#but this is just me messing around in photoshop for a few hours

[izloveshorses]

Christy Altomare and Derek Klena in Anastasia the Musical on Broadway

[oddishblossom]

Hey I have a question? How do you produce such high-quality gifs. It's so cool and I've been trying but it usually just doesn't come out well

Thanks! I’ve been making gifs for about 2 years, so I’m by no means a pro. Sometimes it feels like I’m just throwing things at the video until it looks the way I want it to look.

I didn’t use any guides, so it took a lot of trial and error to learn. Just to compare, here’s the first gif I ever made!

My advice for starting to get into gif-making is, you gotta really choose a media or character you love because the process is time consuming and it can be frustrating if it doesn't end up the way you wanted right away. Plus, you’re gonna stare at the same picture for like a loooong time. Over time, I’ve gotten a lot faster at making sets. Like that killua x start over gifset only took me an hour to make, but I barely edited that one. I normally spend a few days on each set.

I still don’t completely get photoshop, so I don’t feel like I can give a tutorial for it. But I do make a lot of gifs on my phone so here’s a more in depth look at that.

For starters, I always get video footage in 1080P. Either download or record the footage you want to turn into gifs. I’m gonna use Killua as an example. Here’s a picture of what the clip looks like before I’ve done anything.

I find that the shorter the clip, the easier it is to make it smooth and crisp. This clip is only 5 seconds long. I try to keep my clips 5 seconds or shorter. I can do longer clips, but then I’d have to shorten the frames used and the speed of the gif (frames per second), which I don’t like doing. Next, I crop it. You want to crop before you start editing.

After that, I can start recoloring. There’s a couple good apps I like using for this. VideoDay and InShot are pretty good, but they’re pay to use. The free one Apple provides in the photos app is good, too. I’ve got a different coloring style for most of my sets. But I mainly focus on making dark colors darker, making colors more saturated so they pop, and brightening the video. On VideoDay & Inshot you can find this setting under Filter. Then go to Adjust. This is what it looks like after boosting up the contrast, saturation, brightness, shadows, and definition. Mess around with different settings until you come up with something you like.

Now, I recolor it a second time with filters. Sometimes I use Inshot or VideoDay, but I mostly use the app ImgPlay. ImgPlay is what I’ll be using to actually turn this video into a gif. I use different filters depending on what colors I want to stand out. CL2 and HW3 are a couple favorites. For this set I use HW3. Then I added more contrast, saturation, and sharpened it as high as it could go.

Now that it looks pretty, time to make it move smoothly. Through a lot of trial and error, I’ve found that these settings work okay. I have it set to 90 frames for this clip. For frames, I usually try to keep it within 80-90 frames (or 30-80 if it’s a shorter clip). If I push it past that, like say 100 frames, it’ll start to look blurry once I condense it.

For speed, I either use .04 seconds or .05 seconds. For frames per second, I always go with 20 FPS at least. This will push up the frame count, so you’ll need to make the clip shorter. You can do that by using the slide bar or that little area with 9 squares in the top right corner.

Now it’s time to export! Just click on save and GIF size. Set the loop to infinity and size to 10 MB. Tumblr has a limit on GIF size, so it needs to be 10MB or under. You can also click on GIF dithering to make the colors blend a bit more.

And we’re done! Hope it wasn’t too confusing and that I explained myself clearly! There’s a lot more cool effects you can do once you get the hang of video editing. This is by no means a strict guide or anything! Heck, even I don’t follow this exactly and I try changing things around, seeing what works and what doesn’t. Gif-making can be super fun, so I hope you keep at it! 😊💖

[cadmusfly]

This is an AI art question: how easy (or difficult) do you find it to generate images that match the image in your head of how you'd like a piece to look? Or is it a matter of not going into it with too much of a distinct vision and rather seeing what the model produces? Either way, how much post-processing do you find yourself doing, on average, to get a piece to the point that you're happy with it?

Before I answer the question, I'll pop a link to a Discord link for the ethical AI art collective Are We Art Yet where people are happy to answer questions in more detail as long as you're respectful about it.

Anyway!

The answer is pretty much depending on what I'm doing with the piece. Something like my AI art comic took a few hours a day over a few weeks, but I'd been playing with the idea and doing some generations for it for a few months before that. And, for a more in depth example, take this character turnaround of one of my OCs I made a while ago:

And here's one of the earlier raw images that I started out with

I generated a bunch of these using the new Controlnet Pose technique, which allows specification of poses from something like the below image

and applying those poses to the output

I generated a bunch of variant images, composited them in photoshop with a bit of a paintover in rough colours

Before running it through the program again to get a few more variations that I composite together

Occasionally cropping and regenerating zoomed in parts of the picture in order to get more detail that I paste back in

It's a very iterative and, for me personally, meditative process where I mostly control the process but allows for interesting random accidents that I can decide to go with or edit out - the flower that the character ends up holding wasn't planned, but the model I'm using really likes generating plants and aesthetic stuff, so it's not completely unexpected

In fact, the flower started out as yellow, but I decided based on the story I have in my mind and the character, I edited it into a pink or purple flower based on an Amaryllis

Also getting tails in the correct spot is pretty annoying with pure text-to-image!

Another example I'll point at is this piece, and here's the folder of the interrim pictures where I keep saving the pieces in order to transfer them back to the AI art program for iterating over

For these kinds of pieces, basically, I do a lot of post-processing in order to achieve my goals!

But for a lot of other images I post like this, I pretty much don't do any post-processing - instead they're me messing around with seeing the effects of words and word placement, because words at the beginning of the prompt have greater effect, or they're me setting up specific settings like Controlnet Reference and schedulers and seeing the effects of those

It's a bit more like dominos where I spend time setting up the conditions based on my familiarity with the models and prompts and then seeing how they fall

Or sometimes I just put whatever's on my mind in and see what happens, and that feels more like exploration and playing around

But yeah! Generally for my more involved pieces, a good few hours with a lot of iteration of the prompts and photoshop editing, and those are the pieces I feel more artistic ownership over, but for a lot of other pieces it's playing around and there's little post-processing there.

[paluding]

Hi, folks! Today I have a couple sneak peeks of what's coming up soon here. First of all, damn, you really liked that Tattooer project, huh. Thank you so much for the interest and love, and I have to say, there's more coming soon! So that part of the process that involves removing the alpha channel and then adding it back using some actions in Photoshop? Yeah, forget about that. A really cool simmer here told me about a neat little trick with the most recent version of Blender that preserves the transparencies during the texture baking process, so expect an update on the entire project and tutorial in the coming days.

Obviously I've been working on new stuff to add and update to the Tattooer project while I was there, so here goes a sneak peek under the cut!

I was not happy at all with the first face tattooer thingy version I did, hence why it says it's experimental, so I had to make a new and improved version.

Surely that face does not look impressed, does she? Well, I decided to sit down for a few hours and put into practice what I've learned in this fantastic free masterclass on youtube remapping the Sims 2 face so it matches the Sims 4 face UV mapping. If you want to learn about UV mapping and unwrapping in Blender, I totally recommend watching that video, such a life changer! I've tested texture baking with this new version using a few S4 makeup cc and honestly, I'm quite happy with the results for now!

And finally, as a bonus, I came up with a new way to make our own tattoos from scratch, as easily as possible.

This one is focused on the arms and legs, which usually are the most problematic parts of the body to texture. Unfortunately this project will also require just a little bit more knowledge about how to use Blender, but I think it can still be really useful! It's basically a cylinder that automatically wraps around the arms and legs, kinda like a sleeve, and then you can just bake the texture from the cylinder directly into the Sim body. You could wrap that cylinder around other parts of the body, but don't expect it to look as good as around the arms and legs… So for those cases I will also add a square plane object that also adapts to the shape of the body. It works literally like those tattoos you could find inside those Cheetos chip bags back in the day lol. Want to know the coolest part about this? As you can see on the image, those objects' UV maps are extremely simple. No more messing around with that weird original S2 UV map, trying to stretch and match your texture to fit it in Photoshop. You can just slap your texture in, bake it, and it will mostly look good and seamless, just like that!

So yeah, this is what I've been working on these past couple weeks. I can't wait to properly share them all! Can't say exactly when it's going to happen, though. I've been pretty busy lately with my studies, and also got sick, yay. But oh well, let's just say "coming soon", at least for now.

[kenthenugget]

Adobe Broke Photoshop in 2023

A bit of a disclaimer: this will contain quite a bit of swearing and a lot of anger so be warned

For the past 3 and half years, I've been using photoshop for pretty much all of my digital drawings. Ever since I discovered you could draw in it back in my high school digital media class back in the 11th grade in 2019, I've pretty much used it for everything from school work to my comic to personal works. Despite its hefty price, its been reliable tool for me, and I've never had any sort of issues with it, up until recently.

Upon joining the tapas community, I was shocked at how much photoshop was disliked by the wider art community. Hell the mod in a server I'm in hates it with a burning passion (and may hate others who use it but idk). Mostly I've noticed that the complaints boil down to photoshop being buggy, unstable and overall unreliable. But in my experience that couldn't be further from the case. And if this were me from 2022 typing this, I would have to agree. But now I can see where they're coming from. In the course of 6 months, photoshop has gone from being a reliable good program to a complete mess. And any good will I had towards it is gone, and I'm surprised I'm still using it. The following is a recollection of my experience with the program beginning at the tail end of 2022 to now. Its going to be hard for me to frame this story in terms of escalation because it starts off really bad but gets slightly better by the end, but not by much.

Crashing:

Its inevitable that any computer program will crash at some point, and Photoshop is no exception. Up until this year, crashes were never really an issue. Sure they were annoying then they happened but they happened so infrequently that it was never a major problem. But that would quickly change. Beginning a few days before 2023, and ending around March and April, Photoshop would crash at the frequency of...every week, usually once per week at best and up to 3 or fucking 5 at worst. And it would all be the exact same. I would be drawing and out of nowhere, the program would freeze. I couldnt minimize it, close, save or do anything. The only way I'd be able to close it was by using task manager to force quit it. This was, as you could expect, annoying and extremely rage inducing but it wasnt just crashing that caused this.

Now thankfully, photoshop has an auto recovery feature so if the program crashes or if your pc looses power, you can recovery what you were working on and everything would be fine! But if photoshop crashed this way, auto recovery wouldnt work properly. It would recovery the file yes, but anything I was working up to the moment of crashing would be fucking gone. I cant tell you how many hours of work I lost because of this. Entire page layouts, sketches, selections, layers, etc gone within in an instant. I would try to levy the damage by changing the auto recovery timer from 10 to 5 minutes but only just.

I tried tolerating this at first but it kept happening more and more and eventually I had enough. My solution was to downgrade to the previous photoshop version as I surmised that the newer version had broken photoshop. This happened in February and up until the end of my spring break in March, I felt a sense of peace that I hadn't felt in a while. Sure, it would still crash but not the level as it did before. But that changed on the 16th and 17th. Photoshop crashed 5 times within those two days, three of them happening on the SAME... FUCKING... DAY!!! I wont lie, I felt defeated in a way I hadnt felt in a long time and out of desperation, I ended up updating to the latest version, praying that that would be the fix.

However this part of the story has a happy ending...sort of. I ended up making a thread about this on the adobe forums and ending up updating the driver for my graphics card and after that, photoshop stopped crashing. And unlike the last time, it didnt increase to that frequency ever again. In fact, I found a way of spotting when a crash would happen and found ways of avoiding it. The freezing would happen on certain files I was working on. And if I closed that file, I could avoid the entire thing freezing and loosing all my work. But regardless, the first 3 months of the year have (as stupid as this sounds) permanently scared me and Im still subconiously scared photoshop will crash constantly again.

The Annoying Ass Bugs:

Though the program had stabilized, my issues with photoshop would persist in the form of bugs which are really really fucking annoying to deal with. The first of those came in the form of it getting stuck on left click. If I had the program open for longer than 24 hours (or if I used the keyboard commands for undo, copy + cut + paste, or other tools that werent the brush and eraser tool), photoshop would get stuck on whatever tool I was using left click for. If it was the zoom tool, it would zoom in and out without me holding my finger down on the left mouse key. Same with the rotation tool and so on. The only way I could stop this was by closing the program and reopening it. Now, this is far better than the program crashing on me every day, but its very inconvenient. And I dont think I need to explain why. Other updates would come but Adobe didnt seem to fix it until an update that came out in early June. However, in doing this, they introduced another bug....

If I rotate the canvas or zoom in on a file Im working on, switch tabs and come back to that file, the camera position is reset. Rotations are reset, Im now zoomed out instead of zoom in, the camera is focused on a different part of the canvas. And unlike the last one, I cant stop it by closing the program. I dont understand how Adobe keeps on doing this. This fix a bug by introducing a new one. How is that even possible? And to make matters worse, they rolled out another update with "stablitiy issues" and according a comment left on a thread I made about this on the adobe forums, they still haven't fixed it. God only knows when they will and when they do, I wouldn't be surprised if Adobe found a way to break photoshop again.

So there you have it! With 6 months Photoshop has gone from a reliable work horse to a program I don't trust using. About half an hour before typing this blog out, Photoshop crashed while I was trying to fill in something, and I have to ask myself, "Why am I still doing this?" Why am I still using a program I hate using? Why am I subjecting myself to this? Why cant I just use the program every artist gushes over like its the second coming of Jesus Christ, Clip Studio Paint? And I dont have an answer. Apart from me wanting to finish my comic without worrying about adjusting to different art programs, I don't know why I'm still using photoshop. Maybe its because I've used it for so long that I have an attachment to it. Like I cant move on and just be done with it. Maybe despite all I said, I dont want photoshop to be this bad. I want it to be a good program. I want say with pride that its reliable program. I want it to be a functional stable thing I can use to draw my characters. I hate what Adobe's done with it.

I don't really know how to end this post. But all I can say is Adobe, you fucked up big time....

[freebooter4ever]

Hi! I really love your work— do you have any advice for someone who doesn’t have a lot of experience drawing human forms/anatomy? I dont really know where to start 😅

Thank you!!!! ^_^

So first off, bear with me, I'm going to point you to some of my old old art. In general, any 'progress'/tutorial type stuff i post goes into the "wip" tag: freebooter4ever.tumblr.com/archive/tagged/wip

The rest of this discussion is going under a cut lol

I've been drawing since i was a kid - as my grandma likes to tell it i would sit quietly at the card table next to her and make her draw with me because "everyone can draw, grandma". Sometime around high school i got it into my head that i needed a 'class' to understand anatomy, as if it was just this magical thing i would suddenly understand. (college was useless) The truth is i didnt start getting better until recently, when i gave up trying to 'learn' anatomy and just started studying bodies. That sounds weird, but i don't know how else to describe it? If someone told me ages ago that i could learn anatomy the same way i self-disciplined myself into being able to pull out computer science concepts at the drop of the hat, i feel like i wouldn't have wasted so much time but anyway...

Check out any doodles before my mchanzo era for drawings that i did prior to getting serious about practice studies: freebooter4ever.tumblr.com/archive/tagged/mchanzo. Terrible anatomy. Atrocious. (with one exception that i still like which is a poster on sasha bees' wall hey bees if you're reading this) 2016 ish.

THEN 2017 i lost my job, moved away from pittsburgh, missed my DJ friends, watched a documentary on netflix about st*ve aoki (after watching everything vaguely DJ related on the streaming service lol), and the aoki drawing era begins: freebooter4ever.tumblr.com/archive/tagged/steve%20aoki. I joke that the way I learned anatomy was by becoming obsessed with a DJ who contorts himself into very strange positions and has photographers that take photos of him from LITERALLY every angle and who tends to walk around half naked an unusually large amount of time but like...that's literally what happened. Not that im saying you have to start drawing half naked DJ's...just find a subject you dont mind drawing hours of studies from and it makes it a lot easier.

When I'm doing 'studies' I tend to do two separate drawings. Initially I literally just 'study' what I'm looking at - I put it in photoshop and trace the lines that I see. I don't OUTLINE it, there is a huge difference. A lot of times the lines that stand out are not the outlines but rather a dominant shadow or sharp edge. After I feel like I've got a good handle on it, I do another drawing of the pose freehand. Then I take the original photo and put it underneath that drawing and check where I've messed up. If I'm completely off I throw it away and start again, lol. If there's a few errors I fix them. More and more lately I find that the freehand drawing is fairly accurate with anatomy unless it's an unusual or challenging perspective. I break this down more in this post using joe as an example: https://freebooter4ever.tumblr.com/post/633653906052923392/its-been-a-while-since-ive-posted-one-of-these

Those study drawings rarely see the light of day. I just delete them when I'm done because i didn't have an...aim...? For the drawing. They just were to learn.

The doodles that I post on here? Some of the simpler ones are practice sketches from gifs - i will have a gif running next to my drawing and will try to draw what i see, freehand. Some of the more complicated drawings/portraits are from photos - but there's usually something i see in the photo that i want to convey? Like light? or a specific part of anatomy? I dunno, i make shit up as i go.

AND THEN there's my favorite, when i have done all this practice and i can do shit like drawing characters from my imagination. Like kenny hugging his cat. These don't have any reference - im just relying on my memory of anatomy i've drawn in the past.

I dunno. Dont let bad anatomy get you down, just keep trying. My anatomy hero - a sculptor ethan idolized and i idolize by default - even said himself that he doesn't feel like an 'expert', and he's in his 40's and has been doing this shit for decades. Just draw!!! The more you do it, the more you'll start to see what you like, and how you can make it how you like even more. I still think my anatomy is bad, im still embarrassed by it. But i also know i've gotten better because i can see it now.

ANYWAY this is long, im exhausted, i have to go to bed now :) and i was serious about scheduling an abs livestream. Maybe this weekend if im ambitious.

[crazyworldofemmamarie]

Quick rant but this whole fear of AI within some of the arts, like writing is just getting out of control and to be quite honest just down right silly.

I reblog a post the other night that made an excellent point where they explain that in order for AI to truly be a threat we'd have to develop AI first, and we're nowhere near doing that and whatever the real technical terms are, we are still in the midst of developing it and I'm sorry we aren't even close, it seems we all like to think is but it's most likely not gonna happen for a while. Because if we are gonna deveolp these machines to create, I feel like that would take years. Another great point that the author of the post brings up is how writing contains so many tasks that take tons of creativity and years of practice that really sometimes takes years even for humans.

As for the whole development scheme, just remember we can't stop it at anytime. We always fear technology going against us but just remember in 2001, they TURNED Hal 9000 off. Meaning they could stop it anytime, yet allowed it to get as far as it it. It's always an example I use in these types of arguments but I honestly forget that we as humans are more powerful that we think we are and really we are not only ones that creating it, but supporting and you may not know it or want to think about but we can band together and prevent it from our sources look at the Actors Strike for Christ sake. It would take a long time, but damn it it would be worth it. I don't know do strikes, have petitions, make it happen. Stop it.

The thing is I don't think anyone understands that this wouldn't be such a conversation if we weren't so adamant about CGI. I'm serious, where do you think it all started? Not only that but we are wo obsessed with the evolution of technology only for the mere sake of 'what could we do next' and that's no fault if anyone's. It's thrilling.

Not only that, another thing I learned about some AI programs is it's taking these from other sources and mashing up which one: It's stealing I'll admit that, and that's wrong. Yet, that's another rant for another day. But in a sense? Say fir pictures, it's just photoshop. We just taught computers to photoshop? whether we want to admit or not, but there is always a person behind that AI, cause most times the creators is what come before and stand behind the creation. I stand by that.

Though hey, maybe I'm just talking out of my ass, if I'm being honest I just got off of a 12 hour night shift, running on coffee, a protein bar along with and edible I take to sleep might be messing with me big time but I really just don't see the hype, especially the more and more I look into it and as someone who faced these debates a lot in film school it's seems like a waste of time to worry.

And really, it's been around for awhile and it's still seems to be the same deal, 'oh in a few years it's gonna be so advanced ' and it 90 percent of the time isn't. Really, I think this is probably the most progress we've made.

Truly I think it's also silly that it's making people fear and question art on it's audenticy. Avoiding, it's community but not engage with it. Whether it be not wanting to comment on fanfiction (another post I read and reblogged) or sharing on art through social media and even having to see if films have any AI in it just to determine if you should go see it or not, or if it will be good or not. That stings man, and I'm sure just just a sore for all artists and creators in the world.

If anything, I really blame those old sc-fi thrillers/that really installed that sort of fear and excitement of technology and the idea artificial intelligence into us.

[finelinevogue]

What if a security guard wouldn’t let you back in the arena if you went out to get something. And they didn’t believe that you were harrys gf and just thought you were a crazy fan

oooh it’s been done before but here’s my version!! ;

You were running late.

It was already 7pm and you were only getting out of your car in the car park. Harry was due to be on stage in an hour and you hadn’t even seen him yet. The traffic around Dallas today has been awful. Chocker block. You’d been with Harry all day, up until 3 hours ago when he had to leave the hotel to come to the stadium for rehearsals. Normally you’d go with him, but you were so tired that you wanted a little nap before coming. The problem here was you overslept.

There were no Ubers available and a taxi would be far too expensive at this time, so you drive in Harrys car instead. You’d been following Harry on tour in his car, so when you get to different destinations you can go out on ball day trips if you want to without the obscenity of a huge tour bus or paying for Ubers everywhere. It was the main reason you were so tired though, travelling across country and into different time zones. It would be so much easier if this was the UK.

You grabbed your purse and your jacket, locking the car as you got out and started running for the backstage entrance. It was easy to make it there and you noticed security guards already standing there.

“Hi!” You smiled, slightly short of breathe. You were about to move past them when one of them shoved your shoulder back, making you stumble back unbalanced. “Wha—”

“ID and backstage pass to get through here.” One of them said, looking you up and down as if you were nothing.

If anything, you were quite shocked on how they just treated and continued to treat you. Normally, Harry would show a picture of you to these backstage security guards to make sure you’d be able to get in no problem, but it seemed like today Harry might’ve forgotten to show that photo. This was going to be a problem for you, because you’d forgotten to bring your backstage pass.

“I normally just go through? I’m Harry’s girlfriend.” You tried talking your way around the situation, not appreciating behind held up so close to show-time.

“Oh you’re Harry’s girlfriend? You must be the 7th one we’ve met tonight.” The security guy laughed and so did his friend, making your blood boil with how annoying they were being. Harry would be so pissed if he heard the way they were treating you.

“No but I actually am.”

“Then, ID and backstage passes.” One of then held out his hand whilst the other crossed his arms over his chest to make him look intimidating. Dickheads.

“I have ID just not the backstage passes.” You answered honestly, holding out your ID for them to check. They collected it and asked you questions on it, you answering them all perfectly.

“Well you definitely know you, but you have no proof you’re supposed to be where you claim to be.” They handed you back your ID and you huffed in stress.

“Well what can I show you? Photos of me and Harry together? Text messages?” You waved your arms around, getting really pissed off that this was actually happening. You’d probably miss Jenny’s whole set because of this and then 15 minutes before show-time Harry gets transported under the stage. So you only really would have half and hour with him, and that’s just not enough time. You wanted a safe and warm hug off him. You wanted a kiss. You just wanted him.

“Everyone knows they can be photoshopped.” One of the guys scoffs at your notion.

“Listen. You either show us your backstage pass or we’ll escort you off site.” The other one says a lot more firmer this time. It made you quite anxious for what you’d do if they did that - or maybe when they did that.

“Well I don’t have the backstage passes.” You sighed, rolling your eyes at the way this was going to end.

“Then let’s go.” One of them pointed to where you came from and to the car park, stepping forwards as he did so.

“I’m not leaving until you let me through those doors. My boyfriend is waiting for me.” You answered, taking a step back in stress of what they might do.

“Harry ain’t your boyfriend. Now let’s go!” They stepped forwards again and reached for you.

You swung your bag at one of them, hitting him in his side and he grunted because of the impact of your water bottle with his chest. The other one grabbed your arm and you couldn’t shake him, since you were not trained in any way for situations like this at all. His fingers dig into your skin and it made you scream out a cry, trying to kick him in any way to escape. The other one recovered ever ordered the guy holding you to escort you away whilst he stayed and guarded the door. The one holding you tugged your arms behind your body and held them tight there, it really fucking hurting. He didn’t care though and continued to walk you, asking you where your car was so he could get you out of here.

Once you reached your car he let you go and you wrapped your arms around you as he walked away again, not verbally saying anything but his eyes saying enough. Stay away. You shakily got your keys out of your bags and unlocked your door, climbing in and just sitting there. You could feel your hands really shaky and achy. Looking down with tear clouded eyes, you saw the red marks over your arms and slight bruising already. Your arms and shoulders hurt from being bent in an uncomfortable position.

You cared less about the pain though and how much of a disappointment of a girlfriend you were going to be to Harry. He was going to think either the worst for you or the worst of you. You reached in your bag on your lap for your phone, throwing your bag on the seat next to you afterwards. You wiped your eyes with the sleeve of your t-shirt and unlocked your phone to text messages, sending Harry a quick text.

To Harry: Are you free to call? x

No response. You sat there for a few minutes in silence, still shook up and teary. That had been a really awful situation to be in and you hated that you were nowhere near Harry to fix it. Your phone vibrated 3 minutes later, finding a text message from Harry. You sighed and felt safe when you saw his icon light up your notifications, knowing he was in contact with you.

From Harry: Of course, you okay? xx

You didn’t open your phone because you didn’t know how to respond. How do you tell him you’re not okay, only 20 minutes before he’s meant to be ready to go on stage? You didn’t want to worry him, but you also didn’t want him thinking you were a terrible girlfriend either.

Another vibration.

From Harry: Lovie? xx

Your eyes watered at that simple word, meaning so much more to you than five letters. It made you feel so much comfort, you only wished you could get that hug and a kiss now.

Again.

From Harry: Love, you’re worrying me now.

From Harry: Let me face-time you, hang on.

His icon lit up the screen; Incoming…

You shakily accepted, wiping your eyes quickly before. When he answered you could tell he was still in his dressing room, sat on the sofa that you wish you were also sat on with him. He looked so beautiful. His hair was perfectly styled and he was wearing a pearl coloured silk shirt and you knew he was wearing white silk pants to co-ordinate. You thought he looked ethereal. A glowing beacon of hope and beauty.

He didn’t say anything to you at first and you nothing to him. He just looked at you and instantly knew something bad was up. He kept eye contact with you and it was as if he was having a telepathic conversation with you, understanding that you needed him and just him.

“Hey, Mitch man?” Harry asked, turning his head to somewhere else in the room. “Could y’just give me a minute. Please.”

“Sure, sure.” Mitch answered and all you could hear was the sound of shuffling and the door shut. As soon as he was gone you started crying all over again. You cupped your hand over your eyes and your body shook as you just cried. Harrys heart broke that you were alone and he couldn’t hug you close to his chest.

“Y/N, baby. Look at me.” He asked urgently and you just shook your head, embarrassed that this was happening to you. “You’ll be alright lovie, I promise. Just look at me, beautiful.” You moved your hand away from your face and wiped your eyes and nose to try and make you look slightly better - not that it helped. “There’s my pretty girl.”

You smiled. He smiled.

“I-i’m so-rry H.” You whispered, sniffling in between words because of how shaky you felt.

“Hey, no. None of that. It’ll be okay.” He reassured you, keeping eye contact with you to try and decipher what was wrong. “Where are you, lovie? You’re in the car, yeah?” Harry asked, recognising your surroundings but you could get anywhere. You could have been in an accident for all he knew, but he was remaining calm so he didn’t send you into a panic.

“Yeah. In the stadium car park.” You saw Harrys eyes momentarily light up at that, before he remembered that you weren’t okay.

“Okay. Tell me why you’re upset, love. Help me understand.” He sounded urgent, just wanting to know so he could help you out. He wanted you to be okay. He wanted you with him.

“The security guards wouldn’t let me in, backstage I mean. I didn’t have my backstage pass. But..” You choked on a sob and Harry told you to just breathe. You were okay. “One of them g-grabbed me and escorted m-me of sight.”

“Baby, are you hurt? Is that why you’re upset?” Harry asked, standing up now in panic. His face looked angry, but you could tell he was trying his best to be a comfort for you. “Y/N?”

“Y-yes. Yes Harry, yes.” You voice wobbled out and you let out an exasperated sob. “I’m s-sor—”

“No don’t you dare. Don’t apologise for this. Not ever. You understand me?” He made very clear he wasn’t messing around.

“Yes.” You nodded.

“Alright. Now, you gotta be strong for me okay?” He asked, before asking, still checking that you were okay. He knew you would be though, because you were his bravest girl ever - stronger than you knew.

“Okay.”

“You’re going to make your way back to the backstage entrance, alright? I am going to be there, before you get there. Those security guards won’t be there I promise. You’ll be okay. Can you do that for me?” He asked, moving around the room and then out of the door. He was walking down the corridors, ignoring the people shouting his name. He was only focused on you.

“Yes. Okay.” You nodded, wiping under your nose again.

“I love you.” He kissed the camera of his phone, looking like he was kissing you instead.

You returned the gesture, kissing him virtually back. “I love you.”

He told you that it’d be alright and then ended the call, explaining how you didn’t need to hear him get angry when he found these security guards. They would be fired even if they weren’t on his tour crew, he’d make sure of it. You made your way back to the backstage entrance again, slowing down before you rounded the corner. Taking a deep breathe you walked around and were met with exactly what Harry promised; him.

You smiled and broke out into a run to get to him, your bag weighing on your shoulder. Once you reached him your bag was thrown on the floor in front of him and you jumped into his arms. He lifted you up to sit you around his waist, keeping his arms tight around your waist and squeezing the biggest hug out of you. Your arms tightened around your boyfriends neck and you buried your face into his neck, and god he smelt like everything homely and sweet. He felt just like home.

“See, you’re alright now lovie.” He assured you, kissing your cheek that wasn’t quite buried into his neck.

“Th-ank you.” You muttered, kissing his neck in appreciation which made him hum in delight. He tasted so hot and lush. He was insatiable. You then felt him start kissing your arms, where the harsh red and purple marks were.

“Sorry y’had to go through this.” He kept kissing your arms, until you moved your head up and looked at him with furrowed eyebrows.

“If I can’t say sorry, then neither can you.” You shook your head, kissing his nose softly. You watched his eyes flutter close and felt so special that only you could do that to him.

“You’re so amazing Y/N. Truly.”

“You’re pretty special too, my love.”

He didn’t need to hear anything else from you, those words were enough, so he pressed his lips to yours softly, filling you with the love you’d been waiting to feel all day. You smiled into the kiss and he just felt so amazing. He was so soft and gentle with you - as smooth as the silk that dressed his body. He was so pretty to watch melt away under your spell and delicious tasting. Strawberries, was that?

He was everywhere. He was everything. He always would be.

[finishing-touch]

I'm sure you've been asked this a million times, but do you have some kind of "GIF-making for Dummies" tutorial out there in the aether somewhere? Every time I see your GIF posts, I get starry eyes and grabby hands and I'm like, "I wanna learn to do the thi-i-i-ing!" but I have no idea where to start! But absolutely take this as a compliment that seeing your work inspires me to want to learn. ♥

With FRAPS, the first thing to do is edit your capture settings. iar with. FRAPS, and Photoshop. The latter requires an elementary understanding of its functions but it's nothing you cannot look up a guide for or just figure out by messing around for a few hours.

Now, there are plenty alternatives to the programs I use but they should all functionally be the same.

With FRAPS, the first thing to do is edit your capture settings (movies tab).

Set it to half-size and limit it to 30 fps so your captures don't bloat in size which can lead to slowdown and frame-rate stuttering.

Create a hotkey which you can easily use to start and stop your recordings.

Also make sure you establish a proper path for where your captures will be saved, like a dedicated subfolder on your desktop.

That's half of it. The rest is opening your captures in photoshop and editing it on there. I'll try to keep this part as simple as possible by giving a brief walkthrough.

With your capture open in photoshop, the first I always do is adjust the canvas size to tumblr's graphic dimensions. You can do this by going on the image tab near the top of the program and selecting canvas size. Make sure to at-least set the width to 540px.

Next, you'll need to toggle the animation tab. To enable it, go to the windows tab > Timeline.

The little starting and end tabs on the timeline can be clicked upon and dragged so play around with that for the parts of the recording you want to turn into a gif. When you are done editing, you can next export the finished work by going to File > Export > Save for Web

Which will bring up this next window which gives you a preview of how your gif will appear. You can use the settings I do here or just mess with the settings and try out different looks yourself.

That's all there is to it. I tried to avoid jumping into the finer points so it's not overwhelming but this should prove to be a good starting point. From here on it's just a matter of practice and getting comfortable with photoshop.

If you get stuck at a part or need something clarified you can always DM me.

[marycecilyy]

Hey could you do headcanons for the mcl guys (or if not all of them castiel, armin, and kentin) when their S/O is a famous singer? Thank you❤

Oh god this turned out so longer than I expected huahahushaushu

First of all, these are too long to be headcanons, all three of them have more than 1k words each. Also, I changed a bit the prompt. It's more like "Candy has the dream of becoming a famous singer". The rest you'll see... I'll only say that I'm very proud of this one ;)

Castiel, Armin and Kentin with a Candy that wishes to be a famous singer

Castiel

Castiel wasn’t one to be friendly to new students, but he knew you weren’t like any other when you came to him and asked if Winged Skull was one of his favorite bands too. He was shocked to know that there was another person at Sweet Amoris who enjoyed the same bands as him. Yes, bands (in plural). After he answered that, yes, Winged Skull was his favorite band of all times, you started talking about your common interests and discovered that there were many.

He was a very closed off guy, but somehow you managed to break into his skull in a short time and, in a few months, you turned into best friends.

When Debrah came back and that whole situation happened, your fight with Castiel had a lot of impact over you. In your head, you had just lost your best friend forever. Fortunately. Lysander not only helped you recover from the blow and gave you energy to gather your friends and expose Debrah, but also helped you admit to yourself that, you did have feelings for Castiel.

Once she was unmasked and ran away like a coward, things quickly came back to normal. In less than one week, you had restored your reputation, your friends apologized for misjudging you, Castiel and you were once again friends. The only difference was that you knew that you were in love with him.

You didn’t tell him about your feelings right away, you decided to keep your friendship and focus a bit on your lifelong goal: become a music star. You started learning how to sing properly and doubled the days of your guitar lessons. Castiel even helped you get into the music club (they were full when you got into Sweet Amoris, but he found a way to enroll you).

You knew that your chances of actually becoming famous were pretty low, the market was difficult and depended a lot on having the right contacts. That was why, while you tried putting your name out there, your plan was to get a degree in music as soon as you finished high school. Antheros Academy offered a good education and was close, it was your best option.

As you channeled your energies towards your goal, Castiel started to acknowledge his own sentiment towards you. He liked to watch your focused face as you tuned your guitar and your singing voice earned a sweet accent all of the sudden. He always considered you a special girl, but, to his surprise, feelings were starting to develop inside his closed off chest.

That was why, as soon as he won those concert tickets on a raffle, he knew he’d take you there as your first date. Luckily for him, you accepted right away. Castiel had a feeling that night would be something else.

And it really was, as he kissed you, without even thinking it through, when the vocalist sung what he knew was your favorite tune. When you kissed him back, he wrapped his hands over your waist and lifted you up, feeling your warm lips open up for him.

The months that followed were full of bliss. With you and Castiel officially dating, the school had a lot to talk about. Amber pestered you quite a bunch of times, but that didn’t mess with your relationship at all. Everything was perfect, as it was supposed to be.

But that didn’t last long. Right after you finished high school, your dad had to move to another town because of his job and you had no choice but to go too. You were sure that your relationship would survive the distance, after all, you were in love. This situation would be worked out.

Castiel came to your new house a couple of times and you two called frequently, but in the end distance started to grow between the both of you… and it hurt. Knowing that Castiel was sad made you miserable and you decided to break up before it became unbearable.

You lost your count of how many nights you cried thinking about him.

4 years later.

You were zipping your jeans up when you heard a knock on your dressing room’s door. Who could it be? Your parents had already congratulated you over the phone, there was no one supposed to come that night. Did your manager schedule a press interview for after the show?

You put on your shirt and told whoever was on the other side to wait. When you finally opened the door, your jaw almost fell. You couldn’t believe he was there.

He looked exactly like in the magazines, (a bit less photoshopped, but that was to expect. You went through that as well and it sucked). His hair was shoulder-length and he wore a black shirt that showed off the tattoos up to the middle of his arm. He wore some light makeup, most on his skin, which you deduced his manager made him put on. Castiel looked like you expected him to after all those years, but one thing about him surprised you.

His eyes, although more mature and serious, had the same brightness as before.

"Are ya going to keep staring like that?” He asked and you noticed you had just been looking at him for a solid minute.

“Sorry. Come in.” You said and made space for him to enter the room. For your luck, there was nothing private to be seen, you had the habit of leaving your clothes and personal belongings messy and only cleaning up the second you had to go.

Castiel cleared his throat. An awkward silence hung between you. You hadn’t been alone with each other ever since the breakup. You two were two of the biggest stars of nowadays rock music, but you barely had any opportunity to talk. Not that you haven’t tried, it was the opposite. You avoided contact. Your fans knew you had dated in high school (you used to have pictures on your personal instagrams and fans were quick to dig over old accounts to find information about their idols), so they never expected a feat or any kind of collab. Everyone knew that you weren’t on best terms.

You remembered just a couple of days ago, when you were interviewed for one of those talk shows. The host made a lot of personal questions about Castiel and even asked if you would get back with him if you had the chance. You tried to avoid answering, but the public instantly read your unconscious signs: yes, you would.

That was why, you assumed, he was there. To make things clear. After all, because of you yours and his fans started shipping you two and got you on twitter’s trending topics. He probably was pissed. There was also a possibility of him wanting to take advantage of the situation, maybe propose a fake relationship? No, that wasn’t like him. Or was it? You barely knew him anymore.

“So… you probably guessed why I’m here. I saw your interview” You were right, then. “And I want to make things clear.” Ouch. You should prepare for the blow. “Look, we both know time has passed and we’re not the same as before. You broke up to avoid more suffering, and I get that. I really do.”

Castiel crossed his arms and glared at you. You looked back at him with fear, fear of knowing what his next words would be. “But...?” You asked.

“Tsk.” He huffed. This would be more difficult than he thought. “Look, little girl…” You felt a shiver run through your spine at the sound of the old nickname he gave you. You had always loved it, even though you didn’t say it out loud. After what felt like hours, he continued. “I don’t want to be cheesy, that’s not like me. So I’ll just say that if what all of the fans are theorizing is true.... If you do want to try again....”

Castiel took your hand and you jumped in surprise. He turned your palm to him and grabbed a pen from his back pocket. He wrote down a phone number on your hand and let go of it, capped the pen and turned around to go.

"That's my personal number. It’s pretty useful if you wanna call me without having to schedule an appointment with my manager.” You managed to laugh. You knew exactly how these things were annoying.

Inside, you were bursting with excitement. However, you answered playfully “Hm…. I’ll think about it, mr. Rockstar” Castiel chuckled and excused himself, saying that his manager would get pissed at him if he took too long. You smiled.

Maybe it was not over, after all.

Armin

When you told Armin, very early on your friendship, that your dream was to become a famous singer, he got so excited for you. He already knew that you played the guitar and was good at singing, but he had no idea that you wanted to make this your career path.

You couldn’t have chosen a better partner. Being the tech nerd that Armin was, he helped you a lot in recording your covers with the best quality possible considering the amateur camera and microphone you had.

However, the times that his presence most comforted you was when you showed him your new songs. He was always eager to see your composing progress and gave you pure honesty in his feedback, keeping in mind that he was no expert but still wanted to help you.

You always asked him for a way to return his favors, but he always said that it was his duty as your best friend to support you and that it was more than enough having you to talk about all his geek interests.

As time passed, you started to notice that you liked him way more as a friend. Without an idea of what to do, you asked Rosa and Alexy for advice. They were your closest friends apart from your crush (and you couldn’t run to him in that situation, duh)

After a dozen pro tips and date ideas from them, you decided to take Armin to the movies (basic, you knew, but couldn’t go wrong).

When you asked him if he was available Saturday night, you didn’t say properly “Hey, we’re going on a date”. Actually, you didn’t mention the word “date” at all, hoping that he would read between the lines.

And he did, because as soon as you sat and the film started, Armin grabbed your hand that was resting in the armrest and entwined your fingers. You couldn’t pay attention to what was going on screen at all and your attention was completely drawn from the movie when the boy grabbed your chin and brought your lips to his.

You only stopped kissing when the lights went on and the credits started scrolling.

“Hey…” You asked as soon as you two left the place, holding hands with him. “What was the movie about again?”

Armin laughed out loud. He teased you about it a lot before you made him confess that he didn’t know either.

A few days later, it was him who asked you out. You kept going on dates for the next week, all of them simple but interesting at the same time. However, you two weren’t dating. The whole school knew there was something going on between you two by the chuckles and timid kisses when you thought nobody saw them, but you didn’t make things official… yet. But that was about to change.

It was friday and you invited Armin over to “study” (he was sure that the afternoon would be spent between videogames and kisses, but if you wanted to call it a study session, it was okay for him).

As he comfortably sat on your bed as if it were his own, you told him to wait as you brought him some juice. When you came back, he was already grabbing his nintendo switch from his bag.

“What makes you think that we’re here to game?” You teased, handing him the glass.

“Come on, Candy, we both know that none of us are interested in learning orbital hybridization…”

“Maybe I am. I really need a good grade on those tests.” You approached him and held his jaw up so your foreheads touched. With a trailed voice, you continued. “Unless you have something more interesting to do in mind...”

Armin opened up that playful smile of his. “Oh, I do, actually.” In a quick movement that caught you off guard, he threw you in bed and started pampering you with kisses all over your face. You couldn’t stop laughing from how his hands tickled your belly, but you managed to stop him. “W-Wait, Armin!”

He looked at you, confused. “What?”

As you caught your breath, you explained that there was something you wanted to show him first. You got off the bed and went to grab your guitar that was hung up on the free wall of your bedroom.

“Did you compose a new song?” Armin deducted as you sat in front of him again, this time with your guitar in hands.

“You’ll see.” You tuned your instrument under his curious gaze. When you felt satisfied with the sound, you looked back at him. Armin didn’t miss the blush that coloured your cheeks. “I know you’d never do it, but I have to ask even so: promise you won’t laugh.”

You started playing the first chords of the song you had finished composing just a few days before. Usually, you composed simple songs that anyone could identify with, songs about friendship, inspiration, changing the world. You never wrote about your personal feelings. The notes never made you cry.

This song was special, though, because it was about him.

The day it hit you that you had feelings for him, you had the idea of writing random verses that could one day fit into a new song. After your first date, you felt so overwhelmed that, looking at the words, you decided to turn them into a song. You didn’t think it would turn into something so personal and emotional. Every note, every word, everything was clearly about him, that dorky geek you had fallen in love with.

Falling deeper every time

I can’t help but think, oh my

I’m through, but I don’t mind

Would you trade you 2D girls

For this hopeless lover

That just wants your heart?

I’ll just say that he got the message very clearly and, as soon as you finished playing, he practically jumped on you, kissing your lips with such tenderness that you almost teared up.

Of course, he asked you to be his girlfriend XD

Kentin

The first time he heard about your dream, he was still little Ken. It was one of your first days at Sweet Amoris and you two were eating cookies in the staircase. You were ranting about how sad you were that the music club was already full and you couldn’t join. Ken asked you the reason why you were so upset.

“Well… There weren’t those kind of classes in our old school. Learning how to play an instrument and sing, even during extra classes would be so cool! If I went well, maybe I’d be able to convince my dad to pay me for some private classes and then I’d be one step closer to my dream!”

“Your dream?” Ken muttered.

“Yeah! I want to become a famous singer in the future! I know that it’s impossible and even kinda silly, but-”

“No, Candy! It’s not silly at all!” Ken said. Learning more about you made him happy and he didn’t want you to think for even a second that your dream was worthless. “You shouldn't be ashamed of dreaming big. You’ll have a long, difficult path to walk through, but when you get there - and you have my word on that - I’ll be cheering for you!”

“Ken... “ You flashed your best smile at him. It meant a lot to you to have his support, he was a kind person and a very good friend (he did cross a few limits with his adoration for you, but you weren’t bothered by it). You liked being around him a lot.

-x-

“Kentin!” You threw yourself in his arms and gave him a tender kiss. “Good morning.”

Your boyfriend chuckled and held your hand, walking with you through the hallway. You talked about how your weekend had been and, between light smiles and sweet kisses, you thought of how quickly things changed between you two.

When he came back from military school, a lot of things had changed in him, including his nickname. You were facing a new person and it had been a challenge discovering Kentin and building a new relationship with him.

Even though he was a different person from before, one thing didn’t change at all and you noticed it clearly: he still liked you. Obviously he was no longer that guy who professed his feelings to everyone and followed you everywhere, he had found new ways to show you his love. You enjoyed that more mature version of him, but wished he had the opportunity to grow into a man without all the trauma he went through. You knew that most of his growth had been through suffering, and that upset you.

You didn’t know when, but somewhere into your friendship you started to grow feelings for him too. After some coaxing from Rosa and Alexy, you managed to ask him out on an official date.

The whole school already knew that Kentin was head over heels for you, but everyone was shocked to know that you loved him back as your relationship became official.

“Hey, love.”

“What?” You asked your boyfriend back as soon as you got in front of your lockers. You started looking for your books, checking that day’s classes.

“I really liked that video you posted on youtube yesterday. I never heard that song before, did you compose it yourself?”

The book you held in your hand fell to the ground. “What video?” You whispered, eyes wide.

“What do you mean, babe? That video of you singing and playing the guitar. You uploaded it yesterday night. I saw right away, you know I have my notifications turned on to all your videos. I got surprised that you decided to finally show your face and sing something of your own and- Candy? Is everything okay?”

Kentin noticed your face and got worried for you. You looked absolutely terrified.

“That video… How did you see it? I posted it as private”

“No, you didn't. It was public.” Kentin was starting to understand why you were so surprised. He put one hand on your back as you blushed and hid your face on his chest in embarrassment.

“Oh god, I can’t believe I did that! I’m so stupid! The first time I record something like that, I accidentally post it for everyone to see! Dumb, dumb Candy! Dang, now everyone’s gonna know I’m bad!”

“First of all.” Your boyfriend frowned, bringing you close to him. “You’re not dumb, you just made a mistake. And it’s okay, probably just a few people saw it. Last time I checked was before I went to sleep and it only had 20 views. But why are you so upset, Candy? Didn’t you tell me a few days ago that you were finally ready to show your face along with the covers. Did something happen to change your mind?”

“Well, I was not ready to show right away, especially not in a video that I looked terrible in. And it’s not just that. It was my first original song. I never showed it to anyone, what if it sucks?”

Kentin held your chin up and looked you in the eyes. “Candy, it doesn’t suck and you look great in the video!” You closed your eyes and snuggled close to him. “But I understand your concerns. Luckily, that can be solved if you delete the video. You’ll have other opportunities to get famous, and with better videos.”

“Yeah, I can do that.” You reached for your phone and went to your youtube page. “Fu... No way…!”

Your hands trembled. Kentin was right, the video had few views (which was good). Only 50 people had seen it, but the problem wasn’t that. For your bad luck, one of those people had been Amber. You knew that because she had left three comments on your video.

AmberOfficial: lmaooooo

AmberOfficial: Thank you for the laughs. That’s hilarious

AmberOfficial: Just give up already, looser

“That girl....” Kentin grunted, looking at your phone screen. “I swear to you, Candy, I’ll make her regret this. I’ll-”

“You don’t need to, I’m fine.”

You untangled your arms from his torso and started walking away, trying your best to hide how upset you really were. Amber was right, your music sucked. You should give up on your dream of becoming a famous singer, not only because you were bad, but also because you could barely show your face to a few people without feeling like shit. You wouldn’t be able to deal with fame.

Kentin tried to call you, but you didn’t answer. He figured you needed some time alone. He could use that time to think of something to support you and get back at Amber.

-x-

You walked out of the bathroom, your eyes red and swollen from crying. You had already deleted the video, but you couldn’t stop feeling stupid for getting so upset by a few bad comments. And feeling stupid made you even more upset.

When you got to the hallway, it was empty due to classes having already started. You probably spent half an hour locked up, but at least no one would mess with you.

You went to the garden to get some fresh air and wait until the next class started. You sat at the bench, breathed in and finally calmed down a bit.

“Candy.”

You turned around, surprised to see your boyfriend. “Kentin! What are you doing here? Classes have already started.”

He just waved his hand in a “don’t worry about that” way and sat beside you. He kissed your cheek and took your hand, checking how you were. Seeing that you seemed to be more calm, he smiled lightly at you. “So… I talked to Armin. He already found out Amber’s password and he’ll hack into Amber’s youtube account. He’ll just mess with it for a bit, delete some videos and upload some random stuff. Nothing too bad, I promise, just some memes and rickrolls.”

“Hmm…” You muttered, thinking about what he said. It wasn’t right, for sure, but you didn’t feel like stopping them. You were still hurt. “Okay. Just promise you two won’t do something serious, okay?”

He agreed. You felt a bit better, but that wasn’t enough to lift your mood and Kentin knew that. That was why he also had something else prepared. "That 's not all. I did some quick search for places where you could record that music of yours with its deserved quality. You are a good composer, Candy, believe it. Your talent doesn’t have to stay hidden in a dark room with only you, a guitar and your cellphone recording it.”

“Kentin…”

“If you want to, I’ll help you rent a studio and record your song. That would be very useful for your portfolio. I know that’s expensive, but we can find ways to-” You cut him off with a kiss. He cared about you so much, to the point of skipping classes to think of ways to make you feel better. You loved your boyfriend so much…

Lucky. You felt lucky to have him.

“I love you. Thank you for taking care of me... “ You kissed his cheek, happy to have his support. That was more than enough at that moment, Amber’s words were far behind you. All that mattered was that you could go through this.

You had Kentin, and when you had him, you had your whole world holding you so you wouldn’t fall.

[jungkookienoona]

Total Eclipse Pt 4

Recommended Song: Only Then by Roy Kim (Jungkook Cover for extra feels)

|Chapters|Masterlist|

Summary:

After a fateful day in an Egyptian tomb, things have never been the same for Jungkook, or you, after a certain vengeful god decided to make him its fist.

Genre: Angst, Actiony, Romance, F2L UWU

Pairing: Moon Knight!Jungkook X Reader (Y/N)

Warnings: Swearing, Violence, Blood, Near Death of Major Characters, Death of Minor Characters. Body Horror. Talk of what its like to die. SMUT.

Word Count: 2582

Note: Jungkook will not be having DID in this fic. Khonshu has had many avatars over the millenia and I’m pretty sure Marc is the only one that has DID. Although there will be some slight overlap between Marc and Jungkook such as mercenary work.

I apologise for my shitty photoshop, my partner who does freelance design tried to help. Needless to say photoshoping is hard. In fact other than Jungkook, my partner did this whole little banner.

Even though you were no longer injured, your body still ached. Jungkook ran with you carried on his back, down unfamiliar streets that definitely weren’t the way back to your flat. All the while you could hear him muttering. You didn’t know if he was talking to himself or Khonshu and really at that point you didn’t care, with the adrenaline out of your system you were exhausted. 

After what must have been at least an hour, Jungkook finally came to a stop outside a shabby looking building with a SOLD sign outside of it. He took a deep breath, took out a key and unlocked the front door. The outside of the building had chipped paint, boarded up windows and graffiti. The inside looked like a newly renovated house. Talk about not judging a book by its cover.

“What is this place?”

“A safehouse. I used an alias and my inheritance to get it and do it up a bit. I had a gut feeling something would happen at some point.” He sounded tired. Not physically but almost emotionally so.

Jungkook went up a set of stairs and opened a door to reveal a rather nice looking master bedroom. King sized bed with red satin sheets, mahogany wardrobe and draws. This place looked far too good to be just a safehouse. Jungkook carried you through it and opened yet another door. An ensuite. Again far too nice. Jungkook finally set you down on the counter and wetted a flannel, handing it to you so you could wipe the blood off you. As you did so he rifled through a cupboard, his suit dissolving away. His casual clothes were a mess. Torn and stained burgundy. Each rip and tear evidence of his hard fought battle.

“Jesus Kook, you ought to be more careful.”

“Speak for yourself. At least my injuries heal automatically,” he found what he was looking for with a little noise of triumph. A tube of gel ibuprofen. “I, uh, I’m gonna need you to take off your shirt so I can apply this to your back and ribs.”

Heat coloured your neck and cheeks. Sure you had been living together for a few months now, but you had been careful not to have been in a state of undress around him.

“I can do it myself.”

He gave you a doubtful look, “Try lifting your arm out in front of you.”

You huffed and did as he said only to feel your muscles protest and you had to let your arm drop with a moan.

“That’s what I thought. So don’t whine, just let me do what I need to fix you up, yeah? How about we talk about something other than this to distract you. Make it less awkward.”

As Jungkook prepped what he needed, you took off your shirt, trying to think of something to talk about. But your brain just kept circling back on what he had said to Harrow before the fight began. 

“So you did die that day.”

Jungkook stiffened, “Yeah. Yeah I did. It was… not what I expected. Though honestly I had never thought about dying before.” He took a breath and squeezed some gel onto his fingers, “This is going to be cold.”

You shivered as his fingers gently brushed along your ribs. Yep, definitely cold.

“What happened? How did you come back?”

“Khonshu.”

“That’s obvious but how?”

Jungkook paused in his ministrations, as if considering if he should tell you, then continued, “It must have been seconds after you turned away from me. See, his second shot had got me here.” He pointed to your heart, “The left ventricle, which pumps blood through your arteries. I was essentially majorly haemorrhaging in my chest cavity. And you’d be surprised how quickly the body begins to shut down when the brain doesn’t get oxygenated blood for a few seconds. First sensation to leave was my limbs. I just couldn’t feel them, not even the weight of them. Then, time felt slowed and it became harder to force myself to breath. Then my sight went. I’m not sure if my eyes had closed from my muscle control leaving me or if they had just stopped working. Last to go is hearing. I heard that fucker taunt you. And then… nothing. Until I heard Khonshu’s voice. Heard his offer. Heard the gunshot. I accepted without a second thought. I was back in my body again. The suit was already on and healing me and I saw him touch you and I-” 

He cut himself off.

“You accepted because you didn’t want to die.”

“I accepted because I didn’t want you to die. If it was me, just me there, I would have been fine with it. I would have had my regrets obviously, but I could have died somewhat peacefully if you were safe.”

You reached to cup his face in your hands and made him look at you. And finally you could name the emotion in his eyes that seemed to escape you until now. Adoration. 

“And what makes me more special than you? Why is it okay for you to leave me but not the other way around?”

Jungkook winced at your words and hesitated, “In Egypt I had this grand plan. After the dig was wrapped up, I was going to take you to the Egyptian Museum, let you nerd out for a while, then I would have taken you to some fancy restaurant that was way overpriced. And whilst there, I would have told you how I felt - feel - about you. But obviously things didn’t go to plan. Isaac happened. Khonshu happened. We both became damaged in our own ways… And with what Khonshu wanted from me… I couldn’t have you dirty yourself with the blood on my hands.”

Tears left trails down your cheeks, “You’re a fucking idiot Jeon Jungkook,” you whispered, pulling him towards you so you could kiss him. He stiffened again.

You stayed like that, waiting for him to relax and reciprocate. And after a few beats he did. His own hands coming up to cradle your head. It was soft at first, gentle with years of held back longing. But an urgency bled in, like death was going to come knocking at your doors again. His fingers slid up into your hair as he pulled away so you could breath.

“So should I take that to mean you love me too?”

You gave him an incredulous look, “I’m here kissing you with my top off after nearly being killed twice tonight. What do you think?”

He chuckled and shook his head, “I think… we should finish getting you all patched up before things move too fast.”

Disappointment settled in your stomach, “I don’t mind things moving fast. By the sounds of it, things were delayed by six months. We’ve got some catching up to do.”

You pulled him into another kiss and he didn’t resist. You could feel the smirk on his lips. His hands released your hair and cupped your ass, lifting you off the counter and making you yelp in surprise.

He moved you effortlessly into the bedroom, depositing you onto the bed. 

He tugged his ruined shirt off, “It’s only fair I level the nudity playing field.”

To be honest you were expecting to see large patches of dried blood on his bare skin, yet it was clear, maybe that was part of the suit's healing. Now a bare chested Jungkook was not a new sight to you having lived together. You marvelled at how smooth it was, not a scar to be seen anywhere. You gingerly placed a hand on his stomach, trailing upwards to where you knew the bullet wounds had been. If it weren’t for the suit, for the funerals of your colleagues, you could mistake that day for a bad nightmare. Your hand stilled over his beating heart and his came to rest on top of yours.

“It beats for you, you know. Only you. If I am the moon that shines with the light of the sun, you are my sun.”

You scoffed. Talk about cheesy. You went to respond but he climbed onto the bed over you, silencing you with his lips. It wasn’t perfect. Wasn’t in sync or anything like the romance novels you read. It was messy, teeth catching on delicate skin to be soothed over by tongues. And when Jungkook licked your bottom lip, you knew he wanted to deepen the kiss. To be let in. You hadn’t much experience with this, so you hesitantly met him with yours, letting him lead you until your lungs screamed for air.

This time when you pulled away, Jungkook trailed kisses down to your neck. Gentle at first but then nipping and sucking, drawing moans from you like an expert musician. Hands brushed up your sides and round your back, undoing your bra with surprising expertise. He travelled further down to your chest, pushing your cups out of his way to capture a newly exposed nipple. Warmth was blooming in your stomach as your arousal built, hands clutching at his hair, to keep him close. 

“Jungkook,” you sighed.

He groped at your other breast, kneading it tenderly as he pulled away for a second to softly kiss where your heart was beating a mile a minute.

“We don’t have to go further than this if you don’t want to.”

“If you stop now, I swear to Khonshu himself I will kick your ass.”

He laughed, “I’d like to see you try, but maybe another day.” There it was, that damn cheeky eyebrow wiggle of his.

Something caught his attention, on your shoulder you had a tattoo. It was your dad’s name in hieroglyphics. You had gotten it days after he passed away from cancer. You dad had been your hero, especially since your mother died in a car accident when you were just a baby. His fingers traced over it.

“Sir, I really hope you’re not watching over us right now.”

As much as you appreciated him being all sentimental, that was better suited for the after sex cuddles. Impatient, you tugged his hair to get his attention.

“Kook~ I need you.”

“Oh yeah? Where do you need me baby?”

You whined, taking one of his hands, you placed it on the waistband of your jeans. Jungkook took the hint and got to work removing your jeans and underwear. You gave a little squeal, shutting your legs instinctively. 

“Hey now, no need to be shy. You’re beautiful.”

You blushed as you let him ease your legs open. 

His eyes darkened with lust as he licked his lips at the sight of you, “I imagined this moment over and over again, I never thought it would actually happen.”

He grasped your thighs, pulling you up to meet his tongue so he could taste you. He groaned.

“God, Y/N, you’re delicious.” He breathed, then went right back to lapping at your centre, immediately focusing on your clit.

Heat surged through you, compelling you to grip the sheets below you. A grip that tightened when he shifted to eased a digit in, longer and thicker than you own. You moans and Jungkook’s groans filled the room in a medley of pleasure.

“More, Kook, give me more.”

“Patience baby, need to make sure you’re nice and relaxed.”

He nipped at your thigh and soothed the sting with caress, distracting you as a second finger joined the first. Crocking them, he tried to find your gspot. You both knew he found it when you cried out. He was back on you then, sucking on your clit. The heat that had been building inside you became a pressure. Pressure you were desperate to relieve, your hips moving in tandem with his thrusts. And just as you felt release edging closer, he stopped.

You keened, trying to make him continue. However, he set you back down on the mattress and got to work ridding himself of the remaining clothes he had left on. You gulped, no person should be allowed to look good butt naked, but somehow Jungkook did. Cock hard and twitching as precum leaked from its tip.

“I uh, wasn’t ever really expecting to need any here so I don’t have any condoms. But I’m clean and if you don’t mind-”

“I’m clean too and I have an IUD so I don’t think we have to worry about anything… unplanned.”

Jungkook let out a breath, visibly relaxing, as he crawled back over you, hitching one of your legs around his hip, “You ready?” He asked, searching your face for any sign that you didn’t want this.

“For fuck’s sake. Ye-”

He was pushing into you, stretching you, filling you to the brim. You grasped onto his shoulder, nails leaving crescent indents.

“Shit, you’re soaking Y/N.”

Both of you took a moment to take it all in. His forehead came down to rest on yours so he could nuzzle your nose. Sweet.

“Let me know when you’re okay.”

A few more moments passed before you rocked your hips, testing the waters. Jungkook moaned which drove you to do it again.

“Kook, move. Please.”

He didn’t need to be told twice, setting a steady pace. He started peppering your neck with kisses again, his free hand wandering, caressing your curves then settling on your chest. 

“Fuck, I might not last long. Never done it bare before. Shit. Feels too good.”

You tried to meet him thrust for thrust but his hand on your hip tightened, holding you still. You wouldn’t be surprised if you had bruising later. He shifted, hitting you deeper than before and you cried out.

“Oh? Like that babe?”

With expert precision he kept hitting that spot again and again. You were on the edge of release again, the tension building in you until you felt his thumb draw figures of eight over your clit and it snapped. You came with a shout, your muscles tensing then relaxing. Jungkook’s rhythm became uneven as his own high came ever closer.

“Shit. I’m gonna cum. Can I do it inside?”

You nodded in a daze.

He stilled, holding you tight to him, hips twitching as ecstasy took him. For a second you swore his eyes glowed before closing. The room was silent except for your heavy breathing. 

“Is it bad I kinda want to stay like this?”

“I might get a UTI from that so… yeah.”

He pouted but placed a kiss on your forehead then rolled off you, “Go pee then come back and cuddle me.”

You giggled and did exactly that. When you came back in, Jungkook was under the covers facing you with an infectious goofy grin. He pulled back the covers so you could slide in next to him.

“Why does this place look so nice?”

“Honestly? I was preparing to make it our home, as platonic housemates. I thought that if nothing bad happened in another six months, we could live here instead of your tiny flat. Speaking of, I’ll be arranging a moving company to get our stuff from there in the morning.”

“And now something bad has happened.”

“And just like Egypt my plans have changed again. Instead of living here as platonic housemates. We’ll be hiding out here as a… couple?” he questioned, receiving a playful slap to his chest.

“We better be a couple after what just happened or you’ll be on the sofa.”

“As if I’d miss the chance to be your boyfriend after years of pining.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note: It’s been a hot minute since I last wrote smut and rarely have I ever written smut sober so  sorry if it was bad

This work of fiction is copyright © JungkookieNoona and protected under UK and international law. All rights reserved. Any unauthorised broadcasting, copying or reposting will constitute an infringement of copyright.

[prettyoddfever]

I have a few different questions in my inbox that revolve around my perspective on being a teen in the 2000s. A few points weren’t relevant for me, but I’ll try to cover some other aspects here in one rambling post since this might be faster...

TECHNOLOGY:

There were no apps, filters, or presets back then. If you wanted to edit a picture, you had to sit down & actually learn how to use photoshop (I think some kids with Microsoft computers used Paint too but idk). Knowing how to use photoshop gave you a huge advantage on myspace and most likely made you popular in online forums because you could actually make icons, wallpapers, & stuff like neopets userlookup profile banners. The kinds of things that kids can do to pictures today with a single tap of a button used to take like an hour + a lot of talent. Also, photoshop didn’t used to have the kind of recurring payment nonsense that Adobe does now. You’d just go to a store, buy the software cd, install it, and then it was on your computer for good.

Selfies weren’t really a big thing until myspace... and a lot of people called them “myspace pictures” for a while if you turned the camera to face yourself lol. Gifs also didn’t have a name... I just called them “animations" at first.

Modern cell phones can replace so much stuff that I used to have to haul around... like my heavy Nokia phone, disposable camera, giant chunky video camera + its gear, a giant binder of cds plus my cd player & headphones, a notepad with pens, and maps I printed out from the internet. My friends would also bring their GPS, a portable dvd player for longer trips, and ipods... except we didn’t have a way to get the ipod to play in a car yet (in 2008-ish I got one of those cords that you could set to the frequency of whichever radio station was pure static and then you’d get to hear part of your song... but you’d have to keep changing the radio station on the cord as you drove because pretty soon another song would start to cut into yours).

I didn’t even get the type of cell phone that could have internet or apps until like 2013. I was def late to that party, but my point is that the few kids who had sidekicks in 2006 weren’t the norm. I had a basic flip phone, but don’t remember texting much until 2007. Most of my friends and I just used our phones to call our parents, and then talked on MSN or AIM on our computers (if you were fortunate enough to have one in the first place... a ton of kids at my school didn’t have internet at home).

I know that videos on youtube from 2006 look like they're "filmed on a potato" and really bad quality or whatever, but part of that low quality wasn't the fault of our video cameras!! It was really distressing how I could have a relatively decent video, try my best to get all the settings right to export it for webstreaming, and then it would look like a garbled mess by the time it finished uploading through whatever hell portal it went through while getting online. Sometimes the process of sharing & downloading video files also lowered the quality. So the quality of the original videos we recorded wasn’t quite as horrid as the final uploaded versions (cell phone videos do not apply to this... those were just atrocious period).

Our tvs were not super blurry & pixelated like the bad quality youtube videos you might see of recordings from 2006 lol. Have you ever seen a movie from 2002? It’s fine. I do remember tvs suddenly becoming REALLY clear towards the end of college, though... maybe around 2010? I don’t remember exactly when. I only remember spending a few months continually pointing out how clear the details were onscreen and being shocked that we could literally see someone’s pores. So I suppose there was some minor improvement, sure.

My random opinion: there was something nice about having fewer choices in entertainment and needing to wait to access something (I’m not saying that having the freedom to do your own thing on your own schedule these days is bad or anything... it’s just different). My high school friends and I had like 5 tv channels to pick from so then everyone watched the same exact shows at the same time because we didn’t know when the next rerun would be (although weekly TV guides that got delivered in the newspaper would list the names of each episode coming up on the schedule and I would highlight the ones I wanted to see). Some kids with cable would leave the tv on for hours in the hope that they’d see their favorite music videos show up. Now people can instantly access an endless range of entertainment on their own time, so some of the excitement that came from anticipation is lost (like even waiting for someone to return the movie you wanted to rent felt like a bigger deal than just clicking on whatever’s next in your Netflix list). I spent a lot of hours of my life waiting in fun lines for midnight Harry Potter book releases, but now I suppose you could just download an e-book right when it’s released. 

There weren’t verified social media accounts back then. YFly’s main selling point was the fact that celebrities were verified (that site didn’t really take off, but Brendon still had to sign up for an account in fall 2006). Without verified social media accounts, it was often really hard to tell if someone was real. There were SO many fake accounts for any & every celebrity. I legit believed that one account on Neopets was Emma Watson simply because so many other people were convinced too. There were a lot of fake myspace & facebook accounts for Ryan Ross & Brendon Urie by late 2006, but those always seemed very obviously fake to me (even if they actually managed to spell Brendon’s name right lol). Some newer fans who didn’t know as much about the guys were definitely fooled, though, so that’s yet another place where some harmful and/or inaccurate info came from.

FASHION:

movies from the 2000s aren’t a totally accurate picture of what teens dressed like… it’s more like an adult costume designer’s interpretation. 

Most kids I knew in high school just wore a lot of American Eagle, Hollister, Abercrombie, and whatever PacSun sold (like Roxy). There weren’t so many aesthetics back then. The high schools that my friends and I were familiar with (in several different states) mostly had kids who were skater, scene, emo, goth, kind of punk, the generalized preppy look that made everyone into a Laguna Beach clone, or kids who didn’t care & just wore sneakers, flared jeans, and whatever graphic unisex tshirts came with their school activities. 

Emo & scene were not the same thing. A lot of scene kids would get really upset if you called them emo. Some emo kids would be offended if you thought they’d ever be scene. Also: in my experience, emo kids were bullied waaaay more than scene kids.

I spent a lot of time at malls and was really into teen fashion magazines in high school like Teen Vogue, YM, Seventeen, Cosmogirl, Teen People, Elle Girl, etc. I just want to point out that styles changed SO much while I was in middle school & high school (2000–2007) and even more when I was in college. The popcorn shirts that I was obsessed with in 7th grade were only around for a short time. Flared sleeves were in towards the start of the decade, but that didn’t last long either. The 1960s came back briefly when I was in middle school, and then the neon 80s had a short comeback a few years later (but now I’m understanding why our teachers grumbled about how we were generalizing an entire decade with the looks of one moment lol). I can’t think of a single style that could possibly represent the whole decade of the 2000s. In 2004 I desperately wanted the flared jeans that Amanda Bynes wore in What A Girl Wants, but I wouldn’t have been caught dead in them in 2008. In 6th grade my favorite outfits were track pants that could snap off, flared jeans with flowers embroidered on them, butterfly clips in my hair, those clunky chunky brown sandals that looked like turtles, the spaghetti strap tank tops that were banned at school, a little triangle bandana thing on my head, foundation as some weird form of lipgloss, and body glitter. I fit in at that point, but I would’ve looked weird by 2002. Trends were super temporary & changed quickly. It’s not like the entire decade was into camo cargo pants, trucker hats, shirts/purses/hats/anything with your initial in rhinestones, madras shorts, platform sandals, jeans that laced up the sides, pants with flares as big as you could possibly get, colored skinny jeans, denim miniskirts with cropped leggings underneath, long camisoles with a lace bottom for layering, boleros, gauchos, striped polo & rugby shirts, that one style of adidas shoes, those velvet tracksuits, massively furry uggs, crocheted purses & shirts, jeans that looked like they were patched together, suede belts with the fringe that hung down to your knee, studded belts, etnies & vans, etc. Those things were from a range of different years. 2008/09 feels like it had way more in common with 2011 than with 2005. I thought the early 2000s had more in common with the late 90s than with 2006. I’m just saying... you can’t generalize the whole decade as a continuous look or sound.

TOXIC ASPECTS OF 2000s FASHION / TEEN CULTURE:

TW: eating disorders

Maybe movies didn’t show the actual types of tshirts that teens wore because those had a giant brand name plastered on them or were inappropriate? There was SO much sexual innuendo on shirts around like 2004. I just tried to google this and I’m shocked at how there are so few examples (I put some in this tag). I mean, it’s awesome that our culture has changed enough to recognize that those should be buried, but they were also so prevalent that it feels strange to see those shirts are just gone as though they barely existed. I’m able to find some examples of Abercrombie shirts still because the brand is popular, but those types of graphic tees were at almost every store in the mall for a season… even Kohls & Target were questionable. For a short time it was such a chore to find a tshirt that didn’t subtly say something sexual, which legit made me anxious as a high school freshman. A 14-year-old girl shouldn’t be walking around in a tshirt with colorful smiling flowers that say “guaranteed to get you up in seconds!” I hate that I was so naive that I wore that shirt to school for a long time, but I also hate that those types of shirts were created for the junior’s section of some stores. The graphics on those shirts were mostly designed to look like ads for things like tropical islands, travel, Asian restaurants, cleaning products, mountain resorts, etc… except it was usually sexual in some way if you stopped to actually read the small text. Other shirts were also surprisingly racist, sexist, and just generally weird for something that was obviously created for underage girls to wear. 

Parts of the teen fashion industry basically fostered a bitchy culture where girls hated each other and were striving for male validation. Most stores at the mall (and even Walmart & Target) had those popular attitude tees that pitted girls against each other or reduced our worth to a few physical characteristics. The Abercrombie t-shirt that said “I make you look fat” stands out in my memory (but it’s just one drop in the bucket of all the similar tees they sold). And there were SO many shirts at various stores about blondes vs brunettes that I remember wondering whether my friends who dyed their hair felt like they were switching sides in a battle lol (there weren’t many shirts about redheads, but I remember seeing one at a store like JC Penny or Sears that had some kind of flames & implied something sexual because of course).

There was even a weird trend of graphic tees that made fun of rural populations... like Urban Outfitters had so many shirts mocking states that were stereotypically redneck. Abercrombie and other stores did too. 

I still remember a teen magazine (maybe Cosmogirl?) had an article whose condescending tone was basically congratulating Rachel Bilson in The OC for eating cheeseburgers, being ok with her body/weight, and not trying to be skinny (she was probably a size 6 btw). She was legit considered “large” by several magazines back then, whereas Marissa on The OC was the standard of what was supposed to be “normal.” The media would create a culture where you needed to be super skinny to be acceptable, but then they’d blast those same celebrities for possibly being anorexic (and that shaming wasn’t done out of concern for their health… the tone was more like celebrating that a celebrity screwed up yet again). There really was no way to win.

I recently saw a current teen talking about that Senior Year movie on Netflix and how ridiculous it was that the main cheerleader girl claimed to be on an ice cube diet (as though that idea was absurd and Netflix was inventing it as a joke). That was an actual thing, though. I even remember reading the “helpful tip” in more than 1 magazine that the act of chewing on ice cubes would trick your brain/body into feeling a bit more full. I remember a couple girls who’d have cups of ice at lunch complaining about how their dentists told them that chewing on ice cubes was bad for their teeth. 

The top & middle shelves of jeans at Hollister & Abercrombie were like sizes 00-5 and then the biggest sizes were at the bottom. You had to kneel on the floor to try to find a size 9 in their limited stock, which was the biggest size some stores sold (others went up to a size 11). Way too many of my friends viewed themselves as “disgustingly obese cows” for being a size 9/10. I was legit ashamed to be a size 5/6. Our world was created through a really narrow lens of magazines & tv & movies, and we mostly saw super skinny white girls. 

Another aspect of the one-way dictation of culture was how “poor people” were very much looked down on in the early 2000s. The kiosks at the malls near me were full of counterfeit designer bags, sunglasses, shoes, etc. I’m mostly speaking for the preppy crowd here, but at a lot of high schools you were basically expected to have a small Coach bag and one of those chunky chain Tiffany & Co necklaces with the heart on it. That was just like the bare minimum (and it was embarrassing for the girls who were called out for clearly having knockoff ones… like I felt safer just not having those things than being caught looking like I wanted to, while clearly not being able to afford it). I was watching this youtube video last night (which is seriously funny btw) and the guy points out how Kate calls out Lizzie for being an outfit-repeater and then the characters in that movie look down on blue collar workers and people who might live in a trailer park. That is such a solid example of what our culture felt like back then. I’m glad that those comments seem noteworthy or abnormal now, but it’s hardly like the Disney channel invented that mindset. It was just everywhere. Like I cleaned hotel rooms throughout high school to be able to afford my clothes from American Eagle & Hollister, but that was a serious source of shame (even my mom looked down on me for that job). Sometime around 2009-2011 I started to notice a shift where it started to be more acceptable to admit that you shopped at Target or used coupons, and then shopping at thrift stores became mainstream cool and people were openly talking about their budgets, financial problems, etc. Maybe this shift was partially because of the recession in like 2008, but I really do think that a more connected society via the internet weakened the media’s ability to dictate such a narrow culture as we started to get inspiration & ideas from a wide range of perspectives. 

You know how in the movie 21 Jump Street there’s that scene where Channing Tatum & Jonah Hill go back to high school in like 2012 and it’s totally different? That was one of the most relatable scenes I’ve ever seen in a movie lol. Suddenly it was cool for teens to care about things or actually try in school? Admitting that you like Lord of the Rings or anything “nerdy” was no longer an actual risk that might make you lose friends or expose you to ridicule? Wtf I felt so ripped off. You’re not asking to be bullied if you wear your backpack on both shoulders?! I had been willing to give myself back problems because I thought that was the price of survival. I spent a lot of the early 2010s being cranky that the teen culture I had worked so hard to conform myself to was vanishing and being replaced with something that I would have absolutely loved in the first place, thanks. 

(I’m definitely not saying that everyone who went to high school in the early or mid-2000s had the same experience I did btw. This is just my perspective). 

SOME PAGES FROM TEEN MAGAZINES

Teen magazines were full of “entertainment” in the form of attacking female celebrities. That mindset definitely wasn’t limited to just teen magazines or the audience of teen girls, but I’m more shocked in hindsight by how 12-year-old girls were basically taught to judge, sabotage, and compete against each other. It seemed normal at the time, too. It fostered a culture where a lot of us were super insecure & anxious that everyone was waiting to laugh at our smallest mistake or mock our flaws. Here are some random examples of the culture we were fed in the mid-2000s. 

[mckkachins]

gif cut-out tutorial

ok ok so @subtledean requested a tutorial on how to do stuff like this post with the gif cutouts and the text effects. hopefully this helps aria ;w; i’m not the best at explaining things but i included some screencaps for clarity. i’ve tried to compress all the sample gifs and screenshots down to under 3mb to avoid tunglr compression on mobile so if they look a little different from the actual gifset, that’s probably why!

what you’ll need:

photoshop, i’m using PS 2021 but any version of photoshop will work out

a basic knowledge of gif-making (i’m assuming you already know how to make a gif and color it).

step 0: storyboard

this isn’t strictly necessary but i HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend it. you don’t have to do any photoshopping this first step, but it’s really important to check out your footage and the shots you have gathered to see what works, especially if you’re trying to combine three or more gifs onto the same canvas. like literally take a piece of paper and draw out where you want the character’s faces to be, where you want the cutouts to be in relation to their faces, and think about whether or not there’s enough empty space to the right or left of characters heads for a cutout to be placed. is there too much movement that would be distracting or messy in an already busy gif?

things like that really help, and it also makes you double check on your footage quality and feasibility. if you end up making a gif where you want one character’s face to be on the left side of the gif but it turns out there’s not enough empty space on the right side of their face to place a cutout and you then have to hunt for new footage or start all over, it’s kind of a trainwreck and you just waste another hour of your time as you deepen your procrastination hellhole. that’s not a real story—

step 1: make the base gif

i’m assuming you know how to color it already. and aria i KNOW you know how to color already so :) size it accordingly to your desired dimensions.

as you can see, i left enough space on the right side of abaddon for the knight cutout to be placed.

save this as a .psd file. you don’t actually have to sharpen and do everything that comes at the end of making a gif right away, but make sure your layers are clearly labeled. do NOT convert to video timeline/smart object just yet.

step 2: make the cutout gif

this is critical: make absolutely certain your cutout gif has the same number of frames as your base gif. otherwise it could get really messy! abaddon has 20 frames, so the cutout will also have 20 frames. again, do not convert the cutout gif to a video timeline/smart object. just keep it as a frame animation. here’s my cutout gif. it’s just a simple b&w gif but i added a touch of purple for color consistency sake whatnot.

now for this particular gif i’ve actually cropped abaddon to be roughly exactly where i would want her face to be in relation to the first gif, but that is unnecessary. helpful, but unnecessary. you do NOT need the cutout gif to be cropped exactly perfect in order to make this work.

step 3: combining the two gifs

there are many different ways to combine two gifs onto the same canvas. some people like to do it via video timeline. i prefer to do it by frames and convert everything to a video timeline only at the end (it’s just a personal preference). here’s a tutorial if you prefer working with timelines, but i’m gonna go over how to do it by frames.

first group everything in your base gif into one folder. then group everything in your cutout gif into one folder as well. you can name them however you want to keep track of things.

then, select all of the frames in your cutout gif. in this case, all 20 of b&w abaddon get selected. make sure its not just frames 4-20 or whatever, but all the frames you made. you can click frame one and then shift-click your last frame to double check.

click the timeline tab group options bar and then go to options > copy frames

now go to your base gif canvas. select ALL the frames of your base gif as well (it’s critical that all of them are selected).

now do options > paste frames.

a popup should appear and you’re going to select the “paste over selection” option. do not link layers.

your cutout gif should now be completely or partially obscuring your base gif. however, now you should see two groups on your sidebar of layers. one for the base, one group for the cutout. if you labelled them with names you can tell which one is which.

step 4: creating the cutout

in order to create the cutout, we use my favorite thing in the whole world of photoshop. layer masks.

to make a layer mask, you simply select a layer or group you want to mask and then click this little icon on the row of icons at the bottom of your layers panel.

white on a layer mask means whatever group or layer is getting masked is completely visible. black on a layer mask means that the group or layer is invisible. if there is 50% gray on a layer mask, then its 50% visible. so on and so forth.

i love these so much i abuse them on the daily. i’ve made a few gifs where i’ve masked every frame one by one because i wanted to get some cool effects. admitting that kind of embarrasses me but oh well.

anyway this is simple though. just find a picture or an outline of a knight. i used these boyes:

obviously i cropped out the knight of the bunch, got rid of the watermark, and then i placed it on the canvas where i wanted it to go.

select the interior of the knight with the magic wand tool. should be pretty simple since it’s all black.

now click over to your layer mask. make sure you have selected the mask and not the group. you can tell you have selected the mask when a little white rectangle pops up on it.

when you know you have the mask selected, click command+i or control+i to invert. if for some reason you do not have this keyboard shortcut, just take a brush tool and color over the area in complete black. as long as the magic wand tool is still selecting just the interior of the knight, it should be fine.

now once again, black means a layer will NOT be showing, white means a layer will be showing. so right now after i disable the visibility of the top layer we used as a reference for the silhouette, it looks like:

do not fear the clownery. layer masks are great because they are always non-destructive. meaning that even if you somehow mess up and your canvas is showing something completely gross, you can always go back and edit your layer mask and your original gif would be unharmed as long as you did not touch any layers in the group, only the mask. simply invert the mask (again, make sure your mask is selected and then command+i or image > adjustments > invert) to get:

for a layer mask that looks like:

you could have also just made a black layer mask to begin with and then inverted the knight outline to be white. many different ways to do the same thing.

another tip: if you select your outline and then click layer mask upon a group or layer with no mask at the current moment, it will automatically make a layer mask with your selection as white and the unselected pixels as black. this is normally how i do my cutouts, because it’s a time-saver even if it like. saves a few seconds max. but i typed out the above for explanation and clarity, so hopefully i didn’t just make anyone more confused.

anyway.

now say you don’t like where the cutout abaddon is positioned. layer masks can also be linked or unlinked, depending on the little link icon you see between the group and the layer mask in the image above. if the icon is visible, the layer mask and the group are linked. if you cannot see the link icon, they are unlinked.

linked layer masks will move in conjunction with the group if any type of transform is done upon them. if the group moves, the layer mask also moves. but if a layer mask is unlinked, you can move the mask and the group independently of one another. for instance, i can change where the cutout is located on the overall canvas of the gif by simply moving ONLY the layer mask (and thereby changing where the blacks and whites of the layer mask occlude the cutout gif contents). but i can also transform the cutout gif layers without changing where the overall outline is located relative to the canvas itself. basically, i can transform the interior contents of the cutout independently. so here (make sure all of your frames are selected):

group unlinked. i’m also making sure that now i am selecting the GROUP (ie. the frames of the layers you are actually going to move) and not the layer mask. you can tell because the little white rectangle around the layer mask can no longer be seen.

now i can transform/adjust the contents of the cutout solely “within” the cutout, and i don’t have to worry about changing where the cutout is located in relation to the overall gif. when transforming, make sure all the frames of your gif are selected. like select the whole group and not just an individual layer, basically.

i’ve seen a lot of how to combine and cut out gifs tutorials on this website, and here is a really good one that i know sully also used <3 big shoutout to all the photoshop queens being inspired by each other!! however i haven’t seen anything that mentioned the linked vs. unlinked layer masks, which i really feel like deserves a shoutout. you don’t have to crop your gifs out perfectly every time, you can always adjust them later. for demonstration, i’ve positioned abaddon in a few different positions with an unlinked layer mask.

step 5: creating the outline

so in order to emphasize the shape of the cutout (the knight), i simply delete the white space surrounding the picture of the knight in the original silhouette that i used. magic wand tool + delete. you can also make a new layer, then paint bucket tool it. many ways to do the same thing.

now with only the knight on a transparent background, i double click the layer to pull up the effects. select outer glow. i used these settings:

when you are doing this, make sure you are on frame one of the frame animation and the “propagate frame one setting” is selected, otherwise you might end up only applying the effect to one out of your many frames, which blows.

then i go change the fill setting to 0%, BUT i leave opacity at 100%. fill is basically like opacity, but it doesn’t affect layer effects (whereas opacity does). so you basically get only the outline but not the black. you can also set the blending mode of the layer to screen and get the same effect, etc, etc. feel free to adjust however you see fit, in addition to the outer glow settings.

i move this layer over a couple pixels to give it the little offset effect, but you don’t have to.

step 6: adding the text

okay the two fonts i used are avenir and perla. i think a LOT of gifmakers use them because they’re really pretty.

i make TWO different text layers, one with avenir in a smaller size and one with perla in a bigger size. this is because for the perla one, i’m going to be changing the blending mode whereas i don’t want to be changing the blending mode for the smaller text. i position the text where i want it to be and make sure the perla font is in the color i like:

then i change the blending mode of the fancy text (perla) to difference. ONLY that layer, and again make sure to check “propagate frame 1″ and make changes on the first frame to apply the change to all of your frames.

but i still don’t think it produces enough of a difference. so i right click on the text layer for knights of hell, and then go to: select pixels.

then i click the curves adjustment layer. this will automatically make a curves layer with a layer mask that occludes everything BUT the area you selected. beautiful. i drag the curves around until i get enough of a difference that i like. normally i make the lights lighter and the darks darker. yeehaw.

again there are sooooo many different ways to achieve the same effect on photoshop. this is just want comes easiest to me, and it’s totally okay if you find a different way that works better for you at producing the contrast you want or the colors you want.

step 7: export and cry

NOW you can convert everything to a video timeline, put your video frame layers to smart objects, and then apply your finishing sharpening filters. export, cry, and hope tumblr compression doesn’t screw you over.

hopefully this was helpful! pls like... idk support my edits if you found this helpful or reblog this post. feel free to dm me about how u do some of the text effects as well bc i’m always trying to learn new things and i am by no means an expert on like. any of this.

aria please go write your fucking thesis before i delete this entire tutorial challenge. :D

[beware-of-you-98]

BAU as College Professors AU

*cracks knuckles*

Penelope

penelope is a graphic design professor

she loves teaching kids about the wonders of photoshop!!

hates illustrator and indesign with a burning passion

(the illustrator pen tool can fucking choke for all she cares)

(AND HOW THE FUCK DO YOU PUT THE FRONT AND COVER TOGETHER IN INDESIGN!?!?)

(she really hates both applications sm 😭)

is always reluctant to teach them but does it begrudgingly

(she’s just glad there’s other professors in the department that teach editorial and graphic illustration)

teaches photography!!

encourages the students to be as expressive as they want to be with their pictures!!!

she’ll be just as enthusiastic to see a close up of a sneaker as she is to see a sunset landscape shot

teaches the graphic design studio classes too!!

she always has music playing!!

half the time, her students come into the class and her glasses are all skewed, her hands are covered in paint or glue and some abstract art piece is sitting on her desk

when the students ask her what it is, she just gives the projects human names

“hey professor... what did you make there?” “oh, this?? her name is... pam.... yeah, pam”

she doesn’t offer up any further explination than that

and the students just accept it

her office light is always off

but she has multiple fairy lights in various colors hung up

her office is v inviting!!!

students come to her to vent or to talk about their problems bc the campus therapist doesn’t help all lmao

she always has on the most unique outfits but she pulls them off so well

a ray of sunshine tbh!!

Spencer

teaches major science and math courses

he teaches chemistry but only chem for majors in chemistry

it’s not that he can’t teach chem for non majors

but he sometimes gets too ahead of himself and forgets he’s teaching a course for non majors

it’s easier for him to teach for majors because the students can follow his ramblings better

he teaches upper level math courses and usually only has like three students in those classes

he’ll sit up on his desk and debate with the students for the entire hour about the riemann hypothesis

he gets excited because the students are just as enthusiastic as he is

he is two extremes

he either shows up to his classroom like a half hour early and writes out all his notes on the board so that when the students come in, he can go right into lecture

or he’ll show up two minutes before class starts with his hair disheveled, his tie undone and his expression glazed over and just be like “listen up i woke up late and just downed an entire pot of coffee i brewed with several cans of monster energy—i don’t exist on this dimension anymore”

on those days, he lets his students work on other projects for other classes because he knows it’s not fair to ask his students to focus if he’s not

he helps them with their homework

penelope brings him lunch sometimes to make sure he’s eating

he appreciates it a lot because between lesson plans and grading, he sometimes forgets to eat

he’s absolutely the youngest prof on campus

sometimes even his students are older than he is

but everyone addresses him correctly and respects him bc he’s really chill

his office is a disorganized mess

there’s files and papers all over his desk

and a sculpture penelope made for him (she named that one “roger”)

JJ

psychology professor

she really has a passion for teaching and learning about human psychology

(she may have started to become interested in psychology bc her sister was in the psch honors course before she died)

she comes across as a little hostile and unapproachable tbh

but she’s young

and she’s attractive

and she’s not conveniently what people think a professor looks like

she’ll respect her students if they respect her

she didn’t graduate the top of her class and work her ass off for the degree to not be respected

if there’s any inappropriate comments aimmed towards her or anyone in the class, she kicks the aggressor out immediately

she stands at the front of the room and lectures for the beginning part of the semester

once she’s built a good rapport with her students (and vise versa), she becomes more chill

she’ll sit on the edge of her desk and encourage discussion rather than following a book or a set plan

(she finds it’s more interesting that way anyway)

sometimes her students will show up ten minutes before class starts just to talk with her once they’re comfortable with her

she always answers her emails students send her (queen shit tbh 👑)

some kids in the psych major course playfully call her “mom” because she always asks them how they’re doing and about their week

(she hasn’t decided how she feels about it, but she also lets it slide)

always wears pants suits but cuffs the sleeves to the jackets

her office always smells like eucalyptus because she has a small mist diffuser plugged in

she also has a small fish tank with a beta fish inside (its the appropriate size too!!)

(she let a student name the fish—it’s name is sir bubbles of argon)

she also has a sculpture from penelope (“her name is maxine”)

her desk is very organized and clean!!

there’s a small couch in her office and her door is always open

sometimes, students will come in if they’re having a hard time and need someone to talk to

they know jj is there to listen and she always seems to understand (she doesn’t judge them either)

Emily

teaches three languages, both for majors and non majors

spanish, french and russian

(she’s also quite fluent in arabic and italian and can hold her own if she’s speaking in german or mandarin, but the students don’t need to know that)

she’s actually very intimidating lmao

students are so scared of her 😭

she’s serious af

(she smiles in class sometimes though!!)

(besides, she’s only serious inside the classroom)

(outside the classroom, she might even be as approachable as penelope)

always dressed in expensive black suits, polished heeled shoes with very dark makeup and a “don’t fuck with me” steely attitude to match

she also wears expensive watches

she always stands at the front of the class and slowly paces the entire hour

one time someone decided to fuck off in her spanish 101 class

she didn’t even yell at him, she glared

rumor has it the kid was never spotted on campus again after that

(BOY SHE SCARED HIM SO BAD HE DROPPED TF OUT)

despite that, her classes are some of the easiest to take

one because emily has a way of teaching that helps all students understand

and two because her voice is naturally very easy to listen to

students taking her french 101 are going to leave the class speaking fluent conversational french

she also doesn’t tolerate people being racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, etc in her class

if she catches a bigoted comment someone makes in her class, she kicks them immediately

she brings in her cat sometimes

he’s all black and his name is sergio

(he’s her esa that she brings in when she’s feeling really stressed out)

he’s clipped on a harness and sits on her shoulder or on her desk

if he meows, she accepts it as an answer

it’s the only time the students ever see professor emily prentiss as soft

well

other than the days she has the class watch foreign films because the students can tell emily has a fondness for them

her office is pretty organized like jj’s

instead of it being light and inviting, emily decorated her office on a more dark side

she has a few animal skulls, crystals and other gothic memorabilia on her desk or bookshelf

she has a small cat bed on the corner of her desk that sergio sleeps in

on the other corner is a sculpture penelope made her

(it kinda looks like a crow and emily named it kurt)

really, the only colors in her office are dark, deep purples and the small lesbian pride flag sticker on the back of her laptop

Derek

teaches history classes

but like modern history

from like 1940s to present

he refuses to follow most western history books bc they’re not accurate like at all

in his first year of teaching, the dean of his department made him use a book and he hated every second of it

how accurate could the information be if they portray king tut as a white guy???

he graduated under one of the best historians in the country

he also traveled a lot after he graduated and met a lot of people that had first hand experience with major historical events

that’s really what he bases his teachings off of—first hand experiences and encounters

every two weeks or so, he’ll invite in guest speakers to his classes to talk about what they went through (depending on his lesson plans)

that’s how he likes to teach and learn (bc he always loves to learn new things!!)

this is random, but also he is the type of professor to randomly box jump up onto a desk

he also sits in chairs backwards and has a more laid back style to teaching

his exams are based on what the students can learn from history rather than the information itself

he’s always dressed super casual!!

solid color, short sleeve button ups are a favorite!! (no tie)

he gets along with all the students

he’ll talk to the athletes about their games but sound just as enthusiastic and genuine talking with students who are majors in fine arts about their projects

he’s just a v down to earth professor tbh!!

he brings in clooney so much

like... every friday

it’s just another bonus of taking his history classes!!

he and penelope are dating

his office is full of sculptures she makes for him 🥺

he drops by her graphic design studio class with clooney to help out or even to just watch

he’s supportive and encouraging of penelope and her art!!

other than the sculptures penelope makes him, his office is a bit more disorganized than jj’s or emily’s, but cleaner than spencer’s

he has a few papers scattered on his desk but mostly he’s a little more put together

his office door has a small basketball hoop attached that he plays around with if he’s bored (and if penelope is busy)

both he and penelope have a dog bed in their office and water bowls for clooney when he comes in

Hotch

law professor

is the most intimidating professor on campus

like

seriously

if students think professor prentiss is intimidating, they haven’t met professor hotchner

he stands in the front of the room and goes over his lecture without pausing or asking questions

his voice is naturally low and intimidating and he actually never smiles

his attire and appearance is always so professional

suits

ties that are tied so tight, they look like they’re choking him

shoes so polished, he can see his reflection in them

hair always styled neatly

pants and jacket are always wrinkle free

his classes are difficult

not just because of the subject matter, but because he has a very organized, straight forward method to his teaching

students wouldn’t dare act up in his class—they’d be absolute idiots to

he’s quiet and reserved outside the classroom

if the others hear anyone talking shit about hotch behind his back, they’re always quick to come to his defense

they actually know hotch

they know he puts on a hardass exterior, but really he’s just a softie

he always lets them hang in his office with him

he listens to spencer’s ramblings and is extremely patient with him

he has lunch with emily every other day

even if she’s a pain in his ass 99% of the time, he likes that she sticks around and that he can trust her

he shows up to all of penelope’s art shows

and sometimes sits in on derek’s lectures when he has guest speakers

jj brings him pastries from the coffee shop on campus sometimes

he knows that he can come to her if he ever has anything he needs to talk about

(he never opens up to her but he really appreciates the sentiment nonetheless)

penelope has definitely made hotch a few sculptures

(he keeps them at home, but he does have one of her paintings hanging in his office)

speaking of his office it’s hands down the most organized out of all of them

his desk is so clean besides the picture of his son he proudly displays at the corner

he always has his lights off and his door shut

he seems so unapproachable, especially in class

but sometimes his lecture notes have crayon scribbles all over the page

or a small sock will fall out of his briefcase

and maybe, even for a moment, his serious demeanor falls when he spots them

and it almost reassures the students that he is human

Rossi

actually he’s the only one besides maybe reid i can see being a criminology professor

is a retired fbi agent

and successful author

so like that hasn’t changed from canon

but because he doesn’t work for the fbi anymore, he has absolutely no chill and tells all secrets

he’ll be like

talking to his class about a case he worked on in ‘83

and be halfway talking about details of cases that were supposed to be confidential

he’ll pause and go “oops” but keep talking lmaooo

penelope actually never made him a sculpture

instead she made him a coffee mug she made on the wheel and glazed herself!! (she even made her own glaze bc she’s extra like that)

carved on the side is “world’s best italian dad”

(this is because when emily introduced rossi to the group she was like “yeah he’s kinda like my dad” and now everyone calls him “dad”)

(he loves it so much though and proudly accepts his title)

he loves his mug so much and uses it every single day!!!

he’s the only professor besides penelope that let his students refer to him without the title of “professor”

he gives off kind old grandpa vibes

and that he’s only teaching because he really doesn’t have anything better to do during his retirement

but he’s chill and his class is interesting to take

(plus he really does love to teach)

he’ll ramble on and on about his “golden years” as an agent

he will especially talk a student’s ear off if they come up to him and tell him that they read one [or all] of his books

he writes a different quote on his board every single day

his attire is always business casual

he sits on the edge of the desk or on a swivel chair because it’s comfy

he was doing a lecture on jack the ripper and just pushed himself around on the swivel chair, slowly spinning around the front of the room

his voice kept changing in volume every few words because of him facing the wall and then a few moments later facing the classroom

his students refer to him as a “living breathing meme”

he has no idea what the fuck that means

but he take it as a compliment

his office is empty because he goes home after he’s done with classes lmao

he doesn’t do paperwork

or fuck with technology (he never fucking responds to emails smh)

so he has no need for an office

[mimisempai]

In wine, there is truth

Summary:

Loki challenges Thor that Mobius is worthy of holding Mjolnir... Result of the challenge: A drunk Mobius and a shovel talk from Thor... Don’t you say, in wine there is truth...?

Notes:

Someone asked me on Tumblr how I thought Mobius could be if he was drunk + me messing with photoshop to put Mjolnir in Mobius' hands = this crazy little story :p

https://archiveofourown.org/works/33165526

1575 words - Rating G

"Mobius! Mobius! Mobius!"

What am I doing here? Damn Loki!

Thor's friends chanted his name, Loki looked at him with a malicious smile and Thor with a worried look.

And he, Mobius, had his hand on the handle of Mjolnir just because Loki could not help challenging his brother.

"Whoever is worthy of the hammer shall have the power!"

Thor said this in the grandiloquent tone that was his at times, twirling his hammer at the end of his hand as if it were a simple carpentry tool.

Loki stepped forward and said to him with a defiant smile, "I know someone who is worthy." He pulled Mobius in front of him.

Mobius immediately replied, "No, no, not at all."

Loki had taken on a serious look and said softly, "But I'm sure you do."

Under the cheers, Mobius inwardly pestering, closed his eyes, grabbed the handle and pulled, about to put all his strength into it, knowing that he would never be able to lift it.

Suddenly the cheering had died down and instead he heard only gasps.

He opened an eye to see that he had lifted Mjolnir four inches above the ground.

He lifted his arm again, and soon he had the hammer in the air and the gasps turned into shouts of joy and laughter.

He saw Thor smile, but saw his smile widen when he put the hammer down.

Loki simply said as he clenched his fist, "I knew it, I knew it."

Thor stood up and walked towards him. Mobius could not help but gulp as his presence was so imposing. Loki sensed his distress and moved closer to him with a protective attitude.

But Thor's face widened with a big smile, "Mobius! My friend! My brother! Let's celebrate with some good wine! Let's all celebrate! My future brother-in-law is worthy of the hammer!"

He put one arm around Mobius and the other around Loki and led them to the banquet hall.

**********

Much later Loki supported a very drunk Mobius to enter their suite in Asgard. It was the first time he had seen his lover drunk and the experience was entertaining to say the least.

Mobius was trying to lift Loki's tunic, his movements unsteady due to the alcohol.

"Why are you wearing so much clothing?" Mobius whined.

Loki had to restrain himself from laughing, "You want to take them off me?"

Mobius slowly nodded, "But I can't do it then, I'll just lift them up and take you there."

"You're barely able to stand, love," Loki replied, trying to drag a staggering Mobius toward the living room, " First of all I'm going to give you something to keep you from feeling sick after all the mead you've ingested."

"I don't feel sick," Mobius complained, letting Loki push him back to the couch.

"Right now, you're not. But wait, in a few hours you're going to hate everything."

"Not you," said Mobius, pouting, "I could never hate you.  I love you."

Loki smiled fondly as he gently ran his fingers through Mobius' hair, "So do I, but I'm still going to get you some water."

Loki went to get a glass of water, returned quickly, and got Mobius to drink, who was sitting on the couch, or rather slumped over.

He sat down next to him and asked, "Did you at least have fun?"

"Yeah, Thor's great, and so are his friends Sif, Fandral, Hogun, and Vals- uh V-Volstagg." said Mobius, stuttering from the alcohol "They're all really really really cooool."

"I wonder if I should be mad at my brother for getting you drunk like that or be jealous of the fact that you love Thor and his friends."

Mobius put his arms around his neck and sat astride Loki and began to kiss him all over, "Noooo, don't be jealous sweetheart, you know I only love you, only you."

"Okay, okay," Loki chuckled. He definitely loved Mobius under the influence of alcohol.

Mobius continued, and while nibbling on Loki's ear, he whispered to him, "They are cool, but you are super cool, you are my super cool boyfriend.

"Really?" replied Loki, amused.

"Mmhmm. But Thor is cool too, and do you know why?"

"Clearly not. Enlighten me love?" Loki couldn't help the little twinge of jealousy. They had reconciled and Loki, thanks to Mobius and his constant support had managed to get past the old grudges, but every now and then it came back to bite him.

Mobius, who seemed to have perceived his change in mood despite his inebriation, kissed him on the forehead and whispered, "Don't sulk... he's cool because he said I was his brother-in-law."

"Oh... Oh." realized Loki, who then gulped as he wondered what Mobius would remember the next day.

"So I was wondering..." continued Mobius, "...when my future husband was going to take me to bed."

Loki choked, and as he lifted Mobius up and took him to their room, he wondered if he would like Mobius to remember or forget.

Then he whispered into Mobius' ear, "I'm taking you to bed to sleep, like I told you, you're too drunk to do anything, and I'd rather you remember that tomorrow if we do anything."

They arrived in the room and Loki put Mobius gently on the bed.

Once on the bed, Mobius immediately began to undress, throwing his clothes everywhere and Loki watched him with amusement.

Once almost naked, wearing only his briefs, Mobius held out his hands to Loki with an adorable pout, "Come join me sweetheart."

"Yeah I'm coming but we're not going to do anything.", Loki said, stripping off his clothes as Mobius did before, sliding in next to him and covering them up.

"Don't you want me?" Mobius whimpered with puppy dog eyes that Loki had never seen before and that made him want to send his virtue flying, but he held his ground and reassured his lover anyway.

"Of course I want it. I still want you love, but not while you're drunk. Tomorrow, when you're sober, I promise I'll show you how much I want you."

Mobius pouted and then smiled, snuggling up to Loki, his head resting on Loki's chest, "I still want you too..." then after a time of silence he whispered, clearly falling asleep, "my future husband."

Loki whose heart leapt in his chest, placed a kiss on Mobius hair, an loving smile on his face and said with a tight throat, "If you ask me, I will say yes."

**********

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The loud knocks on the door echoed throughout their apartment, even rattling the glass on the nightstand.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Loki growled, pulling away from Mobius.

Mobius whimpered, clinging to him. Loki kissed him on the forehead and whispered, "Go back to sleep. I'll see what it is and be right back."

Loki just pulled on a shirt over his boxers, not bothering to button it, he suspected who the person knocking on the door was and had no desire to make any effort.

He opened the door and as his doubt was confirmed, he sighed, "Thor.

Thor opened his mouth but Loki stopped him with one hand, "Mobius is still sleeping. So you're going to calm down and speak softly, okay?"

Thor nodded and said, "Little brother, we need to have a serious talk.

"Oh?"

Loki beckoned him in and they sat down face to face in the living room.

Loki waited for Thor to start talking.

He cleared his throat, "Loki. Mobius is a good person. Even Mjolnir has acknowledged him. So I'm here to tell you that if you ever hurt him in any way, physically or emotionally, so help me gods, I will bring down lightning on you. And before you get offended, I gave him the same speech about you last night. I told him that if he ever hurt my little brother, there was no timeline where he could hide, I would find him. Don't ruin what's between you. It's precious, even me, your idiot big brother can see how much you adore each other."

Loki, embarrassed, asked him a little abruptly, "Are you finished?" then, softening, he added, "Thank you. You may not believe it, but I really have changed, or rather, thanks to Mobius, I am finally who I want to be. So I promise you that I will do anything to preserve that."

"I'm sure you will." said Thor as he stood up and pulled Loki into one of his skeleton-crushing, breath-stopping brotherly embraces.

Then Thor whispered to him in a tone that was meant to be threatening, "Lightning...my lightning...on you" before turning away and leaving, closing the door behind him.

Loki walked back into the room, grinning.

"Who was that?" asked Mobius, sitting against the headboard and watching Loki join him.

"Thor. He came to give me a, what would you call, a shovel talk?"

"Huh?...I remember him giving me one last night, but is it an Asgardian tradition to give one to your brother?"

Loki chuckled and put his arm around Mobius' chest, "No, but my brother knows my propensity for messing up my relationships so..."

Mobius reached over and took his chin, "Not anymore sweetheart, not anymore." then pressed a tender kiss to Loki's mouth.

He then followed the line of Loki's jaw, then his cheek, to his ear where he whispered, "I remember everything I said last night... my future husband."

________

Series of Oneshot : Together, for all time, always

As always, bear with me as it is not beta'd and english is not my native language I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless🥰

[krreader]

BTS reacting to another member accidentally exposing your relationship.

pairing: bts x (idol)!reader fandom: bts warnings: language genre: crack ; hints of angst word count: 1k+

a/n: heeey bb, I hope you like it ♥ - also it’s hinted that the reader is an idol, since she’s ‘known’ to the public, but I didn’t outright say it, so that’s why I put () there :)

kim seokjin

Namjoon was clumsy, but normally very careful with what he said when out in the public. He had to be, as their leader.

But during an interview, he just started rambling on about how lonely it could get for Bangtan sometimes and then all of a sudden he said: “Not all of us are as lucky as Jin hyung, not all of us have a (Y/N).”

And boy, hands shot up in the air, one after another, every single person in the room yelling out their question and all Jin could do was sit there with wide eyes and see his life flash before his eyes.

It got to the point where the managers had to end the interview before any other questions could get answered because it was a whole ass mess.

A mess that Jin now had to clean up.. and unfortunately, you too.

min yoongi

“If you could switch bodies with one member, who would it be?” Namjoon first read the question in English, then he translated it into Korean and without thinking – which was crucial when doing interviews – Taehyung replied: “Yoongi hyung, because of ..-” and he only said the beginning of your name, he didn't fully say it, because everyone immediately started yelling.

They tried to play it off, tried to say it was something embarrassing, but that part still made it into the interview.

And ARMY was literally the FBI. They narrowed down the list of potential people it could be in a hot minute and with the proof that they had before that interview, it was easy to figure out that Taehyung wanted to say your name.

So not only did fans figure out that you and him were dating, but also that Taehyung apparently also had a crush on you.

Now imagine one member loving you and imagine how jealous that would make people. Now double that for another member.

It wasn't fun for you.

jung hoseok

Jin didn't even say it too loud, in fact, nobody could even really hear it.

“I swear to god, you'd starve without (Y/N).”

But it must have looked weird, how some members laughed without people knowing why they did.

And a few people were – unfortunately for Bangtan – very good at lip reading.

And so the next day when Hoseok and you woke up and looked at your phones, you had dozens of missed calls and messages of: “YOU TWO ARE DATING?????”

Just another example of how careful Bangtan had to be.. because their fans were little detectives.

kim namjoon

“You have got to be kidding me,” Namjoon stared at Jeongguk with wide eyes.

“Hyung, seriously, I am so so so sorry. It just slipped, I don't know how or why, but one moment we were talking about the weather and the next I said her name and then..-” Jeongguk took a deep breath, “But maybe it's okay, right? Maybe they'll just brush it off and think that you're just friends.”

Dispatch didn't think so.

Dispatch made a whole ass article about it within the next five hours and then shit was going down. 

All just because Jeongguk had accidentally exposed yours and Namjoon's relationship.

He couldn't even be angry at him, but he was just so overwhelmed with the entire situation.. especially because he didn't like the reaction some fans had.

park jimin

“Don't you miss your loved ones?” Taehyung read from the comments, then smiled sadly and looked at Jimin, “We all do.”

“Yeah.. family, friends..-”

“(Y/N),” and it was merely said to tease Jimin, but fucking hell, was he serious? He just dropped your name in front of a million people and from the way Jimin looked at him he quickly realized what he just did, “I mean.. you know, her and her band members are really good friends of ours.”

But the damage was already done.

And it only took you thirty minutes to text him: “So.. I heard you missed me.. from millions of people spamming my twitter.”

Yeah.. so that happened.

kim taehyung

Bangtan Bombs were edited perfectly all the fucking time. They always made sure to blur out anything they had to, anything that would cause a ‘scandal’ for the boys.

But this time, they didn't.

And this time, it actually would have mattered.

They were sitting around, some eating, others on their phone, when suddenly you could see Yoongi laugh in the background and show Taehyung a picture of his phone and that picture was you and him sleeping.

Maybe the team who edited it didn't notice it or maybe they thought nobody would be able to tell what it was, but ARMY found out in a matter of minutes. They were the handful of people who were good with photoshop and they immediately figured out who that woman was.

And oh boy, that team got an earful from the higher ups later on.

jeon jeongguk

Jimin was doing a VLIVE at the moment and Bangtan had this rule of, when doing a VLIVE, one always had to be careful around their surroundings.

But Jimin was tired and he was doing his VLIVE at home and not at the studio like he usually did. He just wanted to grab a bottle of water, but instead of leaving the phone in his room, he took ARMY's with him to the kitchen. And it's not like they could see anything.. but hearing..

Jimin was drinking when suddenly you could hear someone laugh. A female.

And to make matters worse, you could hear Jeongguk scream: “This isn't fair, you're cheating, (Y/N)!”

And that was the moment that Jimin knew he fucked up and instantly ended the VLIVE without another word and the next day, everyone knew that you and him were a thing.

You first tried to play it off as you two just being friends who occasionally just spent time with each other and played games, but people weren't stupid and they weren't fooled either.

From now on, though, Bang PD made stricter rules when it came down to where to do VLIVES and where not to do them.