#cj thank you for always having my back for these ily

[jameszmaguire]

4, 23, 40

CJ coming through to feed my sudden appetite to be chatty about gifmaking, I appreciate you so, thank you for indulging me <33

4. A set that flopped but deserved better

It's interesting, because I just went through my gifmaking tag and just. Seeing my own interests of the past five years reflected back at me through time lovingly spent on making gifsets of them. I feel warmth for myself here tonight. And there's a lot of sets that would be nice to have more notes, but a lot of them I make knowing there's not much of a target audience on here anyway, and thus am not expecting them to crack 500 or even 100. However. I maintain that my gifset of Mako and Raleigh from Pacific Rim just looking at each other while trying to kick each others ass deserves better. Fun fact: this was actually made literal years before it was posted, waaaaaay back when I had just learned to gif, and the fact I still deemed it postable is a minor miracle tbh.

23. What is the thing you gif when you don’t have anything else you want to gif?

Usually Umbrella Academy and just specifically any Five acting moments I enjoy, mostly because I have the caps for the show ready and stored away. Getting the frames and chossing moments and getting them to fit into a specific frame count is always my least favourite part of gifmaking, so the fact that TUA has a lot less of that hurdle makes it very compelling to be as a destressing gifmaking go-to. Also Derry Girls, but the Discourse that happened around S3 as well as just a more hit or miss quality of episodes than I was used to, plus just the steadily declining engagement us gifmakers get really makes me focus on what I want to gif in any given moment, giffing for me rather than anyone else.

40. Why do you make gifs?

This is a good one, I love you for sending me this. I just love how gifmaking makes me engage with a piece of media. It leads to me looking at it more clearly, more precisely. I start to pick up patterns in the filmmaking, I can appreciate the acting better, and I get to keep a bit of it moving on my blog, so I don't have to go back to it every time I want to see a specific moment. It relaxes me and is the perfect activity to do when watching a video essay or something similar in the background. To me, it really is a way to appreciate and interact with a piece of media that I love on a different level where I get to pull it apart a little bit and try to figure out how it works, how it stands in relation to itself, to other media. Sometimes, I get to gif things for other people and try to make them smile, so it's a very beloved activity for me.

Gifmaking asks?

[softpine]

@fleshyecstasy​ fjksjs don’t worry, you made perfect sense!! and ahh i love that you could see yourself & your friends in my characters, i put a lot of myself and my friends into them and i love knowing that other people can relate too!! and i’ve actually always had the headcanon (is it really a headcanon if its my story lmao idk) that caroline has adhd. i regret not working it into the story itself, but it makes me really happy to know that it showed through and felt accurate still! anyway thank you so much for this, and i hope you like what the rest of the story has in store :’) 💖

bruh your MOM is gay too?? i’m literally so jealous fjskdjs i’ve met like.... 4 lgbt people irl i hate it here 😔 but that’s so cute i’m happy for you guys!! 💖 (also god i remember my mom having a hickey once when i was a kid and i was like “is that a bruise??” and she was laughing and said “you’ll know when you’re older” and now i’m older and i hate that i remember it lmaoo)

@simnosa​ thank you 🥺💖💖

@nymphoil omg i’m the worst person to ask about gameplay, i haven’t done any sort of gameplay in years!! my story is 100% from my brain, i’ve never followed any rules or outlines. sorry i can’t help more :( but nala’s hair is from here :)

thesimsresource has some good stuff, i know it sucks [especially now that the freemium extension broke :((( ] but it’s full of alpha stuff!! also i reblog lots of maxis mix / alpha stuff to my cc finds @softpinefinds​ :) and simsdom is pretty shitty lmao they put ads onto free downloads without the creators permission. but that’s not even why i hate simsdom, i hate it because their navigation is ASS lmaoo it doesn’t make any type of sense. but some creators are exclusively on simsdom (like serenity) so i suffer through 😔 it’s definitely not the end of the world if you use it, there’s no viruses or anything that i’m aware of!

omg yeah i actually save up every single bug & fish i catch for flick & cj (i’m lazy and i just time travel back to whatever day they visited jdskjs) here’s me in my hoarder room

but i seriously NEVER catch rare bugs?? when tarantulas were in season, i never saw a single one, even when i tried the mystery island trick. same for scorpions, i haven’t encountered not a single one :(( the game doesn’t want me to succeed

jdksj you’re totally fine bby!! it’s such an irrational fear, but even trading with my friends gives me so much anxiety :( so i can’t even bear the thought of contacting a stranger and going to their island lmao rip :( but ily it’s all good!! 💖

@jenny62689 hey!! could you please be more specific about what cc you’re looking for? it’s a lot of work for me to find everything she has on (it’s a lot) and it’s much easier to find specific pieces 💖

ahh i’m sorry, i don’t have a mac so i have no idea :( i googled “photoshop mac download tumblr” and some results came up, maybe you can start there? sorry i can’t help more :(

[smallblueandloud]

hi!! cj/toby or cj/toby/andy + love confessor and first kiss😊 thanks so much ily!! i’m really annoying so i’m going to send another request with these ships so you can do both, neither, or whichever one strikes inspiration

i cheated a little on this one, oops! also i just wrote a full-out fic for it because i wanted to. for this ask meme, which will be open until tomorrow. sorry about the angst?

but i could only look down (1.3k, toby/cj/andy and toby/cj)

They go up to him after his speech. The crowds are still small, now, easy to push through. Toby knows they’ll get bigger. Leo McGarry turns, notices them at his elbow, and pokes Josiah Bartlet on the shoulder.

“Yes, I’d be happy to discuss that with you later, but right now my jerk best friend is tearing me away. What is it, Leo?”

“Jed,” says Leo, gesturing at Toby and CJ. “This is CJ Cregg. She’s going to be doing our press for us, I hope?”

CJ has stars in her eyes. Toby knows the feeling. It’s hard to listen to a speech by Josiah Bartlet without feeling optimistic, even stump speeches in tiny crowds. He can’t wait to hear him speak on the national stage.

“Nice to meet you, Governor Bartlet,” says CJ, shaking his hand. “I can definitely help with some of the more urgent business, but I still haven’t figured out my long-term plans yet. I’m here as a favor to Toby.”

“Toby?” asks Bartlet, narrowing his eyes. CJ gestures vaguely to her left, where Toby’s been standing this whole time, and he smiles. “Right. Of course. Toby.”

“Jed,” says Leo, at Bartlet’s elbow, and Bartlet’s smile turns apologetic.

“Sorry, kids, but duty calls. Nice to meet you, Ms. Cregg. I hope you can help us out!”

With that, he’s gone.

“Not great with names, is he?”

“No, not really,” says Toby. “He’s not a perfect politician.”

“But he’s a good man, huh?” asks CJ, and doesn’t wait for his answer. She knows him better than that. “Certainly an amazing speaker.”

“Yeah,” says Toby, and clears his throat. “You don’t have a room, do you?”

“You’ve been with me since we got off the plane,” she says. “No, I don’t.”

“You can- you can sleep on my couch, if you want.”

“Just like old times, huh?” asks CJ. She’s watching him carefully.

“Something like that.”

-

“No, no- no, shut up,” says CJ, laughing. “It’s not my fault that all the candidates you ever picked were losers.”

“I didn’t- they weren’t all losers!” protests Toby. “We won a few elections!”

“Mm hmm,” says CJ. “So few elections.”

They’re not drunk, but Toby feels like it, exhausted after two cross-country flights in two days. CJ isn’t tired enough to be as giggly as she is, but he thinks she’s just letting herself relax after a long, long time. They haven’t seen each other for a year, since she visited them for a weekend at their new apartment in DC after Andy was elected, and he knows she doesn’t have any close friends in California. Somehow they’re just as comfortable with each other as they’ve always been.

“What does Leo need me to do?” asks CJ. They’re sitting on the floor up against the bed, and her head slowly tilts to lean on his shoulder. He freezes.

“We need someone to talk to the press, basically,” he says, trying not to move too much. “Figure out which issues we should bring up, and when. Get the major news groups interested in us.”

“Oh, so nothing much,” drawls CJ. “Just everything.”

“Yeah, just everything.”

They sit there in silence for a few minutes. Toby works up his nerve. “CJ-”

CJ must recognize his tone, because she lifts her head up and turns to face him. “No.”

“CJ-”

“Toby, no.”

“Before I say anything else, I’m specifying that that Andy is-”

“We stopped this, Toby,” says CJ, looking at him like she’s begging him to understand. “We can’t do this. You two are married. I moved away. Andy’s in Congress, for god’s sake, and you’re working on a national campaign-”

“It’s tiny!” he says, throwing his hands up. “No one’s paying attention to us. We can do whatever we want, and no one will care, because no one’s even heard of the governor of New Hampshire.”

“They will,” says CJ. “God, Toby, you’re a writer, you know it. This one’s different. You heard him talk tonight.”

Toby doesn’t say anything.

“Besides, Leo McGarry’s on this campaign, and people pay attention to that. Josh Lyman jumped ship from the Russell campaign to be here, and that’s not nothing. You’re here, Toby, and you might be a goddamned fool but people know that you pick good people as candidates. They’ll pay attention to that.”

He stares at her. “New Hampshire. That’s what’s stopping us, huh. Fucking New Hampshire?”

“Toby, even without that, Andy’s been elected. You two are married. You can’t keep- she can’t be seen-”

“Don’t give me that bullshit,” says Toby. “We know how to hide this.”

“Not forever,” says CJ. “Not for long, even, not in Washington. Not when Andy’s going to be making noise. And you know she will. She won’t hold herself back, not for you, not for me, not for a thing that ended years ago.”

“It only ended because you wanted it to,” he says. “You know that. Andy and I-”

“You two went and got married!” explodes CJ.

“You told me to propose!”

“Yeah, because you two living together in sin wouldn’t look good! Especially with how much older you are.”

Toby looks up at the ceiling. “Is everything about politics with you?”

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees CJ put her back to the bed again. “Yes. While Andy’s a politician, yes. While you guys are married, yes.”

He closes his eyes. “You keep bringing up the marriage. You know we have a CJ clause, right?”

CJ exhales. “This isn’t last time. I know what’s on the table. I’m not saying no because I’m worried about Andy.”

“I would hope not,” says Toby. “Because she misses you. We both do.”

She doesn’t say anything.

“I love you, you know,” he says, and opens his eyes, turns towards her again. “I never stopped loving you.”

She kisses him. It feels like a first kiss, despite the thousands of times they must have kissed in Boston. They haven’t kissed in years. CJ stayed in a hotel when she took that trip to DC, planned things so she wasn’t alone with them for more than twenty minutes at a time, didn’t allowed any emotional talk, and went to the airport alone.

He’s missed her, missed this, missed being close to her. He loves Andy more than breathing, but CJ feels like his equal in every way. He doesn’t want to do this without either of them.

CJ pulls back suddenly. “No,” she says, and stands up. “We’re not doing this.”

“You’re the one who kissed me,” he says, spreading his hands and laughing a little. “This is all you.”

“No,” she says, “it’s your fault, saying- oh, come on, Toby, don’t look at me like that. This can’t happen.”

“Why not?” asks Toby, standing to face her. “Give me your reason, CJ, and I’ll stop asking.”

CJ closes her eyes. “The American public.”

“Stop- CJ, come on, why are you so obsessed with what the press will think?”

“It’s my whole job!” she shouts. “That’s my thing! I obsess over what the press will think! Andy-”

“Andy forbade either of us from getting involved in her career,” interrupts Toby. “Stop trying to micromanage this for her.”

“This will ruin her,” says CJ, quietly. “I’m not doing that to her. I’m not doing that to either of you. I want to work on this campaign, Toby, and I want to work with you again, and I want to get Josiah Bartlet elected president, because I think he’s a good man and he’ll be a better president. But if you won’t stop asking me for- for this, I’m going back to California.”

Toby stares at her. Finally, he says, “Fine.”

“Fine?”

“Fine,” he repeats. “You’re my best friend, CJ. Nothing else. As long as that’s what you want.”

“It is,” she says, and sounds like she’s trying to convince herself just as much as him. “I’m going to bed.”

“Goodnight, CJ.”

“Goodnight, Toby.”

[vanchlo]

4,8,12,15, 16, 29, 30 PLEASE AND THANK U QUEEN

HI CJ YES OF COURSE THANKS SO MUCH IM SO EXCITED TO ANSWER THESE IM SO NARCISISTIC HAHA ILY and imma do this for the assistant universe probs since ik that's what you're thinking ;) 

TIME FOR ME TO BE INDECISIVE MUAHAHAHA

4: What’s a scene/chapter you wrote that you’re personally proud of, and why?

Ugh, there are SO many chapters of The Assistant that I’m proud of and The Firsts, too . . The first that came to mind is The One Where It Happens that’s written from Harry’s point of view when Becky is in a car accident. That was challenging to write with all of that emotion and the sadness, and I think I did a good job, so I’m very proud of that chapter. 

8: Did you meet any big statistic milestones recently? (i.e. followers, subs, hits, etc.) 

It was really awesome that my blurb Green Eyes is very close to 400 notes on here, that’s the most I’ve gotten on a piece of writing on Tumblr. For The Assistant here on Tumblr, Chapter One hit 150 notes which is great. It seems to be do better on Wattpad where it just, amazingly, hit 21.6k reads which is INSANE to me! 

12: What’s something you learned about your own writing that you didn’t know a year ago/when you first started writing? 

Gosh, um . . . Well, this time last year I hadn’t written for a very long time, so it was great to learn that you can come back to it at any time and it’ll still be there and you can fall in love with it again. Also, that it can get better and you can improve, and that you can change the way that you write. 

15: Was there a point where you wanted to give up on a work but you didn’t?

Oh, yeah. I think sometime in 2017 I took a few year break from writing until I came back in February of this year. I wrote a little here and there, I think, but it was very minimal. In that way, I gave up on writing and The Assistant for a while, but I’m so glad that I came back to it. I also kinda gave up on Green Eyes for now, but shhh we don’t talk about that . . :/ 

16: What’s a comment/piece of feedback you received that really made your day?

I’m lucky that I’ve gotten a lot that it’s hard to choose from. My good friends @heart-attack-harry / @bfharry / @cruciostyles / @berrynarrybanana YOU CJ and my Hecky anon have given me SO much great feedback, it’s made the world to me. It literally always makes my day! My Hecky anon is so fun to talk to about it, too! 

29: A fic that you wrote over a year ago that you still enjoy. 

The Assistant lol, haha kidding but that baby has been in the works for four years so best believe I’ll say that one. It’s about a law school dropout named Becky Holte who becomes Harry Styles’ personal assistant at his law firm, and well, they may or may not fall in love. All of my other writing is rather recent and from this year, so that’s all I got. 

30: A fic your younger self would get excited over. 

Oh, Under The Bed, for sure. It’s inspired by one of my favorite movies as a kid, Little Monsters, and I was and still love everything spooky so I would’ve loved that element and the friendship going on. 

**

Send me some Fic Writer Asks, if you wanna! :) 

[jiflat]

while my writing blog exploded, i realized i hit 300 on this blog! i haven’t been very active on this blog for a long time, and it’s just been a few months since i’ve started using it again, complete with a revamp. i’ve had this blog for years, and this is the first time i’ve ever really enjoyed coming on here, and it’s all thanks to the lovely friends i’ve made over the last few months. 

whether you came from my writing blog, or we just found each other on here, i want to thank you personally for making my experience on tumblr so much better ;; i know not all of my mutuals are on here but i was thinking of people i’ve spoken to because i’m shy and all but i hope to keep this going and to be able to make more friends on here :’) all of you, whether on this list or not, please stay in my life for a long time, and always be happy and healthy!

@regal-kleio: you’re my best friend so you automatically end up in this list no matter what. i love you bitch i ain’t gonna stop loving you bitch :’) thanks for putting up with all my fangirling and letting me ruin your dashboard’s aesthetic with a bunch of seventeen posts and my writing ily forever and always xoxo stay hydrated say hi to mags for me

@ccarats: my sweetie pie, angel bb whom i can’t remember life without anymore. i don’t know what i did to deserve this kind of wonderful friendship but i’m so honored to be in the soft trio with you. and to think this all started over a bad meme about how much seungcheol trash we are :’) it’s been such an honor to watch you as a writer in the last few months, and even more of an honor to get to know you and become your friend and get to scream with you about nonsense and i’M SO HAPPY TO HAVE A NIGHT OWL BUDDY WOW. i wish i could really put into words how much you brighten up my day but i guess this lil post will suffice for now. i loves youuuuu please stay in my life for a very long time thank you~<333

@fallingforcheol: my angel baby sweetie, whom i also can’t remember life without anymore. you’re such an angel??? how did i manage to snag such a friend??? wow. amazing. you’re so talented and so kind and perfect, i wonder if you ever get exhausted :’) but honestly i’ve been so happy and honored to be your friend and you make my days so much better. soft trio wouldn’t be the same without you babes our adorable fearless force. god how do i even do this you’re just perfect okay thank you for being my friend and for everything you do for me i can’t repay it back but you is stuck with me anyways bish. i loves you so much i can’t wait to cheer you on through all the cute boys you’ll encounter in college bb so pls stay in my life for a very long time i don’t know what to do without the soft trio anymore okay ily <33

@queerjunhui: MI AMIGA PRECIOSA HERMOSA LUZ DE MI VIDA thank you so much for always being so supportive and kind and lovely and just overall a perfect human???? i’ve done absolutely nothing to deserve you but you’re stuck with me kid you’re too angelic for me to not ever appreciate having you in my life now :’) i hope you always feel how absolutely loved and appreciated you are, especially amongst the content creator community because i know for a fact you keep a lot of us going and we wouldn’t be nearly as happy to do what we do with you specifically. ily bb~

@aigremoine: listen even though you torture me on the daily with jihoon, my life is so much brighter because of you and your incredible writing. I DON’T WANT TO KNOW WHAT A WORLD WITHOUT VEE IS LIKE ANYMORE OKAY I JUST APPRECIATE YOU AND YOU’RE SO WONDERFULLY TALENTED AND I WANT THE ENTIRE WORLD TO KNOW THAT YOU’RE THE BEST.

@boosoonhao: i’m still in awe that we’re mutuals tbh you’re like. a goddess? wow. amazing. truly. thank you for being my friend and for putting up with my soonyoung attacks :’) you’re such a wonderful writer and i am so constantly in awe at all of your ideas and work that i can’t believe you’re really out here blessing us with free content wow. amazing. you’re also so cool????? like wow shit i am so in awe. also whenever you shout out my writing blog i literally have to stop and blink away tears idk what i did to deserve you tbh. also i owe you a huge thanks for inviting me into the gc??? i’m so honored and thankful. ily aj!!! thank you for being such a wonderful human!

@sha-writes: what is my life without sha??? not relevant, probably. you’re so ashdjakshdka. and i’m just like. i’m really in a groupchat with the sha??? amazing. truly. you’re so kind and talented and i just want you to know i am always here to fangirl over your work and also really happy that i get to talk to someone like you :’) please continue to bless my dashboard and my life plsnthanku

@kingyu97: fee!!! my soccer buddy whom i adore more than i know how to put into words??? we don’t talk as much as i wish we did but you’re always so kind and great and funny and i love that i got to meet you and I’M SO GLAD I HAD SOMEONE TO YELL ABOUT THE WORLD CUP WITH HONESTLY. but anyways please keep blessing us with your incredible talent and please keep blessing me with ur friendship i can’t ask for much more than that :’)

@wonusbookshoppe: CJ!!! you sweet, sweet, adorable human whom i adore so much wow. every time you talk to me my heart is like T-T<333333333 honestly i just have so much respect for you as a writer and as a person and i love the fact that we’ve become friends and i hope i get to know you better because you’re just so great and such a bright light in my life rn :’)

@cheolmates: dooly! i connect dooly with angel tbh. you’re so wonderful and kind and i can’t believe we only recently became mutuals. -insert meme about how i’ve only had u for a day but if anything were to happen to u i’d murder everyone in this space- honestly though you’re always so kind and supportive of myself and the soft trio and it makes me tear up every time. literally our gc just holds dooly appreciation moments because you’re so wonderful. i hope we can get to know each other better from now on~ :’)

@justriqht: lauren!! even though we don’t talk much, whenever we do i’m so happy because you’re such a sweet human and you brighten up my day so much :’) please keep writing a lot you’re so incredibly talented and i really appreciate you so so much :’)

@chocojaehyun: most of our interactions happen in the gc but like??? you’re so wonderful???? and incredibly talented??? and i’m like. in awe of your existence??? even if you torture us with the cursed term i still love you so i’m just gonna keep appreciating your very existence for as long as you’ll let me :’)

@forevershua: ryan!!! one of the coolest humans??? you’re amazing and so so funny, i’m always amused whenever i see your comments on the gc hehe. i hope we can get to know each other better!!!

@lowqualityseventeen: shawna the cutest bub thank you for existing?? wow. you’re always so sweet on the gc and you’re so incredibly talented as a writer, i’m really in awe and i lovelovelove reading your stuff :’)

@custardheart: taylor being one of the kindest, sweetest humans alive??? highly likely. i really appreciate your presence in the gc and the interactions we manage to have when it isn’t exploding :’) you always have such kind words and are always so lively and funny and i just adore you so much and i hope we can become better friends~

@virryth: i know most of our chatting happens on my writing blog but listen here, i appreciate our jihoon trash sessions more than i can tell you. you’ve been so kind and supportive and i can’t put into words how much that has meant to me :’) thank you for being such a wonderful human.

@keyboardaegyo: sephie! i know we don’t talk much but the few interactions we do have always brighten up my day, and seeing you on my dashboard in general tbh. you’re so sweet and kind and you’re a really great writer. i really hope we can get to know each other better!

@urijeongcheol: okay i know we don’t talk about but every time we do i’m like !!!! grace!!! a wonderful, adorable, kind human being!!!! i’m so happy we became mutuals and if nothing else, i’m always really glad and happy to see you on my dashboard. i hope we’ll get to talk more often~

@mak-baes: listen i know we only recently started interacting but i already care about you so much okay we need to talk more and i hope that we do in the future! you’re such a great person and a very talented writer :’)