#finally finished downloading these and i am beside myself with how GOOD the quality gets after the aspect ratio changes holy

[kohakhearts]

high touch! 💛💙

[wonderful-wells-writing]

Fanclub; Chapter 1

EoWells x Reader

Some of the STAR Labs employees have a secret fanclub where they discuss Harrison Wells and share pictures they take when they think he isn't looking. Problem is it's not quite as secret as they think it is. The man himself seems to have taken an interest in the the little group, finding it to be the perfect place to find willing partners to satisfy his needs. And you're his next pick.

Work is dying down for the evening at STAR Labs. Chemists are checking that all the storage units are set to the proper temperatures. Engineers are making sure that everything that needs to be powered down is. Lab techs are cleaning up their stations. But nearly everybody is discussing their plans for the weekend.

There is one worker who is not engaging in such conversations. You are currently crammed between two sections of machinery, determined to get this wiring finished before leaving for the day. That way, Monday, bright and early your team can start doing test runs.

You are not engaging in conversation with others but rather are talking to yourself as you work. “Some red over here, blue wire over there.” Your grin would light up the room if anybody could see it. “I just love when a color-coded array comes together.” There’s a buzz on your right butt-cheek, and you squeal in surprise.

“Everything alright in there?” One of the other scientists looks up from the desk.

“Yeah, Bri,” you extract yourself from the machine parts. “My phone just went off, and I thought something shocked me.”

“Girl, I can not tell you how often that happens to me,” Bri takes her purse from a drawer and a jacket off the chair. “So, what are your plans for the weekend. More number crunching?”

You pull your phone from your back pocket. “Actually my college roommate is having a bachelorette party tonight. So I said I would swing by the bar for a bit.”

“Sounds fun,” Bri gives a wave before heading to the door. “Don’t party too hard.”

She returns the wave before opening a group chat app on her phone to see what the notification is about.

KittyCat42; O.M.G did you see Dr. Wells today? a shirt THAT tight can not be workplace appropriate!!!

Attached is a photo taken from a smartphone at an angle in which the subject does not seem to be aware their picture is being taken. Dr. Harrison Wells is leaning over a desk, examining something on a monitor. Kitty is right; his shirt is very tight, his biceps bulge through the long black sleeves.

You grin, considering sending a reply, but another message comes in first.

YummyBitch73; Think he’s got plans? Looking that good, he’s got to be going out tonight.

Your thumbs move across the screen to type a quick response.

BabyDoll14; Maybe he has a date tonight?

KittyCat42; wonder who the lucky girl is?

You lean against a nearby workbench, smirking at the screen.

---

On the other side of the lab, somebody picks up their phone to check the barrage of notifications coming in. They chuckle before adding their own two cents.

Speedy22: Hey, who knows, it could be a lucky guy.

YummyBitch73: Oh you wish, he is a lady killer through and through

BabyDoll14: I mean, who are we to judge if it’s a lucky lady or gent. Maybe he swings one way, maybe he swings both ways. Who cares, we’re just here to talk about his ass behind his back.

“Speedy’ nods, almost respecting the woman on the other side of the screen for staying objective about objectifying her boss.

Speedy22: Speaking of ass, I got this one yesterday

He opens his gallery and scrolls until an ‘appropriate picture is found. A nice shot of Dr. Wells from behind; the quality is incredible for a smartphone shot. The man’s shirt is riding up, showing a nice strip of the skin of his back, even a bit of where his boxers rise above the waistband of his hands.

YummyBitch73: Damn Speedy, you always get the good ones. You’ll have to teach me some photography lessons sometime.

KittyCat42: what kind of camera are you using? The quality is so gooooood.

“Hey,” a woman’s voice draws his attention away from his device. “Are you staying late again tonight?”

Harrison Wells takes a breath to look her up and down, mentally running through his mind all the employees to try and remember who it is at his office door. “I’ll be headed out soon; I just have to wrap some things up.”

He recalls who she is when he sees the look she’s giving him. Brianna Masters, a specialist working down in Lab C. She would have had to go out of her way to get to his office before leaving. Self-proclaimed president of the Dr. Wells Fanclub, he had just been interacting with the group chat of; after the former president left with a job offer at Mercury Labs. She had been making goo-goo eyes at him since her interview three months ago.

“Well,” Bri twirls a curl of her hair, fluttering her eyelashes. “Harrison, you know I was wondering if you might like to take me out to get some drinks tonight?”

Dr. Wells tries to hide his displeasure at the thought. She wasn’t his type, physically, mentally, emotionally, “I have plans in the morning that require a clear head. Miss. Masters. Now is there anything of importance that you need?” The man was not adverse to flights of fancy to pass the time; he wouldn’t be keeping an eye on the little Fanclub of his if he wasn’t willing to look for ‘interested parties,’ but this particular woman has been of no real interest to him.

For reasons such as how she pouts at his response, “Well, having fun is important.” She mutters before wandering off down the hall, turning her attention to her phone.

YummyBitch73; holy Shit! He just asked me out for drinks. It sucks so much that I have to drive out to Coast City; I”d have taken him up in a heartbeat otherwise.

----

Back in Lab C, you finally finish with the maintenance on the machine. You check your phone once more while heading over to the desk and nearly cackle at what you’re reading. Everybody knows that Bri is full of shit, but there’s no point in calling it out and causing discourse.

You mute the phone to focus on your computer. While humming a quiet tune, you work on moving files to the USB stick plugged into the monitor.

“Fuck,” you whisper, seeing the download time in comparison to the clock on the screen. Of course, you could just leave it be, take the weekend off. It’s not like you get paid extra to run calculations at home.

17 minutes later

“Nonononono, wait, please!” You’re half running to the street as the bus pulls away, leaving you in the illuminated circle of a streetlamp, cursing yourself. That was going to be the last bus coming this way for the night. If you walk home, you’ll never make it in time to change for the party. You might not even make the event at all. You pace up and down the sidewalk, contemplating your options.

A car pulls up beside you, tinted window rolling down, “Need a lift?”

You stop, shocked, “Oh, no I…” you pause, looking through the window, “Dr. Wells, hi...hey.” You swallow your pride. “I would really love to get a ride on-with, with you.” Internally you cringe at how that came out, but figure he probably wouldn’t have heard such a minor slip.

The lock clicks open, and you reach for the door.

“Maple Apartments on South 11th street, right?” Harrison glances at you as you get in the car.

You pause before shutting the door, “do I want to know how you know that?”

He laughs, and you jump a bit at it, “I can see how that would sound a little suspicious.” His smile is reassuring, and his blue eyes are kind behind his glasses. “It was on your registration forms when you started. I enter new employee data myself. Total recall can be useful even for small matters.”

You breathe a sigh of relief, shutting the door and buckling in. “I really appreciate this Dr. Wells, I would have been so late tonight if I didn’t get home to change soon.”

“Bit plans tonight?” Harrison asks as he starts driving. Truth is he had suspected you’d be missing her bus. He had seen you running after the last bus or driven past you walking home numerous times out his way out. You had quite the habit of working until the absolute last moment.

You smile, twiddling your thumbs to keep your hands occupied. “Yeah, I’m meeting a friend at the new bar that opened down the street from my place. She’s getting married soon, and since I can’t make the wedding, I promised I would spend at least a couple hours at her bachelorette party.” You aren’t exactly sure why you’re volunteering this information to your boss. It would be inappropriate to be so casual with him; then again, it’s also inappropriate to be part of a Fanclub that secretly takes pictures of him and talks about how great his ass looks.

Harrison ‘hmms’ in thought. “Why can’t you make it to the wedding?” He glances at you out of the corner of his eye, taking a moment to take in the way you sit, act, look, before returning his eyes to the road.

“Oh, they scheduled it for a Wednesday, so,” you look towards him just moments after he looks away. The first thing you notice is his hair; whenever you’ve seen him in the morning, it’s perfectly combed and straight, but it seems like as the day went on, it began to take on a life of its own. While the back is still nice and neat, the front is sticking out in all kinds of directions.

“You could have asked for the day off,” Dr. Wells offers, “Am I such a terrible boss that you think I”d deny you some vacation after all your hard work?”

You feel a heat rise to your cheeks at what seems to be a compliment to her work ethic, “Oh no, I don’t think that at all. It’s just that, well, we have so much work to do. Every day we get a little closer to your dreams of the particle accelerator, and I want to contribute absolutely everything I can to that dream.” You smile. “You’re going to do such incredible things for the world of science Dr. Wells, and I don’t want to waste any time that could be spent helping you.”

The man is somewhat stunned by this. He’d attributed her long hours and determination to personal ambition. “What about you? Do you want history to remember you for your achievements?”

You bite your lower lip in thought at the question, “I mean sure, it would be nice to be recognized for my contribution, but,” she takes a deep breath, “I’m more concerned about how my work will impact the world, not so much if I’m remembered for it. Anyways you’re the true genius. I can tell that STAR Labs will make big changes and put humanity on a path towards the future. As long as I get to be a part of that, it’s all I really need.”

Harrison does a low chuckle at your sentiment, amused by the naivety. You speak with such hope and wonder and admiration. If you knew the truth, how horrified would you be? The realization of the end goal of the particle accelerator, the effects across history that your determination would wreak.

He grins, “Well, I am glad to have such a dedicated employee, but I do believe that one off day is not going to hurt our progress.”

You purse your lips, “You don’t come down to Lab C very often; you’d be surprised how off the rails things can go when I’m not there. Anyways I would rather work than go to a wedding. It’s not my kind of scene.”

He can sense that you are holding something back but doesn’t press the issue any further. He’s reached your apartment building anyways.

“If you change your mind, I’ll be more than happy to give you the time off,” he says as he parks.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” you reach for the door handle, “oh, and thank you so much for the ride. I really owe you one.”

Dr. Wells makes a mental note about cashing in that favor later. “You just stay safe and enjoy yourself tonight.” He smiles warmly at you as you wave goodbye, but when the door shuts, his grin turns a bit darker. He watches you walk away, eyes tracing the curve of your figure, resting on the beautiful shape of your rear, right up until you disappear into your building.

As he begins to drive away, he catches sight of himself in the rearview mirror. There is something about this form of his that seems to drive the ladies crazy, and he wasn’t opposed to taking advantage of that. While pulling back into the street and driving away, he thinks on his situation.

For 13 years now, Eobard Thawne has been trapped in this god-forsaken time period. For a while, he had focused solely on his mission, rarely interacting with others unless it served a greater purpose. But he was still a man, subject to desire. At first, it was almost enough to make him regret allowing Harrison Well’s wife to die, she could have filled his needs easily. But that woman had been intelligent; she’d have discovered his identity eventually, so allowing her to die had been for the best.

Still, after a few years of isolation, Thawne had found the need unbearable and began seeing ways to fill the hole that was forming in his chest. Little flings, one-off nights where he indulged his carnal side, allowed himself the pleasure of another’s body before quickly parting ways with them, when he discovered that a fanclub devoted to him had been formed amongst his employees, that made the whole thing easier.

Joining the group chat under a false name was easy enough. It inflated his ego every time he read them discussing how great they thought he looked, and he was more than happy to provide material for them to gush over. And with that, it was like he had been given a list of women who would fuck him with no questions asked. All he had to do was choose. Of course, he has to be wary of those who might get too clingy or go off telling other people. But it’s not that hard to week those types out of the pack.

Thawne notices magenta neon as he’s driving. A club with a grand opening sign out front. He smiles, knowing that now not only does he have a new prey lure in, but the perfect hunting ground as well.

[shiroe-is-my-baby]

Bonding

Summary: It’s another late night with Tony. Ashley decides to turn on a movie, for the two of them to have some quality time together that she’s rather missed.

W: platonic self ship, familial self ship

((Note: Decided that I needed some fics with my dad. Just some adorable familial shit up in here. Let me know if you guys want me to write more platonic and familial fics. I really like Tony and my insert’s dynamic, and even though they’re not blood related, they still love and care for one another as if they are. And that’s really all that matters. This is just about them bonding, not at all serious.))

“Could you stop smacking so loud? I’m trying to focus here.”

I stopped chewing, glancing over at Tony who was furrowing his brows with tools in his hand. Slowly, I slurped up the rest of the noodles, setting down the container on the coffee table. I swallowed, shifting a bit on the floor and hearing him grumble under his breath as he continued working on his new prototype. Seems like every time I stop by he’s working on something new.

“I don’t smack.”

“Well, you were just a second ago. I’ve just gotta tighten this… and make sure that it doesn’t blow up again. It’d be nice if I could actually focus.”

Rolling my eyes, I folded my legs underneath me and continued to slowly and quietly chew the rest of my food. Tony nodded his head and grumbled a “finally she listens” under his breath. I decided not to make a comment, seeing the furrow in his brow. Tonight wasn’t a night to mess with him. Whatever he was working on must have been difficult, or at least it was proving to be difficult for him.

I tried to tell him that I could come back later, but he insisted that I stay. Not that I don’t mind spending time with him. It’s been a while since we’ve had a moment to sit down and just hang out together. It was too late for me to go home now, and I knew that Tony wouldn’t let me walk home even if I shifted in this late hour.

But if I knew that he was just going to be working all night, then I would have at least brought something to keep me occupied.

“We should watch a movie,” I said, suddenly, “You’ve got popcorn and stuff, right?”

“Yes, of course. You never know when you’re going to have a movie night at your place, right?”

Tony rolled his eyes and I could sense the bubbling sarcasm on his tongue.

“Oh, c’mon, Dad. Don’t tell me you don’t like movies.”

“I never said that. You think I have time to watch movies?”

He motioned with his hands towards all the tools and parts he had laid out in front of him on the table. I bit my lip, glancing around the room. Part of that was true, and part of that was bullshit. I could sense that he had been on edge the entire time I’d been here, and I wasn’t sure if it was because he was frustrated with the project or… something else entirely.

Tony heaved a sigh, setting down the tools and tapping his finger on the table. I continued to eat my food, poking at the noodles and pulling my knee up to my chest. It became extremely quiet. Almost awkward.

“I’m sorry,” He sighed, “I’m just… a little stressed at the moment.”

“It’s okay… maybe it was a bad idea that I came over.”

“No,” He said, sternly, making eye contact with me, “I’m glad that you stopped by. I wanted to see you. Just… gimme a few more minutes, okay?”

He turned his back to me once again to finish up, motioning behind him.

“There’s a couple DVD’s in that drawer over there.”

I snorted a little.

“You still keep DVD’s?”

“Of course I still keep DVD’s! Especially the classics.”

“I’m sorry! I just expected you to have them all just digitally downloaded and refusing to have physical copies.”

“Well, I do have them all downloaded. I’m not an animal.”

He smirked a bit, causing me to laugh rather loudly as I turned my back.

Shifting through the movies that he had, I had him turn on the large screen to allow me to see everything that we had available both physical and otherwise. Most of what he had was classics, stuff that I had never seen, and a few obscure titles that made me reread a couple of times. Finally, I settled on some random action film, knowing that he’d appreciate my choice.

By the time I had made my choice, he was cleaning up his workspace and putting everything away. He leaned down to ruffle my hair, causing me to grumble softly. He chuckled, sipping on the drink in his hands.

“You gonna give me some of that?” I asked.

“You don’t drink whiskey. But I have some wine. It’s red wine, but-”

“That’s fine,” I interjected, “Can you also pop some popcorn. That sounds sooooo delicious right now.”

“Of course it does. Alright, gimme a second.”

I smirked, leaning back a bit on my palms as he walked away. “Love you!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Giggling softly, I waited patiently for him before I started anything up. I had missed the days that I was over here almost every single day when he wasn’t busy at least. We’ve gotten incredibly close over the past couple of years, and I wouldn’t be the person I am now without him. Every time I try to say that, though, he insists that he had nothing to do with it.

It’s easy for me to gloss over that fact and just accept that I made it here on my own. But it would be completely false. I don’t know where I’d be if Tony hadn’t chased me onto that rooftop years ago. Pursing my lips together, I pulled my knees up to my chest and sighed. I’ve always wondered how I was going to thank him for all that he’s done for me. But it would be impossible, considering he would never let me do anything crazy.

So I just stay by his side, and I show my loyalty in any way that I can. Call him out on his bullshit and try to be the best friend and daughter that I can be.

“I can’t believe you actually wanted me to make this. Didn’t you just eat?” He asked, setting down the bowl of freshly popped popcorn into my lap.

“Yeah, but it didn’t really fill me up. Besides, you can’t have a movie and not enjoy some popcorn.”

“Alright, that’s fair. What did you choose, anyway?”

Tony sat down beside me on the floor, sipping on a new drink rather slowly.

“Some spy movie. It looks like it could be good, or really cheesy.”

“Oh, you know that I love cheesy,” He said, sarcastically.

I giggled softly, pushing my elbow into his.

Turning on the movie, I grasped a blanket from nearby and wrapped myself up in it. Tony had the lights dimmed, and the two of us silently watched the movie together.

It ended up being extremely cheesy, but that didn’t make it bad either. Tony ended up chuckling a lot at the terrible jokes and terrible effects. He and I made a few bets about what would happen in the end, whether the main guy would get the girl or the girl would die tragically. We hoped it wasn’t the latter, silently.

A couple drinks in and Tony was extremely hilarious. Laughing at a lot of shit that he normally wouldn’t even laugh at. It was quite humorous to watch, and I giggled a few times at him after my second glass of wine. When the credits rolled, I had somehow ended up resting my head in his lap, sniffling a bit to myself.

“Are you crying?” Tony asked, glancing down at me.

“What? No! No, I’m just… my nose is running.”

“Because you’re crying.”

“No- Okay! Alright, yes I’m crying. But you have to admit that ending was kind of beautiful.”

I sniffled some more, and Tony let out a loud sigh. He ran a hand over my hair, shaking his head at me.

“It was cheesy,” He mumbled.

“Oh, yeah. Very cheesy.”

He laughed, hand brushing a few strands of hair behind my ear.

I yawned a bit, curling up in the large blanket and shutting my eyes tight. Now that the movie was over, I was feeling incredibly tired.

“Hey,” Tony said, shaking me a bit, “Hey, why don’t you go ahead and get in bed. Before you pass out on me and I have to carry you.”

“Could you?” I asked with a smirk, “I’m… too tired to move.”

Tony let out a sigh, shaking his head.

“No, I don’t think so. I’m not carrying you.”

I pushed out my bottom lip into a pout, refusing to move from my spot. I was too comfortable, the warmth of the blanket making it easy for me to drift off into sleep. Tony tried his best to get me to stand up, but I refused to move. He was becoming frustrated, throwing his arm down to his side.

“Ashley, I am not carrying you. I will make you sleep on the floor.”

“Fine, whatever. I’m already comfortable… and falling asleep.”

Tony huffed another sigh, mumbling under his breath about me being difficult. I cracked an eye open, watching him slowly set my head down on the floor as he stood up. Touching his hand to his forehead, he turned off the big screen and gathered a bunch of trash from the table and floor. It was funny watching him continue to grumble as he stomped off, throwing dishes into the sink and trash into a bin.

When he came back into the living room, I had my eyes shut tight once again.

Tony leaned down, sliding his arms underneath me and heaving me up into his arms. I let out a laugh, opening my eyes to see his thinly lipped frown. “Don’t say anything,” He mumbled. I held up my hands, slowly wrapping them around his neck to make sure that I was secure. The last thing I wanted was for him to drop me.

But since I was tired, I ended up resting my head against his collarbone, feeling the wave hitting me once again.

“No need to pretend now,” He mumbled as he carried me towards the guest room, “You got your way.”

“I’m not pretending, Dad. I’m actually tired.”

“Oh.”

I giggled softly, shutting my eyes since I was hardly able to even keep them open at this point.

Somehow he got the door open, turning on the lights and slowly setting me down on the bed. I glanced around the room at the bare and empty guest room. I didn’t expect for it to be full, considering it’s probably hardly ever used in the first place.

“There, happy now?” He asked, “I’m gonna be in the other room if you need me.”

He started to turn around when I called for him again.

“What?” He asked, turning around and seeing my pout.

“You’re not going to tuck me in?”

“Excuse me? Ashley, you’re not five years old. You are a grown woman.”

Narrowing my eyes, I untucked the blankets and threw the sheets over me, flopping down on my side.

“Fine. I just wanted my dad to be nice and tell me goodnight, but nevermind then.”

“Okay, how many glasses of wine did you have?”

“Just two! I’m a little bit of a lightweight, but I’m not drunk.”

Tony rolled his eyes, looking at me as I closed my eyes tight and stopped talking. He must have thought that I was seriously upset with him and not playing it up to be funny. Because his shoulders slumped a bit and he let out another loud sigh that I could hear clearly.

He stepped over to the side of the bed and patted my head, adjusting the covers a bit around me. Turning off the lights, he folded his arms across his chest and watched my sleeping form. I could tell that he knew I was somewhat faking being asleep, but he didn’t bother calling me out on it.

“Thanks for coming tonight, Wolfie. I enjoyed your company. Even if you make it really hard for me to focus,” He said with a chuckle.

“No problem, Dad. Anything for you.”

Tony smiled, ruffling my hair gently in response.

Things got a little quiet, and I could hear his footsteps fading away as he started to exit the room. I shifted a little in the bed, adjusting the pillow just right and feeling the comfortable sheets around me. Of course Tony would have silk sheets. I’d never felt such soft sheets before, and the room was the perfect temperature.

“Goodnight, Wolfie. See you in the morning,” He mumbled, hand on the door.

“Mmm… night, Tony. Love you.”

That last part I mumbled completely subconsciously, already slipping deeper into sleep at this point.

Tony chuckled, slowly shutting the door.

“Love you too, Wolfie.”

[misschaii]

Let’s Talk.

So today I saw this post by @edens-star. And if you haven’t read it yet, please do. I wanted to reblog it but I didn’t want to make this post any longer than it’s going to be already. When I read her post, it really struck a chord with me. Not many people besides my friends know about the struggles I had lately and I think that now that I’m finally happy with my blog, it’s important to shed light on those things. 

Even if you don’t read past this line, just please know that you aren’t the only person that falls into a rut or a hard place with your art, story, blog, etc. And there are so many people around you, including myself, that are here for you. Anyone can come to me about anything, even if I haven’t met you yet. Just remember that.

Now about my journey, I’ve been making CC and running a simblr for almost two years now and man have I seen my content grow and evolve. I myself, had not. Two years later I was still my own worst critic. And honestly, it made me dislike what I do. Making content was one of the things I enjoyed most but becasue of my mentality, it became more of a chore. I like doing it because it’s a great creative outlet, but more often then not, I’d quit my projects or fall into a rut and take ages to finish them. And I couldn’t really figure out why. Until I took a much needed break. I think it was about two months ago, I took a break from creating, even downloading CC and made a new blog. It was so refreshing just starting over. And even though I only have a fraction of my old followers, I’m MUCH happier. And this break even made me realize how good Sims 4 actually looks. I still have a lot of alpha stuff in my game but I find myself almost never using it and finding a whole new appreciation for maxis match content.

I’m a perfectionist. My own worst critic. That’s just who I am. But what you might not know is that I show every single thing that I touch to my friends. They are my judge and jury. They give great input and inspiration when I need it. They also help motivate me to keep doing what I do. And I often show them a thing I am dissatisfied with and almost 95% of the time, the thing I dislike either doesn’t bother them or they just don’t care about the small imperfections that bother me so much. I feel like if the things I make aren’t perfectly perfect then the time and care I pour into them won’t be recognized. But that’s not true. Even if others don’t see it, me and my friends do and they are so proud of me for it. They tell me all the time how much they love the things I make and how much time and effort I put into them and I could never thank them enough for what they do for me. 

I’m so much happier with my content and myself now. I don’t bog myself down with impossible standards or giant projects. If there’s something wrong with something I’m working on, I used to get mad and just stop working on stuff altogether. But that isn’t productive. Now, I just save it and work on something easier and go back to it later while I still have inspiration. I used to upload on a schedule of “when I get it done” but because it took me so long to finish things, it would take ages for me to actually upload them. But now, I use Mondays to work on CC. I’ll knock out a few projects and finish them up to upload when I feel ready. I almost have enough stuff waiting to be uploaded that I could upload twice a week if I wanted for a little while but still have enough content backlogged where I wouldn’t feel pressured to work on stuff if I didn’t feel like it. Some aspects of CC making that I used to avoid are now my favorite parts. Like previews for example, but I’ve found a way to make it less of a pain. Before, I’d hate having to load up my game just to try out one piece of CC, but now I wait until I’ve done a chunk of stuff and test/do previews all at the same time. 

The other thing I struggled with was my style. I felt like I didn’t have one. Every preview I made was different because I couldn’t settle on a style. So I took a step back and simplified things. I’ve simplified the way I take previews. And how I edit them. They’re less cluttered and look much smoother to me now. I just go about doing things differently now and it’s all for the better. I now put out higher quality CC, with better previews, less heartache and less time, and there’s absolutely no change in the time and effort I put into things. This time around I think it shows even more. I’ve learned to finally appreciate myself and my work. I don’t drive myself crazy over tiny little details and I don’t neglect my followers with dry spells. I feel like I have a style I can stick to now. I love the way my previews look. And I feel like with time, someone will be able to look at them and go “That’s one of faerieflower’s previews” and that makes me so happy. I finally found my identity here I think. Or I’m getting there at least. 

If you take anything away from this let it be this:

Take breaks. Even if you don’t think you need one. Time can shed so much light on things and give you a new perspective.

Don’t be scared to try new things. You don’t know unless you try.

Don’t push yourself. Inspiration is a fickle thing, if you force it, it leaves you.

Go where your inspiration takes you. And run it dry. Keep creating while you’re in the mood but don’t neglect yourself and take breaks when you feel like you need one. 

And most importantly, don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re more likely to give up or ruin something you’re working on than anything else. Don’t let yourself do it. Take a step back and get input from others or look at it from a way that isn’t your own. If you’re too hard on yourself, nothing will ever be good enough to you even though it’s perfect to others.

Sorry for the gigantic post today. I just had a lot to share. Thank you all so much for who you are and everything you do. Please message me anytime. <3

[raiseveganus]

Gunas: Who Is the Vegan Lady Boss Dominating the Vegan Handbag Market?

There’s a vegan girl boss ready to dominate the vegan handbag market. Find out more about her here…

I recently had the absolute pleasure to speak with an animal lover, vegan girl boss, and designer and founder of Gunas, Sugandh G. Agrawal. Gunas is an independent high fashion, handbag brand based in NYC. What sets Gunas apart from the rest of the handbag brands in the fashion industry today? Besides their beautiful classic designs with sleek lines and a whole range of colors that will carry you through from one season to the next, Gunas is a brand with a cause. The Gunas brand is cruelty-free, vegan, sustainable and ethical, from the sourcing of materials and manufacturing, right up to the finished product. I’m absolutely obsessed with the dusty pink Cher purse, it’s going on my wishlist. Sugandh is a vegan girl boss to watch, I see great things for her and her brand in the future.

Image provided by Gunas Sugandh- the vegan girl boss ready to dominate the vegan handbag market

How did you come up with the idea of Gunas in the first place? What made you realize that you need a vegan fashion brand?

So I am I’m a trained industrial designer and I was designing appliances for KitchenAid and Whirlpool stove and you know I just kind of decided that I’m going to quit my job and move to New York City and I was a vegetarian back then until I move to New York and I was studying design management at Pratt Institute, and that was really focused around sustainability and design and entrepreneurship. So one day I just happened to meet a handbag designer, we started talking, and I was just like ok I can totally start a handbag line because I love bags, and it was very similar to the products I was even designing before. So I started interning with an independent label here in the city and he specialized in exotic skins and so my first task was to go into the stockroom and rearrange their animal hides and that was the first time that I’d ever seen you know an entire cowhide in front of me or an alligator or ostrich. That was the real eye-opening moment where I just made that connection, that oh my gosh I’m not eating meat, you know. Why am I wearing leather? Growing up in India, I was familiar with the Jain culture. Jains also don’t wear or consume animal by-products of any kind. But we never really made that association, growing up I just thought that was a cultural thing, but that day was a real wake-up moment for me, and I just decided to go back home and rethink my idea of starting a handbag label and I had to connect the two, my passion and my ethics and I just started researching there was really no other brand out there that was talking and this was ten years ago, it’s been a decade now since I’ve been doing this work with Gunas, and there was nobody talking about it, maybe there was a couple of brands that happened to be accidentally vegan, but they weren’t really highlighting the fact that we need to talk about animal cruelty in the fashion world so I just took it upon myself I had no idea how I was going to do it but that was just the start of my first collection. I came up with Fabrics that I use from the upholstery industry or the aviation industry like just looking at all sort of disconnected avenues to really make this happen and, yeah, it’s been ten years since.

Image provided by Gunas

I was looking through your website and came across a line of bags that are made from paper? Can you tell me about that?

Yes, that’s a brand new capsule collection made from mulbtex. Multex and the paper bags, so it’s basically mulberry tree leaf pulp that has been coated onto cotton and it functions exactly like leather, and it’s super lightweight. So it’s called mulbtex, so basically, Mulberry tree leaves are a staple for the silkworm, and once they eat the mulberry leaves they’re killed to extract the fiber from their body which is eventually turned into silk. I have a supplier on Korea and he’s really trying to get this material out there, because it’s cruelty-free, and instead of killing the silkworms you’re extracting soaked protein directly from the mulberry leaf so it’s completely plant-based, there are no plastics in it, unlike pinatex or apple leather, or grape leather that have a huge amount of plastics mixed into them. So it’s completely plant-based and it’s very much paper-lite and it functions beautifully.

Image provided by Gunas

What does being vegan mean to you personally? How does your brand embody this?

So I think Gunas has really been my own personal journey for myself and this whole transition. So I started it as a vegetarian, and then I started visiting farm sanctuaries, and I was just really understanding, my big turning point was going to the Woodstock Farm Sanctuary, when Jenn Brown talked about the egg industry, and at that point I was eating eggs and I was like what’s so cruel about eating eggs? She went through the whole explanation and I was like oh my God, I can’t eat eggs, so I stopped eating eggs and slowly turned into letting go of dairy. I’ve been vegan five years now, vegetarian twenty years before that. Being vegan, for me personally means doing as little harm as possible because we just live in a world today where everything that you look at or dive deeper into you just realize that there’s some form of animal cruelty or nature cruelty happening at some level. So how can we minimize that? How can we reduce our impact on the torture or the abuse of other living beings and our planet in general? I think for me that’s what it means that also means just being compassionate it means being non-judgmental it means sharing my values with others but never enforcing because I feel like being vegan it’s just such a process of self-discovery, you can not just force people into it, they have to really come into it on their own.

Image provided by Gunas

Apart from being a cruelty-free vegan brand, what do you think makes Gunas special in the customer’s eyes?

Gunas really focuses on the Gunas girl and that muse of mine is just so inspired by real-life vegans, in the community. Even our Instagram images or social media images that you see all these girls are real-life vegans and not necessarily models. I’m really learning even from them, you know I’m just one vegan and one person but there are so many other perspectives within the vegan world and I really try to understand who I’m talking to and what their values are and really inviting those within the brand and giving back to the animal welfare world. It’s really like a whole circle, from taking care of where I’m sourcing the fabrics from and who is manufacturing them and how it is marketed and how does it impact the animals and the environment or the main core behind the brand value. So it’s taking all of these aspects into consideration. I think that’s what makes Gunas really special as compared to other other vegan brands on the market.

Image provided by Gunas

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Can you walk us through your manufacturing process? How do you ethically source materials? What steps do you take to make sure all your products are cruelty-free?

When I initially started the brand I was manufacturing in New York in the fashion district itself and the labor cost were so high that I wasn’t able to make the bags affordable and accessible to many people so I went to China for production and I was just taken aback by the working conditions and just basically the ethics of the factories and the workers and everything else. So from there, I went to manufacture in India because that’s where I’m originally from. I converted my parents garage into a studio and started making my line over there, but I just quickly realized that I could not get the quality that I really needed to give vegan fashion a good name. So I moved back to the US and I traveled to Korea because it is really the hub of fashion and quality and a compromise between ethics and really good materials. So I went to Korea I found an artisan studio and there are tons of smaller Artisan Studios that specialize in handbag making. So now we’re sourcing fabrics that are made in Korea or in Germany and Japan and we’re hand-making everything in these smaller Artisan studios in Korea so there a group of multiple families. One family is cutting, one family is sewing the other family is finishing the product. So the all feed off each other, and they all rely on each other. So it’s very ethical in that sense and I visit the factories once or twice every year so I have a personal connection with everyone that’s making making my products.

Image provided by Gunas

How do you ethically source materials?

So especially talking about mulbtex so you know I make sure that I know what the content of the material is. In the past, we’ve used high-quality polyurethane coated canvases, because that’s what was available as a good leather alternative, we don’t use PVC, and you know, so now people are asking us about iwhy are we even using plastics? It really just also depends on what’s available on the market. I can use pinatex, I can use apple leather, I can use other vegetable made non-leathers, but they all have some kind of plastic in it, and that is something that a lot of companies fail to mention in their marketing. There’s plastic binding all that together. I’m still trying to make this mulbtex fabric more marketable and more affordable, I feel like that’s just a better solution than any other Fabrics that’s being used as an alternative leather right now.

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Your brand looks like the personification of your personal values. How did you dabble into this space? We’d like to know about your personal journey so far.

So like I mentioned earlier, Gunas lead me into this path and I just feel like, I just feel like I didn’t create Gunas, Gunas found me. II really do feel so, because even the name itself is such an incredible story. I wanted to name the brand you know something that was connected to my name and I was like okay my name is a Hindi word and not very easy to pronounce, to understand. So I put my letters on a piece of paper and I was re-arranging them and I came up with the word Gunas, and I had no idea what it meant, so I googled it, and I was just so shocked to see that it is a Sanskrit word and it had such a deep spiritual meaning in Hinduism and it means qualities of nature and if anyone is into yoga or meditation they would have definitely heard it before. I really feel like this brand found me and I didn’t find it so it’s been guiding me and pushing me into this direction of being compassionate and cruelty-free, and showing the world how it can be done in the most positive way so yeah I think it’s couldn’t get any more personal than that.

Our logo is a little heart with an infinity sign tattoo with hearts. I was exhibiting at a trade show and a girl walked by and she said: “Mom look at that, it’s a pretzel heart”. I was like, wow that is so cool, so I looked up the history of the pretzel, and it turns out that it was food served during Lent, with no dairy or meat was allowed. How bizarre is that?

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What were some of the challenges you faced while trying to come up with such a promising brand that is being endorsed by the likes of Emily Deschanel and Katarina Van Derham? It isn’t easy to make space for yourself so fast in the vegan handbag market

A lot of challenges actually, I think the first five years we’re probably the toughest five years of my life, trying to make people understand why even think about veganism and fashion. What does vegan fashion even mean, is your bag not eating meat? All sorts of silly questions. But it was really like a process of educating people, just getting myself out there, so many disappointments, going to trade shows, putting in all the money, not getting any orders. I’ve been back and forth experimenting with materials because there’s no real road map. There was no other brand that was doing this, so I really had to carve out my own way. You know I felt that it was better for me to stay small and rather than want to grow bigger overnight and just maybe lose the essence of the brand entirely so you know being self-funded, being small it was really hard to even afford like expensive p.r. companies, or trying to get your brand in front of celebrities but I think when you really focus on creating a brand that really speaks to your audience and really creating a product that actually delivers that promise, people will come and seek you out so I think that was my biggest finding is okay I need to start focusing on getting the word out and just focus on the product and let the people do the searching. So I think that’s what’s working now, but it was challenging to reach that point to understand all of these things.

[credit: xamnesiacx/shuttershock] DOWNLOAD THE RAISE VEGAN APPLE APP

What’s next for Gunas. What are your future hopes for the brand? Your bags are so classic, would you ever think of designing shoes?

I did dabble in making a small shoe collection, but shoes are a completely different beast that I just felt that I need to stick to my core that I know best and just expand that I need to do some more products, like smaller wallets or coin purses. A lower entry level product so that people don’t necessarily have to spend $200 up front when they don’t even know the brand. They can start with a wallet and I’m focusing on introducing some more smaller pieces this year and we’re also looking at the beauty industry because most recently I found out that the soaps I was using had tons of animal fat in them. It just completely shook me, it was just one more area. You don’t even think about it, using the soap, it’s such a small product and a huge market. So I’m looking at doing something helps my Gunas girls not only feel beautiful inside but also outside.

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Do you show your bags in any in any of the fashion weeks or do you have shows? Or is it mostly online and in your store?

It’s mostly online since I don’t do a barrel, doing a full-fledged fashion show is not really possible. I do have some designers who reach out and say ‘hey I’m doing something for fashion week, can I borrow some of your pieces, so we loan the pieces out for the show, but we don’t do a Gunas show during fashion week. I don’t believe in doing seasons just because I feel that you know we’re becoming a world where everything is just so seasonal, especially with all the climate change happening you know people just don’t invest in season-specific products anymore, they will maybe have a winter coat, but as far as where shoes and clothes are concerned, people are moving towards a more classic look or something that can transition from winter to summer to fall so I’ve never been into the whole season styling. I just do pieces that can transition from one season into another.

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Do you sell your designs in any of the big department stores? I saw that you just won a Macy’s award.

I won an award for Macy’s last year has the best retail bag by an independent designer, and I’m due to take part in their business workshop next month. So it’s like an entry point to talk about the brand and bring the products in front of their buyers, so we’ll see. It’s definitely exciting that big stores are taking notice of it but as a business owner, I’m very happy just selling directly to my customers.

Hvae you any message for vegans across the world?

I just feel that you know that veganism is just such a compassionate subject and I’ve seen in the past you know where I mean I understand that animal right’s and activism really requires you to put your message out there but I feel that it needs to be put out very softly because you don’t want to turn people away. You know we’re already noticing it’s taken 10 years, 20 years even yours maybe even for this movement to get noticed and we really should focus on being compassionate because that is the message of the whole movement as well. So be inclusive, non-judgmental. Everyone is trying o do their best ultimately and if we if we just keep giving each other a hard time and then we’re turning each other against each other, instead of uniting and solving a problem as humanity on a larger level.

Check out Gunas website here to see the whole collection and to read about the Gunas Girl! She sure would be dominating the vegan handbag market

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Positive Children Affirmations to Program Their Mind For Success

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Positive children affirmations

Positive children affirmations to Program Their Mind For Success

The affirmations or positive phrases are a powerful tool. I use them personally when I need to go deeper into a particular topic.

For example, when I work on my self-confidence , I repeat over and over again “I have confidence in myself” during my meditative walks or in the morning in front of my mirror, I repeat to myself “I can do it”.

The positive affirmations can be a powerful exercise for children. We can teach children to use positive phrases to improve their well-being, boost their self-esteem, and encourage their creativity.

But don’t worry, using positive affirmations doesn’t always mean standing in front of the mirror repeating sentences to yourself .

Besides, which children would want to do that? Me for example, I use them during my meditative walks. But there are plenty of other ways to use it. So try these 7 fun ways to introduce kids to positive affirmations.

    Affirmation Child Development

1. Lead by example

According to neuropsychologist, Rick Hanson, we all have a negativity bias within us. You know ?

Negativity bias means that we withhold negative information more than positive, including with our children.

In the same day, one bad news often outweighs ten good news. And that we can not do anything about it, we are made like that, what do you want. Finally, I assure you we can fight this negativity !

Using this exercise can help you spread positivity to your children and ultimately to yourself. Quite simply, by creating a  positive buffer  against negativity in your parent / child relationship.

Here’s what to do:

Each day or week take the time to look each of your children in the eye and tell them positive affirmations. You can say things like, “ You matter to me. You are loved. You are important. “

Focus on each of their  personalities,  as opposed to what they do or what you want them to do. Recognize their strengths, talents and qualities.

End with a long and tender hug to enjoy this moment until the last drop. In addition, hugs are truly magical because they release oxytocin, the pleasure hormone. This will help alleviate stress and anxiety for you and your child.

” You matter to me. You are loved. You are important. “

Advantages of this practice:

Improved self-confidence

Increased self-esteem

Decreased stress and anxiety

Here is a printable tool sheet that includes a fantastic list of 50 positive phrases to help you with your children. Print it out and hang it where you will see it often.

  2. Create a table of positive affirmations

You can help your child harness the power of visualization by creating a  positive affirmation board .

You will see it is very simple and your children will love to make this table.

Take a cork board or a small canvas. Together, draw, paint, color, cut out pictures,… describing what they like, what they want to achieve in their life and / or what they want to become.

Encourage your children to include:

positive things about themselves

things they dream of doing

things they can’t do yet and would like to learn

  3. Paste positive post-it notes

Prepare positive post-it notes with your children and stick them on a mirror (the one in the bathroom, for example). In this way, when they look at themselves in the mirror, they will not only see their physical appearance but also how they make a difference in this world.

You can write things like:

I’m smart.

I believe in myself.

I am courageous.

I can do it.

I have confidence in myself.

If you’re not afraid of window cleaning, you can also write positive affirmations with washable pens on your bathroom mirror.

  4. Sing positive affirmations

Have you ever noticed how much more motivated and energized you feel after singing or dancing your favorite song ?

Whether it’s in the shower, in the car, or getting ready in the morning, we sing along to lift our spirits and make things like housekeeping or traffic jams a lot more fun.

Invite your children to turn their favorite positive affirmations into songs.

They can sing their affirmations to popular tunes and even create their own original songs. It will also work their creativity and imagination. I’m sure positive phrases to the tune of Frozen sounds good!

  5. Create a I love myself box

To help offset the negativity bias, you can help your child learn to  cherish, to love and to compliment . It is also a great exercise for you!

Just follow these steps:

Take a shoebox, a small box or use an empty tissue box

Have the children paint and decorate the box. They can write “I love myself box” on it.

Then make cardboard pieces big enough to write on

Then, for each piece, the children choose statements starting with “I am” and write them on each piece.

For example :

I am useful

I am kind)

I am a good friend

I am nice

I’m capable

  5.Concrete examples

On the other side of the coin, they write or draw a concrete example of a time when they experienced this statement. It will help them to truly believe these statements.

For example, for the statement “I am nice”, they can write: “I helped set the table or I helped my boyfriend understand an exercise. “

Advantages of this practice:

Improved self-confidence

Increased self-esteem

Creativity development

  6. Color positive sentences

It is well known that we learn even better the things we read and write.

This is why I offer you this very good coloring exercise. Indeed, the fact of coloring positive sentences will allow your child to anchor these affirmations in his memory.

And since I’m super nice (did you notice the positive statement?).

This positive coloring will appeal to his concentration and will restore his calm. Once finished, he can display it in his room.

Advantages of this practice:

Anchoring positive affirmations

Bring down the pressure

Mobilization of creativity

  7. The power of “what if?”

Daniel Siegel, author of “ Your Child’s Brain ” recommends asking children  thinking questions  to help their frontal lobe development.

You know, children have vivid imaginations. This is why the “What if?” Game works great with them.

How to do ?

Find  an adventure book  where the main character has a goal and several obstacles to overcome.

As you read it with your child, discuss how the story might change depending on what the character chooses to say to himself. ”And if the character did …… .., what would happen? “,” And if you were that character, what would you do? “,” If the character was nice, what would happen? “

Talk together about how the story would change and how the character would feel about others.

Ask what would happen if the character had more confidence in himself. How could he make himself more confident? Should he take other people’s criticism into consideration?

  20 Positive Affirmations for My Son

invite you to discover 20 affirmations that are good for children and adults. The goal is to repeat them or write them down in order to let the effects of autosuggestion operate.

You can also present them like this by pre-cutting the tabs.

Day after day, I progress I am doing my best I am loved as I am I am at peace I have the right to fail and to succeed My emotions are useful. I listen to them I have the power to help others I can change I can dream and chase my dreams I listen and I am listened to I have the right to ask for help I can fix and apologize I feel safe My smile shines My breathing is a refuge I have the right to be different I learn from every experience I free myself from judgment I sow and reap happiness. I can focus on what I like.

Positice Children Affirmations Conclusion

As you will have understood, it is essential to encourage your children in the path of positive affirmations. 

It will help them in their day to day life as well as in their future life. They will build a confident personality for themselves and they will know who they really are.

I hope these 7 fun ways to introduce kids to positive affirmations have inspired you.

Do you know of any other ways to approach positive sentences with children? Which ones?

  Video: 200+ Positive Children’s Affirmations

Date: 2018-07-10 20:56:26

We (YouAreCreators) created this channel to share one of the greatest secrets of the universe, and the secret is, we literally create our reality! (Quantum Physics now proves this)

We are all governed by a set of Universal Laws, and these laws were created by GOD, to aid us in creating the life we desire.

  Positive Children Affirmations

One of these laws is known as the “Law Of Attraction”, or the law of “Reaping and Sowing”.

This law simply states, whatever you give out in Thought, Word, Feeling, and Action is returned to us. Whether the return is negative, or positive, failure or success, is all up to what you give out.

Many authors and celebrities such as, Wayne Dyer, Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith, Jim Carrey, Steve Harvey, Rhonda Byrne, and many others have testified to this amazing Law Of Attraction. Its time you learn this wonderful secret…

  Resources:

Download our free manifestation guide.

  Comment & Share

I really hope you enjoyed the article!

If you liked it, I would really appreciate it if you can share it using one of the social sharing icons.

Also, leave me a comment and let me know what you thought – I love talking to the readers, so hopefully will talk to you in the comments below.

Positive children affirmations

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