#me and code errors are besties for life

[malaidarling]

cutely forgot the programming part of my degree now i need to learn all of python for my final in two weeks. oh my.

[yokumirumerafan]

Saiki. K Characters x reader

So I figured there's not enough fic about these cuties, and I should add more interesting shit to my writings cuz they're getting way boring day by day; so here ya'll go (if there's anyone like Merafan on this planet of course who actually simps for these guys and watched the show ;-;)

🧠 SAIKI KUSUO (THE RELUCTANT LOVE INTEREST™)

You somehow manage to get this man flustered despite the fact that he can literally read your thoughts. How?? He has no idea. But every time you look at him with that soft little smile, his brain just goes: "Error. Error. Malfunctioning."

He'll pretend to be unbothered, sipping his coffee jelly while you gush over something cute. But internally? He’s screaming.

You ever think about kissing him? Good luck because this man will literally TELEPORT AWAY before you even finish the thought. One time you tried to surprise him with a hug, and he just blinked out of existence. 💀

"Saiki, be honest, do you like me?" "No." "Okay, so if I start dating someone else—" "You will be vaporized."

The only reason he tolerates his friends dragging you along on their dumb adventures is that you’re the only person who doesn’t actively cause him migraines.

He swears he doesn’t get jealous, but if Teruhashi even thinks about flirting with you, this man will LITERALLY put up a psychic barrier around you. 💀

😎 KAIDO SHUN (THE CHUUNIBYOU BOYFRIEND™)

This man will write you a whole-ass love letter but disguise it as a "coded message from the Dark Reunion." 💀 "My dearest Y/N, the forces of darkness have their eyes on us… but do not fear, for as the Jet-Black Wings, I shall protect you with my very life—" Saiki, reading it telepathically: "You are so embarrassing."

If anyone flirts with you, he will literally step in front of you like: "Hmph… pathetic. Do you not realize you're talking to the lover of the great Jet-Black Wings?" Random guy: "Huh??"

If you ever praise him, his brain short-circuits. "Y/N THINKS I'M COOL. Y/N ACKNOWLEDGED MY POWER. I MUST TRAIN HARDER."

You jokingly call him your "dark knight", and this man DOES NOT SHUT UP ABOUT IT FOR A WEEK.

💪 NENDO RIKI (THE HIMBO KING™)

Nendo has exactly three brain cells, and all of them are dedicated to loving you.

He will just randomly give you gifts. A rock? A slightly squished sandwich? His left shoe? "Here ya go, babe. Thought of ya when I saw this."

Once tried to carry you everywhere like a princess. Saiki had to telepathically stop him before he threw out his back.

Calls you the goofiest nicknames like "sugar nugget" or "love muffin". You cannot stop him. Ever.

He 100% thinks holding hands = engaged and has ALREADY planned your wedding in his head.

💁 TERUHASHI KOKOMI (THE QUEEN OF "OH?!"™)

She was used to everyone falling at her feet, but when you treated her like a normal person, she was like: "HUH??? EXCUSE ME???"

But now she’s obsessed with you because you actually like her for who she is, not just her looks. She’s literally blushing and twirling her hair every time you speak.

She tries to act like the perfect "goddess," but you’ve SEEN her lose her cool, and she’s mortified. One time, she stubbed her toe and went "GAH, SON OF A—" in front of you and almost DIED from embarrassment.

Gets jealous so easily. Some rando smiles at you? She’s already plotting their downfall while keeping her angelic smile on.

"Oh?~ You like someone else?" Cute giggle *"Haha, just kidding" but she’s gripping her glass so hard it’s about to shatter.*

👓 AIURA MIKU (THE CHAOTIC BESTIE/GF™)

She LOVES teasing you. Randomly leans in all close like she’s gonna kiss you, then pulls away last second like "Oops, did I make your heart race?~"

"Babe, lemme do a fortune reading for our love life!" And then she rigs it so it says you’re soulmates. 💀

If she sees someone getting too friendly with you, she just slides in like "Hiiiii, babe~ who’s this?" and stares them down.

Random late-night dates where she just texts you: "Meet me outside in 5, don’t ask why." Then you end up at some beach looking at the stars while she cuddles you like "Told ya this would be fun~".

👔 TORITSUKA REITA (THE WALKING RED FLAG™)

This man SIMPS for you so hard but in the most CRINGE way possible.

Sends you texts like "Hey babe, wanna see me do a kickflip? 👀" and then immediately texts "nvm broke my ankle."

Tries to show off, but it backfires every time. Like, he’ll be like "Hey Y/N, watch this!" and then trip over his own feet.

If you call him handsome ONCE, he will NEVER LET IT GO. "So you think I’m hot? 👀 Don’t worry, babe, you can admit it."

The only time he’s ACTUALLY useful is when ghosts are involved. Otherwise, he’s just your dumbass fanboy boyfriend who worships the ground you walk on.

⚔️ KUBOYASU AREN (THE EX-DELINQUENT HIMBO BF™)

This man is the definition of "I am a reformed man… but I WILL still throw hands if necessary."

He tries to be a soft, chill boyfriend, but if someone so much as looks at you funny, his delinquent instincts activate. "Babe, I swear I’m different now—" "Aren, put the bat down." "…No."

Blushes SO easily. You grab his hand? Red. You kiss his cheek? Red. You call him "cute"? DEAD.

One time you joked about liking "bad boys," and he got SO TORN between staying reformed and going back to his delinquent era just to impress you. 💀

He’s the type to act all tough, but the moment you do anything remotely affectionate, he melts. "I ain’t some soft romantic guy." "You literally held my hand and skipped down the street yesterday." "…Shut up."

Protective AF. Like, he’s trying SO HARD to be a good boy, but if he ever sees someone bothering you, he has to physically restrain himself from roundhouse kicking them into next week.

Loves dumb couple stuff but refuses to admit it. Matching hoodies? "That’s lame." (He’s already wearing it.) Holding hands under the table? "Unnecessary." (His grip tightens when you try to pull away.)

He texts you the most contradictory things: "Babe, I’m a man of honor. I don’t do cute pet names." [5 minutes later] "Good morning, sunshine muffin 💖."

One time Nendo flirted with you as a joke, and you had to PHYSICALLY HOLD AREN BACK before he drop-kicked him across the classroom.

Gives you his jacket 24/7. Even if you’re not cold, even if he’s the one freezing, you’re wearing his jacket because that’s just how it is.

If you get hurt, he PANICS. "IT’S JUST A SCRATCH, AREN—" "WE’RE GOING TO THE HOSPITAL."

Dumbass delinquent love language: Will ruffle your hair aggressively as a sign of affection but then complain when you do it back.

Randomly confesses again even though you’re already dating. Like, you’ll just be chilling, and he’s like "Hey. Just so you know… I love you, alright?" as if you forgot. 😭

Secretly a huge cuddle bug. But only when no one else is around. Will literally trap you in his arms and be like "You’re mine now. No escape."

Tell me if this was good <33

[signanothername]

UT/UTMV Comics masterpost

All masterposts

This will include every comic I made so far, the links will be arranged from oldest to newest, I will also specify which characters these links focus on for easier navigation

*tip! Those in red text will contain an explicit discussion/visual display of some sort of trigger/content warning, these could be blood, emotional or physical abuse, emotional manipulation, death, self destructive behaviors, implied or discussed suicidal ideation, suggestive content or other sensitive topics

*tip! Those in orange text will contain an implied or mentioned trigger/content warning but no explicit discussion/visual display

Let me know if I missed color coding anything :)

A never ending game - Killer and Apple twins

Brink of death - Apple twins

You don’t even know how it started - Apple twins

Linguists… - Killer and Nightmare

Misplaced hatred part 1 - apple twins

Misplaced hatred part 2 - apple twins

One brain cell - MTT

Trauma - Apple twins

Killer vs Error

Foolish for you to trust yourself - Color Spectrum

Crocodile tears - Nightmare

Mugs - Nightmare gang

Besties? - Killer and Ink

Strangers - Apple twins

Will he ever truly escape?

Nonexistent mercy - Color Spectrum and Nightmare

Final request - Apple twins

Get humbled Nightmare - Killer and Nightmare

Worth it - Color Spectrum

Emotional suppression - Killer and Nightmare

As dead as you’re going to be - Apple twins

Guilt trip town - Color Spectrum

“Handson experience” - Killer and Horror

Eating problems - MTT

Keeping the kitties safe - Color spectrum

A Little life update - Killer and Nightmare

Choice - Color Spectrum

Thanatophobia - Nightmare gang

Killer vs Dream

Read like an open book - Nightmare and Color

On the topic of kindness - Nightmare and Color

Two Nightmares

999 souls - Apple twins

Delta vs Killer

Numb - Color Spectrum

Dream’s room

Cinnamon roll - Color Spectrum

Not human nor monster - Color Spectrum

Nightmare and a kitty

Watched… - Killer and Nightmare

Subconscious protectiveness - Nightmare and Color

Apple pins - Apple twins

Uncorrupted Nightmare

I love you (part 1) - Apple twins

I love you (Part 2) - Apple twins

Taunting - Killer and Nightmare

Soul capture (part 1) - Nightmare and Killer

Soul capture (part 2) - Nightmare and Killer

Dream’s bed - Nightmare

A beautiful haunting smile

When love hurts more than hate

All's fair in love and war - Apple twins

A promised kiss - Apple twins

Your own worst enemy - Nightmare and Killer

Dearest, who hurt you? - Apple twins

Make it hurt - Nightmare and Geno

Arcane reference 1 - Apple twins

Arcane reference 2 - Apple twins

Letting off steam - Apple twins and Killer

A frightened child - Apple twins

Familiarity - Nightmare and Killer

You’re as beautiful as the day I lost you - Color Spectrum Duo

Engrossed yet blocked out love - Apple twins

A will of steel - Nightmare and Murder

Erased and forgotten - Color

Constant menace - Error and Ink

Healing - Apple twins

One rule (part 1) - Nightmare, Killer and Murder

The end is never (part 2 of one rule) - Nightmare and Murder

Dissonance - Color Spectrum Duo

Apathetic - Color Spectrum Duo and Epic Sanses

Molded - Nightmare and Color Spectrum Duo

Strike one - Cross and Killer + Chromatic Crew

Unfeeling machine - Nightmare and Killer

Capturing moments - Color Spectrum Duo

Hierarchy - Nightmare, Cross and Killer

Stone grave - Apple twins

Ultimatum (part 1) - Nightmare and Horror

Ultimatum (part 2) - Nightmare and Horror

Twisted love - Color Spectrum Duo

Grounded in a lost identity - Color

Pets - Killer and Horror

Reaching out for what’s missing - Apple twins

Emotional manipulation - Apple twins

You can’t fix me - Apple twins

Illusion of choice - Murder and Killer + Nightmare

A small mercy - Color Spectrum + Nightmare

Conditioning - Nightmare and Killer

A secret unfolded - Horror sans and Papyrus + Nightmare

Hungover - Murder and Killer + Nightmare

Two types of “I hate you” - Error, Nightmare and Ink

[venelona-turtle-den]

Hiiii! I just wanna say, I love the desktop old man to bits, and I recently hit 100 headpats just a little bit ago, it was the best moment of my life, absolutely amazing However, I think I ran into an error or something? it was hecking weird; I think I'd just asked him about Mikey or something, and then suddenly my computer told me SSP ran into an error, and then my Discord crashed, and my computer's clock set to 9/20/3884? I wasn't able to double click Leo at the time either, it sent me to the SSP error log, which was going absolutely crazy; I don't have a picture of how many error messages were going at that moment specifically, cause I panicked and closed out SSP entirely, but I do have an image of some of the error messages just before i noticed the Great Clock Time Skip of 3884. They were all the same error message I think, though, so it should be fine. Leo had run into a weird bug beforehand as well, where SSP had just told me it 'run into an error' and the error log showed up, but at the time Leo seemed to be running fine, and no major problems seemed to be happening? I was able to just put the error log away at the time and nothing else happened, but when I tried to close the program out and start it again so I could give Leo another pizza, it said that it 'seemed to be already running' and there might be data loss if I booted it back again, so I went to Task manager and closed whatever weird thing of it was going on in the background (it looked like some sort of weird SSP error thing, like it had the alert yellow triangle sign and everything) but after I closed that out, booted Leo up, and played with him for like half an hour or so, that's when the Great Clock Time Skip of 3884 happened. Hopefully you'll be able to sort this out somehow? I don't know exactly how you would, I don't know coding or anything, but I believe in you! Love your work and Leo in general, he's great; he's my bestie now, he watches me while I draw cute fluffy things and listen to deeply contrasting dark and depressing music

(By the way, it was about 2:20-ish where I am at the time of the Great Clock Time Skip, so I think Leo might've thrown my clock about 14 or so hours???? Heckin weird stuffs)

....i'm sorry this is mean but i'm laughing my ass off from the fact that Future Leonardo sent you to the FUTURE. TO THE YEAR 3884.

For real tho, sorry you're running into such weird troubles. This makes me feel like this is a SSP issue and you should try and reinstall it if you could. You can try right clicking Leo -> Utilities -> Check SSP updates (fifth line from the top) and update SSP.

About the calendar - Leo has an option to open the calendar, as well as an option to set your clock correctly (which... I forgot to program a button to initiate... perhaps it somehow activated?) but I have no idea what happened and why that date and that year came up.

If updating SSP won't work please write me another ask or dm! Sorry for messing up your calendar.

[ramp-it-up]

Pass the Bottle

Pairing: Sebastian Stan x Actress! Reader; Chris Evans x Actress! Reader (in his head)

Summary: What happens when bored actors go out on the town? The potential is limitless.

Word Count 1.4K

Warnings: 18+ Only, Minors DNI. RPF. SMUT! Read at your own risk, pining, drinking, innuendo, serious sexual tension, bratty behavior, exhibitionism, a little voyeurism, fingering, not- private sex act, Not Beta’d. All errors my own. Dividers by @firefly-graphics.

A/N: This is a little dabble to set the scene for some 1Kinktober fics. This is just the beginning… 😏

I Do NOT Consent to my work being reposted, translated or presented on any other blog or site other than by myself.

You weren’t supposed to be going out, but the three of you were bored, the only scenes left to shoot being the ones that featured you all. So you decided to go.

Fuck Marvel. And Disney.

The franchise was built on Chris and Seb, and you were the darling new star. No one thought that a relatively unknown black actress would do so well. And so soon.

Tonight you made sure that you looked good enough to make mouths water. The tension had gotten so high over three months that you felt like something was going to break. And you were beginning to realize that Seb wasn't the only one wanting a taste of you.

Chris was also checking for you.

Chris met you 10 minutes after Seb did and if it hadn’t been for that, you would be his girl. So he settled for bestie. Life on set with you three was a movie outside of the movie. You became inseparable, except for when you were alone with Seb.

Sebastian didn’t care who knew about you two. He posted you on social media and was open yet private about your relationship. You were a rising star who was having fun and knew what you wanted. And you wanted Sebastian.

Chris was fine, no doubt, but Sebastian had you hooked from jump.

Even though you could be a brat, that was what attracted Seb to you. How he loved handling you. Chris just wanted a chance at that.

You walked downstairs in the secret location brownstone that Marvel rented for the cast in Brooklyn while filming in NYC. Even though Seb’s place was in Manhattan, he stayed here to be with you. There was only you, Seb, and Chris left in the house.

Sebastian watched you as you came down the stairs.

“Look at this. A pretty little devil descending from heaven. Did you get kicked out?”

The dress you had on shimmered, just like your skin, most of which was uncovered. You laughed at Seb’s smooth words, he was charm personified.

"You like?"

Sebastian’s steel blues swept over your form.

"I love."

You and Sebastian stood there, not touching, energy making you breathless. A movie played between you as you stared each other down, and it was fire.

Sebastian claimed your mouth and body as his own, pulling you toward him your waist and roughly kissing you, tongue action destroying your panties.

The feel of Sebastian's hands and lips on you caused a little moan in your throat. Seb had to will his hands not to roam.

While Seb was charming you, Chris stood there tongue tied. He cleared his throat as he stood up. He wanted you, but there was the bro code to consider. And strangely he had no hard feelings toward Seb.

Chris was just hard for you.

"So, what's on tap for tonight?"

Seb looked at you.

"What do you want to do?"

You looked between him and Chris.

"What do you have for me to try?"

Chris coughed to cover a groan. He’d love for you to try him. He watched, mesmerized as you winked at him and smiled. He almost went there, but he decided better of it and just gave you a half grin.

“I got it! A date with two of the world’s hottest men.”

Seb just shook his head and grabbed a bottle of Koval while Chris grinned, happy to be included.

“Let’s go. Ride is waiting”

A black Sprinter was parked outside of the building. It was a cool New York night and the fall chill made your nipples peak. It was obvious in the thin dress you were wearing and Chris thought he was playing off checking them out as Seb put his arm around you.

Seb just wanted to pull you into his lap as you settled into your seats, but he decided to chill. The vibe was underway as the Sprinter pulled into the street.

Seb got real close and whispered in your ear, “Wanna give him a show?” and put his hand on your leg. You giggled and shook your head, biting your lip as you looked into Seb’s eyes, then over at Chris. You weren’t quite sure. Yet.

Chris watched as Seb’s hand went higher and higher, finally reaching the hem of your dress, which was incredibly short. His fingers felt so good that you opened your legs for Seb.

Chris could feel the heat from across the vehicle. He wondered if you were wearing panties or not and tried not to crane his head so he could see.

Chris grabbed the bottle from Seb.

“Looks like you two are busy, so I’m gonna start drinking.”

He looked around for glasses, cups, anything but the pure, unadulterated sexuality on display in front of him.

Seb grabbed the bottle back from Chris and broke the seal.

“We can share. If you want.”

He said it with a pointed look at his buddy’s blue eyes. He took a sip and smiled, then moved the bottle to your lips.

You’d been watching Chris and saw him in a new light. Your wheels started turning.

You opened your mouth and let Seb give you a drink, watching Chris’s eyes close halfway as he watched you. Seb pulled the bottle away and some of the bourbon dribbled down your cleavage.

He handed the bottle to Chris who took it and drank as Sebastian leaned over and licked it off of you, using his wide tongue to collect the alcohol. You just crossed your legs and held on to the seat, not wanting to mess up Seb’s hair.

The look in Chris’s eyes as his Ruby red lips shined from the liquor made you feel aroused. And not guilty at all.

You held out your hand to Chris and said, “Give.”

Chris almost got up until he realized you meant the bottle.

You turned the bottle up as Seb sat back in his seat and watched you drink, wiping some of the liquid off his mouth.

“Fuck, baby. Those lips. Holy shit.”

Seb was licking his lips at the sight of yours wrapped around the bottle. Chris thought, ‘Same.’

You passed the bottle to him and asked him a question, feeling Chris’s eyes on you but not acknowledging them. Seb took a drink and then passed it to Chris. Then, he widened his legs and pushed his crotch toward you.

“Wanna blow me in front of Evans?”

Chris spluttered as he choked on the bourbon. You laughed and took the bottle, leaning over him to pat his back.

Chris could smell you, almond buttered cleavage on display for him. You tipped his chin up so you could look him in the eyes.

“You okay Chris?”

“What? Oh. Yes.”

He laughed and you sat on Seb’s lap, chugging from the bottle. Your buzz was nice and rolling and you twerked on your man’s lap as Chris unabashedly stared.

The men’s attention was getting you high, counterbalancing the effects of the alcohol.

Seb’s hands were on your thighs again, his hot breath on your shoulder as he peeked over it to glance at Chris. He was busy, so you passed the bottle back to Chris who gulped it down as he watched.

Sebastian’s hands were on the move, one under your skirt playing in your pussy as your eyes closed and you let him have his way, and the other almost to the point of lifting the hem and giving Chris a million dollar view.

His heart started beating a mile a minute as he watched you, face blissed out as you grinded on Seb’s wood and licked your lips in time with Seb swiping his fingers over your cunt.

Chris had to adjust himself in the seat as his cock swelled, not caring to hide it anymore as you and Seb persisted.

All of a sudden, the sprinter stopped, and so did you.

“We’re heeere!”

You squealed, your mood changing almost instantly.

You clapped your hands and moved back to your seat to check your make up and take a selfie before you exited the van.

Seb laughed at Chris, who looked in pain as he took another stiff drink to counteract what was going on in his pants. Seb grabbed the bottle, giving Chris a whif of you on his fingers as he glanced amusedly at his friend.

You jumped out of the vehicle, ready to party, as Seb leaned over to a dazed Chris who trailed you uneventfully into the restaurant, paparazzi not having been tipped off yet.

“She’s something else, isn’t she?”

Chris looked back at his friend, his eyebrow shooting up.

“She’s everything.”

Let me know if you like it!

Tags:

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[hesgunnalovethis]

Not That Bad

Leonard McCoy x Reader

Summary: You have the severity of your injuries in a twist sending Leonard McCoy’s blood pressure through the roof

TW: injury descriptions and strong language 

ft. bestie Jim Kirk <333

Masterlist!

Word Count: 1737

“Yes. No. I understand Mr Spock. Cuttings on your desk in 40 minutes. Got it.” You closed your comm and checked your watch. 

 You’d spent 16 hours Planetside and after a complication that had landed most crew in the MedBay, you agreed to help out botany to complete the mission report. Really you didn’t have a clue what you were doing but you concluded it couldn’t be that hard. 

 Cross referencing the plants in front of you to the list on your PADD, you picked up the plier looking utensil and began clipping the stems from the root. 

 “Maybe I should transfer to science.” You muttered to yourself after you’d successfully pressed the first few cuttings into their sample bags. 

Taking the next stem between your fingers you picked up the pliers and cut through the green and your fingertip, simultaneously. Blood shot upwards from your finger. You scoffed at the inconvenience. 

 You grabbed the first aid kit and examined the content that your Chief Medical Officer boyfriend had once talked you through and began to wish you’d listened. 

 Failing to remember anything, you wrapped a plaster around the top of your finger and watched it turn from white to red almost immediately. You tried layering another on top which bled through just as fast. After a failed third layer you took yourself from the lab and started towards the MedBay. 

 You stopped for a moment scouring your brain for which corridors to take. It had been so long since you’d actually journeyed to the MedBay by choice. You’d been utilising your doctor shared quarters. 

 Arriving at the desk you checked your watch again. 20 minutes before Spock was expecting you. You began to panic and turned to the receptionist. 

 “Could you ask Doctor McCoy to see me? It’s pretty urgent.” You said, grabbing a bundle of tissues from the display to contain the droplets falling from your finger. 

 The receptionist did as you asked and you heard Leonard through the comm.

 “On the bridge?” He asked. 

 “No, Sir. Here in the MedBay.” The receptionist in front of you responded. 

 “In the Med-“ You heard a fuss beginning through the comm and then a room number you were to be assigned. 

 No sooner had you arrived, a half scrubbed in Leonard burst through the door desperately searching for what heinous emergency had beckoned you to his MedBay. 

 “Are you being serious right now!?” Leonard asked ripping off the last of his scrub uniform. 

 “Always good to see you too, Lee.” You responded, smiling. 

 Sighing softly he shot you an apologetic look and planted a kiss on your cheek. 

 “Hi, darlin’” He whispered letting down his doctor guard and allowing his southern drawl back in. He began to look you over again, “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” 

 You lifted your hand removing the tissue to reveal your slightly bloodied finger. Leonard took a step back rubbing his temples. 

 “Y/N, darlin’. PUT A PLASTER ON IT?!”

 “I tried that! It keeps bleeding though!” You whined. 

 “There are people DYING in here, Y/N.” 

 “Oh go on, please. I have lab work due in 15 minutes and I can’t work with this bleeding all over the samples!” 

 Leonard sighed and moved to the other side of the room to collect the dermal regenerator. Taking your hand in his he kissed the cut before placing it under the machine.

 He caught your eyes with his. “I left a 6 hour surgery for this.” 

 - 

 The next day you took your healed finger with you on your next mission where your team successfully released several hostages and transported their authoritative grasp to Enterprise Security.  

 “All clear, Jim.” You said to your comm after clearing the last room on your final check. 

 “Received. Take the turbolift to the bridge and let’s get out of here.” 

 Stepping into the foreign tube you found it very similar to Starfleet’s and got it moving towards the bridge. You began to hear Jim’s voice on the other side before the lift stumbled to a halt. 

 “Um, Jim?” You shouted through the metal. 

 “Great.” Jim said clocking the flashing error sign on the lift. “Don’t worry Lieutenant. We’ll... pry it open.” 

 “Full proof.” You said to yourself, getting ready to pull from your side. 

 After a brief plan outline and a countdown you began to pull. A small gap opened to the side and you managed to squeeze your body through before the door clattered closed on your newly regenerated finger. 

 “Again?! Why is it always you?” You asked your finger, pulling it from the metals grip and eying the purple residue left on it. 

 “Me?” Jim asked, doubled over from the effort he’d just exerted, before being distracted by his comm, “Bones! Yes, just calling to let you know of the ZERO injuries incoming to the MedBay!”

 “Zero injuries?” You cut him off. “This is a broken bone for sure.” 

 “Oh my god.” Jim said in disgust looking at the weird purple oil all over the metal, your finger and subsequently his uniform. “Why is it that colour?!” 

 “Dammit, Jim.” You heard through the comm before Leonard hung up and Jim reconnected to the transporter room. 

 You arrived back on the transporter pad to Leonard’s eyes burning a hole in you and pinching the bridge of his nose. 

 “Broken bone?” He said walking towards you.

 “This bastard finger.” You said and Leonard took your wrist to examine it.  

 “THIS-“ He stopped abruptly and calmed himself. “This is a finger, Y/N. BARELY a bone.” He examined it further, “I’m not even convinced that’s broken?” 

 “Tell you what though, it really fucking hurts.” You petted your lip at him. 

 Slipping an arm around your waist he led you out of the transporter room and towards the MedBay. “Let’s get you patched up sweetheart, but we really have to talk about your hyperbole.” 

 -

 It was a few days before you were due to arrive at your next destination and Jim had roped you into helping with his ensign combat training. 

 “It’s basically target practice.” Jim said in conclusion to a confused looking group of redshirts. “The phasers I’ve given you won’t shoot, but will read on the side if you’ve hit your target. It’s like laser tag! You’ve all played laser tag, right?” The room was silent. “And that’s another added to the list of shore leave activities.” 

 “Captain Kirk and I will be over here as moving targets.” You started, taking over from Jim. “Try and shoot me without hitting the Captain. Got it?” 

 You and Jim moved over to the course beginning the same choreographed fight you’d been using for years. You heard the pathetic fake phaser shots over and over and were beginning to question almost all of your life choices as a deafening shot fired and struck your side. 

 “Y/N!” Jim fell to your side, “PHASERS DOWN!” He shouted to the group briefly trying to determine which one hadn’t followed his only instruction ‘Do not bring your own phaser.’ 

 There was a small commotion before you heard Jim’s voice again. “Kirk to MedBay I need a team to training room 1 immediately.” 

 You found yourself back in the same biobed you’d frequented for past 3 days consecutively and tried to keep up with the nurses’ quick conversations. 

 “Someone page McCoy now.” You heard one of them say. 

 “Not Leonard-“ You interrupted, “He’ll jus- is there anyone else?”

 “Not anyone who could patch you up like Doctor McCoy.” One of the nurses stated opening their comm. “Doctor McCoy to room 6. On the double. It’s-“ 

 “Lieutenant Y/L/N?” Leonard cut off the nurse. 

 “Yes.” She replied. 

 “For once I’m not even surprised.” 

 The nurses continued fussing around you and your biobed beeps became angrier. 

 You watched the door open and Leonard’s face turn from passiveness to urgency in a millisecond. 

 “My god!” He shouted, dropping his board and beginning to order nurses to different machines connected to your bed. 

 “Listen, Leonard it’s not THAT bad.” 

 “NOT THAT BAD?! YOU’VE BEEN SHOT?!”  Leonard flicked his eyes between you and your vitals. 

 “Yeah, but, shot in a controlled environment.” 

 “You’ve been in here with a cut and a stave, guns blazing, and now you’ve been shot it’s ‘NOT THAT BAD?!’” 

 “Granted this doesn’t look-“ You were cut off by a wave of pain that sent you wincing. 

 “Hell.” Leonard turned to his own station briefly. “You’re not gonna like this sweetheart but you can tell me all about it when you’re back in one piece.” Leonard planted a kiss on your head and a hypo in your neck, sending you into sleep. 

-

Coming back to, you heard your biobed beeping at a normal rhythm and a strong accent beside you. 

 “I don’t care what his test scores are, he shot a Lieutenant I want him gone.” 

 “Leonard.” You scolded. 

 “Darlin’” He moved to you instantly closing his comm without a word. “How are you feeling?”

 “I’m fine. Sore neck.” You said rubbing where he’d hypo’d you. His eyes were still racked with worry. “It was an accident. That’s why we train them we-“ 

 “Darlin’ if he isn’t removed from this ship the only accident will be me prescribing him with cyanid capsules instead of his iron tablets.” He looked over your vitals again before picking up his clipboard, “But you let me worry about that. You can worry about this.” He handed you a laminated sheet entitled ‘Doctor McCoy’s Guide to a Serious Injury.’ 

 You shot him an annoyed look. 

 “Just so there’s no more confusion.” He winked at you. You glanced over the ‘Serious Injury: To Be Reported’ column. 

 “I hardly think ‘A sudden cough’ is a serious injury, Leonard.” You scoffed. 

 “Oh sure. Let’s just let your DNA de-evolve into non humane codes exterminating crucial pairings.” 

 “Noted.” You said admiring the doctor’s bedside manner, “Is there a second page?” You said spotting another sheet in his hand. 

 “No. This is Jim’s copy.” Leonard replied. 

 “Of course.” 

 Leonard brushed your hair behind your ears and smoothed your forehead. “I’m glad you’re finally visiting the MedBay doll, but I would prefer if you kept your trips to mandatory immunisations and essential check-ups.” 

 “I wouldn’t hold your breath, Doctor.” You said brushing your lips against his. 

“And somehow I still wouldn’t change you for the world.” Leonard said quietly before closing the space left between you.

[justtaythings]

@taylorswift @taylornation

Waited in the queue all day

Had nothing left to say

Long story short, it was a bad time

Stuck at 2000+

Convinced it was all a bust

Long story short, Ticketmaster had died

Now I get to go to Eras…

I get to go to Eras, ah

Yeah, yeah 🖤

Got the error message with every click

Thought I was gonna get sick

Long story short, I gave up

Checked back one last time

Fate threw me her last life line

Long story short, I survived 🥹

SWIFTIES: We are all beat down and discouraged after yesterday, but don’t lose hope!

Get to your queue early! Once it starts moving, she starts MOOOOOOVING! Took me less than 30 mins to get through the first time once things actually started going (ya know, 6.5 hrs after the fact 🙃), 15 the second.

If you’re getting the error code of death, TRY RE-ENTERING YOUR CODE! My dash was saying I wasn’t logged in or it didn’t recognize my account. After I re-entered my code, the only message I got was if someone else purchased the tickets before I could!

I REFRESHED THRICE AND WAS FINE! Maybe just a fluke but 🤷🏼‍♀️ otherwise I would’ve been stuck on a frozen seating map indefinitely.

If you’re having a hard time and still only getting error codes, just switch devices! I know it’s risky, but I wouldn’t have gotten tickets any other way.

Sending you all every single ounce of positivity I have left after yesterday, I want to see all of the OGs at tour and rock out to our bestie with you 🖤🤞🏼Ticketmaster better not try us today!!!!

[notyetbulletproof]

“A boy from the barrel who had become something worse”.

Before the end of the book and considering that it follows the line about Inej - “A Suli girl who had become a killer” (the juxtaposition of that!). I think we can all agree that it’s suppose to suggest that Kaz had become worse than a killer. Vengeance had made him a monster? A soul beyond redemption?

At the end of the duology though? What’s worse than a killer in a place like the barrel? What’s worse than a monster? A good man. A better man. Having a heart. Being in the barrel and of the barrel and choosing to be more than the debauchery? Could that be an alternative option for what constitutes as “worse”? Kaz still rejects the idea that he’s a hero. A good man. Inej reminds him that his insistence that he is a monster can do more good than even he believes. There is more. He can be more than the barrel. He’s not just any other barrel boss. He’s Kaz Brekker, he decides what he wants to be. Don’t go after working folks and fair pay. Go after the scum, the evil, the people that profit off the mindless suffering of others.

Become something worse — a different kind of vigilante. A different kind of “good”. Their kind.

As @murderbabies (who I thank again for talking about my random Crows/Grishaverse screamy times with me) was saying—- by the end of the series Kaz starts to strive to be something different, something more, a better man. The meaning changes.

And when we think about it, it changes for all the crows.

“A Gambler”, Jesper, starts to confront the issues that have fuelled his restless and occasionally reckless nature. He starts to find meaning in who he is and what he can do. Starts to explore what embracing that side of him might lead to. Starts cracking away at the misplaced shame that he placed on his identity and how it’s so painfully tied to the loss of his mother. His conversation with Inej always cuts so deep because it’s someone who loves you (and who you love) telling you to stop ignoring your pain. That it’s okay to hurt. That your hurt is just as important as everyone else’s. You don’t have to push it down anymore. To have Inej tell Jesper to not try and erase or make it disappear?? The beauty of that! What that means for them both. To have each Crow point something out to him in different ways and have Jesper start to accept that it’s not “part of his personality”, it’s a manifestation of ill coping mechanisms he’s developed to deal with the trauma he’s suffered. He also found love. Someone that sees him as he is and all that he could be if he sees what they saw. Protect Jesper Fahey.

“A Convict”, Matthias, raised to believe his enemies were inhuman and lived for the cause and revenge— changed. He kept his honour. He fought for a cause he believed in. A found family and the promise of a better world for his people and homeland. A world where they didn’t fear what they didn’t understand but lived up to the ideals of their religion. He literally died trying to help another person and FORGAVE the person for fearing what he didn’t understand. Matthias, a kid soldier who grew up and saw the world differently. Who questioned his own beliefs and would drink the poison no longer because he saw the truth for himself. “He’s like us Nina.” (😭😭). That battle between what he was taught to believe and what he actually knew to be true. Loving someone enough to not just see where you’ve both hurt each other but the error of your beliefs. To see the humanity in other people. Gosh. I cry for you Matthias.

“A wayward son”, Wylan, who for most of his life was made to feel he was less because of a learning disability. His strengths overlooked, played down. His learning differences treated like a death sentence. His father literally tried to get him killed because he couldn’t read?!?! He could learn better with music, setting things to rhythm. Excellent at math and science (You’re a fool Jan). Wayward because he was difficult to control? To mould into a corrupt mercher? Or because he was his own man even as a child? Even if he didn’t understand yet that family isn’t always found in the people that you’re related to. By the end, he found his family and reunited with his mother. Found love. His people. The ones he’d break rules for, risk it all for. More than that? He found himself. His purpose. Learned that the biggest thing holding him back was his own shame. That he wasn’t a wayward disappointing son. He had a disappointing (and evil) father. He’s not stupid (say it again and Jesper’s gonna deck ya!), he learns differently. You kick ass Wylan.

“A lost Grisha”, Nina, raised to be a soldier, a spy. Raised to defend her country at all costs. A country that within itself still has a tenuous relationship with her people. A country recovering from civil war. At the beginning she’s a grisha without a country. Staying to ensure she helps rectify what happened to Matthias. Beating herself up for who she had to become. She accepts the offer to join the Dregs, becomes besties with Inej. Makes a home. Her loyalty was to Ravka but by the end? It hasn’t changed per se, it’s grown. Her loyalty is to her home, to her found family. She risks EVERYTHING, to save her friends. To protect them. She can’t bring herself to do what a soldier would do and end Kuwei. She agrees, he’s like them. He’s a kid who had no say. Nina stepped into the person she was born to be— a protector. She wasn’t lost anymore and she wasn’t just Grisha, she is the Queen of Mourning. She’s a friend. She’s a Crow. She’s unstoppable. She survived what should have killed her. She fought so fucking hard to come back to herself, to embrace who she now was, who she had become. She found purpose again. Confronts the truth about her own country, the faults as well as the triumphs. She continues on. You’re unstoppable Nina.

“A Suli girl who became a killer”, Inej. The juxtaposition of those 2 identities. Who the Suli are, who they are understood to be, what they believe VS. What Inej had to become to survive. “Rather live free as a killer then die as a slave”. She’s a spy. She’s lethal and dangerous to those that cross her and hers. Still there is how Inej feels each time she has to make that decision. Why it’s done— to protect her found family, in self defence. Yet her reverence for life. The sins she atones for. The code she holds herself to. The Saints she seeks forgiveness from. Her unwavering faith. Her strength of character, the courage of her convictions. The purpose she finds. She isn’t going to let anything else be taken from her and on top of that?? She decides that she won’t let those wretched people take any more from any child or person. She decides her purpose is to save as many as she can and to take down as many of the bad guys as she can. All that trauma and it didn’t change her goodness. With Kaz and the Dregs, she had more agency than before but now she’s in-charge of her own destiny and she’s choosing to save others. She’s a killer, sure, if you’re a bad dude. In so many ways she’s a saviour too.

With all this is in mind, I really do think that “something worse” doesn’t mean monster. Well, to their enemies, maybe. I think it’s set up like that and just like all the Crows have, Kaz becomes something more. They always were, he always was but it took time for them to see it. It took time for Kaz to see it for himself too.

God bless The Crows.

[sandralmuller]

Using Facebook and Instagram like a superstar

One of the things I love about organising The Great Melbourne Blog-in is that I get to shape the event. At September’s blog in, I got to question Catherine and Cherie from The Digital Picnic about all things Facebook and Instagram during our Q&A panel. You know that glorious moment when you have all these questions simmering in the back of your mind and then suddenly you’re face-to-face with some very generous social media experts and you get to ask them all those questions? Yes, that moment. It was awesome!

Social media experts Catherine and Cherie from The Digital Picnic. Oh, and that’s me in the middle.

Pin it to read later

Running a Facebook page

Best tips for running an engaging Facebook page #Facebook #FacebookPage #SocialMediaStrategy Click To Tweet

As most people are aware (except those that make this critical error) one of the biggest mistakes Facebook page owners make is using it as a dumping ground for self-promotion. Using Facebook page only as an advertising platform is not what gains you engaged fans and followers. You need to draw back the curtain and put yourself out there. Show some of the back end of your business. Make your page about your audience and what they want.

As a copywriter, this makes sense to me – know your audience, what are their pain points, how can you address them, sell the benefits and not the features yadda yadda yadda.

Since the blog-in, I’ve created a schedule for my Silk Interiors Facebook page. This page supports my eCommerce site Silk Interiors, where I sell wallpaper online. My plan includes a mix of:

design quotes

inspo photos/eye candy

recycled blog posts

decorating and styling tips

videos

FB live

before and after home makeovers

celebrity style

discounts and sales happening in Australia

memes

questions

our wallpaper products.

My next step is to use the native Facebook scheduling app to schedule content to post each day for a full month. Doing it in one big batch will save a lot of time, even though it will take some time to curate and schedule the content, but I’ve made a BIG list of sources (I’ll blog about how I find them another day), which will be a great help. I’ll monitor the engagement metrics via Facebook’s ‘Insights‘ dashboard and see which post types perform well and I’ll experiment with different times of the day.

Whatever you plan, test, test, test and figure out what works best for your business.

If you have any plans, even a very vague and distant plan to use Facebook Ads, install the Facebook pixel into the header of any or all pages on your website you wish to track. This means setting up a Facebook business account and grabbing some code to paste into your website (very easy to do with a plugin if you’re using WordPress). The FB pixel is a sneaky little thing. It gives you the data to show your ads only to people who have visited your website in the past, for example. It helps you target people already interested in your business. You can also create ads to target users in the same demographic as your website visitors. Ooooh. Sneaky sneaky. And perhaps a bit creepy…

Have you installed the Facebook Pixel yet? #SocialMediaStrategy #FacebookPage Click To Tweet

Facebook. Knows. Everything… my business bestie and I were chatting on Facebook Messenger about awnings (totes random, I know) and then we both started seeing ads for awnings in our newsfeed. We hadn’t visited any awning or blind sites or visited awning pages. In fact, in our Messenger chat, we were coming up with the most random thing we could think of in that conversation. And then there were ads for awnings. Just saying.

What I learnt about Facebook Live videos

Pre-promote your Facebook Live session so you won’t chicken out. If you’re running a Facebook Live Q&A session, give people a chance to prepare their questions that you (hopefully) can answer. As a Facebook Live novice, I’m not sure what’s worse though – people turning up or people not turning up!

Pre-plan what you’re going to say. Always have something to talk about. Talk about something before you get into the guts of your video to give people a chance to join you, live. If they’re following you, they’ll get a notification to say that you’re live.

Avoid the wobbles and use a tripod for your Facebook Live videos #FacebookLive #FacebookTips Click To Tweet

It’s best to set-up your video on a tripod so your video is steady. A steady camera can also save you a lot of data – those micro wobbles when you hold your phone camera create a fatter video file. Not that I have to worry about data here in Korea, but a tripod will give your FB video a more professional look. I tend to swing my body from side to side while my head remains stable-ish when I do Facebook Live videos. I don’t know why. Perhaps that’s where my nerves manifest. Or I’m just a weirdo.

After you finish your Facebook live video, you can upload it and then change the video thumbnail. For laughs, Youtube and Facebook are in some kind of conspiracy to make sure they choose a thumbnail where you look your absolute worst.

See what I mean? Worst thumbnail choice ever! Excruciating for me… and the potential viewer. I look so bored with my own FB Live vid I’m falling asleep on myself.

But it’s easy to change it.

On the video post, click on those three dots on the top right… then click on ‘Edit post’.

Next, scroll through the available thumbnails and hopefully, there’s one that looks like you haven’t just eaten a sour lemon or are about to pass out. But if that fails, add your own custom image.

While you’re on that screen, you can add metadata to your post to help it get found more easily in Facebook’s search engine.

After you’ve uploaded your Facebook live video, go through the comments and respond to any questions people have. This will give your post a bit of a boost. The more comments (including your own) the more reach your video will get.

If you’re happy with the video, you could also consider using it in a Facebook Ad.

What I learnt about (non-live) videos on Facebook

If you’re going to add your video to Youtube, don’t share a link to the Youtube video with your Facebook audience. Instead, for better reach, upload the video directly to Facebook. Apparently, Facebook loves native video content. Of course, this makes sense. Facebook wants to retain as much ad revenue as possible. Keeping users ON Facebook and not sending them away to the Adsense share of the market is the sensible thing to do if you’re Facebook.

For greater reach, upload your video direct to Facebook, not via a Youtube link #FacebookTips Click To Tweet

Also, consider using a square format for your video as this is becoming really popular – people are used to and expecting the Instagram size and style of videos.

Don’t share everything between Instagram and Facebook or your audience, if they follow you on both platforms, will start to look like me in that thumbnail picture above. Yawn. I think it’s lazy social media-ing when businesses do that. Especially when you’re confronted with a face full of Insta hashtags on Facebook. I’m petty like that. Mix it up and share your video on Instagram a different day (or at least a different time of the day) then when you published your Facebook post.

I need to start a Facebook group and so do you

At a past TGMBI event, Linda Reed-Enever talked about building a Facebook Group to support your business or blog. I won’t rehash those bits, but it’s a timely reminder that if you share your Facebook page’s post to your Facebook group, it sends powerful signals to Facebook’s algorithms and can help increase the reach of your post even beyond the group.

I’m still considering what my FB Group will be about, how it fits with my brand and vision for my business and who I want in it besides my business besties. But first I need to schedule content, experiment and evaluate my Facebook plan.

Stay out of the naughty corner

Something else I learnt just this week is that Facebook has legislated yet another reason to put your page in the naughty corner – not disclosing sponsored or affiliate links. Facebook calls it ‘Branded Content’.

If you’re doing sponsored posts or publishing, as Facie puts it, content that features or is influenced by a business partner for an exchange of value, you need to tag the business partners in your branded content posts. But it’s not that simple. So you can do this, first you have to sign up for Branded Content within the Business Manager section of FB and be approved. If you’re publishing branded content (by Facebook’s definition) and not disclosing your relationship with the company, then you could find yourself in the FB naughty corner. This has happened to someone I know I know in a Facebook group just this week.

You can identify Branded Content posts because they have the small text ‘Paid’ whacked next to the time stamp of a post. This is different to posts you pay to boost where it says ‘Sponsored’. Other than that, I’m not sure what it all means, yet! You can read more about Facebook’s Branded Content tool and laws here.

What I learnt about Instagram

LinkTrees! AKA where had you been all my life/why didn’t I think of that.

Solve the 'link in bio' dilemma with a LinkTree @Linktree_ #instagramtips #linktree Click To Tweet

You know how you have to write something like Link in bio on your Instagram post and then update every single time you promote a new page or post or product? So annoying. Well, enter the Link Tree. You put one link in your bio that goes to a landing page where you include ALL your links. There’s even a website you can outsource your link management to – LinkTr.ee. (I wrote more about this tip in my recent post What to do after you publish a blog post.) You could also host a link tree page on your own website.

Instagram Stories – you need to be there and in the regular ole newsfeed. Your ‘story’ only lasts for 24 hours, but now that Instagram is no longer chronological, it’s your best bet for getting noticed at the top of someone’s Insta feed.

Look at your insights. What are the peak times and WHY are they the peak times? Look into the reasons why certain posts are popular than others.

If you haven’t already set yourself up with a business profile, it’s easy to switch from a personal to a business profile – here’s how. You’ll need a business profile to access your account’s insights.

Until recently, I’d only been using the image tools like Filters in Instagram on my pictures. Then I discovered an app called Fotor. The basic version is free. You can use the app or the desktop website to manipulate your images to make them look gorgeouser. I must admit, I’m a bit visually illiterate, but with Fotor, I’ve been having fun experimenting with image manipulation.

Get your images Instagram ready with the Fotor app @fotor_com #instagramtips #photoediting Click To Tweet

To illustrate my point, here the original photo I took.

And here’s the edited version. How much cooler and more interesting does this second image look?

Final words on social media-ing

Ultimately, when it comes to sharing content, be endearing to your audience. Maybe even a bit vulnerable. Be relatable. Suprise and delight your audience.

Thank you, Cat and Cherie, for sharing your time and knowledge.  If anyone wants to improve their social media skills, then you need to attend one of their online or in-person social media courses – and not just in Melbourne. These savvy social media experts travel!

Have you experimented with anything on social media lately? Any success or spectactular fails to share? Let me know in the comments below.

Using Facebook and Instagram like a superstar was originally published on Sandra Muller