Russ' Updates #128: Hell Season

Hello, everyone! 

Sorry for the late RussDate--I've been saying this for the past few updates, but. I really, genuinely think it's hell season over here huhu. I was honestly expecting it to just be a hell week, but here I am a few weeks later, currently grappling my way to Holy Week. 

"Calm down--you'll be alright."

With that, I suppose that I just want to warn you guys of decreased activity? I might post graphics here and there, but I personally feel that shorts and whatnot are going to be rare until two weeks later. There's just a lot going on academically and in regards to extra-curriculars, and I don't really want to risk it until I'm genuinely sure that I can get back here without being too burdened. 

Also--expect a layout change by April 1! I promise not to post any memes. I'm excited for April to June's face--it's a character whose FC I've always wanted to bring into Coalesce. 

Posts to Expect:

[ ] Russie Writes: A Coalesce Short

[ ] Russie Photoshops: A Coalesce Graphic

Have a good week! 

Admin: A Coalesce Graphic

 

 

Russ' Updates #127: Limits

Heyo, all! Hope everything is going okay!

I can't honestly get over how March just seems to be one big hell month--I thought that it would be over a week ago, considering that there was a lot going on. But it's still not over? March keeps going, amd there's eleven days until the end, but. Things just seem really draining as of late. :((

I've been thinking more lately, and I think I want to stick to my two-posts-a-week quota? Excluding the RussDates, of course; it just seems more hassling if I try to push myself to reach my own limit when I shouldn't, if that makes sense. As much as possible, I don't want to stress myself out--stress would affect the quality of my posts, and that is something I want to avoid as much as possible! 

So until this settles over, I think I'll be sticking to just a few posts a week. I know I said that I'd be on top of my a-game, but. It might be for the best! Come summer vacation, I'll do my best to pick up activity--and I want to. There's a lot I want to write and a lot I want to share. :') 

"Don't push yourself too hard!"

Posts to Expect:

[ ] Russie Writes: A Coalesce Short

[x] Russie Photoshops: A Coalesce Graphic

--

UPDATE: thank you so much for 30,000 views! 💕
sort of hard to believe that after ~4 years of being here, i'd be reaching another milestone.
so--thank you, thank you, thank you. i'll make up soon. xx

Confession: A Coalesce Short

Chapel of St. Cecilia

Atlanta, GA

United States of America

2013

Ever since he had moved to Atlanta, Mathieu found that he had been attending mass less than usual. 

It wasn’t a conscious decision on his part; if anything, he genuinely felt bad for missing mass. It was a habit he stuck to when he still lived in San Francisco—hell, it was something he kept doing when he had lived all the way back in France. Attending mass was his own version of quiet time, just as it had been his mother’s. The French responses and prayers remained stuck in his head, with the English almost as much—if not a little jumbled here and there. (Then again, he was still working on his English, so he sort of had a free pass there.) 

He still prayed the rosary from time to time. The white rosary his mother had given way back remained in his pocket, while the habit of praying at least once a week before bed was still ingrained into his heart and memories. He still prayed, at least. He made the time, never quite forgot. There was a Bible in his bedside table that he referred to from time to time. 

Mathieu tried to believe that he was still a good Catholic. His mother would probably agree before giving him a mildly scolding look, scold him gently, and remind him to say nothing like that. Of course he was a good Catholic. He was a good person, after all. 

And he tried to believe that. He really did. 

Updates: A Coalesce Graphic

and it's obvious that you're dying, dying

just living proof that the camera's lying

Russ' Updates #126: White Noise

Hi there, everybody! I hope you're all okay! 

Last week was pretty okay, I guess? There was a bit of things that went on in the background, but as usual, I'm doing alright! Things could be better from my side, but I don't really want to dwell on them too much if that makes sense. That aside, I hope that you guys are enjoying much more and that you've been taking care of yourselves, all that jazz.

For this week, expect the second part of Pleasantries to be posted! It was originally supposed to be one short, but after finishing the first part I thought that it might have been better to split it into two. I'm mostly interested in seeing how Tad and Mathieu's dinner arrangement turns out; Mathieu wasn't wrong to assume that Tadashi didn't want him there for banter and all. And after that, there's another short coming--might have to do with Mathieu or someone else, but at this point I'm doing my best to establish what happens in canon! Look forward to that. 😁

"I wonder what idea she's got now."

Posts to Expect:

[x] Russie Writes: A Coalesce Short

[ ] Russie Writes: A Coalesce Short

Pleasantries: A Coalesce Short (1/2)

Aether’s Apartment

Atlanta, GA

United States of America

June 2016

It had been two months since Mathieu had come back to Atlanta. 

He and Aether were still on rocky terms; she treated him civilly, at least, but he could still see the pain in her eye whenever she had to look at him. She regarded him carefully, setting out a hot cup of coffee for him in the mornings and greeting him whenever she came home from work, but that was about it. At nights he would try to reach out to her in bed, but Aether would curl even further into herself, try to avoid any contact initiated by him. 

He hated it. Mathieu hated the coldness between them; it felt less like a relationship and more like some kind of acquaintanceship with them sharing a bed for two. Reaching out towards Aether ended up with her even moving further away. She had built walls to keep him out. As much as he wanted to call her out on it, deep down he knew that she wasn’t at fault. Not at all. It was something that Jin-ho advised him as well when he told the Korean what had happened a few days after; shaking his head, Jin-ho only told him to give it time. 

“You’re lucky that she decided to take you back.” He closed his eyes. Mathieu tried to avoid the dark circles under them. “Let her heal, Mathieu. See where things go from that point onwards.” 

Lately, however, Aether seemed to be reaching out on her own. She had stopped leaving much earlier than usual, staying in the kitchen and drinking her coffee while reading the news. His usual mug would be next to her. They wouldn’t exchange words, but Aether’s expression wouldn’t be as closed-off, not as cold as in the beginning. 

There was that, at least. Maybe Jin-ho was right; all Aether needed was time. 

"Princess": A Coalesce Graphic

Russ' Updates #125: Additions

Good evening, all! 

Apologies for the late post--had to study for a Psych test last night while attending to a number of other obligations! Thankfully, I've managed to finish the requirements for my majors quite early so here I am. I was initially worried that I'd have to post this on Wednesday, but luckily that's not quite the case. 

"Queen of delays and all."

Posted an interesting graphic last week; if you're wondering who those four new figures were, well, I'll be talking about them a bit more as the months pass! I think it's worth saying that I've added quite the number of characters in the past couple of months and that I'll be introducing them one by one as time passes. 😁

Still sticking to two or so posts this week! That honestly might be the case until I'm on summer break, but I'm still hoping that I can bump up the nunber a little bit. Who knows--I don't want to risk burning myself out, but at the same time, I don't want to make the blog inactive. 

Posts to Expect:

[x] Russie Photoshops: A Coalesce Graphic

[x] Russie Writes: A Coalesce Short

Enjoy this week!

Traditions: A Coalesce Short (2/2)

Headquarters

Atlanta, GA

United States of America

December 25, 2016

9:54 AM

“We better make this quick,” Peters groused. “I have a flight at 2PM and I definitely don’t want to be late like what happened last year.” 

“You weren’t late last year,” Aether told him, waving it off. Peters, in turn, gave her a look. “Calm down, Peters, you’ll make it—we’ll just have our usual brunch and then you can get to the airport. Who’s bringing you, anyway, and where are your things?” the male gestured outside the office, wherein his luggage was comfortably resting right by her office door. “And how long are you staying?” 

“Just until Friday. I’ll make it back for Mack’s birthday,” he promised. “I had to save my vacation days for this one. Surprisingly, a lot of HQ went back to see their family this year,” he pointed out. Aether nodded slowly. 

Both of them were in her office, waiting for Tadashi and Mack to arrive. It was one of their traditions; the squad met up in her office to exchange gifts, and would then celebrate nearby by having a brunch out. Peters would leave the earliest, as he had a flight to catch, while Aether would leave to spend the remainder of the day with Mathieu. Tadashi’s plans for Christmas depended on the availability of his sisters, while Mack was perfectly content staying in and gifting himself as much sleep as possible. 

Despite it being a holiday, they still caught some of the others catching up on work. Aether had passed by Ross, who wished her a Merry Christmas and explained that he had to pass something along to Forensics; Sol, on another hand, was busy finishing up a report that she had due on the very day. “It’s grueling,” she said with a weary smile. “But I’ll finish it.” 

And it was a pretty okay Christmas so far, Aether reflected. She and Mathieu woke up together, had a light breakfast, and agreed to meet after lunch so that they could go out and have a small date of their own. He was busy visiting Jin-ho and Tony in the former’s residences; most likely giving his gifts and picking up the ones from the Korean. 

“Merry Christmas! Or happy holidays, depending on your beliefs,” a voice came. Aether looked up to see Tadashi standing there with Mack behind him, the latter shaking his head as he ducked into the office.