#(yes I converted sorry to burst any bubbles)

[i-have-all-these-freakin-uwus]

what do you plan on doing on shavuot?

A fun thing about having an Interfaith family is me and my family will be attending a wedding. /hj

[genericpuff]

Let me preface this: I'm an architecture major

I used to be a big LO fan but obviously fell out of love of it like a lot of us did, and I know LO uses SketchUp for backgrounds. That is not an issue I have with the comic or any comic, I want artists to have an easier time in any way they can. I was always under the impression Rachel imported the models into Photoshop and drew over them like you can see in the early episodes with the sketchy lines. Well, school just started recently for me and I now have access to SketchUp for my coursework, and I made a few discoveries: 1. Photoshop cannot read SketchUp files, and while you can import them into Clip Studio through some configuring, they can be finicky and will lose parts in the importing process, so they are best used into the original SketchUp program to export as PNGs. 2. Many of the models Rachel uses are incredibly easy to find, especially if you put "modern", "luxury", or "classy" before the main part of the search. Many of the houses and rooms for example are first page results. 3. The biggest discovery: You know how we all assumed Rachel was hand-drawing all the lines over the SketchUp models and how she gave up the longer LO went on? Well, it's actually worse. It turns out SketchUp has a thing called "Styles" in it, which means you can mess with the lines and look of the model, such as making it look more like a blueprint or playing with the colors. Well, they have a lot of styles on SketchUp known as "sketchy lines", which are the exact ones Rachel used early in the comic to fit with her style, and it takes a literal click of a button to do. All she would do is pose the model, click the sketchy line style, and export the PNG. That's it. So, yeah, Rachel is so checked out of the comic that she can't even bother to click a single button to make the models fit into the comic's style anymore. Use that information however you like.

Ouhhh sorry OP, I'm about to like, undo all the work you just put into that ask. We've already known about the 3D background problem for a long while now.

First off, it's more likely LO doesn't use SketchUp but actually Acon3D, which is a website that offers 3D models both for free and at cost, which are actually compatible with software like Clip Studio. As soon as you open it up you'll likely see a lot of very familiar backgrounds that are often used in romances, isekais, and period pieces. It's literally the go-to spot for Webtoon Originals creators. Like, to the point that I wouldn't be surprised if Naver was partnered with them because of how many of their creators use it.

Second, there's plenty of up-to-date evidence to support the fact that Rachel doesn't exclusively stick to one software, sometimes she's drawing in Photoshop, sometimes she's drawing in Clip Studio Paint, sometimes she's drawing in Procreate. She's undoubtedly using Clip Studio for her paneling, speech bubbles, and backgrounds, as there are built in tools to utilize and convert 3D materials into lineart, among other features that are recognizable as coming from CSP because they're not available in PS or Procreate.

Third, yes, she just uses filters to turn her backgrounds into lineart, this has been apparent since S1. The only backgrounds she's ever 'hand drawn' were the ones involving lots of nature and even those are mostly just Photoshop brushes stamped on.

Like I realize I'm probably bursting your bubble here and I apologize for that lmao but these buildings were never hand-drawn, this is not new information (￣﹏￣；) I appreciate you mentioning your own experiences with it as you're learning it though, I find once you start to learn the process yourself you really start to notice what others are doing. Even I've gone through that over the past couple years as I started to use 3D models and more advanced tools specifically for drawing webtoons.

I will mention btw, there's nothing wrong with using 3D models for your character drawing and backgrounds. The only time it tends to get frustrating is when you're reading a comic that isn't making any attempts to blend the background in with the art style.

Like, The Kiss Bet probably uses 3D models to help with perspective and laying out scenes quickly without second-guessing, but you can tell they still hand-draw over the models because they look natural and like they belong to the comic's stylization. The characters don't look out of place sitting in a living room and the living room doesn't look distracting.

But then you get stuff like Lore Olympus, Let's Play, and Midnight Poppy Land, and it becomes a bit more obvious they're not giving a shit about backgrounds lmao

I get it, WT's deadlines are cutthroat as fuck, but if it's getting to the point that you have an entire team behind you and you're literally just copy pasting video game models from Phantom Hourglass, then it's probably time to re-focus your priorities a bit. There are comics with as few as 1-2 assistants (and even in some cases no assistants at all!!) pulling off backgrounds better than this, even when they're taking shortcuts.

(Nevermore and City of Blank)

But a lot of that does come down to how WT manages its expectations as well as support for their creators. The deadlines and requirements WT puts their creators under are insane and awful in the long-term, and they're not acting with the amount of professionalism they ought to be for a platform that's trying to breakout as a major publisher here in the West. I feel like it comes down to WT loosening the choke chain around their creators, but also creating a standardized level of quality to ensure it's not suffering for the sake of quantity. The traditional literature industry has real editors and stages of quality control for a reason, whereas WT is more interested in just throwing as many series at the wall and dumping all their stock into the ones that stick.

[mack3030]

This advice comes from the experience of a good friend of mine, who is a recolorist and converter. She creates all of her content either by recoloring the meshes of others or converting things from other 3D games and posting them with proper credit for FREE. She has a very specific taste and tends to convert or recolor items into things she would use for her own unique gameplay style, so needless to say most of her items are pretty original. [Also the person being spoken of will not be tagged anywhere in this post. :D] However, she recently decided "Hey, my pantry is a bit low in game. I'd really like to have some IRL food items in the Sims 4." So she made a few things, like Velveeta cheese, etc. Real brands, recolored from other people's meshes, that she wanted in her game. So she released them for free because she thought other people might want them. She is far from the first person to do so, I can think of plenty of other creators, free and paywalled who have done the same such as beansbuilds, yourdorkbrains, and others. This isn't new, and nobody can "copyright" this idea right? Hahahaha. Wrong. In comes this paywaller, who in addition to paywalling "food" items that multiple other creators could make and release for free, also paywalls things like store signs and other things that bill-l-s4cc and beansbuilds easily can make and release for early access. Oh, and she uses adfly, so if you want any of her "free" releases you have to risk a virus. 🤢 She sends an "ask" to my friend, saying "Hey is it just me or are you making the exact same stuff as me?" Thankfully, my friend can answer this ask privately so she does saying "Hey, no I'm not. I made items for my own game, and they're items that are food items bought en masse around the world in stores, and I'm not the only creator that does this so...thanks for the concern I guess?" Only to get another ask from that creator who was like "Oh I guess I'll believe you but I'm a small time creator trying to get my name out there, and it's hard when bigger creators make the same things I make my things." [Paywaller translation: I'm butthurt that you made recolors of items I made because they are typical grocery items, because now people will come to you for them since you offer them for free, and I can't charge people for them behind my paywall!] Can the audacity get any higher? Oh yes it can. After my friend responded saying "Uh. Sorry to burst your bubble but branded grocery items aren't original and lots of creators are doing them and I've already got people in my inbox who have requested other items that are grocery items and when I have energy I do plan to get to them..." The paywaller has to raise the snark level higher "Oh and I saw you made *insert specific food item here* right after me. But then you deleted it. Just reminding you if you do take ideas from others it's not okay!" At which point my friend was REALLY confused because she had not made that food item and didn't delete any posts. She of course responded "Uhm. I didn't make that food item, and you must be confusing me with another food creator because if you look back at all my posts there's nothing there, and my blog is archived in the wayback machine so you can confirm I didn't make those items. Good luck I guess?" So what can we learn, new creators? First, CC that involves making "food items" that have real life brands is not a new thing. Multiple creators do it. It's not a niche market. This also goes for signs for businesses, as well as other items related to certain brands. {Ex: a mcdonalds set with mcdonalds food items and outfits}. Also, those brands have copyright over THEIR logo and trademark. This goes for paywallers AND free CC creators. Anyone putting that logo or trademark into the sims 4 game is putting themselves at risk of getting copyright striked in general. Now chances are those brands are going to be LESS likely to copyright strike you if you are releasing your stuff for free or early access because you are not actively trying to profit off their brand. But

paywallers beware, as you're showing intent of trying to profit off their brand. And if the right people are notified...that could be a bad day for you. Second, you probably shouldn't bully more experienced creators just because you are butthurt that they are releasing similar things to you. The only way you can have a real claim against them is literally if they use the same mesh/model you converted, steal a model you made, or they are stealing your textures/graphics. {Or in a recent case I can think of, trying to make their advertising graphics look uncannily similar to your unique advertising/preview graphics intentionally.} In the words of a pretty wise book, "There is nothing new under the sun." In communities like this people will have similar ideas and do similar things. But unless there is actual texture/graphics/model theft going on, or the person is literally releasing a very SPECIFIC and NICHE item right after you do {ex: a cat shaped yarn bowl}, it's probably just a funny twist of coincidence. Anyway, needless to say, don't be this way. Period.

[asthmark]

❝ let’s dance ❞ s.jh

synopsis → “i’m gonna marry you.”

request → “How about Johnny fluff partying time and the concept theme is the 80s” — @heart-bleeding-autism-angel​

word count → 2.5k

a/n → the amount of googling i did for this is scary .. and i still know literally nothing abt the 80’s LOL anyway the title is my fav david bowie song that happened to be released in ‘83 and it kind of fits the the fic so,,, cool :-)

the moonlight shines through your window, casting it’s heavenly glow on your face. despite the late hour, it illuminates your entire room enough that you can read the time off the clock hanging on your wall.

11:55 p.m.

if they decide to be on time, your friends should be arriving in five minutes.

you retreat from your windowsill to prepare yourself. you stop in front of your closet, staring at the array of clothing. it takes you a couple moments to pick something you liked. you, of course, wanted to impress johnny, the self proclaimed fashion evaluator, but there was no better feeling than knowing you looked good.

you settle on a cozy turtleneck and your favorite mini skirt. then you pull on a pair of tube socks and slip on your prized white sneakers. for the final touch, you slide on a thin buckle belt through the loops of your skirt to tie it all together.

you smile satisfactorily at your reflection in the mirror and what was sure to be your best outfit yet. besides being well-put together, it felt comfortable enough to move around in and you knew you would surely be doing much moving that night.

once the clock strikes midnight, you notice  light flash into your room. since it’s brighter than that of the moon, you know exactly who must be behind it. even if you didn’t, the hushed chatter and giggling from outside your window gives it away. you peer down into your backyard to find sicheng and jaehyun standing there, flashlights in hand and aimed directly into your bedroom.

you hastily wave your hands at them, your face twisted with worry. they wave back at you with goofy smiles on their faces, oblivious to your concern.

“cut the lights!” you hiss as silently as you can.

they finally seem to get the hint and click them off. jaehyun shouts back, “sorry!” accompanied by a laugh sicheng has failed to contain. you wince at their volume. there was no keeping them quiet so you decide your only option is to move as fast as you possibly can.

you carefully push one leg out of your window. it dangles above the roof of the front porch and you slowly lower it onto the tile. once you’ve successfully planted half of yourself on the roof, you bring your other leg down. this action is followed by a slight creek but you don’t even bother hesitating. you crouch down to the edge of the house and repeat the previous steps, this time landing on the front steps of your porch.

“that was smooth!” jaehyun exclaims in awe.

you bring a finger to your lips but still can’t help but smile at the praise.

“you’re like a ninja,” adds sicheng. “or a cat.” he pauses, deep in thought, before concluding, “you’re a ninja cat.”

you raise a brow. “you’ve both been drinking, haven't you?”

“no.”

“yes.”

“i’m gonna have to believe jae on this one,” you say, observing the way sicheng’s eyelids droop and he slurs his words. “you couldn’t have waited ‘til we got to the club?”

he whines like a child. “i was thirsty!”

you clamp your hand over his mouth and scold him. “why do you feel the need to be so loud? do you want me to get caught?”

jaehyun hiccups. “aren’t you glad i’m an introvert? i’ll never get you in trouble.”

you laugh dryly. “sure, you’re all introverted until you find some random chick to grind on.”

he pouts. “let me have fun.”

“it’s fun until you spill your drink on her and i have to help clean—oh come on, sicheng, did you just lick me?” you remove your hand from his mouth only to find a big smile on his lips.

“perhaps.”

“god, let’s just go. where’s johnny parked?”  

“end of the street.”

you go in said direction with your two friends trailing behind you, messing around all the while. the three of you only stop when you catch sight of johnny’s shiny black convertible. you approach the vehicle and when he notices you, he smiles and shoots you a wink.

“you’re such a flirt,” you comment, opening the door to the passenger's seat.  

he shrugs. “but you still fell in love with me so i’d say it’s worked out pretty well up until this point.”

you’re about to respond when jaehyun interrupts. “hey, i wanted to ride shotgun!”

“me too!” agrees sicheng. “y/n always gets it!”

johnny glares at the pair through the rear view mirror. “and that’s how i like it so get in the backseat or you’re walking.”

they mumble what you assume are complaints yet still get in the car.

johnny revs up the engine but before you go anywhere he makes an announcement. “and if either of you are going to vomit again, all i ask is that you don’t do it in here. my dad just bought me this bad boy.”

a chuckle escapes your lips.

“what are you laughing about over there?”

you lean back against the headrest, smile still present. “we literally have two kids.”

“basically. but hey, there’s no one else i’d rather babysit two grown men with than you.”

“stop, i’m blushing,” you deadpan.

johnny’s shoulders shake with laughter at your sarcasm. “seriously, though! you really know how to take care of someone. one day, if i’m lucky enough, i’ll be able to see that up close.”

you know exactly what he means by that last statement—he was thinking of a future with you. the last thing you want to do is burst his bubble but you knew how your parents felt about your relationship. they thought you could do better than ‘some football player from your school’. they had friends with young, stuck up sons who, according to them, were more fit for you. despite being told countless times how happy johnny made you, they paid you no mind.

you nod, sincerely. “i hope so.”

he places his hand on your thigh, rubbing reassuring circles into your skin. you stay like that for the entire drive.

once you finally reach your destination, you leave all doubt and anxiety surrounding your relationship with johnny in the car along with any other negativity. the flashing lights and loud music you could hear even from outside the club excites you and you’re left with no choice but to discard all of your worries. you never got tired of seeing the glowing, neon sign letting you know that you had arrived at the hottest hang out spot there was—the neo zone.

as soon as you step inside, sicheng’s face contorts in displeasure. “i’m, uh, going to the bathroom.” he carelessly pushes past strangers, clutching his stomach.

you notice jaehyun has disappeared as well. before you can ask, you spot him on the dance floor, inserting himself in some line dance he obviously isn’t familiar with. his limbs move awkwardly and completely out of sync with the rest of the group. he recieves multiple strange looks and you can’t help but cringe.

“where did we go wrong with them?”

johnny’s laugh can hardly be heard over the booming bass of a song. “couldn’t tell you that, sugar. let’s just hope the next ones come out better.”

there he goes again, talking about your oh-so-promising future. you were still unsure if you would be able to grant johnny the picture perfect life he constantly spoke about. whenever he referenced it, you felt slightly guilty.

instead of acknowledging his comment, you glance around, looking anywhere but him. “want to get a drink?”

he simply nods, placing his hand in the small of your back as you weave your way through the crowd to the bar.

he leans on the counter and orders, “one long island iced tea, please.”

“you know my order?” you ask, pleasantly surprised.

“sweetheart, you get it everytime we come here. and that’s often.”

you still beam at him. “it’s still nice. you know, that you notice those things.”

“everything about you is worth noticing. besides, what kind of boyfriend would i be if i didn’t?”

you press a quick kiss to his cheek to show him how grateful you are.

“you really have to work on your aim because you completely missed your target that time.” he teasingly taps his lips.

you roll your eyes with a giggle. “never satisfied, are you, suh?”

“you owe me, just sayin’.”

“oh yeah?”

“totally! i let you sit shotgun!”

“i was the only thing standing in the way of sicheng throwing up all over your dashboard, you should be thanking me!”

johnny presses a kiss to your lips. it’s so unexpected yet enjoyable that you can’t stop your eyes from fluttering shut in bliss. he only pulls away to take a breath of air.

he licks his lips. “how was that?”

you brush imaginary dust off your skirt. “probably the best ‘thank you’ i’ve ever received.”

“says you. i can't get enough of those lips of yours.”

you fiddle with your belt. “nobody's stopping you from getting your fill.”

“you’re going to be the death of me, young lady.”

seconds later, the bartender slides you your drink. “here’s your drink, young lady.” he gives johnny a knowing smile and not-so-subtle thumbs up. “what a pretty little thing you got there.”

you know his words aren’t meant for your ears so you avert your eyes and take small sips of your drink.

“thank you, sir. i couldn’t agree more.”

“you know, me and my wife met in this club. just like you two.”

“we’ve actually known each other for a couple years.”

the man’s eyes widen in surprise. “well, look at you. already ahead of the game. you love her?”

johnny doesn’t hesitate to nod. “very much. the only issue is her folks don’t seem to be too crazy about me. they have a long list of suitors, myself excluded.”

you frown and trace the rim of your glass. that never got any easier for you to hear.  

the man nods, understandingly. “i see. well, in that case, you might have to wait. you said you love her and until you get to be together—which you will—keep loving her. that’ll make the time you spend waiting go by like this.” he snaps his fingers to prove his point.

johnny nods, a genuine smile appearing on his face. “i appreciate the advice. thank you.”

the bartender gives him a curt nod and goes back to tending to the other demanding customers.

before johnny gets a chance to say anything, you ask, “do you wanna dance with me?”

his grin widens. “always.”

you take his hand in yours and lead him to the dance floor. it’s full, as always, multiple bodies pressed up against each other. you waste no time joining in.

your hands end up on his broad shoulders, fingers toying with the hair on the nape of his neck and his grip ends up on your hips. the songs played at club neo zone always had a strong bass and energetic vibe so you both match that rhythm, moving to the intense heartbeat of the music. you gaze up at johnny, admiring his good looks even under the glow of the disco lights that colored him shades of bright pink, blue and green.

“what are you looking at, pretty girl?”

“just your face. i like it.”

he hums. “mm, i’m glad. i do too.”

“like my face?”

“no, mine.”

you shove his shoulder, playfully.

he chuckles. “you know i’m joking. you’re the most beautiful thing i’ve ever seen.”

you suddenly find your shoes to be very interesting and stare down at them, smiling sheepishly.

“c’mon, don’t get all shy on me now.”

you giggle. “quit it.”

he glides his hands up and down your sides. “i’m serious, darling. it must’ve taken all my luck to get you.”

“i could say the same thing. there’s no one i’d rather be with than you, john.”

his dimples appear at the compliment and he goes in for a bear-like hug. he cradles your shoulders and rests his chin on top of your head as both you sway.

“i’m gonna marry you.”

you’re not sure what about this statement catches you most off guard. maybe it’s the way that there’s no teasing tone in his voice or perhaps the fact that he has decided to say this in the middle of the dance floor, of all places.

you catch your lower lip in between your teeth. “i’m sorry we have to wait.”

“i’ll wait forever, babygirl, if that’s what it takes. and so what if your parents don’t want that. if one day you’ll let me wake up next to you and have a family with you, i’ll be happy.”

you feel butterflies fluttering in your stomach at his sweet words. “i can't wait.”

with the hope of a future together, you and johnny happily dance the rest of the night away. once the party dies down and the crowd shrinks with every song that passes, your bodies are left sweaty and tired. you agree it’s time to go home.

you spot jaehyun in the back of the club and it takes a lot of effort to drag him off his latest girl interest. he blows her kisses as you yank him away, promising her a phone call in the morning. you’re pretty sure he’s lying.

sicheng is found passed out in the restroom, snoring heavily.

“has he been here this whole time?” you ask with a grunt as you attempt to hoist him up.

johnny shrugs as he helps you lift. “i find it's better to not ask questions.”

you nod in agreement. “fair.”

the car ride is silent mostly thanks to sicheng being knocked out. jaehyun sits quietly as well, staring out the window. johnny decides to drop them off first. you stop in front of the jung residence. as you watch the brunette struggle to open the door with one hand and hold sicheng’s unconscious figure in the other, you can’t help but wonder, “is it really a good idea to leave him with jae? i mean, that’s like telling a toddler to look after an infant.”

“if i left him at his house i’m pretty sure his old man would ground him for the rest of his life. jae’s folks are always out of town.”

with that reassurance, you drive off, your next destination being your house. johnny parks exactly where he did at the beginning of the night, just to be safe.

he rests his hands on the steering wheel. “want me to walk you?”

you shake your head. “that’s alright. if i get caught, i’d rather it not be with you. i’d never hear the end of it.”

“yeah, i get it. one day, though, we won’t have to worry about it.” as if to promise you his words are true, he hands you his letterman jacket. it was his prized possession and he was never seen without it. “here, take this. wear it when i can't be with you.”

you nod, clutching the clothing item close to your chest. “i will.”

he leans over as far as his seatbelt allows him to give you the last kiss of the night. it ends too fast for the both of you. you exit his car and walk down the sidewalk towards your house.

johnny watches you through his rear view mirror and smiles to himself when he catches you pull on his jacket.

[thewheezingwyvern]

Caffeine Kisses

This is a prize for @sophiashyaway​ for my 500 follower giveaway.  She requested something for my YYH fanfiction, Melon Liquor from Kurama’s perspective so here’s my attempt! Sorry for your wait, love! He was challenging to write from his perspective! Banner was edited by me, photograph from here.

Rating: Fluffy

Word count: 2080

Kurama x Midori (my OC)

The sun had just barely slipped over the horizon when I woke. Still bleary eyed and foggy from sleep, I glance over to the right only to give a faint smile and quiet chuckle at the sight. Midori was sprawled beneath the blankets, ink black hair a wild cloud around her head as she slumbered on. Dusky shadows painted over the skin of her arms, mouth open to emit soft snores. Amusedly I noticed that one leg was thrown haphazardly over my own. Fortunately Midori was a heavy sleeper, especially now that she took the tonics I made for her to help her have dreamless nights.

Gingerly I shifted her thigh, bare until the hem of her pajama shorts, and slipped out of bed. The digital clock glowing on the bedside table displayed 4:03 am, signifying that she would need to wake up for work in thirty minutes. Coffee burst to the forefront of my mind and I silently walked into the kitchen. Caffeination was an important part of the process of growing your own functional Midori, or so she had explained to me on numerous occasions. 

The apartment was silent in the rising morning and I couldn’t help but let my thoughts wander. We had come such a long way together. If anyone had told me in the beginning that I would be moving in with her I would have thought them brain damaged. At first I thought she was reckless, wild and a danger to herself. I had thought that she wasn’t that observant. At first.

“You don’t have very many friends, do you?”

One simple sentence was enough to make me think more of her. To reexamine her more closely. Of course I had been suspicious of her, wondered if she was a demon hunter at first but that was gradually shown to not be true. But that single question had forced me to reconsider most of what I had thought about her. Everyone I had met in school assumed I had a lot of friends because of my popularity. But without even trying she could see through that.

The fragrant, earthy smell of coffee permeated the air, the maker bubbling away as it funneled into the pot.  The scent would likely be enough to rouse Midori shortly, so I stepped onto the patio to tend to my plants. The pleasant smell of lavender and rosemary had steeped into the air and it brought an even deeper sense of calm. Midori had begged me to grow some of our own spices on the patio and the lavender was a specific request from her.

When I finished and went back inside the apartment, my partner was posted in front of the coffee pot, pouring out a fresh mug. Her eyes were still bleary with sleep, movements sluggish as she struggled to pull herself from the grips of lethargy. I couldn’t help but smile, seeing her standing there hazy with sleep, clad in a matching set of fox pajamas. I quietly approached her, settling my arm around her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her temple.

“Morning Kurama…” she murmured, cradling the hot coffee in her hands closely.

I hummed with soft pleasure when Midori gently leaned into my touch. The sight of her so content in my embrace made me linger longer than I had planned. But she always had a habit of throwing off my plans. She proved that when she had managed to make it to the Dark Tournament on her own. It was reckless. It was dangerous. It was impossibly stupid.

It was so very Midori.

Never once had I ever thought I would find recklessness endearing but she had made that happen. As she shrugged out from underneath my arm and shuffled over to the fridge, I pondered all the times she had been reckless but for the sake of others. Kaoru had been the first one to come to mind when she willingly involved herself with a stalker and broke into the school just to track her down. And then her first encounter with Hiei, a demon she knew that could and would kill her for her interference. 

I couldn’t help but smile faintly. I think she had grown on Hiei even, albeit unwillingly.

“Whacha smilin’ about?” she mumbled, pouring the creamer into her coffee.

“Just some memories.” 

Midori quirked a brow at me over the rim of her mug, “Those old man genes coming out then? You thinking about the good old days?”

“I hardly think you are in any position to accuse me of being old.”

“I’m a spring chicken thank you very much!” she took a long drink of her caffeinated beverage and then gave a pleased groan, “Your coffee in the morning is always the best. Thanks.”

“You don’t need to thank me. It’s the only way I can get you out of bed.”

Midori glared at me but said nothing, still sleepily nursing her drink. It was always so amusing to pick on her because she never failed to rise to the bait, even when she knew I was doing it on purpose. A part of her charm, I would say. With a quiet but playful smile, I eyed her sleepwear.

“Nice pajamas.”

A sleepy smile emerged from her then, “I thought you might appreciate them.”

“I can’t say that I don’t.”

“Good. And now I always have you on me.”

It was my turn to arch my brow at her, amusement coloring my face at her slip of the tongue. Midori blinked at me owlishly, confusion clear in her expression as she tried to interpret my amusement. Then realization dawned on her face and then she rolled her eyes with a groan.

“You know what I meant! Don’t make it weird.”

I decided to spare her and change the subject, “Would you like me to make you breakfast?”

“Oooh ye-wait. No I know we only just moved in together but if you do that I’m gonna start expecting you to do it all the time.”

“I don’t mind. Besides, I’m not entirely certain I trust you to have anything healthy or nourishing in the morning. Or you even having breakfast at all.”

Midori stared at me silently for a few moments, “You know it’s still alarming to see how much you’ve figured me out.”

“I believe we’ve discussed how you aren’t as closed of a book as you would like to believe.” 

“That’s just to you…” She muttered, taking a drink of her steaming cup of coffee.

“I can concede that.” I told her in amusement.

Bright green eyes, still hazy with lethargy, studied me thoughtfully. Her hands still cradled the warm mug, clutching it almost like a life line with slender fingers. Hands that were not afraid to get bloody. Hands that could kill, if she wished. I think I first realized that my feelings for Midori were beyond friendship when she saved me at the Dark Tournament. When she fought that snake demon on her own and nearly died in the process. On death’s door and she was still cracking jokes, albeit weakly.

“Well, I definitely won’t turn down breakfast if you’re offering!” 

I smiled as she shuffled over to the bar on the other side of the counter, hopping up onto a barstool, “What would you like?”

“Hmmmm, surprise me! You know what kind of stuff I like by this point!”

An omelette came to mind immediately, so I started pulling out a skillet, a cutting board and a knife. I could feel Midori’s eyes on me as I moved to the fridge, peering in to search for appropriate vegetables. I brought them all to the cutting board, setting to work on the onion first, ready to chop up enough for both of us. It would be beneficial for me to cook myself breakfast as well. And I couldn’t deny that I would enjoy eating with her.

“Do you see something that interests you, Midori?” I asked in amusement at her staring, making sure to speak with a flirtatious tone to tease her.

She didn’t seem to notice my tone and continued to stare thoughtfully before cracking a wide, toothy grin, “Oh don’t mind me. I’m just trying to picture you in a pink frilly apron.”

“You never change, do you?”

“Would you ever want me to?”

“No, I suppose I wouldn’t.”

Midori gave a playful gasp, slapping her hand over her heart. Her expression was one of mock affront as she pretended to swoon in her seat. I chuckled under my breath, focusing back on the onions I was chopping, eyes starting to sting the more I cut.

“You suppose? Kurama you mean you aren’t sure? What am I to you?”

“As of this moment? A source of amusement.”

Midori scowled at me but it was not in earnest and I shifted the onions to the side and moved to chop a tomato next. She was steadily waking up so that meant that she was almost through her cup of coffee. However I knew it was likely that she would grab a second one as her caffeine dependency had been rising for quite some time. I would have to work on breaking her habit. Or at the very least convert her to a cup of green tea in the morning or something similar.

“We only just moved in together and you are already doing me like this! I’m leaving you for another gorgeous demon!”

“Gorgeous, am I?”

“Oh don’t even play. You’re a very pretty man and you know it.” she waved her hand dismissively at me, “Everytime we go out together I’m pretty sure all of the girls start scheming to have me assassinated.”

“I hope you realize that I get similar looks from men when I’m out with you.”

The shock that washed over her face then was genuine. Midori often spoke and acted like she was so confident of herself but moments like this reminded me that she still had plenty of doubts about herself. Including but not limited to her beauty. It was not an exaggeration to state that she drew attention anytime we went out together.

“Wait, what?”

“Are you really so surprised? You get a lot of looks from men everytime. A few have actually tried to approach us to speak to you.”

“Seriously?! How come I never saw them?”

I gave her an innocent smile, “I guess they simply thought better of speaking to a young woman already in a relationship.”

Midori narrowed her eyes suspiciously at me, “You gave them one of your scary looks, didn’t you?”

“I’m sure I have no idea what you mean.”

Before I transferred the onions into the skillet to carmelize, I caught sight of her smile. She always did seem to like when I got possessive of her. But she also appreciated my efforts because Midori wasn’t overly fond of strangers approaching her to flirt. I cast my eyes to the time on the microwave before looking back to my partner.

“Don’t you need to be getting dressed?”

She huffed, “Fine, fine. I guess you’re right.”

Midori slid off of the stool with a deceptive grace, leaving her empty mug abandoned on the counter. Before going to get ready, she shuffled over to me, turning my face towards her with a single hand. She gave me just a moment to stare at her before pressing a firm but chaste kiss to my lips before leaving to get dressed. I turned back to the vegetables I was cooking as she vanished back into the bedroom.  The distant hiss of the shower kicked to life as I tended to breakfast. Fortunately Midori had developed the ability to shower quickly on her work days, though she used to be pretty bad about getting out in a reasonable time. 

This was never where I had anticipated my life to go. For years my plan had only been to survive in human world and then make my escape back to demon world. Yet now the two worlds were intermingled, demons and humans coexisting regularly. And there I was, moved in with a human woman that I was calling my girlfriend. I still hadn’t quite adjusted to that but mother was ecstatic with this development. She had always been fond of Midori. Domestic bliss was not something I had ever expected to come to my life…

I think I could get used to it.

[spidergwenstefani]

Good Neighbors

This is for @winterhawkkisses​ because moving is v stressful and you asked for happy ending fic recs and I haven’t read enough fics lately to deliver on that so I just wrote one. Pls enjoy this no powers AU featuring two dumb boys pining uselessly.

“You don’t have to do this,” Clint says to the back of his new neighbor’s head. Or not head, exactly. He hasn’t been able to drag his eyes much further above his waist.

“Where does this box go?” the guy says instead, shouldering open the apartment door. He turns enough to give Clint an easy smile, and Clint’s own box goes tumbling out of his hands without his permission.

“Shit,” he says, because the tape has managed to burst open and now there’s silverware skidding noisily across the hallway tile. “Shit, hang on-”

Hot neighbor is at his side in an instant, tucking his hair behind his ears and giving Clint the kind of gentle smile that he’s just now realized has been absent from his life for too long. He sets the box back upright, gathering up a handful of forks and nestling them back in the bubble wrap.

“I’m Bucky, by the way.” Clint hadn’t even realized they had skipped over introductions. He scoops up an armful of utensils and dumps them back in the box with considerably less care.

“Clint,” he offers.

“Nice to meet you, Clint,” Bucky says, and he picks up the box, leaving Clint empty-handed. Bad call. Now Clint’s got nothing to do but run his mouth as Bucky crosses the threshold and officially becomes his first new houseguest.

“Are you on this floor?”

“Thirty-one B. Right across the hall.” There’s no furniture in the place yet, and Bucky does a full scan of the empty living room before setting the boxes down against the far wall.

“So we’ll see a lot of each other, then. Well, and you’ll see a lot of Lucky. I think you’d get along. Oh, and Kate. You’ll see her too.”

“Kate?” Bucky asks, taking a moment to plant his hands on his hips and catch his breath. Clint can’t help but drag his gaze across Bucky’s arms. Natasha keeps telling him that the torn-off sleeves look is out, but somehow he feels like Bucky, with his half bun and dark skinny jeans, could convert her with one look at his AC/DC shirt. Clint finds himself picking anxiously at the waistband of his moving day sweatpants.

“Yeah, Lucky’s ours. Together. He’s our dog.” The barest hint of a frown tugs at Bucky’s mouth for a moment, and then it’s gone. Aw, no. Clint really hopes Bucky doesn’t hate dogs.

“You have more boxes?”

“Um, yeah. And a mattress.”

Bucky’s back to friendly smiles that tug at Clint’s heartstrings.

“Let’s do this.”

>>==========>

Clint’s hand hovers a few inches over the shiny brass 31B. There are voices coming from inside. A lot of voices, like Bucky’s got a party going on. Clint should probably leave them to it. He should probably go back to figuring out how to hook up his DVR and just use google maps to figure out what his new address is. Bucky probably doesn’t have time to-

There’s the slide of the lock and then the door is swung open, both Clint and Bucky freezing in surprise at suddenly being face to face.

“Sorry-” Clint starts, at the same time Bucky says “I was just about to-”

They pause again, and then Bucky’s giving him his easy smile.

“You go first.”

“I- I was just going to order pizza, and I couldn’t remember the address for the building.” Clint finally remembers to drop his hand from where it was poised ready to knock. He clutches the take-out menu in both hands, his daydream of Bucky joining him for an empty apartment floor pizza picnic now long abandoned. He even showered before coming over, just in case his dreams played out for once. He put on jeans.

“Well, I can give you the address if you want, but I was about to ask you if you wanted to get in on the pizza happening on this side of the hall. My buddy Steve watches TV like a geriatric, so we’re making him marathon Dog Cops and-”

“Yes,” Clint says a little too fast. “I love Dog Cops. I love pizza, too.” Bucky smiles wider and steps back from the doorway, waving Clint inside.

“Great. I’ll introduce you to the guys.”

Bucky’s apartment is the mirror image of Clint’s, which he should’ve expected. There’s furniture in this one, though. And more than just a camping lantern to light the living room.

“This is Steve, the dinosaur,” Bucky says, gesturing to an absolute beefcake of a man perched somehow delicately on the arm of Bucky’s overstuffed couch. “That’s Tony next to him, and Sam’s in the kitchen.” Tony seems to be using one of Steve’s massive thighs as a pillow instead of the perfectly good couch cushion, which Clint wouldn’t dream of blaming him for. He offers a jaunty wave, and Clint’s eyes catch on his t-shirt. It’s the same AC/DC one Bucky was wearing earlier in the week. He’s got a blazer thrown on over it like it’s 2005, so the ripped off sleeves aren’t as noticeable, but it’s definitely the same one.

“So you’re the neighbor with the dog,” somebody says, and Clint manages to swallow his sudden disappointment down and turn to meet Sam.

“No dog yet,” Clint says, shoving his hands in his pockets and saying a silent prayer to whatever deity of wishful thinking drove him to actually shower today. Bucky and company are a freakishly attractive group. “But, yeah. That’s me.”

>>==========>

“Clinton Francis,” Kate says sternly, giving him a look over the rim of her sunglasses. “Putting out a dog bed, a mattress, and a coffee machine does not count as moving in.”

“I’m working on it,” Clint says, swinging his legs over the roof ledge and reaching back to give Lucky’s ears a scratch. “There’s a fridge-”

“Which was there when you moved in,” Kate points out. Clint ignores her.

“I made friends. Like, three of them. Three and a half.” He’s not sure if he’d count Tony as a friend. He seems nice, if a little overwhelming. Clint just can’t quite get himself to befriend the guy who’s almost certainly dating Bucky. He had to spend half his conversations with Tony just willing himself not to stare at the damn shirt.

“That’s pretty good,” Kate concedes, pushing her sunglasses back up. “You need to go find some furniture, though. You can’t just live out of boxes for the foreseeable future.”

“I know.” Clint swings himself around on the roof ledge so he’s facing in, taking Lucky’s face in his hands so he can do something other than look at Kate. Lucky drools happily on his arm. “I’m going to Salvation Army tomorrow. I could just live up here like a hermit instead, though. I mean, check out that view.”

“Check out that view,” Kate says, and Clint looks up from smushing Lucky’s face around to see Bucky standing hesitantly in the roof access doorway, carrying a propane tank and sporting a Metallica t-shirt with notably absent sleeves.

“Hi,” Bucky says, floundering for another moment in the doorway before finally starting across the roof. He sets the tank down next to the grill, sliding it under the rain cover. Clint has to look away as Bucky squats down, thighs straining against his skinny jeans.

“Your new neighbor is sex on legs,” Kate hisses, and Clint can pick it up easily enough so he figures she’s barely managing below a stage whisper.

“I bet his boyfriend thinks so too,” Clint breathes. Kate arches an eyebrow at him over her sunglasses, but Bucky’s finished whatever he was doing with the grill so Clint doesn’t dare risk an explanation. He goes for introductions instead.

“Kate, Bucky. Bucky, Kate.” Bucky wipes his hands on his jeans, giving Kate a half wave. He’s still a few yards away and seems reluctant to come any closer. Maybe because Lucky’s panting hopefully at him. Wow. The poor guy must really hate dogs.

“Nice to meet you,” Kate says, sliding her sunglasses up onto her head so she can give Bucky the whole batted eyelashes and sparkling eyes song and dance. Clint puts his full focus into rubbing Lucky’s ears. “I’ll probably be around here a lot. Maybe we’ll see more of each other?”

“Um, yeah.” Bucky’s eyes stay on Lucky and Clint. He doesn’t seem too enthused. “Yeah, maybe.”

>>==========>

Clint took his aids out hours ago as an easy way to block out the hammer-induced headache. If Kate hadn’t insisted on dragging him all the way to Ikea to supplement his Salvation Army finds, he wouldn’t even have the cheesy art prints to hang up in the first place. They do kind of brighten the place up, in a way. The wall clock is helpful, at least, and the dog on one of the prints might not have a smile as sweet as Lucky’s, but Clint decides he’s growing on him.

Lucky still holds the title of Best Dog, though. The puppy in the painting doesn’t do shit to let Clint know when somebody’s at the door.

“Coming,” Clint calls out, setting his screwdriver and Ikea manual aside to answer the door. Lucky settles back down on the dog bed he’s dragged out from the bedroom. Best Dog. “Hang on, I just-” The door swings open to show Bucky, his hands stuffed in his pockets and a sheepish look on his face.

“Hi,” Bucky says. “Sorry, I-” He’s talking fast, and Clint loses track of his words pretty quickly. He trails off anyways as he notices Clint watching his lips. “Um.”

“Hang on, let me get my ears in.” Bucky looks a little confused at that, but he steps into what is gradually becoming an actual apartment as Clint finds his aids on the newly salvaged coffee table. He hooks them back in, switching them on as Bucky stands awkwardly in the middle of the room, wringing his hands. “Okay, go ahead.”

“I was just coming over to see if you needed help. I could hear the hammering earlier, and, uh, then the swearing. I know the sound of a Grönlid when I hear one.”

“It’s an Ektorp, actually,” Clint says, and Bucky smiles even as he wrinkles his nose.

“Really? Gross.”

“Yeah, Kate said the same thing. I could use a hand, actually.” Bucky’s got a half frown on again, and Clint follows his gaze over to Lucky, curled up on his bed. “Um. Kate left Lucky with me for the week. I hope you don’t mind.”

Bucky crosses the half-assembled living room to crouch down in front of Lucky, who thumps his tail at him.

“You don’t happen to know Swedish, do you?” Bucky asks, scratching his fingers gently over Lucky’s head. His tongue lolls out and Clint feels a little like he’s melting.

>>==========>

There’s a wildly unexpected amount of World War Two books on Bucky’s shelf, and Clint finds himself running his fingers over the spines, sort of wishing he could glean deep knowledge about Bucky just by touching his possessions.

“So, you got a hard-on for Churchill or something?” It’s absolutely not any of the things Clint wanted to say, but he can’t exactly take the question back. He slides a book out at random, pretending like he gives a shit about trench warfare just so he doesn’t have to meet Bucky’s eyes.

“Oh, yeah. That top hat? Are you kidding me? Absolutely dreamy.” Bucky sidles up beside him and their shoulders knock together. Clint turns in time to see Bucky take a drink of his beer, and he can feel his cheeks burning as his eyes slide over the graceful lines of Bucky’s throat. He’s unfairly beautiful at any given moment, but seeing Bucky alone in his apartment, in his natural habitat, brings out a sort of softness in him that Clint’s pretty sure is quickly ruining him forever. “No,” Bucky says after a moment. “Those books are mostly recommendations from Steve. He’s the real war buff. World War Two is kind of his thing.”

“And here I was thinking Steve was just regular buff.” Bucky bumps their shoulders together again as he laughs, and Clint kind of wants to just knock his head against the bookshelf. “So what’s your thing, then?”

“The Cold War,” Bucky answers, ducking a little lower to show Clint the bottom few shelves. Clint follows him down and ends up face to face with a picture frame. “That was my focus in college. There’s just something about the drama of it all, you know? The spies, the intrigue. It’s kind of romantic in a tragic sort of way.” The picture in front of Clint has Bucky, Steve, and Tony in it. They’re standing together in the sunshine like somebody asked them to pose, but clearly Tony’s just said something funny because Bucky’s broken eye contact with the camera and Steve is actually falling over, clutching at a Metallica t-shirt that looks painfully familiar, although it still has it’s sleeves.

“Romantic?” Clint drags his eyes away from the picture frame to see Bucky looking pensive, running his thumb over a bookmark sticking out of one of his books.

“Maybe that’s not the right word,” he says, and then he turns back to Clint with one of his easy smiles. “C’mon, then. Are we watching Dog Cops or not?”

>>==========>

“This place is really coming together,” Bucky says, and Clint smiles at him as he hears Sal’s pick up on the other end of the line.

Thank you, he signs, because he’s taught Bucky that much. He starts putting in his pizza order from memory, keeping half an eye on Bucky as he wanders around the apartment. He has the living room all set now, and his sturdy little table from Goodwill might be a little small for the dining room, but at least it’s something. He even has a bed frame now, although he hasn’t put it together yet. Bucky busies himself with examining the dining room chairs, the ones Clint mentioned his repair plans for in passing. He seems to deem them sturdy enough, because next, he joins Clint in the kitchen.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many take-out menus in one place,” Bucky says, jerking his chin at the collage on Clint’s fridge. “I didn’t even know half these places existed.”

“Yeah. Kate says I’m going to have a heart attack by the time I’m forty.” Bucky just hums in response, frowning a little at the menu for Joy Garden. “I mean, I won’t. I exercise. I eat fruits and stuff.”

“Yeah, obviously,” Bucky snorts. “I still can’t figure out how your shoulders can be that amazing without you skipping leg day every day.” Clint hip checks Bucky out of the way so he can stick the Sal’s menu back up in its proper spot on the fridge.

“I do archery, actually. I work in the range most days. My favorite bow has a draw weight of about two fifty, so that takes care of most of my workouts.”

“Jesus,” Bucky says, actually looking a little pink “Two fifty? That’s- That’s more than I weigh.” Clint shrugs, knocking their shoulders together in a poor attempt to get the shell-shocked look off Bucky’s face.

“Well, you’re tiny so that’s not saying much.”

It breaks whatever spell he was under, and the look on Bucky’s face tells Clint he’s about to get a vicious elbow jab before Bucky freezes again.

“Does Kate ever visit you at the range?” He sounds almost sad when he says it, turning his head away and tucking his hair behind his ears.

“She works there too, so she doesn’t have to.” Bucky’s gotten a little too quiet all of a sudden, and Clint’s not sure exactly how to fix it. “You should come visit us, sometimes. Give her a chance to show me up.”

“I’d believe that when I see it,” Bucky says, and Clint blinks at him.

“What?”

Bucky frowns fully, like he’s thrown by Clint’s confusion.

“You’re pretty amazing. If you do archery that often, I bet you’re great at it. And Kate doesn’t exactly have the shoulder mass to be much competition.” Clint’s mouth might actually be hanging open at this point.

“You really think I’d be better than Kate?”

“Well, yeah.” Bucky’s still frowning at him, and Clint kind of wants to kiss him.

“You so have to watch me shoot. Kate will be so pissed that I finally get to have someone cheering me on for a change.”

>>==========>

“Okay. Okay, Clint- Clint, wait.”

“I’m waiting,” Clint says, doing a piss poor job of keeping the laughter from his voice as Bucky follows him down the street. He reaches out a hand and Clint slows enough to catch it.

“Wait.”

“I’m waiting.” Bucky twines their fingers together, misjudging his distance a bit and ending up leaning heavily on Clint’s shoulder. He pauses for a moment, then laughs too, burying the sound in the sleeve of Clint’s t-shirt.

“You should come out with us all the time,” Bucky says, and Clint shivers just a little at the feeling of his lips moving through the fabric.

“Maybe I will,” Clint says. Bucky is probably the touchiest drunk he’s ever met, and the novelty of having a new member in his usually karaoke night gang was likely what made Clint the target of all his affection. He’s spent the night being hugged, leaned on, poked, and petted, and now that he’s walking Bucky home, they’re actually holding hands. Clint knows he should feel guilty about it. Well, he thinks he should feel guilty about it. He’s not exactly sure why at the moment.

“We’ll make Tony come next time, too. He’s wild.” Bucky’s holding Clint’s hand in both of his now, but the warmth of him doesn’t hold up much against the guilt that washes over Clint like a bucket of ice water.

“Yeah, you probably should.” Clint extricates himself gently from Bucky’s hands, earning a whine for his troubles. He pats him a little on the shoulder, which seems to soothe him enough to keep him walking toward the apartment. “I bet you like having Tony at karaoke night the best anyways, right?”

“No, you’re my favorite now.” And that’s all kinds of guilt right there. Clint shakes Bucky off just a little more, putting a respectable distance between them while still giving him a shoulder to lean on. All his floaty fuzziness from before has dropped right down through his stomach like a one-ton weight. “Tony only sings boring dad rock. You pick fun songs. Billy Joel is way better than Metallica.”

“I thought you liked Metallica,” Clint says. Bucky leans his head on his shoulder, and he decides to allow that, at least. He shakes his head against Clint’s sleeve.

“No. I just wear the shirts because they’re Tony’s.”

“Yeah,” Clint says. “Yeah, I figured.

>>==========>

Clint’s always found something about summer storms kind of lovely. Maybe it’s how the air hits the perfect temperature for opening all the windows and perching on the fire escape. Maybe it’s how the city simmers down to a calm sort of happiness while the rain drums away outside. Maybe it’s just the way New York doesn’t reek for once.

The city lights have bled into a hazy glow with the drizzle, and Clint takes a cold beer with him to sit outside and listen to the white noise of the city. Lucky curls up on the rug beneath the window, not as interested in figuring out how to walk across the grate with his paws.

“You alright?”

Clint almost jumps a mile at Bucky’s voice, his hands slipping on wet metal as he tries to turn back to the window. He manages to spill about half his drink on himself before finally turning around to face Bucky.

“Sorry,” Bucky says sheepishly, waving a hand full of envelopes and a small package. “I ended up with some of your mail, and- I guess I could have left it outside, but Mark over in twenty-one A said that somebody’s been taking his shit so I thought I’d bring it over. And then you didn’t answer, and the door was unlocked, and you’re just sitting out here in the rain, so…” Bucky trails off, glancing down at Lucky a little desperate as if he can offer any kind of help. Clint kind of feels like somebody’s got a vice grip around his heart.

“It’s nice out here,” he says. “You can join me, if you want. Unless you think you’ll melt.”

“Only one way to find out, I guess,” Bucky says, although there’s still something kind of shaky in his smile. He sets Clint’s mail down on the floor, giving Lucky a pat like he needs him to stay on guard, and then Clint’s scooting over so Bucky can climb over him and settle down in a dry enough spot. He nestles in right next to Clint, pressing them together from shoulder to ankle.

They sit in silence for a while, watching the cars go by and people walk past below. It’s still peaceful with Bucky next to him, but Clint feels a little like there’s an electric current running through every part of them that’s touching.

Bucky shifts for a moment, to get more comfortable, or maybe he’s just about to leave. Either way, he slides his arm out from between them, and Clint finds himself sucking in a breath at the contact.

Bucky freezes, his eyes locking on Clint’s, and the white noise of the city suddenly feels deafening, pounding in Clint’s ears like a stampede. Or maybe that’s his heartbeat.

He swallows, and Bucky’s eyes drop down to Clint’s mouth. He licks his lips automatically, the moment pressing too hard against his chest for him to find any breath.

Bucky leans in then, not fast at all, but Clint still can’t find the time to think before their lips are pressed together. There’s nothing rough about it, no clashing of teeth or biting of lips, but the urgency of Bucky’s lips sliding against his feels far from gentle.

Clint kisses back, letting Bucky’s sighs against his lips fall into rhythm with the drum of the rain and the thud of his heartbeat. He doesn’t think about it. There’s a ghost of a thought. Maybe he thinks about not thinking about it, but it’s not until Bucky groans against his mouth and gets a fist in his shirt that Clint pulls back.

“Fuck,” he says, and he hates how rough his voice sounds. “Bucky, we can’t-”

“I know,” Bucky says, and Clint hates how cold his chest feels when Bucky’s pulled his hands away. He hates how he plays with the hem of his own shirt, the Def Leppard one that Clint’s seen Tony wear at least five times by now. “I know, I’m sorry. I just- fuck.” Bucky hides his face in his hands, and Clint flounders, not sure if he should comfort him or not. “I’m sorry,” Bucky says again, his voice muffled. “I didn’t want to- God. I know you and Kate are happy together, I just-”

“Kate?” Clint almost shouts, because Kate is the last person on his mind right now. “Why do you care about Kate? What about you and Tony?”

“Tony?” Bucky drops his hands to look at Clint in shock. “What about me and Tony?”

“What about you? You’re dating.”

“I’m not dating Tony.” Bucky really is shouting now.

“You have pictures together! You wear his shirts!”

“To piss him off! He hates when I rip the sleeves off, and I only do it because it drives Steve crazy too, and they’re this close to realizing how in love with each other they are and- why am I talking about Steve and Tony? You’re dating Kate!”

“I would never,” Clint splutters, and it’s his turn to shout. “No, gross. She’s like my sister!”

Bucky’s face has about twenty emotions in it at once, and Clint can’t tell what any of them are. Bucky opens his mouth and Clint feels like he’s about to get yelled at again.

“You’re not dating Kate.” Bucky’s voice is suddenly much quieter, and he talks slowly. “And- and I’m not dating Tony.”

“So,” Clint says, because it seems like the right word to prompt him forward. Bucky frowns at him, his brow furrowing with genuine confusion.

“So why the hell aren’t we kissing?”

Clint blinks at him. He raises his eyebrows, opens his mouth to answer, and then closes it again. It’s been… Christ, it’s been nearly a year since he and Bucky met, and all this time Clint thought he was with Tony. He can almost feel the gears turning in his own head, clicking new things into place. Clint looks at Bucky, his hair damp with soft summer rain and his eyes boring into Clint in the fading evening light.

“I don’t know,” Clint says. He leans forward, pinning Bucky against the metal of the fire escape and tangling his fingers in his hair. “Why the hell haven’t we been kissing for almost an entire year?”

“Shut up,” Bucky says, but it sounds like a plea, and Clint is happy to oblige.

[sequoiann]

❦️ liqhtmas ┊ to you

❆ 25 ; soft fluffy kisses ❆ 27 ; “you’re really gonna go this to me on christmas eve?” 

pairing; seventeen woozi x reader

genre; fluff, angst, drabble

synopsis; jihoon calls to tell you that he can’t make it back home for christmas bc of work and you get mad and two get into a fight. in the end, it gets fluffy bc you decide to bring christmas to him instead after you’ve cooled down. (literally quoting the anonnie who requested this hsdkjfhs ily)

word count; 1.6k words

notes; the first drabble for the liqhtmas series !!! let me know wht you all think, sorry if it’s a bit long for a drabble hehe but most of the drabbles would be approximately this length !! 

; prompts for liqhtmas

“What do you mean you can’t make it back?”  you asked puzzledly as you pressed your phone to your ear, trying to cover up your subtle unhappiness with worry and concern. It was 7pm in the evening, and Jihoon’s call was unexpected. “Is something wrong?”

“No,” Jihoon spoke, clicking his tongue quietly as he ran his fingers through his already disheveled hair. “I just need to stay in the studio. I haven’t finished up the work I’m supposed to do.”

“Can’t you postpone it till later?” you tried to persuade, sitting down on the edge of your bed as you picked at your bedsheets.

“No, Y/N, I can’t,” Jihoon snapped impatiently, making your blood boil. “It’s something important, and you of all people should understand that I can’t neglect my career.”

“I would understand if it wasn’t Christmas, Jihoon!” you exclaimed, throwing your arms in the air in frustration as you raised your voice. “You promised you’d come  back!”

“And now I’m telling you I can’t! I’m sorry, okay!?” Jihoon shouted into the phone, and you froze for a moment, surprised and dumbfounded. He rarely raises his voice at you.

“You’re really gonna do this to me on Christmas Eve?” you muttered, your voice lowering in volume. You heard Jihoon sigh, and you could almost picture him pacing back and forth.

“I’m sorry, Y/N,” Jihoon said softly, sensing a mix of sadness and anger in your voice. “But I can’t do anything about it.”

“Yeah, fine. Good luck with your work,” you said, mild sarcasm lacing your words. You didn’t want to hurt or make anything harder for him, but your displeasure couldn’t suppress itself entirely which lead to your acrimony. “Bye.”

Jihoon sighed again on the other end, muttering a soft ‘bye’ before hanging up.

A deep frown of irritation was written all over your features after the call was ended, and you threw your cell onto your bed, the phone landing with a soft, almost soundless ‘thud’. Yes, you were annoyed. You and Jihoon had not been able to meet for the past 4 months due to his busy schedules of being a celebrity although the both of you really just live an hour away from each other, and he had promised months ago that he would, for sure, make it back home for Christmas to see you, but he’s going back on his word a day before the actual day of the festival. He had said his assurance so sincerely at that time that you didn’t even doubt him or think that he would cancel on you the last minute.

The expectations and excitement you had been feeling while waiting for this day to come had piled up so much that Jihoon telling you those words just made everything come crashing down so hard, your disappointment converting into anger that you had let out on Jihoon.

You huffed and lay down on your side, turning to face the wall. Countless thoughts raced through your mind as you replayed the conversation you had with Jihoon on the phone previously.

He did sound as frustrated as you did — probably even more than you were. You knew that he had been stressed about his work lately. He had mentioned something about not being able to think of any ideas for the composition of a new song during one of your video calls, but he always brushed the negative topic off, switching it to asking how you were doing and if you were eating well. His eyes showed the concern that a parent would possess, and if you were having a bad day he would talk in such a soft and soothing voice that would, more often than not, lull you into peaceful sleep.

Even when you weren’t in the best mood, attempting to tell him to not call for the day, he wouldn’t listen. The fact that you were unhappy gave him an extra reason to call you; he never wanted to see you upset. Most people avoided you on your bad days — everyone knew the monster that would literally take over your personality. But Jihoon never did that, he always gave you warmth, consistent love and patience. That was why you love him so much so; your nature trusted him before your mind could. His affection was of real help for you to heal. Even if he did not pamper you directly, you’d feel it. He’s funny even when he doesn’t try to, and he was perfect with his idiosyncrasies.

You felt guilty at the thought. He himself had been keeping his worries and concerns to himself; he wasn’t one to complain to anyone. You should’ve considered your actions — you could only imagine seeing how profoundly they had affected him. Your unkind words were probably floating around in his head at the moment, distracting him from his work even more. You slapped yourself mentally, before an idea popped into your mind.

The next day, you were on your way to the company building after getting permission from Seungcheol. You had texted him, asking if everyone was going to be in the studio in the morning, to which he replied with a confused ‘yes’ and ‘why?’. You explained the situation that came up with Jihoon, and he immediately caught on to your ideas, sending you countless numbers of smirking emojis along with requests to sneak in some festival treats. You laughed and agreed — you had already planned to do so before he asked.

When you got to the building, you chirpily greeted the staff members who recognized you, trying to hide the paper bag of prohibited goodies as you hastily make your way to the elevator at the corner of the lobby.

You heaved a sigh of relief when you got into the elevator safely without any of the managers questioning the bursting, overflowing, suspicious-looking bag you were holding on to. You quickly pressed the button with the number ‘3’ on it, and when you got up to the level, you put on your full guard on, poking your head out of the opened elevator doors and turning left and right to look for any source of a being. A surprise had to remain a surprise.

When you made sure that the hallway outside was clear, you stepped out, constantly looking all directions to make sure that Jihoon wasn’t randomly roaming around the level. You swiftly and noiselessly scurried to the main practice room that Seventeen usually used, pressing down on the door handle so slowly that your palms were starting to sweat. You pushed the door open just a crack, enough for you to peek into, and you briefly scanned the open dance studio. There were a couple members around, but Jihoon wasn’t in sight. Good.

You pushed the door open entirely with care, knowing that the door would sometimes creak if swung open. Some of the members nearly screamed your name when they caught sight of you; Hoshi was the first, but Seungcheol was quick to clamp a hand over his mouth. The other members, who either had a slower reaction or saw you later, quickly understood your expression of widened eyes and frantically waving hands which translated to “shut-up!”

Seungcheol quickly pointed to a corner of the practice room where a door was located; it was the entrance to Jihoon’s personal music studio. You nodded and had to stifle your laughter when Seokmin and Seungkwan came scurrying over and reaching for the bag of food from you after catching a glimpse of its contents. It was easy to guess what was inside the bag, anyway — the legs of an upside-down gingerbread man was literally poking out from it.

“Just take it all, but don’t finish it! It’s meant for sharing!” you said in a hushed whisper, and you saw their eyes sparkle like a child’s, making you chuckle. You shooed them away with the goods, before making your way to Jihoon’s studio.

You pressed down on the door handle again, completely re-enacting what happened with the studio door, quietly pushing open the door. Jihoon still doesn’t know of your presence. His elbow was propped on the armrest of his chair, his head rested on his fist. His hair was messy, but there were traces of it being attempted to be groomed. Or maybe it was just him running his fingers through his hair again.

You took a step nearer towards him before throwing your arms around his neck, hugging him tightly from the back. You felt him jump a little in shock, so you quickly let go, laughing as he stood up from his chair, turning around in astonishment. For a split moment, Jihoon wore a face like he was expecting anger from you, anger that just doesn’t exist. When he saw you laughing, his gaze softened almost instantaneously as he instinctively moved in front, toe to toe, before wrapping his arms around you and pulling you close.

“You came,” he said, before letting out a bubbly chuckle.

“I couldn’t bear not seeing you for another day,” you joked. Jihoon’s arms around you squeezed a fraction tighter, and your body melted into him as every muscle of yours lost its tension to the surrounding air.

“Sorry, love,” he muttered apologetically, and you shook your head.

“Merry Christmas, you idiot. Oh, and, the food’s outside. And your present is in my bag, which is also outside.”

Jihoon laughed. “This is more important.”

He lets go of you, before leaning down slightly to press his soft lips to yours. There was something so heavenly about a kiss that hadn’t happened in a long time, a tender moment that just won’t wait. It is that burst of love that is expressed from the longing that both of you had been feeling, a connection that showed the strength of the emotions. You felt him smile on your lips, making you do just the same.

[johnmuffus]

eCom X University Review

eCom X University Review (Moonis Ali Course)

Alright, today, we’re going to review a course by a guy that’s, by far, my new favorite dropshipping guru on the internet: Moonis Ali. If you haven’t, please stop everything and go see his rapping video promoting his course.

The course is priced at $115 (converted from its price in Indian Rupees), which is definitely one of the cheaper courses we’ve reviewed here.

We’ll go into the content to see if it’s actually worth paying that price, but I’ll give you my immediate yes if he included a tutorial on how to create a rapping music video to promote your store.

I’m adding extra points to his rapping video because he didn’t really show off any super cars on it, instead opting for a guy using a bucket for a hat, which convinced me to buy this course.

Who’s the author?

Now, sorry to burst your bubble, but Moonis isn’t a rap god with eCom on the side. He’s an Indian dropshippers who started out by attending to a Gaurav Madaan’s class, who’s a famous marketer from India.

After that, he decided to pour all of his money into this business, and he claims he’s made millions in the business. That’s dollars, by the way.

The sales page shows a few Shopify screenshots, with $144,000 generated on his best-performing month. While it’s not bad, remember that’s just revenue, not the actual profits.

Luckily, Moonis does state that you need to invest money if you want success. He even gives a great tip that I think everyone should imitate: get a job to fund your business and work on your eCommerce during your free time.

Reviewing eCom X University

This course promises to help you get a product that won’t fail you. That’s a fairly extreme statement, and you can be sure anyone with the knowledge of such a surefire solution would never reveal it and risk the millions he could be making from it.

Still, this is just the start. There’s still chance for redemption with the actual content (and possibility of a rapping video tutorial).

You learn about Facebook targeting right away, but it’s not really a solid section. It mostly covers the basics, but you want to have a full grasp of the platform, especially if you’re buying a Facebook-centered course like this one.

He has a nice tip on how to get back your account if it gets closed down by Facebook, and it has a nice Shopify setup section that complete beginners will appreciate. He also tells you the best countries to target, including Canada, the US, the UK, New Zealand, and Australia.

That’s pretty much it for the pros and the cons as well. But it’s OK, I’ll keep you posted on that rapping video stuff when he decides to update the course.

Final Verdict

As you can see, it’s pretty much a course on the basics of how to set up a dropshipping venture. It covers product research, creating your store, basic ads, and how to scale when you see success.

If that’s all you want, then you might as well go ahead and buy the course. It’s cheap, after all.

Just keep in mind that you’ll be missing depth on Facebook Ads as well as lessons on Instagram, influencers, YouTube, Google, email marketing, content marketing, SEO, and some rarer additions like Pinterest, LinkedIn and even Snapchat.

Not just that, but you’re just $82 from my favorite eCommerce course, which offers all of that.

Is It Worth It? Final Verdict

If you can raise those $82, then you should definitely wait until you do and get yourself eCom Elites. It’s by far the most comprehensive course you can get right now, and the best one I’ve seen in a good while.

It comes from a prominent figure and winner of the 2-Comma Club: Franklin Hatchett.

However, I know names aren’t enough, and that’s why I mentioned all the things you wanted from a course. Well, eCom Elites offers content on all those marketing approaches I mentioned in the last section, and with over 200 videos as of this article’s writing, it completely blows most courses out of the water, both cheaper and the most expensive ones.

I hope you found this review useful and if you have any questions, please comment down below. I’ll be more than happy to assist you.

Once again, thanks for reading my eCom X University Review and I wish you the best of luck.

The post eCom X University Review appeared first on Only Genuine Reviews.

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[nobullshirtmarketing]

The fastest way in 2018 to make 10,000 per month

A bold claim isn’t it?

Well I am here to tell you it certainly is not!

The only reason people fail to make any money online is mindset, you have to have a strong mindset and to be laser focused on a long term goal to achieve success online, yes its that simple

The road to financial freedom is a boring one

Contrary to what you have been told the road to financial freedom or success is a boring one it is there is nothing glamorous about it sorry to burst your bubble but its 100% true, I know your doubting what I said because all the poorus tell you its all about the houses the fancy cars and the exotic holidays, it is don’t get me wrong but that all comes after

These poorus (Shit gurus) will tell you what you want to hear, they will tell you lies and dangle the gold in front of your eyes so you will buy the latest and greatest shiny object, I know I have spent 10s of 1000s on the shiny objects, the only thing that all these fancy products will get you is a filled up credit card or an empty bank account, don’t get me wrong there is some marketers that are genuine and really want you to succeed I have found that kind of marketer for you but first

So hotshot what does it take you to succeed online

Glad you asked!

All it takes to become rich on line is time and patience, a converting product and traffic

              That formula above is what it takes to make money online all the other bells and whistles just makes it easier

So tell me more So the program I am going to introduce you to has all this

Here’s what you get

Converting offer – Traffic – 2 types of traffic (Easy to implement and its free) Sales – As long as you constantly promote the offer you will get sale

  The product I am going to get you to look at is “This Is Not MLM” Now before you look this up to see if its legit I will save you the bother, if you look this up online It will probably say its a scam or my mentor “Vic Hutchinson” is a scammer

NONE OF THIS IS TRUE

Remember I talked about having the correct mindset well the people that wrote the bad posts and youtube videos saying this is a scam do not have the correct mindset, they are hype of the month club get rich quick junkies, that will recruit people and dump them

THIS IS NOT MLM

is not that kind of program and you can’t just buy a solo ad ( All a solo ad is is an ad or an email that you or the solo ad vendor crafts to promote an offer to his list) and get people to sign up it won’t work you can try it but I am telling you now don’t do it, besides why spend money when you can get 2 totally free methods using social media

So what is This is Not Mlm?

All This is not mlm is is an affiliate program where you get to put your pay link and get 100% commissions yup you heard me right 100% commissions, how many programs do you know offers you that?

THIS IS NOT A GET  RICH QUICK SCHEME

Most of what I have told you about making money online has been taught to me by vic he is a very knowledgeable guy and he will tell you the truth in the weekly meetings, the real honest way to get rich online

Oh yes I forgot to mention we get weekly calls so we can get taught unique ways to make money online vic is a multi millionaire, answer me a question how many multi millionaires do you know gives up hrs of his time to teach us how to succeed and be financial free?

That’s all I will say about it as its not my program and I am not qualified to talk anymore about it but if your curious and are serious about your financial future  click the button bellow you can watch a free video were Vic explains it all in detail

LETS IMAGINE

Close your eyes and imagine how it would feel like to be financial free you don’t have to got to your 9 to 5 you don’t have to obey a boss who does not care whether you live or die as he can just get a new worker imagine that you are on a beach with your family the son beating on your face the sand beneath you toes not having a care in the world, i bet your smiling

Imagine not having to worry about bills and being able to prove the nay sayers wrong the teachers and the people that said “You’ll not amount to anything” what would it feel like to post up pictures of your new exotic car and new house able to do what you want when you want, that’s freedom by the way

ITS NOT A DREAM IT CAN BE REAL

Now open your eyes I bet you were smiling at the thought of what you can achieve, it all can be yours if you don’t quit and just keep the vision in your head as you go through the process to make it happen

ITS A JOURNEY THAT ONLY NEEDS TO BE MADE ONCE

Once you have went through it once you have a blueprint to make it happen again and again plus the next time and the time after that it will be easier theres an old saying “practice makes perfect”

So if you want to fulfill your dreams and set off on the journey just click the button below this paragraph don’t you owe it to yourself and your family to start this journey so you will never ever have to worry about anything ever again

So if your not a quitter and are determined to stay the course click the button below and watch the free video

right below here is your chance to get financial freedom YOU READY?

          that’s all I got, thanks for reading my post