#it probably goes a lot smoother

[apas-95]

I have a question that’s probably pretty stupid, but I thought I’d ask someone knowledgeable. I know china is nothing like how it’s painted by imperialism, but the “social credit” system that affects people’s lives and privileges is real right? A lot of people online default to it for the argument towards china being terrible in one way or another, and from what I know it seems like a legitimately bad thing used to punish or censor people. Do I have this wrong? I’m sure there’s more to the story

In brief, while the 'social credit system' exists, it's both fairly regional (as lots of things are in China, everywhere is constantly experimenting and trialling different paths), and generally applies only to corporations, and the rich. Western reporting likes to act as though they're talking to fellow rich people, which obfuscates things - when they say 'your social credit score can stop you from getting plane tickets' they mean 'if you've committed acts of embezzlement or corruption you can't get first-class tickets and have to fly economy with everyone else'.

In the vast majority of cases the system is aimed solely at corporations and regards things like not paying social security benefits and the like. China doesn't have a FICO-like credit system as the US does, because most Chinese people aren't debtors. People in China generally don't go into debt to buy things, they save up (because the Chinese economy is based on the sale of production, rather than the sale of debts, like the US economy). Before this system was established there lacked a unified system of punishments for non-criminal corporate violations.

That's why the western businesses, which own the western news outlets, were very upset about this, and painted it as they did. They complain about stricter regulations anywhere, but for China they get to piggyback off of existing sentiment to get people who otherwise would support these types of regulations to oppose them. The 'environmental pollution regulations are tyrannical government overreach' line goes down a lot smoother when people have already bought into a story of 'authoritarianism'.

Here's some reporting from western sources backing this up:

Contrary to common belief, the cities mainly target companies, not individuals. Nonetheless, legal representatives of a violating company are also included in the blacklists to prevent reoffending elsewhere or under a different company. Nationally, about 75 percent of entities targeted by the system end up on blacklists because of court orders they have ignored—the so-called judgment defaulters. The remaining companies are typically collared for severe marketplace violations—for instance, for food safety infringements, environmental damage, or wage arrears.

[achilles-rage]

Good Luck Charm: Chapter 2

college football player!buck x plus size!reader

summary: the next day in class, you come face to face with him again. while you don't want to keep running into him, circumstances soon mean that you'll have to spend more time together, much to his delight.

word count: 3.4k

previous chapter

series masterlist

A/N: y'all this chapter took me so long to write. it's more just filler so they don't immediately go from enemies (if i can even call it that) to lovers and i PROMISE things will get better in the next chapter because it kinda starts to go down a little hehe. enjoy<3

warnings: slightly enemies to lovers??? slowburn(ish)????, no use of y/n, fem!reader, race inclusive!reader

The next day, you walk into class, your day going a lot smoother than yesterday. You’re a few minutes early, so you take your time getting your stuff out of your bag before you start typing away on your laptop, trying to make yourself look busy.

You’ve almost forgotten about the man you met yesterday, opting not to tell your roommate. You know what she’d say. She’d make you tell her everything about him (and probably find his social medias despite not even knowing his name), and then tell you every single thing she would’ve done if she was in your situation. You’d rather just forget about it, not wanting him to take up any more of your energy.

“Excuse me.” you hear a deep voice say from beside you after a few minutes. You assume it’s someone trying to get by you to sit down in your aisle, so you quickly stand up to get out of his way. As you stand, you steal a glance at him, huffing as you see that it’s the man you ran into yesterday, and a deep frown finds its way onto your face. You sit back down once he’s past you, rolling your eyes when instead of moving down the aisle, he chooses to sit right beside you.

“You look gorgeous today, princess, despite the scowl on your face.” he teases, letting out a soft chuckle at how quickly your face fills with distaste.

“Why are you doing this?” you whisper-yell, turning your head to glare at him. Why does he want to continue with this? You walked away from him yesterday, you thought you were done with him.

“Doing what? I gave a pretty girl a compliment, what’s wrong with that?” he teases softly, a playful glint in his eye as he meets your gaze. Despite his tone, he’s dead serious. He thinks you’re gorgeous, and he’s going to keep talking to you until you believe it. He thought about you all day yesterday, and it’s a miracle you happened to have this class with him too.

“Why are you so interested in me all of a sudden?” you ask as your tense shoulders deflate slightly. You lean further back in your chair, eyes going to the front of the room as the professor walks in. You’re really not feeling argumentative today, so your voice comes out less cold than he’s used to in hopes of your lack of a fight deterring him.

“Because I like a girl with an attitude.” he teases softly, not missing the way your voice is changing as the seconds go by, your attitude crumbling right in front of his eyes. While seeing you with less of an attitude is fun, he wants to take it a step further, not wanting to stop until your attitude is gone and you’re giving him a sweet smile he’s sure will make him fold.

“You’re infuriating.” you get out quietly just as the professor starts speaking. You train your eyes on the professor, trying to ignore the way his arm and thigh are pressed against yours. 

Your professor goes over the plan for the course and the assignment instructions before bringing up the final assignment. Rather than an exam, your class will have an assignment worth 40% of your grade that you have to present during the last week of classes, and you must work with a partner. 

“I’ve decided to make it easy for you. Take a look at the person beside you, they’ll be your partner. I figured I’d get partners out of the way now to make sure no one has an excuse to ask for an extension at the end of the semester. I’ll give you a minute to introduce yourselves and exchange information.” your professor tells the class before turning to her computer. The noise in the classroom increases slightly as people around you start talking to their partners.

Your eyes widen slightly at her words, and you sink further into your chair with a groan as you see him turn to look at you out of the corner of your eye.

“Looks like you’re stuck with me, princess.” he says smuggly, a smirk making its way onto his face. He almost can’t contain his excitement. This is a big assignment, and now, you have to hang out with him for the rest of the semester.

You roll your eyes at his words, and then turn to glare at him, which earns a soft chuckle from his lips.

“We should just get this over with. I’m less busy at the start of the semester anyway, so we should get most of it done early.” you tell him, noticing that he’s being less than subtle as his eyes glance down to your chest. You’re wearing a dress today that’s lower cut than you usually wear, and he had noticed the way your dress hugs your curves as soon as you stood up to let him past you.

“You’re just dying to get me alone, aren’t you?” he teases, his smirk widening at your clear annoyance of being stuck by him. He’s glad you want to get to work so soon; he doesn’t think he can go long without seeing you again, even with the classes you share. “I’m free on Thursday, you can come over and we can start working on it.”

You scoff at his words, rolling your eyes. Of course he wants you at his house. You’re sure you’re not the first girl he’s tried to lure into his house under the guise of doing class work.

“Absolutely not. We’ll meet at the library.” you counter, narrowing your eyes at him, as if daring him to argue.

“Alright, alright. But if you change your mind at any time, the offer still stands,” he says, giving you a wink, and running his tongue along the inside of his cheek. He may be teasing, but he means it. He wants to see you in his room, in his bed, and he’s pretty confident that you’ll give in eventually. “I’ll meet you there at 10?” 

“Fine.” You turn your head back to the front of the room, crossing your arms over your chest. You hope he’ll let you be after this, because as much as you don’t like him, you’re afraid that if he keeps complimenting you, you won’t be able to resist him.

“I should probably get your number too, you know, so I can text you. About the assignment.” You tilt your head back at his words and close your eyes, huffing loudly. Mumbling a “fine” as you snatch the phone from his hands and put your name and number into his phone. You shove the phone back at him, and cross your arms again, keeping your eyes glued to the front of the room.

He looks down at his phone as you hand it back, realizing as he reads your name that he hadn’t even noticed that he didn’t know your name until now, his nickname for you just felt right. He mumbles your name as his eyes trace it on the screen, memorizing it. He lets it roll around on his tongue as he gets used to the feel of your name on his tongue.

“I’m Evan, by the way.” he informs you after a moment, licking his lip as he turns to take in your features again, just as the professor begins to speak again.

“Awesome.” you reply sarcastically, opening your laptop again as your professor continues her lecture, ignoring his attention on you.

He doesn’t try to talk to you for the rest of class, both of you sitting silently and taking notes as the professor speaks. You do feel his eyes on you every once in a while, however, and you try to ignore the way your stomach flutters every time you feel his thigh pushing against yours more as the time ticks. It’s like a constant reminder of how close he is to you.

Once class is over, you let out a long sigh as you start putting your stuff back in your bag. He stands up at the same time you do, following you out of the room.

“So, where are you off to? We could-” he starts as he catches up to you, eyes trained on you as you move around people lingering in the hallway.

“I have to go to class.” you say quickly, hoping he gets the hint. You don’t really have class, but even just his presence is making you feel dizzy. He’s so annoying, and yet you can’t help but welcome how he keeps trying to talk to you.

“Sure you do, princess.” he teases. But he doesn’t push further. He slows his pace as you keep walking, checking you out as you walk away, then yells after you. “I’ll see you on Thursday!”

He chuckles softly to himself as you keep walking and pulls out his phone, finding your contact and sending you a quick text. He just wishes you were still right beside him so he could see how you react.

You look down at your phone as it vibrates, seeing a text from an unknown number. Your brows furrow as you open the text, but you roll your eyes once you read the text. You fight back a smile, knowing exactly who it’s from, feeling your face grow hot as you read and reread the text. 

Unknown Number: You look good in that dress by the way, princess ;)

On Wednesday night, after hanging out with your roommate for a few hours, you get ready for bed. You still haven’t told her about Evan, as you really don’t want to hear everything she would undoubtedly say about him. You had previously learned that talking about someone only makes you think of them more, so you decide it would be better to not talk about him at all with anyone. Once you shower and do your night routine, you get into bed. You’re almost asleep when you hear your phone vibrate beside you. You huff, rolling over and picking up your phone to read the text. 

Evan: Are we still meeting at the library tomorrow, or have you already deleted and blocked my number?

You: Unfortunately, I can’t do that until after this semester is over

Evan: Good. I get to see your cute angry face until the end of the semester ;)

You: I’m going to bed now.

Evan: Oh, are you? Are you in bed right now?

You: Yes.

Evan: What are you wearing?

You: Goodnight, Evan.

Evan: Goodnight, princess.

He chuckles softly at your texts, knowing his teasing is getting a rise out of you. He lays in his bed, wondering what exactly you’re doing right now. Are you smiling? Are you rolling your eyes? Maybe both, he’s not sure. He knows he wants to see you right now. Better yet, he wants you in his bed instead, laying under him with his hand over your mouth so you don’t wake up his roommates. He smirks at the thought, closing his eyes as he imagines how you would react as he trails kisses down your body. How your plush body would feel under his hands. He drifts off to sleep very easily.

You can’t help the smile that creeps onto your face as you read his texts. You shake your head and put your phone back down on your table and lay back down on your back, staring at the ceiling. He really needs to stop doing this. You’re afraid that pretty soon, your roommate will catch on, or see a text from him, and then you really won’t be able to hide your growing feelings. You have a hard time sleeping that night, unable to get your mind off of him and his stupid texts.

The next day, you drag yourself out of bed far later than when your alarm goes off. You think you snoozed it twice, but when you finally unlock your phone and check the time, you realize you had snoozed it for 40 minutes. You get out of bed quickly and go to the bathroom to get ready, hoping he wouldn’t give you an attitude for being a few minutes late. Once you get ready and change, you grab your bag and head out the door, walking quickly to the library.

You groan as you walk into the library, seeing him already there and leaning against the wall, staring at his phone. As if he senses your presence, he looks up at you, a smirk forming on his face as his eyes quickly trace over your figure and he shoves his phone in his pocket.

“Rough night, princess?” he teases, pushing off the wall and walking towards you. He’s met with a scowl as you look up at him, huffing as you walk right past him and further into the library.

“Shut up, I didn’t have time to make coffee this morning. Let’s get this over with.” you grumble over your shoulder, going over to the elevator.

“Yes ma’am.” he hums, turning to follow you. You both get in the elevator and you press the button for the group study floor before crossing your arms over your chest and tapping your foot lightly. He chuckles at this, licking his lips before speaking.

“You’re cranky in the morning, huh?” he states, mirroring your stance and crossing his arms over his chest. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you really hated me.”

“It’s a little bit of both, I guess.” you murmur, stepping off the elevator as it gets to the 5th floor. He chuckles under his breath as he follows you, shaking his head. He’ll just have to give you a little while to wake up before he continues, he thinks, not wanting to dig the hole any deeper and make you actually hate him.

Once you’re set up at an empty table, sitting beside each other, you begin talking about the assignment, not wanting to waste any time. He surprisingly doesn’t give you any smartass remarks as you speak, and even gives you a few ideas for the assignment. Honestly, you’re a little surprised. From looking at him, you sort of assume he would make you do everything yourself, but he seems willing to put in the work. He seems to know his stuff too. He isn’t as dumb as you thought he may be. Maybe that’s not very nice of you, but you can’t help but think of him as one of those guys that only got into this school because they’re good at football.

You lighten up after a few hours of working together, giving him a few soft smiles as he slowly starts joking and flirting with you. He can tell that you’re still a little shy, as you keep trying to hide your smile by looking away from him, but he can see it. He wants to see it more, but he can also tell that you’re still trying to keep your walls up, despite his best efforts.

“You know, you’re a lot more fun when you don’t have that little attitude.” he tells you after a few minutes of silence. You look up at him, narrowing your eyes slightly as you fight back a smile by pursing your lips. 

“You’re a lot less annoying when you’re not being such a guy.” you counter, a small smirk making its way onto your face as his face scrunches up in confusion.

“What does that even mean?” he asks with a small chuckle, turning in his chair to face you completely, your assignment forgotten.

“Exactly what I said. You’re only focused on yourself. You walk around like no one else matters but you. And if I had to guess, you’re on some sort of sports team too, right?” you say, shutting your laptop slowly, turning your upper body towards his with an eyebrow raised.

“Uh, yeah. Football.” He’s confused at where you’re going with this, but he’s curious to know more. Maybe he’ll find out why you’re resisting giving into him so much.

“Exactly. All athletes carry themselves the same: like they’re too good for everyone around them because you’re good at whatever you do. That’s how you were when we met. Acting like the world revolved around you.” you explain, moving your arms as you speak. He raises his brows in surprise, and his smirk grows as he runs his tongue along the inside of his cheek.

“I was not. You were. You practically bit my head off after you bumped into me.” he argues, keeping a smile on his face, letting you know that he isn’t seriously upset about it. As much as he likes the softer exterior you’ve had the last few hours, he thinks it’s fun when you argue with him.

“Okay, whatever.” you mumble, turning back to your laptop and opening it again. Did he have to keep reminding you of that? It was a bad thing to do, you know that, and you just want to forget how you acted when you met him. It wasn’t like anything you’d do normally.

“Nuh uh. Come on, don’t shut back down again. I’m not holding it against you. It was cute.” he tells you quickly, noticing the way you’re slowly starting to close yourself off again. He nudges your arm with his, hoping you’ll look back up at him as he ducks his head, hoping to meet your eyes.

“Yeah, and it was really cute when you trapped me in the classroom so you could tell me that it was all my fault.” you say softly as you tilt your head up to look into his eyes, your eyes narrowed slightly as you bite the inside of your cheek. You aren’t sure what to make of his words. Why the hell did he keep complimenting you like this?

“So, you think I’m cute?” he teases, leaning onto the table and resting his chin on his folded arms. You scoff softly, laughing as you turn back to your laptop, going back to your assignment research.

You work for another few minutes in silence as he stays in the same position, eyes glancing between your face and your laptop screen every once in a while. You think he’s finally got all the talking out of his system when he speaks again in a softer voice.

“You really don’t like me much, do you?” Your eyes soften at his words as a quiet sigh escapes your lips. You close your laptop again and peer down at him, taking a moment to gather your thoughts.

“I don’t not like you. It’s just, I don’t understand why you’re doing this.” you say softly, tilting your head to the side as you look down at him. You can tell that he really is trying not to be a dick to you, and when he’s looking at you with those big blue eyes, you feel a little bad about how you’re treating him.

“Doing what?” he asks curiously, lifting his head from the table and putting a hand under his chin to rest his head. He tilts his head the same way as you, hoping that if he stares long enough into your eyes, he’ll understand your feelings towards him. “This. I don’t know,” you start, gesturing to him with your hands outstretched. “First, you were a dick, and now you’re trying to, like, get to know me or something. I kinda thought you’d just make me do the entire assignment by myself.” you explain, looking down at the table, laughing softly at your last sentence. He scoffs and puts a hand to his chest, as though your words physically wounded him.

“You hurt me, princess. I’m not a complete douchebag.” he tells you, and although his voice has a teasing tone, his eyes show a glint of hurt at your words. He truly hadn’t meant to be a dick; he was merely trying to get you to keep talking to him. Maybe you aren’t like some of the girls he’s used to. Maybe he has to try a different approach, he thinks.

“Yeah, we’ll see.” you hum softly, turning your attention back to your laptop, trying to fight back a smile. 

Okay, maybe he’s not as bad as you thought.

next chapter

notes: likes/comments/reblogs would be much appreciated if you liked this<33

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[skylersprompts]

DC x DP Prompt *7*

Robin was staring at the screen of the Bat-Computer, while his mind was trapped in the past.

Damian could still clearly remember growing up in the League. And he remembers that he never questioned Grandfather or Mother, except once.

He had been seven, almost eight, when he was training his stealth. And what would be better practice then to follow his mother around till she spots him.

But this day his mother seemed distracted, something that never happened. He followed her to Grandfathers study and listened.

"The boy is nothing but a hindrance to Damian. He fails to kill and has sympathy that's unbecoming for an al Ghul. If Danyal won't complete his next mission, you will dispose of him", Grandfather sounded annoyed, as if he didn't just spoke about killing his twin, about how their mother would have to kill her own flesh and blood.

He didn't wait for his mothers response, knowing that she wouldn't oppose the demon head. As fast as he could he searched for his other half, they needed an plan.

On their next mission Danyal died. It was tragic, but he had sacrificed himself to save the heir of the al Ghuls. At least that is what Damian reported to the League.

Danyal was on the run and for the next 19 month he was forbidden to leave any clues about his whereabouts for Damian.

At some point he would be able to find him again.

He had searched for Danyal, ever since he stared to life with father. But the little voice in the back of his head kept whispering about how Danyal probably died because of his injuries years ago and that father would see it as his fault that he lost another son.

But know he found one of his clues. An online post from someone with the username 'ghostboi', about a constellation and the story that he himself spun around it. A story only the two of them knew. Well... and a few hundred strangers now, but he would have to talk later with Danyal about that.

Now it was time to tell father about yet another son that mother kept secret from him, oh joy.

.

.

.

The talk had been going as good as anyone could expect, which meant that he and father now sat in a private jet, only two hours after they found out about Danyals whereabouts and three hours since Bruce Wayne knows about his second blood son.

They where going as Civilians, since it would probably go smoother. And because the Brucie Wayne persona seemed to gift his father the ability to talk a little bit easier about emotions. Except for right now, because he was angry at Damian for keeping his twin a secret. Still, Damian couldn't see how he could have handled this better and also stayed silent.

Quietly he goes over the things he found out about his brother.

He now goes by the name Daniel James Fenton

He lives in Amity Park, Illinois

He was adopted at the age of nine by the Fentons

He goes to the local high school

He has an older sister, Jasmine Fenton, who is in college for psychology

His parents are ecto-scientist

He has two friend with the names of Tucker Foley and Samantha Manson

It wasn't a lot, but he didn't have much time and also not the patience to wait any longer. It had been almost nine years since he last seen his other half and even if he was nervous, he just couldn't bear to wait any longer.

After they landed in an airport in the city nearest to Amity Park, the two immediately got into the back of a car and their journey continues.

For a long time it was silent in the car, till Damian couldn't bear his father's brooding anymore.

"I didn't know if he had survived and I deemed it better for everyone involved if I'm the only one with this particular uncertainty and possible grief", even if his own voice was levelled and his father just responded with a grunt, the air in the car seemed now easier to breathe.

~

Yes, Bruce had been livid and heartbroken when Damian had told him about his youngest, but he could understand to some degree where the boy was coming from. And if the situation wouldn't be so heartbreaking, then he could be able to call it sweet of his son. He just didn't want him to hurt, but even so... now it was to late to think about the what if's, in a few minutes he would have Daniel in his sight.

They stopped in front of a house that was a clear violation of every OSHA law he could think of. But the big "FENTON WORK' sign, told him that they were right.

Bruce put on a light smile, before he knocked on the door, Damian on his left side. From inside he heard a little bit of shuffling and a carbon copy of Damian opened the door. Everything except for the eyes were the same.

But before Bruce could say anything, the twins were already in each other's arms. He could hear quiet sniffling.

"You found me, your safe", the words came like a mantra out of Daniels mouth.

"Ahbak, Danyal", was the whispered answer from Damian.

And Bruce felt like an intruder in this moment. He had never seen his son so openly affectionate and it was like a weight had lifted of Damians shoulders.

It took a few minutes till the two brothers let go of each other. Except for their hands, that stayed clasps with each other.

"Hello Daniel, I'm Bruce Wayne. I'm yours and Damians father", he introduced himself with a smile, even though the boy seemed to shrink a little bit into himself.

"Please call me Danny Mr. Wayne. Just Fruitloops call me Daniel", his son gave him a crooked smile and Bruce nodded.

"Of course, but call me Bruce", he answered easygoing.

"Is there a place where we can talk Danyal?", Damian got the attention of his twin with a little tuck on his hand.

"You can come inside. Mom and Dad are out of town to get a few supplies for a new project", his answer was sheepish, as he lead them inside.

It seemed like he had adjusted well to a civilian life. How he wished he could have seen his growth.

They sit down in the living room and start to talk a bit about Danny's life with the Fentons. It's apparent for both him and Damian, that Danny is hiding something from them, but they don't press. Maybe he'll tells Damian, when they have a moment alone.

"Should I help you to pack your possessions now? I'm sure the Fentons won't need to long to come back, so that you can say goodbye", as Damian was speaking, he stood up and looked at a bewildered Danny. But Bruce wasn't really better. As much as he would love to bring Danny home with them, they couldn't just rip him out of his life. And Danny seems to see it just like him.

"Dami... I'm not leaving. I love my parents and my friends, I can't just go and leave them", Danny also stood up and clasped his hands on Damians shoulders.

"Tt... so you choose them over me?", his voice was barely over a whisper.

"No! I-... it's just... give me time? I'm almost done with high school and I want to go Gotham U, so... just wait a bit? Please?", his tone was pleading, as he searched his brothers eyes, whom just answered with a defeated sight.

"Danny is right Damian. We can't just uproot him like that. As much as I want us all together, we found him now, the rest can wait", Damian deflated a little more at his words. And so Bruce couldn't just let the opportunity pass to comfort his children for once.

He closed the small distance between them and hugged both of the boys lightly to himself.

"You know that I always wanted to raise you myself and now that I see you both like that, I wish for it even more", he sighted with a woeful smile, while Damian grumbled about the proximity. But Danny's little smile shifted to a horrified look.

"Your wish is my command~", the feminine voice came out of thin air, but Bruce had no time to think about it. Because just a second later, there were two little Babies in his arms. Two little, screaming Babies.

Bruce never regretted it so much in his life, that he hadn't brought Alfred along.

[plumbobpaparazzi]

Peek into my Mods folder...

This is dedicated to @alltimefail-sims or anyone who needs a little help with lag!

I have several mods I refer to as "efficiency mods" that are little quality-of-life tweaks that make the game smoother for me, either by reducing lag or reducing immersion-breaking hiccups. As always, your mileage may vary, but hopefully this is helpful to someone. :) List of mods under cut to keep your dash clean.

No Intro - Whether you are trying to 50/50 your mods, testing new CC, or just need to shave time off your game loading... get rid of the cinematic intro.

Free Will Delay - Do your sims curbstomp their queue and proceed to fuck off to something unrelated? Yeah, me too, until I got this mod. From the mod description: "[E]very time you tell your sim to do something, they will be forced to listen! …For 5 minutes. Then they get free will back again. This is probably why controlling Sims in Sims 4 feels so bad! Because you lose control the second they start doing what they're told. Even if you queue up actions, the total time is STILL five minutes- because it goes from the last direction you give your sim. So you can tell them to do 3 hours worth of stuff while paused…and they'll get control back after 5 minutes. This mod changes this timeframe to an option of your choosing, to make controlling your sims feel more rigid."

Simulation Unclogger - This is an oldie-but-goodie mod from Turbodriver that helps interrupt when Sims get stuck in an endless action loop.

Evolve/Fertilize All Plants - Kind of weird how we can Harvest All but you can't Evolve or Fertilize All, right?

No Empty Venues When Arriving - Helps with the issue of going to a community lot and waiting around for Sims to show up. May cause increased lag if you are bottlenecked by RAM.

Food Autonomy Overhaul - Stops your stupid Sims from eating ingredients, AND allows Sims who hate cooking to autonomously grab quick meals. Didn't know they wouldn't do that? Yeah. That's a thing.

Don't Do That! Version 1 and Version 2 - Removes autonomy on annoying actions that can't be affected by MCCC tuner, like reactions and some trait idle animations.

Less Obsession - Lowers autonomy for certain things without disabling entirely. I still want my Sims to paint, but I don't want them to start a new figure painting any time they are left unsupervised.

Smarter Self-Care - Makes Sims prioritize their needs better before they are uncomfortable. I only use the packages for NPCs and Pets.

NPC Relationship Autonomy Fix - Stops random Sims from breaking into your house to ask to be your BFF (and tunes the requirements so they actually have to be your friend first.)

Buy More Upgrade Parts - Allows you to buy a package of 50 upgrade parts for when you are grinding out handiness or robotics.

The following mods are all by Bienchen and don't have a direct page for each package. You can search by name pretty easily on their website. I recommend flipping through and grabbing anything you find useful - I have a total of 368 of their mods installed. Here are some highlights:

novisibleecoeffects - The aurora will nuke your framerate. I know it's pretty, but oh my god.

noautonomousbakewhitecake - Does what it says on the tin, keeps your house from being overrun by cakes.

harvestnogroupinteraction - Stops club members from autonomously harvesting plants. Those are MY death flowers!

lessemotionidles - Reduces unnecessary idle animations from emotions, great for preventing your Sims from looking flirty at inappropriate times...

lesspreferenceidles - Stops your sims from thinking about how much they like fishing/fitness/etc. when they should be doing things.

happytoddleridledisabled - Stops the idling from the Happy Toddler trait. SUPER useful for family gameplay.

laundry_buffsandsoloidlesfix - Stops or reduces idles related to laundry. It's just clothes, bro

eldertweak - Reduces elder animation idles.

hastopeewalkstyleforchildonly - Helps get your Sims to the toilet in a reasonable amount of time.

tinyhousebuffhider - I know I'm in a Tiny Home, I don't need a moodlet.

lottraiteffectshider - Hides the little floating lightbulbs around Sims heads from lot traits.

notraitnotifications - I know my geek likes video games, I don't need the pop-up every time I play.

noholidayoutcomenotification - Please don't rub my nose in the fact I forgot to celebrate.

nofestivalnotifications and nofestivalnotificationsound - Helpful when a pack is new, but years later... no thanks.

noenrollmentandscholarshipinfo - No more info screen about the two universities. I think most of us know it all by now.

nouprootplant - Never cry because of a misclick again

simschangeoutfitwhenhotorcold - Should have already been autonomous, but alas.

novisualpoliteintroeffects - I don't know if I am the only one, but the glowing really bothers me.

restaurantsittweak - Sit down and eat your dang food! No more wandering Sims.

longerprom - Takes 6 hours instead of 4 so you can actually do something.

I probably have other QoL mods that could be helpful, but these are my recommendations to start with. Love to all the modders that keep this game playable <3

[parisoonic]

I just want to say I love how you do your lineart, it looks so good! ahhhhhhhh!!

I'm gathering a lot of advice about the topic of lineart and I just wanna know how you get it to look like that? My line weight is getting better but the drawing itself just comes out a bit.. weird.

Thank you so much! Lineart is probably the thing I've been working hardest on as I am not a lineartist (and still struggle a lot) but it's something I really need to get better at for my job. UM there's honestly so much that could be said on the topic of lineart. Big things for me are:

Weight -> Use line weight (aka thickness) to describe form, lighting, contact and scale. Thick lines imply shadow, contact and nearness-to-camera. Thin lines imply tension, recession and light.

Straights vs Curves -> Use straight lines against curved ones for maximum interest. This is partly a character design thing but as we're using lines to describe our characters it's worth mentioning :)

Complex vx Simple -> Use complex lines against simple. Faces are always complex so therefore the backs of heads should always be simple. Chests are quite complex so backs should be simple. Dorsal sides of the arms are complex (Delt, tricep, bicep) whilst the ventral side is more simple (tricep...mainly) etc.

'Think in Ink' -> Lower your sketch layer almost to 0% opacity so you're not getting hung up on how nice/energetic your sketch look and instead are approaching the piece from an ink mindset. BUT it's digital! So if there's something in your sketch that you like just bring it forward (copy and paste) into your ink layer. I sketch and ink with the same brush so I can use this workflow

'Confidence' -> small hesitant feathery lines will look nervous compared to big swooping lines. Less is always more. I'll redraw arms/limbs until I can get the appearance that it was done in one brush stroke. Again it's digital so you can erase to cheat this look : )

MISC 01: I always hear 'draw from the shoulder'........meh............it's digital so draw from your wrist...it's fine honestly. If we were working at A1 in a life drawing class then we could get some shoulder action going but most of us are hunched over 16inch tablets. I think this advice aims to pull people away from feathery-nervous lineart honestly which you can improve on without relearning how to draw from your shoulder.

MISC 02: For a 'smoother' look do your lineart at a larger canvas size than you need. Once I'm happy with a sketch I usually double the canvas size and do my lineart then.

MISC 03: In PS (at least) anti-aliasing goes funny at any zoom level that isn't in the 5 times table. So try not to look at your canvas when you're zoomed in to 87% or 71.39% or something crazy. Just stick to 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% if possible.

UNFORTUNATE TRUTH: Lineart is incredibly based on raw draughtmanship I've discovered. When you're working with colour you can hide a lot in rendering (shadows, highlights) or post-processing (depth of field) but in lineart all your mistakes are just...there for people to see. There's ways round this...which I use A LOT. 'Flourishes' (I use 'flourishes' to mean over-confident lineart where it veers particuarly thick or particuarly thin in contrast to your approach in the rest of the image) can sort of trick people into thinking you're more confident about an area than you actually are.

As well as leaving 'breathing room' within your lineart instead of actually...resolving the area. I do this the most around the face and hands.

Hopefully some of this helps? Honestly there's a lot of deep dives that could be done into indivudal things and there's also the massive caveat that all of these are 'guidelines' and not strict rules. I also favour a more...concept-arty? animation-y? storyboard-y? look to my lineart which favours flourishes and breathing room for a incomplete/work-in-progress feel which would make methodical colouring (ie: for a comic or something) a pain.

Keep up pratice is the main thing and doing studies of artists who you like that have great lineart - you'll pick up draughtmanship skills along with the lineart studies. Here's some of my lineart from a year or two ago...it varies between very 'standardised' (which makes it difficult to read volumes and to be honest, it's boring) and 'TOO EXCITING' (which...also makes it difficult to read volumes and for the eye to rest).

I'd like to share my brushes at some point as I've found 3 that I really like and use for everything more or less. I discovered that a shocking low amount of people use PS on tumblr (shocking to me I guess as i'm so used to PS being the standard) and everyone seems to use Procreate or Clip Studio Pro...so I want to check that the brushes are Procreate compatible at least before I share!

[spongeyspot]

Poly Relationship HCs (SFW +NSFW)

(John Marston x fem!reader x Abigail Marston)

(A/N): A little longer than I anticipated. Also, I'm terrible at editing things so if you see any spelling or grammar mistakes, please don't bite me. I'm just a wee baby

Content warning: fluff, small mentions of infidelity, polyamory, female reader, you/she pronouns

SFW

- The relationship itself had probably started when either John or Abigail had started to catch feelings

- It was probably Abigail considering how distant John was from her in the beginning

- Quite honestly would probably keep your relationship a secret during the very early stages.

- She saw how much you cared about her and her family, so it was only natural for her to start to fall in love. She fell in love with John pretty quickly, too, though he was a bit slower to warm up to the idea of having a family

- You, however, love Jack as if he were your own, which makes Abigail swoon even more. Plus, another parent figure to Jack (Who he also really likes) because her husband is kinda useless half the time? Jackpot!

- When she brought up adding you to their relationship, John was probably pretty okay with the idea, even a little excited, though if she told him that she had been seeing you secretly before that, he'd probably be a little pissy.

- After adding you to their family, things seemed to move a lot smoother. John warmed up to the idea a lot quicker than both of you had anticipated

- You usually act as a mediator for a lot of Abigail and John's fights, but knowing John he'd probably say some shit like "Look, even she's on my side!" and Abigail would get pissed at you too.

- Abigail LOVES to hold you by the fire. John usually has his arm around the both of you with you sitting in the middle.

- Would take turns having you sleep with them at night because their bedrolls weren't really big enough to fit one person, let alone three.

- When the gang moved to Shady Belle, things were a lot easier with lodging. John loses his mind every time he gets to cuddle the both of you at the same time. He's a sucker for physical touch, really.

- After chores are finished, the three of you are usually found sitting under a tree, Abigail cuddled into your side while you read a book, and John lays on his back beside you, his head resting on your thighs. His hat is usually covering his face, but when it isn't, you or Abigail absentmindedly play with his hair or massage his scalp.

- Abigail loves it when you spend time with Jack. It makes her heart swell to see him having so much fun.

- You tend to encourage John to spend time with him as well, which she also appreciates.

- Family game nights end with You and Jack teamed up and absolutely wrecking John at dominoes while Abigail watches

- Says something like "I let you win." with a roll of his eyes before sulking away

- Pet names!

- John calls you 'Baby', 'Darlin'', 'Dollface', and even 'Sugartits' if he wants to get slapped

- Abigail calls you 'Honey', 'Sweetie pie', 'Honey Bun', or 'Pretty Girl'.

- Both John and Abigail enjoy physical affection.

- John likes to kiss your hair and squeeze your thighs.

- Abigail loves to kiss you on the cheek and hold your hand.

-If John walks by you, he will throw out an affectionate compliment or two

- "God, you look pretty today, (Name)."

- Also probably pinches or slaps your ass on his way by

- He secretly loves it when you slap or pinch his ass too, though he'd never actually admit it.

- Abigail is a bit more sultry with it, then goes back to normal like she didn't just blatantly hit on you

- "Damn, well look at you, Pretty girl. Don't you look fine this mornin'... Coffee?"

- Also pinches and slaps your ass, but also gives it a good squeeze, and will sometimes hold her hand on your ass instead of on your hip if you stand side by side.

NSFW (MINORS DNI)

Content Warnings: oral sex (m + f recieving), mean!dom!abigail, dacryphilia if you squint, edging, masturbation, voyeurism, cucking if you squint, risky sex, brat tamer!Abigail, spanking, biting, hickeys, marking kink, Mommy kink, praise, breeding, creampies, cum eating

- John and Abigail are both switches.

- John tends to be a top when it's just the two of you, but when Abigail is also part of the fun, he's most likely on his back, letting you both use him however you please.

- His favorite is when he's laying on his back and both you and Abigail take turns sucking his cock, occasionally pulling away to kiss. It makes him rock hard. Never mind how it feels... he could cum from the sight alone... his favorite girls worshipping his cock with all their enthusiasm and love.

- Abigail is a Dom/top a lot of the time. She can also be pretty mean about it.

- Abigail edges you to the point where sometimes, you'll cry out for her, begging her to let you finish. Every time she finally lets you, you always feel like you cum so much harder than you ever had before.

- John loves to sit back and jerk off, watching the two of you in bed together.

- Abigail sometimes does the same, sitting aside whilst rubbing and fucking her pussy with her fingers as she watches John fuck you into his bedroll

- Abigail loves it when you act like a brat - She likes to leave your ass red and sore from spanking you, and often orders John to do the same when she watches.

- Abigail also probably bites you a leaves hickeys to stake her claim on you. Makes sure to put them where everyone can see.

- John does the same, but it's usually below where your clothes would cover them like your breasts, stomach, or thighs

- John LOVES biting you. He loves making you squirm

- Abigail lowkey has a Mommy kink

- Abigail likes to call you her Pillow Princess, pulling beautiful noises from you as she makes you cum multiple times in quick succession with just her hands. Sometimes even her words.

- "Look at you, sweetie pie. All pretty and spread open, just for me. Oh, I know you just came... but... How's about one more, huh? Can you do that for Mommy?"

- There have been times when it's been just the two of you, and she's shown far more vulnerability than she's used to. During those times, she's on her back, a hand covering her mouth as you work her open with your mouth and fingers.

- Please praise the hell out of her during these times. She really needs it.

- Even when Abigail is vulnerable with you, she is still in control almost 99.99% of the time.

- John and Abigail are both certified munches

-John loves when both of you are on top of him, riding both his dick and his face.

- He eats pussy like his life depends on it. Fr like it's his last meal.

- He also loves to watch you eat pussy.

- He loves to fuck you in the doggy style position while Abigail buries your face between her legs.

- John usually likes to have sex in the privacy of his tent/room, whereas Abigail likes risky sex. She likes the idea of there being a possibility you could be caught

- there have been numerous times when she's stuck her hand into the front of your skirts while you sat the the dining table during mealtimes. As far as you both knew, the other people sitting there had been oblivious.

- John knows. He always knows. He was watching the whole time.

- He was usually the one to instigate it, always letting Abigail know whenever you forwent bloomers. (he would hide them so you couldn't wear them)

-Though he'd probably never participate himself, he loves to watch you come undone on Abigail's fingers in public.

- John fantasizes about getting you pregnant too.

- He brought it up to Abigail as a joke, saying how nice it would be for Jack to have a sibling to play with.

- From that point on, John was told to cum inside you every chance he got, not stopping even after you're swollen and round with his baby.

-Abigail enjoys eating you out after John has cum inside you.

[somewhat-insane]

Okay, so, I know a lot of people were discouraged after the LMK S5 trailer. The art is different, yes, but remember there are still people working behind the screen; passionate about this story they're trying to tell. To rebuild faith and re-spark hope, I'm going through the trailer frame by frame and sharing anything cool I find. (There is some (what I hope is) constructive criticism in here, but I would like to reiterate something other fans have said. DO. NOT. HARRASS. ANYONE. WORKING. ON. THE. SHOW. They're doing their best with what they have available to them. We're lucky Wildbrain decided to pick the show back up because if they hadn't, we may not have gotten the rest of the story.)

They've been brought in front of the council to discuss their car's extended warranty. ALSO WHERE IS MK'S JACKET AND BANDANA? THEY WHOLE ASS PROBABLY SNATCHED THIS POOR BOY OUT OF HIS BED WHILE HE WAS SLEEPING

Don't worry, babygirl, I still think you're pretty ^3^

Okay, they gave him his clothes back, phew.

Hehe, tiny monkies.

At least our child is still adorable.

Synchronized heart attack.

He is so traumatized, lol. Someone brought up how this design for the circlet wasn't the previously established design in the show, but it COULD be based on the design used on the cover of the Journey to the West novel (as seen below)

It's not exactly the same but the shape is similar.

Anyway.

WUKONG ANGST WUKONG ANGST WUKONG ANGST

I'm realizing while doing this that Wildbrain doesn't use as many smear frames as Flying Bark did. As funny as it is to pause and see something like this in season 1-4:

It makes the animation look a LOT smoother and more energetic. Flying Bark also seems to use more frame-by-frame while Wildbrain probably uses more tweening. I suppose it makes sense though because Wildbrain is more used to 3D animation and the 2D animation they have done in the past is more paper-doll-like and doesn't need as much bounce and action.

Back to the trailer, no need to dwell.........

MO. HANG IN THERE.

MONKEY ANGST MONKEY ANGST MONKEY ANGST aposhdgpafoshdfosfapsdofpa

Oooh, wait, this frame actually kinda goes hard. I'm kinda hyped... I should draw this.

NO BRO DON'T MAKE ME CRY JUST BECAUSE OF A TRAILER

You know what this makes me think of...? Did any of you guys ever play that game called "Journey"?

It's a beautiful game with beautiful music. Y'all should play it if you haven't. Oh, and sometimes if you're playing at the same time as someone else in the world, your games will merge and you get a little play buddy :3

Genuinely love how distressed he is here.

SHADOWPEACH ANGST SHADOWPEACH ANGST

Looks like we're still gonna get cool backgrounds and background character designs!!!!

This looks like it may be some kind of storybook or memory sequence like when Chang'e was talking about how she found the ring in S3 or when LBD was talking about Macaque's death... what memory do you think we're going to be exploring this time?

This goes pretty hard. I would paint this on a wall or something.

Mk is flabbergasted.

Yay!! Mk has the support he needs. ALSO MORE SANDY

They're mortified. Probably because they just watched a giant dragon and white tiger fucking evaporate.

Hehe bord

I can't wait to see fanart of him. I'm so excited!

SHADOWPEACH SHADOWPEACH SHADOWPEACH

He's thinking about kissing him, honest.

I think he's purty

MORE PIGSY-

I've run out of room for pictures, but I hope this helped get y'all all hyped again for the new season! Have hope, stay strong!

[alpaca-clouds]

One Quick Thing about the historical Elisabeth Báthory

Okay, I do need to talk about the historical Elisabeth Báthory, because my inner "well, actually" needs to get this one out there. People who watched Nocturne will probably be at least vaguely aware of the entire mythology around the historical Elisabeth Báthory and how she got connected to the entire story.

She was a Hungarian noblewoman and the reason why she is remembered while most Hungarian nobles are not is the entire outrage around her alleged crimes.

The story goes somewhat like this: Elisabeth Báthory was very afraid of growing old. One day one of her maids cut herself and the blood dripped on Báthory's skin. Which on the next day was so much smoother. After which she became convinced that the blood of girls and young women would hold her aging. So, she had girls brought to her castle to bleed them dry and then bathe in their blood.

It is said she killed more than 300 young women like this, which she was charged with. Given she was a noble she was actually convicted for it, but given she was a noble, the punishment was only "house arrest" in her castle. Never the less she died just three years later of unknown (but probably medical) causes at the age of 54.

So, here is the thing why I want to talk about this. Now, please note: I do not think this will play any role in Castlevania: Nocturne. I think there she really just is a bad guy. But... I just gotta talk about it.

Because today scholars are at times questioning whether the story how it often is remembered. There is a by now very common theory that the reason for her accusations were two-fold: For one, she was a single woman who held a lot of money and power. For the other, she was practicing medicine, learning it partly from herbal practicioners, but also incorporating "modern" knowledge at the time.

Basically, she was already rich because her husband was rich. Then she just happened to be very good at politics, making her - as a widow - amass more power and riches. And people looked unfavorably onto her as a woman having this much influence and riches without a man attached to her.

The other aspect is, that we know she wrote about medicine. She did medical research on her own. And yes, even though she incorporated more herbal knowledge (something people frowned upon at the time, by the way), a lot of medical knowledge at the time also involved a lot of bloodletting. And there is some historical sources out there that show that at least some folks she tried to treat died through her treatment.

So, I got this one out of my system. I just needed to bring this one up. Because the two big historical serial killers we know about might well both have been innocent. The other being Gilles de Rais, who also is the main antagonist in my Castlevania fanfiction The lesser Evil (which you should totally read) - but there it also is a plotpoint that he was innocent.

Okay. That's it for now. I am out.

[seafoamreadings]

week of april 21st, 2024

these are written predominantly for the *rising* signs but they are also intuitively "channeled" enough that they should work for any dominant energy you have! (try your sun if you don't know rising, or more advanced readers can try moon, anywhere you have a stellium, etc and see what works best for you!)

aries: the biggest astrological news of your week is the end of mercury retrograde right in the middle of your sign. you can still anticipate a little bit of shenanigans for a few days afterward since it is so close to home for you, but from here on out a little peaceful normalcy re-enters your life. if you need more chaos it'll have to be the kind you make for yourself.

taurus: aries antics are not yet at an end but in many ways your sign now becomes the star of the show. on some levels this will be quite fun for you, especially if you thrive under positive attention from others. on other levels, the shifts and changes can be overwhelming to your stolid and stable sign. try to be surprised and delighted rather than shocked and dismayed. it's probably not all so bad and if it is, you will prevail.

gemini: the end of a mercury retrograde is always good news for a gemini. your mind clears where there was recently any brain fog or fuzziness. the fumbling and bumbling shifts back to your natural willowy gracefulness. other things are going on this week too but this is the biggest relief for you.

cancerians: mercury retrograde has been hard for the cardinal signs like you, but its end this week is a breath of fresh air. meanwhile a full scorpio moon can also help you recharge any intellectual or mental fatigue you have been experiencing lately, but do expect to be in your feelings a bit about it. not that that's a bad thing, no matter what some might say. it is one of your gifts, how deeply you can feel.

leo: you'll have a lot of strong feelings early on this week but by the weekend your head and heart are much clearer. physical exercise benefits you, so head to a gym or just have a little nice gallivanting outdoors.

virgo: the more mercurial virgoans will feel great relief as mercury goes direct at last. but don't jump in too quickly to any contracts or sharing resources. less mercurial virgoans will be more focused on mars-neptune in pisces, bringing some illusions (or disillusionment) to relationships. emilie du chatelet said our happiness depends on our illusions, so it is ok to embrace them to some degree, but don't let anyone lie to you or do you harm.

libra: this week's astrology portends mainly good things (although also shifting things) in your relationships, perhaps some delusion or manipulation occurring in some routine or place of work, and a full moon involving your money. if you've been financially wise and responsible, this could be great news. if you've let your luxurious venusian tendencies get the better of you recently, perhaps less great.

scorpio: you may find yourself saying mercury schmercury to the folks hyped up about mercury retrograde this week, but it's mostly due to the full moon that occurs in your sign shortly beforehand. your daily routines run smoother than ever but your emotions are heated and overflowing. don't try to cram it down. let it out, in private if need be.

sagittarius: mercury direct again may well herald a creative breakthrough. or, perhaps juicier, a new relationship or fling. or even an affair, if you're that kind of sagittarian.

capricorn: your sign and your cardinal brethren will certainly feel a relief of some tension or disarray as mercury resumes forward motion this week. the first half of the week is also a great time for you to socialize, if you have the time!

aquarius: almost for sure, you'll receive some sort of important or, at minimum, 'interesting' message around the time that mercury ends its retrograde this week. and before that/at the same time, the full moon in scorpio lights up your 10th house of status and legacy, so while you may not want to be out there posting any serious news on your socials, it's ok to take credit for work well done.

pisces: if you can, avoid spending money (especially on anything important) until next week. on the other hand, academic pursuits get a major boost and if you're not an academic, at least get philosophical about something close to your heart. by the end of the week a mars-neptune conjunction gives you energy, although perhaps not of the physical sort. avoid lying to yourself or others.

[wildissylupus]

I love how people act like Gabe was the one tired of Genji and Cassidy's bullshit on missions meanwhile it's actively implied that it's Genji and Reyes doing dumb shit on missions.

Like in Retribution Cassidy has a voice line where he goes: "Things go smoother when we act like professionals"

In fact, if you look at the interactions in Retribution that actually talk about the situation, Cassidy and Moira are just tired and going "welp we're fucked" meanwhile Reyes and Genji are going "Yep this was the correct decision, NO REGRETS-"

I think this comes down to people characterising Reyes as a lot more serious then he actually was. Especially Blackwatch Reyes. Like yes that man can be serious, but he's also a dumbass. Honestly most of the time we see Cassidy being the more serious of the two, especially in the comics.

But seriously, most of the time it was probably Genji and Gabe running into the backlines while Cassidy and Moira question their existence and argue on who needs to save their dumbasses this time.

[loveinhawkins]

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 ao3 (Complete)

Eddie has a telephone voice, which Dustin finds absolutely hysterical. As the pizza place answers, his whole register switches into something a little smoother, over-pronouncing each word, and Dustin watches him with undisguised glee.

Eddie must read his thoughts because while their order is repeated back to him, he blushes, covers the receiver and mouths, “Oh, fuck off.”

When he hangs up, he playfully cuffs Dustin on the back of the head. “Do you mind? I was putting on the performance of a lifetime there.”

“What performance?” comes Steve’s voice, and Dustin turns to see him leaning against the counter, Tews following at his heels.

“That I’m a polite young man, of course,” Eddie says with a toothy smile.

Steve whistles, all faux impressed. “The Academy will be in touch, man.” He dodges Eddie’s attempt to trip him up, smirking—then yawns a bit into his palm. “Henderson, your cat’s like a sleeping pill or something.”

Dustin scoops up Tews, rocks him until he wriggles out of his arms. “Why can’t you be cute like that with me? You just claw at all my clothes, you little shit.”

“Dustin!” Eddie gasps, “don’t use such language around the baby.”

“Yeah, dude,” Steve snickers. “Don’t wanna offend Mr Polite Young Man’s delicate sensibilities.”

Eddie whacks him with the take-out menu.

Their back-and-forth hardly stops all throughout dinner. Eddie makes it look easy, Dustin thinks: how he delivers each quip so there’s never a lingering silence, yet still spaces them out so that Steve has more time to retort back.

And because Eddie keeps talking engagingly, Steve clears his plate without seeming to realise it; and Dustin feels himself calm at the sight of his eyes gradually brightening.

It’s not the only sight he takes note of.

Eddie is sitting close to Steve, their shoulders touching—and whenever he wants the box of pizza passed to him, or more soda, he just taps Steve’s arm in question, all while carrying on the conversation. Maybe before, Dustin wouldn’t think anything of it, but now he considers how Eddie had sat on the couch with Steve, his hand in his hair, how he’s been there for him the whole day; and a silent little lightbulb goes off in Dustin’s brain.

Because it goes both ways.

The girls Steve has dated wouldn’t do this—have never done this, at least as far as Dustin can tell, remembering flashes of dates he’d seen on the rare occasions Steve wasn’t driving him places, at the cinema or diner, or…

He gets the feeling that Steve has always been subtly holding some parts of himself back with them. He doesn’t do that with Eddie. He lets him in.  Dustin watches as Eddie tidies the counter, gently nudging Steve out of the way with his hip. It’s like finally solving a puzzle: now Dustin knows which way to look, he can’t believe how he didn’t notice it before.

Instead of saying anything, he busies himself with finding fresh blankets for Steve. As he shakes them out, it occurs to him that this is kind of what Steve must do for him every time he stays over—the difference being that he’s over often enough to have a set of pyjamas waiting for him in the guest room. Steve even ironed them once, which Dustin had teased him relentlessly for, but secretly found it… nice.

As it nears 10pm, Steve suddenly jolts from where he’s sitting on the couch, dislodging Tews from his lap again.

“Sorry, baby,” Steve says distractedly, gives Tews an apologetic pat. Dustin notices the little pinch of stress around his eyes again, and doesn’t mention the fact that Eddie’s already got him calling his cat ‘baby’, too.

“What’s up?” Eddie says. He’s lounging on the floor, has a few of Dustin’s comics spread out in front of him.

“I told Robin I was gonna pick her up, I forgot. Shit, she’ll be closing soon.”

“On it,” Eddie says, almost singsong. In one move, he leaps to his feet and retrieves the keys to his van. “Back quicker than you can say—”

“Jack Robinson,” Dustin finishes; Eddie says it a lot, probably picked it up from his uncle.

Eddie winks at him, turns to Steve and gives a dimpled little smile before leaving.

Steve looks off into the distance, still frowning.

After making sure Tews has safely moved over to his food bowl, Dustin jumps onto the couch, blankets and all.

“Oof,” Steve huffs, “you trying to crush me?” But though he acts like he’s going to shove Dustin off, he never once does.

They poke at each other, complaining about bony elbows and freezing feet. As Dustin adjusts the blankets, he shifts so that Steve’s the one on the inside of the couch. Steve has never mentioned anything, but Dustin’s suspected for a little while that he likes to sleep with his back against a surface; probably makes him feel less exposed.

Now that Eddie isn’t here, Dustin can’t stop his mind from wandering back to Steve, sitting alone in the junkyard. To the thought of him waking up in an empty house, terrified out of his mind.

“You know you can… like, stay over whenever, right?” Dustin says.

Steve has said pretty much the same to him, but Dustin knows there’s a bit of a difference: that maybe Steve finds it easier to offer than take something for himself.

He feels Steve shrug next to him.

“Uh, you sure? Don’t wanna cramp your style, little man.” His voice goes into his parody of a middle-aged suburban dad, and Dustin has a sudden clarity about what his aim is: to make Dustin scoff and roll his eyes at him, and forget about the offer.

But he doesn’t take the bait.

He leans briefly into Steve’s shoulder and says, “You know I’d be fine with it, right? Like, Mike and Nancy, they hang out all the time even if they don’t act like it, just barge into each other’s rooms. Same thing with Lucas and Erica. Like, sure, they annoy each other sometimes, but that kinda comes with the deal.”

“Oh,” Steve says softly, and Dustin glances to the side; he doesn’t know what it is that he’s said, but Steve looks deeply touched. “Thanks, Dustin. Really. Thanks.” Dustin takes a deep breath. Gathers his courage. “I get them, too.”

“Huh?”

Dustin sighs, turns a little into Steve’s side. “Nightmares,” he mumbles.

“Oh,” Steve says again, and he wraps an arm around Dustin. “Oh, bud, I’m sorry. You… you wanna talk about it?”

Dustin pauses. Nods.

Steve squeezes his shoulders. “I know what happened with… with Eddie was awful, man, it’s my fault you went through all that shit alone—”

“No,” Dustin interrupts, because making Steve feel guilty isn’t remotely his aim. “They’re not… they’re not only about Eddie.” He closes his eyes; he’s not told this to anyone. “Sometimes they’re about you. Losing you.”

Silence.

“Sometimes the bats get you, too. Or…” And it’s stupid that what he says next makes him falter—compared to the previous dreams, it’s hardly anything, no blood or gore, but…

“Or you’re—I can see you, and I-I can’t tell which one of us is in The Upside Down, but you… you can’t hear me.”

“Hey.” Steve gently prods Dustin in the cheek, holds his gaze. “I’d always hear you. You never have to doubt that, got it? I’ll always come find you.”

Dustin nods again—for a moment, doesn’t trust himself to speak. He wiggles a little closer, sniffs.

Steve pulls him into a proper hug. “I’m sorry, I just—fuck, I get so scared sometimes, Dustin. I don’t—” He swallows. “I know I don’t say it, but, God, I love you so damn much. I don’t want a-anything to happen to you.”

Dustin returns the hug. Pulls back and makes sure Steve is looking him in the eye when he says, deadpan, “Steve. I hate to break it to you, but so much has happened to me.”

Steve snorts. “You know what I—ugh, you’re the worst.”

Dustin pauses. “But if something ever did happen,” he says carefully, tries to measure his tone to show he doesn’t mean anything Upside Down-related, not anymore, “then we’d be okay, in the end, I swear. You’ve got me, I’ve got you, right?”

Steve exhales. Nods a little jerkily. “Right.”

And what the hell, Dustin figures he might as well say it now—it’s too important to just remain an unsaid, sort of mutually understood thing.

“Steve? I love you, too.”

It takes a second, and then Dustin feels Steve start to shake. This time, the tears aren’t hidden; he just… lets them be.

“Aw, goddamn it,” Steve laughs wetly, “why’d you have to go and say that?”

“You started it,” Dustin says.

“Shut up,” Steve says, lips trembling a bit as he smiles.

Dustin gives him time, just waits in the quiet until Steve’s breathing comes out steady again.

“J,” Steve says eventually.

“Jaws,” Dustin says.

“Oh, boo. Predictable, Henderson.”

“V.”

“…Damn it, all I can think of is Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

“That doesn’t start with V, dumbass.”

Steve lets out a long yawn, like it’s crept up on him. “I know, butthead.”

They go on like that, throwing out letters and movie titles like it’s a tennis match. Gradually, it takes longer and longer for Steve to reply, his voice growing mumbly until it trails off entirely; and Dustin feels him go slack and heavy with sleep.

He looks up at the ceiling, hears the front door softly open and close. Tews is in the hallway, greeting Eddie with a more vocal miaow, and Dustin laughs quietly as he hears Eddie croon, “Oh, baby, hello, aren’t you just the best, huh?”

When he enters the living room, Eddie spots that Steve’s fallen asleep immediately. His expression softens, and then he smiles, looks at Dustin and says, “You’re gonna get a crick in your neck if you keep laying all stiff like that.”

“Was worried I’d wake him up.”

“Nah, you won’t. Here, I’ll help.”

And Eddie very carefully manages to tilt Steve further against the back of the couch, giving Dustin just enough room to move away from the embrace so he can stretch out properly.

Eddie is about to head back to his spot on the floor, where he’s placed a sleeping bag from the van, when Steve makes a tiny, vague noise of distress.

Dustin and Eddie both freeze.

“M’gotta…” Steve sighs, face twitching. His eyes remain closed. “Car keys, where… they need… have to…”

“Shh. Hey, Steve, you’re okay.” Eddie reaches across, strokes Steve’s hair. “You’re… you’re just dreaming, sweetheart.”

“Hmm?”

“That’s it, go back to sleep. You’re at Dustin’s remember? Everyone’s safe.”

“Dustin,” Steve echoes faintly. “Safe…”

Eddie waits until Steve has settled back into a deep, hopefully dreamless sleep, then draws back his hand.

Dustin turns, watches him unzip the sleeping bag and lie down.

“Do you love him?” he asks.

Eddie stares up at him. Then: “Yeah,” he says simply.

“Good,” Dustin says.

Eddie’s mouth parts slightly. He blinks. “That’s it?” he whispers.

Dustin blinks back at him. “I mean, yeah? Should I… um, have said something else?”

Eddie exhales a laugh, smiles. “No, you’re good. That was… great.”

A moment of comfortable silence.

“Hey, Dustin.” Eddie lowers his voice further, even though Steve’s out for the count. “He, uh. He doesn’t know, okay? Not… not yet.”

“I kinda think he does, though,” Dustin says, then pulls back the blanket so he can raise one hand in acknowledgment. “But, like, I’m not gonna tell him. Swear on my mom.”

Eddie laughs again, and he somehow makes it sound thoughtful. “We’ll get there, man.”

And Dustin knows Eddie isn’t just referring to him and Steve, dancing around the beginning of something great.

Dustin thinks of Steve waking up and checking the news for car wrecks. Of the nightmares, shared between them all.

We’ll get there.

“You can come round whenever, too, obviously,” Dustin says. “Like, we could make it a thing? Saturdays or something, mom won’t mind. All three of us.”

Eddie’s expression goes soft again, his eyes overly bright. It kind of reminds Dustin of how his mom sometimes looks at him on the first day of school, or Christmas morning.

“What?”

Eddie smiles. “Nothing.” He sighs, closing his eyes. “Just… wish more people were as kind as you, Dustin Henderson.”

Dustin looks down at him, pride and affection welling in his chest. He can feel Steve’s light snores ruffling his hair, and he shuts his eyes, knows that two of the people he loves most in the world are on either side of him.

We’ll be okay. We’ll get there.

[zanepilled]

thought too hard about crystalized and realized that zane keeping his emotions turned off even after they got nya back probably had a Lot to do with the fact that he just had to witness aspheera in the exact same room with the exact same staff as when he got banished ... like hello if i had to have that trauma resurfaced id probably keep my emotions off too goddamn.

if he was feeling emotions during this arc i think he wouldve ended up with this crazy inner turmoil over the decision between keeping aspheera locked away vs saving nya. like, originally the whole reason he turned his emotions off was because of nya's loss— even after everything else he's been through, that was just the last straw. and then suddenly they're all finding out that there is a way to get her back! yay! but in the same minute the conclusion is drawn that the only way to do so is to free aspheera. fucked up

in his normal state, despite the trauma, he'd probably make himself cope for nya's sake given his personality, but the distress would still set him back and he knows that logically

so he keeps his emotions off, following what the team was doing and carrying out his duties robotically, to spare himself the distress as well as to help the plan go smoother for everyone. he knows how important it is to get nya back and knows his feelings regarding aspheera would only further lower his productivity

this one goes out to the fic authors who do canon rewrites. what would the early crystalized arc look like if zane had kept his emotions on?

[cheesus-doodles]

So if it was Mikey that was getting married would the wedding be a lot smoother or is izana crashing the wedding too?

Link to relevant Wedding Ask 1 ; Ask 2

Masterlist

‎

Been a while since I answer a ask and since this came in ;-; im sorry its been almost two years...

No doubt that anything related to Mikey would be absolute chaos, and doubly so if Izana is involved.

Considering just Mikey to begin with, the rest of the Toman founders already aren't very happy - not because you picked Mikey over them or anything of the such (with the exception of Kazutora of course, this baby boy is seething with envy). Okay maybe all of them are a bit jealous over the whole situation, seeing that the blond-haired airhead who was probably the least capable of caring for another person being the one you chose. But still, putting aside their jealousy, the other five just know that it'll be a huge, huge uphill struggle its going to be having to wrangle him into behaving himself so that you would have the time of your life that you deserved.

Getting Mikey to propose to you to start is a fight in itself, because this baby boy doesn't want to bother with anything, not even proposing, lest of all a full wedding - after all, why care when you were already as good as his? Just wants to move in immediately and start gate-keeping cuddles, forehead kisses and head pats. So right from the beginning, it is the other five Toman founders pulling the strings; okay maybe four, because Kazutora would stubbornly refuse to do anything but cling to you and cry for attention. He does not support this wedding one bit and will not hesitate to make it known (even tried asking you to marry him with an onion ring that he was in the midst of eating), though all he gets in return was reassuring pats and extra love.

Baji and Draken pull their weight for the proposal - the First Division Captain would secretly take your ring size while playing a game of chopsticks (don't ask how, he's an expert), while Draken and the brothel girls would pick out a ring. Your wedding dress has 100% been sorted out many years ago by Mitsuya, delicately designed and impeccably crafted to your exact taste and dimensions, and Mikey is getting side-eyed and threatened into being measured for a custom suit if it was the last thing the Second Division captain does. Pah bless his father's real estate company connections has a venue down pat, and Kazutora is brow-beaten in helping with the decorations on the threat of sending you off on a honeymoon with Mikey and without him.

Everyone and anyone would be threatened to tiptoe the line - your wedding will be nothing but perfection, and you would repay their efforts will lots of attention and affection of course.

The guest list is short and vetted over and over again. Immediate family only, no strangers, and absolutely no other men (absolutely not, especially if it wasn't someone the Toman founders knew). You having guests at your wedding was already something they compromised on because they knew you had several people you desperately wanted to invite.

Having to drag Mikey to the actual wedding is an entire issue altogether, and it required all four of them to stuff the stubborn and whiny boy into his suit and whisk his ass off to the wedding venue. Seeing how excited you were for your big day only made the other founders more determined to make sure it goes off without a hitch. The Toman President is tied to a chair and Draken even seats on him so that he doesn't go running off to find you and ruin the surprise of what your wedding dress looked like. Not like Mikey cared, no. He just couldn't wait for cuddles and those handmade taiyakis that his friends told them you had on hand (it was a lie).

But then, for some reason unknown to even god himself, if you somehow caught not only Mikey's but Izana's attention. Oh boy.

Izana is bound to overhear about all the preparations for a wedding and quickly puts together that you, the Tenjiku princess (not Toman's, definitely not, not in a hundred years), were getting ready to marry Mikey, and throws an absolute fit. Unacceptable, outrageous, and downright heresy. Would attempt to storm over to your place and demand an answer, had to be held back from doing so by the combined force of Kakucho, Rindo, Ran and Mochi, who rather not their president start a gang war this very moment.

But this tanned boy was not going to let this slide so easily, no way in hell - he knew what those Toman bastards were planning, and he wasn't going to let them get away with keeping you all to themselves, not when you're probably just going along with it so that you don't make your so-called friends feel bad. So of course Tenjiku starts devising their own plan. Kakucho outright kidnaps you from your school to go ring shopping, biting his tongue and lying that it was a friendship ring (Ran had to be stopped from bursting out laughing). Izana got huffy getting fitted for a suit, and Rindo awkwardly shuffling by the side didn't help much either.

At last when your wedding day rolled around, everything was ready.

And as you started walking down the aisle, Mikey waiting at the end, Tenjiku springs their plan into action. They gate crash your wedding right through the front door, Kakucho, Ran, Rindo and the other executives immediately jumping on the Toman founders while Izana rushes straight through. The white-haired boy barely even having to stop as he sweeps you up into his arms, makes a split turn, and then proceeds to rush back out with just an eep from you, with a mind to get you to his arranged priest/official and making you sign his own document of marriage. Mikey letting out an outraged shout as he gave chase, Mitsuya is shouting, cursing and telling Mikey to be careful with his suit and don't dirty or tear your white dress.

Ends up starting a gang war anyway at your wedding, with Izana expertly turning to intercept a flying kick from Mikey just in time while balancing you in his arms, while the audience (however limited, no one else is allowed to look at you after all, the Toman founders would never allow it) are left looking on in utter disbelief at the fight breaking out in front of their eyes. You probably having to end up calling off your wedding more bemusedly than not when the whole thing devolved into a screaming match with both Izana and Mikey pinching and pushing at each other while insisting you pick one of them right this instance.

Honestly, you thought that getting married to one of them would settle all of them down, since you would be "safe" and they would be able to continue to "protect" you. You didn't think that gang lines would still be drawn, but obviously you were mistaken. Definitely have thought about just picking a third neutral party to marry, but knowing your very fussy, very overprotective baby boys, that would just drag more people into the fight.

[clambuoyance]

Art Process Timelapse - full body

My process when im on the computer goes by way smoother than on my ipad fsr but even so i still erase a lot and make changes on the fly until it "feels right"

I always start with the face because it's the easiest for me to do because i keep the process with the rest of the body super flexible even though more planned sketches would probably help more T-T

you can scrub through the timelapse to see how i do ink strokes and stuff like that! and i have the original video in regular time so if you want to see a particular part slowed just ask :)

there's a lot of technical things happening in my head when i do this and next post i'll try to use cassie as an example for a step by step process that shows things like proportion guidelines and all that :) until then there should be some stuff in #art tips

[ghostflowerhotpotch]

Meet the Parents Part 2

Okay, once again, I rambled for too long and needed to do a second part. Sorry that this post is also coming delayed, real life stuff comes first.

Part 1 to be up to speed!

You know? Maybe it was for the best that the post got cut short, I realized of a small detail that didn't notice yesterday.

The sequence where this four frames are from last around a 1 or 2, I am not really doing this in any professional fashion so I cannot say the exact time; but it is pretty quick, even at half speed.

But you can see how for a moment, Gwen either realizes this is not going well, or drops the enthusiastic persona for a second. Either way, I think it shows that this is not going how she expected.

While Gwen hasn't heard enough to know it was a bad idea using their first names, I don't doubt that Miles talks about them fondly.

She got along well with May and Ben (I notice later that there are some flashbacks including Ben.) And that probably meant a lot to her because you can see how prevalent was the relationship between those families, eating together, talking, etc. Almost like a family.

I don't think Gwen would like to replace Peter and his family, but Miles is not a replacement of Peter anyways. She probably wanted meeting them (Even if I am sure she didn't want to have this meeting today,) would run a lot more smoother.

Because she knows Miles loves his parents, and they do sound like good people; she didn't even seem to think this could actually turn so awkward.

This moment just last a couple of seconds at best, so this goes fairly quickly.

And again, I am not saying this because I want to paint Miles' parents in a bad light; even if they are not giving a fair shot to Gwen, all things consider they are been extremely patient with Miles.

(I really need to do a post about that.)

Now going back to where we left it.

Oh this scene is so hard for me to see.

(Sorry, but DAMN the representation here; this didn't exactly happen to me, but similar enough that is giving me the most embarrassing flashbacks. No I am not saying this is an universal experience, just very painfully real to me.)

Okay, Miles' parents are being over protective here? Oh for sure.

While I think their actions are very logical and understandable once you remember they have no idea what Miles is doing; this is really the part where Rio and Jeff shows us they also need to mature in this movie.

And I don't say it as an insult; a lot of parents have trouble with this transition, and Miles is their first and only child; with said child suddenly not acting as the same kid anymore.

(Sidenote; I am surprised Miles doesn't have any siblings, Jeff and Rio look so in love I am surprised it didn't happen.)

I love how Gwen just takes her hand back, like "well damn I didn't even get a date with him and his parents already are telling me to back off."

Also oof, poor Miles. Honestly forget three months this is probably worse than that already.

Rio making that joke is painfully realistic and let's move on to the other part of that dialogue.

I think Rio and Jeff aren't just trying to establish some rules with Miles (considering the amount he has broken today,) but they also need to reaffirm themselves of being able to dictate what's going on Miles's life.

Again, this is coming just after they grounded him, and then he dipped out. They are feeling they are losing him.

I love Rio, I do, but ma'am this is how you get your kid to keep even more secrets for you.

Not much else to say here, this is the lesson she and Jeff need to learn. Miles is (probably) still hating being alive right now; and Gwen is somehow able to keep that composed face despite everything which has to be one of her most impressive feats in this film.

I honestly have to feel it for Gwen right now.

She probably knows the alert her watch is giving her is bad news, so she really doesn't have another choice.

Forget not making a good impression with Jeff and Rio, now she just lost her chance to have a decent goodbye with Miles.

At this point I don't think she would had admitted to herself this couldn't happen again, I think even now she hoped for another chance later down the line. But there is no idea to know when.

I have no idea what she would had said if she had the chance to say goodbye on her own terms, to his face; but it was certainly not what she ended up doing.

Girl, 3 years being spiderwoman and you can't still come up with good lies for situations like this?

Ok I cannot blame her for not being able to come with up with something better; this entire conversation was already not going well and now she basically needs to flee, which doesn't help.

Oof, look at Miles's face, he really looks so heartbroken here.

For all the awkwardness Gwen has sported during this conversation, this is among her most natural expressions; while she is probably not stranger for dipping early, I do think this is not how she wanted to leave.

Gwen really didn't want to leave, at least not leave Miles. While she couldn't really explain what was going on, I think she wanted to let him no that this isn't about his parents or him, she wouldn't be going out if she didn't have any other choice really.

Jeff hasn't really said much during this conversation, mostly having judgy stares at most, but you can see his expression become a bit more open once he sees Gwen's behaviour change.

Rio I think is trying to maintain a mask because she probably also caught on this looking a bit off, but also because is around here that she starts to realizing how much Gwen means to Miles.

I think is also around this point that Rio seemed to want to say something else.

She could just be trying to say goodbye, but I think her expression and her hand point out more than she actually wanted to intervene here.

I am pretty sure that regardless of how Jeff and Rio felt about Gwen, they didn't want to make her run away like that.

Because again, they are missing context; Gwen is leaving because the Spot flee and she just got herself into a mess, Miles knows this is related to spidey issues.

But as far as Jeff and Rio are concerned, this girl tried to be friendly (way too friendly for their liking but friendly nonetheless,) and is now running away after Rio decided to play Mother Hen.

(Sorry, that joke may not be understandable in english. Mama Gallina/Mother Hen is an expression used a lot in my country for moms that are very protective of their kids.)

Oh, this shot.

This is an interesting comparison because when Miles heard that Gwen was leaving, he looked so crestfallen; she could see it so did his parents but he didn't register the fact that it was so pain this was for him.

Gwen maintained a somewhat composed face to them, but on this shot that she is giving everyone the back, she looks so sad.

This, is basically their relationship in a nutshell. Miles wears his heart in his sleeve and can't help himself on it, and Gwen tries her hardest to keep her emotions at bay, but everything so often they creep back.

This is awkward, and it looks awkward, and this is really more into speculation territory than analysis, but I think she did it because she wanted to go for a hug, or similar.

I had mentioned in other posts how I believe Gwen is an affectionate person, or at least, someone who likes and seeks physical affection to those important to her.

The way she went to hug her dad both at the beginning and end show how much she craves affection; and how she barely contained herself before hugging Miles tells me not just that she probably has even less people to hug nowadays, but how much important he is to her.

But she probably doesn't want to upset his parents more, and his mom told her just a minute ago to basically leave Miles alone; so this was the best she could think of.

Nobody is really happy. Even Rio and Jeff are realizing how uncomfortable is Gwen; thought again, they are probably thinking this is all their fault.

This is really the moment when Rio and Jeff are probably realizing that whatever the heck is going on with Gwen and Miles, is important to them, or at least Miles.

Again, Jeff and Rio are worried, and they have no idea what Gwen's situation is, Miles mentioned she left town but they didn't even believe she existed prior this so they probably doesn't think that's case. Or even if it was, well, keeping contact can't be that hard in this day and age right?

(Sadly, Miles really needed to fall in love with a girl who to get in contact with you need technology from another timeline.)

Miles is 15, and they just met this girl, they couldn't imagine how much she matters to him, specially with all the secrets.

And here, is when Rio finally can let her own feelings aside for a moment, and see her actual son, and not the idea she has of him.

Of course, he is just staring at where she is at, no idea when he would see her again.

A part of me wonders, if he would had tried to go and say something else if his parents wouldn't had been here.

I really, do think Gwen wanted to say something else.

Now with all the context, it makes me so sad to see Gwen leave, and still have trouble to actually do so.

Because she knows this meeting wasn't suppose to happen, and she has no idea if she could ever repeat it or when. She has been so focused on Miles she completely neglected the mission, heck, she even neglected to keep an eye on the guy, which wasn't even so much of a fix for this situation.

You know? Something I kept thinking while analyzing this scene, is how is not just Miles struggling to keep a civial life and a spider life, Gwen is going to the same thing, or similar enough at least.

At this point, she has embraced the Spidey life, she literally has no other choice because she cannot go back home. Her life as Gwen Stacy was gone; being able to just be a carefree teen is left by the times she can be crashing at Hobbie's dimension, and even then, you see that is not enough.

In this sequence, she tries to go back to those patterns, like the camaraderie she had with May, or the jokes she probably shared with her dad's buddies.

But it doesn't go well, and her last moments with Miles were extremely awkward, and them discussing about the organization.

This all feels just like a bitter reminder, she can't be just a teen anymore.

Is a shame, because on the Clock Tower we basically confirm, that Miles was the only person that could make her feel that someone was seeing her for all her. To combine those two worlds she belonged.

But she can't have that now, just like she believes, she can't have Miles.

[starfilmz]

THERE SHE GOES — DEAN F.

⤷ Just tooth-rotting fluff of you talking to Dean Forrester for the first time. ᡣ𐭩

cw: fem!reader, so much fluff and sweetness, just reader being a girl, this is s1 dean since he’s the only i’ve seen, no rory au lmao, unbeta’d so grammar and spelling mistakes are probably there, english is not my first language :,) banner || gif

“Here are the keys, darlin’.” The item jingled in between Ms. Patty’s fingers as it landed on your palms, barely catching it from falling on the piles of snow on the ground. You were never really the graceful one. It took you about a year of living in Stars Hallow to get used to Ms. Patty’s natural whimsicalness and spontaneous energy—you’re not getting any smoother by the days.

You shoved the keys down your pocket, watching as she walked down the small set of stairs. “You’re closing a bit earlier today. Something happened?”

“Tomorrow’s Bid on a Basket, honey! I gotta make my own set for the wonderful event—maybe I’ll be able to enjoy some of my fresh cakes with a fine man,” Ms. Patty winked, giggling to herself. “A lot of people are joinin', I heard. Are you not participating?”

Your mouth contorted into a mixture of a smile and a frown—if that was even possible—as you awkwardly chuckled. “Probably not this time, Ms. Patty.”

As much as you wished to join the fundraiser, most of your free time in the morning was consumed with homework and your jobs. Your mom’s decision to switch jobs last month caused a bit of a financial strain in the family, resulting in you taking on more jobs as she adjusted to her new work.

“I’m working a shift at Luke’s tomorrow. I won’t have the time to make the food and hang out with the lucky bidder.” Your lips formed into a straight line as you looked at her. “Who’s always been my mom, anyway.”

“Don’t be so down, honey. I’m sure there’s a special boy who’s willing to pay for your basket.”

“That’s not—”

“I heard the new boy in your school started working in the grocery store a few weeks ago. Maybe he had some paychecks to spare.”

You snorted at her words. “Ms. Patty, c’mon.”

She had a proud expression as she finally took off, leaving you by yourself at the studio. “See you tomorrow, honey.” You waved goodbye as she left. She was truly an unpredictable woman—you would be lying if you said you didn’t wish to have at least a quarter of her confidence.

You knew of this ‘new boy’ she was talking about. Stars Hallow High School was not big enough for mystery; everyone knows each other if not by name, face, or by being their parents’ friend’s kid. Dean Forester joined a month into the semester, and you were surprised he wasn’t as popular as you expected him to be. But, at the same time, if it weren’t your shared classes with him, you barely saw the boy outside the building.

Lane, one of your childhood friends, was particularly fond of Dean’s friend, Todd. There were moments where you wished you could join on in your friend’s excitement, but—as Lane had commented several times—you were too busy making money to even notice the boys around you. But one single afternoon in between classes, you caught yourself staring far too intensely at Dean when he passed by the hallway when he suddenly met your eyes. You couldn’t recall what you did when it happened, just that it resulted in a startled Lane and a booming sound of your locker closing.

Have you been purposely avoiding him ever since? Yes. It’s not like the two of you talked anyway. Though it didn’t help when you began noticing him in Doose’s market more often than you liked.

You sighed, shaking your head at the one-sided chaos you’ve managed to create in the midst of the boy’s arrival. You weren’t exactly “boy crazy” as Lane’s mom would call the girls in your school, but you’re literally just a girl.

“God forbid I find a guy attractive.” You mumbled to yourself as you began to close the doors of Ms. Patty’s studio. The children had ballet today, so there were twice the amount of tutus inside; an array of pinks, blues, and whites decorated the wooden floors.

As you cleaned up the rest of the clutter, closing boxes and stacking them in the same way you saw them last night, you noticed one particular box was by the door, the heaviest one.

Inside were miscellaneous items (you’re sure some of them were lost as well) and you’ve experienced several aging moments after carrying them all the way to where they should be in the studio—the opposite side of the room.

You stifled a sigh, rolling up the sleeves of your sweater as you crouched down. Whatever was inside the box, new or not, doubled the weight you carried yesterday, and you prayed this wouldn’t be the reason you’ll hurt your back.

Just as you were about to put your hands on the bottom of the box, you heard footsteps on the wooden stairs; one of the hinges on the doors creaked. You had no time to look up and see who it was before you heard the unfamiliar voice.

“Need any help?” Without warning, a face you’ve been dreading to see came into view. His hair fell on both sides of his head as he lowered himself in front of you and the large box.

Dean grinned, his pearly whites showing themselves, and God, why did he have such eye-catching dimples?

You were sure something in your head was short-circuited because of how much you stumbled on your reply. “I- yes, I guess, if you want to- it’s totally up to you, if you want… to help.”

He chuckled at your response, and you can’t really blame him for that, but you decided to ignore the gnawing embarrassment you felt as you laughed along with him. It was the first you’ve ever heard his laugh—his voice in general, actually—and somehow, with your logic, you thought it fitted him perfectly.

You saw his arm move around behind the box in between the two of you, as if looking for something underneath. Dean still had a smile on his face as he readjusted himself on the floor, mimicking your crouched position. It took you by surprise to feel his hand on yours, and you had to fight back the urge to flinch.

“Here, take both of your hands under these corners, and I’ll take the opposite,” Dean instructed, moving your hands into position. You brushed off the thought of how his hands consumed yours. “then we’ll stand up on three.”

You nodded, feeling the weight of the box shift as he adjusted his grip. “One… two… three.” The two of you rose together, the box hovering between you, expectedly heavy but manageable as you moved in sync.

The two of you placed the box on the ground with a huff. You had to stretch your back as you stood up. Dean was doing the same thing, though his expression seemingly filled with amusement. He doesn’t say anything and you raised an eyebrow at this.

“What?” You said, pulling down your sleeves.

Dean shook his head. “It’s nothing. I, um, wasn’t expecting to see you here. Do you work for Ms. Patty?”

You caught the way he changed the subject, but decided to leave it alone for now. “Aren’t we all?”

This caused a chuckle from him as he scratched the back of his neck. “That’s true. I still haven’t thanked her for getting me a job at Doose’s.”

Dean followed you around the studio as you continued to pick up props and tutus off of the floor. He would grab what looked out of place and parroted where you’d place them. You didn’t protest at his presence—as much as you wanted to for the sake of your own mental health—and allowed him to help along. Besides, you didn’t have the heart to kick him out, and while your brain protested, your heart wasn’t exactly against Dean.

“The best thank you you could give her is probably keeping the job she gave you,” you joked and followed up with, “and bid on her basket.”

As you chucked the last baton inside with the others, you turned around and almost bumped into Dean with how close he was.

“Wish I could, but I was told to go do a quick morning shift just in case people would do their last minute baking.” He tilted his head slightly, his voice filled with humor.

“Sounds great. Let me know if you need a morning boost; I’ll be at Luke’s serving the best coffee around.”

Dean nodded, a grin making its way to his face, and said, “I’ll make sure to visit.” There was a few seconds of silence before he picked up his eyes to look at you. “You’re not going to do a basket?”

“No, not this year. Life’s been busting my tail lately, so I don’t really have the time.” You shrugged, putting your hands behind your back as you awkwardly leaned against one of the wooden boxes.

“That’s a shame,” Dean replied, walking over to your side to rest his back on one of the boxes as well. Your shoulders touched—specifically your shoulder against the side of his upper arm—and it all dawned on you at how tall he was.

You turned your head to look at him, failing to hide your surprise when he was already looking over at you.

“A shame? How so?”

“I’d bid the highest, for sure. Just hanging out with your famous cupcakes Lane talked about.”

You’ve recalled several instances in your life when you were physically stunned at a person, but none of them could compare to what’s happening. Dean’s eyes were still on you, waiting for a reaction, a response, literally anything, and yet you just stood there like a flustered child receiving your first love letter.

It’s a lot more important to remember that you’ve never spoken to this boy before. You knew one day your worlds would collide eventually in the small town of Stars Hollow, but you’ve never realized it was happening right under your nose.

And since when Dean and Lane talked?

You and her were always attached to the hip, telling each other every single little detail about the in-between moment of the day when the two of you weren’t together. She’s never mentioned talking to Dean about you.

“You don’t need to spend money to hang out with me.” was the next best thing of a response you could think of. “I mean, you’re doing it right now.”

Dean chuckled, nodding. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

“And if you wanted to try my cookies, try visiting Luke’s,” you added, having a little bit more confidence in your tone this time. “But you have to buy them at the exact time we opened; there’s a reason why Lane calls it famous.”

A grin was on your face as soon as you heard his laugh. Your previous panic seemed to die down as a calm silence washed over you two. The doors to the studio were still wide open, letting in the cold breeze of the night brush past you and Dean.

The sweater you wore didn’t help your spine from shivering. You wore whatever you saw first in your closet when Ms. Patty called, and you weren’t exactly planning to stay for this long.

The sound of rustling made you look over at Dean. “What are you doing?”

He took his leather jacket off of him, that boyish smile on his face again, as he placed it on your shoulder. “I heard it’s going to be especially cold tonight.”

You made no effort to protest as his hands gently tucked the jacket on your shoulders, brushing some of your hair on the back of your ears. The freezing temperature inside the studio only made the heat on your cheeks twice as noticeable.

Dean patted you down, in attempt to warm you up, before retracting his hands to his side. “Better?”

You snuggled further into the leather jacket, taking in the familiar musk you’ve been smelling since the boy got here. “Yeah. Thank you, Dean.”

Maybe skipping one shift at Luke’s wouldn’t hurt.