#got that pic off of google and painted over it
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Day 4 of OCtober!!
My wild boi, Clover!!
What’s my power again?
Green.
#oc#original character#inktober#ibispaintx#OCtober#cause i’m hilarious#green#magical boy#magic shit#got that pic off of google and painted over it#shhhhhh#backgrounds are hard#art prompt
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Van Helsing Retold - one
pairings: vamp hunter!reader x vamp!bucky
Summary: Under the cover of night, vampires and their hunters have been at war for centuries, never letting their bloodshed reach the light of day. That is until the wife of a powerful vampire leader, Steve Rogers is murdered and he demands revenge. Y/N Van Helsing is the target of his crusade and she comes face to face with his right hand man, Bucky Barnes.
Warnings: blood, talks of burning bodies, use of ethnic slurs toward Romanian people,
Word count: 2.5k
A/n: i wrote this on my phone so if it’s filled with mistakes, I’m sorry😅
series masterlist | gaysindistress masterlist
Tag list: permanent @vonalyn @hidden-treasures21 @unaxv @cakesandtom series
disclaimer: credits to original creator/poster of image/gif. found on Google/Pinterest. The women in the banners are purely for aesthetic purposes.
“Ah the last Van Helsing,” a dark haired vampire sneers at me from the darker side of the room, “I have to admit you don’t look like one. Your mother, was it? She was beautiful with her big doe eyes and quivering lips, begging me to spare her. She was…delicious. You, on the other hand.”
She takes a moment to scrutinize me, taking in every inch of my body as we circle each other. She moves like a predator; her body quiet and fluid while her voice lures her prey in. Growing up around these foul creatures, I can predict their every move and motivation no matter how calculated they think they are. This one is waiting to pounce, to rip into with her fangs that hide behind painted red lips but she’s too cocky. She thinks she has the upper hand and barely gives the crossbow in my hands a second glance as she prepares her next onslaught of words.
“I imagine being a filthy orphan would change one’s appearance.”
I know her words are meant to hurt me, strike me in the one thing that separates her and I; my beating heart. I’m not surprised however, I knew she was going to pull something like this. It’s honestly a struggle to not roll my eyes at her as she continues on about whatever Van Helsing legend she claims to be a part of. I can’t find it in me to care enough to listen to whatever bullshit she’s spewing and I clear my throat to show that I’m growing tired of her.
She sneers at me again, going on something about how foul I am but I’m more focused on the step she takes forward. While we had been circling one another, she stayed just out of reach of me until that moment. The vampire, of course, thought she had distracted me and left me with an opportunity I can’t pass up. Taking it before it vanishes, the stake notched into my crossbow flies between us and finds its home in her chest. She lets out a shriek akin to that of a bat’s as she staggers back and attempts to pull it out. She lets out another ear piercing sound when the wood burns her skin and her dark wild eyes find mine.
“You bitch!” She growls and spits at me, taking lumbering steps towards me but I step back, out of her reach. I wipe whatever spit landed on me off onto my pants as I watch her crumble.
I can see the black veins crawl up her neck and onto her face the longer my holy water dipped stake sits in her chest. Less than a minute after I shot her, the dark haired vampire collapsed to the dirty wet floor of the abandoned warehouse I lured her to. Those black veins have taken over every inch of her body as she lies motionless. I wrinkle my nose as I bend down to take a pic of her and send it to my Guild master.
His only response is that he “liked” the message. You’d think that given the nature of our work, he would send a more dignified answer than “liking” the message.
Another text comes through, informing me that Sam is out front and ready to go.
“Make it quick. I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” it reads and I let out a sigh, knowing that I won't be able to follow the guild rules like I’m supposed to; make the kill, send confirmation, burn the evidence, and evacuate.
The Guild master will no doubt want my head but Sam’s increasingly stressed texts outweigh the wrath I might face. Standing and walking towards the entrance, I click my crossbow into place on my back and do a mental check for any signs of injury. In the process, I barely see the fury of black leather that lunges for me or smell the signature scent of cinnamon mixed with incense that accompanies my attacker.
I grunt as my back hits a metal pole, my crossbow creaking under the force. I touch the back of my head as it pounds from where it hit the pole and I see blood on my fingers. My gaze flickers between the blood and to the person who threw me, narrowing as my sight sharpens on who it is.
“Are you the one who killed Peggy?” The man demands.
“I’m good thank you for asking,” I snark back as I yank a cloth bandage from my jacket pocket and hold it to my wound. The metallic and earthy scent of my blood fills the air and I took note of the way he shifts on his feet when he notices it too.
A vampire.
Fucking great.
He repeats his question although through a clenched jaw, “are you the one who killed Peggy?”
I can see the already sharp jawline covered in stubble that cuts even more as he keeps it clenched in efforts to not eat me. His eyes have been swallowed whole by his pupil but I can tell that he usually has intense light eyes that might pin me in place. His body is tense, rigid almost from the pain of being so close to blood but yet unable to taste it. Narrowing my eyes at him, I don’t recognize him but his question leads me to believe that he’s a member of the Captain’s Guard, the vampire group spearheaded by the one I just killed and her husband.
“You’re about to be next,” I finally say to him and he flinches at my words. He throws a look over his shoulder before speaking, “Did you burn the body?”
I furrow my brows at him, “excuse me?”
“Did you burn the body?”
“No I heard what you said,” I say wincing as I pull the cloth from my head, “I’m confused why it matters to you.”
“Goddamnit” he mutters under his breath before saying to me, “give me your lighter and then get the fuck out of here.”
When I don’t immediately do as he said, he says it with more authority, dropping his voice a few octaves and leaving no room for error. I fumble for the lighter tucked into my pocket and toss it to him. He looks between me and the entrance as if to tell me to get a move on it.
I take off in a sprint and throw up the car door, scaring Sam and causing him to shove his gun against my temple.
“Jesus what took you so long?” He asks as he drops his weapon and starts driving.
I don’t answer, instead dropping my head back to rest on the headset and breathing through the pain at the back of my skull.
“Did she attack you?”
I shake my head and wince when it feels like the movement sloshes my brain around. Groaning, I toss the bloodied cloth to the floor and snap at him to signal at him that I need another one. I hear rustling and a warm dry cloth is placed in my hand.
“Who was it then?”
I take a moment as I replace the cloth, “I…I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“That’s what I said, isn’t it?”
“Damn there’s no need to come at me. I’m just trying to make sure you’re okay,” he grumbles under his breath, “you better pick that shit up when you get out. I’m not touching it.”
I chuckle, “you’re a vampire hunter who’s afraid of blood? The irony.”
“I’m not afraid of blood.”
“Yeah hmm sure you’re not.”
“I’m not!”
I can hear the muffled sounds of his voice calling out my name but they’re just that; muffled. I curse under my breath as my head falls forward and my sight goes blurry. When the other vampire attacked me, I hadn’t finished my mental check and missed the small cut on my hand.
“She…she spit on me,” I shutter out and weakly toss my infected hand onto the center console. Sam also curses under his breath and I feel the car accelerate as he darts in and out of traffic.
“We’re almost there, Y/N. Just hold on,” is the last thing I hear.
Bucky glares at the fire that rage before him, the scent of burning flesh and hair invading his nose without permission. The wood stake sticking out of her chest is the only thing visible and a part of him wants to remove it before Steve sees.
Of course it’s too late as the fire has already consumed the dead vampire and Steve’s angry roars echo off the walls. Bucky’s body tenses again and he rolls his shoulders to relieve some of that tension when Steve storms in. His own intense blue eyes survey the fire, the stake, and then his right hand man.
“Who did this?”
Bucky stares at the stake for a moment, eyeing the ornate cross and VH initials on its butt, “the Guild.”
Steve sees the same thing and lets out another animalistic roar.
“Van Helsing?” He turns to look at Bucky, “I thought you’d killed them all in the 90s.”
“I did too but apparently…”
Steve cuts him off, “There are no excuses! Your inability to follow a simple order is what led to this.”
He’s gesturing wildly to the fire as he continues, “my wife, my mate is dead because of you and you are going to fix it.”
Bucky doesn’t dare to look Steve dead on and settles for watching the fire. He knows what is expected of him; the kneeling, the bowing, the groveling of a lower vampire to his leader but his body won’t allow him to. He stays standing and offers only the silly words that the Captain’s Guard requires when asking for penance, “please forgive me, my liege. How am I to fix this?”
“You can start by properly addressing me.”
Bucky’s jaw clenched yet again and his nose flares at his leader’s words. A sick grin is spreading across Steve’s face as he watches the inner battle clear in Bucky’s eyes.
“Get on your knees and ask for penance the way you’re supposed to, Roma.”
The slur feels like hot blood in Bucky’s ears and he fights the urge to rip the stake from Peggy’s chest and thrust it into Steve’s.
He’ll be free of this.
Soon but not now.
Until then he drops to his knees and bows as he says those disgusting words, “please forgive me, my liege. How am I to fix this?”
“Y/N, wake up, come on Y/N,” a male voice calls to me as I slowly blink back to life. The white walls and bustling staff of the infirmary come into view as I look around me. Above me is the face of the one man I didn’t want to wake up to. His blue eyes search my face before he speaks again.
“Oh thank god,” he breathes as he tries to envelope me in a bone crushing hug. I push against his chest as I shrink back into my bed but it does nothing.
“I was so worried,” he continues as he nuzzles into my hair. I push at him again and Sam magically appears to pull him off for me.
“She just woke up, give her some space,” he lectures John, the man who decided that I needed to be crushed with a hug. I shot him a thankful look and he sent a welcoming one back but it sours when it lands on my hand. Glancing down, I see why; my hand is covered in black veins and is deathly thin like a decaying hand. My eyes widened at the sight but a doctor swoops in and sits on the edge of my bed.
“Ms. Van Helsing you’re awake,” he starts as he examines my face and then drops his gaze to my hand, “we managed to stop the venom from spreading for the time being.”
“For the time being? What does that mean?”
The doctor glances from my hand to my face and then back again, “obviously we weren’t able to extract it but we were able to stop it from spreading. The procedure is a temporary fix but I assure you we will find a better solution in the meantime.”
My face falls as he speaks and my stomach begins to feel nauseous. Sam takes the doctor’s place when he gets up and pulls me into his chest. He says nothing as he holds me, providing comfort instead in the form of a hand gently rubbing my back and the other in my hair to hold my head against him. He’s careful to avoid the bandage that’s wrapped around my head but holds me tightly nonetheless.
The vampire venom pulses in my fraile hand and I nearly gag at the feeling. I can feel the desire, the blood that it craves as it causes my fingers to twitch. I hide my face further into Sam’s chest in efforts to ignore it. However I’m not offered much relief as the vampire who had attacked me and then subsequently let me go flashes through my mind. He seemed familiar but I can’t place why. My mind races with the situation before me and loops back to him.
As if he can read my mind, Sam squeezes me once more before letting go and leaving me. Alone I'm consumed with him and nothing is able to prevent my brain from rewatching that interaction over and over again.
My heart begs my head to forget but the venom in my hand and something deep inside calls out for him.
The cold metal floor he knelt on introduced an ache to Bucky’s knees and had he not been overcome by his rage, he would’ve felt it.
The sick slur that left Steve’s tongue torches his flesh and devours any semblance of loyalty towards the vampire. Leader be damned, Bucky would be the undoing of Steve now that he proved to feel nothing for him.
“Kill the Van Helsing and bring me her head.”
Bucky’s hands ball into a fist without him noticing and he takes a deep shaky breath through his nose before speaking, “is that all you require?”
Steve says more but it falls on deaf ears. Anger courses through his body stronger than before and he gets to his feet before he was allowed to. His leader narrows his eyes at him as if he’s going to say something but Bucky cuts him off by storming out.
The words ring through his mind as he climbs into his car.
Kill the Van Helsing and bring me her head.
He slams his fist against his steering wheel and lets out a roar of anger that threatens to rattle the screws out of the car.
Kill the Van Helsing and bring me her head.
Resting his forehead against the beaten steering wheel, he takes a few shaky deep breaths. In and out.
“Think Bucky think,” he mutters to himself. He curses himself for saving the hunter's mother from Peggy years earlier. The memory of dragging her broken and mangled body from the river causes a shutter to run through him. She was only moments away from death when he gave her his blood and dropped her off at the footstep of her Guild. If he had just left her, he wouldn’t be in this situation, fighting himself to appease his leader. It should be what he wants; to bend to any and all of his leader’s wishes but there’s a tug deep inside of him that refuses to even entertain the thought of hurting her. He takes another deep breath albeit shaky and pulls his phone from his pocket. He sends a text to his contact in the Guild that reads;
“Meet me at the waterfront. 10 pm.”
Seconds later the reply comes.
“8pm.”
“10pm.” He fires back before tossing his phone into the passenger seat and drives off.
#bucky barnes imagine#bucky barnes#bucky barnes x reader#bucky barnes x y/n#bucky barnes x you#vampire bucky barnes#vampire!bucky x reader#vampire#vampire au#van helsing retold bucky barnes#van helsing#bucky barnes fic#bucky barnes reader insert#bucky barnes fanfic#marvel imagine#marvel
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Daily update post:
I heard a report that every day, Hamas steals at least a few aid trucks with food, and as we've seen in multiple pics, vids and testimonies from angry Gazans, the terrorists don't hesitate to use force against civilians to do so. A few days ago, a Hamas "policeman" shot and killed a young man trying to get some humanitarian aid. The young man's family was angry enough to burn tired outside a Hamas police station in the city of Rafah.
The leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, published a letter to his terrorists, in which he lies about how well Hamas is doing in the war (Israel estimates that at least 8,000 of its members have been killed, and that there is no organized Hamas command in northern Gaza anymore), while promising he won't surrender.
Just a reminder, that if Hamas surrendered, the war would be over immediately, and there'd be not one more Palestinian, civilian or otherwise, killed. What Sinwar is saying, is that despite being painted by certain westerners as a Palestinian liberation movement, it refuses to save any Palestinian lives. Same goes for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the second strongest terrorist group in Gaza after Hamas.
Sometimes, the terrorist puppets and their financial masters disagree on what false excuse to give, regarding why they jointly made sure Jews would be massacred. Iran said it was one of the responses for the assassination of Iranian military senior Soleimani (by the US, in 2020), while Hamas denied this claim, and said that the massacre was to protect the Al-Aqsa mosque... (right, 'coz Jewish babies murdered in their crib in the south, born to the most left wing, peace seeking families in Israel, were SUCH a threat to the mosque in Jerusalem. This is the same false excuse Islamists have used repeatedly, like in May 2021, going all the way back to its invention in 1929 by the Nazi collaborator Amin al-Husseini, at a time when there was no State of Israel). Apparently, even the worst of terrorists, and the biggest financiers of terrorism, don't think the west will respond well to the more truthful, "We just want to kill all Jews."
There was a blast next to the Israeli embassy in India, and now Indian news outlets report that there was a letter found nearby, which tied the attack to Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.
Dawn Lev and Matan Peretz, two funny Israeli Jews, answer some very serious questions, that were the most searched ones on Google when it comes to Hamas.
youtube
If it helps Dawn, I laughed. XD
While Iran is funding the attacks on Israel from Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, the cyber attacks on Israel (including on Israeli hospitals), and has reportedly attacked an Israeli-related ship at least once directly, it has also increased its levels of Uranium enrichment, which is what they need to build nuclear weapons. We should all be VERY concerned.
Here is an op ed, with yet another testimony regarding the systematic rape, torture and abuse carried out by Hamas on Oct 7. I found it hard not to post all of it, but if I did have to highlight only one part, this would probably be it:
This is 26 years old Shaul Greenglick:
For the Eurovision fans, he was a very talented candidate for this year's contest in Sweden, who auditioned on Dec 3 to represent our country. He was on leave from the army, so he performed while still in uniform. He was killed yesterday in Gaza. This is his audition, where he got to show off his stunning voice:
youtube
This is 33 years old Maor Lavi:
Two days ago, he was interviewed on Israeli TV, because he had an urgent mission. While fighting in Gaza, they found a Hanukkiah in one house. As there are no Jews living there, it was most likely stolen during the Oct 7 massacre. Maor wanted to share the story, so he could find the family that owned the Hanukkiah and give it back to them. Yesterday, he was killed in Gaza, too. This is the Facebook post that Maor published in the hope of finding the rightful owners:
May their memories be a blessing.
(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)
#israel#antisemitism#israeli#israel news#israel under attack#israel under fire#israelunderattack#terrorism#anti terrorism#hamas#antisemitic#antisemites#jews#jew#judaism#jumblr#frumblr#jewish
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Thrifting antiques and valuable vintage.
I have an 8 foot high shelf in my living room. It’s huge and it’s packed full of gorgeous goodies. I would estimate that there’s easily $10,000 on those shelves – a grand a shelf + a bit extra because I have a pair of stupidly valuable vases that I could sell for $3000. Have I actually spent that much to acquire those items? Hahahahahahahahahahaha! No. I’m not rich, what I am is a dedicated thrifter who has learned to pick the treasures from the trash. Here are my best tips:
1.Pick things up, turn them over, look for maker’s marks, snap a pic and do a google image search, with a lot of them you can narrow down when something was made to a 10-20 year time-frame. Is the item heavier than you were expecting? Antiques are often heavier than new productions because they’re using better quality materiel or just more of the materiel because it was cheaper back then. Look for signs of wear, has the paint or plating rubbed off over time? Unless you like that look steer clear of really worn items, the fact they’re so worn detracts from the value and indicates they weren’t that high quality to begin with. You can learn and awful lot just by picking something up off the shelf.
2. Hand painted items. The stupidly valuable vases? Are exquisitely hand-painted. I got them for 30 bucks and almost had a heart attack when I did a google image search. I’ve got several hand painted things that I’ve picked up for cheap and could easily sell for 10 x what I paid for them. Look for fine painting, things that are intricate and detailed, not blobby. There is a HUGE collector’s market for hand-painted Chinese export porcelain that's over about 50 years old at least.
3. Antique books. A lot of people don’t place value on old books and tragically A LOT get thrown in the trash or cut up by crafters (if you are an artist who uses old books in your work, I’m BEGGING you to look at the publication date before you cut the pages out unless it’s already so damaged there’s no saving it). Anything pre-1950 there’s a collector’s market. Anything over 100 years old is officially antique and is a treasure. I have 3 books that were published in the 1700s and the most I’ve paid was $50, one of them I got for $10 – because the sellers didn’t bother to google the title and author and figure out exactly how old the book was. Since at least the early 1800s most books have had the publication date printed right there in the front so it’s super easy to figure out if the book in your hand with a 50-cent price tag is a genuine antique.
4. Pairs. Things are always more valuable as a pair. So, if you have the chance to buy a pair grab them. The stupidly valuable vases are more valuable as a pair – a single sells for $1000. Or if something was once part of a pair and there’s a chance of you coming across another one then it’s well worth it to make a new pair. I will always grab a single foo-dog/temple-lion because I have made up pairs from 2 singles and it instantly increases the value. The same goes for sets of things. I’m slowly putting together a set of 6 Libby cactus margarita glasses and when I have a full set I’ll probably sell them because I need the space and I have other glasses I like better – but I won’t sell until I find number 6 (I’ve got 5 and it’s driving me insane waiting to find the last one) because an even numbered set is worth so much more than an odd number.
5. Solid brass. See above re. picking things up and feeling for the weight. Solid brass is a lot heavier than hollow and is worth a whole lot more. Next time you’re in a thrift store and there’s a bunch of brass pick up different things and feel the difference in weight, you’ll find a huge variance between similarly sized items. The heavier ones also tend to have finer details which is another indicator and quality and value – not always but most of the time.
6. Details. Speaking of fine detail, up until fairly recently the more finely detailed something was the harder it was to manufacture, therefore the higher quality it was, so always keep an eye on the details. Look at how anything that came from a mold is shaped – are the details sharp and clear or are they a bit blurred and blobby, does it have a visible seem? If something is carved is the carving detailed and smooth or chunky and rough? If something is jointed together, are the joins tight and straight or is there a gap or a crooked join? Look closely and see how things have been made. Good quality is easy to spot when you look closely.
7. Be prepared to pay up. Sometimes you’ll come across things that are pricey by thrift store standards but they’re still a fraction of what the item is actually worth. I have a malachite trinket box. I paid $45 for it and was hesitant to spend that much. But I looked it up and similarly sized boxes brand new are about $150. I’d always wanted a malachite box but there’s no way I’m ever gonna spend $150 on one. But $45? That fits into my discretionary budget for something I’d always wanted. I love Majolica pottery, but it is very very expensive so when I’m able to thrift it I’m willing to pay up – thrift store prices are still just a fraction of antique store prices even when they know they’ve got something special and have priced it on the higher side. And I have picked up some incredible bargains, like a plate for $10, when most of the plates in the store were in the $1-$5 range, but if they’d slapped a $20 price-tag on it then it still would have been a bargain because the same plate from and antique dealer would have cost me $50.
8. Know what you’re looking for. If you love a certain type of antique or vintage collectable, then research research research. Create a pintrest board and pin 10 zillion examples of that that thing until you can identify one in the wild just by a 2 second glance. Read up about when and where it was manufactured. If you see it in antique stores for way more than you’re willing/able to pay still go looking because seeing it in person helps you to learn what to look for when you’re thrifting. Look at listings online and read the descriptions, follow online auctions to see what it goes for, so you know when you find it and it’s way under-value, or maybe there won't be many bidders and you can score a bargain. You can search for things on Ebay then sort by sold listings and that’ll tell you what collectors are actually willing to pay so you can make a realistic offer to a dealer who has it way overpriced. I research a lot, and I know to swoop on a Victorian Bristol glass vase for $7 because it’s actually worth $50, or a Famille Rose vase for $5 when it’s worth $80 (I have a vase addiction OK? I’m aware of it, I have no interest in seeking treatment for it).
9. Search specifically and also search broadly. When you’re looking online it’s great to enter very specific search terms because even if you don’t find things you can afford, you’ll learn a lot. And sometimes you do find exactly what you’re looking for at a reasonable price. If you’re willing to put in the time, it’s also well worth it to keep your search terms very broad. One of the antiques I love is Chinese export Famille Rose porcelain. Yesterday I literally just typed ‘Chinese’ into FB Marketplace and scrolled through hundreds of listings because I figured if there was someone out there who didn’t know exactly what it was, they would at least be able to tell it was Chinese and they might have it listed as ‘Chinese porcelain’ or ‘Chinese figure’ or one I found was ‘Weird little Chinese dude’. I currently have 4 figurines on their way to me that are worth about $200 all up and I spent less than $40 including shipping – yes, I bought the weird little dude. I’ll often just type in ‘Antique’ and set a range of how far I’m willing to drive and just see what cool old stuff is available in that range – often people don’t know what they’ve got but they know it’s old so they list it as antique and you can pick up ridiculous bargains cause they don’t see the value in the item and just want it gone but want a few bucks for it.
10. Pick what you love. In the end it doesn’t matter if something is incredibly valuable if you think it’s ugly. I keep the stupidly valuable vases because I love them and enjoy looking at them on my shelf. I could flip them for a profit and if the day ever came that I really needed to then I would. But it didn’t cost me much to have that beauty in my life and I’m gonna keep it until I’m good and ready to let it go. The more you indulge your own tastes the more discerning you become and the more you’re able to spot treasure in the trash. My favorite aisle in my favorite thrift store is the one where the staff shove items that they think are rubbish. I’ve picked easily a thousand dollars worth of antiques from that aisle in the last year alone because they were things that I liked – things that made me go: Ooh that’s something special.
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Bestie, you keep talking about the viewership article of Loki for ages. When will you put it up? I'm going insane with people claiming its the best thing ever
Ahhhh 😱 my bad conscience learned to send Tumblr asks!!!! 😱😱 /joke
And yes. You got me there. 😭 after season 2 ended, I told myself it was necessary to wait a bit so the Google Trends graphs wouldn’t look so chopped off, and ended up procrastinating the post because I never wanted to think about *that* show ever again. 😭
But yes - be assured - while the defenders of the show are often vicious and try to make it look like it was generally loved, the stats paint another picture. (The same was true for season 1, though. I recommend taking a look at this amazing analysis posted on Reddit.) For now, let’s take the rough overview of season 2 from Google Trends here.
Google Trends only provides relative graphs (=percentages of a maximum), but in a way this makes it even better. The public interest in Loki peaked with season 1 (airing from 09. June - 14. July 2021). Season two (5. October - 9. November 2023) sparked about half of the interest. Overall, that’s a pretty clear picture season 2 lost a lot of viewer interest.
But let’s look into the details, meaning the single episodes. Here we have the first three ones (released on the 5th, 12th and 19th October).
Each episode marks a small peak in interest. Typically, the interest decreases over a season, so the first episode being the biggest hit is no surprise. The decrease however is. As a reminder: season 1 suffered a 30% decrease in viewership between episodes 1 and 3, which was considered horrible at the time. While this graph does not reflect viewership but Google searches, the decrease between episodes 1 and 3 is still 50%. (Also, I kinda prefer Google stats to viewership stats since they reflect how much real interest the series managed to create, leaving out all those people who mindlessly consumed the series without thinking further. It does however have the bias that an incomprehensible plot might inflate the numbers because people look for explanations online.)
The first peak in the next pic is again episode 3, followed by 4 (26. October), 5 (2. November), and the last episode (9. November). It’s easily visible that the finale has created the most interest. Sadly, Google Trends did not provide a graph where all the episodes could be compared, but based on the fact that the episode 3 peak was half as high as the one for episode 1, we can estimate that the episode 1 peak would have been at approximately 55-60% in this graph.
So why is that interesting? The two most interesting episodes were the opening and the finale. That’s not that unusual, but in the end, it still burns down to the fact that people kinda tuned out in between. I wouldn’t exclude the possibility that the major questions regarding Loki’s future (is he dead now? Can people visit him? How did this work?) inflated the peak for the finale.
Ok, but what about the actual views?
Well, I can never compete with thochi-1’s analysis, but I’ll do my best. But first this gem:
So, apparently, the 50% drop in Google Trends is associated with a 39% drop in viewed minutes.
For the overall season, the Hollywood reporter says this:
Summarized: only two-thirds of viewers from season 1 returned for season 2. The ones who did return showed about 15% less engagement in googling our beloved god of mischief.
I have another, personal reason to find that little fact particularly interesting. In the Loki survey, 26% of all respondents indicated they disliked the show. At the time of the survey, some people assumed this number to be falsely inflated, because I was more active in the “anti-series fandom”. Given the viewing numbers of season 2, I feel sadly validated. After all, the drop of 35% is even higher than my estimates.
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AAAAAAAAA ITS DONEEE
I measured it and this thing is fucking 6’6-
(materials and process underneath vv)
Materials used:
-3 pvc pipe segments with the screw adapters
-Eva foam : 2mm, 5mm, 10mm
-Foam clay
-Thermoplastic beads
-Metal wire
-Various superglues
-Spray paint
-Acrylic paint
~~ The Pvc Segments:
I started off with three 2ft pvc segments and glued the cross adaptor on the top, then proceeded to hack off and move around pieces as I saw fit. For the top segment I believe I cut off 5in, then glued 3 to the top of the cross pipe and tossed the remaining 2in. I also cut off 8in on the bottom to make way for the spike which is around 5.5in.
(The original pipes, I didn’t really have any other progress pics of this part)
~~ The Main Blade:
I started by going into FireAlpaca and separating the halberd from Sinclair’s sprite, then broke it up into various pieces and used Rasterbator to size up the blade. After that I printed it out, assembled it, and transferred it to freezer paper to adjust it as I saw fit.
After that I cut out two pieces of 10mm foam and glued them together as the main blade, then added the details with some 2mm foam I got from Walmart I think? I proceeded to hack away chunks of foam with Eva foam with a box cutter (and almost sliced my hand open in the process) before sanding the absolute crap out of it)
Once it was all sanded and I was content with it I took my heat gun and sealed all the foam and got rid of the fluffy texture created by the sanding and filled some of the gaps with foam clay.
After the blade I was done I stuck some wire into it, then shoved that wire through some thermoplastic beads I had melted and put in the pipe, and superglued it. It really wasn’t wanting to stay so I added more thermoplastic around the outside and proceeded to add more superglue (Gorilla and Flex Seal glue if I recall correctly) which has seemed to help it stay on. It’s not 100% stable but as long as I’m careful with it I’m ok.
~~
The Spikes:
Just like the blade, I made the pattern based the sprite itself. Using the line tool in FireAlpaca I traced over the top spike and the side spike and got the pattern from that. I resized and reshaped them in a Google doc before printing them out. After that I traced two of the spike pieces, cut one in half vertically and glued them together. After that I used small triangular pieces of foam to connect the corners and with that the skeleton was done (I added wire into the bottom spike for support as it is going to be bashing the floor a lot). i then filled the skeletons with foam clay, making sure to get all the sides even and filled completely.
(I forgot to add the triangle pieces in the bottom spike until later)
Once I sanded them and attacked them with the same method as the blade the base was done!
~~ Painting:
In order to create a stable base to paint on I shoved three wooden dowels into a fertilizer box and hot glued them down. I then broke the halberd down and put each piece on the spike before spraying it with multiple coats of plastidip.
(Note- I taped off the parts that would be screwed down as I was afraid that the paint would interfere with the threading. I don’t know if it would actually cause any problems but I didn’t feel like risking it)
Once that was completely dry I sprayed it with three coats of Rustolem Black High Gloss paint.
Finally, I dry brushed everything with silver paint and added the lettering, using some black paint to mimic the paint chipping.
Once I added two coats of Rustolem clear sealant it was done!! The overall process took about two weeks and I’m quite happy with how it turned out! I may or may not have injured myself a lot during the process because I’m stupid but it was quite a fun project, and I do have more Project Moon props planned for the future such as Don’s lance and Argalia’s scythe. Once I finish my full cosplay I’ll make a post similar to this one :)
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M4 at a Masquerade
I just,, appreciate the aesthetic
All pics are just stuff I found on Google
Felix
While Felix does call himself the Necromancer from House Unaffiliated��, he still technically has to go along to a couple of formal parties. The only reason he's going is because Florian asked him to.
Well, that and the fact he got an extra invitation for you. That definitely helped.
You've probably been to a costume party or two in your day but that's nothing compared to an actual masquerade ball.
Whether you're excited or nervous, you're definitely more emotive about it than Felix is. He pats you on the shoulder and assures you it really isn't That Big Of A Deal, so just calm down a bit. You look like you're about to pass out. Do you need some tea?
Felix has enough in his wardrobe to piece together an outfit. You can borrow some of his stuff if you'd like, or he can take you shopping on Escell's dime. He's happy either way.
You,, in Victorian-gothic outfits,,,, you in a corset,,,,,,,,, you in a suit,,,,,,,,,,,,Felix is losing his mind a little bit please be gentle with him,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, he is on the floor dead (not for the first time)
Felix offers to paint your nails to match his. You can paint each other's nails. He'll let you do his eyeliner if you ask.
He spends,,, an entire day getting ready. If he's going to this he's gonna look good, damnit. He is making a Statement™
He leaves his outfit on the bed and Stella rolls around on it so now you're furiously using the lint roller before Felix notices because he will Never Stop Bitching if he sees that
When you guys are finally ready to leave, he opens a portal so you can make an entrance. Said entrance is immediately ruined when he manages to plop you both into a rosebush.
He's lucky the mask helps hide his cheeks because he's so red ajdishdajdal
Pick him up. Dust him off. Assure him that it's fine.
Once you're both situated, you take his arm and head together into the dance hall
It's a pretty fancy place! Felix is quick to secure you both a glass of wine.
Felix who took dance lessons as a child??? Yes please
You two waltz around for a while, giggling to yourselves and admiring other people's outfits. You make a game of teasing each other since the masks hide it.
You see Florian and Scylla and that's pretty fun. Escell is also there,,, he's an asshole but you have to admit he's attractive
A few people come up to talk to Felix. He's far from the most polite person, but with a few nudges and discreet footstomps from you, he makes it through the conversation without being completely rude.
Anyways, most of the nobles that come over ignore your presence entirely. Which is,,, insulting. But not surprising. You assure Felix it's fine and not a big deal but he's clearly upset about it.
You're so intelligent and talented and why can no one else see it???? They're all so much like Escell that it just ruins the entire mood.
By the time the third one snubs you, Felix is Over This™
He grabs your hand, lacing your fingers together oh his hands are so soft and dragging you away from the main ballroom.
Luckily he's been to this hall plenty of times, so he knows the hallways well enough to lead you to the second level. Technically it's closed off for the event but has Felix ever let a locked door stop him before?
No
You can still hear the music perfectly well from here.
So it's with an excited grin and a light heart that you two begin to waltz.
Anisa
Hehehe... Annie in a ball gown.... Hehehehehe.....
Anyways
As the Knight Lieutenant of the Sunstone Order, obviously Anisa has to attend certain events. And this is the first time in a long long time that she's actually been excited for it.
It's definitely more accurate to say that she's excited that you're excited. Let's be honest! This is all Old Hat for her but you - oh brilliant, glorious, out-of-this-world you - get amazed by something as inane as fireflies. So she's so excited for you to see something as genuinely gorgeous as a palace dancing hall filled with Porrima's finest.
Also the food there is like,,, really good so there's that
She takes you shopping of course. And after you pick out your outfit, she brings you to a tailor to make sure it all fits perfectly.
You wanna get her flustered? Borrow some of her clothes. She will Absolutely Perish
She also gives you a crash course on proper etiquette, conversation topics, a who's-who of whoever is gonna be there, etc. Everything you need to make it through the night (hopefully) without embarrassing yourself. Don't worry if you can't remember all of it, she made flashcards!
Okay she lost the flashcards
But she'll remind you!
You guys walk arm-in-arm to the palace while she explains a few last-minute details. Most of it is nobility politics and gossip.
Trash-talks Escell a bit of course
When you guys actually get there, she's incredibly proud to have you by her side. Happily introduces you to anyone who comes over, and makes sure to include you in whatever conversations are going on.
Sunstone training did not include dance lessons. She's,, okay but not great. But she's having fun!
Dancing with you gets her,, incredibly flustered. Ease the tension by cracking a few jokes. If you wanna get her more flustered, then take the lead. Or swoon and call her your knight. Even the mask won't hide her blush.
You guys steal a whole tray of appetizers to snack on, obviously.
Make a game of trying to guess who's who under the mask! It's harder than you think.
She inevitably gets pulled away by Orion or someone higher-up. She promises to come back as soon as she can but, fair warning, it'll probably be an hour or so.
There are,, flowers,,, all over the place. The centerpieces and in sconces on the walls and whatever. Get some. Make her a little corsage or something. Maybe a flower crown. You have an hour to kill. Go wild.
When she comes back give her the little present and She Will Be So Red you might need to make her sit down and get some water so she doesn't pass out.
Tell her about Earth parties! Compare them. She's fascinated by how differently your worlds celebrate things. Promise to take her to a party sometime. Obviously it won't be as fancy as all this but that's okay!! She's happy to go wherever you are.
There are definitely some people staring at you - it's not like Annie usually brings dates to these things - and if it makes you uncomfortable then Annie will 10/10 get in their face and tell them to knock it off. She wants you to be comfy and have fun!
Lift her mask off and smooch her cheek You Will Not Regret It
Sage
He,, really,,, doesn't wanna go,,,,,,
Let's be real. A dumb fancy party in a place where you can't be loud and the utensils are all dainty and everyone is gonna be looking at him weird and thinking of how out-of-place he is. It's not his idea of a fun night, no sir! Fuck that.
But Felix and Anisa both have to go, and they got you both tickets. Normally he'd tell them to shove it but,,,,, you're excited about it. So he makes a big show of rolling his eyes and whining, but in reality as soon as you say you wanna go he's getting hyped.
He's had to attend one or two of these in the past when the Starsworn were together, but you haven't. And you're so excited that it's cute to him and he likes seeing you happy so
Don't expect him to be any help with picking an outfit. He just says you look good in everything. Also he is a million percent using this as an excuse to check you out.
You try to ask Tulsi but she just says go in whatever's comfortable so if you actually want advice you need to bring Anisa and Felix
You,, and Sage,,,, in matching outfits/color schemes,,,,,,,,, boy would play it off like nothing but on the inside he is Melting™
He just likes the thought that people are gonna look at you and know you're his and he's yours and akfiwofjsjshflfksj
Anyways!
He warns you ahead of time that a lot of these people are snooty assholes so you'd better brace yourself. Don't take anything they say to heart. He's already preparing to get in a fight for your honor so maybe be wary of that
He has to wear a shirt for once,,, he's not super pleased about it but if you tell him he looks nice his tail does a waggy so there's definitely a benefit
Technically you're not supposed to bring weapons to this but he totally has a knife hidden somewhere on his body. He invites you to go looking for it wink
No but he actually does have a knife he doesn't trust these people
He plays it off well but you can tell he's a bit antsy as soon as you step into the ballroom. His tail wraps around your wrist and his ears are perked. Is it because he's anticipating an attack? Someone shit talking you two? Someone better than him seeing how lovely you are and coming to flirt with you? Maybe all of the above tbh
There is an open bar though. Once he's got a bit of alcohol in him he loosens up.
100% is like 'hey MC if we get caught making out no one knows what we look like anyways so we won't get in trouble' while running his fingers up your spine and purring in your ear ahdyfifhsus
He Is A Good Dancer!! He Cannot Or Will Not Do Formal Dances!!! While he's not doing full on 'bump and grind' type stuff, it's still probably a good thing there aren't kids around because he's focusing on having fun with you. (If you're uncomfortable he'll immediately tone it down - but it's for you, not because he cares what the dumb old nobility thinks about it)
Sage is naturally loud so he definitely gets a lot of disapproving stares. He acts like he doesn't notice but he does. Normally he wouldn't care but,, he already struggles a bit with feeling like he doesn't deserve your attention, so this just really doesn't help,,,,,
But at least he can appreciate being with you. Seeing how excited you are with everything, the outfits and the decór and the music and all, it makes him happy enough to stick around.
Once you've seen all there is to see and gotten done free snacks? Grab his hand and drag him out of the hall. Jokes about 'wow MC you're so eager it's hot' aside, he'll be a lot happier outside. You guys can sneak around the (public areas) of the palace. Maybe wander through the gardens. Or maybe just walk through town and stop in at a tavern.
If your outfit has a lot of straps/laces he offers to help you get out of it
Rime
Beginning-mid!redemption Rime, where he's trying to stop being an ass but still is at odds with the Starsworn
The Starsworn have invited you to a masquerade tonight. It seems like a lot of fun and who passes up a chance to go to a party? You go out as a group to get your outfits and spend the day getting ready together. And you're excited to spend the night together too!
Except you don't.
Felix is getting lectured by his dad for something and Anisa's listening very intently to some big scary scar lady. And Sage made a beeline for the open bar. Now he's vanished. You're pretty sure he'll turn back up tomorrow.
Hopefully.
Anyways, you're all alone. And it's hot in here, and loud, and a little too crowded. So you decide to step out to the terrace and get some air.
It's a cool night. The sky is clear and speckled with stars. You look up and try to trace the constellations you remember from Earth. There's nothing familiar up there.
A particularly cold breeze catches your attention and shakes you from your thoughts. You glance to the side and see a horned figure. You reflexively jump - until you catch sight of familiar pink hair. Ah. He snickers at your reaction. You let out a breath and lean your elbows on the railing. A slight grin creeps onto your face as you unabashedly take a page from Sage's book.
'Well someone's horny'
His momentary win immediately turns into a scowl. You snicker and hide your amusement behind your hand.
He settles on the railing beside you, looking up at the stars too.
It's a nice, quiet moment.
He asks if you know the constellations. You say no. He asks if you miss your stars. Your mouth is dry. You just shrug. What is there to say?
He hesitates for a long moment before nudging your arm and pointing up at the sky.
And so the two of you stand side by side, shoulders pressed together, while Rime uses a finger to trace the constellations.
#fictif last legacy#felix escellun#felix iskandar escellun#anisa anka#sage lesath#rime varela#rime solano varela#fictif felix#fictif anisa#fictif sage#fictif rime#fandom trope#x reader#ozzy daydreams
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Mikaelsons Black History Month
First off, I’m starting by saying that even though it is no longer Black history month it will always be melanin everyday and black people every day. And everything else under the sun, and if you don’t like it then the exit is to your left. Everything you own in the box to the left
Being part of the Mikaelsons is very fickle business and be some bs. Like really, you’re here with supernatural beings who are over 1000 years old. Who have traveled the world, gained endless knowledge, seen a lot of bloodshed, but you know what they haven’t seen? Their token human (black ofc) being ignant for black history month, I mean who even fully celebrates? How does one even celebrate?
Granted, they’re not racist. But with the writing Julie Pleck did she was playing honestly. That was the worst writing I've ever seen since who knows when. Maybe the nine lives of Chloe king or something? But in my originals universe they were probably racist in the beginning to an extent then grew out of it.
Anyways, they never met someone who celebrated until they met you!
Now repeat after me: I’m black y’all, and I’m black y’all. And I’m black and black and black y’all! FYM
Now…. picture this: A moderately quiet day in the Mikaelson household. Kol is minding his business for once, Rebekah is trying to find the perfect pics for her next instagram post, Elijah is enjoying a good read, and Klaus is organizing his art materials. But then here comes you, the human, opening the door and walking right in like you pay bills (none of them do but you get the picture) in the midst of the most deadly people. Walking in and greeting everyone, walking in with the most hotep, Dr. Umar bullshit getup they ever seen. Coming to America headass.
They recognize your footsteps from a mile away, so when you walk into the kitchen and no one really looks up at first it’ll be a sight to see a whole ass pelted lion on your back. The kente cloth hat (no idea the actual name for it, sorry babes), a saber tooth necklace (for my mans T’Challa), and the red stiletto nails with the afro out here banging.
SHEEEEEEEEESH
Once Elijah is done with his page he looks up to greet you, but then stops… Bitch, fuck is you wearing? This was worlds away from the sweats, and skinny jeans you wore on the daily.
“Greetings Y/N you look…. Fashionable.” Mans didn’t know what to say. Did he miss something about your Africna roots? Was there a holiday he hadn’t heard of, doubt it, but what else was there?
“Thank you Elijah.” You fluff out your lion pelt for added effect, if there was ever going to be one time you outdo the Mikaelsons’ especially Elijah in being dramatic with a coat or cloak of somesort, it would be now.
At this point the Kol and Rebekah have already looked up and were confused. Why are you dressed like that?
Kol is the first one to speak up “Darling, Rebekah likes a fashion show more than anyone, but why do you have a lion… on your shoulder.”
Lifting up your large ass shades you supplied an answer: “Black History Month”
They all looked at each other… they didn’t get it. Like they know what it is, but never actually understood how to celebrate and all that nor did they ever actually give it mind. When you saw that they weren’t making a connection, you started phase 1.
“Alexa, you know what to do.”
And there goes their manor playing: NIGGA NIGGA NIGGA NIGGA NIGGA NIGGA NIGGA I’M ONE HUNDRED PERCENT NIGGA
LMFAOOOOO you got the white people shook. Klaus just dropped one of his expensive ass bottles of art sealants and is vamp speeding to the kitchen to figure out what the hell is going on. Elijah having a mid century crisis on how tf they even found you and deemed you worthy of being in their presence so casually. Kol is having fun in the back, still laughing at your get up. And Rebekah wishes she went to the mall instead, she wanted a girl bestie and got you instead rip
“WHAT IN BLAZES- Y/N WHAT ARE YOU DO- WHAT ARE YOU WEARING! ALEXA STOP THE MUSIC-” And the big bad wolf has arrived. You put your finger to Klaus’ lips which stuns him bc… you’re still HOOOMAN like damn, death wish much? And you look this man, straight in his mit and say “Looks at, look at me” and pause for dramatic affect, “I am the captain now”
Room silent as hell till Kol starts cackling
You’ve made Dr. Umar proud, the ancestors are shining on you once again
With that you lead into a whole speech about the black struggle and black history month, bottom line: REPARATIONS. Because being the only nigga in the Mikaelsons (we don’t claim Marcel) is exhausting, white people shit everyday that you complain about in their faces
TBH at this point they’re indulging you in this escapade.
First victim is Elijah, you ask for his wallet. He gives you a look, I mean he does technically give you what you want and whatever (when y’all dating, refer back to my dating Elijah post), so he ask you why. Reparations sis why, but then you stop yourself. This man gives you his wallet every other day, half the time you not even asking. What could you rob this man of…. Ah. You ask him for the deed of one of his estates in Prague, why? Because you bitches can’t even spell Prague. And under section S line 45 subsection Y it does state that estates are eligible for reparations. Fuck 40 acres and a mule, you got 300 acres, some stallions in the back, a quite possibly haunted mansion, and a heavy dicked (yeah I said it, a sis been trying to reality shift) original who will turn you out by the end of the day and the end of the month…. Wait till women's history month boo
We know his pockets figgity fat, and it would be figgity wack to not get some
Ngl you take Kol with you so he can buy you food. Granted, he knows what you’re doing, but if he’s going to spend money on anything it will be thawed and it will be music. However, one thing leads to another and you’re both at Wal-Mart waiting to find a parking spot. You stole one off a white minivan trying to move in. Not thinking anything of it because who in this small ass Mystic Falls ass, clown ass town really about it? Apparently Karen.
But you know who else what about it? Kol (tbh mans had nothing but time, and he claims you so why tf not.) he out here NY stomping on her and coming at her for badly glued extensions. Cheap ass bitch, ain’t even blend in correctly.
After that Kol and you left with some groceries, a new story to tell, and a chopped cheese.
With Klaus, he frfr wasn’t finna do shit. Being ordered my a human? Lmfao, go find another simp sis. But… once you suggest that his art skills may not be up to par on what you have in mind as a new family room piece for your house he’s all ears. He knows what you’re doing, but… he still wants to prove you wrong. But anyways, you give him a theme… reverse racism. IK y’all, it’s not a thing, but mans has ideas. And he outdoes himself. That and the recreation of the moorish chief bc that man...mmmmm that man was giving.
Ok so Google wanna hoe me, but there was a painting of a black man in a kkk cloak and behind him were white people being hung from a tree. Say what you want, but that photo was fire. If any of you seen it please share it below.
Anyways
Rebekah tbh wants no part in this, but I feel like she’d gave when you ask her to give you all the finest dresses bc it’s an excuse to exhaust Klaus’ money.
Through the month you give the Mikaelsons a run for their money, and maybe sanity. Klaus is in the back trying to research who tf Dr. Umar is and why is he your inspiration
They had to pull you back when the sheriff asked you for your ID. You ask why you needed white man paperwork!
You are pleasing the spirits, what bonnie could never do lmfaooooo. The powers of you enemies aren’t prospering this month nor next month.
You’re not poor this month, anything you poor of is pouring a little more (bars nigga)
LMFAOOOO imaging asking the fam to go to paris, like, they not invited it’s a self trip funded my the Mikaelson Y/N Trust Fund of Public Decency ™
Klaus would be the first one to speak because this man is TIRED, “Love, why do you need a trip to paris? What’s in Paris?”
Knowing better, you look to Kol to answer the question, “I don’t know, Kol, who’s in Paris?” Niggas b. Niggas in paris…. Lemme chill
LMFAOOO enjoy
#klaus mikealson x reader#klaus mikaelson#elijah mikaelson#elijah mikealson x reader#tvd x reader#the originals#black reader#black!reader#poc!reader#poc reader#niggasbelike
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jjk; off-league
summary; you decide to do a little boudoir photoshoot for yourself—a little sexy lingerie, some bunny ears, maybe even a little nudity to make you feel more body positive about yourself. that little photoshoot doesn’t end up being for yourself anymore when you accidentally send those sexy pictures to your stupidly hot, stupidly talented childhood friend who you haven’t spoken to since middle school graduation. pairing; photographer!jk x fem!reader genre/warnings; childhood friends to lovers!au, flangst, mutual pining, feelings of insecurity and body image, suggestive language, nudity w.c; 6.2k a/n: i was feeling a lil meh about this fic after finishing it but a month later it finally makes its debut! for @btsghostiewritersnet BGW Bingo Bash! today’s trope is “childhood friends to lovers” which surprisingly isn’t a favorite of mine so it was definitely a challenge to write!
“C’mon, I need your opinion. Deadass. Don’t just say shit to make me feel better.”
“Gimmie those nudes, baby girl,” Johnny makes an impeccable fuckboy impersonation, making you feel a little squirmy to your stomach.
It’s an hour away from being the ass-crack’o-dawn and your impromptu pin-up photoshoot just needs the sexy-star-of-approval from your best friend. Johnny Suh is also up for reasons unmentioned, but you had a feeling his pretty boyfriend is fifty percent of the reason.
You look at yourself in the mirror, smoothing your frame against the black bodice of the sheer teddy. The only parts that are fully concealed are the parts that don’t matter. The sheer bodice reveals your pert nipples concealed by a thin black mesh, coupled with the deep V in the sweetheart neckline, accented by a little black bow in the dive of your highlighted cleavage. The silky a-line raceways to a set of black garters hugging your thighs, barely hanging onto a pair of lace thigh-highs.
It doesn’t leave you butt naked, but enough to make you feel confident about yourself. These pictures are for you, and Johnny. And Johnny’s boyfriend if he’s being nosy.
You tug off the silk bunny ears from your head, flinging it somewhere in your room. The wire started to dig in your brain, giving you a major headache.
“Sending them now,” you hang up and start compiling the pictures in a folder on Google Drive. Once that’s done you copy the shareable link, sending it to Johnny’s number. It happens all so fast, and you feel kind of giddy. As you were posing for the camera, taking your time to find all the right angles, you felt good, you felt sexy in your little get up. Channeling your inner Ariana Grande was one of your childhood dreams, your fifteen year old self would be proud.
Five minutes pass, fifteen, and by the twenty-five minute mark you’re pissed. What’s taking Johnny so long?
Makeup scrubbed clean and face bare, you shuffle in your duvet, far too tired to be waiting up this long. Punching in his number once more, you cry, “Hey! Why haven’t you looked at them yet?”
“What?” your friend’s voice sounds pebbly through the line. Was Johnny sleeping? “You never sent them!” he whines tiredly.
“No, I definitely sent them!” you pull the phone away and keep Johnny on call, ready to prove him wrong.
But to your surprise, the last message you sent to Johnny was this afternoon.
The most recent message is to a person named John Kook.
You scream.
Johnny screams back at you with an equal amount of force, “What the fuck? Did someone break in? Are you being mobbed? See, this is why I wanted to put the baby monitor in your room—”
“Worse!” you’re well prepared for any break in, but not for this. “I sent my pics to the wrong John!”
“Well… is he at least cute?”
“I mean, in the fourth grade he looked pretty cute with that front tooth missing,” you find your output of frustration, your bunny plush, pulling it by the ear and hitting it against the bed. “His name isn’t even John! It was just his English name for a silly project we did in middle school. This is so embarrassing, all I can picture is a twelve-year-old Jungkook mortified from sexual harassment. I basically sent him nudes!”
“Tasteful nudes.”
“I’m gonna die.”
“He’s gonna die, of happiness.”
Jeon Jungkook was a classmate from elementary through middle school. Time and time again was he the object of your affections, from the first grade at the roller rink to the speech he made at graduation. But really, who cares? You’re old and have a job, and it’s not like you’ve communicated with any of your former classmates.
Your horror amplifies when the Delivered receipt is changed to Read 3:41AM.
“Fuck! Fuck me with a fuckin’ fuck nugget he saw it!” you cry, “does he still have my number? What if he deleted my contact, would that be even weirder?”
“Girl, stop.” Johnny sighs, and you can already picture him running his thumb between his brows. “This doesn’t change anything, alright? You two don’t know each other anymore. Block his number and go to sleep.”
Johnny leaves you alone after that, and you’re left alone to mull over the implications of sending Jeon Jungkook your nude photoshoot.
You do block his number, knowing that waiting for a reply would drive you nuts. The one thing that you do which is possibly worse, is look him up on Instagram.
Of course, he’s stupid hot.
He doesn’t seem to like being on the receiving end of the camera however, in favor of his timeline being filled with romantic shots of the beach and city. In between the picturesque views and watercolor sunsets do you see glimpses of him and his current life. You can’t help but smile when you see him with his brother and parents during his college graduation, easily towering over all of them. He looks tall with fluffy cocoa hair, big pearly whites gleaming proudly at the camera. He grew up well.
To torture yourself even more, you even look through his story. Twelve hours ago, he was at the gym lifting weights. Normally, you’d be disgusted by people trying to show off their grunt faces drenched in sweat, but of course Jungkook has to have on a silly smile and pump his fist up after he deadlifts. The sweat clinging to his shirt is also a high plus. His gorgeous display of abs has your hands fluttering over your own belly. Maybe you need to exercise more.
Four hours ago, you see him and a pretty woman with their cheeks squished together, using the puppy filter. Of course he has a girlfriend.
Reluctant, you open up your Google Drive and scroll through your photoshoot. Deflated, you frown at the pictures that once made you beam with pride, picking at every little detail that bothered you. You really can’t believe you sent these to Jeon Jungkook, no longer a fourth grader with one front tooth, but a man way out of your league.
By the time you will yourself to sleep, the sun peeks from the horizon, telling you to move on.
“Hey Gyu,” you tiptoe over to the table much too small for Mingyu’s frame. The string bean is slumped over his iPad pro, drawing intently at some chibi OCs. “Got a plot for that one?” you ask, pointing at the little pink and blue creature decorating the screen.
Mingyu grunts in reply, obviously engrossed. It isn’t until you slide him a matcha frappe from Starbucks that he becomes intelligible, muttering a “thank you” as he blends with his pen.
Sensing that it’s going to be awhile before you get through to him, you take your usual rounds around the front desk and lobby of the cosy photo studio. There’s pretty pictures of Mingyu’s work, along with the other employees Minghao and Hoseok. Each section of the wall features a different taste of each person’s interest. Mingyu is a divine lover of soft bed sheets and hot tea, many of his photographs and paintings featuring cafes or perfectly messy beds you’ve seen on hotel advertisements. Minghao is a tasteful artisan, splotches of color retaliating against neutral backgrounds. Finally, Hoseok manages to find balance in the people, large cityscapes telling both large and small stories.
“Alright,” Mingyu’s deep voice forces you to curl your head, where he’s sipping at his drink with haste. “What’cha here for?”
You frown, “Don’t you remember? I told you last week I’d be stopping by to get my photos developed,” you gesture to the Pentax in your hands, an heirloom from your great-aunt. While you did take digital photos for sending them to Johnny, the ones you wanted developed were taken side-by-side with the film camera. You figured that film would give a little more authenticity to your photoshoot.
“Shit, that’s today?” the camera falls like deadweight, slapping against your sweater as you watch Mingyu frantically look through his digital calendar. He looks at you, dejected. “How many prints?”
“I don’t know, maybe like six. Or eight?”
“That’s gonna take too long, I’m heading down to Hidden Grounds for a vision meeting at two.”
“Alright, I’m free all day. What about after?”
“Nah, you came all this way. I can just let the new guy help you.” and Mingyu makes a show of cupping his hands in the direction of the open hallway, “Yah, Jeon Jungkook! Get your cute ass out here!”
The Pentax around your neck suddenly feels like weight akin to a two-ton boulder, and you surge forward, not caring that the corner of the table is digging into your belly. “Mingyu,” you garble, and Mingyu is shell-shocked by the desperation in your eyes. “Isn’t Minghao around or something? Or I can come back another time? These photos are really personal and I don’t feel comfortable having a stranger see them.”
“What? We’re professionals, don’t belittle us.”
“No, seriously,” you whine, you tug at the collar of his denim jacket, noses practically touching. “These pictures are different. My tits are out and my legs are spread—”
“—interrupting something?”
You hear some shuffling, and you turn around to see Jeon Jungkook’s back, comically turned to face the entrance.
And damn, he did have a cute ass. Nothing is going to hide the glory in those jeans, absolutely nothing.
“Hilarious,” Mingyu drawls, and you push him away. “Forget it, Kook. She doesn’t feel comfortable letting a stranger develop her photos.”
Sensing that it’s safe to turn around, you watch as his black bangs flutter as he faces you. You hope your body language doesn’t betray how you’re really feeling, because you are a mere mortal and you’re weak in the presence of god-like figures.
“Oh, what a relief then,” he smiles at you, and his voice sounds like honey. If there was malice or surprise in his tone, his good-natured expression betrays it. “Because I’ve known this friend since elementary school. We go way back.”
You ignore the burn in the back of your head, as you are positive Mingyu knows you’re hiding something.
“Really, what a coincidence.” Mingyu replies carefully, and you feel utterly stuck between these men and their banter, locked up like cream in an Oreo cookie.
Nothing argues against Jungkook as he easily weaves through the thick wave of awkwardness, hands reaching out to touch your camera. “Wow,” he marvels, holding the object in his hands, “my dad has one of these.”
“A-ha,” you take a step back, only to bump into the corner of the table, again. Ouch. “It’s okay, Jungkook. I’m actually busy today so I can come when Mingyu’s free–”
“Oh, I thought you were free all day,” Mingyu drawls, looking up through his lashes as he sips languidly at his drink.
“Don’t worry about it,” Jungkook says good-naturedly, as if Mingyu just didn’t out you. “We got a lot of catching up to do anyway, c’mon.”
Jungkook moves to place a hand in the small of your back and that’s enough to get you to rev up. Refusing to let any contact get between the two of you, you zip ahead down the familiar hallway, turning your head to catch Mingyu grinning with all canines, shooing you with his fingers like a puppy.
You send Mingyu a stream of “fuck yous” into his inbox for later, unwilling to settle with this curse. Busying yourself with your phone, you avoid eye contact with Jungkook until you reach the dark room. The red light turned off at the top of the doorhenge signals that the room is not in use. Jungkook makes a move to open the door and that’s when you pounce, blocking the doorway with your small body. It’s comical, really.
Jungkook raises a brow at you, but says nothing.
“I really can wait, Jungkook,” you steel yourself, forcing a sympathetic smile. “I’m sure your girlfriend wouldn’t like you developing my pictures—”
It’s then that his pretty cupid’s bow unfurls into a full-fledged grin. “Girlfriend... you’ve been keeping tabs on me?”
“Fuck, well I had to!” your face is as red as the dark room’s alert light, now on because Jungkook flicked the switch and he’s between your arm to unlock the door. Your hand brushes his as you both reach the knob. “I’m really really sorry I sent those pictures. They were for Johnny—you remember Johnny Suh from English class? And I saved you in my contacts as “John Kook” so it was an honest mess up.”
Jungkook hums, so light that the breathiness in his chords flutters your grip on the knob. He forces the door ajar, and you’re left to follow him in the dark room, cluttered with solutions and fancy equipment.
“Thought so,” Jungkook shrugged, giving a one-over at the materials in the room, mulling over his next steps in developing your film.
You’re still petrified at the doorway, holding your Pentax between both hands like a lifeline. Jungkook’s head lols to you, and you get a pretty view of the way his bangs brush over his forehead, Adam’s Apple bobbing. His expression is a little tired, but overall unreadable. He sighs your name, lethargic.
“We’re already here, so might as well get this done,” he gestures to the camera in your vice grip. “Do you wanna pick the shots or do you want me to?”
He’s already seen the digitals, what’s so different about getting a couple prints? With a slight pout you drag your feet over to him, relinquishing your camera. “I’m thinking you have a better eye for this than I do.”
“You think right.”
You fight the urge to roll your eyes. Cocky, but what you’ve seen on Instagram definitely justifies his sentiment. Jungkook pays no mind to you, busying his hands with the various containers in front of him, measuring the solutions for the developer, stopper, and fixer. You were always entranced by the process of developing film, especially in highschool where their photography club holed themselves in the darkroom like a secret lair.
“Alright,” he pops open the canister, carefully laying out sections of the film in groups of four. “Want me to pick a random one for a tester?”
You frown, “At least put some thought into it.”
“Always,” it looks like he already decided way before he popped the question, immediately taking a negative and placing it in the carrier.
His fingers are nimble as he takes the time to clean off the dust and any debris that could potentially ruin the image. Then he turns off the lights and begins the process. You dive around him, trying to keep your distance but still too curious to leave his side. If he’s annoyed he fails to show it, in favor of humming whatever song comes from his Echo Dot.
You always got the solos in choir. You wanted to reminisce, but you’re too nervous to say it out loud.
Even though it’s his job and he’s being a professional, you romanticize the experience, watching as he carefully puts the print in each liquid process. Your image blooms to life, and you feel your stomach churn as the photo develops before your eyes.
After a final dip in the solution stopper, he places the first product in a bath of water. Even though you are mere centimeters away, you can clearly see the image of you swimming around the container.
“Alright!” Jungkook hangs the finished picture on a pastel pink clothespin, tacking it in place. “Whaddya think?”
Your breath catches in your throat, feeling heavy as you look at the image of you reflected in the glossy paper. You’re perched on your bed, a hand splaying between your legs as the other hand toys with the silk bunny ears. You’re leaned slightly, giving an ample view of your cleavage. However, the image of you is definitely different from being blown up in comparison to the negatives, and you squirm uncomfortably at your full display.
“I look,” you bite your tongue, internally debating whether you like it or not. Not to spare Jungkook the theatrics you shrug, “It’s good.”
The lack of enthusiasm seems to dissatisfy Jungkook however, as he has to take a double take and look back and forth between the image and the real thing. “What’s wrong with it, do you think Johnny’ll not like it?”
“What?” you furrow your brows, breaking into a nervous laugh. “Johnny has a boyfriend. I just wanted his opinion. This photoshoot is for me, y’know? Just something to make me feel good about myself.”
Jungkook’s lips morph into a little ‘o’, and you see a little bit of the child you once knew in the way he’s mulling over the situation.
“Then can I give you my honest opinion?” Jungkook clips off the half-dried photo, holding it between you two. “Stop thinking so hard about every little thing you don’t like about yourself. If I was your boyfriend and you gifted this to me, I’d be creaming my pants. You look fucking sexy, all grown up since you cried in the fourth grade.”
You’ve just been flung a litany of words you have no brain capacity to digest. Along with that, the immense heat you didn’t know you’ve been suppressing surges to your belly, low and simmering. Jungkook stares at you in earnest, despite his sudden gush of honesty, you don’t know what to say. There’s a dash of pink staining his cheeks, betraying the confidence he previously displayed. He stiffens when you don’t reply immediately and moves to clean his materials, his sudden bout of bold honesty quickly shrinking.
“Y-you know,” you look down at your feet, “the only reason why I cried in the fourth grade was because you told me Santa wasn’t real.”
Jungkook softens, tilting his head. “Sorry about that.”
“Thanks though,” you gently reach for the photo in Jungkook’s grasp, looking at it without contempt. “But won’t your girlfriend be upset if she knew you were saying things like this about someone else?”
He chuckles, shaking his head. “Well, if you looked through the rest of my Instagram story,” Jungkooks cards a hand through his already mussed hair, splitting the ends. “You would see that she’s not my girlfriend, but my tattoo artist.”
For added measure, he wiggles his fingers in front of you, revealing pretty ink and silver bands across his knuckles.
“Oh,” your voice is feather light, and you’re sure you’re drooling as you stare far too long at the letters that mark his hands, curious as to what they symbolize.
“So, as a singleton telling another singleton,” he continues, “I know it’s meaningless if you don’t believe it yourself, but I’m telling you, you’re attractive.”
“Thanks,” you hold the picture tightly in your grasp, eyes flickering to the negatives in the room ready to be galvanized into a full-fledged picture. “Why don’t we wrap this up, huh? We can continue another time.”
If he notices how much the paper wilts in your grasp, he doesn’t comment on it. “Are you sure? I know it takes a lot of time, but I don’t mind.”
“I’m sure,” you force a smile, one hand on the lightswitch. “I’ll let you know when I’m ready, okay?”
Jungkook swallows, nodding mechanically. “Okay.”
“It was really nice seeing you, Kook.” you blurt before you could chicken out, letting the room bask in darkness a little longer so he can’t see your flustered state. “I’m not even going to downplay it, you look great.”
You half-expect a cocky remark, or a little chest pumping from the compliment. At the sound of his nickname however, 4th grade Jeon Jungkook resurfaces and he shoves his hands in his pockets. “Like I said, so do you,” he replies easily, sending you a soft smile and opening the door for you.
The door closes shut behind you and you exhale, patting your cheeks and willing for the chilly air to calm you down.
When you get home that day, you shuck off all your clothes and crawl into bed. You cry out when the metal framing of your bunny ears stabs you in the back, and you fling it to some unmentionable part of the room. You reach for a bag of half-opened sour gummy worms, flipping open your MacBook to continue streaming the soft magical girl anime you’ve been hooked on these past few weeks.
Not even Sailor Uranus can distract you; however, by the time it’s dark and you’ve run out of distractions, you finally pull the plug and unblock Jungkook from your list of contacts.
Your phone buzzes, the incessant vibration relaying all the messages you’ve missed.
[March 12th, 3:53AM]
You: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/0343…
John Kook: ???
John Kook: you probably sent this to me by accident… sorry i clicked on it
John Kook: is it weird if i said you’ve done a massive glow up since the middle school dance?
[March 12th, 12:02 PM]
John Kook: are u mad
John Kook: you’re mad
John Kook: am i makin this weird by continuing to text you
John Kook: im making it weird.
[March 31st, 6:24 PM]
John Kook: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/049…
You tilt your head at the folder link, it was sent only a few hours ago. With a click, you’re enlightened to a set of digital photos. Your photos from your photoshoot, but not quite. They’ve been expertly edited, not too much to distort your looks, but only to enhance your features. A small, barely there smile creeps from your subconscious, ultimately touched by the gesture.
John Kook: sorry if i pushed too hard today.
Guilt overrides your nerves, prompting you to immediately press the call button on his contact. Not to your surprise, Jungkook’s light voice calls your name through the line after the second ring.
“Don’t be sorry,” you blurt, forgoing the hellos. “It was the right amount of push, I feel better, really. If anything, I’m sorry. I blocked your number because I was scared to read your reaction.”
You hear him sigh along the line, and you feel that breath ripple through your nerves, as if he’s right next to you. “It’s fine, I would’ve done the same thing.”
“The pictures you just sent, they’re really beautiful. You did a good job.”
“Thanks, I had a bit of help. I didn’t have to do much.”
“Oh, did Mingyu come back from his meeting?”
"No, I uh," Jungkook chuckles, and while you don't really know why, the sound is nonetheless pleasant. “It was mostly the lighting and coloring I fixed up. Didn’t need to do much since you already looked so pretty as it is.”
You choke on your saliva.
“You okay?”
“Y-yeah,” you cough, “just choked on a snack I was eating.” he hums in reply, and you pray he doesn’t hear your stomach fervently retort that you haven’t eaten since lunch. “So, I think I’m up for developing more of the film. When can I drop by?”
“I’m free Saturday,” Jungkook chirps, “I have a shoot until noon but you can come anytime after that.”
“Sounds good, I’ll be there,” you clutch the phone with both hands. “I can bring lunch. What do you like to eat?”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that.”
“I’m already buying for Minghao,” you lie, “do you like burgers?”
“I can’t say no to a good burger,” Jungkook’s smile feels almost palpable against the line, “do you remember our field trip to the national museum of history? We had burgers on the street!”
“Oh, those were so good,” you moan, fuzzy memories of a middle grade field trip resurfacing to clarity, “but you ate like, ten of them!”
“I still get nightmares,” he warns, “don’t let me go to bed like this.”
You giggle, letting your body meld further into your warm mattress. “Maybe I’ll just show up with ten burgers for you tomorrow.”
“I’ll throw up on you, try me.”
Minghao’s adjusting the frames on their display wall by the centimeter, and it’s pissing him off.
“Ah, it’s off,” he mutters to himself when you walk in, indicated by the electronic bell. He turns to you briefly, pulling a leveler out of his overall pocket. “Doesn’t this look off?”
“Uh,” you look towards Mingyu at the front desk, who is paying no mind as he continues scribbling on his iPad. You tilt your head towards your former college classmate. “It doesn’t look off from over here?”
Tacking the leveler on one of the frames, he whines, “It’s five degrees off.”
Mingyu puts his pen down to reach over the counter and grab the paper from your hands, steaming with the scent of fast food, “He’s been like this for hours, don’t mind him.”
He doesn’t even ask whether the food is his, Mingyu sees grease and he claims. Reaching for an oil-wrapped parchment, he unfolds the paper to reveal a handsome burger with all the fix-ens.
Barely satisfied, Minghao steps away from the art display. There is a sizable gap in the display, now divided between four artists instead of three. You wonder how Jungkook’s work will look amongst the other artists.
“Cute ‘fit.” Minghao mumbles, nodding approvingly at your clothes as he digs into the bag for his own burger.
You send a half-smile his way. If an outfit is Minghao-approved, that means you’ve gone above and beyond. At least, you tried to play it off like you didn’t try to look cute. It’s not like you’re intimidated by Jungkook, living with a major fifteen-year glow up. After all, he’s already seen more than you can imagine.
Mingyu takes notice, eyes going south to where your white blouse meets your cleavage. You hurl a fry at his face, “Eyes up here, perv.”
He scrunches his nose, lifting a greasy thumb to slide a manila envelope over to you. “Here’s the developed pictures. Intercepted Kook and I finished them this morning.”
You frown, “Jungkook’s not done with his photoshoot yet?”
“Oh, he’s been done.” Mingyu’s eyes roll back to one of the studios. “But I’m saying is, you got what you needed. So you can leave if you want,” but he grins at you, canines so sharp you feel his stare jabbing you in the proverbial neck. “Unlesssss you want to go in and say hi.”
If he has any inkling of what’s going on in your head, it’s definitely confirmed when your face turns hot. Damn body, you’re betraying me! With a flourish you grab the fries from under Mingyu’s nose, along with whatever’s left in the fast food bag.
Minghao’s smiling through his burger, knowing if he pulls any type of savagery his lunch would certainly be pulled from under his chin.
“Whatever you’re thinking, drop it or the burger will be going in your ass instead of out.” You mean to sound menacing, but the Min-squared and their boisterous laughter follow you down the hallway and into the occupied studio.
“Hey Jungkoo—wow.”
You’re sure you look like Alice, enthralled by the little wonderland she just stepped into. The set is beautiful, right out of a fairytale. It has a very old-romance vibe, like Morticia and Gomez Addams. There lay a couch made of the darkest, richest wood, with velvet red cushions covering the body. Across the floor laid hundreds of black rose petals, blanketing the floor in a sea of ebony.
“It’s for a wedding, gothic themed.” Jungkook supplies helpfully, still fiddling with whatever he was looking on his digital camera. He’s looking utterly soft in a matching grey sweat combination, something that would easily disgust you during high school, but unfairly works with him.
“The shoot must’ve been beautiful.”
“It was.”
“I uh, got this for you.” Your fingers start to sweat from clutching the bag so hard, and you place it on his work table.
He finally looks up from his camera, giving you a wan smile. “I thought you got those for Minghao.”
You mentally slap your cheeks, trying to ignore the way his smile made your stomach do somersaults. “He got his own. Your portion has a cookie in it, so.”
His cute teeth unveil themselves at the mention of sweets, and you can’t help but smile back at the familiarity.
The two of you take your time in enjoying your lunch, not meaning to stay but the very back of your mind hoping he’d like to share a meal with you. After all, Mingyu and Minghao are probably at the front relishing in your very obvious attraction. What can you say, first crushes never die.
Between sips of your milkshake, you’ve taken to flipping through Jungkook’s portfolio. There’s a myriad of different subjects: beaches, people, the occasional squirrel. Each section of the portfolio feels like you’re being transported to a new side of Jungkook and his artistry, and you ached to know more.
“Wow,” you point at an action shot of two girls in a dance studio, “this duo looks like Chungha and Hyoyeon.”
He swallows his (second) burger, having the audacity to sink sheepishly in his sweater. “It is Chungha and Hyoyeon.”
You nearly choke on your cookie. “That’s amazing.” you say breathlessly, looking closer at the image. In fact, the beautiful women photographed are famed hip-hop choreographers Chungha and Hyoyeon. You can’t imagine how good Jungkook must be to manage a photoshoot with them.
As proud as you are of Jungkook, it reminds you that since middle school you two have lived completely different lives. You wonder if Jungkook gets these kinds of gigs all the time, hanging around with gorgeous, talented people like himself.
Jungkook says your name once, twice. He looks at you concerned, and you’re melting in his large carmine eyes. If he notices your usual overthinking, he doesn’t say anything, and gestures to the section at the end of his portfolio. “This isn’t my best work, but it’s one of my favorites.”
There’s something familiar about this set. A playground with a busted swing set. Children riding on bikes and colorful class shirts. Ice cream melting on fists.
Thirteen-year-old you hanging on top of your middle school’s leafless tree, clutching your baseball cap as you shade yourself from the sunset.
“Was this the first time you took pictures?” you ask, thumbing the picture of yourself.
“Yeah. It’s when I decided it’s what I wanted to do the rest of my life.”
“I know we didn’t know each other that well and we’ve only recently connected but,” you give him a shy smile, “I’m really proud of what you’ve grown up to be, Jungkook.”
He looks like you’ve hung him the moon and stars, his half-eaten burger loosening in his grasp. His lips are parted cutely, like a kitten who’s just been offered a fresh glass of milk. You cough at the sudden pause in conversation, feeling self-conscious of your impulse confession. You don’t even have it in you to be disgusted when Jungkook hastily shoves the second half of his burger down his throat, tips of his ears pink.
Leaving him be, you press a palm to your cheek, looking at the wedding set.
Jungkook downs half a water bottle before he speaks again. “Y’know, it would be a shame to clean up this set already. It was kind of expensive.”
“Yeah,” you echo, standing up and kicking off your slippers. You kick your feet in the air, watching the black petals kiss across your ankles.
“I have an idea,” he wipes his hands on his sweats, “why don’t you go back home and get an outfit you really like. Lingerie, a cute outfit, whatever. Let me give you a photoshoot you’d love.”
You look up from your petal dance, balking. “Jungkook! That’s not necessary, I told you the photos I took were okay.”
“Yeah but, you didn’t seem entirely happy. C’mon, I got a camera and a beautiful set. Why waste it?” his hands naturally gravitate towards his charging camera, already turning it on. “I can do lighting, I know all your good angles. What’s stopping us?”
Really, what’s stopping you? Your hands fiddle with your open flannel, the soft material comforting you as you look across the set. You try to imagine yourself, your body draped across the velvet pillows and black petals. Would it look good? Would you feel good? You think back to how you felt the first time, how scared you were when someone other than Johnny would be looking at your photos. You remember how something weird and sour contorted in your stomach when you scrolled through Jeon Jungkook’s Instagram, no longer the little boy you knew but a man who could have everything he wanted—
“Stop thinking about it.” Jungkook suddenly snaps, and you break from your reverie to catch him looking upset. It’s been awhile since you’ve seen him like that.
“Thinking about what?”
“Thinking that you’re out of my league.”
“Excuse me?”
“You were like this the other day too,” and he looks sad, and puts his camera down to come closer to you. “Why are you feeling this way. Is it me?”
“Not necessarily,” you huff, hugging yourself.
“Do you not feel beautiful? Do you not like your body?”
“No, I do.” you say to yourself, and you mean it. Even though there will inevitably be days where you may not feel one-hundred percent positive about yourself, you know at the end of the day, you love you and all its parts. “I don’t know, Jungkook. I had no problem letting Mingyu develop the photos originally, because he knew me in college and I was already sure of myself back then. But I guess when I sent them to you, I felt like I did when I was a little girl, y’know? Going through puberty, and worrying about what other people think.”
And it’s not like Jungkook teased you or made you feel lesser of yourself. In fact, Jungkook was the student you wanted to be when you were younger. Someone sweet and caring, and unabashedly confident about himself.
“I guess seeing you so successful and the fact that my stupid childhood crush came back from a time where I always felt low, made me feel a little insecure again.”
Something sinks in and you feel hyper aware of how crushed Jungkook looks at your declaration. “There’s no leagues, you got that?” he says quietly, walking so close that he’s hovering over you, sneakers brushing. “I get it. I get unsure and insecure just like you. Hell, I was nervous this morning, wondering if you’d really come. We may not feel insecure over the same things, but middle school wasn’t that great for me either.” He makes a funny face, and you feel a smile twitch across your lips. “But it’s okay. Because we’re human and we grow. But now, you are successful. You’ve grown from your time growing up and you’re a wonderful, powerful person. I’m proud of you too.”
“I know,” you mumble, leaning your forehead against his chest. His arms wrap around you in response, holding you snug.
“And for the record, I thought you were the most beautiful person in the world in fourth grade. Even though my world was pretty small back then, I can say now that what I thought back then still stands true.”
You look up from his embrace, where he’s leaning down to press a slow, cotton soft kiss to your forehead. He backs up a little to read your face, and you give a tiny nod in response to signal it’s okay. Jungkook exhales in contentment, relaxing against your frame.
“Thanks, Kook,” you crack a smile, feeling your insecurities slowly evaporate. You feel better, light, knowing that these negative feelings are only temporary, and you’re not alone. Being in Jungkook’s arms, an honest boy turned man you’ve known all your life, it feels almost like home.
You two stay like this for a while. Exchanging feather-like kisses, feeling irrevocably young and hopeful. Suddenly feeling emboldened, you tug him by the strings of his hoodie to press a long, hot kiss to his lips. There’s a stutter, and you’re pretty sure Jungkook choked on his saliva at the sudden change of pace but you continue, letting Jungkook catch up and follow your lead.
“Wow,” Jungkook pulls away and his lips are shiny and flushed. Adorable. You think 7th grade Jungkook would be rolling in his Naruto sheets if he knew you two would inevitably end up together. Conversely, 7th grade you would be squealing in your kitten plushie, proud that you managed to nab your childhood crush to live out all the fantasies you’ve imagined since the 4th grade.
“Jungkook,” you let your flannel fall to the floor in a heap, only leaving your baby blue top in a thin ruched camisole. “I think I want to do the photoshoot. Can’t pass up these pretty petals, y’know?”
He runs a hand through his hair, gaping. “Really?”
“Yeah,” you press a wet kiss to his neck, “anyway you want me, baby. Full creative control. I want you to like this as much as I do, okay?”
With the permission to hold the wheel, Jungkook’s lightheaded and spinning. His eyes rake up and down your gorgeous form, wondering how many good deeds he’s done in his past life to earn a right just as this.
“In that case,” he presses a palm to your shoulder, pushing you to sit along the velvet cushion, “strip for me.”
#jungkook fic#btsghostiebingo#goldenclosetnet#jungkook fluff#jungkook smut#bts fic#bts scenarios#jungkook scenarios#jungkook x reader
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More Than This
Modern AU where famous actor HC and landscaper XL meet through a dating app. HC had a reputation of being a massive flirt who bedded people left and right, which wasn’t completely wrong–just blown out of proportion. His partners were usually other celebrities who mutually swore to keep their mouths shut in the preservation of their own images.
When HC received a message on the dating app asking about the brand of the wristwatch he wore in his profile pic (which only showcased his hands), the other user hoping to purchase a cheaper, similar style for his friend’s birthday, HC responded for the first time since downloading the app.
What could he say? The other man was gorgeous and if he were simply asking just to slide into HC’s DMs, the actor wasn’t opposed.
Turns out XL asked out of genuine curiosity. FX’s birthday was still a month away. Why XL thought about gifting him a watch similar to the one the stranger wore when XL should’ve been paying attention to the sheer strength those large hands seemed to possess was beyond him.
The name in the bio read: San Lang. The few pictures that were displayed on his profile were minimalistic yet downright sexy. XL blinked in wonder as he typed out another message, hoping to continue the conversation.
Two weeks after chatting back and forth through the app, XL asked if he could meet HC in person. The actor pondered this for a grand total of thirty seconds before agreeing to meet. XL seemed like a sincere character, someone who put other peoples’ comfort above any task at hand–if his emoticon overkill and frequent check-ins with HC were anything to go by.
HC figured he’d cross the bridge once XL recognized him as a well-loved actor starring in the hottest films in the media.
Except when HC arrived in his expensive jeep that screamed wealth, dressed in appropriate clothes for a hike with a baseball cap concealing his features from far away, XL did not have an aha! moment.
“Hello, San Lang! It’s me, Xie Lian,” XL waved as he bounced his way over. “I hope the ride up the mountain wasn’t too scary. You get used to it once you begin visiting more often. Thank you for meeting with me today.”
“It’s no problem at all. Nice to meet you, Xie Lian,” HC greets, guiding them away from his car as soon as he locks the doors, not wanting to draw any onlookers’ attention.
XL gives him a kind smile, adjusting the clasp of his bamboo hat. He explains that there are three main trails and he was thinking they could take the medium-level route. Judging from his white work-out T, jean shorts, and hiking boots, HC deduces that XL spends much time outside, even when he’s not gardening for his clients.
“Lead the way, Gege,” HC says, the title naturally falling from his lips. In XL’s dating profile, his age read thirty-two, just under three years older than HC. (This was followed by a dozen tree, flower, and water emoticons.)
“Okay! Onwards.”
Following their initial meeting, HC met up with XL numerous times after, attracted to XL’s mellow and eccentric personality. Whenever it was XL’s turn to plan their time together, he brought HC to different places each time. National parks, plant nurseries, museums–places that could be considered unconventional compared to the standard meetups from dating apps.
HC’s fondness for XL only grew because of this.
Their chemistry flourished in the bedroom as well, both HC and XL eager for giving and receiving pleasure. In addition to being fuckbuddies, they quickly developed a wholesome friendship that HC never saw coming.
But then again, this was XL. Once HC got a taste, his infatuation with the landscaper shouldn’t be surprising. HC stopped seeing his other speed dials after he met XL.
One of their nights ended by watching a film, XL mentioning off-handedly how he doesn't keep up with pop culture–including popular films–but his friend SQX had begged XL to watch this one. Of course, this had to be a film HC was in, one of his most recent projects. There was no avoiding the impending reveal.
They sit side-by-side on XL’s lumpy couch, watching the movie when XL gasps as the antagonist comes into view.
That is his San Lang! On the screen!
When XL pokes HC on the bicep, asking why the actor hadn’t told him, HC simply says that “My fame isn’t important to who I am.”
To HC’s surprise, XL accepts the answer without protest, nodding.
“San Lang is San Lang, who happens to be a marvelous actor,” XL solemnly says, flashing HC a delighted smile. HC hums in content, subtly repositioning his arm so it rested on the back of the couch, curling around XL’s shoulders.
Except after the movie ended and a google search later, XL finds out that San Lang isn’t San Lang after all.
“Should I call you Hua Cheng from now on? Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I’ve been calling you the wrong name for three months now-” XL rushes out, guilt painted across his face.
“Gege, it’s fine. I used it as an alias for my profile to protect my identity,” HC explains. He reaches forward to tuck a long strand of XL’s hair behind his ear. “Besides, I quite like it when you call me San Lang.”
“Really?” XL sheepishly asks.
“Really.”
From that moment on, HC and XL clicked perfectly, learning more about each other when time permitted them to meet up. XL felt a little foolish for not knowing who HC was as a celebrity. But like HC said, his fame did not define him as a person, which XL clearly saw from the playful way he held himself when there were no cameras around.
HC matched XL’s enthusiasm in whatever activity they were doing, even if it was something XL’s previous partners couldn’t care less about. Eight months into their arrangement, XL finally admitted to himself that he had deep feelings for HC.
While they had great chemistry as friends, XL selfishly wanted more.
But how could XL ask for something more? They already agreed to keep things casual, to remain as friends who used each other to release their sexual urges. It didn’t matter how delicate HC cleaned XL up or always ran him a bath after their climaxes. It didn’t matter how HC always set out his clothes for XL to stay the night. And it didn’t matter how close HC held onto him as they slept.
XL was simply a landscaper with a passion for nature and helping others. He wasn’t built for the limelight. He was barely in the loop with societal trends, and only recently began watching the latest movies with HC–many of which HC himself acted in.
Frankly speaking, HC could have anyone he wanted. XL was the one who should be grateful HC even sought him out a second time.
XL is thirty-three now. He wanted to find someone to settle down with, to spend the rest of his life with, falling deeper in love with every single day. He was not sure HC, who was just entering his thirties and continuing to make a name for himself, would want something like that with someone like XL.
Even when every one of HC’s actions alluded that he truly cared for XL, XL had learned that hope was a dangerous thing to mindlessly cling to. XL has had past partners come into his life, then leave him like he was nothing, like none of him was worth staying for. XL didn’t think he could bear it if HC became just another name on that list.
Furthermore, XL didn’t want to put HC or his career on spot, nor put his heart in a position where it was bound to be broken.
As XL grappled with his perceived one-sided feelings, HC only allowed himself to yearn when laying on the bed in his penthouse. It was much larger than XL’s bed. It was also much lonelier.
HC was unable to grant XL the verbal confirmation of where they stood, held back by the weight of his status, which had always been his selling point alongside his hypersexualized image. Not only did HC not want to risk pressuring XL into pursuing a relationship with a celebrity, but somewhere deep inside, HC didn’t believe XL could want him for who he is–even after the year and a half they’ve known each other.
Much of HC’s self-worth had come from his accomplishments as an actor, untouchable yet fantasized by the public. Peeling back all the layers he hid behind, HC saw his true self as too ugly, damaged, and undesirable; phrases many people in his past have spat to his face, including his parents.
In HC’s mind, he had already tied XL down to their routine no-strings-attached meet-ups. While HC savored every moment he spent with XL, he didn’t want to further intrude on XL’s simple life and have the other man resent him in the end.
《II》
(Thanks to @no-one-says-hi for helping)
#tgcf#heaven official's blessing#hualian#hualian au#xie lian#hua cheng#modern au#cerdrabbles#TBC#I love them so much#they love each other too#they just need to confess uwu
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Horse info 101
A horse girl’s guide to the basics for fic writing with an important and lively horse involved:
This got kinda long I’m kinda sorry but not at all lol
There's three basic gaits (speeds with different patterns of hoof-fall/leg movements
Walking is the slowest and is a four beat gait, meaning each foot hits the ground at a different time. Usually the same pace as a walking human when the horse is calm. Some breeds can walk HELLA fast though. Most horses will fill the same spot/hole where their front hoof was with their back hoof on the same side. If they overstep they clip their fetlock (joint lookin bit above the hoof) or pastern (bit between the hoof and fetlock) and can injure themselves.
Now trotting. The middle gait, a person can jog next to a trot at a comfortable pace but if you push them a little horses can trot faster than your average HS track endurance athlete. Once again some breeds can trot HELLA fast. This is a two beat gait in that two diagonally opposite legs are moving in unison. In some english saddles (I’ll get into that later if we have class time) it’s easier to post while the horse is trotting rather than sit for the gait. That just means you stand up in the irons (stirrups on an english saddle, we’ll also cover that later) at the same time that one of the front legs moves forward.
Also, see how the trotting horse’s head looks? That’s how they travel when they’re relaxed and attentive. The tucked head thing you see Roach doing is because there’s tension on the reigns and Henry learned to ride for an english seat not a western pleasure seat (might get into those but they’re really not important)
Time for the Canter/Lope. This is a three beat gait so that means two legs are moving in unison and the other two are not. Horses canter/lope fast. This is the go-time gait. Some performance/dressage horses are trained to canter extremely slow but if we’re talking transportation trained horses they’re not gonna be that kind of slow. Your average human is not gonna be able to keep up with this for long if at all. This varies in speed too. There's a rather casual canter seen in the gif directly below, then below that is the balls to the wall canter/lope that most horse people just refer to as a run. That’s as fast as they can go.
Basic tack names
Halter + Lead/Lead Rope - these can be made of rope, leather, nylon (more modern) but the halter is generally used for leading and tying.
Bridle - this is the one that you use while you ride, it holds the bit in their mouth. There’s millions of different types of bridles but they’re usually made out of leather even now. sometimes you get rope/nylon ones but I don’t trust them.
Reins - connect to the bit and you use them to steer and control speed. Horses trained in western or one handed riding will ‘neck rein’ which means if you move your hand to the right and the left rein brushes their neck they will move to the right.
Bit - the metal piece in the horses mouth. most english riding bits are broken (joint in the middle) and most western ones are solid. there’s a gap behind the horse’s front teeth and that’s where the metal sits. Some horses have smaller mouths than others and do better with solid bits because the ‘broken’ ones will hit the top of their mouth and hurt. There’s also things called ‘shanks’ on some bits which are just longer pieces of metal that attach to the sides of the pieces in their mouth and point downward. This gives the rider more leverage and makes any tug on the reins stronger. (google “Horse bit shank” if this doesn’t make sense)
Saddle - you sit in it. simple right? wrong. There’s two main types of saddles, Western - with the horn like you see in the running gif, and English- the loping gif without the horn. The saddles used in the Witcher look like the pre-english saddle versions but the basic parts you need to know are the same. The part where you ass goes? that’s the seat. the part right in front of your crotch? That’s the pomel. that’s your ‘oh shit handle’ if anything goes screwy (other than the mane). The part that sticks up and keeps your ass in place? That’s the cantle. I like western saddles SO MUCH MORE but i also grew up mainly riding western so im biased.
Stirrups/Irons - stirrups and irons are where your feet go. In western saddles they’re called stirrups and they’ve got wider decorative leather flaps (called fenders, also originally added to protect trousers/legs from the horse sweat and the buckles of the cinch) and on english saddles they’re called irons because they are usually made of iron and rather slim. Geralt’s irons look pretty similar to modern ones, slim leather straps, minimal iron (or steel or any other strong metal really). Traditional english riders have knee high boots like you see in regency costumes which removes the need for the fenders like on western saddles.
Cinch/girth - this is what keeps the saddles on. You take a strap and attach it to one side of the saddle, run it under the belly right behind their front legs and attach it to the other side. Its usually made of a strong fabric with wool or some kind of softer lining for western riding. English riding uses a leather one most of the time though this horse girl hates them because they’re harder to cinch up. English saddles use buckles while Western saddles use another leather strap to run through the chinch/girth buckle and you either tie it off or use it like a belt.
Chest strap - this keeps the saddle from sliding backwards. It’s attached to both sides of the saddle by buckles and between the front legs its attached to the cinch/girth. this is pretty universal but not always used. Geralt uses one though.
Saddle pad - goes under the saddle to protect the baby’s back and whithers (spot where the neck meets the back and the mane ends)
Tacking up and untacking takes time. This is usually 5-10 minutes when done at a leisure pace and done right.
Basic grooming
Brush down before tacking up - you don’t want stuff chaffing the pony while you ride
brush after untacking- helps clear skin of irritants and feels nice
Shedding scraper/curry comb to get rid of shedding hair - if you want a pic of these just google them I think I’m close to the pic limit for my post.
HOOF PICK - keep the baby's feet clean and clear if rocks so they don't bruise but also so nothing get infected
Yes, plz brush their mane it gets MATTED - a hairbrush works but a wide tooth comb is best
Horses roll to itch their backs and clean off, sounds counterintuitive with the dirt but it works
Shaving a little spot for the bridle to sit is pretty modern but it's easier for everyone involved
Horse Colors- guys roach is not brown she’s a chestnut color
The only thing I have to add to this is that the “Leopard” one is called “appaloosa” in the US at least, and “Pinto” is also reffered to as “Paint” and there’s all sorts of different patterns that you can see. also i want a buckskin so bad. yes i was obsessed with Spirit as a child why do you ask?
Travel care of your babies
Horses CAN and have subsisted off roadside grasses and grazing at night BUT it's good for them to get a lil something extra ESPECIALLY if you’re keeping them in a stall at night where they can’t graze.
Hay and grains like cracked wheat, oats, barley and the like are commonly found in horse feed. Also a lil drizzle of molasses is chock full of calories and all my horses LOVE the taste.
also while we’re talking food: some horses cant keep all the juice/bits in their mouth when they eat apples (we fondly call it making applesauce) or other treats/veg. Yes it gets all over your hand, yeah its kinda gross, but there’s worse things.
Shoes. Babe's need horse shoes. Especially if they're walking over rocks and roads.
Throwing a shoe (when it comes off on accident) is painful sometimes and if left un-dealt with can affect their joints and spine. Imagine walking around in one heeled shoe and one athletic shoe all day. Ow.
On that note though, on lighter travel seasons it's nice to give their hooves a break from shoes (also cheaper)
Horse moods:
horse mood ear chart here: I cant add much tbh
If a horse is comfortable/happy/relaxed they will ‘chew’ on nothing. Just kina a little lip smack type deal. My horse’s bottom lip would hang a couple centimeters below his top one when he was relaxed and I would put my chapstick in it while I fussed with other things.
When a horse is uncomfrotable/scared/tense their lips get sealed tight. I call it ‘fish butt lips’ bc they’re watertight and NOTHING is getting in there.
Stamping hooves can be a few things. Antsy and ready to roll, nervous, deadass scared, or playful/excited.
A full whinny is communication - saying hi, warning, scared, etc.
the really soft whinny is called a nicker and its my favorite sound okay? that’s little soft communication and its usually reserved for times when they’re comfortable.
When they’re really relaxed they’ll cock one of their back legs kinda how we shift our weight to one hip.
general fun facts:
Some horses fake limp when they don’t want to work bc they are lazy and smart and realize their person will get off and check them out and maybe even give them a rest.
You do a preliminary leg injury test by running your hands slowly over their legs and checking for hot spots - inflammation caused by injury is warm
Basic horse saftey is never stand directly in front of the horse if theres a possibility of spooking, if you’re gonna walk behind them walk out of reach of their hooves or right up against that ass. If they cant get a good wind up it wont do as much damage (on that note though I rode/trained horses for 18 years and was only kicked once by a foal).
It’s kinda common sense not to walk/sidestep between your horses legs and under their belly but we do it all the time bc its a trust thing? adrenaline? its fun?
laying on your horse’s back sans saddle, and facing their butt is so nice okay, that ass is soft and cushy and perfect for a nap. I miss laying on my horses while they ate like this every damn day.
Horses can sense your moods. Not unlike the whole ‘witchers smelling you’ thing. They can feel a difference in the tension on the reins and in your posture when you’re tense or relaxed.
Some horses will take care of their riders, some are absolute shits and push the limits for funsies. Some horses will only behave for people they’re used to too. Some horses have trauma from being mistreated and will have triggers kinda like people do. We had a horse who would freak the fuck out if anyone walked around with a red had but as soon as you took it off she was the most level headed horse we had.
A good portion of horses (Who aren’t scared of children) will behave better with kiddos or novice riders because they feel they’re nervous.
If they hurt while they’re moving they usually limp but sometimes they’ll buck. It’s their defense mechanism.
Horses can’t sleep for too long laying down because their body weight will collapse their lungs. Most horses sleep standing up.
They can sit like a dog and it’s hella cute.
Stung by bees? Most horses will take off at a dead sprint bucking and hopping unless you’ve done a lot of trust work/training with them
They also run and jump and buck and rear to play.
If theres two horses in a pasture together one will chew at the other’s whithers (or anywhere else) to ask them to scratch them the same way. its very cute and they sometimes try this with people.
horses hug. I cry.
the whole deal with the rider/horse relationship is it’s a mutual trust you’re building. They let you sit on their back and do weird shit and you trust them not to throw you.
Thank you for coming to class today! If there’s any questions feel free to message me! I’m not kidding I wanna answer your questions and I miss my horses so this is fun for me.
@elliestormfound here it is boo! lol
#the witcher#fan fic#writing tools#horse girl geralt#horse girl solidarity#this got out of hand but what can i say
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Another Second Chance 18- Therapy
Another Second Chance Masterlist, Happily Ever Eventually Masterlist
Author’s Note: The final (hopefully) installment of the Happily Ever Eventually RPF series.
Summary: Y/n finds herself a new house and Misha is determined to make it a huge project.
Pairing: Jensen x Reader
Word count: 2993
Story Warnings: past cheating, mentions of FFM threesome, not much in this one
~~~~~~~~~~~~
“It’s pretty, right?” I ask, looking around the open concept of the first floor of this $350,000 house.
“Kitchen’s kinda outdated,” Jensen says, pointing at the fridge. “I mean, that fridge has gotta be from when you were in high school.”
“I could buy new appliances, Jay. Get a natural gas stove set up. Install some cabinet pulls, because I’m not a really big fan of this whole lack of elements.” I gesture at the cabinets. “Probably stain it a little darker to go against the flooring. But it’s pretty, right?”
Jay smiles. “Yeah. It’s pretty...and it’s about twice as big as the one you’ve been living in. Which is what you need.”
“Yeah. Walk-in closet in the master, too. It’ll be a good place to put the security hub.”
“Or you could put the security hub in the closet in the den and put your clothes in the master closet,” Jay suggests, grumpy old man in his tone. "And if you're gonna update the kitchen, you gotta update the bathrooms. Get one of those-"
"I am not getting an automatic toilet!" I laugh. "No one needs that!"
"Of course no one needs it but it's freakin' awesome!"
"Okay, Dean," I tease.
"Dean would agree with me. Automatic toilet, with the bidet and the-"
"Dean Winchester would break an automatic toilet and then complain that it's a damn computer which means he can't fix it without help."
Jay laughs. "He'd still think it was cool."
"He'd be down for the heated seat. I will give you that much."
He smiles as he looks around. "So...are we looking at your new digs or what?"
I bite my bottom lip and run my hand over the granite countertop. “Shouldn’t I ask Nova's opinion? It's gonna be her home, too."
"She's a teenager. As long as she's got her own room, I'm sure she's gonna be fine." He sets his hands on my shoulders and smiles. "But you can show her pictures or bring her by before you sit down with the realtor."
I nod and smile. "It's in the right school district and a bigger room for her and for Mav and the bonus room can be an office. I really think it's the place."
"Then get it," he encourages. "Get it, Baby Girl. We can make it perfect. I'm no stranger to a little reno."
"Please," I start, laughing. "A contractor did the work on your old place. Shush."
He looks a little offended. "I helped. I painted. I installed the sink in the half bath off the kitchen."
"Fine. You can stain these cabinets for me." I wink and step away from him. I'm gonna get this house. "Come on." I walk to the foyer where the realtor is waiting and I smile at him. "Can I put in an offer now or should I wait a few hours?" He smiles brighter than the sun.
"You can make an offer anytime, Miss."
Miss. Still young enough to get 'miss'. "Good. Let's do this."
~~~~~~~~~
"Four bedroom, 2 and a half bath, 3200 square feet with an office next to the master bed. It needs some updating and work...had a contractor quote me $60,000 but that's not bad...covers new appliances, too."
"I could come down and help," Misha offers. "You know, a lot of that stuff you can DIY and I can help with most of it."
"You don't have to do that, Meesh."
"Why would I let you spend that much money on something I could help you with for a fraction of the cost?"
"Misha, you really don’t-"
"I'm not letting you tell me 'no' on this. We'll get together some manpower and get this done for you."
He's really not going to let me say 'no'. "Okay. Well, it's going to be several weeks before the paperwork is finished and all that. I'll let you know when it's mine."
"Good. I'll start looking at HGTV.com." Damn it, Misha. Don't be so extra. "And send me pictures and a floorplan so I know what I'm working with."
"Yeah, okay." Really no point in arguing. It's Misha. If I don't send him pics and a copy of the floorplan, he'll just find the house and get them himself off the internet. "I'll send it to you after my appointment tomorrow, okay?"
"Sounds good. Talk to you then."
"Bye, Meesh." I hang up and sigh. He's gonna make it this whole thing, isn't he?
His house in Washington did come out amazing, though, so he does have some skills that will help in this. Eh, why not? Why not get together with my best friend and make my new home my own?
"So, I get to see this house eventually, right?" Nova says, walking into the living room.
I smile. "Come see all these pretty pictures I took and we can speculate on what craziness Misha is gonna come up with." I pat the couch next to me and she comes over. "This is the view from the street." I start showing her the pictures and she claims a room before I've even finished the digital tour.
"Oh, and you're gonna paint the exterior, right? Like, it's pretty but it's yellow. You're gonna fix that, right?"
"Oh, I'm sure Misha isn't going to let me move into another drab house. You weren’t here the first time he showed up at this house but he had opinions about all of it. I didn't let him talk me into reno last time but this time...I don’t know...maybe this will be the forever home so…"
"It's gotta be custom!" Nova exclaims.
"Exactly."
"Can I paint my walls custom? Or get custom wallpaper done? I know that a lot of people don't like wallpaper but I've seen a few places that got it right and-"
"Yeah, baby, of course. We'll figure out something awesome for your walls." I kiss her forehead. We'll do whatever she wants for her room.
"Yay!"
I love when she's happy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's been a while since I've been in Dr. McCauliffe's office. Life has been in the way...and I guess I didn’t want her to judge me for my involvement with Jensen...which is ridiculous because she's my therapist. She's not going to judge me.
"So." She taps her pen against her clipboard. "What's new?"
"Well...I have been dating Jensen again. I know you saw that in the news."
"I saw it on Mr. Collins' Instagram, actually," she says with a smile.
"Right. The video. Forgot about it for a minute. Um, yeah, like I said in the video and Jensen said in his...spark's still there, we're giving it another chance."
"How's that feel?"
I bite my bottom lip. "Scary as Hell, honestly. I mean, but it's good. I've done pretty good with boundaries and moving slowly. You know, before...we jumped in head first and everything was this intense passion right out of the gate but this time…" I shrug. "I don't know. Maybe we've grown up, or grown old, but…"
"Have you slept with him?" she asks and it's because she knows that sex was a big issue when I was with him before. Sex was all we were supposed to be in the beginning and sex ruined us in the end. I know why she's asking but there's this...well, it's a bit intrusive, isn't it? It seems like she's judging me for being sexually active and I know that's not what it is but my whole spine goes tense when she asks.
"Yes. We dated for about a month before we started getting physical again."
“And how has that been? I don’t need details, of course, but...emotionally, how has it been to be intimate with Jensen again?”
How to answer that?
Really, how am I supposed to answer that? It’s the best sex I’ve ever had, emotionally fullfilling in a romance-novel sort of way. It’s perfect but it does have its scary moments. “Well, we’ve only actually...slept together a couple times this time. His libido is a lot less than it was. I mean, he didn’t have sex the entire time we were broken up, can you believe that?”
Dr. McCauliffe adjusts her glasses and shrugs a little. “I do not. Five years is a long time to go without sex...but you seem to believe it. That’s what matters.”
I never even questioned it. Should I have? No, because he’s been so honest about everything else. “I went years and years without sex after Nate. I believe Jensen did the same after me. He had a lot going on. He was in recovery for alcoholism. He had to be a good father and work on his career and-”
“You just got very defensive, very quickly. Why is that?”
Fuck, I don’t know. I run my hand over my mouth and shrug. “I don’t know,” I respond honestly.
“Analyze it, Y/n. Why would you get so defensive over my disbelief in what Jensen told you?”
“Because I didn’t question it,” I answer after a moment. “Because he told me that the last time he had sex, real full-penetrative sex, was the time that broke us and I didn’t really question it. I took it at face value because we’ve been doing very good about honesty with each other and what if that’s stupid? What if I’m stupid because maybe he’s lying about it and keeping stuff from me and-”
“You said he’s been very good about honesty so far, right?”
I nod. “Yeah. He’s...he admitted to stuff that I never thought he’d admit to and he apologized for stuff and he’s been open about what happened and why. He’s even been honest about little things that he would have lied about before...like I told him about Will and he Googled him. Used to be, he’d keep that kind of thing to himself, never tell me, but he admitted it without even prompting.” I chew on my bottom lip as she starts scribbling on her notes. “I believe him. It might be stupid but I believe him.”
She sets her clipboard in her lap and smiles at me. “It’s not stupid...and he’s likely changed enough that honesty is important to him. You’ve told me that his recovery has changed him. Jared’s told me the same. Now, it’s a bit hard for me to believe that he’s changed so much in the last five years that he would have abstained from sex since the last time he was with you, but...I don’t know the man, do I? You do. Jared does. If you believe him, then don’t let me change your mind.”
“I believe him. You didn’t see the way he looked at me the first time we...‘Reverent’ is the best word for it.”
“What do you think that means for you?”
I scoot back, leaning against the back of the couch. “I think he’s finally got Danneel out of his head.”
“Do you?” she asks and I hate when she asks things I don’t want to answer. “Danneel was a major roadblock in your relationship before, wasn’t she?”
“You know she was. I was so focused on giving Jensen what he wanted...Danneel...that I couldn’t see that I was what he was supposed to be wanting. I wanted to be like her, couldn’t appreciate myself. I know this stuff, Doctor.” I shift on the couch and sigh. “I don’t wanna be Danneel and I don’t want Jensen to be with her. I want Jensen to be with me...I want him to want to be with only me.” I shrug. “Seems like that’s where we are. He doesn’t even talk to her anymore. I talked to her the other day and she didn’t even know why he doesn’t talk to her anymore.”
“You talked to Danneel again?”
“Yeah. We ran into each other at a shop while I was getting Nova a new dress. It...didn’t go well. Nova was very combative with Danneel. I ended up having to...be very honest with my daughter. She knows about everything now...even the night with Danneel.”
“Oh? How’d that talk go?”
“It was...it was good to get it off my chest, actually. It was like the conversation where I told her about, about why her father and I got divorced. It’s like...It was a hard conversation but it was an important one. I don’t have to...hide things anymore and that’s a blessing. She understands why I make the decisions I make now...she understands...the betrayal was a lot deeper than she even knew. She understands that now and...maybe it’ll make us closer, but at least she knows the truth now.”
“And she’s living with you now, right?” I nod. “How did that happen? Nathan doesn’t seem the type to just allow her to do what she wants.”
I snort. “He’s definitely not, but...he fucked up with Jenny, blew up his marriage. I’m actually surprised it took her this long to realize that he was cheating on her, but whatever. Um...Nova didn’t want to be there for the destruction of his way of life and she asked if she could come to Texas. I convinced him to let her come because she didn’t need to see the parade of his affairs that Jenny would bring up. I then used those women to convince him not to fight me on custody when I refiled. It was…” I scratch at my cheek. “It was a low move, but it’s exactly the kind of move he pulled on me, convincing the judge that I was too unstable to care for her. I don’t feel bad about it, especially since she wants to be here.”
“That’s a big change...on top of other big changes.”
“Yep...and there’s more coming. Because I need more room since Nova is living with me, there will be a new home in my future."
"A new home? That's exciting."
"It is. And I am more excited about it than I am scared so that says something."
"I remember how anxious you were about your first house. I remember all the security options you went through."
"Well, security had to be heavy. I had to think about Tom and his crazy-ass fans and the crazier of Jensen’s fans and the paps. There was that one photographer in Vancouver that climbed the balcony outside the condo to get pics of me and Jay, remember?" I shiver at the memory of looking out the French doors to see a man with his camera, snapping away. So intrusive. "I'm gonna have to put up a privacy fence and a coded gate at the new place, too...and, of course, all the security cameras."
"Sounds like a big project."
"Yeah. Definitely. Not even half of it, though. Misha wants to DIY everything."
"Misha isn't your husband, Y/n," Dr. McCauliffe reminds me and I laugh.
"I think he forgets that sometimes. But there's not a lot of use in arguing with him. He's...well, he's right a lot. Like, most of the time, I mean. So, I always cave to him."
"Do you want to do a big DIY project at this new house?"
"Not at first, I didn't but...I dunno. Might be fun. I've never gotten to do that kind of project and knowing Misha, he's gonna make it fun even if it is hard work."
"Well, as long as you can maintain your work as well as this project. How is that coming along?"
"Really good, actually. We started shooting not too long ago...and I hadn't even considered that this project might be detrimental to Midsummer. I'll have to make sure that Misha knows that Midsummer comes first."
"Well, it seems like you've got things under control."
"Yeah? I was afraid you'd tell me I was...going too fast or…"
"Do you think that? You were telling me that you'd done well with boundaries and keeping things-"
"Well, I have! I mean, Jensen was talking about moving in together already and I shut that down and decided to get a bigger place...my own bigger place."
"Jensen wanted to move in with you?" She writes down something on her notes. "And you said 'no'?"
"I said 'no'," I confirm. "I was really proud of myself, Doc. Nova was proud of me, too, actually. Which was...it was interesting and new. I don’t know that she's ever been proud of me for anything and I know that it's supposed to be the other way, where I'm proud of her and I am, of course but Nova being proud of me setting these boundaries and sticking to them...it gives me hope that she'll be able to do the same in her own life, you know?"
"There's nothing wrong with feeling happy that you made your daughter proud and there's nothing wrong with hoping she's going to make different mistakes than you. She's going to do well in life if you keep making the best choices for the both of you." She sets her clipboard on her desk and smiles. "I'm proud of you, too, by the way. Six years ago, you would have jumped at living with Jensen."
"Six years ago, I did."
We finish out our session with a promise to not go so long without seeing her next time. "Mental health is about the maintenance," she reminds me as she opens her office door and walks me to the reception desk. I agree and set an appointment for six weeks out. I call Misha as I start my car, intending to tell him that Midsummer comes before the house project. I haven't even gotten a 'hello' out of my mouth when he speaks.
"I saw the pictures you sent. I have so many ideas!"
~~~
The Kitchen Sink - @emoryhemsworth @flamencodiva @wasabiwitteks @rainbowkisses31 @rissbennett @mariekoukie6661 @officiallyunofficialperson @dolphincliffs @mrs-meghan-winchester @gayspacenerd @foxyjwls007 @ilovefanfic86 @marvelfansworld @f-yeahfandoms @wonderlandfandomkingdom @hhiggs @sev3nruby @hobby27 @paintballkid711 @divadinag @thewhiterabbit42 @fantasymyth-1 @queenoftheunderdark @cosicas-cuquis @superfanficnatural @letsby @supernatural-bellawinchester @onethirstyunicorn @swinchester27 @chalicia @screechingartisancashbailiff @death-unbecomes-you @dayasvalkyrie @paryl @wereallbrokenangels @the-american-witch @that-one-gay-girl @tatted-trina6 @sunshineandwings86 @lunarmoon8 @wheezyeds @vicmc624 @couldabeenamermaid @vulgar-library
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alright Skylander OC shit les go
firstly lets start off with our fav bastard (affectionately), Tiphr
(also imma link all Picrews down below for when I'm done)
this lil bastard probably uses tumblr
age is uh around mid 20s, old enough to know better but young enough to not do better
he/she pronouns
intersex as well as genderqueer
lost both his right eye and arm in an accident. he can't get his eye back but he got a wooden arm from Dr. Krankcase
speaking of Dr. Krankcase, he ended up being Tiphr's father (adopted)
the "you're not my real dad" jokes are... frequent to say the least
also from Tiphr's joke department, he'll often say shit like "ah yeah it cost me an arm for this" or if you need help he'll say "need a hand?" and he'll give his entire fucking arm to you
he's a portal master
a headcanon of mine is that all Portal Masters have a "leaning" towards certain elements, which means that those ones are the quickest to control and/or learn. Tiphr's are Life, Tech, Air, and Dark, respectively
he kinda remembers where he was originally from, but most of it is just kinda... lost to time ig
ig since he is from another world, per say, does that make him an alien? the answer is yes
lots of steampunk vibes from this guy, but also with nature. good fun
he likes to call bras "tit jackets." no one knows where he learned it from, no one has been able to get him to stop
his wooden arm makes normal guitars sound like bass guitars
yes he can play guitar
he can be serious when need be, but he does enjoy being a funny source of comedy sometimes
loves plants, is a plant parent (would let moss grow in her room, much to Krankcase's dismay)
uhhhhhhh so here's an Inky boi
his name used to be Inkwash but uh i had to change that
i was in 7th grade when i made him, ooooooof
anyways, this guy is a Dark element
basically, he's an artist. his weapon is ink. oh and he's emo
creativity 100
haha ah well still love my emo wolf boi
listens to whatever the Skylands equivalent of MCR is
probably relates to that one pic of the anime girl where it has two sides and it says "I'm Fine."
godspeed you
has a sad aesthetic tumblr account
actually can kick ass in a fight surprisingly
catchphrase is "A painting of pain!"
my first OC (technically my second but an overpowered shapeshifter self insert doesn't count) which i have changed. a lot
she's a fire/undead element hybrid
catchphrase is "Here kitty kitty!"
has a pair of dragonlike wings (used to have a scorpion tail too but that was too edgy so that got scrapped)
now she just looks like a little charizard with her tail on fire :)
can self-immolate
was originally just a feathercat (like Scratch's race) who was dared to go into the Land of the Undead. she didn't come out the same, though...
was one of the first to be a hybrid element (not counting the SWAP Force but damn what they got going on is unnatural to say the least)
is totally a punk alt girl
likes being petted
you know that one song "go kitty go"? yea she unironically enjoys that
Tiphr makes fun of her for it
also yea Tiphr is besties with Grave
also Grave doesn't mind being called Gravy
so yea that was a long read. i'm not really sure how to conclude me rambling on about my own characters for a game that is kinda dead (not saying the fandom is, godspeed you guys) but yea, hope you enjoyed and here's a link to (almost) all the picrews i used
the other wolf one is from a game on DollDivine called Wolf Maker Unleashed (due to the death of Flash you can't run it on Google anymore but there's tutorials on the website to help you get around this)
#skylanders#skylanders oc#skylanders ocs#long post#ocs#oc#cat#wolf#intersex#gay ass people#dr krankcase#leave it to me and take the series with the most convoluted and purposely childlike lore and turn it into something rife for drama#hey i mean#i'm happy so that's what matters in the end#anyways hope you enjoyed
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Hi, I was just wondering how you make your icons different shapes? For example the brush ones or the circular ones, do you use a templater or?
Hi there! I’ll put this under a cut since it got a bit long with pics and everything! 🥰
I’ve included:
How to use a template for a shape
How to make your icon pop out of the template
How to make your own template
Part one: How to use a template for a shape
So if you want the icon to just be a certain shape, that’s pretty simple. You can make the icon as usual, save it, and then open it again like so:
Then open your shape, (for example I use the ones from this pack). What you want to do for this particular part, is make sure the shape is white (as in, #ffffff. If it’s not completely white, it won’t work!) and the background is black (#000000). Drag it across to your icon cap like so:
What you want to do now is copy it, and paste it into a layer mask on your cap. You can click on the layer mask by holding down alt on windows, (or option on mac I think!) and then pasting it, ctrl/command v, like so:
You can now turn the top layer off, and when you click back on the cap, it is done! Voilà! 🥰
Just make sure to save it as a .png file! Files saved as .jpg cannot read transparency, and the edges around the shape will show up as black or white, rather than transparent!
But as you can see, this isn’t like the icon I posted in the pack of this same cap:
Part two: How to make your icon pop out of the template
This is a little more complicated, but not overly so!
Start off with your cap in your base size, whatever that may be, mine is 150x150px. As you can see I’ve moved the cap up from the bottom - this will be helpful with the “sticking out” part, and it doesn’t matter that it’s not touching the edge, as we’re going to be erasing those parts anyway.
Next, you want to get your gradient, texture, and the shape ready underneath your cap, like so:
Make sure the shape is at the bottom, because we’re going to clip everything else onto it using a clipping mask (shift, select the three layers above the shape, right click, create clipping mask):
As you can see this looks similar to what we did before, with the non-pop out cap. Next you want to duplicate your cap layer, to get this:
Now we need to erase the excess parts of the cap we don’t need! So add a layer mask to both caps, and paint out the bits we don’t want to see:
As you can see now, the bottom of the cap is no longer showing in the outer circle, and the top of his head is peeking out! I like to add a soft light layer of whatever colour the background is over the top of the cap, just to make the colours of the icon overall more cohesive. Make sure you clip it down to the top duplicate of your cap, otherwise it will ruin the transparency of the icon.
Now we can go ahead and save as a .png like before!
Part three: How to make your own template
This is pretty simple! To start, search for what shape you would like. On Google you can set the search to “Creative Commons licences” to find pictures you can use for free, or websites like unsplash have plenty too. I decided to search for “paint swipe” and got this:
Then, similar to what we did in part one, we want to make sure the shape is white, and the background is black. To do this, I used a black and white gradient to make sure it was the correct colours. Then I adjusted the scales to ensure the shape was completely black. After merging the gradient and the shape, I inverted it, to ensure the shape was white and the background was black.
Then, as in part one, all you need to do is drag it onto your cap, adjust to your liking, and then copy and paste it onto a layer mask on top of your cap (it’s easier to adjust the positioning before you paste it onto the layer mask, which is why I do it that way first!)
Feel free to use the icon if you made it this far! I hope this was helpful. If you have any more questions, drop me a message 🥰
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Discredit Part Three! (Click on each pic for something resembling quality!)
Part One---contains translations, podfic, and related works---Part Two
Tagging, credit, and transcript all below the cut 💜
First off, people who specifically asked to see more of this nonsense may God in all Her glory bless you accordingly:
@internet-or-sleep, @just-some-girl-on-the-internet, @readytoocomply, @vocallsama, @fellowshipofthegay, @lucky-leafeon, @alph4centauri, @sumoranges, @diaphanedreams
Aziraphale’s profile pic is courtesy of good old Neil, found here. All others are from Creative Commons.
Sorry it took so long to produce more stupidity. YOU ALL ROCK 🎊🎊🎊 Here, have a messy transcript.
Abdou G.
Have you ever walked in on a conversation and, despite clearly missing the majority of it, feel like you could reconstruct it, word for word if necessary? That happened at Fell’s today. The ‘talk’ had obviously been going on for a while, but I can give you a perfect summary here: rude fuckboy thinks he gets to say who God is, Fell was having none of it.
Best response? Turn around, walk back to your apartment (pro-tip: this only works if you’re just a few blocks away), and change your shirt. I walked back in with my I MET GOD, SHE’S BLACK tee and had the pleasure of seeing Fell do a double-take.
“Yes, thank you, that’s what I’ve been trying to say!”
***
Doug E.
Scout’s honor: I once saw that Crowley dude unhinge his jaw and eat a large pizza in one goddamn bite.
Update: you heathens read about this gay abomination with his dislocated jaw and what you decide to question is whether I was acTUALLY A SCOUT?
***
Mary L.
I came in with my four-year-old last week fully intending to keep him within sight at all times. Yes, I bought one of those kiddie leashes and no, I don’t regret a thing. You try holding down two jobs as a single mom to the bonefide antichrist. I love my boy, but the devil got to him, telling him things like, “Yes, Freddie, permanent marker would look just great on Mum’s only work jacket!”
I said as much to the owner because this mom needs to vent sometimes.
I wish I could give this place a higher rating, but the ownership is frankly terrible. Inconsistent hours, no help when you’re trying to find a book, just basically all around bad customer service, BUT it still gets five stars because when I told the guy I was raising the antichrist?
“Oh yes. I did that myself not too long ago!”
We parents need to support one another. Otherwise the world is going to burn. So here’s a good review for you, Mr. Bookshop Guy. A part of me hopes you’re a better dad than you are a bookseller. The other part? The bigger part? It’s very aware that Ms. Pot here just met Mr. Kettle.
Now if you’ll excuse me, Freddie just got into the flour.
***
Alfred B.
I hereby nominate Mr. Fell as the British Steve Irwin. I’ve never seen anyone handle a red bellied black snake like that. I mean yeah, they’re a chill species overall, but there’s a difference between casually handling a snake and fucking chucking one onto the chair because it’s in your way. (Okay. Maybe Irwin was a little nicer.)
Renee K.
whos steve irwin?
Alfred B.
...How old are you?
Renee K.
15
Alfred B.
You existed on this planet for two years with him and you dare to ask me this? Go boil your head and then use google. Good god.
***
Mark F.
overheard the owner telling his boyfriend that last they met his brother tried to set him on fire? and succeeded?? actually now that I think about it, not sure which brother they were talking about---his brother or boyfriend’s brother--but WHOEVER has the brother needs to... i don’t even know. do something about that? ring the police or go to therapy or SOMETHING. i mean maybe they already have, i’m just an eavesdropping tourist, but the idea of someone setting that bow-tie cutie on fire—DID I MENTION THAT? PERSON ARSON. MURDER—makes my blood boil
***
Shiefa N.
People aren’t joking about overhearing weird conversations here. I walked in on two men (owner and husband? owner and escort?) debating Seven Minutes in Heaven. You know, that stupid kissing game the better looking kids got to play in middle school. It got pretty heated at one point (pun not intended), arguing about whether seven minutes of making out was divine or damning behavior. I hung out long enough to catch the segue into a lust vs. love debate and then had to skedaddle. Nice couple. I support their weird flirting habits.
***
Chang Z.
Is it legal to visit a store for things other then what it sells? I realize that makes me sound druggie or something but I swear I’m dealing with a much healthier addiction. (Ha. Maybe.) I cosplay (yeah, yeah, move along, trolls) and Mr. Fell has an absolute wealth of historical clothing. It’s astounding! I thought they were particularly detailed costumes at first, but no. I’m majoring in Textile and Apparel Studies. I know a naturally worn piece of fabric when I see it. Mr. Fell is always cracking jokes about how he wore this frock in the 19th century, this shirt in the 17th, oh don’t you just love my old vest? (He has... so many vests...) I indulge him because anyone who lets me borrow this stuff for free deserves all my attention and fake laughter.
Yeah. You read right. Artifacts borrowed for free. He’s even let me alter some of the stuff because I’m not exactly his size. Should this stuff be in a museum somewhere? Probably. Am I calling anyone to take my personal cosplay supply away? Noooope.
***
Leah M.
Helping to spread the word here because I’m not sure how much foot traffic this place actually gets.
I pass Fell’s every morning on my way to work and yesterday there was a new sign in the window. This might not seem very interesting to most people on here, but you’ve got to understand that Fell’s never changes. None of it. I’ve lived in Soho since I was a boy and this place has always had the same placard with his insane times listed, same stripped paint on the door he’s never gotten around to fixing, same spiderweb in the corner I absolutely swear. My dad used to pop in there when he was in college and I swear he’s taken me through the stacks, points out books that haven’t moved in 30+ years. It’s nuts and more than a little bit impressive.
So you can imagine my shock when I passed by and saw not one, but four new papers in the front window. They’re drawings and I recommend going and taking a look for yourself. I don’t think I can accurately describe the utter chaos of crayons and glitter that’s displayed there, let alone what it’s trying to depict. A dystopia? The end of the world? If so the apocalypse features a surprising number of dogs.
There’s a fifth paper off to the side, written in Fell’s messy penmanship. It just says, “My god-children drew these!” and if that’s not the cutest things you’ve ever heard get out of my face.
***
Gabriel A.
azirfell
alzaphral
azzzzzirafal
i’m a litttle drunk but azifjkaafha’s place is good he just needs a name easier to spell
***
Aziraphale
Dear Gabriel A,
My partner Crowley told me about this site and the many lovely well-wishes you all have left us here. I have come to express my thanks and to offer a bit of advice. You are hardly the first person to struggle with my name, dear girl! I recommend the following three step process:
A - simple, yes? + zira - a nickname I’ve adopted over the years, easy enough to recall + phale - this is admittedly more difficult as our ending, “phale,” is neither spelled in a way nor presumed to be pronounced like the “fell” sound we end up with. In truth my name is more along the lines of Azz-ear-raf-AE-el, but change is inevitable and you needn’t hear about that transformation, nor the etymology involved in getting “fell” out of “phale.” I say this not because I don’t wish to teach you, but because my partner has reminded me--in a rather rude tone I should add--that this site has a word limit. Suffice to say you should simply memorize the “phale” portion and you shall be, as the expression goes, in tip top shape!
Best regards,
Aziraphale
P.S. Nothing personal, dear boy, but I fear I’m not terribly fond of your name either. I would highly recommend changing it if you’re ever of a mind to do so. Cheerio!
#good omens#ineffable husbands#air conditioning#long post#good omens fic#(apologies for that)#(tried for text post and the quality was totally unreadable)#pgnbri#attempting to tag you here#since tumblr won't let me do it in the post :/
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the trials of online dating, part 2
hey @witchofinterest you’re still inspiring me btw
Swipe left, swipe left, swipe left-
Mika thought, with all the options available to her, that online dating in NYC would be a breeze. In truth, it didn’t even have to be dating. She just needed friends that weren’t her sister or her sister’s boyfriend.
Swipe left, swipe left, swipe - oh, hold on.
Mika furrowed her brow, glad that the handsome man on the screen couldn’t see the double chin she sported as she curled up on the couch. James Bucky Barnes. She’d heard that name before. Where had she heard it before?
A quick google search reminded her, making her sit up and stare down at her phone. Now when she looked at his picture, she remembered how sad he looked during the trial, how tired he was when he took the stand to talk about all the things that happened to him. TIME magazine ran article after article about the years he lost.
And now he was trying online dating? Good for him.
Mika stared long and hard at the screen. He was cute, and he also probably felt a little misplaced here in New York. Or, this was a fake account, and she would be disappointed. Again.
Hiking. Technology. Reading. Well, they had two out of three things in common.
Fuck it.
She swiped right before she could think too hard about it, going through a few more profiles before deciding that no one was going to strike her interest until she figured this James Bucky Barnes situation out. So she put her phone down and went about her afternoon, baking some bread for the week and cleaning the fridge out. She hated cleaning the fridge out, but since she was currently mooching of her sister in the studio apartment, she needed to do a little extra work.
She wasn’t surprised when her phone dinged later. She was surprised to find that it was James Bucky Barnes, accepting her match.
Interesting.
Her stomach did a flip. She wasn’t cool enough to match with the former Captain America’s best friend, and definitely didn’t expect him to go for the Romanian girl.
Had to be a catfish.
Mika: Is this really Mr. Barnes?
She was going to get to the bottom of this. If he messaged her back, then she could get on the web app and trace his IP address and see where it was registered. She wasn’t positive on the legality of that action, but safety came first. Her phone dinged again. A message!
James: Unfortunately.
The response made her laugh out loud, any thought of tracing his whereabouts fading. A catfish wouldn’t respond like that.
Mika: Deciding to try online dating? You’re becoming a real modern man, James! James: My therapist made me.
Ouch, okay, so maybe he wasn’t into the dating part. Mika was about to switch her tactics when he messaged again.
James: Sorry, that was short. Still getting the hang of this. James: You can call me Bucky. James: If you want.
Mika smiled down at her phone. There was something magical about the guy not caring about sending multiple texts in a row. Any girls she dated didn’t mind it, but men were always wanting to look all stoic. Mika found that the less they talked, the more desperate they were.
Mika: Nice to meet you, Bucky. I’m Mika. James: Nice to meet you, Mika. James: I saw you’re from Romania. Have you lived in New York long? Mika: Just a couple months. Moved here after the Blip. James: Oh, I’m sorry. That must be tough. Mika: Could be worse. I’m staying with my baby sister who is now, technically, older than me. Mika: How is it being back here?
Well if he didn’t think she was a creepy stalker, he did now!
James: Weird. So many things are different. James: But even weirder, some things are the same.
When Mika blipped back, it was hard enough to figure out everything that changed in five years. If the TIME articles were correct, Bucky was back in New York after leaving eighty years ago. She couldn’t even imagine how weird everything felt for him. And how lonely he must be.
Mika: So what’s the most important thing for me to check out? Mika: You know, since you’re a true New Yorker.
That was a safe enough topic, right? She hoped so. Centenarian or not, he was the first person to message her that didn’t ask for pictures, and she was in desperate need of someone chill. It took a while for Bucky to respond, long enough that she was utterly convinced that she’d said something wrong.
James: Totonno’s is where we used to go for pizza all the time. If you want good cheesecake, Junior’s is the best. Mika: Oh, I like both of those things!
She paused, hoping that the next message would be him asking her out. Of course, it couldn’t be that easy.
James: Let me know if you like them. James: If it’s any consolation, they still taste the exact same. Mika: Good to know. I’ve also been on the hunt for a Romanian place. Mika: Know of any? James: Not right off hand, but I can do some research. James: I spent some time there, before the Blip. Mika: Really?? Where?? James: Bucharest. Mika: No shit! I lived there! Mika: I was on the south side, in Rahova. James: …so was I. Mika: What apartments? I was Bloc 70 B.
The dots hovered, then disappeared, then hovered again, then disappeared again. Mika held her breath, but couldn’t maintain it long enough before having to take in a gulp of air. Bucky still didn’t respond. Was that too intimate a question? God, she hated this online thing sometimes.
Finally, her phone lit up again.
James: Did someone send you. Mika: What? No. Mika: I’m sorry, did I say something wrong? Mika: I know they weren’t the fanciest apartments, but…
Another ten agonizing minutes, then,
James: I’m sorry. I lived in those apartments too. James: I get spooked pretty easily nowadays.
Mika let out a huge breath of relief. Okay, good, so she wasn’t some inconsiderate asshole. Her and Bucky just had the weirdest coincidences.
Mika: That’s fair! Mika: How do I know you’re not the one following me?
Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
James: I don’t do that anymore. James: That…probably didn’t help my case.
Oh thank God, he was just as awkward as she was. And at least he had the excuses.
Mika: Meh, not the weirdest thing that’s ever happened to me. James: Same. James: Wish I could even say getting blipped was.
Don’t do it, don’t ask it, don’t say it -
Mika: What’s the weirdest thing then?
Fuck.
James: When Steve tripled in size. James: Thought I was hallucinating. Mika: Oh God, I can’t imagine! Mika: It’s weird enough that Nicoletta is a year older now Mika: At least she’s the same size James: Do you have other siblings?
Mika tapped the edge of her phone. She never did figure out how to word this without eliciting a pity party. But hey, Bucky of all people would probably understand.
Mika: We had an older sister. She passed away. James: I’m sorry to hear that. Mika: Thank you. James: My sister passed away about 20 years ago. James: Obviously, I was not there. Mika: Have you visited her grave? James: Yea, in the first couple weeks I was here. James: Will you think I’m an asshole if I say it was anticlimactic? Mika: Not at all. Mika: Last time I visited Raisa I called her a selfish bitch so Mika: You’re in good company
Too much information, that was too much information.
Bucky sent back…a laughing emoji.
James: That’s how you know you were close. James: My mother got mad at me because Rebecca thought her name was “Stupid Baby” for a long time. Mika: Aw, you were much nicer to your sister than I was haha James: Well, it was the ’20’s. James: Things were a little different. Mika: Were you a flapper? Mika: Don’t lie. James: I would never. James: Lie, that is. James: I was definitely a flapper. James: The cutest damn toddler flapper you’d ever see. Mika: Pics or it didn’t happen. James: I don’t know what that means. Mika: It means I want photographic evidence. James: Cameras weren’t invented yet. Sorry.
Man alive, James Bucky Barnes was funny.
They kept going back and forth, attempting a more normal conversation. It was, Mika found, a very nice conversation. He was someone she liked talking to, and he seemed to enjoy talking to her too. Or at least he was really good at faking it.
“Why are you smiling so much at your phone?” Nicoletta asked later, giving her an odd look from her easel. Her boyfriend had already gone to bed, leaving them to watch whatever they wanted on Netflix. Of course that meant they put on a baking show and proceeded to do anything but watch it.
“Huh? I’m not smiling at my phone.” she said, tucking said phone into her lap.
“Don’t be dumb.” Nicoletta said, brandishing her paint brush like a knife. “Who are you talking to? You better not say-“
“Ew, no, not him.” Mika said, cutting her off before she could utter the name of her ex. “Just…someone I met on HiLove.”
“I thought we talked about those dating apps.”
“I’m lonely! I need friends.” she said. “He passed the background check.”
“Let me see a picture.” Nicoletta said, coming over. Mika sighed, thumbing through the app to find Bucky’s profile, and the one picture he had. She hoped her sister didn’t notice the two unread messages in the corner. “Hmm. Okay, he’s handsome.”
“Yes.” Mika agreed. In fact, he was becoming more handsome as the afternoon went on. “And he’s funny too. And smart.”
“Ok, calm down. You just started talking to him.”
“I know! I’m not like, proposing marriage.” Mika said, rolling her eyes. “I just like talking to him so far. That’s all.”
“Uh huh. I know how it goes with you ‘talking’ to good looking people.”
“About as well as it does with you.” she pointed out. “Pre Steve, of course.”
“Of course.” Nicoletta said. “Have you discussed future plans? Deepest fears? Favorite sexual positions?”
“I hate you.”
“These are important questions!”
“I’m going to bed.”
“No phone sex on the first day!”
“I really hate you!” Mika sang, pulling the curtain around the little area in the studio apartment that counted as her room. It was late, and she probably should go to bed anyways. But Bucky was still up, and they were currently discussing movies. Turned out, he was way behind.
Mika: Star Wars? James: Nope. It’s on the list. Mika: Star Trek? James: Also on the list. Mika: Pride and Prejudice? James: Isn’t that a book? Mika: And a movie! My favorite one. James: Guess I’ll move that to the top of the list then.
Was he…flirting? Mika couldn’t deny the smile on her face now, even as her eyes struggled to stay open. Nicoletta went to bed, and with the light off, staying conscious was becoming a struggle.
Mika: Good answer. James: Ever seen Wizard of Oz? Mika: …no. A little before my time. James: Ouch.
Despite the humor and the fun conversation, she could feel the fatigue setting in. She was so afraid to stop talking, afraid that tomorrow he would change his mind, or find someone cooler than her. But she couldn’t stay up all night anymore, she wasn’t in her 20’s.
Mika: Unfortunately, I think I need to sleep. James: I understand. It is really late.
She paused, tapping the edge of her phone. What was the worst he could say? No?
Mika: Talk to you tomorrow?
Apparently it was his turn to pause, long enough that she nearly fell asleep before her phone buzzed again.
James: I’m looking forward to it. James: Goodnight, Mika. Mika: Goodnight, Bucky.
She went to sleep with a smile.
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