#prototyping and consultancy

[ajmishra]

Expert Wireframing and Prototyping Services

Need expert wireframing and prototyping services? Our experienced team provides app prototyping, wireframe design, and UX consultancy for mobile, web, and desktop applications. From concept to prototype, we help you visualize, test, and perfect your app’s design before full development. Whether you're looking for mobile app wireframing or complete prototyping solutions, our services ensure a seamless design process for your project. Visit now to know more: https://www.cdnsol.com/wireframing-and-app-prototyping

[colliholly]

Ya girl is (literally) cooking

[psychoseamstresss]

Q: How do I figure out how much money to spend on costume design and production?

Do you have a creative project that needs some budget numbers or estimates to help move it forward?Do you have characters that need to be designed, developed or produced?Do you have a budget, but need help deciding on how to get the most bang for your buck? Whether you’re planning a themed wedding, corporate event, stage production, parade float, film shoot, music video, photo booth experience,…

[insteptechnologies123]

UI/UX Design Services Company | InStep Technologies

[sthanave]

Figma App Design and Prototyping Services in Durg

Creative and professional Figma Prototyping and App Design services now available in Durg. Turn your app idea into an interactive and UX-focused design. Grow with guaranteed on-time delivery and high-quality visuals.

[design-studio-ui-ux]

From Wireframes to Prototypes: The Workflow of a UI Design Consultant

Brands do not hire UI (User Interface) design consultants on a whim. It is a strategic business move, often sparked by specific needs or challenges. One big reason is perspective. Internal teams can get too close to a project, missing flaws or fresh ideas. UI consultants step in with an outsider’s clarity, spotting solutions that might otherwise stay hidden. Specialized skills are another draw. Building an in-house design team takes time and money; consultants deliver expertise on demand, whether conducting research or prototype testing.  

UI design consultants are the masterminds behind the digital interfaces we interact with daily. They shape the visual and interactive layers of websites, apps, and other digital products, ensuring they are both eye-catching and easy to use.  

We are about to explore the methodical workflows of these professionals. We’ll show how each phase builds on the last -  from wireframing to prototyping – to create UIs that distill complexity into simplicity and make advanced functionalities feel seamless.

The Workflow: From First Chat to Final Launch

The workflow of a professional UI design consultant is a structured process rooted in collaboration, research, and refinement. Here’s how it unfolds:

The Kickoff: Setting the Stage

Every project starts with a kickoff meeting. It is the handshake that aligns everyone - consultants, clients, stakeholders. Goals get defined. Scope takes shape.

Timelines and budgets lock in. Responsibilities are assigned.

Consultants soak up details on brand values, target users, and business aims. It is the foundation that everything else builds on.

Research and Discovery: Digging Deep

Next comes research. Consultants dive into the product’s world. They study competitors, pore over analytics, and sift through user feedback. Sometimes, they chat with users directly through interviews or surveys.

The goal? Uncover pain points, grasp behaviors, and spot opportunities.

This phase is about grounding design in real insights. By the end, they know what users want and how the business can deliver.

Wireframing: Sketching the Skeleton

With research in hand, wireframing begins. Wireframing is where UI design consultants translate abstract ideas into tangible structures. Think of it as building the skeleton of a digital product - every bone must align perfectly before adding muscle or skin.

Consultants begin by synthesizing insights from user research, stakeholder interviews, and competitive analysis into a visual blueprint. These blueprints are stripped of color, imagery, or branding, focusing purely on layout, functionality, and user flow.

Sketching

A UI consultant’s first step in this stage often involves sketching rough layouts by hand. This low-cost method allows rapid iteration.

For example, a consultant might draft three versions of a mobile app’s home screen in minutes, testing each with stakeholders to gauge which layout best supports quick navigation.

Paper wireframes excel at identifying structural flaws early, like a misplaced call-to-action button or cluttered menus.

Digital Wireframes

Once the core structure is validated, consultants transition to digital tools like Figma or UXPin. Here, wireframes evolve into precise, annotated diagrams. Each element - buttons, forms, image placeholders - is positioned to reflect priority. An eCommerce wireframe might cluster product filters and search bars at the top, ensuring users can refine choices instantly.

Annotations are used to clarify interactions: “Hovering over this icon displays a tooltip; clicking this button triggers a modal window.” In this stage, UI consultants create multiple wireframe variations for different devices (mobile, desktop) and user scenarios (logged-in vs. guest). For example, for a SaaS dashboard, this might mean designing a collapsed sidebar for mobile to maximize screen space, while the desktop version features an expanded menu.

Why This Step Matters

Early Problem Detection: Fixing a UI navigation flaw in wireframes costs 10x less than post-development.

Stakeholder Alignment: Non-designers get to grasp the structure of the UI the consultants are envisioning (without any visual distractions) and share focused feedback.

Efficiency: Developers receive clear guidelines regarding the UI’s core structure so that there’s no back-and-forth during coding.

By the wireframing phase’s end, the UI consultant has established a functional hierarchy - a roadmap ensuring the final UI design aligns with user needs and technical constraints.

Mockups: Crafting Visual Identity

With wireframes approved, UI design consultants shift from architects to visual storytellers. Mockups inject brand personality into the skeletal structure, transforming grayscale outlines into polished interfaces.

This phase answers: How do we make functionality feel cohesive, trustworthy, and engaging?

Consultants start by developing style tiles - a curated collection of fonts, color palettes, and UI components. Unlike full mockups, style tiles are mood boards that define visual language. For a fintech app, a consultant might propose a palette of navy blue (trust) and gold (premium), paired with clean, sans-serif typography.

Stakeholders approve this direction before screen designs begin, preventing costly rebrands later. Next, consultants apply these styles to wireframes. A healthcare app’s wireframe might evolve from basic buttons to rounded, teal-colored elements with subtle shadows, conveying approachability.

Every visual choice serves a dual purpose: aesthetics and communication. High-contrast colors highlight interactive elements; whitespace guides the eye; consistent iconography reduces cognitive load.

Responsive design is critical here. Consultants create mockup variants for every screen size and state. A retail website’s product page might include:

Desktop: A grid layout with large images and side-by-side product details.

Mobile: A stacked layout with full-width images and collapsible specs.

Error State: A friendly illustration when items are out of stock, maintaining brand voice.

Tools like Sketch or Adobe XD allow consultants to build reusable component libraries - buttons, headers, modals - that ensure consistency across screens. For a food delivery app, this means the “Add to Cart” button looks identical on the menu, checkout, and confirmation pages.

Why This Step Matters

Brand Integrity: Colors and typography are aligned with existing marketing materials in this stage.

Usability Testing: Stakeholders get to interact with and critique near-final UI visuals, spotting issues like poor contrast.

Mockups bridge logic and emotion, ensuring interfaces are not just usable, they are memorable.

Prototyping: Simulating Reality

Prototyping is where UI design consultants transform static screens into living experiences. These interactive models let users feel the product before a single line of code is written.

Consultants select prototyping fidelity based on three factors: audience, project stage, and risk level.

Low-Fidelity Prototypes

Early-stage prototypes are often basic clickable wireframes made with tools like InVision or Marvel. For a travel booking app’s low-fi prototype, a consultant might simulate searching for flights: users tap a departure field, select dates, and click “Search.” Feedback collected from testing these prototypes focuses on task efficiency: Was the calendar easy to use? Did users notice the fare comparison toggle?

High-Fidelity Prototypes

To create more realistic UIs, consultants use tools like Figma or Adobe XD that can inject animations and micro-interactions into the prototype. A consultant building a fitness app might prototype a workout timer with haptic feedback. In this hi-fi prototype, the screen pulses during workout session intervals. These added details let the design team test the UI’s emotional resonance and ask questions like - does the animation feel motivating or distracting? – to users.

No-Code/Coded Prototypes

For highly complex UIs, consultants might use tools like Webflow (no-code) or React (coded) to build functional UI models. For example, a UI consultant redesigning a sophisticated CMS platform might create a live-data UI prototype where users can drag-and-drop content blocks. This lets them test the UI’s technical feasibility and ask highly nuanced questions like - does the interface lag with 100+ blocks? – to test users. Ultimately, consultant-driven prototyping delivers a smoother, more user-friendly final UI by ironing out kinks early.

Extensive user testing during this phase provides the team with concrete insights that let them know what they need to do to ground the final UI design in real user behavior. Stakeholders also gain an extremely in-depth understanding of the product’s UI by this stage.

Testing and Iteration: Polishing the Edges

With prototypes ready, consultants run multiple usability sessions - some casual, some formal. They track how users fare, spotting friction or delight. Insights pour in, and revisions follow. A confusing label might get clarified. An awkward step might get streamlined.

This loop might spin several times, each pass refining the design. The aim? To create a flawless interface.

Handoff and Beyond: Passing the Baton

Finally, it is time for the handoff. Consultants prep detailed specs (measurements, spacing, behaviors) for developers. After handing off all the details designers and developers need to create the perfect, user-centric UI, they don’t just vanish. Many stick around during coding, answering questions or checking builds. Post-launch, they might review the live product, suggesting tweaks for the next round.

Conclusion

By methodically progressing from research to wireframes to prototypes, UI Design Consultants de-risk product development. They transform ambiguity into clarity, ensuring every pixel serves a purpose—and every interaction feels like second nature.

Consider bringing in a UI design consultant when your internal teams lack UI/UX design expertise, your user feedback highlights persistent issues with your product’s UI, or your UI feels outdated compared to competing products’ UIs. Also, assistance from such consultants is vital when you are entering new markets with different user expectations.

The ROI? Faster task completion, higher user satisfaction, and increased conversions.

[gracytaylor]

Understanding Industrial Design Consultancy

Industrial design consultancy plays a crucial role in the development of innovative and functional products. It involves a systematic approach to designing products that are not only visually appealing but also practical and user-friendly. Here's an overview of what industrial design consultancy entails:

Concept Development: This is the initial stage where ideas are generated based on the client's requirements and market research. Designers brainstorm and sketch various concepts to explore different possibilities.

Design Refinement: Once a concept is selected, it undergoes refinement. This stage involves creating detailed drawings and digital models using advanced CAD software. The focus is on improving aesthetics, ergonomics, and functionality.

Prototyping: Prototypes are developed to test the design's feasibility. This allows for the identification and resolution of any issues before mass production. Prototyping can involve various techniques, including 3D printing and CNC machining.

User Testing: The prototypes are tested by potential users to gather feedback. This stage ensures that the product meets the needs and expectations of the target audience.

Final Design and Production: After successful testing and refinement, the final design is prepared for production. This includes creating detailed manufacturing drawings and specifications.

Industrial design consultancy bridges the gap between creativity and practicality, ensuring that products are not only innovative but also market-ready. It is an essential service for companies looking to stay competitive and meet the evolving needs of their customers.

[tekclario-itcompany]

Advanced Solutions for Software Prototype Development

Explore expert services in creating bespoke software prototypes, delivering tailored solutions that align with client specifications and accelerate product development cycles with precision and agility.

[proto-tech]

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[reasonsforhope]

It’s an open secret in fashion. Unsold inventory goes to the incinerator; excess handbags are slashed so they can’t be resold; perfectly usable products are sent to the landfill to avoid discounts and flash sales. The European Union wants to put an end to these unsustainable practices. On Monday, [December 4, 2023], it banned the destruction of unsold textiles and footwear.

“It is time to end the model of ‘take, make, dispose’ that is so harmful to our planet, our health and our economy,” MEP Alessandra Moretti said in a statement. “Banning the destruction of unsold textiles and footwear will contribute to a shift in the way fast fashion manufacturers produce their goods.”

This comes as part of a broader push to tighten sustainable fashion legislation, with new policies around ecodesign, greenwashing and textile waste phasing in over the next few years. The ban on destroying unsold goods will be among the longer lead times: large businesses have two years to comply, and SMEs have been granted up to six years. It’s not yet clear on whether the ban applies to companies headquartered in the EU, or any that operate there, as well as how this ban might impact regions outside of Europe.

For many, this is a welcome decision that indirectly tackles the controversial topics of overproduction and degrowth. Policymakers may not be directly telling brands to produce less, or placing limits on how many units they can make each year, but they are penalising those overproducing, which is a step in the right direction, says Eco-Age sustainability consultant Philippa Grogan. “This has been a dirty secret of the fashion industry for so long. The ban won’t end overproduction on its own, but hopefully it will compel brands to be better organised, more responsible and less greedy.”

Clarifications to come

There are some kinks to iron out, says Scott Lipinski, CEO of Fashion Council Germany and the European Fashion Alliance (EFA). The EFA is calling on the EU to clarify what it means by both “unsold goods” and “destruction”. Unsold goods, to the EFA, mean they are fit for consumption or sale (excluding counterfeits, samples or prototypes)...

The question of what happens to these unsold goods if they are not destroyed is yet to be answered. “Will they be shipped around the world? Will they be reused as deadstock or shredded and downcycled? Will outlet stores have an abundance of stock to sell?” asks Grogan.

Large companies will also have to disclose how many unsold consumer products they discard each year and why, a rule the EU is hoping will curb overproduction and destruction...

Could this shift supply chains?

For Dio Kurazawa, founder of sustainable fashion consultancy The Bear Scouts, this is an opportunity for brands to increase supply chain agility and wean themselves off the wholesale model so many rely on. “This is the time to get behind innovations like pre-order and on-demand manufacturing,” he says. “It’s a chance for brands to play with AI to understand the future of forecasting. Technology can help brands be more intentional with what they make, so they have less unsold goods in the first place.”

Grogan is equally optimistic about what this could mean for sustainable fashion in general. “It’s great to see that this is more ambitious than the EU’s original proposal and that it specifically calls out textiles. It demonstrates a willingness from policymakers to create a more robust system,” she says. “Banning the destruction of unsold goods might make brands rethink their production models and possibly better forecast their collections.”

One of the outstanding questions is over enforcement. Time and again, brands have used the lack of supply chain transparency in fashion as an excuse for bad behaviour. Part of the challenge with the EU’s new ban will be proving that brands are destroying unsold goods, not to mention how they’re doing it and to what extent, says Kurazawa. “Someone obviously knows what is happening and where, but will the EU?”"

-via British Vogue, December 7, 2023

[aaksconsulting]

Streamline Your Website Prototyping Process With These 5 Essential Techniques

Website prototyping is a crucial step in the website design and development process. It involves creating a preliminary version of a website that can be used to test and refine the design, layout, and functionality of the website before the final version is built. The goal of website prototyping is to create a visual representation of the website that can be used to gather feedback from stakeholders, identify design issues, and improve the user experience. Website prototyping can take many forms, including sketches, wireframes, mockups, and functional prototypes. Each of these techniques allows designers and developers to explore different aspects of the website’s design and functionality, such as its layout, navigation, and interactivity.

INTRODUCTION TO WEBSITE PROTOTYPING

Prototyping is an essential part of the web design process. It helps you to test out ideas and concepts for your website before moving onto the next stage of development.

There are many different techniques that you can use when prototyping a website. The most important thing is to find a method that works best for you and your team.

In this article, we will explore some of the most popular methods for website prototyping. We will also provide tips on how to streamline your process and get the most out of your prototypes.

WHAT IS A PROTOTYPE?

A prototype is a preliminary model of something. It is often used to evaluate a concept or process before committing significant resources to further development. In other words, it allows you to test out your ideas before investing too much time or money into them.

There are many different types of prototypes, but the most common ones are paper prototypes and digital prototypes. Paper prototypes are usually created by hand, using paper and cardboard. They can be used to test out physical products, such as furniture or toys. Digital prototypes, on the other hand, are created using software such as Adobe Photoshop or Sketch. These are often used to test out websites or apps.

Creating a prototype can help you save time and money in the long run. It can also help you avoid potential problems with your product or service before they become too expensive to fix.

5 ESSENTIAL TECHNIQUES TO STREAMLINE YOUR PROTOTYPING PROCESS:

If you’re tired of your website prototyping process taking forever, it’s time to streamline it with some essential techniques. Here are a few things you can do to speed things up:

1. Use a tool like Balsamiq Mockups to quickly create wireframes. This will help you get a basic structure in place before fleshing out the details.

2. Use InVision or MarvelApp to create interactive prototypes. These tools let you add interactions and animations, so you can get a feel for how the final product will work.

3. Get feedback early and often. Don’t wait until the end of the process to get feedback from users or stakeholders. Get it throughout, so you can make changes along the way.

4. Make use of templates. There’s no need to start from scratch every time you prototype something. Find a template that’s close to what you need and adapt it as needed.

5. Automate repetitive tasks. If there are any tasks that you find yourself doing over and over again, see if there’s a way to automate them with a tool or script. This will save you time in the long run.

– CONTENT STRATEGY & PLANNING

Assuming you have your website wireframes in hand, it’s time to move on to the content strategy and planning stage. This is where you’ll start fleshing out the details of your site’s pages and posts, and deciding what content you need to create or procure.

To streamline this process, there are a few essential techniques you can use:

1. Define Your Site’s Purpose and Goals

Before you can start planning your site’s content, you need to know what its purpose is. What are you trying to achieve with your website? What goals do you want it to help you reach? Once you have a clear understanding of its purpose, you can start mapping out what content needs to be included on each page.

2. Identify Your Target Audience

Who is your target audience? Who are you creating this website for? Once you know who your audience is, you can start tailoring your content strategy to them. What kind of information do they need? What kind of tone should you use? Keep your target audience in mind as you plan and create your site’s content.

3. Create an Editorial Calendar

An editorial calendar is a great way to plan out and manage your website’s content. It helps you keep track of what content needs to be created, when it should be posted, and who is responsible for creating it. When used properly, an editorial calendar can help ensure that all content is created on time and distributed according to plan.

4. Brainstorm Content Ideas

Now that you know your audience and have an editorial calendar in place, it’s time to start brainstorming content ideas. What kind of content should you create? How can you make your content interesting and useful for your audience? Think about how each piece of content will fit into the overall structure of your site, and use that to guide your ideas.

5. Establish Quality Standards

Finally, establish some quality standards for the content you create or procure. What topics are off-limits? What style guidelines should contributors follow? Set clear expectations so everyone involved in the creation process knows what they need to do in order to produce high-quality work.

– WIREFRAMING

Wireframing is the process of creating a low-fidelity mockup of your website or application. This mockup can be in the form of a hand-drawn sketch, a digital wireframe, or even just a set of written notes.

The purpose of wireframing is to help you take a step back from the details and think about the overall structure of your site or app. What pages will it have? What will the user flow be? How will users interact with the interface?

Answering these questions early on will save you a lot of time and headache down the road. Trust us, we’ve been there!

There are many different ways to create wireframes, but we prefer using digital tools like Balsamiq or Adobe XD. These programs allow you to quickly create clickable prototypes that you can share with stakeholders for feedback.

– MOCKUPS & DESIGN ITERATION

When it comes to streamlining your website prototyping process, one of the most essential techniques you can use is mockups. Mockups are essentially low-fidelity versions of your proposed design, and they can be used to test out various layout, content, and overall aesthetics before settling on a final design.

There are a few different ways to create mockups, but one of the simplest is to use a program like Photoshop or Sketch. Once you have your basic layout down, you can start adding in placeholder content and images to get a better sense of how everything will come together.

It’s important to keep in mind that mockups are not meant to be perfect; they’re simply meant to give you an idea of what your final product might look like. As such, don’t spend too much time agonizing over small details; instead, focus on getting a general feel for the overall design.

Once you’ve created a few mockups, it’s time to start iterating on them. This means making changes and tweaks based on feedback from yourself or others. Again, don’t get too hung up on small details; rather, focus on making the overall experience better.

If you follow these steps, you’ll find that streamlining your website prototyping process is much easier than it might initially seem. With mockups and design iteration, you can quickly create a high-quality prototype that accurately reflects your vision for the final product.

– USABILITY TESTING

Usability testing is a crucial step in the web design process, yet it is often overlooked or done poorly. By taking the time to do usability testing early and often, you can save yourself a lot of time and money in the long run.

There are many different techniques that can be used for usability testing, but there are three essential techniques that every web designer should use: think-aloud protocols, cognitive walkthroughs, and eye tracking.

Think-aloud protocols involve having your users verbalize their thoughts as they use your prototype. This helps you to understand what they are thinking and why they are doing certain things.

Cognitive walkthroughs involve observing your users as they use your prototype and asking them questions about their thought process. This helps you to understand how they are trying to accomplish their task and what they expect to see.

Eye tracking involves using special software to track where your users are looking on your prototype. This can help you to identify areas that are causing confusion or that are being ignored altogether.

– RAPID PROTOTYPING TOOLS

1. Rapid Prototyping Tools

There are a number of different rapid prototyping tools available on the market today. These tools can help you quickly create prototypes for your website, without having to code or design from scratch.

Some of the most popular rapid prototyping tools include:

Invision: Invision is a popular prototyping tool that allows you to create clickable mockups and prototypes of your website or app. It’s easy to use and has a wide range of features, making it a great choice for both beginners and experienced designers alike.

Marvel: Marvel is another popular prototyping tool that’s similar to Invision in terms of functionality. It’s easy to use and also offers a wide range of features, making it a great choice for those looking to create complex prototypes.

Proto.io: Proto.io is a powerful prototyping tool that offers a wide range of features and capabilities. It’s suitable for more experienced designers who are looking for a tool that can help them create complex prototypes quickly and easily.

CONCLUSION

Prototyping is a vital part of the website design process and it can be made easier when you use specific techniques. By following our five essential tips, you can streamline your prototyping process and create web designs that are both creative and functional. With these tools at your disposal, you’ll have an easier time turning your ideas into reality!

[c1qfxugcgy0]

At my last job, we sold lots of hobbyist electronics stuff, including microcontrollers.

This turned out to be a little more complicated than selling, like, light bulbs. Oh how I yearned for the simplicity of a product you could plug in and have work.

Background: A microcontroller is the smallest useful computer. An ATtiny10 has a kilobyte of program memory. If you buy a thousand at a time, they cost 44 cents each.

As you'd imagine, the smallest computer has not great specs. The RAM is 32 bytes. Not gigabytes, not megabytes, not kilobytes. Individual bytes. Microcontrollers have the absolute minimum amount of hardware needed to accomplish their task, and nothing more.

This includes programming the thing. Any given MCU is programmed once, at the start of its life, and then spends the next 30 years blinking an LED on a refrigerator. Since they aren’t meant to be reflashed in the field, and modern PCs no longer expose the fast, bit-bangable ports hobbyists once used, MCUs usually need a third-party programming tool.

But you could just use that tool to install a bootloader, which then listens for a magic number on the serial bus. Then you can reprogram the chip as many times as you want without the expensive programming hardware.

There is an immediate bifurcation here. Only hobbyists will use the bootloader version. With 1024 bytes of program memory, there is, even more than usual, nothing to spare.

Consumer electronics development is a funny gig. It, more than many other businesses, requires you to be good at everything. A startup making the next Furby requires a rare omniexpertise. Your company has to write software, design hardware, create a production plan, craft a marketing scheme, and still do the boring logistics tasks of putting products in boxes and mailing them out. If you want to turn a profit, you do this the absolute minimum number of people. Ideally, one.

Proving out a brand new product requires cutting corners. You make the prototype using off the shelf hobbyist electronics. You make the next ten units with the same stuff, because there's no point in rewriting the entire codebase just for low rate initial production. You use the legacy code for the next thousand units because you're desperately busy putting out a hundred fires and hiring dozens of people to handle the tsunami of new customers. For the next ten thousand customers...

Rather by accident, my former employer found itself fulfilling the needs of the missing middle. We were an official distributor of PICAXE chips for North America. Our target market was schools, but as a sideline, we sold individual PICAXE chips, which were literally PIC chips flashed with a bootloader and a BASIC interpreter at a 200% markup. As a gag, we offered volume discounts on the chips up to a thousand units. Shortly after, we found ourselves filling multi-thousand unit orders.

We had blundered into a market niche too stupid for anyone else to fill. Our customers were tiny companies who sold prototypes hacked together from dev boards. And every time I cashed a ten thousand dollar check from these guys, I was consumed with guilt. We were selling to willing buyers at the current fair market price, but they shouldn't have been buying these products at all! Since they were using bootloaders, they had to hand program each chip individually, all while PIC would sell you programmed chips at the volume we were selling them for just ten cents extra per unit! We shouldn't have been involved at all!

But they were stuck. Translating a program from the soft and cuddly memory-managed education-oriented languages to the hardcore embedded byte counting low level languages was a rather esoteric skill. If everyone in-house is just barely keeping their heads above water responding to customer emails, and there's no budget to spend $50,000 on a consultant to rewrite your program, what do you do? Well, you keep buying hobbyist chips, that's what you do.

And I talked to these guys. All the time! They were real, functional, profitable businesses, who were giving thousands of dollars to us for no real reason. And the worst thing. The worst thing was... they didn't really care? Once every few months they would talk to their chip guy, who would make vague noises about "bootloaders" and "programming services", while they were busy solving actual problems. (How to more accurately detect deer using a trail camera with 44 cents of onboard compute) What I considered the scandal of the century was barely even perceived by my customers.

In the end my employer was killed by the pandemic, and my customers seamlessly switched to buying overpriced chips straight from the source. The end! No moral.

[mtchee]

Silence is Silver, Your Voice is Gold - [Katsuki Bakugo] SOULMATE SERIES | GN

blurb:

You've got the cranky egoist in 1A as your soulmate. Deemed as an 'extra' in his straight laced life, you've resigned yourself to covering your soul words and sealing your lips, becoming U.A's first year general course prodigy, the silent designer. Despite his distasteful character and colourful atittude, as one of Bakugo's primary costume creators, you work to your utmost to satisfy beyond your client's needs. It's unfortunate that despite your title, the angry pompom won't take a goddamn hint from your silence. When you even go out of your way to avoid him, you start to think that he knows you a little too well despite never having uttered a word.

cw: not edited, second-person-pov, [name] is a general course student, swearing, sassy [name], lowkey enemies to lovers, you hate him, he likes your attitude, onesided e2l??, i know nothing about textiles and design except the bare minimum, [name] and bakugo are kinda cute why am i eating this up omg, [name] tormenting bakugo with bright pink and ribbons

| masterlist | boku no hero academia collection |

[2.5k]

Avoiding Katsuki Bakugo has been a piece of cake.

The guy has such an inflamed ego that he expects the people to part for him wherever he walks.

You met him when the hero course first years were scheduled to mix with the costume design students to discuss both the practical and fashionable output of their hero costumes.

You'd been one of the main designer's for Bakugo's suit, with two others having asissted you in its curation. From his original sketch, you'd syphoned the relevant materials for the prototype, your colleagues aiding in the stitching and detail while you further assessed how it could potentially enhance the use of his quirk.

'Beat it, extra.'

The words had tingled on the back of your neck after he growled at you before you could consult him on his gauntlets' latest design. You had swiftly looked him up and down with disgust at his audaciousness before slapping your sketchpad on the table in front of him and storming off.

You remember hearing the maniacal laughter of his friends while one of your other classmate's (the designer of Shoji's suit) shakily explained to him your presence.

You'd had much better things to do that day, but had decided to go out of your way to personally discuss with him his preference in design and utility so you wouldn't have to go back and forth with various prototypes.

Instead, you got cussed out before saying a single word; what an utter waste of your generous time.

Like hell you were going to deal with a soulmate like that.

You started wearing a thick, velvet choker to hide your golden inked soul words.

Since then, you'd sent your assistants to deliver any sort of message to him. With them doing your communicative bidding, you could put your full focus on the active improvement of his hero costume.

When it would come back burnt from training, you would change and reinforce its material until it was fire resistant. When it got ripped, you would reasses its durability. When his gauntlets got in the way, you would restructure them for better mobility and control.

One day when one of your assistants reluctantly relayed to you Bakugo's irrational displeasure with the pigment of his headpiece (for the seventh time), you'd sent it back hot pink with a black and white frilly ribbon.

He broke your lab door the same day.

Since then, when you'd send off your poor assistants in sacrifice, he'd rattle them and demand for you to face him personally.

You ignored him, but then when your classes started mingling more you couldn't get away from him quick enough.

One of your classmates would sweat in a panic off to the side as you worked at your bench tirelessly with thinned lips and an irk whilst Bakugo yelled and threw a hissyfit at your every move.

"What the hell is that supposed to be? Spandex?!"

"That looks like a lump of shit."

"God, it's ugly."

"Whaddya using that for? Weakass bullshit cloth."

"STOP MAKING IT PINK!"

"No way would that work with my quirk!"

"I'd blow that to smithereens easy."

You had to stop yourself from throwing your sketchpad at him most days. But sometimes you caved and summoned a roll of pink ribbon to stuff in his loud mouth.

He spat it at you and yelled even more, but that single moment of peace and his reddened face made it worth it.

On occasion, you would be lucky and actually get a few decent conversations out of him. His mouth was still foul, but his volume would be acceptable, and his suggestions surprisingly competent and reasonable.

On those days, he would leave with his voice intact, and you with one step closer to the final product.

Your impeccable work ethic and skills and Bakugo's mild decency lead you way ahead of the others in your unit. Eventually, you started having enough time to help out with some of the other hero costumes too--with the permission of both the creator and wearer, of course.

They've all been more than thrilled to work alongside U.A's renouned silent designer.

Although you worked quietly, you made more of an effort to communicate personally with the heroes in training regarding their costumes.

Most were surprised at that, having only known you to work alone and to commune from afar as you've done with Bakugo.

While word of your ingenius spread, unfortunately so too did your most recent work relations.

Bakugo didn't seem to find it funny that you talked to everyone but him.

So you threw all your stationary at him when he stormed into your design lab to make it everyone's problem.

But more specifically, to make it your problem.

"Miss me, nerd?"

Your scathing glare did nothing to Bakugo's arrogant smirk as he waltzes his way past everyone to your work bench.

You narrowly snatch up your latest prototype sketches before he sets down a pair of cold drinks on the table. The condensation drips down, pooling on its surface.

"This it?" He casually quirks up a brow at the strip of hard textured fabric and metal atop your bench. He picks up one of the drinks and slurps from its straw obnoxiously to get on your nerves, "hm, doesn't look like shit this time."

Lately you've been redesigning his utility belt to match the clasps between his protective gloves and gauntlets, additionally extending it to hold extra grenades that activate through his quirk. You've already sent in a request to the support department for those.

"Put ribbons on it like you did last week and I'll kill you."

You fight back a petty smile, recalling the pretty little pompoms decorating the numerous tiny pink bows stitched to each belt loop. He scoffs at your poorly concealed pleasure, and you turn your nose up at him, biting the inside of your cheek mischieviously.

He narrows his eyes at you before rolling them, placing his drink down way too close to your precious papers--again--and resting his cheek on his fist boredly.

Your lips twitch downward in ire at his intrusion of your space, but you work around him nontheless. You don't blink when he cusses as he smacks away a scrap of fabric you toss at him in casual vengeance.

"When's this gonna be done anyway--quit it. I've got a mission in Shinjuku next week." Bakugo snatches a pen you throw at him in mid-air.

You shrug at him, not your problem, but hold up two fingers anyway.

"Two days, huh," He clicks his tongue, "you slackin'?"

He cackles demonically while you log a chunk of stainless steel at his head.

Swear to god--you're gonna make his whole suit neon pink!

He visits you again after his mission, which is evidently successful judging by the fat cocky smirk on his face as he approaches while you stitch up a hero costume from class 1-B.

You deadpan at him as he drops a take away paper bag at the corner of your work bench. Then he tosses his empty utility belt over your most recent handiwork.

"Clasp blasted off."

Bakugo makes himself at home in the spinny chair opposite you, leaning back and putting his boots on the desk as he snags a tasty pastry from the paper bag before pushing it towards you.

An eyebrow twitches as you stare at the no longer existing metal clasp on the support item. A square char mark is left where it would've been. The belt is otherwise untouched.

What, was he aiming for it or something?

Scrunching your nose at him distastefully, you flick the belt off the costume you had been working on and resume your stitching.

"Oi! What about me!?"

You shoot him a sharp glare that makes him scoff. He pipes down nontheless, settling back into his chair with a roll of his eyes and a grumble.

Bakugo's visitations become more frequent.

At this point in time, his hero costume shouldn't need any more major improvements or adjustments until the start of your second year. And yet he's coming in what seems like every other day for any single little thing that bothers him.

Hell, he even comes in to bug you about repaires--you don't do repaires. But he argues that he doesn't want anyone but you 'touching his shit', as he so eloquently explains.

He's come in for his belt clasp six times now, his visor for four, his gauntlets for five, and for the sole of his boots thrice.

The bottom of his fucking shoes.

He can eat your sparkly, bow tied, hot pink and purple swirled shit.

He doesn't even need you anymore!

You're just some stupid non-hero extra. The hell is his deal now?

Bakugo's come in angry today.

He's normally angry, but it's different this time.

You watch him wearily from the corner of your eye as you type out a risk assessment at your desk. School's finished now, but you've been putting this off for a bit, and wanted to get it done while you were still feeling productive.

Less than ten minutes after the last bell rang out and everyone left for the day, Bakugo had come barging in with a stiffer than usual scowl and a dissatisfied furrow in his brows.

But he's been silent.

Bakugo's never been silent.

He sits in the seat adjacent to you, leant all the way into the backrest with his arms tightly crossed and his eyes narrowed, boring into your form.

Each time you glance at him you look away in a hurry as you meet his gaze.

Okay, now it's getting to you...

Slowly, your fingers stop typing, unable to function properly under the intensity of his stare. You don't look at him this time though, and you sweatdrop uncomfortably.

The tension causes your skin to prick, and you tug at your choker discomposibly. The velvet rubs at your skin, irritating it.

You jump when he suddenly speaks.

"What's up with you, huh?" He says it more like a statement, "you're so damn quiet it's eery. Say something."

You give him a disgruntled look.

Is he for real? Is that what his tantrum is about? He can go eat grass.

You turn your attention back onto your laptop, typing again.

He growls at that.

"Don't ignore me, damnit! I know you can say shit!"

Oh, and the shit I would say. You snicker to yourself, but that only seems to tick him off more.

"[name], answer me."

Your stomach drops--he's never called you by your name, let alone your first name. You glance at him again; Bakugo leans forwards with his elbows on his knees, eyes piercing you with a threatening intensity that sends off warning bells in your head.

You look back at him once you grasp the gravity of his tone.

Your annoyed frown fades, and your features soften as to prompt him. He takes in a deep breath, gaze flicking up and down your form as he processes his thoughts first.

He meets your eyes again with a determined resolve.

"I know you're my soulmate."

Fuck, what.

Bakugo scowls when you visibly stiffen, shock coursing your system.

"Get over yourself, you ain't slick. 'S why you've been runnin' from me." He crosses his arms across his chest, lips firmly downturned at your lack of verbal response.

Ice freezes your blood and your gaze flicks away from him apprehensively. What exactly is he expecting from this? Bakugo is a cocky bastard.

An egocentric prick with the means to flaunt it. He's one of the top students in the hero course and he knows it--what the hell does he want from you?

You feel your temper flare.

So what if he knows your soulmates? He obviously thinks he's too good for this shit; fuck fate and all that it stands for, you're just some side character behind him, just like he's said.

You aren't shit to him, and if he thinks he can actually do better than you, well then you know that you can. Who is he to pick and choose who he deserves? In that case, you know what, yeah, he's right, because you deserve better than him any day-

"What?" Bakugo's unappreciated tone fans the flames of the rapidly burning thread containing your tolerance, "still silent?"

"Shut up, asshole! You think you're too good for shit!" Your outburst as you slamming your hands down atop your work bench, the few utensils scattered about clattering in tandem with the vibration, "I'm not just some side piece you can bulldoze! I know my worth, even if you can't fathom it, you eighth-grade-syndrome twit!"

A tense silence settles over the room, and his eyes harden as you stare him down with an unwavering resolve.

Bakugo's lips twitch.

And then he's cackling like a hyena.

You flinch at the abrupt switch, scrambling to process whether you should feel glad or offended that he doesn't seem to be taking your words to heart.

You know for a fact you would not beat Katsuki Bakugo in a fight.

You shiver at the thought, and he beats his fist on the edge of the table as he recovers from his laughter. He lets out a long winded breath, wiping an exaggerated tear from his eye which you deadpan at.

"Ah, damn," Bakugo snorts, "we're really meant to be, eh?" He lifts up the edge of his loose shirt just enough to reveal the glowing golden words inked vertically on his toned waist, "knew there was a reason I could tolerate you more."

"Ditto." You spit out despite the relief flooding you as he stays put. You rub the back of your neck subconsciously.

He eyes the movement skeptically before motioning for you to move towards him. You scrunch your nose at him but oblige when he clicks his tongue irratedly. You've tested his patience enough already.

Once you're close enough he yanks you down and unclasps your velvet choker. You emit a scandalised gasp, feeling naked without it.

"Hey!"

"Give it up," He drawls, "get over yourself."

Bakugo latches a hand around your nape, pulling you forward so your head is bent level with his chest, and your face flushes. Both your hands grip at the armrests of the chair, caging him in as you fight not to fall off balance.

"Ack-" You choke at the feeling of him ever so gently tracing beneath the words on the back of your neck, "-stop that!"

He huffs a laugh, and his breath pans over your skin.

His eyes soften ever so slightly, "You're not jus' some extra, you know..." He lets you up. He ignores the imbuing embarrassment that pairs with the subtle blush tinting his cheeks.

You mull over his words for a second, pushing yourself back to face him head on. You blink slowly, registering his meaning. A gentle warmth settles across your cheeks, and a quiet glee bubbles inside you.

"Yeah?"

Although you bite back a smile, there's a hopeful glimmer in your eyes.

Bakugo grins, "Yeah," and places a reassuring hand atop your head, "not my soulmate."

[wannabe-fic-writer]

Be Mine - Chapter 2

Summary: With work out of the way for the time being, you’re able to spend your time on more interesting things.

Warnings: Minor Language, Sexual tension

Series Masterlist

* * * * * * *

Work consumes you in the following weeks, leaving you confined to either your office at the company or your office at home.

Aside from the needed breaks to eat and shower, all of your time is taken up.

The non white collar aspect of your work had your head very deep in the books. Despite having numerous people running the business of your other establishments you still very much had to manage the finances of all of them. It was up to you to decide how to spend the money that was coming in, between paying all your people and allocating the appropriate amount of funds to each business, you were swamped.

The very legal business you were running saw to it that you had endless paperwork and video call meetings to handle, which led to consulting with your CFO and, at times, members of your board of directors. Kissing their asses was nowhere on the list of things you enjoyed doing at work but you did what needed to be done to continue prospering in all your business ventures.

“Miss Udaku I assure you, you have my full backing. The clowns who oversee my international relations aren’t always the brightest.” Your tone remains smooth, a charming smile thrown in to help assuage the Wakandan woman’s frustrations.

Hard brown eyes remain narrow, the woman leaning back against her sleek leather office chair with her arms crossed. After a pause her accented voice speaks up,“ if they don’t know how to handle things I would rather not go through them in our future dealings.”

You nod,“ I will send you my personal contacts as soon as possible. No middlemen, you will always speak directly with me.”

That seems to chip away at the attitude she had when she first called. A curt nod is given to you as her shoulders relax in the slightest.“ Their little run around game has set my operations back by weeks.”

“I understand, and I apologize for that.” Your hands clasp together as you lean forward on your desk.“ I am more than willing to offer my finances and resources to you. I believe a good friend of mine has some prototypes that would be of good use to you and your project.”

“Prototype of what?” Her voice holds controlled intrigue and you know you’ve gotten her exactly where you need her.

Your gaze shifts from the monitor on your wall to the door as it opens, Steve stepping in with two cups in hand. The instant the slightest whiff of the caffeine in the cup hits your nose, you nearly groan.

Before you get lost in your need for caffeine, you focus on the woman on your monitor.“ Nano tech. Top of the line and very exclusive.”

She’s silent. Then she smirks.“ How soon can you get it to me?”

“Three days tops. I’ll make sure it’s more than a big enough sample.” You assure, giving her a smile that she returns.

A few minutes are spent hashing out the finer details of the deal but she’s satisfied with it in the end, so you hang up feeling accomplished.

With a heavy sigh, you collapse back onto your couch. Steve crosses the room and hands the coffee cup over, watching as you take a long sip and drop your head back.

“Long day huh boss?” Steve drops back into the armchair beside the couch.

You huff, finally opening your eyes then nodding.“ I had to convince Xu Xialing not to terminate our contract and just finished talking Shuri Udaku out of looking elsewhere for a partnership. Between the two, my INT. department is completely fucking up. Now I’m going to have to kiss Stark’s ass to get my hands on a sample of Nano tech.”

“Good luck with that.” Steve snorts, knowing how difficult the billionaire could be. His massive ego and sarcasm is mainly to do with that, otherwise he’s not as much of a pain.

Sighing, you take another sip of coffee just as your phone pings. It’s no doubt just a notification reminding you of yet another meeting, one probably less important than the ones you’ve already had today but still something that you planned to handle.

You get up to go check it, finding that it’s exactly what you thought it was. It’s a pitch meeting. Technically speaking, you could have whatever presentation there is sent to you or you can send your assistant and she could handle taking notes for you and you could go over them at home tonight or tomorrow.

“You know,” Steve pipes up, turning in the chair a little,“ Buck wanted us to swing by tonight.”

“Oh is that so?” Amusement laces your tone.“ I’m almost positive that the invitation was mainly extended to you.”

The blonde can’t deny that, of course his boyfriend wanted to see him. But you’re also his friend and they both love spending time with you. That, however, wouldn’t be quite convincing enough for a workaholic such as yourself.

“True. But he’d still love to see you,” his blue eyes divert to his cup of coffee,“ and I believe a certain redhead is working tonight.”

Now that, that certainly grabbed your attention. Your gaze slowly pans from the papers on your desk to the man sitting across the office. There’s a knowing look on his face that makes your eyebrows raise.“ Do you have something to say, Rogers?”

With a small smirk he says,“ just that I noticed the way you watched her dance. We’ve seen dozens of girls on that stage but none caught your attention quite like she did.” Your jaw drops in the slightest at his words, eyebrows practically shooting into your hairline.“ It’s either her or we drop by the bar and see if the other redhead shows up. I saw you slip her your personal number.”

“Steven,” you pause to come up with a response which just makes him laugh softly,“ I have no clue what you’re talking about.” Is your best comeback.

He snorts, then stands and walks over.“ Come on boss,” a gentle hand lands on your shoulder as he looks down at you,“ time for a break. A real one.” He adds when he sees you about to rebuttal.

The two of you enter a stare down. If you weren’t trying to intimidate him with your glare, you might’ve outright laughed at the situation. The moment reminded you of your earlier days together.

You and Steve have known each other since your freshman year in high school, having met in a class you shared and finding out you had many things in common, the two of you became best friends fairly fast. He was the kind of person you knew would be a lifelong friend and you were right.

Through the years you noticed that you were far more well off money wise than he was. In freshman year of college, his parents passed and his finances got worse. He was struggling to get by and was close to dropping out of school when you had what you deemed the most brilliant idea ever.

At the time, you were a pain in your parents’ asses. You knew of the family business and understood the dangers it presented to you, but you also believed you could handle yourself and you hated having black suited men follow you around campus. This always led to you ditching the bodyguards they assigned to you.

Your idea was for Steve to become your bodyguard. You trusted him with your life already and he wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb in school, your parents also saw him as a son so that was a plus. It was considerably easy to convince them with the promise of behaving added to your request.

Steve was soon trained by your parents’ best guards and has been your guard ever since. The two of you have gone through more life or death situations than most best friends but those moments only drew you closer. In between those scenarios, were the ones such as this, the two of you trying to convince each other to do something.

This time around, it’s Steve who wins your stare down.

“Alright, fine. We can go see your boyfriend.” You grumble, shutting your laptop and collecting your stuff before following a smiling Steve out of the office.

On your way down to the car, Steve’s idle chatter fading to the background, your mind wanders to the topic of conversation in your office.

Steve was absolutely right. Since the moment you saw her step on stage, Natasha has been in your head.

Her attitude towards you wasn’t surprising, she no doubt dealt with a bunch of rich assholes all day and wasn’t impressed in the slightest that you owned the club. Your charm might not have meant much either. It seemed you got her with your comment on her eyes though, but you just chalk that surprise up to the fact that she’s probably used to sexual compliments on her body rather than genuine ones regarding anything else.

Yes, you did admire her body because she’s drop dead gorgeous. But you especially couldn’t get the image of those green eyes and that little smirk out of your head. The sound of her sultry voice also plagued you, it being something you wanted to hear again.

Alongside her was the redhead from the piano bar, Wanda. She too was gorgeous, but her looks weren’t the focus of your thoughts on her. She was also mysterious, maybe even more so than Natasha. Her marriage failed and she seems to like strawberry margaritas, and that’s all you knew. You want to know more but the likelihood of her ever calling some random stranger from a bar for “a distraction” was very low.

Work kept you from obsessing over the women, but they crept into your mind whenever the opportunity arose.

A knock on your window startles you from your thoughts. Steve’s expectant expression meets your eyes through the tinted glass and you realize you’d made it to the club, not even sure how’d you gotten into the car with the way you were so lost in thought.

Throwing the door open, you get out, adjusting your suit jacket and the collar of your shirt.

“Everything okay?” Steve asks, brows pinched together.

You respond with,“ just peachy,” delivering a slap to his arm before you make your way towards the club.

The place is much more packed tonight, which is expected with it being a Friday evening. Much like last time, music plays from the speakers scattered around the building, dim lights add to the ambience.

Bucky is quick to approach and you give him a greeting, falling into brief idle catch up before you b-line for the bar, leaving the two men to their alone time.

The bartender is quick to approach, taking your drink order and making it along with a few other cocktails. Once you have the whiskey sour, you turn to the stage. One of the new girls is gyrating and twerking to a fast paced song, the men surrounding the stage throw cash and shout vulgarly at her.

A roll of your eyes accompanies a sigh. Crossing the floor, you plop down onto the cushions of a luxurious leather couch in the corner. It’s no better than the couch in your office but the change of scenery does. . . something, so you sink into the couch, head laid back with your eyes closed.

It’s far from silent here and the chatter gets louder when Bucky and Steve join you in your section. The shift of music suggests a change in dancers and the type of music lets you know you won’t be much interested in who is on stage.

With the occasional sip of your drink and an eventual refill, you unwind in the slightest. A waitress comes by and you hear Steve place an order, your ideal meal from here being listed among the others.

As you’re sitting there, a part of you wishes you’d just gone home. Your bed would be a million times comfier, you might’ve actually fallen asleep. Steve might not have agreed though, knowing that you somehow would have made your way into your office.

The thought of going home is quickly dashed when a familiarly sultry voice sounds from above you.

“You look stressed sugar, want a dance?” Her voice is accompanied by the feeling of her hand trailing up your arm to your shoulder.

Smirking, you crack your eyes open to look at the redhead standing right in front of you. When you lift your head, face no longer bathed in darkness, you can see the way she falters ever so slightly: smirk replaced by a small frown of surprise.

Purposely, you wait to respond, using that time to both drink in her appearance and make her sweat a little.

“Now that you mention it, I’d love a dance.” Your hand lifts, palm facing up, waiting to see if she’ll take it.

Her hand smoothly slips into yours and she shifts to hold it properly. Standing up, you let her guide you away from the section, eyes catching onto the sway of her hips.

The private rooms are down the hallway parallel to the one occupied by the staff/office area. It’s a slight shift in scenery: the walls aren’t as dark, the lights a little brighter, and the music more seductive than raunchy.

Natasha takes you into one of the rooms, the curtain being drawn shut after you’ve both entered. The back wall is curved, a plush black sectional fitting perfectly into the space. In the middle of the semi-circular sectional is a golden pole, sitting on a platform underneath a ring of light.

The redhead raises an expectant eyebrow at you, with a chuckle you walk over to the couch and sit down, spreading your legs as your eyes roam over the room.

“I’m surprised it took you so long to come back.” Comes her voice, making you look at her with blatant shock.

Shifting to sit up straighter, you ask,“ and why is that?”

With a shrug to appear nonchalant, she presses a few buttons on the panel on the wall, plunging the room in a dark red light as she responds,“ this is your business. And with the way some of the girls spoke about you, you’re here often.”

A light chuckle falls from your lips, head shaking.“ Often huh?” You then stand and cross over to the bar cart to fix two drinks.“ What exactly is often meant to mean?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugs again, trying not to look awkward as she steps onto the small platform to wait by the pole,“ one a week maybe.”

You nod.“ Well I certainly don’t come often. This isn’t my only business and even if it were, I trust Bucky and Melina to run things without me hovering.”

Turning back, you allow a small frown to fall over your features. Admittedly, her expecting you to actually want a dance is fair, given that’s what you said. But in truth, that’s not what you accepted her offer for.

“You don’t have to,” setting the glasses on the table, you hold your hand out to her,“ dance I mean.” She hesitates, eyes narrowed suspiciously.“ Don’t get me wrong, I’d enjoy watching you, but I really said yes so that we could talk.”

“What, are you going to fire me?” She remains on the platform, watching you as if your response will determine if she takes your hand or not.

Shaking your head, you tell her,“ not at all. I just- our first meeting left me curious, I want to know you, Natasha.”

As you partly expected, the denial of you firing her results in her taking your hand and allowing you to guide her to the couch. The two of you sit, drinks in hands seconds later. While she remains upright, back perfectly straight against the back cushion, you tuck one leg under yourself, uncaring of the wrinkles the position will cause in your suit.

“What do you want to know?”

“Everything,” is your immediate and honest response, followed by a sip of your drink.“ But perhaps we could start with whatever your willinging to share.”

You certainly never missed her hesitance toward you, attributing that to her not trusting you or your intentions. She’s likely met many men in a position such as yours who had very clear intentions that were far from what yours are. She’s probably heard a million and one lies from people trying to get something from her that she wasn’t happy with giving. If she’s anything like the other girls, she has every reason to question people.

“I’m 30 years old, I live in Manhattan-”

“Okay, okay, maybe we can try something I didn’t read in your employment file. Like uh, what is your favorite song?”

The inconsequential question makes her laugh quietly. Head shaking, she tells you,“ at the moment, I’ve been kind of obsessed with Cheap Thrills.”

“By Sia?”

“That’s the one,” the smile she gives is borderline shy.“ I like the beat and it puts me in a good mood.”

When you smile, there’s nothing but genuineness in it. So much so that Natasha cracks a real smile for the first time.

Shifting closer, her knee brushes against yours, as she leans her shoulder against the back of the couch.“ What’s yours?” Green eyes shine slightly with intrigue.

You laugh softly and answer honestly,“ I’ve been a little obsessed with Something Just Like This by the Chainsmokers.”

“Ooo, I really like that one.” In a completely unexpected display of how much she likes the song, Natasha begins to softly sings the lyrics of one of your favorite songs.

As if you weren’t fully captivated by her before, your jaw slackens and your eyebrows raise in the slightest, every shred of your attention now solely devoted to watching and listening to her sing. If anyone else were in the room, they would say you full on had heart eyes while looking at the woman.

Her singing voice is soft but still carries the heaviness that her speaking voice has.

Whatever metaphorical spell she casted on when you first saw her dancing, you fall further under it at this moment.

A knock from the other side of the curtain pulls you out of your reverie and stops Natasha from singing. Both your gazes snap to the offending sound and, admittedly annoyed at being interrupted, you bark out a,“ what?”

“We gotta go boss, it’s urgent.” Comes the voice of Steve.

Cursing, you tell him you’ll be right out, before you down the rest of your drink and stand. Natasha follows suit, setting her glass on the table and adjusting her set.

Not wanting to just walk out, you turn to her.“ I’ll likely be too busy to come back this week but I’d still like to see you again, soon.”

Gazing at her expression makes you frown slightly as it appears to revert to what it was before you came in here together, her walls are back up and her skepticism has returned.

“Look, Natasha,” the way her name rolls off your tongue has green eyes snapping to yours unwaveringly,“ I understand your reluctance to believe me when I say that I want to get to know you. This place has a certain clientele and unfortunately, the men who frequent here are a dime a dozen-”

“And you aren’t?” Her tone is clipped but you don’t let it deter you.

“Not at all.”

She lets out a disbelieving huff.“ So, you’re not looking for some way younger than you, blonde little thing that you can take to all your important events and show off?” She challenges.

“Definitely not. Flaunting has never been my thing, I’m quite selfish in that way,” you admit, slipping your hands into your pockets.“ When I find a remarkable work of art, I buy it and keep it to myself.”

One of her perfectly arched brows quirks up.“ So you wish to buy me?”

You can’t help but chuckle at that. You certainly didn't think getting her to believe you would be easy and you were right in thinking so.“ No. My only wish is to earn your time, your trust, your respect. And prove myself worthy of keeping it.”

It’s clear that your words take her by surprise, even though she clearly tries to hide it. For the first time in minutes, her gaze drops from yours.“ How would you earn it?”

“Well, I could tell you but given that my words don’t hold much weight with you as of yet, I’d prefer to show you.” Slightly tilting your head down, you catch her eye, offering a small smile.“ I just need one chance.”

Another knock sounds, more urgently and you huff, knowing you can’t stay any longer. You’re sure that, given another minute or two, you’d be able to sway her.

Just before you draw the curtain, she speaks up.“ Lunch, tomorrow at 1, the bistro over on 5th.”

“I’ll be there at 12:45.” You respond, shooting a wink over your shoulder at her.

Due to your back being turned, you don’t see the little smile that Natasha pulls.

[probablyasocialecologist]

Earlier this week, OpenAI launched its new image generation feature, which is integrated directly into ChatGPT and allows users to input more complex instructions for editing and organizing the presentation of the output. The first big viral trend to come out of the new service was users turning photos of family vacations, historical events, and pop cultural images into animated stills in the style of Studio Ghibli films. (The whole thing was a bit of a throwback to the heady days of 2023 when you would see AI influencers sharing photos of famous figures in the style of Wes Anderson films or whatever.) ChatGPT let users “Ghibilify” the images, so we got Ghiblified Hawk Tuah girl, Ghiblified Elon Musk (obviously), and so on. The issue here should be obvious. I won’t pretend to know exactly how Miyazaki thinks about modern generative AI systems—the tool he was commenting on was a cruder prototype—though one might venture to argue that he’d feel even more strongly about tools that further automate human art with greater ease, and often drive it further into the uncanny valley. Regardless, the man on record with likely the strongest and bluntest disavowal of using AI tools for art, is now the same man whose notoriously painstakingly handcrafted art is being giddily automated by ChatGPT users for what amounts to a promotional campaign for a tech company that’s on the verge of being valued at $300 billion. Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, not only participated, changing his X avatar to a ‘Ghiblified’ self portrait, but insisted that this was the plan all along. Which in turn raises the specter of copyright infringement. Speaking to TechCrunch, a copyright lawyer very diplomatically said that while it’s unlikely infringement to produce images in the style of a studio, it’s “entirely plausible” that OpenAI’s models were trained on millions of frames of Ghibli films. He noted that it’s still an open question whether or not that in fact violates current IP law, or constitutes fair use, as the tech companies argue. On that front, judges recently dealt tech companies a blow, ruling in favor of Thomson Reuters that a pre-ChatGPT AI system was creating images that competed with the original material, and thus was not in fact fair use. OpenAI and Google, meanwhile, are desperately trying to win this battle, appealing to the Trump administration directly, and going so far as to argue that if they’re not allowed to ingest copyrighted works into their training data, China will beat the US in AI. Now, if—and of course this is a whopping if—OpenAI had consulted Studio Ghibli and its artists on all this, if those artists had consented and say reached a licensing deal before the art and frames from their films were ingested into the training data (as is pretty apparently the case), then look, this would indeed be a bout of generally wholesome fun for everyone involved. Instead, it’s an insult.

[...]

OpenAI and the other AI giants are indeed eating away at the livelihoods and dignity of working artists, and this devouring, appropriating, and automation of the production of art, of culture, at a scale truly never seen before, should not be underestimated as a menace—and it is being experienced as such by working artists, right now.

27 March 2025

[carsthatnevermadeitetc]

Rover Scout 1990, by ADC. A proposal for a “soft-roader” based on the Rover Metro. Automotive Development Consultants were an independent design consultancy who built a prototype and suggested a range of model variants but the Rover Group decided against taking the project any further