#If I keep at this length I'm going to need to start using text posts so I can cut

[vxnillabxn]

hiiii, could i please have some lads men x mute!mc (separate, not poly)? thanks!

𐙚˙⋆.˚ mainfive! x mute gn!reader ꒰੭

𐙚˙⋆.˚ fluff! ꒰੭

𐙚˙⋆.˚ sfw! ꒰੭

𐙚˙⋆.˚ do not translate/copy/repost! ꒰੭

﹙♡﹚thanks for requesting! i did what i could with the little knowledge i have, —and i did some research just to be sure!— because i only know deaf people and i know peruvian sign language, but other than that... i tried my very best ( ˶•ᴖ•) !! sorry for any inaccuracies! also, i had a completely mute reader in mind, hence why i didn't add any additional sounds on their part. hope this is okay! ૮ ྀི◞͈ ˔ ◟͈ ྀིა

𐙚˙⋆.˚ caleb! ꒰੭

﹙♡﹚ever since you two have had use of knowledge, he's always been next to you. that means you know him just as much as he knows you, and the way the two of you communicate has always gone beyond words.

﹙♡﹚he acts as your voice when you ask him to, but he never talks over you, and he makes sure people know exactly what you want to convey —nothing more, nothing less.

﹙♡﹚he definitely knows sign language, both the traditional one and the one you two created when you were kids. it includes lots of silly gestures, and it's easier for you to communicate rather than scribbling things down or using a text-to-speech app.

﹙♡﹚with that said, he definitely keeps all the letters, post-it notes and scribbles you've sent him. even if the notes just read “buy me snacks” or “i'm mad at you, u suck!!!” with bold, crayon letters from when you were a kid, he still treasures them.

﹙♡﹚he keeps them in little boxes or pasted on dozens of diary pages. maybe he'll never be able to recall your voice in his memories, but it doesn't matter to him. he'll always remember you this way, and he finds it even more endearing.

﹙♡﹚he loves your silent laughs. you use your entire body; eyes closed, sharp inhales, body shaking from a laughter that doesn't quite reach his ears…

﹙♡﹚and he loves your gestures, too. there are days you don't even need to sign, or you don't have to write anything down at all. you just look at him, he looks at you, you do a gesture with your brows or softly glance one way, and he'll know what you need.

﹙♡﹚he loves you so much, truly. the lengths this man will go to just for you to always feel heard or seen… gosh, he'll always make sure you feel comfortable expressing yourself however you want to. he'll also make sure people around you don't ever dare to make you feel bad.

﹙��﹚they don't understand sign language? fine, he'll translate if you ask him to. they don't want to read your notes? they'd better do it, or he'll punch— …he'll make them reconsider.

﹙♡﹚because he wants everyone to know how precious and smart you are, how complex your mind is, and how you always have something to express. so when formerly mean and stupid people suddenly start taking you seriously overnight, it's possible you have a huge guy behind you, tilting his head with a menacing glare.

𐙚˙⋆.˚ rafayel! ꒰੭

﹙♡﹚ah, this man doesn't even notice you can't express yourself with words. why? because you are so expressive; always using your hands, your facial expressions, gesturing… or writing down your thoughts.

﹙♡﹚he absolutely loves looking at you. if you are signing, his eyes are focused on your pretty hands. if you are writing, he admires how you hold the pen or pencil. if you type on a text-to-speech app, he'll watch your face light up by the phone screen.

﹙♡﹚he'll still bicker with you. a lot. you two will go back and forth, with him whining and you furiously writing down or signing back to him. he'll definitely bite back with dramatic flair, so every argument ends up in creative chaos.

﹙♡﹚he once turned off the lights when you were teasing him with hand signs. you duct taped his mouth while he slept that same night. fair game.

﹙♡﹚he forgets to translate for you. when he takes you to grand events, he's so entranced by how you move, how you try to express yourself, that he forgets he actually has to explain to some of the people around you what it is that you're trying to convey.

﹙♡﹚he won't admit it, though, but he likes to keep your thoughts for himself —sometimes. he loves being able to understand you, being able to tell what you want, what you need… and he doesn't want other people to be able to read you the way he does.

﹙♡﹚either way, he'll make sure you feel understood as always, and if you ask him to speak for you, he will.

﹙♡﹚he'll sing for you. he notices you enjoy his voice and nuzzle against him when he hums, so he'll pull you closer, just so he can look at your peaceful face. those quiet moments and lovely gestures are more than enough for him to know you love being close to him as much as he loves being close to you.

﹙♡﹚he still messes up some signs. you tell him he doesn't need to use them, since you can hear him just fine, but he wants to. he wants to feel a different way of expressing himself. after all, he shows what he feels through his paintings, so he wants to feel how you do too, without verbal interaction.

﹙♡﹚he'll probably teach you how to paint too, just so you have yet another way to communicate your thoughts and feelings. and what better way than doing something he'll always be able to understand, and that will be forever portrayed on a canvas for him to admire?

𐙚˙⋆.˚ sylus! ꒰੭

﹙♡﹚i'm convinced he speaks lots of languages, and he knows some basic and specific sign language variations too.

﹙♡﹚he'll be your translator, but only if you explicitly allow him to. if you don't, and you'd rather write down or use a text-to-speech app to communicate by yourself, he'll let you have the spotlight. after all, he loves when you share your smart and pretty mind.

﹙♡﹚he's very protective. overly. if he sees an ounce of impatience or even a brief, patronizing, seemingly insignificant gesture from someone you're communicating with, his gaze will darken.

﹙♡﹚can't they see you're expressing yourself just like anyone else? though, you're not like any other person. you're his love, the most special gem in the entire world. they will understand you, and they must pay attention to you. or else.

﹙♡﹚he is always looking at you. no matter if you're close or far, if you're sleeping or turning your back on him. he's attentive, he's ready for you to address him, ready to interpret your signs, to read your notes, to notice your body language.

﹙♡﹚he makes everything easier for you, too. not because he thinks you can't solve things by yourself, but because he wants to spoil you. plus, it is convenient (he gifted you a bell you can ring whenever you want him near).

﹙♡﹚he always comes to you upon the bell's jingling. you might as well ask him to dress up as a butler, but don't test your luck. you might end up wearing the bell around your neck instead, like a cute kitten.

﹙♡﹚he'll also have mephisto follow you around. nothing new, really. he just wants to ensure you feel okay, that your day is going smoothly, that no one is being unnecessarily rude to you, and if you require his assistance for anything at all.

﹙♡﹚he'll whisper sweet nothings to you every night. he'll remind you how your silence doesn't make you small, how you should always express yourself if you feel like it, how he loves when you share your ideas with him.

﹙♡﹚if someone isn't able to appreciate you, they aren't worth your time. at all. he'll pepper your face with kisses until you fall asleep; each kiss for each day he promises to take care of you and make sure you feel more than enough. because you are.

𐙚˙⋆.˚ xavier! ꒰੭

﹙♡﹚sweet baby takes his time learning sign language for you, because he sees how much better you express yourself rather than having to write or type it down.

﹙♡﹚he struggles at first, but he surprises you by signing “i love you.” he earns tons of kisses after that.

﹙♡﹚even when you can hear his voice, he still rather uses sign language. why? he's too lazy to speak.

﹙♡﹚...sike. in reality, he just loves the idea of sharing something with you, and he loves the way you sign his name, or when you sign cute things just to get him flustered. he thinks it's like a cute, secret way of communicating between you two.

﹙♡﹚he also finds it a bit funny how you leave post-it notes all around the house for him so he won't forget something you already told him, like buying a specific snack or going to the supermarket to bring you something.

﹙♡﹚that, or when you surprised him by using a text-to-speech app, setting a deep, funny voice to tell him “you're so hot haha," followed by a "would you still love me if i was a nuclear-bomb-shaped green, fuzzy worm?" sigh.

﹙♡﹚he buys you different sets of notebooks, each for a different purpose. the red one is for when you wish to complain. the pink one is for when you want to tell him something cute. the green one is for funny jokes you can't exactly sign, but still want them to be funny, so you write them down.

﹙♡﹚after all, there's only so much you can sign, and you know he'll understand words better, so his idea isn't useless. besides, he gets to keep them as treasures, even when you write nasty things when he messes up. he'll keep them in mind to improve, though.

﹙♡﹚sometimes, you feel exhausted, and he notices you don't even feel like writing down complex thoughts or trying to sign them, either. those days, he'll just silently hold you, reminding you that he's there, and he'll always be; whether you need him to step in, or you just need him to support you from the sidelines.

﹙♡﹚he is still getting used to all your different expressions and gestures, but he's thrilled every time he gets one right, even if it seems silly to you. he wants to be the bestest boyfriend on earth, so he'll quietly study you —while also admiring how effortlessly precious you are.

𐙚˙⋆.˚ zayne! ꒰੭

﹙♡﹚he definitely knows sign language. at least three variations, if not more. he understands when you use them, and he'll either answer orally or by signing back to you.

﹙♡﹚his signs are always polished and clear, his slender fingers making it easier… you could literally just stare at him as he both signs and talks to you.

﹙♡﹚he's too perceptive. he'll notice your gestures, no matter if they are subtle or if you try to hide them. he'll notice how you feel, and he'll be able to tell if you feel discomfort, boredom, or anything else he can change or fix for you.

﹙♡﹚you two develop a secret code full of soft gestures, little taps, tender touches, or even some nuzzles here and there; each one with a different meaning. he knows it is hard to express exactly what you want, especially when you're in a public setting with people who might understand your signs or read your notes, so your secret code will always be a safe option.

﹙♡﹚and he absolutely loves those loving gestures, too. so he's more than happy to use them when words aren't needed.

﹙♡﹚he notices that you love when he talks, so he'll read for you at night, he'll hum softly in the privacy of your shared bedroom, and he'll quietly explain some medical texts just to soothe you.

﹙♡﹚feeling his voice echoing against his chest, and hearing his heartbeat, is an absolute bliss for you, and you'll make sure to let him know how thankful you are with loving gazes and traces on his arms.

﹙♡﹚he definitely makes his medical team take sign language classes. not only because of you —though you're the main focus— but because it is a must. in fact, everyone should learn at least the basics. even when you can hear, he wants people to understand you.

﹙♡﹚he also prepares sweet surprises for you. for instance, he took you to your favorite café and the already familiar employee greeted you in sign language. zayne made sure they knew how to, since it would put a smile on your face. and it did. it was sweeter than the desserts you shared that day.

﹙♡﹚he lets you express yourself freely. he waits until you finish rambling in whatever method you choose, and he'll pause everything he's doing just to pay attention to you. you're the most precious person in his life, so naturally, everything that comes out of you is extremely important and urgent.

[pedroscurls]

training partners (pt. 4)

summary: you meet ryan reynolds and shawn levy, and hugh does his best to keep your nerves at bay. pairing: hugh jackman x fem!reader warnings: implied age gap (hugh is 55, reader is in late 20s-early 30s), reader has some description (hair, outfit), smut (oral - m receiving), shower sex (unprotected p in v, hugh bends you over 🫣), dirty talk, hugh briefly calling you a "good girl", no use of y/n. word count: 8.5k a/n: wow, this got filthy real fast but idc lol - i need it to fulfill my fantasies lol (thank you to the anons and @celestiamour who gave me these ideas!). i promise the story is progressing, just needed this little chapter lol. little fun fact about me - i'm also an 'amateur' photographer (who does specialize in engagement shoots, but also love taking landscape / street photography pics) and i've always dreamt of being an on-set photographer so here's to me living out my dream through this story (if you guys ever wanna see my photographs, i'd be so down to post them here too!). this is purely fictional! i mean no disrespect to hugh jackman (it's the only way i can live out my fantasies of this man lol). prev part. - next part.

Hugh wasn’t lying when he said his schedule would become much busier. It’s been a couple of months since meeting him and while he’s been very busy, he stayed true to his word and prioritized making time for you. When you both weren’t at the gym, he insisted on you staying at his place… and the man can be very convincing when he wants to be. 

He’s been traveling a lot and whenever he does get back, he goes straight to your apartment and spends the night. You’ve started to leave a few of your things at his house and he’s started to leave more of his things at yours. Even when he’s traveling and away from you, it never truly does feel like he’s gone. Physically, yes, but he makes time for you and it makes you feel special. 

Hugh’s heading back home today and you’re sitting on your couch, dressed in one of his t-shirts and panties with a throw blanket draped over your lap. You hear your phone go off and reach for it, seeing his name and the text he sends you: Coming up, baby. Can’t wait to see you. 

You’re about to send a reply before you hear a knock on the door. You grin excitedly, tossing the blanket to the side and standing up, lightly jogging to the door. You swing it open and see him standing there, looking very tired, but still so handsome, his eyes lighting up at the sight of you. 

“Hey, baby,” Hugh says, voice hoarse and low as he drops his duffle bag to step past the threshold and wrap his arms around your waist. He nuzzles his face against the side of your neck, letting out a sigh of relief. 

You smile against him, arms wrapped around his shoulders. “Missed you,” you whisper, kissing his cheek. “Come on in. Did you eat?” 

Hugh releases you and grabs his duffle bag, stepping back inside as you shut the door and lock it behind him. You follow him to your bedroom where he drops the bag on the floor near his side of the bed. He sits on the edge of the mattress and pulls you closer to him, to stand between his legs as he rests his forehead against your abdomen. 

“Not hungry,” Hugh says, looking up at you and taking notice of the shirt you’re wearing. His gaze darkens as he runs his fingertips along the sides of your bare legs, biting his lower lip. “This was a longer trip than intended,” he continues. “I’m sorry, love.”

Your fingertips stroke through his locks, eyes locked with his. “You don’t have to apologize. I understand. It’s part of this…” you motion between the both of you. “Part of us.” 

“Mm, how’d I get so lucky, huh?” Hugh asks, gripping your hips and pulling you onto his lap. 

You gasp quietly, feeling his length pressing against your core. “Hugh… You’re tired, baby.”

“Never tired for you, and seeing you in my clothes just does somethin’ to me,” he whispers, leaning up to press his lips against the side of your neck. His beard has grown out, having heard him say multiple times that he needed to shave. You like it though, the salt and pepper look, the scruff and the feel of it against your skin. He knows just how to use it to get you excited. “At least on my next trip, you’ll be coming with me. I can have you every day.” His hands move further underneath the shirt, running up along your back. 

“Hugh,” you whimper, feeling his teeth graze against your neck. Gently, you place your hands on his shoulders and push him onto his back. Slowly, you roll your hips against him, letting out a quiet moan against the fabric of his jeans. “Let me take care of you tonight. Is that okay?” 

“What’d you have in mind, baby?” Hugh pulls back to look up at you, a quiet groan escaping his lips as he feels you press further against his hardening length. 

Slowly, you climb off his lap and then sit up on your knees, biting your lower lip innocently. “Lean against the headboard,” you tell him. 

Hugh doesn’t even hesitate. He scrambles on your bed and sits up, leaning back against your headboard. He reaches the end of his shirt and pulls it over his head, tossing it to the side. Your mattress certainly isn’t as big as his, but you both make it work. His hands move to the button and zipper of his jeans, undoing them quickly as his eyes take in your frame and the position you’re in. You’re leaning forward on your hands, your tongue slowly darting out to lick your lower lip as your eyes move towards the center of his pants. 

Hugh’s exhausted and he knows he isn’t going to last long, but he has missed you so much. He knows that this relationship is still new and not that many people know about it, but the more he leaves you, the more he realizes that he wants more of this. He wants everyone in the world to know that you’re his and while he wants to make sure you’re comfortable and move at your own pace, he can’t help but feel excited to know that one day you’d both get there. 

“Take off your pants,” you tell him, slowly crawling towards him as he parts his legs for you.

“I kinda like this side of you,” Hugh smirks, pushing his pants and boxers down his legs and tossing them over the bed. He groans at the relief in pressure, looking down at himself to see his manhood at attention. He reaches down and grasps himself, holding onto his base and tugging a few times. 

You would never get over the sight of his manhood. So long and girthy, leaking at the tip, and hair at his base. Every time, you’re at a loss for words. He’s so beautiful and you try to show some restraint, wanting so badly to just wrap your lips around his length and gag–

“Come ‘ere,” Hugh calls out, breaking you out of your thoughts. “Take that shirt off, baby.” 

You nod and sit up on your knees, pulling the shirt off your body, now only clad in your panties. Slowly, you then crawl towards him, settling yourself between his legs as you gently push away his hand to replace it with your own. Once you wrap your fingers around him, barely able to grasp him in one hand, Hugh lets out a groan. You lean down, wrapping your lips around his tip and sucking the pre-come from his tip. 

His large hand moves to your hair, holding it away from your face as he leans his head back against the headboard. “God, baby,” Hugh moans. 

Your tongue swirls around his tip as your hand strokes his base. You love doing this for him, just as much as he loves going down on you too. Just like him, you’re always so crazed and yearning for more. You feel Hugh’s hand move to the back of your head, urging you to go further down his length. You slowly begin to bob your head and with each movement, going further and further until you feel his tip hit the back of your throat. 

Hugh lets out a loud moan at that, accidentally thrusting his hips upwards for more. He hears you gag and he has to pull you away for a moment so that you can catch your breath, eyes gazing down at you as he sees tears stinging the corner of your eyes. 

“Sorry. I got carried away,” Hugh pants, his manhood throbbing for more. “I just– You look–”

“Shh,” you interrupt him, placing your mouth back onto his cock and beginning to quicken your pace. Your head bobs up and down, going further until you feel the tip of your nose brush against the hair at his base. He’s so deep in your mouth and you’ve learned to relax your throat because the sounds that come out of him is something that you yearn for more of. 

Hugh lets out a litany of curses under his breath, hand gripping your hair as he watches you. Your hand pumps him in time with your mouth moving along him and he shuts his eyes, head hitting the back of the headboard as a loud moan escapes his lips. 

“Baby,” he growls, feeling the tightness build in his lower stomach. “Baby, I’m about to–” 

You interrupt him by lowering yourself until you hit the back of his throat again. You don’t slow down and you don’t make a move to pull away because you know that Hugh’s close and you want nothing more than to taste him and swallow. 

When Hugh realizes that you weren’t going to pull away, it’s enough to make him reach his climax. He holds your head down against him as his hips slightly lift upwards. You pull inches away, your mouth still around his length, as you feel his come in your mouth. You open your eyes to look up at him, lips slightly parted, eyes squeezed shut, chest heaving, as he releases his spend. 

You swallow immediately, tasting the salt of his release as you slow your movements. You continue to suck and stroke until he shudders, gently pulling you away from him as his manhood softens against his lower half. 

You sit up on your knees and swallow again, licking your lips as you stare up at him. You wipe the fallen tears away from your eyes, lips swollen as you tilt your head at the sight of him. Hugh slowly opens his eyes and stares at you, a small smile lining his lips. 

“That’s a nice thing to come home to,” Hugh smiles, lowering himself on your bed and pulling you into his arms. “That was amazing.” 

You smile, leaning up to kiss his shoulder. “I can’t help myself sometimes. You’re just so–” you stop yourself, biting your lower lip. “Anyway, I’m glad you’re home.” 

“I’m glad I’m home too, baby.” Hugh kisses the crown of your head and pulls you against his chest. 

You try to pull away from him to grab the shirt from the floor, but he just pulls you back to him. “Hugh,” you giggle. 

“No,” he smiles sleepily. “You don’t need a shirt.”

“What if I get cold?” 

“I’ll warm you up,” he says softly, leaning over to kiss your temple. “I really did miss you, love.” Hugh’s eyes slowly fall shut, feeling completely satisfied and relieved to be with you now. 

“I missed you too, Hugh,” you respond, head resting against him. “Get some sleep, baby.” 

Hugh nods and within minutes, his snores begin to fill your small room. 

—

Hugh decides to stay at your apartment for the next few days and it gives you a glimpse of what a “normal” life would be like with him. You know that you’re set to meet Shawn and Ryan soon and as the day nears, you feel your nerves begin to settle in the pit of your stomach. You don’t tell Hugh though, not wanting him to have to worry about you. 

“So,” you tell him, trying to think of anything else but the meeting with Shawn and Ryan. “I was thinking we can tell our trainer about… You know, about us.” 

Hugh’s eyes light up, turning to look over at you. You’re both sitting on your couch, his arm draped over the back of it as you snuggle against his side. “Yeah?” Hugh can’t help the excitement bubble within him. He knows you’re still a bit wary about this relationship, but if he had it his way, he’d let the whole world know you’re his. “Are you sure, baby?” 

You nod, looking up at him as an arm drapes over his midsection. “Besides, I think she already knows. It’s not like you try to hide it when we’re at the gym.”

“Me?” Hugh playfully gasps, looking into your eyes. “You’re the one who can’t keep their eyes off of me.”

You roll your eyes. “Okay, we both know that’s a lie,” you tell him, though, you know you’re only lying to yourself.  

“Is it though, baby?” Hugh smirks, pulling you onto his lap as he looks up at you, hands resting on your thighs. “You do this thing, and I’m almost certain you have no idea you’re doing it.” 

“And what’s that, hm?”

“You bite your lower lip,” Hugh grins, bringing a hand up to run the pad of his thumb across your lower lip. “When your eyes zero in on my arms… especially when we’re doing biceps.” 

You narrow your eyes at him, bringing your arms to drape over his shoulders. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” you say innocently. 

“Oh, so now we wanna act all innocent? You were all talk a minute there,” he chuckles, arms wrapping around your waist and pulling you closer. 

“Okay, hush you,” you smile, burying your face against the side of his neck. He holds you like this for a few moments, but he can tell there’s something else on your mind. He runs his hands along your back and up your shoulders, and back down to your waist. He can feel the tension in your shoulders, can hear the quiet sigh that escapes your lips, your breath fanning against the side of his neck.

“What’s up?” he asks quietly, slowly pulling you back so that he can look into your eyes. “What’s on your mind, love?” 

“Nothing,” you tell him, shrugging a shoulder. 

Hugh sighs. “You’re a terrible liar, d’ya know that?” 

You roll your eyes. “I’m not lying.” 

He lets out a quiet chuckle and brings a hand up to your cheek, gently cupping it. “Talk to me. What can I do to help ease that mind of yours?”

“How do you know something’s bothering me?”

Hugh sighs, tilting his head. “You know, I’m very observant. Especially when it comes to you.” 

“Ah, so you stare too.”

Hugh chuckles lightly, knowing that this is only your way of trying to lighten the mood. “Well, obviously, but that’s besides the point. I don’t know how I can ease that mind of yours if you don’t talk to me, baby. We talked about this already…” 

“I know,” you sigh. “I know. I just don’t want to burden you with my problems and–”

“Your problems are my problems, baby,” Hugh says seriously. “Let me help you. What’s going on?” 

“I’m just nervous,” you tell him. “Meeting Ryan and Shawn… I just don’t want to disappoint them and what if they realize that my work isn’t even that great and then also, it’ll be the first time I’m meeting your friends and–” you ramble, feeling him lean in to peck your lips. 

“Okay, first of all,” he says, pulling away. “Your work is absolutely amazing and they already know that. And second, as long as I’m happy, that’s all that matters to them. Just be you, baby. That’s what got me in the first place,” he smiles. “Don’t try to be anyone else, but you. You make me happy and I haven’t felt this way in a very long time. That means something to me.” 

You nod, looking deeply into his eyes. You can sense there’s something else he wants to say because you also want to say it too, but it’s too early. It’s only been a couple of months and you don’t want to scare him away, but you’d be lying if you said that your feelings for him weren’t getting any deeper… 

Because it was. 

And you’re afraid to fall because you know that if you do, there’s truly no going back.

“I just–” you sigh, leaning in to press your forehead against his. “I just want you happy.”

“I am happy, baby,” he replied quickly, lightly pecking your lips. “I’m happy with you, love. You’ll be okay,” he promises. “Besides, I’ll be there with you.”

You nod and wrap your arms around his shoulders tightly, burying your face against the side of his neck. Hugh’s hands come up to your shoulders and he can feel a tremendous difference. There’s still some tension, but it’s certainly not like how it was before. 

“Okay, I believe you,” you tell him, pulling back to look down at him. “Should we go get ready for the gym?” 

Hugh nods, standing up from the couch with you holding onto him. You smile down at him, legs wrapped around his waist as you lock your ankles together at his lower back. He holds you up against him, leading you down the hallway to your bedroom. 

“If I wasn’t training to get back into shape for the Wolverine, I’d take you right here,” he says quietly, leaning in to pepper kisses along your neck. 

“We literally had sex earlier this morning,” you tell him with a giggle, hands playing with his hair at the nape of his neck. 

“Do you know what you look like?” Hugh says, gently setting you on your feet once you both get to your bedroom. “You make me feel young again,” he teases. 

“Ah, right,” you tell him, grabbing the ends of the shirt you’re wearing and pulling it over your head, tossing it in his direction. “I forget you’re such an old man,” you tease, walking shirtless to your closet to change into your workout clothes. 

Hugh’s gaze darkens and he strides over to you, wrapping his arms around your waist from behind. His hands come up to cover your breasts, kneading them into the pit of his palms. “How about I just bend you over right across your dresser and just–”

“Hugh!” you whimper pushing back against him. “We have to get to the gym.”

Hugh grunts and then pulls away, turning you around so that he can look at your exposed chest. “Fine,” he says with a huff. “But after our workout, we’re coming back here and you’re gonna let me have my way with you.”

“Oh, I’m gonna let you, huh?” you grin, running your hands across his hardened chest. 

“Yeah, you are,” Hugh growls, stepping closer to you and wrapping an arm around your waist to pull you flush against him. “Now, go and get ready or else we’re never going.” 

You turn around to grab clothes and feel Hugh smack your backside, causing a gasp to escape your lips. You look over at him and he’s staring at you with a grin and winks in your direction before walking away to let you finish getting ready.

—

You and Hugh are both halfway through your workout, both already drenched in sweat from yet another tough workout from your trainer. You get a brief break and walk up to your trainer, taking a deep breath. This will be the first person that you’ll be telling about your relationship and you’re a bit nervous. It still feels surreal to say (or even believe) that you’re in a relationship with Hugh Jackman. 

“Hey you,” your trainer says, smiling in your direction. “Great first half of the workout.”

“Yeah right,” you laugh quietly, using your towel to wipe the sweat off your brow. “I felt like that just kicked my ass. Listen, I wanted to tell you something and…” 

A knowing grin lines her lips. “What’s that?” 

Your eyes narrow in her direction, tilting your head. “Why are you looking at me like that?” 

“No reason,” she chuckles. “What did you want to tell me?” 

You look over your shoulder at Hugh who’s looking down at his phone and your eyes linger on his arms, especially his arms. When he looks up at you, he winks in your direction and you clear your throat, turning your attention back to your trainer. “So, Hugh and I… We’re in a relationship… It’s still new, but–”

“I knew it,” she interrupts you with a larger smile. “You guys don’t make an effort to hide it, you know,” she laughs. “You stare at him a lot.”

“Okay, let’s never tell him that because he won’t ever let me live it down if you do,” you laugh. “But, I’m really happy. Like extremely happy and I’m afraid I’m going to end up self-sabotaging it because I don’t know what a healthy relationship looks like, but he’s… He’s amazing.” 

“Take it day by day,” your train responds. “You deserve a good man and Hugh’s definitely one of the good ones. Let yourself be loved the way you deserve,” she tells you. 

“Thank you,” you reply, pulling her into a hug. “You know just all the right things to say, you know that?” 

She hugs you tightly and then releases you, smiling at you. “Lots of experience. Now, let’s get back to the workout.” 

—

By the end of the work out, you’re lying on the mats trying to catch your breath. You’re about to stand up before you feel Hugh hover above you in a high plank position, his hands resting above your head at shoulder-width distance. 

“Care to motivate me to complete my finisher?” he grins, looking down at you as he tightens his core to keep himself upright. 

“I don’t think I can even move,” you chuckle, looking up at him. “That workout was–”

“Don’t gotta move, baby,” he winks, pushing himself down in a push-up, chest hovering inches above yours as he leans down to peck your lips. “Just motivate me with your kisses, can you do that for me?” 

“That’s gonna motivate you?” you tease. “And how in the hell are you holding this push-up position?” 

Hugh just chuckles and then pushes himself back up. “Just answer the question. Every time I come down, gimme a kiss. Seems easy enough, isn’t it?” 

“If I must,” you wink. “Now, come on then. Finish this last exercise so you can take me back home and have your way with me,” you repeat. 

Hugh’s eyes narrow, pushing himself down into a push-up. You meet him halfway and lean up to peck his lips before he pushes himself upright. He continues this for a few more reps, but you’re beginning to distract him because you bring your hands up his chest to his shoulders and down his flexed arms. 

“I have one more set, baby, stop that,” Hugh says, pushing himself down and pecking your lips. He notices the look in your eyes and he can feel himself stirring within his shorts. “You’re not helping me,” he chuckles. 

“I think I’m helping you plenty,” you reply. “But are you helping me?” 

Hugh pushes himself down once more, but moves his head to the side of your neck as his lips brush against you. He feels you shudder against him and let out a shaky breath. He barely pushes himself back up as he moves to hover his lips closely over yours. “I will be after this.” 

“Mmm, promise? Because all I’ve been able to think about is you bending me over and–”

Hugh growls and moves into a high plank once more. He looks down at you, watching as you bite your lower lip. He doesn’t bother replying to you, wanting to just finish his last set of this exercise so that he can just take you back home. 

“Okay, get on up and meet me in the car while I finish this.” 

“You don’t need me to motivate you anymore?” you ask innocently, batting your eyelashes at him.

Hugh shakes his head and then stands up, reaching down to pull you on your feet. His hand darts out to rest on your hip, giving it a gentle squeeze. He has to remind himself that you’re both still at the gym and while your trainer isn’t in the same room, he can’t just take you here. 

“Go to the car and wait for me there,” he repeats. 

“Or… what?” 

Hugh lets out a low growl, gaze darkening. He steps closer to you, pulling you flush against him at the same time as his lips hover near your ear. He whispers quietly, voice laced with desire and it shoots straight to your core. “Oh, baby, are we not gonna be a good girl today?” He nudges against you, hand dipping from your hip to move around your lower back, inching further to grasp your backside. “Because I’m sure you remember what happens when you ain’t being good.” 

“But, what if I like being bad?” 

“Then don’t whine and beg for me to let you come,” Hugh says with a husky voice. You can feel chills wash over your body as you pull back to look up at him, eyes narrowing in his direction. “Now, meet me in the car. I’ll be there shortly.” 

You want to call his bluff, but you just want him so badly that you move away with a huff. “Fine,” you tell him, turning around to grab your bag. He reaches for your hand for a moment, his touch soft and gentle in comparison to the words he just said as he pulls you back to him. 

“Gimme a kiss at least.”

“So needy, so demanding,” you tell him, leaning up on your toes to peck his lips. 

“Yeah, we’ll see who’s needy later.” he replies almost instantly. 

—

The ride back to your apartment was quick. You can tell Hugh was trying to get back to your place in record time. His right hand remained on your upper thigh, but throughout the entire ride, he didn’t say anything. You know where his mind had drifted to, what he was probably thinking because when you reached over to rest your own hand on his thigh, he just grabbed your wrist and pushed it away. 

“No, baby,” was all he said. The moment he pulls into his parking spot at your apartment complex, he quickly climbs out to grab your bags from the trunk. You step out of the car and begin walking towards your door, looking over your shoulder at Hugh whose eyes are staring directly at you.

And once inside your apartment, Hugh drops both of your bags and shuts the door with his foot. The moment you both remove your shoes, Hugh is on you. His arms wrap around your waist, head dipping down to press light kisses on the side of your neck. He pulls you flush against him and he hears you gasp, knowing that you can feel his hardening length beneath his shorts. 

“Hugh…” you whimper, arms snaking around his shoulders. “Can we–”

“Shh,” Hugh interrupts, lifting you in his arms as you quickly wrap your legs around his waist. He begins walking down the hallway towards your bedroom until he feels your lips on his neck, gently biting down and sucking on the skin afterwards. 

Suddenly, Hugh stops and turns you so that your back is pressed against the wall. He pulls back to look at you, grabbing your hands and pressing them roughly against the wall above your head. Your legs remain tightly wrapped around him, rolling your hips slowly as you yearn for friction, yearn to feel more of him. 

Hugh’s gaze is filled with lust as he stares at you, gripping your wrists as he leans forward, nose nudging against yours. “I should punish you for not listening to me earlier, for teasing me…” Hugh says, his breath fanning against your lips. 

“But?” you ask, tilting your head as you squeeze him closer to you. “But you’re too nice and won’t do that, right?” you smile, letting out a quiet giggle. 

Hugh shakes his head and rests his forehead against yours. “You’re really testing me, aren’t ya? And you know exactly what you’re doin’.”

“I have an idea,” you tell him, leaning in to gently nip at his lower lip. “How about we take a shower and… and see what happens?” 

Hugh lets out an involuntary groan, just thinking and imagining bending you over in your shower or even just holding you up in his arms like this while the water cascades down your bodies. He suddenly sets you back onto your feet, releasing your wrists as he looks down at you. 

“Lead the way then, baby.” 

“Yeah?” you ask excitedly, eyes lighting up in anticipation. Without waiting for him to reply, you grab his hand and lead him towards your bedroom and into the connected bathroom. Once inside, you release your hold on him and lean over the tub to let the water run so that it can heat up. You reach out to test the temperature, feeling the water hit your hand. When you turn back to Hugh, he’s already stripped down to his boxers with an obvious bulge beneath it. 

Your eyes take in his frame, moving along his chiseled and muscular upper body and down to the waistband of his boxers. You swallow quietly, hooking your thumbs into the waistband of your shorts and pulling it down your legs. Hugh stands there, watching you undress as he moves his boxers down his own legs. He lets out a groan of relief, hand immediately reaching down to grasp onto his throbbing length to stroke himself slowly. 

Your clothes pool at your ankles as you stand before him, completely naked and bare, watching as he strokes himself at the mere sight of you. You feel a wetness pool between your legs, throbbing and yearning to wrap around something. 

Hugh takes the initiative to step inside the shower, the water instantly hitting his sore muscles and the heat of the water doing its job to provide relief. He watches you step inside with him and immediately, he reaches out to grab you and pull you flush against him. The water cascades down both your bodies from above as you reach up to stroke back your wet hair and see Hugh do the same. You lean up on your toes and slowly press your lips against his, moving it almost instantly as you feel his manhood stir and throb against your lower abdomen.

His hands move down your wet back and to your backside, gripping both cheeks tightly in his large hands as he feels your breasts push against him. He’s throbbing so painfully that he knows he can’t tease you and drag this out long enough to have you begging because he needs to be inside of you now. 

Slowly, Hugh pulls away to look down at you. Eyes searching your own and it’s in this moment that Hugh feels like this can be something so much more than he expected it to be. He reaches up to cup your cheek, thumb brushing against you as the water continues to trickle down your bodies. 

“Absolutely beautiful,” he whispers. 

When Hugh’s gaze softens like this, eyes staring deeply into your own, it almost feels like you know what he’s thinking, what he wants to say but doesn’t. You feel his thumb move down your cheek until the pad of his thumb brushes lightly along your lower lip, causing your lips to part instinctively. 

“Hugh, I–” 

He interrupts you with a soft kiss on your lips. “I know, baby. I’m gonna take care of you.” Then, he turns you around, eyes drifting down your back to your backside. Hugh then moves a hand to your middle back and slowly guides you to bend over as you reach out to rest your hands on the shower wall in front of you. 

Hugh grasps himself and runs his tip along your folds, growling to himself. He uses his free hand to rest on your hip, fingertips digging into your flesh as he slowly slides into you. Your warmth and tightness surrounds him and he forces himself to keep the slow pace, your moans mixing in with the sounds of the water. He reaches up to take hold of your wet hair in his grasp, tilting your head slightly to the side so that he can see your face. 

You moan loudly at the feel of him stretching you out. You don’t think you’d ever get used to his size, but despite the painful stretch in the beginning, you know that your walls will slowly begin to give way for him. And you’re always dripping wet for him that he just slides right in and this is certainly no different. 

When Hugh fills you to the hilt, he has to remain still for a moment because you’re gripping him so tight that he knows once he starts to move, he won’t be able to stop until he reaches his high. But he suddenly feels you move back against him, eyes immediately drifting down to your backside as this position gives him such an amazing view. He moves his hand from your hair to your hip as both hands grip you and begin to move you back and forth on his hardened length. 

Your moans filter into the bathroom, the steam from the shower encompassing the entire bathroom. As Hugh pulls you back against him, he pushes his hips forward, groaning to himself at the sensation of your warmth. Hugh will never get enough of this, of you. He’s had plenty of conversations with Ryan about you, about how he can see himself falling so deeply in love with you that it not only scares him, but also excites him too. 

“Hugh…” you moan, reaching back to grab a hold of his forearm as your nails dig into the skin. His thrusts are slowly beginning to pick up in speed, the sound of skin slapping against one another now mixing in with the sounds of your moans and the water that has now turned cool. 

“Oh, baby,” Hugh groans, taking your hand and holding it firmly against your lower back. He pulls back, looking down at where you’re connected and it turns him on even more. Your slickness coats his entire length and he pushes back into you with ease, your walls giving way to his girth but still so tight around him.

You feel your body begin to tremble as Hugh’s thrusts bring you closer and closer to the edge. As you’re about to reach your high, you quickly pull away from him, his length slipping out of you with ease. You turn around to face him, biting your lower lip as Hugh looks at you with a confused look.

“You were close, weren’t you?” Hugh smirks, stepping closer to you. 

“Sorry, it was too much and I–”

Hugh presses his lips against yours and then lifts you up into his arms, allowing your legs to wrap around his waist with ease. He uses his free hand to reach down to grasp his base, lining himself at your entrance. He pressed your back against the shower wall as he slowly slides back into you, growling against your lips. 

Your arms wrap around his shoulders as your fingernails dig into the skin at his upper back. He wastes no time in thrusting up into you, his hands resting underneath you. He’s careful not to slip, even with the water continuing to run down but he needs you to to come, needs to see and hear you. Slowly, he pulls away from your lips, forehead instead resting against yours as your lips brush against his. 

“Come for me, baby,” Hugh whispers, driving his hips upwards. The muscles in his arms and chest flex as he holds you up against the wall, pulling his hips back only to push them back towards you, his length kissing that sweet spot within your depths repeatedly. 

Your walls begin to tighten around his length and you squeeze your legs even tighter around him to pull him closer to you as your nails drag down his back. “Hugh!” You hold onto him tightly, feeling his movements become more erratic. 

Hugh buries his face against the side of your neck, teeth dragging along your skin as he feels himself get closer and closer to the edge. He feels you tighten even further around him and he pulls out abruptly to shoot his release in the inside of your thigh. 

You stare at him, completely breathless as you lean forward to peck his lips lightly. “We didn’t even shower,” you tease, panting against him.

Hugh chuckles, nudging the tip of his nose against yours. “Worth it,” he replies. “And you called my bluff… I just couldn’t tease you and have you beg when all I wanted to do was just be inside of you.”

“Good…” you smile, slowly unwrapping your legs around his waist so that you can fully stand upright. Your legs feel a bit wobbly, bracing yourself on his shoulders as his hands move to your hips. “Because I’d have been a mess if you left me begging.”

“Mmm,” Hugh grins. “That doesn’t sound too bad. Maybe next time,” he winks. “Now, come on. Let’s get cleaned up, love.”

—

For the rest of the week, you’re spending it at Hugh’s place. It’s easy how you both can slip into a routine with each other and how well you both coexist. Even though this relationship is still very new and in the beginning stages, you’re starting to see exactly how easy you can fit into Hugh’s life. You still have some reservations, still nervous that this might not work out, but the more time you spend with him, the more you realize that this is something you’d want to give a chance for the possibility of being something greater than you ever imagined. 

You’re set to meet Ryan and Shawn tonight and you’re nervous. Knowing that Hugh would be there with you does ease your mind, but this is the first step in truly seeing if you can fit into his life. 

You’re in the kitchen, whisking pancake batter in a bowl to cook breakfast for you and Hugh. You’ve gotten used to wearing his clothes and this morning is no different because you’re just dressed in one of his black t-shirts and nothing but. You’re so deep in thought, focused solely on making breakfast that you don’t hear him coming down the stairs and it isn’t until you feel his arms wrap around you from behind that it pulls you out of your trance. 

“Morning, baby,” he whispers, leaning down to kiss the side of your neck. “Making me breakfast?”

“Mhm,” you nod. “Protein pancakes and then some scrambled eggs.” 

You turn your head and kiss his cheek, smiling in his direction before you continue to whisk the batter. 

“You spoil me,” he smiles. “I’m going on a run with a few friends, but I should be back by the time you’re done.” Hugh then pulls away from you to grab a glass of water as you turn to look at him. He’s dressed in a fitted white t-shirt and a pair of black sweatpants, tennis shoes, and a hat. Your eyes take in his frame, lingering at his arms and chest and down his legs. It isn’t until he clears his throat that you finally look up at him who’s staring at you with a knowing smirk. 

“What’s on your mind, hm?” Hugh grins. 

“You just look…” you bite your lower lip, reaching down to play with the end of your (his) t-shirt. “I like seeing you in a white t-shirt and the one you’re wearing is literally about to rip. It’s so tiny!” 

“It is not,” Hugh chuckles, eyes lingering on your frame as well. “I’m just getting bigger…”

“Oh, I’ve noticed,” you grin and walk towards him, hands running across his chest as you feel him flex underneath your fingertips. “I like you either way, but seeing you get into shape as Wolverine again is just…” 

Hugh leans down and pecks your lips, hand moving down to your hip. “Oh, I know. You practically stare at me every chance you get.” 

“Do you blame me?” 

“Not at all…” Hugh smiles, staring deeply into your eyes. “But that’s only because I stare at you every chance I get too.” 

“We’re quite the pair, aren’t we?” 

“I’d say the best pair,” Hugh says softly. “You ready for tonight?” 

You shrug and move your arms to wrap around his shoulders. “No, I’m nervous… But I think knowing that you’ll be there helps a bit.”

“Just a bit?”

You smile. “Oh yeah, a very tiny bit.” 

Hugh’s eyes narrow. “If I’m only gonna help a tiny bit, then I might as well not go with you.”

“No!” you say immediately, shaking your head. “Don’t do that. I need you there.”

“Ah, so more than a tiny bit.”

“Yes,” you laugh quietly. “Since you’ll be there, I know I’ll be okay.” 

“You’d be okay with or without me there,” Hugh reassures. “But I’m happy to spend time with you, Ryan, and Shawn tonight.”

“It’s going to be very casual, right?”

Hugh nods. “Very casual.” he pecks your lips lightly and then pulls away. “I better get going. I’ll be back soon, baby.” 

“Have a good run, Hugh,” you tell him, hands slowly sliding down his arms before you move back to the task at hand. Your eyes focus on whisking the batter as you move around in his kitchen to grab the necessary things you need to complete breakfast. Hugh watches you for a brief moment, eyes filled with so much love and appreciation that for a split second, he wants so badly to tell you what has been on his mind since his last trip. 

But he doesn’t. 

Not yet. 

—

You’re staring at yourself in the mirror, dressed in a pair of high waisted denim pants with a black, loose fit collared v-neck knitted sweatshirt. Your makeup remains light and natural and you play nervously with the black belt on your pants. 

Hugh comes up from behind you, dressed just as casually in a pair of black jeans, black t-shirt with a black bomber jacket over. He wraps his arms around you from behind, resting his chin against the side of your neck. 

“You look amazing.” Hugh smiles. “You ready to go?” 

“I’m nervous,” you admit. “Not only do I want them to like my work, but there’s a bit of added pressure because they know we’re together and they’re both your closest friends and–”

Hugh quietly hushes you with a gentle kiss against your temple. “They already like your work,” he reassures you. “And I talk about you all the time. It’s like they already know you.” 

“I don’t know if that helps me or not,” you tell him honestly. “I just–” You turn around to face him, looking up at him. “I just really like you and I want to get along with your friends, even if they are really fucking famous and–”

“Stop,” Hugh says, gently resting his hands on your hips. “Just think of it as a night out with friends. We’re gonna grab dinner and a couple of drinks and then call it a night.” 

“What if you realize that I’m actually not all that great and then rethink this entire relationship?”

“Okay,” Hugh sighs quietly and rests his forehead against yours, eyes staring deeply into yours. “I like you, a lot, baby. I know this is still new for us, but there’s nothing I want more than to be with you.” He brings a hand up to your cheek, thumb brushing against your soft skin. “Just be you.”

“But what if–”

“Nope,” he interrupts. “What does our trainer tell you?” He tilts his head, eyes gazing into your own. “Ah, yes. Self-talk, baby. You gotta treat yourself just as kindly as I see you treat others.” 

“Okay,” you nod, letting out a quiet sigh. “We should probably go before I talk myself out of it.” 

“Oh, I wouldn’t let you back out,” Hugh smiles, taking your hand and leading you out of the bathroom. Your heels click against the tile floor as you follow Hugh downstairs. “We’re taking a car tonight. I know you still want to keep this relationship under wraps from press, so I figured–”

“Thank you, Hugh.” you say softly, following him out of his house and towards the black SUV parked out front. “You think of everything, don’t you?”

“I just want my girl to be comfortable and happy,” Hugh smiles. 

My girl. 

You slide into the car and immediately greet the driver, who looks at you from the rearview mirror with a shocked expression. Hugh slides in right next to you and shuts the door, hearing you make small talk with the driver and he smiles to himself. It baffles him how kind, sweet, and considerate you are to other people, but to yourself, it’s a very different story. He wishes he can make you see just how amazing you are or make you see the way he sees you. 

Hugh also chimes in on the conversation as the driver begins driving away from Hugh’s house and towards the city. His hand moves to rest on your thigh, looking down at you with a small smile on his lips. He leans in and kisses the side of your head, feeling your hand move to cover his own. 

It doesn’t take long before you and Hugh arrive at the restaurant. You look outside and let out a breath of relief, glad that you don’t see one paparazzi as Hugh steps out first. He reaches a hand out for you and you tell the driver to have a good night before you take Hugh’s hand and climb out after him. 

He leads you inside and immediately spots Ryan and Shawn at the corner of the restaurant, waving in both of your directions.

“Just be you,” Hugh repeats, whispering into your ear as you follow closely behind him. 

“Well, look who finally decided to show up,” Ryan teases, hugging Hugh as you bite your lower lip. You watch him greet Shawn before he turns to you, a large smile on his lips. He rests a hand on your lower back, urging you closer to the table. 

“And this is…” Hugh smiles, saying your name as he introduces you to Ryan and Shawn.

“Okay, you’ve told us a lot about her, but you didn’t say she was this beautiful,” Ryan replies, causing a quiet chuckle to escape Hugh’s lips. You feel heat rise in your cheeks as you instinctively lean against Hugh for comfort, for support. 

Just be you. 

Just be you.

Just be you.

You take a deep breath and then reach your hand to shake Shawn and Ryan’s hands, smiling up at them. “I’m eager to hear what things he’s said about me if beautiful wasn’t part of it,” you tease. 

Hugh shakes his head and pulls out your chair, waiting until you sit down before he takes his spot next to you. Ryan and Shawn sit across from you, already each with a drink in front of them. 

“I like you,” Ryan chuckles. “I’m Ryan.” 

“I’m Shawn.”

You smile and feel Hugh’s hand move to rest casually on your thigh. You don’t realize how much it brings you comfort and you glance up at him for a moment before you turn your attention to Shawn and Ryan. 

“I’m a huge fan of you both… And I’m excited to join you for the movie,” you tell them. 

“Oh, Hugh’s shown us some of your work and it’s impressive. I can’t believe you only do engagement shoots,” Shawn says, his eyes lighting up. “I mean, those are great too, but your landscapes and street photography are amazing.” 

“I still can’t believe it,” you tell him, laughing quietly. “I mean, I’m just a woman with a camera–”

“Who takes fucking awesome pictures,” Ryan finishes for you. 

“He’s right. We’re excited to have you join us too.” Shawn adds. 

Hugh smiles proudly in your direction, looking around the table as you continue to have a conversation with both Ryan and Shawn. He envisioned this so clearly, how well you fit in in his life and to see it firsthand, it makes him feel the love he has for you bloom in his heart. 

He looks over at Ryan, who’s staring back at him with a knowing grin. Hugh narrows his eyes, tilting his head before he interrupts you and Shawn briefly. 

“Ryan and I are gonna grab a drink at the bar. What d’ya want, baby?” 

“White wine, love,” you say almost instantly, your pet name for him coming out naturally that it causes you to blush. 

Hugh grins at that and then stands up with Ryan, walking towards the bar. He feels Ryan place a firm hand on his shoulder and he looks over at the other man, letting out a quiet chuckle. 

“Okay, out with it. I know you have something to say.”

“What? Me?” Ryan playfully gasps then laughs quietly. “I’ve got nothing,” he lies.

Hugh’s eyes narrow. “We both know that’s a lie. What is it?” 

Ryan smiles genuinely. “You’re happy.” 

“I am, mate. She makes me happy,” Hugh replies almost too quickly. He glances over his shoulder at you, seeing you in such natural conversation with Shawn. He doesn’t see the tension in your shoulders, doesn’t see the concern or anxiety in your features; you’re completely relaxed and comfortable. 

“And she’s great,” Ryan adds. 

“She is, isn’t she?” Hugh smiles. “I think…” he sighs, biting the inside of his cheek. “I think I’m falling in love with her, Ryan.” 

“Oh, I could have told you that,” he chuckles. “Does she know?” 

Hugh shakes his head. “No, no. It’s still too early. I don’t– I don’t want to scare her away.” 

Once at the bar, Ryan raises a hand in the air to get the bartender’s attention before he turns back to look at Hugh. “Well, something tells me that she probably feels the same way.” 

“You don’t know that, mate.” 

“Hugh,” Ryan says. “Do you not see the way she looks at you?” 

Hugh looks over at you, catching your gaze briefly. He feels the warmth in his chest at the sight of you smiling in his direction. He winks over at you before he turns to Ryan. “It’s still too early,” he repeats. “I’ll tell her when… when I think the moment is right.” 

Before Ryan can reply, the bartender comes by and Hugh tells him your drink order and his. After a few minutes, he thanks the bartender as he and Ryan make his way back to the table and realizes that you aren’t at the table. 

“She went to the bathroom,” Shawn tells them, then he turns to Hugh with a grin. “Hugh, she’s amazing.” 

Hugh smiles, sitting down. He looks over at the hallway towards the bathrooms, seeing you walk down the hallway as you begin making your way back to them, back to him. 

“Yeah, she is,” he says, voice laced with so much love and appreciation as his eyes stay locked on yours. “I don’t think I’m ever letting her go.”

---

taglist (if links don't work, i'm sorry!): @corvusmorte - @dragonqueen89 - @whimsiwitchy - @kellyxo1 - @wolviehugh - @moonxknightx - @sullyselena - @angelofthorr - @spectorrrhgf - @needz1nk - @fandomxo00 - @godlypresley - @kythefangirl25 - @callsignyourmom - @sue8724 - @squishyfruitloop - @sylviavf - @emotrash1 - @dissentientss - @sir-thisisadndserver - @absolutepie - @millajay

[leonawriter]

A few things about Carmen.

First of all, I'm biased because there are many things that imply she wasn't the greatest person even before she got Brain Vat-ed, but my entire Brand is "we have to look at things objectively and by looking at the facts in order to get a full and accurate picture of the way things are, not how we simply want them to be," so I'm going to do that. As best as I can.

Okay, so... what we know about her before she died is limited completely to other peoples' testimony, which is highly important because as we know from my other posts, Everyone Here Is An Unreliable Narrator.

That said, let's take a look at a few of those things.

I'd love to use images to prove I'm getting the dialogue straight from the game on every single line, but unfortunately Tumblr has an image limit of 30 per post! So. After a point, text only it is.

Starting from the past!

First, and the most recent (chronologically) yet objective of those takes on her, is Binah. Whose entire deal is to see things without getting caught up enough that you don't see the bigger picture, funnily enough!

Roland: Hang on, what? You mean the Carmen who recruited people for her quest to cure humanity? Binah: She strove to create a world without conflict. To elaborate, her idea of utopia was one in which people did not harm each other, and could mutually understand. She dreamed of a world where people could dream. Alas, she could never reach that ideal herself.

Now, this is interesting, because as said, Binah is someone who was never part of the team, who never followed Carmen, and the person she is interested in watching isn't Carmen - it's Ayin. He, after all, was the one who by the last loop could face his fear of her and confront her head on in her meltdown.

But she was also the one who was interacting with her the most over the past ten thousand years, unable to go mad from her dealings with the Bucket and Well. So there's this:

So. Yeah. Binah's had Carmen to talk with over that length of time.

We can see from this that Carmen's original goal was, in fact, to create a utopia where no one hurt each other and people could have their own dreams, rather than just the ones that the City gave to them (the need to survive).

However, that's not all we know about her.

Let's look at memories from those who actually interacted with her!

The problem here is that for the most part... that's reduced to one person: Ayin. And he's hardly reliable here! But... there are a few places where we can see others' perspectives, one way or another, and just because he's an unreliable narrator doesn't cause his opinions and memories from being useless for our needs here.

That's for the most part. We also have Angela and the Patron Librarians in Ruina to think of.

We know that she was someone who was warm and full of life, courtesy of Ayin, Angela, and Netzach:

Netzach: All I could think about was how brilliant and alive a person could be. She went on about how she'll change this world and its people. Whenever I saw Carmen brimming with joy and pride for her cause, I felt alive too.

We know that Carmen had fond memories of and warmth for Ayin:

Angela: Why did you have to model me after a person with fond memories of you?

And that she was excited to see people choose to work with her for her cause, and that she "wasn't the manipulative sort of person."

A(yin) [flashback]: Just ike everyone else, Michelle liked Carmen. That was not trickery or a show. She wasn't the manipulative sort of person who'd keep up such a facade, either.

She could understand that she had certain privileges, that others did not, but still wanted to help them:

Carmen: You know, I don't have any true contact with the lives of the people from the Backstreets, nor the pain they go through. From that I've always felt so ashamed of everything, even to be graced by a small ray of sunshine.

Gebura: But Carmen told me that she wouldn't give up on anyone, even people like us.

She was a workaholic who looked out for others:

A(yin): Th only problem was that Carmen was too wrapped up in taking care of others. She never had a moment to take good care of herself.

Carmen was the one who encouraged them to save Lisa and Enoch, from the Outskirts, and ensured that they'd be looked after:

Lisa: Besides, Carmen told us that we didn't have to worry about anything here, too. A(yin): Carmen personally asked her to bring the children here.

It was the trust between Carmen and the team that caused Daniel to choose Carmen's group over literally any other Wing:

Chesed: Manager, do you know why I chose to join your small company, instead of any other grander Wings? [...] It was because I liked how everyone here trusted Carmen.

All of which seems positive, right?

Except... the seeds (ha) of her becoming the sort of person who would shift "bring out the best potential in people" to "aren't you through with being nice? don't you want to be selfish and distort?" were there from the beginning.

In the very scene where Ayin is saying that Carmen isn't the manipulative sort of person, he also recounts that she had done this:

A(yin): If your beloved parents, or your precious friends try to coax you, are you confident that you'll be able to refuse them? A(yin, narrator: She wasn't able to say anything to my browbeating. Carmen broke the silence instead. Carmen: Don't be too harsh on her. She's amazing to be here at such a young age!

Maybe on its own, this would be a harmless action, but bear in mind: they are currently in or heading to a lab that is in the Outskirts for the sake of evading the eye of the Head. Ayin is watching out for Michelle by warning her of the very real danger she is putting herself into, if she isn't strong enough.

And Carmen brushes over his concerns, overrules him, and ignores the potential danger.

One could argue that this is a simple mistake, however it happens over and over again in the course of the flashbacks.

Over and over, she is able to be dismissive of others, not looking past what she sees in the moment, yet able to plan ahead, which is said to X right all the way back in Day 9:

Angela:  [Alright, the letter ‘C’. Not a bad choice.] Persons who select C believe that the process is more important than the outcome. Therefore, they are good at planning ahead and enjoy change. They will be able to gain insight and attain inner growth without being confined by the rules.

"Okay, but how is she dismissive of others? We've only seen her support Michelle so far!" Right then.

Kali: By the way, who's the guy glaring at me? Carmen: Oh, that's A(yin). He just always has a serious look on his face.

Effectively, she dismisses Kali's concerns about Ayin not trusting her, but also makes a joke out of Ayin's own RBF (which most likely has its origin in a lethal mix of autism and depression, based on my own read of him).

Even if all Carmen intended was to break the ice, this is not conducive to communication. No one's concerns are alleviated. Kali may now potentially dismiss Ayin's expression as irrelevant.

Daniel's recruitment comes with a double-whammy.

A(yin), flashback: "He's a bit pompous, so don't believe everything he says," she said to me.

Which is bad enough, encouraging your junior who has been with you this long to dismiss the words of someone who is choosing to work with you. These two people will be working together, and there is a certain irony in how Daniel chose to join Carmen's team because they all trusted her...

...but these last two especially beg the question - did they all trust each other?

And here's the other side of the Whammy, which also comes in two parts:

A(yin): I asked how she was able to recruit such an elite. Carmen answered nonchalantly, as if I had asked about something trivial. "Don't you know that by now?"

And as to what "that" might be... here's this, from when Daniel had just arrived, asking how she knew he was coming:

Carmen: I told you. No matter how great you may be, you will always be in the palm of my hand.

...excuse me, what was that?

Because first off, we have a certain level of pride and arrogance, in how she "nonchalantly" answers about how she could recruit someone from the elite. To her, this is something she can just do with ease. She sees no great feat where others would have to struggle.

But then there's this phrase: No matter how great you may be, you will always be in the palm of my hand. This gave me an immediate sense of discomfort when I first saw this scene. Not to mention, it's used in far less benign ways later on; Angela to Chesed (who she has been forcing to do unsavoury things, resulting in death) and notably several major enemies in Limbus Company.

The good guys do not use phrases such as these which inhibit the freedom and agency of a person.

One has to wonder how Carmen could balance "I want people to not hurt each other and to dream their own dreams" with the way of thinking that would encourage such a phrase to become so very associated with her.

Moving on, and in spite of being safe from the Outskirts, Lisa and Enoch weren't actually happy, or safe themselves.

Enoch: Well... what if we said Carmen was our new mom, then? Lisa: No... This isn't the same at all... Let me go home, please...

More importantly... when Enoch asks "Please allow me to participate in the experiment"-

A(yin) [flashback]: Carmen spent many nights thinking about his earnest request. Then, finally, we... >Approved his participation.

Adults have a duty of care to children to NOT DO THIS.

Concerningly enough, there are implications that she may have known this would happen - she says in no uncertain terms to Ayin that:

Carmen: I have something I should confess. I actually have a much weaker heart than everyone thinks. I always say stuff like “count on me” and “just follow me” in front of everyone… But I’m never sure about the things I do. If anyone were harmed or put in trouble because of what I do… I would definitely be shaken and end up hating myself. I know that. That’s why I need to ask you for a favor. No matter what I may become, please finish what I started. We humans have weak hearts. One crack and it will easily crumble. I am no exception to this, but you… You’ll endure through it. There is only one way out, and it’ll never change. You know what I’m trying to say, right?

Basically? She more than implies that she knows perfectly well that if she caused someone to be hurt because of the path she takes to getting what she wants (her ideal world), she'll "crumble."

She approved Enoch going into the experiment knowing this about herself.

She also knew that she couldn't face her fears, so she placed all of the weight of that onto one person: Ayin. When realistically, no one human should have been given that kind of weight to carry all on their own. Based on our knowledge of what happens next, we know that Ayin, too, is no exception to the "humans have weak hearts" rule.

Then, we reach how she is after Enoch dies, once she's in her own unstable state:

Abel: I saw her eyes right after opening that door. Those eyes, soaked with red, as she had to endure cruel reality. She walked into your lab and started illustrating her hypothesis. Carefully, yet decidedly. You wanted to tell her it was preposterous, but like always, she had you persuaded. You had no choice but to admit it was the only way. What made me, us, so upset... Abel: Was how much it hurt to listen to her put it so calmly, as if it were none of our business. And how much we loathed ourselves for just having to tolerate it.

So, in essence, she had a very forceful personality, and she steamrollered all over Ayin's objections to her hypothesis, which can be theorised was the origin of the Seed of Light Scenario, and the very Script itself, as the devs have confirmed that she had a hand in it, to the point where she at least detailed out what the hiring practices should be (this is in one of the interviews).

She is very good at convincing people to think what she thinks is best, and to do what she wants them to do. Remember that phrase of hers? "You are always in the palm of my hand." Here, we see a direct example of that as Ayin was trying to fight back, but she put down his objections.

Possibly most important is that last line there - remember that this is implied to be almost certainly her discussing things that Ayin should do to continue her work after she is gone. We do not know the details, but if we look at even the bare minimum... he has to do some horrendous things, even without putting his friends/former coworkers in metal boxes. And here is Carmen, talking about the future, with Ayin knowing that it is in fact going to be him who has to do all of this. But does he get a say in this?

No. He does not. He simply "tolerates" her putting it "calmly, as if it were none of [his] business."

All in all, the overall picture so far of Carmen is of someone who... has grand dreams, high ideals, and who may not see the end as justifying the means, but appears to believe that cruelty has to be "endured" regardless, all of which makes her, quite simply, a very flawed human being.

What came next?

Well, we know that Carmen became the Bucket, dipping into the Well of the human subconscious, because of Binah. We know that she was still alive.

We know through Hokma that agents employed by Lobotomy Corporation's Headquarters had records made, and that any one of them could be brought back at Hokma's will.

We... also know that a fair number of Abnormalities have traits in common with her.

Of the most blatant, there's Bloodbath (the method of her death), and WhiteNight.

Bloodbath drags agents into it, and you get more Positive Enkephalin boxes for each agent in the bath (i.e, sacrificed to it). However, you don't get unique boxes, meaning that there are significant drawbacks (you lose agents, and you don't get gear).

This can effectively be another way of referring back to how Carmen's death only served to drag others down into depression and despair with her, and although they gained some things, there were significant drawbacks in that people died, and it wasn't even efficient.

WhiteNight starts off as the abnormality "Plague Doctor." Now, Plague Doctor is connected to Carmen in two ways - firstly, both she and the historical Plague Doctors wanted to cure an illness that plagued humanity, but there's also the fact that when fighting the others after the end, the Plague Doctor is the EGO that Angela, who was built based off of Carmen and spends most of the game emulating her, wears. Plague Doctors in history are also infamous for only having ineffective cures.

The supposedly Zayin Plague Doctor, after it has blessed twelve of the agents, however... will transform into WhiteNight, and immediately transform them into Apostles. The only ways for WhiteNight to be defeated are to completely kill WhiteNight itself, or to have the Twelfth Apostle do Confession work on One Sin and Hundreds of Good Deeds.

I've seen others suggest that this last apostle is Michelle, who told the Head about them, or it could be someone else. Personally, I like the idea that it was Michelle, but... I'm also partial to the idea that it's Ayin himself, given that even up to the duration of Ruina, we have the Librarians saying that they enjoyed being with Carmen, and Ayin was the first one of her followers to realise (during management, in ways they couldn't see) that perhaps they shouldn't be following her exactly to the letter and spirit anymore. So he's either that last one, or he's connected somehow to our good friend One Sin, who is there at the start of every single Facility.

This is due to Adam, who shares a lot in common with WhiteNight.

Adam: Abnormalities are the true humans of this age. They are the pure form that bursts out from the chrysalis that is our empty skin. They feared and tried to contain the Abnormalities. Do not place blame upon their ignorance. It is only natural for one to fear being naked in the face of the world. At least you and I know one thing. Carmen shall be our forbidden fruit for the new humanity.

Now, yes, we can't just take Adam's words as flat truth. But if we take how he speaks about Carmen, and the bad end you get from not being able to face him either through his questions or from failing his Core Suppression, we get something that's very similar to the fallout of the White Nights and Dark Days, but on a bigger scale.

People start distorting. It isn't called that yet, but as Adam sees it:

Adam: Everything that was suppressed, bursting out in every shape and figure possible. Does it not make you tremble in excitement? 

Yeah, that's distortion.

Even if Carmen wasn't WhiteNight before, and Ayin wasn't the twelfth apostle or One Sin at the start, they certainly are now.

Which leads us to - what about now?

Perhaps in contrast to what she was like before, perhaps not, she now focuses far more on the "you should live for yourself, rather than for the sake of the City" than anything else.

"The children that underwent the experiment…" "It's too late. The way back is gone. That clear ignorance of the world made the children rather burdensome." The merry voice mercilessly strikes down my question.

This is an exchange between Vergilius and Carmen, from Leviathan. Note how he expresses concern for the children he had been trying to save, and she is dismissive of his concerns, and described as "mercilessly" striking down his question.

She then goes on to emphasise to him how none of the awful things that happened were "his fault."

She also says something that calls back to Adam's words, regarding humanity and distortion:

"…It's certainly not a normal form to take." "Normal… To them, they are normal while the world is the abnormal one. But more importantly, they have come to cherish themselves and see the world through their own eyes."

Emphasis mine.

It isn't only Vergilius she's being dismissive of while attempting to distort him, however.

"It is to become a self unbound by the eyes and standards of the City. However, the resulting form changes depending on the way it was revealed. …Thanks to my junior, who has a different idea than me, joining the Light." The word "junior" being insignificantly introduced and disregarded bothered me. It was spoken with a light and calm tone, but I feel as if it was involved in every cause and effect.

Emphasis mine again, because as Vergilius says, that's a very big thing to just brush aside as a "by the way"! Ayin's very presence in the Light itself, without him having to say anything or do anything outright, allows people to manifest EGO - and yet, Carmen's reaction to this is not pride. She simply states it as a fact.

She also refers to Ayin as only her "junior," and not as someone who finished the work she started.

"If what you say is true… Are you saying we shouldn't look at anything other than ourselves?" "…You ask the same question as my junior. We must struggle, but as human beings, we should use reason, not emotion…" The voice adjusted itself. "So, he said, we have to fight in the most human way possible, through clothing and tools, while holding the human form in high regard." "……" "But that only pollutes the results. You don't need moderation when revealing yourself. After all, if you go through something without properly reaching its conclusion and keep going in such a roundabout way, your wish will become diluted and be forgotten all over again."

This is also vastly important towards understanding both Ayin and Carmen's different stances on humanity and distortion vs. EGO; Carmen here outright says things that have Vergilius asking if she means people "shouldn't look at anything other than ourselves," and I do have to wonder what tone she was taking when she talks about him, because of the line "the voice adjusted itself" - what from? She clearly isn't proud. Was it annoyance? Irritation? Here is another person who, like Ayin, is opposing her ideas of how things should work, after all.

She sees both Ayin and Vergilius' takes as "polluting the results." That you can't take other people into consideration when focusing on your dreams, because your own wish will be forgotten along the way.

I've put this here rather than right back at the start, because it's plausible that the past years as the Bucket have changed her, and she is in the light and all that now. But... how much, really, do we know hasn't changed? Do we know if this isn't what she felt all the way back before she died?

Remember: Ayin argued against her ideas before she killed herself. We were not privy to that argument, however... we are privy to this one - where she refers to his ideas as, as stated, "polluting the results." Do we know that this is not what she said all the way back then? Simply putting it in nicer terms, so that he had no way to say that she wasn't right?

Either way, she's gone from someone who wanted people to be able to understand each other without causing harm, while at the same time most likely being unaware of how harmful she was being to those around her, to someone who is causing others to distort, and sees absolutely nothing wrong with this.

The way I see it, Roland wasn't wrong in his estimation to call her a cult leader. She gathered people around her - often vulnerable people, several of them young - and told those who were old enough to think for themselves and who were able to go to other places that they were "always in the palm of [her] hand." She was able to walk the Backstreets even before recruiting Kali, a Grade 2 Fixer who would later become a Colour. Each of the people who she recruited trusted her more than they really and truly knew each other... it certainly has a lot in common with a cult, even if wasn't, or even if that wasn't what she intended.

There's a reason why, in my opinion, some of the Limbus Company enemies that are associated with her are people such as Kromer, Ahab, and Dongbaek, who drew people to their cause in spite of It being all for the sake of their own selfish desires.

All in all... when I say that I am biased against her and that I don't like her, my views come from how she is a person who was responsible for a lot of harm, be it intentional or not, and she foisted her work and problems onto others when she knew she couldn't carry on with it.

That said, I think that she is amazingly well written, nuanced, and quite frankly terrifying as a person.

[dudewheresmynug]

Rook's Hobbies

I've been tagged in so many amazing Rook games that I decided to make one!!

For this, I'm going to tag @rooks-dagger @dancing--lights @trashwithvariety @justanecho94 @herald-divine-hell @razzberrydazz and @zombiefishgirl. No pressure! I would love to learn more about what your Rooks enjoy 🥰

Obviously, the tag is also open to anyone else who would like to try it! Please let me know if you do!

Rules: Post a few of your Rook's hobbies and write an explanation (however long you'd like) describing why they enjoy them. Then, tag some other people to play!

Lydia Thorne

Reading

A lifelong hobby of hers, Lydia enjoys nothing more than getting into a good book. Surprisingly, she mostly engages with historical or magical texts. She's always looking to advance her magic, or learn something new, or understand something that unsettles her. It's uncommon for Lydia to fall into a storybook, but not unheard of. When she does find herself getting engrossed in a story, it's usually the sappiest romance she can find. Or, it's something action-packed and high-stakes. Reading is the only hobby Lydia has that she would hate to have interrupted. Honestly, she'll ignore the culprit at best, and throw something at worst. Her favorite book of all time is The History of the Grey, which, as the title suggests, is about the history of the Grey Wardens. She first read the book when she was a kid, and she ended up stealing it from the Circle library when the tower fell. She keeps it with her even at the lighthouse.

Writing Poetry

Lydia keeps a few secret journals for poetry. This isn't a hobby she tends to share freely; instead, she's a bit embarrassed by it. That being said, she goes to lengths to keep this part of herself hidden. Lydia bought her first journal for her 24th birthday, her first birthday after joining the Order. She initially bought the journal because its design caught her eye, and she put it to good use! She would make bullet point lists about how she was doing, or what she was thinking (much like regular journaling). These eventually turned into lists about her surroundings, or recent events, and how they made her feel, and what they made her think and remember. She would also write about things she wanted to be able to reflect on in the future. From there, she slipped into the habit of writing poetry whenever she needed to process something. It was a great coping mechanism while she dealt with deep depression in the Order. Lydia will also write about her magic use or about her friends. Then, when she starts crushing on Neve, she writes about Neve. A lot. Likeee a lot a lot. And Davrin, a lot, after he dies.

Nature Walks/ Running

Lydia needs to be outdoors a LOT. Years of growing up in the circle made her less than a fan of being in enclosed spaces, especially for long periods. During those 7 years she spent living at home with her parents, after the Circle and before the Order, Lydia could often be found outside. She would hang around the farm, but she also had her little areas around Crestwood, which would be her refuge. She also enjoyed sleeping outside, which she would do as much as possible (as weather and parents allowed). Being in the Fade is...weird? It looks outsideish enough for Lydia to feel comfortable, but she still prefers not to sleep in her own room. She spends a LOT of time in Harding's room, actually. Davrin's "touching grass" trips are super helpful for her. In that same vein, Lydia really enjoys running. She's fast and has great stamina. She loves the rush she gets during and after a good run and loves the feeling of fresh air filling her lungs. She'd definitely be the type to sign up for multiple marathons a year. Lydia has definitely also challenged some (all) of her friends to races. Neve smokes her every damn time (seriously have you ever panned the camera up while running around with Neve in game? She's fast as fuck).

Baking Bread

This is a lesser-known hobby of Lydia's because she doesn't get to do it very often. Her father grew up working for his family's bakery (more of a flour mill that also baked and sold bread), so he's an expert at baking bread. Her mother has the skill, too. Baking bread was one of the ways Lydia's parents bonded with her when she came home from the Circle. It was a calm task with enough personal care put into it that Lydia could handle it without becoming overwhelmed. Lydia doesn't talk about this hobby because it reminds her of her parents, and she doesn't like to think about them. Baking bread becomes a happier hobby once she finally reunites with them. By extension, Lydia also enjoys cooking. Nothing is better than a hot and hearty dish, though she can slap a suitable meal together with whatever's lying around. She doesn't get much kitchen time, though, because Lucanis tends to cook nearly every day.

A Nice Game of (Drunk) Darts

Another one of Lydia's lesser-known hobbies, Lydia enjoys a nice competitive game of darts. As the section title suggests, it's even more fun for Lydia if she's had a few drinks. Lydia started playing darts during her time in the Order -- it was one of the games she and the other recruits would play to bond. Lydia is an alright shot on the regular. Drunk Lydia is either phenomenal or horrible, depending on the night. She's been known to throw the darts too hard or insist on getting an extra turn if she misses. She has also, on several occasions, gotten worked up enough over being heckled by other players that her magic has sparked. Unfortunately, my girl is competitive as all hell. She'll create extra challenges or rewards/punishments to make the game more interesting. She's not always a sore loser, but she can be! When she is, she's getting into shouting matches, or talking shit, or storming off in a huff. Still, she claims that the game relaxes her! Losing her favorite elemental orb in a match once has also taught her not to gamble.

Thank you for reading this (not so short) post! Can't wait to see what your Rooks enjoy <3

[freckleslikestars]

Hi! I was wondering if you’d be up to share how you made the before and after slider on this post:

https://www.tumblr.com/freckleslikestars/780305824654540800/before-after-gif-colouring-challenge

It’s really cool! Thank you!

Aww thank you so much! I literally had a dream about doing this two weeks ago, and when @sophsun1 tagged me I was like "oh my gosh lets try it!"

Now, before we start, I'm going to assume basic knowledge of gif making, colouring, etc. I'm using Adobe Photoshop 2025, but you should be able to adapt the steps for pretty much any software that has a timeline and allows for vector masks.

Once you understand key frames and vector masks, it's super easy to do!

First, we're going to open our gif in video timeline view, with our colouring already done. (My colouring is all in "Group 1")

Next, I converted the footage to a smart object, leaving the colouring as it's own independant group. This isn't technically necessary, but I do this to a) apply sharpening and b) so my layers tab is less cluttered. This is normally also where I'd make sure my image size is correct (I do 540X400 pixels) but I forgot so I did that later on this one.

At this point, I turned some guides on and, using the rectangle tool, drew a rectangle that was around the size of the canvas, clicked to the last column on the right hand side.

The next step is to turn it into a vector mask. With command held down on a mac (I think it's alt on windows, but don't quote me on that) drag the rectangle layer onto the colouring group layer. It will fill in the whole canvas with colour.

Delete the rectangle layer, so that you're just left with the gif itself and the colouring layer with the rectangle vector mask over the top.

Next we're going to animate it, so you need to open the dropdown for the colouring layer on the timeline, and you'll want to scroll down to where it says Vector Mask Position

Making sure your playhead is at the very beginning of the gif, click on Vector Mask Position and drop a keyframe. Then, move your playhead to the very end of your gif and drop another keyframe - at this point you don't need to move the vector mask at all.

The next thing you need to do is find the middle of your gif - this doesn't need to be overly precise, particularly with longer gifs, but the precision means that the vector mask moves at the same spead both ways. Drop another keyframe there.

With the playhead over the keyframe, select the vector mask on the layers panel and using the move tool, move it across to the first column on the left. I personally prefer to use my arrow keys to just nudge it left, rather than faffing about with clicking and dragging.

If you were to export it at this point, it would be perfectly fine, you'd get the moving vector mask to show the before and after, which has a pretty cool aesthetic all of it's own. But lets add some details to make it look like a before and after sample image.

I started by adding the BEFORE and AFTER - I used Adobe Clean as my font, but font choice is really personal preference. I just centred them in the bottom left and right squares of my guidelines. I then drew a white line, using the line tool, down where the divide is, added a couple of rounded arrows (and lowered their opacity), and merged the three of them together (keeping the text separate).

Then I simply followed the same steps to add key frames to the line in the same places as I did with the vector mask, making sure that the centre one was nudged to the location for the vector mask on the centre key frame.

Export as usual and et voila!

Something to note is that this effect works better with longer gifs. As you'll see, this X Files gif was a touch too short, and so the slider feels a little too rushed:

Also, if you're wanting all of the sliders to move at the same time/speed, you're going to want to make sure all of your gifs are the same length, which I didn't do because I'd had a long day and I was procrastinating from postgrad work for an assessment I have tomorrow. Which is incidentally what I'm also doing right now.

Anyway, there you have it! Super simple when you know how! If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to ask! :)

[koithelittle]

Hi hi!! Can I ask for a hurt/Comfort fic (or headcanons?? Whatever u feel like writing:3) with copbur?

Like he had to work longer than he told u by accident, but u get really anxious about people being away (I'm not projecting guys I swear-) and when he comes home ur little and sad and he's really sweet about it and feels so bad he accidentally did that to his baby :((

anxious days with happy nights

note; OH MY GOD YES I CAN!!! ngl I really struggle with separation anxiety/abandonment issues in general but esp with a carer so like ooo I'm gonna have fun writing this, thank you!

words; 2.1k

warnings; use of daddy/dada, cutesy petnames (i stick to baby though), separation anxiety, crying, panic, abandonment issues, reader gets a bath, not proofread, lmk if there's more!

pairing; cg!copbur x little!reader (gn)

navigation

taglist; @jjtheresidentbaby @lillylvjy @wilmaslittleflower @whos-nicooo (ask or dm to be added!!)

wilbur usually kept his shifts to the same length every day. his routine was set and it wasn't going to budge. he'd wake up at 6, get dressed and showered and then he'd wake you up to do a little check in. if you were big, you'd handle yourself for the most part; even if he preferred when you let him fuss over you. but if you were little, he'd help you wake up, get you dressed, get you to brush your teeth while he did your hair, etc etc. you'd both have breakfast and by 7:50 he was out the door and on his way to work. that way you'd be awake with him long enough to feel secure and not end up waking up without him and panicking (which has happened before and resulted in him taking an extra day for his weekend off).

his hours were the same, 8am - 4pm, Monday through Friday. it was the same routine every day, and it was easily expected to stay that way. his job usually consisted of more quiet work, like paper work, intake or lunch rounds. nothing out of the ordinary, nothing where he had to handle scuffles or escaped inmates. it was repetitive, and he liked that.

you had woken up in a normal headspace, getting yourself ready and joking around with wilbur before he left. you thought of busying yourself with house work, dishes that needed to be done, laundry that wasn't overflowing but you felt like it needed to be done. but you couldn't manage it mentally, you were exhausted and nothing was to a level of needing to be done at that moment, so you rotted on the couch and did some simple embroidery during the morning. you didn't start to slip until lunch time, having decided on a snack plate instead of a put together meal because you were simply just getting so tired and didn't feel like it. the rest came with it.

the further you slipped and the later it got, the more on edge you were. you managed to catch wil during his afternoon break, texting with him and telling him of your day. part of him was estatic you were little and enjoying yourself, while the other was worried since he wasn't there to actively care for you. not to mention he only had a fifteen minute time window to speak to you before he got swept back into work.

he told you he had to go, and you understood, telling him how much you loved him and missed your daddy! he smiles and puts away his phone in his pocket before going back to his post.

you managed on your own until it was around the time he usually left work, you didn't get a text or a call that he was on his way. he wasn't answering his texts and he should've been home by now. but he wasn't. you were panicking a bit, curled up in blankets and staring blankly at your phone hoping to all hope that you'd get a call from him. that he would be coming home.

your anxiety only built further and further as time passed, you tried to keep yourself cozy and distracted, turning on some cartoons as your phone went unchecked.

another hour passed and you heard the front door click closed, you lifted your head, dried tears over your cheeks.

"daddy?" you call for him, jumping out of bed and waiting for him to answer.

"baby?" wilbur echoes back and he hurries up the stairs, seeing you peeking out of the bedroom door, your eyes held wide with a pout on your lips. he scooped you up into his arms and carried you into the bedroom. he sat down and set you between his legs after he kicked off his shoes. he runs his thumbs over your cheeks as he takes note of your reddened eyes and the tears dried on your skin. he frowns, kissing your nose as he rests his hands on the small of your back.

"how tiny is my baby, mm?" he tries to lighten the mood with a soft question, trying to keep you with him as his mind wanders and runs with different thoughts. feelings of guilt and worry at the sight of you so distressed and he knows it's because he was late. but he'll address that later, right now his baby comes first.

you shrug softly, reaching forward and grabbing hold of his shirt, messing with the fabric and rubbing it between your fingers. it's a softer cotton shirt, and you always like to fidget with it when you can.

"are you.. five? two? ooo is my baby realllyy tiny? hm?" he kisses all over your face as he speaks, trying to coax a smile or a giggle out of you. you crack a bit of a grin, shaking your head as you look up at him.

you hold up one finger, smiling sweetly as he gasp, "oh so you're a little baby, then?" and you nod as he places a big kiss to your forehead, pushing back your hair and tucking it behind your ears.

you move to crawl against his chest and he takes you into his arms, rubbing at your back as you drape your arms around his neck. you don't feel like talking all too much, just so tired and overwhelmed with all the feelings you have, that words just feel exhausting.

silence drapes over the both of you, and wilbur tucks his face into your neck as he hums, "I'm really sorry, baby. I got all caught up at work with a bad guy and I couldn't get home in time, I wish I did," you nod into his shoulder, humming softly as his arms tighten around you.

"s otay, daddy," is what you manage to squeak out, and he sighs, tension and stress being let out with the long breath and you hold yourself tighter to him. you don't want him to disappear, you need to hold on tighter. tighter, tighter, tighter.

he feels your hold tighten, and he rubs your back while leaving little chaste kisses by your ear. he mumbles small words of reassurance, "I'm here, baby. not going anywhere," which earns a little whine from you as you bury your face deep into his shoulder. he holds back a small chuckle, and it comes out as a huff of air as he simply keeps you close.

more time passes, nothing changing other than the intensity of your hold on him, hands grabbing at the fabric of his shirt. it helps you stay grounded, he doesn't mind.

"baby, have you done your routine yet?" he knows the answer, but he still bothers with asking anyways. you shake your head with a huff, his lips curl into a grin and he nods, "mkay baby, time for a bath then."

he then works on prying you off of him so he can effectively get you ready for a bath. you're shaking your head and whining at him, and he tries to soothe you with soft back rubs and little kisses to your face. it works for the most part and your silent complaints seem to fizzle out as he settles you between his legs again.

"can you sit still for daddy while I get things ready? mm?" he coos, knuckles running over the soft skin of your cheeks and you nod vigorously. wilbur chuckles and kisses your forehead before handing you your favorite stuffie and turning the TV to bluey. you focus your attention on the show, sitting still on the middle of the queen size mattress. he slips out of bed from behind you, untucking his shirt out of habit as he gathers up some pj's for you, taking them and laying them out behind you on the bed. then ventures into the bathroom.

he starts by running the water in the bath, then adds some bubbles to get all foamy. he keeps the door open so he can hear if you call for him, or if you fall. he then crouches to look under the sink for some of your bath toys and a bath bomb. he wants to make tonight's bath a bit more fun and exciting than your usual baths. mostly to help soothe the guilt that grows in his gut. he keeps the bath running as he pokes his head into the bedroom from the bathroom and smiles at you.

"hey, honey, the bath's almost ready," you look over to him and nod, reaching your arms out and making grabby motions with your hands. he scoops you up from under your arms and kisses all over your face, "good baby," he cracks a small grin, holding you on his hip as he carries you into the bathroom. after he sets you down on the counter, he kisses each of your cheeks before he begins to help you undress.

"what did my baby do today?" he croons, helping you into his arms before setting you down in the bath. you shrug at him, padding at the water as the bubbles collect around you.

he grabs the little washcloth and gets it all wet before he starts to scrub at your back, "i's watched cawtoons a bit," you finally speak up, eyes droopy and tired as you watch him.

"oh you did now, mm? what did you watch, bug?" he smiles sweetly at you as he gently guides your arm to be closer to him, and he gently scrubs your arm and shoulders before moving to the other arm. he glances between your eyes and where he's cleaning you up, waiting for you to answer.

"Ninjago," you mumble, smile brightening as your eyes widen with it.

he chuckles, kissing your temple and humming at your answer, "zane still your favorite?"

you nod happily, giggling before you ramble on about the episode you watched, and everything that happened. he manages to comprehend most of it, but the rest was all baby babbles that he couldn't quite make out.

after your body was all clean, he sat back for a minute, letting you play to your heart's content as he watched you. his shirt is a bit soaked, and he has some bubble bath in his hair from when you tried to give him a foamy hat, but he doesn't mind. with a small smile on his lips, and love in his eyes, he watches as you play and splash, giggling and including him in your play. he leans closer a moment later, grabbing hold of your hand and rubbing his thumb over the skin. wilbur then kisses each of your fingertips, ending with a kiss to your palm. you giggle and splash about, grinning ear to ear.

"was dat fow?" you ask softly, eyes squinting with a smile on your lips. he grabs your other hand and repeats the order of kisses before he places one tiny kiss to your nose.

"oh, well I'm just showing my baby how much I love them," he smiles softly before he starts to wet your hair and lather up your scalp in soap. you smile and hum, shutting your eyes as he washes out your hair.

when he's done, you're so tired that you don't even fight to stay in the bath, just letting him pick you up and wrap you up in a soft fluffy towel, drying you off. he carries you into the bedroom and helps you get all dressed, kissing all over your face before he helps you get back to the bathroom to help you brush your teeth. you're sleepily leaning against him the whole time, exhausted from your anxiety filled day.

once he got your teeth brushed, he carried you over to the bed, grabbing your hair brush and a couple of hair ties. he sat you between his legs as he unpaused the TV, letting it play as you focused your attention on bluey. he gently brushed out your hair, before splitting it in two and braiding both sections. he places a quick kiss to your temple before turning you to face him and shut off the tv.

"alright, baby, time for bed," you nod, reaching your arms over his shoulders as he picks you up and pulls you into his chest, kissing all over your face. he held you to his chest as he tucked you both under the covers, making sure your stuffie was safe in your arms. after he had effectively kissed every spot on your face, he pushed your bangs back and pressed you to his chest.

"goodnight little one," a small pause as you held him closer, a smile on his lips as he continued, "I love you."

you murmured an echo of his words, telling him you loved him too, and you were soon asleep. held tight in his arms with comfort surrounding you.

[gamerbot-22]

Labor Of...

Prompt: Sweater

TW/CW: Pining of a sort, flower language, barely proofread and I appreciate spellchecks!

Word Count: 596

A/N: I am not immune to mad genius yuri, this is definitely the most explicitly romantic one that I've written so far. I totally used this as an excuse to be a little autistic about flower language because tbh I think Ruan Mei would be really interested in that, too!

Likes and Reblogs appreciated (reblogs > likes) and Requests are Open! Read this story on Ao3 here!

<- Previous Ficlet | Collection Post | Next Ficlet ->

The dividers in this post were made by @/gamerbot-22 (me!) ☆

© All rights reserved by miHoYo

Ruan Mei's back hurt. That was the foremost sensation on her mind as her arm made the same repetitive motion over and over and over again under her lab's light. Normally the ache in her uppermost vertebrae wouldn't be such a bother, but after an entire day of fruitless experimenting, it was simply the cherry on top of her frustration.

At least she was almost done with this petal. Once this was done, she would call it a night and just rest a while, half satisfied in the results of her day.

Or at least, that was the plan until she heard her phone start to vibrate against her work table. Ruan Mei allowed herself an exasperated sigh, her breath harsh enough that it blew her hair out of her eyes as she turned her phone over to see who exactly was calling her at this ungodly hour.

And of course, it was Herta.

Ruan Mei pressed the answer button, then the speaker button, and set her phone down to get back to work. "Hello, Herta."

"Hello," Herta returned, her voice maybe slightly more relaxed than usual. "I hadn't heard from you all day, just wanted to be sure you were still kicking."

"I am." She held her needle back behind her shoulder, keeping the purple thread taught as she felt around her table for her sewing scissors. "You could have just texted."

"I did."

"Mm." Ruan Mei cut the thread just above the knot and started to gather up the long tail. It would make suitable scrap for the more minute details later.

Long stretches of quiet were customary for Ruan Mei and Herta's calls--they were both busy Geniuses with a lot on their plate--but this one felt a little more tense than usual. Things were being left unsaid instead of there being nothing to say.

Herta decided to bite the bullet. "How's your experiment going?"

She heard her peer sigh. Herta knew that sound very well.

"Am I needed?"

"Not now," She muttered, simply stating a fact. "Although I appreciate your concern." For once, Herta's presence would probably only make the day worse, which was a first.

"Positive?"

Ruan Mei could hear that single note of concern in Herta's voice, but she wouldn't let it sway her, however nice it might be to decompress in person. "Positive. I just need rest." She slid her needle back into its holder and stood up, taking her project up with her so she could see how it looked upright. "And I believe you do as well."

"Fine, fine." She could see Herta waving her hand dismissively in her mind's eye. "I'll go to sleep, but so should you. Whatever it is you're working on, it deserves your full attention."

Herta had a wonderful habit of being right. Ruan Mei adjusted her desk light and pressed the charcoal grey sweater to her chest, gazing down the length of it just to see the way the embroidered petals of the clematis reflected the light, standing out beautifully against the cream-white pages she had spent most of the afternoon embroidering and re-embroidering until they looked halfway decent.

Maybe today's work hadn't been a total failure. Surely Herta would appreciate this, even if it wasn't her usual wardrobe. It might even be finished tomorrow if she buckled down to work as hard as she had today.

"I'm putting everything away now." She said, gently folding the garment up to set aside. "Good night, Herta."

"Good night, Ruan Mei." Herta's yawn was cut off by the phone signalling her departure.

[anistarrose]

I've been experiencing a lot of hand and wrist pain recently. This is because I've overextended myself writing IDs.

I've been doing some things to mitigate the pain and overexertion, but I'm still typing this post a lot more slowly than normal. (Rose from the future reports: I took two separate breaks.) And you may have noticed me writing fewer IDs recently — because I type those more slowly, too. The best thing for the long-term health of my body is probably finding ways to type less, not just slowly, and in general.

"But Rose, I've still seen you writing, like, a lot of IDs! Even if it's less!" you say, correctly. This is because I have Psychological Issues, including but not limited to: an unhealthy sense of obligation, an inability to break bad habits, and most of all, unrealistic standards.

But you know what, I don't like talking about my psychological issues. Instead, I want to talk about two statements regarding accessibility that feel like they're in tension with each other, even though they're actually corollaries.

First, not everyone can write an ID for all the posts in need of a description that they'd like to share.

Second, relying on a small number of people to make up the ID deficit across an entire community is unsustainable.

Struggling to make up an ID deficit single-handedly leads to burnout. It leads to the people who write the most IDs becoming those who can't write as many as they want to, or used to be able to. I have spent years dedicating myself to making my fandoms more accessible, both writing IDs and strategizing to encourage and help others to write their own. In most of my fandoms, I started out as one of a tiny number of bloggers doing this. And overwhelmingly, we still saw incredible success. (Encouraging people to add my IDs to their posts wasn't my invention, but I think it was a game changer. I strongly suspect it helped people take the baby step of learning formatting that emboldened them to write an ID all on their own next time.)

But. The sheer number of IDs I wrote was never going to be long-term healthy. I'm going to be making changes to my workflow, trying to use more OCR, maybe exploring voice to text. Most of all, though, my second biggest need is wrist exercises, and my absolute biggest need is downtime. I can't make up the ID deficit on my own. To do so would be superhuman.

I could keep going on. But you can all see the length of this post I just typed, about my inability to type without pain. So, I will instead leave you with just two more thoughts:

First, if you frequently type IDs, find places in your workflow for two types of breaks. Stretches, and downtime.

And second, if you don't often write IDs, but think you could, without undue mental or physical stress? I want you to write one.

Just one. The single easiest image on your dash or in your drafts that's not described already. If it's a screenshot of text, you can use Google Lens or any other text extractor. Make it as easy as possible on yourself. But try it nonetheless. Even if your blog still wouldn't be anywhere near fully described.

A few people writing a lot of IDs is a recipe for burnout. A lot of people writing a few IDs, and a few people writing a medium amount, is the future.

[chaoslinych]

HEEEEEY HELLO

I'm working on an art for an answer to a text in my inbox, but on the way I've decided to just draw Zodiac in this moment, BECAUSE I HAVEN'T DRAWN HIM AT ALL TECHNICALLY

and there's gonna be meowing about him, because I tend to mention Kys' eldritch beings a lot, but they've only appeared in a post with his reference that I DON'T REALLY LIKE THAT MUCH NOW

SO

there's gonna be a lot of text

Zodiac is a smaller version of Leader of Creation, who in turn is a lesser part of Polairis, which gave him a separate conciousness and power, and Polairis is kind of like a judgement but who doesn't tend to make laws, it likes to observe the existing, Leader follows that too, even though has an immeasurable urge to create EVERYTHING with its power, and doing this in the local circle of himself, Kys, Pearl's Reader and sometimes Moondial

Zodiac was created when Kys started to go to the zee, and he wasn't created just by the Leader's desire, but Kys was always kinda timid and could wish for a support from his side, and ever since Zodiac is an unchageable main officer on Asterism (lol it's a name of Kys' ship, it's silly to give them names related to stars)

as a main and first officer, he would do everything where there's not enough hands or knowledge, Leader himself has made Asterism out of anything that the Moondial could find in the zee (it doesn't give a shit about fathomking YEAH), he knows it from start to finish, and he also knows about the workings of living organisms' bodies so sometimes he even could be a surgeon, and as Kys started to look for officers with different specializations, he would take part in different officer roles while those were empty (I'm making a crew for Kys out of officers from sunless sea), and in result he usually works as a cook, moving the the stuff, tends to spend time in the cargo because he doesn't need a separate cabin, sometimes he jokingly counts as a cargo and not a crew member himself

true neutral, guite polite and non-confrontational, tends to just do the work given to him by Kys (he listens to the others from time to time), with an eldritch being behavior, it's not that difficult for him to act organically and natural, but not so rare he likes to act unnatural for usual people, because he liks to observe their reactions, nothing going beyond limits or annoying, just a bit of a regular confusion

still follows Polairis when possible, so from his side accepts many things as normal and doesn't try to change anything on his own wish, can only interfere if Kys asks for help and it becomes his work

his look is very bizarre, because he can be bizarre, even if somebody tells him about that, why should he care

he could be an unremarkable figure in a cape or a mask (uh, more human-looking mask), but it would raise even more questions and a ground for (already incorrect) speculation, and in that way he is just some kind of a thing, not even pointing at what anything could be referencing, maybe he's some sort of a relic? or a being from polythreme or red science? a person without knowledge couldn't tell, so general people only can take him as one of the many oddities of Neath

continuing with his look, it's neither hair nor fur, technically those are thin fibers, gather and formed, are rough and inflexible to the touch (be careful to not get splinters)

even if you remove the fastenings they would keep the same shape, though would get messy with time

about the way he talks, thankfully not directly into your mind (or something worse, YEAH MOONDIAL-), he has no throat, so he just produces the sound waves, using his voice, loud enough for the listener to hear him, in theory he can imitate any kind of voice or even any kind of sound, not even depending on the volume

(and I guess length, I found it funny that clay men didn't need to make any pauses in their talking, that's literally Zodiac if he spoke some more)

his look isn't just weird, but works in a similar way too

his body and material mostly resembles wood, so he could be compared to a puppet or clothes-colonies, but he has only one "puppeteer", a shard of a star

bodies of the Leader and Polairis work in the same way, the power of the shard lets you bend hard objects like joints, and use the fabric as muscles, but actually Zodiac's shard isn't that big, especially so that he could remake the objects (at max he can hold the items next to the mask, as if he held those with "teeth"), and yet this element is very powerful, literally a physical part of a judgement, but it's also practically impossible to get it for yourself, since Zodiac is still stronger than a regular person and wouldn't mind to scratch your face with the claws, break your neck and throw as an example in the zee, you would still need to take his mask off somehow (and it's pretty sturdy in an itself), and the shard itself still has its own will and can become quite dangerous

I don't know how ooc it is in context of fl/ss/Neath, but a lore of this kind surely exists in my mind and it just HAPPENED and now they're all in their own atmosphere

so

yeah

and a little fact at the end, Kys associates with an eight-pointed star, Polairis with a six-pointed star, and Leader and Zodiac with a five-pointed star, so he has as an example 5 tails on his head

that's all!!!!

AND THANKS RINJA FOR TRANSLATING YAY

[intoanotherworld23]

Loving You Is A Ride

Pairing: Reader x Luke Collins (Scott Eastwood)

Warnings: None

Length: 2902 words

Summary: After getting your heart broken a family friend let’s you stay with them for a while, and you swear off of love. That is until you meet a handsome and charming cowboy named Luke Collins

Alright I was totally inspired by @cevansbaby-dove and @cutedisneygrl to write this since they posted about him! It’s unfortunate there not more fanfiction about this man cause he is just so gorgeous, and I’ve been obsessed with him for a very long time. I hope you all enjoy! Thank you guys so much! XOXO

Check out my other works on my Hall Of Hunks

It's Friday night here at the local bar, and it's already packed full of people. Most of them wearing cowboy hats and girls wearing revealing outfits hoping to take someone home. If you weren't behind this bar you'd be one of those women.

Not that you were the kind of girl to do stuff like that, but your heart was covered in ice at this point. The last thing you wanted to feel was some type of emotion. It was like you had this wall around you, and you refused to let anyone break it down.

Your fiancé had been cheating on you, and you literally caught him in bed with another woman. Next thing you know you saw red and it ended with him getting a black eye and a couple scratches on his face and arms.

Of course you kicked his ass out of the apartment you two shared since it was in your name. Drinking away your sorrows as you wallowed in self pity. Ignoring every phone call and text you were receiving not in the mood to talk to people.

Things started to get so bad you literally locked yourself in your room barely leaving your bed as you laid there in the dark. Barely eating since your body was only craving something that could help numb the pain. Your mother came over and was shocked by what she walked into. She knew something had to be done to get you out of this funk.

Calling up a family friend telling her you needed to get away for the summer. Offering you a job to help her at the bar she owned, and a free place to stay at hers. You weren't going to pass up so you packed a lot of stuff and made yourself at home.

Telling her everything that happened, and she could tell you were hurting. Cassandra was the type of person that would help you out with anything, and do everything she could to make you feel better. Hoping that you working at the bar you would meet someone special with her blessing of course.

The music was blaring as you found yourself having to keep wiping down the counter top and refilling drinks. A couple young men attempting to flirt with you only to shot down none of them peaking your interest. Except one.

Feeling eyes staring at you almost as if he were zoning out. Looking behind you to make sure there wasn't anybody else he was looking at. His eyes still focused on you as you stood there awkwardly wondering if something was wrong with him.

As he was staring you took that time to really look at him. Noticing how faded his light blue flannel shirt was meaning he's either had it for a long time or it was cheap. It was loosely fitted around his thick arms which looked bigger than your head. His aura was just screaming cowboy even though he wasn't in uniform like everybody else.

"You alright there buddy?" Asking him as he snapped out of his day dreaming letting out a dry cough.

"Oh yeah sorry my brain just kind of stopped." Walking up to the bar as he looked away.

"Do that a lot?" You quipped at him making him crack a smile.

"Only when I'm in the presence of someone gorgeous." Showing off his straight white teeth making you roll your eyes. Here we go again.

"Wow I've never heard that one before." Your tone dripping with sarcasm but that just made him smile harder. "You must use that one a lot."

"Actually I've never really used that on a woman before." That was very doubtful giving how smooth he spoke it.

The man was incredibly handsome and you found yourself slightly drooling over him. His face was sweet and kind, like there was something warm there.

This man seemed like he had stories to tell and you found yourself wanting to know more about it even though you didn't know his name.

His dazzling blue eyes were drinking you in as you kept causally working but still focused on him. Feeling his eyes on you the whole time as you tried not to stumble or drop something. His eyes dropped down to your chest for a minute before snapping back up making sure he didn't get caught creeping.

"What's your name?" He raised an eyebrow at you leaning against the counter.

"Y/N." Flipping a rag over your shoulder as you placed a hand on your hip. "You got a name?"

"The names Luke Collins." You swear you've heard that name before.

"Your a bull rider aren't you?" Luke awkwardly coughing being caught.

"Yeah I am."

"I figured you were."

"How'd you figure that out anyway?" Looking around the bar waving your hand around to all the men and women in cowboy hats and boots making him laugh.

"This bar is filled with amateur bull riders I think I know the signs." You honestly didn't really know if these men were, but you just assumed since there was a rodeo arena just up the road.

"You got me there." He chuckled feeling sheepish suddenly around you.

"What made you get into riding?"

"Uh just something I wanted to do." He was getting a little uncomfortable.

"Was your father a bull rider or something?"

For a minute his smile faded away as he looked deep in thought. Part of you felt bad for being so pushy about it, but it was too late now to take it back. His eyes focused on the sticky counter top as his jaw clenched picturing his father that last night he was bull riding.

It's been so long since Luke has talked about this or even mentioned his father. It was still a sensitive subject for him, and even after all these years he still never got over him. No matter how hard he tried to let it go he simply couldn't loosen that grip he had.

"My father was a rider as well." Looking up at you to see your eyes staring at him now hearing that crack in his voice. "He died when I was thirteen years old."

"The bull threw him down on his head and he never recovered." He continued on as you nodded along feeling complete sympathy for him. "I wanted to continue his legacy."

Luke was trying to control his breathing not feeling like crying in a bar full of people. Especially not in front of you otherwise he would die of humiliation. Just like you he sometimes would bottle things up so much until he would explode.

He seemed so genuinely nice and down to earth. Feeling your whole being gravitating towards him, but knowing to still keep your hands up maintaining that distance. The last thing you wanted to happen was to get too close to this guy only to get your heart broken and stomped on.

"I'm so sorry." Looking down to see your hands gripped a towel so hard you felt your skin would burst. "It was wrong of me to ask."

"Are you kidding me?" He half heartedly chuckled making you look back up at him. "I'm glad someone asked instead of just assuming my story."

"Well I think it's incredibly sweet you are doing it for him." Smiling at him Luke returning it showing off his pearly white teeth.

For some reason you felt guilty flirting with him like this even though you were single, but your mind couldn't wrap around that just yet. Maybe this was too soon to be thinking about being with someone else.

There was a moment of silence between you two as you helped other patrons in the bar. Like stayed there waiting for you to finish which completely surprised you. Figuring he'd waltz off to find some pretty girl or his fellow riders to chat with.

"So you got someone waiting for you at home Luke." He awkwardly laughed scratching the back of his neck.

"Nope I don't." Quirking an eyebrow at him feeling like he was lying.

"I find that hard to believe." There was no way a man like him didn't have some gorgeous woman wrapped around his arm. "I bet she's gorgeous and just perfect."

"Well if you meet this woman can you tell me." He joked back making you roll your eyes at him.

"What about you?" Taking a sip of his beer asking you the same question that had you halting not wanting to discuss him. "You got somebody waiting for you?"

"Not anymore." A hint of sadness in your voice as you now avoided his eyes.

"I bet there are a million guys waiting in line just to get a chance with you." He was just being nice you thought to make you feel better and you cracked a weak smile at him.

"Afraid not." Getting back to your work completely avoiding him now feeling that brick wall get closer and closer to you.

"You probably just don't notice them is all."

His words were true countless guys flirted with you and tried to get your number, but it just went over your head.

It wasn't his fault he wouldn't have any idea about your past relationship. He would have no idea you were once engaged and completely happy.

Luke was simply asking you because you did, and he actually was genuinely curious. You were someone that Luke would go out with, and you were his type inside and out. There was something about you he wanted to get to know.

This guy felt like he stood a chance with you, and even though you two were flirting you kept a distance not wanting to lead him on or let him catch feelings.

"Hey Y/N hon can you go in the back and get some more cases of beer?" Cassandra's chirpy voice called making you turn your attention towards her.

"Yeah sure thing." Leaving the bar as she took over walking towards the back feeling like someone was watching you.

Grabbing one case you felt like you were strong enough to carry two. You were completely wrong as you struggled to carry the two boxes laughing to yourself at having no upper body strength. Your hands were starting to hurt as you tried to get a firm grip.

Luke noticed you had been gone for quite a few minutes so he decided to go make sure you were okay. Looking around to see you standing there knees slightly bent as you struggled getting the beer. Laughing to himself seeing that determined look on your face reminding him of himself.

"Need some help?"

His voice making you jump slightly as he jogged up to you grabbing the box on top your arms feeling less pressure.

"Jesus Christ you scared me." Turning to look at him laughing at the wide eyed look on your face. "I've got it."

"Doesn't seem like you do." He argued back smiling softly as he stacked another box in his hands with ease making you scoff.

"Show off." Mumbling under your breath as you followed him back to the bar.

Dropping the boxes off on the floor as Cassandra looked between you and Luke. A smile on her face as she smiled with a shake of her head knowing you bit off more than you could chew with the crates.

Underestimating how heavy those suckers were, and also you were as stubborn as a mule.

Luke walked back over to where he was standing as you got back to work. You could tell he was keeping his eye on you, and wanted to further your conversation. Cassandra could sense that too, and knowing her she was going to rub her hands and work her magic.

"Why don't you go on your break now?" Grabbing your hand as you looked around noticing the crowd wasn't going anywhere soon.

"Cass I can't leave you alone." Shaking your head as Luke beamed at the opportunity.

"Oh please this is nothing I can't handle." Giving Luke a quick wink as you looked away grabbing your purse underneath the counter top.

Cassandra knew exactly what she was doing, and she was good at doing it. She noticed the way Luke was watching you all night, and she hasn't seen you smile like that in such a long time. It was a familiar look that you got when you first met your ex fiancé.

Shooting Luke an apologetic look as you shrugged your shoulders giving him a wave as you shuffled through all the people. Giving a last turn back look you see Cassandra talking to Luke as he nods his head with a bow. Wondering what exactly they'd be talking about.

Luke quickly finishing his beer as he turned around to the doors you walked out of hoping you would still be in the parking lot.

Hearing a couple of his friends waving him over as he shook his head and kept walking towards the exit determined to catch you.

Looking around he spots you standing by a silver jeep leaning over the back seat messing with something. He also can't help but notice how your shirt was rising exposing your soft skin to his eyes.

Stopping his thoughts from getting any dirtier as he walked over to you standing there with his hands in his front pockets clearing his throat.

"Nice ride."

His sudden voice makes you jump turning around your back against the car as you placed a hand over your heart. He was really going to have to stop scaring you like this.

"Shit, are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Trying to slow your heart rate down knowing it wasn't some killer stalking you.

"Sorry wasn't trying to scare you." Apologizing with a concerned smile as you crossed your arms across your chest.

"That's twice now you've snuck up on me." You teased. "Three strikes and you're out Luke ."

"I promise it won't happen again." Crossing a finger over his heart making you giggle.

"Let's hope not I'm still too young to have a heart attack." That made him laugh as he awkwardly stood directly in front of you now.

"So did you need something from me?" Looking around quickly then back to him asking him raising your eyebrows at him.

"Actually yeah there is something I wanted to ask you."

Luke was nervous and he didn't know why afraid that a beautiful woman like you would reject him so quickly it would make his head spin.

He figured someone like you flirted with guys like him when you worked to get bigger tips. Not being the type of guy to throw himself out there like that. Usually girls came up to him, and he never really had to work to get a girls attention.

"Yeah?" Having a feeling you knew exactly where this was going gulping so loudly you felt he heard it.

"I was wanting to ask if you wanted to hang out some time."

Your breath hitched as you thought how to let him down easily. Trying to find the right words but straining to speak once you saw how adorable he looked right now. He looked like some lost little puppy dog on the side of the road just waiting for someone to pet him.

Maybe it wouldn't hurt you to just give the guy a chance. It's been too damn long though since you've just hung out with a guy. Thankful he didn't use the term date meaning he wasn't exactly looking to move so quickly.

"Yeah sure why not." Your answer had him smiling from ear to ear making your cheeks feel like they were burning.

"I'm not that bad I promise." He joked as you smiled softly at him.

"I don't know about that I've heard about you bull riders." You mused fiddling with your car keys.

"The only rider you'd have to worry about is Jared Middleton."

Staring at him like he just grew two heads having no idea who he was even talking about noticing the confused look on your face. Something he didn't really want to get into already.

"That's for another time."

"I'm gonna hold you to that." Pointing a finger at him as he chuckled.

Exchanging your numbers as he put his name on your phone under handsome rider with the bull emoji making you laugh. Of course you put your name as 'that girl from the bar' snickering to yourself as you did it.

"I'll uhh text you." Motioning to his phone as you nodded opening the driver door.

"I look forward to it Luke." Watching him as he walked away back inside his figure disappearing into the crowd.

Your mind was telling you to just let him down easily and tell him you're not interested. Then again your heart was telling you to go for it. It was becoming all too confusing on what you should do. Knowing you can't be single for the rest of your life, and shut everyone that comes into your life out.

As you closed the door you sat there with your hands on the steering wheel. Staring straight ahead as you realized what you were about to get yourself into. This could either end good or completely horrible.

"Fuck." Whispering as your face hit the steering wheel.

——————————————

Tag list for everything: @iam-laiya @rosie-posie08 @madzleigh01 @alwaysclassyeagle @mytbel0st @shanimallina87 @marvelstarker-mha98 @powellssugarbaby @lora21 @kmc1989 @cookielovesbook-akie @adaydreamaway08

[mikelogan]

Hi, I love your blog and your edits. I was wondering if you could do a tutorial on how you combine multiple gifs into one in the first gif of yours MIKELOGAN’s 5K FOLLOWER CELEBRATION || GET TO KNOW ME MEMEFAVORITE ACTORS [2/10]Colin Firth (September 10, 1960) set? Thank you for reading this and helping me.

thank you so much, that's so kind!! this is the post in question (which was inspired by this gorgeous set) and i'll break down how to do it step by step below the cut!

i ended up saving this gif as a psd because i remember it taking me so long and being really frustrating, i just wasn't sure why. for reference, i posted that set back in september, just over four months ago. looking at the psd, i can see just how far i've grown as a gifmaker bc that thing is a hot mess. i made it about 3x more complicated than it needed to be, so let's do this the right way lol note: i was still using 0.07 frame rate at this point. i have since switched to 0.05 for smoother, quicker gifs.

what we're going to do is create all of these gifs separately and put them together at the end. in total, there are 6 individual gifs. let's start with harry.

i gif by importing video frames to layers, but if you prefer to screencap, load those in instead. because this ends up being a pretty large gif, both in size and length, i kept it to 20 frames per clip.

once you're satisfied with the frames you've chosen, crop your canvas to 540px x 540px. this is what i'm left with

this is when i sharpen my gifs. everyone's process is a little different. i created my own sharpening action, which converts my frames to video timeline and then sharpens.

the next step is to color your gif. if you're going for the overall look in mine, here were my layers:

a brightness/contrast layer with brightness set to 31 and contrast to 5. this will depend on the scene you're working with

a levels layer using the black and white eyedroppers. the top one is your black eyedropper. to use it, click it and select the blackest part of your gif. do the same with the white eyedropper and select the lightest part of your gif. you may need to play around with selecting different points depending on your scene and the original coloring

finally, a simple black & white gradient map layer on top

now we're going to add the thin rectangular border in the middle of the gif. i use the rectangle shape tool for this (press U on your keyboard) and these are my settings (x and y coordinates don't matter):

to center it perfectly, i use ctrl+T and drag it until it snaps into place with both the vertical and horizontal guides.

next, let's add the "choose your gentleman" text that goes at the top of the border. here is the font i chose and its settings:

once again, press ctrl+t and drag this to the vertical center of your gif and to the center of the top of the border. you should feel and see it snap into place. this is what we have now:

now, we're going to use a layer mask on the border so we can read the text. select the rectangle layer and click the layer mask button

with the layer mask selected (as shown in the second image), use the rectangular marquee tool (M on your keyboard) to draw a rectangle around your text, taking care to keep it just a little larger

as you can see, you'll know when you're perfectly centered through your text layer and vertically on the entire canvas. select your brush tool without deselecting this rectangle (B on your keyboard) and paint the selection with a black brush. this masks that part of the border!

let's add the small square gif that goes at the bottom of the border now. i think the easiest way of doing this is to use the rectangular shape tool (U) again. the size of this gif is 110x110, so create a black square of that size with no stroke. Use ctrl+T to drag it to the center of the bottom of the border (the x and y coordinates don't matter):

now duplicate your original gif layer (ctrl+J) and drag it to the top of the layer panel. right click on it and create clipping mask. this will make it so the gif only appears within the confines of the square we just created. resize your gif by using ctrl+T and, making sure the proportions are locked, drag the corners to the edges of the square.

this gif is not colored at all as we only duplicated the gif itself and not the coloring layers. i duplicated those as well and dragged them on top of our small gif, but it's important to make sure those are using the clipping mask as well. you can click this on the properties layer of each adjustment layer to make sure they do.

you'll know you've been successful when you see the small arrow next to each of your coloring layers. this keeps them from affecting the coloring of the larger, main gif.

we're going to change the gradient map adjustment layer from black & white to black & lime green (or the color of your choosing). click on that layer and then on the map. this will bring up the gradient editor. click on the small white color stop at the far right end of the gradient and then on the color picker, choose a new color.

the hex code i used for the lime green is #00ff0c

our last steps are the angle brackets on either side of the gif and harry's name in the center. here are the settings i used for those (angle brackets on the left and harry on the right):

the layer styles for harry's name (double click on the text layer to call up this menu OR right click > blending options):

and for the angle brackets:

by now, you know how to utilize ctrl+T to move these layers where you'd like them. harry's name is centered horizontally and vertically and rotated at a bit of an angle and the angle brackets are centered horizontally and i just eyeballed where to put them in relation to the space between the border and the edge of the gif.

this is the complete first gif. what i would do for your own sanity since you have two more of these two create is 1) save it as a psd just in case something crashes and 2) don't convert it to a smart object until you have all 3 gifs completed and are ready to put them together.

the nice part about having the first one done is you've ultimately done the hard part. create your two other gifs, but you'll be using at least roughly the same coloring and all the same text, just with the colors adjusted, so you can drag those layers from your completed first gif to your others as you work on them.

once you have all 3 gifs completed and still on 3 separate canvases (and saved as psds bc this is adobe friggin photoshop and shit breaks all the time), convert all layers on all the gifs to smart objects. this will simplify the final gif and make things much easier.

then, bring gif #2 and gif #3 both onto gif #1's canvas. this is what it will look like at first on the timeline and in your layer panel:

(full disclosure, i'm not making the other two lmao, i'm lazy and i already did it once in a way harder way 😂)

to get the gifs to play after one another rather than simultaneously, you just have to drag them after one another on the timeline!

a little bit hard to show the actual process, but you're just clicking the bertie layer and dragging it down to harry's line after the harry layer. then do the same with the jamie layer, dragging it down to the harry layer after bertie. when you're done, it should look like this:

btw, the little slider i circled is what enlarges or shrinks the timeline view, so if you need to see something broken down a bit more/slower, drag it to the right. if you need to zoom out, drag it to the left.

and that's it! export and save your gif!

if you have any questions or anything is at all unclear about this, please let me know! i'm happy to help!

[fluffytriceratops]

roleplay info. <3 [looking for more rp partners]

making a quick and temporary rp post until the other one i'm working on is ready.

bcuz i lost most of my rps due to quotev being a twat, i decided to start rping more on here. so i wanted to make a post so other rpers can reach out to me.

below will be my rules/requirments as well as a list of fandoms. please follow them all if you wish to rp with me. and if you're interested in rping, feel free to comment or message me.

ROLEPLAY RULES:

- descriptive/story/literate rp only. i'm not interested in rping script/text. 

- i only do double up rps. I’m not interested in just rping the canon character or original character for your rp. I don’t enjoy it and I want to actually be apart of it. rather than just play the love interest to your character.

- oc x oc or oc x cannon mainly. for my side. i usually only do oc x cannon esp if we're doing a fandom rp. obviously i would do oc x oc for an og rp. but if you'd rather do oc x oc, cannon x cannon for your side i'm fine with that. 

- it's very rare for me to do friendship based (platonic) rps, as i would like my side to be romantic. but if you want your side to be platonic, i can do that. 

- please try to copy my reply length to the best of your abilities. i need at least a paragraph or two. 

  - you play my love interest, i play yours.

  - i will not accept mary/gary sues. if i believe your oc is a mary/gary sue i will let you know. i do not mean to offend, i just find them annoying and wont enjoy the rp if your oc is like this.

  - with that being said, please don't make the whole rp about your character/oc.

  - no god modding. your oc/character cannot be the best at everything, give them flaws.

  - no adult x child. pedophilia. child porn. etc.

  - no love shapes. (threesomes, etc. i may or may not accept love triangles (just with crushing) depending on the characters and my mood).

- no incest.

  - no vore.

  - no bestiality.

  - no male pregnancies. 

  - no rape.

  - don't just play your oc and that's it. play more than one character. it's more fun this way.

- do not play my ocs.

  - do not spam me. message/spam me after a week of no reply.

  - be realistic. play the cannon characters properly. don't make them do something they wouldn't normally do. don't heal an injury right away. don't make someone pregnant right after having sex. etc.

  - use proper grammar and punctuation to the best of your abilities.

  - do not delete the rp without asking me first.

  - don't just stop replying, if you are done with the rp, let me know first.

  - don't time skip without asking me first.

  - don't make the whole entire rp sexual.

-my side will be bxg/fxm (girl x boy) but if you want your side to be something else (gxg, bxb, etc) than i am more than okay with doing that for you. as long as you're okay with doing bxg for me.

  - smut, cuss, and gore are all okay with me. but we can keep one or all of these out if you'd prefer. (i will not rp smut/nsfw with minors) 

-on that note, i will only rp with those of legal age. 18+.

- do not steal my forms or my characters.

  - do not write in the first person point of view. i will only accept third person pov.

  - if you have any ideas for the rp, let me know! don't be afraid to ask me anything.

  - don't hold your oc back, you know them better than i do. go nuts if that's how your character is.

that is all for now! thanks for reading through my rules, i know there are a lot, lol! :P to let me know that you have read my rules, please comment 'rat' or 'read' below! thank you!

FANDOMS:

[key] ✦✦✦✦ = very interested in. ✦✦✦✧ = still interested, just not as much. ✦✦✧✧ = don't really want to, but might if you convince me. 50/50. ✧✧✧✧ = not interested atm, very low chance i will say yes. updated frequently.

[animes] my hero academia - bnha/mha ✦✦✦✦ attack on titan ✦✦✧✧ ouran high school host club ✦✦✦✦ dragon pilot: hisone and masotan ✦✦✧✧ aico incarnation ✦✦✧✧ haikyuu ✦✦✦✦ demon slayer ✦✦✦✦ kiss him not me ✦✦✧✧ diabolik lovers ✦✦✧✧ kuro mukuro ✧✧✧✧ fairy tail ✦✦✦✧

[cartoon tv series] how to train your dragon - race to the edge ✦✦✦✧ she-ra and the princesses of power ✦✦✧✧ miraculous: tales of ladybug and chat noir ✦✦✦✧ avatar: the last airbender ✦✦✦✦ the legend of korra ✦✦✦✧ gravity falls ✦✦✦✦ star vs the forces of evil ✦✦✧✧ 3below tales of arcadia ✦✦✦✧ lego ninjago ✦✦✦✦ young justice ✦✦✦✧ voltron: legendary defender ✦✦✧✧ teen titans ✦✦✦✧ transformers prime ✦✦✦✦ transformers robots in disguise ✦✦✧✧ teenage mutant ninja turtles [2003, 2012,] ✦✦✦✦ ultimate spider man ✦✦✧✧ hazbin hotel ✦✦✦✦ helluva boss ✦✦✦✦

[live action tv series] greys anatomy ✦✦✦✧ gossip girl ✦✦✦✧ teen wolf ✧✧✧✧ the mandalorian ✦✦✧✧

the last of us ✦✦✦✧

outer banks ✦✦✦✧

shadowhunters mortal instruments ✦✦✦✧

game of thrones ✦✦✦✧

house of the dragon ✦✦✦✦

[movies] how to train your dragon ✦✦✦✧ spider-man into the spider verse ✦✦✦✦ transformers [bayverse, 1986 cartoon, bumblebee] ✦✦✦✧ teenage mutant ninja turtles [2007, 2014, 2016,] ✦✦✦✦ narnia [all] ✦✦✧✧ the maze runner ✦✦✧✧ the hunger games ✦✦✧✧ hellboy [the first two/older ones] ✦✦✧✧ the avengers [all] ✦✦✧✧ spiderman [all] ✦✦✦✧ xmen [all] ✦✦✧✧ suicide squad ✦✦✧✧ twilight ✦✦✦✧ star wars ✦✦✧✧ the lord of the rings ✦✦✦✦ the hobbit ✦✦✦✦ avatar & the way of water ✦✦✦✦ percy jackson ✦✦✧✧

warcraft ✦✦✦✧

pirates of the caribbean ✦✦✦✧

[video games] the last of us ✦✦✦✧ skyrim ✦✦✧✧ identity v ✦✦✧✧ mystic messenger ✦✦✧✧ genshin impact ✦✦✦✧ five nights at freddys (all) ✦✦✦✦

hogwarts legacy ✦✦✦✦ 

[books] a court of thorns and roses series ✦✦✧✧ [+ more]

if you wish to do a og rp with me, just let me know and we can go over the details. tho i will admit that i am mostly interested in fandom rps and it really depends on the storyline of the og and if i am in the mood for it.

PLATFORMS:

i am mostly interested in rping on here (tumblr) but there are a few other sites/apps/platforms that i am willing to rp on if you really don't want to rp on tumblr.

-wattpad

-instagram

-discord

-quotev (if it ever stops being a rat, as of now i cannot rp on that site)

-google docs (have never done this before but am open to trying it)

-i'm pretty open to trying new places, so if there's a site/platform not on here that you like, feel free to let me know about it and i may be willing to give it a go!

-and ofc tumblr

EXTRA IMPORTANT INFO:

when i say rping on tumblr i mean in messages. i will not rp on the feed or in the comments.

if you do not want to include certain nsfw topics, that is more than okay, smut is not a need for me. neither is gore, violence, etc. just let me know beforehand.

please tell me your triggers and rules before we start. if you have any.

also please tell me your pronouns before we start, if you're comfy with sharing. ^^

that is all for now. i may add to this later but i really don't know what else to write lol. 

if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to let me know. 

[allastoredeer]

If it's not too much work, could you share what your outlining process is like? I always feel a little lost when I try outlining my fics and I know the process is different for everyone but I feel like it would help to know what others do. Every time I try to google help I get processes for original novel writing, and it doesn't feel as applicable to writing a short fanfic.

I would love to :3

There are actually a few different ways I outline, and sometimes it depends on the length of the fic and how complex the plot is.

I'll use one of my saved radiostatic prompts as an example (it also gives me an excuse to sit down and actually outline it hehe)

So, sometimes just the prompt itself is a good enough outline for me (this is dependent on how long I think the fic is going to be. If it's short, sometimes the prompt itself works and I don't need to go in-depth. I say "prompt" but that also can mean a specific scene in your head that you want to write, or a concept, or even a piece of fan-art that inspired you).

Here's the paragraph prompt I wrote for this radiostatic one-shot/short fic (spoilers, I guess):

So sometimes, just this is enough for me to start writing the fic (my prompts do tend to get a little big because I like to add a lot of detail - about the scene or concept that grabbed my attention - so that I capture all the vibes and emotions that I want to incorporate.

But sometimes, it helps to go more in-depth so I'm not overwhelmed trying to get to the part of the fic that I want to write (NOTE: It is totally fine if you write out the scene/parts that you want to write the most, even if it's in the middle or the end. You can always fill in the blanks after. Or you can just post the scene you wanted to write without adding more. It's up to you).

I like to figure out what scenes happen that lead up to the parts I want to write, so sometimes, I'll make a bullet-point list of chronological scenes, plot-points, and details. For example:

And etc... you continue on until you've hashed out the sequence of events that take place in the story. This doesn't have to be super detailed (it can be really brief and to the point) and doesn't it have to be super clinical either. Just have fun and write down whatever silly thoughts you have in your head.

You bullet-point list can be as simple as:

Alastor goes downstairs to do exercise.

Vox shows up to do the exercise as well (invited by Charlie)

They get into an argument about modern technology.

Vox leaves.

It's really just about putting down the sequence of events starting from the very beginning to the very end. You can keep it simple like the above example

OR

You can make it even more detailed by doing an in-depth summary of the fic, scene by scene, plot point by plot point, until you get to the end (this is what I usually do because it gets everything planned out and on the page, down to the smallest details). For example:

And then it goes on like this until I've outlined the entire fic. You can be silly with this. Just have fun. Let yourself ramble and get all you're ideas out. Don't try to stick to a rigid plan, let the story flow naturally.

Then, once I've finished my outline, I use it as a guide as I write the rough draft. The thing about outlines is that you don't have to follow exactly what you planned. It's okay to diverge or adds things or cut things out. It really is just a loose guide to help you through the events of the story and get your thoughts on paper.

Additionally: You don't even have to fully finish the outline if you don't want to. Sometimes you get half of it done before you want to start writing, and that's fine. The rest of the story will reveal itself as you go.

If I'm doing a multi-chaptered fic, sometimes I'll break the overall idea of the story into pre-determined chapters and summarize it section by section. Or, I'll just be a maniac and summarize the entire fic in one big, super long, super detailed block of text. Another staticradio fic I'm currently outlining is 16,152 words long and I'm not even close to being done. I expected this fic to get super long and complex, so writing it out in a very chronological and detailed manner helps it feel less daunting. AND now I have every plot point, twist, emotional scene, and bit foreshadowing planned out and already placed where I want it to show up in the fic. It's great. It makes me life easier when I actually buckle down and write the rough draft.

Just as a final note, I want to say that everyone's process is different. This is how I outline, but I know it won't work for everyone. It's all about finding what method works for you.

I'll say that one of the most important to do while outlining is simply having fun with it. Make it your hype list. Make every scene you jot down a scene you're excited to write. Make yourself want to write it so it doesn't feel like a chore to slog through.

Best advice I've ever recieved: If you're bored writing a scene, the audience will be bored reading it.

Have fun and write the story you wanna write 👉👉

Hope this helped!

[flame-of-tar-valon]

Before and After: Vivimani and the Lemures

Posting this for @pillowfriendly per a conversation last night! I'm going to break down a bit of my editing process for the short snippet "The Quiveron Manse" from my End-of-Year 2024 event. This is how it transformed from its original scrawlings to what I eventually posted to tumblr.

The first few lines / paragraphs are greatly expanded. In my original notes, I didn't give any thought to the setting. Maybe it happened in the city of Ul'dah. Maybe it happened in the middle of the day. I didn't know and I didn't care. Before I published it, I added a setting -- both time and place became relevant to the scene. I also added some context to the scene, since I was posting it as an isolated snippet.

These lines were the core of my original draft, so I kept them mostly intact. I just refined the wording so it felt less like a first draft. Shout out to my beta reader @nongunktional for suggesting the third paragraph here start more physically with the heart pounding, so the abrupt cut-off of the line above carries a sort of halted momentum to it.

The ending part is actually the bulk of the revised chapter, with a tense negotiations scene between Vivimani and Drusilla. In the draft, I ended the scene with a meager three concluding lines, and my editing saw all three of them essentially scrapped entirely -- though their sentiment remains, sprinkled throughout entirely:

(I included the original draft text twice so you can see examples of where I split up various sentiments from it.)

Here, to keep the conversation grounded, I tie it back to the setting, and I show more of Vivimani's internal feelings and intentions -- he's not just explaining his request, but he's putting on an act. Earlier he was using his most unctuous voice, how does his demeanor change when he gets into the serious topic?

This is the section where I did the most research into Drusilla's canonical speech patterns. For instance, I used these lines of dialogue:

"Your reward will be the wisdom of countless generations of Garlean assassins. But if sidin' with my kind makes your stomach churn, then take your indignation and piss off! If the thought of havin' one foot in the void makes your stones shrivel into your belly, then take your cowardice and piss off! And if you've any concern for the sanctity of your soul, then take your virtue and piss off!"

for the following lines:

"If you’re really as harmless as you’re trying to look, then you better man up quick, or you can take your cowardice and piss off. [...] We do our jobs with the aid of Voidsent and the wisdom of countless generations of Garlean assassins. So before we make a deal, if sidin’ with my kind makes your stomach churn, then do us all a favor and get out of my sight."

And that's basically my process for editing a scene! When I'm making a full-length chapter comprised of several scenes, I also iterate on the edits several times over to stitch the scenes together, transplant various lines into sections that make more sense, and stuff like that.

But yeah, my drafting method is basically me skipping giving context or setting, and then after I think I've written the core of the scene I wrap it up super quick without following through on a character's interiority. Then my editing is me fleshing out all those areas I rushed through, usually rearranging entire sections of paragraphs, etc.

(Sometimes the areas I need to change are obvious to me, like the missing setting and the quick ending to this one. Other times, and especially when it comes to words as objects on a page, my beta reader points out areas that I might want to look at again.)

[metaphorfordeath]

Writer Ask Tag Game

Thank you @mercury-waters for the tag! I answered these with my novel in mind; I'm playing it pretty close to the chest since I'm querying it now, so forgive my vagueness with some of these.

What is the main lesson of your story, and why did you choose it?

My novel doesn't have a lesson, and I didn't go into writing it with any themes in mind, so I can't say that any of the takeaways are there by choice (as is the case for basically everything I've ever written). That said, my novel is a story about existing in a society from which you are excluded, but without which you cannot live, and about finding meaning and closeness in a life that doesn't seem to have room for either.

What did you use as inspiration for your worldbuilding?

My novel is urban fantasy, so essentially the real world with vampires grafted onto it, but I've spent some time on the mechanics of vampires as they exist in my world. I draw some inspiration from Anne Rice (to an extent, while shaking my head the whole time to show that I disapprove), with a heavy dash of WWDITS (movie) and The Lost Boys for vibes; however, a lot of my worldbuilding usually ends up being "What interpretation of vampires in this specific instance is most interesting for me to write and moves the plot/develops the characters in the best way?" and then I just write that.

What is your main character trying to achieve? What are you, the writer, trying to achieve? Do you want to inspire others, teach forgiveness, or help the reader grow as a person?

In the text of this novel, he's trying to figure out who's hurting the people he cares about and how to stop it, but as a character in his grander arc what he really seeks is a meaningful existence in the face of eternal, unchanging life. As for myself, I don't think about readers at all. I'm not interested in teaching anyone anything or inspiring anyone; I'm trying to write a story for myself that feels satisfying and narratively complete, and that I enjoy working on and reading. I'd love for other people to read and enjoy it one day, but readers are an afterthought to me.

How many chapters is your story going to have?

The final draft which is currently being queried to agents is 20 chapters. I have 4 more books planned, which I'm angling to be similar in length, but since chapter number isn't a useful metric to me I usually think in terms of word count--i.e. Book 1 is about 71k, and I'm aiming for 70-80k for each sequel.

Is it fanfiction or original content? Where do you plan to post it?

Original. You'll be able to read it sometime in the next 4-7 years, if my pursuit of tradpub goes well. (Or, if you can't wait and I happen to really, really like you, you can DM me and I'll send it to you privately)

When did you start writing?

As soon as I could hold a pencil and spell. When I was young I made those little kid "books" from folded printer paper, and it got out of hand from there. I did this cool thing called Power of the Pen in 7th and 8th grade where you basically write timed flash fiction based on prompts--handwritten, on carbon copy paper--and there are straight up regional and statewide competitions for this (I won best of round at regionals one year 💅). This was also my first exposure to having people misunderstand my art. I will never forget getting my scored stories back at one of the competitions and seeing that my favorite story scored the lowest, and my least favorite story scored the best--story of my life. I mostly wrote poetry in high school and college because I had issues and needed to get them all out of my system, and then got back to fiction in 2019 around the same time I finished undergrad.

Do you have any words of encouragement for fellow writers of writeblr?

Keep doing what you're doing, and don't forget that you're doing this for you. You are your own best reader; never write for the uncharitable critic in your head.

What other writers do you follow?

Well first and foremost I follow (and live with, and am married to) the inimitable @synonymsfordismember, as well as the excellent @queergothic, @brightbluedot, @briannysey, @tifannilly, @darthteeth and as of recently @juliana-jones. Consider this a tag if you feel so inclined!

[gaykarstaagforever]

If you haven't been "blessed" yet with iPhone 16 ads...oh man. Are you in for some shit!

First of all, all of them are 3 minutes long, and are mostly some guy just saying things in front of a spa...? And the things he is saying are a parody of absolutely everything wrong with modern tech, and the shitty techbro demand that we all integrate their lying, incoherent chat-bot code into every aspect of our lives (and pay them for it, of course).

This ad blitz is unreal. I can't imagine how much they paid for this. ALL of my at-work, unsubscribed YouTube Music ads were this, for 3 hours. All of them, 3 minutes long. It put that inexplicable Donald Duck Hot Ones mini-movie to shame, in both length and sheer infuriating pointlessness.

"If you are replying to a Stack message from your boss, this fucking phone can rephrase it so it has a more professional tone!"

Yes, because the thing the world needs most right now is a robot that helps the most helplessly stupid people imaginable not say "buttfucker" in a work email.

Most of us already have human brains that can do this, with very little effort. How is "we will help unqualified dipshits keep high-paying jobs they suck at" a feature?

Grammerly has already been selling this "feature" for awhile now, and it begged the same question when they started this: why is tech specifically helping awful people keep jobs they clearly aren't qualified for, because they lack any basic interest in being professional to coworkers?

Why would techbros think THAT is a good idea? One wonders!

Serious, find these ads and watch them. No one will ever be able to parody this moment in tech as well as what Apple just seriously produced.

Also, think about this: you know how autocorrect is annoying, and you kind of want to turn it off most of the time? (And you should. It makes you a better writer. Try it.)

Now imagine that every time you write a thing on your phone, the phone stops you from sending / posting it, and a confused algorithm based on 200+ years of stolen books rewrites it for you. And you have to look over that nonsense before you tell it no, stupid, I'm not Mary Shelley writing a thesis paper to submit to General Electric's President in 1972. Because that is exactly what this shit is going to do to you. All the time.

And you paid for this. Because they told you they were smashing this garbage into your camera rectangle, and you paid $1300 or more for it. Because...you want to impress terrible people?

I'm an Android guy, so I don't ever understand why people buy Apple's overpriced equivalents (they ARE built better and DO last longer. But unless you plan to keep this phone for 10 years, and you do not, it doesn't matter.)

You buy an iPhone 16, with integrated Apple Intelligence, to impress other (white) people at the chain bars you go to in your pressed khakis and boat shoes. Because there needs to be more unwitting victims of your 45 seconds of sex. But outside of that very specific usage case, you will come to hate what this device does to your daily phone experience.

...Unless of course you are the type of person who routinely sends texts to the office cleaning lady, rife with racist sexual harassment. In that very specific situation, this WILL improve your life.

And we as a society should really stand up against these kinds of people ruining absolutely everything for their very peculiar benefit.

Because most of us know how to think, and at a professional level, know how to turn that into formal writing. Elementary schools teach that. Even the bad ones. No one needs tech to do this for us. Except the terrible people trying to flog these unnecessary phones to other sad fucking losers.