#and that’s fine bc i have 4 more interviews but like

[ronoexiste]

i have a job interview today and i haven’t felt this level of anxiety in a while.

[be-good-to-bugs]

2 days off a week just isnt enough :(

[defectivevillain]

struck by your lightning, ch3

reader’s pronouns: he/him

summary: You decide to take advantage of the moment’s respite you’re given. “Okay. Hey, how are you?” You look up, only to find yourself staring at Kaminari Denki. The Kaminari Denki—the idol with over thirty million listeners and sold-out concerts across the world. You’re certain that you’re going to fumble your words several times in front of him. (You're a reporter working at the red carpet of a national award gala. You've convinced yourself that you're doing just fine. At least, you're doing fine until you interview Kaminari.)

here’s chapter one and chapter two [you’ll want to read these first, otherwise this won’t make much sense]

this is a chat-hybrid fic and the formatting was mostly made for ao3. it’s a lil wonky here, so here’s the ao3 version if you’d prefer to read that :)

since it's been a while, here's a refresh of what happened in ch1-2: The reader works at DoubleVision agency and is invited to interview artists at an award show. His interview and interaction with Kaminari quickly goes viral—both because of his flustered reaction at the end and the “Love ya”s exchanged at the end. The reader tries not to think too much of it, until he opens his phone to find a message from an unknown number who proves to be Kaminari himself. The two quickly grow to be friends through frequent text conversations. Kaminari reveals that he has your placard for the event and plans for the two of you to meet up together at the nearby coffee shop…

now, onto the story....

Tokyo Entertainment Fix | @tokentfix

Popstar Kaminari Denki Spotted with Reporter from Awards Gala at Coffee Shop! 

[ coffee1.jpg ] [ coffee2.jpg ] [ coffee3.jpg ]

89k comments | 486k retweets | 1.8m likes

____________

jj | @dendendenki

ARE Y’ALL SEEING THIS

409 comments | 3k retweets | 18.2k likes

i said what i said. | @ urfavescouldnever

In response to @dendendenki 

seeing what

5 comments | 21 retweets | 451 likes

jj | @dendendenki

In response to @ urfavescouldnever 

THIS [tokentfix.twt] [newsarticle.link]

61 comments | 1.3k retweets | 8k likes

i said what i said. | @ urfavescouldnever

In response to @dendendenki 

I’M SEEING IT NOW HOLY SHIT

4 comments | 808 retweets | 1.6k likes

_______

Direct Message 

You: have you seen…?

Kaminari Denki: the news article about us?

You: yeah

Kaminari Denki: ah yeah, i saw it

You: i’m sorry

Kaminari Denki: i’m sorry

Kaminari Denki: WHAT

You: i’m sorry

Kaminari Denki: no no no

Kaminari Denki: stop that immediately

You: y??

Kaminari Denki: bc it's not ur fault!!!

Kaminari Denki: if anything, i should be the one apologizing 

You: why??? you didn’t do anything

Kaminari Denki: NEITHER DID YOU

You: ah damn it i see what you did there

Kaminari Denki: damn right

Kaminari Denki: but srsly, i hope the article isn’t messing anything up for u

You: i was gonna say the same to you

Kaminari Denki: oh pls, this kind of shit happens to me all the time

Kaminari Denki: but seriously, are you doing ok?

You: yep all good

You: it’s just more funny than anything else

Kaminari Denki: is the thought of dating me really so bad :(

You: oh pls, that’s not what i meant

You: i just meant celebrity culture in general…  like they’re so obsessed with your relationship status and it’s kinda weird>??

Kaminari Denki: yeah… 

You: sigh

You: so glad i’m just a lowly reporter 🙏

Kaminari Denki: hey, don’t jinx it

Kaminari Denki: plus, haven’t you looked on twt recently

Kaminari Denki: fans are shipping us together

Kaminari Denki: pretty sure there are stan accounts dedicated to you now

Kaminari Denki: not that i would know

Kaminari Denki: or follow them

You: fr??

Kaminari Denki: fr fr

You: deadass?

Kaminari Denki: on god

You: i hate us

Kaminari Denki: same

__________

Thankfully, that article about Kaminari and you doesn’t actually change much. You go about business as usual, albeit with a strange sense of guilt prickling along your skin when your mind is unoccupied. You throw yourself into your work and try to bury the emotions, but they are never truly extinguished. 

Your conversations with Kaminari are far rarer now, especially as the both of you get even busier. Kaminari is working on releasing his next album and you’re pitching new stories and writing to old acquaintances for features. Even though you throw yourself into work, you still find your thoughts returning to Kaminari. Your relationship with him is currently undefined—your meeting the other day felt like a date, but neither of you acknowledged it. You would love to be more than friends with Kaminari, but you also know that someone as well-known as him doesn’t exactly have the freedom to pursue a relationship and a music career at the same time. Resigned, you slowly push away thoughts of Kaminari until you think you get a good handle on your emotions. 

Until everything you try to suppress comes roaring back.

___________

 Kaminari Denki | @kaminaridenki

24 hours. [STATIC.jpg]

203k comments | 1.2m retweets | 4m likes

____________

Kaminari Denki to Release New Album Tomorrow

Arts—Music

2 min ago ᐧ By Janet Drews

Kaminari Denki, award-winning musical artist and popular culture icon, recently announced the release of his new album on Twitter. The Tweet earned over four million likes and 200,000 comments. Listeners are clearly looking forward to the occasion, as #KaminariDenki, #STATIC, and #DenkiAlbum top the Twitter Trending page (#1, #2, and #4, respectively). 

Some fans speculate the new album will be an ode to the rumored relationship between Kaminari and the DoubleVision reporter who interviewed him at the award gala [interview.mp4]. The interaction between the singer and the reporter quickly went viral following live coverage of the event. Digital citizens across the platform searched for explanations for the exchange, and Kaminari fans such as user @heyheyh3y discussed their red-carpet conversation.  

stream lightning by kaminari! | @heyheyh3y okay but is it just me or was there some tension there…  [interview.jpg]: A screenshot of Kaminari standing next to you during the interview.   907 comments | 66k retweets | 256k likes

This album will be a bit different from his previously released music, Kaminari said to Vogue Japan mere days ago. The artist made no mention of a significant other who could bear influence on his new music, despite the fact that he was seen with the DoubleVision reporter at EspressoBeanz but a few days ago—a cafè conveniently located near both DoubleVision agency and UA Entertainment. However, other Kaminari fans, like users @electrstatic and @staticshockwave, weren’t convinced:

⚡⚡| @electrstatic y’all are making such a huge deal about this whole reporter business, as if the same thing hasn’t happened time and time again with literally anyone kaminari interacts with 31 comments | 23 retweets | 700 likes electric boogaloo  | @staticshockwave In response to @electrstatic  THANK YOU. like, when he first got Arata as a manager, everyone was going batshit crazy about how they were dating… and they weren’t. and the way anyone breathing in Kaminari’s direction is assumed to be dating him… it’s crazy 0 comments | 8 retweets | 32 likes

Either way, fans across the world are looking forward to the release of new music from Kaminari.  His new album, STATIC, will be released on Apple Music, Spotify, Soundcloud, and assorted digital platforms at 3 p.m. JST (approximately 10 a.m. UTC). 

__________

Direct Message

You: heyyy, how are you feeling

You: the album releases tmrw, right?

Kaminari Denki: very nervous 

Kaminari Denki: and yes, t minus 20 hrs

You: awesome!

You: and rly? why?

Kaminari Denki: well… i worked hard on it, and i want ppl to like it

You: okay 

You: will you be disappointed if your fans don’t like it?

Kaminari Denki: a little, yeah

You: but why do you write music? do you write it for them or for yourself? 

Kaminari Denki: 

You: sorry, that sounds patronizing…

Kaminari Denki: no, you’re right

Kaminari Denki: i think i needed to hear that

You: i mean, you clearly worked very hard on it. i’m sure everyone listening will recognize that.

Kaminari Denki: i hope so

You: they will 😠 and if they don’t, fuck em

Kaminari Denki: damn right

Kaminari Denki: thanks <3

You: ofc! <3

You: i have to go eat dinner, talk soon?

Kaminari Denki: yep,, enjoy your meal

You: tyyy haha

___________

Direct Message

Kaminari Denki: hypothetically speaking

Sero Brain Cells: ok hello to you too

Sero Brain Cells: also bitch do i look like a scientist

Kaminari Denki: hYPOTHETICALLY SPEAKING

Kaminari Denki: does a “<3” mean someone is hopelessly in love with me

Sero Brain Cells: jfc

Kaminari Denki: is that a yes

Sero Brain Cells: ur so fuckin whipped

Kaminari Denki: SHUT UP

Kaminari Denki: I TRUSTED YOU

Kaminari Denki: i came to you in my time of weakness

Kaminari Denki: and this is how you repay me

Sero Brain Cells: dude, you gotta tell him at some point

Kaminari Denki: ik…

Sero Brain Cells: and even if you don’t, he’ll probably figure it out soon

Kaminari Denki: wdym

Sero Brain Cells: ur new album. 

Kaminari Denki: what about it?

Sero Brain Cells: half of those songs are so clearly about him

Kaminari Denki: nahhhh no way i kept it hella ambiguous

Sero Brain Cells: ambiguous, huh

Kaminari Denki: shut up

Kaminari Denki: … do you really think he’ll notice

Sero Brain Cells: well, i’m not sure

Sero Brain Cells: you both seem a lil oblivious, so it may be fine

Kaminari Denki: hey 😭

Sero Brain Cells: all love

Sero Brain Cells: but also get ur shit together u raging homo (affectionate, non-derogatory)

Kaminari Denki: oh pls, as if you haven’t been pining for shoto for six business years

Sero Brain Cells: HEY

Sero Brain Cells: …HEY

Sero Brain Cells: HEY 💀

Sero Brain Cells: ik ur stressed rn so i’ll let that slide 🤨

Kaminari Denki: ur right, i’m so anxious

Kaminari Denki: sry for taking it out on u, bro 

Sero Brain Cells: it’s ok bro

Sero Brain Cells: wanna get ur ass kicked in mariokart?

Kaminari Denki: do i want to kick ur ass in mariokart? absolutely

Sero Brain Cells: we’ll see about that

Kaminari Denki: damn right we will

___________

Kaminari Denki | @kaminaridenki

fucking godly at mariokart [mariokart.jpg]

19k comments | 97k retweets | 347k likes

Sero | @serofucks

In response to @kaminaridenki 

oh fuck all the way off, you had steering assist on

3k comments | 45k retweets | 228k likes

@kamisimpsimp

In response to @serofucks 

OOOOP

47 comments | 430 retweets | 1.4k likes

surprised pikachu face | @kamipikakami

In response to @kamisimpsimp 

gagged and gooped

31 comments | 338 retweets | 2.3k likes

alex | @kaminarunaronari

In response to @kaminaridenki 

what really concerns me is that you main lakitu

2k comments | 134k retweets | 765k likes

stream lightning by kaminari! | @heyheyh3y

In response to @kaminaridenki 

here we are, anxiously awaiting the new album, and this mf is playing mariokart

21 comments | 208 retweets | 809 likes

@kamisimpsimp

In response to @heyheyh3y 

as one does!

0 comments | 46 retweets | 665 likes

___________

Direct Message 

You: heyyyy

You: it’s release dayyyyyy

Kaminari Denki: when you when you when you whennnnnnnnnnnnnnfdshfkdjs

You: :0

You: looking forward to it!

Kaminari Denki: :3

(Nine Hours Later) 

Direct Message 

You: congratulationsssss!!!!

You: i’ll try to find the time to listen to STATIC soon!!!

Kaminari Denki: thanks :)

___________

Kaminari stares down at his phone, watching as fans discuss the new album. He has the album on shuffle in the background as he tries to brainstorm some choreography. Kaminari has absolute faith in the talented choreographers that he works with—but he just feels like he needs to do something to combat the restless energy surging through him.  

The feedback on the album so far has been overwhelmingly positive, yet he’s still nervous—as if he’s still waiting for a reaction from someone. Shaking his head, he tries to focus on the choreography he’s creating. But that plan quickly backfires. Within moments, his phone buzzes—breaking him out of his thoughts. Kaminari freezes and immediately grabs it from his pocket, heart thudding rhythmically in his chest as he unlocks his phone and goes to his messages. There’s a series of texts from you:

You: ok, i have time to listen, now! You: gonna listen as i make dinner!!!

Kaminari sighs, trying to calm his racing heart. He doesn’t know what to say or how to say it. Taking a deep breath, he puts his phone back in his pocket and decides to practice some of the choreography for his other songs. Even amidst the music running through the space and the dance moves that seemed etched onto his very skin, Kaminari still can’t help but think of you. 

___________

Meanwhile, you’re just getting home from work. You hate to admit it, but you’ve been looking forward to listening to Kaminari’s new album for a bit now. It’s especially thrilling to think that you can discuss it with him afterward—hell, he even seems to be awaiting your feedback. The thought is exciting and nerve-wracking in equal measures. 

You decide to change out of your work clothes before starting dinner, so that you don’t have to worry about staining anything. Then, you grab your Bluetooth speaker and place it on the kitchen counter, before pulling up Kaminari’s newest album and tapping on the first song. Immediately, a beautiful, twisting melody reaches your ears and you swear you feel your shoulders begin to relax. You busy yourself with preparing dinner while his voice fills the space. 

Safe to say, the album is incredible. You really like each song you’ve listened to so far—and have found yourself saving each of them to various playlists. Even if you hadn’t spoken with Kaminari throughout the period he was working on the album, you would be able to tell that he put a lot of effort into it. As you expected, that effort shows through in each and every song.  

His songs are rather hard-hitting, emotionally speaking. The fifth song, traces of you , makes you freeze in place. You have to rewind to listen to one particular portion of the song again: 

…and I stand aside 

as you’re washed away  

with the ebbing tide 

I’m so afraid 

of falling out of love 

Sometimes I look up  

at the blinding black night 

and the stars seem to whisper  

your name in the air 

I feel a shiver roll down my spine 

I remember your hand in mine, 

and I’m just so afraid.  

You don’t know how long you stand at the kitchen counter, letting the lyrics slip into your ears and down your skin. This song is so raw and vulnerable. You feel the sudden urge to close your eyes. For a moment, you can almost trick yourself into thinking Kaminari is singing to you, that these lyrics are meant for you and you alone. It’s a foolish thought, but you can’t quite push it away. You feel your eyes burning with unshed tears as you try to picture Kaminari writing down these lyrics. What was he feeling, in those moments? Were his eyebrows furrowed in concentration? Were his hands stained from the still-drying ink of his pen? Was he tapping his foot along to an unheard, not-yet-created melody?  

Something blares loudly, tearing you from your reverie. You blink and look around the room, gasping when you realize you completely neglected the pan on the stove. The pan is smoking and you recognize that insufferable sound to be the fire alarm. You’re quick to turn off the burner. The fire isn’t extinguished. Panicking, you race to one of the kitchen cabinets to grab baking soda. Baking soda, quickly , your mind is practically yelling. You grab the baking soda and haphazardly spread it over the grease fire, relief coursing through you when you see the flames begin to die down. When the fire finally subsides, you look down at your attempt at dinner, only to find a charred pile. You shake your head in disbelief and clean up your mess, before grabbing your phone and skipping to the next song. 

You don’t make the mistake of attempting to make dinner as you listen to the rest of the album, which is a rather smart move, because the remaining songs are lyrical masterpieces. There isn’t a single song on the album that you don’t like. A small smile growing on your face, you open your messaging app. 

___________

Direct Message

You: i love the new album holy shit

Kaminari Denki: really?

You: yesssss omfg absolutely 

Kaminari Denki: akjdfkjfskdjfsdlkf

Kaminari Denki: which track is your favorite? for research purposes 

You: research purposes? lol

You: my favorite is definitely traces of you 

Kaminari Denki: ah, that’s one of my favorites, too!

Kaminari Denki: and lemme just say: i’m so happy you listened! it means the world to me, so thank you <3

You: no need to thank me—just doing my due diligence as a friend! besides, the new album is incredible!

You: and i promise i’m not just saying that to be nice,,, it’s clear you put a lot of effort into it. 

Kaminari Denki: ahhh stawp ur gonna make me all flustered xD

You: hahaha

You: i do have one critique, though

Kaminari Denki: ooooh ok i’m listening 👀

You: traces of you needs to come with a warning

Kaminari Denki: for what? shit how did i miss that

You: “warning: will distract you from cooking dinner and nearly burn your home down”

Kaminari Denki: wait

Kaminari Denki: you did notttttt 💀

You: I DID

You: i was so distracted i forgot i was making dinner

Kaminari Denki: omfgggg that’s insane

Kaminari Denki: i’ve heard a lot of things about my music, but never that it almost burned a house down and ruined dinner 😭

You: lmfaooo 

Kaminari Denki: i’m so sorry 😭😭

You: it’s not your fault, holy shit

You: don’t feel guilty!!!! if it makes you feel better, it was completely worth it

Kaminari Denki: hmph 

You: i wasn’t rly that hungry anyways

Kaminari Denki: hm hm hm hm hmmmmmm

You: whatttt

Kaminari Denki: nothing i gtg

Kaminari Denki is offline. 

You: o….kay? …bye?

___________

You exit out of your messaging app and start rummaging through your pantry for something to eat. Nothing sounds very good right now. You don’t have much food left, either—you’re in desperate need of a trip to the grocery store. You’re sure you can make time to go tomorrow, but as for right now… you’re stuck making do with what you have. Truthfully, you’re tempted to order something—but it’s already getting late and you don’t want to wait even longer for a meal when you’re already hungry. 

You walk out into your living room and flop onto the couch, trying to distract yourself from the hunger gnawing at your stomach. Admittedly, your abrupt conversation with Kaminari is weighing heavily on your mind too. You eventually scroll through YouTube mindlessly, if only to keep yourself distracted. You’re not sure how long you sit there before there’s a sudden ringing sound. You frown, wondering if you’re hearing things. 

The sound occurs again, and you realize that someone must be ringing your doorbell. Squinting in confusion, you head to your front door and peek through the peephole—surprised to find a familiar blond singer standing on your porch. You quickly unlock your front door and swing it open. “Kaminari?” You ask, convinced you’re seeing things. You hadn’t made plans to hang out today, and you assumed that your conversation died off because he was busy. 

“Hey,” Kaminari smiles. He’s wearing a sweatshirt and jeans with a pair of colorful sneakers. His bangs are clipped back and his hair is almost glowing in the dim light of your porch. There’s a sheepish smile on his face that is endlessly endearing. “I heard you missed dinner.” He smiles, holding up a few bags of takeout from a restaurant the two of you had spoken about before. 

“You didn’t have to do that,” you say quickly, hoping that you didn’t make him feel as if he had to provide you with dinner. It wasn’t his fault you were distracted. 

“I wanted to,” he says with a smile, dispelling your doubts. “I think I remember your order, but…” He trails off, averting his eyes with an embarrassed expression. “I got a few different things, just in case.”

“I could kiss you,” you breathe relievedly, unaware of the flush that adorns Kaminari’s cheeks as he processes that remark. You motion for him to come in, before locking the front door and showing him to the dining room. You leave him to unbag the food, while you grab plates and utensils. “Do you want anything to drink?” You ask from the kitchen.

“What do you have?” Kaminari asks casually. 

“Water, soda, sparkling water…” You trail off, looking through your fridge for anything else you may have laying around. 

“Water’s fine,” he smiles. You roll your eyes and grab another glass, filling up waters for you both before returning to the table. Kaminari wasn’t kidding when he said he bought a few different things—as it’s all laid out on your table, it looks as if he bought half the menu. You return to the kitchen and grab the plates and utensils you gathered earlier, before heading back. Unsurprisingly, the pile of food on the table doesn’t get any smaller. 

“This is a lot of food,” you remark cautiously. Realistically speaking, there’s no way you’ll be able to finish all of this, and you feel slightly guilty. 

“Oh, yeah,” Kaminari nods, “I figured we would have enough for leftovers, and stuff.” You nod in agreement, before busying yourself with making a plate. 

“So,” you say, once the two of you are settled in and have begun eating. You didn’t realize just how hungry you were until you took a bite of the food. There’s an inexplicable tension hovering over the air, and you’re unsure if you’re imagining it or not. “How are you feeling?”

“Good,” Kaminari responds with a nod. “Really good,” 

“Good!” You smile, taking another bite. “Are you topping the charts already?”

He smiles bashfully, poking at his food with a fork. “I think so… yeah.” He’s so humble, and you can’t help but think it’s rather admirable. 

“That’s so cool,” you remark, “I’m so happy for you.” 

“Thanks, I’m happy, too.” He smiles briefly, before looking back down at his food. The happiness in his expression almost seems to flicker for a moment, and the grin on his lips suddenly looks strained. You frown. At first, you want to put that sight down to your imagination; but when the silence stretches on for a while and he doesn’t make a move to continue speaking, you decide to acknowledge it. 

“Are you sure?” You blurt out, before you can contemplate the consequences of speaking so freely. Kaminari looks at you in confusion and you grimace. “Sorry. It’s just- You seem a little… off, I guess.”

“I’m good,” he reassures you with a small nod. The gesture is not very convincing. 

“Okay,” you say, not wanting to push him further. If there’s something he doesn’t want to talk about, you’re not going to force it out of him. After a few moments, your conversation returns to normal. You still have a lingering suspicion that there’s something weighing on his mind, but you decide to forget about it. 

Overall, your dinner is pleasant. You get the chance to ask Kaminari a few questions about the album, and you really enjoy seeing his eyes sparkle as he goes into in-depth explanations of the meanings behind his songs. It feels like you’re seeing a side of him that very few people get to see—but you don’t want to flatter yourself. 

Kaminari offers to help you with the dishes when you’re both finished eating, but you quickly refuse and promise him you’ll finish them quickly. You run water over the dishes before placing them in the dishwasher, promising yourself to run it later that night. When you return to the table, you’re surprised to find Kaminari staring ahead with a troubled expression on his face. His hands are clasped on the table and his lips are pulled in a thin line. 

Before you can even begin to ask, he’s filling the silence. “You were right,” Kaminari admits. He sounds a little strange—almost as if he’s nervous. You stare at him expectantly. “There is something bothering me.”

The tortured expression on his face is a bit worrying. “Well, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” You feel the need to remind him. While you’re concerned about what could be distressing him, you know that sometimes, it’s too painful to talk about those types of things. 

But Kaminari surprises you with his response. “I want to,” he reassures you. You watch as he pushes himself to his feet and stares down at the table, running a finger along the wood. “I’ve just… been trying to figure out how to say it.” 

“Take your time,” you say. “I’m not in a rush.” Kaminari nods appreciatively. 

You’re not sure what you’re expecting to hear, in all honesty. But what he says next feels entirely unreal. “When I first met you, I was attracted to you,” Kaminari chokes out, looking at the ceiling as if nervous to meet your eyes. “I sort of expected it to fizzle, because… well, I didn’t know you all that well. But once we started talking more, I realized that my feelings weren’t going away. While I just knew you as the alluring reporter before, I now knew you as this… this incredible person.” You stare at him in shocked silence. 

“You’re so… You’re kind, smart, and passionate. You have a wicked sense of humor and I always look forward to hearing from you. I…

“I’m not sure how familiar you are with me and my career, but… Truthfully, I hit a bit of a rough spot. My last album was a few years ago and I was convinced that I wouldn’t be able to write anything new. But then I met you, and got to know you, and all of a sudden, I was writing all the time. 

“Suddenly, I had an entire album—filled with songs that I wrote while thinking about you. And I didn’t know what to do. I had already tried to bury my feelings for you, and it clearly hadn’t worked at all. I assumed you didn’t feel the same as I did. And I’m still not sure, of course.

“But when you sent those messages earlier… I felt something snap in me. It was like, one moment I was staring down at my phone, and the next, I was walking into that restaurant you were talking about.

“And tonight, I’ve been trying to keep it together… But it’s been nearly fucking impossible. I see you across the table and I can’t help but think that this is how I want to spend the rest of my life—sneaking glances at you, and hearing about your day at work…

“Not to mention, the whole Sero thing… It was stupid. But when you said you liked his music, my heart just dropped. I felt like… I don’t know. I felt like I lost you. Even though you weren’t mine to lose.” 

“Anyway,” Kaminari says, shaking his head before meeting your eyes. He looks simultaneously more relieved and more nervous than before. “I just had to get that out. And now we can pretend I never said anything.” He shakes his head and fiddles with the strings of his hoodie. 

You’re still reeling from everything he just said, but you’re quick to dismiss his assumptions. “What?” You exclaim. “No, Kaminari, I have feelings for you too,” you say. He stares at you with wide eyes. “It’s been so fun getting to know you. You’re just… you’re so bright and energetic, passionate, and good-hearted… I was so nervous when I first met you, because it was my first time ever being on a red carpet… but you made me feel more confident, just by being yourself.”

“And when I got distracted listening to your music earlier… It was because I was thinking of you, and thinking that, somehow, you could be singing just to me. That you could have written that song… just for me. And I know it’s stupid…”

“It’s not stupid,” Kaminari interjects, before you can spiral into further self-deprecation. “I just told you, I was thinking of you when I wrote them. All of them.” The lyrics flicker before your eyes at rapid speed, as you remember all the words that felt too vulnerable to ever be yours. You think about how you felt as you were cooking dinner—that tight feeling in your chest as you pretended that everything was fine, as you pretended that you were okay with the idea of Kaminari writing those songs while thinking of someone else. Before you can contemplate your next move, you’re surging forward—and Kaminari is too. Your hands cradle his cheeks as you kiss him, and he tugs you impossibly closer with his hands on your waist. His touch sends pleasant shivers down your spine. 

“I guess the fans were right, huh,” you remark with amusement once you break apart. 

“There’s a first time for everything,” Kaminari says, his eyes gleaming. He takes a deep breath, his hands still latched on your waist (as if he doesn’t want to let you go). Indecision draws his lips together into a flat line. “Are you sure you want to do this? Being in a relationship with me… It’s going to be different. I- I can’t pretend that I have any privacy whatsoever, or a super accommodating schedule, or-”

“Of course I want to do this,” you immediately say, before he can continue. “More than anything.” 

Kaminari’s hands migrate up your shoulders and towards the nape of your neck. He leans closer until your foreheads are touching. “I’m just so afraid.” He whispers, so quietly that you nearly convince yourself you didn’t hear it. (The stars seem to whisper your name in the air… I feel a shiver roll down my spine, I remember your hand in mine, and I’m just so afraid). You pull him into a hug.  

“Me too,” you admit in a breath against his shoulder. Kaminari mutters something into your shoulder, but it’s incomprehensible. “Hey, if we can get five and a half million people to watch us stumble through an interview, I think we can do this.” The singer huffs a laugh and pulls back, his hand rising to your cheek and his thumb running across your skin. There’s a smile on his face—one of unmistakable fondness and affection. You lean forward to break the distance between you once more, a euphoric feeling settling in your chest and a smile growing on your face.

endnotes:

i really snuck Seroroki in there, mhwhahaha.

this took so fuckin long to format on here (I had to format it AGAIN despite already devoting time to doing that on ao3), pls show some love if you enjoy it... i'm begging

thanks for reading! <3

check out my other works, sorted by fandom.

general taglist: @its-ares @excusemeasibangmyheadonawall @kingkoku @the-ultimate-librarian @gayaristocrat anddd @alex12ander @7heehee7 @the-lurking-await-you since y'all commented on part two

[jamminvroomvroom]

maybe. part 4

GR x fem!reader

find the other parts on my ✨masterlist✨

hello it is me, president of the george thirst fan club 🫶 this man is my one singular thought so here is part 4. i think this is gonna have more parts bc i’m enjoying writing him so much he’s so sexy i’m crying

in which george takes you on a date

warnings: 18+!! SMUT SMUT ITS ALL SMUT BEWARE!! ehehe, a bit of fluff too for once lol

3.5k words

despite every single one of your best efforts, you didn’t finish your interviews until much later that evening. even when they were done, your sessions hurried along by your blunter than usual questions that you usually saved for george, you’d been summoned to the stage to interview lando. and then lewis had arrived, and it wasn’t exactly like you could say no to him, enticed by the way he livened up the crowd. your energy levels were drained, thighs still aching from your rendezvous in george’s motorhome, and the end of the day was still nowhere in sight. neither was that dinner you’d promised him. you’d huffed as you’d shot him an apologetic text, wondering how he, a driver, had made it out of the paddock and yet you were still working.

he’d told you it was fine, suggesting tomorrow night in london instead, a winky face accompanying the message that should have made you cringe. you didn’t cringe, though. you did something way worse, staring down at his reply with a lovesick grin and teenage-esque butterflies in your stomach. it was bizarre, the way things had taken such a turn between you, those moments you’d shared while you were still on his lap. his words, your hands in his hair, the look in his eyes - it had all just felt different. different to monaco, different to montreal, just different.

good different.

another night was spent at your hotel near the track, far too exhausted to try and make it back to london after four intense days of relentless work. despite your exhaustion, it was much harder to fall asleep than you had anticipated. all you could think about was him. his hands, his lips, his eyes. the ripples of his body, his touch, the fading trace of expensive aftershave. you couldn’t pinpoint when exactly you’d become addicted to him, but you knew you were a goner. your dreams that night, after a lot of tossing and turning and hands between your thighs trying to tire yourself out, were filled with the sound of his voice; “you’re all for me.”

finally you’d made it home, another obstacle out of your way, before you were faced with others. what the fuck does one wear on a date with george russell? where is he taking you? what are the chances of an, ahem, sleepover?you spent the remainder of your day agonising, until you decided that george would probably enjoy anything that you wore, just as much as he would enjoy taking it off of you. you went for the classic, a little black dress, almost rolling your eyes at the cliché but you didn’t care all that much, you looked the right balance of sexy and elegant, and you felt it, too.

you checked your phone, hearing it ding.

‘picking you up in twenty xx’

the kisses brought back that embarrassing smile that you believed you were stronger than, but you couldn’t fight it off of you face. you replied, letting him know that you were ready. your phone dinged again.

‘can’t wait to see you xx’

his reply did nothing to make your smile waver, in fact, your cheeks were starting to hurt.

-

dinner with george was somehow even better than you’d expected. he’d picked you up, opening your car door, hand holding yours as your lowered yourself into his sleek mercedes. he’d opened the door again for you when you’d reached the restaurant, taking your hand in his once more as he led you into the dimly lit restaurant. it was beautiful, quiet, tucked away in a posher part of london that you only ever visited for work related reasons. you supposed that in a twisted and hilarious way that this dinner was, in fact, work related. ironically, work hadn’t come up once. it hadn’t come up during the starter you’d shared, when your bottle of red wine had arrived or during your mains. instead, you’d talked about everything but, shockingly sharing plenty in common. he had you laughing, leaning in, intrigued as you listened to him speak.

the only thing left was dessert, and the more you looked at him, eyes dancing across his neck and over the undone buttons of his white dress shirt, the more you were sure that you wanted dessert. preferably, back at his place. or at yours, you weren’t exactly fussy.

“so, how was the rest of yesterday for you?” george asked, head tilting, eyes inquisitive.

“tiring, just went on forever. although, i did get to see lando do a shoey.” you shrugged, grinning at the memory. george laughed lightly as you picked up your glass of wine.

“tiring, hmm? maybe i need to take you to bed.” you almost choked, placing your glass down on the table, your eyes narrowing, thinly veiling your amusement. he was staring back at you, trying to convey innocence with a look of pure mischief in his eyes. you decided to play along.

you moved the conversation away from that place, guiding him back to safe territory. he followed along, either oblivious to your antics, or loving every second. you were discussing your favourite bars in the city when you struck, heel brushing up the leg of his expensive jeans. he coughed, eyes widening, covering his shock with a quick sip of water.

“are you okay?” you feigned concern, sliding your hand across the table to rest on top of his, his long fingers rigid against the table cloth. you gazed at him innocently, wide eyes betrayed by the small smirk on your lips.

“absolutely perfect, darling.” he spoke through gritted teeth, smile painted on. you let your eyes wander, raking them over his broad shoulders, thick neck, the veins in his forearms peeking out from the rolled up sleeves of his white shirt. you picked up his hand delicately, placing it palm up on the table, eyes locked on his blue ones. your fingertips traced his palm, before you were playing with his fingers. his were so much longer than yours, thicker, perfect for reaching spots that you wouldn’t ever be able to. your breath hitched, so faintly that you hoped he wouldn’t pick up on it, but of course he did.

“what are you thinking about, darling?” george looked unfazed, back to being his calm and collected self already. suddenly, you were the mess, right where you’d tried to get him. “you thinking about my hands?” his voice dropped an octave, making sure that only you could hear him.

“thinking about what you can do with them.” you uttered, rather confidently to your own surprise. the least you could do was try and catch him out, beat him at his own game. the only problem was, the situation you found yourself in no longer felt like a game.

“your own can’t compare, right? too small to get the job done properly. that’s what you’re thinking about, isn’t it? because you couldn’t have me last night, bet you had to take care of yourself at the thought of what we could have done.”

“lewis and lando held me up.” you saw his face change slightly at the mention of the two other drivers and you realised that you had found an advantage. “unfortunately, they had to come first.” you faked a pout, enjoying the way his jaw clenched.

“lando and lewis definitely do not come first.”he replied. you giggled at the double meaning. suddenly, his fingers intertwined with yours, warmth spreading across your skin, to match the goosebumps left behind by his words.

“they did yesterday.” you tilted your head, gaze challenging his.

“pretty sure that you came first yesterday.” he licked his lips. you blushed.

“yeah, well, made me late for work.” you flipped your hair over your shoulder, trying to play it nonchalant.

“is that so? i’ll remember that. next time i won’t let you.” he leaned back in his chair, playing with your fingers. your mouth hung open for a second, before you snapped back to reality.

“i’m pretty good at taking care of myself.” you muttered, pursing your lips.

“tell me all about it.” he smirked. you raised an eyebrow. “go on, love. tell me all about your evening.”

“why don’t i tell you in the car while you drive me back to your place?”

you’d never seen a man move faster. he’d paid the bill and practically dragged you back to his car before you could even comprehend what you’d actually said. now, sat in the passenger seat, his fingertips working up your leg, you couldn’t find the words.

“george,” you breathed, his fingers pressing right against the wet patch on your panties. “don’t tease.” you begged. you could feel yourself getting hotter and hotter as he rubbed small circles over your panties, one hand on the wheel. he didn’t even look at you, smirking evilly as he drove.

“should have thought about that before you teased me, sweetheart. now go on, don’t be shy. i want every detail.” he said, rubbing harder at your clit.

“got myself off.” you muttered weakly.

“to what?” he pressed on.

“thought of you. your fingers, oh!” you moaned, feeling him push your panties aside, a finger dipping into your wetness. he stopped at a red light, daring to look at you.

“and what did you do to yourself, my love?”

“used my fingers, got myself so wet.” you gasped, feeling one of his fingers dip into your entrance, hooking inside of your cunt perfectly.

“as wet as i get you?”

“never.” you breathed, eyes fluttering shut, head hitting the headrest as he fucked you further into the seat.

“how many times did you cum, baby?” he added a second finger, your hips raising off of the leather seat.

“only once.” you whimpered, eyes rolling back as he stretched you open.

“bet you were so tired from our afternoon together, but you still had to get off one more time, all for me, right darling?” the sheer arrogance in his voice sent you to another level, pussy clenching tightly around his fingers as he dared you closer and closer in the front seat of his moving car.

“yes yes yes.” you chanted, shaking now, inching higher and higher to your peak.

“come on, sweetheart. cum for me, gorgeous.” he murmured, fingers curling deliciously. you spilled all over his fingers, flopping against the seat, worn out already. you didn’t know how he’d gotten you off so effortlessly, whilst perfectly navigating the busy london streets but you were in awe, staring at him like he’d been sent by god. he glanced over at you, head rolling against the headrest, bringing his fingers from underneath the hem of your dress and up to his mouth. just before he swiped his tongue over them, he looked you dead in the eyes and smiled.

“i’m going to fucking ruin you.”

-

george’s apartment was nice.

well, you assumed it was. you hadn’t seen much of it, really, quickly guided through the front door and to his bedroom. his hand held yours tightly the whole way, bringing you to stand in front of him, facing his bed. he was behind you, both of his hands covering yours, resting them on your waist. he held them there, firm against the material of your black dress. slowly, he dragged both sets of hands up your body, over the curve of your waist and up your ribcage. soon enough, he had you cupping your breasts, head tilting back to rest against his shoulder. he tightened his grip, your hands massaging your tits at his complete mercy.

“you like touching yourself, don’t you?” george’s voice was right in your ear, his whisper sending a shiver down your spine that caused your ass to grind back against him. “watched you in baku, watched you use your fingers on that little pussy,” he kept one of your hands in place over your breast, the other slowly moving back down your body, holding you close. “you keep telling me how well you take care of yourself, sweetheart,” your hands moved under the hem of your dress, pulling it up until your panties were exposed. your fingertips were pressed to the soaking material. “but we both know you like it better when i do it.”

“fuck, george.” your mouth fell open as he encouraged you to move your fingers, his hand guiding the slow circles you were making on your clit.

“can you feel that, sweetheart? feel how wet you are? how wet i got you?” he muttered, catching your earlobe between his teeth.

“yes, god, please. just need you to fuck me. need it so bad.” never had you craved someone the way you craved him.

it was almost strange, how he’d managed to keep you wrapped so tightly around his finger, pun very much intended. he was consuming you, first your body, and now your mind, and you wondered how far this would go. the date was good. in fact, it was one of the best first dates you’d ever had, and you couldn’t help but consider where this could lead, as his spun you around in his arms, kissing you deeply. the animosity between you had been fucked away in canada and now, you were ready for more. you needed more. anything he would give you.

“what do you want?” he mumbled, lips barely parting from yours as he walked you backwards, closing in on the foot of the bed.

“anything.” you whined, fisting the collar of his shirt in your hands, pulling him even closer.

“tell me what you want.” george demanded, not leaving any room for debate. your eyes fluttered open, locking with his darkened ones.

“your tongue.” you whispered, almost shy under his intense stare.

he smirked instantly, beginning to unbutton his dress shirt. you watched on, borderline confused as he dropped it to the ground, stepping around you to settle onto his expensive bedsheets, the navy of the linen contrasting beautifully against his skin. once he’d made himself comfortable, he eyed you up and down.

“take all of that off.” he gestured to your dress, still bunched up around your waist. you made quick work of your clothes, a quick mess being made of his bedroom floor. “get on the bed, darling, that’s it.” he coaxed you closer with a flick of his fingers. you crawled up the bed until you were kneeled next to him, unsure of what your next move was supposed to be, until he tapped his collarbone and your mouth went dry. “sit on my face, my love.”

he looked positively devilish as you swung a shaky leg over his head, strong forearms instantly looping around your thighs and pinning you against his mouth. you moaned desperately at the contact, hips rolling of their own accord as his tongue licked into your cunt, relentless against where you were dripping for him. george seemed quite happy with the way you rolled your hips to meet his tongue, groaning loudly, the vibrations making you speed up.

you rocked against his face, his plush lips wrapping around your aching clit, knuckles turning white as you held onto his headboard for dear life. his tongue alternated, sucking your clit into his mouth, before swiping down your slit to slide into your opening. one hand fell into his hair, tugging hard, a hum emitting from him in response that made your entire body shake as you came, his name and the occasional profanity being the only thing you could remember as you saw white.

you didn’t quite know how you’d made it onto your back, somehow finding the strength to pull yourself off of him and fall against the mattress. you’d left him a bit of a mess, but still george rolled on top of you, not wasting any time. he held himself above you, staring down at you as you caught your breath, tongue running over his lips.

“are you okay, darling?”

you nodded in response, hand making its way back into his hair, threading through the locks.

“got another one for me? you’re doing so good, sweetheart.” he crooned, eyes still devious, as his voice softened. again, you nodded, pulling him down to kiss you.

as george relaxed on top of you, your legs hooked over his jean-clad waist, bringing him down completely on top of you. he was so warm, covering your completely. your ground yourself against his crotch, hissing as the material of his jeans rubbed against your pussy, your two orgasms of the night leaving you sensitive. he rolled his hips a few times until you cried out, pressure already building in your stomach when he stopped.

“always make such a mess.” george muttered, pecking your lips one last time, pulling himself off of you to remove the rest of his clothes. once he’d settled back on top of you, something in his expression had changed. his eyes, still dark enough to show his lust, were softer, gazing at your parted lips and into your eyes. his hand came up to cup your cheek, body resting on his forearm by your head.

“look so pretty like this, all ready for me.” the pad of his thumb stroked your cheek, and you climbed your legs high around his waist. “so fucking pretty.” he whispered.

“want you.” you whispered, hands cupping his cheeks. he dipped down, nose brushing yours.

“i know, baby, i know.” his lips brushed yours and he lined himself up with your entrance, sinking into you slowly.

you moaned into his mouth, lips barely pressing against yours as he groaned, feeling the way you were squeezing him already. slowly, he pulled out, only to snap his hips back against yours, filling you up. he set a rhythm, slow and deep, fucking you hard.

“‘m not gonna last long.” you gasped, nails raking down his back. you could barely think, barely speak, senses completely overwhelmed, an incoherent mess on his sheets.

“you’re gonna hold it. doing so well, my darling. squeezing me so tight.” he spoke through gritted teeth, the praise sending a new wave of heat across your already flushed body.

“can’t hold it,” you whined.

“wait for me, baby. such a good girl for me.” he crooned, pressing a kiss into the crook of your neck, a mark quickly being sucked into the skin. his hips sped up, a gasp sounding from the back of your throat.

“george, please.” you could feel tears building in your eyes and you knew that you were there.

“wait. come on, be my good girl.” he ordered, rhythm getting sloppier as he neared his own orgasm.

“fucking me so well, i- please, baby. george.” you dragged out the syllables of his name, the grunt he let out at your words making your pussy pulse around him.

“there you go, baby, cum for me. come on darling, cum all over me.” george groaned, hips rutting against yours as he fucked your through your orgasms. you could feel him slowing down, his release painting your walls as your rapid breathing gradually slowed.

you pulled him in for a kiss, your lips not parting as he pulled out of you and laid on his side, bringing you with him. your lips moved together slowly, soft kisses that made you dizzy. you smiled when he pulled away, relaxing onto his back, pulling you against his chest. you curled into him, enjoying the closeness.

this was new.

you’d never cuddled before, another line being crossed. you enjoyed the pleasant silence, the both of you exhausted as you laid in his arms. eventually, you wondered if you needed to leave. his embrace hadn’t loosened, but you panicked, once again unsure of what this meant to him.

“i should probably go, don’t want to be a bother.” you mumbled awkwardly, breaking the peaceful, easy silence.

“a bother? you’ve never worried about bothering me before.” he laughed. you glared up at him playfully. “all those times you’ve chased me down in the paddock, practically held me at gunpoint and asked me the most ludicrous things, and now, i invite you into my house willingly and you’re worried about bothering me?” george continued to tease you. you looked away shyly, a coy smile playing on your lips.

“just doing my job.” you muttered, trying not to laugh along with him.

“much prefer the other type of job that you do.” you slapped his chest playfully, your night on the yacht flashing before your eyes.

“you’re awful.” your rolled you eyes, grin betraying you.

“you love it.” he was laughing again. what a beautiful sound.

“i don’t.” you tried to ignore the way your stomach twisted at the word love and the complicated implications.

“i reckon you could.” he stopped laughing, that same hopeful look that he gave you at silverstone driving his beautiful features.

“yeah. maybe.” you smiled at him, a genuine, heart stopping smile, just like the one he gave you when you realised that this was real.

as you gradually fell asleep in his arms, held close in his embrace, the soft rise and fall of his chest coaxing you into a deep slumber, you had a feeling that ‘maybe’ wouldn’t just be a maybe.

-

taglist

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[f1-stuff]

How to Make High Quality Gifs

A few people have asked me for a gif tutorial, so here we go! As a disclaimer, there are many parts of gif-making that are subjective, and this is just my personal process/preferences. If anyone is confused about a particular step, or wants more in-depth info about something, just message me!

Tools: ✧Laptop/computer ✧Adobe Photoshop 2024 ✧External Hard Drive (mine is 250GB) ✧Video Downloader (I use the Video Downloadhelper extension on Firefox)

PHASE ONE: Make Animated Gif

1. Download high quality video This is very important! You should download the highest quality of the video you can find. I use the free Video DownloadHelper extension on Firefox, but it doesn't download audio sometimes (it could be me not using it properly, or they want you to pay to get audio). No audio is fine for gifs, but if I'm doing a video edit, I either need to record the audio separately with Quicktime or use a free online downloader for youtube, twitter, or instagram videos.

For this gif, I downloaded an HD interview from the F1 website with the Video DownloadHelper extension on Firefox.

Tip: Make sure your video file is an .mp4 -> photoshop can struggle with .mov files bc they're larger

2. Import: Video Frames to Layers...

File -> Import -> Video Frames to Layers... -> Open your video -> Selected Video Range -> Make Frame Animation

If photoshop has to load a while to make the frames, it means you should select a smaller portion of the video to animate.

Tip: If you discover that there are duplicates of every frame or that there are way too many frames for the portion of video you want to gif, you may need to re-import and check the "Limit to Every _ Frames" box, and write in "2". This will import every other frame of the video and get rid of duplicates or too many frames.

Once your frames are imported, make sure you're working in the "Motion" workspace by going to the top to Window -> Workspace -> Motion.

Now, all your frames should appear at the bottom in the Timeline. Make sure that the box in the left corner is set to "Forever", and now it should play the frames and loop back to the beginning each time.

3. Choosing your frames I usually aim for around 60 frames total for a gif, but sometimes I'll go under or over that number. This particular gif is 55 frames in total. In general, I want my gif to be around 3 seconds in length bc under that feels too short and over that starts to be a large file size. Totally subjective, though! (edit: I have started to experiment with up to 80 frames for some gifs, which comes out to about 4 sec.)

Play through your frames and if you want to delete some, select them and click on the trashcan icon, which you can see in the screenshot above. (If you don't delete them this way, you'll have issues later.)

4. Set Frame Delay

Once you're happy with your frames, select all of them and click on the part that says "0.02", then go to "Other..." I usually choose 0.05 or 0.06, to land my gif around 3 seconds, but it depends on the video and how many frames you have. This particular gif is set to 0.06 because it looked good and brought me to around 3 seconds.

You can always choose a delay and if you don't like it, go back and change it! Just do what looks good to you.

5. Convert to Video Timeline

Click on the symbol that looks like 4 lines stacked, and choose "Convert to Video Timeline". Now is usually when I play through the gif to see what the speed is looking like/if I like the frame delay and it's landing somewhere around 3 seconds. If not, you can just Undo and adjust anything when it's still in the frame animation stage.

Next, scroll through the Layers on the right side and delete any layers that don't have the "eye" symbol next to them -> these are frames you deleted in the frame animation stage, but they need to be deleted in the timeline stage as well. Lastly, select all your remaining layers (which should all have the "eye" symbol) so they're all highlighted.

6. Convert to Smart Object

With all layers selected, go to the top to Layer -> Smart Object -> Convert to Smart Object. Ta da! You have a gif.

I always make sure to save my file at this point (you can do it before, but it just depends on how fast you work). Remember to frequently save your progress while gif-making: sometimes, photoshop gets overwhelmed and quits while you're mid-color correction 🥲. You never want to start over from scratch...

Now, some people like to crop & resize their gifs first. Or do sharpening before color. Or color, resize, then sharpen. It's really up to you. The order I like to do is Color, Sharpen, Crop, Resize, Export.

PHASE TWO: Color & Sharpening (the fun part!)

1. Brightness/Contrast

So here's where we start getting into the really subjective stuff. I always use the Brightness/Contrast and the Selective Color adjustment layers to do my coloring. I rarely touch the contrast bc that can be adjusted in selective color, but almost always, the gif needs overall brightening.

Tip: Even when I think a video looks bright to my eyes, sometimes I post the gif and they look dark once they're in the app. My advice is to always brighten a little bit, even when you don't think it's needed...

Here shows the very subtle shift in brightness I did for this gif. It can be a lot more intense depending on the video quality/lighting. The difference will also look a lot more stark after the color layer is applied.

2. Selective ColorNext is color. This is totally up to you and what looks good to your eyes. Make sure you have any software turned off that might change the color of your screen (like a nighttime filter or something that removes blue light).

I use selective color bc you can adjust the levels of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black in each color channel independently. This is how I adjust the specific color of red that Charles and Carlos wear, or the amount of cyan in the blacks, etc. The "Neutral" layer effects the whole image, so I'll sometimes add some yellow there if I'm wanting a warmer image, or I'll add or remove black to brighten or darken the mid-tones.

Just play around! Sometimes, I'll take the slider from +100 to -100 back and forth just to see what it's doing to the gif. And I frequently turn on and off the color layer to see what the gif looked like before and after color. (I've found that most F1 content is really magenta-skewed, which you may not even notice until you've corrected it out).

Above is Color vs. No Color. It might look extreme to you presented this way, but when the whole gif is colored, no one questions it! As long as there's consistency across gifs, that's all that matters. I frequently copy and paste my adjustment layers onto another gif from the same interview/video so the look stays consistent.

Above is Color w/ Brightening vs. Without. This gives you a better idea of how much of a difference that Brightness/Contrast layer makes.

3. Sharpening I got my Sharpening routine of choice from this tutorial on gif-making. To be honest, I don't know if it's the best sharpening procedure bc I haven't taken the time to in-depth compare to other ways of doing it, but it looks good to me! So I've stuck with it. (edit: I've also added a Reduce Noise filter to my sharpening routine. But as always, just do what looks nice to you!)

I copy and past the sharpening from my other gifs onto new ones so I don't have to do all the steps again. There are quicker ways of doing this, like using quick actions and stuff, but how I do it is fast enough for me.

If you want to figure out your own Sharpening routine:

With the gif layer selected, go to the top to Filter -> Sharpen -> Smart Sharpen. It will bring up this window:

Here you can play around with the amount, radius, noise reduction, etc. and see what you like.

I also add a Gaussian Blur effect, which you'll find under Filter -> Blur -> Gaussian Blur.

^All of your Sharpen and Blur effects will stack up underneath your gif layer like this. To adjust the opacity of one of these effects, double click on its adjustment/slider symbol to the right, and it'll bring up the Blending Options window.

If there's any sharpening or blurring layer you don't like, you can easily drag it into the trashcan symbol to get rid of it.

Above is a visual of Sharpened vs. None. You can really tell with the difference in the Snapdragon logo on either shoulder. But I also personally love how much more Carlos' eyes pop to me on the Sharpened side.

As you can see, it's up to your preference. Sometimes, I really love gifs I see that aren't sharp, but rather really smooth and almost painterly. It's up to the gif-maker!

PHASE THREE: Crop & Resize

1. Cropping

Go to the toolbar on the left and choose the Crop Tool. Above where it says "Ratio", you can choose from preset ratios that photoshop has, or you can make your own. I like to use the presets, or at the very least, clear numbers that you can apply to a whole gifset. Free transforming without a ratio makes it nearly impossible to maintain consistency across a gifset.

If it isn't already, uncheck "Delete Cropped Pixels". This will allow you to move the gif around inside the cropped area later if you want to adjust what's in frame. It also gives you the option to increase the frame later, if you want. You can also click the gear icon next to "Delete Cropped Pixels" and change how you view the gif during cropping.

When you're done, click the check mark or hit Enter. Now, you've got a cropped gif!

2. Resizing

Go to the top to Image -> Image Size...

Make sure you have Pixels selected. For the Resample tab, I have it set to Automatic here, but sometimes I'll use Bicubic smooth or sharpen, depending on what I'm doing. Here's a cool post that compares the different settings. Just experiment with it.

(edit: I no longer change the resolution to 150. I've found that increasing the resolution, and therefore the size, before ultimately resizing down to 540 px means you are compressing even more (the larger something is, the more it has to be compressed within 540 px). I now leave the resolution at 72, which is what it's set at originally, and if the image composition allows it, try to crop in as close to 540 px as I can get so that when I resize, there's the least amount of compression happening.)

If I know a gif is going to be the full width of a tumblr post, I'll resize the width to 540 pixels (the height doesn't matter). But if I make a portrait-style gif which will be sharing a row with another gif, I'll resize anywhere from 270 px -> 350 px. If it's smaller than 270 px, tumblr will enlarge the gif and it'll look bad. If it's wider than 270 px, tumblr might reduce its quality a bit and it won't look as good. But personally, I prefer that if someone clicks on the gif to enlarge it, it looks better enlarged, so I usually will leave it around 345 px as long as the file isn't too big.

PHASE FOUR: Export (last one!)

Once you're happy with everything about your gif, it's time to export. (Remember to save your progress frequently!)

Go to the top to File -> Export -> Save for Web (Legacy)...

^It'll bring up this Save window.

These are the settings I like to use for gifs. You'll find a lot of differing opinions out there about Adaptive vs. Perceptual/Pattern vs. Diffusion, but you should always have "GIF" selected, "Transparency" checked with "No Transparency Dither" selected, Looping set to "Forever", and Colors set to "256". I like "Bicubic Sharper" for my Quality tab, but there are whole tutorials just about comparing those settings. The best thing to do though is to try them out and compare for yourself.

(edit: I've discovered that if a gif is slightly too large and I don't want to shorten it or resize it down, I can try to reduce the colors from 256 to 128 to get it under the limit. I'll never go below 128, and sometimes I will go to 200 or 170 to try to eliminate as little color variety as possible, but often there is not a noticeable difference in your finished gif. But always compare, of course, to make sure.)

On the bottom left is where the size of the gif is shown -> tumblr requires gifs 10MB and under, but in my experience, gifs load/play best on tumblr when they're around 6MB. I always leave a little growing room as well, bc it might say 5.8MB in this window, but after it saves, the file will have grown a little bit and will likely be over 6MB at that point. (edit: I now regularly post gifs that are around 9.5MB and tumblr seems to be able to handle it better.)

AND THAT'S ALL!

If you've made it this far...congratulations! haha

I know this is a whole lot of information and you might be feeling overwhelmed! But I hope, if anything, this shows you just how complex gif-making can be, and how it is absolutely an art! No one should be stealing anyone's gifs, as a lot of hard work and love goes into the process.

This doesn't include things like adding text to a gif, or more complex adjustments and corrections like masking or key frames. But I'm happy to do more of these if there are specific questions people have.

Let me know what you're curious about or if something is unclear! And happy gif-making! ❤️

[hidingoutbackstage]

Okay I’m STILL procrastinating watching s15 bc I’m SCARED so here’s my extremely biased ratings/opinions on the episodes of s14 to help me procrastinate (episodes which are multiple parts of a single story will be condensed into one slot)

Room Zero: SO cute and good, I LOVED the animation style, it was simple and short but really well done with great colors, fun alien designs, and fluid animation, and I just like seeing the guys go on missions like that. It's a shame that the animated show never got picked up bc I would've adored seeing more of it. 10/10

From Stumbled Beginnings: Very cute and funny origin story for Simmons and Grif, and I love that they were p much always together since they enlisted lmao makes their dynamic rlly good and the humor actually got a couple laughs out of me. 8/10

Fifty Shades of Red: Sarge's humor never quite landed with me like is has for some people (my boyfriend lmao I literally have to pause episodes sometimes so he can stop laughing. Anyway) but it was a very humorous and in character origin for him as well. 5/10

Why They’re Here: Less interesting than the previous two, obviously just meant to fill in plot "holes" and to also show us the origins of the other characters. Also I am completely ignoring that one line from Tucker in the interview, just gonna chalk it up to the "edgy" humor it does not exist to me. 4/10

The Brick Gulch Chronicles: WONDERFUL stop motion, very fun and cute and entertaining, very wholesome and still in the vibe with what the show itself is. I appreciate the willingness to do stop motion for most of it. 10/10

Red Army Unit FH57’s Adventure: It was kinda interesting and kinda funny but I found myself kinda tuning it out cuz it just felt kinda whatever. The combo of the different animation styles was cool though and I thought the ship misunderstanding them was funny. 5/10

Locus and Felix: Okay I'm gonna be a black sheep for a second and say that I rlly don't care that much about Locus and Felix. I don't think Felix is a secretly deep sadboi whom I'm gonna spend an unnecessary amount of time thinking about, I don't think Locus as secretly good all along, and I don't care that much about their partnership and what they were like before Chorus. That being said, the animation here is absolutely gorgeous, this is probably my favorite animated story in the whole season, it looks awesome. The plot is nothing special but who cares like I said it's beautiful, 6/10

Fight the Good Fight!: VERY funny and well-executed propaganda video, short and sweet and nothing more to it. It does its job. 5/10

Meta vs. Carolina: Dawn of Awesome: Another one I really don't care for because literally everything leading UP to the fight between Meta and Carolina is a waste of time. Maybe some people really care about their weapons and stats, but I don't. And even then, you kinda know Carolina is gonna win the fight, the question is just how. 4/10

Grey vs. Gray: I don't know or care about the Game Grumps and the entire thing felt like a short gag that went on for way too long with a predictable ending. 2/10

Caboose's Guide to Making Friends: Again, ADORABLE art style and very cute having a story be told from Caboose's perspective. 7/10

Head Cannon: Kinda funny I guess. I wish we'd gotten it spread out more equally among the heads Omega jumped into. Ik he didn't spend equal time in there but who cares. Whatever, still funny. 5/10

Get Bent: I LAUGHED PROBABLY THE HARDEST AT THIS ONE AND THAT'S MOSTLY BC OF LESBIAN DONUT IT CAUGHT ME OFF GUARD AND IT WAS HILARIOUS (also hello, bisexual church?) 9/10

Red vs. Blue: The Musical: it was fine. it was creative. The dancing was well animated. Enjoyable. 5/10

Mr. Red vs. Mr. Blue: I haven't seen Reservoir Dogs but Kaikaina was in this which automatically boosts it to a 8/10 (I also like that they have movie nights it's cute)

RvB Throwdown: Fine but mostly forgettable. 3/10

The Triplets Story: REALLY interesting concept (y'all know I love the freelancers) that felt like it dragged on too long and only gave Ohio something to do. 4/10

Immersion: The Warthog Flip: I loved the costumes and the actual Warthog and it got a couple laughs out of me. 5/10

Red vs. Blue vs. Rooster Teeth: This was made for the fans/themselves. As someone who is neither, none of it was funny and I just kinda waited for it to be over. At least the animation of the armor irl looked rlly good

[silverlininghills]

7 + 1 twenty one pilots ask

i was tagged by @dasloddl!! ty!!

1. when/how did you discover them? + what was the first song you listened to? - either on the radio or on yt or at work or something like that, sometime in 2015. idk which song exactly but lets be honest, it was prolly stressed out 😅 or one of the other blurryface singles

2. have you been to any concert(s)? - no 😭 i totally would've seen them on the icy tour but they didn't come to my city 😭 but i'm hoping to go to at least one show on the next tour (either vancouver or, failing that, seattle), and hopefully also the DC show with my bestie!!

3. do you remember where you were when trench dropped (if you were a fan by then)? - weirdly, yes! it was like 9pm on october 4th, i was at home and got a spotify notification that twenty one pilots had released a new album. i listened to the first three songs, went "ehh", and stopped there 😅 which, in hindsight, is so tragic bc if i'd held out for just one more song i would've gotten to my blood, which is one of my absolute favourites!

4. favourite thing about the clique? - how smart and kind and inclusive everyone is!! like i know the clique's got it's share of toxic fans, just like any other fandom/community in general, but esp here on tumblr absolutely everyone i've met/interacted with has been sososo friendly and funny and smart and cool <3

5. any memorable/funny/interesting quote (from interviews/bts footage/…) you especially like? - i'm so bad at thinking up stuff like this off the cuff sldjskdljf there's always smth i think of later that i wish i'd said instead. for right now i'm gonna go with "two happy boys" (or any of the "two ____ boys" riffs that they do), as well as every single story abt how they met 😂

6. what would you want to ask/tell them if you got the chance? - FREAKING. SO MUCH. i'd want to thank them for rewarding us for looking deeper and caring more and sticking around. i'd want to tell them how what they've done w the dema/trench storyline is legitimately incredible and groundbreaking and to, in their own words, "never put a ceiling on their dreams". i'd also want to talk to them for roughly 6 hours abt death cab for cutie bc i Need To Know their thoughts abt literally everything sdlfkjsdkfl

7. which tattoo would you like to know the meaning of (if you do)? - i'm honestly fine w not knowing the meaning to any of their tattoos, bc i know they're v personal, but if i could know the meaning of one and have it be totally okay and willingly shared, it would be, for tyler, the symbols tattoo on the side of his forearm, and for josh, the astronaut-getting-beamed-up tattoo on his bicep.

+1. dasloddl's question for me: which album cover do you like best? - excellent question!! even tho i do love SAI's aesthetic, i think i'd have to go with blurryface on this one. there's just so much meaning behind it!! the pull-out blurry face is genius, the patterns are so fun, it's simple yet evocative. just, stellar art design.

additional question you want to ask the people you tagged: what do you think the genre/vibe of the next album is going to be?

aaaaand i am tagging @mx-misty-eyed @melxncholyman @timedyne @gonerbird and @re4lize-th4t-its-g0ne!!

[seokjinsonlyone]

Ok LMFAO DONT ASK ME HOW I THOUGHT OF THIS BUT I NEED YOUR OPINION

who is mtl to get grumpy or jealous over the thought of you being lovely dovey for someone else or a previous partner. Like who just thinks about you doing the things they love that you do for them for someone else and then they get all upset about it LMFAOO

My guess

Jungkook (HE GOTTA BE THE FIRST ON THE LIST)

Taehyung (Mr. I’ll start little fights with my s/o)

Jimin (Mr. Jealousy.. that leads to cuddling or 🤭)

Yoongi (Special moments are very important to him and if he thinks too much about you having those moments with anyone else he gets pouty ☺️)

Namjoon (He understands and respects the fact y’all were with people before each other BUT if this mans get too deep into thought about you giving whats now rightfully his to someone else.. he’s not gonna be in the best mood)

Seokjin (You’re his now why would he care? 🙄 he’ll care only a little bit cause he’s a die hard romantic and if he thinks about you doing the things he loves for someone else he’s chest get tingling in a bad way 🥺 he’ll play it off though as best as he can)

Hoseok (Your his and his only now so thinking about who had you before doesn’t really bother him, definitely will laugh over the fact they lost out on someone amazing but he gained. Thinking of anyone having you after is also laughable cause it ain’t happening 😌 don’t get it twisted though, baby boy does get jealous and if it does ever bother him he’s finna be all up on you 🤭 take that however you please)

Ok your turn 🤭✨

jungkook is definitely first!!! you right about that one like i’m sorry i’m referencing the perilla leaf debate for the 14829384th time but i will continue to do so bc he was sooooo serious like did not crack one smile the entire time they was talking about it��� he don’t wanna hear nun bout no ex nd what u did with them point blank pyramid he don’t even wanna see u getting too chummy wit yo friends tbh like if u and yo homegirl was sharing an appetizer or you let her taste yo drink or sumn he would catch a major attitude

taehyung is second only bc i feel like he’s the most dramatic like with everyone else i feel like this could be a Thing but with tae it’s gon be an Incident there’s gonna be an argument for sure a whole “do you even care about me at all? why are we even together??” segment it’s gonna be something out of a YA novel liable to last anywhere from 4 hours to 4 days but at the same time i feel like he’d make it more of a competition than anything else like he may not be the first but he gon be the best and hopefully the last

with joon i’m thinking about how in his rolling stone interview with what’s his face pharrell! when he was talking about how sometimes he hear a song so good he get jealous that he ain’t make it so yeah when it come to you i feel like if he tried to show you one of his favorite spots like a restaurant or sumn nd you absentmindedly was like “oh i’ve been there i went with so and so” he’d lowkey be pissed 😅 like he gon play it cool but it’s the thought of u being at one of his favorite places without him with someone else you were involved with lowkey it’s gon eat him up a little

i think that jimin is like really good with interpersonal relationships like every conversation about exes and likes and dislikes and boundaries all that good stuff will have been had so when he get upset it’s gon be because he done let his imagination get away from like one night he gon be up bc he can’t sleep and the intrusive thoughts will win or y’all will meet up with your friends and you gon have a homie that you done known since way back in the cadillac and he’ll get jealous of how close your bond is and then he’ll get distant and a little snappy and you’ll have to call him out a bit and give him some reassurance to bring him back to normal

hobi the type to say that he don’t care until he do 💀 like he’ll be perfectly fine until he sees or thinks about you doing something with someone else and it’s just gon sit in the corner of his mind like an itch that he can’t quite reach to scratch he not gon make a big deal out of it like he’ll try to deal with it himself for the most part but if he can’t he’ll bring it up lightly nd then you’ll talk about it and then that’s just gon be that on that

yoongi wouldn’t care fr fr like he know how relationships work and understands that you had a few just like he had a few 🤷‍♀️ but what would absolutely tick him off is if you did something with him that you claimed you only ever did with him and then he find out that you did it with everyone else nd they mama like is he a joke to you? is he just another dude to you? and what you got to lie for? that wouldn’t sit right with him but so long as you’re forthcoming it’s whatever nd knows his worth he know you’d be hard pressed to do better than him

seokjin is our unbothered king he’s always said he’s a man of the present so he is not worried about the past at all and the future only warrants minor consideration like as long as y’all cool he not spending no time pondering about other people bc he simply does not care 😌 nor does he care to care he worried about u nd him nd das it 🙅🏾‍♀️

[fuck-customers]

a few months ago I started working at a locally owned restaurant, and during my interview I tried to make it clear to the owner that I left my last job due to it being hard on my body, and I would only be able to work 25-30 hours a week at the absolute maximum. it was fine for about a month, and then I started getting scheduled 32 hrs/wk, even once school had started and I changed my availability. today the owner came to talk to me about the schedule for next week (he usually writes it on friday or saturday, which means planning for anything outside of work is impossible—he forgets about time off requests and I have no way of knowing if I’m actually guaranteed a day off until the schedule is written) and asked if I could work on one of the days outside my availability. I said yes just bc it’s MEA and I have school off one day, but I tried to talk to him about how much I’m getting scheduled and he rlly was like “but you only work 4 days a week 🤔” yes and you’re consistently scheduling me more hours than I said I could physically handle and you only let people take one 15 minute break during their 8 hour shifts AND I’m taking 11 credits this semester 😭

also. I work in an area full of affluent white people and I s2g the entitlement of some of these people… I’ve had customers complain TWICE NOW because I was sweeping within view of them while they were eating 😭 like I’m sorry things can’t just be perfectly clean all the time without a person having to do it. this one person got all huffy because I was sweeping the dining room and had to set my broom down for about 2 minutes to go run food out and my little pile of crumbs was Sort Of within her line of sight during that time. still mad at myself for not just telling her to get over it when she said it was “unappetizing” like it’s no fucking worse than the crumbs being spread out over the floor

[will80sbyers]

Idk why you think romance will save the day when Max literally ended up dying and in a coma even though she hid in her best memory. Mike, Jonathan and Joyce can help Will to an extent but it is a fact that Will is still bound to Vecna tbh even he tries to fight back his situation is worse and more dangerous than Max's. Plus, Vecna already knows what Will thinks and feels bc of their connection lol. So good luck honestly but i just think it is a little bit unrealistic to think that Mike and Will kissing will save things just fine.

bro obviously Vecna will not die of heartfailure immediately after they confess their love lmao but I want to remind you that Max is not dead yet, season 4 was the part of the story structure where all goes bad for the heroes before their final win and this is a basic story about good vs. evil like the DUFFERS told us many many times in many different interviews.... so yeah, love will save the day, both platonic & romantic ❤️

Max ended up dying because it was inevitable for the story structure + HIDING doesn't save you (coming out does 😉)

Also it's not like we don't have a precedent of this, love already saved the world all of the past seasons, it was one of the basis of the story since the start 🤣

honestly if you want depressing stuff you should try watching HBO they have a lot of things you could like there!

[sgtmickeyslaughter]

Writer Interview

Tagged by @jrooc thank ya!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Only three so far! Plus art postings and I'm planning to post more in the new year

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 

138,169 words which feels like a lot

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I don't have 5 total fics yet lol but their rankings are

In Your Love

Lovers' Carvings

Psychopomp

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes! (usually) I try to respond when people take the time to say something nice about what I've written, because they're encouraging me to write more and I think its good to encourage people to comment/interact more

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Oh, no, I need a certain happy ending, at least in fanfiction. Yes my childhood was unstable, how did you know?

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

They all have sickly sweet happy endings, refer to answer #6

7. Do you write crossovers?

No, I don't really see the appeal personally.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not hate per say, but just some bitching from people who can understand nuance or disagreed with my take on the relationship

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes, so far I have only written it in longer form fics with context, all pretty vanilla. I've wondered for a long time why smut is such a staple of fanfiction and I think that people are frustrated with writers and directors casting aside sex as an (often) valuable part of romantic love and attraction. Like, why are you giving light to affection and communication and support but dismissing the sexual component of love with a closed door, winking and nudging the readers. Thats also a part of why RWRB was such a great movie in my opinion, it treated sex as a normal and healthy and loving part of a couples story, and fanfiction does the same thing. It all ties back into sex being viewed only through the male gaze bc bodice rippers have been doing that for years, but I digress

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope! But I use a lot of really common themes and tropes so theres other fics like mine out there

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, that would be interesting.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, I would love collaborating with other writers or creators here! Either writing together, making art to accopnay of fic or beta reading one another, my only real worry about getting involved is not making deadlines, my life is busy and I like to know i can work at my own pace and publish once completed so I don't leave anyone hanging

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Honestly, Gallavich. But longest running? Zutara, I'm hoping to see a renaissance there with the new series

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I think I'll be able to get everything done, sooner or later

15. What are your writing strengths?

I think I'm pretty good at coming up with cohesive and interesting plots, and I think i'm slowly becoming pretty good at getting into a characters head and writing dialouge for them

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Proofreading! Bro I will print something I've written out to review but still catch like 7 stupid mistakes when I scroll through quickly after posting that shit drives me crazy

I also want to get really really good at controlling the pace of a piece of writing, not that its a weakness per say im just not as good as I'd like to be yet

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Eh, its fine. A lot of the time I wonder who it's for though, like if you dont speak the language and just translate something through an inaccurate translator, it's not really for a fluent speaker and its not really for you

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Shameless

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

I've toyed with writing a supernatural fic before. We'll see, I'm in no rush

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Psychopomp! No one else seemed to like it as much as I did but that's fine by me it was my weird little passion project :)

Share your throughs @sweetperversiongirl @stocious @mmmichyyy @vintagelacerosette

[curiosity-killed]

Fic Writer Interview

Tagged by @veliseraptor right when I turned work notifications off for 2 hours which feels auspicious

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

148 😅

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

1,201,484! For a couple years there, I was kind of cranking but now I basically haven't written fic for two years so uh. chilling at 1.2 million

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

This is always mildly upsetting to me because my favorites are rarely the winners lol

a bow for the bad decisions (3536)

willow branches and flowers (2785)

upon this altar (2745)

heart + bone (2090)

whipstitch (2024)

...well at least I like 2 of these lol

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to! I used to respond to every comment and then got overwhelmed and fell completely behind and THEN decided to clean house and answer all of the remaining ones...and the next day posted heart + bone and now have uh... 688 AO3 emails sitting in my inbox :') I periodically try to go in and answer at least a handful but honestly it's gotten very sporadic

5. What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

Off hesperus! I don't think I write a lot of true angst or tragedies tbh. But that one was meant to be 100% genuine, no happy endings angst. And admittedly it's not AS bad as it could have been but. it is probably as bad as I am likely to write (unfortunately (?), I left my "kill all your fave characters, make everyone suffer, burn it down!!!" writing vibes back in middle school mostly).

6. What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

I have so much fluff how am I supposed to pick. ...most of my tgcf fics? heart + bone and sunlight, sunlight, sunlight are pretty absurdly fluffy by the end.

7. Do you write crossovers?

Not really. Back in the olden days (high school/college), I did more—see: whisper something holy, the OG loki fic... I think there were some others?—but it's pretty rare now.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

ehhh not really hate, just some folks who got lost and wound up mad in the comments that *checks notes* local complexity lover let characters be complex. I just turned off anonymous comments for a while and it was fine

9. Do you write smut?

Sometimes! I tend to write (& draw) smut when I'm stuck in a rut (pun sadly not intended), stressed, and struggling to make things which is. something to know about myself. but also means that it often serves as sort of an on ramp to making art that I care about more and so it's often left unfinished.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't think so? I have no idea how I'd know but honestly, I think my writing is enough directed toward my interests/wants that it's not a prime candidate for stealing lol

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes!! it's so cool!! and if she leads was translated into mandarin which!! is bonkers to me that's so much work

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I don't think I've ever actually done it. Isaac (@/lemeute) and I have co-developed a few ideas before but I think they went the way of the raccoon poll and sort of died in discord (though the yanqing AU did contribute to me drawing art!)

13. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Ah I really struggle with this. Really high up there, and probably chief in staying power, is Altair/Malik(/& Maria) and then in terms of ones that have sort of rewritten my brain chemistry it's like Stucky, Cartinelli, Cap2 Crew, Ranwan, Hualian, Destiel...uh I'm definitely missing some there but that's a sampler!

14. What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

;A; oh god. I mean. a short list:

wulian au

yunmeng jiang everyone dies

bodyswap (mdzs)

light dancer (atla)

I have many more wips but they're in more varying stages of either "I don't actually care that much if I finish these" (all unfinished MCU fics) or "I will actually finish this" (sixteen stitches).

15. What are your writing strengths?

uhhhhhhhhhh i hate this question bc my brain is immediately like "here is a laundry list of everything ur bad at and ALSO ur wrong. abt the things ur good at." bc well. mental wellness. ANYWAY i think I'm like ?? pretty good at creating intensity in writing??? I've talked about it before as viscerality and it is that but also like emotional intensity. and I do think I can craft a pretty turn of phrase here and there

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

well. plot, for one thing. having one? executing one? keeping it consistent without giant holes for everything to fall apart through? nahh. Similarly, continuity overall is! not a strength. Do you know how many notes there are in TCP asking myself to just sketch out a blueprint of the palace where 90% of the first book takes place. can u imagine

there are. more. but i will pause there

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I think it's something that needs to be done with intent and like. care. like, okay. actually I feel extremely subjective about this. Like on the one hand, I think there are times when I think using another language provides important connotative information that is lost when translating to English* (e.g., Wei Wuxian calling Lan Wangji er-gege or Jiang Yanli shijie which don't have very direct counterparts in English, but also if I were to write about my teacher calling me "chica" rather than "girl"). On the other hand, I think it's very important to be cautious (particularly as a white anglophone) about...like. Seasoning Ur Dialogue with Spicy Bits of Other Languages (I am struck by flashbacks of fanon Lance from VLD. bls.). ON THE THIRD HAND, depending on the POV of the work, writing dialogue in a different language can serve different functions in the text (e.g., if the reader knows what it means but the character doesn't, we can have some nice dramatic irony! when it's done well; if the character knows what it means but the reader doesn't, it can build suspense; if both know what it means, it can give insights into different character dynamics/backgrounds/etc.), but again, it should be done with care and intent.

uh i don't know that this actually answered the question or anything. i have feelings???? and minimally coherent thoughts?

*I am being so brave rn in trying not to go down a rabbithole about translation and meaning ;A;

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Marvel :')

19. What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

hh hold on i need to go holler at lise and huaqing possibilities

anYWAY yanqing, xianle quartet (variably romantic), erha*, huaqing*, the king's affection**

*technically i've written once for these but like. not fr fr

**I still haven't finished this bc I am inexplicably stressed abt my blorbos suffering but STILL

20. What's your favorite fic you've written?

oh gosh I feel like a broken record bc my fave fics have pretty much been the same for a long time but yeah, of swords and wings is still pretty much my fave largely because, even as it has aged (and I have become more critical of the actual writing), it was so finely tailored to my specific preferences, headcanons, and wants that it still remains quite loved

tagging anyone who wants to do this! (sorry, laziness wins)

[jimmymcchill]

i've tried to write this post more than once, but apparently i was never really clear, so: here's a "list of reasons why i believe jimmy and kim have to find each other again in gene's timeline".

1) bcs is, at the core, a love story. it wasn't exactly planned, but the showrunners saw something special about bob and rhea's chemistry and got inspired. so the mystery woman from the cornfield at hhm slowly became a main character, to the point where the main focus of the the legal plot has been their relationship, at least from season four. you can't just erase all that as if it was nothing.

2) superficial dismissal should be illegal. and i am not even sure i am joking, really. if i read another theory about kim showing up and being like "yay hi jimbo now i am totally fine" or "see i got married and have five children two dogs and a parrot", i am going to scream very loudly. it's not that i don't want kim to move on, find herself again, of course i do!!! but first of all, randomly getting married working some job she doesn't even like is literally the life she escaped from when she was young; then, honestly, it would be so fucking offensive to her beautiful, nuanced, extremely detailed arc. first you slowly and carefully build a complex character, then you just flatten six years of her life telling us what happened to her and not showing it? because honestly, they have literally no time to show it, while of course for jimmy it was different, we know what was going on with him because of brba. if she shows up and she has just put everything behind her, it would feel... rushed. rushed, and unacceptable.

3) kim willingly destroyed her happiness. rhea talked about this nonstop in her interviews after 609. there is a clear and wonderful selflessness in her choice to leave, but that's just one side of the coin... the other is much darker. after what happens to howard and after understating that she was having so much fun playing with his life that she lied to jimmy in the process, she can't live inside her own skin anymore. so she erases herself completely. leaves her home, leaves the job of her dreams and then leaves the only relationship that has ever made her happy. she decides not to be herself anymore, because that's what she deserve. now, you see that this is a heartbreaking process that can't just be told offscreen (see point 2) without showing it, but also something she has to face with jimmy. because playing god once again deciding what punishment fits her crimes — leaving the only one who ever truly saw her and loved her for who she was, that is — is not a healthy behavior. and to go on, in my opinion, kim has to realize that she can be a good person who does good things without stripping herself of all happiness. she has to see the two are not mutually exclusive. and she can only do that finding that happiness again, or at least remembering it, with jimmy. not because i necessarily want them to be endgame, but because any other relationship for her, or source of happiness, couldn't possibly be explored as it should. it can only be jimmy.

4) jimmy not so willingly did it as well. just like kim, he skinned himself of his true self and wore the bloody mask of saul goodman instead. he thinks he ruined her life, he believes his love was not enough... so what's the point anymore? a theme that is now emerging strongly with gene (the! monologue! in! 610!). jimmy sees himself as unworthy, someone who destroys everything around him. but that's not what happened with kim, that's not what she was telling him: as i wrote more than once, she didn't leave him, she left their relationship and everything wrong that came with it, but to jimmy it was unthinkable that she could ever be bad for him... so it had to be his fault, right? and that guilt, that shame, that need to punish himself stays with him to the point where we find him leading a colorless, meaningless life without any purpose, and with a heart filled with loneliness and regret. do the writers really want to leave jimmy like that, still believing it was all his fault if kim left? thinking he is undeserving of love when it was never her point? can this huge misunderstanding between the two just be forgotten? how, i wonder, if jimmy has to look inward, move on and be a better person?

so... yeah. to me, at least narratively speaking and if they don't fuck up (or find something much better than these silly theories of mine) kim's peace of mind depends on jimmy, and jimmy's growth depends on kim. i could add that, given how little screen time they have left and if they don't fuck up kim's arc by rushing it, their happiness ultimately depends on their relationship. such an all-encompassing love like theirs can't be read very differently.

to me, but i could be 100% wrong, kim and jimmy have to meet again and need to bring it all back, from the traumas to the love. to be endgame? maybe, i wish lol. but that's not the point. i think they need it to complete their arc as characters and as people. to find themselves again, be themselves again, and realize they can be happy in their skin.

in the end, it's all about that.

[echonvoid]

Happy pride y’all!! Have some skybound fanart for my au.

Essentially, most of the season is the same with only like 2 or 3 major changes.

1) Jay only saw the eyepatch and a small munchkin that turns out to be CJ (baby wu)

2) when they have that awkward sexist interview (w/ just cole, nya, and Jay) Cole actively came out as gay (he figures out the demi stuff later) to stop them from pestering nya about the love triangle, Jay fucking sneezes to interrupt and then asked her what taking on the preeminent single handedly and winning was like. They then answer all the sexist questions and shit (there’s some great fanfics about this that definitely inspired this; I’ll try to remember to link them somewhere) the reason they did this was because nya and Ronin had a talk with them (and dareth) after the whole commercial/make-up segment fiasco.

3) Jay’s parents (Ed and Edna; who fun fact are t4t and were both post op, so they couldn’t have biological kids) and culture growing up is heavily Persian/Pakistani inspired(bc the movie voice actor is from Pakistan im pretty sure). So he grew up hearing legends and tales about the djinn, and viewed them like fairytales or demigods. He had heard the tale of the vile Nadakhan the pirate king, but thought it was stupid to believe the stories were real. So he was more starstruck when he first saw nadakhan. And after being insecure about his financial status (mostly cuz he couldn’t afford to take his friends out to eat like that) it was easy for nadakhan to manipulate him into making the first wish that sent them down the same road as the og stories

4) Nadakhan kidnaps Jay instead of nya to be his bride, mostly cuz that’s who was grabbed, but also cuz Jay has stubbornly remained unbroken and he wanted to break him by being the reason he’s all powerful (or some shit like that)Either a cultural misunderstanding or bc he’s an asshole, nadakhan begins using feminine terms for Jay (she/her, and shit; his bigender awakening). The photo on the left has the wedding attire Jay wore.

5) god there was more of these than I thought. Anywhoodle, time doesn’t reverse, bc Jay is able to be hit with the venom and be fine (well ok he was feverish and sick for a couple days, but the Serpentine blood in his veins meant he was immune to most poisons). He wishes nadakhan to be mortal, and in the process is cursed by nadakhan to never die *and* to watch his loved ones die over and over again.

Hmmm…. I swear there was more I wanted to say, but for the life of me I can’t remember

Oh well 🤷

[aprillikesthings]

lol I spent a portion of last night/today reading someone else's live-blogs of season 5 and I'm kinda glad just bc I'd forgotten that in the LAST SCENE of the LAST EPISODE they were like "yay let's go to space and bring magic back to other planets :D FRIENDS ROAD TRIP"

(also I reread an old interview with ND Stevenson where he was like "wooo I bet they visit a bunch of planets")

Anyway it's forced me to re-imagine the first chapter and change of my fic but it's fine, better now than later

okay lets get another episode down while laundry is in the dryer

s1 ep4!

On the one hand I get why they have Angella be like this

On the other hand I'm like, do people here not know what "child soldier" means? Yes, Adora's old enough to make decisions for herself, but that's. Why she left.

I feel like this is loosely inspired by really big pretty churches, but in a fairly neutral kind of way

Or maybe it's just that everything reminds me of Her

(The cathedral in Leòn, Spain; aka one of my fave places on earth, I'm always surprised this pic turned out as well as it did because when I took it I was crying, anyway)

*squints* I forget if they ever explain which defeat they're referencing here, I'm positive they do but I'm blanking

Is that Castaspella on the mural

Catra's little "prrp!" here was almost definitely involuntary, and I love that they had her do a "surprised kitty" sound

Okay so Shadow Weaver is like NO I KNOW YOU NO MORE ABOUT ADORA AND YOU'RE NOT TELLING ME and is visibly threatening Catra, but then her crystal thing starts to hurt her, and as she backs away Catra reaches for her before Shadow Weaver slaps her hand away, have I mentioned how well they portray child abuse survivors

:(

BAHAHAH that's gay

the village hoes just be throwing themselves at her amiright

(I don't mean the baby obviously)

Note to self for later, writing reasons: the Princesses all have literal physical objects that are the source of their powers

Man I can never get over the degree to which Perfuma reminds me of a friend I had in the late '00's, a tall thin blond sorta-hippie with long hair who REALLY tries to think positive and loves trees and flowers

Hordak: why are u still so obsessed with blondie Shadow Weaver: i'm not Hordak: you are so full of shit. give it up or no more magic for u

Poor Adora had NO idea she had to fill shoes this big or old

Bow will make such a great dad at some future point

Wait I gotta include that in my fic *runs off to write notes*

accidentally took the worst screenshot lol plz enjoy

This Ken lives in Plumeria!

Perfuma: we believe karma will come for the Horde someday :) Glimmer: or you could just fight them yourself Perfuma: mmmmmno

You're gonna have to tell her this like fifty more times

where did you get those

Boy it took like nothing for Perfuma to convince her people "actually let's go murder those sumbitches, call me KARMA AHAHAH"

Adora's actual magical ability: hiding that huge-ass sword no matter what she's wearing

All the green growing things taking over reminds me of scenes in Princess Mononoke, which was almost definitely on purpose

Perfuma has tasted blood and she's not going back

The parallels with "she's not really gay, it's a phase, she's confused, I'll get her to come to church" like I'm sorry but there's no way they didn't use that phrasing on purpose

Glimmer: if you were perfect you'd be HELLA ANNOYING

(she's not wrong)

ANYWAY my laundry was done like fifteen minutes ago but I wanted to finish the episode out :D

4/52

[mr-independent]

What time is it y'all? That's right! It's time for me to procrastinate moving house by doing more rewatch notes. I dedicate this to the 4 of you who have been liking every single one of these posts almost immediately after they're up. Love y'all ❤️

Without further Ado: EP 9 - the introduction of Roy 'The Grouch' Kent, aka the '~ooooo Rebecca's in trooouuuble~' episode

-- Roy is literally Oscar the Grouch and i love it. Obviously in this metaphor Ted is Elmo and Dani is Abby or Rosita? No i will not be taking any questions.

-- Ted literally seeing Roy beating himself up and saying to himself 'Kent can self correct, no need to add to the pity party' and honestly yeah that's the best way to go about it. Trust your players to trust themselves (i think they say this outright later? That Ted sees the players like his kids bc he can't direct them during the match, just teach them in training and hope they learned to make the right decisions on the pitch)

-- little girls are mysterious silly and powerful, that's exactly right.

-- ah yes the No Secrets Are Secret kit room. One of my fav tropes actually.

-- Trent Crimm, The Daily Planet ❤️ sorry no notes I'm in love with this silver haired queer and mentally kick my feet and wrap a phone cord around my finger whenever he comes up

-- teeth marks on your butt you have to pay for? Beard absolutely spent the first free night he had in Richmond finding the best bdsm club

-- Rebecca talks like Ted when she's nervous and that's fucking hilarious to me

-- Higgins has an oral fixation, fine, but so does whoever wrote this episode. The teeth marks in the butt, the nibbled pen caps, etc etc

-- this series really is the Rebecca gets her ass handed to her every episode. Rupert is nearly 70 and having a child just to spite her? Fucking rough. Does start the foundation for the fertility stuff in the newest series tho

-- Rebecca set up the interview with Trent.....setting a guy up huh? Wonder if she knew Trent was gay?

-- Ted forgiving Rebecca for her bullshit is just him forgiving himself!! Letting himself be angry and sad and upset about his divorce by letting Rebecca be shitty and be forgiven!!! I love an emotionally healthy apology scene

-- fuck i forgot about Higgins goatee it's fucking hideous who let him do that

-- everyone reacting to Roy's problems with some variation of 'stop being a whiny little bitch' is so fucking funny

-- also Keeley met Phoebe five seconds ago and already they're partners in crime ❤️

-- the pub boys comforting Beard is so cute. It really shows that as much as they razz the coaches they really do care about them as people

-- Beard saying that relegation means they've accomplished nothing..... Idk what that says yet that he stays in Richmond once they do get relegated but it's gotta say something

-- drunk Ted is so fucking funny. They should let him get drunk more often. *Chest bump* 'rest in peace Socrates?'

-- ITS THE TRENT CRIMM DAUGHTER EPISODE he told her weeks ago he'd bring biscuits. He met Trent's daughter before the end of their first season. This is a revelation and also adorable. Also puts Ted's words at the front of the episode in a different perspective. The last little girl he probably talked to was Trent's daughter, who is apparently silly mysterious and powerful which. Still true. Still fair