#side note. last gif..... very important to me....

[cosmictheo]

𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋𝐒 | feyd-rautha

(gif credits to @pascow)

— summary: an arranged marriage with feyd-rautha in the name of reconciling your houses was something you were not expecting, neither was the soft and light way he seemed to behave towards you and only you. —pairing: feyd-rautha harkonnen x female!atreides!reader —word count: 3k —warnings: arranged marriage, feyd being gentle and calm because the reader is the love of his life (as it was written), probably ooc!feyd (sorry but i just love to see the most savage and feral men fall on their knees for their s/o)

writer’s note: english is not my mother tongue, so please forgive me if there is a grammatical error. hope you like it!

ᯓ★ part one ── part two ── part three (coming soon)

Your arranged marriage to Feyd-Rautha had been the reason for House Atreides and Harkonnen to strengthen their alliance, ensuring that neither would stab each other in the back, which was most expected from the Baron. Your Houses had been wavering on a faint thread that separated you from a war and this marriage arrangement had pacted a reconciliation. It had been your parents' idea and obeying your parents was the most important thing for you, right after protecting your family and indeed that was what you were doing, guarding your family.

Your twin brother did not like the idea, he was not very fond of Feyd-Rautha and his House, moreover, he found him rather... repulsive. For Feyd was a savage, a ruthless and bloodthirsty man.

However, he had to admit that, next to him, you would be basically untouchable, after all, it was like having a guard dog, the most possessive and protective dog, a dog that was ready to kill and ravage for you if necessary.

“He's scary.” Paul's voice echoed inside your head as together you walked along the vast hallways of the Harkonnen palace, at the end of it, Feyd-Rautha stood, engaged in a conversation with your parents, forever as stiff and somber as he had been since you had first met him.

“Just look at him, you'll have to wake up next to him for the rest of your life.” Your brother insisted, throwing you a knowing and concerned look. “We can fix this without you having to marry that man, sister. There must be something—”

“Enough.” you interrupted him, finally dragging your eyes from your betrothed to your anxious brother pacing beside you, you made an effort to offer him a reassuring, soft smile, grateful that he was always so caring and concerned about you and your well-being. “There's nothing else we can do. You know about my visions and what they foresee. Our House will not endure if I do not accept this offer.”

“We will do whatever it takes to survive for now.” You added, holding Paul's gaze, noting the sadness and pity behind his dark eyes, and like the good sister you were, you sighed softly, leaning closer to him to bring him some kind of reassurance. “Our turn will come to make our move and win, brother.”

“Whatever it takes.” He echoed, nodding his head, fingers brushing your clasped hand around his forearm, as you were accustomed to do when you walked side by side.

“The marriage will take place two weeks from now.” The Duke's voice gave out the news once you were all inside the assembly room, with the Baron at the head of the table, of course, looking uncharacteristically approving and pleased to hear the announcement.

The massive man showed his approval with a hint of a phantom, twisted smile, plump fingers taping the edge of the black table in front of him. “We will have the princess as a guest in our home for a week and then the na-Baron will visit her home for the last week, prior to her coming to live here.”

He planned the whole thing and there was absolutely no one in the room who had the idiotic courage to be against his command, so, it was settled.

Once you said goodbye to your family and gave a tight and emotional hug to your brother, you were left alone in the dark and gigantic planet of the Harkonnen family, feeling like an outsider, like a small prey surrounded by bloodthirsty predators. Although, the place possessed an indescribable and incomparable beauty, the sun was black, and the light that irradiated was whitish, giving it a beautiful contrast with all the black buildings rising majestically. But the place was rather... depressing, quiet and somewhat eerie, it was nothing like your home.

You soon felt out of place, and everyone who looked at you could see it too. It was as if you had some kind of golden aura, glowing among all the darkness and gloom of the place.

Feyd-Rautha watched you attentively, analyzing every expression and emotion you let be shown across your face, catching the look your eyes possessed, that special little gleam that flashed in your orbs as you admired Giedi Prime as if it were one of the most beautiful things you had ever seen in your life, his home.

“Do you like it here, my lady?” His husky, raspy voice managed to snap you out of your trance, and your heart skipped a beat once you trailed your gaze from the horizon beneath the balcony to him, meeting his deep, dark gaze. He always seemed to look at you with those eyes, captivated, as if you were some form of strange spectacle.

And indeed you were, you stood in perfect contrast to the planet, your eyes were bright, lively, your aura was vivacious and hopeful. And because of that, he liked to look at you, study your face, your body language, every little reaction you had in response to something. You were fascinating.

Whenever you entered any room, his deep blue eyes were pulled to you like a magnet, drawn to orbit around you like his planet circling the dark sun.

Feyd noticed out of the corner of his eye how your hands clasped lightly around the balcony fence in front of you, skin contrasting against the blackness of the material. 

You nodded your head very slowly, twisting your body just enough to be able to look him directly in the face, big eyes looking up at him, not with fear, but with expectation. “I do.”

Even your voice was the opposite of his, keeping that soft and delicate tone, as elegant as you.

He seemed satisfied with your positive response, and so, he dared to lean against the balcony fence right next to you, but careful not to cause you to feel too uncomfortable or intruded upon. His eyes never left you for a second and he was quite pleased that you were bold enough to hold his powerful and intimidating gaze.

“Good, it will soon become your home too.” Feyd answered you, in a tone that oscillated between amusement and fascination, you didn't quite know how to decipher the expression on his face either, naturally.

He was very complicated to read, even if you tried extra hard, the many tutoring and lessons with Lady Jessica didn't seem to do much use, with him. Perhaps because he made you feel unnerved, he made your soul tremble like no one could, stepping beyond your walls and standing where none of your senses seemed to work. Where the eye could not see.

“Are you mocking me?” Still, you had the courage to ask him that bold question, one eyebrow rising on your forehead and your head twisting slightly, defiant face and all.

Your bravery made him laugh slightly this time, a noise that was heard almost unnaturally, with a small crooked smile on his lips that looked all too unusual and strange on him. For not even his strongest and most powerful enemies had had the courage to stand in front of him and challenge him like you were doing right now. You were a fierce girl. And he liked that.

“I wouldn't be likely to mock you, my lady.” Feyd-Rautha replied calmly, his tone of voice the exact same, as if you were a spectacle. Your eyes lowered to his hand, which snaked slowly to the edge of the balcony fence, fingers stroking the smooth surface. “I'm just stating the obvious. You'll be living here with me soon. It will be our home and you will reign with me when it's my turn.”

You narrowed your eyes slightly at his response, not yet quite convinced that he would behave so calm and composed with you, when not more than two days ago you had seen him slicing men to pieces in the arena. “You are not bothered by me invading your space?”

You asked that question because you knew how... eccentric men usually behaved, you could see it in basically every man with any power you had ever met, in the so many meetings with the Duke back home. You could see how they treated their wives, how they looked at them and how they talked to them, as if they were dealing with a servant. You feared this marriage was like that too.

Even your parents' marriage was broken, since Duke Leto kept close to his heart another woman who was not Lady Jessica, he did not love her as he loved that unknown woman. You had grown up seeing an empty and cold marriage, merely to fulfill a duty.

You understood that your marriage would also have that basis, and therefore, you knew that duty was the death of love. But for some silly, innocent reason, you wanted to think there might be love here. As the naive, young girl that you were.

Feyd-Rautha shrugged, not taking much interest in the matter of the question, “You'll be my wife, my space is your space.”

A hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his lips when he saw that his answer pleased you. You could begin to understand that to him the whole arranged marriage thing wasn't as important as it was to you, or maybe it was, but it didn't seem to bother him or disagree.

“Does this marriage bother you?” It was his turn to ask, staring down at you, noticing how beautifully your skin reflected the pale natural light of the black sun. He could see how frustrated you were now, to be there, with him. “Does it bother you to be my wife?”

You sighed heavily, peeling your eyes from Feyd-Rautha and returning them to the beauty of the landscape below, pondering the questions. His dark eyes followed your every movement as your body turned forward again, hands gripping the balcony fence as if your life depended on it.

“Do you care much for my opinion of you?” You decided to answer him with another question and that seemed to annoy him for his frown deepened and his fingers halted on the fence, devoting himself to glaring at you with his azure eyes, mirroring the pallid light of the gloomy sun.

“Woman, I will marry you and live by your side for the rest of my life, of course your opinion is important.” He took a couple of steps closer to you as he spoke, hand closer and closer to yours, managing to make you even more nervous. “Don't speak nonsense, it doesn't suit you. You're a smart girl.”

Seeing the expression on your face, he leaned even closer and out of the corner of your eye you watched as his hand rose to your face, resting on your chin and turning it ever so gently for you to look at him, but your eyes lowered, fleeing from his.

It seemed astonishing to him that you didn't even flinch away when you sensed the approach of his hand to your face, as if it wasn't the same hand that had slaughtered so many and slit so many necks by the same motion.

“Don't take your eyes off me.” He demanded in a low, raspy tone of voice, you could feel his breath brush against your face. “Look at me.”

When he whispered your name in that delicate, nearly pleading tone, you finally summoned the courage to look at him, allowing him to cradle your chin between his fingers and allowing him to be so close to you that you felt suffocated by the warmth of his body against yours.

“You fear me?”

He asked in that tone of voice, whispering, silently asking you to have mercy on him, not to fear him as everyone usually feared him, not to see him as the monster everyone saw, but as your husband, your protector and your lover.

He saw how your eyes watered slightly as fear peered into your usual stoic, cold face, and Feyd-Rautha was used to beholding that face, was used to fear, because it was always the last look of his enemies.

“I'm afraid. Of leaving home, of living on an unknown planet, of marrying someone I don't know.” Then you shook your head softly, looking up at him through your long eyelashes. “But I am not afraid of you, Feyd-Rautha.”

“You're very bold... and emotional.” He whispered in a disapproving but gentle voice, fingers tracing barely a caress along your lower lip before he reached up and dried the couple of tears that had managed to escape from your pretty eyes. At the closeness, you could begin to see through the mask he always carried, hiding his emotions. “You can't let yourself look like this in front of your enemies, it will make you appear weak.”

“I can't let myself look like this in front of my future husband?” his dark eyes lowered to your lips as you modulated the question, pupils dilating slightly. You swallowed as you saw desire and lust darken his orbs even more when you referred to him as your husband. You sniffed, feeling suddenly embarrassed by your outburst of emotions. “I'm s—sorry. You shouldn't see me like this, my lord.”

“Don't apologize.” He again reprimanded you in that passive-aggressive tone of his, like a hiss of a snake, shaking his head a little. Even after he wiped away your little tears, his hands remained in the same place, cupping your face, each of his thumbs resting on your flushed cheekbones.His fingertips were surprisingly gentle against your skin, sending shivers all over your body beneath their path. “You can be like this only with me, you understand? You can trust me, I want you to trust me.” His fingers took a lock of your hair and pulled it away from your face, running it carefully behind your ear. “But I really don't like to see you cry, my wife-to-be.”

After barely a second of silence with his azure eyes again flicking down to your parted lips, he spoke again, muttering, his raspy voice indicating that perhaps it hurt his throat to talk like that. “Pretty girls like you should cry out of pleasure only.”

He studied your face once more, not missing the way you blushed at his open flirtation and suggestive words, how you bit your lower lip, pupils expanding in thick blackness. You weren't used to so much attention, let alone men saying those kinds of words to you, it was evident. You were so innocent that it provoked a rare feeling of tenderness in Feyd-Rautha.

Perhaps it would be the closest thing to an act of consolation you would get from him and it was likely the only time in his life he had ever done that.

Promptly, you managed to make him smile again. “You Atreides are so strange and delicate... but then again, you will soon be Harkonnen, the prettiest na-Baroness, my pretty little wife.”

From his voice, his careful choice of words and the way he was looking at you, you expected him to kiss you right there —perhaps that was what you wanted, amidst all the tumult of emotions that shook your little heart, beating in rumbling noises inside your chest, pumping fiery blood through your veins.

But after a few seconds, he pulled his hands away from your face and backed away from you, taking a few steps back and offering you a look that you managed to perceive as soft rather than harsh. You knew that he was controlling himself well in maintaining a good demeanor, perhaps because his uncle had ordered him to do so; to do his best to make a good impression and not bring shame to the family. And also because he wanted you to have a good image of him, he was a prideful man, he was used to boast of his virtues and his power, and he was above all, protective of his own person and his glory.

He made a short gesture with his head pointing to the open balcony door, his hands clasping together behind his back pragmatically, as if he were presenting himself in front of a superior. “Now come, pretty girl, I'll show you the palace myself. You're future home.”

You walked towards him, a little smile curving your lips, the first smile on your face during the entire conversation, and he admired it in all it's glory.

“You don't have to be all stiff when you're with me, Feyd.” You eyed his posture with light eyes as you passed him and made your way inside the guest room with graceful steps, him following close behind.

He wasn't very fond of being addressed by name directly, of having his name used so freely, but the way you pronounced his name made him so utterly proud to be called that, he suddenly was wishing you would just call him that, in that tone of voice, tongue savoring his name as if it were the most delightful thing to say.

You turned to look at him for a few seconds, your tone of voice becoming reassuring, something he wasn't quite used to, yet he heard and savored it as if it were the sweetest thing in the world.

“If you can see me cry, then I can see you relaxed. It is only fair, no?”

Feyd-Rautha received your words positively, causing him to deepen his breathing into a snorting chuckle, eyes sparkling with amusement now behind your back.

“I'll try for you.” His response made you smile once more.

[chokingonchairs]

Tutorial on how to edit graphics! (Or improve your edits! + tips!) Part 1..

Well firstly, if you’re entirely new to editing or a beginner. Then editing can seem very confusing and tricky, especially the intense psd, cluttered kind of edits, mine are also very cluttered but I think the best way to go as far as being a beginner is to figure out what style you want to do.. minimalistic? Cluttered? Eye strain? Gif/animated? I personally don’t do very many animated graphics and I also don’t do eye strain, so.. you’re on your own for that but it’s important to know what ur GOAL is. You need to know the basics of editing before doing anything else.

The editing apps I recommend are photopea and ibisPaint X, both are free. I really don’t recommend any paid apps other than ibispaint.. yes there’s ibispaint x then ibispaint. (The paid version has everything in it and is a one-time purchase, and has the same mechanics as the free version. If you are editing on pc or laptop, there is a version of ibispaint on desktop but you are only able to use it for 1 hour, if you are most comfortable with ibispaint then you can just delete it and re-download it. But if you don’t want to do that (you can use photopea!) I don’t use photopea so this will be a tutorial using only ibispaint! I can probably find a moot of mine that uses it LOL

So as far as resources go.. they’re everywhere.. I know @/lavendergalactic, @/llocket and @bydollita have a lot of good resources. (I didn’t fully mention the other two because well.. they’re not my moots so I felt awkward LOL) I can probably post some of my most used ones on a separate side blog like I did with my last account so.. also tell me if ur interested in that.

But for the basics of your resources: you want the character or person. An image then a transparent cut-out of them, a frame and/or pfp/image mask to use, and some decorative PNGs like bows, curtains, hearts, whatever you’d like. I can link some good resource rentries too!

Once you have all of that: find a reference/inspo, if you are taking HEAVY inspiration off of someone from tumblr or whatever, PLEASE check if they are okay with it, message or send them an ask in their inbox if it’s okay.. or they might have it somewhere on their pinned post if they allow it.

And now.. the question ur probably asking.. how do I do all of that?!

I had quickly made this. You can see the main components. The character cut-out, the inner image behind the frame, the decor, and the silly texts and textures behind the graphic to make it pop.

If you want ur graphics to be this cohesive there’s a few things to note. You need to know colours look best together, what style of editing looks best with certain art styles, and characters.

If you’re wondering “why does this character look so out of place?” Or just finding yourself in a rut with certain characters, you need to examine the character, like you can’t make a goth style graphic with a happy and cheery character like emu otori (depending on the card you choose) or like paimon from Genshin impact.. like that’s just gonna look SILLY. So take note of what this character looks like and what their original colour palette is. Are they a happy person? Are they emo and depressed? What colours do you usually see this person in?

Having range in your editing style will help you a lot, so branch out and edit different characters, and use different colours, and aesthetics!

Now for colours, you need to understand colour theory which quite frankly.. I am not about to teach out so probably at the end of this post I will have some videos linked for you to look at and watch that just overall will help you understand better how to edit that includes a video about colour theory!

If you are an editor and find yourself not being able to edit a certain style or can’t fulfill someone’s request for a certain aesthetic.. don’t be afraid to decline because a lot of the times you’ll have people who know nothing about what looks good with ur editing style or what aesthetics fit certain characters so it’s okay to decline stupid people… (/j.. they’re not stupid but ykw I mean..)

Using the stroke filter on ibispaint or photopea, aswell as the glow filter on ibispaint make ur edits look VERY good! (I use it on everything because it gives everything a little bit of separation yk? So you can see the different layers to the graphic!

Using textures over top of your graphics make it look very visually appealing aswell!

So as I mentioned I will link some videos, and I will also link some posts for good textures, and then add some photos for downloadable fonts to use on ibispaint (if you don’t know how to download fonts on ibispaint I can make a tutorial too! If you are also confused on how to use ibispaint they have a built-in tutorial, and it’s also best to learn as you go, look at all of the filters, the effects, the built-in images/materials)

Please for the love of god.. DONT over-do it with ur overlays and psds, unless that’s the style you like, don’t do it.. me personally.. I don’t like it but if you like it then go right ahead but over-usage of overlays and colourings make it look kinda bad 😭 and kind of confusing to look at, please make sure you can see the different components of your graphics and what is what.. if it’s too confusing to look at, chances are you’re less likely to have people like it or enjoy it. And don’t over-do it with fonts either… people need to be able to see whatever ur trying to say.. I wear glasses and people who over-do stupid fonts piss me off.. I literally block them, so keep that in mind aswell 🫶🏻

Photopea tutorial How to use a pfp/icon mask Colour theory If you needed a visual for how to make graphics here you go Some textures and overlays How to make a rentry How to use borders on rentries How to make blinkies

Some tags for reach: @frilliette @blinkndgone @hellhoundsdoth0wl @smilepilled @nomkiwi

[crowsofdarkness]

Arranged: Chapter Thirteen

*gif not mine. credit to owner*

Pairings: Mob!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: language, 18+ smut(ch 12 & ch 17), angst, fluff, mentions of death and violence. I will update the warnings with each chapter.

Summary: Reader would do anything to make her parents happy and that included agreeing to an arranged marriage. She never expected it to be to one of New York's most feared Mob Boss: Bucky Barnes. He is anything but loving towards Reader however when her parents are mysteriously killed, Bucky makes it his mission to find out who were at fault. And in the process, ends up coming close to losing Reader.

Authors Note: If anyone who is interested wants to be tagged, let me know!

Tags: @sakuracyberhex

The music continued to play throughout our room and the rain had settled as Bucky and I laid in bed together, sheets covering our naked forms. My head was buried deep into the pillow, wishing sleep would overtake, and Bucky was propped up on his elbow, vibranium fingers grazing over my bare back. He looked down at me, adoration in his blue iris’ and I gave him a sleepy smile. 

“Tired?” He questioned. 

I nodded. “I wish we could stay here the rest of the night.” 

Bucky placed a kiss on my spine. “Me too, doll. But we have to show up tonight.” 

“This is stupid,” I groaned while snuggling deeper into his chest. 

The hairs that peppered across it tickled my cheek and I felt Bucky’s lips ghost along my hairline. His scent engulfed my senses and I smiled at the familiarity that it started to bring. 

Even after our afternoon in bed together, Bucky still smelled like he had just emerged from the shower; a strong smell of fire embers and a very small hint of vanilla. 

“I can’t remember the last time I spent the day relaxing. I haven’t even taken one phone call,” Bucky chuckled. 

I leaned up and placed a kiss onto his chin. “You needed it. You’ve been working every day since I first got here.” 

“Maybe we could take a vacation once everything settles down with work and your parents' case?” Bucky suggested. 

“I would like that. I’ve always wanted to visit the pacific northwest,” I admitted. 

Bucky shook his head with a laugh. “I have my own private jet and can take you anywhere in the world and you want to go there?” 

I nodded, running a hand through his hair. “I’ve had plans to move there after high school but life got busy and before I knew it, ten years later I still haven’t left the state.” 

Bucky pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Wherever you want to go, doll. I’ll take you.” 

I wrapped my arms around him, the heat from his skin warming mine immediately. 

“I think I’ve learned more about you today than in the three weeks since you’ve been here,” Bucky observed. 

“Usually you do get to know each other before you get married,” I joked with a wink. 

“Oh, is that right?” Bucky raised a brow at me. 

He had rolled on top of me and began leaving quick pecks all over my face, causing a school girl giggle to fall from my lips. 

This whole day was perfect. It didn’t feel like Bucky and I were married only for a few weeks. It felt as if we had known each other for years with how comfortable I found myself becoming around him. There was a moment earlier today where I looked at him and for a brief second, I forgot that he was a mob boss, feared by many. Then the reality set in when someone from his laboratory called, which Bucky quickly ignored. 

A knock at the door halted Bucky’s kisses and my giggles, him remaining on top of me still. 

“Is this important?!” He yelled to whoever was on the other side of the door. 

“Are ya decent in there?” 

Steve. 

Bucky quickly tossed me one of his shirts and a pair of underwear. I quickly got dressed while he slipped into a pair of sweatpants. 

“Come in!” He yelled. 

I was back under the covers, hoping that Steve was here to tell us that the party was canceled so we could stay home. 

A quick glance between the two of us, Steve merely smirked for a moment, with a raised brow. “Easy afternoon, huh?” 

“Shut up, punk,” Bucky responded. 

“Make me, jerk,” Steve said with a snort. 

I smiled at the banter between the two childhood friends and lounged deeper into the bed. 

“Did you need something, Steve or were you trying to sneak a peek?” I jeered. 

There was a faint blush to his cheeks but it was gone in a flash before looking at Bucky with a serious gaze. 

“There was a problem at the lab. Jason.” 

Bucky cursed while shaking his head. “This kid is going to fucking kill me.” 

He stood and went to walk into our closet but I grasped his hand. “What happened to no work today?” 

Bucky sighed with a disappointed look in his eye. “I’m sorry, doll. This can’t wait.” 

“Promise to be back before we have to go?” I asked. 

He shrugged. “I’ll try. I’ll call you if anything changes.” 

With a quick kiss to my cheek, I watched Bucky disappear into the closet to get dressed. I looked at Steve and raised a brow. 

“No chance you’ll let me tag along, huh?” I suggested. 

Steve gave a small smile. “Not this time, Y/N.” 

His smile, however, did nothing to ease my worries as I saw Bucky open up the safe in the closet and placed a gun that he grabbed into the waistline of his dress pants. 

I gave my driver a quick smile of thanks before shutting the door behind me, eyes glancing up towards the mansion in front of me. Bucky’s mansion was big but Starks was a tad bit bigger. 

With another quick look at my phone, I sighed with disappointment from no new message from Bucky. He had been gone for hours, meaning I had to come to this party by myself where I wouldn’t know anyone. Not the ideal way I wanted to spend the night. 

My mind kept thinking of what Bucky was doing and why he felt like he needed to bring a gun with him. For all I knew, he could have been carrying one on him everytime he went out and didn’t notice. 

Where are you?

My fingers hastily typed into the phone and walked into the house, silently hoping he was already here. The place was filled with people dancing, drinking, or socializing and I could feel my anxiety weigh me down. 

“You look absolutely breathtaking.” 

I spun on my heels and felt all of my worries vanish the second Bucky’s eyes met  mine. A large breath fell from my lips. 

“Hi, you clean up pretty well yourself.” I winked and placed a kiss on his cheek. 

“Have you been waiting long?” Bucky questioned while allowing me to wrap my arm with his. 

“No, I just got here. How’d everything go at the lab?” 

He simply gave my hand a squeeze. “Everything’s fine.” 

As much as I would have liked to bring up the fact that he brought a gun along with him earlier, I kept my lips shut knowing that now wasn’t the best place to have that conversation. Bucky led me towards the bar where we ordered a few drinks and I used that time to gaze around the room. I saw Sam standing in one corner and Steve on another, their own gazes taking in every inch of the room. 

“I’m assuming they’re not here for pleasure?” I asked Bucky. 

He nodded after taking a drink. “Something’s not right about this gala. Why would Stark throw this for us when we barely know one another?” 

“I thought he’s interested in whatever your lab is creating?” 

Bucky snickered. “The only thing Stark is interested in is money.” 

The two of us stayed at our post at the bar, his vibranium hand glued to my lower back in a safety sort of way. Whatever worried him about tonight made Bucky on edge, even more so than he usually was. But that didn’t stop him from whispering promises of what he had planned for us once we were home. My cheeks flushed with red while my stomach flipped, the butterflies fluttering to life. 

“Mr. Barnes?” 

Bucky reluctantly pulled his mouth away from the small mark he was leaving on the crook of my neck and nodded towards a petite redhead who snuck up behind us. 

“Natasha,” he gave her a small smile. 

“You two know each other?” I pointed between the two of them. 

“She works for Tony,” Bucky informed, hand still attached to my lower back. 

Natasha tsked. “Are you sure that’s the only reason why we know each other?” 

Jealousy stabbed at my heart the way that Natasha had said that, hinting that they knew each other more than Bucky had led on. My eyes fell and I began stirring the ice in my cup, suddenly feeling out of place next to the two of them. 

“Everything alright?” Bucky asked, lips grazing my ear. 

I shivered at the feeling. 

“Yeah.” I nodded. 

Natasha sighed while clicking her heels on the marble floor below. “Mr. Stark is waiting for you.”

Bucky sighed but evidently nodded. He quickly waved Steve and Sam over. 

“Steve, stay with Y/N. Sam, you’re with me,” he gave the two men their orders. 

Steve was fast to my side as Bucky left a kiss upon my lips. It wasn’t a quick one, either. It was the kind of kiss where your tongues found each other right away and made your head spin with how much passion was put behind it. 

“I won’t be long, doll.” 

My eyes fluttered open and I nodded, watching him walk through a door that was behind the bar, his eyes never leaving me even if Natasha had been leading him through. 

“I take it as things are going well between the two of you?” 

I gave Steve a smile. “Yeah. I didn’t want to admit it at first but maybe this arranged marriage wasn’t as bad as I thought.” 

Steve matched my smile as he leaned against the bar. 

“Can I ask you something?” I questioned him. 

When he nodded, I continued with a deep breath. “Anything going on between Bucky and Natasha? He claims that he only knows her from working with Stark but the feeling in my gut tells me otherwise.” 

Steve hesitated, scratching at the beard on his chin. “She had feelings for him a long time ago but Bucky never felt the same.” 

I could tell in the way that Steve’s breath hitched in his throat that he wasn’t telling the complete truth but I let it go, simply taking a large gulp of my drink. 

“Whatever you say, Rogers.” I grumbled. 

He sighed and was ready to say something else but we were interrupted by another man slinking up towards the bar and stood a bit too close to my liking. 

“Y/N, I must say you look so good tonight.” 

My eyes rolled into the back of my head and I let myself step closer towards Steve, who had no issues with placing an arm in front of me. 

“What are you doing here, John?” I asked. 

He shrugged. “I’m here to celebrate the newlyweds. Where is your husband anyway? Can’t even show up to his own party?” 

“I’d suggest you leave now, Walker.” Steve threatened. 

I placed a gentle hand on Steve’s arm to hold him at bay. The last thing I needed was to make a scene in front of everyone here. 

“John, there is no reason for you to be here. Please leave.” 

He ignored me, still keeping his hard gaze on Steve and smirked. “It must be so easy for the two of you. Having all that serum running through your veins?” 

I blinked, confused, and felt Steve tense under my touch. 

“Serum? What are you talking about?” 

John chuckled and finally tore his gaze away from Steve. “They didn’t tell you what they’re into? What they’ve been concocting in that lab?” 

“Steve, what is he talking about?” My voice faltered. 

Steve cursed and began leading me away from John. However, he was a tad faster than Steve and managed to side step us, blocking our path out. 

“They’re creating this super soldier serum so they can have their own army. They even injected themselves with it,” John informed while reaching for me. “It’s not safe for you to be with them, Y/N.” 

My head began to spin at this new information. Serum? Super soldiers? Bucky and Steve were these things? 

I would have thought John had been lying but suddenly it clicked of what I saw that morning in Bucky’s office. A briefcase full of blue liquid. I thought it had been drugs and now, I wasn’t too sure what was worse. 

My feet stumbled and when John reached for me once more, I smacked his hands away. 

“Leave me alone,” I snapped. 

“I can keep you safe, sweetheart.” John pleaded. 

His hands grasped my wrist and yanked me towards him causing me to yell out in pain from how hard he pulled. 

“Don’t you fucking touch me!” 

My voice seethed while I pushed him hard against his chest, his grip faltering. I looked for a way out, needing to get far away from here. My chest began to constrict, a pain shot through my body and I did my best to even my breathing. 

John tried to reach for me once more.

“Step back,” Steve threatened him and stood between the two of us. 

The words kept replaying in my mind, like a broken tape player stuck on a forever loop. 

Super soldier. Super soldier. Super soldier.

“Fuck, I need to get out of here.” I groaned while squeezing my eyes shut. 

Steve was quick to grab my hips from behind and led me through the crowd of people. There was a white noise in my ears, ringing so loud, that I hadn't heard Tony up on stage introducing the guest of honor. I also hadn’t heard Bucky calling my name, wondering why I was being rushed out of the house. 

[f1daydreamers]

𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬 [𝐓𝐀𝟔𝟔] 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟑

gif credits: @trenty

Pairing: Trent Alexander-Arnold x Fem!Reader

Summary: Arne, in hopes to focus on his team’s mental health as much as their physical, recruits a younger but just as educated psychologist to work one-to-one with the more reserved players. Trent is one of them.

A/N: Check out the masterlist for the first two parts if you haven’t read them already! Also, thank you so much for the kind comments on my posts, they mean more to me than you’ll ever know!

Warnings: this one’s a bit more fluffy, still a very reserved Trent tho

Word Count: 1.9k words (7 mins reading avg)

…

The first match to kickstart the club’s season was undeniably close.

The pressure had been mounting palpably in the last few weeks, evident in the increasingly focused, sharper, and heavier training sessions.

You didn’t have a personal experience with them, more so the ones that Conor had been complaining about.

But despite being unable to travel to the US, you’d personally assumed that preseason had been a success.

You’d caught highlights when they dropped and heard murmurs of staff satisfaction with certain performances circulating around the centre.

You hadn’t been able to get many sessions in though, only a touch few with Conor, as he was your top priority given his age.

He’d done remarkably well the previous season under Jurgen when top performances were needed, but working on his mental stability was always a key factor and one of extreme importance.

"Congrats," you smiled warmly as the Irishman approached, his own smile mirroring yours. You acknowledged his successful time in America.

“You must be feeling great,” you remarked, smiling gently.

His dimples were evident as he nodded, a sense of fulfilment telling in his stance. “Yeah, yeah. It was good, enjoyed it proper.”

You let him continue on, giving brief welcomes and some hugs to the players as they piled in one by one within the hour before their training began.

You felt a pang of frustration as Trent walked directly past you, refusing to even meet your eyes as he acknowledged only a few of the staff who were standing off to the side.

Dismissing it, you turned your attention to Wataru as he approached next.

You needed to focus on the players who were working with you. It was crucial, especially as the season was fast-approaching.

Or so you kept telling yourself.

“Y/N,” you glanced back, a smile forming as you spotted Arne trying to catch your attention.

“How are you doing?” He asked as you fell into step with him, continuing to walk down the corridor towards the gym where he was headed.

“Good, yeah. You?” You kept it short and sweet, fully aware that he was a busy man.

“Doing okay. About your request you sent before preseason,” Arne continued, prompting both of you to stop and face each other, a hopeful anticipation in the air.

“It’s fine with me and Lee doesn’t have any issues with it. But, if there is no improvement, then the sessions will need to resume as planned. Okay?” He nodded affirmatively.

“Yes, of course. I-I understand. Thank you.” You replied gratefully, your appreciation evident as he patted your shoulder before leaving you.

…

The city was buzzing with activity as match day quickly approached. Red flares blazing around the city, shirts and scarves already adorned the day before.

The players were being put through their paces in the final training session before the big game. Having an hour free in the mornings after your request was approved meant you could utilise it in a different way.

You observed the session from the sidelines, making mental notes of the players' demeanours and interactions. Trent was, as usual, intensely focused. Every movement, every touch of the ball deliberate.

After the session had concluded for the day, you made your way to the changing rooms. Some were discussing tactics, sharing jokes, and some were lost in their thoughts, mentally preparing.

You approached Conor, who was pulling his boots off his feet, and sat beside him.

"Ready for tomorrow?"

He looked up, his shoulders slumping. "Yeah, I think so. Just need to stay focused."

"Remember what we talked about," you reminded him gently. "Always be ready, visualise your game, see yourself succeeding."

Conor nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He raised his fist, and you met it with a bump. "Thanks, Y/N. It helps, you know."

A wave of relief washed over you. Reminding yourself that you were doing a good job was one thing, but hearing it from someone you always tried to help was another.

"I'm glad," you said, giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

Upon hearing Arne clasp his hands together, forcing everyone to quiet down and hear the gaffer out, you silently gave Curtis and Wataru a nod before slipping out of the room.

As you turned, you nearly collided with Trent. He tutted, sidestepping in order to slide past you and into the changing rooms. You'd hoped that once he was informed of your approved request, he'd be slightly less frowny.

But seemingly, the opposite was happening.

…

You had just finished Curtis' report when a knock on your door interrupted your thoughts. Mustering a tired smile, you called out, "come in."

Lee popped his head through the door, and you rose from your chair. "Hey, everything okay?"

He entered the office, closing the door behind him but not completely. With his hands raised in mock surrender, he said, "yeah, yeah, all good. I just uh wanted to ask if you caught Trent." "I thought you approved my request?" you asked, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "I did," he confirmed, stepping forward. "But I saw Trent hanging around your office just after training." "What? Why?" you asked, bewildered. You tried to think back to earlier, but all you remembered was that you were definitely not in your office. "He didn't say. Didn't seem happy, though." Lee shoved his hands into his pockets, shifting his weight on to either feet. "Not much difference there, then." You sighed, placing your hands on your hips. "I'm confused. If he knew about the request, why would he show up?" You asked, and the senior consultant shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. You both thought about it for a moment until Lee spoke again, "are you sure Arne let him know?" Your head tilted, mouth slightly parting as realisation dawned on you.

Oh.

"I'm pretty sure Arne didn't because you were meant to," you said, trying to keep your tone casual despite the frustration creeping in.

The first session Trent had supposedly shown up for, you weren't even there. Suddenly, his avoidance of you after you'd exited the changing rooms made a lot more sense. He must’ve just come down from your office. "I was?" Lee asked, clearly taken aback. You let your head fall back in exhaustion but slowly nodded moments later. Shuffling through the papers on your desk, you found the one you needed and handed it to Lee. He scanned over the text, before he looked up again.

“Y/N, I feel terrible. I can go find him." Remorse painted itself across his features.

"It's okay," you replied. "It's better if he hears it from me." You aimed to justify poorly.

Because you had a very successful track record of not pissing Trent off, obviously.

...

Later in the day, you found yourself back in the canteen, grabbing a quick coffee.

It was well past noon, but with the mountain of reports you needed to write about the players' psychological states before tomorrow, caffeine was your only ally.

Trent walked in, looking for a snack. Being on the bottom of his 'I don't want to talk to you' list every day meant the outcome of your conversations with him were quite forseeable.

Deciding to address the elephant in the room, you walked up and pushed all doubts to the back of your mind. You reached out and touched his arm to get his attention, and he reacted immediately.

He turned to face you, and you lowered your hand slowly.

“Can we talk for a second?” you asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.

His jaw hardened. “I'm busy.”

"I promise it won't take long." You countered.

"Considering I don't care about your promises, that don’t mean shit to me." He's on a roll with the irony, you thought to yourself.

You glanced at a sympathetic Carol who was standing on the other side of the serving station.

"Please?" You blinked slowly, praying to the powers that be to instill some patience in the man.

He picked up a bag of trail mix, before watching your face for a few seconds. You were half-expecting him to tell you to eat shit, but you were wrong.

An unusually pleasant surprise.

You nodded to a quieter corner and led the way, with him following behind before you whisked around.

"I'm so sorry." You fiddled with the cup of coffee in your hand.

Past his hardened anger, you'd felt bad for him. The courage to have shown up only to be let down isn't a feeling that would've altered his perception of you.

"I don't care." His gaze bore into yours, unyielding.

You frowned slightly. "I do. I told you I'd keep trying to reach you and-"

"What's your point?"

His eyes travelled down to your fidgeting fingers before dragging back up to your face. He sighed, clearly bored.

"Lee was meant to tell you," you paused, gathering your words. His eyes narrowed.

A flush of guilt coloured your cheeks. "I put in a request before preseason to cancel our sessions together."

You looked up, trying to gauge his reaction. The crease between his brows was prominent. "It was approved, and Lee was supposed to tell you, but he must've forgotten."

It hurt to let someone down. As a chronic people-pleaser, this likely frustrated you way more than it did Trent.

He leaned against the wall behind him, bringing one knee up. He crossed his arms but his eyes lightened. "So, you're telling me that..."

He paused to pop an almond into his mouth. "You admitted defeat?"

Either he was smirking, or you were being incredibly delusional.

You shook your head. "No, I never gave up on you. I thought maybe you needed a different approach." Explaining your previous actions felt pathetically awkward.

His lips pressed together. "Or maybe you just couldn’t handle it."

You rolled your eyes, your features still guilt-ridden. "Does that make you happy or something?"

His eyes roved over your features, and for a moment, his expression softened.

"Oh, you have no idea, psychologist."

You swallowed, feeling a flutter of surprise. Your eyes widened slightly, the gentleness in his features unexpected.

Just then, Curtis walked by and caught the tail end of your conversation. “Are you two flirting or fighting?” He teased, winking at his Scouse counterpart.

Your expression didn't change, but Trent looked over, staring at him. “Can’t you tell the difference, mate? Your missus must have a hard time putting up with you.” He remarked a little too quickly.

Curtis' mouth fell open as some of the players snickered at the exchange. To your surprise, Trent let out a genuine laugh - an unfamiliar sound that retained your attention.

He pushed off the wall and ambled over, casually draping an arm over his friend's shoulder.

On another day, maybe you would've joined into the jokes that were being thrown around but you were oddly rendered silent.

His almost playful disposition was a complete contrast to the tension that had clouded your interactions since the day you'd met.

It was almost as if he genuinely believed he was rid of you, and this moment of levity was his way of signalling relief.

You took a deep breath.

The casual banter, although lighthearted, felt jarring. Without another word, you walked out of the canteen, the enigma of his sudden change nagging at you.

As you exited, Trent’s gaze followed you, his eyes tracing your retreating figure. He seemed poised to follow you, a sign of a subtle, perhaps unconscious shift in his stance.

His eyes lingered on your departing form, as if grappling with an unspoken urge to either see where you were going or say something to you, though he wasn't quite sure what.

Yet only as he started to move, Curtis' voice cut through the moment. "Oi, where you off to?" Trent shook his head, a half-smile still playing on his lips as he rejoined the group.

Oddly, his attention remained fixed on the door for just a bit longer, as if expecting you to turn back around, before he fully immersed himself back into the conversation.

…

Part 4

Masterlist

Comment below if you want to be part of the taglist! Once you are part of it, you'll be reminded for every part of the series until its completion!

Taglist: @trentwife @bluebreadenthusiast @julovesurmom @blubsberries @remmysthings @heyjudeb @keepitabuckxx @vivi-grace @hoddystark @hiireadstuff @trentione @missusstark @iamasimpingh0e

[billysjoel]

hey!! would you mind doing a tutorial on how you blend your gifs? they're so perfect! if not, then that's fine but thanks anyway :)

hi there! first of all, thank you for the kind words, i appreciate it so much! and i'm always more than happy to make tutorials! below the cut i'll do my best to explain my process when it comes to creating blended gifs like these:

original gifset

original gifset

original gifset

original gifset

disclaimer that i in no way consider myself an expert when it comes to blending. i actually struggle with it quite a bit sometimes and there are tons of gifmakers far more talented than myself. here's a link to all the blending tutorials i've come across for my other blog @gifmakerresource just in case!

when it comes to blending two or more scenes/shots together, i cannot overstate how important the scenes you choose are. i'll go more in depth on this in a moment, but there have been so many times when i'm making gifs like the ones above where i spend ages testing out different scenes together to see if they'll actually work and give me the desired effect.

so, what should you be looking for when selecting your scenes? in my opinion, what's most important (and can therefore cause you the most trouble) is lighting and contrast. dark on dark is what blends best. now, you can obviously tweak these things using adjustment layers, but i think it's best to set yourself up for success right from the very start.

if we look at my first and last examples above the cut (luke in hill house and pruitt in midnight mass), these are the two that show this the best. the scene of adult luke is high in contrast to begin with; we've got areas of bright highlights and dark shadows and the latter are the areas where the blending shows through the most clearly. luke's hair and shirt are darker as is young luke's shirt and hat. the same can be seen in the midnight mass example. both scenes are on the darker side to begin with, but the shot of pruitt praying is silhouetted and makes for very stark contrast, allowing the shot of the angel's blood to be seen most easily in the darkest parts.

now, a lot of this does and can come down to trial and error and i want to make a point of saying that before i get into the actual process. there have been numerous times when i'm working on gifs like these where i have to try out multiple different shots and scenes until i find something that works. sometimes, i just save what i've done so far as a psd and go work on something else for a while, and then i can come back and look at everything with fresh eyes at a later time -- never underestimate the power of doing this, btw. some of my most popular and most favorite sets have happened as a direct result of taking a break!

now it's finally time for what you came here for! how do you do this? i'll walk you through this step by step and for now, i'm just going to be walking through 2 gifs blended into one. i've done 3 and even 4 blended into one, but they are outliers adn should not be counted. blenders georg, who created photoshop and blends over 10,000 gifs a day -- [gunshots]

step 1: make your base gifs. i'm assuming basic gifmaking knowledge, but if you need some help there, here's a tag on my resource blog with all beginner gifmaking tutorials (and i'm willing to make one of my own, personal process if anyone shows interest).

i'm mostly talking converting them to timeline and into a smart object. each person's process varies a little, but i personally use an action i made that converts from frames to timeline and applies the sharpening settings i use all in one. it's entirely up to you if you want to color your gifs before or after you have them on one canvas. in this case, i colored mine after, so this is what i have right now. two separate sharpened but un-colored gifs.

as an added note, when i'm blending gifs, i almost always keep them at their original dimensions until i bring them to the new canvas. i find it easier to position them where i want them and then crop to my desired dimensions. that way i don't have to worry that i accidentally cut something off. but for the purposes of this tutorial, i'm using my psd from this gif, which has been cropped to 540px x 500px.

step 2: bring both gifs onto a new canvas. as i just stated, the dimensions of this particular gif are 540px x 500px. if you're unfamiliar with tumblr's dimensions, i whipped this up. what matters is the width, whereas the height can be whatever you want. i saw something recently (though i can't find it now, of course) that said the middle gif in the row of 3 was no longer 178px and is now also 177px, but take that with a grain of salt! the gutters (the automatic spaces between gifs that tumblr puts in) are 4px.

so, since this is a single gif in a row, the width must be 540. bear in mind that the larger your dimensions, the larger the gif file will be and tumblr's upload limit is 10mb per gif. with blended gifs typically being on the larger end, i try to keep mine somewhere between 35-50 frames. this particular one is 35, which along with 40 frames is what i most commonly use.

create a new canvas with your desired dimensions and either copy your gifs to it or drag them onto it. you should have something like this now:

for now, ignore the other layers. as i said, using my psd of the completed gif.

step 3: add a black fill layer. this step is personal preference and therefore completely optional, but when blending, i always add an all black layer at the very bottom of all my layers. i find it helps when using layer masks (more on that soon) to make the blends appear more seamless. play around and see if you like it or not!

to create this layer, i use the keyboard shortcut (i'm on pc) ctrl+shift+N and then press G to call up the paint fill tool. once you have the color selected, just click anywhere on the canvas and it fills it. then drag this layer to the very bottom, beneath all other layers.

alternatively, you can go to layer -> new fill layer -> solid color -> choose your color but i heart keyboard shortcuts.

step 4: set the blending mode of each gif layer to SCREEN. right now, we can only see the layer that's on top. when you switch the blending modes from normal to screen, the blending begins! this is also where you can move your gifs around until you find the best placement for each one.

brb, crying about baby luke for the 800th time.

step 5: color! if i haven't already colored my gifs, i would likely do it now. that way, when i go to apply the layer masks, i'll know i'm working with a mostly-finished product coloring-wise. this is what i have now:

you can see just how important the contrast of lights and darks becomes. look at the difference between how visible the right side of young luke's face/hat is before coloring compared to after. when we lighten the highlights and darken the shadows, the blending becomes much more apparent.

step 6: layer masks! before i even tell you how to use them, we need to know how to apply them. you'll do this a layer/gif at a time. with one gif selected, press this button:

and you'll now have this:

that selected white box is our layer mask. now do the same to the other gif layer. you should see this:

now that we've applied our layer masks, what are they for and how do we utilize them? layer masks allow you to, at their most basic, adjust specific parts of a single layer without permanently deleting them. the beauty of layer masks is that you can get rid of a certain area on a gif and if you realize later you want to bring some of it back, you can! all by using the colors black and white and, in this case, a soft round brush.

the most important part of working with layer masks is that you make sure the mask itself is what's selected. in the last image, the layer masks are NOT selected. in the one before, the layer mask IS selected. you can always tell because of the little borders around the corners of the mask. if you find something isn't working quite right, chances are that's your issue (speaking from personal experience).

as i said, we're only working with black and white here. using your brush tool (press B on your keyboard), select a soft, round brush. i personally set the hardness to 0 for the most gentle fade possible. i don't want hard edges in my blends. the size of the brush depends on how large of an area you're working with. sometimes i'll go all the way up to 150px+ and other times, i'll be well below 50px. the smaller the better for more detailed work. black (#000000) erases and white (#ffffff) brings your image back.

for a visual example, with a black brush, i'm going to mask an area of adult luke:

pretty obvious, right? because both layers are set to screen, masking an area of adult luke's gif reveals young luke's gif. because that area of the gif is no longer blending with anything, we see it purely with its coloring. now i'm going to take a smaller brush and switch the color to white (to do this quickly, pressing X on your keyboard will switch between the two colors [foreground and background] on your color picker).

you can see the lines/cuts where i ran the brush through the mask and it brought back the parts of adult luke we'd erased. if we did this same thing on young luke's gif, black would erase young luke and reveal adult luke and white would bring back young luke. i know this might sound a little confusing, and even though i knew a fair bit about layer masks before i started giffing again last year, there was still a learning curve for me.

now that we have our layer masks, we need to identify which parts of which gif we want to mask/erase. for this one in particular, i didn't like that adult luke's ear was smack dab in the middle of young luke's face. to remedy this, i selected the layer mask on adult luke's layer and, using a fairly sizeable black brush, i colored over young luke's face and up into the top-right corner. i wanted to see more of his hat and because that area was so light, i covered that whole part. this is what my gif and layer mask looked like after:

the black on the little layer mask corresponds to where i colored on the gif. now that corner only shows young luke's gif and his face is much clearer without an ear in the middle of it.

step 7: that's it! maybe.

in theory, this could be a completed gif. from here on out, nothing changes as far as blending or layer masks. you could save and export this and upload it and be done. but in this case, i just didn't like the coloring. because mike flanagan wants to see me suffer, his shit is almost impossible to color and i just didn't like the difference in coloring between present day adult luke and 90s young luke. this is also part of a larger gifset with a color scheme.

regardless of that though, i have to confess that i do this almost every. single. time. i make gifs like these. i slap a big fat gradient map on those puppies and somehow they look 10x better to me. i scrolled back through a shit load of my gifs and i only found 2 examples of blended gifs that weren't under a gradient map. oops. maybe this is the easy way out or maybe i just love colors, but idk i think it helps them look more cohesive! if you're interested, read on. if not, that's pretty much it!

if you still have questions or encounter any problems after following this tutorial, PLEASE let me know! i'm more than happy to clarify things or help out if i can! otherwise, check out some of the other blending tutorials i linked at the beginning! if you'd like me to make tutorials for anything else, feel free to send an ask, anon or not! i'm quite literally always happy to help as i don't believe in gatekeeping resources or knowledge!

step 8: i ended up applying two gradient maps on this gif. it's important that these go on top of all your other layers (namely, the gif layers). if you're unfamiliar, you click this to apply a gradient map:

then you'll see this:

photoshop automatically applies a gradient map using your current foreground and background colors. to edit the colors, click on the map itself (my arrow). unless you're going for an inverted x-ray sort of look, your darker color needs to be on the left and the lighter one needs to be on the right. click on the bottom color points to change their colors:

normally, the right one will be all the way to the end, but moving it in will let more white show through and brighten the image, which i wanted in this case.

my second gradient is the green one, which looks like this and goes from #211f20 to #88a188.

i encourage you to play around with gradient maps. as you adjust the colors, you'll see the changes live as long as you pull the window to the side a little bit. i think they're super fun and can completely change the vibe and aesthetic of a gifset.

from here, i added my typography (lyrics, naturally) and then exported and saved the gif! and here we have this gif that literally made me cry while i made it because HE WAS SUCH A BABY

again, i hope this helps and if you have any further or other questions, don't hesitate to ask!

[emeryhiro]

What are your thoughts on Connie and Daryl? I have always found his reactions towards her to be very different - he acts very giddy and light in front of her. Do you think the show would have ever gone in that direction? Bcoz that was a pretty popular ship during the last few seasons rie?

Hey Anon!

Thank you for the question ♡♡♡

I personally love Connie; she's definitely one of my favourite characters on the show.

Now, in terms of what I think about Connie and Daryl as a romantic couple (I really hope I don't upset a bunch of people with this): yes, it was and still is a pretty popular ship, and I can definitely see how it could work, just like how Carol and Ezekiel did for a time. But, I don't think the show would have or should have gone in that direction and here's my reasoning as to why:

Firstly, the GIF above shows a very intentional shot that was filmed and included in the episode (S10EP1). I think this shot is meant to symbolises the parallel between the two relationships: Carol/Ezekiel and Connie/Daryl. Both can be good together, but neither is the true love/perfect match for the other.

I think Daryl's giddy and light behaviour around Connie is completely genuine. Daryl is very good at reading people, and he can tell that Connie is truly a kind and good person, which allows Daryl to trust her enough to be comfortable and more open than usual around her. And if I had to compare their relationship to anything, I would compare it to a healthy sibling bond, where Daryl treats Connie like the younger sister he never had, hence why he's also very protective and gentle with her.

It's also important to note that Daryl only shows his good sides to Connie; perhaps that's another way of protecting her, like those of us with younger siblings do to shield them from difficult things. And that's also the difference between Connie and Carol. With Carol, he shows 100% of himself, the good and the bad. He can be completely honest with her even when he's at his lowest and trusts her completely because he sees her as his equal, which she is. They complete each other and rely on each other equally.

Carol and Ezekiel's relationship is also a great example of the depth of a relationship like that. Yes, they were in love and happy while they had their fairy tail, but when they lost Henry and the kingdom, and Carol was at her lowest, she didn't need Ezekiel; she needed Daryl, because he was the one she could be 100% honest with and trust completely.

And when I look at it as a romantic relationship, I think the difference between Donnie and Caryl is the difference between someone who can be good for you, and you can be content and happy with them when things are good, versus someone you need during the good and the bad, someone you can be your true self with without fear, someone who knows you better than you know yourself and loves you unconditionally, which is precisely how I see Caryl.

tl;dr Connie is great, but she's not Carol 😊

~~~~

Thanks again for your question ♡ I really hope I explained this well 😅 I would love to hear what you think, even if you disagree with me.

[honestsycrets]

Amor y Respeto II: Corazón [Miguel O'Hara x Reader]

chapter I: mi alma

❛ pairing | miguel o’hara x reader

❛ type | continuation of one shot.

❛ summary | you're trying to forget miguel with hobie's help on the field. but miguel isn't quite ready to let go.

❛ tags | jealousy, latina reader, slightly nsfw (only nudity), spanish is not translated, some mention of blood and wounds, violence, some paranoia, miguel is not pleased, an attempt was made at british slang, some creative liberties.

❛ sy’s notes | gif credit to aehanse. a little reference to gilgamesh with a golden bull in this chapter because i wanted a simple anomaly and for some reason a golden bull just makes me giggle a bit.

Miguel only left Nueva York for very important reasons. Very important reasons usually entailed a little stress relief at the end of a very stressful day. Very important reasons like your gentle fingertips running over his sweaty chest. Very important reasons like your plush lips wrapped around his--

“No chance,” Lyla chittered in his ear. “There’s the whole ‘I don’t love you’ thing. And that kiss?” 

A headache was brewing: everything twinkled, glistened, and refracted light.

“I was there, Lyla. Could do without the reminder.” 

“Really because--” 

“I can fix it,” Miguel growled, clawing past the tall buildings rife with beautiful flowers. It was your favorite time of year. The perfect time to go to the balcony and wait for him to follow behind, to pick off the yellow pollen that dusted his burnt umber hair.

When he finally breached your plant-filled balcony, the window was open despite his warnings to keep it closed. You loved the light and drew the blinds open day by day to let in the bright light of the day. In contrast, he could have done without the bright light streaming in during his early morning visits. That wasn’t wholly the issue. The issue was anyone who wanted to watch you sleep in your love-rustled sheets could. He could.

Miguel’s hands hooked on his slender hips. He glanced at the offensive presence of a singular powdery pink rose in a vividly graffitied cup that he hadn’t given you. He didn't need to guess to know who had. As your shorthair cat trotted into your bedroom, he realized that the rest of the apartment was empty. He wouldn’t be mewing at him if you were singing in the kitchen and making cookies that he shouldn’t eat. It's little, you would guilt him and squish a bite-sized morsel in his mouth. 

Miguel jerked his head to the side and threw a look at Lyla. She threw up her hands in response. They came to the same conclusion. “The roof?” 

There wasn't a worse time to climb the last few floors of your apartment. Light battered his senses as the sun crested past the rooftops of your city and emitted pastel crystal hues. Soon, the night would fall on your busy city and cloak it in darkness. In the darkness, problems always arose.

"Se dice-- never mind, it's a pastellio," you brushed off the small chunks of crystal that nipped at your forearms and picked a chunk up off of a paper-thin napkin. The crumbly remnants held their own memories. Memories of your fingers sealing pastry dough over a cool picadillo, arguing about the quality of HQ cafeteria’s empanadas all by yourself despite knowing that he liked them. They didn’t taste the same lately.

“Tastes like a meat pie,” Hobie waggled a crusty corner. “Must be a meat pie.” 

You brought the rim of an opaque brown glass bottle to your lips. The malt drink coursed down your throat slowly, leaving your throat cool and refreshed. Just the way you wanted to feel after a long day of work. “If that’s a meat pie, this is beer.” 

Hobie-- Miguel sneered. There had some alternative, impure reason he was here. Maybe it was to piss him off, to distract him from the work really at hand. If that was it, he lamented, he was doing a good job. Why else would he be here?

“A kiddy beer,” he flicked over one of his empty beer bottles. “Listen. You coming to see the concert?” 

“Whose?” 

“Mines, who else?” he answered. “Gwen’ll be there.” 

“It’s not really my scene, Hobie,” you said. “Don't you think I’m a bit old for that sort of thing?” 

“Old?” Hobie chirped after you. You swayed under the force of his playful punch to your shoulder and returned one to his willowy arm. Your eyes turned back to the crystalized sun dipping beneath the horizon. He sucked his tongue against the roof of his tongue. “Letting that muppet shoot his cum in ya is the only thing that’s gonna make you old. Complicit. You wanna be complicit?” 

“¡Fo! Gross, stop,” you dropped your drink to the side and flopped back onto the unforgiving concrete roof. But he had a point, your palm migrated over your belly. His spunk was probably still wiggling around in your stomach. Miguel simpered in the shadows.

“You never see these autocrats for who they are," he lamented.

“It has nothing to do with… Hobie. Hobie, my love isn’t politic--”

“Everything is political.” 

“Hobie, I take care of him-- them,” you motioned to your city, glittering in the fading sunlight. “For love and laughter. That’s what we all deserve. Love and laughter. Miguel wants it too, he’s just,” Incapable or unwilling, you suppressed. “Complicated.” 

“Complicated,” Hobie spat out as though it offended him. “It ain't complicated to me. He don’t love you. Half the time he don’t even like you.” 

“But I love him.” 

“His love? It ain’t enough.” 

“It matters to me.” 

A low growl emanated from his deep chest. It was enough to cause your heads to wrack around in his direction. Miguel steeled his body against the wall he dangled from, shielded in the dark crystally shadows of a mural.

“Should we--” you stared at the wall, eyes narrowing.

Fuck.

“Ain’t nothing to be worried about. Probably a rat— a big rat,” Hobie lurched over your body. His long and lanky arms caged your body beneath him. It was a universe apart from Miguel’s well-corded arms, broad and strong. Arms that, at the moment, Miguel used not to spring off the wall.

“It’s his muscles.”

“¡Ay cállate! Why is it always his muscles?” You ruptured into laughter and reached up to push him away by his thick wicks. You crawled out from underneath Hobie and stretched out your arms behind your back. Tension unwound from Miguel with an exhale of stale air from his lungs.

“You got a type,” Hobie lazed his elbow over his knee. 

“You don’t know any of my exes, Hobie,” you swept up your trash and covered your head with your rebozo-like cowl. At that exact moment, your watch blared. “And you ain’t know mine, either.”

“Vente, Corazón. I have a call.”

Corazón?

“Can’t handle it yourself?” Hobie hopped up and adjusted his guitar, slouching off his shoulder. 

“Just because I can, doesn't mean I have to,” you took a step to the edge of the rooftop. You turned your hands up. “C'mon, I’ll even make you cookies.” 

Make him cookies. You would change out of your blood-smattered outfit into a little slip to make Hobie, a man that you knew he had a very poor opinion of, cookies. A man that was reckless in life, reckless in HQ, and would not take orders that didn’t benefit his perception of the world. His breathing hitched, heavy and sharp, to keep his rage in check. If you respected him, you would never invite Hobie anywhere near your apartment. Especially not at night. What were you thinking? 

“That your way of keeping me for the night?” Hobie asked. “Think I’ll get lucky?”

“Is it working?” 

You looked Hobie over once, starting at his boots and ending at Hobie’s pierced lip. Your lips budded in a terrible smile. A look that Miguel did not like, not at all. You turned and stepped off the building, out of his field of vision. Hobie followed soon after.

The sun faded far past the horizon, cloaking Miguel in solitary indigo darkness. His fingers teased the ochre face of his watch-- he had things to do.

You didn’t need backup. 

You crawled out of the rubble of one of your favorite flower shops. Bits of lavender crystal embedded in your arm drew blood down your arm. As of late, it felt as though you couldn’t do anything right. Hobie was a consistent fixture in your life and fixed the amateur mistakes you were making day by day without mentioning your incompetence. He was good to you.

This time was different. You recognized this anomaly from another time, but not another place. It was here, at the intersection of Cereza and Trini, that months ago that Miguel and you-- No, you did not need backup. You didn’t need him.

The thick, muscular leg of the stupid bull stormed by. The thing was comically obnoxious. Just as obnoxious as the ache in your chest every morning when you woke up alone in your bed with Miguel visiting… not even once in the past few days. You wondered if he even thought of you.

“Miss Spider lady, are you okay?” a little girl with thick brown pom-pom puff hair and the warmest caramel eyes asked. Usually, she sold singular flowers at the cash register of her parent’s shop. You hated to think what hardship would come to them because of your inadequacy. If you could control your emotions, as Miguel rang true, this never would have happened.

“Si, si, Zaniah,” your head spun with the pain radiating from your side. You broke something, and of course, it wasn’t healing. You blamed him. Your feet stumbled forward in a line. You didn’t want to see the headlines of this one. Most spiders dealt with villains worth the name, villains with prowess. You? A shiny fucking bull from heaven. “No te preocupes, go, go.” 

“Mami, mami!” the little girl shrieked and bolted, her flowy purple cape dissipated as she disappeared into the back. You felt bad for the mother that would have to deal with that for the next few days as you broke into a run, flexing your wrist for webbing. 

If you could just-- trip the damn thing. Then, somehow, with enough time you could… oh, you didn’t know, bind its legs? Or bind its legs first then tip? But where would you even tip without casualties? Maybe, if you were lucky, you could lure it to the river-- but that was on the outskirts of town. You were running out of time. You had to deal with it. Had to. What would that little girl think? What would Miguel think? 

“You sure you don’t need backup?” Lyla asked, her gilded frame bending at the waist. "Because you look like you need backup."

“Si,” you hissed. “I am sure, Lyla. I don’t need anyone. And I especially don't need Miguel. I got this.” 

Your red boots connected with its fuzzy back. Its great, golden chain skid across the concrete floor, emitting an awful hissing noise. You seized its collar and jammed your heels into its back to try and force the thing to heel. It wasn’t. Despite your strength, you weren’t strong enough to do it on your own. The pressure on the side of your rib cage was becoming immense. Breathing became a chore. 

“No you don’t,” she sang. 

It was moments later that the bull howled pitifully. It slid on its side, crunching old cars and taking out rusty street lamps under its thick muscle. Despite digging your heels in, the damn thing whirled you off like a children’s dreidel. The force of the impact thrust you off its back and into a rusty tow truck. The pain burned low in your back. Hobie: to the rescue again. At some point, you were going to have to give him something better than cookies.

“Get up,” rasped your backup, cloaked in vast dark blue and red. Not Hobie, then. Your hazy eyes were playing tricks on you. You heaved out rattly breaths as you obeyed, or tried to obey the dumb big man in your life.

It felt wrong. Everything felt wrong. Heavy and hard, your limbs fought the attempt to move. Before you could complain a minute further about how fucking infuriating it was to have him run to your aid, your world eclipsed into the darkness. 

You woke up with a pulsing headache and the very unwelcome sight of Jess. Through her yellowy glasses, you recognized her colorful kaleidoscope of emotions: annoyance, derision, and eventually… relief. It wasn’t the infirmary. The bed was too comfortable for that. You quickly realized that you were in his room with nothing but one of his annoying tech bandages mummified to your chest. You knew from that alone that you were in for it-- if not for her face becoming increasingly more stoic. They should have been siblings.

“You needed backup,” her arms encircled her belly. “Didn’t you?” 

Your eyes fell to the soft sheets that tickled your skin. Breathing was still hard, harder with the anxiety of knowing a lecture was headed your way. You couldn’t lie to Jess. Tears pricked your cheeks and you tried to steel your heart from them.

It was impossible. His room overwhelmed you: from his rich scent that perfumed the sheets you laid on to the air you breathed. He was close by. That alone was more stress than you could handle.

“I know Jess. I needed backup. Pero, the anomaly, it was-- I thought I could handle it.” 

“Pero nothing,” she held a gloved hand up. “Girl, I don’t need your excuses.” 

“But I’ve called Hobie too much this week.” 

“Is Hobie the only one here? You could have called me. Or-- and I’m just being crazy here. Miguel? Your man?” she rolled her head toward the back of the room. She must not have heard. You followed her gaze to where he stood, his uniform flopped unceremoniously about his waist. Your heart strummed and skipped a beat. With her words, Miguel turned his eyes up from the wound at his waist-- to your eyes. They pierced your heart in the darkness. He would have come.

“You know what? I’ll just leave you two alone.” 

“No, no, no Jess, por favor--” She left without another word. Punishment in its own right. Your hand approached your chest, covering your cleavage from his sight. His hand swayed over the pad to lock the door shut. 

Your head dropped back on his flat pillows. Whether it was the bundles of discomfort at his presence or actual shots of pain, the awkward silence was growing increasingly too much for you to handle. He brought you here, into his bed, for a reason you couldn’t understand. You both were done. Finished. Miguel didn’t seem to think so.

“You act as if I haven’t seen you naked before.”

Maybe, he had seen you naked before. He had no right to anymore. You opened your eyes to look at him, noting the strong scent of sweat permeating his skin and the warm sheen that dusted his chest. You had your increased senses to thank for that. You swallowed air in forceful gulps and burrowed painful shockwaves in your chest. If nothing else, you could at least swallow pain with some honor.

Everything that Miguel did had a purpose. You couldn’t help but eye the way his thumbs looped around his waistband to draw his pants lower, freeing his swarthy skin from indigo fabric. Your eyes fell on his flaccid cock that sat on a tuffet of his thick black pubic hair, chased the curve sight of his shapely ass, and settled on his strong rideable thighs. It was the least egregious sight to stare at. He slipped the suit over his shoulder, raising his brown brows in unison. 

“And as if you haven’t seen me naked before, either.” 

“It… it’s been a while.” Your eyes darted past his figure to the door. You were sure it was locked.

"Has it really?" Miguel threw out as he disappeared into his bathroom. For a moment, you debated running. Your heart ached with the knowledge that he would just come to find you. He left knowing that you would not disobey him because, after everything, you respected his wishes. 

What Miguel's wishes were today was up for debate. The only thing you were sure of was the gentle pitter-patter of water droplets, the steam that emanated from the bath, and his lofty figure swaying in the distance. The warm certainty that filled your body knowing that he would come back to bed. Because that’s what Miguel did when you were hurt: he paid attention. 

He came back into the room nude, ruffling his hair with a fluffy towel. You couldn’t convince yourself to act as if you were asleep. His presence shattered any illusion of ignoring him, even with the expressionless way he considered you tonight. He was utterly intolerable.

After an eternity boxed in with your thoughts, reality came as Miguel, a smooth wall of muscle, clambered into the bed. The bed shifted under Miguel’s weight. Just as you predicted, the warmth of his chest was against your slight back and his large palm was flat against your stomach. 

You broke up with him for a reason, you broke up with him for a reason��� Miguel didn’t seem to care about those delicate details. He caressed your neck with his nose. His lips dragged over your unmarked skin. As certain as a clock was to click, your body became slick with anticipation. You knew he could tell. 

You were weak. Weak out there. Weak in here. Weak everywhere.

“You smell… different.”

“Miguel, por favor,” you breathed, thready and thin. “It’s just Hobie.”

“Hobie?” he growled. Miguel’s hand encompassed the large space of your belly. Your legs shifted as Miguel held you a little firmer. You expected his hand to move lower, but he didn’t.

“Hm. Why would it be Hobie?” he asked, his voice dripping dangerously low. “Is there something I should know, Corazón?”

“No, I, no,” you stammered. He knew. Though you said the words, they felt cut off from what you were saying. As though the threat of his rejection took over all the confidence in your world. "You were watching?"

You turned in his arms to face him. His forehead creased in disapproval. You opted to press your forehead against his, running your nose against his, breath puffing his lips.

"You thought I wouldn't," he said. His eyes spun with sharpness, searching your face for evidence of the truth. As though he were asking if you’d been unfaithful despite the breakup. Your face was always pitifully easy to read. Even with the breakup, he could read your intentions as clearly as the words on his lab screens.

"I didn't think you cared."

You were used to a Miguel who crept into your bedside window, slunk into your bed, and woke you up from your slumber with the weight of his body between your legs. A Miguel that only had time for brief moments of pleasure and successful results. This Miguel was different.

"You know I do."

And there it was. He pushed himself free of the bed in search of pants. You watched him pull them over his ass before he flopped into the one chair in the middle of his room, head in his hand. Lyla, he rumbled something under his breath you couldn’t quite hear. Your senses were dull, something you equated to the exhaustion and sleepiness that threatened to overtake you at any given moment. 

“Something is different. And it isn’t him,” he sneered. 

You missed the warmth of his body against yours. The ginger way he touched you just moments before. After days of being without his touch, you missed the simple things. Like the way he touched you. The way he focused on you alone in a room full of others. You hated yourself for craving it. You made a choice. Why couldn’t you stick with it? 

“What did I do wrong now?” Your tongue felt thick and heavy in your mouth. It was the very cottonmouth you feared you would have when telling Miguel about Gwen and Miles. Your mind was too hazy to rationalize what you possibly could have done this time. Miguel would always be an impenetrable castle, one you could admire from afar but never enter. 

“Nothing!” He snapped. You recoiled from the shrill in his voice. Miguel ran his hand through his hair, easing his tone down to a murmur. He threw you a small, bittersweet glance. Almost a smile. “Muñeca, you did nothing wrong. Get some rest.” 

He sat there a moment longer. A frown grew on his lips as Miguel stood up and walked toward the door. After one, two, then three attempts to open the door, his closed fist slammed a hole into the siding. It finally whirled open and allowed him to exit. It left you in the sea of silence that was his dark room. You never liked waking up in his room alone. It was bare, too bare, for anyone to live in. You worried that his mind was just like that.

“Lyla? Lyla, I want to go home.” 

It was a long time-- too long-- before she answered. “You should sleep.” 

And though she advised that, it was a restless night.

[yuriisclumsy]

Inside a Game

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𝗉𝗋𝗈𝗈𝖿𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽 𝖻𝗒 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋𝗌 𝗍𝗋𝗎𝗅𝗒. 𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝙲𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝: 2137

Authors note: I hope you lovelies are ready for the end of ACT I! I made a whole GIF for the chapter... Yeah, not doing that again in a while.

I couldn’t believe what I had seen.

She wasn't supposed to exist, yet…somehow…she was right there.

This wasn’t making any sense. How could a character in a video game be here!?

My mind flashed with a memory, a very important memory I had forgotten that would have answered where I was.

“What do you think [Name], pretty cool right?”

“Amalia, for the last time, I don’t know what you’re showing me.” She gasped, offended that I wasn’t paying attention to her explanation.

“This is the game I was talking to you about! It came out a few months ago, and I think it’s amazing!” She said with a big smile as she switched to another character. “Look! This is Lisa. She’s a librarian!”

I looked at the screen. There stood ‘Lisa’ in the middle of a pack of monsters. She was glittered in purple, and had a witches hat.

“A librarian? Shouldn’t she not know how to fight? You know, because she’s in the library all the time? I pointed out. “And what’s with the witch get-up?” 

“Uh, well, I don’t know much about her background yet, so I couldn't tell you why she fights… As for her being a witch…don’t know that either.”

“*sight* Her name’s Lisa, right? What about this guy?” I pointed at another of her characters that were in her team. I could see that she was ecstatic that I finally got interested.

“Oh, this is Kaeya! He’s one of my supports’!” She shoved the screen in my face. She switched to another character, “This is Jean. My first 5 star character. I love her!”

“I fail to see what’s so entertaining about the game. But, because you are my friend, I’ll listen to your rants.”

“REALLY?!” I covered my left ear.

“Yeah. You’ve listened to mine, so it’s only fair I do the same. Also, don’t scream in my ear.”

“Whoops, sorry,” she gave me the happiest smile I had seen from her for a while.

Amalia used to talk to me about this game whenever she could. It was her favorite. She’d spent an ungodly amount of time “farming” materials to ascend her characters. Talked days on end about the lore of the game, and her insane theories.

How could I have forgotten something like that?

When I snapped out of that state, I was met with another screen. It was showing a quest: A One-Sided Reunion. There was not a single decline, or accept button. The only option was to continue.

Quest:

A One-Sided Reunion

[Continue]

And why do these things keep on appearing in the worst times?! I flapped my arms trying to make the screen despair. Stupid hologram! I just had a traumatic experience, and this is what you do?! AGH!

The screen was still intact after I calmed down. The continue button kept staring at me to press it. I sighed in defeat. There was no other way of leaving this space, I had to press it.

I pressed continue and everything gained motion.

“Hello? Are you alright, dearie?” the woman – that I now know to be Lisa – asked. She placed a hand on my forehead, face filled with worry. I see her appeal now.

I took her hand off of my head, placing back down for her to rest. It feels weird when I know she’s a video game character.

“I’m fine, miss,” I gave her a smile, “I just remembered something important. Sorry I made you worried…”

“Oh, please, don’t apologize. You had to take your time. Are you the one Amber told me about? The girl who has amnesia? Are you remembering some things?”

Calm down [Name]. Just lie. It’s going to hurt no one.

“Yes. I just had a memory come back to me about a friend,” it wasn’t a total lie.

“That’s good.”

“Uh, I’m sorry. Is it possible to check out this book?” I need to leave this place. The fact that I’m talking to a character in a game is making me feel dizzy.

“Yes, I can check them out for you,” she said, walking to the stairs.

Seeing her from afar, her outfit is almost identical to her in-game model. If Amalia were here, she would be all over her. She had a weird fixation with her, just like my mom.

Wait… Is she into older women??? No, can’t be. She said she wanted to marry a rich man. An image of Amalia marrying a wealthy man came into my mind.

“Are you coming?” Lisa called from the stairs.

“Ah, yes!” Leaving the thought alone, I left the seat and ran towards her.

I excited the library as fast as I could when Lisa checked out the book. If I were to stay there for one more second I would have suffocated.

Turns out that meeting characters of a game in real life is not a dream come true.

I don’t understand… I strolled the streets of the city that had welcomed me with open eyes. How did I end up inside a game to begin with? 

I looked at the sky. The colors were muddied because of the dragon, but not that dark; it was cloudy.

Most people are afraid to step outside, leaving the streets feeling lonely. One or two clerks are open, and the few brave souls that didn’t fear a mythological creature, with knights doing routine checks.

If I remember correctly, Amalia explained the game follows a set of ‘Quests’ that advance the story. This city, for example, is the first place ‘players’ spawn in; the first region of Teyvat. According to the book and Amalia, there are seven nations, with seven gods, which we will meet.

From what I know, all the gods use other names when referring to them in the story. So, what is Barbatos' other name?

Amalia said that out of all the gods, she likes this one the most. Damnit! Come on [Name], she used to say his name all the time. Remember! I hit my head with the book to juggle my memory.

“Miss, are you feeling well?”

“AH!” I flung back with my book and hit something. Opening my eyes, I see a knight looking concerned.

Oh how embarrassing…

“S-sorry… I, uhm.. Better get going!” I dashed away, leaving the knight confused.

“Looks like you scared her Raymond,” another night said.

“*sight* I don’t think I’ll understand you youngsters anytime soon,” he eyed my leaving form with a frown.

I breathed in all the air I used for my escape from the knight, with my hands on my knees keeping me up.

“Ahg… I need to stop spacing out,” my heart calmed down to an extent. I found an empty alley when I was running, so that’s where I was.

There were some cradles in the alley, so I used them to rest.

“Ah…a place to rest is what I need…” I passed my forearm to swipe the sweat of my face. I looked at the surrounding area, then to my feet. “...Am I really inside of a game?”

If I really am, I should be familiar with the events that will happen in the future. This was Amalia’s favorite game after all, she didn’t stop talking until I played it. 

“Hmm, what happens at the beginning of the game…?”

“Why did you want me to download this game again…?”

“Because I know a person with your intelligence will appreciate it! Right now, you are playing the prologue of the game,” Amalia explained.

“...What happens in the story?”

“Nu-huh. Spoilers.”

“Amalia, I’ll probably toss this game in the trash bin later. You might as well tell me while I play,” I pressed the ‘W’ key to go to the next quest.

“Fine… The prologue’s main plot is the rescue of Dvalin,” she looked at my PC’s screen from the side, relaxing in my bed.

“Dvalin?” I inquired as I slay another hilichurl.

“Yeah. He’s the big blue dragon you saw in the cut scene.”

“Why are we saving him?”

“Because he got poisoned during a fight 500 years ago that left him vulnerable enough for the Abyss to manipulate him.” 

“Sounds deep.”

“OI, don’t make fun of my baby’s backstory,” she threw one of my pillows at me.

“OW–!”

“Anyway— You are going to help Save Dvalin with Barbatos. By the way, he goes by Venti. No, I’m not explaining why. Play the game and you’ll know.”

It was short, but it could have been worse given the one explaining.

The Traveler saves Dvalin… Isn't that what they’ve been calling Sirius? Wait a second– isn't Sirius the name I picked when I started the game…!?

“AH, concentrate!” I smacked my cheeks.

I played through the prologue, Chapter 1, and Chapter 2,  the rest was told to me by Amalia, since I dropped the game, only playing here and there. I’ve been in this world for a few months, and so far the story has proceeded like the game. If I know the events that will transpire, then I know the future, if I know the future, I can either prevent and change things. And I can save myself from getting into anything dangerous!

Good thing I rejected their invitations to go with them. If I remember, Sirius had gotten sucked up in the air, and fought Stormterror – Dvalin.

“Now that that’s resolved, I need to figure out what kind of powers I have… I’ve been able to see cutscenes… Does that mean I have a system of-sorts?”

It would make sense, given that it’s a game, I need to have a game-system-power.

There must be a main menu somewhere. Or at least something similar to it.

Do I need to say it aloud? I puffed my chest full and closed my eyes at the embarrassing thought. I had to try it if I wanted to get somewhere.

“Main menu..!” I yelled, and I lightly opened my eyes to see if it worked. But there was nothing. “Guess that didn’t work…”

“What are you doing, [Name]?”

“AH!” I flinched and backed away, placing my hand on the cradle for support but missed. “AHHH! Uf!” I screamed as I landed on my side on the floor.

“Wah! Are you okay, [Name]?” The voice loomed over my form.

I looked up, only to be met with Paimon’s worried face.

“Paimon?!” I looked to the side as Sirius came forward, also worried. “What are you two doing here?!” Weren’t they supposed to be off on a domain?

“We just came back from finishing one of the tasks given to us by the knights,” she said. “Wait, don't try to divert the attention from Paimon’s original question! What were you doing just now?”

“Oh, uh… Nothing…?” I scratch my head.

“That sounded more like a question than an answer…” she put her hands on her hip, unsatisfied with my answer.

“Hahaha–ha…” I laughed awkwardly. Did you know there were 15 tiles from the entrance of the alley to where I sat? Neither did I, until now.

“Hey! Are you going to tell us what you were doing or not!?” She stomped her feet in frustration.

I stayed still, without saying a single word.

Sirius patted her back to calm her down. “Let’s leave her alone, Paimon. She has her reasons to stay quiet,” I looked up to see him smiling at me. “Are you hungry? We came looking for you to eat with us.”

“You can’t let her go just like that!”

“Now that you mention it…yeah. I am hungry,” I said, finally feeling the hours from the last time I ate. Had I been stuck in the library that long and didn't notice?

“Hey!”

I stood up from the floor, dusting my wardrobe.

“Is this yours?” Sirius asked as he picked up a book from the ground.

“Ah, yes! It’s not damaged right? Lisa would electrocute me if I let something happen to it…” I shivered at the thought of her using her electro vision.

“You know what? Paimon is leaving and getting that Sweet Madam Amber promised Paimon since you two don’t want to talk to Paimon.” The mad fairy floated away.

I felt bad for Paimon.

“Wait Paimon!” Me and Sirius catch up to her, “I’ll buy you dessert as an apology… Will you accept it?”

Paimon huffed, and flipped her head away from me. “Hmm, Paimon will think about it.”

“Oh, come on! Fine, I’ll buy dessert for three days straight! Is that better?”

“Okay, Paimon accepts!” She gleefully forgave me after the mention of more food.

I sighted and shook my head with a smile. That’s the Paimon I know…

“Can you two hurry up? Amber has been waiting for us for a while,” Sirius pushed us to go faster.

“Ah! My Sweet Madam!”

“Alright, alright I’ll walk faster,” he walked past me and talked to Paimon on what other foods they could order.

He knew I didn't want to talk about the thing they saw, his gaze landed on me when he noticed I was looking. I gave him a small smile, he reciprocated. He is too kind… I’ll tell you once I figure it out, Sirius…

I promise…

𝚃𝚊𝚐𝚜: @udretlnea, @taurus-caeli, @humongousoperatorhairdoopera, @aesir1, @creationmage, @savedpostsnotmain, @melanistium, @dontlookatmepreetyplease. Re-blog or Comment if you want to get added into the Tag section for The Divine City: Story. Back to The Divine City: Story Master-List.

Go to Arcs, a related series.

ᘻɑ𝘚Ե୧Ⲅ⧿ℓἱ𝘚Ե

[aaronstveit]

Hi Jamie! 🫶😙 I’m trying to read more this year and was wondering what your usual reading routine looks like? Four books already is amazing!

hi taylor!!🫶🏻💓 full disclosure, all four books i've read have been on the shorter side: i think the bear and the nightingale is the only one that even clears 300 pages so far? i generally prefer shorter books over longer books so that definitely counts for something here. the way i typically read is like this (putting this beneath a read more because this got out of hand):

first it's important to note that i am really lucky and i have a lot of free time! it would be very disingenuous for me to act like i don't, and like that doesn't play a role in how much i read.

i also don't sleep very well so i do a lot of reading at night. i would say the majority of my reading happens from like 10pm-2am. which of course is not ideal but it is what it is.

reading is also my primary hobby! i like doing other things of course, but reading is the hobby i dedicate the most of my time to. when i get really caught up in a tv show, or giffing, or writing, my reading time declines rapidly. but right now i'm not doing any of that really, so i've just been reading! plus, the weather here has been pretty rough this last week, so i've been doing a lot of reading just because i've been cooped up trying to stay warm.

i like to have a couple different books going at any given time, in a couple of different genres. typically one longer book and/or classic, one easier book, and something like a nonfiction book, poetry collection, or short story anthology. that way, i have different things going for different moods! like right now, i've got notre dame de paris by victor hugo, a vindication of the rights of women by mary wollstonecraft, and the examiner by janice hallett! so i've got some more challenging reads, and then something that's more fun and that i can sit and read for hours at a time.

with the more difficult books, i aim to read one chapter a day, and if i'm really into it, i might read a bit more! but i don't force it. that's really my biggest thing: i don't force it. if i'm reading and i get distracted wanting a snack, i'll get to the end of my chapter and then go get a snack. if i decide i want to scroll social media for a few minutes, i let myself. i know a lot of people say you shouldn't do that, but it works so much better for me if i let myself get distracted instead of fighting it. i would rather go scroll through tumblr for five minutes and then come back to my book ready to read again, than read several chapters and not remember anything because i'm thinking about how i want to do something else.

i also think that letting yourself pause or DNF books is vital to reading more. i know it sounds counterintuitive, but trying to force myself through a book i don't like does wayyyyy more damage to my reading motivation than just giving up and choosing something else. i don't like reading to feel like a chore, so when it does, i switch it up.

also, i cannot emphasize this enough: find someone you can talk to about books. they don't even have to have read the book you're reading, just find someone you can tell about whatever you're reading. my dad and i talk about the books we're reading all the time, and it makes me even more excited to read so i can tell him about it and recommend books to him that i think he'll like. it's a really fun way for us to connect and we've discovered new favorites from each other, which is really cool. even when i don't think he'll like a book i'm reading (even when i don't like a book i'm reading) i can talk to him about it, and vice versa. it's really nice.

setting goals is also super helpful, if you're the type of person whose brain works like that! i don't work very well on numerical goals, so i set my goodreads goal at a relatively low number (for me) and i focus more on general goals. mostly this means challenging myself to branch out of my comfort zone. i prefer shorter books and mysteries and thrillers, so i have been challenging myself to read longer books and to read more fantasy, science fiction, classics, and literary fiction. it's better for me to have more broad goals that are less pass-fail, but everyone works differently!

knowing what format works best for you is also really important. i read best with physical books, so i get what i can from the library! e-books are next best for me, and my library has hoopla and libby, so i can usually find what i want to read there if they don't have a physical copy. i can only audiobook if i'm working with my hands, so when i'm working on a hands-on project, i'll find an audiobook to listen to, usually something short! when it comes to plays, i prefer listening to them over reading them, and they usually don't exceed 3 hours or so, so sometimes i'll listen to plays while i work on stuff. shakespeare's stuff is all in the public domain so i find free podcasts of them on spotify, and i really enjoy them! otherwise though i'm not big on audiobooks, so i don't listen to much other than plays.

fomo also plays a big role for me i won't lie.... when i see everyone else on earth enjoying a book, i want to read it and have fun too! this does mean i have read some truly horrible books in my time, but i've also discovered a lot of my favorites this way!

god i've spent over an hour scrolling through cossette notebookmusical's blog because i KNOW she once made a post that was so much better than anything i can say when it comes to reading more, but i can't find it anywhere 😭 if/when i find it, i will send it to you! i hope some of this advice helps 💛 also you are always welcome to come talk to me about books!!!! i hope 2025 is kind to you 🫂

[girl-in-a-bubbl3]

Glamrock Bonnie(FNAF) x Reader Part 7

Not enough sassy Bonnie fanfic so here we go...I'll try to upload at least once a week.

Notes:

AU Fanfic/NonCanon

Bonnie is terrible but he likes you

5 greenrooms on RSR (we include Monty)

Sun/Moon are the same animatronic

Moon has a lil touch of the virus

Will probably be some spicy parts so...18+

Also just using the gif to have a gif... we know Bonnie is actually blue in this house B)

You started towards the daycare after the great time at Bonnie Bowl. It was only 12:17 so you had plenty of time to focus on the daycare attendant and still give everyone else a quick check before the end of your shift.

On the way, you started to wonder why Sun wasn't at Bonnie Bowl. Was he invited? Did he not want to come? You figured you'd ask Sun when you got there as long as it didn't seem like a sensitive subject.

It was quite the trek there considering Bonnie Bowl was all the way on the opposite side of the Plex but you were already learning a few short cuts and it was only your second day so you were pretty optimistic that in a week you'd be able to get around a lot faster.

You entered the daycare lobby and hopped into the familiar slide at the end of the room. The bright yellows, reds, and blues swirled past as you landed in the same sea that was the ball pit.

You heard Sun and felt him grab your outstretched hand before you even saw him.

"Hello, helloooo!!"

"Hi Sun!" You muttered into his shoulder as he spun you around in a warm, signature hug.

He set you down gently, just like last time, while holding both of your hands and swaying from side to side.

"It's so good to see you, Sunflower!! How are you?! Can we do more crafts tonight?! I got new glitter glue!!"

His energy made you giggle and you started to sway, side by side, just like he was. "Sure! We can do that but do you think I could meet Moon first?"

Sun immediately stopped swaying and his hands drew back so he could fidget with his fingers. He started to look around the room as he chuckled nervously. "May-Maybe later, Dewdrop. There's so much to do and the crafts will take some time!"

You noticed he had so much anxiety, especially when bringing up Moon. It only drove your curiosity. Moon was never mentioned in your task list or any notes. But he was pictured everywhere in the daycare. He was the other half. So what was going on with Moon?

You gently reached out and took Sun's hands in yours. He fixed his attention on you as you tried to get answers.

"Sun, please be honest with me. Is there something going on with Moon? Why are you so nervous?" He tried to keep looking away but his attention always fell back to you and the warmth from your hands.

You typically didn't like touch, especially from strangers, but you always felt so comfortable with Sun. The first time he wrapped his arms around you, you felt something very unfamiliar. You felt.... safe?

Your attention snapped back to Sun's words as he started to speak. "Moon just... he's just... Moon is different." He said in quiet tone that was very unlike him.

"How's he different?"

“Moon is great with the children! Just not with… the adults…”

"How long has it been since Moon has been around an adult?"

"Maybee...a year, or so." Sun continued to try and pick at his long and slender fingers while still holding your hands.

"So...what about his scans?"

"Moon doesn't get scans. Not anymore..." He mumbled quietly.

You were pretty shocked. From what you gathered from Sun, something must be up with Moon when he sees adults. That was obviously not how he was programmed, so it must be a bug or a virus. If he hasn't had a scan in over a year there's no telling how bad it is or has gotten... You were immediately concerned.

"Sun, I really need to meet Moon." You repeated to him your thoughts and worry that something might be effecting his counterpart. "It's very important that I do. I want to make sure both of you guys are always okay."

For a while, Sun just stared off into the distance and was completely silent except for the roar that was his internal fans. He was obviously struggling with something. You were starting to wonder if he just wasn't going to answer you at all until he spoke so quietly you almost missed it.

"Okay... Just please stay near the light switch, Sunflower. Promise me?"

"I promise, Sunshine."

He chuckled nervously and seemed to pull you a little closer before gently pulling you in the direction of the security desk. You let him lead as you followed close behind him.

He stopped in front of the light switch and softly nudged you forward. "Near the light switch."

He was serious.

You lay your hand on the switch as Sun started to take a few large steps back. It was a little confusing why he was acting this way but you didn't question anything out of fear that he wouldn't allow you to meet Moon. Once he was far enough back, he nodded at you to turn off the lights.

So that's what you did.

Immediately the daycare was bathed in a blanket of darkness. It took your eyes a minute to adjust before you could just make out the edges of the desk but nothing farther.

You heard a gravely, high pitched laugh coming from somewhere in the room. Your heart started to speed up and you felt a small tinge of fear at the unknown.

"Moondrop?" You called out hesitantly.

"Hellooooo, Starlight."

Your head snapped in the direction of the voice and you saw two round, red eyes that glowed back at you. He was perched on top of the opposite corner of the desk. It took you a minute to really see him but once you did, you realized he looked almost exactly like Sun, except the opposite.

His faceplate was still round but with no rays peeking out. Instead, there was what looked like a nightcap? His color scheme was darker. Instead of red and yellow pinstripe pants, Moon's were blue with glowing, yellow stars. You looked back up to the red LEDs on his faceplate and you still had that small sliver of fear, but there was something else. Something you couldn't quite put your finger on.

"Hi, Moon." You gave him a little wave and watched him start to sway on the desk, just like Sun does. And just like you do with Sun, you started to slowly mimic Moon's movements as well. It wasn't something you did on purpose but you couldn't stop yourself.

You both just swayed and stared at each other for a moment. And then you blinked and he disappeared. You looked around quickly and didn't see anything. You wondered for a moment if you were crazy and if that was just a hallucination until you heard it again. The laugh. Moon's laugh, you assumed.

You felt a hang grip your wrist, uncomfortably hard, and yank you to the side, your hand coming off of the light switch. Just as quickly, you were pushed backwards and your head hit the wall (you were thankful it was padded).

You felt a hand fly up and grip your throat, quickly tightening. Yours flew up to try and stop the one that was around your neck as you looked up to see Moon's face inches from yours. His eyes burned like hot red orbs that you were almost hypnotized by.

Your breathing was strained because of Moon's grip and your heart was beating rapidly, making your head swim and your vision blur, but you couldn't stop staring into his eyes.

He was quiet for another minute before he spoke.

"Suuun tells me you're special to him. That I shouldn't hurt you like the resst of them." He hissed the words at you. His voice had bits of static and little glitches that you found interesting. You were so focused on that, that it took a minute for what he said to register in your brain.

Special? And hurt...me?

When did Sun tell him that? Do they talk a lot? You had so many questions but you could barely breathe in Moon's grip. You weren't sure what to do.

"P-please...." Moon stared at you for a moment before he finally relaxed his hand just enough for you to actually take a few decent breaths.

He kept you pinned with both hands as he stood and inspected you. You didn't understand where Sun went and why he wasn't stopping Moon from doing this to you. You scanned the room with your eyes but you couldn't see or hear anything related to Sun.

"Where is Sun...?"

Moon took one of his clawed fingers and slowly trailed it down the side of your face where it rested on the base of your neck. You heard him giggle. "You don't knooow. Sssun didn't tell youuu."

You didn't move for fear that one wrong move and that claw would likely cut you but keeping up conversation made you feel like you had some kind of control.

"Tell me what?" You asked quietly.

"When the lightsss turn on..." the hand near your neck moved to grip the side of your hip, pushing you farther back into the wall. You noticed his other hand sneak towards something on the wall that you couldn't see. "...I become Sun."

He started laughing again and before you could ask any more questions Moon switched on the light switch himself. It took a minute for your eyes to adjust to the explosion of bright lighting and once you focused on the figure in front of you... you saw Sun.

His hand was in the same place on your hip that Moon had his, the other was hovering over the light switch, frozen in place. Sun's expression was unreadable. His glowing eyes looked down to the hand on your hip and back up to your face. The rays on his faceplate spun a few times and his face looked like he finally registered what was going on. He quickly jumped backwards like he had been stung, fans immediately spinning wildly as he started to stutter.

"I-I am so so so-sorry, Sunflower! I didn't me-mean to touch you like t-that!! I-I...Moon..." You held up your hand which made him freeze and stand silently, waiting for you to say or direct him to do something.

You tried not to really focus on the way your body reacted to being gripped by Moon (and Sun?) like that. The fear but also...excitement. The anticipation for... what? You quickly pushed that line of thinking down, too nervous by what it meant. Instead, you focused on calming down Sun and figuring out what in the world you just experienced.

"Sun... I have so many questions."

To be continued...

Authors Notes:

Hi friends! Hopefully should be updating daily again but we'll see how it goes. I have so little time during the week but I love this story and it's important to me. I hope I didn't disappoint with writing Sun/Moon. I decided to end it where I did to help transition to the next part. Moon typically wouldn't give up his time in the dark so him turning on the light switch himself... well that's all part of the plan B) Big thanks to everyone who's read along so far! Please feel free to leave feedback, comments, and suggestions! Much love <3

[halliescomut]

My Personal Weatherman Finale

I don't have anything super deep or insightful to say after doing a rewatch with subtitles so I actually know what was said. But I think I might have figured out what felt so different about My Personal Weatherman. It's a love story 100%, but it wasn't a 'falling in love story'. We saw the moments when they fell for each other in the flashbacks, but the story of the show already had them in love. So it was really about self-acceptance of those feelings for Yoh, and about confidence in their relationship to fully express them for Mizuki. (Maybe I do have something insightful to say.)

But also, one of my absolute favorite things about this episode was the camera choices. The fact that every time we saw them be fully honest with each other, one of them had their back turned, and then in the very end they're gazing into each other's eyes. Like it's just beautiful and perfect, because we see Yoh avoid eye contact regularly, and Mizuki will make him look him in the eye when he thinks it's important. Mizuki doesn't avoid eye contact though, so him doing so while saying these really important things that he knows have the potential to change everything is really impactful because I think it really shows how afraid he is that Yoh will decide it's too much.

I've talked some about how I fall on the Yoh side of the D/s dynamic, so I relate the most to him. But find myself most affected emotionally by Mizuki, and I wonder if that's because of that submissive part of me. Like, since we're given insight through his thoughts, the last two episodes especially, I just so much wanted him to say EVERYTHING he was thinking. I felt like he was scared that his intensity would be too much for Yoh, and I just kept wanting to be the Jiminy Cricket on his shoulder telling him that Yoh isn't as delicate as he thinks. That we aren't fragile, we can handle that intensity, we want to see that strength of love, and affection, and passion. And we may be a little nervous, but we also TRUST and have faith.

Either way this episode made me cry, it's making me almost cry as I think about it. I'm sad that it's gone by so quickly, and I hope that we get something else, a special ep, or a movie, or if the gods are with me a second season. But either way I'm 99% sure I'm gonna order the physical copy of this show and it's probably going on my comfort rewatch list.

(As a side note, I went to pull gifs for this post to add interest, and they are wearing the same tops in the first ep as they do in the finale, the gray thin boatneck top and green hoodie (technically it's a different hoodie, but that's not really the point) so it's like full circle.)

[game-set-canet]

hi!! i wasn’t sure if your asks are open or not, so please ignore this if they’re closed, or if you don’t like the request ofc

i would love a friends to lovers jannik sinner x reader, where they’re mixed doubles partners and after they win an important match they end up accidentally confessing to each other

thank you so much!! i would love to be tagged in any future tennis fics as well <3

Final feelings

Pairing: Jannik Sinner x f!reader

category: fluff

warnings: none

Author’s Note: it turned out way different than I intended 🙈 i had like 3 different drafts for the ''confessing to each other'' but the other two didn't feel right, so i hope it's this way 🤗💙

* Y/N = your name * Y/L/N = your last name

MY MASTERLIST

(not my gif! credits to the owner/creator!)

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It’s not the first time that Jannik and you are playing mixed doubles at a tournament. But this is the first time you two made it to the semi-finals in a slam.

You still remember the wave of disbelief and joy that hit you when your opponents' return sailed out of the court, and it was clear that you and Jannik had reached the semi-finals of Roland Garros.

You still remember how you ran towards each other and hugged each other tight.

An Italian newspaper headlined "Two friends in the semi-finals of the French Open!".

friends.

You close your eyes and sigh: “friends” isn’t the right word to describe your relationship. It’s more than friendship. At least from your side.

From the other side of the court, you watch Jannik laughing at a joke from his physio and your heart grows heavy.

You would never dare to talk to him about your true feelings for him, you are too afraid to hurt this special bond between you, but at the same time you don't know how much longer you can handle this situation.

At first you were angry with yourself: Who falls in love with one of their friends?

But then again: How could someone not fall in love with Jannik?

You rub your face and try to banish the thoughts from your mind. It was hopeless. Jannik only sees you as a friend.

As you reach for your racket and slowly jog to your position to resume the practise session with Jannik and your coaches, you are too busy with yourself to notice the intense gaze and loving smile with which Jannik looks at you.

*** *** *** *** *** ***

“Game, Set, Match, Sinner et Y/L/N”

You jump towards Jannik, both of you beaming with joy. You are hugging each other, jumping up and down in the rhythm of the chanting of your fans.

“We are in the finals!”, Jannik is almost shouting to down the cheering of the crowd, “Can you believe this?!”

No, you can’t. Both of you lost your single matches yesterday and you were insecure about today’s double match.

You never expected to reach the mixed double final in Roland Garros.

It’s your first ever final in a slam and now you will fight for the trophy together with Jannik. The thought sends shivers down your spine.

His arm is still around your shoulders, you feel the heat radiating from him.

You can’t take your eyes off the smile with which Jannik looks at the fans: he looks so happy.

So beautiful.

You want to kiss him.

Suddenly he turns his head and looks down at you.

His eyes pause at your forehead: “Wait, you have some clay in your face!”, he raises his right hand to brush the sand from your forehead with gentle, regular movements, “Let me remove it!”

Your cheeks heat up and you inevitably hold your breath.

Abruptly he looks you straight in the eye, his hand strokes down to your cheek and remains there for a moment.

You want to kiss him so bad.

But you won’t.

Your heart aches as you take a silent breath and step away from his touch. You walk over to the interviewer who is already waiting for the winner's interview.

You don’t see Jannik's sad look as you turn away from him.

The interviewer was very charming and didn’t ask the same boring questions as the other interviews here.

“Jannik, Y/N and you are an amazing team, and we know you two are great friends…we want to give you the chance to say something nice to your talented partner!”  

Jannik looks very surprised by this comment and bites his lip as he takes a deep breathe: “Well, you know, what can I say? I think I have the best possible partner. She saved those three match balls all by herself – I didn’t do much.”, everyone on the court and on the stands was laughing.

Technically he is right: you were the one who – somehow – returned every serve of your opponents.

“But as you said: She is very talented, definitely the best partner I can dream of -”he stumbles over his own words, his eyes widening as he realises what he just said, “when…on…for the tennis court!”

“Y/N”, he suddenly approaches you with your name, “I think I’m really lucky that you choose to play with me. Reaching my first ever slam final together with you is something very special.”, you feel that you are turning red because of his words – because you know he really means them – while he hesitates for a moment, “I think we are a perfect team: we complete each other and you understand me – even when I don’t know what I’m doing…I love you-”, his voice breaks, but in the next moment he continues to speak – faster, louder and more emphatically than before, his hands clawing into his shirt sleeves, trembling,  “love your playing style!”

Some fans are laughing, some are clapping but you can only stare at him: Did he just say “I love you”?

You feel dizzy and your field of vision is blurring – you need to hold on the microphone stand in front of you.

“No, of course he didn’t!”, an energetic voice taunts you in your head, “He just misspoke or mispronounced the words! He loves your playing style!"

*** *** *** *** *** ***

Jannik’s and your teams and the two of you are sitting together in one of the lounges of the hotel. The atmosphere between you and Jannik was kinda tense. You haven't really talked to each other since the end of the interview.

“Jannik, I think we still need to work on your English!”, his physio laughs at the Italian, “Today’s interview was a bit…unlucky.”

Both of you turn red because of his words but it’s your coach who breaks the silents: “Why?”

His physio laughs even louder: “Because he misspoke and almost said ‘I love you’ in front of the whole crowd.”, his eyes are wandering back and forth between Jannik and you, “That was very embarrassing! I mean, just think about it!”

You wrap your arms around yourself and lower your head: Yes, it was probably truly ridiculous. You have always had self-doubt about the feeling of love. Or rather: whether someone would love you.

And even though you know that the physio doesn't really mean it, it's an inner voice that tells you that it would be really ridiculous to love you. Tears come to your eyes.

And Jannik notices it.

Jannik's thoughts are racing and before he can think it over he says in a trembling voice: “I didn’t misspeak.”

Suddenly everyone was dead silent.

After some minutes it was again his physio who mugs: “What?”

“I didn’t misspeak or mispronounced.”, Jannik avoids looking at you, instead he focuses on the ugly carpet in front of him, “I was a coward and got cold feet.”

Your mind was blank, it was difficult for you to form your question: “What do you mean with that?”

Seconds pass without Jannik showing any reaction.

Your coach jumps up from the couch: “Alright! Everybody out! I think, we should leave them alone!”, he nods to the door, “They have some things to talk about!” The other team members follow his example and leave the room slowly – some look at you curiously.  

Moments pass by but none of you says a thing.

After almost five minutes of silence, you gather all your courage and whisper: “Jannik?”

The Italian presses his lips together but quietly says: “I lied.”, he is pale and looks very nervous, “I don’t love your playing style.”, he glances at you from the side of his eyes, “I mean, yes, I love it but…that wasn’t what I wanted to say.”

You feel your heart pounding against your chest, and you are almost shaking as you ask: “And what do you wanted to say?”

Jannik turns his head to – finally – look you in the eyes: “I'm afraid to say it out loud. I'm afraid that if I say it out loud, I'll...”, he shakes his head and stands up, pacing up and down the room, “I'm afraid I'll destroy something.”

You stand in his way and reach for his hand: “You can’t destroy anything, Jannik.”, it hurts to say the next words aloud, “We will always be friends.”

Jannik clasps your hands and shakes his head: “But I don’t wanna be friends…I…I want…more… I think…it’s…you…”

Suddenly all fear was blown away. All the dark thoughts were gone and all you can think of was Jannik. Jannik how he is standing in front of you, stammering and clearly nervous.

You take his face between your hands: “I love you.” Jannik stares at you before he closes the last distance between you and puts his lips on yours.

♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦ - ♦

tagging: @bluetackbaby @lxndonorris @fedalev

[yichens]

tag game ✨

thanks for tagging me zey @thasorns ♥ i teared up at your addition about me, that is so sweet :( i miss our dff talks too! idk what you're into these days but would love to talk about some show with you again :')

-

1. why did you choose your url?

bc am obsessed with one (1) man who belongs to another amazing guy ♥ (been thinking about an url change lately tho bc i'd like to put last twilight and the hurt it caused behind me but haven't found something else to tie myself to yet. maybe we are and phumpeem if the ending delivers?)

2. any sideblogs? if you have them name them and why you have them.

not really. the only side blog i have is my og url vishcount saved for nostalgia purposes but there's nothing on that blog

3. how long have you been on tumblr?

started on this hellsite (affectionate) on the lord's year 2013 and it shows

4. do you have a queue tag?

i don't use the queue much so no. you will only catch me reblogging like ten posts in a row when am online/in the mood and then going back to lurking again

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

i was into a bunch of animes and tumblr was filled with amazing fanart. i wanted to be able to look at them in peace

6. why did you choose your icon/pfp?

to show who my url is about ♥ mork my beloved

7. why did you choose your header?

wanted it to fit the theme. also i adore the last twilight rooftop kiss, it's one of the brightest spots of the show

8. what’s your post with the most notes? 

most likely this the untamed edit from 2020. i was truly living my peak back then :'D tbh i feel like the whole of tumblr was living its peak when the untamed was airing and when we all lost it together for the longest time after

9. how many mutuals do you have?

way too many and i adore all of them, tho i probably forget or cannot recognize most of them. especially if you've changed your url/main fandom OR i have, we might not even know each other anymore haha

10. how many followers do you have?

more than i deserve and idk what all of you are even doing here but i like feeling like i'm part of some type of crowd ♥

11. how many people do you follow?

quite recently i unfollowed some inactive blogs and blogs about things i don't really care for anymore so my follow count is a nice number of 205

12. have you ever made a shitpost?

uh. i don't really know? do some posts from my finnish tumblr (suomitumppu) era count? :'D

13. how often do you use tumblr each day?

am chronically online and i open this app like a fridge

14. did you have a fight/argument with another blog once?

no, not really. am not really one to share strong opinions, especially negative opinions, publicly online which i think is the cause of most arguments ppl have here. i'd rather just keep my peace and be nice

15. how do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this’ posts 

mostly i don't like doing things when am told to do them

16. do you like tag games?

yes! it always makes me happy to know that someone is thinking about me and i do find these a lot of fun to do ^^

17. do you like ask games?

also yes. i just don't often reblog those bc i don't really have a lot of interactions on this site. if i find an ask game with very interesting questions, i might forward it to kiddo @i-am-just-a-kiddo and we do it together privately to enjoy it like that ♥

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

the first one that comes to mind is hanyi @ruanbaijie who i think deserves all the recognition for her absolutely amazing giffing skills ♥ she's also the sweetest so idk what's not to follow, make her even more famous if you can!

19. do you have a crush on a mutual?

nope. idk if i function like that tbh. i have some huge friend crushes tho and want to be closer with some ppl a lot! not mentioning names bc am shy haha

but i want to say that monica @stormyoceans is very important to me these days. she brightens up my days and makes my whole fandom experience so much better by simply being her enthusiastic and authentic self ♥ never change!

and also jessi @oswlld who i still cannot believe is someone i can call my friend and bestie on this site. i am so happy we've gotten to share bad buddy, vice versa, and last twilight together! also happy to hear about your life at times and to just share silly things with you ♥

third one i want to mention is shannen @icouldhyperfixatehim who always manages to stand out in a positive way. we don't interact much but i cannot help but feel very giddy about their presence on my dash. they leave the best tags and every time they reblog any of my edits with their tags, they manage to make me feel like i've made it and my edit was worth the effort :'D so thank you!

20. tags?

want to tag at least @psychic-waffles @foxofninetales @hils79 @sherrymagic @srnileforme and @thitiponqs ♥ also the ones i mentioned before are free to join and anyone else who wants to do this!

[sunshine-in-a-bottle]

SUDSPOTS RECOMMENDS DREAM-CENTRIC FICS: PART ONE MAYBE

Sorted by shipping because I'm a multishipper.

Its about the PASSION its about the INTRICACIES its about the EMOTIONAL DEVASTATION.

If a fic you like isn't on here I demand you make your own recommendations post so I can reblog it and then we ALL must go insane. You Understand? You understand. Lets fucking go, lets LOVE THE PEOPLE IN THIS COMMUNITY RIGHT NOW AND TELL THEM WHAT GOOD FUCKING WRITERS THEY ARE

DESCEND INTO MADNESS. ITS FOR THE GREATER GOOD.

DRUNZ WORKS BELOW

-non-explicit fics section-

our eternal love by janies_not_here. (Rated T)

Punz and Dream being in love and their last few moments together before the destruction of the server.

Personal thoughts: I love them. I would die for them. I care them so much.

Suffering by Airrec (Raichett). (Rated T)

“I,” Punz repeats, “am doing this one. You did lung removal, I’ll do heart.” They look at Dream squarely, determined, though their eyes are tight around the edges. No one likes dying, but they both know how important it is to know.

Personal thoughts: how to murder me emotionally. Its about the Intricacies its about the Unethical Science Murder Experiments.

science for sweethearts by silversandstone. (Rated T)

“His name is Punz?” “Yeah.” “I know him!” Sapnap exclaims, and he sounds entirely too excited for Dream’s liking. “He’s on the basketball team with me. Tall, blonde hair, blue eyes? Looks a little bit like he got thrown in the laundry by accident?” “He’s pretty,” Dream agrees miserably.

Personal thoughts: I am always a slut for modern AUs. I am bapping them with my little paws. Please kiss.

with arms unfolding by silversandstone. (Rated T) (series)

but here i am with arms unfolding i guess it isn't quite the end old partner in crime i'm going to try to fall in love with you again

Personal thoughts: PUNZ FINDING OUT ABOUT THE TORTURE. YESGOODPERFECT. THEM CARING ABOUT EACH OTHER. AAAAA

c!drunz living happily ever after by theendpoem. (Rated T) (series)

c!drunz headcanon written into short stories that follow them running away from the smp together and living happily ever after in a cabin

Personal thoughts: exactly what it says on the tin. I am a feral cat biting it biting it biting it

deadlines and commitments by sunnyscribe. (Rated G)

Dream doesn't know what he's looking for, but he finds it in Punz.

Personal thoughts: please imagine that gif of kermit spinning in a water fountain. They're taking a little nap together. They are in love.

i hope i don’t murder me, i hope i don’t burden you by nightdaydream. (Rated T)

Dream is dangerous, an enigma of a man. “So, what do you say?” Roses bloom in Punz’s lungs. They take a breath, choke them down, and return the grin that they’re sure Dream wears beneath his mask. “I’m in.” aka. punz suffers through hanahaki. it gets a lot worse before it gets better.

Personal notes: FUCK OFFFFFFFFF<=== is personally very emotional. Don't perceive me.

by his side where he belongs by ammizukii. (Rated T)

c!Dream shyfully proposes to c!Punz.

Personal notes: oh.

Just A Dip by Icechild. (Rated G)

It was meant to be just be a bath. It was supposed to be refreshing, healing, calming. It wasn't supposed to be Punz watching Dream pant and groan in pain. It wasn't supposed to end up with them realizing a blade was poisoned after it was too late. OR Punz and Dream have a bath time after a fight with the SMP and take care of each other and things go a little south.

Personal notes: I am eating concrete. I am throwing things. ITS ABOUT THE TRUST AND LOVE AND FEAR AND

love, like death, hath all destroyed by dumbgirlfriend (thelightwoods). (Rated T)

Punz and Dream have a quiet last meal before the end of the world, and Punz wants him.

Personal notes: dies a death (x40) hahahaha I love them what the fuck...

Steam by Airrec (Raichett). (Rated T)

There’s something almost ritualistic in the way Punz lathers soap onto Dream’s skin, their touch gentle but firm as they thumb at his flesh, their clipped nails dragging a little across his too-thin skin, careful not to worry at scabs or sores, but touching them anyway, keeping them clean. --- Or: post-Pandora, Dream's physical state is a bit too fragile for him to be able to bathe alone. Enter, stage left, Punz.

Personal notes: you think I'm normal right now but I'm actually clawing at the bars of my cage. Let me out I won't bite.

red slush and citrus shampoo by shamefulfroggos. (Rated T)

“Okay.” The two sit in silence for a few more beats before Punz drops his hand down to twist the keys and coax the engine back to life. It rumbles, faintly, and Dream watches from the corner of his eye as Punz puts the car in reverse and brings his arm up, his hand gripping the shoulder of Dream’s seat. His head turns so he can look through the back window as he pulls the car out of the parking space he turned into mere minutes ago. Dream tries not to stare. He doesn’t try very hard. -------------- or Dream has been in love with Punz for too long, Sapnap and George are tired of his shit, and Punz is a cinnamon roll who is trying to convey his feelings but failing

Personal notes: hnnnnnnn I'm gonna be honest with you I reread these fics before I put them on this post and this is making me go insane. They're so fucking in love shut the fuck upp

Not to Me, Not If It’s You by ranababamboo. (Rated T)

“Stop fussing over me.” “I will when your fever breaks,” they replied. They gestured to the stew, untouched aside from the near-spill. “Should eat that before it goes cold.” Dream rolled his eyes at the nagging. “What, gonna sit here and watch me until I do?” Punz merely raised an eyebrow. “...you’re the worst.” ——— Stubborn refusal of injury won’t slide in this household.

Personal notes: I hate them (I love them so much I am actively dying)

even when it’s raining by navyhurricane. (Rated T)

“You want to dance—” “In the rain,” Punz finishes for him, almost in a rush as though the idea has him breathless already. “C’mon, you can’t say that you have never in your life thought of it before.” Dream shakes his head softly. “Can’t say it’s high on my bucket list.”

For ruined plans and an opportunity saved, Dream has never known a love as soft as this; he knows that while he needs Punz, the other wants him in all the same ways.

Personal notes: hey do you ever feel like the chemicals in your brain just fucking change and shit while you read something because its good.

i wish to reclaim the rising by Airrec (Raichett). (Rated T)

Dream is quite happy with his life, despite his lack of memories, the scars and frailties of his body, and the numerous questions both raise. Then Punz, one of the gods of this world, saves his life, and it becomes clear that there is more to this - to them - than what can be seen on the surface. --- Or: it's a whole new world, and everyone deserves a chance to move on and make the most of the future. Punz has been waiting for theirs for... a long time.

Personal notes: I really wish I could just post memes and images instead of typing because I don't know how to communicate to you the level of Feral I am rn.

i miss the way you made me feel by WinterEnchantress. (Rated G)

Technoblade broke them up because duty always comes first, and he knows that the pain will never lessen, but at least he had the certainty that Dream was also...suffering. Because he's a selfish and petty man, deep inside, and he doesn't want to be lonely in his pain. Up until Dream found someone else. Up until Dream starts to heal, and all Techno can do is watch from the sidelines as Punz carefully puts broken pieces back together. All he has left is regret. or sad techno and broken up dnb + punz/dream being sweet as techno pines and suffers (:

Personal notes: !!!!!!! well thats fucked up and sad. fuck yeah lets go !!!!!!!

starshine after the longest night by voidofthestars. (Rated T)

They say almost, because there's so much missing from him, from weight loss from starvation to blatant mutilation, ears slashed and even tagged. And gods knew what else lies beneath his torn and ragged clothes. The moment Dream collapses into their arms and they close around him he keens, low and hurt like a dying animal in a cage. It's all Punz can do to keep them both upright even as Dream shakes in his arms, damaged hands scrabbling across his back and shoulders like he was afraid Punz wasn't actually there. "Holy shit, starshine, I've got you, you can't drop on me yet we're not safe yet." "Punz! Punz you're actually here! Haha, oh my god, I can't believe it!" Dream's voice cracks from emotion and disuse. It's painful to listen to, in more ways than one.

Personal notes: Don't fucking look at me don't perceive me I don't want to talk about it.

last cup of coffee by Luciddreaming_ (LucidDreamLight). (Rated T)

Local barista crushing on the cute college boy.

Personal notes: I don't have braincells anymore. Only them.

or should i walk by again? by Anonymous. (Rated T)

After Sapnap accidentally triple-books himself, he leaves his friends Dream and Punz to entertain each other at a boardwalk. This quickly spirals into a bet: Can you fall in love in one day?

Personal notes: what if... they kissed<=== absolutely deranged

green strings of magic by nightdaydream. (Rated M)

“You just work with him for money,” Quackity states, looking at Punz, and they want to laugh at how wrong the statement is. At first, sure; Dream was their client, and they were a mercenary. But as time passed, and they got closer, they came to trust Dream. And eventually, the golden ring on their finger and the matching one on the chain around Dream’s neck, hidden below his hoodie, came into play. “So, if he’s dead, which everyone else here wants anyways, you have no reason to carry out what he wants.” aka. Dream gets killed. Punz brings him back, because they’re a good partner like that.

Personal notes: they're MARRIED they have RINGS what if I shed my skin and became a skeleton.

Keep it Together by orphan_account (Rated T)

/Don’t react. Don’t react. Stay calm. Stick to the plan./ They spent hours, standing on a grassy hill, staring at the prison. /Keep it together./

Personal notes: His One Attachment his Most Important Attachment Shut The FUck

sunlight through my window by oopsie_daisyy (Rated G)

Dream and Punz are comfortable enough together to just walk into each other’s room and be. But when Dream asks him an unfinished question, Punz can’t get the implications of it off of his mind.

Personal notes: biting my own arm. Themb!!!!!! Them,,,,,

Bunker Pasta by dyinginlava (probablyaceok). (Rated T)

When Punz meets Dream after he escapes from Pandora’s Vault he notices how bad Dream looks and makes a decision.

Personal notes: They love each other did you know that. did you know. they love each other so much

Ground Zero by Oceanbreeze7. (Unrated)

Canon Divergence- what if the entire confrontation went a little faster- and they all had time to leave before the nuke impacted?

Personal notes: its barely there, but Its There and its important To Me.

Even Now by TastesLikeBakingSoda (Rated G)

Punz tries to coax Dream to bed, post-prison.

Personal notes:..........

lets take a rest by TastesLikeBakingSoda (Rated G)

Dream comes home after fighting the slime clone army and Punz gives him tickles and kisses

Personal notes: I'm being persecuted, held at gunpoint even.

-EXPLICIT FICS-

forever and always by applpudding

Dream slips his hands from Punz’s grasp and slides one around the cradle the back of his head. “Punz. Look at me.” The softness of his voice coaxes Punz’s eyes open and oh. He’d forgotten how stunning Dream’s eyes are in the daylight, brilliant viridian irises shining bright and honest, settled between soft golden eyelashes. “I don’t know if I can say it back yet,” Dream says, and for a moment Punz feels his heart sink. “But,” Dream continues, “that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you. I do, I really do, I promise you that.” Punz leans forwards and knocks their foreheads together. “I’ll wait,” he whispers. “However long you need, I’ll wait."

Personal notes: they need to be happy its so fucking important to me

radio lust by navyhurricane

A messy turn of events leaves Dream without a car in the middle of a rainstorm. He knows Punz is made of nicotine and bad ideas, but Dream's curiosity over Punz’s passenger seat is addicting.

Personal notes: hi they are absolutely infatuated with each other. they told me so themselves.

losing the bet by Anonymous

“Oh, I see. You wanted to lose,” Punz said in a low voice, dropping in volume, and Dream’s breath hitched in his throat. “You made that bet assuming you’d lose, huh? You wanna be my bitch that badly?” “Fuck no,” Dream spat back even as his eyes locked onto Punz’s lips. They looked surprisingly soft, pink. Dream swallowed hard. “I’m just a man of my word. I promised you, you win, you use me as you want.” “Just seems like an odd thing to offer to someone you’re not attracted to at all.” Punz stepped closed again, practically chest to chest, and he grabbed Dream by the jaw. His grip was tight, practically bruising, and he pushed Dream’s head back against the lockers. “Deny it all you want, but I think you wanted to end up here. You liked the thought of mean ol’ Punz shoving you into the lockers, huh? You want me to fuck you right here?” Dream whined, unable to speak with the hand clamping his jaw shut, and Punz huffed a snort of amusement. “You’re cute when you’re pathetic, princess,” Punz purred.

Personal notes: shaking them. they are stupid and full of kink. I cherish them deeply.

Observant by Toasted_Poison

Dream and Punz are roommates and Dream is very observant of Punz's recent behavior.

Personal notes: the comment I left on this fic probably shows how insane I am more than any words I could type here.

if you’re the reason why it’s empty, spin the fucking bottle by oopsie_daisyy

"I was about to leave when you asked me to play spin the bottle, actually,” Dream explains with a knowing smile, one that Punz reciprocates easily. “But yeah, it’s fine. Just a regular boring party, nothing too special.” “I could make it special.” Dream rolls his eyes. “I know you can. Why else do you think I would stay at some shitty party?"

Personal notes: RAAAAA WHY ARE THEY SO DUMB I CANT FUCKING STAND THEM (is holding them so very closely)

Shatter you by Anonymous

The payment is given. The plan should start any minute now. Punz wouldn't say he'd changed his mind. He never truly agreed with this plan anyway. It's good that Dream is in a good spot for listening. Alternatively: Punz is an Ender Dragon hybrid who likes gold but likes his shiny employer better so he decides to keep him. Dream's a brat and needs to be taught his place.

Personal notes: go away leave me be. I have to be really abnormal about Ender Dragon Punz. (you hear the sound of someone eating paper)

A Goat & A Coyote by ConscientiousMonster, Melpomene_Muse_of_Tragedy

A coyote pack leader finds a goat spellcaster that's been tied up in ribbons and left for death by vultures. This is furry-flavoured Drunz porn.

Personal notes: I'm not a furry but five dollars is five dollars<===this is a reference. I'm actually probably a furry.

Without End by JanetBaby99

“We’re equals aren’t we? You and me no matter what,” Punz assures. “You don’t control me and I don’t control you.” Dream lets his words wash over him, taking them in and analyzing each one. … Even after all of this, seeing how weak Dream has become, seeing how he’s fallen, Punz still sees him as an equal on this godforsaken server. ___________________ After Dream escapes Pandora's Vault, he goes to Punz who helps him through the worst of his injuries, and assures Dream that he would love him no matter what.

Personal notes: HNNNNNNNNNNNNNN THEY ARE IN LOVE,,,, THE ANGST CAN'T DEFEAT THEM,,,

all your ivory glory by eleostomercy

“You’re a cockslut.” Dream’s eyes flick up. He’s sure he makes quite the sight, knelt at Punz’s feet, knelt over a baby blue dildo, and dripping between his thighs with a hand on Punz’s cock. “What about it?” or, where dream has an idea and a need to be between punz's legs.

Personal notes: clapping and cheering and blowing the building up because its what they deserve.

twisted on my tongue by eleostomercy

I know what a sex machine is,” Punz mutters, unsteady on his feet as he rights himself by the refrigerator; the revelation is surprising, sure, but his own astonishment at Dream’s hidden possession is nearly gone. “I just didn’t think that—” “What?” Dream’s embarrassment has melted away by now, and it leaves in its place a sharp grin and gleaming eyes. “Didn’t think I would own one?” or, where dream reveals a well-kept secret and punz decides to give it his own gleaming review.

Personal notes: hey did you know that they're in love. Did you know that I'm throwing shit and maiming because they are in love.

their hungry thirsty roots by consumptive_sphinx

Punz, somewhere above him, sighs, and then there’s a flowering vine in his face and he can’t fucking breathe. His knees hit the ground again and this time Punz wraps an arm around his chest and doesn’t let go, combs through his hair with their fingers while he coughs until his eyes water. “Sorry, man,” they say, and “I know,” and “it’s alright.” Something’s fucking happening while he coughs and Dream doesn’t like drugs under the best of circumstances— they make him slow, they make him stupid, they make him off his game and he can’t be off his game— but the alarm is leeching away. It’s like trying to cling to water. By the time he can breathe again his legs feel too weak to move on.

Personal notes: hnnnn Egg fics.... my one (1) weakness....

pleasure in death by bugginmate

“Here’s how this is gonna work, sweetheart,” he murmurs, brushing Dream’s too long hair out of his face. “You’re going to do what I say. I’m gonna get you all worked up and begging for me. Then when- or if- I decide to let you feel good, I am going to kill you. Do you understand?” Dream and Punz are brainstorming ways to die for their limbo research.

Personal notes: two bros, chilling in their lab, fucking around against OSHA regulations.

Scour and Scorch by FraustiButBad (FraustiNoSnowman)

“Is everything about numbers to you?” He retorts. It’s a weak one, at that, not because it doesn’t mean anything to Punz, but because both of them know that it’s almost a hundred percent true, and Punz is proud of that fact. “Yes,” the lighter blonde admits. His thumb rests on the front of Dream’s chin, and he pulls Dream’s head down to eye level; Dream has to grip the table for him to not punch Punz in the face, or throw on his jacket and leave. “It’s all numbers to me. And where does that take me, sweetheart?” Punz does everything for numbers. • Dream and Punz, musicians, classmates, enemies, friends with benefits, are everything that could be set fire to.

Personal notes: the unreliable narrator that is Dream. also kink. peoples two favorite things.

Red Sweater by Typical_Kiwi

Punz really has to go to work and Dream's making it exceedingly difficult. (Punz isn't blameless.)

Personal notes: THEY CARE ABOUT EACH OTHER. SO MUCH. SHUT UPPPPPPP

Home for the Holidays by Toasted_Poison

"So, where am I sleeping?” Dream asked, looking around the large room, the couch did look quite comfortable. Punz shook his head, opening his suitcase to unpack, “Are you playing dumb? In bed with me.” “Oh! Are we going to explore each other's bodies?” Dream teased. The dirty blond kicked off his shoes and shrugged off his jacket, placing it on the couch before his gloves joined it. He didn’t expect an answer from Punz, who was staring down at a blue shirt in his hands before looking up and smiling at Dream with a cock of his eyebrow. “If you’d like."

Personal notes: (you see an image of goofy floating in a fountain)

Play To Win by angeIofsmalldeath

He likes his roommate, he really does. All things aside, they’re relatively close and spend a decent amount of time together. Punz keeps his space neat, they split dish duty, and his rent is always on time. He’s not a bad roommate in the slightest. That does not change the fact that this is not the first time Dream has found himself incredibly annoyed on behalf of Punz and his stupid video game. Dream is sick of his roommate playing video games loudly all night long. So, they make a bet.

Personal notes: Listen. Listen. Listen. Actually Don't listen. Have you considered the benefits of shedding your skin and becoming a skeleton

i'll be unclean, i'll be obscene (you be the rest) by staged

“I wanna choke you.” Punz leans down to say in Dream’s ear, dragging his teeth against the lobe and pressing a wet kiss to his jaw. “Do it.” Dream pleads, rocking back on a harsh thrust. His eyes flutter, meeting Punz’s gaze with a forest of vulnerability, thick with desperate want. “What if I kill you?” Punz mouths down Dream’s neck, licking around the space between his fingers. It’s spoken like a suggestion, a sadistic fantasy that they want to play out. “Then bring me back.”

Personal notes: Theyre so wonderfully fucked up I would Die for them.

I miss ya, and our rendezvous by froghatter

Five times Punz and Dream made bets together and only once does Dream lose.

Personal notes: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Transactional Satisfaction by TastesLikeBakingSoda

Punz takes his payment.

Personal notes: Don't look at me go away.

candy games by Royal_Stars

Dream wants to play a game. Punz obliges. Why wouldn't they, when they get kisses out of it? It leads to a bit more than the two of them bargained for, but hey, neither of them are really complaining.

Personal notes: I am slowly sliding them both together. then they kiss. then they kiss. then they

but the damage has been done by Anonymous

After weeks upon weeks of exhaustive experimentation on the nature of life, death, and revival, Punz and Dream are both tired. One of them was bound to break. But Punz is not going to let it be Dream.

Personal notes: they are full of mental illness and so am I.

Sublime by cosmicskies

Punz will make him food. He knows what Dream needs right now. Soft touches and to be showered in attention even though he scowls and tries to send the other away every time. During the moments where Dream can think without being shouted at by his own mind, he’ll tell Punz about the things he wishes he didn’t think. How sometimes, asking to be held is the scariest thing of them all. But they’re both touchy people.

Personal notes: (you hear explosions in the distance)

[back-and-totheleft]

I saw Oliver Stone on our news in the Netherlands last year promoting his last film. He seemed very annoyed by us Dutch. The journalists said he was very rude.

This is actually an interesting incident regarding disability and communication disorders, so pardon me for the length of this reply.

I watched video clips of Oliver's press conference for Nuclear Now in the Netherlands. I also read the account on Instagram from Dutch journalist Desiree Dag-Verzitter, the moderator. She described that when she introduced herself to Oliver, he had her repeat her name several times, until her husband - on Oliver's left side - learned directly into Oliver's ear and spelled her name. Oliver then brightened and pronounced her name in French (his native language).

Desiree wrote that she had calculated that the scheduled time of the conference should have allowed each journalist two questions. However, each question had to be repeated into Oliver's ear by Rob Wilson, his longtime producer, which severely cut into that time. When Desiree said she'd promised the reporters two questions apiece, Oliver angrily noted that he hadn't, and it was a stupid thing for her to promise. This was interpreted by Desiree (and a couple of other journalists, as evidenced by a newspaper clipping she included in her post) as Oliver Stone being a difficult asshole.

Here is some important background: on the night of January 1-2, 1968, Oliver Stone was a soldier in Vietnam fighting in the New Year's Battle of 1968. At one point, while moving from one foxhole to another, he was concussed by the explosion from a beehive round. He lost consciousness for a period of time and when he awoke, noticed immediately that his hearing was impaired. At that time, the Army had no concussion protocol, as it does now. They also did not care about noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) which is, incidentally, the #1 combat related disability. Here is a concise definition from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders:

NIHL can also be caused by extremely loud bursts of sound, such as gunshots or explosions, which can rupture the eardrum or damage the bones in the middle ear. This kind of NIHL can be immediate and permanent. Loud noise exposure can also cause tinnitus—a ringing, buzzing, or roaring in the ears or head. Tinnitus may subside over time, but can sometimes continue constantly or occasionally throughout a person’s life. Hearing loss and tinnitus can occur in one or both ears.

Oliver received no medical treatment at the time, being put to work on burial duty the morning after the battle. (Two weeks later, he'd be more seriously wounded in another explosion, which caused shrapnel wounds and another loss of consciousness.) He did mention asking an Army doctor some time later about his hearing issues, but was dismissed.

Since that incident at age 22, Oliver has been deaf in his right ear, and he's also described tinnitus in his remaining ear. How do I know it's his right ear? Because of the below moment from behind the scenes on Alexander. When Colin Farrell (who adorably is hugging Oliver's son Mikey) complains no one listens to him, Oliver responds, "That's, you know," while pointing to his right ear, which prompts Colin to mention Oliver's deafness:

(Not shown in the gif is Oliver's nonplussed reply: "That's true.") When you've also watched enough Oliver Stone interviews, like I have, you also notice how he favors listening on his left side. Now NIHL is not something that normally improves, in fact it gets worse with age. Oliver has worn hearing aids (as mentioned by at least one interviewer) for at least the past 15-20 years.

Back to the Netherlands press conference. I don't know the circumstances, and I can't confirm, but it seems to me from the clips that Oliver did not have his hearing aids, and that's why he needed someone to repeat everything directly into his "good ear."

Oliver Stone can certainly be brusque and abrasive at times, but it rubs me the wrong way that those reporters did not accommodate, and indeed seemed actively annoyed, at someone with a hearing disability in a noisy room full of people. It can be overwhelming and frightening to have your modes of communication cut off. Perhaps he got angry because he felt embarrassed and self-conscious at his vulnerability, which is an understandable human reaction.

[getaapologist]

There is light at the end of the tunnel! I tentatively have everything mapped out, every important moment, and most of them at least slightly written (a couple fully written) or some snippets of dialogue noted down that came to me over the last few days. I just have to bridge the gap between the scenes and think of more ways to include side characters because I think that's a lot of fun.

It's one version of events that is so unlikely and inaccurate and destroys the plot of the movie for the sake of a few characters. But that's what this is all about, I guess. I do have to confess, Lucius just isn't around. It was intimidating to try to include all of that when I was going to change so much anyways. I love his character. If it wasn't for this crazy, copper-haired emperor I might be writing about him. It could be fun to let him find affection again after having him essentially starting over again. (But also who am I to get in the way of Ravi? Let's be serious. Am I the only one that felt that connection?)

Figuring out how I want to portray Geta has honestly been the most fun. What his weaknesses are, what he likes, how he would handle stressful situations (maybe not so well). And Caracalla, I like to think he's much smarter than what we've seen. It's just clouded over by the illness he's suffering from and his desire to keep himself free of responsibility in light of how hard ruling is after their father died and left it to them.

And Macrinus. Macrinus is MY instrument to get my character close to the twins. He just doesn't know it. As much as we very obviously hate him and think he is monstrous, I adore Denzel Washington and his portrayal of Macrinus is so nuanced and honestly just a delight that I couldn't resist including him quite prominently, at least at first. His mannerisms are so fun in the movie.

I think I'll be able to post it, I just don't have an exact timeframe. I will definitely let you know when I do. I'm hopeful I can just blitz it and post all parts at the same time so there's no waiting and pressure on my part. Or I could be very impulsive and just start posting as soon as my resolve weakens, or if I see that one gif of Geta, you know the one. My true weakness.

*also I have seen the gifs of Quinn's ass in the Geta tags (somehow in multiple scenarios???? what is that movie?) and it has been noted, please don't send it to me or put it in my line of sight, that would be terrible, absolutely awful, please, no, don't...