#How to make gif background windows 10

[meazalykov]

new years baby

ingrid engen x pregnant!reader

summary: your baby decides to arrive two weeks late

the air in the apartment has a mix of excitement and calm. 

you were perched on the couch, your feet tucked under a soft blanket, sipping from a juice box while ingrid and alexia chatted lightly over their glasses of wine. the christmas lights still twinkled along the edge of the window, and the faint hum of music played in the background, setting a cozy new year's eve atmosphere.

you shifted slightly, your growing belly making every position a balancing act. ingrid’s eyes flickered to you often, her gaze soft and adoring. 

"how are you feeling, love?" she asked, her norwegian accent wrapping the words in warmth.

“same as this morning,” you replied with a small laugh. 

“still pregnant.”

alexia chuckled, shaking her head in disbelief. 

“i don’t know how you���re still walking around. december eighteenth, then christmas—now new year’s eve? iris is really taking her time.”

you smiled, resting a hand on your belly. 

“if she doesn’t come by january second, the doctors said they’ll have to induce me. but she’s probably just waiting for the right moment.”

ingrid leaned over to press a kiss to your temple. 

“she’s dramatic already, just like her mom.”

“and patient, just like her mamma.” you respond. 

the three of you laughed, and you reached for another sip of your juice. the warmth of the moment made the days of waiting feel a little lighter.

then, as the clock ticked closer to 10:00pm, something shifted. you felt it suddenly—a strange, uncontrollable sensation. at first, you thought you might have peed, which was embarrassing enough, but when you excused yourself to the bathroom, the realization hit: your water had broken.

a rush of adrenaline swept through you, but you kept calm, padding quietly to the bedroom to change into more comfortable pajamas and grabbing the hospital bags you and ingrid had prepared weeks ago.

as you emerged from the bedroom, the sight of alexia and ingrid staring at you with wide, questioning eyes almost made you laugh.

“uh, my water broke,” you announced, holding up the bags as if to prove it.

ingrid was on her feet instantly, her wineglass abandoned. 

“what? now? are you okay?”

“yes, now,” you replied, feeling the first faint stirrings of contractions. 

“i’m fine, but we should probably get to the hospital.”

alexia jumped up, her usual calm demeanor replaced with an almost comical fluster. 

“okay, bags—car—uh, do you need anything else? snacks? more juice?”

you shook your head, smiling at her concern. 

“just the hospital bags, alexia. and maybe some shoes.”

within minutes, the three of you were in the car, the streets of barcelona unusually quiet for new year’s eve. ingrid sat beside you in the backseat, her hand tightly gripping yours, her face a mix of excitement and worry.

“are you sure you’re okay?” she asked for the fifth time, her thumb brushing over your knuckles.

you nodded, exhaling through another contraction. 

“i’m okay, promise. it’s not too bad yet.”

when you arrived at the hospital, things moved quickly. you were whisked into a delivery room, and ingrid stayed glued to your side, her presence a steadying force. 

alexia, after ensuring you were settled, made her way to the cafeteria, where fridolina joined her, both of them eagerly waiting for updates.

the labor progressed faster than you expected. by the time the clock struck 11:45 p.m., the contractions were intense, and the nurses were preparing for delivery. ingrid held your hand through every wave of pain, her voice soothing as she whispered words of encouragement.

“you’re so strong, mi amor,” she said, her own eyes glistening with emotion. 

“our baby is almost here.”

by 12:01 a.m., you were pushing. the effort was exhausting but focused, every ounce of your energy channeled into bringing your daughter into the world. ingrid’s voice anchored you, and after just three pushes, the room was filled with the sound of a newborn’s cry.

“she’s here!” the doctor announced, carefully placing your daughter on your chest.

tears streamed down your face as you looked at her tiny, wriggling form. ingrid was beside you, her face alight with wonder and tears of her own. the doctor glanced at the clock and smiled. 

“12:03 a.m. happy new year!”

“happy new year, baby,” ingrid whispered softly, leaning close to kiss iris’s forehead. the sound of her voice seemed to calm the baby’s cries for a moment.

you let out a tired laugh, looking down at your daughter. 

“of course she wanted her birthday to be a holiday.”

ingrid chuckled, brushing a strand of hair from your face. 

the moments after were a blur of joy and relief. alexia and fridolina came up to the room once things had settled, their faces lighting up when they saw ingrid cradling iris in her arms.

“she couldn’t wait for january second?” fridolina teased, leaning over to get a better look at the baby. 

“was 2024 not a good year to be born in?”

ingrid grinned, glancing down at iris.

“exactly what i was thinking. she had to wait for the new year.”

alexia laughed. 

“at least we’ll never forget her birthday. it’s a built-in celebration every year.”

you smiled, feeling the warmth of their words as you reached for iris. ingrid gently placed her in your arms, and you marveled at her tiny features—the button nose, the delicate fingers curling instinctively around your thumb. she looked just like ingrid. 

“she’s perfect,” you whispered, your voice thick with emotion. iris’s eyes were closed, her face peaceful as she nestled against you.

“she really is,” ingrid agreed, wrapping an arm around your shoulders as the two of you admired your daughter. 

“happy new year, mi amor.”

you leaned into her, feeling the overwhelming love and gratitude of the moment. despite the long wait and the unexpected timing, everything felt exactly as it should be. 

masterlist

[honeydippedfiction]

Hi Cici! Can I request angst/fluff Joe x reader from the pre-relationship prompt no 10. They’ve broken up but they still love each other. Reader’s mom invites Joe to dinner and they reunite after 2 months. Can you make it a happy ending pls?

"Hey, my mom wants to know if you're coming to family dinner tonight?" "Isn't it weird for me to come? We broke up two months ago, baby." "Okay, I'm not going to lie, you're giving me mixed signals. I'm telling her you're coming.”

Ayyye it’s a bad bitch birthday y’all, BIG 24🤪🤪 sorry for not posting yesterday, things got a little crazy. But here’s some Joey to make up for it, love yaaa😚💋

1k & Birthday Bash nav | main navigation | reqs | table of contents

#10. "Hey, my mom wants to know if you're coming to family dinner tonight?" "Isn't it weird for me to come? We broke up two months ago, baby." "Okay, I'm not going to lie, you're giving me mixed signals. I'm telling her you're coming.”

Joe Burrow x black!femreader

• you DO NOT have my permission to copy my work, upload as your own, translate, or repost on any other website •

They didn’t fall apart all at once.

No one slammed a door. No one shouted across the kitchen table. There were no ultimatums thrown like grenades, no harsh words hurled in the heat of anger. Instead, it was quiet—the kind of quiet that creeps in like cold air through an open window. The kind you don’t notice at first, until one day you realize you’re shivering.

That was how it ended.

Joe was deep into the off-season grind—film study, conditioning, meetings with coaches, and early press obligations. He kept saying he was fine. That he was just busy. That he was trying to be better.

And Y/N—she was trying too. Trying to be patient, trying not to count how many texts went unanswered. Trying not to take it personally when he forgot the dinner reservation she'd made for their anniversary. Trying to convince herself that love was supposed to bend under pressure. That he’d come back to her when the weight lifted.

But weeks passed. Then more. And with every day, she felt herself slipping from his periphery—like background noise to a life she used to be centered in.

They had their final fight on a Wednesday night.

She had waited for him to come home after practice, her dinner long cold on the stove. She’d spent hours rehearsing how to talk to him gently, how to ask for more without sounding like she was demanding it. But the second he walked through the door, eyes heavy and voice detached, the words scattered.

“You don’t see me anymore,” she’d said quietly, arms folded across her chest.

Joe had stopped mid-step, the key still in his hand.

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

“You’re here,” she said. “But you’re not with me.”

He rubbed a hand over his face. “Y/N, I can’t give you all of me right now. You know what’s on the line this season.”

“And what about what’s on the line with us?” she asked, voice cracking under the weight of her restraint. “I’m not asking for your whole career. I’m asking for a place in your life that doesn’t feel optional.”

That hit something tender. He flinched. But then the wall came up. That impenetrable, practiced calm he wore in press conferences and on fourth downs.

“I’m doing the best I can.”

“No, Joe,” she said, tears burning at the edges of her vision, “you’re doing the best you can for you. And I’m just collateral damage.”

The silence after that was louder than any shouting match could’ve been. He didn’t chase her when she walked out. She didn’t call when she packed her overnight bag. Neither of them said goodbye, but they both knew what it meant when days passed and no one reached out.

It was the kind of breakup that didn’t feel like a clean cut. It was a tear—uneven, ragged. The kind you keep running your fingers over, hoping the skin will knit itself back together.

But it didn’t.

Not for a while.

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Two months later, and she could still hear the last thing he said as she closed the door behind her:

“I don’t know how to love you right now.”

And she, broken in ways she didn’t have the words for, had only whispered back:

“Then you don’t get to love me at all.”

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The late summer heat in Cincinnati was starting to soften into something more bearable—less suffocating, more nostalgic. The kind of weather that whispered of changing seasons, even if the days still clung to a sticky kind of warmth. The breeze carried the faintest hint of something crisp, something about to end or maybe about to begin.

Y/N stood barefoot on the concrete balcony of her apartment, her toes curled against the cool surface. The skyline stretched hazy in the distance, the sun dipping behind buildings like it didn’t want to be seen anymore. She cradled her phone loosely in one hand, thumb tracing the edge of the screen, debating—for the fifth time in the last half hour—whether to call him.

Inside, her living room was quiet except for the distant hum of the ceiling fan. Her dinner sat untouched on the coffee table, congealed now, the takeout box slightly ajar. The text from her mother still glowed at the top of her screen like a dare:

“Tell Joseph to come to dinner tonight. I’m making gumbo and peach cobbler.”

No context. No awareness—or maybe just willful ignorance—of the two-month silence between them. As if she hadn’t sobbed into her mother’s arms the night after the breakup. As if Joe Burrow was still part of the family like he’d always been.

She hadn’t answered right away. She’d stared at the message, then scrolled back through old texts she’d never deleted, some of them still marked unread even though she could recite them by heart.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see him. That was the problem—she did. Too much. Still.

The phone felt heavier than usual in her hand. Her finger hovered over his name in her contacts—Joey 🏈💬. Stupid nickname. Stupid emoji. She hadn’t changed it.

Then, finally, she sighed and hit Call.

It rang twice.

“Hey,” his voice came through, low and quiet. Familiar, even with the rougher edge that hadn’t been there before.

“Hey,” she echoed, her voice tighter than she meant it to be. She bit the inside of her cheek, suddenly conscious of the stretch of silence folding around them.

There was faint movement on his end—something shifting, a soft thud, maybe the creak of his old leather couch. Then, the sound of him exhaling.

“My mom wanted me to ask if you’re coming to family dinner tonight,” she said at last, her eyes fixed on the pink glow of the skyline. “She’s making gumbo. Peach cobbler too.”

Another pause. Longer. Deeper. She imagined him in that familiar kitchen of his, leaning on the counter, rubbing the back of his neck like he always did when he didn’t know what to say.

“Isn’t it weird for me to come?” he said, eventually. His voice dipped lower. “We broke up two months ago, baby.”

That word—baby—landed like a pebble tossed into still water. It rippled through her, sudden and unwanted, stirring up everything she had tried to settle.

Y/N blinked hard, gripping the balcony railing.

“Okay, I’m not gonna lie, you’re giving me mixed signals.” Her tone was brisk, a shade too light. “I’m telling her you’re coming.”

She expected him to push back. Say don’t. Say I can’t. But he didn’t. He was quiet for a second, then—

“I’ve missed her cooking,” he said, soft. Almost too soft to hear. “And... I’ve missed you.”

Her breath caught. Her fingers curled tighter around the railing.

“You don’t get to say that, Joe,” she said quietly. “Not unless you mean it.”

There was a rustle on the line. She could almost see him now—jaw clenched, brow furrowed, eyes somewhere on the floor.

“I do mean it.” His voice cracked. Just a little. “I think I always meant it. I just didn’t know what to do with it.”

That stopped her. Her chest ached. She closed her eyes, the breeze brushing loose strands of hair against her cheek.

“You don’t get to act like you’re the only one who didn’t know what to do,” she murmured. “We were both lost, Joe.”

He was silent.

Then: “Can I come early?”

The question hung in the air between them.

She opened her eyes. The sky had shifted to deeper gold. The city looked softer, like it had been smudged at the edges.

“You want to come early?” she repeated.

“Yeah,” he said. “Just us. For a bit. If that’s okay.”

Y/N swallowed. Her pulse thudded in her throat.

“Okay.”

“I’ll be there in twenty.”

The line went dead.

She stared at the screen, the call log glowing like it knew something she didn’t. Her fingers trembled slightly as she lowered the phone. Inside, her untouched dinner looked sad and irrelevant now.

Y/N walked back in, her bare feet silent on the hardwood floor. She caught her reflection in the mirror above the couch and paused, brushing her hair back, eyes searching her own face as if trying to remember what he used to see there.

Maybe it was still there.

She changed out of her oversized T-shirt into something more neutral—simple. Familiar. A soft tank and jeans. Nothing that screamed I want you back, but not indifferent either.

Then she waited.

And twenty-three minutes later, there was a knock at the door.

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The Burrow name didn’t exactly go unnoticed in the city, and yet somehow, It was nearly dusk when Joe turned onto the quiet street, unnoticed, where Y/N’s childhood home stood. The tires of his SUV crunched against the curb as he parked across from the house, letting the engine idle for a few seconds longer than necessary.

The porch light glowed faintly against the darkening sky, casting long shadows across the yard. Through the front window, he could see the flicker of movement—people laughing, passing plates, a burst of someone’s high-pitched voice.

It had been two months. And yet, pulling up to this house felt like a reflex. He’d spent entire holidays here. Off-seasons. Weeknights. Lazy Sundays. Y/N’s mom treated him like a second son, and her cousins never passed up an opportunity to challenge him to a basketball game in the driveway.

But this was different.

This was after.

Joe took a breath, then another, resting his forehead briefly against the steering wheel. His fingers flexed around the neck of the wine bottle he’d brought as a peace offering. He wasn’t sure who it was really for—Y/N’s mom, or Y/N herself.

He climbed out of the car and made his way up the porch steps.

The door opened before he could knock.

“Joseph!” Y/N’s mom greeted him like no time had passed at all. She pulled him into a hug that squeezed the breath out of him. “Lord, you still don’t call me enough.”

“Sorry, Mrs. L,” Joe said with a sheepish grin. “I brought wine?”

“You trying to bribe me?” she asked, plucking the bottle from his hands. “It’s working.”

Inside, the air was rich with spices—onion, celery, garlic, and heat. The gumbo simmered in a cast iron pot on the stove, and laughter echoed from the living room. The house felt alive.

He stepped into the kitchen, heart stuttering when he saw her.

Y/N stood at the stove, stirring the pot with one hand, her face turned slightly toward the doorway like she’d felt him arrive. She wore a faded Spelman sweatshirt and jeans, her curls piled loosely atop her head. The sight of her sent something crashing through his chest—grief, want, familiarity.

She turned slowly, her gaze meeting his.

“Hey,” she said, her voice soft, careful.

“Hey,” he replied.

He hadn’t seen her in person since the breakup. Not really. There had been a brush of arms at a team event she helped organize. A glimpse of her car leaving his building. But not this—proximity, silence, her voice spoken only for him.

The tension between them was thick enough to chew.

Joe stayed out of the way during dinner, letting the family orbit him while Y/N moved through the room with practiced grace. Her cousins grilled him about the season. Her aunt complimented his posture. Her mom forced second and third helpings onto his plate. It was familiar, even comforting.

But beneath it all was the undercurrent—the absence they had tried to hide. Y/N laughed, but she didn’t look at him when she did. He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. They were in the same room, breathing the same air, but the space between them held a history neither of them had figured out how to put down.

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The table was set like it always had been—cloth napkins folded with care, the good dishes pulled from the cabinet where they were only ever used for holidays or homecomings. The gumbo simmered in the center, rich with heat and spice, and the peach cobbler cooled on the counter, its sugar crust still bubbling at the edges. The dining room glowed under the soft dome light, as if trying to pretend this was a normal evening, like dozens before it.

Y/N sat across from Joe. Her mother took the head of the table, ladling out generous portions as if she hadn’t just dropped a grenade into the calm of their lives by inviting her daughter’s ex-boyfriend to dinner without warning.

“So, Joseph,” her mom said, tone light but watchful. “How have you been, sweetheart?”

Joe looked up from his bowl, spoon poised mid-air. He swallowed whatever he'd been about to say, then offered a polite, measured smile.

“I’ve been good. Busy. Camp started a few weeks ago, so… full days. A lot of film. A lot of lifting. You know how it is.”

Her mother nodded, scooping more rice onto her plate. “Of course. You look tired, though. You getting enough rest?”

Y/N watched him glance briefly her way—just a flick of the eyes, quick and unsure.

“Trying to,” he said. “There’s always a lot on my mind this time of year.”

Y/N’s mother made a small sound of agreement, something between a hum and a sigh. “Well, I hope you’re eating enough. You always forget to feed yourself when the season starts. Y/N used to nag you about that constantly.”

“Still does,” Joe said, before he could stop himself.

The words hung there. They were soft. Not accusatory, not hopeful. Just… factual. Like a line from a shared history that neither of them could quite stop quoting.

Y/N pressed her lips together, reached for her glass of water, and took a long sip.

Y/N glanced at him without meaning to. He looked… different. The kind of different you only notice when you haven’t been allowed to look for a while. His hair was a little shorter, jaw sharper from preseason grind, but the tired under his eyes was the same. It always showed in August.

Her mother, of course, kept talking. “Well, you’ve certainly been busy. I saw you at the Met Gala.”

Joe blinked. “You did?”

“Oh, please,” she said, waving a hand. “The moment your photo hit the internet, Y/N was showing me every angle of that suit. That blue-on-blue? Absolutely gorgeous. You looked gorgeous.”

Y/N choked on her water.

Joe’s eyebrows lifted slightly. “Did she now?”

Y/N shot her mom a look. “I didn’t show you every angle.”

“You showed me enough,” her mom said, sipping her wine with barely disguised mischief. “He looked good. That suit was beautiful. Right, Y/N?”

The silence that followed was immediate and awful.

Y/N cleared her throat. “It was fine.”

“Fine,” Joe echoed, grinning now. “Wow. High praise.”

“You were styled well,” Y/N said carefully, stabbing her gumbo a little too aggressively. “Good tailoring. No complaints.”

Her mother beamed, delighted. “See? I raised a woman who knows a good lapel when she sees one.”

Joe laughed, shaking his head. “I’m putting that on my résumé.”

The laughter that followed was brief but real. And that was somehow worse.

Because for a moment, it felt like nothing had changed. Like they were still together. Like she could still reach under the table and rest her foot lightly against his like she used to when the conversation got too long and his mind started to wander.

Y/N didn’t reach. But she remembered.

“Your mom must’ve loved that look,” her mother continued. “She’s always said you clean up well.”

“She did,” Joe said. “She kept trying to get me to pose like I was on a cologne ad. Said I looked ‘mysterious.’”

He glanced across the table at Y/N.

“I didn’t feel mysterious. I felt like an idiot trying not to sweat through my shirt.”

Her mother looked between them but didn’t comment. She simply passed the hot sauce down the table.

“And your parents?” she asked instead, ever the master of casual redirection. “They doing okay?”

“They’re good,” Joe replied. “My mom says hi, by the way. She, uh… she was surprised when I told her I was coming here tonight.”

Y/N’s mom raised her brows, but her smile never wavered. “Was she now?”

He nodded, then hesitated. “Yeah. But I think… I think she was happy. Said it was nice to hear your name again.”

That landed differently. Softer. Slower.

Y/N’s fork paused mid-scoop, gumbo dripping back into the bowl. She didn’t look up.

“Tell her I said hello,” her mother replied, folding her napkin neatly in her lap. “And next time she’s in town, she better come over for coffee.”

“I will.”

They fell into silence for a beat—just the clink of silverware and the low hum of crickets outside the open window.

Joe took a bite, then set his spoon down.

“This is amazing, by the way,” he said. “I’ve missed your cooking.”

“You always did eat like you hadn’t seen food in days,” her mom teased gently. Then, with a glance in Y/N’s direction: “I don’t suppose you’ve managed to cook anything for yourself, have you?”

Y/N rolled her eyes, grateful for the normalcy of the jab. “I’ve cooked.”

Joe coughed into his napkin. “Microwaving Trader Joe’s doesn’t count.”

“I will kick you under this table, Burrow.”

He laughed—really laughed—and the sound hit her like a memory wrapped in sunlight.

Her mother just smiled, sipping from her glass of wine. “Well, some things haven’t changed.”

No one answered that. They didn’t have to.

After a moment, Joe reached for the breadbasket and passed it across the table to Y/N, the edge of his finger brushing hers.

She didn’t pull away.

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The lingering warmth of the evening wrapped the apartment in a quiet afterglow. The game blared from the living room as the rest of the group settled in front of the TV—familiar voices and laughter floating through the air, as if time hadn’t shifted beneath them. Y/N's mother, settled in her usual chair, clapped occasionally and cheered for a team she only pretended to follow. Her father, reclined with his legs up, seemed content enough just to be part of it all. The familiar hum of the house felt like a strange balm, smoothing over the awkwardness between her and Joe, even if they weren’t quite done with it yet.

But Joe, ever the gentleman—or maybe just trying to stay busy—hung back. As the others crowded into the living room, he made his way to the kitchen, where Y/N stood at the sink, sleeves pushed up, water steaming around her wrists. The clink of ceramic plates met the gentle trickle of running water.

“Hey,” she said, a quiet murmur as he began to collect the leftover dishes from the table, a familiar rhythm between them. “You don’t have to do that,” she said

Y/N didn’t immediately turn to look at him. Her hands worked in practiced motions, setting dishes into the sink, rinsing them with a quiet determination. The hum of the faucet seemed to fill the silence between them. She shrugged, still focused on the task at hand. “You didn’t have to come over.”

Joe paused. His hands, still holding a plate, lingered in the air. He let out a soft exhale, then placed it gently into the soapy water. “You didn’t invite me. She did.”

Y/N’s lips curved slightly in that half-smile he knew so well. “She made that pretty clear,” she said, her voice carrying an edge of humor, as if she were trying to dismiss the awkwardness that hung between them like a fragile thread.

“But you called me,” Joe said, his voice lower now, quieter.

Y/N set a plate down with a little more force than necessary, the sound sharper in the otherwise calm room. She didn’t look at him, but her words were steady. “Because I knew she wouldn’t leave me alone until I did.”

Joe stepped closer, moving to stand beside her at the sink. The space between them was small but charged, the faintest brush of his arm against hers making the hairs on the back of her neck rise. The scent of his cologne, familiar and warm, mingled with the steam from the water. He kept his voice just above a whisper, careful not to break the fragile silence. “You could’ve just texted me.”

She finally turned, meeting his eyes. Really meeting them—no distractions, no excuses.

“I wanted to hear your voice,” she said, so softly it barely reached the space between them.

That was all it took. The weight of her words broke open everything they’d been carefully avoiding for months. Joe’s breath caught in his throat, and for a moment, neither of them moved. The kitchen felt suddenly smaller, the noise from the living room faint in the background like a distant memory.

“I didn’t want us to end like that,” Joe said, his voice rougher now, as if he were confessing something he hadn’t known how to say until this very second.

Y/N pressed her lips together, swallowing hard. Her gaze dropped to the sink, the water swirling in lazy spirals. She was quiet for a moment, but when she spoke, her voice was tight. “Then why did we?”

Joe looked down, his jaw flexing as he considered the question. His fingers lingered on the plate he was holding, not sure what to do with it now.

“I thought I couldn’t give you what you needed,” he said, the words coming slow, weighed down with regret. “I thought if I loved you less, if I focused more on... everything else, I could keep my life from falling apart. And if I focused more, maybe I could be a better version of myself. But I was wrong. Because the whole time I was trying to make everything perfect, I... I loved you more than I thought I could. And that scared the hell out of me.”

Y/N held her breath as she absorbed his words, the rawness of them striking deep inside her chest. She glanced down at her hands, the wetness of the spoon she held reminding her of everything she’d lost in the silence between them.

“You hurt me, Joe,” she said, her voice a little smaller than she’d intended, her fingers trembling as they held onto the spoon. It was hard, even now, to say those words without feeling the weight of them.

“I know,” he whispered, his voice breaking. “I’ve hated myself for it every day since.”

Y/N’s gaze softened, the hardness in her chest giving way to the tenderness she’d been guarding for so long. She turned toward him, her breath steadying, though her heart was racing. “What do you want from me?” The words felt like a plea, but she couldn’t keep them back. She needed to know.

Joe stepped a little closer, the space between them shrinking. He reached out, hesitated, then lowered his hand to his side. “I want another chance. I want to make it right. I know it won’t be easy, but I’ll do whatever it takes. I’m here, Y/N. I’m all in, every day. Win or lose.”

Y/N’s breath caught in her throat. The room felt too small now, too close. She could hear the beating of her heart, the faintest sound of the game still playing in the background. But it was distant. Fading.

She wiped her hands on the dish towel slowly, the fabric rough under her fingertips. She exhaled a long, tired breath, not ready yet to make a decision, but not quite ready to say no. Not yet. “Well...” she murmured, the words slipping out with a quiet finality. “We can talk about it... after cobbler.”

Joe looked at her, eyes softening, and he couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped him. It was light, genuine—like a weight had been lifted, if only for a moment.

“Deal,” he said, his voice low but filled with relief.

Y/N turned to step toward the living room, but just before she reached the doorway, she felt him move behind her. His hand found her wrist, gentle but insistent, and in a swift motion, he pulled her back. Without a word, he cupped her face in his hands, his thumb grazing the line of her jaw.

She froze for a heartbeat, caught between hesitation and something stronger—something she hadn’t let herself feel in months.

Then, slowly, carefully, he kissed her. It was soft at first, almost tentative, as if they were both unsure of the ground beneath them. But soon, the weight of it grew—layers of longing, regret, and the faintest trace of hope filling the space between their lips. It felt like the world was holding its breath.

And just as Y/N thought she might let herself fall completely into it, the sound of her mother’s voice—loud and unrestrained—broke through the quiet like a gong.

“Oh, finally!” her mom cheered from the living room, her voice so high-pitched with excitement that it echoed off the walls. “I’ve been waiting for this! Now you two can get started on those grandbabies!”

Y/N pulled back immediately, her face flushing crimson. She looked at Joe, embarrassed and wide-eyed, but he only laughed—his deep, genuine laugh that sent a flutter through her chest. His arms circled her, pulling her close, and in that moment, it wasn’t just the awkwardness of the situation that made her heart race. It was the warmth of him, the steadiness she’d always found in his arms.

“Well,” Joe said, his voice low and teasing, “I guess we better get started, huh?”

Y/N buried her face in his chest, both mortified and relieved at the same time. But as he held her close, she knew, deep down, that this was just the beginning.

[eddiediaaz]

Hi! Can I ask how you did the double exposure gifs for your merlin set? They're beautiful btw!

heyy, thank you!! of course!

it's actually not very hard, the trick is to find the right shots for this. here's how i did it (reference gifset), under the cut.

for this tutorial i will be: — using photoshop cs5 on windows — assuming you know how to make gifs using the timeline — have basic coloring, sharpening, groups, and layer masks knowledge

I. CHOOSING THE RIGHT SHOTS

the ultimate trick to pull this off is to choose the right image. in order to do the double exposure, you need a silhouette shot that has these:

a defined and dark silhouette with a background that is not too busy

enough contrast between the silhouette and the background

the silhouette should take at least 50% of the space

not too much movement

here are a few examples of why they work and why they won't:

gwen: perfect example since this shot is already quite contrasted with a defined silhouette. there won't be a lot of work needed to make this one work.

merlin: not a great example because even tho there's a somewhat good contrast between him and the background, the silhouette is just too bright, not dark enough.

arthur: another good example, even if there are some bright spots on his face and armor. since he's not moving too much, you can definitely brush some black over him to make his silhouette darker (i'll explain/show later)

morgana: this one could work because the contrast is great, but of course her skintone is very bright against the black clothing. that being said, since the movement is not too bad, it could be possible to brush some black over her and move these layers with keyframes (as mentioned for arthur's example). i haven't tried it tho, but i think it would work well enough.

once you have your silhouette shot, you need another gif for the double exposure. what works best, in my opinion, are:

wide, large shots

shots with no to little camera movement (no pan, zoom, etc), but the subjects in the shot can have little movement of course

pretty cinematography/scenery shots

i find these are easier to find and make it work, it's not as "precise" as with silhouette shots. it's mostly just trial and error to see what works best with the silhouettes.

II. PREPPING THE SILHOUETTE

for the effect to work, we want a silhouette that's dark as possible. i'm gonna use the gwen and arthur shots as examples.

for the gwen gif, i started by sharpening, and then upped the contrast by quite a lot so her silhouette is mostly black, while retaining some nice details. i've used only 3 layers here:

selective color layer: in the blacks tab, playing with the black slider (value: +10)

brightness/contrast layer: added a lot of contrast (+61) and a bit of brightness (+10)

black and white layer: on top, its blending mode set to soft light and at 20% opacity. gives a bit more depth and contrast

then for the arthur example, i've also sharpened it first, and added contrast layers in this order (the skintone looks horrible, but it won't matter soon lol):

levels layer: black slider at 0, grey slider at 0.76, white slider at 104

selective color layer: in the blacks tab, black slider at +10

brightness/contrast layer: brightness at +1-, contrast at +47

black and white layer: on top, its blending mode set to soft light and at 20% opacity. gives a bit more depth and contrast

as you can see, half of his face is still quite bright. to correct that, create a new empty layer and put it between the gif and the coloring layers.

using a really soft brush and the black color, brush some black over his face and body on that new empty layer. you can edit the layer's opacity if you want, i've set mine to 71%. since arthur doesn't move much here, there's no need to keyframe this layer's position. for the morgana example, this is where you'd need to play with keyframes to make it work. here's where i'm at now after this:

you can always edit this layer later if you need, after doing the double exposure blending.

once the silhouette is all ready, you can put all layers in a group and rename it (i've renamed mine silhouette).

III. BLENDING

now the fun part! import the wide/scenery shot in photoshop, then resize it to the same height of your silhouette gif. make sure the gif is a smart object layer, and sharpen it. finally, bring this gif onto the silhouette canvas (by right clicking the smart object > duplicate layer). once you have both gifs onto your canvas, put the wide shot gif layer in a group, and set this group's blending option to screen.

you can then position the wide/scenery gif the way you like it in the canvas. this is how it looks for both examples after i've done that:

if the blending mode screen doesn't give you the best result, so you can play around with other blending modes (such as lighten and linear dodge in these particular cases), but generally speaking, screen is the real mvp here haha.

IV. COLORING

now that the double exposure effect is done, we need to color the gifs to bring them together. i went with simple coloring here, simply enhancing the colors that were already there. just make sure that the coloring layers for each gif are in their respective groups. here's how i've colored both examples:

gwen silhouette group: i added a gradient map layer on top of the contrast layers in black to green and set the blending mode to color

scenery shot group: multiple coloring layers, with a green color fill layer (blending mode set to color), with a layer mask so it only affects the top half of the gif

for the arthur gif, i did something very similar but with warmer colors. i didn't use a gradient map for arthur though:

arthur silhouette group: i made the yellow warmer, closer to orange/red, with a hue/saturation layer, and added more vibrance. didn't feel like it needed a gradient map layer here though.

wide shot group: basic coloring layers to enhance colors from the merlin & daegal shot, and an orange color fill layer set to the color blending mode.

at this point you're pretty much done. just need to add some final touches and typography (if you want).

V. FINAL TOUCHES

a small and completely optional detail, but i wanted to soften the edges of the wide gifs. to do so i've duplicated the smart object gif layer and removed the sharpening filters (right click on smart filter > clear smart filters). put this layer on top of the other smart object layers (but still below the coloring).

then with this same layer still selected, go to filter > blur > gaussian blur... > 10px. this will give you a very blurry gif, but we only want the edges of the canvas to be softer. so add a layer mask to this layer. with a very large and soft brush (mine was at 0% hardness and about 800px size), brush some black onto the layer mask to remove the blur in the middle of the gif.

you can play with this layer's opacity or gaussian blur amount if you want (by double clicking on the gaussian blur smart layer filter). here how both examples look with this gaussian blur layer:

you can also mask some of wide/scenery gifs if you'd prefer, so it shows less outside of the silhouette. just put a layer mask on that whole wide shot group and brush some black or grey on the layer mask. it's what i did for the gwen gif, with a very soft brush and i set the mask density to 72% (i kept the arthur one as is tho):

and that's how i did it! hopefully that was clear enough :)

[jakeyp]

GRID + TORN PAPER + RAINBOW LAYOUT TUTORIAL (yeah, i'm sorry, but that is the title i came up with)

Hi everyone! This tutorial was requested by an anon, and we're going to make a gifset like this. You need, as usual, basic gifmaking skills and basic photoshop knowledge, but i'll try to explain this as easily as possible!

You'll also need a torn paper brush, which you can download here.

And here are the links to download the fonts used in my gifset: x, x

Okay let's start!

→ First you're going to create a new canvas, and it will be 540x540 px. Make sure to click on create video timeline (if you dont have a timeline, go to window > timeline. We'll leave this canvas there waiting for us :)

Then, onto our first gif. We're going to make the small square gifs first. All i do is resize the image and make it 120 px high, and you'll see why in a moment.

Make sure to remember the number of frames of this gif!! All the gifs we're going to put in the same canvas should have the same amount of frames.

Okay, so we have our first small gif:

As you can see it's a smart object, and I added some brightness, but so far that's all. You can sharpen it, but i like to sharpen until i've colored it. Now onto the important part:

Most of the gifs i worked with were mostly blue (aside from the skin color), which is recommendable, because you can create lots of colors starting from blue, using the hue/saturation adjustment, or camera raw filter. I also recommend you to use a gif that doesn't move a lot, so it'll be easier to color the background:

For the tutorial, we have our predominantly blue gif, but we are going to make it yellow, which is the opposite color, so it's the hardest to get. I hope you can see how i manipulate colors, and do it yourself :)

Here, you can use camera raw filter (filter > camera raw filter) to turn the blues and purples greener, like this:

And click ok to exit the camera raw filter. Then, we're going to use hue/saturation (image > adjustments > hue/saturation) to turn it yellow:

Since it was cyan, i changed the cyans, but if you got a much greener result you'll have to use green (duh, right? i dont know i just dont want anyone to get confused akjsdhs)

And you can also add a selective color adjustment to make those yellows more yellow:

The reason i don't directly use hue/saturation is cause it might look ugly and lose quality, or it wont pick up all the colors i want it to but they're also very small gifs so if you wanna do that, do it :)

I sharpen it until this point, but if you already have that's okay.

Now we're going to color the background! For that, you just add a new layer, and set the blending mode to color.

Then you'll use your brush, set it to 20px and 0% hardness, and pick the color you're using for this gif, you can use the eyedropper tool. This is why it's important that the gif doesn't move a lot, so you can color the bg like this:

I colored carefully around the edges, and that's the result. In some gifs from my gif set I colored Jake's jacket too because i was too lazy, but this looks cleaner :)

You might want to select the color layer and the gif layer to convert them both to a smart object, just to make everything easier. So, be careful, because after that you won't be able to change anything!

But let's say you have a scene that you want to include, and it moves too much and has no blue and it's going to be a nightmare to color it.

Well, don't worry, you can! Simply, instead of manually coloring everything, you can just choose to add a gradient map to it (image > adjustments > gradient map), like this:

And this is the result:

Just remember, it has to be the same amount of frames as the other ones!

You repeat the process, until you have 10 small gifs. I made around 5 manually colored gifs, and 5 gifs with gradient for each gif. That's a confusing sentence but i hope you get it.

We are going to start pasting the small gifs on our first canvas.

(You can paste them one by one but i did this so you can see my 10 gifs)

You're going to create a square that has to be 108x108 px, using the rectangle tool. You can remove the default white background.

And you may be wondering, why did we not just crop the small gifs into those dimensions? Well, you can do that, but to me it's much easier this way, because sometimes cropping isn't accurate, or it's tedious.

Place the small square on top the gif you're going to crop, right where the face of the character is (or whatever objects you're giffing), and while holding ctrl, click on the square. It will select it:

You're going to create a layer mask:

And then drag that layer mask to the gif:

And voila! It's now the same size as the small square. Once that's done, right click on the layer and convert it to a smart object, because we have to remove that mask. Make the square layer invisible, and start placing your gifs where you want them:

You're going to repeat that process with the rest of the gifs, and then place them all together. Don't forget that if you're making the first gif, they will all be at the bottom of the canvas, if it's one of the middle gifs, one row should be at the top and the other one at the bottom, and when you're making the last gif, they should all be at the top. Here we're making the first one, so they will all be at the bottom:

If you forgot to check that all the gifs had the same amount of frames, you can fix it here, just make sure no gif is past this little guy:

Okay! Now, to create the gutter, we're going to add a layer mask to each small gif, so that we can cut some of it.

The gutter has to be 4 pixels, (i recommend you to REALLY zoom in). What i do is make sure the width of the gutter takes 2 pixels from the edges of the gifs, since they are all together. As you can see in the image above, there's no a single empty pixel between the gifs.

This is a close-up of what i'm talking about. I select two pixels from each gif, and go all the way down to create the gutter:

(I hope I'm not over or underexplaining)

I usually use this tool when i have to make so many selections:

But that was just an example :)

(Another way you can do this, is by changing the size of the small square from the beginning and make it be 104x104 px, but i don't know why that seems more complicated to me ajsdks)

Anyway, this is what we have so far:

Now we're going to create the big gif. Its normal dimensions are usually around 1920x1080, unless you have different dimensions and have to crop it, but whatever it is, we're going to resize it and crop it to be around 550 px wide, and 400 px high:

We'll do the same thing of adding an adjustment of gradient to it to make it the color we're using. For this, i usually add a brightness layer before, because sometimes the gradient is a bit dark.

And using a 600px brush with 0% hardness, you can add some "light" on a new layer, like this:

Selecting all the layers, right-click on them and convert them to a smart object. Again, be careful, because once its a smart object, you wont be able to change any of it!

Then we paste our big gif on the canvas with small gifs, and add a layer mask to it. Using the torn paper brush at 600px, remove some of the gif to shape it like the torn paper. Make sure you're using black, otherwise it won't work correctly:

To make the effect better, add a layer UNDER the big gif, and using the torn paper brush, with the same size, you can paint under it:

Yeah, I covered some of jake's face, but that's how it supposed to look so the effect works!

And finally for the text! I used Granesta, at 150 px, and at -10.00º to make it a bit askew.

We're going to double click on it and give it a color overlay, set to normal, and give it a solid shadow if you want, then place it right here on the corner:

But as you can see, it's too big for the gif. So we're going to add a layer mask to it, and again, shape it the same way that we did with the gif. Make sure they're exactly the same shape, like this:

And that's it! This is our final result:

As always I'm sure there are easier ways to do many of these things, this is just how i do it but if you know an easier way to do it, go ahead. I hope this was at least understandable enough so you can apply the logic of it any way you want :)

If you have any questions you can send me an ask and i'll clarify!

If you found this helpful i'd really appreciate it if you left a tip on my ko-fi!

Happy giffing!

[noneorother]

The secret timeline inside of Good Omens season 2 revealed, *part1*

Part 1 l Part 2

If you’ve ever watched a ballet or an opera, you know how the rhythm in the music is used throughout to determine not only the movements of the dancers, but also when lines are sung or spoken. This is almost unheard of in television, but what if I told you it was hidden in season 2 of Good Omens? If one were to, say, meticulously cut together only the scenes set in the present day into one big timeline, you would get one long video that is exactly 2 hours 22 minutes 00 seconds and 00 frames long. An ineffable cut that is so perfect it defies all logic. (I’ve burnt a timecode into this ineffable edit to help pick up the rhythm.)

Even though there are large swathes of the second season with no music, there is a constant tempo weaving its way through the show: What if the seconds ticking by in the runtime itself was the music? Here’s an example of what I found. Behold a supercut of every single time Shax shows up, or Hell is mentioned in series 2 in the ineffable edit. They always arrive on a 6 in the time stamp (ex: 00:XX:X6).

(SOUND ON is an absolute must here, otherwise you won't hear any of the triggers)

Shax rings Crowley on a XX:X6. Shax miracles herself into the car on a XX:X6. Shax knocks on windows on a XX:X6. Shax’s big scary moment at the bookshop happens at 66 minutes exactly (lol). Crowley calls out for Shax on a XX:X6. Beelzebub starts spewing flies on a 6. People mention hell and it’s always on XX:X6 etc. etc…(Bonus: I also left in Maggie flipping the damned the double-bird on a XX:X6) I’ve also left in the only appearance of Shax or hell at all in the whole series that isn’t tied to a six: the park bench scene with Crowley. Shax seems to be off by one line, showing up on a XX:10, then back to XX:X6 on her second reply: “Bills, mostly”. I can only theorise that this scene, while technically in season 2, is not supposed to *be* in season 2 (even just judging by the trees, sun and the overcoats, it’s not summer like in the rest of the season). And it’s not only sixes! Every time I go through I find more and more little beats that line up exactly with ineffable timings. I can only do one video per post, so I’ll have to cut it up into sections, but Gabriel, doors, car horns, bird calls, Aziraphale, food, drinks, Angels, dialogue, Maggie, Nina, jokes, clocks, bells… The list goes on and on. 

Neil called this season “The bridge”

Because we all know how much Neil loves double meanings and wordplay, I just have to ponder the idea that when Neil said this season was “the bridge” between seasons 1 and 3, he meant it double-literally. First, as in the bridge Aziraphale and Crowley have to cross in order to get them into position for the second coming. We even see the physical manifestation of this bridge leading everyone in the background of the opening credits. But this season is also a bridge in the sense that it’s a musical section that introduces new ideas or material in the middle of a song. This whole season is the music that deviates from the familiar, and re-contextualizes the chorus and the verses so we can appreciate them in a new way. 

Let’s not forget that 2:22 is also exactly the same timing as this (and only this) track from the good omens s2 album (read all about the soundtrack here):

Why is this so bonkers? I think GOS2 might be the first ever “Total” series of television.

Having everything in the series timed and choreographed would actually make it a very faithful adaptation of the Powell & Pressburger film The Tales of Hoffmann (read about the movie and it’s effect on all of s2 here). If you watch the tales of Hoffman, you will realize that the entire film is actually done more like animation, with the music and vocals all performed in a studio, mixed and edited first, and then the actors came back to act out their choreographed and lip-synched parts for the cameras afterwards. The result is "Total film": a movie that feels more like a ballet, with every movement, action, and line happening in time with the music. As far as I can tell, very few films have ever attempted this, with The Tales of Hoffmann and Playtime being the only two “complete” films I could find in this style. (The Red shoes has one section, and An American In Paris has a few)

“Why would ambitious filmmakers simply film an opera? Many admirers of the work of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger have assumed that their decision to make The Tales of Hoffmann (…) was in some way an admission(…) that they couldn’t go on making their edgy, over-the-top melodramas after the rejection and interference they’d suffered, (but) there’s a case for considering The Tales of Hoffmann as one of the finest and boldest works that Powell and Pressburger produced, so far ahead of its time as a wholly “composed” film... Late in his life, Powell himself said that he thought it was one of the best films that he and Pressburger had made.” - Criterion review, Tales of Hoffmann

Here’s a simple example from An American in Paris

If season 2 *is* scripted and choreographed to line up with specific timings, I’m pretty sure that would make this the first ever “total” or “composed” season of television ever attempted. Not only does this take an ASTOUNDING amount of planning, scripting and editing finesse, not to mention a completely controlled set, it takes a real understanding of how to perform as an actor using rhythm and metre, which would go a long way to explain why all of the main actors coming back for season 2, with the exception of John Hamm, are well regarded theatre performers, (especially of Shakespeare).

I’ll leave you with one last surprise I found in the discovery of the ineffable edit: remember Aziraphale’s smile at the very end if the credits? It happens on 02:23:03, as the first step off the bridge, and into season 3.

I will have much more in the next ineffable timeline post. Stay tuned…

__________________________________________

Thanks for reading all the way to the end. It’s taken me a solid month to get this perfect. There are so many hidden cuts and jumps to take into account, and I had a frame rate issue that kept exporting to 29fps instead of 25fps, but I’ve finally nailed the ineffable timeline enough that I am confident sharing in it.

Credits to @thebluestgreen and @embracing-the-ineffable for all the support and help with editing and just general good vibes. 

[bryngmemoney]

✁FASHION FLIRT✃

Megumi Fushiguro x Reader

⭑story masterlist link

tw:none

Writing in between messages!!

🪡Chapter Fifteen: 8-ball

“You have to show me him!” Yuki exclaimed as you adjusted her outfit, making sure everything fit well. “Well, I could show you a picture, but he’s gonna come in right after you, so you could stay a minute extra.”

You two were referring to Megumi, as Yuki had always been one interested in starting conversation on people’s types. You were no exception. She told you that the reason she did it revealed a lot about the person without them knowing, you could see what she meant to an extent but really only she knew what she was talking about.

“Ooo, like how soon after me?” You looked at the time displayed on your phone, seeing the lock screen show the song you were quietly playing in the background for you and Yuki, as you guys were the only ones around. The numbers at the top read the time 5:50. “Like in ten minutes maybe, he said he’d be here around six.”

You backed up, asking Yuki to spin for you, seeing that everything seemed to fit well. “Does anything feel off?” “No, it’s perfect actually!”

“Great! Well that’s really all, you can go and change again, are you staying for a few?”

“Well I am curious, i’ll stick around with you for a bit.”

6:20, and Megumi was no where to be seen. “Is he running late?” Yuki asked leaning her back against the table while she sat down, facing you who was standing up, peaking out the window of the studio room to see if there was any sign of anyone walking in.

“I don’t know, he hasn’t answered the text I sent him.”

“He usually shows up on time?”

“Most of the time, there was just once where he showed up late, but that’s because of something that was happening.” You turned back to Yuki, checking your phone just once again to see if there was any sign from him. “Like how late?” You placed your phone down, sighing before answering “40 minutes..”

“Oh, wow.”

“He made up for it though!” You defended, “He took me out to dinner, it wasn’t really a date because his friend was there too, but still!” Yuki just hummed seeming amused in your story.

“Okay, i’ll wait another 10 minutes max with you then, but if he still hasn’t responded or shown up, we’re leaving.” You yawned in response, not feeling tired because it was late, but instead because this week had really exhausted you with class work. “Can’t we make it 15?”

“Listen, he’s already done something like this before, and you’re tired, just tell him not to show up and talk it out later, but if I was you i’d go and take the fattest nap ever first.”

Megumi sighed after finally finishing his project presentation for his Photo Seminar class. He really needed to try on this assignment, as his last one wasn’t the best. He didn’t fail, but he wasn’t anywhere near where he wanted or needed to be. Stressing over it he was glad to have finally finished his preparation, feeling a weight being lifted off him that is until he checked the time to be 6:38, then it was replaced with panic, remembering he had promised to meet you around six today. He looked for his phone, only to find it and see a text from you already saying you left 7 minutes ago.

Author’s Note: date with megumi officially planned🗣️‼���

tbh i think beer pong is my favorite imessage game

hope you guys enjoyed!

Taglist below, feel free to comment or dm me to be added!!

TAGLIST

@iridescentrays @gumimegz @maya-maya-56 @mamafly @lunavixia @swissy23 @coltsgf @m00nglad3-mp3 @etsukis @xosren @qtnfer @oengleli @harek89 @y-sabell-a @morgyyyyyyy @getolvr @liliumaraneae @k3lbade @aiieera @dancedancey @get0sfav @chuyasthighs0 @hyssoplampflickers @kpopanimen @sad-darksoul @vivi-loves-penguins @kasumitenbaz @talkingsperm @nymphsdomain @inlovewithlondonn @rzcnlb @enchantingkitty @fuyuzemi @lysaray @ni-ki-ismyluv @reneny @frumira @mixzimi @miralunaela @dreamxiing @p3achiee @anianurst

[petite-madame]

I just found again your account. I first saw your art when I was a teenager. And its been a while. Your art has felt like coming back to a brewed coffee and some pastries. Winter wind blowing against the coffee shop windows.

It feels like coming back home to fandoms i used to adore. And look at it fondly, in a nostalgic lense. You've worked very hard and honed your skill. I'm proud of how long you've been drawing and how you provided such joy and excitement in so many people. Heck even just sparked a glint in their eye whilst being on the internet.

Tu est merveilleuse. Tu as tellement contribué pour les fandoms. Merci énormément ♡

Hi anon ^^

First, I apologize it took me so long to answer. Messages kept piling up and it took me time to reach yours. 😳

This is one of the kindest messages I ever received. Not that other messages are not kind or sincere, or that I don't enjoy receiving or reading them but...you see what I mean ? 😳 Comparing my art and the feeling it brings you to "coming back to a brewed coffee and some pastries. Winter wind blowing against the coffee shop windows." is so...so poetic ? And strong ? And it talks to me, you see ? The nostalgia, the feels. 😭

It's really funny because I received a message from another anon who told me they hadn't "seen (my) art for years but it randomly came across (their) dash and (they) recognized the style right away" and I compared the experience to finding out that an old restaurant you used to go to as a kid was still open. That's me, I'm the restaurant, this little coffee shop that still tries to bring you good pastries. 🥳Sometimes, the menu changes a bit but it's still the same recipe and the same owner, who starts to get a bit old, but who is still enthusiastic about the new cakes available in his tiny shop.

I'm proud of how long you've been drawing and how you provided such joy and excitement in so many people.

I've always drawn, I think I will carry on as much as I can. And even if I draw for me (almost like a compulsion, a need), it's messages like yours that makes me carry on sharing my art on the internet because even if I have a "successful coffee shop", sometimes, I can't help thinking about some drawings I do "Nah, nobody's going to care about this one". 🤓 I forget about it but then, sometimes a few weeks later, I post the art and I receive messages from people telling me I made their day, that they were having a bad time but that my art cheered them up. It's incredible, right ? Someone is having a bad day in Milwaukee or Jakarta and me, and my stupid little "bakeries" helped them smile (*) for a couple of minutes. I think it's fantastic. So even if as an artist I love to share what I do, sometimes when I think that "nobody cares", I think about some random people and the possible positive outcome that my art can produce.

(*) Sometimes, I make people cry too because of death art and pretty angsty illustrations but that's another story. You're welcome, by the way 🤓

Of course, my artworks are not masterpieces, I'm not starting a pictural revolution, it's just TV show and movie characters doing "random stuff" but if these artworks that will be forgotten in 10 minutes will make someone smile just a couple of seconds at some point in time then, it was worth it. I guess. I hope so. (And sometimes, it's more than a couple of seconds because some people put my art as their desktop wallpaper or phone background. How awesome is that ? 🤩🥳)

Anyway, I'm rambling. 🙃🙃🙃 Thank you so much for this amazing message and for enjoying my art all these years. (Because I write, I write but I didn't even thank you!!)

I wish you a great weekend and I hope that you'll stop by my coffee shop again. 💗

[marchsfreakshow]

The Locket With A Masquerade {Tate Langdon x Reader}

You own a locket, you weren't sure who originally owned it until Tate helped you find who was in the picture.

Fluffy, and a bit short. 💜

First Tate fic, so I apologize in advance if it sounds ooc, but I love this idea.

Your perspective

⊹˚.⋆ ₊꒷ᘏᘏ︶ଓ︶꒷꒦⊹˚ᗢ₊꒷︶ଓ︶꒷

"What are you fiddling with?" Tate asked. He turned around so we were facing each other after cuddling for a bit. Then he gently held my locket. It was a simple oval shape and had a fuzzy picture or drawing in it.

"Not sure." I got it when I was 10, and got it adjusted as I aged, so it never accidentally choked me. He stared at it for a bit, sort of in awe at the actual locket itself. "It is a pretty necklace I'll admit."

"It looks beautiful on you."

"Shut up." I gently pushed him away out of embarrassment, and looked away from him, out the window instead. He just smiled and moved towards me more. The window was foggy and it was difficult to see out of but, it was nice anyway.

"Do you know who is on the locket?" Tate asked, wrapping his fingers around it again. We faced each other again, and at this point, I was practically on top of him, not that either of us minded. But I shook my head and wrapped my arms around his neck, snuggling into him.

"Let's look."

"nah.."

"Why not? It could be fun."

"Sleepy."

"Come on, let's go have a look." I begrudgingly rolled off him, and grabbed my small laptop, opening it up, and letting it turn on. The rain was turning into a storm, so I lightly groaned.

"A storm usually means the wifi is gonna go nuts." Rolling my eyes, I checked the wifi, and it seemed to be okay, so I clicked on Internet Explorer, staring blankly at it. "Where do we start?" I mentioned, turning over to look at Tate, who was in his little world.

"Helloooo? Mr Langdon sir?" He shook his head, reached behind my neck and took the locket off. Then he opened it and studied the picture.

"A woman." Tate started. Very helpful. "From...the 20's? I think?"

"Very helpful Tate. Millions of women lived through the 1920's." Despite my negativity, I searched for a registry and looked for women who lived in California in the 20's. "Is there anything else you can see? I know the picture is very blurry."

"...look up Rudolph Valentino."

"Valentino? Uh, okay." As I looked him up in the registery, I saw no clues. "Why?"

"The Woman in Black! The one who always visited Valentino's grave. Have you never heard of her?"

I shook my head, then laughed at the prospect of constantly visiting someone's grave. "Apparently not." But I decided to search for her anyway.

A few minutes of silent searching went by. "Elizabeth Johnson. Born 1902, death year unmarked." I muttered, running my finger along the information it gave me. "A background actor on the set of The Sheik and worked with Valentino."

"Do you think this is her?"

"There aren't any photos of her to reference." But I shrugged my shoulders and carried on deep-diving the internet for a few minutes as Tate cuddled himself up next to me, resting his cute head of blonde hair on my stomach. As I read an article about Valentino, I kissed Tate's head, so he knew I appreciated him. "Is this her?" I asked soon enough, bringing up a picture of a woman standing next to Valentio and the other actors. Blonde hair, crimped up, the famously thin eyebrows from the '20s, and wonderful, red lips. Her eyes had something. A light we both liked to look at.

Tate then looked at the fuzzy picture, and the face structure was as similar as we could make out. We both switched between the picture in the locket and the photo in the Google search. "I think so." He smiled, closing the locket and putting it back around my neck. "You're so much more beautiful than her."

"She's gorgeous, I couldn't compare to her. I do wonder how she died though. And when."

"...No you're much prettier." Tate grinned, closing the laptop and putting it on the floor right by us.

"Shut up." I chuckled quietly, kissing Tate and bringing him close. Elizabeth looked wonderful, in the picture, and in the locket. I started to wonder about my connection to her if I had one at all. My mum never spoke to me about my family or our history. Or if she just put a random picture of a 1920s actor in the locket to make it seem like I was interesting.

Tate didn't seem to mind at all. He didn't seem to hear any negativity I said about myself at all. But I stared at him while he lay on my chest, sleeping. It felt cheesy to think that he was like Rudolph Valentino, but, not an actor. He slept peacefully, but I decided to place the locket around his neck. It made him, and I thought it fitted him.

"I love you, Tate," I whispered to him.

⊹˚.⋆ ₊꒷ᘏᘏ︶ଓ︶꒷꒦⊹˚ᗢ₊꒷︶ଓ︶

Tag requests: @strangerthings420

[tea-potato-gt]

Book three of “The Moth and The Bear: The Summer Road” as memes (part 1)

@keydekyie @themothandthebear

Here’s book one memes / Book 2 p1 memes here / Book 2 p2 memes here / Book 3 p2 here

I’m trying something new/different with this one, I wrote down my live reactions/thoughts. Not all of them will be funny, more like a jumbled mess of words I quickly typed out as I devoured this book. LMK what you think.

One other side note: if you see “Ruyak vs ___” that’s usually pointing out a foreign concept/job/object/idea to Ruyak, not necessarily him fighting, just understanding or overcoming it.

———

Prologue & Chapter 1

Kaelin is missing some toes 🦶 When did that happen??

Things Ruyak doesn’t believe in: more than one kind of bug and dragons.

Chapter 2

Kaelin waving through a the window. She is gonna have to become a mime to communicate with others lol. 🤫

Ruyak vs beats

The return of Ruyak vs bugs (Bugs are winning. They are in his ears).

Aww Ruyak is making sure the people of this town don’t try to sacrifice Kaelin. That’s so sweet 🥹 🤭 Attack BearFriend unlocked.

The “Hey stop flirting with my patient” is wild.

Kids holding up the beats to throw as a threat.

Chapter 3

Ruyak vs children. (The winner? Children.)

Oh no. She’s got PTSD. ☹️

“He loves you.” “We are talking about the same person, right? The mountain of fur with a face on it that’s been guarding my hut like a dragon on a treasure trove for a week?”

This healer ships them (and I do too 🙂‍↕️):

Chapter 4

Character development, Ruyak is letting people call him a “bear demon” to his face.

The Professor returns!

Ruyak vs Secretaries & Professors

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Page 108-109 had me kicking my feet and giggling like crazy! I love them.

Chapter 7

Ruyak casually breaks a tree, “But I worked so hard.” 😖

Wise words from Ruyak on pg 121 (Kaelin didn't know he had it in him lol).

Ruyak vs Kaelin’s tent. The winner? Ruyak! (Yay!)

Chapter 8

Page 138 *kiss the girl plays in the background*

Chapter 9

Hand naps 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️That is how she should sleep from now on🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

He’s ready knife the b*tch who even looks at her funny.

The random list of explanations for Kaelin is so funny to me. (149)

Kaelin let him sniff her ONE time and now he’s never going to stop.

Chapter 10

Ruyak is literally so thoughtful. He gave her flowers for the bugs and asked Leta to get Kaelin a new head scarf. 😭😭😭

He gets bit by a VENOMOUS Drake and is like:

This scene is giving Beauty and the Beast, when Beast saves Bell and she helps treats his wounds.

Chapter 11

When they pull up to the solstice celebration:

Is it bring your pet to the solstice day? Why are there so many?

The switching between the other language bit:

I guess this is how Ruyak feels when Kaelin is talking to other humans. But I NEED an exact translation please! 🥺 I wanna know what Ruyak horrible insult he said to make Lirirak clutch his pearls.

What was that guy trying to trade for Kealin? Ruyak was like: “I’m not going to sell you my f*cking wife.”

“You’re my Kaelin, is what you are.” 187. Excuse me while I go scream into the void.

Chapter 12

The other Kanai talking about their different Adinen ceremonies. Oop. Ruyak be jelly.

The fact that Kanai really have a lot of rules and expect human to already know/understand/follow them is wild to me.

Kaelin getting six silver coins. Okay Material girl💅*Bow and arrow had been aquired.*

Chapter 13

“I hate scaring you.” (204) 🥺🥺🥺

Every time they have played ‘the game’ up to this point, I’ve thought she needs to climb a tree. Now she climbs the tree! 🌲

“He needed to stop wondering what Kaelin’s little form pressed against his lips would feel like.” No. No, you don’t. It should keep you up at night until you act on it. 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

Chapter 14

Ruyak vs. letters (and couriers)

“Why wouldn’t my father at least write? Why didn’t he send me… something.” That’s what I’ve been saying!!!!

👏PAY👏YOUR👏CHILD👏SUPPORT!!!👏 He better have a GOOD reason ISTG 🙄

Chapter 15

“Aega, can you open your eyes?” asdfghjkl

Me after reading that chapter:

They are so precious! Him helping her through her panic attack. 😩

***

Sorry this is so long, I had a LOT to say 😅All jokes aside, thanks for reading! Book 3 part 2 is here

[overwatch-freak]

Random Prompts for overwatch characters

D’va, soldier 76, Hazard, Mercy and Cassidy

Prompt’s

Preferred weather? What's their sleeping schedule? Favorite music? How's their cooking? It's movie night, what movie do they pick? Who do they go to for comfort? How do they feel about physical contact by others? How well do they take care of themselves? Do they get lost easily? Will they ask for directions if they are?

Dva

Preferred weather: sunny! She loves when its sunny outside so its nice snd bright (also the perfect lighting for selfies)

What's their sleeping schedule: Hah! Its far too random to keep track off. Rarely falls asleep at a reasonable tome unless mercy or 76 forces her to (even then she sneaks her phone)

Favorite music: anything upbeat, fun and good to game to or as background music for her streams.

How’s their cooking: she tries and can follow a simple recipe, just let her make a simple breakfast and never trust her with dinner

It's movie night, what movie do they pick: mostly Disney movies or a rom com she and the girls definitely cry at (some guys do as well and never admit it)

Who do they go to for comfort?:

Some of the elders like 76 and Reinhardt if she is upset. If she wants a laugh she goes to lucio, Genji and cassidy

How do they feel about physical contact by others: She is very affectionate and loves physical contact like hugs and what not, only if others ate comfortable with it. Loves it when others initiate it

How well do they take care of themselves: she tries her best, but does forget to eat, sleep, brush her teeth, sometimes shower cause of her ADHD- headcanon

Do they get lost easily? Will they ask for directions if they are: she definitely gets lost if she’s somewhere new and doesn’t mind asking for help but does prefer trying to find her way first

Soldier 76

Preferred weather: cloudy skies, bit of a drizzle of rain as he doesn’t like when its to sunny and enjoys the sound of rain again a window, helps him sleep

What's their sleeping schedule: ready for bed at exactly 9:00pm every night

Favorite music: doesn’t listen to music often, sees no point in it

How's their cooking: can cook the basics of a balanced meal and makes lunches for the younger team members

It's movie night, what movie do they pick: some old war movie but usually doesn’t pick cause he doesn’t care whats on and just lets others decide

Who do they go to for comfort: no one, prefers to be alone when upset

How do they feel about physical contact by others: doesn’t mind it, never asks but also doesn’t stop anyone if they want a hug and he trusts them

How well do they take care of themselves: quite well, taking his med like mercy says to, perfectly balanced meals, keeping fit

Do they get lost easily? Will they ask for directions if they are: rarely gets lost and always has some form of map on him, mainly to avoid asking strangers

Hazard

Preferred weather: he loves the sun but it never happens in Scotland so he deals with cloudy weather fine

What's their sleeping schedule: gets into bed around 10 but usually stays awake until about two in the morning

Favourite music: BAG PIPES. also heavy metal and sometimes screamo, as long as its ounds good he will listen though

How's their cooking: cant even get into a kitchen, cooks a good Scottish breakfast though

It's movie night, what movie do they pick: Horror movies mostly, never heys scared and laughs at them ( loves the stupid 90s horror )

Who do they go to for comfort: all of the phreaks, he doesn’t hide when he is upset and lets himself be soft with them cause their like his family

How do they feel about physical contact by others: As long as he has some connection with someone he loves it, is very affectionate even subconsciously and tends to get a bit excited and lift people up cause he forgets his strength

How well do they take care of themselves: forgets a lot and needs reminders time to time

Do they get lost easily? Will they ask for directions if they are: rarely gets lost and just wanders around if he is, rarely asks for help

Mercy

Preferred weather: loves the sun, enjoys just relaxing and enjoying the warmth but also finds new beautiful and peaceful

What's their sleeping schedule: for someone who scolds everyone on their sleep, she tends to stay up a-lot if she has work to finish and usually crashes at her desk

Favorite music: classical the most, loves soft sings and violins

How's their cooking: perfect! She loves to cook and can make basically any meal, she learned to cook for her self her patients to know they were eating well

It's movie night, what movie do they pick: some Rom-Com with far to many cliches or all kinds of musicals

Who do they go to for comfort: most people in overwatch, she tends to avoid telling others so she doesn’t feel like a burden but everyone can tell and goes for comfort her themselves

How do they feel about physical contact by others: enjoys it plenty, finds it very comforting and doesn’t mind giving hugs when people need it

How well do they take care of themselves: as a doctor she knows how to treat herself perfectly, good meals, taking breaks but tends to stay up late at night when she has work

Do they get lost easily? Will they ask for directions if they are: doesn’t really get lost as she doesn’t go places she doesn’t know well but doesn’t mind asking when she needs time

Cassidy

Preferred weather: blistering sun, perfect for a cowboy

What's their sleeping schedule: no strict fine time

Favourite music: country music about a good beer or horse riding (secretly enjoys pop songs)

How's their cooking: can cook a basic meal but can’t do anything to complex without setting at minimum two things on fire

It's movie night, what movie do they pick: some old western movies or horror films (but he cant resist a good rom com)

Who do they go to for comfort: Hanzo, finds his presence stabilizing calm of how calm he is and hearing his quotes generally help him feel better

How do they feel about physical contact by others: enjoys it as long as he trusts you, doesn’t mind random hugs and doesn’t react if you randomly link your arm with his

How well do they take care of themselves: does the bare minimum, okay food, water, some rest and all that

Do they get lost easily? Will they ask for directions if they are: definitely doesn’t get lost easily enough but doesn’t mind asking for directions if he’s really stuck but would rather find a map or signs

[tenderfate]

★  ‧₊˚  ⋆  mike  faist.  cis man.  he/him  …  now  playing:  you make my dreams (come true)  by  hall & oates  —  oh  ,  that  ?   might  be  cassius "cash" haverford jr.  ,  an  thirty  five  year  old principal real estate broker @ maple ridge realty  who’s  been  hanging  around  wicklow  ridge  for  his whole life, on and off  ,  just  long  enough  to  stir  up  some  trouble  if  you  ask  me.  they’re  a  regular  at  the stag's rest  ,  always  going  on  about  “life is improv, baby!”  like  it’s  gospel.  around  town  ,  folks  say  they’re  charismatic  &  creative  —  but  when  they  think  no  one’s  listening  ?  it’s  more  like  ingratiating  &  talkative.  are  the  rumors  true  ?  maybe  not  …  but  it  sure  makes  life  around  here  a  little  more  interesting.  (  max.  she/her.  22.  mst.   )

(  🎵  )    ⸻   statistics

introducing cassius lee haverford jr.

birthdate + place﹚ 20 june 1990 + wicklow ridge, vermont

zodiac big three﹚ gemini sun, libra moon, pisces rising

moral alignment﹚ neutral good

current residence﹚ i'm gonna be honest this is the last thing i have to write before i'm done with his intro and i can't think of anything ... but it's giving like a converted studio apartment or some sort idk lemme get back to this. currently thinking some once-functional general store turned one-bedroom loft with a weird backstory he loves to tell people when they come over.

sexual orientation﹚ pansexual.

education level﹚ bachelor's degree: double major in business administration and musical theatre.

distinguishing characteristics﹚his hair: fluffy, golden, just a little too styled to be effortless, like it’s been fussed over by someone who knows their angles. million dollar smile. his family crest on a heavy signet ring. never in a boring outfit- velvet, monogrammed, or pinstriped in an array of colors.

aesthetic﹚a smile that’s 90% teeth, 10% panic. late-night voice memos: “scene idea- closing papers as heartbreak?” a handshake that lingers. tinted lip balm. static-cling blazers. slightly melted cherry coke in a styrofoam cup. finger guns rehearsed in his car window. power walks to abba. a velvet blazer, monogrammed. a weekly lapel pin (past hits: “top hat tuesday,” “ask me about refinancing”). a corkboard of pastel post-its and handwritten thank-yous.

inspiration(s)﹚ every annoying theatre kid you've ever known, also every fun company corporate tiktok you've ever seen. jenna rink's levels of professionalism, saul goodman's gaudy suits, all of kendall roy's lap doggedness. himbo. also giving like an awkward and way-too-social midwestern dad.

pin board﹚click over here!!!

(  🎵  )    ⸻   background

cash is wicklow ridge, born & raised baby!!! to one cassius haverford sr. & his wife, linda, in his mother's estate. his father is an outsider with no money who married into old money in a tom wambsgans way, just kinda this wide-eyed leech who would do anything to keep it like a dragon with its hoard. linda was more careless with it, content to throw get-togethers and lunches while her husband busied himself with the finances and his burgeoning real estate empire: maple ridge realty. he hoped it to be an empire anyways. that much was evident with how much money he threw into advertising. there's not a soul in wicklow ridge who hasn't heard their incredibly cheesy slogan ("can't afford it? haverford'll score it!" think sung by like a choir of angels yk), whether it be through billboards, benches, a jingle & commercial combo that plagued every big box tv when cable was still a thing. anyways, i like to think of linda & cassius as pillars of the community. very, very involved.

cash is the first born, as well as the only boy in his family. thus promised to do very great things, or so cassius hoped, what with cash having his very name & being blessed with a photographic memory that thrust him forward in school without cash really even having to try. if he didn't take over maple ridge realty, then surely cash would become a lawyer or a doctor or the like. but it was linda who got to him first- linda, all gauzy kaftans and wine at noon, showing him how to kick-ball-change to every song from the sound of music in the sitting room, the two of them shrieking with laughter while his dad sat stone-faced in the next room, muttering about “wasted potential.” his family's reputation .. his dad's sense of showmanship .. his mom's constant praise .. the fact that he was one of the only guys who would ever audition for school plays & thus, would always be cast as the male lead, it all made him very self-possessed. like in a small town boy believing he's destined for bigger things kind of way. so he coasted by in school, because he needed to, but everything else fell to the wayside for his local community theatre troupe.

cash went to undergrad on a full-ride. academic scholarship, baby, courtesy of that freaky little photographic memory and a high school résumé stacked with enough extracurricular sparkle to blind the admissions office. he chose a mid-tier, private university with enough ivy on the walls to make his dad feel like they’d made it. double majored in business and theatre. one for his father, one for himself. but cash… was not built for balance.

within two weeks, he’d joined a fraternity- his dad’s old fraternity, because cassius sr. was obsessed with legacy and “brotherhood” and shaking the same grimy hand fifty years later at donor mixers. cash mostly joined because the house had a sunroom and someone said they did themed mixers with the dance majors. he ran for social chair and won in a landslide. ever his mom's son, he organized a moulin rouge party complete with champagne towers and a guy from the fencing team doing sword tricks on the lawn. people loved him. professors, not so much. he also joined an improv troupe, and a cappella group for one semester (he quit after a fight over who got to solo in “creep” by radiohead), and briefly tried student government but it was too many early mornings. he was a campus tour guide for two years because it meant he could lie with charisma (“this fountain is where a ghost named madison drowned in 1843. she still sings adele if you listen after midnight.”). he graduated with a 2.4 gpa and a minor identity crisis. still, he did it. diploma in hand.

but then came law school. the real proving ground. the one thing that would finally earn cassius sr.’s full approval, the kind that meant access to the “real” family business, not just the promotional photo ops. but he lasted… one semester. maybe one and a half, depending on how you count “showing up.” turns out, law school is hard. and boring. and not at all about persuasive monologues and dramatic courtroom objections. he tried, but nothing stuck. not the case law, not the readings, especially not the 7:30 a.m. cold calls. his brain refused. his soul rejected it on a cellular level. he started skipping. then spiraling. then calling his mom in the middle of the night, crying and incoherent, in the tj maxx parking lot near campus. she answered on the first ring. she always did.

by the time the academic suspension letter hit, he was already halfway back to wicklow ridge, humming showtunes with a cherry coke in his lap and a duffel bag full of defeat. his mom made his bed before he arrived. cassius sr. did not speak to him for two days. eventually, they brokered a truce: cash could stay in the estate- rent-free, laundry folded, pantry stocked- if he worked full-time at maple ridge realty. no more wiggle room. no more trust fund leniency. no more “trying to find himself.” if he couldn’t become a lawyer, he could at least sell a bungalow to a recently divorced elementary school principal and act like that meant something.

years later, cash is thirty-five and fully submerged in the family business — not quite drowned, not quite swimming. just kind of bobbing there, smiling for the camera, teeth white and jaw tight. he's now principal broker at maple ridge realty, which sounds impressive until you remember cassius sr. still owns the place and treats every quarterly report like a pissing contest. they’re branded now as a “father-son power duo,” all smiling headshots and terrible slogans. “double the cash, half the interest rate!” is the latest one, slapped across bus benches, branded pens, and the entire side of linda’s old cadillac, which now lives as a mobile billboard and occasional tailgate table.

and linda … linda’s slipping. it started slow- missing appointments, forgetting people’s names, misplacing her pearls. but now the shine’s all gone from her. her laugh’s still there sometimes, tucked under layers of confusion and quiet. she still hums “oklahoma!” in the kitchen when the light hits just right. cash visits every day, brings her lavender scones and reruns of singin’ in the rain. on good days, she remembers that it’s him. on bad days, she mistakes him for her cousin who drowned in ‘74. he plays along either way.

he keeps telling himself it’s temporary. that one day he’ll write a musical about all of this. that he’ll move to new york, or chicago, or literally anywhere with a real bar scene and less generational weight. but for now? he’s booked. and busy. and available anytime after 3 to show you that cute two-bedroom on elm with the exposed brick and the haunted basement.

(  🎵  )    ⸻   personality

charismatic﹚there’s always a little performance to him: big laugh, shoulder touch, a compliment that feels tailored just for you. does kind of have a freaky memory that helps with this; asks questions like: "how’s your cousin troy? the one with the vintage jet ski business? still dating kendra with the etsy spoon ring shop?" (you told him this once in 2017).

creative﹚not good at silence. or stillness. he fidgets with napkins at diners until they’re origami swans. his creativity isn’t always useful, but it’s relentless. he’s the kind of guy who keeps a pinterest board for hypothetical client personalities, rewrites business emails in iambic pentameter for fun, and once pitched a “realtor bachelor” style ad campaign where buyers got to pick between two homes and two brokers. it’s all a little much. well it's actually a lot much.

ingratiating﹚cash needs to be liked. he remembers birthdays he saw on facebook once five years ago. he compliments your dog’s collar. he sends thank-you notes with glitter glue and a spritz of cologne. when things get tense, he performs agreeability like a second skin: deflects with a joke, laughs too loud, sidesteps the hard stuff with charm. there’s a desperation in it sometimes. he'll overextend himself to keep the peace, even when it's not his to keep. and if someone still doesn't like him? it eats him alive. he’ll obsess, rework conversations in the mirror, rehearse future apologies in the shower.

talkative﹚ cash talks in jazz hands, in slogans, in stories that spiral so far from the point that the original thread is lost entirely. will narrate his grocery shopping out loud. once got a noise complaint during a solo open house because he was doing character voices for a facetime with his nephew. he overshares. he monologues. he interrupts, not out of rudeness, but because his brain moves too fast to wait its turn.

[skylarmoon71]

Lex Luthor (Smallville/X-Men) AU - Fanfiction - Chapter 10 - Final

Wade took his leave a few days later, and you haven’t caught the scent of your brother, safe to say he’s gone.

That night that your brother left, you explained it all to Lex. But neither of you have spoken about it since then. You aren’t really sure what to say about it. You’re a bit surprised he’s so casual about almost being attacked, then again, his life is typically in danger every few months.

It must feel like routine at this point.

Lex isn’t oblivious, you’ve become a bit more quiet and distant. As he’s seen, there is little that breaks you professionally. Even now he knows there is so much on your mind, yet you accompany him to every meeting, every trip and carry out your duties no different than any other day.

Today he’s meeting with a few investors, and as it turns out there is another political rally close by. It’s loud, hard to miss, and when he exits the car to get into the hotel, that’s when the gunshots go off. In a matter of seconds he’s guided into the hotel, and you turn to the head of security. Screams echo and bullets are apparently still flying.

“Don’t let him out of your sight.”

That’s your only instruction before you go bolting out the door. Lex and his present bodyguard don’t think much of it, people are still scrambling, yet you are sprinting to get across the street. It doesn’t seem to register until the bullets now appear to be aimed in your general direction.

You jump onto a car, and the bullet that whizzes by hits the window of it. It seems you’ve spotted the vantage point of this person, because Lex peeks through the glass long enough to see a van parked with the window open and a rifle aimed.

The next jump you make is over the hood of a car, and when you land, you take one aggressive action and reach into the window of said van. A scream of a man echoes when you pull the rifle and toss it to the ground, taking the man with it. He tumbles to the floor, clearly disoriented and you stamped the gun, and yanked the man to his feet. He looks startled.

“How the hell did you do that..”

You’re frowning, and the cop cars ring in the background. Officers race outside of their squads cars when they pull up and you shove your attacker unto his stomach as you pull out a zip tie from your back pocket. He grunts at the force, and the second you have him restrained you look up at the officers that are now trained in your direction.

“Hands in the air!!”

“I’m hired as security with Luthorcorp. I’m going to reach into my jacket pocket and pull out my ID. Don’t shoot.”

You press your knee to keep the man down, and you slowly reach for identification.

They still look careful, and one man approaches with his gun drawn as you slowly show your ID. He glances at it, then at you, slowly nodding in acknowledgement.

Another officer came over to remove the rifle, and you straightened when the rest of them began to pour in to check the other civilians and detain your shooter. As he was being pulled off the ground, he was shouting.

“THAT WOMAN IS A PSYCHO!!!”

The officer just snorted as the shooter was led away.

“Says the guy that opened fire on innocent people.”

You nod.

“I don’t care what your political views are, if you’re hurting people I’m going punch you in the face.”

The officer turned to you with a raised brow and your expression stayed neutral.

Now he seemed a bit scared.

“W-Well thanks for the assist. If you could just give your information to the officer over there we can take it from here.”

“Of course, have a good day.”

You walked away without another word.

It took a while for it all to be sorted, and Lex observed the entire exchange. By the time you made it back to the hotel, it was a given that you would need to find another place to stay.

Another venue was booked and you were in Lex’s room setting up for the night as his other security took residence down the hall.

After a few patrols you decided to call it a night.

Now showered, you stepped out to the sight of him on the bed with a few documents out. You could tell he wasn’t very focused, because his gaze was ahead, instead of on the text.

“Are you okay?”

You moved over taking a seat and he offered a smile, nodding.

“I’m fine. I wasn’t the one scaling vehicles and taking down criminals. If you’re not careful another company is going to see your skill and snatch you up.”

“I’d never work for another company.”

Your words are sure, and Lex is once again reminded of your loyalty. Even before any feelings were expressed, you had informed him of how you worked and explained you would go as far as risking your own safety for him.

“About my brother..”

Ah, this is what he’s been waiting for. This is clearly what has been weighing on your mind.

“One threat won’t keep him away. As much as I hate to admit it, we’re family and I still..I still love him.”

It’s painful to admit, because you know the kind of monster he is, so what does that make you?

You look away.

“Either way, I’d understand. I wouldn’t blame you. My life is pretty messed up.”

Lex just offers a smile.

“You’re saying that to the guy that lost all his hair in a meteor shower that gave the town superpowers.”

You can’t help it, you crack a smile yourself.

Lex conveys understanding.

“I think it goes without saying that neither of us want to walk away. For the first time in my life I feel like I’m doing something right. Watching you today, rush out there to save people you don’t even know, it makes me want to be someone better.

Having you in my life makes me a better man, and I know it might be selfish, but that’s all I want. To be better, do better, with you.”

You never saw yourself as someone to be admired. You’ve made your share of bad decisions, so you’re no saint, but it feels like his words go both ways. Fighting in war is much different.

The idea of protecting your country is so broad that many don’t really give it much thought. But what you did today, it felt different. Much different than just firing a gun in the name of patriotism.

You want to be better too.

Maybe he reads it in your expression, because all he gives is a smile as he leans in.

That first kiss is gentle, quick. When you pull back, you lick your lips, and his eyes are trained on them.

You swallow.

It’s taken you a long time to trust anyone again. You always thought it would be easier to walk away. Getting attached was dangerous because there was always the chance of losing the person you loved. You never wanted Lex to ever encounter Victor, but it was naive to expect that it wouldn’t happen.

The fact that he’s still here, it’s both frightening and reassuring. Because now you’re not sure you’ll ever be able to walk away.

You’re in love with him.

You love him.

“I love you too.”

His words make your breath catch, because you haven’t even said it aloud, yet he knows.

How does he know….

He cups your cheek, and when he pulls you in, your expression evens out, because this kiss is just as gentle, yet holds every bit of passion. The slow caress of his lips are just as amazing as the first time that he’d kissed you. Every soft touch after makes you melt. You feel a bit light headed.

You’ve shared a number of these moments.

Those hurried desperate kisses are typically the ones most talked about, yet this one, right now, feels just as crazy because your heart is pounding so loudly you’re almost convinced that you’ll lose yourself. 

Your hand reaches out, smoothening against his shirt. You can’t fully catch a breath, because everytime he parts, he gives you just enough time to exhale before he comes back, claiming you in this heated embrace.

His free hand moves over yours that’s against his chest and when he moves it’s just a bit to the left, you can feel it, each crazy beat. His heart is racing almost twice as hard as yours. He gently holds your palm against his chest, almost like he needs you to hear all of it. Every excessive thump.

Your body is so warm, your heart is so full.

Words don’t need to be used.

You both understand. 

[keybladeseeker0]

Tess Carter

(Sinners OC)

Age: 22

Race: Biracial (African American and Caucasian)

Hometown: A small, devout Southern town

Background: Tess Carter was born under the weight of expectation and the shadow of a whispered curse. The only child of Pastor Elijah Carter—a fire-and-brimstone preacher known for thundering sermons—and Ruthanne, a quiet, pale woman with sunken eyes and a mind full of omens. Their union was controversial, not just because of race, but because Ruthanne came from a line of women rumored to “see things” others couldn’t. Some in town claimed she was a witch who found salvation; others said she cursed her own womb for laying with a different race.

Ruthanne was deeply superstitious, always burning sage in secret, teaching Tess strange prayers and protective rhymes disguised as lullabies. “Salt the windows. Never whistle at night. If your reflection blinks, don’t blink back.” To others, she was just fragile and eccentric—but to Tess, she was safety.

But when Tess was 10, Ruthanne passed from aggressive cancer. It came fast, took her hair, her laughter, and then her body. On her deathbed, she made Tess promise to remember the signs—to never forget the power in words, voice, and music. Pastor Elijah, shattered by grief, buried her under scripture and silence, dragging Tess with him into a stricter life. No friends, no television, no singing outside of church. Tess’s voice, which once danced through the house beside her mother’s, was now a secret shame.

Everything changed the day she met Sammy.

Sammy was the new choir kid—awkward, scruffy, the preacher’s nightmare with a beat-up guitar and too much rhythm for a Sunday service. But when he played and she sang, the church cracked open. It was the first time in years Tess felt like she was allowed to feel joy again. They became best friends—laughing behind hymnals, sneaking out after sermons, playing in secret spots: under the bridge or dusty barns lit by firelight.

Their connection was sacred, pure in the way only true friendship can be—two souls lost in different ways finding light in music.

But joy attracts attention.

It wasn’t long before Sammy had met Smoke and Stack, where business dealings were brought. That Sammy could perform at the twins new Juke Joint, bringing more attention to Sammy’s skills. This was to much of a sweet deal, with the addition that he could bring his friend Tess along. With no objections it would seem Sammy and Tess lives might just turn around for the better.

Personality: Tess Carter is a quiet storm—gentle on the surface, but swirling with emotion just beneath. Raised under the watchful eye of her preacher father, she learned early how to smile politely, how to keep her voice soft and her eyes lowered, but her spirit was never truly tamed. Tess feels everything deeply, often absorbing the emotions of those around her without realizing it, which makes her intuitive, empathetic, and quietly attuned to the tension in any room. Though she rarely speaks out of turn, she’s no pushover. There’s a steady, unwavering strength in her, the kind that doesn’t need to shout to be felt. She craves freedom—of expression, of movement, of identity—and quietly envies those who live without fear or guilt. That envy simmers under her skin, unspoken but ever-present, fueling her desire to break free of the invisible cage she was raised in. Music is her only true outlet, and when she sings, something raw and powerful takes over, as if her voice is reaching for something beyond this world. Tess is loyal to a fault, especially to Sammy, her best friend and emotional anchor, and while she hides her inner turmoil behind a calm exterior, she often feels trapped between who she is and who she’s expected to be. She’s torn by guilt, haunted by her mother’s spiritual warnings and her father’s rigid doctrine, yet slowly unraveling both as she begins to taste life beyond the church walls. At her core, Tess is a girl standing on the edge—afraid to jump, but even more afraid to stay where she is.

Skills:

• Powerful Singing Voice:

Tess has a voice that can hush a room or bring it to tears. Rooted in gospel but with the emotional weight of blues and folk, her voice is her most powerful tool—and sometimes, her most dangerous gift.

• Lyric Writing:

She secretly writes down lyrics and poems in a beat-up notebook, hiding pieces of herself in metaphors and verses. Some are prayers. Some are confessions. All are raw and honest.

• Quick Learner (Instruments):

Though she doesn’t play fluently, Tess has picked up chords on the guitar and piano from watching Sammy. Her ear for pitch and rhythm lets her follow along with ease.

• Emotional Reading:

Tess has a strong intuition for reading people. She can sense when something’s off—when someone’s lying, hurting, or hiding something. It makes her deeply empathetic but also cautious.

• Spiritual Knowledge & Folk Rituals:

From her mother, Tess learned old protection spells, folk charms, and prayers meant to ward off the unnatural. She doesn’t talk about them openly, but she remembers every word.

Hobbies:

• Singing in Secret Places:

Old barns, riversides, and abandoned buildings—Tess loves places where her voice can echo and no one is watching. It’s her form of therapy.

• Journaling & Poetry:

Her notebook is sacred. Filled with lyrics, poems, sketches, and thoughts she can’t say out loud, it’s her most private possession.

• Stargazing:

At night, she lies in the grass and watches the stars, imagining other lives, other futures, places beyond her town’s grip.

• Baking Simple Comfort Food:

She’s learned how to make cornbread, peach cobbler, and honey biscuits—things her mom used to make. She doesn’t cook often, but when she does, it’s with a lot of heart.

Extra Facts About Tess Carter:

• She wears her mother’s old cross necklace tucked under her shirt—not for religious reasons anymore, but because it still smells faintly of her mother’s perfume. She rubs it when she’s nervous or unsure.

• Her favorite sound in the world is rain on a tin roof. It reminds her of the nights her mother used to sing lullabies while storms rolled in.

• She’s afraid of mirrors in the dark. Her mother used to say spirits could slip through them if you weren’t careful. Tess laughs it off now, but she still covers them at night if she’s alone.

• Her handwriting is small and crooked, almost like she’s trying to take up as little space on the page as possible.

• Tess has never had her first kiss. Not because she didn’t want to, but because she’s scared of what comes after—of wanting too much, of falling too deep.

• She talks to her mother sometimes—not in a ghostly way, just quietly. When she’s alone, when she’s scared, or when she sings, it’s like her mom’s still listening.

• She once tried to run away at age thirteen, packing only her journal, a biscuit, and her mom’s Bible. She got as far as the edge of town before turning back.

• When Tess laughs—really laughs—it surprises people. It’s loud, warm, and full of life, a break from her usual soft presence. Sammy says it’s the best sound he’s ever heard.

[phoenixwatchesmovies]

Phoenix's Top 10 Scariest Horror Moments

Got inspired by a horror YouTuber breaking down her personal list to do one of my own, and it turned out to be a little harder than I thought. I gave myself a few guidelines and after ruling out things like jump scares, gore, and assault, here's what has made the most lasting impression over the years...

Midnight Mass - the angel looks in through the window

The series at large is horrifying and infuriating and triggering in a thousand different ways (to the point I still haven't managed to watch it twice) but not particularly scary...except for this part, as far as I'm concerned. Sheriff Hassan turns off his son's bedroom light and sees ☝️ that outside the window, and I physically cringed. Glowing eyes in the dark when you don't expect them? Awful. Someone looking in through your window? Somewhere in the top five of things I'm most afraid of. Glowing eyes looking in through your window in the dark when you don't expect them? Fuck right off with that. It makes for a good jump scare, but most importantly, it hit me right in the real world phobia. Sheesh.

The Haunting of Hill House - the man in the hat

Have you ever watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer? How about the episode "Hush," featuring monsters that are completely mute and move by hovering a few inches off the ground and gliding? If I hadn't seen that, then this might not have gotten under my skin the same way, but as it is, this guy is creepy AF. He doesn't speak. He hovers and glides. Seeing this guy was like seeing the Gentlemen for the first time again, but even worse because I still don't know what his deal is. The shot above is from a sequence of him repeatedly appearing in a crowd, always with his back to us, and the longer we go without him turning around, the more I really really don't want him to turn around. Not that he's scary looking, since we see him a few more times, but the way his face is deliberately kept from us implies that he is...or at least, that him turning around means something (and of course it does. This is a Mike Flanagan project.) Later, when Hugh and Stephen arrive at Hill House for the big showdown, we get this 👇

Again, it's not what's being shown that gets me, but what's implied. Hugh warns Stephen not to look, even as this dude gets up in his face, and it's the tense look in Stephen's eyes that winds me up. Hugh doesn't want him to look, therefore it must be terrible, and Stephen is scared but trusts his father to protect him. Parents trying to protect their children is a recurring theme in Hill House, and it reminds me of when yours truly's mother would warn her not to, say, watch certain movies, and someone didn't listen... Damn, didn't mean to talk so long about this one, so let's move on.

The Babadook - the clothes in the basement

I had to search to find images of the scene I'm talking about. Shortly after reading a book that describes an entity called Mister Babadook, widowed single mother Amelia walks into the basement to see her son has scattered her late husband's belongings across the floor. While cleaning the mess, she looks up to see the clothes hanging on the wall, suggesting someone is standing there. This is nowhere close to being the creepiest part of the movie, but it does the fake-out thing where you initially mistake something mundane for something sinister, and that's exactly what kept me awake the night after I watched this for the first time. A coat and scarf hanging on my bedroom wall looked waaaaaaaaaaaay too much like a person standing there for me to even think about going to sleep. This was further reinforced by the movie, from here on out, making sure you know there is something there every time you see a figure in the background, and given how half of the movie deals with childhood fears, I'm not surprised my imagination went berserk later.

The Ring - the videotape

I hate this tape. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it. This is what gave me nightmares after watching this, out of everything else going on in this movie. The soundscape, the film quality, the weird random images, the way some things are static and some things move and none of it looks natural... It has the feel of a nightmare on its own. I haven't watched this movie in at least a decade, but I can still see the way the woman just...falls off the cliff and out of the frame. I DON'T LIKE IT.

The Woman In Black - the final shot

STOP!!! STARING!!! AT!!! ME!!! After spending an hour and a half slowly getting more and more stressed and jumpy, this bitch suddenly making eye contact with me is the last damn straw. I guess technically it's a jump scare, but it lands close enough to "someone is watching me" that it still qualifies (besides, my blog, my rules) and the fact that it left such an impression the first time that I still look away at the end of the movie says plenty.

The Shining - Jack threatens Wendy

Yeah. If you're on this blog, you're gonna hear about this movie. Get used to it. What I can't get over with this scene in particular is how personal it feels. Partially because it's framed that way, with Jack stalking towards us and Wendy backing away, partially because Jack remains one of the more grounded horror movie antagonists we've got (if you don't know someone like him, you know someone who does), and partially because Shelley Duvall, god bless her, is giving it everything she's got. At this point, we're about two hours into the slowest of slow burns and the tension is about to snap, and we've seen Jack be an angry asshole a few times now, but now that he's taken Grady's suggestion to kill his family, this is different. Their progress across the lounge and up the stairs feels more like predator and prey than anything else, poor Wendy is first too scared to talk and then too exhausted to even stand upright, and it doesn't matter how many times I hear her sob that she wants to go back to her room. It will always HURT. Somebody give me the necessary equipment so I can record an audio commentary for this stupid fucking movie, already.

Evil Dead (2013) - Mia tries to get David to leave

Have you ever seen someone look that terrified? I sure haven't. At this point in the story, we've already seen some pretty gnarly shit (though in true Evil Dead spirit, it will get so much worse before it's over) but that wild look in Mia's eyes is the image that pops into my head whenever I think about this movie. Not even stopping at her expression, she's afraid to even say out loud that they should get the fuck outta Dodge. If you want to convince your audience something is scary, you don't show them the scary thing. You show them someone being scared of the scary thing. And buddy, I think you should all pack up and haul ass out of that cabin, because that girl is SCARED.

The Strangers - the man in the mask is already in the house

THAT'S how you do a jump scare. This doesn't even count as a jump scare. No music sting, nothing jumping out, just somebody who absolutely 100% should not be in the shot casually appearing in the background. I still don't know if my sister saw him the same time I did, all I know is that my quiet "oh shit" was immediately followed my her quite loud "OH FUCK" and she didn't feel safe for the rest of the night. I might have had a worse time of it if not for babysitting her afterwards.

Perfect Blue - Virtual Mima

A theme that will always fuck with me is identity, our perception of ourselves vs how others see us, and who our true selves might be at the core of it all, so this movie gets me on its own. This scene, however, is the crux of it. Mima's public lives and her fans' perception of her and her own sense of self have clashed and warped until her reality is so distorted that her idol persona takes on a life of its own. The soundtrack sets my teeth on edge. Idol!Mima is so much brighter than everything else in a movie where saturation and exposure marks shifts between reality, and the way she moves is so dreamy and eerie. She hovers and glides! Of course she creeps me out!

The Evil Dead - Cheryl is possessed

More hovering and gliding. The distorted voice doesn't help. Cheryl's deadite look gets more and more extreme as the movie goes on, but I think she's creepiest here, when she's still recognizably human but something is clearly Very Wrong.™

And now for the ones that came to mind but were only slightly less effective...

Honorable Mentions:

Wolf Creek - the conversation at the campfire

This is the last scene before everything goes to shit, and even if you don't know what kind of movie you're watching, you still know something is off. Alleged good Samaritan Mick Taylor is friendly, sure, but maybe he's too friendly, and our protagonists are stranded with him, and he keeps making off-kilter jokes and that stupid giggle is sinister as fuck. We're genre savvy. We know he's not joking. We're just waiting for the other characters to figure it out.

Sinister - the film reels

The opening reel still stands as one of the most effective ways to set a tone I've seen, and the rest of them don't disappoint. The film quality and the soundscapes would be enough to make them creepy, but then you get into the stalking and killing part and you kinda want to bleach your eyeballs.

Broken: The Movie

Speaking of wanting to bleach your eyeballs... I didn't put this on the list proper because the entire concept is a snuff film and there's graphic torture and whatnot, but I haven't been able to get the image of the waterboard body bag out of my head since I saw it, so that counts for something.

Nosferatu - Orlok watches Ellen

We've established well enough how much I hate the idea of somebody watching me through my window. So while this entire movie is creepy AF, this particular moment was worst of all.

I feel like there was one more I meant to put in honorable mentions, but it's taken me too long to finish this post as it is. Happy Halloween!

[beldamdoll]

TLB -

PART ONE the-shadow-of-santa-carla

(Squeal to TLB but my own backstory version and alternate reality)

The Shadows of Santa Carla

Chapter One

Welcome Home

As the bus ride to Santa Carla was finally coming to an end, Maverick and Verity laying on the leather peeling seats hot from the sun shining through the dusty cracked windows opposite of each other. Verity petting her cat Wednesday and Maverick just staring the roof of the bus with the occasional smile as Wednesday bounced back and fourth between them dragging her collar along as Verity didn’t want her walking off in fear of losing her.

“What’s that smell?”

Maverick rises up with a sour look on his face pushing up his glasses looking out the window. Verity giving a small sniff rising up to meet Maverick still looking out the window.

“The fresh ocean air, bon fires, and possible weed” Verity giving one more sniff.

“Smells like someone died...” Looking back at his sister scoffing with a smile.

Verity kneeling behind Maverick balancing her hands on his shoulders as they approach the sign with the colour soaked up by the sun.

“Wait what does that say?” Verity squints taking Mavericks glasses putting them on her playfully.

Murder Capital of the World spray painted on the back of the sign in larger capital letters in red making it stand out.

“Nice...we will be dead by the end of the week tops”. Verity laughs.

“Shut up Verity...so I guess this is our home now” he squeezes her hands tightly laughing.

“I guess it is”

Still looking out the window as the sign got further away with Wednesday giving a cute sneeze as if she smelled the air too.

Finally arriving at the station hopping off the bus Maverick helping Verity with her belongings all their live in a bag and suitcases.

“Verity! Maverick!” A voices calls out with a tall man waving smiling wearing dark shaded sunglasses with baggy jeans, a tank top with an open flannel over it.

They smile as he gives them a hug each.

“Who is this?” He questions looking at Wednesday the black cat.

“Wednesday, Verity likes to pet stray animals that probably have 10 diseases but couldn’t let this one go” Maverick giving an amused grin poking fun at her.

“Well, welcome to Santa Carla Wednesday” Reed smirks scratching her head.

“He's awfully cheerful..” Verity remarks to Maverick making sure Reed doesn’t hear her.

“Don't start V, please give this a try..” Maverick sighs nearly begging Verity.

Taking the suitcase from Verity walking them to his truck giving a free spirited vibe getting in the truck with Maverick in the front and Verity in the back with it sputtering at he started it so much they were thinking the engine is about to blow. There was a brief pause of awkwardness -

“Umm, listen I am really sorry about your mom-“

“It's ok…”

“Yeah it’s fine”

They quickly say at once looking away Verity fidgeting at her black painted nails and Maverick looking out the window. Reed getting the hint they don’t want to talk about it clearing his throat.

“You two are going to love it here, I promise, there’s a fun fair, hardly rains, so much stuff kids your age can do…how old are you two again…? 16? 17? Reed giving an excited and wild vibe, Reed being not much older than Verity and Maverick being 23, taking them in as their guardian until they are 18. He was deemed fit to take them in as upon Mavericks and Verity’s mothers request and suitable as he has a good income and background.

“17” Verity nods.

“Is it true?” Maverick asks with no other context.

“What’s true?” Reed questions side eyeing him.

“That this place is Murder Capital of the World?” Verity’s eyes widen now interested in what he has to say.

Reeds face turning bright red for a second hesitant thinking of what kind of answer to give he stammers -

“No- I mean...yeah a few people have gone missing-“

“Missing?” Verity jumps up getting in between the seats close to Reed with Mavericks surprised look across his face.

“Did, used too, -not anymore for a long time but there’s stories and exaggerated stories, you’ll love it here I live on the boardwalk right above a record store which I own, coolest store in town great vibes” He tells fixing his sunglasses and sounding impressed. Which Maverick and Verity are impressed.

“Maybe it wont be so bad huh V?” Maverick looks back at his sister giving her a warm smile. Not saying anything Verity gives a warm smile back nodding, looking out the window taking in the new view of her home.

Finally Reed pulls into a car space just beside the boardwalk. Verity and Maverick taking in their new surroundings, it feels so lively and chaotic, this is during the day, how will it be at night? Making out the record store in the distance looking up at the windows where their new home awaits. Verity and Maverick feeling strange as they could feel the eyes burning on them by the locals who sat outside their own businesses or passing by.

“What’s their problem?” Maverick whispers to Verity looking back at them with the same expression.

“I don’t know maybe they are used to new people moving in?” Verity shrugs her shoulders pulls her sunglasses down looking at the locals still staring.

“Here we are” Reed halts suddenly having Maverick and Verity almost trip over their own feet.

“This isn’t bad as what I was expecting it to be”- Maverick eyes widen as he accidently says it out loud making Verity giggle.

“ I try to keep her pretty” he smiles unlocking the door to a narrow staircase.

“Can’t wait to walk up this drunk” Verity whispers to Maverick which makes him laugh out loud again.

“Don’t walk down it drunk” Reed smiles.

Maverick following Reed up the stairs and asking questions about what to do around here and other nonsensical questions.

“Verity! Come help unpack I ain't doing your stuff!” Mavericks voice calls.

Reaching the top of the stairs behind her brother to a narrow hallway the door opening to a much larger and expected apartment. It was an open floor with the kitchen and living area, slightly messy with a bookshelf next to the couch and the coffee table with old take out cups and more books, in front a TV that looks brand new, vintage yet tasteful furniture’s and up to date stereo, the air smelling of tobacco yet a fresh smell as the small balcony opened up with a view on the beach.

“How does he afford all of this?” Maverick whispers to Verity as the look around, Verity’s finger tips gently skipping through the books and vinyl’s. In complete awe with the apartment, their new home.

“Welcome Home” Reed drops the final bag on the ground. “Now sorry for the bad news, it’s used to be one big room but divided up into two rooms so it might be smaller.

Maverick and Verity didn’t mind sharing a room. Back when their mother was in hospital while they were alone at night without anyone there, they would sleep in the same room together so neither of them would get nightmares. When one of then gets scared, they would immediately get the feeling one another is afraid and would come in before they call their name. Of course, privacy will get annoying eventually.

The door making a small creaak sound as Maverick opened his room, spacious with a window you could walk out of, an old small double bed and with old oak drawers, floors with a classic style and the walls with plain paint meaning plenty of room for improvement and to add to his taste, picturing how it will look once he is done. He knew he is going to love this room, apartment and new life.

Now Verity opening her door with the same creaak sound. Her eyes widening at first glance, wow she thought to herself. Admiring the classic floors and bed, swiping her fingers over the oak drawers wiping the dust off. Pulling the net curtains to the side to the window opening it wide. Walking out onto the lower roof that looks out onto the boardwalk with the stores below. Taking in the fresh air, soaking up the hot sun with the wind, her long black hair dancing with the breeze that blows.

“Hello there” Mavericks voice calls out behind. Looking at his sister as he climbs out of his own window.

“We could do something with this, maybe few yard chairs. Oh there’s a comic bookstore nice!” he points.

Patting him on the back walking back to her window, “Come on I’m beat, we’ll go later, I'm going to run to that convenience store for a smoke and drink you coming?”

“Nah, I need a shower save me one tho” he declines walking back to his own window with her Wednesday on his bed making herself comfortable asleep.

“Suit yourself” shutting the window.

Verity standing at the front door leaning against the wall in the right spot where the shade covers her eyes, smoking a long needed cigarette chugging down her water she had been craving. Looking around her to take in her new surroundings seeing the comic book store that Maverick pointed to earlier and standing outside, a guy outside looking at her with a dog then quickly looking away. Tall, dirty blonde hair with sunglasses on blocking his eyes but it was obvious he was looking at her smoking a cigarette of his own. Wearing a wide washed out black and grey shoulder tank top that showed off his tattoos with a band logo and washed out jeans. Hearing his name being called now knowing his name is Sam, he drops his cigarette and looks one more time as Verity makes eye contact with him taking off her own sunglasses scrunching her nose.

What's his problem?

[alinelovelace]

Gif tutorial by Alinelovelace

Alright, I'll be doing 3 things here today:

1.) Sharing the programs and websites I use

2.) Showing y'all a tutorial on how I make my gifs (this is my first tutorial, so if anything doesn't make sense, don't hesitate to message me, send me an ask, or comment on this post!!!!!)

3.) Sharing some resources by insanely talented gif makers (because I learned how to make gifs by following tutorials)

It's probably important(?) to mention that I use a Windows laptop

A.) Programs and websites:

ezgif: to make my gifs and do light editing

You can make gifs with video clips or screen caps. I'm not advanced enough to use screen caps, though they're supposed to make gorgeous gifs. I use ezgif to make the actual gif and edit the timing (which I end up having to tweak on Photoshop but...)

I also like ezgif because no watermarks!! I will do anything in my power to get rid of watermarks from websites and editing programs because they bother the hell out of me!

Photoshop: for the rest of my editing

This is where I recolor and add text.

A great alternative to Photoshop is Photopea, which I've used before I "obtained" Photoshop. It's FREE and online, so you don't have to download anything! I highly recommend it if you really want to get into gif coloring !!!!

Currently, I get my videos from torrents (bc I have a wide selection for my family to watch on our tv). But I used to use the Xbox game bar on Windows to record the clips I wanted on online streaming sites (unfortunately there's not a whole lot up and running anymore), then cropped and cut them. If anyone's interested in that, I could probably post a separate tutorial for that another time :)

There's also screen cap websites out there and YouTube. And probably dozens of other ways to get videos that I don't know about!

Video cutter

If you use full length episode videos and don't know how to crop them on your laptop (like me)

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

B.) Tutorial:

I'll be remaking the first gifset I ever made since I've learned A LOT since then! It should be pretty simple since there's only one set of subtitles.

Another time, I could do an edit tutorial like my That 70s Show ones. It's just taking the same concepts as this tutorial though, and playing around with colors, fonts, and font placement.

1.) Find your video/screen caps:

Since I no longer have the video from my first gifset, I just googled "Mulder throwing pencils season 10" on YouTube. After finding the video, I copied the link and pasted it into a YouTube to MP4 site ((this site has never given me popups or tried to get me to download something that isn't my video file)).

2.) If your downloaded video clip is short enough, you can just stick it into ezgif. If not, you may have to cut it using a website or a computer program.

Ezgif.com -> video to gif -> browse -> select your file -> upload video

3.) After clicking upload video, you should find yourself on this page:

If you need to do any kind of video editing (cropping, rotating, resizing, etc) this is the place to do it! This is also where you make your gifs.

For the first gif, I don't need to change the start time, since I'm starting at the beginning of the video. 0 seconds is fine. But for the stop time, I'm going to play the video, pause where I want my first gif to end, then press "use current position" by end time.

I don't usually touch the settings for size, FPS, or method. If the gif doesn't have a lot of movement, I check "optimize for static background"

Then press convert to gif.

Here's the product I got. Since it's such a short clip, it moves a little fast for me.

I'm going to click "speed" which is below the gif. You're brought to this page:

This is completely up to you for speed, but I find that between 60% and 85% end up looking good. If you don't like it, just change the number in the box and press "change speed". I ended up with mine at 65% of current speed.

A little better, right? The gifs that turn out best are 3 seconds to 10 seconds in my experience. This one is 1.5 seconds, so it's a little fast.

After that, rinse and repeat for every gif you need to make.

4.) Editing time! This is for Photoshop (if you use Photopea, I very much recommend this tutorial. It's very well explained!)

Go ahead and open all of your gifs once Photoshop is booted up. Then click window -> timeline

Now you have a handy dandy little timeline on the bottom.

The first thing you're going to do click play and decide whether or not your gifs are running at the speed you want. If yes, move on to next step.

If not: click on the three lines -> select all frames -> little drop down arrow. You should have a variety of times available to choose. Usually, I click other, then put somewhere between 0.04 and 0.08 seconds. Click play again. If you don't like it, try this step again.

If you need to crop your gif, three lines -> select all frames. Press "c" on your keyboard and crop accordingly.

4a.) Color editing

This is where things get complicated. Just remember coloring is subjective and everyone does it differently. This is just an intro to the different tools most gif makers use to alter color.

You don't have to use all of these! I definitely pick and choose depending on how I want the coloring to look. When I'm making a gif set, my coloring isn't as adventurous as when I'm making an edit. It doesn't feel worth it to give away my settings for this gifset since it changes depending on the coloring and lighting of the scene.

All of these tools can be found under "create new filter adjustment layer"

• Brightness/Contrast

This one is the easiest in my opinion. It's pretty straightforward. The more you drag brightness the right, the brighter your gif gets. The more you drag contrast to the right, the higher the contrast is.

• Curves

This adjusts lighting with color values. It's another tool that's hard to explain. I just drag the little circles on the chart until it looks good

• Color Balance

Like every other setting, exactly what you do with this tool is up to you. Color Balance adjusts the overall tint of your gif. I recommend editing highlights, shadows, and midtones for the best results.

• Channel mixer

This one is one of the most complicated tools when making gifs in my opinion. It's best for getting rid of weird colored tints (think the blue coloring in Twilight). I'll just link a tutorial here for it. I don't make enough gifs to know how to explain it.

• Selective color

Hands down my favorite tool, though not only specifically for gif making. This tool allows you to select a color (reds, yellows, greens, cyans, blues, magentas, whites, neutrals, blacks) and edit each color group. For example: my skin in photos usually has a weird red tint. I can edit the reds in my photo using this tool to make it look less abrasive.

You just play around with the different colors and bars for each color until each color group looks good. I recommend hitting the highest value to see how the color changes/what parts of the gif are affected by the change.

In the instance below, I wanted to see how magenta affected the blue colors, so I dragged magenta to 100. Now, knowing what kind of color changes magenta will make to blue, I can adjust accordingly.

Messing around with the each color put me here:

• Vibrance

Another pretty self explanatory tool! Vibrance and saturation bars make the gif colors more colored and vibrant.

• Applying the filters to all frames

Shift click to select all the filters, and drag them above all the layers. They should now be applied to all the frames.

If not, select all frames with the three lines menu drop down like before -> click the little eye to turn off visibility, then click it again to turn it back on. You should be able to see everything now.

In order to carry the same colors from gif to gif, I take pictures of each setting and edit each filter adjustment layer accordingly. I side by side compare and make adjustments if the coloring doesn't match quite right. I'm sure there's a better way to do this, but I'm not experienced enough yet.

4b.) Subtitles

This part isn't too bad. For subtitle text, I use Calibri. Myriad pro bold italic and Arial are also really good options though!

• Text

Go to the sidebar and select text. Drag yourself out a box approximately where you want your subtitles. Type whatever you want. If you don't like where it is, click the move tool and drag it wherever you'd like.

Here are my text settings:

• Blending options

Right click your text layer and select "blending options" at the top. I edit stroke, which adds an outline. I also edit drop shadow, just because it adds a little depth to the text

• Applying to all frames

Drag the text layer to the top, just like you did with the adjustment filter layers when coloring. The same troubleshooting applies.

5.) Exporting

I know there's other ways to do this, but this is the way that makes the most sense to me.

Select all frames on the timeline -> file -> export -> save for web (legacy) -> save

With everything together, you go from:

To:

I had the subtitles in two parts because my first one had the subtitle in two parts (consistency).

Happy giffing!~~

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

C.) Resources:

This is a collection of resources both for Photopea and Photoshop

Photopea Resources:

Photopea giffing tutorial by @heroeddiemunson

Photopea gif coloring tutorial by @heroeddiemunson

Photopea removing yellow tint tutorial by @lacebird

Photopea gif making tutorial by @aragarna

Photopea gif making tutorial by @ashleyolsen

Photopea changing background color of gifs by @benoitblanc

Photoshop tutorials:

Giffing tutorial by @dqmeron

Subtitle tutorial by @itsphotoshop

Blurring gif backgrounds by @clubgif

Inverted colored text tutorial by @spaceslayer

Gradient text tutorial by @tawaifeddiediaz

Gif coloring tutorial by @logangarfield

Color consistency tutorial by @clubgif

Channel mixer tutorial by @zoyanazyalensky