#Not sure how to caption every photo because you can unfortunately no longer caption photos so that text appears

[icewindandboringhorror]

misc. daily life photos again .. for the every once in a while that I collect enough over a few months to actually make a photo set out of them lol

[awhitehead17]

100 ways to say I love you - TimKon edition:

Number 36: “We’ll figure it out.” 

Enjoy! :D

Something’s been bothering Kon all day and Tim has no idea what it could be. From a short distance he could see how Kon drifts aimlessly between different rooms in the Tower, the way he can’t seem to focus on any task that he tries to do, the way he doesn’t engage in any conversation going on between the team and the way he doesn’t even seem to be eating.

This behaviour of his has been going on for several days and of course Tim’s taken note of it. When he first picked up on it he approached Kon, questioning gently if everything was alright but his boyfriend had only shaken him off with a tight smile and a small nod. Understanding that he didn’t want to talk then Tim left him alone, knowing that Kon will come to him when he’s ready (or at least Tim would like to hope he will).

When the behaviour continues for several more days Tim’s concern only grows, however he still doesn’t approach him. Tim desperately wants to, he wants to make sure Kon is okay but he doesn’t want to push him when he’s clearly not ready to talk about whatever it is.

Just because Kon won’t talk to him about what’s clearly bothering him, Tim uses an alternative method to work out what’s going on. If he has some idea to what’s going on through Kon’s mind then he would be able to come up with a way to gently confront his boyfriend and then they could work together to come up with a solution to Kon’s problem.

Tim does some digging. He recalls the last week or two before Kon’s off-behaviour started, noting down any events that may play on Kon’s mind, any conversations he may have had or any missions that may have gone sideways. Unfortunately that side of things all result with nothing. Tim couldn’t find a reason behind Kon’s mood change.

He moves away from events and looks into Kon’s personal life more. Their relationship is fine, it’s going well (at least as far as Tim’s aware). Kon’s isn’t speaking to Clark but that’s nothing unusual, Ma and Pa are angels as always, his and Kara’s relationship seems to be alright. The Titan’s are all okay, no one has fallen out and no one has died recently (thank god for that). So what could it be?

Tim sighs and leans back in his desk chair. He glares at his notes and runs a frustrated hand through his hair. What could be making Kon miserable? He doesn’t think it’s him, at least he hopes not. Maybe he’s done something that’s upset Kon without knowing. Then again Kon would have brought it up by now, together they’re pretty good with communicating with one another. It’s taken some time but they got there in the end.

Taking a breather Tim picks up his phone and mindlessly browses through various of apps with notifications showing. Believe it or not, it’s Instagram that highlights the potential answer Tim had been looking for.

Scrolling through his feed Tim comes across a photo Dick had posted a few hours earlier. It’s a selfie taken in the media room of the Manor, it had a cheesy caption but that’s not what clued Tim in, it’s who’s in the picture that does. Dick’s smiling face takes up most of the image but behind him, squished together on the couch is Damian, who is scowling, and Jon, who is beaming holding a tub of ice cream.

Jon.

Kon’s mood change has to be something to do with Jon right? That’s the only major new factor in Kon’s life recently. Tim doesn’t want to jump the gun but his gut feeling is saying that’s it.

Jon appeared in their lives little over three months ago, of course they had all heard about Clark having a biological child but no one had met him until then. It’s a complicated situation but Tim knows when he first came about it really rocked Kon, but his boyfriend had shrugged it off at the time claiming he’s fine.

It was only a couple weeks ago that Jon (and the press) started calling himself Superboy. The kid had started going on missions with different heroes, simple ones without much danger to begin getting him involved with what they do. Superboy is Kon’s persona, but now Jon is Superboy too.

If anyone could understand how shitty of a situation that can be, it’s Tim. He had to share the title Robin with Damian for a little while before moving on.

So could Kon’s problem be with Jon, or is it more to do with the idea of sharing a persona with the kid?

Now he’s got the question in mind, Tim is pretty sure this is what’s bothering Kon. If he’s wrong then that’s that, he’ll try and work out something else, but until then he has to go and speak to his boyfriend.

Tim finds Kon in his room. The Kryptonian is slumped over his desk, sat in the chair and is fiddling with an elastic band ball. Tim’s heart throbs at seeing his boyfriend so down, he really hopes he’s right about this then they can work it out together and then Tim will be able to support him.

Tim enters the room, shutting the door behind him and walks over to Kon. Kon doesn’t pay him any attention and it’s a clear sign that he still doesn’t want to talk but this time Tim isn’t going to be pushed away. Sighing Tim moves, he wordlessly pushes Kon up from the desk and back into his chair, he pulls the chair away from the desk before situating himself in Kon’s lap facing him. It’s the only way Tim knows that Kon will look and pay attention to him while they have this conversation.

To begin with Kon refuses to look at him, he’s got his head tilted to the side to avoid eye-contact and his arms are slouched over the arm rests not holding onto anything. Tim leans forward, gently cupping Kon’s face with his palms to turn his head back so they were looking at one another, once their gazes meet he reaches back with one hand to play with the hair on Kon’s nape, running his fingers through it in comforting motions.

“I think I know what’s got you in a funk.” Tim states softly. There’s no point beating around the bush.

Kon frowns at him but he doesn’t say anything.

“It took a little while to work out but I believe this moping mood of yours has something to do with a little, black haired, blue eyed boy right?” Tim smiles lightly, trying to soften the situation. “More specifically, I think it has something to do with a name, the fact that you’re now sharing the same persona. Is it fair to assume I’m right?”

He finally gets a reaction out of Kon. His boyfriend huffs in amusement and rolls his eyes, a moment later he looks fondly at Tim. “I really can’t keep anything hidden from you can I?”

“No. Remember, world’s greatest detective here, there is a reason why I got that title after all.�� He jokes before sobering up. “That, plus the fact I know you. I knew something was bothering you and I hoped you would come talk to me about it but you didn’t so I did some digging.”

Kon groans and bends forward, he leans his head against Tim's shoulder. Tim wraps his arms around Kon in a secure hug. “Sorry. I didn’t want to bother you with this, it’s stupid and petty. It’s been on my mind for weeks and I don’t know what to do about it.”

“You can always come to me Kon, you know that.” Tim says firmly. “I’m here for you no matter what. Big or small. Also especially something like this, I know what you’re feeling, I’ve been though it myself. I want to be here for you no matter what.”

Kon’s arms finally come up and wrap around Tim’s waist, returning his hug. “I know, I’m sorry.”

Tim presses a kiss to Kon’s temple. “It’s okay, now I know I can support you. We’ll figure it out. We can spend some time working out a solution to this, perhaps it’s time to come up with a new persona of your own. Let’s be honest you’re no longer a boy anyway! We’ll take our time with it and get it right.”

Kon nods against his shoulder before pulling away to look up at him. He gives Tim a fake pout. “You just want me to get rid of the shirt and jeans.”

Tim smiles teasingly. “Well I certainly wouldn’t oppose to it…”

Kon hmpf’s in response and goes back to resting against Tim. “I guess we can work out something. I know I’ve been needing to do something about my identity for a while and Jon’s just come in like a wrecking ball and has shaken it all up. It’s thrown me off.”

“It’s going to be okay,” Tim reassures him, giving him a squeeze, “It’s going to be different, it may not feel right and probably will feel wrong but you’ll adjust and then it’ll be amazing.”

Kon looks up at him again and Tim could see how full of hope Kon’s blue eyes were. Instead of saying anything however Kon reaches up and tugs Tim’s head down, capturing his lips in a passionate kiss. Tim gets it though, how grateful Kon is of the words and his support.

When Tim had to change identities he had been on his own, if he can help Kon through his own transition and make sure he has full support then Tim will be there every step of the way no matter what.

[altarwaiting]

How to gif without photoshop (second method)

Hello! A couple months ago I made a tutorial on how to gif without photoshop using the website ezgif. I got a really great response for it and received some requests for the other giffing program I use when I don’t have access to photoshop. The program is called instagiffer; this is a software so it needs to be downloaded but I have never had any trouble with my version.  

Warning that this is VERY text and image heavy because I know how frustrating it can be when a tutorial feels like it’s skipping steps and I want this to be as clear as possible. Also please read this on desktop, tumblr mobile kills the quality of gifs inside text posts.

Please reblog if you found this helpful!

This is the video I will be giffing and here is the gif I will be making!

What you need:

Instagiffer

This program has been around since 2013 and I have used it since 2016. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been updated since 2016 and the download link on the official website is broken. That being said, there are a few other websites that still have a working download, which is what I linked to above.

ezgif

Although we aren’t going to use this website to make the gif, we are going to use it to add more color and brightness to the gif.

A video downloader 

This is the video downloader I use but basically any youtube/video download website works. There are two ways to gif on instagiffer; using a video and using the built in screen recorder. I will show you how to use both. 

A video to gif

This program is a lot more forgiving about video quality than ezgif is, but for best results 720p or 1080p is still the standard. Scenes with good lighting and bright colors turn out the best, but you can still make good looking gifs from darker or unsaturated scenes if you know what you’re doing. 

1. Making a gif with a downloaded video

 Step One: Getting the frames

First, you download the video you want to gif. Then you open up instagiffer and click on “load video.” Scroll down until you find the video you want to gif and click on it. 

The video will appear on the screen in the right hand side. Go ahead and put “smoothness” up as high as it can go. This increases the frames per second and makes the gif look smoother. It also makes the gif longer, so you may have to bring it down later so it doesn’t go over tumblr’s size limit, but I always start as high as possible then work down. 

Next, find the moment in the video you want to gif. You can either use the sliding bar or just type in the start time (you can use hours, minutes, seconds, and millisecond). You also want to put how long the clip you want to gif is. 3 seconds is the default but I usually bump it up to at least 4 (unless I know it’s a really short clip) just because it’s a lot easier to delete frames than add them. 

If you do this, you’ll quickly realize your gif has extra frames that appear slightly before and slightly after the moment you want to gif. It’s really easy to get rid of those frames; just click on them until you only see the frames you want in the gif. Use the scroll bar at the bottom of the gif to move around the frames, and use it to make sure the only thing on screen is the clip you want included in the gif. 

Step Two: Resize the gif, brighten the gif, change the speed and add captions

Now, it’s time to size, brighten, and color your gif! First look at the “frame size” option. Using the correct gif size for tumblr is one of the easiest ways to make sure the gif looks good. For gifs that take up a whole row, the size should be 540p wide. For two gifs in one row, the size is 268p each. For three gifs in one row, the sizes are 177p, 178p, and 177p in that order. Here is a visual of it.  You can see what the width/height of the gif is in the bottom right hand corner of the gif screen. I am making this gif 268p. Get the frame size as close to the width you want as possible; right now, it is 269x151. To get it down to 268 exactly, go up to the top of the program, click on “frame” > “manual crop”. This little box will pop up. Just set the width to 268 and make sure the size is listed as 268 under the gif as well. The height can stay the same. 

Keep quality up to 100 obviously. I almost always brighten by 2. Unless you’re giffing something with a huge spot of light, 2 is basically standard. Going up any higher usually makes the gif just look grainy, but if the scene is REALLY badly lit, you can go up to 3. Playback rate is usually -1, just to make the gif look smoother. Unless it’s a super long gif or a super short gif, I don’t mess with it further.

Captions are obviously optional but if you want to add one, click on “click here to add a new caption.” A box will pop up with options of how you want the text to look. I only use this to “caption” gifs (aka add dialogue). The settings I use are 12pt font, calibri, white, bold italic, bottom of gif, outline up to 3. You can also chose what frame you want the caption to start/end on if you want. Since this gif doesn’t have talking, I’m not going to include the caption in the final gif, but I wanted to show how to use this function.

Step Three: Color the gif

There are two parts to this. The first place I color the gif is on instagiffer, and then I use ezgif to add more effects. The second part is totally optional but they have more choices for coloring there. 

Click on the “open effects panel”. A window will open showing what the gif currently looks like, along with a variety of filters you can use. Ignore how grainy it looks, it won’t look that way when it’s finished. 

First thing is keep “enhance” up to 100. This is basically a sharpening function and without it the gif will get super blurry. There are a ton of filters you can play around with, but the only two I focus on usually are “color fade” and “colorize.” For color fade, I click it on and set it at 10. Obviously, if you’re trying to make a desaturated gifset, you can raise it up for a faded color effect, but I use it more for color balance than desaturation. Next click on colorize, and then color picker. 

I almost always pick a light shade of blue, purple or pink; it brings out the color in the gif and tends to keep skin tones from being washed out. This is usually my default: 

Then, I bring the “colorize” option down to 90 to increase the effects of shadows. 

Last thing to do is click create gif! It’ll take a few seconds, especially for longer gifs, so be patient. ALSO there is a good chance you’re going to get a message saying something to the effect of “this gif is too big for tumblr’s photo limit.” Feel free to ignore that; the software being old means it still has the photo limit as 2gb when now it is 5-6gb so almost any gif you make will be considered “too big.” 

Your gif now shows up in a preview tab! It should also show up as a file labeled “insta” on your desktop. 

Here is the gif so far. 

You can end here if you want. But when using instagiffer, I always go to ezgif to brighten up the colors further. 

This part is basically the same as how you would color a gif you made in ezgif (see this tutorial) but I’ll quickly walk through what I do.

Go to ezgif.com/effects. Click chose file and upload your gif. First, you’re going to want to up the saturation, brightness, and contrast. You have to play around with these functions a lot because every scene is different, but in general, I have my saturation up pretty high and my brightness and contrast at at least 8. For a scene as dark and desaturated as this, I put saturation at 200, brightness at 12, and contrast at 16. 

Afterwards, you want to go down to “color presets” and select “tint.” In my other tutorial, I recommended tinting with a light red or light blue, but for gifs made on instagiffer, I tend to use a light yellow/gold. I already tinted the gif purple in instagiffer so adding yellow in ezgif tends to balance it out. The shade I used for this gif is #fffcf0. 

If the gif ends up looking too yellow, either decrease saturation, or click the “effects” button under the gif and add a layer of light purple to balance the colors more. 

Your final gif should look like this.

2. Making a gif with the “capture screen” feature

This only changes the method of how you get gif frames. Everything related to resizing, coloring/effects, and adding captions is the same as above. 

What if you don’t have a download of the thing you want to gif? The great thing about instagiffer is it has a built in screen recorder so you can gif any video you want, even if you can’t download it (or if you’re like me and don’t want to deal with downloading a 45 minute episode of something just to gif one scene). 

To use this tool, click on the “capture screen” button on the top right corner next to “load video.” Then this screen will pop up.

You’re going to want to take this blue screen over to the screen you want to capture. I’m going to put it over the youtube video I am giffing. Adjust it so the only thing it’s focused on is the video and set the length in seconds. I usually set it for longer than the clip is just because it’s easier to remove extra frames than rerecord a scene. There is also sometimes a lag so starting it right before the scene you want to gif helps with that. For example, if the clip I’m giffing is 3 seconds long, I set it to 3.5. Then start running the video and click “start” on the screen!

Your frames will now show up on instagiffer. Everything is the same, except you can’t change the frame rate or timing. Go ahead and delete frames that you don’t need by clicking on them. After that, just use the same resizing, and coloring method I outlined above. 

Some notes:

When using the video download option, the effects you use will save, as will the size of the gif. So if you gif one part of a video, then move the time stamp to another part, it will stay in whatever size you put the gif as. However, when using screen capture, you have to resize the gif and go to the effects menu each time because they reset after each use of the screen recorder.

You can also just paste a youtube link into the white bar at the top of instagiffer to gif it, but I’ve found that the quality is much better if you download or use the capture screen.

To crop a gif, move the red box around (just make sure it stays the right width size!) 

If you are using the screen recorder and only want to record part of the video (like just a characters outfit) size the gif recorder so it’s just surrounding the part of the video you want to see. 

I hope this made sense lol, it took me a few days to write it all so please let me know if you have questions or need anything clarified! Support me on Ko-Fi if you’d like and are able 💕💕💕

[heyyyharry]

Chapter 13: Stay The Night

(from the My Girl Trilogy: Be My Only)

…in which Y/N doesn’t feel safe in her flat, but Harry is too far away.

AU: actor!Harry, older!Harry, younger!Y/N (4-year age gap).

Chapter 12: Ex’s And Oh’s - Their relationship is no longer a secret.

Wattpad link

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When Y/N left her flat this morning, she was filled with stress.

She had taken the bus to clear her mind instead of driving to work, but as she waited at the bus stop, she realized it was a terrible idea. She loved mornings in London. The feeling of being just a tiny nobody in the sea of busy strangers rushing off to work made her feel at ease. After yesterday, however, everything had changed.

A group of schoolgirls also waiting for the bus had been staring at her for two minutes now. As their chatter and snickering rang in her ears, she was sure one of them had taken a photo without her consent and posted it on Instagram with the caption: 'I met the bitch who kissed Harry, and she was ugly as fuck.'

Y/N told herself to ignore them, not giving them the satisfaction of being right about whatever personalities they had picked out for her. Besides, there were only four of them, so maybe she was overreacting. She wasn't the center of the universe and didn't walk down the street with that kissing photo glued to her forehead. But unfortunately, that was exactly how she was feeling right now. She envisioned a spotlight shining on her everywhere she went, and even the homeless guy across the street knew she'd kissed the Harry Styles.

It was the longest bus ride ever, even though she'd chosen to sit at the very back to avoid unwanted attention. Thank God, those teenage girls had got off one stop before her, and she was allowed to walk the rest of the way to the bookstore in peace. Well, it had been peace before she entered the bookstore.

"Good morning, Y/N!" Alice and Eddie said at the same when she walked in. Since when did she get a heartwarming welcome for being thirty minutes late? Was she living in a nightmare? Should she pinch herself to wake up?

"So, I was just telling Eddie that I need a new haircut—" Alice started speaking as Y/N hung up her jacket. "I would like it shorter, and maybe I'll have it dyed to match the color of my dress. My cousin Layla is getting married soon and—"

"It's okay, Al. You can ask me anything," Y/N cut her off, and Alice's eyes grew slightly bigger.

"W-What are you talking about?" the girl stuttered as she exchanged looks with Eddie, who was tongue-tied and could only shake his head.

"I know you've seen those photos and read all the things people have said about me," said Y/N. "And because you're my friends. I want you to be honest. Tell me what you think about me. Ask me questions. Just...don't be so weird. I can't take it."

Shifting from one foot to the other, Alice exhaled as her chest caved in. "I-I'm very sorry it happened to you. And...and for what I said about Harry and Ruby being soulmates or whatever. I did-didn't know it was you."

"I'm sorry too," Eddie blurted as he adjusted his glasses. "I mean...I mean, what Alice just said."

"Nice try, dumbass."

"Hey!"

Y/N snorted as Alice gave Eddie the finger. "So you guys believe me?" she asked.

"Of course we do!" piped Alice. "You and Isaac broke up on good term so you're free to date whoever the fuck you want. Fuck those bitches. Believe me or not, I created another account, just to defend you from hate comments."

For a second, Y/N thought she was only joking, but then quickly realized she was not. "You didn't have to, Alice! I don't even read those comments!"

"Yes, I did have to, because you're my friend." Alice's face contorted as she placed both hands on Y/N's shoulders. "I'm so glad it's you, by the way."

To hear this from Alice of all people made Y/N feel much better. She didn't need validation from every single fan of Harry's to feel worthy of her own relationship, but it was nice to have at least one who supported her.

"It's all thanks to you, Al," she said.

"Thanks to me?!"

"Thanks to her?!"

Y/N couldn't help but laugh at Alice's and Eddie's reaction. She answered them with a firm nod. "If last year you hadn't given me those tickets to see the Heathers musical—"

"Wait a minute! You went to see it with him?!" Alice covered her mouth as her jaw dropped.

"Yeah, well, no, we were...caught in the rain so we didn't get to see it. But before that, we were going to see it together. That was basically how it all started. It's—" She rolled her eyes and exhaled. "It's a long story."

"Tell me!"

"Maybe some other time. I'm sure Eddie doesn't want us to—"

"Tell us!" Eddie chimed in, already resting his chin on his palms like a child waiting for his bedtime story. As they continued to chant "tell us, tell us!", Y/N was left with no choice but to grab a chair and sit down with them.

Taking a deep breath, she began, "Harry and I met when I was nine..."

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Nine-year-old Y/N was thrilled when Gemma agreed to take her to Harry's football game. It was not only the first time she'd got to see him play, but also the first match she had ever attended. She didn't even know the rules. All she knew was, there were two teams, Harry's was red, the opponent was blue. If a player kicked the ball into the other team's net and the goalkeeper from the other team couldn't catch it, then this team got one point. The team with the most points at the end won. It sounded simple when she put it like that, but she knew it was more complicated in reality.

Gemma seemed to know all about football, but the more she explained, the more confused Y/N got. How could anyone remember all these positions? What did a 'penalty' mean? And what the heck were those red and yellow cards the referee was holding?

Frustrated, Gemma eventually gave up and told her, "you'll get it when you're older."

Y/N knew Gemma didn't mean to hurt her feeling, but her words had done just that. 'Older', she despised that word, yet it was all she wanted to become. Older. Smarter. Prettier. If she'd achieved all of those things, she would be good enough to become Harry's girlfriend. Sitting with her head hung, she bit her nails and pondered the idea. It was only when the parents roared with cheers that she snapped back to reality. She looked up just in time Harry was running toward his teammates and screaming with joy, as the goalkeeper on the other team flopped down on the grass, looking defeated. Their reactions made it clear that Harry had just scored.

"Did they win?!" She looked up at Gemma with hopeful eyes, and the older girl gave her a shrug.

"Not yet, but they're already leading 2-0 and there's only five minutes left."

"So they're surely gonna win?!"

When Y/N received a nod as an answer, she jumped and screamed his name so loud it startled Gemma and a few other parents. But she didn't pay attention to them. Every fiber of her being was vibrating with anticipation and her eyes were fixed on her crush. In her imagination, the other boys started to fade into the green of the field, the spectators evaporated like mist in the sun, and Harry was glowing like an angel.

His team won that day, as predicted. Y/N knew she hadn't contributed even the slightest to their victory, but she prided herself on being his good luck charm. And therefore, Harry would be so happy to see her.

While Gemma was chatting with a cute guy she'd run into, Y/N rushed toward the group of older boys who were heading out of the field. Harry spotted her right away, his face gleamed as he waved his hand in the air.

"You were amazing!" she bubbled. "Gemma and I were cheering so loud for you! I knew you'd win!"

"Thanks, Bambi. I'm glad you came," Harry said as he stroked her head, making her feel so happy she almost didn't notice the other boys.

That was only until she heard them snickering, and one said, "I didn't know you had a little sister."

"No, she's my neighbor," Harry answered with a straight face. And the smile Y/N was wearing slowly withered. 'Neighbor'? Was that all she was to him? Not even a friend? Just his 'neighbor'? Ouch.

"You're hanging with little kids now, Harry? Are you a babysitter?" a fat boy said as he cackled and showed his shiny braces.

"How old are you, little baby?" said the skinny one with red hair and squinty eyes. She should've taken his condescending sneer as a sign not to answer his question, but being the only girl there and younger than them all made her feel pressured to tell them what they wanted to hear.

"I'm nine," she said while fidgeting with the hem of her shirt.

All the boys cracked up like she'd just told a funny joke. But the only joke here was...her. They were all laughing at her.

"Hey, that's enough, Jake!"

When Harry glowered at them, their laughter slowly died down. But neither that thin boy nor those who'd laughed at her showed any remorse for picking on a little girl. Y/N hopelessly studied Harry's reaction, a line appeared between her brows as she clutched her hands tightly together. She was waiting for him to ask them to apologize, or at least tell them that she was more mature and probably smarter than all of them combined.

But Harry said nothing about it. He told her to get back to Gemma before she got lost and then walked off with the rest of the team.

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That photo. That goddamn photo.

Harry knew it should've been the least of his concern now that there were at least five different shots of him kissing his girlfriend floating around on the Internet. Still, he was sitting here and getting fed up with the photo of her and Isaac at the wedding reception.

They looked happy. Way too happy. If the way they laughed hadn't already driven him up the wall, seeing Isaac's arm tightened around his girlfriend's waist had done the perfect job. It was all he'd been thinking about since last night.

Given a short break between the two scenes, Harry returned to his chair and pulled out his phone to send Y/N a text, but he sat and contemplated at the screen for a long moment. He felt petty when his brain told him to ask her about the photo with Isaac. But his heart, which knew better, told him to avoid talking about any photo. She had dealt with enough of shit on her own, and the last thing she needed was her pathetic boyfriend getting jealous like a hormonal teenage boy.

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally typed down a line and pressed send.

⌲ Morning, love! How's your day been? :)

It didn't take too long for her to reply, so he guessed she was on her phone while 'working' again.

⌲ Bambi: So far so good. How's yours?

⌲ Everything's great, except for the fact that you're not here, which sucks.

⌲ Bambi: You're a good liar.

⌲ I'm not! I really miss you! :(

⌲ Bambi: No, silly. I mean...

⌲ Bambi: Niall told me you asked for his thought about the photo of me and Isaac.

⌲ Damn it, Niall.

⌲ Look, baby, it's no big deal.

⌲ Bambi: Yeah? Then tell me what you think about the photo. Answer honestly.

⌲ I think you looked great in that dress.

⌲ Bambi: Harry...

⌲ Okay. Fine. I don't like the way he had his arm around you. And you two looked like a happy couple...

⌲ Bambi: We're not though. I'm with you.

⌲ I know...I'm not doubting you or anything.

⌲ Bambi: You sound like you are...

⌲ I'm not. I swear!

He impatiently drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair, and let out a harsh breath when her reply finally popped up.

⌲ Bambi: They were playing a really good song so I got lost in the moment and kept stepping on his feet. That photo was the exact moment when I was about to fall and he caught me just in time. We were just laughing at how stupid I was.

⌲ Oh...

⌲ Bambi: Feel better now?

⌲ Yeah :)

Three dots appeared as she was typing, but they were interrupted by a call from Jeff. Harry had been expecting the call since last night, but his manager had been too busy to respond.

"Hey, man, how's it?" Harry implored as he leaned back in his chair.

"We can't figure out who leaked the photo," Jeff said, his voice was heavily low. "You need to ask her, Harry."

The actor tossed his head back and drew in a long breath. He didn't even want to face Ruby after what had happened the other night, so asking her if she'd leaked the photos of him and his girlfriend would be much worse. But it seemed like he had no other choice.

"Fine, she'll be here any second. I'll try to speak to her."

"Great!" Jeff marveled, but Harry didn't see what was so great about that. He was still full of tension as he tapped his foot and buried his hand in his hair.

"What about the other thing?"

"What other thing?"

"Have you read my text from last night?"

"Oh, that." Jeff huffed. "You can't do that, mate."

"What? Why?"

"You'll draw even more attention to yourself and your girlfriend if you speak up about the issue."

"But people want to hear the truth. They'll stop talking if I just make a post to explain everything—"

"Harry, stop!" Jeff cut him off. "These people won't ever stop unless they forget. You know you can't please the angry mob no matter what you feed them. They're not here for answers, they're here for drama. So they will just turn every word you say against you."

"This is not about me though, this is about Bambi!"

"Bambi? That's her name?"

"N-No, her name's Y/N." Harry squeezed his eyes shut, rubbing his forehead. "I want to protect her. She's not...she's not like the others. She's not used to this."

"Then you need to let this go. Don't give people more reasons to hate Y/N."

Harry nodded as he unclenched his fists. "You're probably right...thanks, man."

"Hey, your mess is also my mess." Jeff cackled and told Harry that he needed to go, but if Harry needed anything, he could always ring him up. "Good luck with your Bambi," he said before ending the call, and Harry only gave a chuckle as a response.

The last text he'd received from Y/N was: 'I gotta go. Talk to you later.' So he guessed their conversation was also over. He quickly typed down 'I love you', sent it, and put his phone away.

"Is Ruby here yet?" he heard the director ask everyone as she made her way toward him. "Harry, have you talked to Ruby?"

"No, I—"

"Hold on!" Evangeline held up a finger in front of his face as she checked her phone. "Her assistant just sent me a text. She'll be here late due to traffic. Well, why aren't I surprised?"

Laughing, she sat down in Ruby's chair next to him and snapped her fingers to get his attention. "Hey, you alright?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. He almost blurted out his usual answer to every situation, but nothing seemed to get past the eyes of this woman. "I know no criticism could bring you down, but you're worried about your girlfriend, right?"

"Yeah," he admitted, not knowing why, but he went on anyway. "She's not famous. She doesn't even like the idea of being famous, so this is a lot for her to handle. I just...I wish I was home with her right now. To make her feel safe."

It was the first time he'd openly talked about Y/N to a co-worker, and it felt really nice to be able to get certain feelings off his chest. Besides, he trusted Evangeline. This lady had never worn fewer than three colors in one outfit, and her hats were always much bigger than her head. Right now she was wearing a massive yellow summer hat with extravagant ruffles feathers on the wide brim. No negative comment about it could force her to take it off. She simply didn't care about being judged and had never judged anyone.

"I kept wanting to ask you if you got a girlfriend at home, but now I know," she said and patted him on the shoulder.

"Really?" He snorted, his eyebrows pulled together. "I mean, most people would've assumed I was with Ruby."

"You and Ruby?!" the director gasped as if he'd just said something outrageous. "Hein? You and Ruby don't look happy together. You're just good at pretending like you are in love. I thought you had great chemistry on-screen, but off-screen? Not so much."

"Well, that's a relief." He rolled his eyes and exhaled a laugh. "I'm just so tired of people thinking we're 'a match made in heaven' just because we look good together on-screen."

"What's her name?"

"Huh?"

"Your girl. What's her name?"

"Y/N." Harry smiled as he scratched his nose. He could never say her name without a smile on his face.

"That's a pretty name," said Eva.

"I call her Bambi instead." He shook his head at the memories and laughed a little. "She has...these...very pretty eyes. The prettiest I've ever seen. But they were so sad, and—" The man stopped talking when he saw the way Eva was gawking at him. Immediately, he exclaimed, "oh God, I'm sorry for oversharing. Let's just...just forget what I said."

"Quoi! Please continue! I love hearing stories about love!" she said and clutched her chest. "I'm a hopeless romantic and I think the story of how you met Y/N was beautiful!"

"Thank you." He hung his head, picking at his own nails as his voice lowered to slightly above a whisper. "I care about her a lot. And sometimes, I just feel like...she could be happier without me."

"Doesn't she love you?"

"She does, of course...Very much I'm afraid." He twisted one of the rings on his fingers, eyes on his feet instead of Eva. "She could just have a normal relationship without having to hide, or going online and read the terrible things people say about her that aren't true. I'm trying to protect her, but it's scary to think that...that she should be protected from...me."

Eva was deep in thoughts as she cocked her head and fiddled with her hoop earring. Harry assumed she agreed with him but then she uttered, "you know, you do think a lot like your character Jay."

"How so?" he asked.

"Well, you're in love but your insecurities tell you you're not good enough, and therefore you don't deserve to be in love. That is not fair for sweet Y/N." Eva wrapped one of her curls around her finger and gave a half shrug. "The only thing which is worse than loving someone who doesn't love you back, is loving someone who's afraid to love you."

"I'm not afraid," he said, almost defensively, and she pressed her lips into a gentle smile.

"I know you aren't. But when things get...complicated, and you feel like you should let go, just remember what I've told you today. If you let go, thinking it's what's best for Y/N, you're not doing it for her, you're doing it for yourself, and it's very selfish."

Harry stayed quiet, needing time to let the advice sink in. But before he could open his mouth, Ruby burst into the room and frantically apologized for being late...again.

Eva stood up fast and clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "Next scene in five minutes!"

Ruby was quick to spot Harry from across the room. Instead of looking away when their eyes met, she shot him a smile. This could be a good sign, he thought and rose from his chair. They held that eye contact as he walked over to where she stood, and she didn't wander off to avoid a confrontation. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and crossed her arms. She was finally ready to talk.

"Hey," he said with both hands in his pockets. "How are you?"

"Better than ever. Thanks for asking," she said. Her face showed the opposite of distress, and this time he couldn't tell whether her cheerfulness was fake or real.

"I actually want to ask you about—"

"I know you think I took and leaked those photos, but I didn't," Ruby told him with her head held high. "It was the Declan twins."

"So you knew it all along?"

"Yes," she admitted without pause, keeping her expression neutral. "They did it because they were both bitter that Isaac had turned them down. They were obsessed with him. The only thing I'm guilty of is not doing anything to stop them, because I also wanted to get back at you and the girl."

"Right..." Harry breathed, pinching the bridge of his nose and putting a hand on his hip. He wasn't sure what to do with this piece of information. He couldn't call up the twins and demand them to take down the photos, which had already been shared all over the internet. He couldn't sue them either, it would only make everything worse. He couldn't stop being friends with them, because, well, he had never been friends with them, to begin with, and they obviously didn't care about him. So there was absolutely nothing he could do but accept that fact and move on. Nevertheless, he was glad to have found out the truth.

"Anyway, um, thanks for telling me."

"Wait," Ruby stopped him, making him turn around and blink at her in confusion as she stood there with her lips slightly parted. It took her a second to finally say, "how is she?"

"What?"

"How's Y/N?" She cleared her throat and shifted from one foot to the other while plucking at the cuff of her shirt. "Um...I've read the things people said. Know how it feels to deal with shit like this so..."

To say he was shocked would be an understatement, because this wasn't the Ruby who'd shown up at his hotel room two nights ago. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her like this. He supposed it was a good thing, yet he would need some time to get used to it.

"Yeah, well, I'm taking care of her," he said, giving her a smile.

"You're always taking care of people." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and shook her head a bit. "But...at least now it's someone who deserves it, right?"

Harry stilled, not knowing what to say. If Eva hadn't intervened right then, he might've just blurted out something stupid to get rid of the awkward tension.

"Harry, Ruby!" Her thick French accent turned their heads at the same time. The lady snapped her fingers at them. "I need you both! Hurry!"

Breaking into a grin, Ruby hastened to her position. Harry felt a surge of happiness as he watched her start a conversation with Eva. What he saw was the charismatic woman who had enchanted him when they first met. The old Ruby was back, and she was finally healing, this time, all on her own.

.

.

.

Whenever Y/N felt dejected, she would seek for therapy in writing. She would write to kill time and to be distracted, and at the moment, she needed her imagination more than she needed air. She had eaten dinner alone and sat in front of her laptop since 6 PM. Hours had passed and she had written almost three thousand words in total. She was too tired to continue, but not tired enough to fall asleep. So if she stopped now she would lie in bed wide awake and think about all sorts of negative things.

She knew she shouldn't have done what she'd done earlier that day. She had sworn to herself and Harry that she wouldn't go online and scroll through the comments about the photos, but she had. And it was too late to regret it now. She had thought she could sympathize with what Ruby had dealt with. But now that she was in her shoes, she realized she could never sympathize with what someone was going through, until she had to go through it herself.

She'd been teased in school when she was about six or seven. Back then she hadn't got the guts to stand up for herself, so her greatest escape would be going home and holing up in her room, where there was no more invasion of destructive words. Now with social media, the bullying started all over again as you went home and logged on. People were free to share pictures and videos, and one tiny mistake could ruin your life. That was the reason she'd tried to keep her life online and offline as private as possible. She knew what would happen when people knew too much about her. But everything was different now. Those people had got inside her head.

She wanted to tell Harry as he was the only one who could make her feel safe. But she didn't want to make this a bigger problem for him. If he'd known how she was feeling, he would've dropped everything and flown home to make sure she was okay. Hadn't she messed up his life enough already? Besides, he had a movie premiere to attend tonight. He'd been so excited when receiving the invitation, because some directors and actors he looked up to would be there. The least she could do for him as a girlfriend was to allow him to have fun without worrying about her every single minute.

It was 1 AM, and the sound of doorbell woke Y/N from her sleep. She lifted her face from her arms and realized she'd been asleep on her desk for God knew how long. Tired, she checked the clock again to make sure she hadn't mistaken. It was exactly 1 AM. And the unexpected guest rang her doorbell a couple of times more to make it very clear that they wanted to get in. All the people who could pay her a visit at this time of the day would never do that.

She got up, feeling a bit woozy as she walked to the living room and picked up her keys from the coffee table. There were footsteps rushing down the stairs as she headed toward the door. Did that person just...run away?

Y/N's heart was pounding so hard she almost couldn't breathe. She unlocked the door and pulled it open immediately, panting with wide eyes when she saw nothing but an empty hallway...and a box left on the doormat.

She looked to her left, and then to her right, and once she was sure she was alone, she picked up the box and shook it twice. The object seemed to be much smaller than the space within the box, but she couldn't figure out what it was. It couldn't have been a bomb, because who would've bombed her, anyway? So it couldn't be that bad.

And she was right, it wasn't that bad. Because it was worse. It made her wish it'd been a bomb.

The box dropped to her feet as she shrieked and jumped back, gripping the edge of the door so she wouldn't fall. Covering her mouth with one hand, she gulped down breaths to stay quiet.

It was a rat. A dead rat.

The head was flattened. Fresh blood soaked into the fur it touched, matting it together. She noticed an eyeball had been squeezed out and turned away, pale in the face and feeling like she might throw up. She hadn't touched it, but her fingers were already numb. It took her a few seconds to look at it again. Her chest rose and fell with rapid breaths as she read the letters written on the bottom of the box.

GOLD DIGGING SLUT!

Y/N slammed the door, locked it as fast as she could and covered her mouth to muffle her crying. Fighting the weakness in her knees, she dashed straight into her bedroom to get her phone and call the police.

.

.

.

"Don't open the door! No!"

Y/N shrank back into her blanket as the girl in the movie was stabbed to death by the creep in the mask. After only a second of resisting and screaming for help, knowing no one would be able to hear her, her body dropped to the ground, and she laid there like a butchered animal in a waste of blood.

Y/N's heartbeat was racing, nearly exploding as she held her breath and turned to aunt Lynn, who had dozed off a while ago. The babysitter's head was tilted back, her mouth was open, and her eyes were closed. Y/N had never thought sleeping aunt Lynn would be scarier than the usual aunt Lynn, but right now it appeared so.

When the doorbell rang, Y/N jumped to her feet, clutching her chest as she took a few steps backward until her thighs hit the edge of the coffee table.

"Who's there?!" she raised her voice.

Her aunt was still sleeping soundly on the couch. If the person outside were to kill both of them, aunt Lynn would probably die in peace, and Y/N would die screaming like the girl in the movie.

"Who is it?!" the little girl asked again when the doorbell rang for the second time. She gathered all the courage she had left and marched toward the door. "I-I have a...a knife here! I'm not afraid to use it!"

"You have a knife?!"

"Harry?!" Y/N blew out her cheeks as her shoulders sagged. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see you," he said. "Just let me in."

She was about to unlock the door but then she cowered back, her hands squeezed into fists against her chest. "How do I know you're really Harry?" she asked, and the boy responded with a soft chuckle.

"Who else would I be, kid?"

"Maybe you're just really good at faking his voice."

"Are you watching horror movies with aunt Lynn again?"

"How do you know that?! Who are you?" she gasped and stepped away from the door, but she could hear Harry let out a sharp breath.

"Don't be silly, Bambi. Aunt Lynn always makes you watch those stupid movies—" he paused suddenly. "She's not there, is she?"

"She's sleeping," Y/N mumbled, now feeling less on edge because this boy sounded a lot like Harry. Still, she needed solid proof in order to trust him. "If you're Harry, then...then tell me something only Harry knows."

"Bambi, come on."

"I'm serious!"

"Okay, okay!" He laughed and his shadow underneath her door moved around a bit. "So uh...you hate green peas but your mother loves them, so you keep it as a secret to not hurt her feelings."

"I love green peas."

"No, you don't!"

"I just changed my mind yesterday."

"Then how could I know if you're only telling me now?"

"Fine, you're right," Y/N breathed as she finally relaxed and unlocked the door.

Harry greeted her with a big smile. He was wearing flip-flops and pyjamas so she guessed he had been ready for bed before he came over. She hadn't checked the time, but she was sure it was almost midnight now. So why was he here?

"Couldn't sleep. Want to talk to you," he answered the question she hadn't asked and stepped into her living room, smirking as he saw her aunt drooling. "Man, she looks even scarier sleeping."

"Right?" Y/N snorted, closing the door and telling him to follow her to her room before they woke up her babysitter.

There they sat on the edge of her bed, side by side. Neither knew how to begin even though they both had a lot to say to each other. And as usual, Harry had to start the conversation. Y/N would never swallow her pride to forgive him before he apologized.

"I'm sorry about the other day," he said while tapping his foot and staring at the floor. "I...uh...I know you're mad at me—"

"Yes, I am," she cut him short, arms crossed over her chest. "I'm also disappointed. But my mum said if a person didn't want to be your friend, then you shouldn't try to change their mind."

"I do want to be friends with you, kid."

"You have friends." She turned her face away and gave a mirthless laugh. "Awful ones. But who am I to judge?"

Harry was quiet for a moment. She wasn't looking at him to see his reaction but she could feel his eyes on her.

"I love hearing you say things. Even when you're upset with me," he said, a smile could be heard in the tone of his voice.

Unexpectedly, he reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and she jerked away, making him set his palms down flat on the bed.

"You're the smartest girl I know, Bambi," he said with a timid smile. "Sometimes you're even smarter than me and those boys."

"Sometimes? You mean, all the time."

Her remark made him cackle. "Yeah. All the time." He nodded. "I guess...I was just...trying to make myself seem cool, but it actually made me look like a jerk. So...I'm very sorry. You know I would choose you over anyone else."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Even when the whole world tells you to stop being friends with me."

"Yup." He took her hand and hooked their pinkies together. "You have my word."

"Well then, apology accepted." Beaming, she rose from the bed and pulled him up by the arms. "Now you should go before my aunt gets here."

"Right! My mum would be so mad if she found out I was gone!"

A thunderous boom made the kids jump and scream as they clung to each other. In a blink of an eye, the rain came pouring down like a giant waterfall. With both arms wrapped around Harry's waist, Y/N hid her face into his chest when a flash of lightning blinded her. She knew it was silly but she couldn't help it. She was stuck in adrenaline mode.

Harry stared out of the window, watching the violent wind bending the trees, and he grumbled, "crap, how am I supposed to go home?"

"Then don't!" Y/N blurted, making the boy chortle.

"Are you scared?"

"I'm not! It's just—"

"Just what?" He cracked a smirk, held onto her shoulders and bent his knees to look into her eyes. "What did I tell you about watching those horror movies?"

"If you're only teasing me, then maybe you should go home." She shrugged his arms off and gave a dismissive wave of her hand, but the boy stayed right where he was instead of leaving. Sitting back on her bed, she crossed her arms and lifted an eyebrow at him. "Well?"

"I think I'm gonna stay," Harry said with a shrug. Without waiting for a response, he jumped back on the bed and lied down with his arms folded under his head.

"What about your mum? Wouldn't she be angry?" Y/N questioned as she held back a smile.

"She'd be angrier if I came home all soaked. Might as well just stay here and face the consequences in the morning."

Nodding once, the girl climbed on the bed to lie down on her back, her hands resting on her belly. She closed her eyes so the lightning couldn't bother her anymore, but then she felt Harry inching closer.

"I will protect you," he said.

Y/N turned to lie on her side as she opened her eyes slowly. She found herself mirroring him. His luminous green eyes were so different in moments like these, softer than she knew eyes could be. And she almost drifted off when she remembered what he'd just said.

Yawning, she told him, "the murderer would just kill you first."

"If there was a murderer, then we'd both be dead."

"I feel much safer now. You're doing a good job."

Harry snorted at her sarcasm while toying with a lock of her hair on her pillow. She didn't think he was aware of him doing that, but she didn't say a word, not wanting him to stop.

"I'll protect you from everything else," he went on. "Storms. Bullies. Spiders...Wait, you're the weirdo who loves spiders."

"They're cute. My teacher has one as a pet."

"Your teacher's a weirdo."

"That's...kinda true," she said, making both of them laugh.

"But seriously—" He stopped twirling her hair as his eyebrow snapped together. "I will protect you."

"I know you will." She giggled, clutching his hand and holding it tight.

When another bolt of lightning struck and rumbles of thunder shook the earth, she didn't even notice. Nothing could scare her now that he was here.

.

.

.

"You didn't have to come over, you know?" Y/N said as she locked the door, but Isaac didn't speak. He cautiously looked around her living room to make sure everything was normal. His hair was soaked from the rain and so was his jacket, which he shrugged off and hung on the coat stand by the kitchen door.

She knew no one else to call. Harry was in Paris, her father was in Holmes Chapel, her best friends had gone on their honeymoon. It was only at times like this that she began to see the importance of having more than a few people you could trust. She had never hated loneliness until tonight.

She'd called Isaac only to have someone to talk to. But what she hadn't expected was him driving all the way here in the pouring rain just to make sure she was okay.

"Have the police arrived?" he asked when she came out of her bedroom and brought him a towel to dry his hair.

"You came shortly after they'd left," she said. "They took care of the box, but there was no way to figure out who put it there."

"Have they checked the camera in the hallway?"

"There's no camera in the hallway. The lift here doesn't even work." Y/N covered her eyes with one hand and laughed out loud. She didn't know what was so funny about receiving a dead rat as a gift while living in the most unsecured building in London. But finding humor in a situation like this made her feel less anxious.

For the next fifteen minutes, they were just sitting on the couch and checking their phones in silence. Y/N didn't have anything to check on her phone, but she didn't know what to say to Isaac either. So she ended up looking through the old pics and reading old messages from Harry. She was too scared to even turn off the airplane mode, let alone go online and get bombarded by more hate words. At least those words didn't smell like dead rats.

"Ugh..." she grunted and held her nose. Just the thought of that nasty smell could almost make her vomit.

"You okay, Smiley?"

"I'm fine," she lied, nodding fast. And then the words just slipped out before she could stop them. "Do you think you can stay longer? I know you have to go to work tomorr—"

"I'll stay until sunrise, yeah?" he said without a second thought. "You can just go to bed. I'll still be here when you wake up."

"No, I'll...I'll stay up with you."

"You seem tired, Smiley."

"I'm not..."

She was though. She'd been struggling to keep her bloodshot eyes open ever since they sat down. But Isaac knew better than to argue with her.

"How about I get you a blanket and a pillow so you can lie down here?" he suggested.

She thought for a moment before giving him a nod. Her eyes followed him as he got up and walked to her bedroom. He came back not so long later with a blanket and a pillow, and took a seat in the armchair so she could take the couch. Y/N lied down on her side, facing him with her hands under her cheek. There was a window behind Isaac, and from where she laid, she could see lightning jag across the night sky, ripping it like paper. Quickly, she covered her ear before the loud thunder cracked the air, making Isaac jolt upright.

He chuckled when he saw her grin. "Are you making fun of me?"

"I am, yeah." She nodded, making him screw up his face.

"That's not how you treat your hero."

"Aww, I'm sorry, my hero," she said, pouting at him.

Isaac shook with laughter as he leaned back in his chair. Although he didn't want to show it, he was exhausted. She could see it in the way he stretched and kept rubbing his eyes with the heel of his palm.

"I hope after tonight you won't regret being my friend," she murmured, watching his eyes widen.

"No, I love being your friend," he said. But she didn't know how much of that sentence was the truth. She didn't speak, so he went on, "are you going to tell Harry about tonight?"

"I don't know." She stuck out her bottom lip, shaking her head. "He'll freak out for sure."

"Yeah, but you should tell him. Maybe wait until tomorrow."

"Yeah..." She gripped the blanket and shivered when there was another thunder. "I hope whoever sent me the rat got swept away by this rain."

Her random remark got Isaac laughing. "I hope so too," he said. "They deserve it."

"Promise you won't tell Harry?"

"That I was here?"

"No." She shook her head slightly, feeling a lump in her throat as she spotted the frown on his face. "Just don't tell him about tonight. I'll do it myself."

"Okay." He forced a smile. "I promise."

Neither of them said another word, and Y/N couldn't feel her muscles anymore. Her eyelids fluttered as her eyes became heavier and heavier, finally sending her into a dreamless sleep.

.

.

.

When Y/N woke up, Isaac wasn't sitting in his chair anymore. The window curtains were closed for he didn't want her to get blinded by the light. She pushed herself up from the couch, resting her arm on the backrest and looking around to find him. He wasn't there, but his jacket was still on the coat stand, so she assumed he was in the bathroom. She held onto her head, and the memories of what had happened seemed like a terrible nightmare. But she knew it'd been real because she could still smell the rat.

The ringtone caught her by surprise. She muttered a curse word and reached for her phone on the coffee table. It was Harry. Great! She had just woken up, and now she had to improvise a speech to explain the previous situation without freaking him out. She meant to sit and watch her phone ring, but her conscience didn't let her do it. So she let go of a harsh sigh and picked up the phone.

"Good morning, my favorite girl in the world!" he said with a sing-song voice, and she silently cursed him for it. She didn't want him to be so cheerful before she told him a real-life horror story.

"Hey, baby. I just woke up."

"What's wrong? You sound tired."

Fuck, he noticed.

"No, I...well..."

"Smiley, can I borrow a towel?"

Shit!

"Is that—"

"Smiley!"

"Yes!" Y/N almost screamed at Isaac, who was standing at her bedroom door. He quickly caught on to what was happening when he saw her on the phone, so he mouthed an apology and hurriedly went back inside.

"Is that Isaac?!" Harry sounded out of breath. "Why is he there at seven in the morning?"

"Harry—"

"Did he spend the night there? Bambi, please tell me—"

"Fuck, someone was outside my flat at 1 AM!"

The other side went silent. For a second, Y/N thought Harry was gone.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, but with a much softer tone this time.

Taking a deep breath, she kneaded her shoulder and shut her eyes and she said, "someone rang my doorbell at one in the morning. I came to answer it, but no one was there. There was a...a box."

"A box?"

"Yeah, a box...And...and there was—" A dead rat in it. "There was a note in it that said 'gold-digging slut'."

"Fuck," he cursed heavily. If this was his reaction to only the message, she didn't want to find out how he would've reacted had she told him about the rat.

"I called the police and they couldn't do anything about it, so I had to call Isaac. I didn't know anyone else, I—"

"It's okay, baby. I get it, I get it," he breathed. "I don't want you to stay there tonight, alright? I'll phone my assistant. You already have the key to my house so—"

"Harry, I cannot stay at your house."

"—I'll send a bodyguard. You'll be much safer there. I'll call my assistant right now," he said quickly, not listening to whatever she wanted to say.

"Harry!" she raised her voice, at the same time, laughing to lighten up the mood. But both of them knew she was awfully stressed out. "I can't...I can't stay at your house."

"Bambi, don't do this, okay?" Harry hissed, sounding so frustrated that it made her guilty she had brought this upon him. "You're staying at my house until I get back. Just a few days more, baby. Please."

She swallowed and massaged the back of her neck. She didn't want to bother him, but if she'd said no, he would've done something as crazy as gone home to her. She couldn't let that happen.

"Fine, I'll get my stuff," she said at last, blowing out her cheeks.

"Good girl." Her boyfriend sighed in relief. "I'll keep you safe, yeah? Even when I'm not there, I'll...I'll make sure that you're safe. Just a few days more and I'll be home with you and everything will be okay."

"Okay," she mumbled, faking a smile even though he couldn't see her.

When she was a little girl, she would feel safe every time he promised to protect her. But now she feared it wasn't true anymore. There were things that were not in his power. There were things that he couldn't prevent. She could only hope nothing worse would happen in the next few days before he returned. She needed him badly, now more than ever. If only she could tell him that...

[geewithluv]

◁ comforting each other ▷

Ｐａｉｒｉｎｇ：Maknae Line X Fem!OC

Ｇｅｎｒｅ： angst and fluff

Ｗａｒｎｉｎｇｓ：crying, anxiety, mention of parental death (takes place in the past), hate comments, references the Jungkook tattoo and tattoo shop incident.

Ｒａｔｉｎｇ：PG

Ｗｏｒｄ Ｃｏｕｎｔ：1.7

Ａ／Ｎ： «this belongs in my headcanon universe and you can read the other parts in the masterlist, the description of the characters is [here] so you get a summary of who they are. (hyung line version here) also Jimin’s is short compared to the other’s, sorry! »

ｍａｓｔｅｒｌｉｓｔ

ｊｉｍｉｎ

Everyone knew Jimin was head over heels in love with Harlow. It was pretty obvious and it was only a matter of time that it got a little too obvious and the public found out.

It was a no-brainer that Jimin and Harlow were going to be together for a very long time.

 At least it seemed like a no-brainer. Harlow didn’t mean to overhear a conversation between a couple of the makeup artists and she definitely didn’t mean to freeze in her spot long enough to hear them say everything they thought about her and Jimin. And most of all, she didn’t mean to spend so much time in a bathroom crying that Jimin busted in looking for her.

 So now, they were in the bathroom right after Jimin’s performance, holding each other as Harlow cried. She wasn’t quite ready to talk and Jimin, though understanding, was becoming a bit impatient due to his worry. “You’ve gotta tell me what happened so I can fix it, baby.” He tried to coax her into talking. One more loud sob made Jimin think it was a hopeless attempt but soon she started explaining.

 “Some of the girls were talking.” She said. Jimin knew who she meant immediately, it wasn’t like there were many women on the staff and Harlow didn’t know many well enough to refer to them outside honorifics. “They were saying we shouldn’t be together.”

 “Why would they say such a stupid thing!” Jimin’s eyes widened. He had known quite a few of the makeup and hair crew for a while and wouldn’t think they’d doubt his relationship like that.

“They said you don’t love me.” She muttered, trying not to start crying again.

 “You know that’s not true right.” His body stiffened. Harlow doesn’t respond. “Look at me.” He demanded. Her gaze quickly found his. “I love you so much.” He said as seriously as he could without becoming angered. “Anyone who thinks otherwise isn’t worth the energy it takes to hear their opinion.” Harlow nodded, rubbing her nose. “Now, let’s go where those dumbasses aren’t anywhere in sight. We can order some food and cuddle, how does that sound?” He asked.

 “Sounds great.” Harlow smiled. Jimin pulled her into a tight hug.

 “I’ll take care of them later, alright? For now, just know that I love you more than anything, baby.”

ｔａｅｈｙｕｎｇ

Taehyung had wondered, on more than one occasion, if he could shut twitter down. Of course he knew it’d take a lot of planning and money. But he’d do it if he could. Maybe just the trending page. That’d be a good start.

 Between the hate tweets from those who couldn’t name a BTS song, the hate tweets from those who liked the other 6 members better, and the hate tweets from those who only liked him and resorted to being hateful to his best friends, Taehyung felt so surrounded by negativity.

 As much as he knew, and told himself, that he was just going through a rough time and was having difficulty seeing anything but the positive, that didn’t make it easier. He knew that his life was good. He was safe and secure, loved by so many, good friends and family. He knew all was well. Which is why he hid the feeling for so long. He didn’t want to seem selfish.

 The boys noticed, of course they did, how could they not. It was only a matter of time before Bang PD noticed or was informed. They didn’t say anything, not yet at least. They hoped he was working on it. He knew he had a couple days to get it together before they confronted him.

 He didn’t need it though, because Claire noticed and confronted him immediately. “Tell me what’s wrong.” She said as they ate dinner. Taehyung looked up at her a little confused.

 “What?”

 “Something’s wrong. Don’t pretend everything is fine when I can tell it’s not. I don’t want to argue about it, so just tell me so we can work through it.” She set her fork down. To most people she might have seemed a little harsh, maybe pushy. But Taehyung admired her blunt “straight-to-the-point” nature.

 “Social media is kinda getting to me.” Taehyng ran his fingers through his growing hair, a little annoyed as the longer length had recently become a target for the hate. “It’s just a weird moment. Maybe the planets are doing that thing again. Retrograde?” He suggested an explanation. 

 “Have you talked to the guys? They’ve all gone through something similar, right?”

 “Yeah…” He sighed. “I haven’t talked to them, yet.” He felt kinda bad saying it outloud.

 “You don’t want to worry them, I know.” She explained. “But you need to tell someone. You can’t keep it all inside, insisting it’ll be okay and blow over eventually.”

 “I know,” Taehyung grabbed Claire’s hand from across the dinner table, “I’ll talk to someone. I promise.”

 “My dad never recovered. It’s been almost 20 years and he’s never gotten over it. My mother’s parent’s hardly talk to me because I remind them of her. Everyone tried to help her, but in the end no one else’s help mattered but her own.” Her eyes watered as she held his hand tighter. “I know you think I’m overreacting. That I’m taking it too far. But I’m worried about what happens if I don’t.” She kissed his knuckles softly. “Do what my mother didn’t do for herself, Tae. Before the storm gets too loud.”

 It was as open as she had been regarding her mother’s death. And in a weird way, Taehyung found a sense of comfort in her tears. Her tears and worry for him reminded him of how much love people feel for him. “I’ll call Bang first thing in the morning.”

 “You should call him now an--”

 “Stay the night.” He interrupted. “Stay the night and make sure I do. I won’t even leave the bed before calling.” He compromised. Claire nodded. “I love you, I’m not going anywhere, baby.” He reached over to kiss her lips.

 ｊｕｎｇｋｏｏｋ

Finally, Jungkook did something for himself. He had spent nearly a decade having to worry about every decision he made and how fans and press would react. Finally he did something for him. On the month long break he got tattoos. Something he wanted for so long, he finally did it. He was expecting some backlash from it. He knew some people would be upset but he wasn’t quite expecting some other headlines. First, were the CCTV photos and people thinking he was dating the woman next to him.

 Jungkook was upset, upset that his privacy had been invaded, upset that his friend had been dragged into it, and upset that his actual girlfriend couldn’t say anything about it. He apologized profusely to both women, more to Emmie of course.

 Second, a woman he thought he was friends with, a woman he let tattoo him, decided to take to social media. BigHit said to let them take care of it. Jungkook trusted them of course but there’s only so much you can do to silence someone. And unfortunately, this woman was out for him.

 “Jungkook does have a girlfriend, but it’s not me :)” was a caption on an instagram post. Jungkook felt his world collapse when he read it. He hoped, for a moment, that people wouldn’t believe it. He hoped that he could continue living a life with Emmie separate from the fame. But all hopes were crushed when she posted a photo of Emmie and Jungkook together. No way to say it was photoshopped, some people recognized Emmie since she designed for them a couple times. This was all wrong, everything was going wrong. He was supposed to reveal it on his own terms, or never. Never seemed like a better option after the initial reaction from fans. 

 Emmie turned comments off as soon as she found out, she would’ve gone private had she not been a verified account. She told her assistant to hold any calls for the next 48 hours as she would be turning her phone off. Her assistant understood but not Emmie had to worry if she would still have a showcase in a week. She wondered if her business would go under. She worried if Jungkook would leave her.

 They sat in silence at the Bangtan dorms. Too stunned to talk to each other or anyone else. The guys gave them some space. Only getting updated that the news was confirmed by BigHit and now they wait till it blows over.

 Emmie cried first. Both tried so hard to hold it together for the other. But she broke first. Jungkook shortly after. As soon as he heard the sob he lunged to wrap his arms around her. “Why can’t we just be a normal couple.” She cried into his chest, marinating his breaking heart with her tears. 

 “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. I’m so sorry.” He kept repeating. Holding her as if he was afraid she’d disappear if he didn’t.

 “It’s not fair, Jungkook!” She yelled, not at him but the situation. She broke free from his grasp. 

 “Emmie, Emmie don’t--” He started worrying without her in his arms.

 “Why won’t they let me love you! Let you love me! I’m just supposed to be the most hated woman in Korea, maybe even the world right now, cause I fell in love!”

 “I’m sorry!” He yelled.

 “Don’t you dare apologize!” She said, the guys debated on leaving their rooms to calm the situation. “It’s not your fault.” She softened. “You did nothing wrong.” She walked back over to him, taking his face in her hands. “You have done nothing wrong, Jungkook.”

 “I’ll do anything to be with you, to keep you safe, to keep loving you. I’ll sue every single person who says something bad. I promise. I’ll make them open a whole department in BigHit dedicated to stopping the hate. I’ll do that. I need you.”

 “We’ll figure it all out.” She told him, sniffling. “Right now, I just wanna be with you. In this way too silent apartment, holding you, pretending it’s not a warzone out there. That’s all I want right now.”

“I can do that. We can do that.” He said, and so they did. For two days they stayed in their happy place. Away from anyone with anything negative to say.

I know I said I’d finish soon, but a month slipped away from me because I moved, then moved back home because of some horrible stuff so I haven’t been writing or reblogging. I’ve been up-to-date thanks to twitter lol! Just not reblogging here. Hopefully I’ll be more available and stable (in terms of housing) to write lol. Thanks for reading, I don’t think Tumblr likes me anymore because I don’t show up in tags ;( if you see this give it a like! Or message me! I do take requests! This is getting long, sorry! Thanks again!

[skyecrandall]

A Choices Halloween - Choices Fic

Books: Features characters from many different books

Words: Around 3000

Genre: Comedy

Summary: Kenji Katsaros is hosting a Halloween party where other influential persons like Thomas Hunt, Kamilah Sayeed or Sloane Washington are attending. Unfortunately things do not turn out as the hero hoped to.

"Hello everyone! I hope you guys are ready for the best Halloween party of the world!" Said the man coated in bronze, generally known as Talos to the general public. "Yeeaaah!" Yelled the crowd gathered on the dance floor. "I would just like to thank all of you for coming to this event! It is all thanks to you that this party will be considered as such! After all, how can you make an awesome party without super awesome people! Am I right?" Said Talos. "Yeah!" Echoed throughout the crowd. "I won't hold you guys down any longer! However let's just have a souvenir selfie!" Said the superhero as he turned his back to the crowd and lifted up his phone so that it could capture him and part of the crowd. "Everyone say Spooky Socks!" He said as he clicked the selfie. "Now... Party hard everyone! Just try to not break anything!" Said Talos as he got off the stage.

'We are having an amazing party here! Totally not missing you two!' He typed in the picture before sending it to Eva. A few seconds after the seen marker pop up but no reply, even after five minutes. 'At least reply if you've seen it!' Typed Kenji and after a few seconds Eva replied with a photo. The photo's content was her in the corner of the frame and the main target being Alex, in a very revealing demon outfit. It also had the caption: 'Sorry can't speak to you right now. There is someone more worthy of my attention 😏' This caused Kenji to nearly throw his phone away when a tap on his shoulder. He turned his head around and saw cute girl in a regency era costume.

"I am Imogen Wescott and I would like to personally thank you for hosting this amazing party!" She said with a bright smile. "Ugh thanks? But how did you get to the backstage? Weren't you on the dance floor with the others?" asked Talos. "It is too early to head for the dance floor. Plus too many sweaty people out there currently, maybe later. Moreover I wanted to thank the host personally," said Imogen brightly. "Thanks! And yeah, I should have probably looked for somewhere with a better dance floor?" Replied Talos. "Also I'm wondering do you have any superhero buddies who works around Pine Springs or Westchester? Weird stuff have been happening in the region lately," she said. "Not really, but we will see if we can come by someday," said Talos. "Sweet. Now if you'll excuse me, I saw a butler with really cute snacks on it," said Imogen as she waved to the bronze clad superhero before chasing after the butler who were serving certain pair.

"Oh my god Zack! Look how appealing these snacks are!" Squealed Madison at the skull shaped mimi-muffins in her hand. "They are so well done that I'm getting willies just by looking at them," frowned Zack before throwing the cake away while no one was looking. "I know right. Thanks again for coming with me Zack! Nobody wanted to come with me to the party," said Madison. "No problem. I'd be a fool to miss out an opportunity to have fun with someone like you! I wondered why you didn't take Becca instead with you," asked Zack who was dressed as a pirate. "She has an important assignment for her courses later this week and preferred to prepare herself instead of coming with me. She is working really hard for it and I respect her choice. She even got Sarah to come around to help her. I also couldn't get anyone from the Sorority since they are having their own party," explained Madison as she munched down the skull. "With Sarah around, I doubt she'd be able to focus much," smirked Zack. "Maybe," smiled Madison.

"Oh my god look at that girl! She looks just like you, except maybe a few years older," said Zack as he pointed towards two woman who just entered the party. One of them was wearing a green swamp monster outfit while the other blonde one was wearing a skin tight cat outfit. "Oh wow, you are right! And look at their outfits! We have to go and introduce ourselves!" Beamed Madison. "But they are across that massive crowd," said Zack shocked. "It will all be worth it! Come on!" Said Madison as she dragged Zack by the hand towards the crowd.

The two women those two were talking about were none other that Sereena Patel and Brooke Williams. "Yes! This party looks so fun! And all those wonderful costumes!" Squealed Brooke. "Wonderful costume? Most of the outfits that I have seen would probably have the sexy adjective stuck onto them. Modern Halloween is just an excuse for the patriarchy to be able to look at women in revealing out-" said Sereena before she was lightly slapped by Brooke. "Listen Sereena. This is a girl's night out. We are here to have fun and unwind ourselves. Especially you need to do so after stressing out so much these last few days. Plus if we went to Cole's party instead, I'm pretty sure a skimpy outfit would be obligatory..." said Brooke. Sereena was angry that her best friend slapped her, but deep down she knew Brooke was right and that she'd rather be in any other party than Cole's. "It is just that I'm losing my mind every time I'm seeing something sexualised. I mean do you know how many sexy nuns I have seen today! Wasn't The Nun a horror movie? Not a sexy romance one? And aren't nuns supposed to represent chasit-" argued Sereena before she was slapped yet again by Brooke. "You. Me. Have Fun," said Brooke threateningly. Sereena was going to blow up when suddenly a girl a Starfall outfit and a guy in a pirate outfit came.

"Wow your costumes are amazing!" Said Madison. "Am I already drunk? Why do I see two Brookes? "More important is that a Starfall costume? It looks so good! If Ben was here with us he would be so proud!" Said Brooke. "Wait you know Ben Park! I'm such a fan of his artwork for Venus Corp?" Squealed Madison. "Yes! He's part of our friend group! Oh, I'm Brooke by the way!" Replied Brooke. "And I'm Madison! Come over! I think we'll have a good time together!" Said the other blonde as the two of them walked away, deep in conversation.

"I guess it is just the two of us now," said Zack amazed by how the blondes got along so quickly. "And before you even try it, I'm not interested in you," said Sereena, annoyed that her partner left her alone with another guy. "Why would I even try to flirt with you? I'm only interested in guys. Maybe if you looked like Talos it would be another case," said Zack. "Oh sorry. It is just that I'm tired with men coming to me and flirting," apologized Sereena. "I can feel you. Heteros and their hetero bullshit assuming everyone is straight like them," added Zack. "I like you. My name is Sereena," smiled Sereena before reaching over for a handshake. "And I'm Zack! Let's go have a drink! We have to talk more," said Zack as both of them started walking towards the bar. As they walked towards there, Sereena noticed an odd trio consisting of two women and an old man in Santa outfits. They seemed really familiar but she'd rather focus on the man she just met.

"So guys, what do you think of this party?" Asked one of the women of the trio. She is known as Priya La Croix and is one of the most famous fashion designer currently. "It is nice but the host baited me hard with his 'Bloodwine'. I expected real blood in it, not a blood red wine with hints of pomegranate in it," said the Baron as he took a sip of his drink. "He is not really a vampire, so it is not really surprising that his appetizers do not really appeal to us that much. Still it is a rather decent party," said Kamilah. "We should host our own party and get him to taste real Bloodwine. Can you imagine his face when he discovers that he actually drank real blood," said Priya. "We should replace the human blood by rat blood instead. It would be even more fun," joked the Baron. "We are not going to ruin such a fantastic drink by mixing it with cheap rat or chicken blood. Furthermore, we should very likely not talk about this out open in the public eye. We do not want to look suspicious," said Kamilah. "No, I think we are good. If there is anyone suspicious out here, it is those two by the corner there. They look fishy with those electric blue lines on their face yet they are wearing a medieval outfit," said Priya.

The persons Priya was talking about were the Elara siblings, Pax and Eos who came back to the past. "That was cool of you for inviting me on your trip to the past Pax. I'm glad you are trusting me more," smiled Eos. "The only reason I brought you was because that would prevent you from telling Nova about my machine. Trust me, I'd rather take Holmes with me that your ugly ass," said Pax a little annoyed. "For your information, I have a nice ass. Zekei can attest to it. Also are you sure this medieval outfits will help us blend in?" Asked the elder brother. "I think they will do good. It is a Halloween party, so even if we came in our regular clothes is would be okay," replied Pax. "How did you get hold of these anyway?" Asked Eos. "Oh these outfits? I went back in the past as a test run and brought these as souvenirs," said Pax. "Wait! You used it without consulting us? What if you got stuck back then? How the hell would have we been able to bring you back to our era??" Exclaimed a shocked Eos. "Shut up! Someone is coming," said the younger sister as she noticed a woman approaching.

"Wow! Your costumes of Val Greeves and Will Jackson are so good! And I'm also a fan how you decided to give it a more sci-fi look with those blue bands. Oh sorry where are my manners. My name is Imogen Wescot," said the woman. "I'm Eos and this is my sister Pax and we are hapoy that you like our costumes" said Eos. "What are you doing in such a remote corner though! You guys should be strutting out your amazing costumes! You guys deserve more attention," said Imogen. "Uh this what we are trying to avoi-" continued Eos before Pax secretly elbowed him in the gut. "Oh I know your type! You want to be part of the fun but also don't want to be in the spotlight. How about you guys come with me on the dance floor? At this time it is not that crowded and people will barely notice you. So how about spending some time with me?" Asked Imogen. "Why am I getting the feeling that we will have to pay 20 diamonds to be able to do that?" Said Eos but he was ignored. "Sure! We'd love to!" Said Pax with a smile as she started following Imogen. Eos quickly walked towards Pax and whispered in her ear, "Shouldn't we try and stay hidden? What if we cause a time paradox?" "Its okay Eos. Time paradox only occurs in sci-fi movies. Plus Nathaniel Hoealot already debunked this stupid mytho. It does not exist. Let's just have fun," said Pax. "Why do I feel something bad is going to happen later on though," sulked the elder brother.

Eos was not the only one a little worried. By the entrance, a certain highschooler was also anxious. "Are you sure we are at the right party Micheal? I can't really see anyone we know here," said Maria Flores. "I think they might just be friends of Payton's sister. I heard they once invaded Autumn's party," said Michael. "Still, I'm not sure Payton would have been able to get us such a grand place for the party," argued Maria. "If you are that worried, why don't you just call her?" Said Michael as he started walking towards a nearby snack table. "Good idea. Aw come on! I forgot my phone! Let me use yours," said Maria after digging through her purse. Michael took out his phone and then shrugged. "Looks like we have the worst luck ever. My phone just died out. No battery," he said. "Ugh. Is this karma for when I returned an application half an hour late," replied Maria. "Listen.I'm sure it is her party, let's go deeper inside. The group will be there," continued Michael. "I don't know... I think I'm just going to wait outside for a little bit," said Maria as turned around, nearly bumping into someone in a black ghost outfit.

"Oh my god, Micheal. I don't know what to do. They are kinda scary," whispered Maria into his friend's ear. "Let me take care of this," whispered Michael back. "Hey there! Sorry for the little incident," said Michael in a friendly tone to Redfield. "Your costume is so good! It almost feels real!" He added as he went closer to the spirit and tried to grab what he believed was cloth, but his hand ended up going through the spirit's whole body. "Wh-wh-what the hell???" Said a panicked Michael. "It's not a p-p-person, it's a real ghost!" Yelled Maria as the ghost's face suddenly lit up in flames. "Maria! Run!" Yelled Michael as they both started running away.

Redfield using his levitation power lifted the table and tried throwing it at them, fortunately missing the highschoolers. However this caused the a mass panic at the party. The noise from the screams caused Redfield to grow more angry and attacked the persons closest to him. He took Thomas Hunt before throwing him across the room. He then grabbed Sloane Washington and then threw her on the snacks table. His gaze then soon trailed onto Drake Walker. "Me choke you, ugly man," said Redfield as he grabbed Drake by the neck. "But...Riley said...I was...gorgeous" said Drake as he tried escaping the ghost's grip. "She lied! You look... like a rotten potato!" said Redfield when Talos tried to kick him but ended up passing through the ghost. "No one is getting choked in my presence. Even ugly people," said Talos as he jumped back to his feet. "Go away!" screeched Redfield as he threw Drake like a slingshot on Kenji, knocking both of them unconscious.

"Should we not try and stop this ghost from killing those humans?" commented the Baron before sipping on his drink. "Since it seems to be an immaterial being, I doubt we will be able to accomplish much," said Kamilah. "The how about we ditch this party and crash another. I heard some high school students are hosting one nearby,"said Rpiya while checking her phone. "Seriously? High school students? Didn't you say that you had standards Lacroix?" commented the Baron. "That's where the fun is at. We will crash the party and show them how to really have fun! We'll even bring in some Bloodwine," suggested Priya. "Hmmm Let's go!" said Kamilah and the group of friends started walking towards the exit while dodging the flying furniture.

"Oh my god, we need to do something?" said Pax. "Eat that!" roared Eos as he fired his plasma gun at Redfield but that only succeeded at making the ghost more angry. "When I said that we needed to do something, I was talking more about running away! Wait? where did Imogen go?" yelled Pax. "No time to think about that! Let's go! That thing is now coming towards us!" yelled Eos as he activated the time travel device and they both disappeared back into the future before Redfield could get to them. Imogen was actually hiding in the corner texting Tom. "Hey Tom, big problem here. Ghost like monster. Immaterial black body," she typed and very soon after Tom replied. 'Redfiled? What is he doing there? Listen Imogen, find a safe place and remain hidden there and in absolutely no instances play any games with him!' typed Tom. "Why can't I have any parties without any monsters," she mumbled to herself.

Confused by the sudden disappearance of his pray, the spirit looked around and found two persons who seemed to be still having fun. It was Sereena and Zack who were in one of the private isolated booths. Somehow these two were so deep in conversation that they did not notice the carnage outside. Red field barged inside, scaring both occupants. "What The H-" was Zack able to say before Redfield swatted him away.

"What the hell are you doing!" yelled Sereena, angry again. Redfield was going to grab her when Sereena raised her voice again. "Don't you dare touch me!" she said. Redfield decided to roar at her but his attempts to make the lady scared were in vain. "So this is how it is eh? I'm not scared of people who think they can scream their way," she said. Redfield was going to grab her yet again but Sereena didn't let him. "I said, no TOUCHING!" she said as she grabbed her drink and threw it on the ghost's face, somehow making it wet. "I'm sick of your bullshit. Now I am going to talk and you are going to listen. I had finally found something redeemable in that party, something being Zack and you probably got his a ticket to the hospital. I was already angry that I was forced to come in this party where most persons are sexualised from head to toe. This is especially nerve wracking since a majority of those are women outfits but then now you come in and decide to make me even more angry? This is just wrong and rude!" she yelled as she now took Zack's drink and threw it on Redfield's face again. "You know what you are? Just a petty little bitch. People like you try to showoff how much of an alpha they are. But deep down they know that they are just a puny little bitch inside. They try to act tough thinking this will hide their insecurity but oh boy they are transparent," said Sereena as she tried reaching out for her glass. "God dammit, I'm out of drink thanks to you now. Why do I have to be sober right now, ugh? Anyway ghost dude, I want you to take your trashy little ass and get the fuck out of my way before I get really angry and let me tell you that me being angry is the worst thing that can happen to people understood. I don't care that you can fling people around because I know that deep inside you a just a little bitch who throws temper tantrums around to sound interesting however you end up being really rude and become an attention whore. What are you going to do now? Try to fling me around too? But I bet you have no balls to do so and you will just end up running outside to cry," added Sereena and as she said, Redfield ran towards the exit with a distorted cry.

"Wow, Sereena... you scared an actual ghost away," said Brooke who slowly crawled towards Sereena. "What? It was a real ghost?" said Sereena shocked and Brooke replied with a slight nod. 'Anyway can we just go some place where we can get some alcohol? I don't think this party will be serving now," proposed Sereena. "Let's go to Double Tap . My treat," said Brooke as the two walked away. "With your sphere of prettiness we will likely get those for free, but I don't really mind," smiled Sereena.

------

3 Hours Later

"Don't Worry Imogen! I'm here and I brought some friends along!" said Tom with an ax raised behind him. Along with him were also the rest of his Westchester friends. "Looks like Redfield is looking for more ass kicking," said Stacy. However the group were shocked to find the villa free from any ghosts or people. "Oh hey guys! Sorry, no after party this tie. Can't really party with broken limbs," said Kenji who just arrived from the noise, in his crutches. "But what about Mr.Red? Where is he?" asked Lily. "The ghost? It ran away crying like a child after a woman berated him. A really scary one," said Kenji. "Oh--okay... Let's go then guys," said Lucas.

---

Finally managed to rewrite the whole thing after I forgot to save the draft the other time. BTW I hope you gus had fun reading this. :3333

Tagging: @choiceslife and the neutral squad @wlwkateomalley @teamtomsato @lovethemarshalltwins @nuttatulipa

Read my other fics here

[fictionobsession]

Little Talks (Part Two)

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader

Summary: Some days I can’t even trust myself…

Warnings: Angst, Drinking, Sex Mention

Words: 1,704

A/N: Here’s a second part to Little Talks! Thanks so much to my friend @scholarlyspidey for giving me the motivation to keep posting!

Tags: @parkersolo @scholarlyspidey @tomsh0lland @verielos @spiderboytotherescue

-

-

Tom was sitting in his and Harrison’s apartment scrolling through Instagram, hoping to get caught up with everyone’s goings on. He stopped once or twice to like a picture of Zendaya or Jacob and then kept scrolling. Suddenly, your face appeared on his screen, a photo of you with some guy, captioned, “Had a wonderful night out with Max! Can’t wait for more nights like this!” Tom calmly put his phone on the table in front of him and hung his head over the back of the couch.

It had been a few days since you had drunk dialed him and he had shown up at your house. He wasn’t surprised by your reaction, but he was surprised that he hadn’t heard from you at all. This made it make so much more sense. You had a new boyfriend, you probably hadn’t even thought about the events of the other night. As Tom considered this, a scowl formed on his face.

Harrison walked in just in time to notice the abrupt change in demeanor from when he had left the room moments ago to grab a beer. “Guess you saw [Y/N]’s post then, mate?” he assumed, a look of pity crossing his features before he caught himself. “You knew she wouldn’t wait for you forever, though. You didn’t tell her how you felt the other day, did you?”

Tom looked over to catch Haz’s accusatory glare. “No,” he snapped, “and now I’m damn glad I didn’t, aren’t you?” He let his head fall in his hands and he rubbed his eyes, trying to get the picture of you and Max out of his head. He couldn’t believe he’d ever had a chance with you to begin with, despite Haz trying to tell him otherwise. “I wish we could at least be friends again, you know?”

Haz was no longer glaring, but took a swig of his beer and said, “Then why don’t you go see her?”

“That’s creepy, Haz,” Tom retorted. “I’m not showing up at her place uninvited twice in the same week.”

“You used to do it all the time,” Haz reasoned, “before you started being weird and absent.”

The reminder stung Tom as if he’d been slapped, but he knew that Haz was right. He didn’t want to see you though, knowing you were with another guy. He couldn’t trust himself not to admit everything to you. Admit how much he loved you, and that he wanted to see you every day and kiss you and show you how amazing and appreciated you were. He didn’t know if he could manage looking in those beautiful eyes without crumbling in front of you. Unfortunately, if he ever wanted to mend the friendship, he was going to have to try.

“You just need to fix this,” Haz finished, “while you still can.”

Tom shook his head, but picked up his phone from the table and grabbed his coat from beside the door. I hope she doesn’t hate me for this was the only thought on his mind from the moment he stepped out onto the sidewalk until he was standing at your door. He raised his free hand to knock, the other being preoccupied holding your favorite flowers.

He could feel his hands getting clammy, his nerves almost making him back out of talking to you at all. He imagined all the shit he’d get from Harrison when he came back without even a decent lie to explain why he hadn’t spoken with you. He takes one last gulp of air and knocks.

He can hear giggles on the other side, and the door swings open, revealing you in a sweatshirt that was much too big to ever belong to you, your hair in a very particular kind of mess, and a voice that calls, “Who is it, babe? Tell them to go away, we’re busy.”

Tom felt his entire world crumble. His face went pale, and he dropped the flowers he had been so delicately holding trying to avoid messing them up. His mouth gaped for only a moment, before his face become stone, unreadable and cold. He was sure he’d remembered to message you that he was heading over. He was so upset that he hadn’t waited for your reply, but there was no reversing what was done.

You were just as surprised as he was, your mouth opening and closing, unsure of what to say to make this encounter less awkward than it already was. You caught the pain on Tom’s face just before he fixed his expression, and you knew it was weird to catch your best friend in an intimate moment, but you couldn’t figure out why he was there in the first place.

“T-Tom? Why are you here? Is everything okay?” You question, your face scrunching up in concern and confusion.

“Everything is fine, [Y/N], just fine.” Tom turns around and leaves without any explanation for his arrival, no comment about why he had flowers, no attempt to joke about the awkwardness of the situation. He turned and walked, and walked, and walked, until he finally found himself at a bar, drunk and dancing with some girl whose name he had never bothered to learn.

He drank enough that he could stand the thought of bringing no-name home with him, trying to forget that he ever knew you, forget that you’re the only one who ever mattered to him, forget you were with someone else. He managed to call a taxi and hoped Harrison was either gone or already asleep.

Tom and the nameless blonde kissed their way into his apartment, finding their way to the bedroom. She had been undressing him with her eyes all night, and now she was seemingly getting what she’d wanted. She started pulling her shirt off, and Tom watched, but cringed when he looked at her face, knowing that she wasn’t you.

Tom watched her undress, and then she started taking his clothes off. As soon as she started to remove his pants, Tom couldn’t take it anymore. He couldn’t take her not being you. He couldn’t stand the thought of meaningless sex when he’d ruined even a friendship with the only girl he’d ever loved. “Get out” he said, shoving the girl off him more roughly than he’d intended.

The blonde’s eyes turned to daggers as she gathered her clothes. She stood and glared at him before he reiterated the point by opening the bedroom door and gesturing for her to exit. She finished buttoning up her shirt with a sigh, called him every name she could think of, and left the apartment.

As soon as she was out of the apartment, Tom felt himself slide down his doorframe, tears streaking his face at everything he had lost. He wanted to… no, needed to, talk to you. He had to. His pride was his downfall, though, and he’d never pick up that phone after he’d been drinking.

Soon, he felt a hand gently touch his shoulder. He hadn’t realized Harrison had been woken up by his poor decisions, but he shouldn’t have been surprised. Haz pulled him up from his spot on the floor, handing him a bottle of water. “You should’ve known that wouldn’t have worked, you div. You’re in far too deep for that.”

Tom looked at Haz and knew that, once again, he was right. Tom hated how often Haz had been right about you. Haz had told him that he needed to make his move or he’d lose it, Haz had known that distance wasn’t going to help the aching in Tom’s chest, Haz had known that Tom would be full of regret if he tried to be with anyone else before he told you how he felt. Haz was his best friend, but sometimes it was extremely frustrating to have someone know him better than he knew himself.

Harrison patted Tom on the shoulder, before making the most shocking statement Tom had heard all night. “You might wanna put your shirt on, she’s coming over, mate. Sober up a bit, you’re gonna have to talk about it. I’m going to bed.” And with that, Harrison left Tom sitting on their couch, staring with a dumbfounded look as Haz’s bedroom door shut behind him.

It wasn’t long after Tom had managed to get up and put more clothes on that he heard the click of the front door closing. He felt like puking, but not from the alcohol. He couldn’t believe that Harrison had called you. His cheeks turned a deep shade of red, and he couldn’t stop running his hand through his brown curls.

“Tommy, what’s happening?” Your voice grated against his ears, the only time he could remember it not sounding like the most beautiful music he’d ever heard. “Tom, talk to me.”

“No, [Y/N], I can’t. I cannot have this conversation right now, not after the day I’ve had,” Tom fought against you, still stubborn to keep his feelings to himself.

“Tom, I did not come out here at midnight for you to not talk to me. Haz said you needed me. Now tell me, what’s wrong?” Your words should have sounded frustrated, but instead they just seemed full of concern.

“[Y/N],” Tom started, his face twisting with the pain of the thoughts going through his head. He couldn’t believe you’d shown up just because Haz said he’d needed you. That had to mean something, right? It had to mean something.

“[Y/N],” he started again, “it’s killing me to see you this way. It’s killing me to see you with other people, happy with other people, sleeping with other people. I know you’ve never been mine like that, but god, darlin’ I just want to be that for you. I want to be the one you fall asleep with, the one whose hand you hold, the one who knows you best. I want to be your world, like you are mine. But I know that’ll never happen, you’re happy with him. I love you, [Y/N]. God I love you. But now I think you need to leave. I know you don’t feel the same. You don’t even need to bother apologizing. Goodbye, [Y/N], thanks for the little chat.”

[ella-insideout]

I wasn’t told you’d be this cold (Part V)

A/N: Well, well, well. Welcome to part 5 of angsty uni!Harry. Read parts one, two, three, and four. Usual disclaimer: this is based off a very real and very sad relationship I was in during uni. There’s a lot of angst here and so much more to come. ENJOY xx  

Word count: 5.2k

Being heartbroken is a funny thing. Some people will use their heartbreak to propel them forward; they’ll exercise more or throw themselves into their work to move on as quickly as possible. Others will wallow in self-pity; they’ll lay in bed for days straight and push away anyone who tries to comfort them. Helena, unfortunately, dealt with her heartbreak in that manner.

Helena can’t remember the last time she left her house. She doesn’t remember life before the night of her party; everything’s been a blur since the moment she saw Harry profess his love for someone else. She spends her days in bed watching Netflix and taking naps. And once again, she’s lost her appetite and can feel herself falling down the same hole she had just crawled out of (with Harry’s help). She cries when Harry crosses her mind (which is far too often) and her chest feels tight when she thinks back to everything that happened between them. Sadly Helena continues to check his social media in the hopes of seeing he’s no longer with Rachel, only to find photo after photo of them together with captions explicitly professing his love.

It’s now been 6 days of wallowing and Helena hit her limit. She’s sick of laying in bed all day and night—her unwashed hair feels greasy (she’s sure it must smell) and her muscles ache from their lack of use. As she steps out of her bed for the first time in almost a week, she’s slightly relieved. She stands up slowly, afraid of becoming lightheaded, and makes her way to the bathroom at the other end of her room. Each step is agonising, requiring an insane amount of effort, but she eventually gets to her shower. She turns the knob to the ‘hot’ side and as the water warms, Helena takes off the ratty shirt and pyjama shorts she’d been sporting since that fateful night. She catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror and barely recognises her own reflection—her cheeks are sunken in, she’s got dark circles under her eyes, and she looks absolutely miserable. She wants to smile at her reflection, she wants to try and feign happiness for one moment but the muscles won’t move. They’re stuck in a permanent frown for the time being.

Helena lets out a long sigh as she steps into her shower, the hot water feeling slightly foreign to her body. And though it took all her willpower to get her body in there, she now wonders how she’s going to get herself out. The steam, coupled with the scent of her lavender body wash, may be physically relaxing but Helena’s mind is still reeling. While washing her face, her fingers trace over her lips and she instantly thinks back to the last person who touched them. She recalls the way Harry’s thumb ghosted over her bottom lip before he pressed his own against hers. They were sitting on her blanket in the park, the sun was out and Helena can recall the warmth from its rays on her exposed shoulders and ankles. The hot water on her skin feels eerily similar and Helena begins tearing up. She haphazardly cleans her face and immediately turns the water off, throws open her shower door and partially covers her body with a towel before falling to the floor and sobbing. Her sobs are loud and rack her body, making her involuntarily convulse with each wail. Harry’s ruined her, she thinks, and she will never escape his memory. She’s not sure how much time has passed, but eventually her sobs subside enough to dry off her damp body and wrap herself in a fluffy bathrobe.

As she sits down on her bed, Helena realises it must’ve been days since she last checked her texts. Bella checked in with her semi-regularly but also knew that Helena needed her space, and despite looking up Harry’s social media, she’s hardly been on her phone. She sees she’s got four texts—one from Bella (checking in, again) and three from Niall. Helena’s been putting off opening Niall’s messages but now decides that she needs to bite the bullet and see what he’s sent her.

hey… so sorry I missed the party yesterday. hope ur not too pissed at me. I owe u a gift, let me know when I can give it to u

been a couple days and no reply. I don’t want to be dramatic but pls don’t be mad, let me treat u to a bday pint

ok I know I fucked up but pls forgive me? I want to be a better friend to u, bday pint offer is still up if u want

The last text was sent just a few hours earlier. Helena checks the time and sees that it’s almost 7pm. It’s Thursday and she’s not entirely sure of Niall’s work schedule but she plucks up the courage to send him a short reply.

I can meet you in an hour if you’re free. But come to Dulwich?

Niall replies almost instantly.

sounds good, send the address when u get a chance !

Helena types back the name and postcode of a pub down the road, too afraid of inviting Niall into her home. She wants to tell him about Harry and learn what he knows, and doing that in her home makes her feel even more vulnerable. She tosses her phone down on the bed and begins getting ready. Though she feels nervous, Helena needs her friends. And she needs someone who knows Harry just as well as she does.

—

A bell chimes as Helena walks through the pub’s double doors and Niall’s head immediately perks up. He gives her a small smile and she walks toward the table; Niall stands up to greet her and gives a tight bear hug.

“Happy belated, Hels,” he says into her neck, still not letting go, “sorry again I missed it.” He kisses her cheek when he pulls away and Helena gives him a small smile (the first one she’s mustered up in a while) as she takes a seat.

“Thank you, Ni. I was really sad when you didn’t come.” She glances down, afraid of making eye contact.

“Sorry,” he says sheepishly, “but I got ya a present t’hopefully make up for it!” He bends down and places a small bag on the table. Helena is a bit taken aback—she figured the present Niall mentioned over text was the birthday pint. He actually went and bought something? she thinks to herself as she begins removing the tissue paper that’s over her gift.

She gets to the bottom of the bag and finds a birthday card Niall signed. There’s a bit next to his signature that has white-out covering it and Helena assumes it must’ve been Harry’s signature. Her breath is caught in her throat at the thought of him again, the thought that he signed her birthday card and therefore this gift isn’t just from Niall, but Harry, too. He and Niall picked it out together, bought it together, and signed her card together. Helena wants to jump across the table and hug Niall to thank him for concealing Harry’s signature and ultimately removing Harry from her gift, from her birthday. The thoughtfulness behind that small act of kindness makes Helena feel better. However, when Helena sees the gift she realises that Harry can’t be removed from it because it’s clearly from him to her.

It’s two vintage tees of the Spice Girls and McFly from their older tours that Helena was too young to attend. Helena remembers the first time Harry came to visit her home and she’d shown him her bedroom complete with posters of both bands. He’d teased her about her taste in music and the fact that she still kept the posters up despite the fading colours and lack of new music from either group.

“Hope you like it,” Niall beams at her, “I knew you’re a fan of them both! Saw the shirts at a shop near the venue and I just had to get ‘em.”

“Yeah, I love them. Thank you!” She attempts to smile as she stuffs the shirts back into the bag. Niall stands up to get their drinks from the bar and Helena is thankful that the pub isn’t too crowded tonight so she’s not alone with her thoughts for too long.

“Ni… I, er, need to tell you something.” Helena says as he sits back down opposite her, sliding her pint glass over. “It really hurt my feelings when you an—and Harry didn’t show up to my party. I know it may seem overdramatic, but I was really looking forward to you both being there.”

“I know, I totally fucked up,” Niall nods his head, “M’really, really sorry about that. A lot went on that day and I didn’t wan’to show up by myself and explain it to ya. Not at your party.”

“I saw it anyway, on Instagram.” She explains, “Harry ditched me. For her.”

“You have every right to be upset, believe me. But a lot happened that day… I, I don’t want to tell ya because it’s not my place. But Harry is a proper git for leaving ya behind, and you can quote me on tha’.”

Helena begins tearing up and though she breathes deeply, hoping to calm down, a few tears leak out and slide down her cheeks. “Niall… I lo-love him. I love Harry. M’fucking head over heels, stupid in love with him.” She breathes out and places her head in her hands, full-on crying. Niall pulls his chair up to next to her and begins rubbing her back.

“Fuck, I didn’t know that.” He whispers to her. “‘ave you told Harry?” She lifts her head up and shakes it while wiping at the corners of her eyes.

“No… Maybe I should’ve. But I think it would hurt even more if he knew.”

“Look… Harry, he’s… He’s bad at this stuff. ‘Bad at love’, as he puts it. I know, though, he cares lots about you,” Niall grabs Helena’s hands in his own, “he’s just stupid right now. He’s a guy—we’re all dumb at this age right?” He lightly chuckles, making Helena’s lips slightly turn up, “he’s doing stupid things. But he really does care for you, just let him get his act together.”

“I hope you’re not trying to get my hopes up.” Helena says sadly.

“Would never. Just tellin’ ya the truth.”

—

It’s been three weeks since Niall and Helena’s heart-to-heart and Helena is actually feeling better. She still cries most days (not all) and checks Harry’s social media more often than she’d care to admit, but overall she’s okay. Her heart is still beating, her lungs are still breathing, and she decided she won’t allow Harry to have so much power over her. She and Bella ventured up to Manchester for a music festival and though being in Harry’s hometown made Helena anxious, she was okay. He didn’t occupy her mind like she thought he would—she was having too much fun. She spent the weekend smiling and jumping around in a muddy field with her best friend. She was drunk most of the time but only drunkenly cried over Harry twice. Twice over an entire weekend. That seemed like progress to her.

Helena was getting ready to go out with Bella and Niall—it’s a Saturday night, after all. The two had been teaming up to keep Helena happy and occupied, and it worked most of the time. She felt happier and her friends’ love and care was more than enough to make up for Harry’s lack of love. The venue Niall worked at was having a free gig and Niall knew the band, so the three would have backstage passes and a guaranteed entrance to the after-party. Helena was nervous and excited; neither she nor Bella knew anything about the band or the type of music they played. Niall had promised them a night of fun and that was exactly what Helena needed.

The girls were running late (on the walk to the overground, Bella realised she needed to wear more comfortable shoes) and got there after the band started playing. Luckily Niall greeted them outside the venue, preventing them from having to search through a sweaty crowd. Niall put an arm around each girl’s shoulders as he led them inside, nodding his head to the usher standing by the door. The spent majority of the show in the back of the room—the band had a slightly punk vibe to their music which started a small mosh pit toward the front of the crowd. At some point, Niall left Helena and Bella to join in (never one to turn down a mosh pit, he said) but the two stayed behind sipping their drinks and jumping along to the music. Niall came back before the last song and took them backstage to wait for the band.

“How’s it that you were moshing and I’m sweatier than you are?!” Bella playfully shouts at Niall as she fans herself off.

“S’cause I’m experienced, know exactly what t’do! Didn’t even get bruised this time!” Niall laughs along. Helena sat with Bella on a small couch while Niall was seated in a folding chair across from them. A few empty beer bottles littered the room and there was a cooler in the corner, indicating that more drinking would be taking place. Helena hears muted voices echoing down the hallway outside and Niall stands up from his chair to open the door, smiling widely.

“Oi! That was a great gig!” He hugs each member of the band as they filter back into the room, “Fuckin’ insane! You’ll have to come and play again soon!”

“Thanks, mate!” One of the guys replies while opening up the cooler and grabbing a beer. “Who’re these birds?” He gestures over to Bella and Helena. The girls stand up and look to Niall, suddenly very aware of four pairs of eyes staring at them.

“These are my mates from uni, Helena and Bella,” Niall points at each girl as they wave to the group, “Hels and Bels.”

“Hells Bells.” The same guy says back, smiling at Helena.

“M’not an AC/DC reference,” Helena rolls her eyes at Niall, “good to meet you.” She smiles and extends her hand to the shaggy-haired stranger. He smiles back but instead of shaking her hand, clinks his beer bottle with hers.

“Nice reference, you don’t seem like an AC/DC girl.” He teases her.

“And you don’t seem to have grown up in a civilisation where you greet others with a handshake.” She quips back with a smirk.

“I’m Adrian,” he reaches his hand out to Helena, shaking hers firmly, “good enough for you?”

“Hmm… We’ll see.” She raises her eyebrows at him, grinning.

—

Adrian and Helena met a little less than a month ago, and much like the English temperature in the middle of July, they’re heating up. After hitting it off that night at his band’s show, Helena was infatuated with Adrian; he’s three years older and is the lead guitarist for his band. He’s got his own flat and a day job doing graphic design and he’s nice. He’s so nice and Helena sees that’s what she’d been missing with Harry. Even when he’s busy, he’ll send her a text at least once a day to let Helena know he’s thinking of her. On their dates, he’ll pull out her chair and open doors for her like the chivalrous boyfriend she’s always wanted. He’s even topped up her oyster card when they’ve gone exploring all around the city.

And maybe it’s a little bit wrong but Helena sometimes wishes she had this with Harry. She wishes that he’d open doors for her, pull out her chair, and put her needs first. She wishes he’d tell her that he thinks of her constantly and that he’d bring her flowers like Adrian always did. She wishes she and Harry were meant for those things, she wishes with all her heart, but it can’t be. They aren’t meant for nice dates and chivalrous acts. Harry ruined that chance when he chose another girl over her, he ruined what could have been when he decided to leave Helena behind and gallivant around Europe with someone else. Helena is still a little bit heartbroken, and she may always be, but she’s happy. Adrian makes her smile and has yet to make her cry, which is more than Harry can say for himself.

Even though it’s almost 9pm the summer sun is still out and has barely begun setting. Adrian and Helena are walking hand-in-hand along South Bank, taking in the views of their city as the golden rays reflect off famous landmarks. They started walking near the Eye and followed the path along the river—the sun has now set and they’ve reached Tower Bridge. Helena begins telling Adrian about how much she adores the Tower of London as they cross over to it and she wishes she could forget the last time she spoke about her adoration (and the last person she told it to). They stand on the bridge and stare at the stone-clad building, both in awe of its size and majesty. Adrian then admits to Helena that he’s always been fascinated with its history and the countless people, kings and queens and commoners, who all lived (and died) there. While Adrian is looking at the tower, Helena is staring at him in disbelief that he’s real. He’s real and he’s here and that makes her so happy.

The walk to Adrian’s flat in East London can’t be more than ten minutes from the Tower so the pair continue on. Helena’s now looped her arm through Adrian’s and to any outsider they look like a regular, happy couple (which they are, right?). As they walk, Adrian tells her about growing up in Bath before moving to London at 17 to pursue music—he loved the history of his town but longed for the buzz of a larger city. When he first moved to London, he had no place to live so he stayed on couches and floors for a year until he saved up to get his flat, the same one he lives in now. They arrive at his building and climb the four flights of stairs to his top-level flat, and though they’re slightly out of breath from the long walk Adrian begins kissing Helena the moment the door is closed behind them.

They settle down on his couch, still kissing, and Helena shrugs off the jean jacket she’d been wearing all night. Adrian’s hands travel from her hair, down her arms and to her waist, lifting the hem of her shirt; he tugs it a few times before they separate and he pulls it off of her body, taking a moment to remove his shirt, too. He stands up off the couch and offers her his hand, leading her to his bedroom that’s just past the small kitchen. Helena goes to lay down on his bed, shuffling her leggings down and removing her underwear. Adrian matches her movements and takes off his jeans but leaves his boxers on. Instead of laying his body over her, like Helena was expecting, he stays at the foot of the bed and kneels down, kissing the side of her calf. He trails sloppy kisses up her leg to the inside of her thighs and spreads her legs apart. He places a hand over her and his thumb begins rubbing slow circles along her clit. Helena’s head falls back against the pillows as small moans escape her mouth. She can feel Adrian’s breath on her as he asks a question.

“This okay?”

“Mhm.” She hums out, unable to really speak.

“‘ave you done this before?”

She shakes her head no and Adrian gently begins lapping at her folds, her hands immediately flying into his long hair. He’s clearly experienced with this, Helena thinks, because in just a few short minutes the combination of his fingers and tongue has her moaning out and thrashing against the bed. He wraps his arms around her waist and holds her down, not bothering to stop his movements and throwing her into another orgasm instantaneously. When Adrian pulls away, he wipes at his mouth before moving up on the bed and taking Helena into his arms. She thinks those may have been the most intense orgasms of her life and can’t seem to really speak, so she kisses his shoulder and closes her eyes. But her mind is wandering to the lie she’d told Adrian; she had indeed gotten oral before from Harry. He was the first and only person who ever kissed her there—until tonight. She feels terrible that in the heat of the moment, she lied to Adrian (and to herself, in a way) yet knows she can’t go back on it now. Harry will always be her best kept secret.

—

Summer is coming to an end and Helena isn’t ready to get back into uni mode. There are still 6 weeks until classes begin but already the media department has emailed out a reading list and professors are asking students to prepare work for their first seminars. Though she’s a good student, Helena feels slightly overwhelmed with how much work she’s received before uni has technically started. Wanting to enjoy her last bits of summer (and take her mind off reality), she asked Bella and Niall to meet her at their usual pub in Greenwich. It’s been 15 minutes, though, and neither one of them has shown up. Helena’s sitting at their usual booth, checking her phone to see if someone texted that they were running late, or something else came up, but there’s nothing.

She looks up and through the window, she can see Niall and Bella walking together rather quickly into the pub. Bella swings the door open and all but runs over to Helena, almost out of breath.

“Just so you know, this was not my idea.” Bella pants as she stays standing next to Helena. Niall is still outside, facing the way he’d just come from. Bella waves her hands in front of Helena, bringing the attention back to her. “Babes, look, we can leave right now if you want to.”

“Why? What’s goin—“ Helena furrows her brows, but the door opening catches her eye. She sees Niall walking into the pub and gives him a smile and wave, however, she sees another body behind him. Niall moves out of the way and Helena’s heart has stopped beating. Harry’s standing there with his hands behind his back.

Helena’s gone over this moment in her head a million times. She’d often wonder about what she would do if (rather, when) she’d see Harry again. Would she run away? Would she break down and sob? Would she stand her ground and give him a piece of her mind? All those scenarios, though, couldn’t prepare her for this. Here he is, standing just a few feet away from her and she’s frozen. She can’t tell if her heart is beating too fast or too slow—or not at all. She’s not sure if she’s even breathing anymore. She can’t remember where she is or what day it is; all she sees and all she knows is Harry.

Helena regains her basic motor functions and exits the booth, standing up to greet Harry. She’s holding Bella’s hand and Bella squeezes with all her might, trying to give her best friend all the love and support she may need. Harry closes the space between them and stands in front of Helena, clearing his throat and pulling his hands out from behind his back, offering a bouquet of red roses.

“M’sorry for missing your birthday,” he says lowly, “I know these can’t make up fo’ everything, but I know how much yeh love red roses.” Helena closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She remembers when she told him about red roses being her favourite flower, how the love they symbolise is so beautiful and pure to her. Her free hand reaches out and she takes them from Harry, smelling them before placing them on the table next to her.

“Think you’ve got a lot to talk about,” Niall claps his hands together, “Bels and I will just be on our way.” He reaches his hand out to Bella but she looks to Helena, silently asking if she’ll be okay with Harry. Helena nods her head and Bella gives her a quick hug before walking out of the pub with Niall. Helena takes her seat and Harry tentatively slides into the booth across from her, unsure of what will happen next.

“Are yeh going to speak to me at all, while we’re here?”

“Yeah,” Helena squeaks out, doing her best to keep the tears at bay, “just… I wasn’t expecting you. That’s all.”

“Wasn’t expecting me t’be here, either. Niall told me he was seeing you and I… I wanted to come.”

“How long have you been back?”

“Four days.” Helena takes in another shaky breath. He’d been here for four days and hadn’t once bothered to reach out. Maybe it wasn’t her business anymore, to know where he was, but if he’d been planning on apologising she at least deserved to know.

“You left me,” she starts, “you up and left me. On my birthday, of all days. And you didn’t have the balls to tell me, or even the heart to let me know you were gone. Just left without a trace.”

“I know, I know… M’sorry about that. I’d go back and change it, if I could.” Harry lowers his head.

“Well you can’t. It happened, and I’m not so sure I can forgive you.” She crosses her arms, finally having the strength to look him in the eye. She can see that he’s broken. His eyes are sad—so often, she’d look into his eyes because they lit up like the stars in the sky. The bright green has faded into a dull colour she doesn’t wholly recognize.

“I deserve that,” he breathes out, “I fucked up. Can yeh at least hear me out, though? Don’t want to make excuses, but I think yeh need to know why I left.” Helena just raises an eyebrow and nods her head. “The day before your party, Rachel called m’up. Saying I was a shit boyfriend and all this shit. So I booked a ticket to see her for th’day. Thought I’d be back in time to make it to yours…”

“But then you stayed.” Helena finished his sentence.

“Yeah… I stayed. I felt like shit over it, but I figured it was better if I just left yeh alone and didn’t bother.”

“I can understand that, but that wasn’t your decision to make, H. Maybe if you told me, I would’ve understood. But you didn’t give me that chance…” She trails off and looks away from him, “and now, here we are.”

“Here we are.” He hums, agreeing with her.

“Why are you back, then?”

Harry sucks in a deep breath and exhales before answering her. “Rachel… She broke up with me. Told me she didn’t think we were good together.”

“I’m sorry.” Helena’s voice softens, feeling bad for Harry. She knew what heartbreak felt like now, and she wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Especially not Harry.

“S’okay, I deserve this now.” He shrugs his shoulders. Helena surprises herself by reaching across the table and grabbing his hand, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles.

“No one deserves to feel like shit, it’s her loss anyway.”

Harry lets out a small chuckle, “I keep telling myself tha’, doesn’t make it feel any better though… Just feel like an idiot.”

“You’re not.” Helena shakes her head. Harry then wordlessly pulls his hand away from hers and rolls up the left sleeve of his button-down shirt. She sees a few of his tattoos on his wrist and forearm, but when he uncovers the space just below his elbow, she speaks again. “Okay, maybe just a little bit of an idiot.”

“I know.” He sighs as he looks down at his arm. There’s a small but fairly visible letter ‘R’ written in script. “Got a fuckin’ tattoo for ‘er, like a fuckin’ idiot.”

“S’not great,” Helena reasons, “but you can always get it removed. Or covered up. People have done stupider things when they’re in love.” Like pine after someone who loved another person so much, they got a tattoo for them, she thinks.

“Would yeh come with me? To do the cover up?” He looks up at her, practically begging with his eyes.

“Yes.” She answers back immediately. She’d swim across the English Channel with him if he’d asked. All Helena wants, more than anything, is to spend time with Harry. She’s been too deprived of him for far too long.

“There’s a shop down the road, heard they do cheaper tattoos than most. D’yeh want to go now?”

She nods in response and Harry stands up, grabbing Helena’s flowers and handing them over after she collected her items. They walk next to each other as Harry follows the directions over Google Maps, and Helena reminisces to the times they’d walk down the street with their arms linked. She wonders if they’ll ever do that again. They arrive at the shop and it’s practically empty, save for an older man getting some large design done on his back. Helena takes a seat toward the front of the store as Harry speaks with an artist who leads him to a chair in the back. She can hear the needle from across the room and she’s glad she didn’t sit with him, unsure if she could stomach it. Helena can’t see Harry but she imagines he’s probably wincing in pain, given that it’s been almost an hour he’s been sitting there.

Another ten minutes pass until Helena hears the needles stop and can see Harry getting bandaged up. He stands up and shakes the artist’s hand before going to the counter to pay. He and Helena walk out of the shop without saying a word to each other, so Helena breaks the silence.

“So… What’d you get?” She looks at the white gauze covering his forearm. Harry smiles at her while he pulls some of the tape off, enough to just show his raw tattoo.

“A red rose,” he scans her face for a reaction, “would much rather have a memory of you than a memory of her.”

In that moment, Helena goes into autopilot. She’s forgotten that Harry had torn her heart out and left it to rot. She’s forgotten that he spent most of his summer with another girl. She’s forgotten that she technically has a boyfriend. Her mind is essentially blank as she places her hands on Harry’s cheeks and pulls him in for a kiss. He pushes into it and moves his lips against hers, swiping his tongue over her bottom lip. They’re full-on snogging in public and there may be people walking by, but it feels like they’re the last two people in the world. Harry and Helena are back together and right now that’s all that matters.

[natasha-cole]

That’s What Friends Are For Chapter 8: With Friends Like These

Pairing: Rob Benedict x Reader

Chapter Summary: It seems as if everyone that Reader has considered to be a friend is pushing her out of their lives. Decisions are made, no matter how painful they may be.

Word Count: 2964

Warnings: angst, swears

Notes: A short chapter to move things alone. Not a lot of Rob here.

Also, I love the entire cast. They are the sweetest. I don’t honestly think they act this way, but every story needs someone to drive the angst.

Catch Up: Chapter 1  Chapter 2  Chapter 3  Chapter 4  Chapter 5  Chapter 6  Chapter 7

You really didn’t want to be at this convention. You had considered cancelling your appearance altogether. It was bad enough that you and Rob were in such an awkward position with each other, but it also didn’t help that you knew everyone else still had their opinions about you and what had gone on between you and Rob to begin with. The fact that you were no longer talking to him wasn’t going to make you look any better.

You arrived at your hotel anyway, trying to decide the best way to avoid Rob for the weekend. You were still angry and you weren’t even sure what you would be feeling when you had to see him again. You hung out in your room that night, bored and alone. Usually, you’d get together with the rest of the group and do dinner or something; but no one had called or texted at all, which really wasn’t a surprise to you.

You stayed in, ordering room service and watching TV. You held onto a small sliver of hope that someone would call you or text you to hang out. You knew that the few people who had your back weren’t here yet, so you knew deep down that you would be on your own tonight.

Later that night, your phone buzzed with a notification from Twitter and you checked it, seeing that Briana had posted a picture. You hesitantly went to her post and then felt your heart drop. It was a photo of everyone at some restaurant having dinner together. “The gang’s all here!” the caption read. Sure enough, everyone that was always a part of the first day of the cons was there. Everyone except you. You studied the picture for a moment, taking note of how happy everyone looked to be together again; mostly your eyes fell on Rob as you felt your heart break all over again. He looked as if he hadn’t just lost his best friend. He looked like he was enjoying himself just fine without you. You didn’t know why it hurt so much to see him given the way he had treated you, but seeing his face hurt worse than you could have ever imagined. You exited the app, putting your phone aside as you pulled the blankets over your head. You didn’t want to cry; but the frustration and loneliness that you were feeling was really building up.

You didn’t sleep well that night. You thought a lot about how things had gone with Rob. While you had done well in pushing the thoughts from your mind while you were back home, lying here alone in the deafening silence of your hotel room left you vulnerable to the intrusive thoughts. You let it all replay in your head; the way he didn’t hesitate to call you for a hookup after you had given in once. You recalled the phone call in which you told him to fuck off and that you were done with him. You relived the way you had felt when he told you to back off and how he had called you clingy. Mostly, you thought about what it had been like to be with him after so many years. You had been single for so long, losing yourself in trying to meet someone, dating and feeling disappointed with any man that you fell into any sort of intimacy with.

Being with Rob had been a relief given the limited dating scene that you had experienced. You knew that sleeping together had simply been a way for him to move on and get over his ex. For you, even though you didn’t want to admit it, it had felt comforting and… right. You had thought at one point that maybe things could work out differently between you. The sex had been amazing, you felt a connection to him that you hadn’t felt with anyone else that you had encountered during your tireless attempts at dating. Maybe it had been the fact that you were already so close and he was something familiar to you. Maybe you might have started to fall in love with him, thinking that since things had ended for him and Julia, maybe now things would work between the two of you.

Sitting in the green room the next day, you kept to yourself. No one acknowledged you anyway; so you put on headphones and pretended to listen to music to make it look like you weren't a total loser. You waited rather impatiently for the day to start, knowing that you had a busy schedule that would at least keep you busy enough so that you wouldn’t think to much.

You played on your phone, switching between apps mindlessly and nervously now that you could feel occasional stares in your direction. Briana, Kim, and the other guys from the band were sat at a table on the other side of the room; and you knew that they were looking at you. You kept pretending as if you didn’t notice. You might have been better off actually listening to music, but you wanted to be aware if someone was talking to or about you.

The others must have been trying to test you, because you definitely heard your name mentioned as you sat there. You didn’t look up, didn’t even give a hint that you could hear them. Unfortunately, ignoring the situation left them to believe that you really were deaf to their discussion, and it quickly turned into free-range for them to talk about you.

“I can’t believe she’s even here still,” you heard Kim mutter, “After what she did? How can she even show her face anymore.”

“It’s because she has no shame,” Briana added. “Poor Rob obviously doesn’t want her here.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him not talk to her,” you heard Mike say. “They used to be inseparable.”

“Well, I think he’s realized his mistake,” Kim offered. “It’s for the best, him avoiding her.”

“I just can’t believe she did this. She seemed so supportive of the two of them.” Billy spoke up now, sounding a little bit sad as he talked. You’d almost believe that he seemed to be more apprehensive in believing everything than anyone else.

“She was until she realized she was going to lose him,” Briana replied. “I just didn’t think she was the type to break up a relationship just because her friend was caught up in someone who wasn’t her.”

“It’s pretty selfish.” Stephen agreed.

“Well, I don’t think he’s any less guilty of what happened.” Again, Billy sounded as if he might be sticking up for you.

“Maybe not,” Briana agreed, “but he wouldn't have done this if she hadn’t seduced him. We all know that he was always way more into her than she was with him. She just waited until he was happy with someone else to fuck his life up. Obviously she doesn’t care about him that much. You don’t mess up someone’s life if you love them.”

You still didn’t believe the fact that apparently everyone thought Rob had been interested in you as more than a friend. How was it that they all saw this and you never did? You felt your face heat up as you listened to them ramble on. There were a lot of sour words said about you, a lot of disappointment in their voices; at least Billy continued to sound as if he wasn’t one-hundred percent in agreement that all of this was only your fault, or that it had gone the way that everyone else believed it had.

You wanted to cut in, you wanted for them to know the truth finally. You wanted for them to stop hating you and being misinformed about all of this. You almost did say something, until you thought back to how humiliated Rob had been by the fact that he had been cheated on. You knew you couldn’t be the one to talk about why things had ended with Julia. Even though you were furious with him and you devastated by his treatment of you, you still cared for him. Your love for him was more important than saving face with everyone else. You decided to be the bigger person. No matter how badly you wanted to call Briana and everyone else out on their treatment of you, you kept quiet. They were angry with you, you understood that. But you’d be damned if you sunk to their level of pettiness.

During a moment of downtime, you watched as everyone discussed karaoke for the night; who would sing what, what costumes each of them would wear… you said nothing as Matt volunteered himself to wear the tiger costume, the only costume that you ever wore to karaoke. You bit your tongue, still understanding that they were gradually trying to push you out.

“The tiger is your costume,” Rich said to you. For some reason, he didn’t appear to be upset by you or your presence here.

“Yeah, I mean, I always do that one.”

“Matt, maybe you should do something else,” Rich said as he glanced to Matt.

“It’s okay,” you blurted out, “I’m not going to karaoke. I’m uh- not feeling well.”

“Too bad,” Briana mumbled.

You blushed, noticing the snark laced in her voice as she spoke. You glanced over to Rob out of habit, but the man was doing well in pretending that you weren’t there.

You wanted him to look at you. You wanted him to acknowledge that you were still here. Yes, he was going through some things, but you wanted him to recognize that you were hurting as well; and most of that hurt stemmed from the way that he had treated you.

When the discussion shifted to the concert, you perked up sightly. SNS was always a treat, it was the one night that you all made sure you were involved in. You had found yourself during your first performance when you had joined the show and the con circuit. Music was one thing that you and Rob shared a love for, and he had supported you in pursuing it a little more than you had ever considered. You singing with the band on stage was just something that was expected now. There was never a convention in which you sat on the sidelines.

As the set-list was discussed, you of course being excluded from the conversation, you quickly learned that this would be the first time you would sit on the sidelines. The realization hit you hard as you paid attention to the fact that the set-list was pretty much ready to go, and you were no longer included on it.

Before the meeting ended, you hastily gathered your belongings and darted from the room. You felt humiliated and alone. You felt angry and sad. You decided to call it a day since you were done with your responsibilities for now. You needed to be alone, and nobody objected as you left.

The last day, it was more of the same. You had been left out of karaoke, rejected from the concert, and continued to wander alone as you made your way to photo ops and autographs and panels. It was as if you were in a dream most of the time and everyone in that dream didn’t see you.

At the end of the day, you sat alone for some time until a familiar face approached you. You smiled up at Mark as he joined you. It felt strange really to have someone take notice that you still existed.

“And why are you sitting over here all alone?” Mark asked as he took a seat next to you.

“I don’t know if you’ve been paying attention, but literally everyone is going out of their way to avoid me this weekend.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed. The whole thing with Rob, right?”

“I’m beginning to think that everyone still believes that he cheated on Julia with me and I’m the reason his engagement ended. Everyone still thinks I’m a homewrecker.”

“You could just tell them the truth,” he replied, “screw what Rob thinks.”

“Yeah, I guess I could. But, I’m not sure that anyone would believe me over sweet, innocent Rob.”

“So, what? You just sit here all alone every convention weekend? You let them drive you out of all of the extra stuff? You allow them to give you looks and talk about you? I’ve seen it, you know. I’ve been hearing everything. I try to tell them that they’re misinterpreting the situation, but no one seems to care.”

“See, it’s not worth it,” you chuckled. “Thanks for having my back though.”

“Even Rob isn’t talking to you,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, we sort of had a falling out.”

“Over what?” He looked at you sympathetically, waiting as you considered how to word this.

“I’ll just say… it’s best to stay friends with your friends. Taking things any further is a mistake and it ruins things.”

“Hmm, that’s very misleading. I thought the two of you didn’t do the things that everyone is saying you did.”

“I didn’t hook up with him while he was in relationship. I was simply a good friend who was there for my best friend when his relationship ended.”

“Ah, that makes more sense. Still, you should probably clear the air,” he insisted. “Otherwise, it’s going to get more lonely when you’re sitting in a corner by yourself every other weekend.”

“Nothing to worry about. This is my last convention.”

He stared at you in disbelief. “You’re leaving?”

“Yeah, I’m done with all of this. I have a used-to-be best friend who used me and now doesn’t talk to me, a bunch of I-thought-they-were friends who talk about me and treat me like shit, probably a lot more ex-fans who say and do even worse. What’s the point?”

“You don’t have to do that. I still like you. Ruth and Osric still like you.”

“I’ve already talked to the organizers. Luckily I’m not contractually binded to these things, so I was able to back out easily.”

“What about the show?” He asked quietly. You studied him, realizing that he already knew your answer.

“I’m finishing out the season, then I’m done. I think they wanted to kill me off anyway, it works out for everyone.”

“Oh, Y/N,” he sighed, shaking his head when you finished speaking.

“It’s fine. I’m just going to move on to other things. Hopefully better things.”

“It won’t be the same without you.”

“It’s not the same now,” you said with a forced smile. You felt yourself tear up and Mark looked at you sadly. He said nothing else; he simply wrapped an arm around your shoulders, pulling you into him so that he could hold you. You let yourself cry silently, not wanting to bring attention to yourself, but knowing that at least he would comfort you. If nothing else, at the end of it all, you knew that a few people would care.

As the con came to a close, you wasted no time in collecting your things and heading out of the last green room you would ever share with these people. You took a brief moment to look around before you walked out, stopping on the faces of the people that you had grown to love and know; the same people who you had lost just as easily. None of them knew that you were done, they certainly wouldn’t care either. You let out a sigh, turning to leave finally. You admit you felt a bit of regret and heartache as you walked away, but you knew that no one would miss you.

Once you boarded your flight, you took solace in the fact that you would at least be going home for a while to be alone without having your friends ignore you and talk about you. You could finally be alone without scrutiny and without having to see Rob’s face every day.

You stared out the window of the plane, just thinking to yourself even though you didn’t really want to. You were lost for a moment until you remembered that you had to put your phone on airplane mode. You got your phone out, making the move to shut it off when you noticed that you had a text message. No one had texted you in days, so you opened it only to see that it was from Rob. you hesitated, wondering if you really wanted to hear from him again. You wondered what other horrible things he had to say to you. You opened the text and read it, confused and angry at the fact that he was still acting this way.

Rob: Are you okay? You seemed off this weekend.

That was it. Just a general observation that downplayed the fact that you were miserable. It was almost friendly, despite the fact that you knew this friendship was over. You were certain that he knew that too. You thought about answering him; telling him that you were not okay and that it was his fault. You were angry at the way he kept on acting oblivious to all of this. Everyone hated you and you knew damn well that he saw that.

Again, you chose not to stoop to that level. You shut your phone down, tossing it in your bag as you propped a pillow up against the window. You steadied your breathing as you felt your chest ache again, reminding yourself that it wasn't worth it to keep letting him play games with you. He could easily say terrible things to you, ignore you for weeks; you could do the same.

Tag List: @destielschild @sorenmarie87 @smoothdogsgirl @kocswain @culturebay @itsfunnierin-enochian @typicalweirdbookworm @angelsandhuntersgalore @riversong-sam @emoryhemsworth @hunterpuff @camelotandastronauts @laffytaffyhumor @cyrilconnelly @jpadjackles @waywardswain @sirraxa @thewordsmithofhell @atc74 @shanghai88 @onlyanothersocialcasualty  @chocolategate  @sleepylunarwolf @perksofbeingafangirl26

[topfygad]

Best things to do in Sin City

Many travelers who come to Las Vegas feel like they don’t have enough time to check everything that the world’s capital of entertainment has to offer.  Las Vegas is packed with places to visit and things to do. From countless shows to museums, world-class restaurants, and shopping, you will not have a chance to get bored in Sin City.

However, if you have limited time, you should make sure to hit all of the cool spots and most fun things to do in Las Vegas before heading out. 

Best Time of a Year to Visit Las Vegas 

Las Vegas sees the highest visitation from May through September. Ironically, it is also the time when Las Vegas averages some of the highest temperatures. During the day temperatures rise anywhere from 100 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit. If you are not used to the dry desert heat, you might find it difficult to be outside. 

If you are looking for mild temperatures, visit Las Vegas in October through mid-November or March through April. These months see mild enough weather where you don’t have to hide in air-conditioned hotels and can enjoy a walk on the Strip or even go hiking.

Late November through February typically sees the coldest weather in Las Vegas with temperatures between 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit during the day time. 

How to Choose Accommodation in Las Vegas

There are thousands of hotels in Las Vegas from the most famous ones located on the strip to budget versions a distance away from it. While you might save on accommodations located away from the Las Vegas Strip you will most likely have to pay for a taxi or walk a lot even if you are just several blocks away. Hotels, restaurants and other spots popular with tourists are really spread out on the Las Vegas Strip, so make sure to check the location before planning your itinerary. 

Las Vegas from McCarran International Airport 

Unless you are going to drive to Las Vegas from some other destination, you will arrive in Las Vegas McCarran International Airport. The airport has two terminals: Terminal 1 and Terminal 3. Unfortunately, Las Vegas doesn’t have a good public transportation system, so you will not be able to take a bus from the airport to the Las Vegas Strip.

Remember: if you’re coming from abroad you will most likely need to get ESTA to enter US so plan ahead and apply for ESTA visa online before arriving at the airport.

Unless you are going to rent a car, I recommend getting Uber or Lyft to get from Las Vegas airport to the Strip. Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 both have designated ridesharing pick-up spots located at the Valet level. After you exit a terminal, you will see signs telling you where to go. An Uber or Lyft to Las Vegas Strip from McCarran International Airport costs between $15-20 depending on what hotel you are going to. 

PRO TIP: While you will not be able to use public transportation to get to the airport, there are several bus routes that serve the Las Vegas Strip and surrounding areas. In addition, Las Vegas also has Monorail that runs between MGM Grand and SLS Las Vegas.  Monorail Stations are located at the following casinos: MGM Grand, Bally’s/Paris Las Vegas, Flamingo/Caesars Palace, Harrah’s/The LINQ, Las Vegas Convention Center, Westgate Las Vegas and the SLS Las Vegas Station.

3-Day Las Vegas Itinerary

Day 1

After You Arrive

Unless you arrived late at night and want to go to bed, I recommend to drop off your luggage at a hotel and go explore the Strip, a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard that is peppered with world-famous casinos, restaurant and shopping. 

Even if you take a quick walk, it will give you a quick idea of how spread out the Strip really is. The Southern end of the Strip starts near Mandalay Bay and ends near the SLS Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. While the entire strip is just over 4 miles, it surely feels a lot longer when you walk around. That’s exactly why many travelers often decide to use Uber and Lyft to get around. 

PRO TOP: All major hotels on the strip have designated pick-up spots for ride shares. Before you order a ride, make sure you know where the designated spot is at your hotel. 

Big Bus Las Vegas Hop-on Hop-off Tour

Since Las Vegas so many things to do, getting on a hop-on-hop-off bus is a great option. If you are visiting Las Vegas for the first time, it’s a good idea to get on a bus to save time and money and get familiar with everything. The tour offers two routes: through the Las Vegas Strip and through Downtown Las Vegas with a total of 20 stops. Throughout the tour, you will be able to get on and off as many times as you like. 

Take a Picture at Welcome to the Fabulous Las Vegas Sign

If you would rather walk around the Strip, I recommend starting your tour at the southern end. A notable spot of the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip is the Welcome to the Fabulous Las Vegas sign, a world-famous fixture that has been featured in countless movies, commercials, and videos. 

Originally created in 1960, the sign has become one of the symbols of Las Vegas over the years. Many tourists come to take photos in front of the sign 24/7. The chances are, even if you show up in the middle of the night, you might see other people in front of the sign. 

However, if you come early, you will probably escape the crowds instead of waiting in line to take your photo next to the iconic sign as the sign is visited around the clock.

Enjoy the Bellagio Fountains  

The iconic Bellagio Fountains are hard to miss. Located right in front of the Bellagio Hotel and Casino, Bellagio Fountains light up during the show every 30 minutes from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday. From 8 p.m. until midnight the show plays every 15 minutes. 

On Saturdays, viewers enjoy the show every 30 minutes 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. and every 15 minutes from 8 p.m. to midnight. 

On Sundays, the show starts playing at 11 a.m. and runs every half hour. 

Head over for refresher to Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens 

After watching the show, take a quick walk inside the Bellagio Casino. Here you will find the Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, a colorful art installation made of millions of plants, flowers, and other elements. Every season, the Bellagio Conservatory changes its theme. It’s always fun to check out a new theme at the gardens and take photos of its intricate flower and plant composition. The venue is free of charge. 

Get Brunch

You don’t have to look hard to find a good brunch spot in Las Vegas. Whether you are looking for a buffet style or just want to grab a traditional meal, you have tons of options. Aside from the Las Vegas Strip, you might want to check restaurants in Summerlin, Downtown Las Vegas or Henderson, because they too have a number of great restaurants for different tastes and price points. 

Shop Till You Drop 

In Las Vegas, you will find a number of shopping malls within the Strip and well beyond it. While shopping malls on the strip typically cater to tourists and have many luxury boutiques, some shopping malls away from the strip have lower prices and many deals such as sales and promotions. 

Shopping Malls Located on the Strip

– The Fashion Show Mall is located on the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip. Here you will find more than 250 stores and various restaurants. This mall is a distance away from the southern end of the strip and is easier to access if you are staying on the northern side of the strip. 

– The Forum Shops at Caesars – Here you will find a number of boutique stores in a setting that imitates the ancient Roman architecture. And when you get hungry, you will not a lack of options: The Forum Shops is home to many restaurants. 

– Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian and Palazzo – The picturesque Grand Canal under the brightly lit painted ceiling makes for a beautiful shopping backdrop. Even if you are not looking to buy anything, walking along the cobblestone streets and watching what’s going on around is really fun. 

– Miracle Mile Shops – Located inside Planet Hollywood, Miracle Mile Shops has over 200 stores and restaurants right at the heart of the Las Vegas Strip. Miracle Mile Shops is also home to several entertainment venues. 

Shopping Malls Off the Las Vegas Strip

–  Town Square Las Vegas – This outdoor mall is located along Las Vegas Boulevard just south of the Las Vegas strip and near the freeway entrance. It is popular with tourists and locals alike. Here you will find a mix of restaurants and stores along with a movie theater. 

–  Las Vegas South Premium Outlet – If you are looking to score a deal, head over to Las Vegas South Premium Outlets located just across the road from Town Square Mall. Here you will find designer clothes and accessories at discounted prices. If you don’t want to walk you can hop on the bus that goes between Las Vegas Boulevard and the Strip. 

–  Las Vegas North Premium Outlet – A popular shopping spot, Las Vegas North Premium Outlets offers deeply discounted prices on many major brands such as Ralph Lauren and Nieman Marcus. If you are trying to choose between these two outlets, North Las Vegas outlets have more stores and larger space. 

To get to Las Vegas North Premium Outlets, you will have to take a rideshare or a taxi cab, as it is located a distance away from the strip. Another option is to take the bus that runs between the Strip and downtown Las Vegas that stops right in front of the entrance to the North Las Vegas Outlets. 

– Galleria at Sunset – Located in a suburb of Henderson southeast of the Las Vegas Strip,  Galleria at Sunset is a typical suburban shopping mall with anchor department stores, restaurants, and other shops. 

– Downtown Summerlin – An outdoor mall located in the community of Summerlin west of the Las Vegas Strip, downtown Summerlin features stores and restaurants and plenty of walkable space. It’s located in close proximity to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, so it’s good to combine these two places in one trip. 

See One of Las Vegas Shows

Las Vegas is the capital of the shows. Here you will find an amazing variety of shows for any taste and price point. One of the secrets to getting a good deal on a show. As the Entertainment Capital of the World, Las Vegas has dozens of shows every day. You can easily find discounts online. 

Day 2

Unplug at Red Rock Canyon

After a night out, you will need some time to relax and unwind. Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area shortly called Red Rock by locals is a perfect place to relax and unwind especially if you are visiting Las Vegas during fall, winter or early spring. 

To get to Red Rock, simply take Interstate-215 west, exit at Charleston Boulevard and make a left turn. It will bring you all the way to the entrance of Red Rock. After you enter the park, you will drive around a 12.5-mile scenic drive, a gorgeous loop road that takes you to many overlooks and trailheads. 

Red Rock Canyon requires a $15 entrance fee and features trails for beginner, intermediate and advanced hikers. You can easily spend your whole day at Red Rock, however, if you are short on time, I recommend hiking at least one of the easy trails to get a good idea of the place

Check Out Hoover Dam

But if you are visiting Las Vegas during summer months, hiking in the desert might not be the best idea, especially for those travelers who are not used to the heat. If it’s the case, I recommend taking a trip to Hoover Dam with a stop at Lake Mead National Recreational Area.

At Hoover Dam, you will be able to take a tour and get a glimpse into the history of this historic landmark. You can visit the dam on your own and take a walk around, or book one of the tours.

If you are looking to see more nature, I recommend stopping at Lake Mead National Recreation Area after visiting Hoover Dam. As part of the U.S. National Park Service, Lake Mead requires a paid entrance. Some of the popular activities along Lake Mead include hiking, boating, and cycling. 

Stop for a Quick Lunch

Summerlin and Boulder City are the gateway communities to Red Rock Canyon National Recreation Area and Hoover Dam, respectively. After exiting Red Rock Canyon, head over to downtown Summerlin for a quick lunch. Here you will be able to find a good variety of sit-down and fast food restaurants for any taste and price point. 

And if you are making your way to Boulder City from Hoover Dam, you can find some good options too.

Hop on a High Roller

By the time you get done with your outdoorsy activities, you will probably need some rest. To end your day on a good not without taking too much strain, I recommend going for a spin on the Las Vegas High Roller, the world’s tallest observation wheel located near the Linq Hotel. The ride will take you approximately 30-40 minutes and will take you above the glittering Las Vegas skyline. And if you want to combine a great view with some drinks, you can have a bartender serving drinks in your cabin for an additional charge. 

Day 3

Get Cultured

Now, let’s talk about culture. Las Vegas is not just endless casinos, night clubs, and entertainment shows. While the city of Las Vegas is relatively young, it also has some history. To get a glimpse into what was going in Las Vegas in the early days, head over to the Las Vegas Cultural Corridor, home to several museums. 

Neon Museum

Here you will find Neon Museum also known as the Neon Boneyard that houses a collection of vintage signs from old casinos and other establishments that used to display on Las Vegas Strip and nearby. After paying for tickets, you can explore the exhibits on your own or take a guided tour of the venue. The venue is popular for events and is sometimes closed because of the reservations, so make sure to check if it’s open before making any plans. 

Las Vegas Natural History Museum

Here you can also find Las Vegas Natural History Museum and the Old Las Vegas Fort Park that features a ruined adobe fort from 1855. 

Mob Museum

One of the most popular museums in the area is the Mob Museum. The venue features a history of Las Vegas mobs and an organized crime in the United States. 

Fremont Street

Just south of the Las Vegas Cultural Corridor is located Fremont Street, a popular location for entertainment and gaming. The most prominent feature of Fremont Street is an LED canopy, the world’s largest video screen that puts on a show of images and music every 30 minutes. 

In addition, Fremont Street is also home to many street performers, vendors and some of the oldest casinos and restaurants in Las Vegas. If you want to get a birds-eye-view of the area, you can go on a zip line and fly above Fremont Street Experience. 

Downtown Art District

Take a quick walk east from Fremont Street and you will find many bars and restaurants. A good number of eateries is housed inside Downtown Container Park, a shopping mall that often puts on events and live music shows. It is located at the corner of Fremont Street and North 7th Street.

Attention Art Lovers

The area around Fremont Street has a number of murals that popped up after Life is Beautiful Festival was launched in downtown Las Vegas in 2013. The festival brought an array of artists that covered the city’s walls in paintings, so it’s definitely worth checking out if you are into street art. 

And if you walk about a mile south from Fremont Street, you will find even more graffiti-sprayed walls, bars, and restaurants. Among some of the well known is Velveteen Rabbit that offers a nice selection of cocktails and Esther’s Kitchen that is known for its wide food options.

Take a Helicopter Ride

There’s no better way to wrap up your trip to Las Vegas than take a helicopter ride above its spectacular skyline. A number of companies offer packages for helicopter rides some of which combine a helicopter ride over the Las Vegas Strip with a visit to the nearby Valley of Fire or flyover of the Red Rock Canyon. 

While some of these companies will arrange pick-ups at your hotel, others require you to get to their location on your own. Before booking your trip, I suggest doing detailed research about packages and offers as they may vary depending on a season. While summer months typically bring more tourists and see high prices, late fall and winter see lower prices. 

Final Note

Las Vegas has something for everyone. Contrary to popular stereotypes, your visit to Sin City doesn’t have to be all about partying and gambling. Here you can have a good time, enjoy the beautiful outdoors, visit world-class stores and learn about the history of one of the most popular destinations in the United States. 

This post was originally published in July 2019

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[aventurasennicaragua]

July 10th-27th: Last two and a half weeks in Nicaragua

So, it’s occurred to me that I write quite a lot in these posts.  I’m not sure if anyone other than myself will actually read through all of these (which is fine) so I’ll keep this last post relatively short.  When I’m done, I’ll put up one last batch of pictures to wrap things up.

(EDIT: This post is not short at all.  I’m an inherently wordy writer.  But, that’s okay, right?)

I mentioned earlier that we had a lunch to celebrate José’s birthday.  José, the electromedicine technician that Seth and I worked with in Juigalpa, has his birthday on July 16th, which was a Sunday this year.  The next day, Seth and I told him we’d take him and the other hospital techs out for lunch at Lespool’s Pizza, the restaurant owned by our Juigalpa family.  In my opinion, the lunch was a really great chance to get to know José and the other techs (Elgin, Jader, and Pedro -- there is also another tech, Hector, but he unfortunately could not make the lunch) better.  At one point, José was telling me about various plans that the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health and Hospital Asunción have for buying and maintaining medical equipment.  According to him, every year brings more positive changes, and there is currently a program called “technological vigilance” being implemented that’s aimed at educating people in the medical field about properly taking care of devices.  He also told me that the only university in Central America with a biomedical engineering program is Don Bosco University in San Salvador, El Salvador.  I looked this up and found an article that talks about how graduates of the program have gone on to work in Central America, the U.S., and Europe (unfortunately, I can’t find the article right now :| ).  I thought this was interesting, and according to José, he knows the program director.

During the weekend before the lunch, Seth and I stayed in Juigalpa rather than traveling with other EWH kids.  Unlike our first weekend there, we really took the time to get out, explore, and learn more about the city.  On Friday night, we went to a casino (don’t worry, we each limited ourselves to spending no more than 200$C -- about $7), and later on we went to a bar called The Safari.  I liked The Safari because it was one of the few places in Juigalpa that played American and European music.  However, what I did not like was that, for some weird reason, there were only men there - no women!  (I have to admit that in some nightlife settings, I actually don’t mind being in a crowd with more men than women -- however, those are called gay bars lol.  And the men in The Safari certainly did not seem gay.)  When I asked Jader, my homestay brother about this, he just said that women don’t really go out on Friday nights.  Hmmm, I’ll have to ask more about that someday.

The next day, Seth and I went to the Juigalpa zoo, which pleasantly surprised me.  Since I knew that the hospital in Juigalpa often lacks pharmaceuticals for patients, I was thinking that the animals in the zoo might be visibly unhealthy, since perhaps they don’t always receive nutritious food and proper medications.  However, most of the animals looked great, and there was quite a variety of species.  Lions, tigers, cougars, monkeys, anteaters, buffalo, birds, wildebeests... there were a lot!  When we left, we walked to the Central Park and climbed the Juigalpa Cathedral.  The view from the top was the first glimpse I had looking over the city.  While it may not look like Granada or León, Juigalpa has its own form of charm that I really grew to appreciate during my stay there.  I’ll be sure to post a picture of that view in my next post.  That night, Seth and I went to a rodeo, where some of the craziest people I’ve ever seen attempted to ride on top of bulls.  Fortunately, nobody got hurt, and it was actually really fun to watch.  When we came home, I was coerced (well, it wasn’t complete coercion because I wanted to do it) into going out with my Juigalpa family (meanwhile, Seth passed out).  And when I say family, I mean everyone -- including the 2 little kids!  We went to a lovely hotel/restaurant/bar called Café Iguana.  Being that it was Karaoke Night, everyone kept begging me to sing.  Unfortunately, I was a little dehydrated and ended up not feeling too great, so I never belted out a tune as my family was hoping I would.  But we still had a fun time enjoying the music and some drinks.  The next day, our family dropped us off at Las Peñitas (this is the same name as the beach in León that I went to), which was a pretty community pool right outside of Juigalpa.  Overall, I think it was a really fun weekend, and I finally felt like Juigalpa was really growing on me.  I was suddenly really sad to think I’d be leaving in a week.

Well, a week passed and Seth and I, along with Alyssa, left Juigalpa for Granada.  Saying goodbye to my family was sad.  Lesbia, Lesja, and the others were really wonderful hosts, and I wish I could have stayed a little bit longer just to know them more and spend more time with them.  However, I’m thankful to have spent so many nights eating their delicious food (I’ll never forget their pizza, especially the crust) and talking to them about my love of Nicaragua.  I’m still in touch with many of them through WhatsApp and Facebook, and we have continued to communicate.  Saying goodbye on that last morning was a little teary, but after we left, I was glad to be heading back to Granada.

Reuniting with everyone from EWH was really good.  I was happy to see the others, and our hostel was in a really great location within the city.  When we arrived in Granada, I felt like I had entered a large, cosmopolitan city with a diverse mix of people -- well, perhaps it just felt like this in contrast to Juigalpa.  Unfortunately, there wasn’t a ton of time to explore and have fun.  Each group of students had paperwork to complete and a powerpoint presentation to prepare.  Fortunately, Seth and I had already started everything earlier on in the week, so Saturday was really just a chance to put the finishing touches on everything.  

The next morning, we woke up early, dressed up, had breakfast, and walked to our old school to have the conference.  There were five student presentations (Chinandega, Juigalpa, Somoto, Matagalpa, and Jinotega), as well as presentations from our coordinators.  We attempted a skype call with Leslie Calman (the EWH CEO) and Iyad, who were both in the U.S., and the EWH SI group in Uganda.  That way, we would have more of an audience for the conference.  Unfortunately, the Skype called burned through the data we had purchased so quickly that only 2 of the 5 student groups could share their presentations.  Luckily for me, Seth and I were one of those groups!  I was really happy with how our presentation went.  Our powerpoint was fairly balanced with text and photos, and Seth and I went through it quickly enough that we explained everything without boring everyone.  I really liked listening to our coordinators’ presentations, too.  One thing that Jack spoke about was how grateful we should be to have made friendships with one another -- not only did we now have new friends, but we had made connections with other students who are passionate about global health.  Something that Alyssa spoke about was reverse culture shock: an experience that people have when they return to their home countries after being abroad for a long time.  An important part of going through reverse culture shock is staying in touch with the people you went abroad with; they are the only people who can truly relate to the experiences you had, and it can be helpful to talk to them if you have any difficulties readjusting to life back home.

The end of the conference marked the official ending of my journey with Engineering World Health.  However, my time in Nicaragua did not end on Sunday.  I don’t plan on elaborating on this too much, but I made a really great friend from Costa Rica when I visited San Juan del Sur in early June.  We stayed in touch for the remainder of my time in Nicaragua, and we decided to spend a few days together back in San Juan del Sur at the end of July.  Jean Carlo (that’s his name) visited me in Granada that Sunday, and we spent the afternoon having lunch on Calle Calzada and then touring Las Isletas in Lake Nicaragua.  The next day, we traveled from Granada to San Juan del Sur and enjoyed three days there.  Jean Carlo and I are still friends today, and I’m really thankful to know him.  On Wednesday, I traveled back to Granada, and early on Thursday morning, I departed from the Managua airport back home to New Jersey.

My summer with Engineering World Health has been an unforgettable experience that I will forever treasure in my heart.  I posted a photo on Instagram the day I came home, and the caption I wrote is copied below.  I think it adequately concludes this blog post.

“And after two months, I’m back home in New Jersey. How do I begin to describe these past experiences in Nicaragua? This trip has been more than what I ever imagined, and I don’t know how to thank everyone who made it so special. From my EWH companions, my families and friends in Granada and Juigalpa, and everyone else I’ve met along the way — I'm so lucky to have known all of you, and I will always look back on this time with incredible fondness. Thank you simply for everything.

Y después de dos meses, estoy en casa en Nueva Jersey. Como puedo empezar a describir estas experiencias pasadas en Nicaragua? Esto viaje ha sido más de que yo imaginaba, y no sé cómo decir gracias a todos quienes lo hicieron tan especial. De mis compañeros de EWH, mis familias y amigos en Granada y Juigalpa, y todos los otros quienes he conocido por el camino — tengo tanta suerte por haberlos conocido a todos ustedes, y siempre miraré hacia atrás en esto tiempo con increíble cariño. Gracias simplemente por todo.”

[buffyisms-archive]

Below are a list of extensions and how to use them to help you RP on Tumblr. Some of them pertain to help you write (grammer, ect.), some of them make your dash easier to manage, some help organize, some do other things! I use all of these in my everyday RPing and it seriously helps things so much. This has a huge portion on Xkit and all the Xkit extensions that are super helplful. The Xkit is at the bottom of the post, because Xkit is the most popular and well known. P.S. One thing I’ve struggled with is organizing and running multiple blogs on seperate accounts, so there will be quite a bit that will help you with that. P.P.S. I have posted this on my archived blog so it is better for viewing a long post than it is on my current theme.

SESSION BOX

Omg session box is MUST HAVE FOR RUNNING MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS. If you have ever wanted to be logged on to multiple accounts in the same browser, dude this is amazing. You can have one tab be one blog, and another tab be the other. Download it for Chrome here

STAY FOCUSED

is a chrome app that can make you stay focused on writing. It will block distracting websites. How I use it is when I need to do drafts, I will set it to block all websites except tumblr.com/blog/buffyisms/drafts (obvs replace buffyisms with your own url), it will even block the tumblr dash mode. You can set it for a time of day or a certain ammount of time. Download for Chrome

AUTO TEXT EXPANDER

is a chrome app that lets you type shortcuts and it will replace them with longer things. I find this extremely useful for QUICKLY TAGGING THINGS. I talk about different ways to quickly tag in my Xkit secotion below, but honestly I find this so much easier. It stores more and has more freedom. It is so useful if you use fancy tags, or if you have tons of character tags to remember. For example if I type ism in the tag box it will automatically replace it with ( & ⁱ'ᵐ ⁿᵒᵗ ᵗᵃˡᵏⁱⁿᵍ ᵃᵇᵒᵘᵗ ᵗʰᵉ ˢˡᵃʸᵉʳ. ⁱ'ᵐ ᵗᵃˡᵏⁱⁿᵍ ᵃᵇᵒᵘᵗ ᵇᵘᶠᶠʸ | ɪꜱᴍꜱ. )

WORD COUNTER

is an app that you can highlight a bit of text and right click and hit word counter and it will tell you how many words are in it. This is good if you want to match your partners reply and make sure yours ins’t too short, or long, or whatever. For example this paragraph has59 words. Download for chrome

NEW XKIT. AKA the HOLY FUCKIN’ GRAIL of tumblr roleplaying. Since Xkit has like five million things on it, I will be listing the Xkit extensions that help me with roleplaying, what they do, and how to use them. Seriously Xkit is God, and if you RP on a desktop/laptop I would HIGHLY recommend getting Xkit. First off all, you can download Xkit here for google chrome, they have Xkit for firefox as well. IMPORTANT: DOWNLOAD NEW XKIT NOT THE REGULAR XKIT AS IT DOESN’T WORK ANYMORE. YOU CAN’T HAVE BOTH AT ONCE. ONLY HAVE NEW XKIT INSTALLED.

XInbox What it does: Enables you to tag answer posts before you post them. This is amazing, and necessary if you use any kind of tagging system at all. Delete multiple asks in the mass editor mode. This is good if you are cleaning out your inbox or if tumblr fucks up and gives you multiple of the same ask someone sent you Tags usernames automatically aka it will tag any answer you publish with the askers username. This makes it so they can find it in their tracked url tag. Tags anonymous posts with a tag of your choosing if you have a certain tag for anons. Tags answer posts with a tag of your choosing if you have an answered tag. If you have different tags for ooc and ic asks I wouldn’t use this feature.

One click postage This is my favorite feature and I literally can’t be on tumblr without this anymore. In short what this does is create a hover pop up over any reblog button on dash so you can reblog straight from dash. You can use keyboard shortcuts to queue, draft, ect. Buttons to straight post reblog, queue, or draft post Creates a green already reblogged button to let you know that you may have already reblogged that post. Remove caption option and a box to replace caption

Tweaks This comes with every Xkit and is a huge list of any tweaks Xkit can give you. P.S. There are tons of tweaks and i’m not gonna list them all, just the ones that I use to help me RP. Wrap Tags so you can read all the tags someone uses on a post without it getting cut off. Show new post icons on secondary pages aka your blog page, your queue, your drafts, ect. You can create a new post from anywhere. Always show the move to top button on queue aka any post can be immediately moved to the top of the queue. Show the mass post editor and blog setting button

Anti Capitalism Gets rid of ads, which is amazing because none of us want them.

Blacklist This is a must have for anyone with triggers. This doesn’t just block tagged things, but it go through the text of a post for your trigger words. It has two options one is a warning for trigger word posts and the other will just not show them.

Editable Reblogs This is a MUST HAVE. This allows you to once again be able to cut posts, because no one likes a dash that has 32094380x replies and takes up the whole dash. Just click a little button and you can edit any part of a post. Including you’re partners reply, you’re previous reply. Also good for those little survey things so you can actually fill them in, or bold them, or whatever.

Notification Block This will block notifications from you’re activity page on a certain post. (Note: only works on the actual activity page and not the activity pop up.) If you’re like me and you make tons of ask box memes or little guides just like this one, you totally need this one. If you have a post that has become popular and ruined your activity so you can’t see the activity you actually need to see to RP, this will make it so it does not appear on you’re activity page if someone reblogs your post. This goes without saying, but don’t use this on thread posts that ya know, you actually need to see when someone reblogs it. Example, if this guide right here becomes popular I can make it so it doesn’t mess up my activity page. (although i’m posting it on my archive blog because my current blog has a theme that would make this harder to see). HUGE NOTE: To get this to work right you should have GO TO DASH installed (that I will talk about soon). So to get this to work, pull up the post on YOUR OWN BLOG and click the little hand. This will take it to the post on your dash. At the bottom with all the other buttons, there will be a button with a hand and a lightening bolt. Click this to stop all notifications for that certain post.

Outbox This saved your sent asks. It saves the last 50 of them. It saves both things you send people and private replies. Super good if you need to reference something with plotting or if you can’t remember if you sent that person the same meme.

Post Archiver This is a totally underrated Xkit extension. It is amazing if you have multiple RP accounts. It is also good for tons of other things too. So pretty much you can ‘save’ any post into the xkit archive popup. If you see a post you don’t want to reblog or queue yet, but don’t want taking up your drafts, you can click the button with a down arrow at the bottom of it and save it to Xkit’s Archiver. With multiple blogs I use this if I see a musing post or a meme that doesn’t work for the blog i’m on but I would love to use it for my other blog. You can have categories you can save to that helps organize your archived posts. I’ll have a category that will say ‘Buffy memes and musings’ and when I log on to Buffy I can view them and reblog them on her. This is also amazing to save resources. Any guides or anything you can use later on, save to the archiver and view them any time.

Post Block This is amazing if a post people reblog keeps on appearing on your dash and you don’t wnat to see it anymore. Pretty much makes it so you don’t have to see the post anymore

Quick Tags Dear God, this is another one of my life savers. This adds buttons to when you reblog or post a post, both in reblog from dash and normal reblog, to add tags that you choose. I will say that this only adds 30 tag bundles. But each tag bundle can contain tons of tags. Some people will add tons of tags to a bundle and delete the ones they don’t use. For me that’s too much. But to each their own. I use this for quick tagging musings, memes, character photos, promos, ooc posts, ect. With the click of a button it’s already tags. Amazing if you use fancy tags, or can’t remember all your tags.

Reblog Yourself Literally you can reblog yourself. Good for rebloggin your self promos

Tag Tracking Shows tags in sidebar to track. Essential for tracking your url tag and group verse tags.

View My Tags Another amazing thing to help you tag everything. You can use instead of or with quick tags. This shows you your most recent fifty tags. and you can search for certain ones. Because it does most recent tags, if you use this I would do frequent tag drops.

Bookmarker Adds a little line divider on your dash from the last thing you read. Great for lurking on the dash, it will tell you that you had already read (or sometimes havent read but last time you refreshed the dash) below that line.

Old Sidebar Returns tumblrs old sidebar. I love this because you can easily get to you posts, queue, drafts, ect.

Tag Replacer Must have if you redo your tags. You can put in your old tag and it will find everything tagged with that and automatically replace that tag with your new one. Amazing for redoing tags and maintaining blog organization.

Auto Tagger I use this to automatically tag certain kinds of posts. I.e. it will tag all queue posts with my queue tag, or all audio or video with a tag you have for those kind of posts.

Find Inactives Omg essential for cleaning your dash. it can find blogs that have been inactive for an ammount of months that you set. Unfortunately it can’t unfollow them for you, but finding them is like 3/4 of the battle! This will keep your following number to the people that are active on your dash

Enhanced Queue Totally freakin essential for anyone that uses the queue for anything, ‘specially if you queue replies. My favorite feature is shuffle queue. If you queue up a bunch of gif sets from a blog but don’t want them to come out one after another, or queue up replies but don’t want them all stacked up, you can shuffle the queue. Note: It will only shuffle the posts you have loaded. If you want the whole queue shuffled, scroll down until the end of the queue is loaded. On that note, if you have a large queue but don’t want some of your replies to end up coming out two weeks later, when you queue up your replies, only load one or two more times and then shuffle. That will keep them still in the front. Just don’t shuffle the whole thing after or it will redo that.

Hermes Underrated GOD of xkit. If you ever scroll through your dash for a long time, you will notice things starting to lag and it’s so freakin’ frustrating. This is because your browser still has to remember and keep loaded those posts from the start of your dash. Hermes makes all the posts you have already seen blank, so your browser doesn’t take as much memory to remember them and lessens dash lag.

Mass Deleter This will delete all your current drafts or likes. Now for the drafts, I don’t find that useful unless you are legit clearing out everything. I wish there was a way to toggle the draft button off because tbh it’s a scary button. But it has a confirmation pop up so don’t worry! On the other hand I love the delete all current likes. It keeps my likes more clean.

Shorten Posts Do long posts bother you on your dash? Whether they are memes or other peoples replies or whatever. But you don’t want them to completely disappear, because hey! you might need them. You can set a set pixel length and all posts will be shorten to that. You can click a button to expand the post to it’s original if you want to read the whole thing.

WEBSITES TO HELP YOU WITH THEME STUFF

Pictaculous you can upload your theme background or sidebar pictures and it will give you a color scheme to use on your blog

Screenfly is a site you can view your blog on different screen sizes to make sure it looks good on all screens. Includes ipad and mobile phones too.

Subtle Patterns by toptal has tons of subtle backgrounds that work with tiled backgrounds. Great for pop ups, or your theme background, or graphics, or really so much.

WEBSITES TO HELP WITH WRITING STUFF

Tone Analyzer is so freakin’ cool. Paste your writing or replies in, and it will tell you what emotions you emote in it. Not just which ones, but the percentage of each, and which phrases, sentences that have those certain emotions. It is just so freakin’ cool PS if you’re an angst queen like me, it’s just gonna say sad most of the time lmfao.

Grammerly is a google chrome app that can help you correct your grammer way better than the autopmatic spell corrector.

Readable is a website that you can paste your writing into and it will analyze it and tell you cliches you have, or if your sentences are too long, ect.

OTHER USEFUL/COOL WEBSITES TO HELP WITH RP

CopyPasteCharacter is great for all those symbols that you might need for anything. It has like all of them and by clicking on them you automatically copy them.

Aestheticizer this is great for any kind of fancy script. Put in words or sentences and it will convert them into any kind of fancy text. This is awesome if you use the new fancy tags trend because then you don’t have to copy and paste every character.

Discord is pretty much an online alternative to skype. Create a chat group and invite people and just chat ooc or ic!

Evernote is a notebook organizing website that I use to help me keep track of EVERYTHING. Tag names, things I owe, plot ideas, everything!

[something-wicked-sims]

Dear Jade, I am writing this to ask a few questions I've had regarding writing in the sims form. How would someone start one of these sims stories? And how would someone keep it from becoming flat, and continue writing it past writers block? Some tips on developing a character inside the story would also be fantastic. Coming from someone who has only written novels and poetry, any advice on writing short pieces to go with photos is greatly appreciated! Sincerely, Mel. PS: This is 100% Real

Wow Mel, hit me with the heavy questions why don’t you Q_Q But you know, as someone who also made the switch from novel writing to sim story format, I kind of know where you’re coming from. Hence we begin…

Jade’s Mega-Fantastic Tips For Adapting to Sim Story Format 

#DearJade to block, as this is an extremely LONG post. 

Disclaimer: These tips don’t apply to everyone. The general rule of simblr is to have fun and DO WHAT YOU WANT. This advice is only really aimed at people who are serious about the craft and want to improve on their writing and how to present it in this medium. Not everyone takes it this seriously, and not everyone needs to. But for those of you who are looking for more direction with your writing, this is my personal, and humble advice. The fact that I titled this “mega-fantastic” was 100% sardonic. I’m just a chick on tumblr. I have a B.A. in English with a focus on creative writing, and nearly 6 months of simblr experience. These are my only qualifications. So, with that being said, don’t listen to anything I say from this point onward. 

How to Begin:Everyone’s writing processes are different. Some people like to map things out, while others tend to go with the flow. If your goal is to write some sort of cohesive linear storyline, and not just sporadic bouts of gameplay, then it’s good to have at least an idea of where you want to end up. Some point to make within your story, or some goal for your main character to accomplish. That way, all the things you do between point A and point B will have a similar thread, and you’re less likely to get lost on random tangents. 

General writing tips: Start with something interesting! Introduce your new characters in an exciting way. If you’ve never heard the phrase “in media res”, now’s a good time to learn it. Start in the middle, at the beginning. It’s nice to already have something going on at the beginning of your story, and don’t put too much time into explaining who all your characters are, what they do, what they like… right up front. It will engage people with your story more if you start off with action instead of description. 

Presentation: Since you’re writing a sims story, you have to think double time. Here, writing is only half of the work. Which is why simblr writers really don’t get enough credit! Think about how you want your scene to reflect in photos. The first sims story I did, I made the mistake of writing it in it’s entirety as a novel, and then having to take “necessary photographs” to go with each scene. I ended up with a great deal of pictures of people walking around aimlessly, or standing in the same room talking, or sitting on a chair talking, or on a couch talking… You get the point. You can still write as a novel and adapt it (which is still what I do), but I would recommend writing your scenes with your blog in mind. Think  “This scene could happen in their kitchen, but what if I moved it to a park instead?”, better scenery, probably more angles/more things to look at. Try to be creative with your screenies. Experiment with different angles. Think about your favorite movies, and the ways they are filmed. Try to incorporate those elements into your pictures. Sims stories have a certain cinematic quality to them, so write with that in mind, because how interesting your photos are will draw more people in to read your writing. Trust me. 

Character Development:Understand that the vast majority of sim stories and legacies unfold over enormous amounts of real life time. If you’re afraid of longterm writing commitments, you should probably run away screaming! No, I’m kidding (kind of), but they are huge commitments. I know people who have been writing their legacies for years. My first sims story took four months to complete and was around 75,000 words in its extracted tumblr form. My point is, it’s going to take a lot of time. Which is great! Because character development takes time. My advice for adapting character development to sims stories is to make sure every scene has a point. If you want to make a post just for fun, that’s great too! But when it comes to scenes that move your plot forward, answer the question “What does this accomplish?”, “Why is this particular scene necessary?”, “Would the story be the same if this didn’t happen?”. 

Simblr writers can spend hours putting together a post. I would think that is a pretty accurate statistic. From the writing, to building the set, clothing your sims, downloading CC, posing them, taking photos, and then editing the photos, each 3-4 pictures you take for a particular scene probably consumed precious long minutes of your life. So make sure that it’s an important scene that you’re spending all this time on. And, of course, just like most anime fans will tell you, FILLER EPISODES SUCK Q_Q (Not always. But sometimes). Anyways, sim story format sometimes forces you to consider what is vital to a story and a character, as we usually make posts to highlight specific moments in our sim-babies lives. I think development is really inherent to this medium, so I wouldn’t worry too much about if your character is developing or not.

General writing tips:

Dialogue is important!

How your character reacts to things is important!

Formatting:There are many different ways to format your sim story, and none of them are wrong. Do what you are comfortable with. If you’re coming from writing novels or short stories, then paragraph format is a great way to go. You can do caption writing, which is writing your text (typically dialogue and similar to playwriting in effect) directly onto your screenshots. You can do textual playwriting, which would be to have short exposition to setup a scene followed by tagged dialogue:

Maria: I went to the store yesterday.Bob: Really? What did you need to get there?Mari: Oh, I just had to pick up a few things for the party Saturday. 

These are the three most highly used formats I have seen used on simblr. I think they all work great, and you can even mix them. Just do what you are comfortable with and what you prefer. Don’t try to stretch yourself to change the style of your writing just to match what other people are doing. 

General writing tips:

One thing I will say is to be wary of your Point of View (or PoV). If you are using multiple PoV’s (as in you swap them between posts) then you should label whose PoV it is for your readers (I do so in my tags), if you use captions, usually changing font color to depict two or more players is the way to go. If you would like to switch PoV within the same post, I recommend using third person point of view e.g. “Bob walked here. Maria said this.”

And how would someone keep it from becoming flat… As I mentioned above, the best thing you can do here is just to make sure your scenes are vital to the plotline, or character development in some way. Don’t bog down your stuff with useless scenes, if your goal is to write a cohesive story. There is a #ts4 gameplay tag for a reason. It is not the same tag as #ts4 story, and people who follow one tag, may not necessarily want to follow the other. As a reader, I’m interested in the storyline. Is your character involved in some shady business? Are they going to find out that their loser husband is cheating on them? I don’t really want to see three different posts devoted to your sim cooking eggs for breakfast. SORRY. #justiceforeggs

General simblr tips:

@medleymisty has recently incorporated the usage of #simnovel for longer text posts. I think this is an excellent step forward for hobby sim story writing. So you can use this tag if you thing it applies to your work!

….and continue writing it past writers block? I can’t answer this! I am not a magician, unfortunately. Sometimes inspiration comes and sometimes inspiration goes. Writers block is a legit thing, and if I had a super-fix for it, I would hand it out lovingly to the world’s writers. But since I don’t, I will say that you shouldn’t pressure yourself ahead of time. Don’t think you need to post regularly. Go at your own pace. If you need a break? Take one. Just bounce right on out the door. I hear there’s a new Mass Effect game out. Go play it! Tumblr will still be here where you come back. 

Remember, this isn’t your job, it’s a hobby. As for how to get inspired or stay inspired, I really feel motivated to work on my sim stories when I am having fun, either playing the game, or putting together some scenes. So just have fun with it. Make Pinterest boards. Dudes, Pinterest is so great for writers, utilize it as a tool! Make character boards and pin things that you remind you of your babies and go look at the beautiful pictures when you’re feeling stuck. Share your boards, too! Lots of simblr’s have pinterests and you can follow them, they’ll follow you back, it’s great. Fantastic. But yeah, just have funnnn and do your thing and when you’re not feeling it, don’t try to force it, because you’ll just regret it and start to resent your stuff, and it’s just a bad time. 

This concludes my massive wall of pretentious text.

[transbutts]

Hi! Just here for a little rant, I wanna share my situation and maybe have some feedback? -cofcofmaybechitchatcofcof- so I’m a Latino living in Australia and Im transgender.

Lately I have been founding a LOT of difficulty getting T, paperwork to change my gender, paperwork to change my name (which is more difficult due to the fact im not a citizen, yay) AND NOW ON TOP, my chest surgery has doubled up the price I had in mind because the Dr. I wanted didn’t convinced me because of her scar position (right in the middle of the nipple) so I changed to another one (extremley good) but extremely expensive 15,000 AUD.

The T and my name change are not as… Horrible? Like, I can wait, yeah, I will be patient cuz I already resign to the fact that it will be a long hard process an all.

But what has been bugging me is how the hell I will get the money for my operation? Well, my gf suggested GoFundMe but I have like 0 friends, moat of the ones I do have are students = no money. I don’t have enough followers on Instagram/Tumblr and the ones I do have don’t care/same friends with no money.

I have a casual job (I work in a Vet Clinic as a kennel hand trying to get my Vet Nursing position going, which, I miss one opportunity cuz some decided that my “transgender issues” where “affecting me” and they “didn’t wanted to put more stress on me” ironic right?) and its barely enough to pay all I have to pay and have some saving (since December till now I have barely saved 1,1000. Which I’m proud off btw but is just not enough)

I have tried applying for jobs but I have little experience in retail and a lot of jobs request drivers licence (Which I don’t have cuz in my culture you don’t learn to drive until you get out of university or something like that and I just to Australia as I finish year 12 back in my country)

So yeah. I feel really trapped, and days are difficult since I’m a big chested boy and there is no way I can pass neck down so I have to deal with a lot of misgendering. Also, I’ve told my dad I am FTM and he literally said he would not call me “he” or “son” until I “look like a dude” and do the “proper changes” which I fin is totally bullshit. So I don’t have his support either. I’m basically living by own because he only pays for rent and food. The rest I have to provide myself 90% of the time and that make the saving up a bit more difficult (I should not complain about this I know, there is people who has it worst than me I know, I’m sorry)

But yeah. I just feel really frustrated. And something that just is in the back of my ming is that we are going to go to the states for vacations. I decided to go just for two weeks cuz I don’t wanna miss work (money) and because now with Trump as president I am afraid of going and be beat up or something in the streets or be called things. I have hear/read a lot of horrible things of the states and I’m just scared, and I wanted to go a week more maybe, because they are really good vacations, but my fear makes me doubt. (Any suggestions on this? I don’t even know if you mates are from the states or not but …)

Well, anyway, this was longer than expected. I’m sorry. I tried to say everything that I had caught up in my throat. Thanks for reading, if you got until here.

Photo caption: I swear I’m a training vet nursing and no bunnies where harm, that is the “technical” way of restraining a bunny. ***** I’m really sorry you’re stuck in this position. Unfortunately I’m sure a lot of folks here can sympathize with you. This process can be so difficult (and adding on the emotional strain, especially from lack of support, it can be almost unbearable). Ways to raise money- a lot of companies (like trans clothing companies, i.e. Trash Prince, Flavnt, and more) put a portion of proceeds to a particular person’s surgery fund. You can apply to those, and if accepted you would get some extra money that way. You could also try selling things online. Do you have a craft you like? I commend you for the job hunting, and without a license I’m sure it’s hard. But anything will help if you can find it. Could you maybe walk dogs in the neighborhood? I cleaned a house as a (third?) job every other week and made gas money for a while that way. It may be a super stressful time for a while, but you seem determined and hard-working! Best of luck <3 Also, that’s a damn cute furball. *Wren