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amethystarachnid · 10 months ago

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MUTANT BODYGUARD - part I

⤷ JAMES LOGAN HOWLETT

ᯓ★ Pairing: James Logan Howlett x fem!reader

ᯓ★ Genre: fluff and spicy (I mean, it's Logan...)

ᯓ★ Story type: short story

ᯓ★Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

ᯓ★ Word count: 6k

ᯓ★ TW(s): Reader has stalkers and crazy fans, said stalker gets inside reader's apartment and Logan uses his claws on him

ᯓ★ Timeline: doesn't follow a timeline in the x-men movies, just...maybe before days of future past?

ᯓ★ Request: not requested

ᯓ★ From: Marvel Bingo, Bodyguard romance x Age Gap

ᯓ★ Comment if you want to be added to the taglist (specify if you want the everything taglist or for a specific character)

ᯓ★ Songs & Superheroes tales - The Game (to make a request, follow the rules on the link!)

ᯓ★ MARVEL Bingo (requests open)

ᯓ★ My Masterlist

ᯓ★ If you are a Charles Xavier lover click on this link!

ᯓ★ English isn't my first language and this isn’t proof read

You’ve always hated the idea of needing a bodyguard. It feels ridiculous, like some over-the-top celebrity diva move. But ever since your career skyrocketed, the tabloids won’t leave you alone. A role in a blockbuster film, a few chart-topping singles, and suddenly everyone wants a piece of you. The constant media frenzy, the “fans” who somehow know where you live, the paparazzi camping outside your apartment—it’s become too much. When the threatening letters started showing up, your manager insisted on hiring a bodyguard.

You rolled your eyes, argued, but eventually caved. You love your career, but you’re not an idiot. You know when things get dangerous.

So, here you are, pacing back and forth in your living room, waiting for the “best in the business” to show up. The guy your manager picked. No name, no details, just a reputation for getting the job done. Whatever that means.

You stop mid-step when the door opens. In walks a man who looks like he’s seen and survived more wars than any human being should. His hair is a wild mess, and the dark scruff on his face gives him a rugged, almost dangerous look. He’s tall, broad-shouldered, and built like someone who could easily break someone in half with his bare hands. He’s wearing a leather jacket, the sleeves pushed up just enough to reveal thick forearms that have clearly seen some action.

You blink, not expecting…well, this.

“You’re the bodyguard?” you ask, eyes sweeping over him. You were expecting someone in a suit, maybe with an earpiece and sunglasses. Not…a lumberjack biker.

He glances at you with piercing, slightly narrowed eyes. “Logan. And yeah, I’m your bodyguard, sweetheart.”

You cross your arms, trying to regain some semblance of control. “Don’t call me sweetheart.”

He gives a half-smirk, the kind that’s both infuriating and somehow annoyingly attractive. “Noted.”

There’s an awkward pause as he looks you up and down, assessing you in a way that makes you want to shrink under his gaze. “So, what’s the deal? You a princess or somethin’? 'Cause I gotta say, this gig doesn’t exactly scream 'royalty.'”

“I’m an actress, actually,” you respond with a touch of sarcasm. “Maybe you’ve heard of me.”

Logan’s unimpressed. He shrugs, clearly not the type to follow pop culture. “Nope.”

You’re not sure whether to be offended or relieved. On one hand, it’s nice not to be recognized. On the other hand, what rock has this guy been living under? You’re practically everywhere these days.

“You can Google me later,” you say, waving a hand dismissively. “I guess I’ll just assume you’re qualified.”

“More than qualified,” he growls, his voice deep and gravelly, like it’s been dragged across the pavement. “I don’t do babysitting, but your manager was…insistent. Apparently, someone out there’s got a real interest in makin’ sure you don’t stick around long enough for the next season of whatever-you’re-in.”

You narrow your eyes at him, irritated by his attitude. “Well, lucky me, right? Having you around means I’ll definitely survive to make another movie.”

He smirks again, this time with more of an edge. “Keep that attitude up, and I’ll have you wishing they got to you first.”

You snort, because as gruff as he is, you’re not intimidated. “I bet you’re a real hit at parties.”

“I don’t do parties.”

“Shocking,” you deadpan, unable to stop yourself from throwing in a bit of sass.

Logan’s eyebrow twitches, but he seems more amused than annoyed by your attitude. “You’re gonna be a pain in the ass, aren’t you?”

“Only if you deserve it,” you quip, sitting down on your couch and crossing your legs. “So, how does this work? Do you stand in the corner looking all broody while I go about my life? Or are you planning on following me everywhere like a lost puppy?”

He scoffs, taking off his jacket and tossing it over the back of a chair. “You wish. I’m not here to play lapdog. I’m here to make sure no one tries to kill you. If that means following you around and making sure you don’t get yourself into more trouble than you’re worth, so be it.”

“Comforting,” you say dryly. “It’s nice to know you think I’m worth saving.”

Logan pauses, eyes locking with yours, and for a second, the air between you shifts. His gaze softens just a fraction, enough that you almost forget the gruff exterior. Almost.

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think you were,” he says, his tone quieter but no less intense.

You blink, caught off guard by the sincerity. “Well…thanks, I guess.”

He shrugs, like it’s no big deal. Then he glances around your apartment. “You got security cameras?”

“Uh, yeah. Around the building,” you say, still trying to shake off the weird tension between you two.

“Good. I’ll check the perimeter. You stay put,” he orders, turning to leave.

“Oh, sure, yeah, I’ll just sit here quietly while my life’s in danger,” you call after him, sarcasm dripping from every word. “Don’t worry about me.”

Logan stops at the door and looks over his shoulder with that damn smirk again. “I won’t.”

As he walks out, you can’t help but shake your head. This is going to be a long job.

The first couple of days with Logan are…interesting, to say the least. He’s always there, a constant shadow, but he’s not the hovering type. He gives you space, but you can feel his presence in the room, always alert, always watching. And the banter—well, that hasn’t stopped.

“You think you could maybe try not to look like you hate being here?” you ask one morning as you head out for a meeting with your agent.

Logan’s leaning against the wall, arms crossed, that signature scowl on his face. “This is my happy face.”

“Really? Because it looks a lot like your ‘I want to punch someone in the throat’ face.”

He chuckles, the sound low and rumbling. “That’s pretty much the same face.”

You sigh dramatically, brushing past him. “Well, you’re really selling the ‘friendly bodyguard’ vibe.”

“Good thing I’m not here to be friendly,” he shoots back, falling into step beside you.

“Right. You’re just here to make sure I don’t die.”

“Exactly.”

You glance at him out of the corner of your eye, unable to stop yourself from smiling. “You’re having fun with this, aren’t you?”

He shrugs, but you catch the hint of a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Maybe a little.”

You laugh, shaking your head. “You’re impossible, you know that?”

Logan looks at you, his expression softening just slightly. “Yeah, but I’m growing on you.”

“Debatable.”

But as you both walk out into the chaos of cameras, fans, and flashing lights, you realize he might be right.

The next few days pass in a blur of meetings, interviews, and public appearances. With Logan by your side, everything is under control. He’s always there—solid, unflinching, and frustratingly good at his job. You don’t feel a single ounce of fear when he’s around, but you do feel something else, something that keeps tightening between you two like a stretched wire.

It’s impossible not to notice how Logan moves, how his muscles flex under that leather jacket when he’s surveying a crowd, the quiet, simmering power in his stance. And then there are the looks. God, the looks he gives you. It’s subtle, but whenever you catch his eye, there’s this electric charge, a tension that wraps itself around you both, even if no one else in the room can feel it.

You don’t acknowledge it, though. At least, not out loud. It’s ridiculous. He’s older—way older—and this is supposed to be professional. You’re not some starry-eyed girl who’s going to fall for her bodyguard just because he’s dangerous and good-looking.

Right?

At least, that’s what you keep telling yourself. But the more time you spend with him, the harder it is to ignore. He’s just so there, so…Logan.

The rumors don’t help either.

It starts with a photo—just one. The paparazzi manage to catch Logan opening your car door, his hand on the small of your back as you slip inside. It’s a simple, professional gesture, but in the world of tabloids, it’s something else entirely. Within hours, the internet is flooded with headlines: Mysterious Man Seen With Actress Y/N! New Bodyguard or New Romance?

You laugh it off at first, but the rumors snowball. Suddenly, every gossip site is buzzing with theories. Logan’s too attractive to just be a bodyguard, they say. You’re spending too much time together. There are whispers about the age gap, about the “forbidden attraction.” Some tabloids get more imaginative—Logan: The Bad Boy Who Stole Y/N’s Heart? or Secret Fling with Older Bodyguard? Inside the Dangerous Romance.

“I can’t believe people are actually buying this,” you mutter, scrolling through a particularly ridiculous article.

Logan’s lounging on your couch, reading through a security report. He doesn’t even look up when he responds. “You’re famous. People’ll believe anything.”

“Yeah, but this?” You wave your phone at him, exasperated. “Secret romance? Seriously?”

Finally, he glances up, his expression unreadable. “You worried about it?”

You snort. “No. It’s just insane. People will say anything for clicks.”

Logan’s silent for a moment, his gaze lingering on you a beat longer than necessary. “It’s not that crazy, y’know.”

You freeze, your heart doing a weird little flip. “What’s not?”

He smirks, just a touch of amusement in his eyes. “You. Me. The rumors.”

Your mouth goes dry. “I—what?”

He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “People see what they wanna see, darlin’. You’re young, successful, in the spotlight. They think you’re gonna fall for the first guy that gives you a little danger, a little excitement.”

You narrow your eyes, heat prickling at your skin. “And you think you give me that?”

Logan’s smirk widens, slow and deliberate, like he knows exactly what kind of effect he has on you. “Don’t I?”

Your stomach twists in response. There’s no denying it—there’s something between you two, something you’ve been ignoring for days. Weeks, maybe. But hearing him say it, so casually, like it’s a fact you both already know, sends a rush of heat straight through you.

“Logan,” you start, trying to regain some control, “there’s nothing—”

“Yeah? You sure about that?” His voice is low, and suddenly the space between you feels smaller, like the room’s shrinking, the air thickening. He’s not even touching you, but it feels like he is, the weight of his presence pushing against every nerve in your body.

You swallow hard. “We—there’s an age gap.”

He chuckles darkly. “Yeah, there is. Doesn’t seem to stop ‘em from talkin’, does it?”

“No, but—” You stop, frustrated, because what’s your argument here? That you’re not attracted to him? That you don’t spend half your nights thinking about what it would be like if he wasn’t just your bodyguard?

Logan stands, slowly, and you have to tilt your head up to keep eye contact. His sheer size makes the room feel smaller, more intimate. He moves closer, and your breath catches in your throat as he stops just in front of you.

“Thing is, people are gonna talk,” he says, voice a low rumble that sends a shiver down your spine. “Doesn’t matter what we do or don’t do. So, the way I see it, you got two choices. You keep fightin’ what’s happenin’, or…”

He pauses, his eyes dropping to your lips before slowly moving back up to meet your gaze.

“…you see where this goes.”

Your heart hammers in your chest. There’s no more pretending, no more banter to hide behind. The air is thick with everything you’ve been avoiding—the attraction, the tension, the unspoken desire that’s been crackling between you both since the moment you met.

You take a shaky breath, trying to think through the haze of want clouding your mind. “Logan, this is—this is complicated. We can’t just—”

“Why not?” His voice is rough, raw, like he’s barely holding himself back. “You’re not some kid. You know what you want. So do I.”

There’s a dangerous edge to his words, something primal that sends another surge of heat through you. You can feel the weight of his gaze, the intensity that makes it hard to breathe, let alone think straight.

You try to hold on to logic, to the rational part of your brain that’s screaming at you to slow down. But when you meet his eyes, all dark and stormy, your resolve crumbles.

“Tell me you don’t feel it,” Logan murmurs, his voice so low it’s barely a whisper. His hand moves, just a fraction, like he’s fighting the urge to reach for you, to pull you close. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

You open your mouth, but nothing comes out. Because you can’t tell him that. You can’t say the words when your whole body is aching for something you know you shouldn’t want but can’t stop thinking about.

He steps closer, and the air between you crackles with the kind of tension that makes your skin tingle. “Last chance, sweetheart.”

Your pulse races. Every rational thought, every reason you’ve been telling yourself not to cross this line, fades into the background. All you can think about is him—his scent, his presence, the way his body radiates heat like a furnace.

“Logan…” you whisper, your voice barely audible.

That’s all it takes.

In one swift movement, he closes the distance between you, his large hands finding your waist as he pulls you against him. The world tilts, and before you can think, before you can breathe, his lips are on yours—hot, demanding, and absolutely relentless.

You gasp against his mouth, but it’s lost in the kiss, in the way he takes control, his grip firm but careful, as though he’s been holding himself back for weeks and now there’s no stopping it. He tastes like whiskey and danger, and the moment his tongue brushes against yours, your knees threaten to give out.

You don’t even realize your hands are in his hair until you’re pulling him closer, pressing against him as if you can’t get enough. The kiss is rough, intense, filled with every ounce of pent-up tension you’ve both been ignoring.

When he finally pulls back, both of you are breathing hard. His forehead rests against yours, his breath warm against your lips. “Still think it’s just rumors?” he growls, voice ragged.

You can’t speak. You just shake your head, fingers still tangled in his hair, your body flush against his.

Logan smirks, his thumb brushing against your hip. “Thought so.”

Just as you start to lose yourself in the heat of Logan’s kiss, a sharp, sudden beep cuts through the haze. It takes a second to register, but when you pull back slightly, you see Logan’s face shift—his entire body going rigid. His phone is vibrating in his jacket pocket.

The change in him is immediate. The heat, the softness, all of it hardens into something sharp and dangerous. He pulls away from you, grabbing his phone with a quick, practiced movement. You don’t get a chance to ask what’s happening because his jaw clenches, eyes narrowing at the screen.

"Shit," he mutters, already moving toward the door.

“What’s going on?” You ask, heart still racing from a mix of adrenaline and confusion.

Logan’s whole demeanor has shifted into something colder, sharper—his focus laser-like. "Someone’s inside the building."

Your stomach drops. "What? How? Shouldn’t the security downstairs—"

"They got past it," he interrupts, throwing on his jacket in one fluid motion. His eyes are darker now, more alert, and it sends a chill down your spine. "Stay here."

Before you can protest, he’s out the door. But the idea of staying still, alone, in a situation like this? No chance. You grab your phone and follow him, keeping a few paces behind as he stalks through the hall, every movement precise, calculated.

He barely glances back at you, his body a wall of tension, like he’s ready to explode into action at any second. "I told you to stay back, Y/N," he growls under his breath, his voice low and urgent.

"And I don’t take orders," you snap back, even though you’re trembling inside. The hallway feels too quiet, too still.

Before Logan can argue, you both hear it—heavy footsteps, coming from the stairwell. Your heart skips a beat. You weren’t prepared for this kind of fear. Sure, the letters had freaked you out, but this? Someone actually in the building, hunting you?

Logan moves so fast you barely see it, pushing you behind him as the door to the stairwell creaks open. The figure that steps out is shadowy at first, but as the light hits him, you see a man—unshaven, wild-eyed, and holding a small knife that glints in the dim light. He’s muttering something under his breath, eyes locked on you.

"There you are," the man breathes, voice unnervingly soft. "I’ve been waiting for this moment."

Before you can react, Logan steps forward, his body a barrier between you and the man. "Back off," he warns, his voice so low it rumbles in his chest.

The stalker’s eyes flick to Logan, sizing him up, but instead of retreating, he grins. "You think you can stop me? I’ve been planning this for months."

You feel your skin crawl, bile rising in your throat. But Logan is a wall of calm fury. Without a word, he lunges at the man, moving so fast you barely register the impact. Logan’s fist connects with the guy’s jaw, sending him stumbling back into the wall with a sickening thud.

It should have ended there. Any normal man would have been down for the count. But the stalker scrambles to his feet, eyes wide with manic determination, swinging the knife wildly.

You gasp as the blade slashes through the air, missing Logan by inches. But he’s not rattled. He ducks, then pivots with a speed and grace that shouldn’t be possible for someone his size. And then, with a growl that sounds more animal than human, Logan throws the stalker against the wall, pinning him there.

The man struggles, trying to bring the knife up again. But then, something happens—something that makes your breath catch in your throat.

Logan’s hand shoots forward, and suddenly there’s a metallic SNIKT. Three long, razor-sharp claws extend from between his knuckles—gleaming silver, impossibly deadly. They punch through the man’s jacket, pinning him by the shoulder to the wall.

The stalker lets out a scream, eyes wide in terror. But your own scream is stuck in your throat. All you can do is stare, your brain struggling to comprehend what you’re seeing.

Logan has claws. Metal claws.

What the hell?

With the stalker writhing in pain, Logan leans in close, his voice a low growl. "You picked the wrong damn target."

The man whimpers, his bravado completely gone as blood trickles from the shallow wound. Logan jerks the claws free, and the man collapses to the ground, groaning in pain but still breathing. Without a second glance at his attacker, Logan turns to you.

“Y/N,” he says, stepping toward you, his voice a low, rough murmur that sounds far away. “It’s not what you think—”

But you stumble back, the knife in your hand trembling, not because of the stalker lying on the floor, but because of him. Because of what you just saw.

“Y-you…what—” You can’t even get the words out, your mind scrambling to make sense of what just happened. “What are you?”

Logan’s face tightens. He’s clearly seen this reaction before. “I’m a mutant,” he says quietly, the calmness in his voice almost unnerving given what just went down. “I didn’t want you to find out like this, but—”

“I—” You take another step back, your heart still racing. “Mutant? Logan, you—what the hell did you just—” Your eyes drop to his hands, where the claws retracted just moments ago. “You have claws?”

Logan doesn’t move, his hands by his sides, still covered in a few drops of the intruder’s blood. His whole body looks tense, as though he’s bracing himself for whatever comes next. “I know what you’re thinking,” he says, his voice low and steady. “But I’m not gonna hurt you. I’d never—”

“You—” You’re shaking your head, not even sure what you’re trying to say. Everything’s too much. You’ve only ever heard horror stories about mutants, about how dangerous they can be, how you should keep your distance. You’ve never known anyone who was one…until now.

And it’s Logan. The guy who’s been protecting you.

The guy who just kissed you.

“I need…I need some space,” you manage, your voice barely a whisper, your mind still reeling.

Logan’s expression shifts, a flicker of something that looks almost like regret crossing his face. But he nods, stepping back slowly. “I get it,” he says, his voice rough. “You’re scared. But I’m still the same guy I was five minutes ago. I’m not the enemy, Y/N.”

You know that. Deep down, in some part of yourself, you know that Logan wouldn’t hurt you. He’s saved your life, protected you, and been nothing but loyal. But right now, your instincts are screaming at you to get away, to process what the hell just happened.

“I just…please, I need to be alone,” you murmur, wrapping your arms around yourself.

Logan’s jaw tightens, and for a moment, he looks like he’s going to say something. But then he nods once, giving you space, just like you asked. “I’ll be close,” he says quietly, before turning and walking away, leaving you alone in the hallway with your racing thoughts.

As he disappears around the corner, you lean back against the wall, your knees threatening to give out. You’re not sure what scares you more, the stalker lying unconscious on the floor, or the realization that Logan isn’t just a man with a bad attitude and a dangerous past.

He’s something else entirely.

And you have no idea what that means for you both.

The next day is a whirlwind of confusion and conflicting emotions. You wake up to the soft light filtering through the curtains, but instead of feeling rested, your heart pounds in your chest, and the events of the previous day come flooding back. Logan’s claws, the way he fought off that intruder, the raw power he displayed—it all feels surreal.

You spend the morning trying to distract yourself, throwing yourself into your usual routine. You have interviews lined up and a photoshoot to get through, but every moment, you can’t shake the image of Logan standing over that intruder, the fierceness in his eyes as he retracted those deadly claws. There’s a knot in your stomach, a strange mix of fear and something else you can’t quite place.

Despite your attempts at normalcy, you’re acutely aware of the absence of Logan. He hasn’t checked in, hasn’t texted, and that silence weighs heavily on you. You told him you needed space, but now, part of you wonders if you made a mistake pushing him away.

As the afternoon stretches on, you finish your last interview and head back to your apartment, an unshakable sense of anticipation coursing through you. The place feels different without Logan’s presence, quieter, more hollow. You take a deep breath, trying to steel yourself for whatever comes next.

The door swings open, and you step inside. The scent of leather and Logan’s cologne still lingers in the air, sending a shiver down your spine. You glance around, half-hoping to see him leaning casually against the wall, arms crossed, that trademark smirk on his lips. But the space is empty.

You walk into the living room, the tension from the previous day still hanging in the air. You’re about to pour yourself a glass of water when a knock on the door startles you. You freeze, heartbeat quickening as you glance at the clock. It’s late, too late for anyone else to drop by.

You approach the door cautiously and open it, your breath catching in your throat as you see Logan standing there, his presence filling the doorway. He looks as imposing as ever, dressed in a black t-shirt that hugs his torso, the leather jacket thrown over one shoulder. His hair is tousled, and there’s a shadow of stubble on his jaw that somehow makes him look even more rugged.

“Hey,” he says, voice low and a touch uncertain.

“Hey,” you manage, heart racing. The tension between you two feels palpable, and you can’t ignore the rush of warmth spreading through your body at the sight of him.

“Can I come in?” he asks, his expression serious, but there’s an underlying urgency that makes your stomach flip.

“Of course,” you reply, stepping aside to let him in. He walks past you, the warmth of his body brushing against yours, sending a rush of heat through your veins.

Logan turns to face you, his expression shifting, revealing the storm brewing behind his eyes. “I wanted to talk. About yesterday.”

“Okay,” you say, feeling suddenly shy under his intense gaze. “I mean…you didn’t have to come over.”

“I wanted to,” he says, his voice dropping lower, almost a growl. “I’ve been thinking about you, and I… I didn’t like how we left things.”

The way he looks at you makes your heart race. There’s a vulnerability in his expression, a longing that mirrors the tumult inside you. But there’s something else too—something electric.

“I was scared, Logan,” you admit, your voice barely above a whisper. “Everything just happened so fast. I didn’t know—”

“I know.” He steps closer, closing the distance between you, the heat radiating off him wrapping around you like a thick blanket. “But I’m still me. I’d never hurt you.”

You search his eyes, looking for any hint of deception, but all you see is sincerity mixed with an undeniable hunger.

“I just… I don’t know what to do with all of this.” You gesture between the two of you, feeling the weight of unspoken words and unresolved feelings hanging heavy in the air.

Logan takes another step closer, his voice a rough murmur. “What do you want?”

Your breath hitches. The question hangs in the air, charged and raw, and for the first time, you allow yourself to confront the truth of your feelings. “I want—”

Before you can finish, he closes the distance between you, capturing your lips with his in a kiss that ignites the fire simmering beneath your skin. It’s not the same as before; it’s deeper, more urgent, filled with the need to reclaim what was almost lost.

You melt against him, your hands finding their way to his hair, pulling him closer as he deepens the kiss. Logan’s hands roam your sides, fingers skimming over your hips, drawing you nearer as if he’s trying to memorize every inch of you.

When he pulls back, his breath mingles with yours, and the intensity of his gaze makes your heart race. “You want this,” he says, voice low and rough, as if he’s trying to convince himself as much as you. “You want me.”

“I do,” you admit, your cheeks flushing as the words spill out. “But it’s complicated, Logan. We shouldn’t—”

“Who cares?” His fingers slide down your arms, sending shivers down your spine. “You’re not just some celebrity to me. You’re not just a job.”

“What do you mean?” Your voice is a whisper, the intensity of his gaze holding you captive.

“I mean you’re you. I don’t care what the tabloids say. I don’t care about the age difference or the rumors. I want you.”

His words send a thrill through you, igniting a spark of something wild and reckless. You’ve never felt this way before, not like this. It’s heady, intoxicating.

“Logan, what if—”

He cuts you off with another kiss, more demanding this time, as if he’s trying to erase every doubt from your mind. His hands find their way to your waist, pulling you flush against him, and you can feel every muscle in his body, the heat radiating off him in waves.

And then it happens again—the sharp, undeniable rush of want overwhelms you. The world outside fades away, and all that matters is this moment, this connection, this man standing before you.

When you finally pull away, both of you are breathless. “This is crazy,” you say, your mind racing, but the way Logan looks at you silences your doubts.

“Maybe,” he replies, his voice low and gravelly. “But I’d rather be crazy with you than without you.”

Your heart flips, and suddenly the space between you feels impossibly small. You’ve never wanted someone like this before, and the thought sends a thrill of excitement through you.

“Then what do we do?” you ask, your voice barely a whisper, heart racing at the thought of what lies ahead.

Logan smirks, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “I think we start by not overthinking this.” He leans in, brushing his lips against your cheek, igniting a fire in your core. “And maybe just…enjoying each other.”

His lips trail down to your neck, kissing a path that makes your head spin. You lean into him, surrendering to the moment as his warm breath sends shivers down your spine. The world outside is forgotten, and it feels like you’ve stepped into a realm that’s just yours and his.

“Logan…” you breathe, fingers tangling in his hair as you pull him closer, desire flooding your senses.

His lips brush against yours again, teasing, playful, igniting the tension that’s been building between you two. “Just trust me,” he murmurs, his voice low and sultry. “I promise I won’t bite…unless you want me to.”

A breathless laugh escapes you, and the air crackles with undeniable tension. Maybe this is crazy, but right now, with Logan’s warmth enveloping you and the world outside forgotten, it feels more than right. It feels like fate.

Days turn into weeks, and you and Logan become a fixture in each other's lives. What began as a chaotic bodyguard relationship slowly evolves into something far more intimate—something neither of you anticipated but both desperately needed.

You find yourself falling into a routine, one that feels both exhilarating and terrifying. Every morning, he’s there, often making breakfast—his way of saying he cares, even if he does burn the toast. Every night, you curl up on the couch with him, sharing popcorn and movies, laughter filling the spaces where tension once resided. But it’s the moments outside those walls that change everything.

You don’t keep your relationship a secret, not intentionally, anyway. You both know the world you live in—the public scrutiny, the flashing cameras, the endless rumors. But Logan doesn’t seem to care. If anything, it emboldens him, a rebellious spark igniting in his eyes whenever you’re out together.

One sunny Saturday afternoon, you find yourselves strolling through a park in downtown Los Angeles, the kind of place where everyone is too busy with their own lives to pay attention to two people in love. But as you walk hand in hand, you can’t help but notice a few heads turning.

“Logan, I think we’re being watched,” you murmur, glancing around at the passersby. The mix of curiosity and surprise is palpable, but you also feel the warmth of Logan’s hand gripping yours, reassuring and steady.

“They can look all they want,” he grins, leaning down to press a quick kiss against your temple, his stubble grazing your skin. The contact sends a thrill through you.

“You’re not worried about the tabloids?” you ask, a teasing smile on your lips.

“Let them say what they want. At least they’ll get my age wrong,” he chuckles, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “Besides, you think I care about some headlines? I’m more concerned about you.”

A warmth blooms in your chest, and you can’t help but lean into him, your heart swelling with affection.

But the cameras don’t stop. That evening, as you both enjoy dinner at a trendy rooftop restaurant, the whispers and glances become more pronounced. The waitress seems to be holding back a grin as she serves you drinks, clearly recognizing Logan and you. You glance around, feeling a little exposed but also exhilarated.

“This could be the new gossip for the tabloids,” you say, rolling your eyes playfully. “‘Famous singer falls for mysterious bodyguard.’”

“Or maybe ‘Local badass finally finds a reason to smile,’” he counters, winking at you. You laugh, the sound bright and airy, and it feels good.

You both savor the evening, leaning into the playful banter and the stolen glances that carry an undeniable spark. But when the two of you leave the restaurant, a group of paparazzi suddenly swarms you, their cameras flashing like fireworks in the night.

“Y/N! Is it true you’re dating Logan Howlett?” one of them shouts, voice cutting through the air like a knife.

“Logan, how long have you two been seeing each other?” another calls, pushing closer, their cameras nearly colliding with your faces.

Logan’s grip tightens around your waist, and you can feel his tension rising. You glance at him, but he simply raises an eyebrow, an amused smirk on his lips. “Guess they’re interested, huh?”

“Yeah, interested in our personal lives,” you whisper, a mix of excitement and nervousness bubbling in your chest.

“Let them watch,” Logan says, stepping closer to you, almost as if to shield you from the chaos. “Just remember—they don’t know the half of it.”

You share a glance, and there’s a spark of understanding in his eyes. With a deep breath, you face the throng of reporters. “We’re happy together,” you say, your voice steady despite the cameras flashing around you. “That’s all that matters.”

The crowd quiets for a moment, the buzz of excitement hanging in the air. Then Logan leans down, placing a gentle kiss on your lips, and the cameras go wild. The moment feels electric, and as you pull away, you can’t help but grin.

“Wow, you’ve really got it bad, don’t you?” he teases, the playful glint in his eye returning.

“Can you blame me?” you shoot back, your heart soaring.

The reporters seem to be taken aback by the chemistry between you, the dynamic clearly more than just a simple bodyguard-client relationship. You can hear the murmurs among the crowd as you both walk past, the air buzzing with a mix of curiosity and approval.

“Do you think it’s serious?” one of them asks.

“I heard she’s been seen with him a lot,” another replies, voice laced with intrigue. “What a power couple!”

“Wonder how long they’ll last,” a third one scoffs, but you’re too high on adrenaline to let their words get to you.

As you reach your car, Logan turns to you, his face softening. “You okay?”

You nod, a burst of happiness washing over you. “More than okay.”

“Good,” he replies, smirking. “Because now you’re stuck with me. The tabloids might as well start preparing for a long-term feature.”

“Is that a challenge?” you tease, nudging him with your shoulder.

“Absolutely,” he says, pulling you closer as you both settle into the car. “Just remember, if they start digging into our lives, I’m the one with the claws.”

You burst out laughing, and as he revs the engine, the world feels like it’s finally aligning. The chaos of the paparazzi, the gossip, the rumors—they all fade away. Because in this moment, it’s just you and Logan, ready to take on whatever the world throws your way, together.

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prontaentrega · 9 months ago

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how to post songs as mp3 files and avoid copyright

a bunch of people were asking how to post music on tumblr so here's some kind of tutorial n_n there's probably a thousand better ways to do it out there but this is what i do and it works for me

Step 1: Acquiring music

Before you post any music you gotta have it as an mp3 file. Bunch of people mentioned mp3 converters but my favorite way has always been to just download discographies from blogs. You google "(band) complete discography free download" or something like that and something's bound to show up. If you've doing this for a while you'll skip this first part and go straight to the places you know will have it- here's some of my favorite blogspots for it - but they're all very specific to the stuff i listen to (mainly punk and latin american rock).

These type of sites tend to be genre-specific so if you're looking for, say, a prog rock band, maybe you'll have more luck searching for prog rock downloads websites. The older or more obscure the band, the easier it will be to find. And you'll find that a lot of these sites are not in english- you have to get comfortable visiting and downloading from sites in spanish, portuguese, russian or what have you and your life will get easier.

Don't limit yourself to blogs or music download-specific sites. Some people post album dl links on youtube. When i was in high school i downloaded The Black Parade from DeviantArt. The internet is far and wide and you can find stuff anywhere

But what if i can't find an album like this?

Alternative 1: Legally

Go find a record store and buy the album you want. You can also check the artist's bandcamp or any other website where you can buy their music and get it as a file on your pc (no streaming shit). Some albums are out there for free, legally! If you know an artist who uploads their music to tumblr you can just right click on their mp3 upload and download it directly :^)

Alternative 2: The classic

you can pretty much google youtube mp3 converter and click any link and it'll do the work. Here's a link from a safe piracy subreddit. You paste a youtube vid's link and hit convert/download etc.

I've also heard some people say Lucida is good (lets you download songs and albums by pasting the spotify/bandcamp/wtv link) but i can't say it has worked for me- always gives me a network error. But maybe it works for someone else.

Step 2: I got the music- now what?

Now you post it! Some songs (obscure or copyright-free enough) will just let you post them like that. Most songs won't. For a lot of them you'll have to add some silence or edit the metadata.

Adding silence to a song:

Option 1: Get audacity for free. Go to File > Open on the top bar and open the song you wanna add the silence to. Make sure you're at the start of the track (it says 00h00m00s at the bottom). Go to Generate > Silence... on the top bar also. Choose how long you want the silence to be, click "generate". You'll see a straight line appear at the start of the track- that means it worked. Go to File > Export > Export as MP3 to save it. You'll see a pop up where you can edit the metadata (things like artist, year, genre, etc.) i like having my audio files with metadata but for the purpose of tumblr posts you'll want to leave all that empty- if it's got that info erase it. Click "Ok". Done!

Option 2: Do it online on audiomass. Go to File > Load from Computer, open the song. Click on the white square with the S (insert silence button). Choose how long you want it to be, click "insert silence". You'll see a straight line appear at the start of the track- that means it worked. Go to File > Export/Download. Make sure it's mp3 format, i always save it as 256kbps but it's not neccessary. Click export. Done!

Some songs let you get away with only 5 or 8 seconds of silence. I try to have it be as short as possible, but most songs will need 10 seconds of silence. Sometimes even a little more, if even with the 10 seconds it doesn't let you post it try adding 0.25s more and checking.

I always play the file i just exported, to make sure everything's right.

Editing the metadata:

I'm gonna be honest i don't know how necessary this is but the audio post format works in mysterious ways so it's always better to be one step ahead. If you got it from youtube to mp3 or already added the silence then your file won't have any metadata, unless you didn't clear it when exporting from audacity. if you got it legally or pirated from any blogspot type site and didn't edit it at all it will probably have metadata. To edit it you have to right click the file > Properties, go to the "details" tab, and there you'll see things like title, author, year, genre, etc. You can just click on any section and change or erase it, then click "Ok".

As a last thing, it's generally better if the file is not saved as the song's name. Just name it anything else.

Compressing the file:

I almost forgot but there's also a size limit. I don't remember it at the moment because i've only had a problem with it once, but if you do just google "compress mp3 file" and go on any website to do it LOL

Step 3: Posting it

Now just go make a new audio post. Upload the file from your pc. If there's an error sometimes it'll tell you what it is (you don't own this song/the file is too heavy/etc) but sometimes it will just delete the audio post format and not tell you anything. If there's any error make sure you did everything (the silence, the metadata, the size, the file name). Maybe go back and add 0.5 or 1 more second of silence at the start. Sometimes tumblr just won't want you to post a song even with every step done right- nothing to do about that :( Sometimes you can try back after a while and it will let you post the song- sometimes it won't. There's no real logic to it tbh.

But if everything goes right it will upload correctly. Now you can add the song's title, artist and album info, and album art or whatever image you want n_n Hit post and done!

#im sure someone'll see this post and go damn bitch you live like this #piracy #<- not specifically but eh #im in desperate need for ska themed blinkies btw #chizitxt #music

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crushedsweets · 4 months ago

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hey crushedsweets!!! i've been thinking about making my own vn in google slides like you did, do you have any tips/advice?? (like how you added different routes and how you put music in the bg)

hello hello!!!

okay so it's kind of hard to explain it all over text. if i get Enough requests i MIGHT do a tiktok video but as of right now, ill try it here. ALSO EVERYTHING IS PROBABLY ALREADY A TUTORIAL ON YOUTUBE BUT IM HELLA ANNOYING AND REFUSE TO WATCH TUTORIALS T_T I JUST STRUGGLE N FIGURE IT OUT

honestly this is such a shitty explanation so i might do the tiktok tutorial if i have free time next week (cuz im on spring break now LOL)...

also, if you guys want, i might make a copy of the slideshow and give yall full access to it so you can poke around to try and understand it cuz my "tutorial" is ASS

DIFFERENT ROUTES

okay so. i don't really do different routes, i just give 3 decisions that funnel into the same route so the game FEELS like a game...but its not rlly one.

i'll try to take it step by step:

make options. make sure you already have the following slides/routes created

make the blue textbox cover the entire beige box. if you don't, then when players click, it'll direct them to the NEXT slide, not the route you want

Click on the blue lines of the textbox and click CTRL+K. You should already have the route slide created, in which you just input the slide number. IF YOU WANT PLAYERS TO RETURN TO CERTAIN SLIDES W/O GIVING THEM THE OPTION SLIDE, HERES AN EXAMPLE..(?):

>the "stay in bed" option is on slide 14. >this options directs you to slide 16. >slide 16 is a joke option. because of this, i want the player to go BACK to slide 14 to make a serious decision. >to do this, i turned EVERY asset into a CTRL+K link that sends you back to slide 14. this includes the background, text box, beige text holder, the apple png >this way, no matter where the player clicks, it sends them back to slide 14 (so they can make a real decision) >this gives you full control of where the player goes, even if its going backwards

EXTRA TIPS:

after every choice-slide, i created this warning slide. this makes sure that even if the player doesnt click correctly(i.e clicks the background, uses spacebar), they'll know there was a mistake and it'll send them back

I ALSO PUT THIS RED SLIDE BETWEEN EVERY "ROUTE CHUNK". what i mean by that is..

>as you can see, there is the decision on slide 196. >the first decision on slide 196 sends you to slide 198. >so slide 198-204 is a "route chunk". >when players finish that route chunk, i link(CTRL+F) ALL ASSETS on slide 204 to slide 215 >i do this because slide 215 is the end of the "route chunks" and leads you to the direct story. slide 204 AND 213 both link to 215 >this allows readers to progress smoothly regardless of what decision they made, since all decisions are meaningless in my VN (sorry)

>HOWEVER, this means you have to try and make sure all decisions leave no tangible impact on the story - i try to make them impact the player, not the MC (i.e leaving canine teeth in the drawers so the PLAYER will feel uneasy, but the MC never mentions it again)

i use these red slides to separate the slide chunks for two reasons:

makes it easier for me to keep track of route chunks when editing

if there is a mistake, players know to go back one slide so they can fix it. this way, they wont be progressing through random, unclear routes

okay. that was the best i got for the routes.

NOW FOR MUSIC

honestly? i dont even remember what website i used, but...

FIRST, you need to download a youtube video with whatever music you want. i think this website should work

SECOND, you now have an MP3 youtube video. GO ONTO GOOGLE DRIVE, click NEW, click UPLOAD FILE, then upload the MP3 file

THIRD, go into your slideshow. click INSERT, click AUDIO. now you should have the audio on your slideshow.

FOURTH, now its all up to preference. you should have a little audio icon pop up. click AUDIO ICON, click FORMAT OPTIONS, click LOOP AUDIO.

YOUR AUDIO SHOULD PLAY THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE SLIDESHOW NOW!!! :3

extra:

i havent done it cuz i was getting busy and just wanted to finish it, but honestly, you could probably change the audio throughout your slideshow - upbeat music to scary music when the scenes change, etc. maybe even layer them? i dunno. thats for you to play around with, cuz I DUNNO cuz i didnt do it. but yahh

ok... thats all... im so ass at explaining but i might make that tiktok. but my laptop screen is cracked so im embarrassed recording pics of it HAHAHAHA

#asks #crped vn #omfg. this is so stupid im so bad at explaining #i hope this made evn an ounce of sense

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feudalconnection · 6 months ago

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The Nomination Period for the 1st Term 2025 Inuyasha Fandom Awards is now CLOSED!!

Hey everyone!

Below the cut you'll find a complete list of all of the Fanart nominations received for this term! You can also find the full list of all nominations on Google Docs.

Click here for the complete list of Fanfiction nominations.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this term for taking the time to do so. We hope you enjoyed your experience! If you do not see your nomination, please reach out to us as soon as possible!

We strongly encourage that when you view a work of art or read a fanfiction, please reblog or leave a comment to let the creators know how much their work and talent is appreciated!

As a reminder, we are giving 3 weeks time to enjoy all of the creations. The voting period will begin February 6th and end February 20th.

In order to be able to vote, you'll need to register so we can keep it all neat and clean. We will be posting the link to the voting form on the first day of the voting session.

Got a question? Check out our FAQ or send us an ask. You can also message one of the mods directly!

Thank you to everyone who nominated for making this 1st Term absolutely wonderful, and happy voting!

For our nominees: This term the lovely @mayarab created nominee banners for each individual category. Please click here to download your banner!

Best Action/Adventure

“Shooting Star” by @flowingsakura

“Kagome Higurashi” by @xoripansito

“Inukag ice skate” by @moonkissedart

“*Shrug emoji*” by @matchstique

Best AU/AR

“Shooting Star” by @flowingsakura

“Tell Me… (Inukag Yakuza AU)” by LenBarboza (X)

“Howl’s Moving Castle Crossover” by @valuvi

“My Home” by @sofilzk

Best Canon Universe

“Día 9 del #Moontober de @/CartoonsOTMoon - Naturaleza.” by @jmeestella / JmeEstella_rt (X)

“She’s so oblivious” by @ valuvi

“First Steps” by _Taisana_ (X)

“What I Hold” by @justafewsmallsteps / HelikaAkileh (AO3)

Best Angst

“Untitled” by @bubunis

“Kagome’s Strife” by @myshipsareproblematic

“untitled” by frosty_bean (Instagram)

Best Dark

“came back wrong” by @punchyemblem

“Fall” by @classysassy9791 / ClassySassy (AO3)

Best Humor/Parody

“Inuyasha Chasing the Butterfly” by Angel_KagomeX (X)

“Sesshomaru as dinosaur” by @iviid

“peter peter pumpkin eater” by @mamabearcat / @mamabearcatfanart

“Naraku snapchats” by @tmetta

Best Kiss

“The air is colder” by @clearwillow / BrigidTheFae (AO3)

“Untitled” by @kalcia

“I like the way you kiss” by @fraufia

“Spoiler, he smooches her back” by @skittledoodles

Best Character

“Tried colored line art for the first time” by @talesofthedice

“I love the flaws you try to hide” by @ moonkissedart

“Inuyasha Chasing the Butterfly” by Angel_KagomeX (X)

“Lord Sesshomaru” by @anyanary

“🖤Immortal Blood🖤” by @pachworldx-1

“The new moon dawns” by mtb_umk (X)

Best Duo/Pairing

“Merry Christmas” by HulloYokai (X)

“For birfday” by @brain-rot-hour / GoblinOnAHorse (AO3)

“Kaede and Hachi” by @rhies

“Sempiterno” (second picture) by Tokio Cristal (X)

Best Doujinshi

“Mating Fever” by @ clearwillow / BrigidTheFae (AO3)

“Moonlight Lovers” by @julytheartist

“”Moonlight” and Bickering” by @prayantis

“Count on each other” by @dekirufran

Best Redraw

“New Redraw” by HulloYokai (X)

“Manga scans make great warm-ups” by @mikodaiyo

“🗡Inuyasha🗡” by @inkredibledisaster

“untitled” by frosty_bean (Instagram)

Best NSFW

“Keep Me Warm” by @ mamabearcat / @ mamabearcatfanart

“❤️‍🔥” by LenBarboza (X)

“I need you while I’m alive” by @thornedraven

“Sempiterno” (second picture) by Tokio Cristal (X)

Best InuKag Romance

“they’re perfect <3” by @mochironmochi

“Tell Me… (Inukag Yakuza AU)” by LenBarboza (X)

“Fall” by @ classysassy9791 / ClassySassy (AO3)

“Stress 💢💢💢” by @ pachworldx-1

“Seasons / Cherry Blossoms” by @britonell

Best SessKagu Romance (Sesshomaru x Kagura)

“Untitled” by @sirbelacque

“I like the way you kiss” by @fraufia

“Soul Mates 🦋🦋🪡 ” by @adria-479

Best Romance

“Untitled” by @ julytheartist

“She’s so oblivious” by @ valuvi

“The air is colder” by @ clearwillow / BrigidTheFae (AO3)

“The Right Piece” by @ brain-rot-hour / GoblinOnAHorse (AO3)

“Cozy evening” by @eliza-faust-diary

Best Rare Pair

“Pride” by @mrfeenysmustache / AshMish111 (AO3)

“The Right Piece” by @ brain-rot-hour / GoblinOnAHorse (AO3)

“Flirting with Danger” by @the-lone-huntress / Wandering_Huntress (AO3)

“Untitled” by @liseysatelier

Best Group Depiction

“kagome’s such a girls girl” by @nemiefawn

“New Redraw” by HulloYokai (X)

“koga and gang.” by @rhies

“😴” by @ tmetta

Best Coloring

“Beauty in the Rain” by @alicepupurred / AlicePurpurRed (AO3)

“more more more colorful Kagome” by @justafewsmallsteps / HelikaAkileh (AO3)

“Untitled” by @kalcia

“Merry Christmas” by HulloYokai (X)

“Tried colored line art for the first time” by @talesofthedice

Best Overall

“Inukag ice skate” by @moonkissedart

“First Steps” by _Taisana_ (X)

“kagome’s such a girls girl” by @nemiefawn

“Seasons / Cherry Blossoms” by @ britonell

“😴” by @ tmetta

#feudalconnection #fc nominations #fct12025 #inuyasha #inuyasha fanart

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qu33rsources · 1 year ago

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How to install NewPipe on Android

NewPipe is a YouTube replacement client for Android devices. It's open-source (meaning, you can see all of their code as you please), privacy-oriented, lightweight, and supports features that are normally locked behind a YouTube Premium paywall.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with NewPipe, YouTube, Android, Google, Alphabet Inc, or any other brand or name mentioned here. I made this guide to help my friends who were curious.

NewPipe's Website: https://newpipe.net/

The GitHub Repository

Step 0. Compatibility check

Make sure you're running an Android device! This won't work on an Apple device of any kind! Also, for those more tech-savvy among you, if you have the F-Droid store installed, you can download NewPipe straight from there!

Step 1. Downloading

Go to NewPipe's Github repo (repository, the codebase or where all of the code is stored). Scroll to the bottom of the page until you see "Releases". Click on the one that says "Latest" next to it in a little green bubble:

Your version number (v#...) will be different if you're reading this in the future! That's okay. Scroll past the changelog (unless you want to read it!) until you find "Assets":

Click on the first one, the one with the little cube ending in .apk. APK files are Android Package (Kit) and are the main format for downloading apps. Once you click on the link, it should begin downloading or your browser will ask you to confirm that you want to download this file. You should always verify the filename matches what you expect it to be (namely, the file format) before attempting to install! It might take a few moments for the file to download depending on your internet connection.

Step 2. Installation

Once you have the file downloaded, you can click the download popup in your notification bar or find the file in your device's file system. One of 2 things will happen:

You will get a popup asking if you want to install an APK by the name of NewPipe - confirm that you do (and make sure the app is really NewPipe!) and it will install automatically. You can then click "Open" to open the app and begin using it.

You will get a popup warning you that you have the ability to install apps from unknown sources disabled and that you can't install this. This is normal and does not mean that you downloaded the wrong thing.

If you got the first popup, continue past this step. For those of you who got the second, let's go over what this means.

By default, most Androids have this setting disabled. This is for security purposes, so you can't accidentally install a malicious app from the whole internet. If you enable this setting (allow installations from unknown/unsigned sources), you are theoretically putting yourself at risk. Realistically, you're probably fine. But, after installing NewPipe, you can always re-disable the setting if it makes you more comfortable. That will prevent you from installing updates in the future, but it can always be re-enabled.

Ready to turn that setting on? It will vary by your individual device! Some devices will take you directly to the page with the setting upon failed installation, and some you will just have to find it yourself using the searchbar in settings.

Once you've allowed installations from unknown sources (wording may vary slightly), try to repeat the steps above of clicking the download popup or finding the APK in your files and trying to install it. It should work correctly this time!

Step 3. Updating NewPipe

Like most apps, NewPipe is in development currently and frequently has new versions released to improve it and fix bugs. Unlike most apps, NewPipe needs to be manually updated, since we haven't downloaded through the Google Play store.

To update NewPipe, all you have to do is follow the above steps for installing the app, except that when you get the popup asking to install it, it will instead say "Update". That's it! NewPipe and Android handle the rest.

NewPipe also has popup notifications for when the app has a new update, so you don't have to worry about checking the GitHub for a new release. Just click on the "A new version is available" popup and it should take you directly to the webpage.

That's it! Enjoy browsing videos in peace without ads and with the ability to download and so much more. Pro tip: you can copy paste YouTube links into the NewPipe search bar to go directly to that video/playlist/channel.

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geniusphilester · 5 months ago

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now i'm going back through my tweets to see what i said when i first got into dnp and at one point i was like "tee hee i've never bought merch before but maybe i should get the pastel plushies" and i DIDN'T and i kinda want to go back in time and kick my own ass

(jk, i've always been broke; it wasn't my fault. but STILL)

other highlights:

i livetweeted dan's now-private dating app spon and got excited that he matched men and women. what a weird time

may 2017: "in phil's livestream, he wanted to congratulate someone who graduated, couldn't remember the grad song, and made up one of his own"

i also linked a now-unlisted dan livestream around that time and wondered if the weirdness at the end was younow or dnp's internet connection

both dan and phil seem to have tweeted about seeing alien covenant in 2017 (i was excited about it, even if i wasn't calling it a date) but only phil's tweet survived

twitter archives have links but don't tell you what those links are, so imagine my delight when i clicked the link i included with "...is this it. is this going to be the thing that gives me the urge for #danandphil fic" and found phyuri. (i actually just rewatched the faceapp video they were promoing here a couple days ago because i was looking for something else and the allure of phyuri was too strong.)

"oh my god did pete wentz really unfollow dan because he was tweeting about reindeer kink"

"i can't believe it's not called family feud in the uk" i had to look it up; it's family fortunes. it's appropriate that i learned this from the first google feud

dan tweet from august 2016, in response to the video where he played pokemon go in hong kong while phil was sick: "it's like a fic where i've just finished exercising except instead of an impressive erotic workout i literally walked up 8 steps".

my response to impossible quiz #2: "dan loves phil so much omg". i didn't make this tumblr for almost another three years, so that's how much i love PHIL LESTER! YOU'RE A GENIUS

my reaction to dan's anime recommendations: "is dan really into guys in speedos or does he just know his fanbase". past self, you'll never guess what the answer is

i livetweeted my first read of tabinof. the first tweet says "lol i don't know that i'm enough of a dan and phil fan to read their book. i'm enjoying parts of it, though" and the last said i'd give it four stars on goodreads entirely because of the urge.

this livetweet thread was the point where i started tagging #danandphil so my mutuals could mute it. feb 28, 2016. definitely a turning point in my phannie journey

feb 26: "i feel like i'm a mild dan and phil fan, but even that much kind of snuck up on me, lol. the dil videos are sneaky that way". i protest too much!

my earliest dnp tweets are exclusively sims, then undertale, and it cascaded from there. i'm probably due an undertale rewatch

oct 1, 2014: "I'm enjoying Dan and Phil playing Sims 4. Laughed until I cried about their Sim's roof." oh my god the owl slide made me a phannie. of course it did

my first dnp tweet was in august 2013, where i saw an ad for reading festival (i think; the tweet is vague) and i was telling my mutuals that they mentioned dan and phil. back then, one of my big fandoms was one direction and a bunch of my friends got into dan and phil through the radio 1 connections (harry styles -> nick grimshaw -> radio 1 generally -> dan and phil). i could have gotten in during the radio show era! alas

i feel good about jumping in with the sims, though. it's very me

shoutout to @underthisweather for chatting with me about dnp for the last decade! a lot of my dnp tweets are tweets at/replies to you 💜

#dan and phil #phan #my ramblings #appropriate that i could consider oct 1 2014 my phannieversary #not only is it phannie season but i did my m&g on oct 11 2024 #very full circle

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staleclown · 2 months ago

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Uncanny Excess-Chapter 3: Blue Blood

Ao3 link:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/65418583/chapters/168810136

A/N: in the middle of posting this I got distracted and started playing piano tiles for the first time in years so sorry about that I guess. Anyway, trust and believe that I am both cooking with this fic and also at the same time have no idea what I’m doing. Also nothing is accurate—medical stuff, legal stuff, any sort of process really—beyond a simple Google search and watching a lot of svu so if someone is reading this and is a doctor or lawyer, or even just really into comp sci, firstly—thanks…secondly—please don’t hate me.

TW: mild blood and violence, guns/gunshot wounds (also mild)

Connor sat on the stoop at the back entrance of the precinct. The icy wind whipped through his coat and permeated his synthetic skin, and though it didn’t affect him like it would a human, his joints were getting stiff despite him not having been outside for very long. The only heat was the tiny glowing ember of the cigarette resting between his lips. The nicotine didn’t affect his systems at all, but the action of smoking was soothing and not nearly as harmful to him as it would have been to any of his human coworkers. This case had domain over his processors; he continuously turned the facts over and over again in his mind as he started into the unfeeling void of snow piling in the parking lot.

As he took another drag, he heard the door behind him click shut.

”Didn’t anyone ever tell you those things cause cancer?” A gruff voice said behind him.

Connor resisted the urge to roll his eyes. His reverie had been effectively broken, and any distraction from this case was a waste of precious, finite seconds until the next victim would be found.

He exhaled, smoke curling from his lips and into the chilled air as he spoke. “I don’t need to be lectured on my substance use, Lieutenant. Least of all by you.”

Connor had dug around Hank’s personnel file the second he had been assigned as his partner. Between the constant obvious signs of drunkenness or its aftermath and Hank’s disciplinary record, Connor had made a mental note to take any advice the Lieutenant might give him with a grain of salt.

”Alright, asshole. Well you better finish that quick or put it out, because I need you to take a look at some of these files.”

Connor sighed, pulling the cigarette from his lips and putting it out next to him on the concrete step. He pulled himself to his feet and followed Hank inside to the glowing warmth of the bullpen.

Making a pit stop at his desk before moving to Hank’s, he carded a hand through the waves in his hair he knew had sprung from the gel and been tousled by the wind, although he was sure messing with it had only made it worse. He picked up the reading glasses he had started wearing while at work, although the lenses were completely untreated and thus didn’t alter his vision at all, their only use being to make him seem more “imperfect,” and therefore more human. He slid them onto his face and circled around Hank’s desk, hovering over his shoulder as he read the computer screen. It was all the same files he had been pondering over while he had been on his “smoke break,” and Connor inwardly groaned.

“What have you found?” He asked as Hank tapped on the keyboard a few times, pulling up a map marked by the locations of each reported assault.

“Okay, if you connect these dots, don’t they look like a pattern or a symbol of some kind? Like a…like a square, but the corners are weird.”

He had noticed the same thing, but the jagged corners of the shape had made him initially wave off the thought. However, if Hank had noticed it too…well maybe there was more to it. “Huh. That is odd.”

————————

As soon as their lunch break was over, Connor and Hank were called to another active crime scene. Connor, unsure what to think about their semi-discovery that morning, was anxious to comb through the scene much more thoroughly than he was sure Hank would grant him the time to do. As he practically leapt out of the car before Hank even had the chance to put it in park, Connor was debating the best way to bribe Hank into taking their time with this one.

Connor was already adding their location to the map of the other scenes by the time Hank caught up with him. “Damn, Stern. It’s not going anywhere.”

”No, but the thirium is,” Connor replied. Several areas were already much fainter in his vision, and he knew he’d have to tread lightly with using any traces as evidence.

The victim—a model designed for janitorial work—lay face down on the concrete. Clearly these attacks were not discriminatory against any certain model. Connor knelt, pulling on another useless pair of disposable gloves, annoyed at the delay they presented. He lifted the android’s left hand. Without a proper test, he couldn’t be totally sure, but his visual scanners picked up traces of both thirium and asphalt under the victim’s fingernails. Thirium pooling beneath the chassis making up the fingers gave a distinctive bruising around the knuckles. Connor wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or troubled that there was no trace of human DNA anywhere.

Connor swallowed thickly, turning his head to look at Hank, who was hovering over his shoulder, although he looked somewhat disinterested. “It seems to have put up a fight against the assailant. Looks like it dragged itself trying to get away, too.”

Hank clicked his tongue. “Who would have thought a bag of bolts could have any sort of self-preservation?”

Connor fought off a shudder at Hank’s remark and continued the relay of his analysis, gently placing the android’s hand back on the ground. “There’s nothing here that would indicate a human assailant. If the android did drag itself, then the assailant could still be nearby at the original scene of the crime.”

Hank straightened, eyes scanning his surroundings as he pulled his gum from its holster. “Shit. We gotta watch each other’s backs on this. The last thing I need is Fowler yelling at me for letting the rookie get killed.”

Connor’s hand subconsciously rested over the pistol at his own hip.

“No, keep doing your thing. I’ll keep an eye out.”

Connor worried his bottom lip between his teeth. “But Lieutenant, shouldn’t I be the one watching for threats while you investigate? I have faster reflexes.”

He had said it matter-of-factly, his social program supplied, but Hank still frowned. “How old do you think I am, asshole? Go back to solving the damn case.”

Connor ducked his head, but glanced at Hank one more time before returning to his study of the android. With Hank still hovering, it would be impossible to do any testing, so he settled for scanning as much as possible before moving to study the surrounding area. Gingerly, he slid his hands under the android’s shoulders, lifting him up before slowly flipping him onto his back, as carefully and tentatively as one would lift a sleeping child. His gaze flitted down the android’s form, noting the gaping wound where his thirium pump regulator should have been and the few gashes littered elsewhere over his torso. Again, his scanners came up empty-handed when searching for human DNA, and if the assailant had known the death sentence removing the regulator was, then surely he had been attacked by another android. Connor frowned, thinking about how awful it must be to be attacked by your own when there were already much bigger threats out there.

He shook his head, unsure where the unbidden notion had come from. Cyberlife being effectively defunct must have made his software unstable.

“Why are you making that face, Stern? What’d you find?”

Connor opened his mouth to reply just as the officers hovering near the boundary of the scene let out warning shouts and clamored for their guns. Connor and Hank both turned to the source of the sound just in time to watch a MP600 barrel towards the scene, gun in hand. Shots rang in Connor’s ears, but the android must have been faster, as both cops crumpled to the ground.

“Connor, call for backup!” Hank ordered, and Connor wasted no time in doing as he was told.

Hank fired a few shots of his own while Connor scrambled to his feet, pulling his own gun. Hank had managed to clip the MP600’s shoulder, but it didn’t deter her in the slightest. Connor raised his gun as calculations of velocity and space flashed across his vision.

They pulled the trigger at the same moment. Connor, equipped with the “superior-even-to-other-androids” speed of a model designed to catch criminals, moved just in time to avoid catching the bullet in his shoulder, but not quite fast enough to avoid it grazing his bicep. The MP600, however, was not so lucky. Connor’s bullet hit her square in the forehead, and she collapsed just as two more police cars arrived at the scene, lights flashing and sirens blaring through the crisp afternoon air.

Connor let the force of the blow knock his shoulder back, then used the momentum to slam his shoulder into the ground, directly into a fresh puddle of thirium that had leaked from the victim after Connor had turned him over. He hoped any thirium from the ground that his coat would soak up would disguise his own. The impact to his wound felt…uncomfortable, a sensation he had never experienced before. He winced as convincingly as he could, but the stabbing warmth across his upper arm definitely contributed to it feeling genuine.

“Stern, you okay?” Hank asked, dropping to a knee beside him. “We’ve got an ambulance coming if you can just hang on a second.”

Connor shook his head. “No. No, I’m okay, it just barely touched me.” He clamped his opposite hand over the wound and slowly pushed himself into an upright position. He was thankful he was wearing such a thick coat, and in a dark color. He’d be in serious trouble if anyone saw what color his blood was.

“You sure? It probably still needs stitches.”

“I’m sure. It’s not that deep. I’ll clean it up at the precinct.”

”Alright. Make sure you get all that blue blood out of it.”

“Lieutenant, Detective! You two need to get a look at this,” one of the newly-arrived officers shouted.

Hank grunted as he pushed himself to his feet. He was getting way too old to babysit, and the stupid kid had to go and almost get himself shot on only his second crime scene as a detective. And it didn’t help that Connor followed him around like a damn lost puppy, just like he was in that very moment as they both approached the android that had opened fire on four police officers. Hank scoffed inwardly. If they wanted to be treated like they were alive so badly, then why did a whole lot of them seem to have a death wish?

Connor kept his hand clamped over his wound, even though the thirium lines were already beginning to self-repair and as a result, the leaking began to slow. Together, Hank and Connor looked down at the android woman’s arm, held aloft by the officer that had called them over. Printed clearly on her arm was a square with two triangles at each of its four corners—just like the points on the map of the crime scenes. Or at least, a more complete version of the shape the crime scenes were beginning to make on the digital map of downtown Detroit.

“I didn’t know you could tattoo plastic,” Hank said, bitterness lacing through his tone.

Connor’s database search came up empty. “Neither did I. Bring her—uh, it back to the precinct, and I’ll see if I can reactivate her for questioning. Although I most likely damaged several of her essential processors with that shot.”

”Damn good shot, I’d say,” the cop muttered.

”Wait, Stern, how do you know so much about these things, anyway?” Hank said.

”Oh, I studied cybersecurity in community college before joining the police force,” Connor replied. It was technically true, he had forged the certificates himself. “After all, Lieutenant, androids are just computers with different outer hardware.”

#dbh #dbh connor #detroit become human #dbh fic

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iamvegorott · 1 year ago

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Magicians Don't Need Superheros Pt26

First: Link Prev: Link Next: Link

----------

“Looks like you two had a productive chat,” Wilford said as Jackie and Marvin went down the hall. He stood outside the examination room, door closed as if he knew they were due to arrive soon.

“We’ll say that,” Marvin said. “Everyone still in there?” He gestured to the door.

“Yep. It’s starting to run out of space in there with Maddy, Mare, and Phan showing up.

“That sounds like a crowded nightmare.” Marvin scrunched his nose.

“Oh, it is.�� Wilford clicked his tongue. “I give ol’ Google about a minute until it becomes too much and he’s out here with me. So, before he comes in and shuts my idea down, I’d like to make a suggestion for our current problem.”

“I didn’t hurt them, right?” Jackie asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

“The only thing you bruised was Dark’s ego.” Wilford chuckled.

“What a shame,” Marvin said.

“You and Dark will get along eventually. Braid hair and talk about cute boys as you had put it.” Wilford twirled his mustache with a finger.

“You weren’t there when I said that. Did Illinois tell you?”

“Wasn’t I?” Wilford poked his cheek with a hum, lost in thought for a second before just shrugging. “So, my idea-”

“Wait, Did Illinois-”

“-I’m thinking of having Jackie take a nap so he won’t get scared,” Wilford spoke over Marvin as if he hadn’t in the first place. Marvin decided to bite his tongue and save that question for later.

“Take a nap? You mean knock me out?” Jackie’s face showed that he wasn’t the most fond of that idea. “I mean, if you think it’ll make sure no one’s hurt. We’ve had some really close calls before. Like when I nearly kicked Google’s face but his glasses fell off and they got stepped on or the time Anti tried to get my shoulders and I headbutted his-”

“I have an idea as well.” Marvin blurted out. Jackie’s rambling getting the thought to come to mind. “It doesn’t involve cotton candy anesthesia, but if it works, Chase is probably going to kick his own ass for not thinking of it himself.”

“If it doesn’t work, I still vote on letting him nap,” Wilford said.

“Calling it a nap doesn’t make it less scary,” Jackie muttered. The three of them stopped and turned when the door opened. Google stepped out, holding his phone to his ear and pausing at the sight of the others.

“Who ya calling there, Google?” Wilford nearly sang his question.

“No one.” Google quickly answered.

“Hey, Googs!” Bing’s distinctive tone came from the phone.

“Calling Bing?” Wilford continued his singing voice.

“I’m catching him up,” Google stated before walking off, whispering into the phone so he couldn’t be heard.

“How many cans of worms are there with this group?” Marvin asked.

“I don’t have enough fingers to count,” Jackie said. “But that one is actually new to me.”

“I can fill you in later,” Wilford said with a wink.

“Yes, later, because I’m about to tear my own skin off with this dried mud on me.” Marvin walked past Wilford and into the room, hearing footsteps behind him and knowing that it was Jackie following him.

“How are you still moving around caked in that shit?” Phantom asked.

“Pure spite at this point,” Marvin answered. “Now, do we still need blood from me and Jackie?”

“We have several running theories but in order to confirm or disprove them, we’d need a closer look at…” Mad’s sentence trailed off when he just got looked at. “Yes. We do.”

Marvin wasn’t staring at Mad because he was talking too much, he was looking because he noticed something was different about him. He could have sworn Mad’s eyes were a light brown but they were a dark purple and as he changed his sentence, his eye color changed as well, turning to a light orange.

“Your eyes changed,” Marvin said.

“Oh, yeah, they do that. I’ve been wearing brown contacts around you. Everyone else panicked when they saw them the first time and I didn’t want you to do the same. We came over here so fast that I didn’t have time to put them in.” Mad explained, the orange in his eyes getting brighter the more he spoke.

“No need to hide them from me, I think they’re pretty cool,” Marvin said with a kind smile, seeing how the orange started having a redder hue to them as a tint of pink appeared on Mad’s cheeks.

“We should focus on how to fix your and Jackie’s eyes.” Mad was clearly trying to turn the topic away from himself.

“I have a plan. Henrik, do your usual thing to get what you need from Jackie.” Marvin looked over to where Jackie was talking with Illinois and Yancy.

“I’m sorry for freaking out like that,” Jackie said.

“Yous don’t gotta apologize.” Yancy waved a hand.

“Everyone, well almost everyone, has their fears,” Illinois said.

“Quit actin’ like you ain’t scared of something.” Yancy lightly slapped Illinois’ arm with the back of his hand.

“It’s not an act.” Illinois grinned.

“We’ll scare you one day.” Jackie chuckled.

“Ready to try my idea?” Marvin asked, joining the group.

“Oh, yeah, sure. Do I need to like do anything special?” Jackie already looked a bit worried.

“Just sit on the end of the chair, facing that wall.” Marvin gestured to the spot he was talking about.

“Okay?” Jackie followed the direction, watching as Marvin ushered the others to move, getting half of them out of the room and the other half to stay at the edge of the room. Dark looked like he wanted to protest but a quick whispered comment from Wilford got him to just roll his eyes and step aside as instructed.

“I got this part.” Marvin took the disinfecting wipe from Henrik and started cleaning off the crook of Jackie’s arm. “So you know how you’ve been getting me to watch those superhero movies?” He asked Jackie.

“Yeah, we’re gonna watch Into The Spiderverse next.” Jackie sounded confused as he watched Marvin clean him off, toss the wipe aside, and then stand directly in front of him.

“There’s a question I’ve seen online and I need your opinion. Tobey, Andrew, Tom. Who’s the best Spider-Man?” Marvin hoped the question would do what he assumed it would.

“Oh! I’ve seen that talk before!” Jackie perked right up. “Like how sometimes there’s being a really good Spider-Man and being a really good Peter Parker and trying to find a way to do the other way since, like, yeah Peter and Spider-Man are the same person but there’s always the-” He went right into an excited ramble like Marvin had planned. Marvin shot a look at Henrik who thankfully caught on and got to work getting a blood sample while Jackie was distracted. Chase slapped his palm to his forehead, also proving Marvin right that he knew he should have thought of this sooner.

“I think Tom does a younger Spider-Man really well and-”

“This is ridiculous,” Dark muttered as he left the room. “All it took was that.” His mutters continued until he was out of hearing range.

“I think it’s like super cool how he actually has the webbing coming out of him while the others make their own webbing.” Jackie’s spiel continued without missing a beat, Henrik already halfway done with the blood draw at this point.

“I could probably make that stuff,” Mad said.

“You could!?” Jackie turned to look at Mad and Marvin quickly caught his head, both hands on his face and he guided him to look forward again. He was not about to risk him seeing the needle and panicking. Jackie had to take a second to recover from the gesture as Marvin grabbed Mad’s arm and pulled him over to stand beside him.

“How would you make the webbing?” Marvin prompted. Mad perked up just like Jackie had done.

“There’s a lot of different methods we could use. We’d have to account for some variables if Jackie wishes to swing on the webbing.”

“I totally want to swing!” Jackie bounced a bit on his rear while Mad bounced on his feet.

“I’d need your weight to make sure the webbing is at least strong enough to hold that and-” Mad rambled on with Jackie adding his ideas and thoughts. Marvin sighed in relief and sat himself in one of the chairs in the room. Anti chuckled as he moved to stand next to him.

“Looks like you’ve used his rambling to your advantage,” Anti said.

“He’s a lot happier talking about his movie stuff.” Marvin had a smile while watching the two excited men planning a Spider-Man-themed experiment.

“You like seeing him happy.”

“Of course.”

“Isn’t that cute?”

“I will shave your head.”

“All done,” Henrik said, cleaning off the spot and seeing that the small wound already healed by the time it was clean.

“All done?” Jackie echoed, seeing Henrik holding a vial of blood. “All done?” He said again, looking at his arm and then at Marvin.

“All done,” Marvin confirmed, giving Jackie a thumbs-up.

“Well, I’ll be damned.” Illinois chuckled. “All it took was a new head to figure this out.”

“Nothing looks different at a surface level.” Henrik committed, beginning his observations. “We’ll need a sample from Marvin next.”

“Could you get that one hair mask you mentioned?” Marvin asked Jackie, seeing him tense up.

“Yep!” Jackie didn’t miss a beat and took off.

“I’ll go bring him some juice.” JJ chuckled, already in the fridge and leaving the room, flashing a quick smile to Wilford as he passed.

“Let me help you.” Wilford offered and followed him.

x~x~x

Marvin used Henrik’s bathroom to wash up while Henrik and Mad studied his and Jackie’s blood. He had to keep the door open and the others kept an ear out just in case there was a problem, thankfully, the shower had gone smoothly.

Marvin didn’t feel any different. Yes, his eyes were still red but nothing felt wrong or off or anything that would raise alarms for him. During the peace of the shower, he did focus on his internal being, and while he felt his own magic, some other magic was in there as well. Maybe that was causing the redness in their eyes.

Right now Marvin and Jackie sat together on the examination chair once more. Jackie needed to do something with his hands or, to quote him, ‘he’d die of boredom’, so he helped Marvin with applying the hair mask. Using a comb to make sure the product got to the roots of his hair. Marvin just went with it since it always felt nice to have someone playing with his hair but also knowing Jackie really needed something soothing to do after all he’s been through today. Physically and mentally.

The other Ipliers were sent home. Dark stayed behind to relay any vital information once everything was done. The crowd was no longer needed since there weren’t any immediate signs of danger. Anti got bored and left and JJ excused himself to finish a task he had been working on before Marvin and Jackie returned.

So it was Jackie, Marvin, Henrik, Chase, Mare, Phantom, Mad, and Dark left in the room. Still plenty of people but at least the crowd shrank somewhat. Marvin was just ready for all this to be done and over with. He was running out of time to get some proper reading done before bed.

“Now can we confirm it was what I said it was since the beginning?” Phantom asked with a huff.

“We have tested everything, so yes,” Henrik said.

“What’s up with us?” Jackie asked, putting the comb down.

“It’s a curse,” Phantom stated.

“A-mother fucker.” Marvin grunted and rubbed his face. “Of course, it’s a curse.”

“Our eyes are cursed?” Jackie scrubbed his eyes with closed fists.

“In a way.” Mare said. “It’s likely a warning of what the new Ego could do. The magic seems similar to what me and Phantom use. Chaos-based with a focus on illusion. We can dispel the curse right now or it’ll fade naturally within a day or two.”

“I should have known it was just a visual curse.” Marvin was annoyed at himself for not catching it sooner. He could probably break the curse on his own but didn’t want to risk misreading it and causing permanent damage. “This is beyond anticlimatic.”

“I’d rather it be something boring than a big problem,” Chase said.

“I wouldn’t say boring,” Mad said. “Like Mare had said, the eyes were simply a warning. A sign that he is capable of altering our bodies. We don’t know the extent that he is capable of.”

“Sorry, but-um-can we fix the eyes while we talk about this?” Jackie asked.

“Dibs on the himbo,” Phantom said before going to Jackie while Mare rolled his eyes and went to Marvin.

“It’ll take no more than ten seconds,” Mare said, holding his hands up and silently asking permission to use his magic on Marvin. Marvin just nodded his understanding and closed his eyes when Mare’s hands held his head, thumbs on his temples, and the rest of his fingers on the sides of his neck.

Dark said something but Marvin couldn’t hear him, focusing on the magic surging through his head. Chaos magic felt like its name. Erratic, loud, fuzzy but there was a strange sense of control to it. A control that had to be formed or the magic would break anything and everything it could reach. The magic danced around before finding the string that connected to the curse and it snapped it. Marvin blinked hard a few times when Mare lowered his hands.

“All clear,” Mare stated.

“I keep forgetting how blue your eyes are.” Phantom chuckled. “Marvin’s got some blue ones too but his are more like sapphire while yours are ocean.”

“Thanks?” Jackie tilted his head.

“That’s interesting,” Mad said softly to himself, his gaze on Marvin and a hint of green showing in his eyes. Marvin was going to ask what Mad meant but was cut off by Dark.

“Now, since that is all done.” Dark picked up his blazer and draped it over his arm. “Myself and the other Ipliers will handle our newest member.”

“But Host said it’s supposed to be Jackie and Marvin.” Chase protested.

“I will need to speak with him about that. We do not crossover like this unless we are creating a new branch. Something is wrong and I will find the solution to it.” Dark turned his neck and cracked it. “Until then. Marvin and Jackie are not to make contact with this new Iplier.”

“We can’t go against-you son-of-a-bitch.” Chase cursed when Dark left without another word. “I am going to shoot his dick off, I swear to God.”

#magicians dont need superheros #marvelsepticeye #veggie writes #the next chapter is going to be a fluff fest #also #here some #to quote a certain fella #looooorrrreeeeee

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saasadvices · 2 months ago

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Keyword Research With Semrush a Step-By-Step Guide

Want to learn SEO the easy way?

When I started, I didn’t know how helpful keywords were. But then I tried them—and wow! They worked. Just think—knowing the words people type into Google. It’s like having a treasure map.

With a tool like Semrush, more people can find your site. Keyword research isn’t hard. It’s smart. In this guide, I’ll show you how to use Semrush. I did this when I got serious about blogging.

You’ll also learn what others are doing. And you’ll see how to do it better. Let’s begin. Your next big win starts here.

Getting Started With Semrush

Let’s start simple.

Semrush helps you find great keywords. This guide shows clear steps to find the best ones. You’ll also see what others are doing—and how to beat them. If SEO feels new, this will help a lot.

When I used Semrush for the first time, I was amazed. I found one keyword. It was easy to rank. That one word brought readers for months. A small step—but it changed things.

Semrush may look hard. But it’s not. It gets fun fast.

Creating an Account

Step one? Make your Semrush account. Go to the site and click “Sign Up.” You can try it free. Or pick a plan.

It’s simple. Type your email. Pick a password. Follow the steps. Check your inbox and click the link.

I signed up on a weekend. I wanted to know why my blog wasn’t working. In just a few hours, I saw so much.

Now you have the same tool the pros use. It’s your turn to use the data and grow.

Navigating The Dashboard (Very Easy to Read)

When you log in, the Semrush dashboard is the place to start. It might look like a lot. I felt that way at first too. But each part has a job.

On the left, there’s a menu. It has tools like Domain Analytics and the Keyword Magic Tool. Hover your mouse over each one to learn more.

Not sure where to begin? Click the Projects tab. I used that when I first checked a friend’s website. It showed me how the site was doing and what to fix.

You can move parts of the dashboard around. I like putting my favorite tools at the top. That way, I get to them fast.

Every tool gives you data. But you can change how it looks to match your goals. This helps you stay focused. Ready to grow your site? You’re all set to begin.

Understanding Keyword Research

Keywords help people find your site. They show what your readers search for.

When I started writing blogs, I didn’t know about this. Then I learned, and my site got more visits. Semrush helps you find the best words to use.

Importance Of Keyword Research

Good keywords can bring more people to your site.

One time, I picked the right word for a post. It got lots of views. That’s how much it matters. If you skip this step, you miss chances to grow.

Types Of Keywords

There are short words and long ones. Short ones like “SEO” get lots of clicks. But they are hard to rank for.

Long words like “best SEO tips for blogs” are easier. They help you reach the right people.

I use long ones now. They bring in readers who want what I offer.

Utilizing Semrush Tools

Semrush helps you find great keywords fast. It shows you what people look for.

This makes it easy to plan new posts. It also helps more people find your site.

Keyword Magic Tool

This tool gives you lots of ideas. Just type one word to start.

It shows you other words that people use. You can sort them by search count or how hard they are.

I used this tool last week for a blog. I found 10 good ideas in just a few minutes.

If you’re stuck, this tool can help. It saves time and helps you write better.

Keyword Overview Tool

The Keyword Overview Tool is great when you want to check how a keyword works. It shows you things like how many people search for it, how it trends over time, and how hard it is to rank for it. I use this tool a lot to see if a keyword is worth my time. It helps me decide before I spend hours writing.

You can also see the top pages that rank for your keyword. One time, I was shocked to see low-quality pages at the top. But the tool showed me they had strong backlinks and related terms. That’s why they ranked well.

Seeing this helped me plan better content. I found ways to fill in what those pages missed. This tool makes that easier. It explains why some pages win, which has really helped me with blog posts and landing pages.

Both the Keyword Overview Tool and the Keyword Magic Tool are super helpful. They give you real tips you can use. Want to grow your traffic? Try both tools—they’re a big help.

Finding Relevant Keywords

Picking the right keywords is key for SEO. Think of your site like a shop in a busy street. To bring in the right people, your signs need to match what they’re looking for. I learned this when my old site got traffic—but not the right kind.

Semrush makes keyword picking easy. It helps you find keywords that bring the right visitors. Let’s see how to do that.

Search Volume and Difficulty

Search volume shows how many times a keyword gets searched each month. More searches can mean more visitors. But it also means more people are trying to rank for it. I once tried a big keyword and quickly saw it was too hard. It felt like selling lemonade where everyone else already is!

Semrush gives you a difficulty score. This tells you how hard it is to rank for a word. I now look for ones that are easier but still useful. It’s like picking a race where I have a real chance to win.

Long-tail Keywords

Long-tail keywords are longer and more exact. They’re great because people use them when they know what they want. They’re easier to rank for and bring better traffic. I once used “best budget laptops for students” instead of just “laptops” and saw way better results.

Semrush helps you find these longer terms fast. They help you reach people who are ready to buy or act. Think about how you search—you use longer terms when you’re sure. That’s why these keywords work so well.

Are your keywords too wide? Or are they hitting the mark? Semrush can help you stay on track.

Analyzing Competitor Keywords

Checking what keywords your rivals use can change the game. You can see what works and use that info to grow your own site. I did this for a blog series and saw our traffic double in three months.

It also helps you find what’s missing in your content and what your readers want more of.

Competitor Research Tool

The Competitor Research Tool from Semrush is easy to use. It shows the keywords your rivals rank for. This helps you see their plan and how they get traffic.

You can also check how hard the keywords are and how often people search for them. I use it before writing new posts so I’m not guessing. It’s like getting the playbook before the game starts.

Identifying Keyword Gaps

Finding keyword gaps is a smart way to grow. These are words your rivals use but you don’t. That’s traffic you’re missing! I once found a gap through Semrush and wrote a quick post. That post is now in the top five!

Semrush makes this easy. You just compare your site with others. It shows what you’re missing. Then you can make content that fills the gap and brings in new visitors.

Creating A Keyword Strategy

Creating a keyword plan helps bring steady traffic to your website. I've learned it's not just about popular words. It's about knowing what your audience types into Google and matching it with your goals. Semrush gives you easy tools to make a strong plan that lasts.

Prioritizing Keywords

Start with keywords that match your goals. Use a mix of short (broad) and long (specific) keywords. Short keywords bring more people. Long ones often lead to more sales. When I made content for a small product, a long keyword helped me rank on page one fast. Semrush shows you how hard a keyword is and how many people search for it. Hard means more competition. But Semrush helps find good spots with decent traffic and less competition. I always suggest starting there. Think about what your audience wants. Are they just looking, or ready to buy? Knowing this helps you write content that connects and gets results.

Organizing Keywords

Once you have your keywords, group them. Base it on topics or what people want. This keeps your content clear. It also helps Google understand your site. I use Semrush’s grouping tool to stay neat. It saves time. At first, I used a spreadsheet. It helped me stay on track and spot what worked. Ever wonder why another site ranks better with the same content? It's often about how they organize their keywords. That small step matters. Building a keyword plan is like building a house. You need a good plan and tools. With Semrush, you’re ready to build something strong.

Tracking Keyword Performance

Watching how your keywords do keeps your plan sharp. You’ll learn what works and what doesn’t. Semrush makes this part easy. It shows real-time data to help you make changes fast.

Using Position Tracking

This tool shows where your keywords rank each day. Semrush updates it daily. I once saw a drop in rank and fixed a broken link fast. That saved me traffic. Tracking helps you fix problems early. It also shows what’s working so you can keep doing it.

Adjusting Strategy Based On Data

Don’t just collect data—use it. Semrush shows keyword trends and what’s losing ground. I’ve changed blog topics, dropped weak keywords, and updated old posts based on that. Doing this often keeps your site strong. Staying on top of things helps you grow over time.

Advanced Tips And Tricks

Going deeper with keyword research helps you grow. Over time, I found tricks that save time and bring better results. Here are some advanced tips using Semrush.

Leveraging Filters And Reports

Filters help find what matters. I filter by search volume and difficulty to stay focused. Semrush makes this easy. I check reports to spot trends. These help plan my next post. One time, I saw a CPC trend that led to a top blog post. **Exploring Related Keywords** Related keywords reach more people. Semrush suggests useful terms you may not think of. I use them to cover new angles in my content. Watch trends. Some words work better in certain seasons. I once updated a post with seasonal keywords and saw a fast traffic jump. These keywords help you grow without starting over.

Frequently Asked Questions

How To Use Semrush To Do Keyword Research?

Log in. Go to the Keyword Magic Tool. Type your main keyword. Look at volume, difficulty, and CPC. Use filters to find the best ones. Save them and use them in your SEO plan.

How To Perform Keyword Research Step By Step?

Know your audience. Use Google Planner and Semrush. Check what your rivals use. Focus on long keywords. Choose the ones that match your content goals.

Is Semrush Really Worth It?

Yes. It gives keyword tools, competitor info, and audits. It helped me grow blogs and win clients. If you care about SEO, Semrush is a great tool.

Is Semrush Good For Keywords?

Yes. It gives full keyword info, shows trends, and helps with ideas. I use it in all my projects. It really works.

Conclusion

Learning keyword research with Semrush helps your content grow. It shows what works. Use that to write better and reach the right people. Try new things. Practice helps. Good keywords open doors. With Semrush, you’re ready to go. Keep at it—you’ll see results.

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