#i’m too lazy to screenshot on my laptop

[sonder-paradise]

HES SO PRETTY IM GONNA LOSE MY MIND ☹️😭

[rose-colored-sd]

Yearning for a whole remake of the anime that looks like this T.T

Also this guy

turned this guy’s face like this

I’m so normal about this

[thelasthalloween]

For some reason I could not find this on mobile and I’m too lazy to figure out how to take a screenshot on my laptop but this is one of my artist mixes on Spotify

[grahamlandiwellbeing]

Why Screen Time Hurts Parents More Than Kids

I’m in the car on my way to a poetry gig with my friend Martin. He’s driving and I’m regretting agreeing to buy my son dinner from Nando’s and having to place the order online using my phone.

Switching back and forth between his texts and the Deliveroo app I screenshot the completed order having just received a photo from my son with the menu item I was missing circled in blue.

“How do you even add blue circles to photos?”

I wait for a message from him that I’ve got it right and maybe a “thank you”.

The message doesn’t come as quickly as I’d like.

While I’m beginning to feel disgruntled, I get a cheery “Perfect. Thank You! xx” smiley emoji.

Tech has created an invisible wall between me and my children. One that I don’t suppose they notice. I feel jealous of their screens because they spend more time with my kids than I do.

Among all the warnings of the dangers of too much adolescent screen time, there don’t seem to be any about how it has a negative impact on the wellbeing of parents.

Once, during a conversation with my daughter about the impact of too much screen time she said “Blaming everything on phones is just lazy parenting.”

As if being a parent isn’t hard enough the stakes are apparently high when it comes to knowing the difference between parenting properly and abdicating responsibility. I don’t want to be a lazy parent so now I never blame phones, even when phones are at fault.

I don’t want to be critical of something which makes my children happier than I can but it’s hard not to feel inadequate.

When my children used to play Minecraft together I encouraged the teamwork, the gentle and cohesive hum of their relationship. I told myself it was just Lego for the modern age and that felt justifiable. Even when we couldn’t prise them away for their tea it didn’t seem so bad. Then my son got into GTA and instead of mining for natural resources with his little sister, he was popping prostitutes on street corners and dragging respectable-looking women from their cars by their hair.

I tried to ignore it.

Worse still was that for a while I began to feel left out so I downloaded and installed Minecraft on my own laptop and would sit playing it instead of joining a teleconference on marketing budgets for the fourth quarter. I was worse than what I feared for my kids, isolating myself and not doing the work I was supposed to be doing. I imagined my boss firing me and, while ushering me off the premises, telling me “You’re always on that bloody phone”.

In the kitchen, I am making cookies. A place my children always helped me when they were younger. I have a photo of the two of them covered in flour one time before technology got a hold.

In another, taken one rainy afternoon, we’d made fresh pasta and meatballs. They look happy. They still do.

I call to my daughter, “Do you want to help me cut the cookies?”

“Nah”.

Putting my head around the door she has the TV on, is listening to music through her headphones and is glued to her phone chatting with friends.

I dig out the photo of the flour children and stare at it longingly.

Last week I was relegated to disciplining my daughter by phone. She wasn’t home when she’d said she would be. She read my messages but didn’t answer. I felt impotent.

Complaining to my wife I said, “She’s 18 next month so I don’t suppose there is much we can do”.

“Well she still lives under our roof”.

I’ve lost confidence in using 1970s discipline on children of the future.

Then there's the ignominy of having to go to them for help when something isn’t working.

Last week my wife was experiencing some trouble with the email on her phone.

Me: “I could try deleting it and reinstalling it?”

Her: “Whatever, but if I can’t find a way to sort it out this phone is going through the fucking window”

My son fixed it in an instant and harmony was restored while I ached for the days when he needed a puncture fixed on his bike.

Back at the car park after the gig, there is a massive line waiting to pay while people find they don't have the right app.

“Why isn’t there some faster way of doing this?” I say to Martin looking at my phone with disdain.

"You mean, like cash?"

When we are eventually back on the road I get a message from my daughter. It’s a picture of her snuggled up with the dogs and a message.

“Hope you had a lovely evening. I’m off to bed. See you tomorrow xx”

[imaushiji]

Oikawa?👀

P.S. I luv u :3 💙

🥴 hehe

It’s the suspicious little squint of his eyes that makes you bite back your giggle. You glance around at the other faces on your screen, varying degrees of amusement or exasperation on your best friends’ faces while Oikawa turns the glass jar over and over again. 

Oikawa ponders, “How do I know it’s not just a bunch of insults?” as Hanamaki snorts in response. His screen momentarily lags, freezing on the perfect frame of his mouth half-opened and his eyes nearly closed like he’s about to sneeze. You take a screenshot of the unflattering look. 

“You don’t,” Mattsun jests. He shifts in his bed and leans back against his headboard, a lazy smirk overtaking his features. “We all wrote a couple of messages so I’m sure there’s at least a handful of nice ones.” His eyes dart over to you and you shoot him a quick glare before beaming at the skeptical look on the setter’s face. 

“Don’t listen to these idiots,” you say. “I’m sure they’re just kidding.” 

“Or are we?” Iwaizumi rifles through his textbook, not even bothering to look up as he scratches notes into his notebook. 

You roll your eyes. “Go ahead and open one Tooru! They’re meant for any time you’re feeling down, not just before games.” 

You wonder if it’s the trick of the light or the poor resolution of your laptop camera but Oikawa’s cheeks look flushed as he decides to open the jar. He pulls out one of the carefully folded papers and unravels it. 

“‘You’re hotter than my computer after ten hours of minecraft.’” 

You smack your hand on your desk as Maki bursts into laughter. 

“Who wrote that?!” 

There’s a shit-eating grin on Mattsun’s as he shrugs. “I think that’s pretty motivational,” he argues and you wish you could reach through the screen and strangle him. Maybe you’d stop his place and smother him with the pillow he’s leaning on. 

“Real motivating,” Oikawa says dryly as he drops the paper and reaches into the jar for another. “....you really hit those balls like no one else.’” 

The cackle that Maki lets out is ugly and even Iwa snorts into his fist. Oikawa’s face pinches as he flings the paper at the wall. “I’m not reading anymore!” He whines as Matsun waves his hand in the air.

“Okay, okay,” He chuckles. “Try one more, I’m sure there’s a nice one in there somewhere.” 

“Deep down,” Iwaizumi chimes in. He’s abandoned his textbook and smirks at the camera while resting his chin on his fist. 

The setter rolls his eyes before glaring at the laptop while digging through the jar. “If I find anything about my ass being flat, I swear–” 

He unravels another paper, mouth opening to repeat the words when they seemingly die on his lips. His brown eyes widen and you notice his hands are slightly shaking. You’re immediately alarmed by his reaction as you lean forward with concern coloring your features.

“Tooru? You okay?” 

He flinches at the sound of your voice, eyes darting from the paper to the side. “I- um,” he stammers and your concern only increases as he continues to flounder. You’re so focused on him that you don’t see the looks exchanged by the other three. 

“Well, look at the time,” Iwa says. “I have to get back to studying.” 

“Yep,” Matsukawa chimes in. “I should get ready for work.” 

“And I…” Maki rubs his chin. “Well, I ain’t got shit to do but I’m jumping off anyway. Okay bye!” 

They’re gone before you can protest, the look of alarm and then betrayal clear on Oikawa’s face. 

“COME BACK YOU COWARDS!” he shouts, his cheeks the color of a firetruck but it’s too late– they left the call and it’s only the two of you. 

You blink at him, suddenly very self-conscious of your appearance as Oikawa continues to avoid looking at you. 

“Something the matter?” you ask after a couple of very awkward silence. Oikawa fidgets with the paper in his hands. 

“This um, isn’t exactly a motivational quote,” he murmurs and you squint at the screen. 

“Did they write something mean again? I swear, I told them to be nice and they can’t even do that–” 

“No,” the brunette jerks his head from side to side. “It’s more like… a confession.” He silently holds the paper up, cheeks bright enough to light up his dimly lit room. 

You have to read and then reread the message because one, the messy scrawl is nearly impossible to decipher, and two, the message. 

The fucking message. 

So now you had three idiots to murder. Great.

Though your heart was ready to rip out of your chest and jump out a window, you decide to tread very carefully. Even to your own ears, your laughter sounded fake, strangled. “Those guys… they’re such jokesters,” you say with a strained smile. “Might have to pay them all a visit… Hajime included.” 

But Oikawa doesn’t laugh, doesn’t say much as he fiddles with the paper. 

“Does…” He gulps. “I mean… is, is it true?” 

A loaded question if you’ve ever heard one. You know your answer could change the course of your relationship, ruin the delicate balance of harmful flirting, and the uncertainty of how to really define just what you are. 

You flex your fingers next to your laptop, unable to look up. “If it hypothetically were true,” you murmur, “what would you do?”

His lack of a response scares you. Your stomach twists as you tap your fingers on your desk, still unable to brave a glance at him. But when you finally peek up at his pixelated face, your breath hitches. 

His eyes are so bright they look like they were stolen from the night sky. His cheeks are still flushed, the tips of his ears the same shade, and the smile that overtakes his features have you slightly dazed. 

“I would get on the next plane to Japan,” Oikawa says determinedly, “Just so I could spin you around and kiss you.” 

Your heart leaps into your throat for a second time, but this time a bubble of laughter follows. “Don’t you have a game tomorrow?” you point out and Oikawa pouts. 

“Don’t rain on my parade,” he whines. “Isn’t it too early in our relationship for you to be bullying me?” 

“Oho, ‘our relationship?’” you couldn’t stop the Cheshire grin from spreading across your lips as elation blooms in your chest. “You didn’t even ask me out yet.” 

That makes Oikawa falter, the realization he skipped a very important step, causing him to give you a sheepish grin. He clears his throat, face somber as he looks straight at the camera. 

He says your name– you say his back. 

“Will you be my girlfriend?” 

You tap your finger along your chin as though in thought, enjoying the way he squirms as he impatiently waits for you to answer. You smirk and lean forward. 

“If you win the game tomorrow,” you say with half-lidded eyes. “I’ll tell you.” 

[osvaldrps-archived]

gif making for lazy ones / a tutorial by osvaldrps

there’re at least two types of lazy people: the first one would procrastinate till the end of an era and the second one would do every possible and impossible thing and invent the perpetual motion machine to do nothing later (or at least to shorten the time spent). if you’re the second type just like me, well, welcome to the club and let’s see what we can do to speed up the process making a few apps work for us.

* if your computer is old/slow, this might not work for you cause we’re gonna use some video rendering which depends on CPU and GPU speeds and RAM capacity. ** i use Windows 10 tho this should work for macOS too. *** i’m not explaining coloring here cause what’s the point, every footage is difference, but you can see how i usually color my gifs here.

so, you’ll need:

KMPlayer (or any program that lets you cut videos into clips and save them as .mp4 or .mov);

Adobe Premier Pro;

AfterCodecs plugin for Adobe Premier Pro + AfterCodecs Panel (links are in the source);

Adobe Photoshop.

part 1: clipping

launch KMPlayer and open your video. i have an episode of Elite on my laptop, so i’m using this one.

fast forward till the moment your fc shows up on screen and pause the video. press Alt+C or right click on the player and go to Capture > Video: Capture... and click on the File Crop tab. pick another saving folder if you want, change Format to mp4, check the box ‘Customize video and audio codecs (could cause errors)’ and change Audio to None.

hit the Start Time button. fast forward and press the End Time button when your fc leaves the screen. 

press Start. repeat as many times as you need, close the player when you’re done and go to the folder you saved the clips in.

now launch Adobe Premier Pro and create a new project. i keep an empty one (’clips’ on the screenshot) so i don’t have to make new ones every time i use the app. settings of a new project doesn’t matter, i just use defaults.

drop one of the clips from your folder to the timeline

right click on the violet line (it’s your clip) and pick Scene Edit Detection...

check the ‘Apply a cut at each detected cut point’ box and hit Analyze.

wait till it’s done, your video will get cut into smaller clips like this:

go through the clips using the blue bracket (or whatever it’s called) and delete all parts you don’t need by clicking on them and pressing delete button on your keyboard.

since we’re gonna use a trial version of AfterCodecs plugin, we’ll have to make sure each part is shorter than 500 frames. for that right click on video duration and choose Frames.

now you’ll see frames count when you hover over any clip:

for me, gifs with 140+ frames look too long so i cut into parts everything over this number. to do so, press C on your keyboard or click on the Razor Tool button

and just click on the clip where you want it to be cut into two parts.

when you’re done, press the Add Markers for All Video Tracks button on the AfterCodecs Panel:

(if you don’t see the Panel, make sure it’s checked in Window > Extensions)

when markers are added, go to File > Export > Media, or press Ctrl+M (for some reason this shortcut doesn’t work if AfterCodecs Panel is selected, so click on any over panel first and then use Ctrl+M).

change Format of Export Settings to AfterCodecs, uncheck the Export Audio box, and pick MP4 Format for AfterCodecs Settings (in the bottom). if you click on Output Name (blue one), you’ll be able to change saving folder (default is somewhere in \Documents\Adobe\Premiere Pro).

then click the Open AfterCodecs Settings button and check the Workflow - MultiRender box in the pop-up window. you can also change rendering quality there (default is 70%).

press OK and then Export. when it’s done, you’ll see all the clips in the output folder. you can now close the app.

part 2: sharpening and saving

this is pretty same as i’ve shown in my previous tutorial, but the action itself has a few changes (i’ll link the download in the source).

launch photoshop and drag all the videos into the app (tho i don’t recommend doing 10+ files at the same time if PS usually slows down your computer).

if playing my atn for the first time, expand the 268x150 one, scroll to the end of the list, double-click on Save and change the default psd saving folder cause the atn has my path in it which obviously doesn’t exist on your computer:

also if you’re using Adobe Photoshop CC or newer version, make sure your Image Interpolation is ‘Bicubic (best for smooth gradients)’ cause it’s the best for my sharpening (to open Preferences, press Ctrl+K or go to Edit > Preferences > General).

then you can play the action. it’ll ask you if you want to crop the picture, do it using vertical and horizontal scales on the upper menu and press Enter on your keyboard when you’re satisfied with the frame (if preview of your gif looks lq and pixelated, that’s fine, it’s just a preview).

if you don’t want the action to ask you to crop the picture, you can uncheck the ‘Transforn current layer’ step:

the action will autosave the file in the directory you’ve chosen above and will close the psd after that. now you can run the action for the next gif.  if you have 10+ gifs opened in your window, you can just run the second action (268x150 for 10 gifs), this one basically plays the first action 10 times in a row.

and... that’s it. all of the routine is done and you just now have to do the fun part - coloring.

hope this helps. happy gif making! 💙

[plainlo-inthemorning]

Hi! I love your Hamish pics 😅 quick question (probably already asked away) what program do you use for editing? Do you start with a screenshot or you upload the video in the editing program? Thanks in advance ☺️

Thank you darling! 😍 Okay, so I’m the least organized/most hopelessly old school person ever when it comes to my editing.

1. I take the screenshots on my laptop the classic way: Going through the shows, trying to capture the best expressions in the best resolution. It can…take a while;)

2. Editing tools

I don’t have any homemade custom filters (because, me), so for this part I also start from scratch. Favorite apps include:

Remini (for sharpening portraits, although sometimes the results can come out quite freaky)

Snapseed (loads of options to play with hues, sharpness, light etc)

Pixlr (for more effect’y effects and making collages)

And the most basic: The built in editing tools in Photos (on iPhone)

🖤

I’ll quickly add: I’ve worked as a photographer irl, for which I edit on the computer using Photoshop and Lightroom. Very different process. You can get those apps for the phone as well obvs, but I’m too lazy, and then it would feel too much like actual work for me. I want to just lie in bed and fiddle like it was 2013 before falling asleep way too late with the image of Hamish imprinted on my brain lol

[lightsovermonaco]

His Good Sweater: Chapter 5

Masterlist

Shoutout to @acollectionofficsandshit for being my sounding board and beta reader! She's the absolute best a girl could ask for, thanks my love!

Word Count: 3.0k

Recommended song: "The Heart is a Muscle" by Gang of Youths

You woke before the sun, Pierre's bare chest pressed to your back and an arm slung over your middle. You wiggle in his grasp, trying to be sneaky as you turn to face him but ultimately waking him. You run a finger over his lips as they curve upwards before biting lightly. You draw back and he laughs quietly.

"Morning," You whisper, head throbbing slightly. "I feel like I got hit by a train."

"Knocking back four or five shots in a few hours will do that to you." Pierre stretches, arching his back and exposing his neck. The slight mark you left the night before had darkened into a true, unmissable bruise. The reminder of it sent a thrill down your spine, and you couldn't resist ghosting your lips over the hurt.

He sighs, cupping your chin and bringing your mouth up to his. The kiss is lazy, both of you still too ensnared by sleep to put any heat into it. 

You stayed tangled in him until Yuki called to remind Pierre they had to be at the airport by eight. You helped him pack as slowly as you could manage, a stone settling in your gut. When the time came, Pierre hadn’t wanted to leave, only relenting when Yuki called again to say the jet was waiting on him. 

The longing wasn't something that normally hit you this hard when Pierre left. It was new, the edges raw and unhealed when you poked at it. Everything on campus Tuesday reminded you of him, from the sunlight hitting the lab table to the rare cloudless blue of the London sky. 

Just when you’d gotten over the sting of his absence, the news broke. Charles sent you the link to the article, simply captioned, 'You will want to read this.'

Gasly snogs mystery girl in London bar, the headline read. And fuck, that was a grainy picture of you standing between his legs, fingers tangled in his hair. You scroll through the article, heart in your throat, praying you weren’t called out by name.

By some small miracle, whoever had taken the photos hadn’t gotten one of your face. Against your better judgement, you checked the comments.

That was where your name came up. Fans had connected the dots. Your hair had been up that night, but it was the exact same shade as the picture. Your instagram had been filled with photosets of London for months, and Pierre had flown out early before Silverstone. Clearly he had been meeting someone. Anyone with half a brain could figure out that you were the one in the photos, even if the article didn't mention you directly.

The first DM didn’t come for a few hours. It was nasty, the user hurling cruel words at you that struck your chest like tiny knives. Plenty more followed, threats and names alike. 

Gold digger.

Does she really think she deserves him?

He could do so much better.

You couldn’t bear attending classes. You sent Pierre the link to the damning article and stayed in your apartment and sobbed. The fans- if they could even be called such a thing- pulled no punches. Every DM and comment struck home, until you eventually had to turn your phone off and curl up in bed, defeated.

People are cruel, you thought, wiping the tears that streak down your cheeks. 

You kept your phone off for a few hours before you gathered the courage to check it again. You immediately uninstall any and all social media, unwilling to let it affect you further than it already had. But messages pour in, most from Pierre and a few from your brother.

Hell yeah! Was all your brother sent, along with a screenshot of the article. Your mouth twists, the memory of the comments washing over you again.

Pierre’s messages were the ones that broke you. There were close to a dozen of them, accompanied by missed calls and panicked voicemails. 

“Are you okay? Please pick up the phone, my love, I need to hear that you’re okay. I love you. Please call me back.”

The last message, time stamped from a half hour earlier, simply said, “I’m getting on a plane.”

A fresh sob wracks your body. You press a hand to your mouth, trying to silence it. God, he was so pure hearted. You knew the comments would hurt him just as much as they hurt you, if not more. He would blame himself, when in reality, it had been a mutual mistake. Either one of you should have recognized the risks of your actions. But you couldn't let him risk his career for it. You could make it through… somehow.

I’m okay, you type, hating that you had to lie. You don’t need to come to London.

I’m already in the air, He informs you, and you curse softly. He would have hell to pay upon returning to Austria, even if he had somehow convinced Tost to let him leave at the last minute.

I'll be there soon

The flight from Vienna to Heathrow was about two and a half hours, which meant you had that long to pull yourself together. You didn’t want Pierre to see you broken. You shower and change into slightly less ragged sweatpants and an oversized shirt. You grab your laptop, quickly emailing your professors to apologize for missing lecture unannounced and informing them you wouldn’t be there the rest of the week either. You'd need time to sort out your head before facing your peers.

Pierre’s knock came far too quickly. You’d barely assembled your face into a mask of resolve before the door opened. Whatever semblance of control you'd managed to construct came crashing down at the sight of him. He looks just as distraught as you, eyes red and cheeks flushed.

Before he says a word, he gathers you in his arms, tucking your head to his chest. Your lip wobbles, and when he whispers “I’m so sorry,” the tears fall in earnest. For less than a week, you’d been on top of the world with Pierre by your side. You’d gotten to enjoy the idea of being his girlfriend for six days before reality stepped in and ruined it.

You clutch at his shirt, fighting hard to piece yourself back together. Now that he was there, the dam had burst and no amount of willpower could keep the sobs back. 

Pierre sweeps you up, one arm under your knees and the other keeping you tight to him as he carries you to your bedroom. He climbs into bed, shoes and all, and keeps you in his lap as he strokes your hair. He sniffles, softly enough that you know he's trying to be strong for you.  The realization that he's crying too just makes it hurt that much more.

"I'm sorry," He whispers again and again, as if the two syllables were the only ones he remembered. You can't find your voice to tell him you don't blame him or how much his presence means. 

Instead, you press your face into the soft cotton of his sweater. He doesn't move except to stroke a calloused hand over your hair. You let his presence wash over you until your breathing turns more even and your fingers stop trembling. 

"H-how were you able to leave Austria?" Your voice shakes, but you tilt your head up to face him. He quickly wipes away the wetness on his cheeks with a sleeve.

"I just left. The only one I told was Yuki. He said he'd cover for me. I saw the comments and I couldn't think straight. I didn't want you to believe them." The look he turns on you is an apology. "When I called and it didn't even ring, I had to get to you."

"I don't think you'll be welcomed back with open arms," You point out, and he presses a tender kiss to your brow.

"They can be pissed at me all they want. I don't care. I needed to be here." You wouldn't admit it, but he was right. The fact that he'd risked everything to comfort you helped you ignore what those users had said. Nothing could ever erase the words, but Pierre’s presence dulled their impact.

“I already petitioned for the article to be removed,” Pierre says softly. “Don’t know if it’ll amount to anything, but it’s worth a shot.”

You nod and wipe your nose on your sleeve. “It’s so much worse than I imagined.” Pierre’s cheek comes to a rest atop your head, his thumb rubbing soothing circles on your arm. “I get that I’m not the only one that loves you. But it’s like they don’t remember that I’m human.”

“People are bold when they're speaking to a screen instead of another person.” 

"It was so much easier before anyone knew," You say, words dipped in longing. Rumors had never swirled when you had kept your distance, you'd made sure of it. But now that the secret was out… Would your life be spent dodging threats and dealing with negativity?

He pauses, thumb stilling. “Do you… Do you want it to go back to the way things were before? When we were... friends?"

Your head whips around. “What?”

“It isn’t fair that you have to go through this because of me,” He explains. “I hate the fact that I’m the one causing you pain. The way you’re being treated is only because I live in the spotlight.”

“It’s not your fault,” You assert, placing a hand on his stubbled cheek. “Please don’t blame yourself.”

“Maybe it would be easier if we-”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” You say sternly. You force him to look at you, his eyes storming like the sea. “We’ll figure it out. Our emotions got the best of us last week. We just have to be more careful, keep this behind closed doors. We don’t need to flaunt it, right? Just tell the press that you want to keep your private life private, and I’ll take a break from social media. We can figure it out.”

Pierre nodded in agreement. His voice is scratchy, like he had swallowed gravel. “Alright.”

“It’s us against the world,” You tell him, “And I couldn’t ask for a better teammate.” Your lips ghost against his in an attempt to reassure him. He returns the kiss, firmer and more confident. Your hand slips to the nape of his neck, drawing him in as your tongue glides against his lower lip. 

Last week, you’d fucked. But tonight, the sex was something else entirely. It was soft sighs and languid kisses, whispered words of adoration and promises of endless love. Above all, it was an affirmation. Pierre loved you; heart, mind, and soul. In every sense of the word. He would let nothing come between you and himself. Not his career, jealous fans, or the thousands of miles that may sometimes separate you.

Pierre offered you his heart, and you accepted it without question.

**********

The few precious hours Pierre managed to give you were enough to keep you afloat the rest of the week. The break from seemingly endless lectures helped to reset your mind and give you time to focus on yourself.

Pierre called as often as he could, and texted when he couldn’t. You filled him in on the little things you did to keep busy, like how you spent all of Sunday rearranging your tiny apartment so that your bed was as close to his in Austria as you could get it. Monday night, you fell asleep on Facetime with him as you tried and failed to write a term paper for your architectural history class. 

Pierre’s visit and subsequent calls had made you feel invincible. But the moment you walk into the lecture hall on Tuesday, everyone’s eyes are on you: the first test of your newly minted confidence. Chin held high, you meet a few of their stares and take your usual seat at the front. The moment you start to question yourself, if you're ready to face the scrutiny, your phone buzzes with a text from Pierre.

Ignore them. Remember that I love you. I’ll call you tonight.

Once again, he somehow knew exactly what you needed to hear. It amazed you that a handful of carefully selected words could grant you so much strength. But it was proof that Pierre recognized and accepted your fears and was willing to help you work through them. 

You take a breath, letting the whispers of your classmates fade until they were nothing more than a faint hum. You turn your focus on the professor as she enters, falling into your usual cadence. Easy. You could ignore the gossip until they got tired of it and left you alone. Their fascination couldn’t last more than a few days. 

You made it through the rest of your classes and walked home without incident. No one ran up to you and demanded you explain your relationship with Pierre. Your worst fears had been abated. The stress of it rolls off your shoulders when you make it to your apartment. It was already 7 o’clock, but Pierre hadn’t called yet. Seeing as Austria was an hour ahead, you weren’t sure he would hold to his earlier promise.

Your stomach growls, and you leave your bag next to your bed before heading to the kitchen. Dinner was a box of macaroni and cheese, simple but delicious. You couldn’t stop yourself from glancing at your phone every few minutes, hoping to see Pierre’s name on the screen. 

Coming to terms with the fact that you probably wouldn't be getting a call, you settle into your favorite chair and crack open your laptop. Term papers didn't write themselves, and you still had a few thousand words to write. You lost yourself in theories and articles for a few hours before your phone breaks your concentration.

You awake?

A smile splits your face. Yeah. Working on this never ending term paper.

I'll leave you to it. Love you, sleep tight.

You laugh quietly. You agree with his 'school first' mentality most of the time, but there were exceptions to every rule. You call him, heart stuttering when he answers.

"You're supposed to be writing."

"Well, nice to hear your voice too," You say playfully. "It was boring me anyway. Who wants to read twenty pages comparing Roman and Greek columns anyway?"

"I'm pretty sure your professor does," He says with a laugh that warms your bones. If only he were standing in front of you so you could feel his chest rumble beneath your fingertips. Wanting to see his face, you switch to a video call.

"I was wondering how long that would take," He teases, smile wide and welcoming. 

"I miss you," You say softly, padding to your bed. You'd accomplished enough that you could push off writing more until tomorrow. "I wish I could come to Japan this weekend."

"Me too, my love," He responds, voice tinged with longing. "It's one of the more challenging circuits on the calendar. And you've always wanted to visit Tokyo."

You weren't surprised that he remembered that silly dream of yours. "Send me something that reminds me of you." You flick off the lights before climbing under the covers, pulling them up to your chin. "Something cute and sweet."

"I fly out tomorrow night to meet Charles. I should have some extra time to do some window shopping."

"You and Charles going on a date?" You tease, propping your head on a hand. Now that you were cozy, it was hard to keep your eyes open.

He shakes his head. "He's been… helping me with the press. Tackling it all."

"Oh." The mood sours. You decide not to dwell on it, turning to humor instead. "Give him a kiss for me as a thank you."

"He would love that," Pierre laughs. Comfortable silence blankets you, broken only by Pierre humming softly. It was a song you recognize as one of his favorites; it must have been stuck in his head.

"What time do I have to wake up on Sunday?" You mumble, struggling to stay awake while he was unknowingly serenading you.

"Do you want to watch the prerace stuff?" Papers shuffle softly on the other end as he figures it out for you. "If you do, probably like 3:30. If not, the race would be at five your time, so maybe 4:30."

"That's early. You're lucky I love you enough to sacrifice my beauty sleep."

He didn't hesitate before responding. "Luckily you don't need sleep to be beautiful."

Your mouth curls in a sleepy smile. "When you say things like that, I hate the distance between us even more."

Pierre scrubs a hand over his face. "I don't have a break for another month or so."

"I know."

Silence falls again, both of you lost in your own heads.

"You should sleep," He says finally, and you nod. Your first class was only 6 hours from now. "I'll sing to you if you promise to close your eyes and try to sleep."

Despite your best efforts, you yawn. You often called him for a song when you couldn't sleep and the time difference permitted it. Just hearing his voice was soothing enough, but a song? It was heaven. "Shouldn't be hard to do." Sleep came within minutes, Pierre's soft song your lullaby.

Tagging: @flashcal @sunshinesewis

[threecrowsinatrenchcoat]

Paint My Spirit Gold

Dukeceit Week Day 2: Green/Yellow

Fans of the YouTubers "Deceit" and Remus "The Duke" Sanders start to suspect that maybe, just maybe, the two of them are more than simple internet pals.

AO3 Link: [here]

Word Count: 2187

Warnings: n/a

@dukeceitweek <3

-

[ID: A screenshot of a Twitter post by user @CallMeDukie. It features a watercolor-style painting of a snake. The snake appears to be made of melting chocolate, and there is a large bite taken out of its tail. Cherries and jam are leaking out of the snake at the bite wound. The snake's expression of horror is overly-exaggerated to the point of comedy. The caption reads: "liked your snake boi, @SerpenThyme. thanks for the inspo." /end ID]

- 

A notification ding cut Janus off mid-sentence. 

“Wow, someone left their cell phone on, so professional,” he said, giving the camera a dramatic eye roll. That someone was him, of course, because he was the only one in the apartment- just him and the running livestream- but that was no excuse not to be a drama queen about it. He finished wiping flour off his hands and grabbed his phone to silence it; but the notification made him pause. He flicked his eyes up toward the camera and gave a slight smirk.

“My goodness, I’m famous,” he drawled. “The Duke himself has graced little old me with some fan art.”

Most of the comments in the chat wanted him to show it, so Janus opened up Twitter to see the full post he’d been tagged in. It was a watercolor painting of the coiled-snake chocolate sculpture- lovingly named Jake by his viewers- he’d made for his YouTube video last week; it was wearing an expression of such comedic horror that Janus had to stifle a laugh. He flicked his phone screen toward the close-up camera on his counter so his viewers could see.

“How kind of you, Remus,” he said. “All of you should go scold him for what he’s done to poor Jake here.”

Most of his viewers would know he was joking- after all, they were the ones to nickname him Deceit when he provided neither a real or fake name for his online persona. They knew full well what he was like by now.

The oven timer dinged. Janus silenced his phone and set it aside.

“And our first batch of cookies is done. You know, why don’t we show the Duke some appreciation?”

-

[ID: An Instagram post by user @SerpenThyme. The photo is an artistically-framed shot of a stack of sugar cookies with green, yellow, and pink icing. Propped up against the stack is another cookie, with an intricate icing-drawing of an octopus. The photo appears to have been color corrected to have high contrast, low saturation, and a dark vignette at the edges. The Instagram user @OctoDukie is tagged. No caption. /end ID]

- 

“You know, I have often been accused of actually being a little old lady, what with my fondness for knitted jumpers, rocking chairs, and incredibly fucked up murder mystery books. Today I am doing nothing to dispel this accusation, by making soup.”

The studio was dark and empty aside from Remus' workspace. Everyone else had left long ago, even his own brother, which meant that it was officially ass-o'clock in the morning (or, as most people called it, somewhere between 1 and 2 a.m.) But Remus was stuck in hyperfocus, honed in on putting the last touches on a commission that he'd been putting off for weeks. It's not that it was a tough painting- once he'd gotten started, it was actually a very creatively satisfying piece- but man, executive dysfunction could go suck a dick

“French onion soup, specifically. Because while I do like to pretend I am a classy bitch, I am also, regrettably, a lazy bitch with a distaste for anything that takes longer than one bottle of wine to make.”

Remus hated working in silence. It was stifling, almost suffocating. His brain needed noise like his lungs needed air. So when the studio had grown still and silent, Remus had flipped open his laptop and queued up some YouTube videos. 

“So we have here three pounds of onions that we need to slice up, pole to pole. You’re going to cry no matter what, so if you have any memories you’ve been repressing since middle school, now is an excellent time to dredge those up.” 

And if it happened to be 90% SerpenThyme videos, well. Sue him. 

“Now the first rule of caramelizing onions: fast and sloppy is always better than slow and thorough… at least, that’s what every man I’ve ever slept with tells me.”

Remus choked and glanced over to his laptop screen just in time to catch Deceit's trademark smirk directed at the audience just for a moment. It was the deadpan delivery that always got him. Remus could barely hold onto a joke long enough to get through it without cackling mid-punchline, but this fucker could say the funniest shit like an off-hand comment. 

He wiped his hands off on his jeans (what use were clothes if you couldn't use them as paint rags?) and pulled his laptop across the table.  He typed out a quick comment, citing the timestamp of the joke, and after it was posted, he shut his laptop. 

'Cause ass-o'clock was short for "get-your-ass-home-or-I’ll-kick-it" o'clock. 

-

[ID: A screenshot of a YouTube comments section. The first comment is by user TheDuke, and reads: "10:42 wow, rude." The second comment is a reply by user SerpenThyme, and simply reads ";)" /end ID]

-

Janus plopped down on the couch with a slight groan. He didn’t need to stream today, but he really hated missing days. Besides… he was fine. Really. 

He adjusted the camera until he was happy with the framing, and then checked the settings on his streaming software. Satisfied, he started the stream, and watched as his usual viewers rolled in. 

“What do you mean I’m not in my kitchen?” Janus drawled, addressing the chat. He glanced around with an expression of faux-shock on his face. “My goodness, when did that happen?”

He chuckled, and then gestured to his surroundings. “Yes, we are in my living room today. If you must know, my closest and most trusted friend tried to murder me today- yes, Virgil, it was attempted murder and nothing less- and I survived with nary a scratch… and a broken foot, but that is beside the point. Anyway, I’m not allowed to stand for long periods of time, and I may or may not be somewhat inebriated by pain pills and couldn’t stand even if I wanted to. So we are cooking from my couch today.”

Janus paused for a few moments to read the chat messages as they popped up. A few get well soon’s, a few theories about the “attempted murder,” Virgil- who moderated his chat for him- vehemently denying the “attempted murder” but otherwise refusing to clarify the event, and a large volume of wtf why are you streaming today, take care of yourself comments, which made him smile. But one particular comment caught his eye, almost lost amid the torrent of an active chat: wait this kinda looks like the Duke’s living room?

“Oh, VampSuga,” he said, addressing that commenter in particular with a slight smirk. “I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about. Anyway, since I can’t reach my oven from here, I thought some no-bake cookies were in order. For these you will need-”

-

[ID: A screenshot of a Discord conversation. The text reads:

“VampSuga: Ok ok hear me out. Dukeceit. 

Starstruck96: who?

IneffableSnek: lmao

FeralBeauYasha: lol

VampSuga: Deceit and Remus Sanders! They’re totally dating. I will die on this hill. 

FeralBeauYasha: Isn’t the duke w/ PatPat?

IneffableSnek: no thats his brothers bf

FeralBeauYasha: ohh

VampSuga: Did anyone see Deceit’s stream today? I swear that’s the Duke’s livingroom. 

StarStruck96: idk that seems like a stretch

IneffableSnek: no wait i kno what u mean

IneffableSnek: im watching the duke’s old videos and that one where he shows off all his old weapons he’s in a living room kinda like deceit’s 

FeralBeauYasha: They were acting all cute on twitter too

VampSuga: DUKECEIT”  /end ID]

-

"Hey guys, been a while since you've seen my face and not just whatever my hands are busy with, when it's within YouTube's terms and conditions I mean. They used to be way more lenient…" Remus trailed off for a moment, then shook his head sharply and plastered on a grin. 

"Anyway! In June me and a few other creators did a fundraiser for the Trevor Project, and y'all smashed the goal, so I let you decide what video I'd make this month." He paused, and gestured to the mountain of clothes piled behind him on the bed. "And you had so many juicy ideas to choose from, but you decided to dress me up like a Barbie instead."

Remus paused to scroll through his phone for a few moments. "Ah, ok, here we go. Twitter user YoonIsMyCat- oh, BTS, nice- sent in this first outfit. Uh… future Remus, put up the post here somewhere." He gestured vaguely to his right. "Y'all went with either a fuckton more clothes or a fuckton less clothes, which I respect. Apparently this outfit is called…” He squinted at his phone. “Amish chic? I take it back, no respect at all.”

Remus cycled through the outfits his viewers sent in, which ranged from the aforementioned “Amish chic” to “2008 rave attire” to “ok now you guys are just fucking with me” (which consisted of one of those big puffy snow coats, lime green in color; booty shorts with the shrug text emoji across the ass; fuzzy pink boots; and a yellow cowboy hat to top off the whole thing. It was awful. Remus loved it.) The mountain of clothes on the bed gradually became a mess of clothes spread across the floor instead, until there was just one outfit left. 

“Ok so Twitter user VampSuga sent me this outfit that I’m gonna call ‘sexy librarian.’ I couldn’t find this exact sweater online, but-” he paused for dramatic effect, before brandishing a sweater toward the camera like a bullfighter. “My boyfriend had something that was close enough.”

Remus hopped up from the bed and switched off the camera so he could change.

“They’re going to lose their minds,” a voice drawled from the doorway. Remus threw his shirt at him.

“Shoo, I’m getting naked.”

-

[ID: A Twitter post by user @CallMeDukie. It features a selfie of YouTuber Remus “The Duke” Sanders, a Hispanic man with his hair dyed green and styled into a spiked mohawk. He is wearing a yellow knitted cardigan over a black button-up shirt. He is grinning widely at the camera. The caption reads: “my viewers pick my outfits! now live on youtube. go see what i look like as a sexy librarian!” /end ID]

-

DukeceitStan

first and only dukeceit shipper ig

DukeceitStan

wow there’s so many of you now! Hi!!

DukeceitStan

i want this to be canon so bad omg

DukeceitStan

i mean just look

[image]

how 

[image]

cute

[image]

[ID: A series of three gifs featuring Youtubers SerpenThyme, aka Deceit, and TheDuke, aka Remus Sanders. Deceit is a black man with long, dreadlocked hair, and vitiligo patches along the left side of his face. Remus is a Hispanic man with green-dyed hair styled into a mohawk, many ear and facial piercings, and tattoos covering both arms. Each gif is edited so that the highlights are tinged yellow when Deceit is seen, and tinged green when Remus is seen.

The first gif depicts a close-up shot of Deceit’s hands as he carefully decorates a cookie with green and yellow icing. The cookie art he is working on appears to be a half-finished octopus. The gif then fades into a mid-shot of Remus, with his back to the camera, facing a canvas. The canvas is blank, and Remus appears to be laying out paints on a table to his left. 

The second gif depicts Deceit seated at his couch, facing the camera. He has many ingredients spread across his coffee table (including oats, cocoa powder, and butter) and appears to be in the process of laying out several more. The gif fades to show Remus seated at a similar couch with a similar coffee table in front of him. The camera is angled slightly downward to better show the myriad of knives spread out across the table. Remus is gesturing wildly with a morning star held in his hand. 

The third gif depicts Deceit in his kitchen. He is pulling on a bright, yellow knitted cardigan, and smirking toward the camera. The gif fades to show Remus in his bedroom, seated on his bed. He is holding up a similar-looking cardigan toward the camera and grinning. /end ID]

- 

“Remus, it’s almost two in the morning. Come to bed.”

“I’m coming, sorry. Twitter distracted me.”

“Mm. I can’t believe the bird app is more distracting than I am.”

“You should try harder.”

“Come to bed and maybe I will.”

“Ok, ok, I’m coming. Hang on though, is it cool if I post this?”

“Sure. They figured it out anyway.”

“Sweet. Ok, Jannie, I’m coming.”

-

[ID: A screenshot of a Twitter post by user @CallMeDukie. It reads: “Dukeceit is canon.” /end ID] 

[sychik]

insert halloween themed name here

hello hello! luckily I'm here this Halloween :D no porchlights or treats or whatever because I still don’t get Simblreen and don’t think my cc is something people would specifically ask for but I brought something for you.

A LOT of talking, more screenshots and everything else under the cut

my first choice was Volta because she's baby she fits the spooky theme and her hair reminds me of pumpkins. the proportions were challenging to say the least so the clothes are not as loose as they should've been, but they look better in game. well, to some extent. yes, this set is big, and this has something to do both with Volta being my favorite courtier and preparing something significant for Halloween.

here you can have a closer look at the details:

what you get:

- lazy eye preset (left and right)

- white eye (left and right) - found somewhere in makeup

- coronet or whatever it’s called - 3.5k polys, found in hats

- gloves

- hair (ea colors / pooklet overhaul colors + character swatch) - 13.5k polys

- dress (with and without lace shawl) - 9.3k/8k polys respectively, in short dresses

- shawl - 4.5k polys, found in bracelets

 issues/warnings:

- the hat doesn't pick up hair textures, I couldn't think of a way to do this, but you're free to do this yourselves

- the eye preset slightly messes up 3d lashes, I don't think I can fix it but it doesn't really stick out if you don't look too close

- there's a version of the dress without the lace shawl for those who play with laptop mode. in this case I don't recommend downloading gloves either as they're also transparent :(

- the shawl (the one with the beetle brooch) has CLIPPING ISSUES :’D they’re mostly around the back and the arms area and the shawl looks mostly alright with basic animations but download at your own risk. I don’t know what’s with me constantly producing dysfunctional shawls, cloaks and capes

- the preset on its own can look horrifying, I don’t know what’s wrong with it exactly, but you just have to play around it sometimes. it’s customizable, of course, and using overlays/any other makeup is not obligatory, but advised

everything is clearly labeled and available for download from MEDIAFIRE FOLDER because SFS's speed doesn't please me at all

it was challenging and fun, as always, but now I'll return to my eternal sleep. happy Halloween everyone!

and please inform me if you experience any issues because it's a huge amount of files to keep track of and I'm merely a human with a short attention span

[idanwyn-et-al]

*absolutely spams tumblr with decorating posts*

Sorry, y’all. I’ve been working on these as a way to destress for a few months, with the goal being to have a bunch of settled locations for my alts that can be used in RP by anyone who wants to use ‘em. I did all of these on the PS5, though, so didn’t really take the time to get screenshots on my PC to upload until now.

Also...I didn’t realize until I started Oakmoss’s screenshots that I still had my computer’s graphical settings on Laptop (Maximum) instead of just Maximum. Too bad I’m too lazy to go back and redo everything right now! 

As it stands now, I have one apartment to give a little facelift (River’s Shirogane Inn), one to create entirely (a temple of some sort on Sayuri), and possibly another here or there to create. I realize everyone here has a whole bunch of places to RP and that I am by no means a super awesome decorator, but I like to think that I make places conducive to RP and, crucially, taller characters. 

[indigoelfinspirit]

All the odd numbers, please :D

All the odd numbers hmm? You would do that to me 🤣 1. how big is your mods folder? I think it's almost 3gb? Which is huge for me. I had to be super careful about package sizes with my old laptop, so I have lots of little things. 3. what is your favorite challenge? I love BPRs (which might be why I have multiple 😅). I will read any and every BPR I can get my hands on. I just don't follow the rules. There are a few cute new challenges I want to try, but I always come back to the BPR format. 5. what type of cc do you hoard?   All of it? 🤣 Um... the largest offenders that are my must downloads are skin details and tattoos. I also have a fondness for houseplants, kitchen clutter (I love the Snowy Escape cabinets because I can clutter the shelves), and rugs. 7. how many urls have you had, and what are the meanings behind them? Oof. Coming after all the secrets. So My main has a double meaning. Indigo Elfinspirit has been my online moniker for a while. Indigo for actual decades, and Elfinspirit for about 8-9 years. Elfinspirit is a combination of the fan club names for my two favorite Kpop groups Super Junior (E.L.F.) and Infinite  (Inspirit), but it also means elf in spirit because I absolutely love Elves and Fairies and Shee (if you couldn't tell from my berry elves running around everywhere). My other urls are not so special. @Elvinarchive is just a place to keep things for simblreen or other treats that I don't want on the main page. Though I have thought about actually using it to archive things someday. @Elveinposelibrary is me keeping to a theme. It is literally just the place where I reblog poses I think I might need someday and for some reason people follow it... 9. who is your favorite storytelling blog?   Dangerous Question. I have a lot. @simmancy's Pastel Pastilles was my first BPR and I will always love it. @simblrinterests Light Family Legacy is probably one of the best written one's I've ever read. It is beautiful, and painful, and magic. Jex and Kit's stories are my inspiration. Jex's made me want to write my own BPR, and Kit's mix of fantasy and personal experiences inspired me to write Starfall with all the personal messy experience mixed in. So blame them the next time things take a turn 😉 Everything @samssims does is just pure joy in a post, and makes me happy. @tainoodles is posting again and I am loving every second of it. Then there's the little story called Mimic that is everything my sci fi loving heart could hope or dream of. The days it posts are magical. It also has this really bad habit of making me want to do a Sci Fi story, but I don't have the time to make it look right. Literally I think I've start a sci fi save every other time you've posted a Mimic update in the last 3 months. 11. how do you edit your photos? I don't.  I am notoriously lazy. I don't use reshade. I only crop or occasionally turn a photo black and white when I absolutely have too. I did edit one photo properly in photoshop for Sam's love photo challenge. I have learned how to use tab mode and my new laptop is capable of running poses in game (and a real graphics mode) so the photo quality is at least going to get better. 13. what do you do when you are unmotivated? I start a new save 🤣🤣🤣. Or I pick up an old one. Usually either option involves taking tons of screenshots and posting them on discord and talking about posting them on tumblr, but never actually doing it because I always end up missing Starfall and Rusty and go back to working on Starfall and Halcyon Days (I literally have two AU saves where Rusty gets a long and happy life, because he is my favorite... don't tell the others).  15. who is your current favorite sim that is not by you?  Questions that are impossible to answer hmm? I will take Atlas from @lazarish‘s story almost anyway I can get him. I love Jack from Jex's legacy. Rae in @ancenth's NSB is adorable. Oh, and Tharen, Hal, and Freddy, of course. I have a real weak spot for Tharen, and I ship Hal and Freddy something fierce.    17. do you talk about sims with people in real life?  Never actually. I have practically no life outside work, tumblr, and discord. Simblr is how I socialize and I have met some amazing people on here. (Lest ya'll worry too much I do have irl friends but with the pandemic and my crazy job and the fact that we're now spread across the country we don't physically see each other too often. I'm not like a weird hermit or anything).    19. how many posts do you have on your blog currently?    934 👀👀👀   21. how many posts are in your queue currently?   7, I rarely queue more than 3-5 days in advance because tumblr screws something up if I do. In this case I just haven’t queued next weeks posts yet.     23. are you in any sims related discord servers?     Just one really awesome one.    25. how many hours have you played sims?      Nobody knows... I have played on 3 different laptops in the last couple years, and the tally doesn't transfer. I think I was at 500+ hours on the one I used during the pandemic.     27. what’s the farthest you’ve gotten in a challenge?     LMAO challenge? Me? I don't actually follow the rules or play challenges as challenges, so it doesn't actually count. I technically haven't gotten past Gen 1 yet in any of them. Though I am so close to Gen 2 in my Starfall save like I can see the finish line

[ravipanikkar]

blog tag

thanks @eddie-diass for the tag (i was waiting to be tagged in this one!!)

1. Why did you choose your url? I just came back from imagine dragons' concert and, at the time, i had a huge crush on Mon-el, so i was imaginemonel for a while. As soon as i started 911 the change to imaginebuck was immediate

2. Any side blogs? Yep, @dailytaylorkelly , one for buck's gif (for reference), and one where i post stuff i want to see later

3. How long have you been on Tumblr? Oh my, at least 10 years, inconstantly... And always with this blog, so..... Don't go back too much or you'll see some weird stuff

4. Do you have a queue tag? If i queue from my laptop yes, it's coda, but lately I'm mostly on my phone and I'm too lazy to tag stuff

5. Why did you start your blog in the first place? A friend suggested and me being the most technological friend i had to learn to teach her. I'm still here she's not 😂

6. Why did you choose your icon/pfp? Cause @shannon-diaz and I are rewatching and I'm falling in love with Eddie all over again. I'll be back with Buck soon

7. Why did you choose your header? Cause buck is bi, and it's pride month!!!

8. What’s your post with the most notes? A screenshot of Oliver's tweet 😂

9. How many mutuals do you have? More than i thought, but i can't check from my phone

10. How many followers do you have? 800+

11. How many people do you follow? 130, too many

12. Have you ever made a shitpost? Oh yeah, i used to do it pretty often

13. How often do you use Tumblr each day? I avail myself of the right not to answer

14. Did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? Kinda, i don't like people talking bad about others so i had to respond

15. How do you feel about “you need to reblog this” posts? You won't see me rb it ever

16. Do you like tag games? A lot!!!!

17. Do you like ask games? Even more!! But i always think no one will send any

18. Which of your mutuals do you think is Tumblr famous? All of them!!! I know them so they're famous, duh

19. Do you have a crush on a mutual? Oh yeah, a big fat crush on a couple of them, it's embarrassing at this point

Tagging @shannon-diaz @tulipintulle @idontgiveabuck @diazactually @skylessnights @eddiediazbeloved @christopherismybuddie @princessfbi (no pressure)

[elisela]

you’ve got my love to keep you warm buck x eddie, 1.8k, nsfw, vermont verse for @extasiswings who asked for: I want CUDDLES. Lazy winter mornings snuggling up in bed because it's too cold, there's too much snow, and no, the hot water bottle does not count to rectify these things, that's what husbands are for.

He wakes up to an empty bed, pushes himself up and immediately drops back down, burrowing deeper into the covers and pulls the thick duvet over his head. Fuck, the house is freezing, worse than normal. He doesn’t know where Buck has gone, mourns the loss of his body heat and sticks a hand out, groping around the nightstand for his phone.

Eddie: Cold hunky husband: Don’t look at your weather app Eddie: Stop changing your name in my phone and get up here hunky husband: u don’t think i’m hunky??? :(

He rolls his eyes, thumbs over to the weather app and curses.

Eddie: I’m moving to a beach in Mexico hunky husband: I told you not to look at the weather app, you big baby. hunky husband: Come downstairs Eddie: I’m not leaving this bed. Eddie: I’ll freeze to death.

He tosses the phone down at his side and tries to tuck the duvet around him more tightly, which works for all of a minute before it’s being yanked off him and he yelps, grabbing for it.

“Rise and shine, baby,” Buck says brightly.

He reaches out and grabs, hooking his fingers into the waistband of Buck’s—shorts? What the fuck?—and pulling him down. “Fuck off and warm me up,” he says. “It’s five degrees outside, what the hell are you wearing?”

“If you’d ever exercise—” Buck twists away when Eddie pinches him. “Oh, just for that you’re not joining me in the shower,” he says, and laughs when Eddie scrambles off the bed after him.

He catches Buck around the waist and presses into him, resting his head against his shoulder blade and nuzzling in despite his damp, sweaty skin. Buck’s hands come up and rest on top of his; Eddie feels their wedding bands click together as Buck squeezes his hands. There are goosebumps on his skin, and his knees knock into the back of Buck’s legs as they shuffle towards the bathroom but he keeps holding on, not wanting to let him go. He hears the water running already, and when Buck gets the door open, they’re met with a wall of steam and Eddie sinks into the warmth.

“Genius,” he mutters, pressing a kiss to Buck’s bare skin. “This is why you’re the one with the degree.”

Buck’s chest rumbles as he laughs. “Yeah, that B.A. in Husband Pampering is really paying off.”

“Sure is,” Eddie says, stepping back to pull his clothes off. He rolls his eyes and gathers up the shorts and boxer briefs that Buck leaves in a pile on the floor, and tosses them into the laundry hamper before stepping into the shower and immediately wrapping his arms around Buck again. He hums and melts against him, twisting easily when Buck pivots so he’s under the spray. “Why’s it so fucking cold in this house?”

“Because when you got the heating bill last month you said you weren’t made of money and the co-op was bleeding you dry,” Buck says, and Eddie doesn’t have to look to see the smile on his face. “So I turned down the thermostat a few degrees.”

He pulls back at that, pushing Buck’s shoulder until he can look him in the eye. “You did what?”

“The co-op says that keeping that house at fifty-five degrees—“

“Fifty-five?” His mouth drops open—Buck’s heard him complain about the cold for seven years now, and he turns the temperature down to fucking fifty-five? “That’s hardly above freezing,” he says—says, not whines, because Eddie is thirty-five years old and he does not whine. “Get out and turn it up.”

Buck laughs and pulls him forward, and Eddie allows him because there’s not a chance in hell that he’ll ever willingly refuse being pressed against his husband, especially when Buck’s strong, extremely capable hands are wandering down his back, sending a different type of shiver down his spine as his fingers stroke gently against Eddie’s skin. “You can handle a little cold,” he says, “you’ve got my love to keep you warm,” and then he slaps Eddie’s ass and snorts.

“To think I was going to let you fuck me,” Eddie says, and Buck laughs helplessly against his shoulder. “You don’t get to now.”

“You’ll change your mind,” Buck says. “I have plans for you, me, and that rug in front of the fireplace tonight.”

“At least I won’t freeze to death,” he says, pressing forward and turning Buck into the wall—if he gets a certain pleasure at the hiss Buck lets out from being pressed against the cold tile, it’s only because he deserves the revenge. Buck’s fingers trail across the base of his spine, and Eddie pulls him closer, bites just below his ear before he whispers “if you keep me warm, maybe I won’t make you wait until tonight.”

He pulls back enough to see the way Buck’s eyes light up at the challenge and is not at all surprised when Buck pulls him in for a kiss, holding onto his hip with one hand and wrapping his other arm around Eddie’s waist to keep them close as he slides his leg in between Eddie’s. Eddie catches his bottom lip and bites down, rocking himself against Buck’s thigh and groaning, hands groping at his husband’s arms. Sometimes he’s still stunned at how badly he wants Buck, how quickly he can get to the edge with him, like the past several years of domesticity has disappeared and he’s back to seeing Evan Buckley standing shirtless in his backyard, watching the way sweat rolled down his chest and feeling the desperate need for relief.

And now that he’s thinking about that—

Buck’s short gasps are quiet against his mouth as Eddie reaches between them and strokes them together, breath coming faster as he rocks up into Eddie’s fist, his tongue sweeping across Eddie’s lips. Buck rests his forehead against Eddie’s, eyes dropped down, and Eddie knows he’s watching how they look together, gets a thrill from the way Buck pulls back and looks at him before he groans. “Baby,” Buck says, his breath hitching, “you’re so fucking hot.”

He shudders when Buck moves and presses his hands against the cold skin on his back where the water isn’t falling, and maybe it’s difference in temperature that throws his body into overdrive or maybe it’s the way Buck bites his neck before throwing his head back and closing his eyes as he comes with a gasp; either way, Eddie loses his balance a little and stumbles forward, groans when the head of his cock drags against Buck’s stomach, and follows him over.

He leans on Buck for a moment, tries to get his breathing under control before sliding a hand around his neck and pulling him down, and lets Buck kiss his shoulder before Eddie whispers into his ear, “baby, I’m so fucking cold.”

“You’re treating me like a child,” Eddie says—says, not pouts, because he is thirty-five years old and needs to save the pouting for when he really wants to get his way, say, when his husband and son are ganging up on him.

But this is not one of those times, so he just says it in a completely normal tone of voice.

“Maybe that’s because I can’t tell if it’s Eddie or Christopher begging me for something right now,” Buck says. “Eds, I swear, I just need to finish submitting these forms and I’ll go get your book. Or, you know, you could go get it.”

And leave his nest of blankets, curled up on the couch with his feet in his husband’s lap? “Or could you keep me warm like you promised.”

He knows Buck’s trying to keep his face neutral, but the corner of his mouth curves up for just a moment before he fights it back down. “I think you could make it up to the office and back,” Buck says. “Pretty sure your body heat will hold for that long.”

“Can’t risk it,” Eddie says, letting his body fall back onto the couch and picking his phone back up. “What do you want for lunch? Hen just dropped the boys off and says she’s stopping at Bobby’s on the way back and she can pick us up something if we want.”

“Just get two of whatever you want,” Buck says, and shakes his head when Eddie mutters about liver and onions. “Real nice,” he says. “Just for that, I’m not building the garage you want.”

“I’ve wanted a garage for seven years,” Eddie says, finishing the text to Hen and setting his phone on his stomach, “and every year you say okay, now you’ll build it. It’s not exactly a threat anymore.”

Buck pushes Eddie’s feet off his lap and stands up, laptop dangling from one hand. “Yes, but now I submitted the permits, so you’ll actually get it. Or you will if Hen doesn’t show up with liver and onions.” He leans down and kisses Eddie’s forehead before bounding up the stairs, and Eddie grabs his phone and unlocks it.

Eddie: Can you pick up chocolate cake from the bakery? Hen: Can you watch Denny on Friday night? Eddie: Definitely. Two slices? And that dark hot chocolate.

He takes a screenshot and sends it to Buck, hears the chime on his phone at the same time Buck comes clattering down the stairs, and despite Buck dropping onto the other end of the couch, his phone buzzes a moment later.

hunky husband: aww u do love me!

He waits for Buck to toss the book to him, but Buck just pats his lap and says, “c’mere, Eds,” and helps rearrange the blankets around him after he settles his head on Buck’s lap and turns his face in, almost pressing his nose against Buck’s stomach.

Buck reads to him, holding the book in one hand and rubbing the back of Eddie’s neck with the other, until Hen drops by with their food and stays long enough to tease Eddie about his aversion to the cold, and Buck turns on Say Yes to the Dress while they eat and indulge in Eddie’s favorite trashy television past time—making fun of people for choosing ugly wedding dresses.

He’s not sure how they end up on the “Hallmark Christmas Movies” category, but by the time the room is getting dark, Buck is sprawled out against him, sniffling suspiciously when a man wearing fatigues shows up to a school concert last minute, and Eddie doesn’t have the heart to tease him about it, just kisses his forehead and rubs his back slowly.

But as much as he loves his husband, he does not love overly sappy, poorly written Chrismas movies, so he reaches for the remote when the credit rolls and turns it off. The only light comes from the fireplace, which reminds him—

“Didn’t you have plans for you and me and that rug over there?” he asks, letting his fingers wander underneath Buck’s hoodie.

“Can wait,” Buck says, snuggling closer to him and tilting his head up; Eddie feels his lips against his neck, a soft kiss pressed into his skin. “I’m nice and warm right here.”

And surprisingly, despite the bitter cold outside, Eddie is too.

[parisakamali]

heyy bie!! if it's not too much trouble do you think you can make an icon tutorial for the ones with the shadow? if u can't thats fine ofc i hope your having a nice day <3

hello!! sorry for answering so late, i wanted to do it yday but i only remembered after i turned off my laptop. anyway!! it’s actually super simple, so of course 😌

1. find your picture. i usually get pictures with solid background cause it’s easier to remove the background that way. i have a board on pinterest full of pictures i’m planning on using at some point, but feel free to use any of them if you want.

2. remove background. this is the lazy way, to be honest, but i use this website to turn them into pngs. for this particular tutorial i’m gonna use a screenshot from the druck video cause i wanna change my icon so two birds with one stone. 

all you have to do is upload your picture, let the website do its magic and then download it. the resolution will usually be smaller than your original picture, but it’s not that important since icons are small anyway.

you can click on edit and refine the edges or whatever if you don’t like the result. i like to go on photoshop and use the eraser (with a soft brush) if i’m not content with what i have. keep in mind that the website might not always work, depending on how detailed your background is; that’s why i like simpler pictures.

3. size and background colour. 

in photoshop, make a new document. (i’m pretty sure you can use pretty much any other editing tool once you have your png!!) when i start with the icons i like to make the canvas 400x400 so it’s not super big but i can still see what i’m doing. 

click on the solid colour option at the bottom left and choose your colour.

you can select gradient or pattern too if you like. i usually like to go with a colour similar to the original bg cause it’s easier to blend, but that’s up to you. 

if you want only half of the background to have colour on it, just draw a rectangle, colour it, and place it on as much of the picture as you please. (i like it when it’s half/half but that’s a preference thing.)

4. place image + coloring. this is 100% up to you, really. place it whenever and play around as much as you like.

this is what i currently have, after messing around with curves, selective color, and color balance:

5. shadows! the part you’ve been waiting for woo. all you have to do is select your png and go to drop shadow. (or double click on the layer preview)

i either use a shade that’s lighter/brighter than the background or a complementary colour. (or whatever colour i feel at the moment, to be honest lmao)

these are the settings i have, but again you can play as much as you like. for this exact effect, everything except for your distance has to be 0 so it looks... crispy i guess. 

6. resize and sharpen. when i’m done with everything i merge all the layers and resize the icon, making it 250x250 (sometimes 300x300 or 200x200 depending on how the planets are aligned since i have no idea what’s the best icon size).

then, i go to smart sharpen. these are my usual settings, but see what works for you. (again, no idea what the best settings are, these are the ones i use and they look ok)

7. this is the final result! i made one with almost half/half bg too since that’s the “style” i like more.

hope this was made sense and it’s useful!! thank you for asking and i hope you’re having a lovely day!! 💛

[sonnefuchs]

I was waiting until I had my laptop! Tagged from @novastale, I feel so special <3.  Haha

1. Why did you choose your URL?

Haha...ahh.  I like foxes and I thought sun fox sounded cool.  I was like yeah! Midnight sun and foxes.

2. Any side blogs?

Not yet!  Though I think about having one just to put pictures of trees I like.

3. How long have you been on Tumblr?

Oh gosh...probably not as long as I think.  7 years?

4. Do you have a queue tag?

Never used it!  Not that together.  Bit more sporadic.

5. Why did you start your blog in the first place?

I created a tumblr so I could indulge in fanfics on my phone and read wherever whenever.  Had a tumblr for years never posted anything and then this year like...March?  Had a mental breakdown and decided I was going to try my hand at writing the fics in my head.  It was fun!

6. Why did you choose you icon/pfp? and 7. Why did you choose your header?

I scrolled through my photos I had taken and found a stuffed shark from Walmart.  Fabulous expression on its face.  Spoke to me.  And then got attached, lol.  The header is really the same.  Scrolling through my images on my phone.  I wish I knew how to take cool screenshots from games like all those groovy people on Tumblr do.  But at the same time, too lazy.

8. What's your post with the most notes?

Haha, I know this one!  It’s the one about Cheesewheels.  Characters Seeing You Steal Cheese Wheels .  It’s the first thing I ever wrote on Tumblr.

9. How many mutuals do you have?

Like...5?  All awesome people!

10. How many followers do you have?

100ish.  Though most are porn bots I have no idea how to get rid of haha.

11. How many people do you follow?

28

12. Have you ever made a shit post?

Don’t think so...

13. How often do you use tumblr?

Waaaay too often.  I’ll be on and off for ages some days and then others I’ll not think about it until night.

14. Did you ever have a fight/argument with another blog?

No, and I don’t think I would ever.  I absolutely run away from that kind of conflict.

15. How do you feel about "you need to reblog" posts?

Generally scroll past them without reading.

16. Do you like tag game?

Never had them before now!  New to them.

17. Do you like ask games?

Probably!

18. Which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous?

I don’t know...they’re some pretty cool blogs!

I don’t know who’s been tagged before so don’t mind me if you’ve already had this ^^. @alexisp787 @anxietyviking @eivxr