Russie Babbles: A Year in Review [2016]

Hello there, Darlings! 

Yes—the day has finally come. Welcome to the last day of the year! I’m pretty sure that most of the world’s already on the 31st day of December. It’s been long, it’s been (extremely) difficult, and it’s been challenging; but hey, we made it! That’s honestly what really matters. 

For the third time in a row, I’ll be doing a Year in Review. If you haven’t read the ones I did for 2014 and 2015, feel free to check them out! A Year in Review is pretty much just me talking about what went on writing-wise and whatnot during the entirety of the concerned year. I’ll be talking about the things I pushed through with, the things I didn’t push through with, and I’ll also be talking about what I’ve got planned for 2017. :) 

Aside from that, though, I might get personal too! Talk about how I’ve been doing in college so far and mention some personal goals that I want to achieve int the upcoming year. 

Without further ado, let’s begin! Click the ‘read more’ down there and let’s get this thing rolling! 

Teaser #04: The Four Loves Celebration

Memory: A Coalesce Short

Headquarters

Atlanta, GA

United States of America

December 2016

Mack had a tendency to lose track of time.

He remembered the important dates, of course—he had celebrated Christmas a week back with the Squad. It was nice; they had exchange gifts and had brunch together at one of their favorite restaurants. The mood was at its best. Aether had been leaning against Tadashi and laughing as Peters told one of his stories from high school, and Tadashi had an arm casually wrapped around Aether’s shoulder. Peters was drinking and telling about one of his many failed dates when he was a high school freshman, and Mack—

Mack was watching, observing. And even then he felt happy.

That was Christmas, at least. When they had to get back to work two days after, Mack found himself losing track of time yet again and busying himself with work, just as he did for the rest of the year. There were times wherein Tadashi had to tap his shoulder and ask if he wanted to join them for lunch, and Mack was prone to meal skipping so he quickly agreed.

When he would tell others—like the Squad—that he tended to lose track of time and dates, Peters joked that Mack might end up forgetting his birthday eventually. The rest of them laughed at that, and Mack himself admitted that something like that could very much happen in due time.

And it did.

Teaser #03: The Four Loves Celebration

Russ' Updates #116: Completion

Hello, everyone! Hope you all had a good Christmas! 

I’m sorry for not posting this yesterday; believe it or not, I actually lost track of time whoops. It completely escaped my mind that Monday had already passed. 😅  Anyway, just a quick update on the January celebration: it’s definitely happening! There are two teasers posted already; please do take a look! 💕 Based on the name of the celebration as well as the teasers’ content, it might be obvious what the January celebration is going to focus on. Please look forward to it!

This week, I’ll keep doing the preps (graphics and all). Expect a few shorts to be posted as well as the remainder of the teasers, and my usual End of the Year Post!

Posts to Expect:

[x] Russie Babbles: A Year in Review [2016]

[x] Russie Writes: A Coalesce Short
[x] Russie Photoshops: Teaser #03
[x] Russie Photoshops: Teaser #04

"Hey - enjoy the rest of 2016."

Traditions: A Coalesce Short (1/2)

Hartsfield-Jackson Airport

Atlanta, GA

United States of America

December 23, 2016

“Are you going home, too?”

Jian paused his music and looked at the source of the voice. There was a much younger female sitting across him, sunglasses perched on top of her head and regarding him with a curious expression. She had a rose gold tote bag on her lap and a similarly colored carry-on luggage next to her; Jian found himself staring before managing a short, reserved answer.

“I am. Where are you off to?”

“Back to Seoul; I’m staying for Christmas and New Year before coming back here.” Her phone made a noise and she excused herself to check the message; Jian took the chance to observe her further. The female wore a white hoodie with a shirt underneath, light-colored jogger pants, and white sneakers. She looked familiar, he realized, but couldn’t quite pinpoint who exactly she was. “Sorry about that, my friend just wanted to see if I was here already. And you?”

“Taipei.” She nodded slowly and it went quiet between the two of them; Jian glanced back down at his tablet and (tried to) resume reading, though sensed that the much younger other wanted to continue conversation.

Well. He couldn’t blame her, not really—it was the holiday season, after all. Around them were bunches of people, both family and friends alike, who were all chattering away with each other about plans and whatnot. It seemed like they were the few minority who were travelling alone without anyone else.

Merry Christmas!

Teaser #02: The Four Loves Celebration

Teaser #01: The Four Loves Celebration

Russ' Updates #115: Greetings

Hello, everyone! Six more days until it's finally Christmas! 💕  It's a little freaky that time really is going by so fast; it seems like I started my semestral break only yesterday. 😅 

Hope that most of you are on break already! I've literally been doing nothing much the entire break so far; I haven't even gone out yet. Most of my days are spent just trying to write and get back on my a-game. I've wanted to do more preparations for the January celebration and everything, but...I don't know. I guess I still need some more pegs or some more inspiration before I can really start getting into the swing of creating again, you know? 

Speaking of celebrations--please do check out Rothie's! In lieu of a monthly celebration, she's currently holding a special one that will last two weeks. Please support her and stay with her for the latter half of the month as she focuses on two ~special~ ladies from Mirage! She's been putting out some pretty sweet material so far and pretty much deserves all the views and whatnot. ^_^

For this week, expect some shorts and then finally the teaser for the January celebration! Not quite sure how many there will be, but I want at least three on here before 2017. Aside from that, Rothie and I both agreed to post a collaboration/challenge/shitpost on Christmas. 😁

Please enjoy the week, and (in advance), a Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays to you all! 

Character Aesthetics: Mathieu/Leroux

"my sin, father:

i killed a man tonight."

Introductions: A Coalesce Graphic

 ( r e ) i n t r o d u c i n g : 

chris pine as samuel peters
"i am not throwing away my shot!"

Russ' Updates #114: Teasers

Good evening, everyone! 

Guess who's (finally) done with the semester! :'D I ended my first semester of sophomore year last Friday, and I've been chilling since. It's been nice to be able to sleep without feeling bad and to actually spend more time on my own projects and passions than ever. I've been meaning to post way more last weekend, but I think I was too busy catching up on sleep and recovering huhu. 

I have great news though--I've been planning the January celebration more and more, and I'm happy to say that I've got quite a bit done! All I need is to really plan out the posts and do the graphics in advance. I'm pretty excited about the theme; it's something quite personal to be as well as something I've been wanting to do for the longest time. ^_^ Please look forward to it! Might start posting teasers starting next week to get ~hyped~.

But for this week, I'll do my best to catch up on posts. I don't really want to put a Posts to Expect section like I always do (because to be honest, that pressures me a lot). So just expect posts to go up whenever they will! 

I hope you guys are doing okay, and if finals season is over for you guys, then congratulations on making it! Get as much rest as possible and treat yo'self. ♡

"Go--enjoy the break."

Tokyo Narita (3/?): A Coalesce Short

Shinjuku, Tokyo

Japan

January 2018

8:47 PM

“You’ve got a little something there.”

“Hm?” Aether peeked up at him and blinked as Mathieu wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin. “Oh—thanks,” she mumbled, ducking her head to hide the blush on her cheeks. Across her, he could only smile. 

The two of them had decided to go out that night. While initially agreeing that they could just stay in the hotel room and have a dinner of convenience store food, it would actually be nicer if they went out and explored around the vicinity of the area that night. While Aether had wanted to do initial research, Mathieu insisted on merely walking around and going wherever fate wanted them to end up. It took much coaxing—she was worried about getting lost—but she finally agreed and went off to freshen up. 

After fifteen to twenty minutes of walking and her clinging to his arm (it was cold, ridiculously cold that night), they ended up in a comfortable local eatery that served large bowls of ramen and tall classes of cola. It had taken a while for them to fully adjust; Mathieu spent minutes conversing with a waitress over the place’s bestsellers before ordering for the two of them while Aether rubbed her hands, regretting not wearing gloves that night. 

“I regret not wearing gloves,” she admitted. The now-empty bowl of ramen sat in front of her, the tall glass of coke three-fourths consumed. Chuckling, Mathieu took her hands into his and ran his thumbs comfortingly over her knuckles. “I wasn’t expecting for it to be this cold.” 

Russ' Updates #113: Clutch

Hello, everybody! Good evening and happy December to you all! 

Surprisingly, I'm pretty buzzed this week? To be fair, though, it's my last week before my month-long break! I know I haven't been posting lately and pretty much failed at the latest Russ Features (yikes), but that's purely because of how stressful the weeks leading up to the end of semester have been. Seriously. There's been so many papers to write and projects to due. 

Don't worry, though: I can assure you guys that starting this Friday, I'll be back and pushing my activity back up again! I want to make up this December for the posts I've missed and the posts I've long put off (such as the Tokyo Narita series, what's up). I'm still wondering whether to push through with something I've planned along Christmas week, but. *shrugs* Let's see about that, yeah?

No Russ Features this month, as I'll be doing my best to make up in activity and I'll be preparing for my January celebration as well! I hope you're looking forward to that! I turn nineteen in January, and I've got something nice planned so far. :'D 

That's all for this week! If it's your finals week as well, then the best of luck to you. Remember to take care of yourselves and to keep pushing! We only have a few left until Christmas. 💖

Posts to Expect:

[ ] Russie Writes: A Catching-Up Short (Mack)
[ ] Russie Writes: Tokyo Narita Part 03

Pantone x Tropes: A Birthday Graphic

[ e l l e  r i v e r s ]

Russ' Updates #112: Two Weeks

Good evening, guys! 

Imma keep this one short—there’s just so much to do and to be frank, I don’t really know where to begin. I’m sort of trying to keep myself from sinking into the nearest corner and crying. ;w; It’s the last one or two weeks before my semestral-slash-Christmas break! I just really want things to be over with, but apparently I’ve got so much shit to accomplish before I can even get the rest I want. 

Anyway, expect for activity this week to be low! I’m sorry about that D: I just really want to focus on my academics as much as I can. I’ll do my best to make up for it during December (somehow), but for now, don’t expect too much from me. Wish me luck, though! 

Posts to Expect:

[ ] Russie Writes: A Russie Features Short #02
[ ] Russie Writes: A Russie Features Short #03

Tokyo Narita (2/?): A Coalesce Short

KP Hotel

Shinjuku, Tokyo

Japan

January 2018

They end up collapsing into bed when they get into the hotel bedroom. 

“Can we—fuck unpacking,” Aether mutters thickly, struggling to kick her shoes off. “Unpacking later, I just want to sleep. Can we sleep?” Beside her, Mathieu nods and manages to get his own shoes off before pulling the covers over himself. “I’m so tired,” Aether whines, and he presses a sleepy kiss to her forehead. 

“I know you are,” he tells her, and she finally settles next to him, eyes opening and closing in a struggle to keep her awake. Mathieu holds her tightly, whispers, “get some sleep”, and she does—Aether is knocked out immediately and Mathieu takes a few more minutes to collect himself before actually falling asleep. 

They had gotten to Japan only a couple of hours back; the trip from the airport had taken two hours and at that point, they wanted to be in a proper bed. Aether had fallen asleep on Mathieu’s shoulder while Mathieu remained awake for the entire bus ride to Shinjuku (he entertained himself with his 3DS), and she eventually woke up while mumbling that she was (still) tired. Upon arriving, check-in went smoothly and they rushed to the elevator just so they could get to their room as soon as possible. 

(“A convenience store, look—” 

“We can go there later, Mathieu, I want to rest.”)

He yawned and held her tighter, finally closing his eyes. He didn’t know what time it was and barely cared enough to check. 

What mattered at the moment was getting some rest. 

Russ' Updates #111: Hell Weeks

Hi, everybody! Are you still doing okay?

I guess a quick update: I think I'm doing alright. The semester's ending in around two weeks, and because of that...well. Let's just say that acads haven't exactly been the kindest. 😅  There's so much to catch up on and so much to do before December 7 that it almost feels like a chokehold, yikes. And I suppose that this goes for academics and extra-curricular things. 

Despite all of that, though, I hope you guys are still pushing! It may seem like crap now, but the Christmas break is so, so near. Use that as one of your reasons to keep fighting. I know I am because more sleep whoops. 

I don't want to work too much this week considering the fact that academics own my ass until December 7. But you can still expect at least two shorts to be uploaded! Tokyo Narita is going to be continued as well as Mack's second Russ Features short. 

Posts to Expect:

[ ] Russie Writes: A Russie Features Short #02
[x] Russie Writes: A Coalesce Short

"Please help her before she loses her shit."

OCs x Social Media: Mack Thomas

Forgiveness: A Coalesce Graphic

"i know i don't deserve you, [aether], 

but hear me out. that would be enough."

Russ' Updates #110: Ease

Hi everyone! 

I hope you guys have been doing okay. Last week honestly wasn't that great, so I hope that you've managed to keep your head up despite everything that's been going on. I firmly believe that things are going to work out eventually, and so should you! 

As I mentioned in the last RussDate, allow yourself the time and opportunity to heal if needed. Take your time. Give yourself a breather if you need it. Just make sure to remember that the fight isn't other--there's still so much left to be done and so much more to fight for. 

"We'll be okay."

In terms of personal life, I guess things have been going okay? Not exactly the best but I don't want to end up cracking. *insert shrug here* On another (and a little more positive) note, look! There are emojis now, apparently! 😮  Seems like a pretty cool feature; now I can deviate away from the standard emoticons and whatnot. I hope it stays for quite some time! 

For the rest of November, I want to keep things the way they are. Nothing really crazy (yet), seeing as first semester is ending on December 7 and that academics are really starting to pile on again. For now, keep expecting your regular RussDates and impromptu shorts from time to time! 

Posts to Expect:

[x] Russie Photoshops: A Coalesce Graphic
[x] Russie Photoshops: A Russie Features Graphic #02
[ ] Russie Writes: A Russie Features Short #02

Cover Up: A Russie Features Short

Headquarters

Atlanta, GA

United States of America

December 2016

The Monday after it happened, Mack came to work bearing a violet scarf snuggly-wrapped around his neck. He second-guessed at first, wondering if it would be suspicious if he wore it the entire day; but then again, the weather had been growing colder and it was Christmas season. Mack didn’t have an excuse to not wear it—it would look completely inconspicuous. 

Or at least, that’s what he had thought. Aether had also been wearing a scarf of her own—red as wine—when he arrived at the office, sipping at her usual mug of coffee and leaving a light lipstick stain on it. “Cold day,” she commented, green eyes spotting the scarf. “I thought you weren’t the cold type?” 

“It’s almost below ten,” Mack defended. She nodded slowly and took another sip from her coffee, Mack approaching the coffee maker to pour himself his own mug. “How was your weekend?”

“It was good.” Aether gave a small smile, “Went Christmas shopping. The company party is in one, two weeks? I thought that it was best to be prepared. Mathieu and I went together, he had to get gifts for his friends also.” 

He threw her a cheeky smirk. “Did you get him something, or did you just get some ribbons? If you know what I mean.” Mack chuckled at the sight of her cheeks reddening and narrowly dodged a crumpled paper thrown his way. “Touchy, I didn’t know that you were the type.” 

Russ' Updates #109: Pagbangon

I'd like to apologize for the lateness (yet again) of this RussDate; things haven't really been going that well for the past few days. There's been academic load, extracurriculars to catch up on--and to be totally honest with you guys, recent events have left me pretty shaken thus far. 

I guess it's time to be real: things haven't exactly been the best. Worse and worse things have been happening both inside the country and out, and to be honest, it seems like the best thing to do is to shut down and just stop caring. It's really hard to see people--my friends, classmates, loved ones--feel scared and insignificant because of what's been going on. 

Know that it's okay to feel angry. It's okay to be upset, it's okay to feel sad, it's okay to feel disappointed, it's okay to feel hurt. 

But do know that the sun's still going to rise again in the morning and that the world still turns, spins. Know that there's still so much work left to be done--and that the fight isn't over yet. 

*Pagbangon is a Filipino word which means "rising". 

Posts to Expect:

[x] Russie Writes: A Russie Features Short #01
[x] Russie Writes: A Coalesce Short

--

11/12/16 EDIT: Thank you so much for 27,000 views!! xx

Instances: A Coalesce Short

(thirteen.)

Lysette accompanies her everywhere on the first morning.

She’s fidgety, still; creaks make her cringe and she jumps violently when people suddenly appear out of nowhere. Aether is frazzled, trembles non-stop; Lysette notices and notices throughout the entire day but stays quiet until they get back to their room. Aether buries herself in bed immediately, shaking and not quite able to stop.

The redhead hesitates until she hears the sounds of sniffing, then sobbing. That’s when she chooses to move and sits by the other’s bed, unable to do anything more than to rub her back. The words ‘it’ll be okay’ sound horrible even to her; all she can manage is a ‘just let it out’. Aether follows and lets it out, screaming into her pillow and crying until her voice is hoarse and her tears have run dry.

Lysette remains, unsure of what to say. After all, she had just arrived yesterday—she remembered Aether’s blank face, tired eyes, how her clothes still smelled of smoke and soot. Biting her lip, she ponders for a moment before standing and starts to move to the door. Tea would help her, she thinks. Tea or water.

But just as she is about to open the door and head downstairs to grab a drink, she hears her roommate speak. It’s faint and nearly undetectable, but Lysette still hears. “…can you stay?”

Mood Boards: Mack Thomas

Tokyo Narita: A Coalesce Short (1/?)

Hartsfield-Jackson Airport

Atlanta, GA

United States of America

January 2018

“I still can’t believe you were able to get this trip without me noticing,” Aether admitted. Mathieu gave her a wink, adjusting the straps of his backpack before holding out his hand to her. “Seriously—how were you able to book this without me knowing? Did Jin-ho help you out?” 

“Well to be honest, sweetheart, I’ve had this in mind for a few months now.” she took his hand and they started walking, “You brought it up during a recent party, and I might have ended up doing some searching here and there. And no, Jin-ho wasn’t involved,” he added. She blinked. “I told him about this, yeah, but I wanted to arrange everything on my own. Take it as one of your birthday gifts.” he winked. 

“One of? Mathieu, you can’t possibly have more surprises—” Aether started, but he pressed a kiss to her forehead, rendering her quiet. 

“If you think that this is all of it, sweetheart, then I’m afraid that you’re very much wrong. Now, come on. I think we should start eating before we fly.” 

Russ' Updates #108: November

Hello, everybody! Guess who's back from Japan! :'D

I had an extremely fun time; the entire trip was amazing! We spent most of the trip going around the different parts of Tokyo, and for Halloween we went to Disneyland for the day. But I'm back now -- I got home a few hours ago and I'm just resting up, unpacking, all of that post-travel stuff. I actually want to write an actual post about it over the weekend and really talk about what I saw, so expect that by this weekend or by next week! 

November is officially here, and with that also comes a new Russie Features. Mack Thomas is this month's feature, and I hope you guys are looking forward to that! 

Aside from that, I want to tell you something really good! For the month of December, I've got two events planned. :'D I was able to come up with them just last week, and I hope that I'll be able to pull them off! More information about them will come in the coming weeks, so please do look forward to that! <3 

Posts to Expect:

[x] Russie Photoshops: A Russie Features Graphic #01

[x] Russie Writes: A Coalesce Short

Good Intentions: A Coalesce Short

Jian’s Apartment


Altlanta, GA


United States of America


January 2017

“Are you sure that you’re okay, brother?”

A half-smile crawls up the male’s lips. “I’m okay, Yue. I promise. I’ve just been…more tired lately, compared to these past few weeks. The bar’s been gaining more attention, so it’s only normal that I’m getting tired, you know?”

“I don’t know.” From his laptop screen, Yue throws him a look. “You’ve never really looked this exhausted. Maybe you want to come to Taipei, take a break with us? The family’s been asking how you’ve been,” she expressed. Her brown eyes met the gaze of her older brother, and she gave a small sigh. “I keep telling them to get off your case, but you have to admit that you owe them an answer, too. They’ve been concerned that you were suddenly able to help out with my college tuition and everything. Not that I’m not thankful,” she adds hurriedly, spotting the small frown poking its way to his lips, “I am. Really. They just want to know how you’re doing, and so do I.”

He sighed, reaching up and loosening the deep purple tie that hung around his neck. “I…alright. You’re right; I do owe you an explanation. And our family. But not now.” Yue looked like she was about to protest, but Jian lifted a hand and she kept her mouth closed. “I promise that I’ll explain. But I’m afraid that if I do tell, everyone else will just get on my case. And I don’t want that—I don’t think you want that either. Right?”

Russ' Updates #107: Vacation

Good evening, everyone! Hope you’re doing okay—and to those who watched The Walking Dead’s season opener, I sincerely hope that you guys have (somehow) managed to recover. :(( 

Here’s my agenda for this week: by Thursday night, I want the RussDate shorts and graphics to be posted. You may be wondering why I’m rushing, and, well—that’s because I’ll be in Japan! From October 28—November 2, I’ll be out of the country. My family and I will be spending a few days travelling and whatnot; as much as I want to bring my laptop along, it might distract me from the adventure and all. 

I’ll try to set up the format for next Monday’s RussDate, though! I want to post on time and update you guys on how I’m doing. :D But for now—just hope that I’ll be able to get the Russ Features finished as soon as possible! 

Posts to Expect:

[ ] Russie Photoshops: A Russie Features Graphic #03

[ ] Russie Writes: A Russie Features Short #03

"My time here was sufficient enough."

Flutter: A Coalesce Short

Tadashi’s Apartment

Atlanta, GA

United States of America

August 2012

“So you finally did it,” Tadashi finally said. She nodded.

“I couldn’t stay anymore. I had to leave.” Aether took a sip from her mug, letting the peach object warm her hands just right. “I couldn’t…”

“Hey, hey. I don’t blame you.” The concern in Tadashi’s eyes remained as he offered her a small smile. “No one can blame you for choosing to cut it away. In the end, the only person that really matters is yourself.”

“I know.” Aether released a shaky laugh, “I wish I realized that sooner.”

It had been a day since Aether had cut it off with her previous boyfriend. Lysette had been pestering for her to cut it off for weeks, but the dark-haired girl refused and refused until she realized that she wasn’t feeling as much as she previously did. Aether tried to search for the feelings, but realized that she found herself drawn more to the memories than the actual person.

And that was the sign she needed.

She ended the relationship face-to-face. Asked for them to see each other in his dorm room, and when he asked if there was something wrong, Aether had hesitated before telling it straight: “I can’t do this anymore. I think we should break up.”

Waiting Game: A Coalesce Short

The Cage

Atlanta, GA

United States of America

December 2016

“Was he that bad?”

“What?”

“You’re looking awfully chipper today,” Elsie snarked, tying her brown her up in a ponytail. Jian gave her a pointed look but said nothing, not wanting her words to aggravate him as much as the prior weekend did. “Was it because of what happened during the weekend? You owe me a few stories, by the way.”

“Stories?”

“Mhm. You never really take Saturdays off unless you’re really, really sick or unless you need to go back to Taiwan.” The other said nothing, though sighed internally. Elsie was, if anything, observant—but maybe too observant for her own good. Jian inhaled and counted to ten before looking at her. Elsie kept looking at him, waiting for him to answer. He knew that she wouldn’t exactly back down without an answer she thought was satisfactory enough.

“I didn’t have a good weekend,” he answered shortly. Jian glanced at the mirror in the staff room and straightened his collar, “That’s all there is to it. Nothing more, nothing less.”