No Good: A Coalesce Graphic

"It's people just like you who made me the pessimist I am."

Career Switch: A Transcendence Short

Alternate Universe

Starbucks

New York City

United States of America

November 2119

“Free, what the hell are you doing?”

“Manning the register, what does it look like I’m doing—?”

“No, get the fuck out.” Jae-Hwang gave Ansel a sharp look before pushing him aside, the former cracking his knuckles. “I’ve got this. I’ve got the mathematical capability to do this properly. Stay with the drinks.”

“You’re as bad at math as I am,” the brunette protested. “I wouldn’t trust you with the freaking register and money, Hwang.”

“Shit’s digital nowadays.”

“Which is why I can take care of the thing.”

“No, shut up. Stick to the food, drinks, and batting your lashes for your girlfriend.” Ansel punched the man’s arm and the Korean laughed before flashing a grin at a customer who had just arrived at the counter. Sighing, Ansel hung back and moved next to Luke. Luke gave a half-hearted wave.

“Hwang kick you from the register again?”

“That was one time—”

The First Step: A Coalesce Short

Headquarters
Tokyo, JPN
November 2009

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Look, I know it’s something too soon–”

“Damn right that shit’s too soon,” Tadashi snapped. He chose to ignore the fact that almost everyone on the floor was staring. “I lost three of my squad mates barely six months ago and now you want me to take in two new ones in the next three months? Do you honestly think I’m in the right condition to do that?”

“I know it’s something you’re not comfortable with,” Eri Nagakawa interrupted calmly. She gave Tadashi a firm look, “To be perfectly honest, Tadashi, I was against this as well. The board, however, thinks that you need to start taking in people again. They’ve noticed that your quality has dipped a bit ever since the accident.”

“I’m grieving.”

“I know you are,” she repeated. “Just – will you come to my office and talk to me about this?” He was nearly about to argue again when she gave him a look. “Don’t do this to yourself,” she added in a much softer voice. “Just hear me out. And try not to make a scene in front of the younger agents.”

Without another word, Tadashi went straight to Eri’s office. The other hung back to watch him with worried eyes and then realized that she too was being watched. Masking a cold look on her face, she barked at the rest of them to get back to work and they all scattered while talking nervously. She rubbed her temples, exhaling loudly.

It was never a good idea to begin with.

Better Times: A FC/UC Graphic

"I remember asking myself, 

'will it ever get better?'

I waited, waited, waited.

And guess what? It did."

Russ' Updates #056: Ending October

Good evening, Darlings!

"Happy almost-Halloween. *waves*"

October's coming to a close this weekend! I'm surprised that the whole month flew by really, really quickly, to be honest. The month's been alright; I'm still managing to keep my head up despite *~college~* and all the sudden events that's been happening.

To be honest, I haven't been feeling that great in terms of the creative muse. I haven't really been feeling myself lately, but I'm hoping that it wards off soon enough, because I really want to start liking my own writings (and graphics) again. Hopefully this week will give me the chance to get some writing done (especially the weekend).

Speaking of closing October, closing October also means closing Elena's month. ;w;

"Aww...thank you for having me though, Russ. Really."

While Elena's month may be ending soon, don't fret! The Transcendence universe will still be making its usual appearances around the blog. :) For the month of November, I won't be featuring a character, so expect more of my scheduled posts to revolve around anything that comes to mind! 

That's all for this week, lovelies. Enjoy and have a great Halloween! 

Posts to Expect:

[x] Russie Writes: A Coalesce Short
[x] Russ Writes: An OTP Short

[x] Russie Photoshops: A FC/UC Graphic

December: A FC/UC Short

Free-Jones Apartment
New York City
United States of America
November 2120

“Do you want to eat something, Lena?” Ansel asked. He peered into their shared office and saw Elena by her desk, working on a drawing with earphones strapped to her ears. The man couldn’t help but smile, coming closer and nudging her shoulder playfully with his free hand. “Lena.”

“Oh, shit, hi,” she greeted. Elena quickly took the earphones off and smiled at the other, rubbing her eyes. “Shit, how long have I been working?”

“A little more than two hours. You weren’t coming out of the office to eat, so I decided to go out and get us something to eat,” he explained. Ansel pulled his own chair over and Elena moved to give him space, “Sushi?”

“Ansel Free actually feels too lazy to cook for once,” she teased. He made a face and she smirked, pressing a kiss to his nose. “Relax, I’m just teasing. What did you get?” She watched as he removed a couple of containers from the paper bag, expression perking up as she took note of what the other had bought.

His salmon sashimi, a few choices of sushi rolls, and there was Elena’s personal favorite: tempura with Japanese fried rice. Ansel took out two large cups of red tea next and she couldn’t help but plant another kiss to his lips. “You really went all out with this, Free.”

“You shared a sushi post on your Facebook, tagged me, and just put a smiley face,” he replied calmly. Elena snorted and then poked his arm.

Fresh Faces: A Coalesce Graphic

"Those three are ridiculously good.

They'll kick ass no matter where they strut."

Russ' Updates #055: Bounce Back

Good evening, Darlings! Apparently, there was an earthquake earlier in the hour and I (as usual) wasn't able to feel it despite it being a 5.4 magnitude one...

"I'm just gonna fear for your safety when the massive superquake comes."

As I mentioned earlier, there had just been a 5.4 earthquake which emanated from Occidental Mindoro, which is roughly 83 kilometers away from Manila. Additionally, typhoon Lando had hit the country last weekend, so please do take caution especially when it comes to these kinds of natural disasters. 

Anyway, I was supposed to post a lot more than two posts last week... *insert horrified emoji here* There had been an influx of academic requirements, and I sort of had to get my priorities on check because there was so much to be done. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this week won't be as stressful and acad-filled because I really do want to keep posting. 

As much as possible, I want to make sure Elena gets the same treatment Ansel got. *nods* I've currently done two shorts and two graphics, which means that she has one short and two more graphics to go until the 'quota' has been filled.

In all honesty, I'm not sure whether to push through with next month's FC/UC. We'll see how things go, though! Let's see how I manage to hold up, yes?

Posts to Expect:

[ ] Russie Writes: A FC/UC Short
[ ] Russ Writes: An OTP Short

[ ] Russie Photoshops: A FC/UC Graphic

"Stay safe, everyone! Enjoy the week."

Feature Piece: A Coalesce Short

Starr’s Pub
Liverpool, UK
September 2017

“I’m surprised you took on that special article, Cross.”

“Believe it or not, I actually have the resources, references, and the person for it.” Lysette Cross replied smoothly. Beside her, Eugene Ramsey coughed. “Besides – you’re on the article too. You, me, and that other writer.”

“Yes, but I’m actually assigned to the branch in South America. You, on the other hand, are assigned to the Tokyo branch. One of those places can carry English with a bit of help and the other place will ask a require a translator.”

“Didn’t you hear me? I told you, I have a contact in the Tokyo branch.” She explained. “And thankfully, they can speak English, as can the rest of her associates. Don’t think I’m going in there unprepared.”

“Tokyo has been reported to be one of the more active branches.”

“And you think I can’t handle it?”

“I never said that.” Eugene swished the contents of his glass slowly. “Never said you couldn’t handle it, Cross. It just seems a little…more dangerous than the other two branches we’ve been assigned to.”

“Steele got sent to Italy,” Lysette remarked. “You think that’s not dangerous?”

Clothing Style: Elena Jones

Russ' Updates #054: Cool Down

Hello, everyone. *checks cue cards* This feels weird, but welcome to the fifty-fourth RussDate! Russie is currently reviewing her notes and organizing her academic to-do list, so I'll be taking charge for the meantime. *grins* I might be hosting some of October's other RussDates, so look out for that.

For this week, Russie wants to keep posting things featuring yours truly. It's very likely that she'll be posting a short or two as well as a graphic, so stay tuned for that. Also, she'll do her best to get those posts up starting tomorrow, since test season will cool down from that point on. 

However, she may not be able to post as much this Sunday. Russie will be attending the debut of a close friend and will probably end up coming home late. Despite that, she'll still try to make up throughout the rest of the week, yeah?

Anyway - here are this week's expected posts.

Posts to Expect:

[ ] Russie Writes: A FC/UC Short
[x] Russ Writes: A Coalesce Short

[x] Russie Photoshops: A FC/UC Graphic

Also, you guys might have noticed the presence of this new Coalesce tag lately...unfortunately, I'm not going to spoil it for you guys. But do keep an eye out for it. *winks*

That's all for this RussDate - enjoy the week!

Call For Help: A FC/UC Short

Jones-Lestrange Apartment
Connecticut
United States of America
October 2114

Amelia did not expect for her tablet to ring loudly at two in the morning. Bleary eyes opened and she cursed aloud, grabbing clumsily for the tablet that lay on her bedside table. Squinting at the screen, she could only make out the words is calling you and she pondered whether ignoring the call would be worth it or not.

However, she next spotted Elena Jones and her fingers moved on their own, pressing the accept option immediately. Automatically did the home screen vanish and the familiar layout of Skype open; there was a weird sound of a rustle and one black screen. After a few seconds, her sister’s face appeared in the empty black screen, wrapped comfortably in the comforter she had gotten for college.

The first thing Amelia had noticed was that Elena was crying.

“A-Amelia?”

“Hold on,” the elder muttered. She clumsily reached to the side and turned on the lamp. A warm light filled the room, illuminating and showing Amelia’s sleepy face. Elena could only bury her face into her hands upon seeing.

“Shit, I’m so sorry – I didn’t know you were already asleep,” the girl apologized, hundreds of miles away. Amelia waved it off.

“Don’t worry about it. I just got to bed.” She lied through her teeth easily. If Elena knew that she had gone to bed hours ago, she would let guilt slap her in the face. “What’s going on? Why are you crying?”

Elena plastered a watery smile on her face. “It’s finals week.”

Fools: An OTP Graphic

"But everything is shattering and it's my mistake."

Russ' Updates #053: Midterms Week

Good evening, guys! Hope y'all are doing well this start of October :)

"Hi, everyone!"

This marks Elena Jones' first formal appearance on the RussDates! *throws confetti* It also marks her as October's Featured Character (as spotted on the banner), so expect a couple of shorts and graphics for her throughout the spooky season. :> However, I won't be posting from tomorrow until Friday, unfortunately. Midterms are officially kicking in and I have a couple of different requirements to work on, so I'm putting myself on a temporary hiatus. 

Never fear, though! I'll be back by Saturday. :D As much as I'd love to post on Friday night, I may be coming home late because of a 6-8PM literature midterm. Shiiiite. ;_;

"Let's hope she survives."

Anyway, here's what to expect for this week!

Posts to Expect:

[ ] Russie Writes: A FC/UC Short

[x] Russie Photoshops: A FC/UC Graphic

PS: Thank you for 19K, Darlings! <3

Levels of Organization: A FC/UC Short

Free-Jones Apartment
New York City
United States of America
July 2119

When they were discussing the logistics of their apartment, one of Elena’s requests was enough space for her own materials. Ansel blinked (he had been sketching a rough layout of their dream apartment) and asked her to specify. Elena then turned a light pink and mumbled that she needed space for her different art materials.

He just smiled and added “more space for Lena” as a footnote.

Elena’s requests actually made the whole hunting process much easier for them. They crossed off apartments that seemed too small, apartments that were made for easy living and not for stay-at-home working. Upon finding The Apartment, Ansel and Elena were ready to fix their own individual workspaces.

Elena wanted a place where she could concentrate on the different forms of her craft. She needed a place where she could fit shelves for her scrapbooks; she needed a place where her different coloring materials could fit. On another hand, she also needed a place where she could graphic design with ease on her laptop.

In her old apartment, her study was nearly a mess as everything was all over the place. Markers mixed with paintbrushes and watercolors, for some reason, ended up where she put her ball pens and highlighters. She didn’t sort her scrapbooks according to newness and sometimes ended up drawing in ones that hadn’t been opened yet. Different novels were scattered on the floor, ones to be read stacked in piles and affixed with a red sticky note.

(Whenever Amelia visited, the older lady would huff and proceed to tidy up the hurricane that was Elena’s office. Elena would grin sheepishly and try to help, to which Amelia always swatted her hand away and asked her to make them some coffee.)

Identity Crisis 101: A Coalesce Short

Ken’s Manor
Otemachi, JPN
September 2012

“You doing okay there, Leroux?”

“Perfectly fine,” a male answered dryly. He had a heavy French accent, was wearing a black suit, and kept a blank look on his face. Behind the shades, eyes kept trained on the CEO as he moved around and associated with the guests. “Nothing seems out of the ordinary or weird.”

“Right. Well, just be sure to keep looking. We don’t want anything to happen, right?” From his position, Leroux nodded blankly. “Just keep doing what you’re doing. Your shift’s going to end soon, anyway.”

“I can extend.”

“You sure?”

“I’m certain that Boss would like it more if I extended my shift,” Leroux answered, fiddling with the mouthpiece. “And I stay here anyway. I don’t exactly mind.” He kept his hands inside his pockets and listened as the man on the other line instructed him, eventually hearing a click signaling that the call was over. At that, he looked back at his boss and stayed in his place, not moving an inch from where he was positioned.

He began to count. On three hundred and sixty four, the CEO came forward with a grin on his face and two glasses in his hands. “You’re looking terribly stiff, Leroux. Have something to drink,” he said cheerfully. Leroux thought of declining, but took the drink anyway and sipped. “Too many people as usual. I wonder why I invite this much in the first place,” the Japanese man said with a funny look on his face. Leroux cocked a brunet brow.

“They’re your associates, contacts, and whatnot. Of course you want to invite them to the Great Manor for the Great Party,” he replied, lacing the different words with air quotes. The other man nudged him gently.

“I know that, asshole. But still.” He glanced at the crowd, “Do you think I should start cutting some off? Make some room for potential new prospects?”

Mood Boards: Elena Jones