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