to get some bowls.” As he moved away Techno stepped back to sneakily look through their home, seeing all the pictures and a cat tree in the corner. So Dream had convinced him to get a cat, of course Techno had given in.

He turned when Dream was holding a pink bowl with pigs on it towards him, filled with hot potato soup and a spoon inside. Dream’s bowl was green with cats on it, fitting. Together the two sat down at the kitchen island, talking about nothing and the world. Techno’s free hand was on Dream’s thigh all the time, stroking over the jeans he was wearing, probably from work. Here and there Dream placed his own hand over Techno’s squeezing before he returned to his soup.

Techno hadn’t laughed like that in years, hadn’t felt this alive in years. Demanding kisses from Dream was his favorite thing, the blond would always meet him halfway, always smiling into the kiss. Eventually they got interrupted when Dream’s working phone beeped. He frowned when he looked at it, groaning loudly as he read the message he got.

“What is it?” Techno asked, the empty bowl standing in front of him.

“That was a co-worker of mine, something isn’t right with one of our mixtures and we have to fix it till tomorrow morning,” Dream told, already standing up and gathering his stuff. Techno watched him and eventually stood up to follow the man to the door. “Sorry, let’s continue talking tomorrow?”

“You think you will be back for breakfast?” As Techno asked Dream pulled on his jacket, shoes already on. “I can cook you something.”

“I hope so,” sighed Dream and leaned against his husband, yeah, Techno had seen their rings and there were pictures of their wedding on the walls. “Could be that I’ll be too tired for breakfast.”

“That’s okay,” Techno kissed Dream’s head, inhaling his scent once more. “I’ll put it in the oven to keep it warm or just make you something new.”

“What a waste,” joked Dream, smiling up and getting on his tiptoes.

“Anything for you,” whispered Techno before meeting his lips in a short kiss, smiling into it. “Be careful, alright?”

“Always,” Dream promised before grabbing his bag, one look over his shoulder and a wave later and the man was gone. Techno took a deep breath, all this was overwhelming but in a good way. He was happily married to the love of his life and they seemed to have an amazing life together.

He moved to the kitchen to clean the bowls and put the leftovers of the soup into the fridge. A meow made him look down and a white cat was pressing up against his leg, meowing even more. When he made eye contact with it the cat walked over to it’s empty bowl and Techno looked through the cabinets to find it’s food. Once he found it he filled the bowl and watched the cat eat for a bit.

The rest of the evening was like any other he had lived through the past few years. He took a shower, watched a movie and then went to bed, just now he knew that someone would come home to him, greet him and would sleep with him. He couldn’t wait to hold Dream in his arms again, to whisper about everything and nothing and to kiss every part of his body.

Eventually he fell asleep, thinking about the love of his life, just like he had done every night.

But fate was cruel.

In the middle of the night he was woken up by his phone and with blurry eyes he took it and looked at the contact. It said ‘Wilbur’, he was a friend of Dream and him and he remembered that back than they worked in the same laboratory. Maybe that didn’t change, but why was he calling him?

With a bad feeling he accepted the call, immediately hearing how more people were around Wilbur, yelling around. “Wilbur?” Techno called into the phone, sitting up, “why are you calling me? It’s almost three am!”

“Techno!” Wilbur yelled back, breathing heavily and sniffing. Was he crying? Why would he be crying? “Something happened in the laboratory. I was just gone for a cigarette outside, but then the alarm went off and-” he had to stop himself to take a deep breath, Techno didn’t dare say a word. “An explosion, some chemicals reacted like they weren’t supposed to, some small mistake. Dream, he stood right where it happened and… Techno, I can’t even say it…”

“Then don’t,” Techno pleaded, he didn’t want to hear it, his whole body was trembling and he didn’t want to hear it! “Don’t say it, Wilbur, please…”

Wilbur sniffled again and with every second Techno tried to rationalized it, tried to find a reason why this was happening again. “Dream is… He didn’t survive the explosion.”

And Techno was breaking down, clutching the bedsheets under him, letting the phone just fall. Why, why why?! Why was this happening? Why did Dream need to die? Was it because of him? Was is that Dream and Techno just weren’t supposed to be? Was Techno dooming Dream’s fate?

Techno took a deep breath and lifted the phone back to his face. “I will fix this Wilbur,” he said, just gaining a confused and broken sound from the man on the other side back before he hung up. Fast Techno jumped out of bed and got dressed again, checking on the cat once more before running down the stairs once more. He practically jumped into the time machine, adding a date he hadn’t travelled to before.

That was his last chance on saving a life that was worth so much more than he would ever be. This was his chance on saving someone who would fill the world with love and hope. So when the time machine brought him to the time he wanted he stepped out and pulled the cloth over it before running out of the building.

He followed a path he only knew too well, he had walked it for years and was something that was burnt in his brain. He couldn’t forget it even if he wanted to. Soon the college buildings were in his view and he sought out the building he knew he’d find himself in. Just freshly started college, just in two weeks he’d meet Dream for the first time. Classes had just started.

In order to not seem to suspicious Techno stopped running when entering the building, glancing around to make sure no one would see him as he walked down the steps to the laboratories. One, two, three doors down in the hallway and he found himself, hunching over robot parts and trying to build something for his first class.

Carefully he sneaked inside, closing the door behind him and pulling the hood down, making sure he wouldn’t recognize himself. Then he stepped closer, his younger self put down the soldering iron and turned, yelling when Techno grabbed him by the collar of hit shirt and pressed him down on the table.

He fought himself before he had enough and slammed him on the table once more, getting the younger Techno to calm down. “What do you want you freak!” He yelled out, holding onto the older one’s wrists in the hope of keeping his hands away from his throat.

“Listen, I am here to help you!” Techno whisper yelled back, “so stop struggling and listen to me!”

“Why should I believe some old psycho who sneaks up on me?!”

“I know you are working on a time machine,” Techno answered, getting his younger self to actually stop struggling, at this point in the semester Techno hadn’t told anyone of his big plans. “And I know you will be successful.” He let go of the younger Techno and stepped back, now that he had calmed down.

His younger self still looked at him in suspicion, eyes narrowed as he looked him up and down. “...Who are you?” He asked but Techno just shook his head before stepping closer again, pulling a picture out of his phone case. One he had always with him and held it out to the younger one.

“This person here,” he pointed to the picture, it was a photograph of Dream, he looked into the camera with a gentle smile and a weak blush on his freckled cheeks. “You have to stay away from him,” he said, voice stern so he came over as serious, he had to make sure this plan would work.

“What? Who is this?”

“His name is Dream and he is a chemical student here, he will come up to you in around two weeks and will try to befriend you,” explained Techno, telling the truth for the first part before he started to lie. “This Dream will ruin your life, he will first pretend to support you in your plans before turning on you and try to slow you down. Do you understand? Turn him down immediately and your life will be less painful and much calmer.”

The younger Techno eyed the picture before he nodded, believing hos older self. “...But, why? It looks like I finished the time machine when you’re here and can tell me this.”

“Yeah, with, like, forty you’ll finish it, only so late because of Dream,” Techno lied through his teeth, it hurt, it hurt so badly to lie about the sweetest person he had ever met. But this was for Dream, to hopefully safe him. “And before you can sell the patent he will steal whatever he can grab and run off with it, so you miss parts and he can sell them.”

Younger Techno gasped loudly in shock and now glared at the man in the photograph. “Understood, I’ll turn this traitor down once he thinks about looking for me.”

“Good,” Techno sighed, putting the picture back into his phone case. “Don’t tell anyone about this conversation. Never ever mention it to anyone and pretend it didn’t happen, only the Dream part is important, alright?”

“Obviously,” scoffed the younger one, rolling his eyes. “I’m just happy that I will be successful, not that I ever doubted myself. Still nice to know.”

Techno snorted at that before he turned around and left. He knew that had been a lie, he had doubted himself a lot and it was Dream who had pushed him back on the right track. Now he had to go through it without him, but he’d be okay, he’d be alright as long as Dream would be.

Slowly he walked back to the building, on his way he had seen Dream once, walking with Wilbur, laughing loudly. God he would miss him, he had no clue how his life was going to look like with Dream being completely void in it. They had shared their friend group and partnered up in some classes they had together.

None of this was going to happen now and it scared Techno. He stepped into the machine, closed his eyes and pressed the button to return to his time. When he stepped out the building was different. Not run down and it was obvious Techno’s laboratory to work in, but it looked so much more… lifeless.

Slowly he walked up the stairs to his apartment and walked inside, sighing at the obvious single apartment. Everything looked so.. dull, like Techno hadn’t enjoyed his life in a long time. He let himself fall onto the couch, sighing loudly and rubbing through his face before pulling out his phone.

He had contact with some people from college, friends he had shared with Dream. Were they also friends with him or did they have no contact to the blond? Most messages were pretty normal, yet miserable. Just small talk rarely something exciting. Until he had found a message from Wilbur that he had sent a few weeks ago.

It was a link to a website that included the word ‘Dream’ and maybe, just maybe, it was his Dream. He clicked on it and an article from a scientistic magazine opened, in there was an interview with Dream. Looked like the blond was being successful and had discovered some new chemicals to mix, that would bring something good to the world of science.

Techno was too tired to actually understand what was talked about, all that was important was that Dream was alive. He wasn’t hurt or anything, no car had hit him and no explosion had happened. He was breathing and smiling, living a good life. In the article was also written that Dream was now one of the top scientists in the company he worked for which was located in the same city that Techno lived in.

Relief filled Techno’s body. He had finally done it, he had saved Dream. And all it took was keeping him away from Techno, all he had to do was break his own heart to safe the one of his lover. Techno and Dream would never life a happy live together, but they would both live. And that mattered the most.

The following weeks were dull and normal, Techno worked on projects and kept the time machine covered under the cloth. It had no use any more, he didn’t want to know what people would do knowing of it’s existence. It was safer to keep it hidden away from the world.

One day he was on his way home with a bag of groceries, it was raining and he was keeping himself dry with an umbrella. He looked forward, surrounded by people as he walked on the side walk before coming to a familiar traffic light. Around him everything seemed gray scaled, like nothing really mattered at all. With the rain season everything seemed a little bit number.

When the lights turned in favor of the pedestrian everyone moved at the same time. And Techno almost didn’t notice it, he almost didn’t see him. They walked right past each other, not even sparing a glance. Only when both had arrived at the other side of the road crossing did they stop and turn.

There he stood, Dream. A bag over his shoulder and a green umbrella on his right hand. His hair was just as curly as Techno remembered and looked golden even in the gray weather. Green shiny eyes looked at Techno as if he tried to remember him, as if all those memories of his other versions were trying to break through.

Techno swallowed heavily, he wished he could walk up to him and talk to him. Wished he could tell him how much he loved him, how much he missed him. All he wanted to do was wrap his arms around the smaller man and hold him close, show him how much he loved him, made him feel safe.

But then the cars rushed by and Techno remembered that he couldn’t. They weren’t meant to be, not in this life. So when he turned around and continued walking, tears running down his face, did he pray to whatever was out there to grand them a happy ending in their next life. To bring them together and not separate them.

Because Techno loved Dream and he was sure he would do that in any universe, even when it tore him apart.

[sewlastcentury]

I love your ‘Uno Reverse’ series! Photographs are a such a scarce but important resource for a dress historian, and this series really puts things into perspective. Thanks for doing this work!

Do you have any advice for someone like me who wants to become a dress conservator/historian? I’m a tailor’s apprentice but I’m having a lot of trouble deciding how to continue my education.

Glad you're enjoying it :)

Oooh, big question. Prepare for a lot of words:

Dress history is a weird field to get into. If you want to be a historian, unless you're independently wealthy and can just spend all your time researching and writing, the usual professions are curatorship and professorship. There aren't a lot of either position available - many settle for historical societies, small colleges, etc - and neither make much in the way of money. Definitely consider your options very thoroughly! (Though if you're a tailor's apprentice you probably already know that, lol.)

Conservation is - from my POV - a better choice in the long run, because while institutions can stop hiring people to teach or do research, any place with a collection has to keep conserving it. Conservators also make more money, no question.

I went to a program that specialized generalized in both (FIT). Like you, I was unsure of what I wanted, and the flexibility was attractive. Other programs tend to specialize in one or the other, and now that I've been through FIT's program, I understand exactly why. There was no way to give us both curricula in their entirety in the two years we had, and I ended up feeling like I barely learned anything. However, I was coming from having completed a long conservation internship; I had studied up pretty thoroughly on fashion history before I attended the program at all; and I had already been through a separate MA previously, so I already had research and writing skills on a higher level than FIT even cares about. Given that caveat.. if I were to go back in time with this info, I would attend a different program that specialized in one or the other and therefore provided more comprehensive skills.

If you're interested in conservation, my biggest piece of advice would be to do an internship, preferably with a firm that specializes in it or at a big museum with a dedicated department. That will give you experience and familiarity like nothing else and also help you to understand whether it's the right field for you. But internships like that can be pretty competitive, so the second best option is to volunteer at a local historical society or house museum. Almost all of them are constantly on the lookout for volunteers, especially ones interested in preservation and the more scientific side of collections management. You won't be paid, unfortunately, but the upside is that almost any small institution will happily take helpers because they're desperate and cash-strapped. Reading through online publications like the National Park Service's Conserve-O-Gram is a great way to start building knowledge if nobody there is equipped to give it to you. (Every institution I've worked at has had a copy on hand for reference, lol.)

I volunteered for a small house museum years back and literally on day one they threw me at the clothing collection and told me to dress mannequins and pack textiles. I had very little idea what I was doing, but it was a great learning experience - and one that you're never going to get at a museum internship because they're so much more careful about their objects and access. (Pros and cons, but hey.)

+ As far as I know, you will need an MA to be hired to most conservation positions, but there's no reason you can't get started in the field without it first and make sure that's the degree you want/need. In terms of curatorship/professorship, an MA will get you into small local colleges but for anything larger you'll need a PhD, and that's a big commitment. You have to really like academia to get one of those suckers! As far as I'm aware, there are no stipended MA programs and only one PhD program (Bard) in this specific field that pays, so again, you have to be fiscally comfortable (or willing to go into debt and work two jobs) to get an advanced degree in the subject. It's a vicious cycle that keeps a lot of people out, and institutions can afford to keep it up because it's so competitive. +

All that said, historic sewing is a fantastic way to get into the field because knowledge of construction and technique gives you an excellent understanding of historic dress, and hand sewing techniques are essential for conservation. You're already on the right track!

If you want any book recs, off of the top of my head Refashioning and Redress and The Care and Display of Historic Clothing are two great, readable volumes.

Let me know if you have any other questions, but hopefully this helps!

[miyamiwu]

I have some unpopular opinions. Sorry that they're long and became a bit ranty.

I like Igaguri and the Wanima brothers.

I wish Reo got more meaningful interactions with characters besides Nagi, it feels like atm he has no friends outside of Nagi (RIP Zantetsu, Chigiri is Nagi's friend but hasn't been shown as being more than "friend of a friend" with Reo). He's one of the best-written characters (especially whenever Nagi isn't in the scene), it's sad how he's so often reduced by some fans to just being a Nagi simp whose entire world revolves around Nagi and who will die if Nagi spends even a millisecond breathing the same air as Isagi.

Nagi and Chigiri's friendship is underrated and I wish we got to see more of it. It's just a genuine normal friendship, Chigiri is Nagi's first normal friend with no strings attached, they just became friends by fooling around. They even continue hanging out (with Bachira too) after Isagi leaves to see Tada-chan despite Nagi saying he was going to leave too.

Rin-Isagi is the most boring of all the rivalries in the series. Their personalities, designs and playstyles don't clash enough for what is seemingly set up as being the story's main rivalry. It also doesn't help how one-sided it is for most of the story and we don't get to see any of it after Rin acknowledges Isagi as a rival. They feel too similar atm, so it comes across more as a minor rivalry (like Niko-Isagi) instead of a major one (Kaiser-Isagi, Shidou-Rin).

Speaking of Rin rivalries, Rin-Bachira could have been a great one. Bachira needs a proper rival, he's pretty friendly with most of the relevant cast and outside of Isagi, none of his relationships with the rest of the cast really stand out except for him being a bit passive-aggressive with Rin and Shidou. He has a lot of personality, design and playstyle clashes with Rin that it would have been fun to watch/read. A bit of a wasted opportunity.

Hey @08theverysmallhuman here’s a fellow Igaguri fan. As for the Wanima brothers, I don’t really have much of an opinion on them. We haven’t seen big bro in a while.

And Reo is friends with Isagi! We don’t see them together much, but these two has had several meaningful conversations. This one is my favorite:

We’ve also seen Reo reach out to Kunigami:

I agree with you though that Reo deserves more friends! He’s more than just a Nagi simp.

And oh, I’d love to see more of Nagi and Chigiri just hanging out. Maybe we’d get to see more of it if the manga shows us the aftermath of the Germany vs England match on nagireo’s side. I think Nagi and Reo are gonna have another conflict soon. When that happens, Chigiri can be there for Nagi.

As for the Rin-Isagi rivalry, I actually think it’s similar to Kaiser-Isagi but of a lower level since Kaiser is on a higher level. Both the Rin and Kaiser rivalries are similar in that Rin and Kaiser are basically just better versions of Isagi. What Isagi learns from both of them is a more advanced way of seeing the field–improved spatial awareness, so to speak.

And actually, I don’t think Rin is Isagi’s main rival. Rin is only the main rival in the Second Selection and u20 arc. In the NEL arc, the main rival is Kaiser.

After ch202, I think we’ll see more variety in the Isagi rivalries where it isn’t just Isagi vs Better Isagi. Isagi has achieved metavision, which is probably the peak of his spatial awareness weapon. Now, he needs to work on his physical skills to really be the best striker.

May I also push my agenda that Isagi’s main rival/final boss is going to be Bachira? Bachira is a very skilled player, and skills are what Isagi lacks the most. Not to mention the contrast in how they operate: logic vs intuition. There’s a lot of build-up for it too. I’m gonna have to write a meta on it someday.

And yesss, I also really want Bachira to have his own rival. Rin-Bachira would be interesting, but so is Kaiser-Bachira. But those two are already Isagi’s, so I hope the rival is a new character or a character not yet explored much. I’m hoping it’s Aomori’s Messi, Nishioka, who we are yet to see. Bachira-Ness and Bachira-Kurona would be good if author wants to explore Bachira’s midfielder potential. But personally, I prefer if it’s a striker vs striker rivalry. And seriously, among the list of possible striker rivals, only Bachira-Isagi has been built up a lot.

[v1ntagecassette]

give up what you love (before it does you in)

Chapter: 1/?

Summary: 

A new hire has turned up at the Crow's Nest Bookshop, and he looks utterly terrified to be here. A new customer has turned up at the Crow's Nest Bookshop, and she's profoundly distracting. A new Barrel boss has turned up at the Crow's Nest Bookshop, and he's about to raze it all to the ground.

Words: 3.4k

When Kaz entered the bookshop to see an entirely unfamiliar face peering back at him from behind the counter, he knew today was going to be a long one.

Save for the yellowy glow of the hanging lamp over the register, the building was still dark. Weak morning sunlight spilled inside through the little glass panes in the door behind him, fighting its way through the smoggy clouds that always settled themselves over Ketterdam this time of year. Whoever watched Kaz approach from the other end of the shop was certainly dressed for the weather; he wore a thick jumper in coppery autumnal oranges, his hands half-hidden in its sleeves.

“Morning,” said the mystery boy, giving a halfhearted wave. He attempted (rather poorly) to play it off like he was scratching at the back of his head of golden curls when Kaz didn’t return the gesture, only kept stalking his way toward the coat hooks that were tucked behind the fiction shelves.

The thunk of Kaz’s cane along the warped old wood seemingly alerted Per Haskell to his presence (never mind that Kaz arrived at precisely nine and a half bells each morning — on the days Haskell actually bothered to turn up around opening, he tended to be far too busy with his morning glass of whiskey to notice the goings-on out on the floor). The old man emerged from the back office with a little wooden dowel in his right hand, and he clapped his left against this new boy’s shoulder hard enough to make him wince.

“Ah,” said Haskell, gesturing toward Kaz with what must have been the mast of his newest model ship. (The thing took up a frankly embarrassing amount of space in the already-too-small back office; Kaz dreamed of the day he could bash his cane into its half-finished hull.) He sounded about as thrilled to see Kaz as he did any day when he got bored enough to set foot on the floor. “Here he is. The lad himself.”

Kaz arched a brow at him. “It seems I’m not the only lad on the premises this morning.”

“Indeed you’re not,” Haskell agreed. “This” — he gave the boy’s shoulder a little jostle — “is Wylan. He’ll be taking up a part-time position here as of fifteen minutes ago.”

Those fifteen minutes had clearly taken their toll; this kid looked like a newborn deer on an open field, and he eyed each bookshelf like their contents were going to try and eat him. “Hi,” he said, doing his very best to covertly wiggle out of Haskell’s grasp. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Kaz didn’t bother to acknowledge him. He bit down on the comment he longed to make about a new hire being made without so much as consulting him and swallowed it hard. “Has he had any training?”

Haskell let out a bark of a laugh. “That’s your job, Brekker, not mine.”

“Of course, sir.” So much for alphabetizing poetry before opening.

“Sir,” Haskell repeated with an inelegant chuckle. He relinquished his grip on the boy and gave the register in front of him a smack. “Look at you, putting on a show for the new hire. You should take after Brekker’s theatrics, son,” he added to Wylan. “It just might get you a raise.”

Kaz knew for a fact that it wouldn’t. Wylan, though, clearly eager to please, nodded and gave a small-but-determined “Yes, sir.”

“A quick learner, eh?” A proper, hearty laugh boomed across the shop; the type Haskell reserved for new business partners and people he wanted to impress. The shine would wear off soon enough, but Kaz made a mental note to keep up the honorifics for the next couple of days.

“A valuable skill,” Kaz said flatly. “One among many, I hope.”

There seemed to be something particularly interesting taking place on the ground between Wylan’s shoes, if the kid’s unblinking stare toward the floor was anything to go by.

“I suppose I’ll leave you boys to it,” said Haskell. (Kaz fought not to bristle — twenty-two, surely, was old enough for him to have graduated from boy.) “Got some important paperwork to get squared away.”

That one nearly received an eye roll. Kaz had been doing this shop’s bookkeeping for just over four years now; any paperwork Haskell planned to work on likely involved a single signature at the bottom of a document Kaz had prepared and printed, or a glance over a spreadsheet Kaz had drafted up that would sit idle on the office’s computer monitor while the old man took a nap in his desk chair.

“Show him the ropes, Brekker,” Haskell said as he ambled off. “Quick crash course, then get him out on the floor.”

Right, of course, because he could absolutely teach this kid all there was to know about the register and the system and the shelving and everything else in — he checked the clock that hung over the creaky green front door — twenty-three minutes.

“Thank you, Mr. Haskell,” Wylan called after him, fiddling with a loose thread at the sleeve of his jumper. He didn’t turn his back on the office door until the old man pulled it closed.

Kaz heaved a sigh and limped around the books that separated the coat hooks from the rest of the shop. He shook his coat from his shoulders, granting himself precisely five seconds to hang it up and scrub a hand through his hair before making his way behind the counter, where Wylan waited quietly with an air of anxiety hanging over him like fog on the harbor.

From a single glance, it’d been clear that this new hire was almost sickeningly polite. Kaz had begun bracing himself for a handshake the moment he laid eyes on the kid; it was more than clear he’d be the sort to introduce himself formally, most likely out of some learned sense of obligation. There was a certain reluctance about him — a need to make a good impression. His wide blue eyes darted repeatedly from Kaz to the office door and back again, and his reddish brows had a permanent, apologetic crease between them, almost as though he were asking forgiveness for occupying space in the shop. Whatever stone he’d been hewn from, it wasn’t the same sort that cobbled the Barrel’s streets.

“Hi,” he said, holding out a hand. “I’m Wylan.”

Kaz shook it shortly, grasp and release. “So I’ve heard.” He elected to ignore the way Wylan’s attention lingered for just a moment too long on his glove.

“And… sorry, what was your name?”

“Kaz Brekker.” Wylan would know that if he’d ever once set foot in this establishment before; Kaz’s name was scattered all about the place on the little shelf talkers that recommended certain books. (Haskell had been terribly opposed to them, but he stopped complaining once titles that had lived on the shelves long enough for their pages to go yellow were suddenly getting restocked weekly.)

“You’re the manager, then?” Wylan asked.

According to Per Haskell? No. He was a bookseller at best and a nuisance at worst. According to the bills, the payroll, the deliveries, the decor, and the time last winter when Kaz had come into the shop at four bells in the morning to call in an emergency repair for a burst heating pipe? Yes. Very much so. For Wylan’s sake, Kaz elected to abbreviate. “More or less.”

“Cool,” Wylan said, and with that, he seemed to have expended his bank of small talk. Kaz would’ve been happy with the silence, but he figured he should at least try to make conversation. Jesper was always on his hide about how curt Kaz was with the customers.

“So,” he said, propping his cane against its corner beside the register as he booted up the dusty old computer, “Haskell’s been hiring?”

“I guess.” The thread on Wylan’s cuff was growing ever longer; he’d have the whole sleeve unraveled by lunch if he kept this up. “He said you’d been talking about bringing someone new on board for a while now.”

“Did he?”

“Yeah, something about… new blood, I think he said? Being good for morale?”

Kaz leaned down to turn on the receipt printer, chewing that over. “Per Haskell,” he said, “hasn’t listened to a word of advice I’ve given him since the day he took me on. I’ve been one bad customer away from putting out my own damn help wanted listing for the better part of two years. And yet” — Kaz peered over his shoulder — “he took your application in a heartbeat.”

“Sounds like I got lucky.” Wylan’s poker face was in desperate need of work, but Kaz wouldn’t put him through the wringer just yet. He turned back toward the monitor.

“Do you have a preferred genre?” he asked, straightening up. “Any particular wheelhouse?” Kaz had dropped a hundred hints about taking on someone more versed in the science and maths section for months, but to no avail. Maybe, for once in his life, the old man had taken note.

“Oh, ehm. I like… I like fiction?”

Naturally. “Fiction,” Kaz repeated.

“Yep.”

Everyone and their mothers liked fiction. That wasn’t much to go on. “Adult? Children’s? Literary? Historical?”

“I sort of read all over.”

Kaz actually had to take a moment to close his eyes and breathe. Why in Ghezen’s name had Haskell hired this kid? The way he paled at each question made Kaz wonder if he even read at all. Kaz put his back to the computer as it finished sputtering to life, and the moment Wylan realized Kaz’s eyes were on him again, he snapped to attention.

“But if you need someone to, um, cover a certain section, or something,” he said in a rush, “I can be wherever you need me.”

It was difficult to place exactly what energy Wylan was giving off. Anxious, maybe, but not just about starting a new job. Eager to please, but that seemed more innate than conditional. Reading people was a skill Kaz had carefully honed over the years; no matter how closely he scrutinized Wylan’s tone and expression and posture, though, he just couldn’t parse out why this boy looked as though he’d walked into an ambush unarmed.

“Noted,” Kaz said. He retrieved his cane and stepped out onto the floor; as expected, Wylan followed close behind. “Get those switches flipped on,” he said, nodding toward the six wooden pillars wrapped in string lights that stood sentry around the center of the shop. “I’ll get the door.”

It admittedly wasn’t unpleasant to have someone around to assist with the more menial morning duties. Jesper rarely turned up to open — he wasn’t the most punctual of employees, and mornings were never terribly busy, anyway — but with Wylan around, all Kaz really needed to worry about was turning the open sign and unlocking the door. By the time he was done, Wylan had finished with the lights and had taken to standing entirely still with a lost sort of look on his face. Kaz just brushed past him, heading toward the back half of the shop to get that section squared away, too.

“Jesper mans middle readers’,” Kaz said as he walked, “but you’re welcome to assist in that department. He’s got a habit of stacking enough recommendations into customers’ arms to tip them over. It gets a bit overwhelming.”

“Jesper?” Wylan repeated. “Not Jesper Fahey?”

Kaz paused in the act of pulling the chain on a hanging lantern. “You know him?”

“Not really,” said Wylan. He was prodding at a handful of children’s fantasy books, trying to make them all sit evenly in a row. “I just — we have class together. Or had class together, I suppose. At the university? I haven’t seen him in a month or two.”

“Interesting.” Kaz would file that away for later.

“Speaking of the university,” Wylan said, tugging on a paperback to line up its spine with the edge of the shelf, “do you go? I would’ve thought I’d’ve seen you around.”

I’m too old for school, came an unwanted echo from the back of Kaz’s head. Too smart, too. Maybe little pigeon Kaz had taken that to heart. “No,” he said, and he set back off for the register.

“Mr. Haskell mentioned training,” Wylan said, still dogging Kaz’s every step. At least he knew when to drop a topic of conversation.

“That he did.” Kaz nodded toward the computer screen. “Have you ever worked a point-of-sale system?”

“No.”

Kaz considered him. “Ever worked at all?”

“Um. Also no.”

It took a concerted effort for Kaz to refrain from pinching the bridge of his nose. Though he longed for the simplicity of a morning spent doing anything other than training some doe-eyed university boy, it seemed fate wouldn’t be granting him that luxury today. “Alright,” he said. “Then we’ll start from square one.”

The following hours were blessedly quiet — they usually were this early in the day, but Kaz had learned to take small victories where he could find them. He gave Wylan a short tour of the shop, which Wylan spent scratching away at a small notepad, diligently scribbling down… something. He held it too close to his chest for Kaz to see, even when he didn’t think Kaz was looking. (Kaz would have to find a time to pickpocket it off him some time soon.)

Wylan was a quick enough learner; he could count back change in his head, which Kaz respected more than he’d ever admit aloud, and he picked up processing returns without trouble. His seemingly subconscious seeking of approval meant that he was dedicated and determined; by all counts, he was shaping up to be a pretty decent employee.

Issues began to arise, however, when Kaz showed him the inventory and the distributor sites. Wylan grew flustered when Kaz suggested he search up a book he was familiar with in order to learn how the system categorized the sections, and more flustered still when Kaz proffered a specific title for him to type in. What little tension had seeped from his body over the past handful of hours returned to it tenfold as his hands hovered motionless over the keyboard.

“Sorry,” Wylan kept saying, “sorry, sorry, I’m just a bit nervous.”

Kaz saw no point in causing the new hire psychological distress on his first day, and frankly, it was too early in the day to try and puzzle out why the kid was wound so tight. He cut his losses and dug a duster out of the back room, then extended it to Wylan handle side out. He’d been trying to get Jesper to clean up the lower shelves for longer than he cared to quantify; maybe having an extra set of hands on deck, no matter how suspicious their arrival had been, wasn’t the worst thing.

As it turned out, Wylan was incredibly diligent. He kept to himself as Kaz did his usual paperwork and order-placing, only drifting back toward the counter when the odd customer showed up to watch Kaz make sales over his shoulder. Wylan was somewhere in the far back of the shop when Jesper finally took it upon himself to waltz inside, wearing absurdly patterned trousers and an even more absurd jacket to guard against the early autumn chill.

“Morning!” he called out far louder than he needed to.

“It’s half past twelve bells,” Kaz noted.

“And I just rolled out of bed. Hence: morning.” Jesper sauntered up to the counter and dropped a brown paper bag atop it. Kaz lifted a brow.

“What’s this?”

“Breakfast,” Jesper replied, reaching inside and digging out a croissant frosted with chocolate. “You know. That thing people eat in the morning. I got you some, too. Chocolate-free, just for you, Dirtyhands.”

Kaz made no move to reach for the bag. “If you make a mess of a single book cover —”

“I won’t!” Jesper insisted. A drop of chocolate chose that moment to land on his knuckle. “I solemnly swear to thoroughly wash my hands,” he said, crossing his heart with his croissant-free index finger.

“Ghezen help you if you don’t,” said Kaz.

There was a creak from behind him as Wylan passed through the little swinging door between the children’s section and the counter, presenting Kaz with what looked like a recently deceased rabbit. “Are there more of these dust-y things?” Wylan asked, sliding the once-yellow (now gray) disposable cover from the duster’s handle.

“Supply closet.” Kaz had busied himself with cracking open a new roll of coins, but he could feel Wylan’s questioning eyes on him from where he stood. “The door tucked between the coat hooks. The handle has a habit of sticking.”

Wylan nodded. He nearly made it four steps away from the counter before Jesper intercepted him, arms folded, chin up, seeming intrigued by the way Wylan froze on the spot like a small animal caught digging through the bin.

“Morning,” Jesper said again, his gray eyes glittering with interest. “Who might you be, O stranger behind the register?”

“Oh, um, hi. We’ve actually — Hi. I’m Wylan.” His arm jerked slightly, like he had been planning to shake hands but decided against it once he noticed that Jesper was holding what must have been the world’s messiest croissant.

“Wylan?” said Jesper. “Wylan who?”

“Van Eck,” Kaz said without looking up.

“Wh — I never told you that.” Wylan whipped his head around to face him; there was a mildly distressed expression on his face (which Kaz, of course, didn’t see).

Kaz shrugged, shaking the coins into the till. “Didn’t need to.”

“Van Eck?” said Jesper. “As in high-and-mighty merch Van Eck?”

“Yep,” Wylan said to his shoes.

“The Van Eck whose smarmy face is plastered all around Ketterdam? The one who’s gunning for a spot at the head of the Merchant Council?”

“That’d be the one.” The tips of Wylan’s ears had gone noticeably pink.

“Huh.” Jesper ripped a hunk off his croissant and took a thoughtful bite. “What’s a merchling like you doing in retail?”

“Working,” Wylan said shortly.

Jesper snorted. “Well, paint me red and call me Mister Crimson,” he said, nudging Wylan in the side with his elbow. “Welcome to the world of the working man.”

“Thank you.” Wylan cleared his throat and rocked back on his heels. “I’m, um. I’m going to go get that duster.” He vanished behind the fiction shelves without another word.

“Bit twitchy, that one, isn’t he?” Jesper said, hopping up to sit on the counter. “I’d love to know how he landed here.”

“So would I,” said Kaz, sliding the drawer shut with a clatter.

Jesper spun around to face him, legs crossed, pointedly ignoring the way Kaz glared at him for putting his shoes up on the counter. “What, did you not hire him yourself?”

“No. Haskell sprung him on me first thing this morning.”

“A classic Haskell move,” Jesper said sagely. “D’you think he’ll be a good fit, at least?”

“That’s to be determined.”

“Whatever you say.” Jesper crammed the rest of his croissant into his mouth and dropped back down to the floor, nudging the pastry bag back in Kaz’s direction. “Give this to the newbie if you’re just gonna let it go stale.”

Kaz snatched up the bag and set it behind the counter. “Wash your hands, Jesper.”

He was met with a wink and a dazzling smile as Jesper saluted him with a chocolate-frosted hand. “Will do.”

Next chapter

Read it on wattpad and ao3

A/N:

uh oh! it's the beginning of my lowercase titles era. i very much lifted this title (and the names of all the chapters) from the new fall out boy album. please be supportive of my brave and groundbreaking choice.

this fic has been spinning in circles at the back of my brain since i read pyrrhlc's "latte art," and it's already like 14k words long as of when i'm posting the first chapter. i'm going a little bit crazy. i work in a bookstore and i love bookstores and i also love kaz brekker, so of course i'm going to make him work in one, too. of course i am. welcome to retail, motherfucker.

man, it sure is weird that wylan van eck is working at a bookshop. what's all that about?

[danielfuckingricciardo]

Rise Like A Phoenix - Chapter One

Pairing - Jenson Button x Reader + Charles Leclerc x Reader + Daniel Ricciardo x Reader

Word Count - 1305

Content Warning - Violence, swearing, sexual references, torture mention

Synopsis - When a German agent goes missing investigating a diplomat’s disappearance, you are asked to take the case as your old adversary is revealed to be the one to blame. However, you soon find out that you will not be working alone, and will have to complete your mission with the help of agent Charles Leclerc.

Author’s Note - So sorry this is kinda late!! I wanted to post it around five U.K. time but I ended up going out for dinner after getting a tattoo with my friend… oopsies? I might schedule the rest of the fic just in case I’m busy and forget to post, which is very likely to happen as anyone who knows me would be able to tell you. Anyway, here’s chapter one, aka the call to adventure as Joseph Campbell would call it! Enjoy!!

Chapter One - By Any Means Necessary

You were never called to Jenson’s office unless you had done something bad, or someone else had done something even worse. Considering you hadn’t committed any acts which, if you were a normal person, would certainly have landed you in jail, you assumed there was some serious shit about to go down.

You, of course, were far from a normal person. For the past two years you had been a field agent working at MI6, the United Kingdom’s secret service agency, your identity hidden from public knowledge, and a license to kill bestowed upon you in the name of homeland security. You were a spy, and a damn good one too.

Intelligence agencies from across the world had already staked their interest in your career, offering you better jobs prospects and perks, and salaries that had so many zeroes in them your jaw dropped at the sight of them. But every offer you received, Jenson always made sure to match. You were his best, his most reliable, even if sometimes you were rather unconventional in your methods and went against orders, he had made it very clear that he would do anything to keep you under his employment.

As you walk through the corridors of the MI6 building towards the ornate mahogany doors of Jenson’s office, your heels clicking and announcing your presence growing ever closer with each step, you wonder just what he wants you to do this time. Would it be an underground terror threat? A high-class drug trafficking ring? A kidnapping? Or maybe some technological hacking nonsense you couldn’t quite understand? The possibilities racing through your mind excited you greatly. The danger of it all, always having to think ahead, use your skills and brilliant mind to take down the enemy: that was your favourite part of the job. You were a spy, and you fucking loved it.

You make eye contact with Jenson’s secretary, a blonde woman who was intently rubbing some expensive looking hand cream into her skin. She offers you a smile and a nod, prompting you to enter the office. She knew, of course, that he had summoned you, and the fact that he was not engaged in some meeting that had overran or some angry sounding phone call meant that it must be serious. Someone, perhaps everyone, was in danger.

Knocking on the door, as always, before entering had become your way of signalling to your boss that it was in fact you who had arrived. Many of your colleagues tended to burst right in. Something that you had discovered to your annoyance and shame when agent Hamilton had stormed in on you while positioned between your boss’ legs beneath his desk. You had spent an hour hidden beneath his cramped desk waiting for Lewis to finally finish his rant and storm out again. After that, you had promised to only take part in such activities with your boss out of working hours, or, when the two of you were feeling particularly desperate, to always check that the door was locked first.

Meetings of that nature were always planned covertly via text. You had a few code words you’d send to one another to organise hook ups so no-one would become suspicious. That’s how you knew that this meeting was specifically work related and not some midday booty call, though you were secretly hoping thats how this meeting would end. If you were going away for a while on a mission, getting fucked on your boss’ desk would certainly be the best kind of send off.

“Enter” You hear from behind the door, and you push down the lever, revealing your boss sat at his desk, a disgruntled look on his face, a man you had never seen before stood opposite him.

“This is agent (y/l/n), she’s my finest agent, and she’ll be working the case.” Jenson says as you approach his desk, taking a quick glance at the man who stood beside you.

His brow was furrowed, a look of distress and anguish in his eyes which seemed old beyond his years. He’d clearly seen some shit in his time for a man who appeared only to be in his mid thirties.

“Ah, i’m familiar with miss (y/l/n), I’ve followed her career quite closely, and I was keen to have her come work for us, but you were obviously very keen for her to remain here.” He says, glancing over at Jenson whose face was struggling to remain expressionless.

The man extends his hand to you and you shake it firmly, nodding your head to him and offering him a small smile.

“I’m Sebastian Vettel, head of the BND in Germany. We’ve corresponded in the past but never met in person before. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“Likewise, It’s nice to finally put a face to the name.” You say, smiling warmly at him, “I wish it could be under better circumstances, judging by the occasion of our meeting I can assume something is very much wrong.”

“You are sadly, correct, (y/n). Yesterday evening, an agent of the BND went missing. He had been investigating the disappearance of a German government official when his disappeared. No phone signal, no contact, even his tracking chip that was implanted in his neck went dead.” Jenson says, and your eyebrows furrow.

“Tracking chips? We should do that, sounds like a good idea, but back to the point, why have you come to me to find him? Isn’t this a case that the BND should be dealing with?” You ask.

“Well, we thought the same, until we saw this. The last thing the agent did before he went missing was to record a video. Their tech guys were able to salvage a short portion of the footage from the cloud, it was only two seconds long, but they made a positive identification match on one of the men in it and sent it straight to us. It’s him.” Jenson says, and your blood runs cold.

You clench your fists beside you as you attempt to control you breathing. After all this time, two years of being missing and presumed dead, he shows up once again to make your life hell. The man you had spent your life trying to escape, the man who had haunted your dreams every night since you had broken free, the man who had tortured and beaten you to the brink of death. He was back. Edmund Fortescue was back and he would never leave you alone.

“(Y/n)? Are you okay?” Jenson asks, and you nod firmly, unable to speak as you may simply burst into tears.

“I’m aware of your history with Fortescue, you know him better than anyone out there, and I truly believe you will be the one to take him down for good this time. We’re depending on you, (y/n), to bring back my agent and the politician he kidnapped, by any means necessary.” Sebastian says.

“I can get him. But I can’t promise you I’ll be able to take him alive. If I see him, it‘ll take every ounce of my self control to not shoot him dead that very moment.” You say through gritted teeth.

“Men like Fortescue don’t deserve your mercy, that bastard’s escaped capture more times than I can count. Do what you have to do.” Jenson says, and you nod to him.

“Call George, let’s get started. The sooner I can kill that fucker, the sooner your agent can sleep safely in his bed.” You say, and Jenson stands from his desk, giving you a reassuring nod and a smile.

Next Chapter