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mxchellesworld · 3 years

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𝟑 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐝 - 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟑

𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐝 𝐱 𝐂𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬; 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞'𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭.

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: none :) mentions of smut as a joke but very fluffy overall

𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 | 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫

***

“Y/n is our girlfriend”

You turned your head to look at Cat. She looked at you with a smile then turned back to face Penelope. You bit your lip to keep back a squeal as Penelope moved to let you guys inside. Her intoxicated brain just needed a moment to process before she was pulling each one of you guys in for a warm hug, saying her congratulations and awes.

“Hey Pen could you give us a sec,” you said patting her shoulder.

She quickly nodded then turned around and started yelling at Luke to put down her unicorn mug.

“So girlfriend,” you said looking between them. They shared small smile and looked back at you. A glimmer in each one of your eyes.

“Sorry we couldn’t get the collar but I think the title should suffice don’t you think princess,” Spencer said jokingly.

You playfully punched his shoulder and scoffed. He grabbed his arm in fake hurt as you responded, “You are so funny Spence, I am splitting at the seams. But does this mean I get part ownership of the lounge?”

They laughed and Cat grabbed your shoulders leading you to the dinner table filled with drinks and snacks, “Ok lets not get ahead of ourselves angel. How about a compromise and we get you your very own chair in the office?”

You nodded with a laugh, “You drive a hard bargain, I’ll take it.”

“I’m so glad you’re not my lawyer,” you heard Spencer whisper.

Picking up one of the many decorated paper plates, you started adding on the many treats available. Cookies shaped like Christmas trees and little gingerbread people filled the platter.

Taking in her apartment you noticed it was very her. Walls full of art and trinkets places in little nooks. The she took a colorful take on the holidays with her rainbow Christmas tree that had a star bright enough to be seen from the ones above.

You looked over to her couches and saw a familiar head of hair.

“Abbie?!” you called out.

She gasped excitedly and walked over to you, wrapping her arms around your waist. She had on a pale blue dress that was low cut and showed off her cleavage nicely.

“Wait are you here with Luke?” you asked her.

“Uh huh, we’ve been seeing each other ever since that night we went to the club. He’s so sweet and god does he know how to fuck,” she said sighing dreamily. You let out a laugh and congratulated her.

“Who are you here with?” she asked.

“I am here with my now official partners,” you said sticking your thumb back to point at Cat and Spencer. Cat had her palm to her forehead as Spencer happened to drop the equally festive napkins all over the floor.

“So you guys are boyfriend, girlfriend, girlfriend?” she said taking a sip of her eggnog.

“Mhm,” you said with a grin.

“I’m glad you’re happy Y/n. You deserve it my love,” she leaned in before continuing, “But if they hurt you again I will not hesitate to kick both of them in the throat.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less Abs, thank you. And the same goes for you. If Luke does anything stupid I’ll get his ass fired,” you said, knowing you had no authority over it.

You watched as she turned to walk back and Luke wrapped his arms around her. They giggled in a kiss then he turned giving you a killer smile and a wave. You waved back and sighed. Good for Abbie, you thought, she deserves someone like him.

The music playing got cut off and you heard Penelope clear her throat, “Alright now that we’re all here I have to make a toast.”

Spencer and Cat walked over to you with glasses of champagne. You took one in your hand and rested your head on her shoulder as Penelope continued her rambling.

“I have so much love for everyone here. Except you Luke, you have got to learn that I am the superior. But especially you chocolate thunder, I hope you stay the night,” she said with a wink.

“Love you babygirl,” you saw Derek say blowing her a kiss.

“Alright P, wrap this up,” the fit blonde from the bar said.

“Right sorry J, ok where was I? You guys are all so amazing and it makes me warm inside seeing your lovely faces all in one place. Thanks for being my family and bringing in new members. I love you, ok now have fun. Cheers!”

You all laughed and raised your glasses taking a sip of your drinks. The music turned back on and everyone went back to their conversations. Cat and Spencer introduced you to the rest of their ensemble of attractive co-workers.

The fit blonde, J, which you now found out is short for Jennifer. She was in a relationship with the other brunette Emily. You met Matt who used to work at the lounge as security but now retired to be at home with his wife and kids. Then Tara who happened to teach with Spencer. She had walked into the lounge one day and was pleasantly surprised to see the usually reserved professor tying a girl up.

That was a story you couldn’t wait to hear at the girls night which you had all planned.

As the night winded down those who had kids or significant others at home left. The few of you who stayed helped Penelope pick up some of the cups and plates that were littered over her living room. Once you were all cleaned up she wanted to keep the night going and insisted you all played a game of never have I ever.

You all settled around her kitchen counter and instead of consuming more alcohol you all decided to take bites from a cookie to signify you had done it.

“Ok I’ll go first, never have I ever gone skinny dipping,” she said with a giggle.

You, Abbie, Luke, Morgan, and Emily took a bite from your cookies. Cat and Spencer looked at you questioningly.

“Let’s just say I had a good time in college,” you said making everyone laugh.

Luke spoke up, “Never have I ever been dommed in front of others in the lounge,” he said with a smirk.

“You little shit,” you mumbled taking a bite from your cookie. Across from you Jennifer also took a bite, red in the cheeks. Emily proudly put her arm around the shorter blonde.

“Never have I ever had sex in a public setting,” Abbie said.

You saw Cat and Spencer take bites of their cookie. Your mouth dropped open as they tried to hide a smirk.

“Close your mouth angel, you’ll catch flies,” Cat said winking at you.

Once it reached 2 am the game was long over and you were ready to go home and face plant into the mattress. You looked over to Spencer who was talking to Derek . He looked down and put his arm around you, tucking you into his side. Derek smiled at the sight then motioned for Spencer to call him later as he walked over to Penelope.

“Ready to go home pretty girl,” Spencer asked quietly.

“Yes please,” you murmured. You could feel how heavy your eyelids were getting.

“Alright let’s get you some water. A car will be here in 10 minutes,” he said after a few clicks of his phone.

He pulled out a chair from the dining table and walked around the kitchen getting you a glass of water. He took a seat next to you and rubbed your thigh comfortingly. Across the room you made eye contact with Cat who was talking to Emily. She gave you a smile and mouthed ‘love you’ which you mouthed back.

Spencer cleared his throat, “She cares about you a lot and so do I. I’m sorry it took us so long to realize and make everything official. We really want to keep you around as long as you’ll have us,” he said softly.

You noticed the way he was able to express his emotions the best out of the two of them. Nonetheless the reassurance made your insides flutter.

You turned your body to face him. You pushed some of his curls behind his ear before you responded. “I know. I understand, it was probably hard to bring in someone else to your usual dynamic. I’m glad we’re starting this new chapter though. I love you guys more than you could imagine.”

He intertwined your hands and pressed a kiss to the back of it. The moment was broken by his phone chiming, signaling the car was outside, ready to take you three home.

He pulled you up by your hands. Cat noticed and made her way over to the both of you. You said your goodbyes to everyone and walked to the door. The chilly December air made your skin prickle. Once you got in the car you sighed at the warm heater blasting in the compact space.

Cat took both your hands in hers and rubbed them together bringing warmth to your cold digits. Spencer’s soft humming to a tune in his head helped lull you to sleep.

They shook you awake as the car stopped, helping you out of the car and the small walk up to their apartment. Once again you sighed at the familiar scent of their candles. Something you would never get tired of.

Cat helped wipe off your makeup as Spencer did his favorite task of dressing you in his clothes. He slid an old college sweatshirt over your head and kissed your hairline when he was done. The room was in a comforting silence, the small glances and eye contact was enough to convey the words and emotions filling your hearts.

When they were done taking care of you, you crawled up their bed and pushed away the extra decorative pillows. Snuggling into the now thicker comforter and waited your favorite people to join you.

You turned to face Cat and she happily laid in your arms. Taking in the scent of your coconut shampoo. Spencer’s arms were long enough to wrap the both of you in his loving embrace.

As the rhythm of your heart slowed down to an even beat, you still felt nothing but fondness in your soul.

𝐚/𝐧; 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬, 𝐢'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐨𝐟. 𝐢 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐝. 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 :)

#spencer reid smut #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid fanfiction #cat adams x reader #cat adams smut #Criminal Minds Fanfiction #criminal minds smut #chellewrites

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shiishki · 3 years

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okay wait, i changed my mind. you should answer all of these questions as well, if that's what you want from me >:)

oof there's a lot of it, that's what i get for wanting to be ✨aesthetic✨

1: 6 of the songs you listen to most?

vowels (and the importance of being me) - hunny

honeypie - jawny

pretty young thing - michael jackson

mirrors - justin timberlake

sunflower - red orange county

paradise - rude-a

2: If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?

a therapist.

ok someone else.. uhh,, my grand grandma because i only have scratches of memories but i dunno if that counts since she passed away...

*rummages through ancient scripts* uhh ok someone who isn't dead.. uhm,, tommie? yeah I'd like to meet them if i could meet anyone on earth

3: Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 23, give me line 17.

ok, the closest german, english or polish book? nvm i have english

"suddenly was. So I just said thank you a few times too, and Mum" ironically this is one of the normal lines in this book

4: What do you think about most?

the fact that I'll have to do something after school. and I don't know if i want to go to college or get a job bc i have no legitimate idea on what to do with my life. it gets overwhelming, just the lack of knowledge about the actual experience.

5: What does your latest text message from someone else say?

6: Do you sleep with or without clothes on?

with, tho i sleep with just shorts in summer

7: What’s your strangest talent?

not sure if it's a talent, but i can fall asleep anywhere

8: Girls… (finish the sentence); Boys… (finish the sentence)

girls are pretty. boys are pretty

9: Ever had a poem or song written about you?

by me, yes. no one else has written a poem about me specifically. nvm, tommie wrote one and it shall rest on my wall, or desk, i need to find a place for it

10: When is the last time you played the air guitar?

uhh i think last month?

11: Do you have any strange phobias?

i don't think so, but i am hella afraid of the possibly gigantic, terrifying things in the ocean depths that humans haven't discovered yet

12: Ever stuck a foreign object up your nose?

yep, beloved legos as a lil child

13: What’s your religion?

i can't ever remember the name, but i believe gods (from all religions) exist in some way or form. so i believe in different pantheons and etc.

14: If you are outside, what are you most likely doing?

walking my doggo, skateboarding, thinking about how to make the lives of my characters worse

15: Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?

behind it.

16: Simple but extremely complex. Favorite band?

uhmm the arctic monkeys? or the strokes

17: What was the last lie you told?

i know what i want

18: Do you believe in karma?

yes, the rule of three specifically

19: What does your URL mean?

i don't know. it's something me and my sis came up with and that's just my whole identity now.

20: What is your greatest weakness; your greatest strength?

uhh greatest weakness.. i can't finish things. strength is that I'm very stubborn so maybe I'll finish that thing out of spite

21: Who is your celebrity crush?

i grew up thinking crushes were like unicorns. my ex was odd enough to argue with that i didn't love her if i didn't have a crush on her. but I think if i had to guess.. selena gomez, especially in the role of alex russo in wizard of weverly street

22: Have you ever gone skinny dipping?

nope

23: How do you vent your anger?

i write angry letters. sometimes they're sad letters. i write a lot of letters. except i never send them out and no one made a movie about them :}

24: Do you have a collection of anything?

jars and witchy bottles, books? scented candles

25: Do you prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online?

phone calls are stressful enough as is, i don't need you to see my reading off what i frantically wrote to not stumble over my words

26: Are you happy with the person you’ve become?

i think so, yes, but that won't stop me from becoming better

27: What’s a sound you hate; sound you love?

hate flies buzzing right by my ear, love cat purring

28: What’s your biggest “what if”?

what if I'd been born in a place where it was illegal for me (nonbinary) to live, in a time when others thought of me as a curse?

29: Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens?

they be chilling.

30: Stick your right arm out; what do you touch first? Do the same with your left arm.

right arm, doggo, left arm, pillow

31: Smell the air. What do you smell?

fresh air and doggo, because doggo is with me and I can't live without open windows

32: What’s the worst place you have ever been to?

i dunno tbh

33: Choose: East Coast or West Coast?

which one is less homophobic?

34: Most attractive singer of your opposite gender?

every gender is my opposite gender. selena gomez and justin timberlake

35: To you, what is the meaning of life?

to make it easier for people down the line

36: Define Art.

make thing, thing goes woo

37: Do you believe in luck?

yis

38: What’s the weather like right now?

it's nice actually, very sunny, slight breeze

39: What time is it?

12.59 am

40: Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed?

i don't, but i once crashed into a fire department vehicle with my bike. bike ded.

41: What was the last book you read?

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

42: Do you like the smell of gasoline?

i legit ass don't know what gasoline smells like.

43: Do you have any nicknames?

many variations of my name, aka. Luce

44: What was the last film you saw?

i think it was Robin Hood: King of Thieves, but it might have been that half of spider-man homecoming i managed to watch with my poor internet

45: What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?

oh man i dunno... it's not an injury, but i was very sickly as a lil kid and almost died :)

46: Have you ever caught a butterfly?

once, years ago

47: Do you have any obsessions right now?

hmmm horizon zero dawn i think

48: What’s your sexual orientation?

proud pansexual ^^

49: Ever had a rumour spread about you?

not really, i don't think they're big enough to be actual rumors,, meh

50: Do you believe in magic?

yis

51: Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong?

meh. they suck, i know they suck, that's it.

52: What is your astrological sign?

cancer ♋

53: Do you save money or spend it?

i attempt saving. attempt

54: What’s the last thing you purchased?

for my own money, sweets. i bought lizards for my cats so they can brush their teeth from my dad's amazon acc

55: Love or lust?

luv

56: In a relationship?

nope, i buy my own cookies

57: How many relationships have you had?

1, kinda toxic toward the end, very stressful, don't recommend

58: Can you touch your nose with your tongue?

nu ><

59: Where were you yesterday?

on the fields walking my doggo

60: Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you?

yep, a pastel pink hoodie in my closet uwu

61: Are you wearing socks right now?

yis, thicc warm socks

62: What’s your favourite animal?

cats

63: What is your secret weapon to get someone to like you?

cuddles and food.

64: Where is your best friend?

bold of you to assume i have a best friend.

65: Give me your top 5 favourite blogs on Tumblr.

tommie-hildebrandt, kageyuji, nekomas-kuroo, joyful-soul-collector

66: What is your heritage?

I'm a demon boi from Poland tho that's not a thing to be proud of, i mean, look at the economy. awful.

67: What were you doing last night at 12AM?

sleeping, trying to sleep.

68: What do you think is Satan’s last name?

Pinkton. or Satan.

69: Be honest. Ever gotten yourself off?

this is such an odd combination of words i had to look it up. yea.

70: Are you the kind of friend you would want to have as a friend?

a friend who won't laugh at me when i ask them to order smth for me because I'm too anxious to.

71: You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do?

excuse me? i am saving the doggo wtf. f u boss, I'm gonna sell my tragic story to the news.

72: You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? b) What do you do with your remaining days? c) Would you be afraid?

a) i tell my parents. b) live the hell out of them uwu c) nope uwu.

73: You can only have one of these things; trust or love.

trust.

74: What’s a song that always makes you happy when you hear it?

history maker - dean fujioka :]

75: What are the last four digits in your cell phone number?

3332

76: In your opinion, what makes a great relationship?

communication, trust, some more communication.

77: How can I win your heart?

let's not pretend to be something else to please each other, and bring some bitter chocolate.

78: Can insanity bring on more creativity?

maybe. it could. i don't have a say in it since my sanity is held by tape.

79: What is the single best decision you have made in your life so far?

eat the pizza. stop caring about others not liking me/parts of me. just living for myself uwu.

80: What size shoes do you wear?

uh i dunno how the american sizes work and i don't wanna look it up so, 39, 40 fits too.

81: What would you want to be written on your tombstone?

demon boi

82: What is your favourite word?

socks.

83: Give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word; heart.

the bloody organ that sits in your chest and pumps blood into your body so you don't die.

84: What is a saying you say a lot?

uhm im not sure if that counts as a saying, but fake it till you make it

85: What’s the last song you listened to?

blinding lights - the weeknd

86: Basic question; what’s your favourite colour/colours?

oh a normal question people use for ice breaking, sea blue and pastel variations of it.

87: What is your current desktop picture?

like my wallpaper? or the actual picture that sits on my desk? or how my desk looks like atm? it's ugly, a lot of papers and pens and schoolbooks.

88: If you could press a button and make anyone in the world instantaneously explode, who would it be?

donald trump. or the next asshole who'll try to take the rights of the lgbt and poc away

89: What would be a question you’d be afraid to tell the truth on?

this. this is the question.

90: One night you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn on the light to find that you are surrounded by MUMMIES. The mummies aren’t really doing anything, they’re just standing around your bed. What do you do?

yo there's a pizza somewhere in the refrigerator, want me to heat it up? we can have a sleep over and talk about our feelings :3

91: You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What is that power?

telekinesis! or shapeshifting! i could do such fun things with telekinesis ^^ yeah I'd totally eat some radioactive veggies

92: You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again?

that time my "friends" got me into shoplifting, half-hour is more than enough to punch some sense into my brain and develop good music taste

93: You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?

can i save this one? i don't think i have an experience horrible enough to be erased haha

94: You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who would it be?

sleep as in.. uh no thank u. but I'm down for a sleep over with sam smith ^^

95: You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?

just me? what about my pets? my fam? it's lowkey illegal for me to go just anywhere without them owO

uhhmm, greece. imma become part of the greek pantheon out of pure spite. and maybe toronto canada.

96: Do you have any relatives in jail?

not any that i know of o.o

97: Have you ever thrown up in the car?

i think i may have but i honestly don't remember

98: Ever been on a plane?

nope, i dunno if i like planes, but I'd probably sleep if i were on one.

99: If the whole world were listening to you right now, what would you say?

yeet.

#that was long #probably because my stubborn ass wanted to make pretty formatting #shiishki.rambles #shiishki.interacts with tommie

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m-ziliak · 4 years

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Do you have certain materials you prefer? Like a certain type of paper, pens, etc.?

If you’re practicing, use the cheap crap! Use printer paper and ballpoint pens and RoseArt and Reeves! Always practice with the cheap stuff and save the good quality materials for when you know what you’re doing. For stuff I prefer for myself now... Paper. When working in sketchbooks I really like Canson Mix Media. It has some tooth to it and I really like that. I also work a lot with markers and it holds up to them really well. I have Strathmore Mixed Media books, too, but they’re really smooth and I’m not very fond of that. Seems like it would be better for blending, but I always feel like the pencil or ink is going to smear or feather. For comic book paper I really like Canson as well. Doesn’t bleed, doesn’t feather, I just wish it had some more layout markers. (Though I can just do that with a ruler.) Pencils! Been using Prismacolor Col-Erase for a long while now, usually in Light Blue and Carmine Red. Please note that Carmine Red doesn’t erase well and is kinda a pain in the butt. I used to draw in Non-Photo Blue, but it was too light when I was inking and I’d have a hard time seeing my sketch and scanners would still pick it up. If I’m doing warm-ups, thumbnails, or just sketches I’ll use anything. Normal pencils, ball-point pens. Anything. Pens. For inking I usually go for Sakura Micron. Comes in a bunch of sizes and I go through them like candy. They can handle a decent amount of work, have pretty durable nibs as long as you’re not stabbing the paper. I also like their brush pens for filling in. I used to use Copics as well for inking, but they were too expensive to upkeep and I didn’t really like how they felt. (I had the metal ones that you could refill. Heavy pens.) I also used to use Stabilo and I kinda hated them. Did my first comic with them and it looks like shit. Feels like holding a pencil, though. I might try them again now that I know how to use pens better, but for now I’ll stick with Sakura. Oh! I also use Sakura Gelly Roll for white ink, but I’m not super fond of it. I just need it for fixing mistakes. I’ll look for a better white ink pen later. Markers! If you wanna get into markers, use Ohuhu. They’re cheap, they dry out in a year, and they come in a ton of colors. Good to practice with. Right now I use Copic Sketch and I like them a lot. I have some that have dried out too soon, so I might try to revive them again, but overall I like them. They blend nicely, they don’t usually feather or bleed too bad, they come in a verity of colors. I like them. I’ve also used Faber-Castell, they’re okay. I’m not really fond of them. They never seem to dry out which is nice. Don’t blend very well, but that may just be me. Sharpie I hate. Never got the hang of them. Hate the smell, hate the colors, I don’t like Sharpie. I know other people that can make them work, though, so that’s definitely me. Other art stuff! I use Mod Podge to glue things, usually paper to whatever I messed up on so I can re-draw it. Bad idea. don’t use Mod Podge to glue things. Coloring over it will also make it look weird. Get a quark-back metal ruler. Keeps the ruler from slipping around. I have a cheap glove-thing I got for free when I bought a tablet to cover my hand and keep me from smearing stuff. I used to have a SmudgeGuard brand one, but the elastic gave out on it and for some reason the woman who ran the store didn’t believe I had small hands so she sent me the wrong size with a letter that an adult can’t have hands that size. I may try to sew my own one day. But it does keep the pencil and whatnot from getting messy. Computer stuff?? For taking photos and posting them to Insta, I use SnapSeed for fixing contrast and white-balance issues and LINE Camera for editing out stuff like eraser dust or little things like that. For digital art I use Photoshop CS6 and a really out-of-date version of GIMP. Like, so old. Super old. I don’t actually have a scanner and haven’t for a long time now, so I can’t really do any digital art. I’d like to get back into it, but I’m also VERY rusty. I never draw digitally and I should really try to get better at that. I want to try out Clip Studio Paint, but that’s a bit expensive for something I don’t know if I’ll like so maybe I’ll use their free trial. Drawing tablets I’ve used have been a Wacom Graphire3. From 2004. It was a good little tablet until it died. I have a little Wacom Intuos. It has a giant scratch on the surface, but it works fine. If I do any digital art, I usually do it with that. I also have a Huion Kamvas GT156HD. I hate it. It worked properly once and never again. The wires are a pain in the ass, setting it up is even MORE of a pain in the ass. It’s constantly running in the background for no reason, the pens can’t hold a charge, and it freaks out if you have drivers for other tablets installed. No matter how many times I uninstall and reinstall drivers it never works right. It’s a pain to change pen settings, I just hate it. Haven’t used it for two years or so, it was a huge waste of money.

#Anonymous

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falselyprofound · 4 years

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So my NYE’s resolution for 2019 was to do less stuff. To remind myself that it’s okay not to be making things, every single day. And while that’s very much a mantra I’ve been repeating to myself throughout the year...

Jesus Christ, did I ever keep busy. Again.

Off the top of my head, here’s a list of creative stuff I did this year:

Ran Ring for Service for about as long as I was able, though I ultimately had to close it early as I just did not have the time to see it through. (While I’ve been planning various MMB minigames since then, I wanna make sure I’m in a good position before I go doing anything w the site again. I also want to see if I can find ways of making them... Simpler? Shorter? Easier to run, in any case.)

Won Escape the Identity OCT! Had to cram 35 pages into the span of three months, but this marks the first comic I’ve written from start to finish. Wild. (Links to each chapter can be found on my tag list, if ya missed it.)

Learned that my uni classmates really like my pen-and-paper sketches, and promptly turned them into a game called The World is Weird. (You can play it for free here!)

Finished up a concept art/pitch book for An Evening at the Rabbiteye Motel. I can’t post most of it because of spoilers, but doing so has already helped fix a looot of the problems I had with making the original game. I should get back to work on that.

Participated in ArtFight; 1 month, 21 pictures, 301 points! I mostly used it as an excuse to practice digital painting. Full colour environments, ahoy.

(...Though I did take some time off to do some hefty Unavowed fanart. thank u again to edwyn and ivy for voice acting the comic I did -- i crack up laughing every time I think about it)

Actually started painting my OCs! Unprompted! For fun! Wow. I should do that more often. ...Actually, I still gotta finish those Annabelle and Marshal paintings. Hmm.

I also started writing a comic about Joseph, but then anxiety hit and it’s now sitting half-done on my hard-drive. I need to bite the bullet and start posting these pages somewhere...

(Speaking of half-done projects; I also also started working on a simple ren’py game about a halloween party at Clarissa’s store. I’m currently using it as a dumping ground for various OCs and concepts that don’t have a story of their own. Its proving to be a fun lil thing to dip into whenever I burn out on a major project! ...And if you still wanna vote on which scenarios I should focus on, here’s the link.)

Played so much D&D; Teeth retired to the safety of the Toliday Inn, Maya died but got revived, Mel’s having a series of increasingly shitty vacations, Sloane’s past is finally coming back to bite her in the ass... And that’s not including all the stuff I DM’d, or am planning on DM’ing. (Tales from the Loop, Bubblegumshoe, Magi-Bubblegumshoe... hopefully also Monster of the Week because that game is designed to have minimal planning... g o d. so many systems, so little time...)

Took a lot more commissions than usual. PAX PPL pins, Twitch emotes, digital paintings, comics, you name it. Still got a backlog to get through, but I’m grateful that there are people willing to spend money on my art.

Joined a DbD server on an impulse. tried to keep it simple. somehow wrote a fuckin’ novel. apparently i have a lot more to say about Stranger Things than i thought, lmao.

On the one hand; yes. I did a lot more this year than I had planned to. This was also one of the most stressful university years I’ve had in a long time, and involved pulling multiple all-nighters to make my research proposal deadlines. It was not healthy. I don’t miss it. I’m not doing it again.

But when I wasn’t working on Uni stuff, I think I was... happier? On the whole? Than I was last year.

Better at choosing a personal project to work on and sticking with it, at least. Better at knowing when to take a break from creating, and not berating myself for “wasting time” with stuff like reading or video games or roleplay. Better at letting opportunities pass, rather than piling up five or six of them and giving myself no free time. (...though I still really need to work on that last one lmao.)

What an end to the decade. Hopefully I can keep this up in 2020.

#pointless post #nye 2019 blogging #(getting this stuff done a day early bc I got plans for tomorrow yeehaw)

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bluegay-redgay · 5 years

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This Shit Will Linger - “Dennys, Anyone?”

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19379371/chapters/46111951 Word Count: 2,634 Summary: Everyone has made it into NYU!! Of course this calls for a celebration!After a late night of drinking and watching shitty movies, Chrisitne makes an interesting suggestion.(For reference, this is what I picture Michael's PT Cruiser looks like: https://www.autoblog.com/chrysler/pt+cruiser/ ) "We all made it!! We actually got accepted!!" Christine excitedly attempted, and failed, to embrace everyone into a group hug following the very exciting news.

"We better start saying 'hello' to student debt."

"C'mon Jerry! As true as that is, we need to celebrate!!" Brooke smiled as she began to pack her bags.

Yes, that is correct. The SQUIP Squad is officially heading to New York as students of NYU in 6 months!!

Christine followed her passion and decided to major in Musical Theatre with a minor in Asian/Pacific/American Studies, Jenna Rolan wanted to put her curiosity of knowing everything about everyone to use, majoring in Sociology. After a few stressful weeks of going back and forth, Jake settled on Sports Management while Rich went with Chemical Engineering. "It's so badass." He would say in defense, but in reality, Rich just wanted to assure himself a stable job.

To no one's surprise, Michael is going to major in Music Technology while taking a minor in Producing. Chloe went against her parents' demands and chose Individualized Study across the Humanities, "I'm not entirely sure what I want to do yet, but I want to focus on myself. But not by being pretty or whatever, like self-improvement." Brooke was definitely happy to hear that as she happily followed in her mother's footsteps, majoring in Nursing.

Jeremy was the last one to pick a major, continuously procrastinating on his application, but after some advice from Mr. Heere and some reassuring words from his friends, Jeremy decided to stick with his secret dream of Digital Art & Design. Although he typically kept his drawings to himself, Jeremy would occasionally post a drawing/design that he was particularly proud of.

Everyone was happy with their choices, and they were so ecstatic to know that everyone will be attending the same college.

"I think this calls for a chaotic hangout at Dennys! Who's drivin'?" Rich swung his backpack onto his back. "Not Jake, the last time he drove we actually almost ran into a tree." Brooke recalled the group's previous trip, sending Jake a glare.

"In my defense, I was kinda jammin' out so.." Jake didn't have anything else to say, shoving any remaining notebook paper or pens into his bag. "Yeah yeah.. So who can actually drive us there?" Jenna eyed everyone.

It only took a moment before everyone nodded and looked at a certain hoodie-wearing teen. "Michael!!"

The outburst was one thing that unsettled Michael but it was about him. And he wasn't prepared, almost falling off of the desk he was leaning on. Michael pulled down his headphones. "Yes?" Jeremy smiled and wrapped his lanky arm around Michael's shoulders, "Would you be so kind and drive us to Dennys? Pwetty pwease?" as he gave Michael the infamous puppy-dog eyes, Jeremy knew the answer already.

"Fiiiine. But you're paying for my meal." Michael groaned and grabbed his keys from his pocket. It's not like he didn't want to hang out with his friends, he was so happy about being accepted but he wasn't thrilled about moving to a new place, especially New York. It was littered with people. But nonetheless, Michael will try to adjust, if not for him, then for his friends, for Jeremy.

"Sweet! Let's dip!.. Chloe, my love, you're about to- well.." Brooke tried to warn Chloe about her smoothie but it was too late. It practically turned her top pink. "SHIT!! I JUST BOUGHT THIS!!" Chloe immediately dropped anything she was holding trying to wipe off any heavy amounts of strawberry chunks. Unfortunately this included her phone. Luckily, Christine caught it just in time as she was grabbing her book from the floor. "Woah! That was close! You need any napkins, Chlo?" Christine placed the device on a nearby desk. "What does it look like!?- Sorry! I mean, yes. Please." It's still going to take a bit more time, but Chloe has come a long way when improving her anger issues and just her overall attitude towards others.

"Are we done fucking around? I want Dennys!!" Rich lightly punched Jake's shoulder as he waited impatiently.

"Will Michael's car even fit all eight of us?" Jenna recalled the size of Michael's PT Cruiser

"Oh sure, all we have to do is tie like two of us on the roof." Michael chuckled. "But for real, you'll be fine. I think you might have a either sit on the floor or sit in someone's lap. Your choice." Michael headed towards the door, followed by everyone after Chloe decided that she was presentable again.

"Just don't fuck up my car." Michael stated, turning on the engine as they got closer. Jeremy quickly ran over to the passenger seat, it was almost a given that he'd take shotgun. But no one was complaining. Except Jake & Rich.

"C'mon Tall-Ass! At least push up your seat a little! We're crushed back here!!" Rich was basically on Jake's lap at this point. Not that he minded, Jake didn't seem to care either. Their legs had different opinions however.

Jeremy basically liked to lay down while Michael drives, whether it's to catch up on sleep that he's deprived of or to just clear his mind. Either way his seat was totally crushing Jake & Rich's legs, "Fine fine fine... This better?" He moved his seat about two feet, clearing the space immensely.

"Yes sir! Thank ya very much." Rich slid down Jake's legs a bit as he relaxed, pulling out some chips that were stuffed in his backpack.

"Can we go now?! It's hella crowded back here." Jenna complained, trying to not impale Christine's chest with her elbow.

"You guys asked Michael to drive, this is what you get." Jeremy looked at her through the rear-view mirror.

"Honestly, anything's better than Jake's driving." Brooke muttered under her breath.

"Do you wanna fight? I was not tryna get called out like this." Jake placed his hand over his heart as he continued his dramatic monologue, "I thought we were friends Brooke. I cannot believe that you'd betray me in such a way- Holy shit!!!"

His sentence was nearly cut off as Michael slammed the brakes. "What the fuck, Michael?!" Rich held the back of the passenger's seat tightly.

"A damn truck cut me off, nearly hitting me. You're welcome for not getting you hurt." Michael snapped back, continuing the drive, if a bit more cautious.

Jeremy looked at Michael and could tell immediately that he was panicking a bit, "Want someone else to drive on the way home?" Michael stayed silent for a moment, "No. It's fine. Just people being complete dumbasses." Jeremy nodded and scolled through Instagram. He was very aware that Michael can get serious road rage despite being calm almost 24/7.

"It'll be the first entrance to the right after this exit, Michael." He nodded and changed lanes, "Thanks Christine."

"Hey! Lovebirds, might wanna wrap that make-out session up soon. We're pretty much there." Jake called out, and he was right: Chloe & Brooke were practically sucking each other's faces off. "Fuck off, Jake." Chloe eyed him from her periphery vision. "We're having a moment."

"You were at my wedding, Denise." Jake scoffed. He then saw the iconic logo signalling his stomach to growl rather loudly.

"I guess that means that we're here. Let's roll! I can't feel my legs." Jenna practically shoved Rich & Jake out of the car, finally free. "Yes!! Now let me stuff pancakes in my mouth!" She ran off with with everyone to grab a booth and potentially raid the kitchen.

Jeremy was about to join them when he noticed that Michael hadn't even moved from his seat, "Micha? You good, dude?" Michael tensed at the question but slowly nodded, "Y-Yup.. I'm great.." His hands started to shake and his chest was rising faster as the seconds passed, "...N-No.." Tears suddenly flowed down his cheeks, it was as if a dam was just broken down.

Jeremy immediately hugged him, rubbing small circles on his back. He didn't say a word, he learned from personal experience that words of reassurance isn't always the best solution. Sometimes it's just a simple hug and letting the other cry it out, but not alone. Not again.

"I'm.. I'm sorry Jer... I-It's just.. I'm stressed? I-I mean we just.. we just got accepted into f-fucking college!.. We'll.. We'll be moving to a new state, shit to the m-most populated city in fucking America!.. And.. And the d-debt.. I guess it's just... piling up on me.." Michael sniffed as he rubbed his eyes with his hoodie.

Jeremy smiled and only tightened his hug a little. "Dude I get it. I completely understand, I mean it IS fucking stressful but here's the thing: I'll be there with you throughout the entire journey. We made it a two-player game, right? That's gonna continue throughout college and even when we're old geezers with white hair. You have my word." Jeremy ran his fingers through Michael's black locks.

Michael almost started crying again, he was only able to nod, still wanting the hug to last forever, "Yeah, I'll uh.. hold you to it, dude."

"Wanna stuff our faces with syrup-soaked pancakes?" Jeremy asked, pulling away to see his reaction.

Michael smirked, "Always." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Everyone had finished their food a long time ago, now they were just exchanging witty banter or suffering from a food coma.

"I am a firm believer that Walt Disney froze his body and that 'Frozen' was created to hide those google results about the body! You cannot tell me otherwise!!" Brooke slammed her fist against the table as she declared her stance on this very important matter.

"I mean it makes sense, the man was a genius! Why wouldn't he want to live forever?"

"Brooke, honey, I think you're alone on this one."

"Michael agrees with me! He believes in more conspiracies than all of us combined!"

Michael chuckled and ran a hand through his hair, "I mean it's not the stupidest theory I've heard but there are so many other theories that are way more convincing!" He was feeling better after his anxiety attack, it took some food with a couple of dumb jokes and Michael was smiling again. He was calm.

Christine was rather quiet at the moment so anyone would've nearly screamed when she slammed her palms onto the table yelling, "GUYS I JUST HAD AN AMAZING IDEA!!"

After everyone recovered from the small heart attack, Chloe was the only one quick enough to have a response, "Here we go.. What are we gonna reenact "Your Fault" again?" She rolled her eyes at the memory.

"Not this time. So, hear me out: Like it or not, we're going to be Stressed-Out College Students™, so we need an outlet of sorts in order to-"

"Chris, get to the point." Jenna cut him off, sipping her coffee.

"Okay, okay! We can create a YouTube channel! Or multiple, it's your choice."

It was silent for a second until Brooke released a muffled snicker, following by everyone laughing at the idea. Except Christine.

"It'll be fun!!" Christine smiled. Wait is she serious?

"Chris, I know you're one of the most outgoing people on this dying planet but come on. What would we even do?" Michael wiped his eyes from laughing so hard.

"Anything we want! It's like a way to...how do I put this..

"Express ourselves?" Michael added some half-assed jazz hands, obviously joking.

"Yes!! Exactly! C'mon, at least give it a shot! We can each have our own channels and then a conjoint channel for all of us! It'll so much fun and can be something interesting for us to do over the summer and in college!!"

Again, her statement was met with silence... until Jeremy sighed and gave Christine a smile, "I...uh... guess it wouldn't hurt? I'm still uh.. hesitant?"

Jeremy's agreement was all that it took for the rest of the group, even Michael, to start muttering their agreement. Jeremy had a point, it wouldn't hurt them to at least try it out, right?

Brooke tapped her chin as her mind tried to think of an idea, "Maybe... Oh! Chlo & I can do makeup tutorials, random vlogs or shopping hauls! And also have our weekly trips to Pinkberry! Whaddya say, Chloe?" Her face practically shined like a star. So of course Chloe couldn't deny her, "That might be fun.. I'm up for it if you are?" Brooke responded with a peck on Chloe's cheek.

"Barf. I'd totally do prank videos or parkour. Something hella cool. Maybe a few of those cliche internet challenges." Rich chuckled, secretly excited about this potential channel. "Bro, if you think I'm deadass not gonna join, my dude you are wrong, heh!!" Jake bro-fisted with Rich, establishing this collaboration.

Christine excitedly clapped her hands, "Yay!! I'm excited!! I mean obviously I'd do theatre reviews, maybe some covers and costume tutorials!! Oh, I can't wait!! What about you Jenna?"

Jenna didn't even need to think about it. It was almost a given, "Probably gossip & fashion review. Maybe the occasional vlog if I travel. Michael? Jer?"

All attention was on the two of them, "Well if my channel is gonna reflect my life, it'll be a mess so uh.. I guess whatever I want? It may um.. depend on my mood that day, who knows?" Jeremy just shrugged but honestly? He wasn't sure what he wanted to do at all.

"If I must create content for the people of the planet, most of it would likely consist of conspiracies.. random thoughts/realizations I have when I'm high and uh.. I dunno gaming?" Michael still wasn't keen on the idea of starting a channel but that didn't mean he wasn't gonna try it, it did sound pretty dope to him.

The group nodded in agreement, that suited them. "And we'd have a channel for all of us? Sweet. Why not make a video now? Like a launch sorta thing?" Jake suggested.

It didn't sound like a bad to them, why the hell not?

"Cool, cool. Let's create our channels first!" Christine pulled out her phone and started the process. Everyone mimicked her actions and soon enough, the SQUIP Squad had started their YouTube career.

"I think it's pretty obvious that we share our names, yeah? I'll start: My channel is 'Babbling Brookie'! Chloe and I's channel is called 'verypinkberry' Brooke was proud of the names, it obvious who created them.

"Mine is simply 'CooCooChloe', fitting isn't it?" Chloe scoffed, she actually really liked it.

"Those are nice and all but the channel to be at is 'NotSoRichieRich' cause I'm a broke bitch! Haha!" Jake rolled his and prepared his announcement as if it would change the world, "Are you ready for this, ladies & gentlemen? My channel is called.... 'JakeyD' it's fucking original and no one can top that." His toothy grin was just a cherry on top.

"Adorable. 'JamPackJenna' because woooo boy is the tea hot right now!" She was in the middle of taking a selfie that would likely be her icon.

"I wanted to do a bit of wordplay as well so I did it! 'Chrisanthemum'! It has a pretty okay ring to it. Jeremy? What about you? Please tell me it's a pun!!"

Jeremy laughed and nodded, "It's 'HeereHere'.." The first one to burst out laughing was of course Michael, that pun went way back to when the two met in preschool. "Oh-Oh my GOD Jer!! You.. You actually..!" It took Michael a few seconds to calm down as he cleared his throat, "It is purely 'Mellon'. I do not take criticism."

And no one criticized because come on, that's one of the best puns for his name.

"Sweet, now shall film this late night announcement at Dennys?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TheSQUIPSquad™ uploaded a new video.

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authorjbo · 5 years

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How. HOW. Do you draw this good. I'm semi-decent at traditional art, but like. The ACT of drawing on paper is intuitive. Even little babies do it. Of course it takes talent and effort to make it *good*, but the principle is something everyone understands. Digital art, on the other hand? Witchcraft! I can't even make a stick figure! And you're over there making a whole ass beautiful realistic painting! You are amazing!

Hey and THANKS! :D Digital drawing was sooo tricky for me in the beginning (I was 18, now I’m 22). I think painting is so much easier digitally (hello, Undo button!) but tbh I prefer pencil/pen for traditional drawing. Takes me forever to reach the same level of control when I’m sketching digitally. Keep at it, anon! Good things come with time :)

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mirrerover · 6 years

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i'been thinkin abuot domestic taeekook a lot lately. like everyone is always about domestic hyung line but i think domestic taekook could be super cute. just wondering what u thought. sry for bothering you omg just ignore me.

It’s only six when Jeongguk stumbles through the front door but it feels like eight, maybe even nine in the evening. The time dilation effects of winter: snowy commutes, shorter days, grating conversations with college advisors as his exam results trickle in. It’s throbbing at the back of Jeongguk’s head, the greyness of the season trying to sink under his skin.

It makes him slow and stupid, shoes adding more scuff marks to the wall as he kicks them off without grace. Doesn’t matter. Taehyung doesn’t care about clean walls either.

They’re similar that way, Jeongguk and Taehyung. A little thoughtless and a lot of messy. Like Taehyung’s crap strewn all over their tiny kitchentable, piles of papers and stickers and multi-coloured pens. Taehyung isn’t a child of winter either.

“How’re the tests going?” Jeongguk asks, shuffling his way to the couch. An ugly old thing with stains and burn marks and permanent indentations in the shape of their asses.

“Going.” Debatable, Jeongguk thinks, since Taehyung’s in the corner of their ugly couch and his stuff is on their cramped kitchen table. He’s in sweats and a hoody, sock-clad feet on the crate doubling as a coffee table, and eyes on the TV hooked up to their game console. A first-person-shooter but the way he’s killing people is lacklustre at best. “Still can’t believe they’re making me grade four-year-olds, man. ‘S just wild.”

“Hmm,” Jeongguk murmurs, dropping down onto the couch beside him. “‘S crazy.”

“Half of them are gonna cry again. Still in the single digits and already heading for a burnout.”

“That’s messed up.” Jeongguk shifts minutely, ass settling into its personal dent, until Taehyung’s body is a comfortable warm line against his side. “The little humans got it rough. I feel their plight.”

“Yeah,” Taehyung says. He turns without looking, placing a kiss on the side of Jeongguk’s head that lands more on his eyebrow than his temple. “Super rough.” He has set his character up on a rooftop somewhere, picking off enemy soldiers as they wander by, not advancing the game. Mindless and stupid. Jeongguk’s tempted to join him.

“Order in?” Taehyung asks after Jeongguk watched the fifth body drop, head slumped to the side on Taehyung’s shoulder.

“What about that stuff your mum sent over?”

“Nah. Ate it for lunch.”

“Oh,” Jeongguk says, digging his nose into Taehyung’s hoody. He smells like laundry detergent and strawberry shampoo. “The Thai food?”

Taehyung grimaces. “Threw it out. Looked alive or something. We should, like, clean out our fridge sometimes.”

“Probably,” Jeongguk concedes. He turns his head to glance over the back of the couch. There a lot of gaudy magnets on the fridge, most of them Taehyung’s and some of them holding up pictures. The centre image is of them in a chapel with Elvis. Jeongguk can’t really remember what happened. He was beyond drunk so that’s his excuse, but alcohol isn’t Taehyung’s drug of choice and they try not to indulge in that abroad. Maybe it was just Elvis and Taehyung’s desire for a good laugh.

They didn’t get it annulled. Because of love and all that other mushy shit, Jeongguk supposes.

Next to the fridge is a sink full of dirty dishes. Jeongguk cooks in the weekends when they got the time. Mainly breakfast. It’s Thursday now.

“Jesus,” Jeongguk sighs, spotting five socks on the floor and an unpacked box in the corner from three months ago. “We’re such losers.”

Taehyung huffs. “Fuck off. Got a job and everything.”

Jeongguk sighs again. Taehyung’s in his first year of teaching while he’s still collecting half-finished art majors like it’s a hobby. Excelling at all the artistry and incapable of memorizing any of the theory. Tests fuck him over every time.

“We had to ask Namjoon to do our taxes last year,” Jeongguk says. He rearranges himself so that his head is on Taehyung’s lap and his legs are dangling off the other side of the couch. “Couldn’t even ask our parents.”

Taehyung bites his lip and tilts his head in contemplation, letting the bullshit simmer till it’s at optimal consistency. “Just didn’t wanna rub their face into the obvious faults and shortcomings of their parenting. Seemed rude, 's all.”

Jeongguk snorts. “Right.”

“The dude gets off on numbers. And who knows how to do taxes anyway?” Taehyung’s completely given up on the game now, flicking through his weapon inventory and decking out his character in various armours. Jeongguk doesn’t think purple makes for great camouflage. “Bet Jimin doesn’t do his own taxes.”

“Jimin sucks Joon’s dick on the regular. If he ain’t doing his taxes that’s grounds for divorce.”

“They're not married.”

“Whatever. Y’know what I mean. Probably manages to turn half of the clothes Jimin buys into a deductible.”

“That’s hot.”

“Way hot,” Jeongguk agrees, scrolling through his phone, trying to decide on dinner. Nothing too spicy and no seafood. Taehyung’s palate is as developed as those of the kids he’s teaching.

“Are you getting food from that place?” Taehyung asks. “’Cause then I want that non-fishy fish stuff. The fish fingers without fish.” Jeongguk hums but maybe not loud enough. “Y’know,” Taehyung continues, “those orange—”

“Yeah, dude. I know,” Jeongguk says, patting Taehyung’s stomach with his free hand to shut him up. “Chill. I’m getting you your deep-fried non-fish meat sticks with questionable protein heritage.”

Taehyung relaxes back into the couch. “Cool.”

“Cool,” Jeongguk echoes, finishing up the order.

He turns to his side, facing away from the TV. It’s not all bad, Jeongguk thinks, being married. He’s had a shitty day, Taehyung’s had a shitty day, and now they’re sitting here in their somewhat shitty apartment with Taehyung playing a shitty game. But Taehyung’s ratty hoody is soft and warm. Grey but not winter grey.

“We gotta watch some Netflix,” Taehyung says, ditching the console and switching to a remote. “There’s five-hundred things in our queue.” He brushes the long fingers of one hand through Jeongguk’s hair. His pierced ears are usually next. “What ya wanna watch? ‘Blood and gore’ or ‘sex, blood and gore’?” Jeongguk watches the light of the TV screen flicker across Taehyung’s features as he jumps through their queue, his eyebrows pinched. “Anime?”

“Love you.”

Taehyung’s face goes soft, eyes losing their dull shine and the corners of his lips twitching. “That’s a bit gay, Guk.”

“Fuck off.”

“Hmm,” Taehyung hums and he’s grinning. A sharp little thing full of amusement. “Was gonna go with Narcos but since you’re being such a soft bitch maybe we should watch Totoro instead.”

“Jesus,” Jeongguk groans, rolling over to his other side with flushed cheeks. “You’re such an ass. Just tell me you love me.”

Taehyung chuckles, thumb brushing along the ridge of Jeongguk’s ear like predicted. “Love you tons.”

#bts fanfic #taekook #mirre writes #i love domestic taekook #they'd probably drown in their own mess and die within the first year #did you see bon voyage?#they don't know how to adult #dumb and dumber #it's a true thing of beauty #anonymous

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tobiasbuckell · 7 years

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This is how I Bullet Journal

Hi, I’m Tobias Buckell, a science fiction writer, and this is how I Bullet Journal.

I mentioned I’d started bullet journalling on twitter and people were curious and suggested I create a blog post.

So in September, I had been seeing people mentioning Bullet Journals and seen some Instagram links and Pinterest accounts about bullet journaling.

I was a bit put off by it all because there were pictures like this (these aren’t actual Bullet Journals, but emblematic of the sort of thing that kept me from engaging initially):

Staedtler pens are great! I know I use Stabilo pens a lot, but I really do love these beauties. They are a little bit more expensive than Stabilos but they write so smooth! . I buy them individually from Blick art supply, especially black and pastel pink & blue! . What's your favorite pen? . . . . . . . . #studying #midterms #studygram #study #stationery #studyhard #giveaway #bulletjournal #studytime #student #studymotivation #collegestudent #staedtler #college #organization #notes #studyabroad #journal #washitape #handwriting #revision #exams #studyblr #planneraddict #bujo #studyabroad #plannerlove #stabilo #muji #aesthetic #pen

A photo posted by Mich (@babeswhostudy) on Jan 2, 2017 at 4:15pm PST

Or like this:

Last week in my Erin Condren Planner using a @planningroses kit 💞 the end of 2016 was a weird one for me, but here's to all the fun adventures that 2017 hold!

A photo posted by Meagan (@megz.plans) on Jan 3, 2017 at 1:20pm PST

It seemed like a group of scrapbookers vomited all over to-do lists. I bounce off the scrapbooking aesthetic. I wouldn’t mock it, those examples above are beautiful. But, it looked like it could, maybe, you know, be a lot of yak shaving or vacuuming the cat before getting stuff done:

Yak shaving is a programming term that refers to a series of tasks that need to be performed before a project can progress to its next milestone. This term is believed to have been coined by Carlin Vieri and was inspired by an episode of “The Ren & Stimpy Show.”

I don’t know if that’s fair, but to me (and I emphasize that ‘to me’ part), needing fifteen different colored pens and the right paper, stencils, and so forth, to get a to do list done, that seemed like madness.

But then someone I really respect (who had the same reaction to it all) told me they were thinking of doing it. Always curious to examine new personal time management tools, I told that person that if they did it, I’d also try one out for a month as a personal experiment and see what I thought.

Bullet Journalling Attempt #1

I went online and purchased a Luechtturm 1917 A5 Notebook as devotees of the system recommended it. I overnighted it, along with a nice gel pen (also recommended). Why reinvent the wheel?

Here’s a youtube video review of the notebook:

Nice notebook!

I then watched the official Bullet Journaling youtube video by the Bullet Journaling inventor:

There. I was ready to start and be awesome! I was relieved to find out that the creator of the Bullet Journal didn’t recommend using fifteen different colored pens and stencils.

I grabbed my fancy new pen, opened my fancy new book, and started following the instructions on the video…

…and promptly biffed it.

I’m ADD, I’m dyslexic, and I made a bunch of mistakes making my first pages.

However, I was determined the experiment continue. I realized that using a pen terrified me because I kept making mistakes. I also wanted to be able to rip out pages if I screwed them up (Bullet Journallers say you just create a new page, or decorate around the mistakes, but, I wasn’t feeling it at the start of the experiment). So I drove up to Staples, purchased an A5 binder with some paper and, on a whim, I snagged a bunch of mechanical pencils.

I booted up the video and started again.

Within a week of keeping that loose-leaf, three ring binder, I came to a few conclusions:

1) using a pencil helps me lose my worries about making a mistake on the page. 2) with pencil I didn’t need loose leaf paper. 3) man, that Luechtturm had really nice paper, regular American school paper was shit. 4) this is the most important: whatever may or may not work with Bullet Journalling, the idea of indexing my notes and scribbles was revelatory.

Okay, about number four. That’s like, paperclip obvious. It’s so obvious in retrospect I don’t know why I wasn’t doing this in high school or college. But honestly, I have gone my entire life writing things down on scraps of paper as they occur to me, and then collating them onto the computer.

One of my most popular posts is “How I Write a Novel” and you can see that I do actually use paper for brainstorming:

But I get that into computer quickly as I can because it’s then organized and searchable. And when I was planning things, my desk would look like that.

But creating an index, that was interesting. Because now I suddenly, like a light bulb going off, realized I could create not only daily to-dos, but project to-dos, and flip back and forth. Even better, while I used a variety of to-dos via digital software, some projects of mine were getting so complex that I needed a way to glance at the 30,000 foot view quickly.

Surprisingly, there is no official graphical user interface for a novelist 10 years into his career who needs an at a glance look at what’s going on with all his novels in one place.

But with an indexed paper system I could built a two page spread with all that data, including my own symbols for different things happening to the books and…

…all of a sudden I understood all the custom scrapbook-y stuff I was seeing. These were personalized UIs. And creative output, of course.

I quickly created a sketch of a two page spread that would allow me to see all the complicated things I was doing for my novel career, and right away I was like “yeah, I’ll be opening this up every time I talk to an editor, or agent, or accepting a deadline.” I could see everything I was up to on one page.

Bullet Journal #2: Considering aesthetics

So, the Staples binder was a shitty quick solution. The paper was cheap. The binder was cheap. And I hated the rings. Yeah, writing on the right page was easy, but writing on the left? I had to hold my hand in an odd way. I took to writing on only half the page. In the second week, I got online and started ordering possible Bullet Journal systems.

Here is what I ordered:

Upper left is the shitty Staples A5, 3-ring binder. I liked A5 size because I could stick the notebook in a backpack pocket, or take it with me to a panel to take notes.

On the upper right, I snagged a Japanese 20-ring binder with some nice paper.

On the lower right I purchased a very nice 6 ring system with a luxurious leather holder that could take credit cards and extra pens and pencils, plus it had more space in the middle. Many diarists in the US use that gapped six ring system, I found out. Incidentally, my wife took up that notebook for her own Bullet Journalling (it is infectious apparently).

On the lower left is the system I settled on: the Kokuyo Systemic Notebook cover.

Here’s a product shot of the whole thing:

For the pencil (it has this great pen loop) I have a Uni-Ball KuruToga 0.7mm Mechanical Pencil which is magical because it has a mechanism in it that rotates the lead every time you pick it up, so that the pencil comes down sharp on the next stroke. I use the diamond infused lead for the super sharp lines. Pencil isn’t as sharp as pen, but this pencil really helps compensate for that.

I used that to build out my to-do list and project management, heavily using indexing so I can jump around and find what I need.

Each Kokuyo twin ring notebook lasts me about two months. I think I could get three out of them, but I haven’t tried yet.

I also added a Moleskine Cahair slim notebook on the left panel of the Kokuyo Notebook cover. So my project management happens on the right, with the twin ring, and on the left, I write down ideas and writing snippets.

Bullet Journalling: What I do

So I have an index, then I create some pages for quotes. Two pages of my favorite quotes, one for life, one for writing.

Then come the future pages that Bullet Journalling recommends. They don’t work as well for me so I’m slowly deprecating them. But my month page is a thing just like normal. Then I start doing my daily pages (dailies some people call them).

My page looks simple, I don’t adorn, I have the shittiest handwriting. Here’s a sample fake page:

Date at top (because that helps me know what day I wrote things on).

Priority: I write in two to three (no more than three) priorities for the day, things that absolutely have to be done. Like ‘refill meds’ so that I can continue living.

After a skipped line I write “Today will rock b/c:” and then fill in why it will rock. This is something I picked up from a neurophysiology researched, how to work/live better journalling exercise I read about. If I can’t fill that out, that means I’m not looking forward to anything on this day. Seeing a blank after that is a clue I need to stop and think about why or what is in the way of me having even a small thing to look forward to. Often it says something like “Today will rock b/c: I’m going to have a Choco Taco after dinner!”

Then I have my daily to-dos that I’ve filled out in the morning or the night before. I use a box for these (instead of a dot), and if the box is half filled it’s in progress. I like coloring in the box after I achieve a to-do, it makes me feel happy, accomplished, and kick ass. It’s dumb, but there you go.

I interweave journaling and to-dos, which is what blew me away about some Bullet Journallers. It’s not official, I don’t think, but I use a circle to denote a journal entry. So right under the to-dos I’ll often have something like:

Bubble: “Man it’s colder than all fuck outside, this is so depressing. I hate being cold all the time. I hate winter. Etc” I wanted to start journaling because I’ve read a lot of research showing its positive impacts. Interweaving the to-dos and journaling mean I do this organically throughout the day, and can also meta-comment on my mental state regarding some of the to-dos.

I can add new to-dos as they occur to me interleaved through this all as well.

And lastly, I use a plus sign to denote a thing I did that wasn’t scheduled:

+phone call from XYZ. We discussed ABC project. 1pm-1:30.

These plus activities are added in for things I know to do, interruptions, last minute etc.

With all this in play, I can look at each day and see that ‘oh, I failed on my to-dos but a crisis happened’ or what have you. Journaling helps me express myself and engage in meta-cognition.

I use a triangle to denote warnings, or things I’ve noticed.

Triangle: you didn’t get enough sleep and are feeling like shit. I was perusing my journals and noticed a number of patterns flagged by triangles that I was able to get ahead of.

Lastly, I try to write at the end of the day if I was grateful for anything. Gratefulness journals are again, shown to by psychologically helpful.

I’ll take notes on a lecture, or call, right on the page of the day, then go index them after I’m done (a significant lecture will get indexed from front, I keep a project page called ‘call log’ and log the date, time, person, and quick summary on that page, which notes the page of the diary that is on, that call log is a project page indexed by index). Sounds complex, but I’m able to keep a surprising amount of info organized easily, and generating it is easy.

Project pages. I mentioned that I have a novels project page. I also keep pages that log books read, tv shows watched and my thoughts, movies and my thoughts, each audiobook I’m listening to. These are as I go logs.

I also keep lists. I have lists of movies recommended to me written down, and books recommended to me.

Specific complicated projects all get a page.

One of the most useful pages ever for my mental health was “Things I’m Waiting On.”

Open loops, things that are undone and in-progress, that I have no control over, keep me up at night. When I created my first ‘waiting on’ page, I had 43 items on there. It was a relief to list them all out, collating the items from various project pages. I list contracts I’m waiting for, checks, people getting back to me about questions, things being shipped, etc. Knowing that it was on a page that I could update really took it out my perpetual worrying back mind. It also let me put dates next to them so I knew how often to ‘poke’ the project on a set, regular reminder schedule.

I also have pages for ‘life goals’ ‘year goals’ ‘places I want to see’ and things like that.

Project pages are more decorated up with lines from a ruler, and things to help me graphically understand what I’m up to. I can’t share these really, right now, as they have either personal info or info about projects I can’t talk about. But really, there are lots of arrows and things written sideways and all custom designed by me to get the gist of what happens next.

One thing I have learned from Getting Things Done, each project breaks down parts by next actions on those pages, so I understand what I have to do next and can copy a next action onto my daily page as an easy to do.

So to create an internet business project page, first step might be ‘investigate open domain names related to ‘theme of business’’ after that ‘register the domain’ because each of those are concrete, actionable steps that I could almost assign anyone, that I can follow when brain dead. Obviously creative stuff is not something I can assign, but if I were to assign it to another writer, how would I write it? (Say: write one page of X. Or brainstorm 3 ideas for X. Or ‘spend 30 minutes brainstorming ideas for X). That is how I break it down for creative stuff.

That is basically been how I spent the last four months, and I actually think it saved my sanity because the crunch of work I had to achieve in the last four months meant I depended on this heavily.

My only issue was that two months per notebook sucked. I think I can squeeze three out of the Kokuyos, but I am currently testing out a Luechtturm 1917 that I think I can 3-4 months out of and that will be nice, as I won’t have to copy over my project pages every two months.

But man, I love that clear plastic cover and the immediate index of the Kokuyo, so we’ll see how this goes over the next two months.

This is how I Bullet Journal was originally published on Tobias Buckell

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