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doyouever-daydream · 5 years

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I’m every woman.

A/N So today is the International Women’s Day and I felt inspired to write something, I tried to incorporate as many women that appeared on Criminal Minds but failed to include them all. I’m going to start writing reader insert imagines for my CM Bingo prompts so SSA y/n y/l makes her first appearance here.

Today I’ll be attending my first Women’s March so that obvioulsy inspired this imagine, if any of you are going to the Women’s March please be safe and thank you for taking the streets and suppporting the cause (the current situation in my country is pretty fucked up so this year is even more important to me to try and do anything I can so women can have the same rights as any human being)

English is not my first language and although I love writing and spent most of my teenage years writing fanfiction, everything I wrote was in Spanish so it took me years to finally decide to post my writing in another language, I’m still super insecure but I want to share it so, apologies for any mistakes (also it is currently 3:00 AM so I am practically writing with my eyes closed), I believe it is important for women to speak up and take actions so they can be heard and there are equal rights so that’s how this imagine was inspired. Also these female characters have inspired me as a woman so I hope you can enjoy this!

Warnings: I mean I don’t think this qualifies as warning but talks of feminism

Word count: 2201

“I’m every woman, it’s all in me, anything you want done baby, I’ll do it naturally.”

It was a Saturday night and Chaka Khan’s song played in the background at Penelope’s and Luke’s apartment, it was a special girl’s night, all of them, even Kristy was there while Matt and Luke baby sat the kids.

“Wine and sign making? This is my kind of girl’s night!” Garcia was ecstatic that all of them were going to the Women’s March.

“I know! Although I’m not sure I’m creative enough to do this” JJ stared at her blank poster.

“Come on, JJ, you can do this! Put feminist AF” Emily was already a little tipsy and was clueless as to what her sign would say but she was excited.

“Actually yeah, I think something like that will be fine, what about you, Tara?” JJ looked at Tara who looked as if she was struggling to decide.

“I don’t know, there’s so much I would like to say but unfortunately I can’t write an entire sermon”

“Same, girl, I’m so torn up, not only about what to write but how to decorate, Garcia here has like a million of art supplies we could use, I’m about to turn up a 9 year old and put glitter on all of your signs.” y/n grabbed one of Garcia’s boxes an eyed the glitter selection her dear friend pulled out.

“YES! Glitter and colors and stickers and ugh, I love you y/n, let’s throw biodegradable glitter as a protest!” Penelope hugged y/n while the rest of the gang decided what to put.

“I’ll need your help with Chloe’s and Lily’s signs! So Penelope and y/n, unleash all of your creativity on her signs” y/n smirked.

“I already know what I’ll write for one of them, tell me what you think, girls just wanna have fun” She paused “…damental human rights”

“I HATE YOU, you should’ve told me to put that” JJ teased.

“I’ll be honest and say that I saw it on instagram but thought it would be cute to put it on one of the girl’s sign.” y/n confessed while she started drawing on her poster.

“She’s drawing already, man, I wish I was as artsy as you are” Tara tried to see what she was drawing but couldn’t make a figure just yet.

“Oh, oh, OH, I got it, y/n will not be the only one using music” JJ started writing on her poster “Check this out” She lifted up her poster that read ‘ok, ladies, now let’s get in formation’.

“I still think you should add my idea” Emily laid comfortably in Penelope’s couch while seeing her friends work on her signs and siping on her glass of wine. “We should’ve brought donuts”

“Oh, I can call someone to pick up some” Penelope already had her phone and was, apparently, sending a text.

“Who else is coming? I thought it was only us?” y/n asked while she kept drawing.

“I invited an old friend but she only just told me she could make it” Now everyone was eyeing Garcia while she smiled proudly.

“Who? Linda Barnes?” Emily’s sarcasm had everyone laughing.

“Nope, but it’s a surprise, let’s continue please.”

“You know what? I already know what I’m gonna put on mine, back when I worked in San Francisco, I had this really annoying co worker, whose name I can’t remember but he was a pain in the ass that constantly went around joking with everyone in the office about how I had the biggest case of resting bitch face, not only did I have to endure that but also his misogynistic jokes” When Tara finished writing on her poster she showed it to her friends.

Resisting

Bitch

Face.

“I’m gonna decorate the shit out of it now” She proceeded to grab cut outs from magazines that Garcia had.

“I love it Tara, and I love being here with you, thanks for counting me in Penelope” Kristy was happy to hang out with these women that she considered her friends.

“Nonsense, you’re part of the girl power gang, we’re family, now, what do you think about my progress?” Everyone turned to see Garcia’s sign, it read: destroy the patriarchy, not the planet.

“Penelope Grace Garcia, you are perfect” y/n stated and everyone agreed with her.

“It’s totally you.”

“Ah, see? Baby girl is a great feminist and ambientalist” Penelope smiled proudly while she painted flowers.

“You know? I’m inspired, I’m gonna start working on that sign, that is until the donuts arrive” Emily sat straight while she put the glass on Garcia’s coffee table and then went to get her poster.

“I finished mine” Kristy said proudly while she held her sign up: ‘women belong in all places where decisions are being made’

“You are a genius, woman” JJ was in awe of all her friends.

“I love it, Kristy” y/n finally speaked up after being very focused designing her sign “I know I’ve told you this many times but growing up I was a tomboy, I loved playing in the dirt, climbing trees, playing I was a spy, I had bunch of guy friends, I loved, I still love baseball with my life, and other sports, I truly believe ‘all clothes are unisex if you stop being a little bitch about it’ and because of that I’ve had to put up with a million comments about how ‘weird’ I am because despite all of that I also like wearing makeup and other ‘feminine stuff’, I grew up being an ‘enigma’ to some people because I like boy stuff and girls stuff and I always hated when they told me bullshit like that, I always refused to accept there were stuff for girls and boys, now after giving you this lecture as if I was presenting my dissertation, look at my sign”

I eat gender norms for breakfast

y/n accompanied the quote with a drawing of a cereal box adorned with blue and pink glitter.

“SLAY” Emily cheered. “I feel you, y/n, I grew up speaking my mind and sometimes that wasn’t well received because I wasn’t a man, it drove me insane, it still does, as much as the brass wants to believe they are ok with having women in charge, they’re not completely convinced, you know?”

“You are a total boss bitch, and we love you” Tara commented while she raised her glass.

“Yes, Emily Prentiss, one day you’ll be THE boss bitch of the FBI, I know it” y/n added as the doorbell rang.

“Ooh, my surprise for you is here” Penelope hurried to the door and when she opened it she shrieked in delight when she saw Alex Blake standing there.

“Hello ladies” She entered the apartment and went to say hi to everyone, introducing Kristy to their former teammate, since she was the only one that did not know her, Prentiss had met her before and y/n was also familiar with her as they’ve worked together when y/n worked for the Crisis Negotiation Unit.

“It’s so nice to see you, Alex, how you’ve been?” JJ asked while offering her a glass of wine.

“Great, I am back teaching at Georgetown, James is also teaching there and we’re very happy to be back from Massachusetts”

After catching up with Alex’s life and the rest of them trying to sum up everything the BAU had been through during her absence time flew by quickly.

“I can’t believe you didn’t joined the BAU when I was there, it would’ve been incredible to work with you Tara, you as well, y/n” She smiled fondly at the two women she had known for the longest time out of the rest.

“It’s known to everyone that has worked with me that I learned so much from the both of you, I can’t believe that now you are my friends and here we are, making signs for the Women’s March”

“Hearing you talk about working together at the BAU almost makes me want to join you, girls” Kristy joked “If only the cases you worked weren’t so dark” They all laughed.

“There have been incredible ladies in that unit” y/n admired the women that had been before.

“I remember when Elle Greenaway joined the BAU boys club and I wasn’t so lonely during our cases anymore”

“I miss Elle so much” Garcia sighed while she reminisced on her friend that grew apart from them.

“I never got to work with her during her time in the Bureau but I heard she was a badass” y/n said wondering what had happened to her.

“She was” JJ added.

“Talking about awesome BAU ladies, the other day I saw Jordan, remember her?” Emily looked at Penelope and JJ.

“No way! I haven’t seen her since she came to our rescue when I was on maternity leave”

“I’ve seen her a couple times, she’s worked her way up, I think she’s also unit chief but I can’t remember which unit, she also has an adorable son, once we bumped into each other and showed me some pictures”

“Ashley Seaver also worked briefly with the BAU, didn’t she?” y/n asked.

“Oh yeah, Seaver! She was nice” Emily said.

“Reid had a crush on her” And as soon as those words came out of Penelope’s mouth she regretted them, she didn’t want to make y/n uncomfortable, not that y/n and Reid were anything but Garcia knew they were pining for each other but were too stubborn to act on their feelings.

“I know her, we’re not friends friends but I like her very much, we have some mutual friends, she’s married now, still working for the FBI at a field office” y/n said making a mental note to call her soon.

“Isn’t it amazing knowing how many women are kicking ass in their jobs and making our country a better place?” Kristy said.

“You’re a part of that change Kristy, you should’ve worked at the FBI”

“Oh no, just one FBI agent is enough in our family but thank you for the trust, now I need ideas for the girls signs, y/n has already helped me with one but I still have one to go”

“What about fight like a girl? Matt has told me how much Lily loves Taekwondo” JJ suggested.

“Actually that’s perfect” Kristy went to write that on the poster her little girl would be holding during the march.

“You know, tomorrow Lily and Chloe will not be alone, Kate is bringing Kelly along with her and Meg.”

“I wished she was here” JJ really wanted to see Kate, it had been a while since she had seen her.

“She had to cancel last minute, poor Kelly has a stomach bug” Penelope lamented their friend couldn’t joined them.

“Alex, do you know what you’re putting on your sign?” Tara questioned.

“Actually yeah, I’ve thought about it all the way here, let me get on with it so we can help you clean and then we continue talking?”

They all agreed and went to finish their signs, after a half an hour later they were all done.

It’s time to ovary-act.

“I’m telling you I live surrounded by incredible women, ugh, I love all of you, mis mujeres” Penelope had learned a few Spanish from Luke.

“I couldn’t resist a little wordplay, after all I’m a linguist” Alex was proud of her idea as the others reassured her it was witty.

“You know what? I’m not that drunk that I actually thought deeply about mine, but I finally got it, and while I’m not that drunk I’m drunk enough to make a speech so prepare” She stood up straight while everyone turned to see her “All my life, no matter where I lived, men have tried to intimidate me just because I am a woman and I’ve always fought against those dicks that try to tell me what I can and can’t do, even when it came to my own fucking body, they felt entitled to give their opinion, it’s time we show them and our next generations that we will not accept being silenced, we have the right to speak and be heard and we’ll rule the world, mes amis.” She jokingly raised her glass while y/n grabbed Prentiss sign so she could show it to the rest of their friends.

Vulva la résistance

The rest of the girls cheered on Emily, they were now standing beside each other, with their arms resting on their friends shoulders.

JJ and Penelope went back as far as 15 years, 14 with Emily and y/n, apart from Tara and Alex, had only met these incredible women a little over a year but she was amazed by the amount of courage they had, she felt extremely lucky to be surrounded by women that did it all. Absolutely all.

Truth was being a woman in the FBI, hell, being a woman anywhere wasn’t always easy, but having a support network like the one they had created made life a little easier, knowing if anything happened all they had to do was look beside them and there would be another woman lending a helping hand.

#criminal minds #penelope garcia #jennifer jj jareau #elle greenaway #emily prentiss #alex blake #kate callahan #tara lewis #jordan todd #kristy simmons #criminal minds imagine #criminal minds fanfiction #reader insert

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fanfic-corner · 4 years

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Established Relationships

So you want fics without any of the awkwardness of a weird build up or painful pining? Then here are some established relationship fics for you.

Crazy Diamonds by pantheon_of_discord on AO3. (24,872 words).

Tags: Time Travel, Episode s04e02 Are You There God? It’s Me, Dean Winchester, Future Fic, Human Castiel, Castiel in the Bunker, Established Relationship, Impala Sex, Angel of the Lord!Cas.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: A week ago, Dean was pulled out of Hell. Now, he’s apparently woken up in 2018, and the angel that a mere twenty-four hours beforehand had threatened to chuck him back into the pit is sleepily pouring himself coffee and wearing Dean’s second-favourite Zeppelin shirt. It all seems like a perfect happy ending, but with Hell’s scars still so fresh, Dean can’t imagine how he could have possibly gotten there. At the same time, the Dean who went to sleep in the bunker, right next to Cas, wakes up on Bobby’s couch in 2008. He’s instantly bombarded with questions by a Lilith-obsessed brother and a man who’s been dead for years, and must decide between keeping his finally-perfect life intact, and the lives he could save by re-writing history. Regardless of these choices, both Deans are trapped in the wrong decade, and their only way back lies with a Castiel still very much under Heaven’s thumb – one who might find the future Dean describes difficult to believe.

Notes: I do love a good time travel fic, and frankly, Dean still being pissy about Ruby made me laugh out loud.

Just Like You by imherecauseimnotallthere98 on AO3. (35,717 words).

Tags: Homophobia, Homophobic John, Hurt Dean Winchester, Protective Dean Winchester, Established Relationship, Protective Castiel, BAMF Castiel, Protective Sam Winchester, Angry John, Angry Dean Winchester, Angry Sam Winchester, Protective Bobby Singer, Awesome Bobby, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Scared Dean, John Being an Asshole, Swearing, Bisexual Dean, Pansexual Castiel, Past Child Abuse, Accidental Outing, Death Threats, Fluff and Angst, Implied Sexual Content, Sharing a Bed.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: When John shows up at their door in the middle of the night, the Winchesters and Cas start looking into who or what could have brought him back. Meanwhile, Dean struggles to keep his relationship with Cas a secret from his father, with some help from Sam. The tension rises between the Winchesters as Dean shows John that he is no longer the obedient little soldier he once was, and tries to establish himself as an equal with his dad.

Notes: I am fully aware I recced this really recently, but I did really enjoy it and there is an established relationship! I am starting a new rule where I will only rec things more than once if I rate them either 4 or 5 stars, but if I read a fic worse than that while specifically looking at a tag, then it will be in that post. Does that make sense? I think it does.

Take You To The Country by almaasi on AO3. (18,987 words).

Tags: Historical AU, Propositions, Eloping, Newspapers, Fluff, Romance, Forbidden Love, Misunderstandings, Pining, First Kiss, Established Relationship, Running Away Together, Moving In Together, Childhood Friends, Marriage Proposal, Farmer Dean, Bisexual Dean, Domestic Dean Winchester, Clock maker Castiel, Autistic Castiel, Frustrated Sam.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: A Dean/Cas 1950s AU. Dean reads an elopement proposal in the town's local newspaper, written by some old soul in love with their best friend. He's mid-way through expressing to his brother how beautiful he finds it when Dean realises the proposal is for him.

Notes: So cute! I love the letter Sam writes to the newspaper at the end, it was just so beautifully written and he seemed simultaneously so happy for them and so done. I’m not really sure it counts as an established relationship, but it is tagged that, so I’ll include it.

Cuckoo And Nest by komodobits on AO3. (10,190 words).

Tags: Generically canonverse, Established Relationship, Miscommunication.

My Rating: 4 stars.

Description: For a long time, Castiel thought that every earthly possession other than the immediately necessary was excess to requirement. But Dean – Dean who named his car, who keeps a photograph of his mother in his wallet, some thirty-plus years after her death, who still has the crumpled ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign with a sleeping pelican emblazoned on it from the Microtel outside of Roanoke where he first kissed Castiel, clumsy and unsure, under the unsteady fluorescence of an exhausted bathroom bulb – is sentimental. It puzzles Castiel, where Dean draws the line between what is meaningful and what it is worthless.

Notes: Beautifully written, and I genuinely don’t know how they managed to make such a short fic that angsty. Maybe it’s just ‘cause Cas leaving the bunker almost made me cry. Hmm.

The Tea Is Decaf by mnwood on AO3. (3,673 words).

Tags: POV Castiel, Fluff, Sign Language, Castiel in the Bunker, Bunker Fluff, Canon Compliant, Sharing Clothes, Asexual Castiel, Gentle Dean, Non-Explicit Sex, Domestic, Established Relationship.

My Rating: 4 stars.

Description: Based on this text post from thebloggerbloggerfun: "Listen, imagine Eileen sneaking out of Sam’s room at night to go to the bathroom or something and steps out into the hallway in one of Sam’s shirts only to see Cas trying to quietly leave Dean’s room while wearing one of Dean’s shirts and they both just stare at each other awkwardly for a few seconds before trying to muffle quiet laughter and now they have a late night club where they talk about life and gossip about the Winchesters in sign language" And this anon I received: "what if Eileen and Cas discover there are some things Sam and Dean both do in bed because Dean jokingly gave Sam pointers when they were younger and Sam took the advice"

Notes: Does it matter that Eileen has only been in one episode I have seen? No. I will rec this fic until the day I die. I’m not even 100% why. I will tell you that it is pretty much the reason I screamed when I realised I finally met Eileen, though.

Say Yes by MaggieMaybe160 on AO3. (7,996 words).

Tags: Episode s05e04 The End, Established Relationship, Secret Relationship, Cheating, Drug Use, Angst, Fluff and Angst, Canon Compliant, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Nearly Human Castiel, Dreams vs Reality, POV Dean Winchester, POV Castiel, True Love, Love Triangles, Idiots in Love, Marriage Proposal, Wedding Rings, Chronic Pain.

My Rating: 4 stars.

Description: Endverse!Dean's life is going pretty well with Endverse!Cas until Dean's past self shows up. A look at the episode "The End" from Season 5 from Endverse!Dean's point of view.

Notes: Quite cute, mostly canon compliant, and the ending gives me the serious chills. To be honest, the episode did as well.

What Holds Us Up by frecklesarechocolate on AO3. (39,708 words).

Tags: Established Relationship, Kissing, Case Fic, Angst, Minor Character Death, Implied Homophobia, Post Season 9.

My Rating: 4 stars.

Description: What happens when John Winchester suddenly comes back to life, and meets the boys as they are today?

Notes: Very cute, an excellent case, and so nice to see some characters we haven’t seen in a long while! The Sam and Jody ship did freak me out a little bit though: I guess I just never even thought of them that way so I don’t exactly ship it. (Apparently it freaked me out so much I deleted it from my bookmarks?!)

What’s A Hickey? by almaasi on AO3. (1,101 words).

Tags: Hickeys, Marking, Castiel & Sam Winchester Friendship, Fluff, Ficlet, Human Castiel, Established Castiel/Dean Winchester, Relationship Reveal.

My Rating: 3 stars.

Description: Sam and Cas have a conversation about hickeys. Specifically, about the one on Castiel's neck.

Notes: Sam and Cas’s friendship has such a specific vibe that I live for but can’t put into words... luckily this talented author can, and we got this.

So there we are! I hope you enjoy them, and if you have any requests for fic lists or any fics you think I should read, please tell me! Otherwise, enjoy the last few episodes (or if you are like me, pray you avoid spoilers until you can catch up 3 seasons).

#fic recs #fanfic #destiel #supernatural #spn fic #established relationship

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ice-cream-nekogirl · 5 years

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Out of My League (Midoriya Izuku X Reader X Bakugou Katsuki) PART 4

PART 4 to PART 3: https://ice-cream-kitsunegirl.tumblr.com/post/189764193989/out-of-my-league-midoriya-izuku-x-reader-x

Taglist: @dailyojiromashirao, @asja-the-hoarder, @breezy-chan11414, @captainw0lfy, @sunflowergem, @lenkiryuu

Summary: Izuku and Bakugo attempt to make you feel better after the video of you goes viral and humiliates you.

What could a guy like me ever really offer? She's perfect as she can be Why should I even bother?

'Cause she's so high High above me She's so lovely She's so high Like Cleopatra Joan of Arc or Aphrodite... She's so high High above me...

‘She’s So High’- Tal Bachman

A COUPLE OF HOURS AGO…

You didn’t know what was going on though, you just ran to your house, threw your bags to the ground and flipped your shoes off and threw yourself into bed to sob, tears freely streaming down your hot, sweaty face as you cried so hard that no sound came out.

You weren’t going to the dance… you couldn’t…

NOW…

You were just sitting in your bed, remote in your hand alongside your favorite snacks with a dull look on your face. Somehow you mustered up the strength to get your favorite snacks like Oreos and (O/F/S) only to crawl back into bed so you could watch a marathon of Friends, Game of Thrones and even one of your favorite movies.

Of course you had the strength to get snacks, after all, now you were just the Fat Girl from that video that had just been uploaded of you a couple of hours ago and went viral. You didn’t dare look at the comments but you could practically hear the rest of the world laughing at you.

Might as well spend the rest of your life inside your house, stockpile all the junk foods and drinks you liked so you could just watch TV. That was kinda something you had planned on your list anyway should being a hero not work out.

You ignored all the calls and text messages you were getting on your phone, at least until the credits from Game of Thrones played after you saw Ned Stark get his head cut off. Picking up your phone you looked over at the messages and got like 40 different texts and your (E/C) eyes widened slightly.

That was officially the biggest number of text messages you had ever received in your life and it shocked you, and then there was like 10 missed calls.

Aww… of course they were from Izuku and Hagakure. Some from Bakugo too… and Yaoyorozu for that matter. It made sense that Izuku, Hagakure and Yaoyorozu wanted to call you, Bakugo was a surprise…

The text messages were from nearly all your classmates, but especially Izuku, Hagakure, Yaoyorozu, Uraraka, Kirishima and Iida.

‘Please don’t feel too bad (Y/N).’

‘Don’t listen to those jerks! Really! They’re just jealous!’

‘(L/N) please come back to the dorms, we all want to talk to you.’

‘It’s okay (Y/N)! It really wasn’t that bad!’

‘Those a-holes are just a-holes trying to get attention! Don’t let them bring you down (L/N), you’re awesome!’

‘(L/N) I would like it if you were to return to the dorms because frankly we need a discussion and I promise as your class rep that I will do everything I can to protect you from getting harassed.’

You heavily sighed at all of these messages, as much as it touched your heart, there was just no way you could return to see them all. You couldn’t face them after that video showed off just how much of a gross, fat, ugly pig you really were. Who were you kidding trying to feel beautiful for a change? Obviously, you weren’t, so you blamed nobody but yourself for this.

And you groaned when you got yet another call, not from Izuku, but from Bakugo. Which was shocking because he hasn’t called you in over 9 years. Come to think of it, why did you even still have his number? And why did he even still have YOUR number? Wasn’t he the one who always said how gross you were? Unless he’s so entitled that only HE can call you gross?

Typical…

You ended the call the more you thought about it. It was going to piss him off of course, but at this point you just wanted to watch the Season 1 finale of Game of Thrones and then watch (Y/F/M). And you weren’t surprised when you got yet another phone call from Bakugo, which you again, ignored.

‘DON’T FUCKING HANG UP MY CALLS SHITTY GIRL!’

Then came the text you couldn’t ignore after his calls failed to reach you, and then you sighed in annoyance. Clearly nobody was going to stop bothering you unless you answered them, so you put in a group-messaging text to everyone.

‘I’m not going back to the dorms and I’m not going back to school.’

You almost felt bad for texting them all of that but you refused to face them all after that, and you definitely weren’t going back to school. Hell, this alone was probably going to make the school look bad given that someone was bound to recognize your face from the Sports Festival since you made it somewhat high enough. Well, actually now you remembered it all. That’s where you knew Shinsou from…

You were on his team in the cavalry race with Aoyama and Ojiro, except for some reason he didn’t brainwash you like he did the other two. So that’s why you remembered him, you didn’t speak much that time, but now you knew each other a little better.

Damn… no someone was going to notice you and you were going to make the school look bad…

Sighing you lied your head back down onto the pillow as you listened to the opening theme song of Game of Thrones and hummed along with it.

Yeah, this was peaceful. This was where you belonged, not with your super cool and attractive friends. And not with Izuku, or Bakugo for that mattered. You were never really as good as they were, no matter how hard you tried you could never get on their level. Not just in terms of power but in overall demeanor, you weren’t society’s idea of beautiful, and you weren’t hero society’s idea of strong enough because you weren’t going to conform to their idea of beautiful because apparently all the heroines needed to be sexy.

That wasn’t you.

You sighed as you looked at the pictures you had taken of yourself, how ‘sexy’ you looked and ‘cool’ you thought you were being the whole time.

“That’s not me.”

Shaking your head, you put your phone down, even though at the same time you remembered what some of your friends said to you.

“I think you look very powerful (L/N).”

“YES! You ARE. You’re pretty (Y/N)! And you’re gonna show everyone!”

“That’s awesome! Now all seven of us can go to the dance feeling good!”

“If there’s… anyone who can take care of yourself… it’s you (Y/N).”

Aoyama, Hagakure, Ashido, Izuku…

Kind souls, and then the other girls, especially Yaoyorozu, were so kind to you. They weren’t like the other girls who mocked you for your shape, eating habits and taste in fashion. You felt so bad for just leaving them but… how could you return? Even though their words and encouragement made you feel good, you liked how it felt. You liked feeling powerful and pretty like Aoyama and Hagakure said you were, and how Ashido and Yaoyorozu included you with the other girls for when you attend the dance.

And Izuku, he never once patronized you, he seemed to believe that you were good enough, of course you knew deep down that you didn’t need to have him think you were good enough for him, but still… it was nice knowing that he saw something in you that you couldn’t see for yourself.

It was nice… but… right now you were still sad, and wanted to be sad for a little while longer.

But then your phone blared up again and it wasn’t Bakugo again, instead it was Izuku. God you wanted to talk to him just so you wouldn’t feel like a jerk about not answering but you couldn’t bring yourself to talk to him either. So you didn’t answer him, and instead just let your phone ring and give you everyone’s texts that you didn’t answer.

THE NEXT DAY...

Getting up to go to school was the hardest thing you’ve ever done in your life thus far, today specifically because the video was still popular and people were still laughing about it. So you left your house and walked into school with an oversized hoodie to cover yourself up, not just your face, but your body so none of the girls could make fun of you.

Somehow, entering the dorms once again was even harder than coming to school, because many of your classmates jumped to see a ‘mysterious figure’ come in.

“Hey! Who are you this isn’t your-“Kaminari at first thought you were someone else until Sero nudged him and whispered, ‘It’s (L/N)’ and he stopped with an awkward ‘oh’.

“(L/N)!”

“Are you okay?!”

“You didn’t answer any of our messages!”

Several of your classmates, particularly the girls and Bakugo’s crew kinda came over to see if you were okay but all you did was keep your hoodie around you so they didn’t have to look at you. “Classmates, please don’t crowd her, I’m certain it’s the last thing she wants.” Iida came to the rescue, but you knew he was going to remark on what you were wearing.

“Now (L/N)… I understand you must not be in the best of moods but… why are you wearing that? It’s not part of the school dress code.” He was gentler about it, but you weren’t really planning on listening to him should he tell you to take it off.

“To be candid Iida, I’m gross and fat and my body’s disgusting.” You replied to him softly, eyes downcast as he gave you a look of sympathy. He didn’t know what kind of deviant posted that video but he wished he did so he could deal with them himself for humiliating his dear classmate like that.

“(L/N)… is it because of the video? Please don’t let that kind of juvenile thing get to you.” He tried to remain gentle, because he didn’t like seeing you like this, but underestimated how crappy that video made you feel.

“No… it’s not just the video… it just… finally let me give myself a hard look in the mirror.” You shrugged your shoulders and admitted, and before Iida, Yaoyorozu or any of the others could reassure that’s when Izuku rushed into the common room.

“(Y/N)?! (Y/N) are you in here?!” He almost didn’t notice you because of the hoodie you wore to hide yourself as your eyes went wide and you kept your visage away from your friend. Oblivious to a nervous Kaminari pointing at you to let Izuku know that you were right there.

“(Y/N)… h-hey are you okay…?” He normally wasn’t the one who got so close, but he wanted to see you. Izuku’s been so worried since the video made you run out of the mall like that, and then you didn’t answer his calls or his texts, he almost feared the worse.

And you knew that he must have been worried sick so you finally answered him, ““I’m fine.” You muttered and shook your head, “If you think it has something to do with that video, it doesn’t. What makes you think I care about what those jackoffs even think?” That came off a bit colder than you intended but just thinking about that video made you mad as hell.

“I-I don’t but… y-you just looked so upset a-and I tried calling you and… I-I got worried, I just… please look I don’t want you to think that that video changes the way anyone here looks at you because it doesn’t.” Was the first thing he said because he was well aware of how self-conscious you were about your appearance and how people looked at you even if you always pretended like you didn’t care. He knew it based on the fact that you were wearing this hoodie just to hide.

“Hey! Shitty Girl! I know you’re here, stop hiding already!” Before Izuku could even finish talking, you and him perked up and gasped when you heard Bakugo’s voice and saw him coming over once he loudly entered the commons.

“K-Kacchan…”

“Ugh…” You looked away more and further pulled your hoodie down when you expected Bakugo to yell at you, and he did, “You ignored all my phone calls last night idiot! What the hell is that all about?! Just because a bunch of assholes made a video about you don’t mean you can just ignore me!”

You narrowed your eyes, obviously he was trying to help and shockingly he WANTED to help, but you didn’t know how to really respond to that properly. “I didn’t want to be pitied.”

Bakugo outright laughed at your response and you understood why since you were doing that to yourself, “You’re already doing that to yourself you moron! Look at yourself! Take this damn thing off!” And he roughly pulled the hoodie down just so he could see your face even if it made you cringe and nervously blush in embarrassment, but you still found it in you to glare at him.

“Are you really going to let this get to you? Are you seriously going to hide just because of that?” He was partially aware of how your feelings could get easily hurt at times, because he’s the one who’s done that to you in the past, but that didn’t mean he’d let anyone else do that.

“Yeah, I am.” And you remembered all the times he did that to you, but when you said that Bakugo just looked even madder, “Seriously (Y/N)? What happened to Ms. ‘Too cool to give a shit about what anyone thinks of me’?”

Despite everything, Bakugo respected that you didn’t care about what you looked like, how you came off to people, and what other people thought of you, and that included him. So, it was a little shocking to see you like this. Well… actually not that shocking, but he didn’t really want to remember the times where he noticed that some of his remarks in middle school and elementary school no doubt hurt the feelings he would pretend that you didn’t have.

“Hey… come on Kacchan…” Izuku knew you a little bit better than that though, at least, he secretly told himself that because he knew Bakugo didn’t entirely know about what emotional turmoil you suffered from at times since Bakugo drifted away from you and him until UA.

“Fuck off Deku!” But Bakugo was quick to shout at his childhood friend as you scoffed and rolled your eyes, all these years and he was STILL mean to Izuku. “Wowwww…” And your louder than normal voice caught their attention as Bakugo paused before he could yell at Izuku anymore.

“First off Katsuki, you really haven’t changed, second, it’s easy to pretend to be Ms. ‘Too cool to give a shit about what anyone thinks of me’ than it is to actually not give a shit about what anyone thinks of me. I CAN actually not give a shit, but sometimes I just do all right? I wish I didn’t but I do and it fucking sucks… this fucking sucks.” You still weren’t looking at either of your friends, and it pissed Bakugo off to no end.

“You shouldn’t even care though! All those damn extras who do stupid shit like this all do it for the sake of attention for the sake of getting rid of the boredom in their pathetic lives!”

He was right, and you knew it, but it didn’t mean you weren’t going to just stop feeling humiliated and upset as you refused to let the tears in your eyes fall as you wiped at them angrily. “You’re telling ME not to care?” You laughed a little bit which genuinely shocked him, “You? Famous Katsuki Bakugo? You can’t tell me not to care about what people think of me. I mean… you’re embarrassed to be seen with me Katsuki, you always have been, especially in middle school where I was just something for you to mock and belittle.”

So, you did remember, and although his rough exterior hid it well, Bakugo did feel guilty knowing that he DID treat you pretty badly, but he refused to let you think being seen with you embarrassed him, even if it did a little bit. “No, I’m not! Don’t just assume things!”

“You and I both know it’s not an assumption. Come on Katsuki… I can’t even remember the last time we had an actual conversation until yesterday, I only talk to your friends because they’re nice enough to actually talk to me. Which honestly shocks me because people like me don’t get talked to by people like them, or people like you.” You told him a hard truth, because he WAS embarrassed to be seen with you, but only recently has he started to feel bad about it. And he couldn’t stop just HOW bad he was feeling about it as he growled and stared at you angrily, but all that anger wasn’t at you, it was at himself. He didn’t know what was worse, the fact that you were right, or the fact that he was so terrible to you that you couldn’t even pretend to act like you didn’t care.

“(Y/N)…” Sensing the tension, Izuku tried to lessen it by reaching out to you but you weren’t even looking at him either, “I’m sure it’s not like that I mean-.”

“Yes, it is Izuku… you know it too, and honestly, I don’t get why you still talk to me to be honest… because… people like me don’t hang out with people like you either.”

This shocked Izuku, he’s never seen you or heard you talk to him like this, not once. “I-I don’t understand, what are you talking about? What makes you think that you can’t hang out with me? We’re friends…”

“Maybe… but even then, you’ve always been cooler than me Izuku. Don’t deny it, ever since we got into UA you’ve gotten better, stronger and cooler, and I’ve been under the radar. Under you.” You said as you averted your eyes as Izuku gasped quietly and continued to look at you in shock. Is that really what you’ve been thinking about him all this time?

“I’m nothing compared to the two of you, so just… go… this is an issue people like me deal with, not you guys.” You said softly, sadly as Izuku looked at you sadly and Bakugo growled and glared at you.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean huh? People like you?” He couldn’t believe you were saying this stuff about yourself, were you really this insecure? And did he play a factor in that…?

“It means you’re WAY out of my league.” Finally, you looked at him, anger sparked in your (E/C) eyes which made his eyes widen slightly when he recalled the time he told you those exact words. “Remember?” You snickered and shook your head, “You said it yourself Katsuki, I’m a fucking dork, and I’m gross, and I’ve known that, it’s true. I’m not ashamed to admit that, and you know what? I also know that you wouldn’t dance with me if I was the last girl on earth, I’ve always known that… I was just stupid enough to believe that maybe, just MAYBE I could dance with someone like you.” You repeated what he said as Izuku gasped as soon as this news hit him, because he never knew that Bakugo would say such things to you. It was one thing when he told him to go jump off the school building, but it was another thing to break you down like that.

It hurt Bakugo more than he was proud to admit, so he did play a factor in making you feel this horrible about yourself, and he fucking hated himself for that. “I didn’t mean what I said back then all right?! I was a fucking stupid kid! You can’t… still be holding onto that!” That was rare, he was actually apologetic for what he said? You almost didn’t believe it.

“You WERE a fucking stupid kid, but during that time you did mean it. And I’m fine with it.” You said, which left the fuming blonde speechless as he wanted to just apologize, but his pride almost wasn’t letting him do that.

“(Y/N)! Please… d-don’t feel… don’t feel like that, you’re not out of anyone’s league! You’re… you’re so much better than you think! And those, t-those… jerks are just trying to put you down.” So Izuku didn’t single anyone out, he tried to make you feel better, but it wasn’t really working. “Oh Izuku… I’ve always been out of yours and Katsuki’s league. It’s just a fact and it’s made me realize ‘wow, why am I still friends with these guys? Am I an idiot? I must be’. Because that’s not how it’s supposed to be, and I’m not going to let it be like that anymore where all I do is make you guys look even better by being the loser I am.” You were tired of this as you turned your back and started to leave the commons.

“(Y-Y/N) you’re not a loser!” Izuku’s voice nearly cracked the more you put yourself down and for some reason, put himself on a higher pedestal when he’s always thought you were the one above him. It hurt his heart to hear you say that about yourself, and it hurt even more knowing you didn’t believe him.

“Don’t you just fucking leave (Y/N)!” But Bakugo almost didn’t let you as he was ready to bring you back but you raised your hand, making him grunt and widen his eyes when the invisible force kept him away from you as he tried to move but the force wasn’t letting him move. Did you just use your quirk on him?

“No… I just… I don’t wanna talk anymore.” You shook your head with a glimmer of guilt in your eyes, but ultimately you did keep walking as you left your shocked friends and classmates behind.

Although Izuku wanted to go to you, instead he stood where he was and looked down at his feet, eyes shimmering with melancholy while Bakugo had a mix of remorse, shame and anger in his the entire time he and his childhood stood among the rest of the sad, shocked and sympathetic classmates glancing where you walked away.

Izuku knew that things changed for him quickly ever since he got into UA, but he couldn’t believe that subconsciously kept from seeing from your point of view, and the fact that while things changed for him, things might still have been static for you. How could he have been so blind? He should have been a better friend to you, he should have been more attentive to you and reminded you of how great you were because now you wouldn’t even believe it because of him. And he felt so horrible he spent most of the night in his room, brooding and trying hard not to cry about how he’s made you feel like that.

While Bakugo was clenching his fists the more he thought about how he’s treated you over the past years. All the name-calling, the rejection, the way he embarrassed you in front of those losers he called friends in middle school, every shitty thing he did to you, made you feel the way he saw you tonight. You were great, Bakugo’s come to realize how great you were, but it was his fault now that you didn’t believe it and wouldn’t believe it because of him. And he felt so fucking horrible about it he wished he could undo all of it as he cursed at himself and refused to get all emotional about this even though he wanted to.

Izuku should have gone after you. Bakugo should have gone after you. Yet neither of them found it in them too, because they both knew that you didn’t want to see them right now. And they had to respect that, no matter how much it was hurting to just let you go in misery.

And you sighed as you were leaving the place to just go to class already, and to your surprise you saw Shinsou walking down the same hall but he was heading in the direction of the commons. He slowed down to see you, concern instantly flashing in his eyes once he saw you. He prepared to open his mouth, but closed it quick into a sympathetic frown as you sighed and put your hoodie back on and walked past him.

LATER ON…

You barely paid attention to anything, and even though Iida politely requested that you put your hoodie down you couldn’t find it in you to do that. And because Iida felt too bad for you, he decided for once to leave it alone especially when he stopped this group of people from laughing at you.

It wasn’t just him, almost all of your classmates stopped to glare and flip off anyone else that wanted to make fun of you. More so than usual that is.

“Hey! Fuck off will ya?!” Kirishima even yelled at this group of snickering guys who were snorting at you when they saw you in your hoodie and carrying your lunch that you planned to go eat someplace everyone from literally everyone. Your friend tried to follow you but you walked a lot quicker than him, as if you were trying to get away, and those guys had the gal to point and snort even louder at you.

“I’m serious! I’ll kick your asses if you keep that up!” But when they saw the redhead glaring at them and raising a fist they DID back away while some others were either concerned or apathetic when they saw you walk even faster out of the hallway.

“Tormenting someone about their bodies? You people are a disgrace! Go on! Go!” Monoma, of all people seemed to express disapproval when he saw you leave after those jack-offs made fun of you and even urged them to go, and in annoyance they did walk away, much to the great shock of Kaminari and Kirishima.

“Eh? Did you just… do something decent?”

Kaminari was the one who asked that because he was REALLY shocked that this guy of all people seemed sympathetic for your plight.

This still offended the other blonde though, who scoffed, “What kind of animal do you take me for?! I’m not the kind of person who would bully someone over their appearance!” But Monoma had his standards, for all his trash talking and hating on 1-A, he wouldn’t bully someone like that, but especially when they looked as miserable as you did.

“Wow… that’s actually pretty manly.” Kirishima actually gave the guy a smile and a thumbs-up but Monoma rolled his eyes, “Well don’t get used to it! You’re lucky that (L/N) is the least annoying one in your class! Because I still hate you both!” But then he quickly gave them that shit-eating smile as he walked away laughing.

“Of course…” Kaminari should have seen that coming but Kirishima shrugged his shoulders, “At least he helped…”

You were going to need it, and you sighed heavily when you took your lunch and headed up to the roof so you could hide away and ignore everybody. Especially from the ones who kept calling you ‘pig’ and treating you like you were.

And you had no idea that the rest of your classmates were more or less threatening some people who kept laughing and fanning the flames of the video to the rest of the less-than-friendly students. Bakugo outright used the threat of violence against more than 20 different guys today.

“Still watching that video?! Still laughing?!

“N-No I swear! I-I wasn’t laughing!”

“I heard you! I heard you laughing and snorting you piece of shit!”

“I-I’m sorry! I’m sorry! NOOOOOO!!”

It all ended the same for all 20 of them, with a vicious and hard punch to the face that resulted in 15 black eyes and blood from the mouth as Bakugo left, flicking his wrist after he started to feel his knuckles sting from all the punching. He had to do it though, he wasn’t going to just let these assholes keep making fun of you.

Izuku could see Bakugo growling as he came back to the cafeteria and back to his group and was almost tempted to the do the same. However, he didn’t dare let anyone else laugh at you as he heard another pair of students snickering at the video and all it took was a furious glare from the normally sweet boy to silence them all.

No, they weren’t going to let this go on. Of course they both knew that they couldn’t just punch and glare at everyone to make them stop, but for now it was all they could do to protect you until you felt okay enough to face school again and hopefully not wear that hoodie to hide yourself.

They just wanted you to be okay again, but they knew you weren’t okay. Even when you went back to class with them you looked so miserable in your seat, just barely looking at your work with your hoodie still covering your face and your body.

The rest of the class could see it, and even Aizawa could see it. He was going to have to talk to Nezu about this, because he wasn’t going to put up with other little shits bothering his students, even if it meant having to block several of the cites on the Wi-Fi. Your teacher wasn’t going to tolerate this kind of bullying.

Except you were too miserable to really pay attention to anyone, even as you got up to lazily get out of class you couldn’t hear Hagakure or the girls trying to call out to you. “(L/N)!” “Please wait!” “Let’s walk to the dorms together!”

You pretended like you couldn’t hear them, not out of bitterness but because you didn’t want them to be seen with you. Why embarrass them too? And why risk other girls calling you their ‘pet pig’? You thought as you walked on ahead, but only then did you stop when you heard a teacher’s voice.

“(L/N) (Y/N)!”

It was Midnight and you perked up with a small gasp as you stopped in your tracks and looked over at her nervously, were you in trouble or something? Usually the only teachers you really talked with were Aizawa and Mr. Yamada, so it was kind of odd and a little intimidating to have another teacher call on you.

“Y-Yes Ms. Midnight?” Still you answered her politely as she gave you a smirk, “I need you to come into my classroom right away.” Her voice sounded like it usually did, calm, oddly sweet with just a hint of that seduction as you assumed it just became like second nature to her.

Although you were nervous as hell that you were in trouble or something you followed her into her classroom as you made your way in and she came in closely afterwards. “So… I’ve been hearing all these rumors about this rather nasty video of you. At first I didn’t think it was true but then I actually saw the video for myself…”

You sighed heavily, groaning as you blushed heavily in embarrassment and looked away, “It’s true… I think it’s the most popular video at the moment.” Why was she asking you about that? You were certain she didn’t do it to taunt you, teachers wouldn’t do that… right?

“Heh, at the moment. Eventually something else will come up and take it’s place. Frankly this video is in poor taste if you ask me.” The woman stated her opinion, and you had no idea what she was playing at or what she even wanted, but you remained polite.

“I dunno… people think it’s hilarious. I guess that’s cuz I got the less than conventionally attractive body to use for comedy.” You attempted to sound light-hearted about it, but really you just ended up making yourself feel like crap all over again when you put yourself down like that. And it made your teacher really sad as she looked at you with a frown.

“I see.” She said calmly before she gave you a little smile, “Funny how you say that, even though I’ve noticed all the things you’ve been doing to spread the messages of body positivity and self-love during your time here.” Midnight noted fondly as you almost perked up, because you had been trying to do that. On Instagram and on twitter you would tweet about the importance of body positivity, self-love and letting people choose what they want to wear.

You must have sounded like a real hypocrite to her, since you couldn’t find anything positive about your body or love yourself right now.

“Did you know that people made videos about me too? And still DO make videos about me? Kinda like that one?” Midnight then asked and looked over at you, still smiling as you gasped lightly and finally you found it in you to look at her.

“Ma’am?” You immediately sounded sympathetic, even though you weren’t surprised since pro-heroes were like celebrities, of course people were going to find ways to mock them too.

“Yeah, when I first started out, people would make ‘funny videos’ about me too, and emphasize on my outfit, my body and all. Say that I was dressed like a ‘slut’ or that I had too much extra fat on my chest and legs. But I had to do a lot of work to get this body, I had to be fit so I could perform and do the hero work. However…I also knew that there are certain standards for heroines to fulfill, and a lot of emphasis is put on a how a heroine looks unfortunately.” She admitted rather casually as if she was used to it, and you were shocked to hear that. Then again, the beauty standards in Japan were different, still, just the same the standards were unfair to women as all beauty standards in every country was.

“I have to admit, I AM comfortable in my body and my skin, but it doesn’t stop other women from trying to make me feel bad for the body I have. Same goes for men, I might like to have a little fun every now and then, but… some guys are just plain creeps about it.” She said with a little eye-roll and your eyes went wide because that was exactly what you dealt with yesterday as you nodded vigorously in agreement. But also felt bad for your teacher and how she had to put up with all of that, from both men and women alike…

“Lemme tell you this (L/N), the world is very hard. I’d say it’s hard for everyone, but it’s especially hard for women, all kinds of women of different shapes, sizes, race, identity, everything. And there are some pretty cruel people out there. They like to put not just women down, but people in general down and belittle them, make them feel like they’re below people, like they’re not good enough to be with others. They like to categorize them in these little groups so they can deliberately exclude them and make people feel like they could never be in someone’s league or on their level. It’s… well that’s the real villain of everything don’t you think?” Midnight asked you as you paid your full attention to the woman and you found yourself nodding in full agreement.

Your (E/C) eyes started to tear up when she said everything that you knew was true, because deep down you always felt like it had to just be cruel people who liked putting others down that was at fault for everything. That there wasn’t anything wrong with you, and what was wrong was the ones who tried to MAKE you feel like something was wrong with you.

“Y-Yes…! T-That’s why I… it’s why I… get so angry sometimes… and just… try to shout it out, whether it’s on Instagram, twitter or even… out in public.” You stuttered a little bit, but you agreed with her and thought about all the times you’d angrily tweet or even call out people when they were being problematic, hating on others or trying to make other people feel like crap about themselves.

“Good! That’s good (L/N), it’s good to get angry about that, because you know that it’s wrong, what they try to do to people is wrong. But you know what’s not wrong? You. You’re not wrong, and there’s nothing wrong with you. What those people did is wrong.” She said to you a little more firmly, her expression a tad bit sterner.

“They tried to convince you that there’s something ‘wrong’ with you, and pointed it out because they only THINK those things about you are wrong. They tried to let you think that there’s something wrong with your body, and that there’s something wrong with what you believe in. But there is NOTHING wrong with your body or what you believe in. Do you understand?” She asked you as you looked at her with slight shock, but felt all the determination slowly coming back to you as you put your hoodie down so she could see that you DID understand.

“Yes ma’am!”

Midnight could see the fire starting to return to your eyes and her smile slowly turned into a proud grin, “I want you to be proud (L/N). I want you to be proud and confident about the person you are. You’re a heroine, and heroines are all imperfectly perfect, their bodies are all imperfectly perfect, and you know it because you’ve said it yourself. I know… it’s sad when other women are awful to other women, but you are not one of those women. And I’m not either. I’m proud that you are not one of those women, it’s up to you to keep spreading that message, and it’s especially important for you to remember that yourself, to remember that there’s nothing wrong with you, and I want you to refuse to let ANYONE make you feel like there’s something wrong with you because is not.”

You clenched your fists determinedly as you wiped your tears away when her words touched your heart and gave her a confident smile. “You’re right Ms. Midnight… there’s nothing wrong with me. And… I’m tired of letting people make me think so… tired of feeling like there is something wrong with me…” You admitted as your teacher’s smile softened.

“I know you are dear. And that’s okay… it’s okay to feel tired too. It’s exhausting…” She chuckled as you couldn’t help but giggle along with her, “But it’s only gonna get more exhausting when you go out on that dancefloor!” She went from calm to excited quick as you perked up and started to blush again…

“Oh the dance…” Could you really go to the dance? You told yourself you weren’t but… if you didn’t go, would that mean they would win?

“Yeah! You’re going to the dance aren’t ya? I think it’d be great if you did! I mean you can dance girl!” Midnight sounded a little more informal and playful, but when she saw the look on your face she paused a bit, “But only if you want, you don’t have to go…”

And that was enough to think, no, you were definitely going to the dance. You asked out Izuku, and you were going to dance with him. You WANTED to dance with him, you WANTED him to see you when you show up in a dress.

You WANTED to go to the dance with your friend and feel beautiful.

“I’m going! I’m definitely going! I got a dress! And I’m going to be extra beautiful.” You said with a little bit more pride as Midnight grinned at you. “That-a girl! You’re going to be so beautiful I know it, because you are beautiful!” She pointed at you with a big smile as you teared up again, letting out a soft little sob as you wiped away your tears when you got a little more emotional upon hearing such validation.

You couldn’t help but throw your arms around the woman in a big hug, and Midnight was more than happy to engulf you in a warm, almost motherly hug. “Thank you Ms. Midnight…”

“You’re welcome hon…” She said to you softly as she hugged you. “Ya know (L/N)… I heard that the theme is ‘Winter is Here’.” She then smirked as your eyes lit up just hearing it, so that means your theme won!! And you quietly squealed as you pulled away and threw your hands to your mouth as you jumped up and down.

“And that means you need to get your Daenerys Targaryen on, rise up from the ashes naked with three dragons on your beautiful body!” She exclaimed and you flinched and blushed quite madly at the thought, “Hehe… maybe the first part… three dragons…? I wish I had three dragons…”

You shyly chuckled, and she put her hand on your shoulder, “You do…” Midnight’s smirk widened and you didn’t entirely get what she meant, as she was talking about three classmates you had gotten close to over the past couple of days.

“Now you gotta go to this place, get your hair all washed, your toes and fingernails painted and tomorrow I’ll help style your hair cool girl~!” She advised to you very enthusiastically as you couldn’t stop yourself from smiling when she gave you a card to go visit after school.

“Yes ma’am! Thank you ma’am!” You thanked her once again as you smiled and looked a little more sure than you had been all day as she chuckled and decided to let you go, “All righty pretty girl, go on, take that hoodie off and think about how you want that dance to go tomorrow so you can live out your wildest fantasies~!!” That came out a BIT more lewd than she intended but you saw the intention and you smiled nervously with a giggle, “I-I will…”

You gave her a thumbs-up as she waved at you and you waved back before you finally exited the school, but the first thing you did was take off that damn hoodie to free your pit stains to let them breath. “Oh sheesh…” You looked at the stains on the pits of your uniform but that’s what happens when you sweat right?

You shrugged your shoulders as you went back to the dorms, ignoring all the jeering from some other students and instead just waved at them. Might as well walk around with pride instead of shame, and you smirked when you arrived back at the dorms and entered the commons once again, still sweaty and messy but no longer hiding.

“(Y/N)! Your hoodie’s off!” Hagakure chirped as soon as she saw you looking a little more like yourself and you cheerfully waved with your arm up, “Yup. That thing was hot as hell…”

Your remark made several of your classmates, particularly the Bakusquad laugh, only their leader was missing. “(L/N) your… your um…” Iida wasn’t the first person to notice that you were sweating really badly, but he had to point it out so he could save you some embarrassment even though he was embarrassed just pointing it out.

“Oh yeah these? Well, girls sweat too, a LOT, it’s more of a sheen than a sparkle too… but it’s natural.” But you weren’t embarrassed about it, not right now at least. “Anyhoo… I’m sorry for ignoring all of you guys… I got upset… but I regret ignoring you guys when you were all trying to help me. And I can’t thank you guys enough for doing that for me. You’re all… brilliant.” And you made sure to thank all of your classmates with a warm smile, and the ones there all perked up as they looked at you, feeling quite touched by your gratitude as they got up to go over to you.

“Awww of course (L/N)!”

“You’re our friend!”

“We’d do anything for you!”

“And help you with anything!”

You could hear all of them reassuring you and saying how much they cared about you and what they’d do for you. God you were so touched you wanted to cry, and at the same time you were relieved that Izuku and Bakugo weren’t there. You owed them some apologies too but… maybe that could wait a little while longer as you smiled and hugged all of your friends before you went back to your room.

Meanwhile…

Izuku was still worried about you, and so was Bakugo for that matter as he walked past the boy without even blowing at him. But Izuku didn’t even notice as he just walked back into his dorm and both the boys were oblivious to the fact that you returned.

However, the second Izuku went back into his room his phone went off and it was a message from Uraraka and Iida saying that you were doing better and even came back to the commons in a better mood. Oh how he wanted to talk to you but he distanced himself because he still thought that maybe you didn’t want to see him after everything and based on what you said the other day.

He chuckled wryly at the thought because he always thought he was the loser and that you were the one out of his league. Of course Bakugo probably made you feel like you were the loser, but that wasn’t true. He could say all he wanted, but Izuku always knew that if anyone was brilliant and out of anyone’s league, it was you.

He just wished that he could get you to see that, and he wished that you could believe that…

RING!

Before Izuku could brood anymore, he jumped when he got a message on his phone and it was from you! He was quick to read it with rather wide green eyes.

‘Hey. I know I acted like a gloomy doofus yesterday, but I still do wanna go to the dance with you. So… we’ll meet here? At the front of the school building?’

Izuku gasped sharply and loudly, hand coming to his mouth to cover any scream that wanted to leave him, and he called himself an idiot before texting back ‘Yes! Yes! We’ll meet here! Can’t wait!’ That came off a bit more excited than he hoped but he couldn’t help it, you still wanted to go to the dance?! He was so happy! Oh my God he was still going to the dance with you, he almost forgot about that…

Oh my God he almost forgot about that and now he had to learn how to dance! And fast!!

And unbeknownst to him, you were thinking the exact same thing as you stood in your room and put on several Youtube videos to learn all these cool dances. You were clumsy doing it but you kept at it so you could actually try to do something like dancing for tomorrow night…

Afterwards you made sure to shave everything, well, legs and pits at least. You’d let the forest reclaim the lands AFTER the dance, but for today and tomorrow, your legs and pits would have to be bare and maybe a little shiny.

You were going to this dance and you were going to be as fierce as a dragon queen.

TO BE CONTINUED...

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ecoutez-moi · 4 years

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part 4, here’s some more

Day 20 - Monday, March 8

Amber

I’m grateful for

1. My mom

2. My dad

3. All the amazing women in my life (you included😇)

4. My grandma

5. The rest of my family that we don’t talk to lol

6. Having heat and air conditioning

7. Grateful to afford things and not lacking

8. Having and abundance of food and water

9. Health

10. America ( given you know, all the shittiest of shitty things) I am really grateful I don’t live in a third world country or anything like that rn

Day 21 - Tuesday March 9

Daniel B

1) God

2) Family (especially after they’ve really started to support my dream

Of music)

3) new city

4) artists way book

5) quitting weed

6) leaving LA

7) grateful I’m able to pursue my dream of being a producer

8) Learning guitar

9) mental health + mindfulness

10) cold showers

Sarah S

Hi sorry, I forgot to respond. I’m still so sad about teddy. It’s hard to think about this but I know i’m grateful for things. Like for my friendship with you. For clarence. For my job. For my friends. My house. My family. But 10 things?? Lol that’s hard. What are you grateful for?

Day 22 Wednesday March 10

Tobias D

My spiritual journey, my family, my health, My puppies, The ability to laugh at myself, finding joy in random things, my creativity, my tenacity, music, magic

Day 23 Thursday - March 11

Victoria Petrovsky

My health, my child, my husband, my job, my family, my friends, my job, my colleagues, Starbucks,pinterest,

Day 24 Friday - March 12

Keith F

1.My health

2.My Family & Friends

3. My job

4. My apt

5. My car

6. My sanity

7. Living in a city I love

8. My freedom

9. Being able to advocate for my community

10. My lack of going without.

Michael N.

My friends like you.

Melia

Melias wonderful family and friends

Everyone’s health particularly after the pandemic

The luxury of a job

Being able to work from home and spend less time traveling and commuting

Being able to be in the same city as my family

Good genes that keeps me thin without working out

A second home!

Interesting work that is keeping me engaged

Brenna K

yes!

1. my health

2. my dog

3. the trip I just took to Joshua Tree

4. surprises

5. waves of hopefulness

6. natural beauty

7. working w my career coach

8. music and movement

9. my relationship with myself

10. friends

DAY 25 SATURDAY

Landon M

Would love to! Grateful for a ton, including:

1. My marriage

2. My dog, and the fact he has never chewed any of my shoes up

3. Our homes are in good shape

4. My job is awesome, and I have an extremely patient boss who shares his knowledge with me constantly

5. Family is healthy; my cousin was really sick, but she started doing better today.

6. We're going through Foster Parent training and in a position where we can be caring adults for kids in need

7. Low stress life

8. I'm not in the Netflix test group, so I can keep using my mom's password for now

9. Meredith is about to sign a licensing/sync deal and has some really cool traction, so I'm on track to be a kept man

10. Friends like you, that we stay in touch with even though we don't get to see each other often

♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

Maxwell J

Well...

-my family for sure

-Health (although I could hit the gym more often)

-I’m blessed to still have a job

-I’m grateful for you! I bet a smile that’s way too big when I receive a text from you

-My new apartment I just moved into (it’s nicer and cheaper than my other place)

-I’ve been able to really get closer to my best friend thru awesome convos lately

-I did get to travel to Santa Barbara for my brothers mini Covid safe wedding

-I’ve seen a buddy of mine start an IG food account that’s been getting a lot of love

-work has started to shift a bit to include more of my ideas on POC focused initiatives

-and you (again)

DAY 26 SUNDAY

Mike G

My life ! LOL

Waking up every morning is all I’m grateful for ! 🙏🏼🤗

Joyce G

That’s pretty cool. Here’s my list:

1. Having shelter

2. Food in my belly

3. My family and friends

4. Getting a paycheck

5. Fur babies

6. My health

7. Days off-weekends, holidays, PTOs

8. Internet

9. Clean water

10. Ability to buy what I need/like

I was thinking about other things I’m grateful for. I should have added to my list for my great grandfather’s courage to immigrate to the U.S. then eventually bringing over his kids and grandkids. He still had his long ponytail when he came over

#grateful #love #lent #lent2021

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owlsinathens · 4 years

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Rules: answer 20 questions then tag bloggers you want to get to know better. I’m switching it up with a new set of questions.

New questions! Tagged by @hard-as-iron thank you, I love these ❤️

1) If you could bring any two fictional characters (from books or film/TV) into the same world who would they be, what world would you put them in, and what would their relationship to each other be?

Woah. Ok so my OTP brain is screaming at me, so I'll say Theon and Jon Snow, and I'd set them somewhere where they only have nice things and sunshine and ofc they would, over time, get together 😬

2) If you could drop yourself into any fictional world from books or film/TV, which would it be?

Sign me up, I'm going to Hogwarts!

3) What's your spirit animal?

Seagull. Noisy, cheeky, always looking for food, living by the sea and able to fly

4) What is the most unpopular opinion you hold?

Uh... well I'm going out on a limb here, but I do have fews on some general taboo topics that would give me a lot of backlash.

5) How do you like to style your hair most often?

Just tied back. It's slowly but surely going away and I don't have enough left to do much with it.

6) I always loved this overdone question - you're allowed to bring three books on a deserted island, what do you bring? (Note: Survival Guides don't count)

Hah, I love this one too!

- my Jane Austen collection (all her finished novels in one book)

- The Photography of Game of Thrones

7) Something new you've learned in quarantine/lockdown/corona times?

Huh, Lego is awesome but seriously overprized?

8) Favourite alcohol? (Or non-alcoholic beverage if you don't drink)

Whisky. Good old single malt scotch. Some blends. Oh and mead! I love mead. And cider.

9) Music you can't stand? Music you love?

I can't stand anything that comes from the box. Artificial things that don't come from people playing instruments. Like, I've given up on what today counts as music, pretty much.

I love nearly every other style tho. There's always gonna be a song I love in almost everything.

10) Have a favourite herb?

Sage. Smells nicely when burnt

11) What kinda of cups/glasses/bottles do you prefer to drink out of?

I love my water bottle (glass) and I do have a heavy silver goblet for when I feel fancy lol

12) Preferred method of communication: texts, phone calls, emails, letters?

Texts, although I do love sending and receiving hand-written letters

13) What is your favourite weather?

Grey, damp, misty, cool

14) What kind of lighting do you like?

Nothing to bright. Lamps with nice shades, candles, fireplace etc. Moonlight.

15) What is the best thing you cook?

I call it Turbo Chicken - it's not much, just Chicken wrapped in bacon with a creamy white wine sauce and basmati rice

16) Do you have a favourite font to write in?

Not really... TNR? Arial? Calibri? Whatever looks normal lol

17) What is something you've always wanted to write in a fic, but you've been too afraid to? Or, what is something that you were afraid to write, but then you did and it turned ended awesome?

....tentacles 🙈🐙

18) If you were in your favourite fantasy world, what would your weapon of choice be?

Poison! Has its downsides in direct combat, but it's what I know stuff about. A dirk, too.

19) Is there a commonly used saying/expression that you can't stand?

Other people have it worse than you!

...awesome? I never understood why it should make me happy to think of people's misery. I don't compare my shit to other people's shit. It's all valid, and all different.

20) What is something that you would like people to know about you?

I'm pretty shy, even though I don't seem like it. I'd love to make more friends, but am hindered by just that.

Tagging @selkiewife, @callmejude, @wynafryd-manderly, @bloggish, @quicksilvermaid, @ferrame, @attaining-fic, @megaunhappybunny and everyone who wants to do this!

#tag game #personal

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essaysbyciara · 5 years

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Thy Neighbor (Chapters 18 + 19) (Final Chapters!)

[Chapter 1][Chapter 2][Chapter 3][Chapter 4][Chapter 5 + 6][Chapter 7 + 8][Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11][Chapter 12] [Chapters 13 + 14][Chapter 15] [Chapter 16] [Chapter 17]

We’re at the end of Thy Neighbor. This was the first fanfiction I’ve written in full since I was like a smooth 17 years old LOL. I appreciate everyone who read one chapter or all 19. I will clean this up and post on Wattpad in the near future for all my Wattpad folk. Once again, THANK YOU for all the likes, comments, follows and messages. This was fun!

Ciara wakes up to the smell of turkey bacon. Inside of Trevante’s apartment.

Trying to reposition herself, she gently tugs on the blanket that covers her body. The sunlight almost blinds her. She finds her glasses on top of the coffee table, folded and at arms’ reach. She peeks under the covers for good measure. Her clothes are still intact, crop top hoodie and black tights. Crisis averted.

Ciara peeks over the couch. There stands Trevante’s shirtless frame standing over the stove, his black du-rag keeping his waves tight. His black basketball shorts barely hang on to his waist, the drawstring holding on for dear life.

“Good morning, “ Ciara says, her light steps preventing her from somewhat startling Trevante. The size of his body hides his slight fright once he hears her voice.

“Morning. My bad if I woke you up.”

“No, you’re fine. I must’ve been super tired last night to fall asleep over here.”

Expensive wine will knock a girl out. After two slices of pizza and two innings of baseball, Ciara’s head landed on Trevante’s left shoulder. He didn’t want to wake her. As her body cuddled into his side, he kept watching the game. He then got up to grab her a blanket. Walking into his room with a woman sleeping on his couch was new for him. He just knew that he wasn’t sending Ciara back to her apartment. He liked her inside of his apartment too much.

“It’s all good. You snore though.”

“I sure do. So what?” Ciara laughs as she sits on one of his bar stools next to the kitchen island.

“You sleep hard too because I definitely left to go the gym this morning and I did not wake you up.”

“Like I said, I must’ve been really tired.”

Watching Trevante in all his glory sends Ciara’s mind into overdrive. Such a mood, she wants to add to the ambiance. “You mind if I put a record on?” she asks. Trevante obliges. His heart does triplets when she presses play on his vinyl record player. “Oops” by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong fills the air.

“So what are you getting into today?” Trevante asks as he grabs the eggs from the fridge.

“I have a ton of homework to catch up on. Probably start outlining my thesis. Laundry. You?”

“Me and some of my dudes are going to the Phillies-Braves game.” Ciara’s blind encouragement to watch a baseball game last night pushed Trevante to hit up his friends in the group chat to plan a hangout at the ballpark. Trevante hadn’t been to a baseball game since high school. With his father. Ciara pushed him through just her presence to make that next step toward healing. “But can we hang out later? I actually want to bounce some of the work I’m doing with Proverbs off of you.”

In this moment, Ciara wants to think about Y’lan. She doesn’t care to do so.

“Sounds good. But listen, you’re a terrible host. You haven’t asked me how I like my eggs.”

“My bad, my bad. How you like ‘em? Scrambled, runny, sunny side up, what?”

“Yoked cooked all the way through but barely.”

Ciara watches Trevante crack her egg on the frying pan until she receives a text from Mahalia. She feels bad for leaving Ciara hanging last night.

Hey, girl. I’m so sorryyyyyyy. You saw Y’lan?! What? I’m coming over today.

Hey, Sis. Sure did. But something else happened last night too. I’ll tell you when you get here.

Oh LAWD 😁. I’ll be there around 12.

Bet. See you soon, Sis. Love you.

“Okay, I don’t think you know what you’re doing…” Ciara cracks on Trevante’s egg making skills. She walks up to him, nudging him with her hip to move over so she can make her eggs just the way she likes him. He hands over the spatula playfully.

“So show me…” Trevante slides behind Ciara, wrapping his colossal arms around her waist. As the heat grows between her back and his chest, she feels something else in the late stages of growing behind her too. Trevante’s shorts add an extra layer of friction between him and her tights. Ciara lets off a sigh punctuated by her biting her lower lip. Trevante then nuzzles his lips next to the right side of her neck.

“Tre, hold up…” Trevante begrudgingly but lovingly lets go. Ciara feels relieved even though that’s not the type of relief she wants right now. “Where are your plates?”

Trevante points to his left cabinet as he sits down at his island to hide what’s going on beneath those basketball shorts. As Ciara sets a plate of turkey bacon, toast and eggs in front of Trevante, he grabs her wrist in the same sweet way he did in the hallway last night. He pulls Ciara in between his legs for a kiss. Subconsciously, she grabs for the string on his basketball shorts. Looks like they’re skipping the friends part.

Chapter 19

Ciara sits in front of her laptop, two versions of the Bible to the right of her and her tattered notebook on her lap. Awaiting Mahalia’s arrival, her nineties R&B playlist serenades her from her headphones, Aaliyah’s “If Your Girl Only Knew” next up on the queue. As Mint Condition’s “So Fine” plays, she thinks back to her morning. That breakfast, the jazz. The way he held her, the way that kiss felt. The restraint it took for the both of them to not walk into his bedroom or take it to his couch. Or skip a trip to find Ciara sitting on top of his island. As good as it felt, Ciara couldn’t fight her worry. She needs to hold on to what she knows, she thinks. Even if it’s Tre.

As the song changes, she receives a text from Trevante.

Can’t wait to see you later 😏

She then hears a knock at her door.

“Hey, Ma…” Standing at Ciara’s door was a king of a man, 6’5 with the cutest gap in his teeth.

“Hey, I’m sorry. I’m looking for Trevante’s apartment.”

Ciara’s soul smolders once she hears his accent. “No worries. Next door.”

Ciara goes to close her door reluctantly until this behemoth of a mystery man stops her. “Hey, do you go to Penn’s School of Divinity?” Ciara is puzzled by how he would know -- and how she didn’t notice this man on campus sooner -- until she realizes that she’s wearing her hooded sweatshirt from school.

“Yeah! Theological Studies program. Going for my Masters. You go there too?”

“I’m starting my PhD at the Religious Studies program.”

“Really?! Which focus?”

“Ancient Judaism with a focus on early Christianity.”

“That’s awesome. They are doing a symposium on “The Way” in the Fall. Was lucky to get in it.”

“I’m actually the T.A. for that class. With Shrinkleman, right?”

“Yep! Cool, we’ll I’ll…”

“Hey, Winston. I thought I heard you out…” Y’lan walks out of Trevante’s apartment and into a conversation between Winston, his friend from church, and the girl he let get away. The same girl who kept it cute last night but was trying her best not to hate his very existence. Ciara’s chest grows hot and not just because she’s laying eyes on Y’lan. She realizes that Trevante and Y’lan know each other. Her worlds didn’t need to collide like this.

“Yeah, man. Knocked on the wrong door. It’s cool though.” Winston smiles at Ciara. Ciara returns the gesture. With a sprinkle of petty in Y’lan’s direction.

“Y’all ready to go?” Trevante walks out of his apartment with Yahya in tow. Yahya catches eyes with Ciara and quickly disengages, embarrassed by the other night. “Hey, Ci. What you doing out here?”

“Your friend knocked on my door by mistake. It’s all good though.”

“Oh shoot, this is Y’lan. The connect at Proverbs I was telling you about. Did y’all meet last night? I know you went up to their event.” Y’lan cuts off Ciara before she can answer.

“Yeah, we met last night. It’s good to see you again.”

“Same.” Not really.

Her past. Her present. Her pettiness. Her potential temptation. All standing in front of her door. Ciara is indeed loving the crew.

End of Thy Neighbor.

taglist: @hookedtoherfire @blackpinup22 @voyagetoadinas9

#trevante rhodes x fanfiction #trevante rhodes #y'lan noel #fanfic #thy neighbor

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the-real-xmonster · 6 years

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GIF-Making Tips and Tricks

Hello guys, today I’d like to try tackling something different from the usual skating… things because the skating discourse recently has got a tad wearisome "how do you make GIFs” is a question I’ve been receiving quite a lot. If you have never attempted nor have any intention of one day tinkering with GIFs, feel free to scroll past this. If you are interested in GIF-making, especially for Tumblr, or are just curious to discover something new, read on.

So there are 3 main steps in this GIF-making process: (1) find the footage (2) edit the footage and (3) convert the edited footage into GIFs. For ease of discussion, I’ll organize my tips and tricks into these 3 buckets as well.

The software I used are:

4K Video Downloader for video download

Adobe After Effects CC for editing

Adobe Photoshop CC for conversion

You can substitute 4K with any other video downloader of your choice, or you can use one of the many web-based tools out there, like this one for example.

If you’re not familiar with After Effects (and you don’t want to have to learn it from scratch), you can use any other video editing app for this part. You can also skip this altogether and do your editing in Photoshop - though I personally would not recommend it. PS is simply not very efficient as a video editing tool.

I’m not sure if there is any viable substitute to Photoshop in the final step. If you know of any app that could replace PS, do let me know in the comments.

STEP 1: FIND THE FOOTAGE

#1: YouTube is your friend.

#2: The video quality plays a big part in deciding the quality of your GIFs, so I’d recommend going for a video of at least 480p, ideally 720p or more - keep an eye out for that HD sign. So let’s say if I want to GIF Yuzu’s SP Otonal at GP Helsinki, I’d go for this version (thanks, @muffinlorando, you are the best).

#3: As a caveat to point #2, if you don’t have a video editor and opt for editing with PS, you might want to pick videos of not more than 30fps. PS is not great at adjusting the frame rate and you really don’t want to end up with a raw import of 60fps, for reasons I will get to soon enough.

STEP 2: EDIT THE FOOTAGE (with AA)

#4: Learn After Effects in 20 minutes. Seriously, that tutorial is awesome. It covers all (or most) of the basics, the explanation is easy to understand and follow along. The only complaint I have about that video is that it is actually 23 minutes and 24 seconds instead of 20 minutes as promised (#fake news???).

#5: Re: the dimensions of your Tumblr GIFs

The maximum width allowed for Tumblr GIFs is 540px and that’s what you want to aim for, especially if you’re making an in-line GIF, i.e., a GIF to be inserted into a text post, like the example above, or this:

If you are making a standard Tumblr gifset with 10 GIFs arranged in two columns, like this, aim for 268px in width for optimal display.

For a gifset with 3 columns, like this. the optimal width is 178px.

Three notes:

I only mention width because it’s the limiting factor, the length of the GIF is entirely up to you.

For full-width GIF, you can make do with something smaller than 540px, but I wouldn’t recommend going below 480px as it’d make the GIF quite grainy/blurry in display. Same for 1/2 and 1/3-width gifs, I would suggest a minimum of 250px and 160px, respectively.

For 1/2 and 1/3- width GIFs, you can go over 268px and 178px if you want your GIFs to look bigger in single view (i.e., when people click on the GIF to view them separately). In my examples, I used 270px for both gifsets. Don’t bother going over 540px with the big GIFs though, Tumblr will force-resize it to 540px.

For reference, most of my full-widh GIFs are 170px to 200px in length, my 1/2-size GIFs are usually in a 4:3 aspect ratio, and my 1/3-size GIFs are 1:1.

#6: Re: the duration and frame rate of your Tumblr GIFs

These are important factors because Tumblr has a size limit of 3Mb on GIFs. If you exceed that limit your GIFs won’t play at all on your blog, so there is a trade-off you need to consider in terms of the GIF’s dimension, duration, frame rate, color quality (which we’ll get to later), and size (in Mb).

My rules of thumbs are:

Frame rate: don’t go lower than 24fps, otherwise your GIF won’t look smooth, but don’t go for something as crazy as 50-60fps either, otherwise you won’t be able to condense it to <3Mb without some serious sacrifice on the color quality.

Duration: don’t go longer than 5-6 seconds for the small GIFs and 3-4 seconds for the 540px stuffs.

#7: Make your footage slightly bigger than the composition. The reason for this is sometimes, in some footage, depending on the broadcast’s quality, there’d be some fuzzy pixels around the edges of the video. If you leave them in they can make your GIF look a bit messy. What I like to do is, first, fit the footage to comp width (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+H), then bring up the Scale property and slightly increase the automatic fit, usually rounding it up to the nearest percentage.

#8: Re: color correcting the footage.

Use an Adjustment Layer to keep the color correction separate from the footage. That way it’s easier to turn it on and off to assess the effect of the correction, and it’s easier to copy that layer to a new composition if you’re making a gifset.

I like to start with Curves to adjust the brightness and contrast to my liking. You can use other effects such as Levels for this. My note here is that you might want to err on the side of brighter and more contrasting for your footage, because when it is converted to GIF, it will lose quite a few colors and the result is often less vibrant than the footage. Here, for example, is what happened to a GIF I made from Mao’s Sochi FS when I was done converting:

To quickly enhance the brightness of a somewhat dark footage, duplicate the footage, change the Mode to Screen, and reduce the Opacity to around 20%.

Use Selective Color to target-correct the color you want to focus on. For example, in this GIF, I dialed up the Cyans / Blues and lightened the Reds / Yellows to accentuate the color of Yuzu’s outfit:

Use Leave Color if you want even more pop, like what I did here to make the red of Nastya’s dress stand out.

Some skating footage can have a yellow tint to it because of the light reflecting off the ice surface. If you don’t like that tint (I don’t), top the adjustment off with a Photo Filter. Pick one of the Cooling Filters and play around with the density until you get the desired look. I used this effect on the Yuzu spread eagle GIF above too.

STEP 3: CONVERT THE FOOTAGE INTO GIF (with PS)

#9: Usually, either of these two settings will give you the best result, i.e., the maximum preservation of colors and depth from your edited footage.

One drawback of these optimal settings is that they can make the GIF quite heavy. In case you have to compromise, I would recommend not going lower than:

Pattern with 128 colors, or

Diffusion with 128 colors and 80% dither

Anything lower than this can make your GIF look very washed-out and/or blurry.

FINALE: BRINGING EVERYTHING TOGETHER

#10: There are certain exceptions to all the rules of thumbs I mentioned so far. Since, as said, making a GIF and wrestling it into Tumblr’s size limit is always a four-way compromise of color integrity, video quality (frame rate), dimension, and duration, there are a few cases when you can make a 10 seconds+ GIF or a huge 540x540 GIF without sacrificing too much in the way of quality. Most of those are when the footage does not have a lot of different colors to begin with. So this one for example is a pretty big GIF (540x250) and yet only ~2.6Mb:

And this one is a full-width GIF that actually lasts 4 seconds (though I did have to reduce the dither a bit to make it <3Mb):

At the end of the day though, I’d say GIFs are for capturing the moments, so I usually would not go for too long of a footage. If you want to point out something that lasts more than 10 seconds, it’s much more convenient to just direct the viewers to the video itself :)

Aaaand, that’s it for the basics. Hope this was useful to at least some of you, If you want to see more posts like these, let me know in the asks / comments. I can also go into more details of how to make fancier GIFs with text overlay:

or layer masking, this sort of stuff:

Happy GIF-making!

#tumblr gifs #gif tutorial #figure skating #fskateedit

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pbandjesse · 5 years

Text

Today was a really really excellent day even if I just stepped on some broken glass. Mostly surprised me. Today was still an excellent day.

I could not for the life of me fall asleep last night. I was up until past 2. I cleaned a bunch. I made more piles. Brought all my stuff up from my studio. But doing all that gave me like. Nervous energy. So I was wide awake for a long while.

Eventually I found a video to fall asleep to. And woke up at 730 from a text from my dad. He was on his way!

I knew it would be at minimum 2 hours. So i laid in bed for a while and just enjoyed a lazy morning. Eventually I got up and dressed. Made a sandwich. And watched some tv. I did some nore organising. Tried to make things easy for the work me and dad were doing. And it was nice.

My doorbell rang at 10. Dad was here! It was so nice to see him. Hes gotten so skinny! But he looked good. Happy. I was a little distressed over a mean email i had just received. So it was nice to have him right there to talk to and get my mixed up feelings out. My dads always been a realy good sounding board for that kind of thing.

We weren't idle for long, quickly we got into removing screws and pins and spackling. Its that fun pink stuff that changes to white when its dry. We did that for more then an hour. Just talking and fixing. Some of the time i was fixing a sculpture mom sent along with him. And gluing that tiny fidget spinner to the back of my phone case. Its really nice to have it there. Can't drop it anymore.

By noon we were basically finished. And I was starving. Dad got changed and we headed to Ceremony roasters for lunch.

There was a line but it moved fast. Dad got a macrobowl with chicken and I got the spicy avacado toast with a poached egg. We got drinks. I created an abomination of black ice tea, sweetener, and half and half. I really enjoyed that. We talked. Caught up about family. And then the food came and ot,was way more colorful then I anticipated.

But it was so so so good. I even ate the pink parts that i didn't recognize. They were a little spicy. And while the egg was slightly overcoojed it was all awesome. I will for sure go there for food again. Maybe when Jess is here in July.

After we ate we walked to the car. We held hands which was nice. I love my dad very much and it was nice just being with him. Even if I was nervous about him falling or getting hurt or not being able to walk. We did a lot Today and that was really nice.

We went to amazing glaze! It was great! We decided to pick something to paint for eachother. Dad wanted this toothbrush holder thing. And I got a bowl. We looked at my Pinterest insp board and got to work.

I made dad's forest at night themed, and he made mine kind of based off of a russian or Ukrainian piece i had saved on there. We both made them navel blue as a base. And had fun decorating. I hope they come out well. I really had a great time. I got to learn that he majored in ceramics in High school. Something i never knew. And that he's been really inspired to make installation art lately. He didn't call it that but the pieces he wants to make that he described to me are exactly that. Im really excited to see what he does with his ideas and free time.

We each wrote on the bottoms of our pieces. And helped him finish his outlines. And then we were done. We paid and I'll go back at the end of the week to get them.

We walked next door and got ice cream next. Enjoyed sitting outside. It was beautiful and I just felt really happy and at easy.

We hung out and talked for a long time. And then home. We got to my apartment. And got the last of the stuff to go to the studio. There's still stuff in the fridge. But almost everything was taken over today.

And because of dad's bad joints and hernia, I had to carry most of it. Which was exhausting but we knocked it out. He brought the things from the car and i took them upstairs. Good teamwork.

I was very overheated though. So I laid on the ground for a while. But once i cooled down i was all good. I got to show dad the furby stuff ive been into. Explain the culture and ebay and all the weird stuff. It was fun and he had questions and was supportive of my weird hobby.

He wanted to go take a nap. So he headed out and back to my apartment to sleep. And i started unpacking things. I got some stuff away. And while I was working on the kitchen James came home.

We rested and unpacked. Had a snack. Cleaned up. And then at just about 8 got a call from dad. He was done his nap and ready for dinner. So we met up at a pizza bar around the corner.

We got 3 diffeent pizzas to share. And that was fun. It was a really nice dinner. The food was very good. James told us about sports. Dad asked us about medical marijuana and we ranted about the prison industrial complex for like 15 minutes. It was great fun.

A littke after 9 we said good byes. I will go meet up with dad in the morning. At least briefly. And then he will go back home. Im really glad he came. I love him very much and had a lot of fun with him today.

Me and James got back to the studio and I got washed and am in pjs. I patched some holes here, but the one is a nightmare. Thr wall is just crumbling. I put so muchs spackle its basically a new wall. Well see if it holds or the water damage was to much. It was fun veing handy. Then James helped me pick outfits for the week. Which is when i stepped on a piece of broken glass from the bowel aquarium mom sent. It was dropped a bit and a section broke off so now theres small shards in the carpet and we don't have a vaccuum here. Ugh. It'll be okay. Just annoying.

Tomorrow is back to work though! We are doing some organizing and set up at wildwood. Im looking forward to it. It'll be a really nice day. I'm sure of it.

Goodnight everyone. Sleep tight.

#ootd #work #dad #family #pottery #ceramics #sunday

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nicoleknows-nothing · 6 years

Text

PUCKS DEEP - CHAPTER 4 (Mark Scheifele Fan Fiction)

WORDS: 3641

That night after my lunch date with Mark, the team was on a plane heading to the west coast. The Jets’ first game of the season was in San Jose the next day. I decided to stay up late to watch the game, illegally streaming it on my laptop because it’s pointless to have basic cable in this house. All we ever watch is Netflix or Youtube, and if we’re extremely bored we bus over to Polo Park and spend our banked Scene points on movie tickets and popcorn.

It was halfway through the first period; the score was already 2-0 for the Sharks. Me being an idiot, I originally thought hockey was played in quarters, like football and basketball. Upon further review--and by that I mean I Googled ‘Hockey for Dummies’ and found a cheat sheet--I discovered that hockey was played in three twenty-minute periods.

Heather walked into my room to find me sitting on my bed, concentrated on my laptop, eyes darting back and forth watching the movement of the puck on the ice.

“Hey.” I glanced up to acknowledge her existence for a second and promptly got back to watching the game. “How are you feeling?”

“Better.” She leaned against the door frame, her voice was still raspy. “Actually, I was coming in here to check up on you.”

“Why?” I slightly raised my voice, irritated over the fact that the puck got overturned and the Sharks gained possession, again.

“Because you haven’t stopped yelling for the last ten minutes. What are you watching anyway?” She came over and laid down beside me.

“I’m trying to follow and understand how the heck this freaking game works!” My voice got louder when seeing #9 of the Sharks take a shot at our goal. Fortunately, the puck flew over the net and bounced off the glass before landing back on the ice. #27 on the Jets took control of the puck and shot it to the other end of the rink. The play was stopped by one of the referees, the commentators mentioning something about icing.

“What the heck is icing?!” I cried, quickly skimming through my cheat sheet. The stupid term wasn’t included in the stupid article; back to Google!

“Well, they’re not skating on a cake, that’s for sure…” Heather cheekily remarked, covering her mouth to cough. I intensely glared at her; If my eyes had the ability to produce laser beams, she would have been dead.

“Funny…” Finally, I found the definition on the internet. “Icing in hockey occurs when a player shoots from behind the red centre line across to the opposing goal line and the puck stays untouched.”

...What? The words were crystal clear coming out of my mouth, but they mushed together in my mind. Heather's grimaced look on her face made me realize I wasn't the only one confused.

“That didn't register in my head at all,” She blinked.

“Uggggh, why is this so confusing?!” I groaned in frustration, softly hitting my head on the screen. “Sports are supposed to be easy to follow!”

“I think you’re focusing too much on the technicality of the game rather than, you know… enjoying it?” Heather analyzed, I could hear the difference between her regular voice and her ‘I-studied-Psychology’ professional voice; it was a lower tone, and she enunciated more than usual.

“It's hard to enjoy when they haven't scored yet…” I anxiously played with the drawstrings of my grey hoodie. “I guess you're right. I figured if I was able to follow the game better and know the ins and outs that I would have something else to talk to Mark about.”

“Newsflash, Nina! You already talk to him about stuff! You were glued to your phone for a good two hours when you got home from work today! Plus, he already knows that you’re not a hockey expert so I don’t think he expects you to spit out stats or remember all the mumbo jumbo right away!”

Even though Ruby wasn’t home, I could hear her voice at the back of my head. Once again, I’m overthinking everything. I needed to stop stressing about learning everything right away and let it come naturally. Just enjoy the game.

All of a sudden the commentator’s voice got loud and full of energy. I looked up to see Mark with the puck, speeding down the ice past the Sharks’ defence and advancing towards the goal. He took a shot, the puck ricocheted off of the goalie’s padding and flew up in the air. In a swift and effortless motion, Mark lifted his stick and tapped the rebounding puck past the goalie and into the net.

SCORE!! Mark Scheifele bats the puck mid-air into the net for his first goal of the season! The Jets are now on the board; it's 2-1 with the Sharks still in the lead!

“He got a goal...” It took a moment to sink in, then the astonishment turned into excitement at full force. “Oh my God! He got a goal!”

My cheeks hurt so much from smiling, I couldn't stop clapping or squealing or bouncing on the bed. They replayed the goal from multiple camera angles, and each time the puck flew into the net I felt more and more elated, cheering each time even though I knew it was a replay. I could feel Heather's eyes on me, watching Mark celebrate his goal with his teammates; I was admiring the screen so closely that I could have gone cross-eyed.

“Look at you! You are smitten!” Heather chuckled.

“What! I can't admire a good goal?” I began to babble, trying to justify my behaviour. “It was a really good one! I KNOW I wouldn't be able to do what he just did! I can't handle a stick or hit a puck so fast like that! And yeah, maybe it did attract me to him more knowing that he's disciplined in a sport he plays professionally but it's mostly because of the goal! It looked awesome! I'm in awe! That's all it is…”

Heather rolled her eyes at my sad excuse of an explanation. “Neens, just admit it! You’re falling for him, he’s basically your boyfriend already!”

“Yes, I like him. A lot.” I sighed. “But he's not my boyfriend. We don't have an official label, not to mention we just met less than a week ago. Right now, we’re friends that are still getting to know each other and that have also kissed once or twice. I don't plan on rushing into a relationship anytime soon.”

“But you definitely wanna get into his pants…” Heather’s eyebrows wiggled up and down, a sly smirk spreading on her face. The thought of being intimate with Mark quickly processed through my mind and instantly my cheeks felt flush. I threw a pillow at her in retaliation.

“NO! Shut up! I have a hockey game to watch!” I faltered, trying to be serious but the muscles in my face betrayed me, forcing me to smile and giggle like a big dork.

Has the thought of being intimate with Mark run through my head before? Kind of, but not really. They’ve been innocent thoughts; very tamed, nothing remotely close to being pornographic. Like I’ve mentioned before, I have flaws; I’m insecure when it comes to my body and I’m scared that If I get too close too soon, I’m going to end up hurt. It’s happened before, and it’s messed with my self-esteem ever since. Therefore, I don’t want to put myself in that situation until the time is right and we’re both ready. Thankfully, Mark doesn’t seem like the ‘hit-it-and-quit-it’ type. His heart seems to be as gooey as a marshmallow, however, people can change as time goes by.

Heather left my room after the first period and I watched the rest of the game by myself, or at least I tried to. As much as I wanted to tape my eyelids open, I succumbed to my drowsiness at the beginning of the third period. All of my energy was sucked away during the second when the Jets came back in a big way from the deficit. Ruby came home from work and thought I was being murdered because of how loud I was freaking out over #13's goal. Heather had to reassure her that I had been acting like that all night. When I passed out, the score was 4-3; the Jets had the lead. I was optimistic about a win.

I woke up to my alarm on my cell the next morning. One of the girls must have been in my room; my laptop was set on the side table and my blanket was tucked tightly around me like a burrito. I unlocked my phone and saw that I received a text message at 2:30 AM. It was from Mark:

Hey, beautiful :) I know you're sleeping but I just wanted to tell you that we won! Got tied up in the 3rd and were about to go into OT but we got the game-winner just before the horn. I'm heading to bed now. I'll text you when I'm back in the Peg.

I miss you.

Although I felt restless, seeing that text from Mark revitalized me in an instant. Not only was I thrilled that they won their first game of the season, but reading that he missed me had me walking on air. And he called me beautiful again! If only this exhilarating, floating feeling could last all day (but it won't because I have to go to a job that I hate with every fibre of my being!) If only he was here, lying next to me in bed…

Remember, take it slow.

I replied back, telling him that I saw the game and congratulating him on his impressive goal. Also…

I miss you too.

It’s Wednesday. It’s the day of the home opener, and I’m freaking out.

“Nina? Simon is on his way. Are you ready?” Ruby asked as she walked into my bedroom to see me, wrapped in my housecoat and staring at the mountain of clothing I accumulated on my bed.

“No…” I huffed, lost in contemplation. “What does one even wear to a hockey game? I’ve gone through everything in my dresser!”

I couldn't believe this was happening. When it comes to plans made in advance, I'm usually the one that's punctual. I'm always ready before everyone else; my outfit is coordinated the day before, my hair and makeup are done hours prior to leaving, and I'm the one helping others and rushing them out the door to show up an hour early.

Right now, I'm all over the place; nothing in my wardrobe seems like it's fitting, my hair is half done and my makeup looks like, for lack of a better word, ass. At this rate, I'm not leaving my room. My chest was feeling tight, I felt nauseous and short of breath. This isn’t like me; I am always prepared!

I flopped onto my bed, burying my head under the pile of clothes like an ostrich. “I need help! I need an adult!” I whined loudly.

“It’s okay, I will help! Don’t worry!” Ruby reassured. I pulled my head out to observe her looking over the many options I had laid out. Surely, she would be able to find something. She dresses better than Heather and I combined. However, the expression on her face turned sour, her head shaking in disapproval as she threw clothing off the bed piece by piece.

“No, this won’t do...” She muttered under her breath. “Not this… Definitely not this… Gross… Plaid? Seriously? That’s a no!”

Deep breaths, close your eyes and take long deep breaths. Everything is going to be fine… I hope.

Finally, a saving grace. Ruby picked up a white turtleneck and a light bulb flickered on in her head.

“Good. This is good, We can work with this…” Ruby searched through the rest of my clothes and in no time, she was throwing an outfit at me. “Get dressed.”

She paired the turtleneck with a pair of high waisted denim jeans and a black belt. She ran out of my room and came back shortly with my black Chucks and the leather jacket I wore the night I met Mark. Once everything was on, I looked in the mirror at my makeup. I had no time to start over, All I could do was fix the smudged eyeliner that turned into eyeshadow and dab my face with the leftover foundation on my blending sponge. My hair was half straight, half wavy; no use in trying to salvage it at this point so I threw it into a ponytail.

“How do I look?” I looked towards Ruby, letting out a loud exasperated sigh and my shrugging arms falling to my side. On a scale from one to ten, my self-confidence was at a negative two.

“You look great! Very stylish!” Ruby complimented, trying to get my spirits up. It wasn’t working; I could feel my hands getting clammy, my mouth drying up.

“I am so nervous...” My voice croaked while fidgeting around with my sweaty palms. My head was overwhelmed with worse case scenarios. “What if Mark gets hurt tonight or if their team loses or both? What if I become some sort of jinx and he performs badly?”

Ruby cupped my cheeks in her hands and lifted my head up to look at her. “Tonight is going to be fun! There is no need to be nervous! It's as simple as going to a hockey game with your friends. You look fantastic and when Mark sees you cheering in the stands, he is going to feel so lucky! And if we're being honest, if you weren’t like a sister to me, I would bang. One hundred percent!”

I rolled my eyes while trying to stifle a chuckle, my frown breaking down into a straight, awkward grin. “You and your words of encouragement.” Weird enough, her idea of a pep talk did help a little bit.

Ruby’s phone buzzed. “Simon’s here!” She asked me one more time. “Are you ready?”

I took one more look in the mirror. “As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”

“This. Is. Nuts.” Simon's mouth dropped, his eyes about to pop out of his head as we were escorted down to the Jets’ locker room at Bell MTS Place. “I can't believe we're down here!”

“Whatever you do, don't go wandering off like you did at the Iceplex,” Ruby warned, her eyes following Simon's every move. “We don't need you getting banned and making Nina look bad. We're her guests and we should be thankful that she can bring us along.”

“Right! By the way, have I said 'thank you’ yet?” Simon put his hands on my shoulders, he was so excited I could feel him vibrating.

“Yes, about fifty times on the way here.” I let out a chuckle. Seeing Simon hyped up and Ruby discipline him helped calm my nerves. He was like a little kid at a toy store, wanting to touch and play with everything. We passed by a rack of hockey sticks and Ruby had to grab on the hood of his jacket to pry him away.

“Don't!” She scolded him in a deep, motherly tone. I bit down on my lip trying not to laugh but the staff member with us couldn't help but crack a smile.

“We do have a cleaning closet nearby if you need to put him in a time out,” They joked.

“Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.” Ruby pulled Simon away from touching a photo on the wall. “Apparently, leaving his harness and leash at home was a bad idea…”

We turned a corner and my stomach fluttered. There was Mark at the end of the hall, leaning against the wall waiting, hands tucked into his pant pockets and looking down at his shiny black dress shoes. He was wearing a dark navy suit, paired with a white dress shirt and grey tie. He looked like a different person compared to when I saw him on TV a few nights ago; his hair was freshly cut and styled to the side, and his face cleanly shaved. He glanced up and saw me, his crystal blue eyes and smile looking brighter than ever. My heart went rapid as we approached and Mark went in for a hug. His cologne was sweet smelling, like a flower garden after a spring shower.

“Hi,” We greeted in unison, both of us giggling at the coincidence afterwards.

“I like the suit. Blue is your colour!” I complimented.

“Thank you. What do you think of the baby face?” He asked. I gently touched his right cheek, his skin was so soft I was envious.

“I miss the scruff, but you look much more handsome.” Our eyes connected for a moment before I broke contact to look at him licking his lips. The urge of wanting to kiss him grew exponentially. However, the moment was quickly ruined by Simon, whose arm was frantically waving to the extent of producing a light breeze behind me.

“HI MARK!” He shouted in my ear, I winced.

“Hey, Simon. Hey Ruby,” He laughed. With her fast reflexes, Ruby grabbed Simon's arm in mid-wave and linked her arm with his.

“By any chance, you wouldn't happen to have duct tape lying around, do you?” Ruby inquired.

Mark shook his head.“No, just grip tape. I don't think it will help in restraining him.”

“That's okay. I'll just keep a close eye on him.” Ruby pulled Simon close to her. It was like watching someone trying to keep a hyper Cocker Spaniel puppy under control.

“Come on, I'll introduce you to the guys.” Mark grabbed my hand, his fingers interlocking with mine, and led me to the locker room.

Of course, the first thing I do when I walk in is almost break the most sacred rule in a hockey locker room.

“Careful!” Mark politely placed his arm in front of me, pointing at the carpet. “It’s a thing not to step on the logo.”

I look down to see my feet an inch away from the gigantic Jets logo on the locker room floor. I immediately distanced myself from it. “Oh, crap-- I am so sorry!”

“Scheifs! Did your girl step on the logo?” One of Mark’s teammates playfully chided, walking up and messing up his hair. I could hear Simon squealing like a girl behind me. Ruby covered his mouth to mute the sound.

“Nina, Blake. Blake is the captain of the team.” Mark introduced, I shook Blake’s hand.

“I didn’t do it, I swear.” I nervously smiled.

Blake laughed. “It’s all good, no worries! I heard it’s your first game tonight. Have fun!”

We continued around the locker room and I met more of the team. I couldn’t remember all of their names because there were so many people and they were all really tall. I felt like the only gnome on a lawn covered with garden flamingos. The only people I do remember were Andrew (because he’s Mark’s roommate), Tyler (because he was the tallest out of everyone I met), Patrik (because I couldn’t stop staring at his beard), and Dustin (because he recognized Simon as the guy who snuck into the locker room at the Iceplex and threatened to kick his ass if he didn’t leave).

“I’ll get him out of here,” Ruby agreed, pushing Simon towards the door.

“I’ll come with.” I took one last look around the locker room. “Everyone seems to be getting their stuff on, anyways.”

“Before you leave…” Mark walked over to his gear and came back with a light blue jersey, different from the typical dark blue and white ones I usually see around the city. “This is the new alternate jersey. I figured you would need something to show your newly found team spirit.”

I turned the jersey around to see his name and number on the back. “This Scheifele guy, is he a good player?” I teased.

“The best! Even better than me!” He quipped back. I took off my jacket and Mark helped me put the jersey on over my turtleneck.

“How do I look?” I modeled the oversized sweater in front of him. He gave me two thumbs up.

“Blue is your colour!” He praised. I looked down to admire the jersey. Compared to what I felt like earlier, my self-confidence was now at an eleven.

“It’s really nice. Thank you,” I hugged him one more time, I didn’t want to let go but he needed to get ready. “Good luck out there tonight.”

I stepped back to leave the locker room when I felt Mark’s hand squeeze mine. “Hey...”

I looked back at him and he pulled me close again, our noses brushing against each other. “Don’t I get a ‘good luck’ kiss?”

“Maybe…” I smirked, my hands resting on his chest. Mark lifted my chin with his finger and leaned in, his soft lips touching mine in a gentle, sensual kiss. Once again, our moment was ruined. This time by Mark’s teammates jeering at us to get a room, throwing their towels at our heads.

“Hey! Those better be clean!” Mark shouted. I gave him one more peck on the cheek.

“Get ready, please. Before they start throwing jock straps.” I ordered, grinning from ear to ear. “I’ll see you out there.”

I left the locker room and made my way upstairs to my seat, which happened to be a few rows behind the Jets bench. Ruby and Simon were sitting down, beers and Jets Dogs in hand. Ruby handed me a beer as I sat down beside her.

“Feeling better?” She asked.

“Yeah, definitely.”

#mark scheifele #mark scheifele fan fic #mark scheifele fan fiction #winnipeg jets #winnipeg jets fan fiction #winnipeg fan fic #pucks deep #creative writing #nhl fan fiction #hockey fan fiction #chapter four #mark scheifele imagine

15 notes · View notes

dabble-writes · 6 years

Text

The Magician and I- (2)

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |

Pairing:

Yoongi/Reader

Summary:

Suga is a wish-granting magician. He grants wishes—for the price of your most prized possession.

Your parents and brother died tragically in a plane crash and you visit Suga to grant your wish to bring them back to life...but instead you become his assistant.

Now you’re thrust into a world of magic and the mysterious being known as Suga.

Tags:

Fantasy, romance, comedy, a bit of a slow burn, angst

Warnings:

Mentions of death and war

CHAPTER 2: DEADLY MEMORIES

On your way to your apartment, you received a text from Hyelin.

-Hey girl! How did things with Suga go?

You forgot about Hyelin. You wondered if you should tell her.

Probably not, I hardly believe it and I saw it with my own eyes, you thought. But I don’t want to lie to her, especially if I’m going to spend a lot of time there now.

~Funny, I ended up getting a job there….

-OMG, what????

~Yeah, they were hiring and I thought why not and got the job…

-Wow that’s crazy. Maybe u were sent there because u were going to get that job

~That’s probably the reason

-And Suga?

~What about him?

-Is he a magician? Or a total scammer?

You didn’t know how to respond. You entered your apartment and threw yourself into your bed. You stared at the message again and sighed.

~I can tell u, but then I’ll have to kill u lol :P

-I see, u can’t give away business secrets. So what r u doing for him?

You breathed out a sigh in relief, I’m glad that worked.

~I’m like his assistant, his last assistant got pregnant

-Is he cute?

~What does that have to do with anything????

-Everything! Come on, give me something to work with here

~Ok, fine, he’s really hot. Happy?

-Omg!!! I’m so jelly!!!!

You huffed, if she met Suga she will have nothing to be jealous about.

~He’s a jerk tho. Like major asshole

-Oh damn :/ is he giving u a hard time?

~Sort of? He’s just super expressionless and rude

-So like a tsundere?

~No! Just a jerk

-Oh man, and here I was thinking ur finally going to get laid...

~Hyelin!!!!!!!

-Lol kidding <3 u know I love u

~You’re lucky you’re cute

-✿◕ ‿ ◕✿

~So how was your dad?

-He’s doing good! It was awesome seeing him again. He’s going to go away next week tho :’(

~Oh damn for how long this time?

-A month D:

~ D: well know that we can hang out whenever u want

-No we can’t, u have a job remember?

~Oh right….damn. still, u know I’ll make time for u

-I know, that’s why I love u <3

~I love u <3

-Love u more <3

A week passed by and nothing much went on in your “job”, just an occasional wisher wishing for the usual stuff. No exciting drama or anything.

You thought working for a magician would be exciting, but so far you’ve been cleaning and acting as his receptionist. You thought Suga would be more interesting, but he has been evading all your questions. So far the only thing you learned from him is that he really loved his naps.

You realized quickly that he’s much grumpier when he doesn’t have these naps. He’s already grumpy enough, so if he’s one of those moods he becomes unbearable.

Today, it seemed like he woke up in the wrong side of the bed because he was in one of those moods again.

You said your customary greeting to him, giving him a smile, and he just gave you an unimpressed look.

“You can just go to the front desk now, I don’t feel like dealing with you today.”

You frowned, “You talk as if I’m high maintenance—I do everything you tell me to do.”

“Your presence is annoying.” He simply answered back “plus you talk too much.”

You grit your teeth and made your way out the door, “And you’re such a pocketful of sunshine.”

“Don’t interrupt me unless there’s a customer.” Suga said and without looking back you flipped him off.

Jerk.

Still, that was the dynamic between you two. You thought he will let up a little once you started working for him, but he’s still rude and cold. You sat down at your usual chair and took out your laptop from your book bag. You decided to bring your laptop with you because not only is it more organized, it kept you from being bored while waiting for a customer or Suga to think of something for you to do.

You were in the middle of some random Buzzfeed quiz when you heard the door open. You looked up to see a girl around your age wearing sunglasses. You wondered what was up with that, but just gave her a smile. Maybe she was blind. She does seem to be fumbling around a bit.

“Hi, how may I help you?”

She walked up to your window.

“I’m here to see Suga…? I spoke to you yesterday on the phone and you said it was fine to come at this time.”

“Yes…Jisoo, right?” You said, consulting to the post-it that your stuck next to phone yesterday.

“Yeah, that’s my name.”

“I’ll just lead you to Suga then.”

You got up and opened the door for Jisoo.

“Do you need help?” You ask politely, offering your arm. You then felt stupid, if she was blind she can’t see that. You lightly touched her arm.

“Yes please.” She answered and grabbed your arm.

Maybe she’s here to wish for her sight, you thought.

“So what brings you here?”

“It’s my boyfriend, I’m worried about him.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s sick and doesn’t want to go see a doctor.”

“Oh.”

This seemed like a typical wish then, you were a little disappointed.

You knocked on the office door, even though you know Suga knew that you guys were here.

“Come in.” You heard his grumble and you opened and door and ushered her in.

“Do you want tea or something?” You asked her politely, but she shook her head.

Suga didn’t bat at eye at Jisoo’s strange appearance and you wondered if anything ever fazed that man.

“So what brings you to me today?”

You led her to the seat across from Suga and she sat down.

“It’s my boyfriend.” Jisoo said, “there’s something wrong with him. I don’t know what.”

“I knew you’d be passing by sooner or later.” Suga said casually and she looked at him in shock.

“What do you mean? How do you know me?”

“I actually know your boyfriend,” Suga said, “Jinyoung, right?”

“Are you a stalker? What the heck!”, She jumped up.

“I’m nothing of the kind. I’m a magician, so I know these things.”

Jisoo slowly sit back down, “So do you know what’s wrong with Jinyoung?”

“Are his dreams tormenting him? Does he keep going into trances and talking to people that aren’t there? Is he in a constant state of panic and paranoia?”

“Yes, all of those! I keep telling him he needs to get some help, go to someone, but he insists that they cannot help, and it will be useless.”

“He’s not wrong—no one on this earth can help him. Except maybe me, of course.”

“What do you mean that ‘no one on this earth can help him’? What exactly is wrong with him?”

“You first have to understand is that he’s not part of this world.”

“What? Is he like an alien or something?”

“More like from a different dimension.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Exactly what I said: he’s from a different universe than this one. The memories of his bloody past are literally haunting him.”

“B-bloody past?”

“Yes, the ghosts of the souls he has killed are literally haunting him because he is remembering them.”

She looked a bit skeptical, “So can you help him?”

“Yes, but the price is your prizes possession.”

This caused Jisoo to hesitate, “…I don’t know if I can do that.”

“You have to make a wish once you see me.”

She smirked and took off her sunglasses—her eyes were taped shut, “Technically I didn’t see your face so actually I don’t have to make the wish. My friend, who told me about you, told me about that stupid rule of yours and I decided to come prepared.”

You were so impressed by her ingenious that you laugh, I should have done that, damn, then I wouldn’t be here.

“Wow, that’s so smart.” You said and gave her a high five.

Suga was less impressed, “Fine, you don’t have to make a wish. But here’s a warning: this is only the start. Jinyoung will get only worst as he remembers more of his past. Soon, he will be showing physical wounds and could actually die if he keeps remembering.”

Jisoo bit her lip, very troubled, but said, “I don’t believe you, this is just a scam.”

He didn’t even bat an eye, “It’s true, he will die if he doesn’t forget those memories.”

“I still don’t believe you.” She said stubbornly.

Suga nodded, “I understand. You know where to find me if you change her mind.”

You led Jisoo out the room. Once she was out of his office, she took the tape from her eyes.

“You really won’t change your mind?” You ask, and she shook her head.

“I don’t believe him. This whole ‘other dimension’ thing is just too fishy. Plus, you can’t die of tortured memories.”

You saw her leave and went back to Suga’s office.

“That was wild.”

Honestly, you were a little glad there was excitement again, but it ended too quickly.

“What’s going to happen now?”

“How would I know?” Suga said, “I can’t predict the future.”

You snort, “You certainly act like it though.”

Suga just gave you an unimpressed face.

“But what would happen to Jinyoung if Jisoo doesn’t do anything?”

“He’ll probably continue to be haunted by the ghosts of his past, like what I said. His physical wounds would get worst and he’ll probably die a painful death.”

You winced, that didn’t sound good at all.

“What if Jinyoung made the wish instead? Surely he would want to save his own life?”

“That won’t work because Jinyoung already came to me and asked for his wish.”

“You can’t grant more than one wish?”

“No.”

“Wow you’re selfish, aren’t you supposed to grant like three wishes?”

“Those are genies, and that’s fiction.” Suga answered.

“But that sucks, that Jinyoung already asked for a wish. What was his wish?”

“Why must you insist on asking questions?” Suga groaned.

“Come on, tell me what’s Jinyoung’s deal. Why is his past tormenting him so much? Was he that much of a bad person? Did he really kill that many people? What was he, an assassin or something?”

“If I tell you, will you leave me alone and let me sleep?” Suga snapped and you beam.

“Yes! Tell me!” You sat across from him and he groaned.

“Alright but know that this is not your problem—don’t get involved in this.”

“You know I can’t guarantee that.”

“You really do like to stick your nose in other people’s business—that is such a human trait.”

“Of course, I am human. Just tell me the story, Suga!” You said, impatient.

He sighed again and said, “Alright. Like I said, Jinyoung came from a different universe. That universe is very different than this one. It is a complete war zone. Every inch of that universe is a battlefield and everyone is involved in the war—there are no exceptions. It is a very devastating place, you constantly do unthinkable stuff every day. The only way the beings there could function is to forget what they have done. Through evolution, this particular species only remembers that day and by the end of the day their memory is wiped out.”

“Oh, like 50 First Dates?”

Suga looked confused, but also quite annoyed that you interrupted him, “Sorry, continue.”

“That’s the only way that the ghosts of their pasts don’t haunt them, you see. Jinyoung was a soldier and was at the thick of the war. One day he got injured and was sent to recover in one of their healing facilities. He met a nurse there and fell in love at first sight. She tended to his wounds and was so loving and gentle with him. He knew that such a pure soul wouldn’t survive in this universe, so he came to me and wanted to make a wish. I told him it was dumb to waste his wish on someone he just met, that didn’t even love him back. He argued that he loves her for that day and reminded me that he would forget her the next day so he doesn’t have time to waste. So I grant him his wish.”

“What did he wish?”

“That she was a different being living in a universe that is safe for her.”

You paused, connecting the dots together, “Wait…is Jisoo…?”

“Yes, she was the nurse. It’s strange how fate works, huh. It sometimes makes me question if love is real after all.”

You gave him a look, “Of course love exists.”

He shrugged, “Love is a human trait.”

“You mean that your kind don’t love?”

“Love is dangerous for us.” He simply said and you waited for an explanation but he didn’t give any.

“Alright then…so Jisoo is the one that has to make the wish.”

“You can’t make someone wish for something if they don’t want to.”

“But he’ll die if he keeps remembering his past, right?”

“Correct.”

“We have to do something!”

“We is a lot of people.”

“Ok, I have to do something!”

“What did I say about not getting involved?”

“I said I made no guarantees.”

He sighed, “She’ll come around eventually.”

“You don’t know that! You just said that you can’t predict the future.”

“Alright, here’s her address.” He wrote something down on a paper and handed it to you, “But that’s all I’m going to be doing.”

“Fair enough.” You said, and took it. You were about to walk out the door when he spoke again.

“What about if I erase your memories of them?”

“What?”

“For your wish. I can’t bring your family back, but I can take your memories away, so it doesn’t hurt.”

You paused, considering it. It would be easier.

“I’ll think about it. First I need to go talk to her, then I’ll talk to you later.” You told him, and you left.

Suga was about to go take a nap when he heard a voice.

“Look, Suga, I told you before. It’s ok that you’re mad at me but, don’t hate my sister.”

Suga turned and saw the figure of his teacher sitting casually on the couch and just stared at him.

“Hey, don’t act like you’ve seen a ghost. It’s been a while since I’ve shown myself. Won’t you pretend to be happy?”

Suga frowned and turned away, “You’re a ghost. I’m not happy. Try saving your energy and stay in a more ghostly form.”

Jin got up from the couch and made his way to Suga, “Wow, even after thousands of years you still hate me. But still, you shouldn’t hate on my innocent sister. Right? My cute disciple.”

He pinched Suga’s cheek as he said the last sentence and Suga swat his hand away.

“Don’t touch me. Don’t you know how awful a ghost feels?”

Jin smirked, “Really?” He started to poke Suga all over, annoying Suga.

“Stop it!” He pushed Jin away, who just laughed, “Anyway, I don’t hate her. I just want to be free of this agreement. You asked me to look after her, but I’ve never taken care of anyone before.”

Suga turned to see that Jin was studying one of his framed paintings.

“What strange taste... even this frame is weird. Hey, whatever happened to the IU poster I gave you?”

“Stop changing the subject!” Suga snapped, annoyed at his teacher’s antics.

He hasn’t changed a bit.

“Ok, I don’t have much energy left anyway. What? You want to get rid of my sister’s memories? And you then get rid of her after that? You can’t, it’s a cowardly method. Plus,” He stroke a dramatic pose, “It’ll be such a shame to forget such a beautiful and incredible brother.”

Suga crossed his arms, “Why don’t you just admit it, even after death you’re still full of yourself. Also, there’s nothing that was worse or more cowardly than your wish.”

There was a pause, then Jin said, “Oh no! I’m losing energy, guess I gotta go.”

“Stop trying to run!” Suga snapped as Jin disappeared.

Jin’s presence was still in the room and Suga heard his voice, “You’re right, I’m a horrible coward. But Suga, you still haven’t learned a few things. Until I teach you, I can’t contentedly play with the girls of the afterworld. As you look after my sis, you’ll learn a lot. So, you can’t get rid of her memories.”

“Fine.” Suga ground out.

“And another thing,” Jin’s voice continued, “the one being burdened by memories and wanted to erase them all is you, Suga.”

With that, Suga felt Jin’s presence leave the room.

When you reached Jisoo’s apartment, she opened the door and was surprised to find you there.

“Why are you here…uh….?”

“Y/N.” You offered.

“Y/N, I don’t want to make that wish.”

“Let me in, let’s talk about it.”

She reluctantly let me inside her apartment, which was nice. You heard voices and look at her in alarm, “Is someone here?”

Jisoo sighed, “Only Jinyoung.”

‘He’s here? How’s he doing?”

She frowned, “He’s getting worst. He’s not coming out of his trances no matter how much I try.”

“And you don’t want to make the wish?”

You couldn’t believe her. Did she even love him? He made the sacrifice, why couldn’t she?

“What could possibly be worth his life, Jisoo?” You asked her and she bit her lip.

“I don’t want him to forget me.” She said softly and you pause.

“What? T-that’s what’s most important…”

“Yeah, his memory.”

“Only..”

“Only? Do you know how long it took me to get him to remember my name? A year! A whole year. And that was just my name. I was so happy the first time he said my name…There’s so many precious memories while we dated. If all that goes, if he can’t remember he loves me, and he no longer loves me…what the use of me living? I don’t know what I would do if I have to start over again. Also, if he did commit those crimes, he should pay, even in that way.”

You stared at her in disbelief, “What the hell! Pay? He didn’t create the war, he didn’t have a choice! He’s in so much pain because he still feels the grief from it. Most people don’ feel a sense of guilt or regret. The reason he’s in so much pain is because he’s got a good heart. Leave him to pay for his sins? Then how are you gonna pay for the sin of letting such a good person die?”

“I—”

“Fine, if you won’t wish, I’ll do it. It’s to make him forget, so anyone can wish it. So I---”

“No, enough.” Said a voice at the door and we both turned.

There stood Jinyoung. He looked weak, but he had a determined look.

“I also don’t want my memory erased.” He turned to Jisoo, “Don’t worry, Jisoo, no matter what, I’m not going to forget you. Don’t you know that you are my life? You are all the memories I have. So if all that went away, who would I be? It’s better this way.”

Jinyoung went up to Jisoo and grabbed her hands, “Like you said, I must pay. Even if I died now, I feel you won’t be too sad, so I can die happily.”

Jisoo looked at Jinyoung in horror and he collapsed in her arms.

“Hey, wake up! Don’t die!”

She started to cry, “Jinyoung, you’re wrong. If you die now, I’ll hurt forever.”

You rush to them and see him thrashing around, “He’s getting worst. It’s now or never: is his memory of you worth more than him living?”

She bit her lip and stared at his shaking body, full of injuries, and shook her head, “No it’s not.”

“If you watch TV dramas or movies, memories come back after receiving a shock.” You said to Jisoo as you guys were walking in a nearby park. It has been a few days since she made her wish.

“Yeah,” you continued, “in some drama I saw the other day, a girl almost got hit by a car and her lover’s memories came back to him. You can maybe try that!”

Jisoo didn’t look amused, “And if I get hit by a car and die?”

You picked up a rock, “How about I hit him on the head with a rock? He’ll remember—”

“And if Jinyoung dies?”

You were starting to run out of ideas, “Uh…then kidnapping and throwing him in water---"

“Y/N, stop,” Jisoo cut you off, laughing, “this is real life, not some drama.”

“True.” You frowned, “Sorry, I just want to help.”

She smiled, “I know, thanks for your help.”

A frisbee flew past you and landed in front of Jisoo.

“Hey!” We looked up and, to our surprise, Jinyoung was waving at us, “Hey kid, can you throw the frisbee!”

“Now’s your chance!” You nudged at her as she picked up the frisbee. She regarded it, then Jinyoung, then threw it.

He caught it and smiled, “Thanks, kid!”

Jinyoung started to walk away and you turned to her, “Why didn’t you do anything?”

She smiled and then cupped her hands around her mouth to amplify it, “Hey!” He turned to her yell, “My name is Kim Jisoo! My height is 162, weight 45 kg! My favorite color is purple, and I really like rice! Remember it! Next time I see you, if you’ve forgotten, I’ll get mad!”

Before he can respond, she grabbed your hand and ran away.

You smiled, you had a feeling this was going to be a start of a new relationship.

Suga pet your head like a dog and you swat his hand away, “Stop that, I’m not a pet!”

He shrugged, “You had such a content expression.”

“Well of course! I helped a lot this time. I was the one that got her to make her wish.”

“She would’ve done the same on her own.”

“No! 70% was thanks to me.”

He snorted.

“Okay then, 50%....30%....10%....2%”

“Fine, 2%”

You clapped excitedly, “Alright!”

“Why are are you so happy? It’s only 2%.”

“Even 2% is a lot.” You answered with a smile, “More than cleaning and arguing with you. The fact that I can contribute is important. Also, I’ve been thinking about your offer, about the wish in forgetting the memories of my family.”

“Oh? Your conclusion?”

“I’ll have to say no. Although it might seem like a good thing now because I’m hurting, in the end I still love my family. I want to remember them, all the good memories we had together. I can’t just forget them because of my selfish desires—who would keep their memory alive if not me?”

Suga nodded, “That wasn’t well thought out on my part.” He then took out a book and gave it to you.

You look at the cover and raised your eyebrows as you read the title, “ ‘How to find love: A Dating Manual’. Suga, I didn’t think you the type to have this kind of book.”

He coughed, “This is all the loving memories I received as prized possessions. They ended up becoming some sort of dating manual. I have no need for it, but figured you might want to have a look at it”

You were a little touched by the gesture, he never gave you anything before, “Aw, thanks. But why do you think I need a dating manual?”

“With a face like that, I figured you need all the help you can get.”

You stared at him, not believing he just called you ugly, “Excuse me? I’ll have you know that I don’t need a dating manual. I can date anyone I want, thank you very much.”

You pushed the book back in his arms and caught him smiling which made you pause. You don’t think you’ve ever seen him smile. He has a very nice smile. It was gone before you knew it, replaced by that expressionless face he always wears.

“Whatever, just say you don’t want the book, I was just going to chuck it in a corner—”

“Fine, give it to me.” You snapped and took the book back. You saw him give you an amused look and you huffed, “It’s only because I’m curious on what it will say.”

“Sure.”

“Well I’ll be going then.” You said, a bit embarrassed.

“Let me walk you home.”

You narrowed your eyes suspiciously, “Why would you do that?”

He never walks me home. Never.

Suga shrugged, “Isn’t it dangerous for someone like you go around in the night?”

“ ’Someone like me’?” You asked, wondering if he’s going to acknowledge that you’re a girl.

“Someone small and frail like you. Also troublesome. You always attract trouble for some reason.”

You narrow your eyes at him, “Small? Frail? Troublesome? What the heck?”

“Am I wrong?”

“I know karate.” You say in protest and he shrugged.

“Okay, if you don’t want me to go with you, I won’t go.”

“No, no it’s fine. Let’s go.”

You wonder what brought this sudden change since he never cared for your safety before.

Maybe he finally considers us friends?

But you spoke too soon. Of course things wouldn’t be so simple with someone like Suga.

He isn’t so tall, so how can he walk so fast?

Without any consideration to you, he just started to walk and didn’t stop. You almost had to run to even keep up with him and you ended up just trailing him. He would occasionally look back, but he will continue walking.

This frustrated you to no end.

“Are you kidding me?” You grumbled as you got caught in a red light but he was able to cross the street. He didn’t even look back, “How is this walking me home?”

When the light turned, you hurriedly ran to catch up with him.

This started to attract some stares and some sympathetic stares to you.

“That’s kind of pathetic, does she have no pride?” You even heard one passerby say and you fume.

Damn Suga. This is definitely worst than going home by myself.

#yoongi fanfic #suga fanfic #bts fanfic #bts #suga #yoongi #magician and I #bts magic au #yoongi x reader #suga x reader #jinyoung #jisoo #got7 #blackpink

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talkagency · 5 years

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10 COMMON SEO MYTHS DEBUNKED 2019

SEO is like having a child. It constantly needs attention, rarely does what you expect, and it’s pretty much a full-time job!

Huge algorithm shifts and years of outdated information and mistruths has made it a minefield. You think you’re moving in the right direction… then BOOM!

With so much misinformation and so-called “facts” waiting for you at every turn, it’s hard to know what’s effective and what is defective.

Most information is wildly outdated. What worked 5 years ago could be as useless as a waterproof tea bag today.

Google is much smarter than people give it credit for. Huge advances with AI and deep machine learning lets it understand much more than it ever has before.

So, let’s get started. How many of these common SEO myths are you going to be guilty of in 2019?

1 – Using Exact Match Keywords in Content

This might have been true up to a few years ago. But with Google’s evolution, exact match keywords in your content no longer need to be quite as exact.

Technological advancements, such as LSI keywords (latent semantic indexing) help search engines like Google gain a deeper understanding of your content context.

As voice search is set to account for more than 50% of all searches by 2020, natural sounding speech is not only recommended, but encouraged. It’s time to optimise content for voice based searches.

This means that using stop words in your keywords and utilising semantically related phrases can both work to help your SEO efforts.

You can write for the search engines using unnatural sounding keywords. And sure, you might get the rankings that you want. But when the user faces unnatural sounding content, you can bet your bottom dollar that they are going to bounce like a rubber ball!

Just to show you that stop words and word order don’t interfere with primary keyword search volumes and top three placement, here are a few screenshots of variants of one keyword:

See, the keyword may not be an exact match, but its intent remains the same… and Google knows this.

And the first page ranking for the top 3 websites using each variation?

Top 3 sites are identical across the board. And every single site on the first page remains on the first page. Clever old Google!

If you can weave an exact match into the title or headings, awesome. But the main thing to remember here is that Google focuses on user intent… and has done for several years now.

Forcing unnatural keywords into your text creates poorly constructed content. And that can cause more damage than good to your rankings.

Focus on checking how each variation weighs up and check the metrics, then use a mix of them if you can. Stop words (articles, conjunctions, etc.) are rapidly rising in search volume, so ignoring them is not really best practice.

Even Yoast, an avid campaigner for avoiding stop-words has backtracked on its previous stance.

Remember: poor user experience = high bounce rate. High = bounce rate is a signal your content isn’t delivering.

2 – SEO is About Ranking Number One on Google

Taking that top spot on the first page of Google is what everyone aims to achieve, and that is a good target to have.

But here’s the thing:

Whether you rank number one, number five or number 10 on the first page of the SERPs, your organic site traffic is going to explode.

When people perform a search, they rarely only ever visit one page. When it comes to gathering information, several sources are usually required.

So while you definitely want to have your keywords rank on the first page of the SERPs, hitting number one is no more advantageous than hitting number five.

And even if you do hit that top spot on Google, rich snippets, PPC ads, Google’s answer box, maps and more are still likely to be above you.

For ranking success, it’s all about being on page one, not being number one. So focus on a broad range of keywords instead of trying to push just one or two into the top spot.

3 – Google Penalises Duplicate Site Content

This is a big one that circulates worldwide. You’ll see it left, right and centre… and it’s really not what some people make it out to be.

In fact, Google have confirmed on more than one occasion that duplicate content does not result in site penalties.

So what is actually going on here?

Let’s say that you’re a new website and you have simply copied and pasted content from another site onto your own…

Google doesn’t look at it and say “this is duplicate content, let’s give them a penalty.” It just ignores the content completely!

And this is where this myth arose from.

People were snatching content and using it on their own sites… and not ranking for it. Even though the site they took it from was on the first page!

The search engines know that duplicate content happens on a website for several reasons. So no, you are not going to be penalised for it.

However, now that you know Google simply ignores duplicate content, any duplicate content you have should be optimised so that it can rank in the SERPs.

4 – One Tool can Fix it All

You’ll see tools everywhere on the internet claiming that they have an all-in-one solution for fixing your SEO.

In a perfect world, this would be true. But this world is far from perfect…

That is not to say that there are not some truly useful SEO tools out there. But none of them are a magic solution to instantly fix all of your SEO problems on your behalf.

One of the best SEO tools that anyone can use for their website is SEMrush. Automated report detailing exactly what needs to be changed or fixed go a long way with pointing you in the right direction.

Of course, unless you are a site developer with a detailed knowledge of how to execute everything in the report, you’re going to find it tough.

Luckily, the internet is filled with useful ‘how-to’ guides and forums where you can find all of the guidance and information you need to crack on with it.

If you don’t perform a regular site audits, you won’t know what needs to be fixed. And any software that says it can fix everything for you automatically, well… we have a magical unicorn for sale for just $100,000.

5 – Header Tags are Irrelevant

Nope. Header tags are not and have never been irrelevant.

Now, we are not saying that they are a major ranking factor. Nor are they the be-all and end-all of your pages syntax.

But they definitely go a long way with helping Google and the other search engines understand your website’s content.

Using your primary keywords and semantically related keywords in your title, H1 and H2 headers, along with in your content can have a positive effect on your SEO efforts.

6 – No Sitemap Equals No Ranking

Here’s another common myth that circulates the internet like a fly around your head in summer.

Now, we are not denying that having a sitemap is useful. After all, it helps the search engines get a deeper understanding of your site structure.

However… not having a sitemap does not have an impact on where your site will rank in the SERPs.

This is especially true for small sites that have properly structured site navigation.

Of course, the larger your website is, the more a sitemap will help the search engines understand what they are looking at. And then crawl an index it much faster.

But the main point to take home from this is that having a sitemap will not boost your rankings… just help the search engines crawl and index with ease.

Not a bad thing to have really. But not the end of the world if you don’t.

7 – Avoid Outbound Links

You’ve probably heard this one before, but it goes a little something like this…

having too many outbound links on your website will pause your PageRank to drop.

First things first: PageRank is long gone for SEO average Joe’s.

Anyone who uses PageRank as a reason not to use outbound links needs to build a time machine and head back to 2013… you know, when the Google toolbar got rid of it.

The only ones who measure PageRank are Google… and as is becoming more and more common with the search engine giant, what happens in Google stays in Google.

Secondly: Google does not penalise people for using outbound links. In fact, it looks like the complete opposite. Websites linking to authoritative and useful resources are actually rewarded.

Yes, it’s true that the website you linked to receives a little bit of your domain authority. But you know what? That’s the whole point of outbound links.

You are voting for the site that you link too by telling Google “hey, I vouch for this site.”

Of course, you need to make sure that any site or content that you linked to is related to your page content or niche.

Want to save some of your link juice? Throw in a ‘nofollow’ tag.

At the end of the day, if there were no outbound links used on the internet, there would be no inbound links (backlinks).

Just make sure that what you linked to makes total sense to the search engines when it looks at both website’s content.

8 – Blackhat SEO Doesn’t Work

This is something that we’re not too happy to admit to… but blackhat SEO absolutely can work when done right. Especially when performed by someone who knows what they are doing.

But just because something works doesn’t make it right. And black hat SEO is seriously risky business for your website.

Just like the black market, black hat SEO usage loopholes, underhanded tactics, and often goes against the rules set by the search engines.

Sure, you could pay someone to cheat your way to the top. But when Google finds out, and Google always finds out, your business will be banned (de-indexed) from the search engines.

This is why, although dodgy tactics can work, it’s always better to play by the rules and develop your SEO strategies over time.

Building your rankings and developing your website is a marathon, not a sprint. Be the tortoise, not the hare… and reap the rewards for decades to come.

9. Meta Descriptions are a Ranking Factor

A few years back, meta descriptions were taking into account as part of the ranking decision. 2009 saw this all change.

Now, while meta descriptions are no longer a ranking factor, that’s not to say that they are not important. They are!

We like to keep bouncing back to user experience (UX), and a meta description can really help.

Google might not care about it anymore, but people do. It gives them an insight into what the content is about and if it’s what they are looking for.

Plugins, such as Yoast can help you create a personalised meta description. This prevents any text from being cut off in the SERPs. Thus giving the user a complete picture of what lies ahead.

A keyword here or there won’t hurt. After all, the meta description is read by the search engines for further content context.

But the main thing to remember is to always write for people and not the search engines.

10. Link building is More Important than Content

This one is probably one of the most ridiculous one on this list. link building is more important than content!

See, if you dedicate all of your time to link building, you have no time for creating content.

And here is where the problem lies.

Without quality content, people have nothing to link back to!

Of course, link building is hugely important when it comes to SEO. And having several high-quality links pointing to your site can help the search engines decide when to show you over the competition.

But to be able to attract these highly sought-after links, you first need to focus on providing high-quality content.

In fact, high quality content can generate organic links that you don’t have to work on to get.

When it comes to SEO, content is king and backlinks are brilliant. But your main focus should be content that offers value and generates natural links before moving on to link building strategies.

Final Thoughts

If you really want to know which SEO methods work, ignore what the ‘so-called’ experts are saying and look at what they are doing.

If they tell you that meta descriptions should be less than 140 characters, but they use 160, they aren’t practicing what they preach.

If they say that you’re header body copy should be less than 300 words and then go on to use 600, again, they go against what they say.

Site speed not important? Yet their site loads almost instantly… you can guarantee they spend time and money making sure it is as fast as possible.

Basically, what we are saying is that while the internet is filled with useful SEO advice, take what you read with a pinch of salt.

Many people don’t mean to add fuel to the fire by spouting out more and more myths and outdated information. But this is where a little bit of research truly comes into play.

Focus on what works… but don’t be afraid to try new methods.

For more guides about SEO, SEM, PPC, digital marketing and useful tools and software, check out our blog today.

Article first published here: 10 COMMON SEO MYTHS DEBUNKED 2019

#seo #internet marketing

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tales-from-exo-planet · 6 years

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ARIZONA | PATHCODES VOL. II

ACT II. - “circles of influence”

Length - 8, 875

Mood - palliated, lonesome

Pairing - Chanyeol x Reader

“Can we just talk? Can we just talk? Talk about where we're goin' Before we get lost, lend me your thoughts Can't get what we want without knowin' I've never felt like this before I apologize if I'm movin' too far Can we just talk? Can we just talk? Figure out where we're goin' Yeah, started off right I can see it in your eyes I can tell that you're wantin' more What's been on your mind? There's no reason we should hide Tell me somethin' I ain't heard before Oh, I've been dreamin' 'bout it And it's you I'm on So stop thinkin' 'bout it”

“Talk” by Khalid

________________

*Creak*

*THUNK*

*Knock Knock*

You looked up from your desk where you were jotting down notes from your previous appointment in your day planner to see the office mail clerk waiting just outside your door.

“Hi, are you _____?” He asked, breaking eye contact with you as he ruffled in his bag for the touchpad, gesturing to you with the stylus to sign, when you nodded yes.

He took a step inside your opened office door, reaching down to pick up the box and help it over the threshold before standing again to hand you the touchpad upon which you quickly signed your name. He bent again, after stowing the touchpad away in his satchel, to lift the wide set brown paper box up from the floor.

“Th-thank you,” you said, grunting slightly as you adjusted to the box’s weight as it transferred from his arms to yours.

He nodded, muttering a nonchalant “no problem” as he left, ambling down the hall the same way he had come to your office.

Please let this be it…

You glanced at the shipping label, and slowly smiled at the name you recognized.

“It’s here,” you exhaled, placing it on your desk gently.

Without bringing your eyes away from the name on the shipping label you reached for your drawer, quickly pulling it open to retrieve your scissors.

You carefully applied the blade to the packaging tape, taking care not to push down into the box for fear of scratching the contents within.

And as you peeled the packaging away, the brown paper box coming away cleanly as you easily sliced through it with your scissors, your heart swelled within your chest, tears blurring your vision.

“You’re here,” you said, your voice barely above a whisper, breaking eye contact with the box for a brief moment to return to your open office door and close it.

Inside was the leather bound hard case now embroidered with three sets of initials, your late father’s being first, yours being second, and your son’s being the last.

You fingered the embroidered letters, tracing them with the pads of your forefingers in an infinite loop, closing your eyes as you recalled their faces, and their voices.

Taking a steadying breath you reached for the latch, and lifted the top of the case, and gasped at the sight of the slate gray and white typewriter you had been longing to see.

“Pop,” you whispered, amazed that the typewriter could have been restored to this extent. It looked just like the photograph you remembered from the catalogue.

“It’s impossible. It’s like it’s brand new again. Just like Pop kept it,” you felt a giggle rising as you touched each key, remembering the way he used to sit at his desk on weeknights and you’d sit beside him watching his fingers fly, the swirl of the floral scent of Yaupon holly tea and crisp, warm paper luring you closer and closer to the desk.

“Pop, it’s happening now. We’re doing it Pop,” you took another breath and exhaled sharply, feeling the strength go out of your legs as you descended abruptly into your office chair.

The waves of grief washed over you again, and since you had practiced and were prepared for their onslaught, you held on, counting down the seconds you would allow yourself this morning with your hands over your face.

The sobs subsided as you counted down closer and closer to 10 to 9 to 8 to 7 to 6 to 5 to 4 to 3 to 2 to 1.

And then…

You let your hands fall to your lap where you brushed your open tear stained palms against your thighs and released an ever deeper exhale.

“Ok boys, let’s get to work,” you said, removing the envelope that had been carefully taped to the top of the box after wadding up the brown paper packaging and tossing it into your waste basket.

“May these items make their way to you safely and find you at peace. With these items now restored and delivered to you, may your journey to healing truly begin,” penned in elegant handwriting by someone who had chosen to remain anonymous. Though without a name written you knew already who had sent the package.

*Knock Knock*

“Yes?” You asked, approaching your office door again as the secretary, Margo, who had knocked entered, her heels scuffing the threshold of your door at her abrupt entry.

“Hi, just wanted to let you know that your 2:00pm is here. Should I send them down to the studio or were you starting in your office?” She asked, her eyes bright as she leaned in and waited for your response.

“If you don’t mind sending them in to my office here, I think we’ll start here today,” you said, coming from around your desk to approach your baby grand piano as you awaited your third client of the day, hearing the whoosh click as Margo ducked back into the hall.

To think back again on where you had been the past couple of years while standing in the freedom of the present was jarring every time you turned to see the photographs of your late son and father framed in black and white on your desk. From time to time as you worked with your clients you would look back at your desk, seeing their smiling faces encouraging you, and urging you forward. It was no different today as your newest client, Camila, entered, and the writing session immediately began.

Camila was newly signed to your company’s label, and as all the artists were who were signed, she was a promising singer-songwriter in the making. Your goal was to help her along in her songwriting process by providing advisement where needed until you created the lyrics she was looking for. A role you relished more and more as the days wore on as you met each successive project and challenge.

You spent an hour together, chatting in between tea brought in by Margo and listening through samples from your previous recording sessions, and at the close of the session with three songs drafted, promised and planned to meet within the following week to close out the project.

“Wow! That’s a gorgeous typewriter, is it a family relic?” Camila asked, not failing to note the initials on the leather case.

You beamed at her, showing her your father’s picture on your desk.

“It was his, my father’s. He was a writer as well. Poetry and short stories mostly. He taught English at my high school and a couple of Early Native American literature courses at the community college in my hometown,” she smiled at you, holding the frame in her hands carefully before placing it back in your hands for you to reposition on the desk beside the others.

“That’s awesome that you had writing in common,” she said and you nodded, replying, “yea, I really treasured that. He’s definitely been my inspiration.”

As you led her down the hall you heard the jingle of your office phone.

“Ah, I know the way to the lobby if you have to take that. Thank you so much as always for your encouragement. See you next week!” She called, waving as she went ahead and you nodded to her graciously before ducking back into your office.

You caught it on the last ring.

“______ with Aspire Publishing, how may I help you?”

“__!!! Hi it’s Ophelia!”

“Oh wow hey! How are you?! I just heard the news about your album. That’s so incredible!”

“Thank you so much. It couldn’t have happened without you. Seriously! And also, I wanted to invite you to this festival I’m headlining this weekend in the area. I’ll be performing a couple songs from the album and I would just be over the moon if you could come!”

“Of course! I’m there. Just let me know the details and everything. My weekend is pretty clear,” you said, shifting from holding the phone against your ear to tucking it in between your ear and shoulder as you looked for your desk planner to pen the event.

After gathering the details you texted your best friend Awinita who had already planned to come into town.

“Hey so what about a music festival this weekend? Would Tobias be down for that?” You quickly texted as you packed up your desk as Margo knocked again at your door to deliver lunch, a large quinoa salad, chili cheese fries and sweet fry bread from a local food truck.

As you set up your lunch tray on your small coffee table behind the loveseat where you and Camila had just completed the day’s session, you felt a buzz in your pocket where you were sure Awinita was replying.

After sanitizing your hands with your pocket hand sanitizer, you poured yourself a glass of water from your pitcher where it rested on the dining tray along the wall and brought it to your place setting.

“Yea I was just about to ask you about that festival because I saw Ophelia’s name on a flyer when I was scrolling through Eventbrite earlier! Let’s do it!! Also...Tobias had a friend in the area who we planned to link up with if that’s ok with you? Maybe he could meet us out there?”

“Sounds good to me. Are y’all still going to be here on Friday then?” You texted back.

“Yea girl. Riding out on Thursday night and we should be in on Friday morning,” she replied with a kiss emoji.

You laughed happily and went back to finishing your lunch.

_________

“Hi Mr. Stone, I just wanted to let you know that I received the package,” you said into your phone, your purse on your lap.

“Greetings Ms. ______, I’m pleased to hear that,” he responded in the gravelly bass you had grown accustomed to following that fateful phone call at the beginning of this new year.

You remembered again the letter that had arrived on Christmas in the previous year when you were still living with Awinita before she had started dating Tobias.

“Who is that from? How can someone send something on Christmas? I thought everything was basically stopped,” she wondered aloud as you two sat together and opened the letter that arrived by a man who did not appear to work for USPS nor any of the other mail carriers you were familiar with. He didn’t wait for you to respond once he placed the letter in your hands and simply turned sharply on his heel to duck into the black Audi he had arrived in.

After tearing open the envelope with the letter opener Awinita offered you, your slipped your fingers inside to pull out the lone cream cardstock on which was penned a short note upon which five smaller envelopes were carefully pinned to its back.

You recognized the handwriting immediately, feeling a mixture of apprehension and hope churning within your stomach as you began to read the words written there.

“Though this can never replace what you have lost, in the new year please call these numbers in the following order.

I wish you well in the new year,

Chanyeol”

Perplexed but still hoping, you opened each of the envelopes where he had written legal, counseling, and employment option 1, employment option 2, and employment option 3.

He offered you a legal advisor, if given your approval and who if given time, would potentially review your case and provide counsel in your impending trial set to begin within the new year.

He suggested that the legal advisor could also be counted on to supply you advice in maneuvering legal and financial matters outside of court proceedings.

He offered you counseling resources for grief to help with any trauma inflicted during the proceedings, and in any personal matters which he oddly left unspecified.

He also offered employment opportunities in the realm of writing as a lyricist for multiple publishing companies you had only dreamed of. “These are companies I would recommend but I am not familiar with more than two of them through professional contact. Whichever you choose, if you so choose, please let the legal advisor know. They have been instructed to provide my recommendations to assist in your application process. However, a recommendation is not a guarantee for employment. I wish you the best in your future interviews if you accept these offers.”

“Take the deal,” Awinita stated after looking over the details.

She was still looking at the employment opportunities while you were looking at the notes you had brought from your bedroom to review.

“Take the deal _______. What he’s offering we can’t afford on our own. We just can’t. And things don’t look good with this case. You deserve this saving grace. You can finally have a life ______. After all of this that happened...and he’s right. It’s no guarantee but the legal advisor sounds promising,” she looked at you as if she hoped you already planned to take the deal but you couldn’t help the rising fear.

It felt strange to look at this handwritten letter that held none of his voice or his warmth.

It was clinical, sterile but still...him?

“I did ask him for help,” you confessed aloud again looking at the letters with her, pushing your stack of notes to the side away from your view.

“And he’s offering you help now,” she emphasized the ‘now’ as if meaning to say ‘forget what was before and move forward now.’

You spent that Christmas and New Years holiday wondering if you should call him but thought better of that when you remembered again that encounter you’d had at Metaphysics Records, and the faces who stumbled in upon you broken and pleading upon his conference room floor. The way they had looked over your head at Chanyeol as if to spare you any embarrassment when he failed to answer your request, and you excused yourself out the door.

You wondered often how you had looked to them and to him. You wondered if that’s why, after weeks of silence, that he sent you these offers and didn’t follow up with a phone call to make sure that you received the message.

Had he meant to send it or was he advised to sent it?

Does it matter?

You need the help.

You can’t afford to hire the legal help you need to fight this.

You are grieving.

You are...lost.

You waited until the evening of the 2nd once alone again in jittery anxiety when Awinita had gone to visit her parents, and dialed the number Chanyeol had written in compacted script, and heard the voice you had come to find such solace and comfort in.

“Hello, I...my name is _____ and I am calling to speak with Mr. Stone about legal advice,” you heard your voice wavering as you held the phone to your ear, trying to keep your hands from trembling.

“Ah yes, Ms. ______. Thank you so much for calling. I am happy to be of assistance to you in your legal needs. If you could put me in touch with your current attorney so that I can discuss with him further what assistance I can provide, then I would also like to meet with you both in order to plan our approach. With your permission of course, Ms. _____,” his voice was calm as he spoke to you in unhurried tones, and all at once you felt thankful and reassured that things really could get better.

You did as he asked and within a week you assembled your legal team to discuss your counter defense to what the defense had alluded to. What anxiety you felt about entering the courtroom in opposition to your sister had dissipated as the promises made by your legal team were carried out in the manner of requesting that your sister agreed to a plea deal in exchange for a dismissal of certain grievous charges and commitment to receive necessary treatment in a secure and holistic mental health care facility.

“We recommend that this unfortunate encounter is settled quietly within the family. These are sisters who have been dealt a truly horrendous hand. We believe that in a moment of sincere distress due to the workload, and responsibilities shouldered considerably by both sisters and undoubtedly more so by the elder sister, caused the accusations heard during previous meetings to be made. My client does not hold any animosity towards her sister nor her dearly departed parents. My client remained within the family home and strived to contribute to the family home to the best of her ability. My client offered her assistance at any and every opportunity to her late mother, and worked together with her sister to also provide safe care for her late son. While the defendant is being penalized as appropriate for inflicting harm that resulted in the unfortunate death of my client’s late son, my client does not wish any ill will or disadvantageous situation to happen upon the defendant. Instead we would request, despite the degree of the crime, that mercy is granted upon the defendant who is a first time offender and that the defendant is evaluated by a licensed mental health clinician, and is able to consider long term mental health services within a safe, affirming environment.

In addition to these requests your honor we would like to move for a strict restraining order to be placed upon the other party identified in the serious allegations made by the defendant. While we would request mercy in the consideration of the familial relationship between my client and the defendant, we would alternatively request strict and harsh punishment to the other party who has repeatedly battered and aggravated my client. We can provide documentation in a later proceeding that will substantiate our request and prove that the other party is truly a danger to not only my client but to the defendant as well. The other party has brutally taken advantage of both of these young women under the premise of providing financial assistance and support of which they so sorely needed as their parents were struggling to return to healthy functioning. If so granted, we would request that the other party is strictly prevented from residing within the same state of which my client is a resident. We would request that the other party is not allowed to call, text, or communicate in any way through any alternate means, such as by way of a proxy, to deliver harmful, insidious violence or intimidation upon my client. We thank you for hearing our requests and recommendations at this time.”

And as you requested through your legal team the judge so granted. Within a month’s time you began counseling services with a licensed mental health counselor, and following that also sought out the employment opportunities with the listed publishing companies Chanyeol provided.

While all of the interviews went well, you decided to accept the offer from a company Chanyeol was not affiliated with and whose location was in Southern Arizona far from your childhood home.

Mr. Stone put you in touch with a realtor who quickly sold your home to an interested young family with infant children. In addition he also advised you on how to save the money you received from both the sale of your parent’s house, and your late mother’s life insurance policy.

The months spent moving in, training, and jump starting your client base blurred by with not a word from nor even a sudden appearance by Chanyeol and day by day as the winter warmed to spring you began to let go and make peace with his absence because of how much he had blessed you. Even the letters written in good faith to your sister all returned in a bundle unopened with a new searing red stamp of “return to sender.”

To be severed from these two people, one who had been in your life since your childhood and one who had changed your life forever, left you confused most days. Reconciliation not only seemed impossible but felt ludicrous to hope for.

Move on ________.

Move on.

“Really Mr. Stone, I couldn’t say thank you enough for everything you have done to help me. I’m really thankful that this could be restored,” you said to the legal advisor now.

“Absolutely. It was my absolute pleasure. All of the other items have also been restored and are now in storage as you requested. Please let me know if there is anything else I can assist you with. Anytime day or night, know that you can call on me,” he insisted once again as he had since the day you first spoke.

Now you said goodbye to Mr. Stone, the man who had become somewhat of a surrogate uncle to you, and your week went on.

——————

“Hi I’m _______, and you must be Hugh?” You asked over the din in the dimly lit brewery’s lounge where the weekend r&b soul festival had begun.

Awinita and her boyfriend Tobias had arrived just as they planned, and had stayed with you from Friday night into this Sunday evening. After spending the weekend together enjoying the good weather hiking, you had ridden together and entered the Soul Festival to wait for the date Awinita had arranged for you.

“I mean...is it cool if we see it as a double date? He’s one of Tobias’ really good friends and he’s a really nice guy you know? I’ve told him a little about you and he’s excited to meet you this weekend, if you’re cool with that. If not we could always just meet up with him later of course and we three can go out,” she said as she helped you fix your hair Saturday night in preparation for Sunday evening.

Tobias, a mutual friend from high school who had grown into something more for Awinita after reuniting at your class reunion, had cooked you both dinner, a childhood favorite of pine nut catfish and corn salad.

“I’m open to that yea,” you agreed and the following night rode up to the venue with Awinita and Tobias to meet Hugh, who was tall with a loose-limbed athletic build. His dark ebony hair dusted his shoulders in full bodied waves, and his almond emerald green eyes were mesmerizing.

“Yea, it’s nice to meet you, ______,” he drawled, his accent catching you off guard, as his eyes took you in. You resisted the urge to look at Awinita though you were sure she was gauging your reaction from beside Tobias.

Together the four of you entered the venue, you beside Hugh with Awinita and Tobias following, and found an open table to sit at.

“I’ll get the first round,” Tobias immediately offered upon you all getting settled and you accepted, thanking him as Hugh turned to you.

“So are you excited to hear Ophelia tonight? Awinita told me that she was a client of yours,” he asked, reaching to comb his locks back from his eyes with his fingers as he waited for you to answer, a whiff of his heady scent escaping at the movement.

Mmm…

“Definitely. Actually I should probably see if I can let her know that I’m here,” you said, pulling on the strap of your satchel to untwist the purse from the opposite side of your waist so that you could reach for your cell.

“Wait isn’t that her?” Awinita asked suddenly, pointing towards the stage where you could clearly see her speaking with her band.

“Yea, I’ll just go say hi quickly and I’ll be right back. Excuse me for just a second,” you said to Hugh, who nodded as he watched you stand to leave, tucking away the conversation he wanted to have until you returned.

You moved through the crowd carefully, edging closer to the stage where they all stood on the floor in front of the mics until you finally reached Ophelia and her live band.

“Ophelia, hi,” you exclaimed seeing her turn just as you approached, her eyes full as saucers at your appearance.

“__!!! Oh my gosh! Thank you so much for coming! Guys this is ______, da best,” she winked at you as she brought you closer to the band for introductions. You waved at the members who would each play keyboard, synth, drum kit, saxophone, and bass assembled on the stage.

“Thank you so much for inviting me, Ophelia. Can’t wait to hear you,” you said, turning to hug her again after greeting the members.

“Of course, __! Couldn’t imagine doing this without you being here. Hope you enjoy the show!” She called as you turned to head back to your seat, waving at some of your fellow team that you spotted in the seats closer to the stage as you made your way through the crowded tables filled with patrons dining on tapas, beer, and cocktails.

Awinita waved you back over, an event flyer in her hand. Hugh offered you a drink as you came to sit beside him, which you took while looking at the flyer.

“So these are all the labels and companies represented here tonight by artists who are performing...isn't Metaphysics…,” Awinita looked up at you, her eyes wide with realization.

“Oh...I...well yea that’s that label but of course they would be here. That’s cool,” you said, finally sitting in your chair as the house lights came down, and Ophelia took the stage.

Just because his label is here does not mean he is here though, you shrugged turning to whisper something to Hugh when a face caught your eye.

Hugh, who had been intently bobbing along to the beat of Ophelia’s drummer, snapped to attention at your sudden leaning in towards him.

“Yea?” He asked huskily, his dark hair falling into his eyes again.

“Um, I...sorry. I forgot what I was going to say,” you blushed, fiddling with a non existent loose strand of hair as you turned away.

“Oh,” he whispered under his breath, leaning back in his chair.

But you turned again, sipping your glass of wine.

I was sure that I had seen…

The crowd around you erupted in applause at the close of Ophelia’s number, and she bowed neatly before the next number began.

“Ah, dry again,” Tobias sighed as he finished off his glass.

“You really like that one huh? We should buy some when we get back,” Awinita whispered against his cheek, his arm curled around her shoulders.

He nodded against her lips, a small smile on his lips at the intimate way she kissed his ear before turning her attention back to Ophelia.

“I’ve got the next round,” you announced, standing to make your way to the bar.

Hugh jumped at the announcement. It seemed like you had beat him to it.

“Sure? I could get this round this time. In fact I think this one was on me,” he insisted, standing to go ahead of you to the bar but you held up your hands to him shaking your head.

“No worries. I’ll be right back.”

His mouth opened and closed quickly as if he meant to try to gently convince you but seeing that you were already determined to go, he swallowed his statement and took his seat.

You milled again through the crowd to the bar off to the left side of the stage, nudging past patrons who stood swaying in small groups as they listened along.

“Two orange peels, and two glasses of rosado,” you told the bartender once you’d gotten her attention.

While waiting for your orders you fiddled with your purse, shaking off a slight shudder down your spine.

Why do I feel so nervous about this?

Hugh seems nice.

I’m just out of practice.

I’m just…

“__-____?” A raspy baritone voice called out to you.

You turned, wide eyed as you saw the face you knew you’d seen.

You knew those eyes anywhere.

“Chanyeol…” you breathed, suddenly parched at the gleam of his smile.

“I...I thought I saw you for just a moment in the crowd headed towards the stage but it’s really you,” he said when you said nothing more.

“I...yea. Yea I’m here to see my...Ophelia is one of the artists I’ve worked with,” you said nodding to where Ophelia waved to the crowd after closing the number.

“Really? She’s great. I like her vibe,” he said looking from you to her and then turning again to the bar where you both stood quiet for a moment.

“Yea she’s awesome. I’m so glad to have had the opportunity to work with her. I...I well I didn’t know when I could call just with everything happening. But I...thank you Chanyeol. I just. I was hoping I could tell you thank you at some point but-“

He shrugged, leaning against the bar which brought his posture lower and closer to you.

“I’m glad everything is ok. That you’re doing ok. How’s work? You loving it?” He asked and you nodded emphatically, refraining from spilling everything that you truly loved about your work. Would he really hear everything you had to say over the music, the conversation, the ambiance?

“So you’re here with Metaphysics? How is everything going? From the flyer it looks like you have a couple of artists performing tonight,” you said and smiled proudly at your mentioning of it.

“Yea things are going well there for me also,” he replied, the proud smile still on his lips as he watched you.

“That’s great. I’m so glad to hear that. I-”

“Ma’am your drinks,” the bartender interrupted, taping you lightly on the arm.

“Oh yes. Thank you,” you said turning back to the bar to finish out the transaction.

You looked back at Chanyeol who looked down at the tray she offered you, and thought you could see him counting the drinks.

“I’m here with Awinita and her boyfriend and a friend,” you blurted to which he raised his eyebrows.

“Oh? I wasn’t sure if you were here in a work capacity or…” he shrugged nonchalantly though his eyes roved from your face to something behind you. The open sun of his smile had dipped behind the shadow of an uncertain look.

You turned to see Hugh behind you, an unsuspecting smile on his face.

“Hey I thought you may need help carrying the drinks since you were taking awhile. You missed a lot of Ophelia’s set,” he chuckled in a friendly tone as he picked up the tray.

You turned again to see Chanyeol watching you, his expression closed.

And cold like that letter.

“I...Hugh this is Chanyeol. Chanyeol this is Hugh,” you didn’t understand why you didn’t introduce them both to one another as friends of yours. Hugh placed the tray back on the bar and reached a hand out to Chanyeol which Chanyeol received, his smile clipped.

“Hi I guess you also work for Aspire?” Hugh asked to which Chanyeol shook his head.

“No actually, I’m from Metaphysics. ______ and I know each other from another event,” Chanyeol stated simply, his eyes never leaving Hugh as he spoke to him.

Hugh nodded , unassuming and sweet.

“Well I’ll grab these then. You coming?” He asked you as he held the tray of drinks once more, his head tilted back towards the table where Awinita waited.

“Yea I…” you turned back to Chanyeol and saw the tempered heat in his eyes as he watched you.

“It was nice seeing you again. Enjoy the show,” you said, backing away to follow Hugh back to your table, noting that Chanyeol’s eyes did not leave yours until you turned away.

_______

“So what did you think of Hugh,” Awinita asked you on the phone as you drove back to your house.

You all had parted ways at the venue doors following the end of the festival performance. Hugh asked you out on a date for the following weekend to which you immediately said yes. Tobias and Awinita had waited until you parted ways and gotten safely into your cars before asking what you thought of the night’s events.

“He’s really sweet. Kind of a music nerd like me which is cool. He’s also beautiful. His hair, oh my god,” you gushed to Awinita who laughed aloud at your confessions.

“So you like him enough to see him for another date without all of us?” Tobias asked, and you heard a muffled “ouch” and figured that Awinita elbowed him.

“Yea I have to admit that I was a little nervous going out tonight. It’s just been awhile since I’ve been out. I just work each day and head home and don’t really go out to meet people. So tonight was just nice to meet people and-”

“Dance! Girl! I saw you and Hugh getting down out there. He thought he was moving but girl you were serving,” you both laughed aloud at that.

“Yea he was a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to seeing him again,” you said as you pulled up to your house and turned off the ignition.

“Sounds good hun. Have you made it home?” Awinita asked, a pop and crackling of a soda can sounding in the background.

“Yea I am. You guys drive safely. Are you really far out of the city now? If you want you can always stay the night and just drive out in the morning,” you offered but knew that Tobias had to be to work in the morning.

“Next time love. We’ll see you next time,” Awinita promised.

“Ok. Well I love you both! Please call me when you make it in!” You asked and heard them return the sentiment before you hung up, hopped out of your car and froze at the sight of a hooded figure on your doorstep.

The shadowed person turned at the sound of the slam of your car door.

You felt a feverish chill break over your body as you stood.

Go, you have to go, go now! Now! Now! Your body screamed.

As quickly as you could, you ripped open your car’s door and slammed it shut just as the shadowed person raced towards your car, slapping the trunk as you sped away.

You drove blindly for an hour before stopping at a nearby elementary school to call your legal advisor.

“There was someone at my house. I couldn’t see their face or hair or hear their voice but I think they were about 5’8” to 5’9”. Very athletic build. They were dressed all in black and wore a hood. I drove closer to the downtown area and am at this elementary school,” you informed him, turning over your shoulder to look at the name of the school so you could share your location with him.

“Ok. Please lock your door. Call the police. I will be there shortly,” he brusquely ended the call and you followed through on his instructions informing the police with as much information as you could possibly give them.

After calling you closed your eyes and pressed your phone to your chest, willing yourself to be calm and not to cry.

You can’t call Awinita to come back and stay with you.

Knowing Tobias they’re probably already there by now and he has to work in the morning.

Definitely cannot call Hugh.

Let the police clear the house first and then you can stay there tonight.

Don’t be afraid.

You repeated those instructions to yourself over and over and over until you heard a voice outside your car door.

“_____? ______ are you ok?”

“Chanyeol?” You gasped at his sudden appearance at your driver’s side window, breaking you of your calm concentration.

After opening the door, you stood in front of him, trembling.

“How-”

“I told Mr. Stone that if anything ever happened to you that he should call me immediately. I was just finishing up at the venue and he told me where you were. Are you ok?” He asked again, his eyes looking over you in a way that you felt a doctor would, checking for any signs of pain or trauma.

“I’m alright really. I got away and they weren’t following me. The police should be here shortly and then I’ll head back. Th-Thank you for coming,” you felt the quaking of your limbs increasing as the police arrived followed by Mr. Stone just as Chanyeol stepped closer. You were grateful for the distraction however.

They escorted you back to your home where you waited outside with Mr. Stone and Chanyeol both of whom stood before you as dragons, emitting gusts of hot air at the surrounding air as it blew around you.

After a fifteen minute walk through the police joined you where you waited on the opposite side of the street further down.

“Well ma’am we cannot find anyone source of entry or disturbance within the home. However what we can do is put a patrol on the house. Is there someone you can stay with-”

“Honestly I would prefer to stay at home. If it’s not too much to ask for a patrol for tonight, I would appreciate it,” you said dismissing the idea that you would go elsewhere.

No one if going to chase me away from here.

“Absolutely ma’am. If that’s your request. At the first sign of anything please give us a call,” he shook your hand as well as Mr. Stone and Chanyeol’s hands before walking back to his squad car parked in front of your house and radioed in the request.

Chanyeol’s familiar black Jeep was parked just behind his patrol car and Mr. Stone’s sleek BMW was parked behind your car on the opposite side of the street.

“I can stay with you if you want,” Mr. Stone offered and you took his hand gratefully in yours.

“I’ll be alright really. Thank you so much for coming. I’ll feel even more afraid if I stay somewhere else and then I won’t want to come back here. The patrol should be here any moment,” you said as Mr. Stone reached to hug you into his chest.

“If that is your will. As always I’m not too far away. I will call every hour until you retire to make sure that you are safe,” he departed with that statement after nodding to Chanyeol and climbed into his BMW.

“Are you sure you don’t want someone to stay with you? I’ll sit outside for a little while if that’s ok too,” Chanyeol asked, pulling his keys from his jeans pocket as he moved towards his Jeep.

But you lifted a shaking hand, regretting that you had done so when you saw the way Chanyeol looked at you trembling there before him.

“I’m ok,” you insisted turning to head inside the house, hearing Chanyeol behind you.

“I’ll stay right out here in the car ok? Lock the door,” he said as you entered through the front door.

He closed the door behind you and you locked the door, crossing the floor to sit on your couch.

The quaking of your knees increased the longer you sat in silence, watching the clock on your kitchen wall ticking away the hour you spent frozen in place.

You are safe.

It’s ok.

It’s-

*RIIIIING*

“H-hello?” You scrambled to pick up your cell phone you dropped at its sudden brash ringing and heard Chanyeol ask, “you doing ok? You haven’t moved from the living room. None of the other lights in the house are on.”

You cupped the phone to your ear, swallowing audibly.

“______?”

You swallowed past another dry patch in your throat.

“______?”

“I think Mr. Stone is calling,” you said as your other line beeped and you clicked over to hear Mr. Stone asking how you were.

“If you feel comfortable allowing Mr. Park into your home to sit with you, that may help you to move throughout the home and ready yourself to retire. If not, I can come by to stay with you,” his tone was doting in a way that made your quivering turn into inaudible sniffling.

“I may ask him inside. I thought I could go into the house and just get on with the night but it’s hard. I don’t want to call you back after you just drove home. I will ask Chanyeol inside. Good night Mr. Stone,” you said ending the call once he had said goodbye.

You clicked back over, shakily bringing the phone back to your ear.

“_______?”

“Chanyeol, please come inside,” you said, hearing how small your voice was in the echo of your dimly lit stucco home.

“Can you make it to the door to unlock it?” He seemed to be genuinely concerned or maybe you hoped he was. There wasn’t a hint of teasing in his voice or malice.

“Yes,” you stood and made it to the door, feeling your knees knocking as you heard his car door slam outside.

He met you at the door as you opened it, his phone still to his ear as you also held yours there, frozen.

The patrol car slowly cruised by on the street just beyond your door and Chanyeol turned to wave to them as they continued on their way.

“You ok?” He asked as you stepped back to allow him in and he closed the door behind you both.

“Yes. I’m...if you could just. I am going to walk through and take a shower. Please make yourself comfortable,” you said gesturing shakily to the couch as you walked back to your bedroom.

You knew the police had already walked through and that there was no one else there but the surreal quiet of your home that had always been filled with music at this hour of night was solidifying you in a petrified state.

Even a brisk warm shower didn’t ease your nerves.

You returned to your bedroom to change, hearing Chanyeol in the kitchen on the phone with someone.

“Yes we’re still not sure how this happened. How in the hell does someone randomly show up in the middle of the night and just disappear? There’s a patrol yea.”

You wondered for a brief insane moment if he had had anything to do with it and felt guilty for second guessing him.

But how could Chanyeol have appeared so suddenly?

This whole time he had known where you were but just hours ago he had acted like he didn’t know anything…

Was he in regular contact with Mr. Stone about your whereabouts or did he really give you your space unless something bad happened to you?

You worried all the way out into the hall back to your kitchen where Chanyeol was seated on your living room sofa, the call finished, his head in his hands.

He looked up at the sound of your slippered feet trudging along the floor.

And the look in his eyes, the return of that bright sunny smile, stilled the tremors wracking your body.

“It’s ok, _______. We’ll figure this out,” he said, his tone steady as he looked at you.

Your cell phone that you had left on the coffee table chimed suddenly and Chanyeol reached for it, standing to bringing the phone to you.

You brought it to your ear as you asked, “hello?”

“Seems like you’re still breathing huh bitch?”

“Excuse me?” You asked, the feverish chill resurfacing.

“I am going to fucking kill you!” The garbled voice shouted and you pulled the phone from your ear, your stomach churning.

Chanyeol’s eyebrows were furrowed in concern at the way you shook but you brought the phone to your ear again.

“You cannot call me. You cannot be in touch with me,” you answered Liam, your ex boyfriend.

He chortled at the way you answered, as if he was glad that you knew exactly who it was without him identifying himself.

“Nah bitch how did you get that money?! Who the fuck are you fucking now?! Huh?! That was my fucking money bitch. You owe me! THAT WAS MINE!!” he continued to yell into the phone and as you lowered it Chanyeol reached for it but you snatched it from his grasp putting a finger to your lips.

You placed Liam on muted speaker phone, bringing his tirade to its climax.

Chanyeol frowned at the words he used and seemed furious with the idea that he had to remain quiet while he listened to Liam insult you over and over and over again. But you placed the phone down on the kitchen counter and walked around the counter to find the only house phone that you kept in the kitchen.

You dialed Mr. Stone and told him what you had rehearsed, “I have him on speaker phone. Are you available to record?”

You heard the snap of a button and Mr. Stone stonily replied, “we are recording. Once he finishes the call, allow him to hang up.”

You placed the phone on the counter alongside your cell where Liam continued to hurl obscenities at you and your family.

You stood looking at the phone now counting 10 minutes that had gone past of his ruthless anger.

You felt Chanyeol suddenly beside you and looked up to see him watching you as he had done all evening. His gaze was open and thoughtful as he suddenly asked, “do you want to sit down? I...can I get you anything?”

Hardly the questions you thought you would hear.

You sat on the sofa opposite him, exhausted.

He was quiet for a while as if he was waiting for you but you ignored the urge you had to say something.

It had been months since he had seen you and all this time that you spent hoping for reconciliation, thinking you had been parted with for your benefit, doing your best in attending your counseling services despite your inability to reasonably achieve closure without being able to see the two people left in your world who you needed closure from.

As you sat in silence, gradually descending into yourself, you felt in the midst of your exhaustion a stirring anger at the realization that he hadn’t been far from you at all. He had hidden himself from you in the familiarity of Mr. Stone who had seemed someone safe and removed. He had robbed you even of that.

“________…”

“Why do you keep messing with me, Chanyeol? Why are you here?” You heard yourself saying, despite the way your body had sunken into a fetal curve in the seat of your couch.

You saw him turn to look at you, his smile quivering in shock.

“I’m not here to mess with you ______. I’m here to-”

“Why are you here? Why did you help me?” You asked, seeing him turn so that he was facing you.

He watched you for a moment.

“Now you’re angry at me because I helped you when months ago you were asking me for help? I just wanted to make things right between us-”

“You don’t think that was weird? Acting like you didn’t know where I was and what my life has been like...have you known about Liam too? Have you been listening to these threats for months?” You heard the erratic trembling of your voice but at this moment, you would not stop yourself until you finished.

He took a breath to say something but you rose from the sofa.

“Is this some sick game to you? Do you make a habit of saving women so that you can swoop in and reap the benefits? I just...something about you and this whole thing isn’t right. I have no idea where you have been or how you have been. You just showed up. I have appreciated your help but I’m not going to sit here and have you judge me and my situation tonight. I am not going to entertain you anymore with my trauma,” you turned to walk towards the door to let him out and all at once he was standing to take your hand.

“________, wait. Please. I’m sorry...I-”

“I don’t want you here. I don’t want to do this again. Please leave me alone-”

Tears overcame you as you pulled yourself away from him.

“I’m tired of this. I’m so tired of this. All of you just leave me alone,” you hiccuped between unsteady breaths.

His expression was openly pained and sorry, his large brown eyes misting at the look of fear and indignation you gave him.

“_______. I’m sorry-” his voice cracked as you stepped away from him.

“I’ll go. If you want me to go I’ll go. I just wanted to make sure that you were ok. Really I promise you. I stayed away because I just...I’m not sure what I want. When we were trying to figure things out you weren’t ready and now...when I saw you tonight with that guy I thought-”

“But what does that have to do with anything? You didn’t ask me. You just assumed. You’ve been watching from the shadows like some creep and then suddenly when I’m doing better here you come to try again? Do you understand how fucking sick that is?” A scream was rising in you as he grabbed his phone from the coffee table and made to move past you.

“So you’re just going to walk away now? So that’s it? You have absolutely nothing to say?” You followed him to the door.

He stopped, his back tensing as he held the door knob in his hand.

You heard a “click crunch” of the handle as it turned in his hand.

You both took rasping inhales and exhales in turn, waiting the other out.

“I don’t want to fight-”

“Then what do you want?”

He turned to face you, his eyes red and his nostrils flared.

“I...I want you _____ but then…” he choked out his answer, his hands in fists at his sides.

“But then what? Why leave me in silence for months? Why did you help me? Why didn’t you just walk away?” You went on, though you knew it would have been better to be patient and wait for his response you didn’t give a damn at this point.

“I have been living in this false bubble for months. Months. My sister won’t speak to me. She won’t even let them update me about her progress. I moved away from my childhood home. I sold almost everything I could take pay back our debts. I lost...i lost my son-” you didn’t bite back the sobs that threatened to unsettle your grounded stance.

“I cannot do this anymore. This back and forth. I need the truth. I need peace. And if you’re not going to be part of that peace then just let me go Chanyeol. Please let me go-” you sobbed into your hands as you sunk to the floor.

You weren’t expecting him to catch you.

You hoped he would walk out the door and leave you to grieve alone.

You hoped he would allow you your space, finally.

But he moved swiftly to catch you where you fell, taking you into his arms.

It had been forever since you had been cradled against someone’s chest where you rested fully in their arms.

You remembered your father holding you and carrying you home after you fell from your bike in grade school.

You remembered crying into his shoulder as he told you, “you fell the first time so that you could learn how to stand up on your own next time. You’re my strong girl, you just don’t know it yet.”

Chanyeol carried you effortlessly down the hall and looked into each door until he found your bedroom.

He sat down with you still in his arms, letting out a deep breath as he turned to lay you down to rest on top of your sheets.

“Here. Just rest here,” he said, his eyes beginning to puff up no doubt from the tears in his eyes.

As you laid there, the height of your anger and the fevered race of your anxiety depleting you of the strength and the will to resist.

“I’ll just wait outside like I said. I’ll-” he began not looking at you as he awkwardly tried to help you tuck yourself into your bed though you were not turning your body to allow him to help you in.

You placed a hand on his arm, noting the depth of the tan that had settled in.

You remembered the tautness of his forearms, and the ripple of his veins.

He looked up at you as you placed your hand there.

And you saw the invitation.

You felt the fire of desire rising in the way he somehow leaned closer to you.

“Chanyeol…” you whimpered as he leaned closer and kissed your forehead.

He murmured your name like an incantation against the bridge of your nose.

His lips against yours sealed your fate.

#exo fanfic #chanyeol fanfic #Pathcode AU #human realm #universe gamma

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