Aesthetics: Admin

Russ' Updates #124: Progress

Good evening, loves! 💛

Hope you've all been doing okay! People have been getting more and more sick lately; it might be because of the weather? Regardless, I hope everything's going great!

I was only able to post one thing last week--I know that I promised to hopefully go get back to my a-game, but last week was a little rough and I didn't want to force myself to post something for the hell of it. This week, though, I promise to make up for it! Acads are a bit lighter on me this week despite it being midterm week, so expect the same from me with an additional graphic or short. 🌸

[Coalesce Update]: I think y'all are going to be happy to hear that I've done a lot of progress when it comes to determining what happens per arc! The timeline is a little difficult to set up, but based on what I've got, I'm pretty happy with it. There's still gonna be some additions and modifications here and there, but I'm at least 70% sure that what I've planned is canon.

"That's good to hear!"

Posts to Expect:

[x] Russie Photoshops: A Coalesce Graphic

[x] Russie Writes: A Coalesce Short

Have a (healthy) week! 

022593: Birthday

"but did you really know her, kyong?"

Russ' Updates #123: Steps

Hi there! Apologies for the late RussDate--I had to complete some academic requirements first before devoting myself to the blog and everything. I think you can say that things are getting interesting around here because it's that point where things are starting to pick up? (Although let's be real, I say that every week.) It's not exactly midterms week, not yet, but--it's picking up. 

Not gonna lie, I'm pretty beat--but that's not the point! If anything, I'm pretty happy that I was able to stick to the things I was supposed to post. Especially with the graphic for Soo-yeon; if I had to be honest, I wanted to spend a bit more time figuring out what exactly happens to her...and I'm happy to say that I'm slowly getting things down! Baby steps. 👍

For this week, I'm still sticking to two other posts a week. Again, baby steps! I'm hoping to slowly increase it, but for now, I don't really want to force myself. 

"Shh. That's alright!"

Posts to Expect:

[x] Russie Photoshops: A Coalesce Graphic

[ ] Russie Writes: A Coalesce Short

Enjoy! 💙

Knowing: A Coalesce Graphic

"who the hell is kim soo-yeon?"

Rekindle: A Valentine's Short

Atlanta, Georgia

United States of America

February 14, 2017

“I can’t believe you have plans for tonight,” Mack complained. “And to think that it would just be the two of us before, hooking each other up and being the other’s wing-person.” Aether couldn’t help but laugh, she reached over and gave Mack’s hair a ruffle before reclining into her seat and taking her phone. There was a hint of a smile on her face that the other saw, and as pouty as the other was being, he had to admit that seeing Aether happy was enough for him. Despite his teasing, he managed to put a smirk on his face. “Gonna get freaky tonight, Aether?”

“Shut up,” she laughed. “Nothing freaky’s happening tonight. Mathieu just told me that he wanted to take me out, probably somewhere fancy. You’d think that he’d stop with the surprises, honestly, considering that he took me to Tokyo for my birthday.” 

“Don’t complain. It looks like you’ve got him around your finger, and that might come to your advantage if you two do things tonight.” Mack threw her an exaggerated wink and she snorted, balling up a piece of spare paper and throwing it at him. He dodged, “Is he picking you up here, or are you going home early to prepare?” 

“I’m leaving soon.” She glanced at her phone, “No overtimes for me today, Mack. Which is a good change,” she admitted. He nodded. “How about you, though? Any plans?” 

“Pete’s my wingman for tonight, and that’s going to go so well.” He rolled his eyes, “We’ll be each other’s wingman, if that makes sense. But I’m already preparing for disappointment.” 

“Tinder’s calling you back.” 

Russ' Updates #122: Valentine's

Hi, everyone! 

I'll admit--it's a little hard wanting to post on here while at the same time having different academic and non-academic obligations going on. 😅 Considering that it's only February, I'm a bit surprised that I'm already starting to get swamped--but hey, such is life and I should be getting used to it by now. [shrug emoji] 

But that aside, how are you guys? Valentine's is coming tomorrow, and despite how bitter I may be in real life, I genuinely do wish that whoever's got dates do enjoy them. For those who don't, that's fine--I mean, I'll just be catching up on schoolwork tomorrow night as well. Do expect something to be posted tomorrow, though! I might be posting a graphic or a short that commemorates my feelings towards this ridiculously capitalized holiday. 

"You...you really are bitter."

Posts to Expect:

[x] Russie Photoshops: A Coalesce Graphic

[x] Russie Writes: A Valentine's Short

Enjoy the week, everyone! 💞

Tokyo Narita (4/?): A Coalesce Short

Chuo, Tokyo

Japan

January 2018

11:23 AM

“Taking you to Ginza might have been a mistake,” Mathieu laughed. Huffing, Aether merely dragged him out of the third shop that way, one hand holding his and the other holding on to three separate shopping bags. “Aren’t you hungry yet, chérie? The last time we ate breakfast was at the hotel,” he mused. Aether, still dragging him, merely shook her head. 

“Not hungry. I’m shopping until I can’t walk,” she replied without looking back, to which Mathieu could only smirk at. He knew that she didn’t mean that (at least he hoped); it had been a couple of hours since they had last eaten. She’d have to be hungry somehow in another hour, or else he’d have to put his foot down. 

But then again, he thought, this is one of the times I’ll get to spoil her somehow. His eyes fell one of the shopping bags she grasped. He had bought her the coat she had seen in the second shop with a lot of coaxing; and if he had to be honest with himself, then that wasn’t going to be the last time he’d be spending money on her while they were in Japan. Not exactly. One of the things he loved was to spoil her rotten, and when coaxed enough, Aether would relent. At least until she starts insisting that she pay for her clothes and things herself.

Before he knew it, Aether stopped in front of yet another shop. She looked at him with a pleading look in her green eyes, and was about to open her mouth. Mathieu, however, gently took the shopping bags from her arms and pressed a kiss to her forehead. That was enough to send her racing inside, the redhead smirking in amusement as he followed after her. 

Russ' Updates #121: Upgrades

Hello! Welcome to February, guys! 💙

The Four Loves Celebration ended yesterday--technically, it was supposed to end on the 31st of January, but because of technical problems I ended up having to adjust the schedule. Nevertheless, I hope that you all enjoyed! TFLC was something I genuinely enjoyed working on, and I hope that it sort of gave more insight on Aether and her relationships with Peters, Lysette, Mathieu, and Tadashi. 😁 I'll still continue to explore around those topics but for the meantime, I thought it would be nice to have others have the spotlight!

You may have noticed that there's been a change in layout. For 2017, the four faces of the blog will still be from Coalesce. Instead of the main nine, however, I'm shifting towards the supporting cast. Remember that there are four main factions in Coalesce, so with that in mind, each face for 2017 will come from each of the four! Until April, Kim Soo-yeon from the models will be the the mascot.

Surprise! I'm back.

There won't be any Russ Features for this month! I tend to spend Februaries chilling out as it's my 'recovery' from the January celebration, but I'll still be posting here and there. What I'll be posting exactly, I'm not quite sure--but I'm hoping that it'll be catered around Tadashi, if you catch my drift. 

And finally, I've updated the Navigation section for the Coalesce cast! Feel free to check it out here. I plan to fix up the ones of the other projects when I get the time to do so. 😊

That's all for today! Enjoy the week ahead. 

Admission: A TFLC Short

Atlanta, GA

United States of America

February 2017

When Aether had invited him out for coffee that day, he had expected for the rest of Squad A to be there as well. To his surprise, it was only her; Aether sheepishly explained that she wanted some time alone with him, which he was happy to give. After all, they hadn’t been able to have a one-on-one bonding time like that for quite a long time. If anything, Tadashi had to admit that he missed it. 

That was how both of them ended up there, Aether with her coffee and Tadashi with his tea. They talked of other matters aside from work. He asked if Mathieu was doing okay, and she asked if he had seen his sisters lately. After he told her how he and his two sisters had gone out, he noticed that Aether was only smiling into her cup, letting it sit in her grip as if to warm her hands. 

She didn’t look nervous, didn’t look scared or afraid or anything of the sort. Instead, the dark-haired female looked deep in thought. “Earth to Aether,” Tadashi joked. “You look a little out of it there. Are you alright?”

“I am, I am. Sorry,” she gave a short laugh, “I got lost there for a moment. Do you mind if I buy another slice of cake?” She gestured to her plate, indicating that she wanted more than a single slice. Tadashi nodded and she went off, returning a couple of moments later with yet another slice. 

The conversation between them went on from there. Before they knew it, the two of them were laughing about a movie they had spotted recently, talking about Aether possibly visiting England in the coming months and going back home. “Will you bring Mathieu along?” he asked after. Both of them were on their third slice of cake and second round of caffeinated drinks. “Take him to the orphanage and show him where you lived—all of that.”

Agape: A TFLC Playlist

Assurance: A TFLC Short

 

Aether’s Apartment

Atlanta, GA

United States of America

February 2013

10:42 PM

Tadashi knocked on her door and waited. 

She had asked for Tadashi to come over that evening. It wasn’t unusual, no; Tadashi and Aether came over to the other’s apartments often. What worried him was how it was a bit late into the night. Around that time, Aether would either be catching up with schoolwork or would be doing some readings in advance. She assured him that he didn’t have to do much; all Aether wanted was a companion while she went through her notes, and while he had work to do in the morning, he was happy to keep her company. 

He heard a fumble from the back of the door and it opened to reveal Aether there, her hair up in a bun and glasses on her face. “You doing okay? You don’t usually ask me to come over this late,” he pointed out as he came inside. In response, the other sighed and closed the door, rubbing circles on her temples right after. “Aether?” 

“I just needed someone to be with. Sorry,” she apologized, heading straight to the living room with him following closely. “I’d go to a coffee shop and stay there, but I—I didn’t want that many people around, but I also didn’t want to be alone at the same time. Does that make sense?” Tadashi nodded and settled himself, watching as Aether looked a little frantic in gathering her reading materials. “Make yourself comfortable, I made extra coffee if you need it…”

“I’ll get some later. But relax,” he told her. Aether stopped to look at him, various papers and so in her hands. “You look like you’re in a rush…it’s only almost eleven.” 

She bit her lip. “I know. But…” She looked at the items in her hands and exhaled. “I—I’ll explain later, okay? I need to get these done first.” 

Selfless: A TFLC Graphic