#I don’t know how to do text bubble formatting thing

[cliophilyra]

Intimacy Prompt 23:

Wearing Someone’s Clothes - Saltommy

For @thingbe Thank you for this prompt!! It doesn’t have a title yet but if I put it on AO3 I’ll have to think of one 😊

Saltommy - rated T (Not beta read so apologies for any typos)

>Sal: Fuck me this rain is biblical

>Tommy: Yeah it’s a disaster out there - where are you?

>On way home, gonna change then should be at yours by time you’re back. That’s the plan anyway - if I don’t drown.

>Don’t text and drive deluca

>Har har - does it count as driving if you haven’t moved in 30 mins?

>🙁

—————

>No one in this fucking town can drive

>Except you of course

>Naturally 😉

—————

> How are we still this bad at driving in the rain? It happens every fucking year now and it’s still a shock?

>Calm down old man you’ll give yourself an aneurysm

>Fuck you Kinard

>Maybe later

>I’m gonna hold you to that

>😘

——————

>Fuuuuuuuccccckkkkk

>Can I help you?

>The fucking truck just died

>???

>idk it just crapped out on the side of the road 🤷‍♂️ I can’t see anything obvious but it’s still pouring down sideways so it’s not easy to see.

>Can you get a tow? Where are you?

>Oh fuck it. I’m like 10 mins from yours. If I go straight there I can grab the truck tomorrow if the fucking rain calms down. I do NOT know what the wait is gonna be today.

>Tommy?

>K, there’s a key in the fake rock thing on the drive

>Yeah yeah I know. Game starts in 90. Also you gotta get a better hiding place for the key.

>🙄

—————

>Fuck this. I am never going to be dry again

>10 mins seems a lot longer in a fucking monsoon

>The next car that splashes me I swear to god I’m going to fucking murder someone

>Made it!

>Hooray. And you were so stoic about it too. Should be done in 30 🤞

>🍆💦

>😏

——————

>Ah shit there goes the bell, I’m going to be late. Sorry babe

>Oh this is a fucking nightmare

>En route to the 500th RTA of the day

>Fuck the rain. You were right I take it all back

>Finally!

———————

When Tommy finally gets home it’s two hours later than he expected. The rain had brought with it an seemingly endless stream of RTAs as Angelinos struggled to get to grips, sometimes literally, with the unfamiliar road conditions and flooding. He drops his bag inside the door with a heavy sigh and kicks off his wet boots.

He can’t deny Sal asking to come here when he was out kind of took him by surprise. They’ve been friends for years and...whatever they are now...for long enough, but this is the first time Sal has been here without him. It caught him off guard somehow, how he was so casual about it. Not that he would have said no. Just…

He can hear the TV from the other room and he walks in expecting to see Sal with his feet up, drinking his beer and eating chips with a cocky grin. Maybe there’d be a suggestive look and a hand on his belt, dragging him in.

What he’s not expecting to see is Sal asleep on his couch, stretched out on his front with his face cushioned against his arms, wearing Tommy’s clothes.

Tommy is aware on one level that he did tell Sal to grab dry clothes but he was in no way prepared for the warmth that blooms in his chest when he looks down at him. Of course there’s the way his sweat pants stretch across Sal’s ass, a little tighter on his broader waist, and the way his shoulders fill the old LAFD t-shirt, sleeves stretched tight around his biceps, hem riding up over his stomach to reveal a strip of tan skin that makes Tommy’s mouth water. But there’s also the damp towel draped over the arm of the couch, the half-empty beer bottle and bag of chips next to his spare key on the coffee table, the warm sandalwood smell of Tommy’s soap clinging to his skin and the way his face looks so soft, his breathing deep and even, muscles lax in sleep. How he looks like he belongs here. Like he’s at home.

Tommy reaches out a tentative hand and pushes his fingers through Sal’s short hair, smoothing the damp strands back softly. Sal makes a deep sound in his throat and pushes back against Tommy’s hand, stiring slowly.

“Hey Kinard,” Tommy grins softly. Sal opens his eyes groggily, blinking up at him.

“Huh?”

“Nice t-shirt.”

“Oh,” Sal laughs, twisting a little as if he could see Tommy’s name emblazened across his own shoulders. “Yeah.” He looks up again, brow furrowing slightly as Tommy scratches gently at his scalp making him groan.

“Sorry I’m late. Shift from hell,” Tommy says softly.

“S’ok baby,” Sal sits up and fixes him with a look, eyes darkening. There’s that smirk and that big hand reaching out for his belt, drawing him in.

Tommy goes willingly, as always, but this time, instead of unzipping his fly and taking him in his mouth, or pushing him down to his knees, Sal pulls him in by his waist until Tommy stumbles against the couch and drops into his lap, knees either side of his thighs, then curls his fingers around Tommy’s jaw and presses their lips together in a kiss that is unlike anything they have shared before. It’s soft and slow, insistent and deep and it makes Tommy’s skin tingle all over. He feels like he could shoot sparks out of his fingertips as he slides his hands over Sal’s shoulders and up his neck, warmth flooding through him as Sal cradles his head as if he is something precious, smoothing his thumbs across his cheekbones as he kisses him. Tommy kisses back, hoping he’s somehow communicating everything he felt when he saw Sal asleep on his couch. How much it felt like home, like something he wants to see every day.

Sal pulls back eventually, Tommy makes a noise that could be described as a whine, although he certainly wouldn’t call it that.

“Welcome home baby.”

“Where did that come from?” Tommy says, trying to sound less breathless than he feels.

Sal shrugs. “Felt like the thing to do. I kinda liked it...waiting for you to come home.”

“I kinda like it too,” Tommy smiles, kissing him again. “I like coming home to you.”

Sal bites his lip, sucking it between his teeth, making Tommy hiss and grind down against the hard-on he can feel pressing against his own cock.

“Also my clothes looks really fucking good on you,” Tommy murmurs against his lips.

Sal smirks. “Mmm I dunno, think they’d look better on the floor.”

*****

Afterwards, when they’re collapsed in a heap on the floor next to the couch Tommy reaches up and grabs the spare key from the coffee table and dangles it from his finger.

“I think I’ve thought of a better place to hide this,” he grins.

“Yeah?”

“How about you look after it?”

EDIT: It has a title now! Keys To Fit Our Locks on AO3

[icysab]

more niki boyfie hcs — falling for you edition!

requested here!

wc: <350 i think

a/n: this is a little different than my standard boyfie hcs but i wanted to try something new, so let me know your opinion in comments, reblogs, asks, etc. of this format !!

a/n no. 2: idc what anyone says riki is a DORKY, RIZZLESS LOSER SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD BOY AND I WILL WRITE HIM AS SUCH.

- bro was CAPTIVATED by your smile

- that was literally the first thing he noticed about you— how your smile lit up the room he was in

- you were one of jungwon’s friends and so he introduced you to all the members

- and when i tell you niki’s heart STOPPED when he saw you

- but niki is loyal to his bros!! so he swallowed the lump in his throat so jungwon didn’t kill him

- (jungwon, in fact, introduced you to the members because you mentioned that niki was cute. he would not have cared one bit.)

- only realizes he’s staring after sunoo nudges him with his elbow

- literally stuttering trying to introduce himself

- “i, uh, my name is- uh- riki”

- (failed) attempts at acting aloof fly out the window when you repeat his name back and smile

- the second you leave jake and sunghoon RELENTLESSLY tease the poor guy

- and he gets so defensive too, like he wasn’t acting like a lost puppy dog

- before jakehoon can strip niki of too much of his pride though, won tells them to knock it off

- after scolding the two goofballs (scary leader) won decides to tell niki

- “you know, i don’t care if you go for her”

- poor riki is not following

- “??”

- “she thinks you’re cute too, and besides, you’d make a good match”

- he malfunctions

- “no nono why would you think that!! HAHA- wait. she thinks i’m cute??”

- he’s all red and blushy

- at this point jakehoon are CACKLING at poor riki

- won explains that you thought riki was cute too and that’s why he introduced you two, but he didn’t expect him to be such a nervous wreck around you

- riki is shocked 😮

- after MUCH coaxing from the members, won finally gets riki to text your number

- riki’s leg won’t stop bouncing with nerves as he types out a message

- “hey, this is riki from earlier. i just wanted to say that your shirt was cool”

- all the members facepalm at his attempts at playing it cool

- you respond almost instantly, to riki’s surprise

- “hi riki!! thank you, + i thought your outfit was cool too :D”

- before he can breathe a sigh of relief that your text was super nice and simple, he sees the typing bubble pop up again

- “did you ask won for my number? hah you must have wanted an excuse to talk to me again ”

- he freezes again

- HOW DID YOU SEE RIGHT THROUGH HIM??

- he’s about to deny, deny, deny, but won stops him

- “dude, just tell her the truth. did you already forget that she thinks you’re cute too?”

- riki’s brows furrow in thought at that, but before he can even begin to construe a cool, smooth response, jake rips the phone out of his hands

- RIKI SCREAMS SO LOUD THE ENTIRE DORM REVERBERATES while jake books it to the bathroom to lock himself in

- after a minute, he walks out with riki’s phone and the most devilish smirk on his lips

- before jake can do anything else, riki snatches the phone back and apprehensively starts to read the damage jake had done

- “lol you caught me. if you want, we could get to know each other better over some ice cream tmr? it’ll be my treat”

- “woah, that was smoother than i expected. ill see you tmr riki :)”

- riki is dumbfounded. did jake actually just score him a date with YOU?? there’s no way this worked

- “thank me later,” jake teases

- he is so in shock that he doesn’t even have the capacity to kill jake. tomorrow, a date (???) with you? he can die a happy man.

- to be continued…. ?

[hydrangea-bindery]

THE CASE OF THE MAN WHO TWO-THIRDS WASN’T THERE • @glisteningceruleaneyes (sorry for not tagging you originally, I didn’t realise you had a tumblr account!!)

Three-and-one-third bodies have been found in an abandoned vehicle on the riverbank.

It would be a challenging case even without the bad weather, weapons smuggling, white nationalists, industrial accidents, and the concept of pedigree dog breeds—but over it all hangs one troubling question: What is it that fascinates you about Kim Kitsuragi? Is it working class camaraderie? A sinister hex of mysterious origin? Did you imprint on him in Martinaise, like an amnesiac duckling? If you don’t figure out what’s going on soon, people are going to start to notice. Especially him. And sooner or later? Everything is related to the case.

Oh boy did this one take a long time!!!! This was a lot of firsts for me (curved spine, hand painting the back/front covers and spine) and while it only further cemented for me that I REALLY need a proper press, I’m actually really happy with how this turned out. And I also now finally have a color printer so I can do color images. Yayyyyy!!!!!

Honestly, Disco Elysium fics either leave me laughing my head off or an emotional wreck, and this one managed to do both spectacularly! Even rereading it for the nth time, there’s always something I chuckle at, and the finale is SOOOOO GOOD. I LOVE when DE fic writer incorporate La Revacholiere as like, an actual entity, and this fic has it in spades, on top of actually using the game’s script style formatting. I actually tried to incorporate as much of these elements as I could do the fonts are Sina Nova Medium for the text and Dobra Black for the headers (Same as the game!) Also, did I mention that it’s a different character perspective each chapter??? So Harry’s chapters have the game icons (Continue/end) for breaks while Kim’s have the thought bubbles. The bookcloth is Olive Green from TraditionalBookBinding and the fancy endpaper is TBBPM5, a super cool orange paper (Yah know…green and orange?) PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS GO READ THIS FIC!!!!

[acourtofthought]

SJM LIVE

Please excuse the formatting and spelling, I was typing as fast as I could

CC Overview: 

 

Mix of Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Fantasy World but in a Modern World 

Kick ass snarky heroine who goes on her own journey of discover and healing and self love 

SJM doesn’t look at theory’s, not lurking around on the internet, tries to stay in her creative bubble. 

 

Every now and then a friend will text her with crazy theories 

 

On tour for Heir of Fire and listening to music and it gave her inspiration for CC 

 

The vision was of Bryce, a best friend named Danika who was dead and a hot angel dude almost dead 

Something she thought about for years afterwards, her project for fun 

 

Her publisher has an official Bible of all her books and character info that they frequently reference. Blessed with an editor who is a genius and remembers detail and lines 

 

You touched on Hunt a little bit, we don’t know a ton about Hunts backstory. A bunch of readers want to know if we’re going to find out about his parentage.  

 

Will learn more about Hunt in the next book. As for his wellbeing, I make no promises. I’m not saying anything about anything. I will say that when I was working on SAB and my editor and I were thinking about what the most horrible thing that could happen to Hunt, I originally had him getting his wings chopped off again. What's even worse than that? Getting the slave tattoo put on. He has a lot of room to grow and lot of shit to deal with. A lot of emotional repercussions  

 

Poor Hunt, he’s in for a journey coming up. 

 

Will learn more about the Autumn King. I knew who Bryce’s bio father was but in the process of editing these books, he’s become one of my favorite characters to write because he’s so horrible and he’s someone who is capable in some small way of doing the right thing but he just doesn’t. He’s a fucked up horrible person. And pitting him against Bryce and against Ruhn, it sounds strange to say it’s fun for me to do that but as a writer it’s fun to put characters who cause each other such trauma and see what happens. But I love when Bryce really sticks it to him in SAB. It’s so satisfying to see a woman get one up on a gross ass dude. 

 

There is a headcannon that when they make the drop they can choose how the light is used and Ruhn would use it to power vibrators since he loves women, can you confirm or deny?  

 

She hadn’t thought of it, she loves the idea.  

 Now she feels bad about where Ruhn is, she's thinking about sweet Ruhn. 

 

Going through FAS and was going through some shit and she turned in a draft and knew she hadn’t found the right story yet. Wasn’t good enough and as much as she talks about being a lazy person, she’s very intense when it comes to her writing and she won’t put it out if it’s not best possible work. Threw that one in the trash.  

 

They did one or two rounds of edits, it wasn’t coming together and she had other things going on and wasn’t in the right space and she threw out the whole thing. Started over again. Sat down, tuned out the world, over the course of four or five weeks she wrote a brand new draft and was in the zone and she finally found that story. She knew what she wanted to happen in the book all along but until that moment she hadn’t figured out how it would come together. A couple scenes stayed but most of it was brand new and she remembered crying when her agent called and told her that her editor said “this is an SJM book that came in”. 

 

She never wants to put a book out there that she doesn’t believe it, she has to love it.  

 

You can’t fix a blank page, you’ve got to write it and figure it out. 

 

The book I’m working on right now, I spent the whole day writing a whole scene and it was 20 pages and by the end she said it was dumb. She deleted it. She saved it but doesn’t think it’s good enough for bonus material. 

 

Question from Jodi Piccoult regarding the ending of CC2:

“I want to know if SJM knew she was writing towards it all along and if so, I can’t imagine she didn’t plan it from the get go” 

 

When Aelin closed the Wyrdgates, she got glimpses into different words. 

 

Was it intentional all those years ago?  

 

When it comes to the ending of CC2, she’s known for awhile, she knew the worlds overlapped before she was working on KoA because she daydreamed about the ending of KoA for awhile and she knew Aelin would crash through the worlds and she had already begun daydreaming about CC. When she got to writing KoA, she knew she wanted her to go through the ACOTAR worlds and just as a “cool” moment, she had her go through the CC world. When she was working on CC, she really got into the idea of the worlds being connected. Out of the blue she had the idea for the end of CC2.  

Burst into tears when she wrote end of CC2 because she’d been daydreaming about it. Things have just completely gone to shit in CC world but here’s my wonderful Rhys. Burst into tears as soon as she wrote that. Still one of her favorite parts ever that she’s ever written.  

 

Can we expect to get additional POV? ACOTAR POV? I’m not saying anything about anything. You will see some of the ACOTAR world, I’m not telling you..... It’ll pick up where it ended. Not exactly in that scene but. 

 

Is Danika really dead? Said nothing for a minute then she said “yeah” but she was weird about the response. Then said she is dead, as much as I wish she could be living, no, she is dead and the loss of that beautiful life in Bryce’s light...it would feel cheap to Bryce’s suffering to have her alive 

Is Connor really dead - “yes” again, weird face 

Does Emil really have no powers – not answering that 

We know that magic is weaker in the modern world, does the mating bond mean the same thing in CC as ACOTAR books – I'm going to pass 

 

Is Hunt really Bryce’s mate – “Am I going to destroy some kind of theory or excitement? Yes, he is her mate. I realize how ACOTAR and TOG were organic romances with multiple love interests but for this one I wanted to do a real doozy on everyone. She said she was going to have the love interest here at the start to be the one at the end “if they both make it to the end”. 

 

The secret of Feyre and Rhys and Tamlin was so hard to keep. People would come up and kindly, sweetly say “I love Tamlin so much” and her voice went up ten octaves trying to agree. That was the hardest secret for her. 

 

How much of Bryce’s power has she accessed – you will see in the next book 

Talked about working on a book recently  

 

I remember you saying once before, people did not have to read ACOTAR before reading CC. Do you stand by that? I mean, I guess you should read ACOTAR. I would hope if you haven’t read ACOTAR and you get to the end of SAB, I made sure they put an add in the back of the book to read ACOTAR. I do not stand by that statement 

 

Who is on the cover of CC3? Is it a dragon? I’m not saying anything, there’s Easter Eggs in the cover. We made sure there were lots of Easter eggs in this one. This is her favorite cover. The nails are amazing.  

 

You said that your favorite, you cried when you got to the end of book 2. Did you wait to get to that to write it? What has a whole in the series has bene your favorite? Yes, usually the endings of all my books are ones I’m super pumped to write so I dangle them like a carrot, I write in a chronological fashion and use as motivation. For SAB, this was the thing I was powering through to get to writing this scene. Same with SF, with Nesta and the Blood Rite and saving Feyre. Most fun, there are so many different categories. In HOEAB, I had so many different, when Hunt discovers her My Little Pony collection. SJM collects vintage My Little Pony’s, she’s been in bidding wars so Bryce got that obsession for her. Bryce doing the drop makes her cry, thinking about it with Danika. She believes in our darkest moments we’re not alone and the people we love who aren’t here with us are looking out for us.  

In SAB, she loves the opening when they’re at a frat party. And she loves those little moments when they’re living their lives and getting to be themselves. Loves when Ruhn is super stoned. Loves the first scene with the Hind when she’s playing poker in the bar. At the end of SAB the moment when the Hind, she loves that moment.  

Cried when the Hind revealed herself to Ruhn. Feeling Lidia’s sacrifice and her love for Ruhn. Bryce running down that hallway from Rigelus, she loved that whole scene. Most of the book is stuff she loves.  

 

One of the reasons the three of us clicked is we all sort of the same fangirl heart, we get obsessed with it and research it, that’s something I’ve always loved about you. How does it feel to have this fandom that have fallen in love with you? SJM thinks they are phenomenally talented writers. In terms of the fandom, it feels weird to say that word because it’s so beyond anything that I ever hoped. She was a nerd in high school when it wasn’t cool to be a nerd, it blows her mind that people connect with her characters and worlds, it means something to them. The worlds mean everything to her. And she also has a profound sense of gratitude that she gets to do what she loves for a living because of the people who read her books. Appreciative of the joy we all bring to these books, it’s a humbling, moving thing to know your books inspire someone. It never gets old for her, whenever she sees people reading her books around the city she goes up to them and probably scares them when she’s not wearing makeup. One girl on street walked by her and she saw the NC insignia, so she made Josh ask her if that’s what it was. So this strange man (Josh) stops her and asks her and she looked confused so SJM went up and she told the girl she wrote the books and she doesn’t think the girl believed her. Saw a guy on the subway reading MAF and her first thought was “is he reading sexy ass stuff on the subway”. He was reading it because his gf was a big fan of the series, that’s a good boyfriend. 

 

Now that CC3 is done, what are you working on now? I am working on the next ACOTAR novel. I’m drafting it and that’s all I will say. She’s become so focused and obsessed with this book. Working on for the next god knows how many months, a million years. 

[psylunari]

Comments: thoughts, types, how-tos, and etiquette (part 1 of 4)

I did a thing again! It's overly long. Who could've thought?

Commenting, or reviewing, is one of the backbones of fanfiction. It’s an integral part of any writing community. Writers and readers can grow and have fun helping each other.

This epic is going to be different from the Tips and Tricks one. There won’t be just bullet points on how to do X. I have thoughts on the matter, and I’m going to discuss them. I can’t possibly cover every topic ever, it’s a broad subject, so I might’ve missed your question.

While the technical info is precise, suggestions come from my experience. You don’t have to agree with me, everything is up for debate. Just keep it civil.

This is better read sequentially, but you can skip to any section. They are as numbered:

1) The basics

2) Thoughts on comment culture

3) Types of comments

4) Writing cohesive and coherent comments

5) Etiquette

6) Technical questions

7) Short-answer questions

8) Long-answer questions

Part 1: Sections 1 and 2 (you are here).

Part 2: Sections 3 and 4.

Part 3: Sections 5 and 6.

Part 4: Sections 7 and 8.

PDF version here, containing the whole thing. It has a table of contents and cute formatting.

♥ 1: The basics ♥

1.1 What is a comment anyway?

Feedback are “messages sent to the creators of fanworks in response to their works” (from Fanlore). I’m going to refer to it as “comments” like on Archive Of Our Own and Wattpad. They’re “reviews” on Fanfiction.net. There might be other names in other sites.

Commenting is usually a verbal expression of thoughts/feelings. It takes practice to be good at them. I don’t mean there are “rules”, but it can be easier, almost effortless. Like in regular writing, there are patterns to commenting, and guidelines left by people who were here before you are. You don’t have to start from square one.

Note that “comment” is a neutral word. It doesn’t mean “praise”, “criticism”, “hate”, or “invitation to chat”. It’s a message, and what you make of that message is up to you.

1.2 How to leave/reply to a comment on…

This subsection covers the Big Three™ fic sites: Archive Of Our Own, Fanfiction.net, and Wattpad. There might be perks I don’t know on other sites, like Quotev or RoyalRoad.

1.2.1 Archive Of Our Own (AO3)

You do not need an account to comment unless the fic is restricted to registered users or guest comments are disabled. The author can delete comments on their fic. If the author has turned off all comments, you cannot comment. If comment moderation is on, your comment will show up if they approve it.

The comment box appears below, near the end of the fic/chapter.

Type the comment and press “Comment”.

1.2.2 Fanfiction.net (FFN)

You do not need an account to comment on FFN. The author cannot:

lock the fic only for registered users;

disable guest comments;

moderate comments before they appear;

turn off comments entirely.

They cannot delete comments from registered users, but can delete guest comments.

The comment box appears below, near the end of the fic/chapter.

Type the comment and press “Post Review as [user/guest]”.

If you check the boxes on the bottom left, you’ll mark the story/author as favorite, or follow the story/author, when you comment. That only works if you’re logged in.

1.2.3 Wattpad

You need a verified account to comment on Wattpad. You cannot leave comments without an account, or without verifying the email address linked to your account. The author can delete comments on their fic.

There are two types of comments on Wattpad: regular comments, displayed at the end of a story part (like at the end of a chapter), and inline comments, displayed beside the text of the story (paragraph by paragraph).

The author cannot:

lock the fic only for registered users;

moderate comments before they appear;

turn off comments entirely, but they can turn off inline comments.

This is the speech bubble for inline comments:

Click on it to open the comment box. It appears as below. Forgive me for the UI not in English, I have tried.

The regular comments box (below) is near the end of the fic/chapter.

Type the comment in the desired box (inline/regular, doesn’t matter) and press “Post”.

1.3 Other ways to leave and receive comments

Comment sections are not the only way to leave/receive comments. Examples are:

emailing if the author has left a contact email;

sending an ask on Tumblr, if they have linked their account;

reblogging the fic on Tumblr, if you add your comment to the post/tags;

private messaging, if the host site has them as FFN does;

private messaging part 2, if the author has linked their social media.

♥ 2: Thoughts on comment culture ♥

2.1 Insights on the alleged “death of comment culture”

Subsection 2.1 will apparently go off-topic for a while, and contains a few ironic paragraphs. Proceed with caution.

Oh, the good old days. A distant past when readers would always R&R (read and review). Finished a chapter? A comment ensued, “can’t wait for the next one”. Finished a fic? A detailed, considerate analysis of plot points. People fearlessly shared their thoughts instead of clicking a “like” button. Likes can be so “empty”. Readers recommended fic to friends and group members. There were even rec lists! Awesome times to be a ficwriter, right?

Was there such a thing as “the golden years of feedback”, or are we just nostalgic?

From Fanlore:

Since the beginning of fannish time, fans have complained about the lack of feedback for their fiction and art. Letters of Comment in print zines in the 1970s and 80s, posts on USENET in the 1990s and early 2000s, online journal comments later—all are filled with complaints about a universal lack of feedback. One common refrain: “People used to be better about leaving feedback than they are now.” (source)

Even so, there is a shared perception among ficwriters from the 1990s and 2000s: people used to comment a lot more. And I do agree. I feel like feedback used to be more frequent. My writing was nowhere near good in 2010 or so, but my fics from that time had 10+ comments, even genfic one-shots in tiny fandoms. I posted exclusively on the local fic archive, in Portuguese. Wild guess? Zero percent of them spoke English as a first language. There were Brazilians like me, a handful of Portuguese people, and the occasional Angolan.

More than a decade has passed. I’m a much better writer. I translated and tweaked the same genfic one-shot to English, from the same tiny fandom, for 8 kudos on AO3 and zero comments. Having a favorite/kudos button, imitating the “like” button trend on social media, leaving people too comfortable, or even lazy. They don’t need to show love with words. It’s too much trouble. Little by little, they’ll quit commenting forever.

Where have I read a similar thing before?

Plato criticized this spread of written language as an impediment to wisdom. He said that writing is only a semblance of truth and that people will seem to know something when in fact they will know nothing. He complained that writing things down would eliminate the need for memory. Socrates, too, had decried the written word, and had said that one can ask questions of or argue with a speaker, but the written word may not be understood and may be interpreted falsely—a precursor of today's complaints about the lack of face-to-face communication. (source)

If ficwriters were never satisfied with the feedback they got, and “X technology will make the naive populace dumber” is as old as time, who’s to blame for the death of comment culture? Did it even exist one day? Did it really die?

It all boils down to context. Let’s consider a few things:

Excessive hours online are messing with our attention span, and reading requires concentration. Also, in 2001 (20+ years ago!), more than half of employed US people, 25 and over, already used computers at work. Not everyone has the brainpower and/or the attention span to stare at a screen all day and read fics later on another screen.

Most socialization now occurs on social media, which have algorithms behind them. In layman’s terms, a social media algorithm is a set of instructions for a website. It tells the website to prioritize and push 1) sponsored content (that someone paid to promote) and 2) high-engagement content (creating more user data, to show users accurate ads hoping they’ll buy stuff). In summary, whatever makes corporations profit. In algorithm-based websites and apps, “likes” will boost a post for more users; the algorithm sees it as engagement-worthy. FFN and AO3, on the other hand, have no algorithm. Some people don’t know about it and might think a simple favorite/kudos will “boost” the fic to more people.

Check these graphs for a percentage of US households (1984 to 2010) with a computer. Those are not numbers for households with an internet connection, but at least a few of them had it. Computers were pricey. Phones didn’t do much more than call, texting, and the Snake mini-game. Thing is, the internet was a smaller, more tight-knit community, even in the dawn of online fandom. Also, fandom people online were not only fans of pieces of media: there was an overlap with computer nerds, both ostracized groups. They searched for friends online with common interests and found them. It’s a lot easier to speak your mind to someone closer than an anonymous ficwriter you’ll never chat with.

Have you ever heard of sanitizing the internet? In case you didn’t, you probably should have. Long story short, corporations work for profit, and some of it comes from advertisers. Advertisers have requirements. A frequent one is “we do not want to associate with sites hosting Not Safe For Work (NSFW) content”. To sign a contract, social media corporations ban NSFW content and promise to delete it on sight. The problem is: lots of users are posting loads of things every second. Humans couldn’t possibly check all posts. Algorithms do the job via image recognition and such. If an image/video looks like it breaks the rules, it’ll be taken down. Those algorithms also scan keywords indicating animosity or hate speech. Social media users, especially the ones who couldn’t know the internet before social media, are used to the internet being “safer” now. They relaxed about it. When they stumble upon NSFW, unpleasant things, or just things they dislike or disagree with, they’re not used to seeing it. Their reaction is, oftentimes, disproportional.

What does the above topic have to do with the rest? Let’s do the math. First, you add lots and lots of users to the internet, to the point it’s not a small, intimate community anymore. Second, you “protect” those people from encountering unsettling content so easily, making them prone to lash out at the first sight of it. Third, you teach them all it takes to show appreciation, and make more people view “quality content” on their feed, is clicking a “like” button. The result: both readers and authors have never seen each other online, may or may not be sensitive to poorly worded sentences, may or may not react disproportionately to those sentences, and you have a “like” button right there. As a reader, clicking the button to show your love sounds a lot more fail-proof, and the fic goes commentless.

The fic I mentioned earlier? I used to be mildly relevant as a beta reader and blog writer on the local fic archive. That’s probably where my exposure came from. Being a recognizable face matters. The fandom? Nightwish. They were already big with metal fans and became a mainstream hit in 2004 with the single Nemo. It defied the looming decline of metal as a “genre of the youth, played on the radio” in the following years. I posted that fic in 2012 (already eight years after Nemo), and even if Nightwish was still decently popular, I posted the translated fic on AO3 in 2020 (sixteen years after Nemo), after said decline happened. It just wasn’t a thing anymore, like all trends and fads die out.

What do I conclude from all that? Things aren’t always what they seem to be, and there is more to it than readers being “lazy”. Note that those nuances do not apply to all cases of not getting comments on fics. They just help to paint the picture.

On a last note, I do think comment culture was greater in the 2000s, and probably was in the 1990s as well. People recognized each other a lot more in fandom and were all for how easy it was to comment on the internet. Mailing letters to fanzines, for example, was a bit of a hassle. So, in my eyes, there was a period of 10–20 years in which they commented more often.

Fighting against the 2020s state of the internet is kind of a losing game, but you can change how you interact with fandom, and influence people around you.

2.2 Why should you even comment on fics?

Readers don’t owe comments to anyone. The same goes for authors: they don’t owe you content. Their fics are not written for you. They are shared with you. And it’s fine! It should be a stress-free relationship where no one owes anyone anything, but add the human factor, and it all gets complicated. You’re not forced to comment, ever, and shouldn’t feel forced either, but it’s not my point.

Here are a few reasons to encourage readers to leave comments more often, even if you’re shy, feel like you have nothing to say, or don’t know how to say what you think:

It feels more personal than getting kudos. Someone took their time to write a message (of whatever length). Day = better!

It creates a sense of community. Writing can be a terribly lonely hobby. Most people don’t have beta readers or even friends in the same fandom. I myself was a lonely writer in a few fandoms for a while. While it made me find happiness in the act of creation, I love when someone gives me insights I didn’t have. It’s expanding on the microcosm I created. It likely wouldn’t happen if a reader disliked my fic, so I see it as praise.

An author might pick up an abandoned work again. Not saying it’s guaranteed, but I’ve heard of it before. People put fics on hiatus for various reasons, and one of them is struggling with low confidence. Ficwriters are people, they feel insecure at times.

It hones your critical thinking, feedback, and argumentation skills. If you write medium or long comments with in-depth analysis and impressions, it’s a zero cents writing exercise. Plus, much more fun than schoolwork.

You might become friends with the author, or with other readers. It depends on all parties agreeing to it, and there might be a shade of “never meet your heroes” to this. However, as ficwriters are people, some are nice folks.

Authors who ask for constructive criticism will thank you forever. While the current fandom culture doesn’t favor concrit a lot, some people are still open and eager for it. Yes, you can give concrit even if you don’t write fic yourself. You need knowledge, structure, and politeness, nothing more, nothing else.

Sharing your love and appreciation is enough of a reason. It doesn’t have to be perfect. There are no standards, metrics, or school grades.

2.3 What if you don’t want to leave a comment at the time?

Sometimes, you’ve downloaded the fic for your e-reader. Others, it’s four in the morning and all you want to do after a 100k binge read is sleep. Possibly, the author looks too intimidating, and you have no idea how they’ll respond. Perhaps, something else? It’s normal, we’ve all been there. Here are a few alternatives:

Favorite/kudos the fic. Return later if you want to comment, it’ll be in your history.

Create a reading list somewhere, write a memo to comment on another time. Google Keep is good for that. Some people even make spreadsheets for fics they’ve read.

Bookmark it with a note. Write “leave a comment later”, return if you want.

Type the comment somewhere else, save it, send later. It can be anywhere from an email to yourself to a note on your phone, your friend’s inbox, your notebook… anything.

2.4 What if you never, ever want to comment on fics?

It was said before, and I’ll say it again: readers don’t owe writers comments. You don’t have to apologize or justify yourself. If you want to show your love in other ways, they exist.

Favorite/kudos the fic.

Bookmark it, with or without notes. Make a bookmark into a recommendation by checking a box, if you want.

Create a rec list. You can post rec lists on social media, for example. You don’t even have to explain why you liked it. That was how we did it before algorithms took over.

Share it with friends/acquaintances. Maybe you have a shared taste?

Be open to changing your mind in the future. Don’t be strict on the “I never leave comments” stance. There are many arguments favoring comments and very few against them.

Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4 are waiting for you.

[sirhyst]

Edgar Allan Poe (bsd) fluff alphabet (U - Z)

————————————————————————-

Unique – What’s an unusual thing about them that’s oddly charming?

He will randomly reach out to touch you. He doesn’t mean to make uncomfortable, even though the first time it probably surprised you, but sometimes he moves without thinking. He tries to control it, especially if he’s with strangers, but when he’s with you, he’ll randomly sigh and feel your arms or your clothing because it gives him comfort.

Variety – Do they prefer to keep things the same, or spice it up?

Poe generally dislikes sudden changes, but he’s willing to explore something new with you once in awhile. Take things slow with him because he becomes overwhelmed easily. If you find it difficult to except change, he’s willing to give a little push without frustrating you.

Wash – What’s it like taking a bath with them, or helping them wash up after a fight?

Poe adores taking bubble baths with you. He loves when you sit in front of him with his arms wrapped around you. Most of the time he likes to lay on you though. He loves it when you tell him stories about your week (even if you’ve told him the same story twice, he just wants to hear your voice). He’s especially happy when you listen to him ramble about his stories and a case he worked on with Ranpo.

XO – How do they show you affection? How much PDA are they willing to show?

Poe doesn’t like drawing attention to himself, so at first, he’s nervous when it comes to PDA. He mostly kisses your cheek or holds your hand tightly when in public. Sometimes he’s struck with confidence and kisses you. There was time he saw another couple sharing a romantic moment and felt compelled to pull you into a hug and kiss you.

Yearn – What do they do when they miss you?

He writes about it, obviously. As mentioned before, Poe feels emotions more intensely than others, and it can become overwhelming for him. Writing it out helps him to let out those feelings of missing you. Poe can also become very distracted depending on how badly he misses you. While trying write his book or taking Karl on a walk, his mind wanders back to you. Don’t be surprise if he calls/texts you unexpectedly.

Zzz – How do they act when they get sleepy? How is it sleeping in the same bed?

If Poe knows he’s getting sleepy, he desperately tries to hide it, even at the cost of his own health. Please drag him to bed because he will stay up for 48 hours or more working on his book, but he’ll regret it later. Poe is a heavy sleeper, and that’s mainly because he’s running on 1 hour of sleep. Poe also talks his sleep. There are times where it’s become concerning where it sounds like he’s fighting someone, but overall it’s the cutest thing. He tends to touch you a lot while sleeping—feeling your arms, wrapping his legs around yours, etc.

————————————————————————-

This ends the fluff alphabet! Going to TRY to work on the NSFW alphabet next, it probably be done in the same format (3-5 letters at a time). I’m also thinking I need to do a master list at some point so my account is easier to navigate.

[autisticempathydaemon]

Cu-wip-osity Tag Game~!

@gingerbreadmonsters, @zozo-01, @ejunkiet, @romirola, and @pinksparkl, I can't believe y'all would doom me and everyone here KNOWING that I got so much shit in my WIPs how could you do this to me I love you so much

rules: reveal the titles of the documents in your WIP folder and tag as many people as there are documents. let others ask questions about the ones that interest them, and post snippets or explain the contents as you see fit!

putting all those under the cut because I'm not playing about how many there are and some are gonna be nsfw

Multi-chapter Fics:

I know some people (they would die for me): A Prissy Cinematic Universe (PCU) fic where Vincent and William hate, threaten, and then learn to accept Christian as Alexis's boyfriend

close your eyes (I’ll keep you safe inside): A PCU AU (yeah it has it's own AU to the AU that's how in this I am) where Quinn is going after his exes and Alexis is one of them

in a sky full of stars (I think I see you): A Lasko x OC fic where Lasko is crushed on by a ditzy, bubbly Empathy Daemon from so close but so far

all on my own (I know that I'm no superman): A Darlin/Sam-centric AU of the Shaws as firefighters and the Solaires as doctors

in this kitchen, baking (what a mess I'm making): A Great British Bake Off AU formatted as a teleplay/script

me and you (if I get you in a soundproof room): An 18+ Hudson/Unempowered!Neighbor fic featuring voyeurism, exhibitionism, and mutual masturbation.

One-Shots:

these things eat at your bones (and drive your young mind crazy): A PCU fic where Marie meet Alexis and they have an interesting conversation about non-consensual turnings

getting red in the face (you can call me obsessed): A PCU fic where Christian gets jealous of the attention Alexis gets at an event where he's working security

into darkness (your mercy came): A PCU, Alexis & Sam fic with "You came." "You called." vibes

can you teach me (how to feel real): An Anton/Love fic figuring out what Love likes now that they're not obsessed about Marcus

don’t wanna sit still (look pretty): An 18+ Dead Dove: Do Not Eat President Moore/Freelancer fic featuring non-con and forced feminization

could nourish you (could sustain you): A Sadism's Hold!Ivan/Baby fic told in a series of meals

why don't we meet for a chat (the three of us): An 18+ Huxley/Damien/Gavin fic featuring bondage, cockwarming, and cuckolding

I'll teach you (everything I know): An Alexis & William fic telling their relationship in a series of Go games

I cannot explain to you in anything I say (or do or plan): A PCU text-fic where Angel asks Sam if Alexis can be added to the Mates group chat

mister sandman (bring me a dream): An 18+, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat Blake/Dreamer featuring non-con group sex and gaslighting.

I could never rescue you (no matter how I tried): An Alexis & Sam fic exploring atonement without apologies through actions and letters that will never be sent

all that we intend (is scrawled in sand): An Alexis-centric fic exploring the Maker/Progeny bond and her feeling Sam's love for Darlin vicariously

not a day goes by (that I'm not into you): A DAMN Polycule timestamp-fic exploring a day in their apartment

give me therapy (I am a walking travesty): An Alexis-centric fic of one of her therapy sessions

tagging: @dominimoonbeam, @taelonsamada, @horrorscoupes, @lovelylonerliterature, @k9rage, @bvbyphoenix, @letsmakeitwrite, @themonotonysyndrome, and anyone else who'd like to join!

[fqiryspit]

Hey love so thank you smmm <3 it helped a lot and I literally noted everything down!! If you don’t mind I got a few questions :(( so obviously its dumb but how would I make a master list and and what are ideal first posts I could do and how could I attract people to my writings? im sorry my questions dumb but im slow… tysm !! 💕💕

-💁🏻‍♀️

GIRL DONT EVEN SAY THAT IT'S NOT A DUMB QUESTION AT ALLLL!!!!

I literally was like...blink..blink. when i saw people making masterlists for the first time

(BTW, THIS ONLY WORKS ON A COMPUTER, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO IT IF YOU'RE ON A PHONE)

guide on how to make links:

SO! Just like how you color text (by highlighting over the text like you're gonna copy and paste it) a bar of commands will pop up

so, the fifth bubble that looks like 2 chat icons will be there click it and it should say https:// . now, have a separate tab open with your fic on it, make sure it's on your profile and not your dashboard lmao. go up to the search bar and copy it, go back to the other tab, into the chat icons, and paste it into the bar with https:// on it.

now, you have a link

guide on aesthetics:

a quick and easy way to an aesthetic master list is going and typing "eren headers" obvi eren doesn't need to be a part of it but ya'know. "white headers, green headers" and stuff like that, that should look like this:

be sure to tag the person who made the header or at least reblog it, it's the right and nice thing to do because you're using it.

you can do this for your pfp, just type in "pink icon" and you'll find some cute ones :3

now, your masterlist should look like this (again, highlight text, go to the little separate bar that says (Regular) and change it to bigger or biggest if you want your intro to your masterlist to be bigger:

💁‍♀️'s masterlist

fic 1

fic 2

fic 3

header from: @hyugasite

and boom. of course, if you have any more questions don't be afraid to ask!

now, for your first post, if you're really truly blank make some headcanons. I wouldn't recommend smut right away because it's really embarrassing when you're just starting up and the field is competitive. obviously, post whatever you want. smut is the most attractive genre but is also very bloody!! (lmao) I kinda think its slow right now so post some smuty hc if you have the guts!!!

hc are suuuuuuper easy and fun! short attention span readers love it and blank writers love it!

lets say it's about fluff, you'd have it be like this:

eren x fem!reader

cw: just fluff

bf!eren who does this and that and this

bf!eren who is so cute yada yada

and you'd do a couple more of those, it's super nice if you're just trying to test the waters, If you want recognition I say do something a little different than just "bf!eren"...something like "rockstar!eren" or "model!eren" and format them like, "rockstar!eren who takes you to all his concerts" or smth

another way to attract people with your writing is, again, banners! it's what catches the eye, humans love pretty images!!

bf!eren headcanons <3 header from: @winknono

bf!eren who does this and that and this

bf!eren who is so cute yada yada

.

also, get mutuals! reblog posts and go to some writers' asks box and ask to be mutuals or smth!! mutuals arent ppl you talk to a bunch, its just people you cant talk ideas to and just be cool with.

anywho, I think thats all! Don't be afraid to ask anything else and your questions arent dumb!! <33

[enneamage]

do you think there’s a reason tubbo seems to be so ignorant beyond his privileged upbringing? like does his personality factor into his lack of knowledge/research about certain topics? it’s fairly hard to grow up as a teenager in this day and age and be completely unknowledgeable about certain world issues yet he is. is he just stubborn? does he just not care enough to look into it/does he not know of the right resources to look into things? is it some other reason entirely?

So, there’s layers to this one.

I'm actually not familiar with what “world issues” he seems to struggle with, other than the things that lead to the Tory allegations. Since I'm not a regular viewer I won't be able to give specific examples, but it looks like he falls into a broader pattern so I'll have a guess at that.

The question of how he hasn’t passively gained information because of his time on the internet might have something to do with his dyslexia. While there are more social video and audio platforms than there used to be, the majority of the internet is still written text, and when I think back on how I learned about “World Issues” and the general attitudes people had about them, it was 99% scrolling and reading.

Now I’m not saying he can’t read, but reading things is going to be more of a struggle for him than a simple, passive scroll on whatever the website he’s on, so he’s going to be more selective with what he pays attention to. In general, he may be someone who's learning style / way he needs to be taught is different from the post format of the kinds of websites that talk about these things. This leaves him at the mercy of his social circle and the people who make regular contact with him, making it easier to get caught in a bubble. This assumes that he’s even following the kind of people who post about “world issues” to begin with, the social justice movement is big online but it isn’t as hard to find a niche that doesn’t hold those beliefs / talk about them as one might think from the inside. From there, he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know, so he can’t be proactive about it.

If the question is 'why is he so abrasive/indelicate when he doesn’t understand something and it makes him uncomfortable', that we can blame on the heavy Eight wing and being raised an English boy. It may be possible for him to take a ‘can’t be bothered’ stance on certain issues because of his nature. He wants to be a nice, caring person, but from his perspective he may not see the point in emotionally / intellectually investing in things that don’t involve him if they cause him grief.

Tubbo seems to lean towards interrogating ideas when he encounters them. While this might come off as rejecting or combative, it might not necessarily be the case. From what I’ve seen of him, he likes to take ideas apart and stress-test them to see if they make sense before he accepts them into his existing worldview; he's exploring. While this probably has a nails-on-a-chalkboard effect for people who are more aware of how sensitive handing topics like that in public is, it’s an effort to give the concept a fair shake. From there he can sometimes get stuck on a detail and struggle with being re-directed, but chat-on-streamer conversations lack nuance by their nature, so that just digs the hole deeper.

I know people say ‘go google it,’ but honestly it’s not that easy to google things and find the best in-depth resources. Goggle can give you the facts, but it won’t always give you the broader social context or the attitudes or a good idea of how many people think one way or the other. Usually being around to witness the bigger social media conversation is a part of how people get this passive knowledge that it feels like ‘everyone knows’, because everyone in your circle is talking about it. If he’s got that removal from the cultural stew, a Wikipedia article isn’t going to be able to properly catch him up.

[stacyphilip]

What skills should a copywriter have?

One of the most common content marketing misconceptions that I see all the time is the idea that anyone can write copy. This is false.

Anyone can write.

But not everyone can write copy.

And anyone who thinks that writing and copywriting are the same thing… well, they’re wrong.

In this article I’m going to share some of the skills that a great copywriter needs. Skills that are required to turn ‘writing’ into ‘copy’, and skills that set a human copywriter apart from an AI copywriter — because these are the skills that an AI writing tool is never going to be able to emulate.

Skills Every Copywriting Needs:

A copywriter should have a diverse skill set. Obviously, they should be a good writer and an excellent communicator.

But they should also be a storyteller. They should be able to take the reader on a journey, subtly addressing their pain points while leading them towards purchasing a product or making an enquiry — all without the audience even knowing it.

A digital copywriter (someone who writes copy for digital formats like blog articles, social media, email marketing etc.) should also have a solid understanding of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). While their SEO knowledge should be well-rounded, they should be very good with on-page SEO techniques. They should also know how to do keyword research to ensure that they are targeting search terms that have good levels of search traffic.

As a copywriter is creating text and content for marketing purposes, they should also have some background knowledge of marketing. While they don’t need to be able to write a marketing strategy from start to finish, they should be comfortable with concepts like:

target audiences

buyer personas

market and competitor research

user/customer behaviour

calls to action

consumer psychology

and more

This background knowledge in marketing is what turns ‘writing’ into ‘copy’. More than just writing factual information about a product, they are directly addressing the reader’s wants and needs. They are writing persuasively, to convince the reader that they want or need the product.

They want to make the reader feel emotion — be that joy, anger, sadness, frustration, happiness or even just FOMO — and then use that emotion as motivation to purchase the product or service that they are writing about.

The final skill set that a great copywriter will possess is the ability to write in a brand’s ‘tone’. Whether the brand they are working for is professional, casual, technical, bright and bubbly, cheeky, impactful or organic — the writer needs to know how to use language and sentence structures that align with the characteristics of those tone of voice requirements.

Read full article to know more about Copywriter

[brucearcherwiki]

What skills should a copywriter have? | BeKonstructive Marketing

One of the most common content marketing misconceptions that I see all the time is the idea that anyone can write copy. This is false.

Anyone can write.

But not everyone can write copy.

And anyone who thinks that writing and copywriting are the same thing… well, they’re wrong.

In this article I’m going to share some of the skills that a great copywriter needs. Skills that are required to turn ‘writing’ into ‘copy’, and skills that set a human copywriter apart from an AI copywriter — because these are the skills that an AI writing tool is never going to be able to emulate.

Skills Every Copywriting Needs:

A copywriter should have a diverse skill set. Obviously, they should be a good writer and an excellent communicator.

But they should also be a storyteller. They should be able to take the reader on a journey, subtly addressing their pain points while leading them towards purchasing a product or making an enquiry — all without the audience even knowing it.

A digital copywriter (someone who writes copy for digital formats like blog articles, social media, email marketing etc.) should also have a solid understanding of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). While their SEO knowledge should be well-rounded, they should be very good with on-page SEO techniques. They should also know how to do keyword research to ensure that they are targeting search terms that have good levels of search traffic.

As a copywriter is creating text and content for marketing purposes, they should also have some background knowledge of marketing. While they don’t need to be able to write a marketing strategy from start to finish, they should be comfortable with concepts like:

target audiences

buyer personas

market and competitor research

user/customer behaviour

calls to action

consumer psychology

and more

This background knowledge in marketing is what turns ‘writing’ into ‘copy’. More than just writing factual information about a product, they are directly addressing the reader’s wants and needs. They are writing persuasively, to convince the reader that they want or need the product.

They want to make the reader feel emotion — be that joy, anger, sadness, frustration, happiness or even just FOMO — and then use that emotion as motivation to purchase the product or service that they are writing about.

The final skill set that a great copywriter will possess is the ability to write in a brand’s ‘tone’. Whether the brand they are working for is professional, casual, technical, bright and bubbly, cheeky, impactful or organic — the writer needs to know how to use language and sentence structures that align with the characteristics of those tone of voice requirements.

…What exactly does a copywriter do?

We’ve discussed the skillset that a good copywriter should possess, and we’ve also discussed what differentiates ‘copy’ from ‘writing’. But what exactly does a copywriter do? What is their role, and how do they differ from other writers like journalists or authors?

A copywriter is a writer who specialises in writing content, tag lines, hooks, and advertising materials for marketing purposes. In the marketing world, any words that are written for marketing purposes are referred to as ‘copy’. So therefore, a copywriter is someone who writes marketing materials.

They differ from a creative writer in that they usually have a background in marketing, media, or a related field. A lot of copywriters have journalism or public relations experience or qualifications. It takes a special skill set to be able to write ‘copy’ that is both interesting/engaging and which sells.

Want a skilled copywriter for your next project?

Our team of Brisbane copywriters are all skilled in storytelling, SEO, marketing, and creative writing. We pair our background in marketing with our talent for writing to create engaging copy that sells. Get in touch or request a copywriting quote for more information.

Read the full article to know more about the copywriter

[kidovna]

Hey, you always do comics so well! I’m wondering how you go about making them?! I can never format them right

Hey! i’m not an expert at comic making but there are some basic rules i always look out for when i’m planning my comics:

1. follow the line of vision (not sure if that’s exactly what it’s called)

this is just so you don’t end up confusing the readers. most people know how to read comics and subconsciously follow this line. obviously, your panels are going to be different in every page but it’s good to have an idea of how you can make your panelling least confusing as possible. same goes with dialogue placements. make sure they follow the line

2) save your bigger more important shots for the bigger panels. and your shots of close ups and small details on the smaller panels. when you’re figuring out your story, try to understand what expression/scene/detail you think deserves a bigger panel/full spread. trust your instincts!

3. make sure your speech bubbles are readable!! especially if your comic is going to be printed. go for a good font, space and size it well!

4. don’t feel like you have to restrict yourself to the boundaries of the panels. have fun. your characters and text bubbles CAN move out of the frames. this makes it fun to read. you make the rules.

5. if you want to establish a big space, a double spread is always a great option! especially after pages and scenes with heavy dialogues, it feels good to take a break and just have a visual treat.

One example page with some of these rules i applied:

even though the dialogue jumps from panel 1 to panel 3, i added a very minor detail of them halting in panel 2 so when the reader goes back to it, it’ll be like an extra detail they can catch. not necessarily important to the storytelling.

I hope this helped! These are just things i’ve picked up reading comics and observing how other artists work.

[avintagekiss24]

—belated; bucky barnes

pairing: mob!bucky barnes x black!reader

word count: 4738

warnings: 18+ ONLY, smut, sex, rough sex, anal sex, biting kink, choking kink, spanking, pain kink, vaginal fingering, mean bucky (my fave), ring kink cuz i love it when boys wear rings

squares filled: @buckybarnesbingo Y3: Birthdays ; @badthingshappenbingo Biting ; @star-spangled-bingo N1: Taking Charge

request: bucky barnes + "pay attention to me or i'll make you" + anal + choking + spanking + biting + pain

author note: it's been foreverrrrr! i'm so sorry! i had to work myself through a little slump! hopefully this makes up for the almost two months we've gone without a fic! this is story #2 for my 5k celebration, all fics will be tagged #5k...holy god. this was formatted in the beta text post editor on desktop, if anything looks weird, that's why :)

gif by @pedropcl ; line divider by @firefly-graphics

James Buchanan Barnes is possessive.

One of those massive hands around the back of your neck as you walk casually through the streets. Fingers wrapped around your wrist, or shoulder, or hip in a tight grip. He pulls you in close— right into his side as shopping bags hang from the tips of his metal fingers.

Bucky Barnes wants every man on the streets of Greece to know that you are his.

Not that you mind; quite the contrary. You just smile and giggle when he throws his heavy arm around your shoulders and hooks the crease of his arm right underneath your chin. Slip your hand into the back pocket of his loose dark jeans (giving that little tush of his a squeeze). Slink your arm around his little waist and breathe in his scent— heavy and woodsy— as the two of you stroll.

After all, he’s just as much yours as you are his.

All of his friends, Sam, Steve, Clint, all see the change in him. The little soft spot for you that blinds him entirely— turns him in a mushy puddle of emotions and puppies and rainbows. Very different from the Bucky they grew up with, but a Bucky that the three of them have come to enjoy. It’s a change of pace from the enforcer they know.

The two of you don’t talk about his work— in fact, it’s the reason why you’re in Greece to begin with. A late birthday present to make up for the fact that his “work” just happened to be the waiter at the restaurant he chose to take you to for your thirty second birthday. Come on babe, he chuckled as you scowled back at him over the rim of your wine glass, watching as he stained his white napkin red with his bloody knuckles, you know what they say, kill two birds with one stone… not funny?

Two weeks, two nonrefundable, open ended tickets, and five grand in bikinis, shorts, and shoes later, you’re getting some much needed Greek sun on your deep brown skin.

He’s even letting you call the shots for a change. Letting you wake him up at the ass crack of dawn to have breakfast— a spread of breads, cheeses and fruits on the balcony of your room as the sun rises. He doesn’t say a word as you drag him through the city, stopping at each little boutique and shoe store. Sits patiently as you try on every dress, every skirt, and every silk top in the entire country it seems.

Bucky even bit his lip as you gazed at engagement rings— hinting that princess cut is your favorite as you held your hand up into the natural sunlight as one adored your finger. Smiling over at him and wiggling your eyebrows all the while as he narrowed his eyes and plastered a fake smile on his face.

Today has been like all the others, a lazy day spent on the beach, a quick nap underneath an umbrella, a concoction of too much sun and too many margaritas going straight to your head. Now, you’re kinda sleepy and kinda drunk, but most importantly hungry— and Mykonos sounds like a great place for dinner. Despite Bucky’s objections (you’re too tired and too drunk to handle a ferry), you’re dressed in a cute little flowery sundress, him in an out-of-character white tank top, open pale blue and green striped button down and khaki chinos— you forbade him from bringing anything black— and you’re flip flops are slapping against the cobblestone street towards the ferry.

“Drop your attitude,” You say, glancing over your shoulder as he pays for your tickets, “You owe me.”

“Yeah, yeah, that excuse is wearing thin, girl.” You stumble a little with the motion of the ferry as you step onto it, having to grab onto the railing to steady yourself before Bucky grabs hold of your wrist, “Water only for the rest of the night.”

His voice is low and borderline threatening as he presses his lips right against your ear, and you know not to press him any further. You like to stick your toes right up against his line and that’s what irritates him most about you (always what he loves most), but you and he both know you’d never dare cross it.

Bucky pulls you behind him, hand around your wrist, that possessive trait rearing its head as male eyes fall on you as the two of you pass by. He finds an empty spot, away from the crowd, and plops down on the bench as you step up on the lower rung of the railing and stare out over the sea.

Within twenty or thirty minutes, the ferry pulls away from the dock and you can’t wipe the smile from your face. The sun sets off in the distance, the bright lights of the city turning into little pinpoints. Small droplets of the cool, salty water splashes up in your face as the wind and the ferry whips it up. You keep glancing down at the phone in your hand as you broadcast your current view to your instagram, laughing softly as hearts and emojis explode on your screen.

You lean forward, tilting your phone and smiling wide, waving into the camera before you shout out how much you love it here. The words are barely out of your mouth before an arm wraps around your middle, a wide, hard chest pressed into your back, “That’s enough,” he reaches with his metal arm, grabbing your phone, ending your live feed, “You’re too drunk to be hanging off the side like that.”

“I am not,” you struggle against him lightly as he sets you on your feet, “What is your problem?”

“I’m annoyed.”

“Well, duh. Why?”

He slips your phone into his pocket and crosses his arms over his chest, sharp blue eyes piercing into yours, “Pay attention to me,” he says low, eyes dropping down your body real slow as he drags his bottom lip between his teeth, “Or I’ll make you.”

So that’s what it’s about. Bucky Barnes feels neglected between all the shopping and beach days and margaritas. Jealousy is cute on him.

The words though, they strike you right to your core— feel them down to your bones. A hard swallow pushes through your throat as your lips part, big brown eyes softening as your breath starts to rush a little harder. You hate to admit— not really— you love this Bucky. This is work Bucky, a man you rarely get to see. Slightly scary, anger brimming just below the surface. Jaw tight, eyes hard, head tilted just a bit. He’s menacing, and it makes your lips twitch into a small smile.

Shrugging defiantly, you cross your arms over your chest, “You didn’t pay much attention to me on my birthday.”

“Not true.”

“Not true?” you nearly shout, eyes going wide, “I ate alone while you beat the hell outta our waiter behind the building! I had to wait two hours for my slice of cake!”

“How is that my fault?”

You scoff, “Oh, I dunno, maybe because our waiter was spitting out his teeth in the alley out back— all thanks to you.”

“I have to work. You know that.”

“Not,” you hiss, “On my fucking birthday.”

He knows he’s wrong for that shit, so he stands there, huffing quick before he cocks his head again and just blinks back at you— unamused. He won’t apologize, it’s just not in his nature, but his usual attempts to make you happy after he’s fucked up aren’t working; so he’s at a loss.

And you’re enjoying that. A little too much if you ask him.

But alas, it’s not fun to fight on vacation, and you have taken far too many liberties when it comes to his tolerance for attitude. It’s been fun— and you’re just drunk enough to push him one last time.

You move slow, walking right up to him, so close that each inhale pushes your tits into his body. The smirk quirked up on your lips grows as you peer up at him, eyes bouncing between his as you place your hands on his forearms still crossed over his chest.

Bucky lifts his eyebrow as you push up on your tiptoes and push your chin forward to bring your lips close to his, “And just how are you gonna make me pay attention to you, James?”

He inhales deep, pushes it out real slow as he tilts his head even further. A smile spreads on his face and you just know that this is the last thing his work sees before he rearranges the bones of their face. This is exactly why his clients pay him as well as they do.

Thick fingers are wrapped around your wrist again, nails digging into your skin as he starts to pull you behind him. He weaves you through bodies, you nearly having to jog to keep up with his strides. Laughter bubbles up in your chest, a little shriek escaping as he pulls you down some stairs to the lower level of the ferry. Once your feet hit the last step, Bucky whips you around his body, sending you spinning and laughing until you bounce into an old, rusty metal barrel.

The smell of salt fills your nose and lungs as you inhale, covering your face with your hands. Your skin is hot, lips slightly numb as you dissolve into laughter again. He’s right, you’re a little too drunk for this.

“I don’t think we’re supposed to be down here.” You mumble, brushing your wild hair out of your face.

“I could give a fuck,” he answers, stepping up to you, grabbing your face in his hands, “You’ve been testing me the entire time we’ve been here all over some stupid shit.”

Another giggle pushes through your lips as you bat your eyes, “I wouldn’t dare, Mr. Barnes.”

Bucky sucks his teeth as he drops his metal hand around your throat and squeezes gently, the rings on his fingers cool against your skin, “I was stupid, okay? But don’t put on that little innocent act, girl. You’re trying me, and I’ve had enough.”

A smile cracks onto your face, teeth sinking into your bottom lip. You wrap both hands around his one wrist and slip them up his arm, feeling the soft metal as you continue to goad him, “You got some proof, big man?”

The tip of his black and gold thumb prods at your lip, pushes just inside. You wrap your tongue around it and suck gently, keeping your eyes on his all the while.

Bucky laughs, deep and earnestly, “Proof, she says. She needs proof.” He glances around before he spins you quick, facing you away from him as he lifts your dress to reveal your pink satin thong.

You squeal loud, pushing and slapping at his hand as he grabs a handful of your ass, “Bucky! There’s people!” you laugh, “Oh my god!”

“Keep your voice down,” he warns, wrapping his metal fingers around your throat again, “Understand?”

A jolt of electricity flashes through you as you wiggle in his grasp. He tightens his grip around your neck as you wrap your fingers around the edge of the barrel, swallowing hard.

“That requires an answer, honey.”

The chill in his voice, added with the slow circles and soft tickles of fingertips against the back of your naked thigh sends a pang through your belly, “I understand.”

He chuckles soft and with a quick peck on the cheek whispers, “Good girl.”

Bucky curls his left arm around your chest, hooking your chin in the crease of his arm as he grips your right shoulder. You grab on to it with both hands, out of instinct, eyes wide and skirting around for any signs of other human presence down here. Bucky turns, moving you with him to eye the steps quickly again before that flesh hand sweeps around to the front.

The soft material of your dress falls over his hand as he rubs your stomach— his rings catching and snagging your skin. That hand pushes downward, over your thighs, gripping and kneading the soft flesh before he grabs the hem of your dress and pulls it upward, exposing those expensive panties again.

“Bucky,” you hum, his name trembling on your lips with the vibrations of your excitement, “Baby.”

He rucks your dress right up— right up around your waist and pulls the slack behind you, pressing his body into yours to keep it in place. The dark stubble adorning his cheeks and chin cuts into the side of your face as he nuzzles in, humming to himself soft before he kisses the corner of your mouth.

Those fingertips start to trace the hem of your thong— slowly. Back and forth, back and forth. From hip to hip. Your eyes flutter. Fingers grip the soft black metal of his arm a little harder. Legs go to jelly as another hard swallow passes through your throat.

“Ain’t got all that mouth now, do you?” He whispers, fingers slipping just inside the silk of your panties to tease the delicate skin underneath.

When he slips his hand in— all the way in— cupping hot skin, fingers dancing between folds and teasing a wet slit, an influx of air fills your lungs. A gasp, small and clipped sounds in the back of your throat as his fingers start a rhythm. You melt into him, head resting on his shoulder as your hips push forward to meet greedy fingers.

A naughty finger pushes in quick, and then a second— all the way to the black and silver rings dressed on them. His arm tightens around your neck as he presses his lips right against your ear, “You need to apologize.”

He fucks his fingers into you, withdrawing slow, and then pushing back in— each time the edges of his rings stopping him from going deeper. You can’t help but purr as you continue to grip his arm with both of your hands.

“I don’t think—“

“All I want to hear,” his words clip yours, each one slow and drawn and deep, “Is I’m sorry for testing your patience. I won’t do it again.” He curls his fingers, the pads stroking that sweet little spongey spot, making you clamp your legs closed around his hand, “Let me hear you.”

You can’t. You won’t. Too stubborn and too drunk to give in to him, wanting to win just this once.

If there’s one thing James Buchanan Barnes does not like, it’s hesitation. It’s dangerous, he always says. You think too long, you get hurt. Predators don’t hesitate.

Well, you like being his prey.

Only a few seconds pass before Bucky tuts in your ear, seemingly disappointed in your obstinate behavior, but you both know it’s just the opposite. His cock pressing into your ass tells you so.

The fingers disappear. The arm choking you just right pulls away and your dress falls back around the middle of your thighs. You huff, wiping quick at your forehead and pushing your wild, curly hair out of your face again.

Your hands find your hips in irritation but he slaps them away quick as he sucks his teeth, “You must really want this spanking, girl. Keep it up.”

That you do— keep it up. Huffing again. Crossing your arms over your chest like a petulant child. Brown eyes cut back at him over your shoulder to find sharp blues already on you. A smirk on his face.

Metal fingers curl around the back of your neck, pushing you forward gently until your thighs press against the old metal barrel again.

“Lean forward, kitten.”

Voice as smooth as silk while you do so, gripping the rusted edges for balance. Your dress is yanked up again— rough this time— and twisted around his Vibranium hand. Then there’s warm, the warmth of skin against yours. Gentle brushes of fingers and a palm rubbing slow circles, then pinching and grabbing soft— prepping your skin for what’s to come.

He pauses for just a second, no doubt to scan your surroundings and then pulls his hand away. You lung forward with the slap he levels to your behind within a fraction of a second— the sound sharp and heavy.

There’s another, and then a third in quick succession before he’s massaging your skin again. Real soft and sweet. Tears burn at the back of your eyes at the sting that radiates through, all the way to your bones but the molten heat deep in your belly spreads like a fire. Each breath is hard and shaky, heart thumping against your chest but it’s so good.

Bucky switches to the other cheek, skilled fingers sweeping over your canvas of skin before he cracks you— one, two, three.

You squeal with each one. The thud of those heavy rings around his fingers send a quick, new shockwave every time, building on the one before it. The tips of your fingers go red from holding on to the rusty old barrel as tight as you are, but your brain? She’s fuzzy and warm, and drifting up into the clouds with each swift slap.

Bucky is a methodical man. Three for the right cheek, three for the left, three right in the middle. His hand sneaks around your hip, giving it a squeeze before it comes back around and drops to the inside of your thigh. Grabs the meat of it— digs his fingernails in just to hear you yelp. Cups your cunt in his palm, feeling the heat and the wet— makes him groan all low and dirty.

He bunches your hair in his hand, tugs you up by it. Spins you around to face him before hoisting you up and settling you on top of the barrel.

“You want me to fuck you so bad, don’t you?” He growls, ripping at the button and zipper of his jeans.

You just hum in response, wrapping your legs around his waist and throwing your arms over his shoulders.

Bucky grabs your chin, forcing it up before he squeezes your cheeks, “Huh? Answer me.”

Damp eyelashes flutter as hot air escapes from parted, hot lips. He leans in real close, cock pushing right at your slit and kisses you hard as he slips his arm around your waist. He breaks away quick, sloppy and loud before pecking your lips once, twice, three times again.

“You want me to fuck you, girl?”

The weight of his words are felt right down to your core, a shiver passing between the two of you. You let your heavy head fall back and your eyes close as Bucky nuzzles into the side of your face, his pretty white teeth skipping along your neck, nipping and nibbling.

“I want you to fuck me,” you whisper after mere seconds, finally submitting in this cat and mouse game, “Bucky, please.”

That’s all he needs— all he wants. For you to submit, after letting you have the reins for one day too long. He sinks into you slow, spreading you open with each inch, biting down into the side of your neck as he bottoms out. His teeth dig in a little deeper, a little harder as he starts to move, rocking back and forth almost succinct with the waves of the water.

You’re moving with him too, meeting each of his thrusts with your hips. You keep your legs tight around his waist, feet dangling and bouncing against the back of his thighs. A trail of hot kisses are pressed along your neck and down your shoulder before traipsing back up— teeth grazing along your jaw.

Long fingers skip up your side and between your bouncing tits to only wrap around your neck again. They squeeze, gently, as his pace starts to pick up, hips shoving harder and faster— that old barrel starting to scrape against the wood floor.

The force makes you louder, moaning with abandon as if the two of you are all alone on this little ferry. Bucky makes quick work of you, shoving metal fingers into your mouth— giving you something to suck on to keep you quiet.

“That’s a good girl.” he growls, voice gritty and low.

He’s punishing after that. Each snap of his hips thrusting you backward, the barrel you’re on top of tipping back and then slapping down on the floor. You yelp with each one, your mouth going slack around his digits as your hands fall to the edges of the barrel for some semblance of balance.

It’s obscene, the way you can hear your fuck. The wet of your cunt. The squeak of his cock plunging into tight, slick muscles. The heavy thud of his hips pounding into yours. The slap of your flip flops falling to the wood floor as he’s quite literally fucked them right off of your feet. It’s filthy— crude— and so very Bucky.

You’re back on your feet before you know it— before you realize it. Spun back around, Bucky’s hard chest and stomach pressed into your back. He grabs both of your hands and places them back on the barrel, his metal hand staying on top of yours, fingers gripping fingers.

Eager hips wiggle back into his as you hiss and sink your teeth into your bottom lip, groaning low. Your head drops when you feel his cock push through your ass cheeks— wet cockhead pressing against your hot rim.

He starts to fumble around behind you, each passing second making you more and more impatient. There’s a soft click, and then a light suction sound— something squeezing.

“Bucky,” you hiss, pushing back into him again, “Hur—”

The word breaks off right in the middle as he levels a quick smack against your hip— a warning. Then your ass cheeks are pulled apart, wet, slimy fingers sliding and prodding at your quivering rim. He brushes slow strokes, circling, pressing his fingers gently as he preps your little hole for what’s to come.

“What kind of freak brings lube to dinner?” you smile, gasping as he pinches the inside of your thigh.

You lurch forward when he grabs the back of your neck and yanks you back into him, lips right against your cheek, “The kinda freak that was gonna fuck you in an alley after dinner. Now shut that mouth.”

He’s pressing again, this time harder, his cockhead popping into you with force. You grunt with the initial intrusion, Bucky stopping his assault to allow you time to adjust to him— but that doesn’t last long. Your mouth goes slack again. Eyes slam shut, head falls forward as he slips in, deeper and deeper and deeper until his stomach is flush with your ass.

He wiggles— so you can feel him, feel him tickling the deepest part of you. Slaps at your ass again, quick, fingers glancing off your skin and leaving behind a hell of a sting. Then he’s fucking you again, slower this time, savoring the tight, glove-like hold your body provides.

Metal fingers grab at the hem of your dress again, tugging it up before they push back into your panties, finding a swollen, hot nub. Pinching and rubbing smooth circles against it, flicking and thrashing at the bundle of nerves before he shoves his fingers back into your cunt. They curl, those fingers, and pet your insides with surgical precision— only James Buchanan Barnes knows how to fuck you like this.

The heel of his palm slams against your clit as he fingers you rough and fucks your ass with gusto. Sleazy sounds gurgle up in your throat, the slapping of skin and the waves crashing against the side of the ferry, the rush of the wind filling your ears. Bucky pulls you flush against him and slithers his tongue just beneath your ear before his teeth grab a hold, tugging soft.

Teeth keep nipping— along your jaw, your cheeks, ears, neck. He fucks into you hard as he shoves his flesh hand into the neckline of your dress, gripping your tits. Pinching and kneading hard, thick nipples, mumbling sweet nothings all the while.

Your stomach churns, muscles tensing and flexing as synapses start to fire off in quick succession. Quick goosebumps pop up along your skin as your stomach tightens and you can taste it it’s so close. Bucky knows it, feels it as your walls constrict around his fingers, your asshole tightening around him. Vibranium fingers keep rubbing, keep fucking into your pussy hard, palm slapping against your clit, adding more and more pressure until the coil snaps.

It’s hard, and sudden— your body freezing as your orgasm consumes you. Bucky clamps a wet hand over your mouth as you mewl and bite into his palm, your hips thrusting forward with each wave of your release. He pulls his fingers from you to slap at your jumping clit, pressing the pads into it before he rubs quick little circles and then slaps at it again.

He drops his hand to your chin, yanking it up as you nearly cry, mewling and trembling with your release to kiss you hard and sloppy as you come. He kneads your tits with his mammoth hand as aftershocks flash through you, your used body jerking at random. Within seconds, there's a cloud of warmth in your ass. Rough grunts in your ear, growing louder with each spurt of his cock, your hot muscles milking him.

You let him use you, let him fill you up full of his silk. Grab his hands and lace your fingers with his as he empties long ribbons in you. Pull his arms around your waist and hold them there as he rides it out, his head falling to your shoulder. The two of you stand there, resting against that old barrel, breathing hard, skin sticky and balmy. Salt from the ocean in your nose.

Bucky’s the first to pull away, glancing back at the stairs before he pulls himself gingerly from you, leaving your body empty, a dribble of his come slipping out with him. He catches it with his fingers, drags them up the back of your thigh and between your ass cheeks before he shrugs out of his collared shirt and white tank top.

He cleans you up sweet with the tank top. Keeps his arm around your waist to steady you as he wipes at your thighs and your hot, sticky, puffy cunt, shushing you soft when you jump and whimper at the contact. He flings the messy tank top over the side of the ferry and rubs your hips and stomach real slow, murmuring into your ear all the while.

Diligent fingers then rearrange your thong— and cop a little feel, cupping your sensitive, swollen sex, giving it a little pinch so he can laugh when you shiver and squeak. Bucky pulls your dress, tugging lightly to get it back straight around your waist before smoothing it over your ass and thighs— even pulls at the top, making sure your tits are sitting pretty.

You can’t even open your eyes, overcome by alcohol and sleepiness and a post sex high. He fumbles with your fingers as your head lulls on his shoulder, a soft hum vibrating in your throat in your murky haze. Bucky lifts your arm by the elbow, sliding his hand up your forearm until he’s cupping your hand in his.

“Open your eyes, baby.” You groan in protest, causing a chuckle to rumble through his chest, “Come on.”

So you do. You always do whatever this man wants you to do— and there, right on your finger sits that big princess cut engagement ring you teased him with days before.

“How about we skip dinner and find a church, huh?” he whispers, kissing your cheek soft and sweet.

You glance at him over your shoulder, eyes wet as a smirk tugs at the corners of your mouth, “And if I say no?”

“You just can’t help yourself, can you?” He laughs as you adjust in his arms, pushing up on your tiptoes to cup his handsome face and kiss him on those pretty pink lips, “Then I guess I’ll have to fuck some sense into that pretty mouth of yours, won’t I birthday girl?”

[junko-and-riri-domain]

3:36 am | ni-ki

↬ pairing: nishimura riki / ni-ki x reader ↬ genre: fluff  ↬ warnings: none ↬ synopsis: ni-ki doesn’t like texting his hyungs, but he stays up until 3 am waiting for yours  ↬ a/n:

format is kinda diff than usual because I decided to write a fic instead of doing hw :) productivity went 💨 but when am I ever productive

does it look better like this or does the regular with the all caps font thing look better? someone lmk pls

ni-ki laid on the couch staring at the screen of his phone, ignoring the chatters from everyone else in the dorm. they had just gotten their first win and everyone was too excited to get some sleep. he was happy, proud of himself even. but deep down he couldn’t deny that he wanted a certain someone’s congratulations. yours, to be exact. during his time in Korea and in school, you were the one person that was different than the rest. when you met him, you weren’t even aware of who enhypen was until one of your friends not-so-subtly yelled in excitement upon seeing him. he had persuaded you to give enhypen a chance and you ended up becoming an engene. while you weren’t the type of engene who always kept up with enhypen, you had a general gist of things. 

1:42 am, he refreshed his phone. nothing. jay plopped onto the couch next to him,

“why do you keep staring at your phone?” jay asked him. 

“no reason,” ni-ki lied. ni-ki wondered why the hell you hadn’t texted anything, you were usually still up at this time. there were many times when the two of you were texting and he’d tell you to stop annoying him and go to sleep but he never meant for you to take it literally. 

“yah, you need some sleep, you’re still growing.” at that, ni-ki rolled his eyes.

“hyung, i'm taller than you,” ni-ki muttered. 

2:34 am, he bit his lip thinking about texting you first. but what would he even say? 

“hey, did you see that we won? let’s celebrate together!” while he did want to text that, it just didn’t feel right. he was stubborn, he wanted you to text him first, even if it meant waiting. he had never felt like this before, never wanted anyone to text him more, and he knew that he was probably crushing on you. 

by around 3, his eyes were staring to feel heavy and his phone was beginning to slip from his hand. he started typing then deleting, feeling nervous about what to say. until finally at 3:36 am, his phone dinged. 

you: don’t act like I don’t see the text bubbles appearing then disappearing riki 👀

riki, he always liked it when you called him that. you didn’t get to know him as ni-ki on stage, but rather, nishimura riki as who he truly was. he didn’t know what to say, how did someone even respond to that? after a good 5 minutes,

him: I’m bad at texting first, so I always end up hoping you’ll do it first

his nervousness only increased ten-fold once he hit send. did this even classify as flirting? did he want to be flirting with you?

you: shouldn’t I be the one hoping that nishimura riki aka the winner of the show will text me first? 🤭

he smiled to himself, glad that you knew. 

him: what do I get as a prize?

you: you already won one 🥴

him: you know what I meant -_-

did people even use “-_-” anymore? should he have used a regular emoji instead?

you: i’ll take you out for bungeoppang after school tomorrow ;) 

❦ written by riri @enhykkul | blog masterlist

[delicrieux]

—MAKE YOU SAY “OH” EXTRAS: TINDER

extra meaning non-canonical occurrence; can be placed anywhere in the “make you say oh” timeline after couple (cha. 14) and before the final “oh”. 

pairing—corpse husband x f!reader warnings—tinder profiles, tw: men, swearing.  word count—2.6k. format— written. ─── ❥ req by nonnie​:  y/n makes a youtube vid/live stream where she's just swiping through her tinder acc and corpse literally blocks her lmao

author’s note—akldsljfs this was such a funny idea i could not not write it lmao

ultimate masterlist. myso masterlist

You have pulled the biggest brain move by setting up both a facecam and a screen recorder on your phone. All is beautifully displayed and visible during the stream. Your fanbase is particularly intrigued on what exactly are you planning on doing today, seeing as your tweet of “strea” had been a bit vague, if not downright ominous. No emojis. No elaboration. You couldn’t even be bothered to finish the word. Truly, a mystery. Everyone tuned in and are currently waiting with bated breath.

A few of your fans must sense upcoming doom because the overall mood in the chat turns from optimistically intrigued to...evil. It’s an entity all on it’s own now, clawing at you through the screen with various renditions of laughter and devil emojis. A few eggplants thrown in there for good measure, accompanied, naturally, by the scandalous water drops. At first the common consensus is that you’re biting the bullet and going through your camera roll on stream. Definitely an idea worth considering, though you frankly don’t know what lies at the start of the 11k photograph journey, and you are afraid to check in public. Could be a harmless meme, could be a salacious pic you had saved of an OF star. It’s really a gamble. Either way, you would definitely get banned. You might still get banned. Why do you insist on doing shit like this?

Because it’s funny. Because you’re kinda stupid. Because it’s just so absolutely laughably easy to do.

A smile quirks your lips, and while it is not explicitly smug, the look in your eyes sure is, “Greetings,” You utter lowly, dimming the lights--the budget for this stream! Ugh, you went all out, “my children.”

mother i crave violence

sensing evil energy rn!!

i do not claim the energy in this video for myself or anyone else watching this 💖💖

^with peace and love shut the fuck up

“I know y’all lowkey hoes-” Upon your words the chat splits into two: one side eagerly agrees (even shares a few OF accounts! How helpful, supporting small businesses!), whilst the other feverishly insists on innocence. You make a face stuck somewhere between offended and bewildered, “Now c'mon now-I know you. I know you all. We’re the same, don’t-what was that?”

You try to scroll back to the comment but it’s loss in the sea of incoming messages, “I swear to God I just saw-”

Corpse_Husband: i love late night streams it’s not like i have anything better to do.

“COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORPSE!!!!” 

rip headphone users

i cant feel my face when im with you by the weeknd but instead of face its my fucking ears

yall think full vol on pc is better?my parents woke up 😭😭😭😭

To think he’s spending his last waking moments for today with watching you (he probably still would have anyway, because you do not posses an ounce of shame or self-control and pester him relentlessly)! It makes your heart sing, and suddenly, a traitorous, fun hating idea barges it’s way through the crowd of incoherent buzzing and states: don’t do this. For some reason it also has the voice of Rae. As if that would work in guilt-tripping you- Rae never succeed, and her fictitious rendition in mind won’t fare much better either.

Still, you thought about it. That must count for something. Corpse will understand, won’t he? Why don’t you want to upset it in the first place? Men look so funny when they lose their shit, like hello, don’t you have anything better to do? But the image of Corpse just sitting there, hurt, distraught, leaving you on seen because he’s in his sad boy hours leaves a sour taste in your mouth. 

queen rly went from  🥺😊 to 😕 u ok bbgirl?

Corpse_Husband: no pouts cutie

akjdjoeijdfse cUTIE??? deadass boutta r.i.p.

Well that succeeded in eliminating everything from mind, doubts included. If this was an anime, the scenery would shift into something roseate, with flowers and bubbles and sparkles all around you along with a halo or two. Alas, not an anime, rather reality. The led-lights, however, seemingly possessing a will of their own, slowly turn from deep violet to pink. You smile brightly, like the absolute dumbass you are, and you are met with a ray of heart and blushing emojis. You are just so cute, a real cutie! Still in your disguise adorable state, you swipe your finger on your phone screen, the grin never leaving your lips.

There, among the plethora of apps, nestled sits a red square with a white fire plastered on it. The delicate calligraphy on the bottom reads: TINDER.

The mood changes once again- you’re giving the roaches emotional instability by how quickly everything flips over- and the chat spams eggplants vigorously; some, of course, bravely fight against the thirst.

nooooooo i thought y/n is gonna stream in a god honoring way!!!

^pack it up girl defined

“So, Charlie and I-” You note a few awfully curious comments and squint, “-yes, we talk a lot. Charlie is a really good friend of mine. We’re best friends. Brothers. Sisters. Cousins. The whole fucking family tree-no, that sounds weird. Delete. Anyway, Charlie, being the absolute fucker he is, said, hey, you know what would be funny? And I was like, nooo, what would be funny, Charlie? And he says to me, he says, says, making fun of men on Tinder. And if y’all need any more proof that Charlie and I are platonic soulmates, then dunno, my children, my roaches, I dunno-I dunno what more to give you.”

You can’t be bothered reading the comments, there’s too damn many. You also need to save your reading comprehension for the actual bios. It has a time limit, that darn thing. 

“Okay, so I made a profile earlier, but I hadn’t swiped on anyone yet-” Despite the fact, Tinder helpfully informs you that already 99+ people have swiped right on you, “So, this is me,” You show the pictures you have of yourself, and damn, not to be a conceited narcissist, but you look really good. Like if you saw yourself on Tinder, you’d super like instantly. “Uhm, so, my bio-my bio says: let’s sauce in the tub together, ya dig? splishy splashy, giggle giggle.” 

i cant believe we are witnessing y/n trying to form a coherent sentence live 

shes trying give her time

ya dig??? y not capeesh

what scene from the godfather is this lol?

“My anthem, is,” You laugh, covering your lips with your hand, “Corpsie, this is form you-” Proudly, you show that indeed, Corpse’s E-GIRLS ARE RUINING MY FUCKING LIFE is listed as your anthem on Spotify, “Hehe.” Yes, you say that aloud.

Corpse_Husband: you’re killing me Corpse_Husband: thanks baby Corpse_Husband: now delete tinder ❤︎

You ignore his last quip, deciding it’s finally time to get this show on the road, “Right, let’s do this shit. I’m not actually going to swipe on any guys that look, uh, decent? Yuck, can’t believe I just said that, uhm, because I-because I feel like some actually deserve a chance with someone? I don’t wanna get anyone’s hopes up, as I am currently in a long distance relationship with Chrollo. So I’m just gonna swipe on, like, frat boy assholes. Because I don’t care if I hurt their feelings. Quite frankly I don’t think they possess them in the first place.”

The chat voices their agreements. With the ground rules set, you, giddy, click on the first profile.

Does Tinder know what you’re doing, your plan? The FBI agent watching you through your phone must be working overtime, bless his heart. They must, because the the first guy to meet you is named Jason, and there he is, blond hair and blue eyes, holding up a fish the size of his torso. Marginally adequate in looks, pretty good muscles. A solid 7 bordering on 8. He’s the same age as you, 15 miles away, and he studies at some college you don’t care enough to look up. Bio reads:

I like to drive fast. Fishing is my passion, but if you can’t catch me by the ocean, you’ll catch me catching waves, bro! Love a good gym date. You do squats, and I’ll keep a close eye to make sure you’re doing it correctly ;) You probably saw me at a party. Leader of the The Phi Kappa Psi. I’m a Gemini, if that matters lol.

You, of course, read it aloud, dramatically; provide some constructive criticism-he seems nice, but he’s a Gemini, so naturally, you can’t trust him at all! Also, that gym date session leaves little to be desired. With your rant done, you swipe right, and shocker! (not), it’s an instant match.

“Okie, I still wanna swipe of some profiles, so I’ll see what he’ll text later-” For a second you wonder the legalities of this stream, but you’re having too much fun to think of it further, “guys, I won't get sued, right?”

NOW she considers it

well....

if you do, we’ll kickstart your lawyer dw <3

Onto the next profile. Kevin, 25, is seen fixing his car- or, you assume he’s mid-fixing it, you don’t really know why else he’d hold a wrench and be covered in oil. He’s shirtless, and the caveman part of your brain echoes something closely resembling AWOOOGA!, but...but!...blonde hair, blue eyes. You pout again, “I don’t...I don’t really like blond boys, ya know? With the blue eyes and all, it’s just not my thing, uhm, unless it’s like-like...Armin from Attack on Titan. Else I don’t care.”

Onto the bio:

You have to treat a car like you treat a woman: go on long rides, take the lead, but most importantly, keep her oiled up 😜 

“What the fuck did I just read?”

The chat is equally confused. You swipe right anyway- another match. Too easy.

The stream continues without incident for a solid thirty minutes- all of your matches, expect a few that genuinely looked like normal dudes that really couldn’t write a decent bio to save their lives, had been blond hair blue eyed gym rats with ranging forms of misogyny. Some opened with asking for nudes out right, some asked about your day first before asking for nudes. You prefer the former. Straight to the point! You admire the gall. 

But then, down the forty-five minute mark a profile popped up that made you still by your phone, your smile dying as your eyes bulged. Dear God. Lord in heaven. Who is this demonspiit lookalike and why is he so fucking hot? The neck tats, the skateboard, the clothes- holy shit, you gotta close your mouth before some drool dribbles out.

No bio, just his name, Tyler, and that he’s 23.

“He boutta be 23 in me.” You mutter, swiping right with lightning speed.

WHAT DID SHE SAYYYYY?????????

tyler is y/ns karma for relentlessly mocking that one guy that had a whole ass list on what his “female” partner should be

^he deserved it and also tyler seems like a typical fuckboi y/n grow a braincell

look at mom 🥺 her eyes are sparkling

It wasn’t a match right away. You somehow expected as much, but it still upset you. Simp behavior, pathetic. The stream continued bravely, and when Tyler messaged you a simple “yo” you totally didn’t sequel. You didn’t manage to text him back on stream: texting all those guys that you didn’t really find all that attractive was easy, but this...You’re a sucker for a man who radiates red flag energy. His whole profile is a red flag. He might just be a red flag himself.

What can you do? Suddenly becoming color blind is not easy. Once the stream ends, you unmatch with everyone expect Tyler. He you chat with for a bit, but a sudden craving for different company makes you abandon him, too. You don’t feel too heartbroken for him- you’re certain there’s already too many girls in his dms. You wish them luck.

Happily, you delete Tinder. You go to Twitter, notice you’re trending again- look at you go! Queen shit- and as you compose a thank you tweet, something strange happens. You go to text Corpse, but when you click on his profile you grow cold.

YOU’RE BLOCKED. You can’t follow or see @/Corpse_Husband ‘s Tweets. 

...Pardon? You hop onto Instragram and-also blocked. Seriously? And you thought you’re one petty bitch. Corpse is seriously prissy about everything. Damn, if he didn’t like your stream, he could’ve just said so. Didn’t need to, like, block you from his internet existence. So not cool.

You try texting him but no text go through. Well how will you let him know you deleted Tinder just like he asked? You relieve your frustrations by punching your pillow a few times. Later, you apologize to her, you didn’t mean to hurt her, it’s not her, it’s you. Fuck, 5 minutes of exile and you’re already loosing your mind.

“Raeeeeeeeeeeee!” You whine loudly. It’s roughly 2am now, but you don’t care. You’re too heartbroken to care. There’s a thump from her room, but nothing else, “Raeeeeeeeee!!!” You wail, wallowing in self-pity on your bed. You hear a very loud, very annoyed sigh from her room, followed by angry marching. Your door is abruptly thrown open, and in the dim, colorful light you see her scowl.

“What?” She grits.

“Can you please tell Corpse to unblock me from everything?”

“What did you do now?”

“I made fun of men on Tinder.”

She pauses, “...That doesn’t sound so bad.” She surmises, voice laced with suspicion, “What else?”

“...There was one really hot guy that I kinda sorta talked to after--”

“Y/n.”

“-But I totally deleted Tinder and honestly he was pretty boring, so, like, uhm, please?”

She sighs, the servery of which implies she is holding the weight of the world on her shoulders, and instantly you know that you won. She taps away at her phone, “You owe me one.” She states, and before you can reply, she exits your room and slams the door behind her.

Grinning, you text his phone again. The message goes through, oh gosh, you’re so relieved you feel like crying. This has been, officially, the worst five minutes of your life.

You Y DID U BLOCK ME LOSER!!! MAJOR LOSER ALERT!! I DELETED EVERYTHING IT WAS A JOKE r u still mad at me? y u always mad at me i never do anything:(

my husband You’re my baby, how do you think I’ll react when I see you publicly simping for some asshole on Tinder?

Oh no, he used the words, he delivered the killing blow. You’re finished. Your heart can’t take such a workout. 

Not that you would ever admit it to him, though!

You hehe ur jellyyyy u always dis jealous hehe?

my husband Not jealous.

Yeah, you might not be the brightest tool in the shed, but even you know that’s a lie. You send him an array of kissy emojis that he doesn’t have the decency to reply to. Then, completely unprompted and dead serious, you send him a simple voice memo, saying: “You really have nothing to worry about, you know? You’re my favorite, Corpsie.”

He responds via text, reiterating that he’s not fucking jealous and that he just doesn’t like when you show such outward interest in anyone but it’s not like he cares or anything. It’s just really, like, weeeeird to see his baby simping for another man like that totally ruins the whole dynamic!!! It was only natural that he should block you on every social media platform, including his personal number (which, like, was completely necessary! Doesn’t matter that his viewers can’t see it, it’s gotta be super believable!), and inform his followers of that, because it’s all a joke, like, for the dynamic, that Youtube grind, you know? Ya dig? No personal feelings were involved at all. He totally wasn’t upset that you found someone else cute, no way!

my husband I’m not jealous. Lol.

You ik u repeated tht like 50 times  u trynna convince me or??? lmao

my husband No comment. ...You don’t actually talk to anyone else like we’re talking, right?

You no one else calls me their baby if thts wat ur wondering at least not to my knowledge lol im all urs

my husband That makes me very happy to hear:)

Yeah, it makes you very happy, too.

hope you liked it!! xx

[jiminrings]

last chronological part for stem koo... WHEW I WATCHED THEM GROW WHAT’S GONNA HAPPEN NOW

cold senior!y/n x stem major koo masterlist :D

they finally become lunchbox lovers

“you’re asking me what’s jungkook like?”

jimin couldn't be any more surprised

first of all, his day started with yOU texting him and asking if you can drop by for a second, and the moment he texted "sure???", you're literally already knocking on the door

and second, you're asking him???

“oh come on. he clings to you with every chance he gets. i thought you gave him a chance already.”

your eyes only deadpan that jimin actually gets the hint, his mouth curling in a eureka moment that he managed to figure out himself without you talking

“oH! so that’s why you’re asking me because you’re thinking of giving him an actual chance.”

alright finally

you slump in relief over not saying it out loud, expressing the slightest bit of worry you have to someone (that's not as close to you like yoongi and jin are) who'd get where you're coming from without bias

“i just wanna know how he usually is when he’s not on my heels.”

“honestly? the same. probably even a bit more clingier.”

jimin wastes no time in ratting jungkook out, even leaning back to the couch with how relaxed he is

“talks about you too. i’m sorry y/n but even i know what shampoo you use!!!”

jimins knows your wHAT

"my shampoo???"

“mhmm. made me drive him to a grocery store at 10 in the evening so he can individually smell all the shampoos without anyone calling him a creep or something like that,” he nods earnestly and doesn't look like he's playing with you or the sort

you're quite frozen and jungkook's roommate isn't at all fazed and is even pulling up pICTURES of their impromptu grocery trip

“he even made it in a scientific paper format. with the hypothesis and conclusion and everything.”

he points it out just in time when you swipe to jimin's hand holding a printed piece of paper with the document in the monitor right behind it, the next pictures being blurry because that's when jungkook freaked out

jimin gets his phone back but not without sending you the pictures you just saw even if you didn't ask for them, trying to hide the amusement in your eyes when you decide to scroll through them again later

“cut him some slack though. he’s never really had a girlfriend, y’know? or like even a crush. he’s just navigating it with his instincts and all the advice he gets.”

hold on a second

“... advice?”

he thought you'd never ask (he'll still say it even if you don't) which is why he brightly grins, hunching over as if to let you in on a guarded secret

“i’m one of his consultants!!! didn’t suggest the shampoo part though.”

who could have possibly thought of that idea then ://

you hum in faux complacency, trying to get this as fast as possible so you could make up your mind quicker

“what else?”

jimin's relaxed now that he's had a proper laugh with you and realized you aren't as Intimidating As He Thought You Were, recounting the things in his mind like a to-do list

“he’s sickeningly kind.”

the gravity of his words strike him before they do with you, straightening his posture to clear up the air right away, “but i knoW that what he did to you is the furthest thing from kind, and trust me, i really got that point across!!!”

by point, jimin means cooking him burnt meals and jungkook having to endure it because he doesn't like wasting food

additionally, that also meant jimin served kook a cRISP smack on the back of his boba ball head into next week

look at him <3 seokjin, yoongi AND jimin gave him shit!!! now isn;t that teamwork

you're unable to paint the mental image in your head because he continues, grabbing your attention once again

“but apart from that, jungkook could just be too kind for his own sake,” he says sincerely. “he’s like the kid the principal refers to in elementary when they talk about peer pressure!!!”

your first instinct is to snort at that, the mental image definitely forming in your head now

is it just sO bad that you and jimin agree on this

“jokes aside, jungkook’s really genuine.”

it's the last thing jimin wraps it off with when you stand from the couch, cheeks still a little warm when he trails you behind the door

you're just about to thank him when the door in front of you opens and almost hits you in the process, the person behind it just as alarmed

jungkook’s just now coming home because he had to pick up some last-minute groceries from the convenience store downstairs that jimin forgot from his last run, clearly startled to why would wou be here

"oH???? y/n??? what are you doing here???"

his pupils are shaking between the two of you and he's not even trying to hide is incoming panic

“.... a-are you and jimin-“

“yup! sorry bud! we were just-...” jimin's attempt at a lighthearted joke is halted as fast as it was introduced, getting a smack on the middle of his back that makes him wince

“you’re annoying, jimin."

oOOOOH you just put your palm on him!! yea at this rate he's gonna be your best friend too won't he

jungkook's processing things as fast as he could, getting a reassuring glance from you that puts him at ease

“we were just talking, kook.”

he nods even if he's still a tiny bit unsure, calling for you when you're on your way out the door

“a-about what though?”

:-)

“you’d know soon enough.”

( ♡ )

“you wanna tell me now why we went on this drive?”

seokjin yawns at a stoplight even when his car is the only one waiting on the intersection right now, not in the mood for a ticket with a printed traffic light picture of him mid-yawn in his matching pajamas anytime soon

“no reason," you sing-song and it makes him snort, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “couldn’t sleep."

“well that makes one of us.”

you've unabashedly knocked on jin's door and even if it took you two tries, he still answered nonetheless, not even asking for an explanation why before he sleepily took his keys and grabbed his house slippers for shoes

you had no destination in mind at 3 in the morning which is why jin’s just driving for no rhyme nor direction and is just going with his brain’s one-second impulses of where to turn

he’s game for anything, actually — that much you know

although you do know that jin literally wouldn't do this for anyone else besides the people he find worth all this (aka everyone except you and yoongi and ok maybe namjoon sometimes)

the drive is beyond serene and even with repetitive radio music playing in the background, you don't actually mind it

when you're with jin, it just feels like you're in a constant bubble of comfort and ease that you always try to look for in everything

he doesn't necessarily need explanations,, he just deduces from things at face-value and later ask about it when you're comfortable enough to share

jin points at a drive-thru he suddenly had a craving for as you were about to suggest it anyway

you're not even quite sure why there's a line but neither of you complain, the situation more than bearable that a little waiting wouldn't dampen your mood

the words you've been thinking of the whole day finally slip across the silence, as casual yet as sincere as they could be

“i’m really thankful that you’re in my life, jin. you know that right?”

he seems pleasantly surprised when you look at his side profile, shaking his head

“mhmm. you only tell me a couple times but you put your knee on top of mine everyday,” he chuckles at the habit of yours and he kNOWS for a fact you would put your knee on top of his if only he wasn't behind the wheel. “tell me all about it, kid.”

it's genuine laughter that encompasses the whole car, his chuckles suddenly ceasing when he realizes another possibility

“you’re not asking me for allowance, are you? because yoongi’s already bugging me for his next month’s.”

wait what

“you give yoongi an allowance???”

“you didn’t know???”

:///

“... i’m not asking for an allowance.”

“..... but do you want it,.,..”

jin sees you pursing your lips and intentionally looking at everywhere but him, already getting his answer

“fine. that’s the furthest you two could get from me!! don’t expect me to pack your lunchboxes to school now. you must be crazy.”

jin, in fact, packs you and yoongi lunchboxes more often than not

jin, aLSO, does all the paper rolling for you so when the three of u get occasionally high, it’s all nice and tight

jin is also the one who does all the talking on the phone to customer service when neither of you are willing

he asks the moment he relays your usual midnight snack slash early breakfast order he's already memorized to the attendant, patiently looking at you

“you want anything else with that?”

“i’m all good.”

it's in between cars and stoplights that the car is filled with more emotion again, acting on it when you realize it when seokjin's mid-bite on his hashbrowns

“jin?”

“yes?” he speaks muffled, looking at you once before bringing his attention back on the changing stoplight

“love you.”

he feels himself still for a second even if his foot's on the gas and one hand is on the wheel, a somber look on his face that he later smiles sincerely

“love you too, kid.”

( ♡ )

“it’s not my birthday if that’s what you’re thinking.”

yoongi sleepily mumbles the moment he feels his bed dipping, his side that was once holding a pillow now being occupied by you

“i know.”

you wedge yourself between his heavy comforter, tossing and turning until it feels comfortable

“but i actually don’t know your birthday lol it’s-...”

“fuck right off.”

yoongi doesn't question why you're in his bed, because the last time you did, it was because you were left traumatized after seeing a genuinely good horror movie that it was pending to give you nightmares

he didn't see you watch any movie today though, but he'll take you in nonetheless

“kidding.”

you offer in consolation because yoongi's birthday is in your calendar even if you know it by heart, a mindless hum in reply

it's when you drop your arm on his waist like it's dead weight and relax completely, your face near to his mop of hair that it's making him think you're actually cuddling him rn

quick how can he get a picture of this to get this framed

“are you telling me now?”

he questions with his eyes half-open, shimmying backwards so that you're able to hug him more comfortably

“my airconditioner’s busted.”

“mhmm. give me ten minutes. i’ll fix it for you.”

it's 4 am and if your airconditioner really was busted, you wouldn't have let it stay busted for that long

“don’t. it’s okay. i wanna be here anyways.”

both you and yoongi know that your airconditioner’s in tip-top shape and is actually the one that blows the coldest air in the dorm

sometimes you think he’s an angel in disguise because there’s no way you deserve a human best friend like him

“yoongs?”

“hmm?” he hums before he falls asleep again, trying to keep up while having his eyes closed so he could listen to you

“you know that i’m really glad you’re in my life, right?”

oh

:)

“mhmm. you don’t say, sweets," he teasingly chuckles, feeling his ribcage rise in amusement under your arm

“fuck-“

“yeah, i know. i do, because you put me as your family member in your emergency contacts, but you don’t know that i know that.”

... oh

you don't even know how yoongi came to know but you don't question it, the warmth in your heart doubling

“love you.”

“love you too, y/n.”

( ♡ )

jungkook’s the most nervous he’s been in awhile

and that’s coming from him who sees yoongi in almost a daily basis

after all, jin did tell him you can be quite forgetful becasue you tend to take care of things all at once

he’ll sTILL try to be as smooth and casual as much as possible though

“big game tomorrow huh?”

and by big game that means as in your last qualifying game to whether or not your team would compete in the yearly (not to mention prestigious) soccer tournament

you chuckle at the thought because by now, you should already be sleeping and getting some rest even if it’s just seven in the evening

but you’re here <3 out at a park near jungkook’s dorm, sharing hand warmers <3

“yeah. it’s a make or break match.”

“i actually haven’t seen you play before, y’know," jungkook silently admits, looking down on his shoes as he thinks if he's just offended you

“really?” you ask in genuine curiosity, “then how come you interviewed me for your little survey when you haven’t watched me play before?”

oh

tHAT

“i uh, i actually just really wanted to talk to you that day. i-i don’t normally approach people first, but you just looked warm enough for me to reach out first.”

he's babbling before he even knows it, oblivious the growing smile on your face

“then i asked jimin because he kNOWS everything, and it was all in good fate that it turned out you were the soccer captain!! i was excited because i had a legitimate reason to talk to you that day.”

so that’s why

he wanted to talk to you even before his lunchboxes were taken out of the situation!!!

“how about me? why was it me?”

ahem

you're not trying to be funny but you can't help but chuckle, scratching the back of your ear in thought

“i honestly couldn’t tell either, jungkook.”

he almost coughs in shock, masking it off with playing it off for the bite of the chill of the night

“all i know is that something told me it was you,” you timidly add, looking down on your hands. “and i went for it.”

right can he chalk up mad blushing to the night air

he fiddles with the drawstrings of his sweatpants this time, his eye contact with you becoming fidgety

“big game tomorrow,” he repeats and you're just about to tell him that your conversation sounds like it's gonna be repeated

“don’t forget your eyedrops, alright?”

....

was that smooth enough

“eyedrops?”

yeah

uhm

that was... random

“oh right! you gave them back to me.”

“yeah. you should open it tonight, probably. to see if it’s already all-evaporated, y’know? if it is, then let me know tomorrow so i can buy you new ones.”

“highly doubt that they would, but alright, kook.”

you take the little banter to be your cue to walk back to your dorm, about to say goodbye to him when he makes an audible sound of confusion

it confuses you even more when he's trailing behind you

“your dorm’s twenty feet away from where we are, jungkook.”

“y-yeah i know that!! i’m walking you home, silly.”

right!!

hee-hee

he’s keeping his hands to himself even if he BADLY wants to hold your hand or even your forearm but he has to resist that urge rn

but he does intentionally brush shoulders with you and mumble “pothole.” so he could nUDGE you to the side even if there aren’t any to begin with

silence with jungkook now is comfortable as it has been for more than awhile, the walk passing by faster that you almost wish you walked slower

goddamn it he should've said there was a pothole atleast ten more times to make the walk longer

“goodnight, koo.”

“goodnight, y/n.”

there’s obviously no goodnight kiss but he dOES get a squeeze on his bicep

you take your time when you come home — to unwind as much as you could before you stress yourself out tomorrow

your shower routine may have took a little longer this time but it makes you get dressed as quick as you could when your eyes see the origami box you've been putting off from opening, one that jungkook just told you to open, because as far as you knew they were just EYEDROPS!!!

... the supposed bottle of eyedrops that’s too well-packaged and clearly thought-out

an origami box, a carebear heart initial drawstring pouch AND a plain ziplock baggie as if the other two weren’t enough

it’s when you open the box within the ziplock bag that you feel it’s definitely not as light as a bottle of eyedrops would be

there’s a very visible dent weighing down on the pouch (that’s within the origami box) that’s cLEARLY not your eyedrops

you’re actually nervous to the point that you just open unfurl it with your eyes closed, feeling two items in there

the plastic bottle of eyedrops, and definitely the cool surface of what feels like

a bracelet?

it’s a pretty straightforward yet timelessly elegant silver link bracelet, equipped with a couple options for how tight or loose you want to wear it

it hits you all at once and god does it just render you speechless

jungkook has this bracelet too.

you’re quite speechless and in between looking at it up-close to avoiding looking at it at all, trying to calm your breathing by focusing on the eyedrops instead

the said eyedrops you've been so used to seeing that you immediately sense that there's something oFF with the label???

its stuck-on, that's for sure, but something about it is not as seamless and stationary and official as it should be

it's almost as if there's something snuck inside it and-

...

..... there is

it's scotch tape that's just as thin as the actual label of the bottle itself, having to peel the whole label in order to see it in entirety

it's the same double-sided label jungkook worked so hard to peel flawlessly so he could try and replicate it in the same exact design and measurements, having to even take it up to a classmate from stem he once knew that transferred to graphic design

(yeonjun did ask for a science paper in exchange for his replication of the eyedrops slash adhesive label because who fucking kNEW he still had science even when in graphic design, but jungkook thinks it's fair trade so it's worth it)

it's the same exact label jungkook's had for a month and only recently gave it to you a week ago, a truth he's long since known

it's the same exact label that reads —

i love you

— in his handwriting you've come to known by heart, the label in your hand feeling much more heavy than the bracelet in the other

you already know what to do.

.

.

.

it's game day and u are about to launch yourself into orbit if you hear oNE more drum cheer because it just makes you nervous even more

yeah SURE it makes you pumped when it's the actual game itself but not now!!! not now when you're pumping yourself with electrolytes and at the risk of peeing from nervousness and too much hydration

you haven't seen seokjin nor yoongi yet and as much as that lessens the pressure on you, that alsO makes you nervous because they're your emotional support people!!!! where r they

usually you would see them in the front row of the bleachers and neither of them have any snacks because all of their focus would be on you

jin is nOT mr. kim from student affairs when it comes to your games,,, nuh-uh sir,,, he's that guy from the other team that glares so hard it dISTRACTS me from scoring in the perspective of the opposing team

coach's about to whistle like five minutes from now for a final huddle and everyone's getting their final stretches in

you're too busy looking for people that you actually want to be here that you're taken off-guard when one of them grasps at your forearm, a breathless smile one his face

"give them hell out there, alright. you're a champ."

it's jungkook!!!

IT'S JUNGKOOK!!!!@&$&":@:"$

he looks especially handsome today that you just short-circuit immediately

he's wearing a shirt with your team colors on it aND!!!

he ditched his glasses today to wear contacts, not only because he wanted to look a bit more different and special today, but because he's also scared that a ball would be thrown in his direction and injure him with the additional impact of his glasses

his hair's pushed back with his forehead showing instead of his usual hairstyle and god is it making you a little dizzy

he's beaming at you and his eyes immediately wander to your wrist, not expecting the feeling in his gut next

you're not wearing the bracelet.

jungkook feels the sudden urge to cry even when in public but it's when you grip at his forearm tightly that he stays still, squeaking when you realize his line of thought

"can't wear any jewelry on the field. i-i'm wearing your bracelet as an anklet for the meantime, it's underneath my sock."

...

....

...... oh my god

jungkook's never felt this frozen and euphoric at the same time, sputtering over nothing when your face looks like the furthest thing from joking

you're about to excuse yourself suddenly when your eyes finally take notice what's thrown on his shoulder, something about it being so familiar that it throws you off for awhile

"is that my jersey?"

he nods eagerly to your query, proudly unfolding it for you to see your spare soccer jersey with your surname and number right on it, the exact marks being the same from when you tried to use a laundry pen on it

he didn't get it replicated???

"h-how did you get that? where did you get that?"

jungkook thought you'd never ask, the words he never thought he'd say already leaving his lips

"yoongi gave it to me."

you only have a handful of jerseys on-hand and even if you could always request for more, the ones you have at home are a little more sentimental

you gave jin and yoongs one each from the only several ones you had, and you know yoongi would not give up his for jungkook

but now, you do know that he snuck to your closet and took one to give it to jungkook willingly, trusting him enough to give it to you behind your back

kook's sTILL not fully-forgiven but they're getting there sooner or later

wait why is this making you cry

before you know it, you're pushing yourself to jungkook to hug him tightly, the boy being surprised for a second but ultimately reciprocating once it registers

"i love you too."

.

.

.

.

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this is the last chronological update for stem koo aka lunchbox lovers!! however, this is not the end of them!! with the end of this chronological series, this means that all the future updates don't necessarily have to be linked — they're miscellaneous and don't have to follow a specific layout like this part of their arc.

with that said, feel free to send in asks on what you want to see from the lunchbox lovers (misc. requests, questions, and everything in between) and i'd love to fulfill them because after all, this series was born purely out of your ideas <3 also pls send in ur thoughts and feedback and love because i have da greatest time reading through all of them!! thank you for all the love for da stem koo universe <3