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neuroticbookworm · 11 months

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Another day, another Step by Step post I did not plan on writing but had to because my smart as fuck mutuals thunk some thoughts, and now my brain won't stop screaming unless I write some words.

Original post by @waitmyturtles here, where she levels criticism on the editing and writing on the show, and adds some excellent perspective on how some people can spend most of their time in work mode, and how that might leave less room to forge any intimacy with the people sharing the work with them.

My addition to this discussion could've very well been a comment, or even a reblog, but I HAD to make this a separate post because @wen-kexing-apologist decided that they wanted to add their INCREDIBLE, PASSIONATE, AND WELL ARUGUED piece defending the show's writing of Pat and Jeng, and their relationship, as a reblog, NOT A SEPERATE POST. I couldn't even like it because I had already liked the original post, why would you torture me like that!!

I will add a quick TLDR, begging you all on my hands and knees to read it, and then get to my point. In the post, @wen-kexing-apologist

Goes through the entire relationship timeline to justify that the reasons for Pat misreading Jeng as straight are realistic and understandable.

Makes a case for the actors' skills and how a very inexperienced but capable Ben and his performance as Pat might come off as a little duller compared to (an equally inexperienced but insanely talented) Man's incredible acting, and how it might contribute to us feeling the drag in narration.

Points out, with a beautiful metaphor, that the slowburn is ending, we're all exhausted because we're almost there, and when it ends, we're all gonna be engulfed in flames, along with Jeng and Pat (I worry for the mental health and wellbeing of all of us when that finally happens).

(that's right, @wen-kexing-apologist, I fully read the wall of text you thought no one would read, and I'm doing my very best to get other people to read it)

Now, @waitmyturtles, I love your addition that Pat has reasons to see all of their interactions as work, and how it is yet another reason for him to intentionally delude himself into thinking Jeng is unattainable. I understand your frustrations and why you would think the narration and editing do not and cannot sustain this slow burn anymore. I'm right there with you, and I think the show as a whole does suffer a little due to the pacing and the editing, but I digress.

My two cents: I have observed that sometimes, movies and TV shows choose to be intentionally frustrating to the audience, to add a feeling of immersion to their viewing experience. The best example of this I can think of right now is The Shawshank Redemption. The movie has a runtime of 2 hours and 22 minutes, which is considerably longer than a standard Hollywood feature, and most of it is spent with the characters inside the titular prison. (spoilers ahead if you haven't seen the movie. Also, howwww?!?!) When Andy finally crawls out of that shit tunnel, the audience collectively takes that deep breath of freedom with him, because they have spent the last 2+ hours of their lives trapped in that prison with him. They feel his euphoria, they can almost feel the rain on their faces because, with Andy, they have escaped the narration that had locked them up in that prison.

While Step by Step might not have executed this as intensely as TSR, I believe they are doing it to an extent, with the audience following the story primarily through Pat. Think of it this way: if we watched our best friend have a crush on a hot guy, find out he is his boss, hate the said hot guy because he is a strict micromanager, torture himself wondering if he is straight or gay, single or taken, and fight his desire for this man while he's also getting badgered by his manipulative ex, we would be understandably frustrated. Add to the fact that, unlike real life, we can actually see the crush reciprocated and the world-class pining Jeng does for Pat every single day. When we consider this angle, the fact that none of us has popped a vein in our heads yet is a miracle.

Another point that might factor into this is Pat's age. I'm not sure of the exact number, but I believe he's a college graduate starting his first job when the show begins. That would put him firmly in his early 20s. As a fellow 20-something-year-old, I strongly believe our twenties are when we are the worst, most emotionally inefficient versions of ourselves. I like to call it adulting with a teenage brain. There's a reason why actual adults can't stand us, it must be frustrating to watch a child in a fully grown body stumble their way through life, making mistakes that are so easy to avoid. Pat's relative immaturity is also contrasted with Jeng's age, introspection, and levelheadedness, and again, I believe it is by design. The writers want to drive us to the brink of our sanity, and so far, they are winning.

This post is not intended to win you over, @waitmyturtles. In fact, I'm firmly on your side, clawing my eyes out over this show. But I might have my teeniest, tiniest toe on the door, just enough to keep the sliver of the writers' intentions shining through.

#step by step #step by step the series #step by step meta

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redtail-lol · 1 year

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Proper Blog Introduction

Hello, and welcome to Redtail's ramblings and occasional coinings! Enjoy your stay.

Free Help for Palestine - A communal document created by me and editable by everyone for finding free ways to help Palestine! Mostly composed of petitions at the moment. If you can't donate or just want more ways to help Palestine it's very helpful.

About Me and the Blog:

I mostly will be coining orientations instead of genders because there are so many genders and the orientation market is low, and will mostly be coining labels that apply to me. However, I am willing to coin labels that don't apply to me. Please feel free to ask, and if I'm uncomfortable, I will just deny it.

Some posts aren't centered around me coining so sorry for any clutter

I am a perisex bigendermeld girl + enby and I use she/they pronouns

I have a label collection/hoard of 300+ that I loving named The Boxfort Palace. I may start a third blog just for my hoard. Or I may just keep it on the doc

Some of my important identities are asexual (fully, absolutely no sexual attraction), cupiosexual, demiromantic, lunian/mspec lesbian, bi lesbian, poly lesbian, and omni lesbian, and I specifically use full-moon springtide versions of all these labels. I do not identify as an mspec mono because there is nothing monoromantic about my lesbian attraction. I don't have an issue with the mspec mono label existing but I don't think it applies to me.

This blog supports aspec people, xenogenders, mspec gays/lesbians, gaybians, mspec hets, gayhets/straightbians and lesboys/turigirls. I am an mspec lesbian and ace.

This blog is NOT anti-paraphilia. I believe people with genuinely harmful and nonconsensual paras need access to help and support, and aren't inherently evil. I also believe paraphilias that are strange but not harmful or nonconsensual are fine. Do what makes you happy. Pro-contact harmful paraphilias, this is NOT about you. Please seek help and do not abuse.

I am Crit-Inclus and seek to understand people before I fully accept them. If I ask you questions about your identity, I mean no disrespect

I am predominantly white and am not comfortable with making things specifically for any POC because it does not feel like my place. If my blog grows big and people want to use my blog for visibility, post on your own blog and I will reblog it.

Because I am perisex I will not coin intersex specific terms, though you may ask for flag design help and reblogs for visibility

I am autistic and self diagnosed, I haven't updated this in a while but I've given up on not saying I'm autistic without diagnosis a long time ago, lmao. I got 153 on my most recent RAADS-R taking I def have autism

Still anti ABA and anti autism speaks fuck those guys

This blog is anti Boeing we hate Boeing in this household (if you're confused ask me about the 737 MAX I'll go on for hours)

I am a singlet so I'm not gonna do system specific labels. I will reblog system labels upon request

I do NOT coin radqueer identities. Radqueers can request non-radqueer identities because there's no reason to say you can't request something because of a belief. Even if it's harmful it's none of my business I'm the coiner. But I am anti-rq so you choose if you want me making the term

You may ask me to coin anything you would like if it isn't on here. It is my decision if I do it.

I am a minor.

People in my DNI are allowed to use my flags and labels. I don't believe in gatekeeping who's allowed to use a term based on personal beliefs and opinions. I just don't wish to have personal interactions with you guys. It's up to you if you want to use flags made by an mspec lesbian who accepts xenogenders, lesboys/turigirls and the like, gaybians, and other complex contradictory identities.

I would appreciate if everyone who follows me can like, reblog, or comment on a post before or shortly after following. This is to make sure I don't follow back porn accounts that won't read this. I might block people who do not follow this rule because I will assume you are a porn account that just wants to send me spam links, especially if you're a blank blog.

Free Palestine. Fuck Isreal.

DNI:

Pedophiles (I'm not calling you MAPs.) Whether you're non-offending or not, please just don't interact with me. I support you guys getting the help you need but as a minor I think it's best we don't interact beyond maybe some likes and a request or two

Anyone who is going to start discourse. I don't care if you're proship, antiship, exclus, radinclus, radqueer, or anything. Don't start discourse. You can only continue discourse that I start. You can use my terms if they apply to you, like my stuff, reblog it, and comment, as long as you aren't starting an argument.

Solicitors looking to promote any sexual services. I am an asexual child leave me alone. I don't want your porn.

Anybody looking to e-date. I'm arospec, specifically demiromantic, so approaching me with romantic intent means you'll have to wait for something that'll never happen. I'm also 17 years old so if you're older than 18 that's weird.

DO NOT FOLLOW:

Queerphobic people

Racists/ALM/Anti-BLM.

Sexists/anti feminists

Radfems (you aren't real feminists, you're misandrists)

Zionists/Pro-Israel

People who believe in transmisogyny but not transmisandry/transandrophobia

People who believe trans men hold any significant power over cis women or over trans women

Idiots who think only transfems can use the tr slur

People who think femboy is a slur or is about transfems. There is a 0% difference between calling a transfem a femboy and calling a transfem a boy. Femboy is an identity. It's entitled to think trans women can dictate what men identify as based on the bigotrd actions of others weaponizing gnc men's identities to misgender others.

Exclusionists (including mspec lesbian/gay/enbian exclus, lesboy and turigirl exclus, and gaybian exclus.)

Incels of any type. This doesn't refer to anybody who just hasn't lost their virginity yet, but specifically the kind of people who hold it against the people they're attracted to. This is usually straight men and incels are often a misogynistic hate group.

Radqueer/transx/transid and supporters

Pro-contact or Comp-contact Big 3 Paras

Anti-contact non-harmful, consensual paras

Pro-AI art

Proship/profic

NSFW blogs

Anyone in the DNI

I follow people back blindly so please don't follow me if I'm going to have to see gross things on the feed.

#welcome to my blog #mogai coining #mspec lesbian safe #bi lesbian safe #inclus

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literalite · 1 year

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asks

these r all the asks i got last night about the whole aesthetic discussion i'll answer in order of when i got them :p

truth b told if i started simblr like. today and knew nothing about photoshop then i'd probably be pretty demoralised too but also thats exactly how it was starting simblr anyway i just worked on it until i was happy w my skills... no one gave me a cheat code i just put time and effort into it

i agree with u im ngl like i do sincerely wish everyone had the opportunity to put hours and hours of their lives into learning how everything about this works if thats what they truly wanted. also if anything doing it solely by urself will make the process all the more time consuming but if u ask around for help people (including me! im down to help fr) will usually give it to u and that'll speed up the process more. being mad at me for having that is pointless what am i gna do go back in time and unlearn it all and for what? dsfghjk

okay i did see this being said a lot and uhhhh i was trying to understand it but like. i also don't. like ok with cluttered aesthetic build shots or yknow the odd landscape with heavy bloom shader on it i guess if ur looking at it completely from that pov yeah i guess it looks like some posts that "blow up" r just sort of the same shit. but the fact remains that its also it's good shit like anyone can clutter a room and take a photo of it what really counts here in my opinion anyhow is shot composition. and there's literally preestablished rules for this sort of thing u can google cinematography basics and get it for free... there's a whole field of study looking into what draws the human eye. like maybe the core concepts behind what makes a popular post popular is the same but thats because it just works. if u wanna shy away from that entirely but then complain about ur posts not being as popular then that's very much a u problem it doesn't have anything to do with the rest of us

amen these are my ocs wdym these are "sims" LOLLL these are the real people living in my head if i bust my ass making them look good then thats a choice i made

u can call this an empathy problem and try explain it to me more but i dont see how other people feeling insecure about what their current ability scales up to is any fault of mine or my problem to bend backwards to try fix... or even how i could. like is the standard high now yeah honestly it is. the learning curve was steep as hell when i first started as well. no disagreements here. but what am i supposed to do about it LMAO like i didn't create the human proclivity to be drawn to beauty i just ride off of it.

idk why i'm the bad guy for being honest for my reasoning behind what i do and don't reblog? lots of other people have been saying they dont really care about aesthetics which is great but if i said that i'd literally just be lying to you. i'm not gonna apologise for not lying... i like being able to see the passion and energy poured into the same video game we're all playing it's only natural to appreciate that- if that reads as passive aggression and u don't understand my stance that's fine by me

i would say for me personally try watch visual media that u can recognise as "beautiful" and not to shit on like. cw shows but i mean stuff that is marked by its cinematography being truly excellent. and just really examine how those set and lighting designers use angles and lighting and how the people filming and editing choose to frame their shots to achieve what works. hell looking at art helps with this too. look at other people's stuff on simblr analytically try to seriously work out why it appeals to people the way it does. ik u asked for editing tips but i think it really starts ingame you can have the most incredible editing style but it doesn't work if ur shot comp doesn't work then it'll won't hit as hard

take time to learn what most of the adjustment layers do on photoshop, and what all the blending layers look like, download other people's psds and play with them on top of ur shots to see what works! what u personally think looks good will be different from what i personally think looks good, i like dramatic lighting and muted colours and mid level contrast so not too strong but i can't speak for whether you will too. ALSO im a religious user of @/simmerstesia's psd set here i think a well chosen shot can be really elevated by using something like this to really give it that final polish

additionally if u have any like really specific questions or need some advice u can ask me on discord my dms are open like i can talk u thru it. promise it's not as daunting as it can look

#ask #reply #anonymous

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thatmutantcat · 17 days

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List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who liked or reblogged something from you! Get to know your mutuals and followers :)

Okokok so first I'll shotgun my first 4 answers n be insane about my fifth bc I have to I have to dude I HAAAAAAVVVVEEE TOOOOOO

1.) FNAF/Ethgoesboom, which I'm putting into the same answer since there's 0 reason to not do that

2.) Super Mario Bros

3.) Slasher flicks

4.) DND, which I admittedly haven't played since 2020 but. That's neither here nor there or whatever the saying is rip

But 5. Oooh 5. I'm gonna have to give it to Shipwrecked 64. I recently watched Pastra's vod of the first half of the game and it reminded me of how peak it is. The horror is absolutely fucking magnificent, that was the most like. Spooked I've ever been from even just watching *somebody else* play the game it was CRAZY /vposvposvpos

I can't exactly get into what makes it so good bc it's spoilers tho GRAH!!

So. If you'd wanna look into it but would rather and/or be best off doing so in like. Video format. Here's some I watched that I'd think give the best experience from that typa pov for reasons totally unrelated to first watch bias or something /silly

David Baron - the spoopiest n64 game ever made

Shows about the full game, edited down to about an hour and fifteen minutes time. May as well get a snack and a drink lolz. Out of all 3 of these I'd recommend watching this before so much as considering the other 2

Pastra - Shipwrecked 64 with Th3Badd3st

Five-and-a-half hour vod of around half the game. This one is on a more recent version of the game, and shows a few neat secrets the David Baron video doesn't show, and just generally has its own experience in comparison so. 100% worth, if you can find the time or something like that, ofc

pappo - Shipwrecked 64: The Best ARG You Never Played

This one's more a video essay, which I'm including bc it has stuff like story analysis that you may not instantly pick up on either in watching someone else play or even in playing yourself, bc either way, some of this stuff can be missed someway somehow. Which yeah missing a few things won't brick the whole game but it could mean you accidentally passed some story details you might want to have.

The game itself has a "play with caution warning" bc it contains violent scenes and mature subject matters, which I feel I should bring up because fuck man, it sure does, stay safe, ya know?

In all tho, Shipwrecked 64 is. Awesome. Absolutely worth taking a look at it goes so hard‼️‼️‼️‼️

#gnawing at the bars of my enclosure

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privateanxieties · 11 months

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Hello!

I'm not sure if you know, but some of your posts don't load at all. Like, I remember reading them earlier, but they are unavailable now. Is it just my browser or have you deleted them? I really wanted to reread 😔

Hi!

I was going to make an official post about it soon, but I'm going to seize the opportunity now to let those interested know that I have decided to make most of my writing on tumblr private.

I already announced that I won't be posting any new fics on tumblr a while ago, restricting them to AO3 only, but this is a new phase in my thought process and I will address it separately.

Given all the fuss with regard to AI scraping lately, as well as the general disappointment associated with logging on every day and seeing a million likes in my notifications, but hardly ever any reblogs or comments, I've decided that keeping my writing available is not something I'm comfortable with anymore.

Without going into too much detail before I make an official pinned post explaining this, I will say that this decision isn't simply a whim of mine, or an impulse I will reverse in a week. I've given it quite some thought since the beginning of the year, and I've reached the conclusion that fandom, as it exists right now (and how it treats creators inside the space) is not a good place to be. It certainly isn't a very rewarding space to exist inside of anymore. Creating, and specifically for me, writing, takes a long time. It takes effort: hours upon hours of doubt and edits and planning and dedication that all end up pretty much devoured silently by lots and lots of internet users who then simply scroll on by.

I am grateful to whose who didn't. I'm really happy that I've received the responses I have over the past year or so of posting my writing on here, and I don't consider them insignificant. On the contrary - they've always brightened my day.

But times are clearly changing now, and there is a dissolution of an unspoken social contract between fans in online spaces. I'm not a content-creation machine, and for the writing that I put so much effort into to be consumed without pause or acknowledgement makes me just a little bit too sad to let it stay up online.

I won't even go into the idea of someone taking my writing and, without my consent, feeding it into any sort of AI tool. The outcome itself doesn't matter. I don't care if it's possible or not for AI in its current state to comprehensively regurgitate an imitation of someone's creative style. It's about the audacity of either an internet user or a large company using AI to screw over people pouring their hearts into their fan works.

I'll stop here, and in the coming days I'll put together a more concise, polished version of this explanation and post it.

I'm sorry that you wanted to read the fics again. Some are still available on AO3, archive locked. You'll be able to access them if you have an account over there, but not all of them are available.

#masterlist #my writing

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dylawas-reblogs · 7 months

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Aight, I'm pissed enough at Y*utube's aggressive ad bullshit (this reddit comment summarizes it pretty well) and it's one of the few G**gle services that we're stuck stuck with, that I'm gonna make my own post on current workarounds as of 10/12/2023, with info on methods that I know of for both desktop and mobile. They may not be the best workarounds, but they are what I'm currently using or trust from what I've heard (and I haven't had any other posts like this come across my dash, so maybe this is needed). We fight to the bitter end, comrades.

This post is specifically for if you must be logged in to use Youtube. Your greatest defense would be to use Youtube while logged out. From what I can tell, they basically can't do anything to you if you are.

Please note that I am absolutely no web or code expert, I don't understand the inner workings of the G**gle all seeing eye and how they catch you on this shit, I don't know if it's account based or IP based, I just barely figured out how to buy and use my own domain like three weeks ago, so there are likely things in this post I will suggest that people will correct me on. If for some reason this post gets big and starts circulating (unlikely), please check reblogs and replies for additional information (and make sure it's ACCURATE if you can). Knowledge is your friend.

With that plea to the void out of the way:

Desktop:

Some folks are using browsers with built in ad blockers such as Brave (with varying results; the comments are worth a read by everyone regardless if you use Brave) to circumvent the ad block policy, but that's Chromium shit! We don't do that in this house! I guess you can if you really want to (PrivacyGuides apparently gives it the seal of approval) but if you like your online privacy, I personally really do suggest sticking with Firefox.

"But Dyl, they're catching us on Firefox even with Ublock Origin."

Yes, but the Ublock team is working their asses off to keep up with every. single. ID. change. Y*utube makes to try to break their workarounds. If it's not currently working for you, click on that link right there and follow that guide. This war of the ads will probably continue for a while, so my advice for the foreseeable future is this:

Always perform the four steps listed in the above link any time you've been away from Y*utube for a while (even just a couple hours),

and double check the Y*utube ID VS Ublock's current ID as stated in the linked comment at the start of this post.

After verifying there's an ID update and Ublock is caught up, reset your filters every single time you get on after a several hour break (after backing up your personal filters and trusted sites, if you have any of those customized). Why so often? Because that's just about how often Y*utube's updating their popup ID to catch you with your ad blocker. The Ublock team is staying on top of it fairly well considering the insane frequency, but they may not always get to it for a few hours (hence checking the ID).

After rebooting your Ublock, check a few videos without being logged in first so as not to put your account at risk. Do so in incognito if it's easiest for you. EDIT: If you aren't logged in, YT won't give a shit if you have an ad blocker-- or so I've heard.

"That sounds like a hassle. Don't the filters in this post work?"

They may have at one point! But that post was made all the way back at the end of June 2023, and most recent replies in the post are stating it's not working for them anymore. Thus, I'd just constantly reset your Ublock for the time being until a better solution is implemented. Besides, once you know what you're doing, resetting Ublock takes a grand total of, oh I dunno, a minute? On that note, with YT's constant updates, I have no idea how Brave is faring/keeping up in comparison. And besides from using either Brave or Firefox+Ublock, I don't know of any other desktop solutions.

Furthermore-- and this applies to both desktop and mobile, but I'm bringing it up now-- if you really value your Y*utube channel and don't want it to lose access to watching videos-- or worse-- it may work to make a Y*utube account that's dispensable as your new default. I just used my spam email, honestly. It's literally no skin off my nose if that account suddenly can't watch Y*utube anymore. Then, save the browsing on your main account for when you can afford to have your adblock off (or just don't watch videos from that account anymore). It seems if you've already got the warning once, you're basically on G**gle's watchlist with that account now-- so if you've gotten it on your main, better safe than sorry.

Mobile:

There are a couple things I know of that you can do here. My first suggestion, and the one I just set up, is Revanced (aka the Revanced Manager, and it works in tangent with a MicroG fork (I absolutely do not have the vocabulary to explain what MicroG is/does, just know you can't log in to YT Revanced without it)). This Reddit post is the one I think will make the most sense to everyone for installation, but I would use it in conjunction with the official guide for dummies, not as a replacement for it.

TL;DR, Revanced is an open source APK patcher (or in gamer speak, a mod) that provides patches for numerous applications (T*mblr included, hint hint). Note the term "patches." Yes, you do need to download an APK of your app of choice (on non-rooted devices), but technically what Revanced does is create its own "build" of the app by combining the APK and the patches, and since they're not the ones distributing the APK, I believe that technically keeps them out of G**gle's death laser. PLEASE note that Revanced does NOT distribute its own APKs: if you're trying to save yourself hassle and find something claiming to be an already patched Revanced APK, be it for Y*utube, Reddit, etc, assume it's a virus even if it's not. Always get your APK from apkmirror with your own fingers and manually patch it in with Revanced.

I know the guide looks scary, but believe me: Revanced used to be WAY harder to install, as in, you had to go through a virtual machine on your phone harder. At the current moment, Revanced is Android only. Sorry Apple users :/

If logging in to an account is of no consequence to you and you could not care less, Newpipe is another good third party YT choice from what I've heard; I don't know if it has all of the same features as Revanced YT, but at the very least, yes, it should block ads. It seems to also be compatible with Soundcloud and Bandcamp of all things at a glance, so if those are common applications for you, Newpipe might even be a better option for you over Revanced. Alas, yet again, this app is not compatible with Apple-- and as this is the last third party YT app I have to offer, I don't know if there are any third party YT apps that are Apple compatible. However...

If installing a scary new non-playstore app isn't up your alley, Brave seems to have a mobile app as well; you'd be watching Y*utube in your browser instead of the Y*utube app, but hey, I was watching Y*utube in Firefox mobile with Ublock until I put on my big kid pants with Revanced, so it's absolutely doable. Again, I must reiterate, I don't know how Brave is faring with these changes.

That's all I've got, but just to reiterate: I'm not an expert. I only know bare bones web/code stuff, my understanding on some of these things may be slightly off or wrong, these are just the methods I know of that work to circumvent YT ads. Your mileage may vary on a number of factors, including but not limited to, your understanding of/ability to learn how to download and use non-playstore apps, any breaking updates YT makes to further enforce their tyranny, how G**gle keeps track of ad blockers in browsers, and how long ago this post was made vs when you're seeing it.

It's war out there, soldier; good luck.

#important #psa #ad blocking #should i tag this with more relevant tags? yes #am i not going to because i fear this post actually circulating? also yes #if it 'escapes' containment it's more like it's going to be dragged out #dylawa rambles

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zexalweek · 2 years

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Hello again, friends! My laptop isn't cooperating with me, so I won't be able to make a cut or add a photo since I'm making this post on mobile! I'll try and come back and make a more user friendly post once my laptop decides to work with me! (Cuz its nearly an hour past 5pm CST, when I said I'd post, I'm so sorry! I had to retype this all out on my phone TwT)

So without further ado, here are Zexal Week 2022's prompts!

Sunday, May 29th: Sports Day - Children's Card Games are the claim to fame for YGO, but in Zexal, we do sometimes see the characters in their gym class! From the springboard jumping over stacks, to the school's indoor pool, what other sports can you see characters doing? You can keep it simple and in-universe, or you can go as far as a full revamp of Zexal and make it a sports anime!

Monday, May 30th: Prank Wars - What characters are the most capable of shattering the peace, setting off a full on prank war? Who's participating? Who are unwitting victims, or amused, untouched bystanders? Does it stay simple? Do things get complex? Does someone take it too far?

Tuesday, May 31st: Mer/Maid - Its the last day of May! During May, 2 different common events in fandom take place: MerMay, and Maid Day (Held on May 10th in Japan)! As a send off to the month, use today to promote any Zexal content you made this month for those events, or make/share something new!

Wednesday, June 1st: Roadtrip - Its the start of the summer months, so we're celebrating with a roadtrip! Who's going? Where are they going? How long is it going to take? Are they making pitstops/small trips to see the sights along the way? Was it a spur of the moment trip? Was it meticulously planned to the most minuscule of details?

Thursday, June 2nd: Retro - YGO Zexal is set in a futuristic setting, but what if it was set in a more recent past? Zexal but 90's, 80's, 70's, hell even Roaring 20's? Whether or not you incorporate the card game or not is entirely your call!

Friday, June 3rd: Call to Attention - With nearly 150 episodes, Zexal definitely had a fair amount of time to introduce and explore different characters and concepts, as well give the fandom enough fuel for fan-theories galore! What is/are some aspects of the show you wish had been given more attention? Do you think a character should have been more fleshed out? Was there a specific direction you thought a plotline was going, only for it to go somewhere completely different? Was there one that just seemed to be dropped? Tell us your thoughts!

Saturday, June 4th: Free Day! - Just as it says: Do as you will, anything is fair game!

Extra Prompts:

A character(s) you relate to the most

Museum of Wonders

Coffee shop date

The Measure of a Life

Defying Gravity

We're Getting the Band Back Together!

"This is a retroactive nightmare."

"Here's to a night we'll never remember, with the people we'll never forget!"

"Lie after lie after lie, we all stopped counting the crimes. You know why we can't trust you, don't you?"

"Do you want to be the layer of the bricks that seal your fate, or would you rather be the architect of what we might create?"

"All I wanted was you."

"I'm minor in a major kind of way."

-☆-☆-☆-☆-☆-☆-

Now, as usual, the prompts are not mandatory! They're meant more as a framework for those who prefer a guideline or structure! If there's something you'd prefer to do that is not mentioned here, then by all means, go for it! We're celebrating Zexal, and doing so in whichever way you feel is best is totally fine!

Not only that, but by no means is participation in Zexal Week limited to producing content! Likes and reblogs, even leaving comments on others' posts all count as contributing to Zexal Week! Even if you don't consider yourself a creator, your actions and support help make things possible!

In addition, while I am aware that fanfic and fanart are the most common forms of fan content, I encourage all types of content, AMVs/fancams, poetry, screencap edits, even simple posts or videos of you just talking about Zexal! OCs and Self-Insert characters are also totally acceptable!

That being said, if you plan on contributing content, I kindly ask the content you share be your own, and that you're not reposting someone's work, or at the very least, not doing so without their permission and/or passing it off as your own. "Credit to the Creator" does not fly here. Having commissioned someone to make content for you is fine, so long as you state/acknowledge it was commissioned, share who commissioned it, and confirmed with the creator that it is ok to share like that!

Additionally, I will accept mature works, so long as there are clear content warnings and proper tags.

Finally! I kindly ask that you use the tags "#Zexal Week" and/or "#Zexal Week 2022", cuz those are the tags I check to see people's content! In the past years, some people's posts fail to show up in the main tags, so feel free to tag this blog in your posts if you're concerned I might not see them!

Thank you for your patience, and again, I'll try and clean this post up when my laptop stops being rude to me! I'll see you all soon!

-- Krys 💙

#Zexal Week #Zexal Week 2022 #YGO Zexal #Zexal Week Original Post #yugioh zexal

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ink-stained-clouds · 11 months

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Hi, it's thesis anon! First off, congratulations on your graduation!!! I'm so excited for you, do you have any plans yet on what you want to do next (no pressure to answer at all!!!)?

I decided to take a leave for the rest of the semester, so I'll have time to do my thesis. Do you have any tips for the whole thesis process -- from researching the whole thing, to doing the framework, etc.? I'm starting from the beginning, with just the topic that I have so I have a very long way to go. I'm very anxious about it because I won't have any advisor supervising me (for now, because I'm doing this before the start of the semester) and I won't really know if I'm going the right way plus I am not very confident I'll figure it out. Any tips for this self-doubting thesis anon? All tips are appreciated.

Thanks!

first of all, lmao, sorry about ^ it is definitely not June 1st

Anyways, thank you!! I'll be starting my PhD in the fall, I'm very excited

I'm so glad your thesis stuff is working out!! I absolutely have tips, I'm gonna write down everything I can think of right now but I'll reblog and add to this if I think of anything else!

My biggest tip is to give yourself the benefit of the doubt. You're going to become the expert in this, your supervisor, unless by some very strange coincidence, will not have even close to the depth and breadth of knowledge on your topic as you will. You're so much more capable than you think you are

As for researching, keep your notetaking and organization consistent. I'd highly recommend something like Zotero which I did not use for my thesis and regret immensely. But whatever you choose, consistency will really help when you're writing and need to find information you know you have but don't know exactly where. Having to search eight different word docs with 75% the same info as the last word doc you looked at is exhausting, ask me how I know 😅

Start broad with your literature review and narrow in on your topic as you outline/write. The best advice my advisor gave me was that the literature review should literally lead you to the research question. I think of it as like an upside down triangle, at the top you have the foundational theoretical literature/methods, then you get more and more specific until you come to your research question at the point of the triangle. Not sure if that makes sense, I can give you pictures of outlining I've done if it'll help

When I started reading for my literature review I kept a doc which I read all the abstracts and noted articles I wanted to read in full, personally that worked pretty well for me

Going off of that, when you read full papers, do your citations at the same time. At the top of the page or however you keep notes, write out the full citation for that paper so that you have it when you do your bibliography, also keep page numbers for any quotes you find, even if it feels tedious. If you think to yourself "I can always find it later" that is the devil talking, do not listen

Take! Breaks! This applies to every stage of any project but especially theses. You need days where you do something else, you need to read things that aren't for your thesis, you need to give yourself time to decompress. Forgive me but I can't remember your exact topic, mine was personally very heavy (I was reading a lot of hate speech online) so if yours is emotionally exhausting, find a way to come down from all of that, give your brain a break

If you find yourself getting stuck consider you need to switch up your environment. I found that when I got to the last week of edits I literally could not work in my apartment, ended up going to a cafe almost every day. Bad for the wallet good for the thesis. I really should've thanked them in my acknowledgments

I found I was most productive working in blocks of like 3 or 4 hours so I would set aside roughly that amount of time with nothing on either side (so I didn't feel pressure to finish working so I could go to a meeting or hang out with friends). Personally, dedicating a few hours of good quality focus and work has always been more effective for me than trying to spend all day on something. The work will expand to fill the time you allot yourself

If you're doing qualitative research, just a heads up, you will feel like an imposter. I remember telling a grad student I'm friends with, when I was analyzing my data, that I completely believe in the strength and validity of qualitative research but that everyone else was doing it right and I was doing it wrong. That's just not true, I promise. No advice, really, just a warning lol

I remember you saying you don't have to defend but I found it very helpful to kinda just,,,, talk to myself about my work. It helped me fill in gaps and put analyses into words when they were only existing vaguely in my head. You don't have to talk to yourself, either, you can always rope a friend into listening. Pets also work too but they ask terrible questions. Mine just wanted treats which was beyond the scope of my project

Oh also, if any scary smart people (e.g., professors) are asking you questions like "are you doing xyz?" or "did you look at [something you definitely did not look at]" just say it's beyond the scope of your project, another pro tip from my advisor

I know I already said it but remind yourself that you are the expert on this. Do it periodically, even when you aren't doubting yourself

Also remind yourself why you chose your topic, why you enjoy it, why it interests you. I was afraid I would lose sight of this, and sometimes I did, but I always found a reminder that this was the thing for me and it really made a difference

Oh, and if you're doing qualitative research which I think you said you were, bear in mind that it tends to change. This was something my advisor warned me about several times and from very early on but it really is true. Let it change, don't feel bound to something that isn't working or doesn't make sense with what you have data-wise

Find what helps you work. For me, personally, periodic snack breaks, a fun little beverage, filming time lapses of me working when I can't focus, Lizzo's music (not kidding, I know every word to every song now), also lo-fi, getting out of my apartment to work (god bless public libraries 🫡), pomodoros (25-5 and also 45-15)

As your think of things, write them down. Little bits and pieces of analysis can often become useful later on. If inspiration strikes, go ahead and ride it

That said, be ready to part with things you right. You don't have to delete them, copy and paste them into another document but learn to let them go

Ask some friends ahead of time if they'll be able to get their eyes on drafts. I could not have written my thesis if it weren't for my friends who read countless drafts, I literally owe them my degree

When I was coding my data, I had trouble staying focused on what I was looking for. I wrote the key patterns on a sticky note and stuck it to my laptop, it was weirdly useful

Keep your to do lists achievable and specific. Sometimes that looks like "edit analysis section paragraphs 1-7" sometimes it looks like "20 minutes of work on methodology section" but don't let it look like "do some editing" or "finish literature review"

Remind yourself that you can do this (again because eventually it sticks). Remind yourself that you have done things that have scared you before and things that you thought wouldn't work out and they did. Remind yourself that that's how life usually works

Learn to deal with imperfection. If you try to make any one section or paragraph 'right' before you move onto the next you won't get far

You should also prepare to get comfy with people seeing your bad writing. In the past, even when professors asked us for our free writes or rough drafts, I would edit mine to near grammatical perfection before sending them in. This is not possible with a thesis and you have to face that fear (if you somehow do not have this fear, congrats but you scare me). I somehow got very comfortable with my advisor reading some very bad and weird shit, I got to the point where I wasn't even deleting the word little notes I left myself before I sent them off to her and she never minded once

Use your resources!! If you're having trouble starting your research and finding literature, book an appointment with a librarian at your school. You almost definitely have a subject librarian for your area, they can help you navigate research databases and find keywords to use in searches, they are literal gods and are a criminally under utilized resource in research

Everything looks rough in the beginning. There are going to be times where you look at everything you have and the idea of it being one, cohesive paper is literally laughable. I don't think there's any way around this, I think it's just part of trusting the process. Eventually you will have a thesis, it will fall short of your expectations, you will be able to list all the things you wish you did differently or had the time to include. But a good thesis is a done thesis and you will finish

I hope at least some of these help, thesis anon! I am very excited to hear about your thesis journey, please keep me updated. I was literally just wondering how you were doing when you sent this ask in lol

I also look forward to hearing your tips when you finish your thesis because I will be doing another one in the next two years and I'm already nervous

Good luck!!! - Inky

#ask #anon #answered #thesis anon

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ren-shonen · 1 year

Text

AO3 Wrapped - Writers Edition

Answering these all in one go, LiveJournal style, because why not?

Post for reblogging

How many words have you written this year? 25,583! (Not counting WIPs, which don't add that much to the word count since most of them are still only in the outline stage.)

How many works did you publish this year? Nine so far, which is definitely nine more works than my January self expected to write this year (or at all!) lol

What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)? Oh boy, that's tough. I feel like "heavy shield down" is my best work so far, but "Morning (calls for pain relief)" and "Just as Flowers Grow" required much more effort from me. I've learned a lot from all of them!

What work of yours has the most hits? "under the mirror of the surface" and "Morning (calls for pain relief)" have been neck-and-neck, just a handful apart, for a while.

What work of yours got more feedback than you expected? To be honest, I didn't go in expecting any particular level of feedback, so I can't really answer this question.

Favorite title you used "Give" is hands-down my favorite title for any of my works. The whole thing is just a big pile of polysemy, and it pleases me. lol

If you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did you pull from the most? I have three song lyric titles (fewer than I expected!), and they're all from different artists, so uhh I guess it's a tie? "under the mirror of the surface" is from "Aquaman" by Walk the Moon; "Morning (calls for pain relief)" is from "Morning Calls" by Dashboard Confessional; and "heavy shield down" is from "Invincible" by Tool.

Pairing you wrote the most for this year? Definitely KiriTodoBakuDeku, even though it was almost all under the "ambiguous relationships" tag, haha

Favorite pairing you wrote for this year? Same as above, but I feel like the Bakugou platonic self-pairing from "heavy shield down" merits a special mention.

What work was the quickest to write? "heavy shield down" was written overnight in a twelve-hour blur and published the next day. It's possible that "Distance and Weight" was shorter than that; both it and "Give" were originally Twitter threads, so I don't have the Docs revision history available to reference. (I know "Give" did require some editing before it went up on AO3, though, and that took a few days due to beta turnaround time, etc.)

What work took you the longest to write? "Morning (calls for pain relief)" was eked out very slowly over the course of a week and then edited over another week. I labored over that one.

How many WIPs do you have in your docs for next year? I also have nine WIPs right now, funnily. One of them I originally intended to publish this month, but the weather and body stuff just aren't cooperating so far.

What’s your longest work of the year? "Ang, Ang, Ang (Means 'I Love You' in Dragon)" at 8,207 words. I'm still not sure how it ended up that long; I was aiming for, like, 4k. lmao

What’s your shortest work of the year? "Give" at 335 words

What WIP are you taking into next year with you? I have only published one-shots so far, so, N/A

What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag? "Future Fic" (on 7 of 9 works!) Here's the tag cloud:

(tag cloud made by creating a temporary collection and putting all my works in it)

Your favorite character to write this year? I won't choose and you can't make me >:(

The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year? Oh god, Kirishima is my favorite character in general, but his POV is very, very challenging for me to write! I am determined to get better at it, though.

What’s one pairing you want to explore next year? *cough* I might have some tentative plans to write more in the Circuits series (for which "Parallel" was the first work) and tiptoe into some KamiShinSero? I'm thinkin' about it.

Which work of yours have you reread the most? Oh geez. ...probably "heavy shield down," because I wrote it so fast that it didn't have a chance to take on that "overchewed gum" quality that things get when you spend too long working on them. So I still enjoy re-reading it.

How many kudos in total did you get this year? 574

Which work has the most comments? "heavy shield down" has 15 comment threads

Did you do any collaborative works this year? No, despite my ambitions in that direction!

Did you write any gifts this year? Yes! In fact, all of my works this year except for "Morning (calls for pain relief)" were written either as gifts or in response to a specific person's prompt. As it turns out, having a very specific target audience is highly motivating for me! (Given that the whole deal with the Planet BNHA monthly exchange is basically that plus deadline plus supportive community, it's really been a great experience.)

Did you receive any gifts this year? Yes, 10, and I'm still a bit floored by that tbh (I would actually really like to publish one more work this year, just to even that up 😅)

What’s your most common category? M/M (7 works), followed by Multi (5 works)

What do you listen to while writing? Some fics I put together a whole playlist, or else loop just one or two songs; otherwise, I have a "focis focis" YouTube playlist that I use anytime I need to stay, well, focused on something.

Favorite work you wrote this year? I don't think I could choose one, really.

Favorite line/passage you wrote this year? from "Thresholds":

Clutched close against Eijirou's chest, Shouto focused on their syncopated heartbeats, on all the oddly-intimate sounds of a body existing: the squirming grumble of peristalsis, the creak of shifting joints. This, at least, was the same, and Shouto felt the same familiar tug behind his sternum, drawing him closer. But, then just as now, they were practically intertwined: there was no closer to be.

I just love "the oddly-intimate sounds of a body existing" and "the squirming grumble of peristalsis" as descriptors, tbh.

Biggest surprise while writing this year? Writing fic at ALL! This year was my first time publishing fanfiction online despite being in fandom and reading fic for more than two decades. (And the last time I tried to write fic was using pencil and paper in middle school!) Being a fic author has never really been something I've had as a goal for myself, and more recently, it was something I didn't think I was physically capable of managing. But thanks to a LOT of kind enthusiasm, support, and encouragement, I did eventually get started. Since then, I've been wading in slowly, pacing myself. If I had my way, I'd have a new thing out every two weeks, but so far, a few thousand words once a month seems to be about the right speed for me. It feels good to have a craft to learn more about and keep myself busy with; it also connects me to others while still being really flexible around my ever-changing capacities, so I'm glad to have taken the leap.

#meme #tumblr like it's livejournal #ao3 wrapped 2022 #ao3 wrapped #n r chatter #beta post editor stop eating half my input when I ctrl-Z 2k22

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nashibirne · 3 years

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London Calling - 2

So, guys...I know it took me a while but here it is. Part 2 of Bodyguard! August and his adventures in London. I hope there are still some people out there who want to read this. Enjoy and let me know what you think! Every single comment/reblog/like is very appreciated 💜

Pairing: August Walker x ofc (Lucretia "Lu" Johnson)

Words: ~ 3.2

Summary and A/N: This story plays with the thought of "what if…" What if August Walker had taken another road? What if he had turned into John Lark for completely different reasons? What if he had found love before becoming a bitter, disillusioned man?So the events of "London Calling" take place about ten years prior to MI:Fallout and August Walker hasn't joined the CIA yet, he's an FBI Agent and his new mission in London that lies ahead of him is going to be a challenging one. Maybe it's even going to change his life.

Find the previous chapter and my other fics here: Nashi's Masterlist.

Warnings: 18+! This story deals with the topic of a toxic/abusive relationship, gaslighting and problematic behavior of one of the protagonists in general. Please don't read if these topics trigger you or make you feel uncomfortable.

English is not my mother tongue but the lovely @sillyrabbit81 was so kind to be my very helpful and patient Beta! Thank you so, so much, bunny 🐇💜 (Edited by me, so there might still be mistakes and they're all mine)

Credits/Disclaimer: I don't own August Walker or anything related to MI:Fallout. Pics for the moodboard from pinterest, face claims: Lu - Hannah van der Westhuysen, Adam - Freddie Thorpe. FaceApp helped me with making August look a little younger.

Ready? Let's go!

*********

"John Lark," Adam said to Lu, who was sitting opposite of him at the dining table, having a coffee and some fruits for breakfast. He grinned and rolled his eyes. "What a boring name. Let's hope he has a boring personality as well and likes staying in the background just like poor old Eddie."

Lu shook her head with a sad smile. "I still can't believe he's dead. I mean, one moment he's alive and kicking and then he misses a red light and is six feet under."

"He should have been careful, baby. He was an idiot anyway. Please don't tell me you liked the old grinch." Adam ran a hand through his light brown hair and gave her a surprised glance.

"I did like him and he wasn't old, not even 50. He was a nice guy, always friendly and helpful." She leaned back in her chair with a sigh and looked out of the large windows that gave a fantastic view on the Thames and the city of London.

"Did you fuck him?"

Lu froze at the coldness in his voice, that sent icy shivers down her spine.

"Of course not, I…I would never...he wouldn't have..." She stared at the man she was going to marry in just a few months, eyes wide, lump in her throat, feeling offended and unsettled by his accusation.

Adam burst out laughing. "You should see your face, Lu," he chuckled with a big grin on his attractive face. "It's hilarious, you're so easy to lead on, darling. It's really cute how naive you can be. That's exactly the reason why I have to look after you by the way. People take advantage of you but no one fucks around with Adam Mayfield." He gave her a wink but she knew he wasn't just teasing her, he meant it. Lu forced a grin, trying to relax and regain her composure by taking a deep breath. Getting serious he reached over the table and took her hand, pressing a tender kiss on her knuckles. "I was joking of course, I know you are loyal, baby. You're not a cheating whore. If you were I wouldn't marry you and if you were I would know. Nothing remains a secret to me. Nothing, Lu. Never forget that. No secrets."

She gave him a sweet smile and squeezed his hand, her heart beating like crazy. "No secrets," she said because she knew that's what he wanted to hear.

Adam gave her an approving nod, obviously content with her answer.

"So, until Lark arrives the day after tomorrow, Big Ben is gonna take care of you."

"What about you, won't you need him?"

Lu was genuinely surprised. Since Eddie's accident, Andy, the third member of their security staff, had taken over his duties. Big Ben was Adam's bodyguard, more than that actually, over the years he had become his right hand, his assistant, his eyes, his ears, his shadow. The middle aged man, with the thin, sparse light blonde hair and the hooked nose that dominated his puffy face with the pasty complexion, was a nice guy on first sight, always very polite and friendly, always up for a joke, but he had something in his watery eyes that scared Lu. Maybe it was because he was so loyally devoted to Adam. Lu had never heard him question any order, he did whatever he was told to and Lu was absolutely convinced he would turn against her in the blink of an eye, if Adam asked him to. She feared him and she didn't trust him and she was quite sure the feeling was mutual.

"I can do without him for two days, right Ben?" He asked the man who was entering the room right then.

"Sir?"

"You'll look after Miss Johnson today and tomorrow and Andy will keep an eye on me."

"Of course," Big Ben nodded with a smile. The nickname was pretty ridiculous, because he was anything but big. He was neither tall nor broad. He was hardly Lu's height and a little overweight but he was tough and a skilled martial arts fighter. He had been pretty successful in his youth, winning various tournaments and he was still very strong and flexible. Lu had watched him doing some Jiu Jiutsu with Adam a few times and it had been impressive to see the stocky guy so agile and light-footed.

"I won't be much of a nuisance, Ben," Lu said, "I will be busy preparing the vernissage for the rest of the week, so we'll be at the gallery most of the time."

"That's fine, Miss Johnson. I like the gallery. I don't know much about art but you have some beautiful paintings there."

***

An hour later Big Ben was looking at one of these paintings and Lu was watching him closely. Something was off, not only today, it had been for a few days. It started with Adam letting Andy stay with her at the gallery all day. That was very unusual. Eddie had always run errands while she had been working or he had washed the car or whatever. She didn't need him around, the gallery was a safe place, nothing bad had ever been happening there. She had asked Andy a few times why it was necessary that he stayed but he'd always said he didn't know and was just following Mr. Mayfield's orders. And now there was Ben, who was obviously trying to pump some kind of information out of her, asking strange questions.

He was subtle, she had to admit that, but just like anyone, including Adam, he underestimated her. He and the rest of the world considered her to be just a blonde bimbo, Adam's arm candy, a classic gold digger and nothing more. She could hardly blame people for thinking that way and actually she even liked flying under the radar. It gave her a certain kind of freedom because nobody was really paying attention to what she did. Adam was the one in the limelight and since she'd never dare to steal his thunder even the yellow press found her too boring to write about her. So she was able to focus on her work and try to make herself a name as a galerist, not as Adam Mayfield's trophy girlfriend.

She knew most people thought she wasn't very clever, but as hard as her youth had been it had given her two very useful skills, street-smartness and the ability to judge character. She had more knowledge of human nature than most women her age and she for sure could tell when someone was trying to hide something from her.

"Eddie liked that painting too," she said with a smile. It was a lie, Eddie had never been taking interest in any of the artwork she presented in her gallery but she wanted to get Ben to talk.

"Really?" A sad look crossed Benjamin's face. He and Eddie had been pretty close and Lu imagined he was mourning his old friend badly.

She gave him a nod and a friendly smile. "You miss him, don't you?"

"Of course, Miss Johnson."

"Lu," she corrected him for the millionth time although she knew he'd continue calling her by her last name. She had no idea why he insisted on this formal way of addressing her, all the other staff members called her by her first name, but since he did the same with Adam she supposed it was just his way of showing respect and keeping a professional distance. "I miss him too. I can't believe he was so irresponsible. He was always such a careful driver, he never even got a ticket for wrong parking."

Big Ben wrinkled his nose. "I'm sure he wasn't acting irresponsibly. It was an accident."

"Well, Adam said he missed a red light because he was distracted by answering his phone. That's pretty irresponsible, if you ask me."

She saw his jaw working and his hands were balled into fists. Her accusations were making him angry and she assumed that meant they were wrong.

"We don't really know what happened. Just what the police file says," he replied with a shrug.

"And you assume that it's not telling the truth?"

"I don't assume anything, Miss Johnson. I believe in the things Mr Mayfield tells me. And so do you, I guess."

"Of course I do," Lu said quickly, dropping the topic, fully aware of the threat that his words involved. She had heard enough anyway.

****

August took a deep breath before he dropped his suitcase on the floor and took a look around. The room -his room- was nice. Big and bright, with large windows and a big bed that appeared to be very comfy. The en suite bathroom was luxurious and gave off spa vibes while the modern paintings and photographs on the walls made the room look like a very stylish and exclusive hotel suite. He liked that, but he had to remind himself that this wasn't a city trip for a weekend, this was his job and his new life.

He had spent the last days slipping on his new personality, becoming John Lark, embracing his alter ego. He grinned when saw his reflection in the window. That mustache and the three day stubble he wore now was an unusual sight but he had to admit he liked the new look, it suited him. August unpacked his suitcase, placing his clothes in the closet and the few personal items John Lark owned in and on the nightstand. A few books, a moleskin and a pen, a jump rope and a pull-up bar for staying in shape and his personal mobile. He had been handed out an official cell phone by that guy called Ben right at the airport where he had picked him up. He put on the watch Lark's mother had given him after high school graduation, his initials engraved on the back. 6:45. Fifteen minutes till dinner. He had been asked to eat with them to meet Mayfield and his Barbie. Miss Johnson. Just be professional, he scolded himself, she's your target.

Don't fuck this up. Kyle's words resonated in his head. This had to be his goddamn creed from now on if he wanted to join Erica Sloane's team at the CIA, and fuck he did. She was infamous for being the toughest and strictest woman at the agency and for being the best. Her team consisted of the most respected and effective agents and that was exactly where he belonged. He wanted to work with the best, he wanted to be top of the class, he intended to become primus inter pares. The best of the best, notorious, feared, valued, celebrated, desired...all those things that had been refused to him throughout his childhood and youth. He had been a victim till he joined the army, a loser, a pussy. Now he was a winner and he would become a champ and claim what he deserved.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

"Ready, Lark?"

"Coming."

He put on his jacket and straightened the soft brown fabric of his suit. Adjusting the matching tie, taking a deep breath he opened the door and smiled at Ben who just gave him a nod.

"Let's go," he said. "They're waiting."

****

She knew John Lark was trouble the moment she saw him. It was nothing specific that made her feel this way, not his looks or his behaviour, it was more the aura that surrounded him. Lu couldn't quite put a finger on it, but she knew she had to be careful around him right away.

"Mr. Lark...John," Adam greeted his new employee friendly, flashing him a bright smile. "I suppose it's okay to call you John?" Not waiting for an answer he continued while shaking August's hand. "Really nice to meet you. Welcome to your new home."

August returned the smile. "Thank you, Mr. Mayfield. Nice to meet you too."

"Please, call me Adam. There's no need for formalities. After all, we're going to live together, work together…"

Another charming smile. The guy was smooth, August had to admit. He was even more handsome than his picture had suggested, with fine facial features, tall and lean, exuding natural elegance and wit. A charmer and a ladies man for sure.

"This is my fiancee, Lu Johnson." Adam pulled Lu close, wrapping his arm around her shoulder in a possessive manner before kissing her cheek tenderly. He usually wasn't the kind of person who liked public displays of affection but Lu knew it was his way to put John Lark into his place right from the start, to make sure he was aware who she belonged to.

Lark was dangerously good looking and way too attractive for Adam to let it go without staking his claim. Not that Lu was interested in him, he wasn't even her type -too many muscles and probably too little brains- and she would never dare to even look at another man. But objectively he was very good looking, tall and broad shouldered, sharp jawline, a handsome face, outstanding blue eyes, and most of all he had an appeal that obviously hadn't remained hidden to Adam. "She's going to be your charge. I cherish her like life itself. Make sure you do the same when I'm not around."

Mayfield kissed her again and she blushed, obviously feeling uncomfortable being the center of attention.

"John," she said softly, extending her hand to him gracefully with a polite but distant smile on her pretty face. Just like her fiance she was strikingly beautiful but in comparison her beauty was a little steril, forced. She was lacking the naturalness Mayfield owned, maybe because she wasn't born into the social class she lived in now. It felt like she was wearing a mask. Her appearance was too immaculate to be real, too perfect. There had to be a crack in it, nobody was free of flaws, but whatever it was that was lying underneath the sleek, stainless surface, she was hiding it well.

"Miss Johnson." August shook her hand and held her gaze, giving her a smile and a respectful nod.

"Lu, please," she offered stiffly, pointing at the set dining table. "Why don't we sit."

"Yes, darling, you're right. Let's eat before the Beef Wellington gets cold."

***

August found all of his prejudice confirmed during dinner. Mayfield was a cocky prick, who tried to hide his asshole side under a veil of sophistication and British humour. That veil, luckily, was full of holes big enough for August to see right through.

Johnson however was an ice queen. Cool and aloof, not willing to lower herself to talk to the newest member of her royal court. He wanted nothing more than to ignore her, to make her feel that he wasn't in need of her attention, to make it clear that he wasn't attracted to her in any way. It was actually true. She was pretty of course and sexy, too, but the kind of beauty she represented was not his cup of tea. She was one of those ethereal beings who were much too fragile for him, too fanciful, too distant. Like a precious showpiece that was presented on a pedestal and that whispered "look at me" seductively but at the same time it shouted "don't touch…you're not worthy". He needed a woman to be more than beautiful, he liked women that were sturdy and energetic, lively and witty, confident and strong. He didn't want a queen, he wanted an amazon.

So all of this and more made him dislike her, but he still had to be friendly and charming to gain her trust and to make her fond of him without alarming Mayfield. He was obviously very possessive and protective, the jealous-for-no-reason kind of guy who would make his woman wear a chastity belt if it was socially acceptable. To sum it up, this job was a ride on the razor's edge.

"So how do you like your room, John?" Lu turned to him with a friendly smile. Those were the first words she addressed to him since they'd sat down to eat. Adam had engaged Lark in conversation from the very first moment and Lu took care not to interrupt him. He hated it and he'd accuse her of stealing his thunder afterwards for sure. So she kept quiet, trying to blend into the scenery, contenting herself with being not much more than a pretty ornament, decoration like the sculptures that were placed all over the penthouse - a beautiful, silent object. When Adams' phone rang, he took the call with an apologetic smile, leaving the room in a hurry. Now she was forced to make conversation with her new bodyguard and she felt uncomfortable and awkward because she assumed that he didn't like her. He had seen her and he had branded her, just like anybody else, she was quite sure of that.

"It's great, I like the modern style," August said, returning her smile.

"Really? I'm so glad to hear that." Her face lit up in an instant, her lips curling up into a genuine smile. "I refurbished it a few months ago and Eddie... your predecessor… he didn't really like it."

"Oh, why's that?"

Lu took a deep breath before she answered. "I'm not sure, I never asked him. I didn't want to put him on the spot, but I guess it wasn't cosy in his eyes. Not warm enough. He was a very traditional man…," Lu said and her expression softened with her words, her eyes giving away that she had liked the guy, that she was mourning him.

Not the ice queen you pretend to be, August thought surprised.

"Well, I'm not a traditionalist, I like it bright and clear. The black and white photos are really interesting."

"Aren't they?" Lu agreed with excitement that made her voice sound different, like it had just been brought to life. "They are works by a very talented young artist from France. I discovered her art when we were in Paris last year and now I exhibit her photographs in my gallery. People love her unique take on everyday life, the way she plays with light and angles. She's one of my most successful…"

"Don't bore your new guardian angel to death with your art stuff on the very first day, honey," Adam interrupted her chuckling, when he joined them again.

"I was just talking about the pictures in John's room."

"Sure, and those are lovely pictures," he gave her a generous smile and a peck on the cheek, "but we both know you tend to babble on about the topic and that can be a little unnerving."

"Of course, you're right, darling." Lu's mask was back on, her expression blank again. "I'm sorry, John. Sometimes I forget that most people don't share my passion for art. Consider yourself lucky that Adam saved you just in time."

John gave her a nod and a smile. He wanted to say something, feeling the need to let her know that she hadn't been boring him, but before he was able to do so, Adam carried on with their conversation about his new job and his duties and the wasted chance to show his solidarity with her left a bitter taste in John Lark's mouth.

*******

Taglist (let me know if you want to be added or removed)

@lunedelorient @inlovewithhisblueeyes @willkatfanfromasia @hell1129-blog @mis-lil-red @agniavateira @kebabgirl67 @omgkatinka @legendarywizarddetective @summersong69 @taebfada @xxxkatxo @artandotherdelights @notabronte @littlefreya @luclittlepond @eldarwen333 @meowpurrbooks @marantha @liliumdream @enchantedbytomandhenry @greensleeves888 @witcherfan @margauxmargaux07 @radaofrivia @m07belzen @a-little-counter-esperanto @starstruckkittyangel @mary-ann84 @sillyrabbit81 @emelinelovesjc @wheretheriversrunintothesea @lam0ureuxq @kingliam2019 @pandaxnienke @littleone65 @coloraturadiva

#henry cavill #cavillry #henry cavill fandom #henry cavill fanfiction #august walker #august walker x ofc #august walker fanfiction #slow burn

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cal-kestis · 2 years

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Helloooo! I’ve been really loving your Star Wars edits (especially the ones of Rogue One/Diego Luna) <33 Thank you for the content! I wanted to ask, do you have any tips on managing a Tumblr & making edits? I’m planning to maybe post things like gifsets to start my blog :)) I’m new to Tumblr but I really wanna connect with the community so I’m taking all the advice I can get :>> Thanks in advance!

hello there! first, welcome to tumblr and thank you for the kind compliment! it's so exciting that you'll be making new content! and I'd be happy to share some tips under the cut :)

tips for your mental wellness: - set boundaries for yourself and your blog. tumblr should be a safe and happy place for YOU, so it's completely valid for you to make clear what you will and won't post about - as soon as creating feels like a chore, take a step back. it's easier said than done, but try not to feel the too-common pressure to constantly produce content - be selective with who you follow — don't let the bad apples ruin your experience here - don't feel bad about blocking someone! if they make you feel uncomfy in any way (or if they're stealing your creations), block 'em!

tips for managing your blog: - create a tagging system! this keeps your content organized and help your followers filter things like potential triggers - use the queue to keep your blog active even when you're offline! I currently have mine running to post 5 times a day between 6am-11pm (US/Pacific time). currently, tbobf is increasing the amount of new content — but I usually have it set to 3 times a day between 8am-12am when there's less new content - make a tracking tag so people can show you stuff they've made! generally, people use the #username format (like mine is #usernik) — but you can make yours whatever you want. put it in your blog description so people can see it when they visit your blog! (and again, be clear about what you don't want to be tagged in — I do this in my about/nav page)

tips for tumblr etiquette: - when applicable, ALWAYS link inspo in your caption! there are so many talented creators on this site who spend hours making gifs/edits — and it sucks when you see someone recreate your idea without linking back to what inspired them - if you "like" something, reblog it too! that's how we show support to fellow creators and increase their visibility - don't be rude in your tag commentary. no one wants to see #i love everyone in this set except [character name] - be kind and respect other people's boundaries! - post replies under a gifset aren't for conversations with friends, so use DMs instead - tag potential triggers to keep your followers safe! and if someone asks you to tag a trigger, be respectful and don't invalidate them - and of course, always reblog and never repost. even if you put an image source link under, the creator would prefer a reblog

tips for making edits/gifs: - use the highest quality files you can find. when I can, I always use 2160p files for gifs (aka 4K). if I can't get 4K, then I'll do 1080p with the biggest file size I can find. here's a helpful tutorial! - I use photoshop, but I know there are other software people use to make gifs. find what works for you! - here's a basic gifmaking tutorial! (I also love their sharpening action) - my ideal gif speed is 0.05 sec. this is a preference but 0.05 is pretty standard with most gifmakers I know! I sometimes use a faster speed when giffing video games like JFO - put photography credits in your caption if you edit photoshoots! - the file size limit for gifs is 10mb (more info here) and the maximum width is 540px (here's a guide on image dimensions!). also, the gutter size is 4px - establish a creations tag and link it in your blog description. for example, my creations tag is #myedit* - how to get your creations seen: tag other people in your fandom (most people love to be tagged, but you can always check with them if it's ok!), tag appropriate source blogs (for star wars creations, you can tag #starwarsblr — or for diego luna creations, you could tag #diegolunasource), tag appropriate edit tags (for example, #swedit for star wars)

tips for connecting with people in your fandom: - leave nice comments in the tags of your reblog! most friendships or follow-backs I've made have started with super kind tags in reblogs of my sets :') - see if there's a discord server you can join to connect with people who love what you love! I'm part of a few servers for creators and one with some of my mando friends <3 - again, tag people in your gifsets! - apply to source blogs and networks to be part of a group of like-minded people in your fandom! - start a conversation in DMs! or if you're feeling shy, you can submit an ask with one of those "chain mail" things like "send this ask to 5 people you follow to brighten their day" - make an about page! this will help other people get to know you and the things you love! but of course, be safe and don't give away info that could put you at risk!

I hope this helps! and again, welcome to tumblr!

#@everyone: feel free to add tips in the replies!#rogue-wan-kenobi #ask #tumblr help #tutorial #photoshop help #nik.help #resource

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