#confessions of a shopaholic x reader

[bi-bard]

Nothing Has Ever Felt So Wrong - Luke Brandon Imagine (Confessions of a Shopaholic)

Title: Nothing Has Ever Felt So Wrong

Pairing: Luke Brandon X Reader

Based On: Hits Different [not linked to because I couldn't find an official audio/video]

Word Count: 1,170 words

Warning(s): mention of a break-up

Summary: When a couple breaks up, the aftermath is rarely easy. When the pair still work at the same company, it gets far messier.

Author's Note: Holy shit, he's pretty.

MIDNIGHTS - TAYLOR SWIFT WRITING CHALLENGE MASTERLIST

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

Rebecca always tried to be a good friend.

She always had the best intentions at heart. However, sometimes her golden-retriever personality would cause her to be slightly excitable and impulsive when it came time to execute said intentions.

That's how I was dragged into Rebecca's apartment and introduced to her roommate.

It was just her trying to be nice. Helpful.

I'm pretty sure she was trying to apologize for still working with my ex... Luke, but she wouldn't admit it. I tried to reassure her that I was fine. I was just readjusting. I would be back to normal soon enough.

It was like there was some empty spot on a canvas. The entire painting was done. There were details and the artist's signature was in the corner, but there was just a blank mark right in the middle. I was trying to fill in the blank spot again.

And I wasn't angry.

It hurt. Of course, it hurt.

Luke had been one of the best things in my life. He made me feel special no matter how I felt that day. He just... great. Seeing our relationship crumble broke him just as much as it broke me. Well, that's what Rebecca had told me anyways. We worked in the same building, but our paths rarely crossed.

But no matter how hurt I was, I couldn't find it in myself to be angry or hate Luke for what happened.

Still, Rebecca dragged me through the door by my wrist, saying that I needed a proper night with friends.

So, there we were, sitting on her couch with drinks, some shitty movie playing in the background, while she and Suze tried to make me feel better in their own special way.

It started off simple.

Who needs love anyway? I didn't think anyone needed it, but it was nice to have.

I didn't need anyone else to be brilliant. I knew that already but having someone tell me that even when my brain wouldn't believe it was comforting.

Listing my accomplishments so that I felt special. Again, I knew what I had accomplished, and I knew that I had done it on my own. Again, it was nice to have someone else notice them.

Then, the conversation shifted. It became a game of poking at Luke's flaws.

He was a workaholic. Yeah... so was I.

He was always tense and worried about something. That was in his job description. It showed that he cared.

I tried to keep my mouth shut and let the pair ramble on for as long as they wanted.

But I just couldn't.

"Okay," I said a little louder than I usually would. "I see what you guys are doing, I do. But stop. It's not helping."

They both paused, eyebrows furrowed and mouths half-open.

"I... I can't get through this by badmouthing someone that I'm not even angry at," I explained. "I... I don't think a break-up has hit me as hard as this one has. Luke... He's different. I can't sit here and act like I still wouldn't pick him in a room full of people."

There was no response.

"I... I need to go home."

"(Y/n), wait-"

Rebecca followed me to the door.

"Please, just wait a minute-"

"I know what you were trying to do," I stopped her. "And I appreciate. I do. I'm just... I'm not there. I'm sorry, I'm just not."

"I'm sorry," she mumbled.

I hugged her. "I'm not upset with you."

I went home after that.

I spent the night curled up on my couch in silence. I tried sorting through my thoughts. Nothing felt like it was quite making sense. I just wanted things to go back to normal. Normal with Luke. Whatever this was... this feeling... I hated it. I didn't want to deal with it anymore.

I was rushing to work the next morning.

Staying up late to deal with whatever I was feeling made me forget to set my alarm, so I slept in longer than intended. I was speed-walking through the entryway. I didn't bother paying attention to anyone around me.

Until I got into the elevator.

I noticed there was one other person there. They had held the door open when they saw me jogging over.

I looked up to say thank you but froze for a moment.

Luke.

In a building with so many employees, I managed to get stuck, alone, in an elevator with Luke. I muttered out a quick thanks before the tension hit me like a truck.

It only got tenser as the elevator doors slid shut.

I heard him sigh, "Can we not stand here in complete silence?"

I looked at him, a bit shocked. "I... I just didn't think you'd want to talk to me."

"It's better than... whatever this is," he explained. "You're the only person that I feel like I can have a genuine conversation with. Of course, I want to talk to you."

"Oh," I mumbled. Yup, I'm great with genuine and engaging conversation. Didn't that prove it to you?

"How's your work been," he asked.

"I've gotten better at handling it," I shrugged. "Still a lot. I still fall into phases of intense focus. But better."

"Good," he nodded.

"How about you? Rebecca mentioned something about you seeming more tense than usual."

He shot me a look that said, 'And why do you think that is?'

I looked at the floor. I hated thinking that I somehow was impacting his work. He valued his work.

The elevator doors opened before I could come up with some response. I almost jumped at the sudden ding of the elevator that tore through the moment like it had never happened.

"I'll see you around," Luke said.

I nodded.

And then, like nothing had ever gone wrong between us, he leaned over and pecked my lips. I froze, blinking at him a few times as he went to walk away.

I would've excused it as some weird instinctual reaction, but when I caught the little smirk on his face as he moved away, I knew that it was a calculated decision.

It took me a moment to come back to my senses. By that point, he had already stepped out of the elevator and started walking away.

I managed to get out before the doors closed. "Hey!"

He stopped, spinning on his heels to face me. Still with stupid smirk.

I stormed over. It wasn't far, maybe a few steps. "If you're going to surprise someone with a kiss, then at least make it a decent kiss."

He scoffed at me. I leaned in and pressed my lips to his, bringing my hands up to cup the sides of his face.

I leaned back a few seconds later. "See? A decent kiss."

I turned around and walked back to the elevator.

"I'll call you!" Luke said as I waited.

"You better," I replied before stepping into the open elevator.

I was right.

Luke Brandon was just different.

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

Author's Note: The end of this was the most rom-com thing I've ever written.

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

Navigation Guide

What I Write For

Some Original Characters

[pickledpascal]

Hugh Dancy Masterlist

Main Masterlist

Series:

Sweet Nothing

St. Patrick's Day

One-Shots:

IN PROGRESS

[exquisitepluviophile]

i will be uploading chapter 3 of miss america today along with a secret fic i've been working on!! also i just watched confessions of a shopaholic and i am obsessed with luke brandon <3 I was thinking of writing some stuff about him so lmk if you guys are interested!!!!

[isaacswhy]

mine

isaacwhy x gn!reader (sfw) summary: you're out shopping with your boyfriend, isaac, when you find some initial necklaces. just in time for your six-month anniversary, you buy two, one for him and one for you. requested?: no, inspired by @ficblogmoni's!

It was quite unexpected, but in this relationship you'd had going with Isaac, you'd become quite the shopaholic. It was mostly spurred on by the fact that Isaac loved to shower you in gifts and take you shopping for whatever you wanted. Either way, you'd been shopping more times in the last few months than you had in years.

You'd gotten together with Isaac around six months ago, being friends with him for some time beforehand. When you'd finally gotten the guts to ask him out, he was overjoyed. After a few dates, he'd confessed that he'd been totally head over heels and trying to plan how to ask you out. Seeing him so flustered about it was simply the most endearing thing in the world.

Once you were officially a couple, then came the onslaught of gifts. Every day, your drink order from the local coffee shop was waiting for you once you were awake. Your favorite meals were ordered on DoorDash the second you mentioned you were having a craving. You hardly had to raise a finger, and your needs were being met.

You didn't quite have his YouTube income, but you tried to return the favor. Little gifts and trinkets from his favorite shows and souvenirs from wherever you'd go. He'd always blush bright, grinning like an idiot and telling you it wasn't necessary. All of your gifts would end up somewhere in his room or office, and he'd amassed quite the collection.

Your six month anniversary was right around the corner, and you thought it was the perfect time to buy something. He loved the sentimentality of anniversaries and you needed to show him you did, too. So, you popped over to his room with a smile on your face and asked to go out for a little shopping trip.

"Yeah! Let's do it!" Isaac was laid out on his bed, but on top of his blankets and almost fully dressed.

As he rolled out of bed and began to slip his shoes on, you walked up to him and began to mess with his hair. "Your curls are growing out, you know."

"Do you think I need to get them cut?" He looked up at you, and the way he looked like a puppy nearly melted you into the carpet.

You laughed and shook your head. "No, no, I like them a little longer. But, if you want to cut it, that's fine."

He shrugged as he finished tying his shoes, standing up and sufficiently towering over you. "Eh, I like it a little longer. Looks cooler that way, anyways."

"I'm just sad your mega Christian conservative family never taught you how to take care of them," You snickered, "Learning from Nick of all people.."

"Oh, shut up," He lightly smacked your arm as the two of you began to walk to his door, "You ready to go?"

You nodded and flashed a thumbs-up, "Ready."

Walking through the house didn't take long, but you did have to dodge a flying slipper from Blake, who was on the couch watching anime. You flipped him off as Isaac lightly scolded him for it, but you made it to the front door in one piece.

The two of you hopped into Isaac's car. You got settled into the passenger seat as Isaac turned on the car, pulling out of the driveway. You turned on your music, at Isaac's request, as you made the commute to the shopping mall area.

Pulling into the parking lot, you and Isaac got out of the car and you walked with your hand in his towards the first store. His eyes flitted around, and you gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "You're faceless, Isaac. They don't know."

"I know, it's just a little weird sometimes," He laments, "Even if there's almost no chance anybody could recognize me, I still get.. anxious about it. Doesn't help I'm so tall."

"They won't," You looked at him with a smile, "Plus, there's a lot of tall dudes. None as hot as you, though."

Isaac shook his head and snickered, but seemed a little more relaxed as you walked in the store together. It was more of a beauty store, and you broke away from Isaac to look at the necklaces. Isaac headed towards the watches.

As you sifted through the necklaces, your eye caught onto one section. It was a bunch of beautiful silver necklaces with initials on them. Your eyes darted back over to Isaac to make sure he wasn't looking as you slipped two into your hand. You found a store employee who was happy enough to box them up in small gift boxes.

You walked back over after making sure there wasn't anything else you wanted, seeing Isaac with a watch in his hand. It was beautiful, slightly minimalist but also with enough flare that you know Isaac would like. He looked to you with a smile. "You think it would look good?"

"I think it's great," You looked a little closer, a little in awe of its quality, "Thing looks expensive. But, you'd look good in it."

"I think so, too," Isaac nodded as he called over a worker and had them box one up for him. His eyes looked to the boxes in your hands with an intrigued look on his face. "What do you have there?"

"Nothing you get to know about yet," You said with a small grin.

He shook his head as he brought the boxes over to the register, paying for them and handing your boxes back to you. "Fine. Keep secrets from me, then. What's next? Do you watch Chainsaw Man with Tanner or something?"

"Worse," You laughed, "It's a watch party. Tanner, Nick, Blake, Larry, we even have Grunk on discord with us. We're literally only leaving you out."

"How dare you.." He scoffed, but his feigned anger turned into a big smile when he saw a store, "Wait, can we go get some shoes?"

"You have an addiction, Isaac."

You were quite lucky, by the time you had left the shoe store Isaac only had three new pairs. One of which he had picked out for you, and bought it before you had a chance to tell him no. That was one of the downsides of him knowing your measurements for everything: he bought shit for you even if you wanted to tell him no. Of course, if you genuinely hated something, he wouldn't.

Only a few stores later, the two of you called it a day on the shopping. You had a few new outfit components, one pair of shoes from Isaac, and the necklaces. They'd make for a great anniversary present.

You did your best to act as normally as you could as you got everything out of the car and into the house. It was a lot easier when Tanner came over and pestered the two of you, asking if you had gotten anything for him. He was dismayed when you had to let him down.

The rest of the night went smoothly, chilling in Isaac's room watching anime, cuddled up under the covers. He eventually had to work on a video, but told you that he had his schedule completely cleared for the next day. He never would miss an anniversary.

Unfortunately, you couldn't find the willpower to stay up until he came back to bed. Although you fell asleep alone, you woke up to being held by Isaac when the morning sun was fully up. Isaac smiled at you as you turned to him, resting you head on his chest.

"Happy anniversary, baby," You heard him say in his morning voice.

You looked up at him, doing your damnedest to keep your eyes open. "Happy anniversary, Isaac."

He sat up just slightly so he could look down and see your face, and you saw his tired smile. "Do you want to grab breakfast? I could pick up your drink order and get us some food."

"Usually I'd stay home, but," You stretched out your arms and sat up fully, "I've got something for us to wear out."

He raised a brow, a small smirk on his lips. "Oh yeah? What's that?"

"Not yet," You pulled yourself from his bed and shook your head, "Get dressed."

He nodded, following you out of bed and over to his dresser. "Any specific dress code for picking up some breakfast?"

"For our six-month anniversary? If I get to pick, put on one of your slutty tank tops."

"They're not slutty!"

"Sure."

He shook his head, finding a black tank top and pulling it on. He slipped into a pair of light-gray, if not off-white, sweatpants. You got dressed for the casual occasion, making some looks over at your boyfriend and admiring the way his arms looked in the tank top. They were drool worthy.

Once the two of you were ready to leave, Isaac looked to you expectantly. "Well then, I'm all dressed. What are you adding to the outfit?"

You grinned. "Well.." You reached into the bedside table and pulled out the two boxes you had picked up the day before. They held the necklaces you bought, but you quickly peeked in them to figure out which one was yours before holding your hand out with his necklace box in it. "Find out."

He picked the box out of your hand, which looked even tinier in his giant palm. He slowly opened the box and his expression was generally unreadable for a few seconds before a big smile spread across his face. "Is this.."

"My initial," You finished his sentence as you put on the "I" necklace, "And I got one with yours."

He took a few more seconds in shocked silence before he slowly put it on, fidgeting with the letter a bit. "Was this what you bought us yesterday?"

"Yeah," You flushed a little, "I wanted to be able to tell the world you're mine, and I'm yours. A little anniversary gift."

Isaac approached you slowly, the smile never leaving his face. "You're mine, and I'm yours," He repeated, "I like that."

"I know you do," You wrapped your arms around his waist, pulling him in close, "That's why I love you."

He grinned as he leaned down to you, pressing a kiss to your lips softly. "I love you too. Happy anniversary, baby."

You buried your face in his chest, taking in his scent. "Can we get out of here? I'm hungry as hell."

He snickered as he took your hand, leading you out of the room just as he did the day before. Your fingers laced together, feeling warm and content in his presence. "Of course. Anything for you."

[kiirokero]

Emacity (PJM)

Emacity: The desire or fondness of buying

Part of the “Protect the Village!” Oneshot Series!

Masterlist

Pairing: DeliveryBoy!Jimin x Reader

Genre: Fluff, Romance, mutual pining (kinda) 

Note: April will be my hibernation month lol

Summary: Whoever invented online shopping? A genius. Whoever hired Park Jimin to be the town’s delivery boy? An even bigger genius.

Word Count: 2.2k

      You wouldn’t call yourself a shopaholic. It’s not like you had an addiction to the point of needing an intervention. You knew what was a dumb purchase and what was a personal purchase. You actively searched high and low for coupons and discounts. You never bought something that you knew would end up in the garbage after one use. You were a responsible shopper. But shopping was like a hobby. 

      You were lucky enough to have the money to spoil yourself. You worked a well-paying job as a translator for businesses that are trying to branch out to new countries while also offering online language classes to international students. Switching between Korean, English, Spanish, AND French usually gave you a headache. And trying to translate a word that didn’t really exist in other languages was exhausting, but it paid well. 

And it gave you opportunities to see Jimin. 

      Park Jimin, Bangtan Village’s delivery boy. Worked at the post office seemingly 24/7 and is always voted employee of the month. Has a smile that’s permanently painted on his face and is as kind as a saint. What’s not to love about him? Besides that fact that his eyes sparkle with the same elegance as polished amber. Or the fact that his skin is perfectly smooth. Or that he emits an aura of confidence and stability. 

      Not that you know, but you can feel it. You and Jimin exchanged few words on the occasions when you get to see him. Simple, “Hey! How are you?” ’s and “Long time no see!” ‘s. But each word that reaches your ears are pieces of gold to you. You and Jimin didn’t really know each other, but you’d like to say that if you waved to him out in town, he’d wave back. 

      Your friend, Namjoon, liked to call you a lovesick idiot. Whenever you gushed to him about how Jimin smiled at you, he’d shake his head and say, “You’re a hopeless romantic and it’s tiring to me,” And today was like no other. 

      “I’m telling you, Namjoon! He has the cutest smile,” You sighed, watching your best friend work on his current project, Yoongi’s car. “I know, you’ve told me several times before,” He groaned, lifting his head from the machinery under the hood and looking at you with an unimpressed look. Absentmindedly wiping off his oily hands on his black stained hand towel. 

     “Why don’t you just talk to the dude? You know several languages yet you can’t communicate to a boy who speaks your native language?” He pointed out, leaning his hip up against the black car. “I may be able to chew you out in French, but I don’t speak ‘extrovert’” You argued back, a sly smirk on your face. 

    Namjoon rolled his eyes with a small smile, “You’re impossible,” He chuckled, “But you really should talk to him. You never know~ He may think you’re cute too~” He teased, dodging the spare hand towel you threw at him. “Stop teasing!” You whined, “You know I can’t, I’ll make a fool of myself and end up confessing to him in Spanish or something,” You groaned, slumping in your seat. 

     Namjoon tilted his head in confusion, “How do you accidentally switch to a whole other language,” He asked. “Trust me... It’s happened before...” You cringed, shivering at the less-than flattering memory. “Well... Maybe you should express it non-verbally?” He suggested, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly as he went back to tampering with Yoongi’s car. 

      “I appreciate your advice, Joon, but I don’t think I can even work up the courage to confess, verbally or not.” You sighed, giving Namjoon a somber look to which he responded with a comforting smile. Namjoon went back to work and you checked the time on your phone. 2:22pm. 

    “Shoot, I gotta go,” You said, standing up and grabbing your bag. “Why? I thought you didn’t teach on Wednesdays?” Namjoon asked, still working on the car. “I don’t but, I’m expecting a package,” You smiled to yourself. “You memorized when Jimin comes to deliver your packages? That’s kinda creepy Y/n,” Namjoon insinuated, squinting his eyes at you.

     You gasped, “Is not! I’ve just noticed that he always comes around 3pm... and I want to be there when my new keyboard comes.” You crossed your arms in defence. “Mhmm, go on then,” Namjoon chuckled, and you stomped your way out of his workshop back to your house. 

     You wait anxiously for a knock on your door. You sit on the couch, fiddling with the blanket that was draped over your lap. If you were being honest with yourself, you were more excited about seeing Jimin than getting your new peach-pink keyboard to complete your soft pastel desk setup. 

      You knew Namjoon was right about you being a lovesick idiot; you were in deep, and you haven’t even hung out with the man! You scoffed to yourself, shaking your head at the way his smile made your heart rate pick up and palms clammy. Maybe you could take Namjoon’s advice and invite him on a date. Not necessarily come completely clean and admit you were head over heels, but ease your way in instead.

Only problem is, you didn’t quite know how to do that...

      The long awaited knock finally sounded through your tiny house, and you stood up quicker than you should as blood rushed to your head, making you feel dizzy. Shaking it off, you go over to your door, opening it to reveal the very man you’ve been wanting to see all day. “Hey! What’s up Y/n?” Jimin greeted you with a smile, a small brown package under his arm. 

     “Hi Jimin, I’m doing good... What about you?” You asked, leaning up against the doorway. “I’m good, it’s a nice day out today,” He sighed, handing the package out for you, “Here you go! Your weekly package,” He joked, making you give him a lovesick smile that made you look like the woozy emoji. “T-Thanks,” You chuckled nervously. 

      “No problem,” Jimin said. “Hey um Jimin...” You called before he could walk away. “Yes?” Jimin inquired, raising an eyebrow. Shoot, what do you say? You didn’t think this through you.. You can’t just invite him out like a normal human, what if he says no? “I um- What’s your... favorite food...?” You asked, cringing at how pathetically shy you sounded. Jimin’s eyebrows knit together in confusion and he chuckled. “I like strawberry Pocky’s a lot,” He stressed, licking his lips at the thought. 

     You nodded, writing that down in your head for later. Maybe you could do something with this. “Cool, cool. Well, um, have a nice day!” You said, walking back into your house, package in hand, leaving Jimin confused and amused. “What a girl...” He whispers to himself, smile, like always, never leaving his face. 

     You continue to buy little things online just as an excuse to talk to Jimin. Who needs a mini cactus? You, apparently. And that chick plush you saw on Instagram? Boom, it now lives on your bed. Whenever he comes around, you take the opportunity to ask him questions like what his favorite color was or if he was allergic to anything. 

    You were planning something for him, and he was catching on. Sure, your questions were usually unprompted, but he’d humor you any day of the week. He may not know exactly what you were planning, but all he hoped was that it would change his life forever. And it would. 

     You were almost done with Jimin’s mini basket of favorites. A blue basket that held his favorite snack foods, stickers from his favorite shows, and some of those chunky rings he likes. Sure, maybe it was a bit excessive. Maybe this was teetering the line of weird and sweet, and you knew that bribing your way into a relationship was definitely not the way to go. But you just wanted to be nice. 

     Maybe buying things for others was your love language, or maybe Jimin was just worth spoiling. It was probably both. Whatever the real answer was, it didn’t matter to you. You just wanted Jimin to be happy. 

     Even if meticulously fiddling with the basket made you want to pull your hair out as the bow never looked quite right. Realistically you know it wouldn’t matter in the end and that Jimin would likely take the bow off after he received it, but you still adjusted it until it was perfect. 

     “Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want, Joon,” You sighed as you heard Namjoon hysterically laughing on the other side of the phone. “You’re going to bribe him into going on a date with you?” He asked, out of breath. “No! I just want to be nice,” You bit back, rolling your eyes even if Namjoon couldn’t see you. “Wow, the irony of Jimin delivering the gifts that your going to end up giving back,” Namjoon chuckled, finally calming down. 

     “Look, I’m just trying to follow your advice,” You whined, finally giving up on the navy blue bow and leaving it be. “True, I was thinking about a banner or something though. Like a cheesy promposal,” Namjoon said, and you could hear the undertones in his words. What he really wanted to say was, “How dramatic could you be? This is too much honey,” 

     Groaning, you flopped down on your couch, mumbling into the cushions. “I think I’m going to give it to him today, I have another mini cactus coming today,” You said, feeling a mix of excitement and nervousness swirl in your stomach at the thought of finally asking the man you’ve been pining over out on a date. “That’s great! He’ll definitely say yes,” Namjoon said excitedly, trying to keep your fragile spirits intact. Knowing that if anything goes wrong, you’ll chicken out immediately. 

     “Yeah, I can do this,” You smiled, looking at the clock on your oven. “It’s 2:30, I have to go prepare. I’ll call you after!” You said, exchanging your goodbyes with Namjoon and hanging up the phone to go clean yourself up a little bit. 

    You weren’t terribly worried about your appearance. Jimin had seen you in coffee stained sweats and hoodies. There wasn’t anything worse than that. So you opted for a simple t-shirt and legging combo, washing your face and touching up your hair a bit. “Now to wait,” You whispered to yourself as you sat on the couch with the basket in your lap. 

     While you waited on the couch for Jimin to arrive, you looked at the mini cactus that sat on your coffee table and chuckled. Usually you bought things that may seem random to an outside person. A mouse that looks like a cat's paw, a throw pillow that doubles as a blanket, random earrings. But never a mini cactus. 

     After you asked all the questions you could think of and bought everything that you thought Jimin would like, you didn’t have an excuse to keep seeing Jimin. So, like a normal person, you bought little knickknacks. Hence the mini cactus and it’s new friend that’s on the way today. 

Knock knock knock

“Well, your new buddy’s here lil’ cactus dude,” 

     Taking a deep breath, you stood up and walked over to the door, hiding the basket behind your back. “Hello, Y/n,” Jimin smiled as you opened the door for him. “Hey,” You smiled back, tightening your grip on the basket behind you. “Here you go, another odd stationary?” Jimin guessed as he held out the package for you and you took it with one hand, placing it down behind the door.

      “I guess you could say that,” You chuckled, nervously shifting on your feet. “Speaking of... I have something for you,” You mumbled, but loud enough for Jimin to hear. “Is it another impromptu question? You haven’t asked one in awhile,” He chuckled, his cute eyes upturning into crescents.

“Close your eyes to find out,” You said.

“Close my eyes? Is this the part where you murder me?” Jimin teased, causing you to playfully roll your eyes. 

“No... just close them,” You whined. 

      “Alright, I’ll close them,” Jimin relented, closing his eyes at your request. Taking another shaky deep breath, you took the basket out from behind your back and held it in front of you. “Open...” You whispered. 

      Once Jimin opened his eyes, he let out a cute gasp, eyes lighting up at the sign of the gift. “W-What’s this?” He asked, looking up at you with a huge smile on his face. “It’s um, all your favorites. Jimin’s basket of favorites,” You declared, holding the basket out for Jimin to take, which he happily did. “Y/n, this is amazing. What’s the special occasion?” He asked, looking down at the assorted gifts and snacks. 

      “You’re always making me smile, so I wanted to return the favor,” You shrugged in an attempt to look casual about it. “Really? I make you smile?” Jimin smirked, making your cheeks heat up. “Y-Yeah you do...” You admitted, kicking at the rocks on your porch. “You’re such a sweet girl, Y/n, cute too,” Jimin whispered to you, causing your breath to hitch. 

“C-Cute?” 

“Yep, you’re a cutie,” Jimin said, booping your nose.

“Would you um... Let this cutie ask you out to lunch?” You asked. 

“Most definitely,”

“Park Jimin, do you want to grab lunch sometime?”

“It’s a date, cutie,”

[thewritershelpers]

Let’s Get Dressed (FULL)

A long, long time ago (2013, to be exact), H from TheWritersHelpers and C from WriteWorld (inactive) got together for a collaboration on how to write and describe clothing. This is the fruits of their labor.**

Anonymous asked: Any tips on describing clothing?

The Writer’s Helpers and WriteWorld have teamed up to create a series on clothing and fashion. These articles were primarily written in the context of how to write about clothing. 

Clothing is a term that is used to describe items worn by humans (and recently other animals, like tiny dogs), either for practical reasons or for reasons of style. Since humans have been wearing clothing for tens of thousands of years, it’s probably best to narrow down the timeframe for the clothing you’re describing to a particular era, year, season, etc. With that in mind, let’s talk about fashion!

Fashion (n): A popular trend, esp. in styles of dress, ornament, or behavior.

We’ll be discussing the dress and ornament portion of this definition. Now, there are a few ways that fashion might affect your description of clothing: Your character might be fashionable, ahead of the times, behind the times, or apart from fashion entirely. All of this is going to make a difference not only in what the clothing actually is, but also in what there is to describe about said clothing. Let’s have a look at these different positions for your character on the fashion scale:

1. Fashionable. Fashionable characters are insiders. They are usually very in tune with what is hip with the kids. Fashionable characters (for an example, read the booksThe Devil Wears Prada,,The Princess Diaries, and Confessions of a Shopaholic) can usually have a backstory where they once were not fashionable- perhaps the unpopular nerd- and with a little help or luck, improve their fashion sense. Magazines such as Vogue, Seventeen, or GQ can act as guides for your fashionista characters in present day. For more on eras, check out the “Links to Look At” section at the end of this article. If you’re writing a fashionable character, you might use clothing labels to describe your character’s clothes as opposed to just describing the color, size, etc. You might also want to thread themes through the character’s style, such as the season or a trademark for the character (think always wears yellow or channels Audrey Hepburn on the red carpet). Materials vary often in fashion, but fashionable characters are more likely to wear expensive fabrics and jewelry. After all, they have a reputation to uphold. 

2. Ahead of the times. These are the trendsetters, the fashion pioneers, the people who pave the way for others and push the boundaries in all the right ways. Trends come and go, but the fashion forward never look back. Characters wearing forward-thinking fashion (or couture) might find themselves in fur and duct tape and think nothing of it. Descriptions of their clothing might tend toward the bizarre and using eclectic words may help drive home the eccentricities of their style.  For example: Her aluminum coat sparked like Tesla coils in the firelight. Weird descriptors aren’t a problem for fashion-forward characters. The weirder, the better.

3. Behind the times. There are those unfortunate souls who do not keep up with the fashion popular at the time your story takes place. Whether it’s the 1580’s or the 1980’s, not all fashions are universal. Styles come and go, but if your character’s whole wardrobe was procured twenty years before the story begins, they’re probably not up with the latest fashions. This might arise from monetary constraints or because of isolation, but the simple fact is: not everything is retro-chic.

Retro-Chic (adj): pertaining to the fashionableness of the nostalgic revival of a style.

Characters who are behind the times might have old clothes that aren’t in the best condition. They may not have the vocabulary to describe the clothes they wear or that others wear with any degree of accuracy. This most especially applies to clothing labels or technical terms for the design of clothes as the character is not up on the popular designers and the newest fashions.

Apart from fashion altogether. There are many reasons why a character might be apart from fashion. Fashion is essentially self-expression, and some people don’t care. Take into consideration religious preferences (monk attire is pretty standard), strict parental figures (if your character is a youngster), or time travel (we’re lookin’ at you, Doctor Who). Characters who stand apart from fashion may also be unaware of the terminology to accurately describe clothing popular at the time and in the place of your story. These characters might not, for example, know the word “silk” and so must describe around the word. They might not have any concept for manufactured material and therefore have trouble describing nylon or faux leather.

Links to Look At:

“Why Do We Wear Clothes?” by vsauce

Glossary of Clothing Terms by allwords.com

Your Guide to Clothing Terms by EBay

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

Let’s look at detail. What sort of descriptors could you use, how could you use them, and why?

Try not to go overboard with the description, but make your descriptive words count. Let’s look at an example of a simple description of the two largest articles of clothing on an example character:

She wore a top and a skirt. 

That’s pretty basic. “Top”, for example, isn’t very descriptive. After all, women’s fashion is complicated! So, let’s use specific terminology: 

She wore a blouse and a skirt. 

You might add color: 

She wore a black blouse and a gray skirt. 

You might add fabric descriptions (Remember, the color describes the fabric now, so it goes before the descriptive word for whatever material the clothing is made of):

She wore a black silk blouse and a gray tweed skirt. 

There are other descriptors worth mentioning such as how the clothing drapes or hangs, its age and general condition, its size and length, and the overall feeling toward it from the narrator. 

How it drapes: The dress was slinky; it clung to her curves and pooled like water at her feet.

Its age/condition: His jeans were faded and ratty at the seams, especially on the back pockets where there were inch-wide holes.

Its size/length: Her boyfriend’s XXL shirt nearly swallowed her up and fell to her knees like a shapeless potato sack.

Narrator feeling: It was an ugly gray uniform. 

With all of these descriptors around, the business of relaying useful information to the the reader about a character’s clothing can get pretty muddled. No one wants to read a description like:

She wore a boring black silk blouse that was over-large, a few years old, and hung blandly from the crest of her breasts. Her shin-length gray tweed pencil skirt was also old and too small for her hips. 

There is just way too much going on there. Too many descriptors. Cut out the adjectives and adverbs that aren’t absolutely necessary, the ones that don’t really add anything essential to character or the look and feel of the scene. You may think that the above example is so obviously bloated that it’s too easy for me to state offhand that you must hack away at its descriptors and leave only the bare essentials. Well, I agree, but it is possible to have a decent bit of description and still overshare. For instance, it might be way too detailed to embroider the blouse and skirt example thusly:

She wore a black silk blouse that shone in the flourescent light of the waiting room. It had loose sleeves that gathered at the crook of her elbows with a little bow and buttons covered in the same sleek material as the blouse. Her skirt was made of gray tweed and slightly out of fashion. The waist cut uncomfortably into her stomach just below her navel and the hem rode up past her knees when she sat. She couldn’t cross her legs in the skirt; it was too tight. 

Now, if the “loose sleeves that gathered at her elbows” are described for a purpose--maybe she has an injury or blemish she’s trying to conceal or she’s very modest--then details of this kind are great to have. Unless the details of the clothes are important to develop the character or the plot or the setting, you need not distract the reader with unnecessary description. 

There are a few methods to consider when describing clothing. 

Blocks. Block style moves from the biggest, most noticeable articles of clothing to the smallest. It describes in a similar order to what the eye sees. Since the largest piece of clothing at around eye-level will be covering the upper body, block style usually starts there with a shirt or jacket or the bodice of a dress. Layers in an outfit are described from the outermost clothing item to the innermost item, then go back to catch the accent items. 

For example: He wears a jacket, vest, and crisp white shirt with a checkered tie and matching blue pocket handkerchief. 

Another fun tip: If items match, you only need to describe one with the corresponding details. Notice that I was able to omit the color of the tie because I said the blue handkerchief matched it and that I didn’t mention the pattern on the handkerchief because we knew that it at least looked good with a checkered tie. 

In the instance of a dress, however, it is more likely that block style will point out the most noticeable (i.e. largest) part of the dress first. If the dress has a poofy skirt, you can bet block style will point that out. Regardless, if the article of clothing covering the upper body is separate from the article covering the lower body, block style usually describes the top first then moves to the bottom then to details like shoes, belts, and jewelry.

Colors. A large part of clothing is color. The color of what a person wears often depicts their mood without them realizing. It has a lot to do with color psychology (x), which describes how different colors affect a person’s mood. The human eye is also attracted to bright colors (some of which even cause headaches and irritation, such as bright yellow or red), though the average eye can see around seven million colors. For more information on color theory, click here. 

More likely than not, a person wearing orange might be noticed before a person wearing gray. The eye is drawn to the orange because it is bright and demanding. Weather also affects what colors a character would wear. For example, in winter months, many people wear darker colors such as black, navy, grays, and browns (termed neutrals) because the lack of Vitamin-D in the human body doesn’t allow for endorphins to be produced as largely, causing a decline in mood. It is commonly believed that darker colors represent darker or depressing moods. And in summer months, your character might be wearing brighter colors such as yellows, pinks, and greens because sunlight elevates a person’s mood.

It is also important to remember the cultures of your characters. Say a character is getting married and is of Irish descent. Assuming she’s traditional, she would wear a blue wedding dress because in ancient times, blue represented purity and was the prefered color for brides. In many cultures, such as in Sweden and China, the color white represents mourning or death. It is essential to research the culture of your characters. Otherwise, you may end up with a white wedding that feels like a heck-of-a-lot more like a funeral. For more on what brides wear around the world, click here. For more on color symbolism, try here and here.

Describing colors can be difficult and you don’t want to be put into the category of really cliche fan fiction descriptions. His green orbs watered and he blinked to keep the tears from spilling over... Not happening here. Generally, you’ll need another word to help describe the color of something (for a list, click here). For example:

His shirt was pastel blue.

Placing “pastel” in front of “blue” indicates that the blue that he was wearing was lighter, or closer to a neutral color than if he were to be wearing a dark blue shirt. 

Her jeans were covered in patches fabric with flamboyant pink bunnies.

What do you think when you see the word flamboyant? You think bright; you think colorful; you think brightly colored and decorated. It adds more than just saying “Her jeans had patches in them”. Don’t be afraid to dip into the Crayola Crayon color dictionary and use names of colors like “Mac n’ Cheese Orange” or “Sahara Desert”. Used in the right context, these colors can add another dimension to your regular oranges and browns. Though these fun words are great alternatives to your average colors, be careful not to overuse them. No one wants to read one incredibly-detailed clothing item after another. 

Fun fact: If you put a group of women in a room, those who are wearing red are most likely on their period. 

Reverse Order of Dress. This is a weird one. When in doubt, describe in the order that you put on your clothes--backwards. Obviously, you’d want to start with the visible items and work your way closer and closer to the body. So, if you put on your shirt then your pants then your cardigan then your shoes, describe in that order. 

** This is not to say that H will not continue this series later on. However, this is the extent of their collaboration. 

[paperbackbirds-blog]

10 Facts About Books and I

1. What's your favourite book/collection that you have studied at school? My favourite book that I studied at school was probably Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby', which I studied at sixth form. It's one of my favourite classics! 2. What did you grow up reading? My absolute favourite book when I was younger was 'Ballet Shoes' by Noel Streatfeild. I have read it countless times and since being given my first copy to me by a wonderful teacher at my primary school, I have collected multiple copies and editions. 3. Who is your favourite author at the moment? Although I have many favourites, a particular author who I've always enjoyed is Stephen King. I love his work and a lot of my best reads involve his titles. 4. Have you ever read anything in one day? If so, what was it? Despite being a quick reader, the only book I remember reading entirely in one day was 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' as I was so beside myself with excitement for it. 5. What book world would you want to live in? 100% the wizarding world of Harry Potter. Hogswarts, Hogsmeade, The Burrow - I'm all for it. 6. What is your favourite genre? I pick and choose between most genres, but my ultimate favourite would probably be horror or anything with a psychological twist. Although horror is my favourite genre for standalones, in regard to series and such, I do tend to choose fantasy. I also massively enjoy classics along the lines of Pride and Prejudice. 7. Do you have a favourite book? My favourite books include 'The Lovely Bones', 'Fight Club', 'A Clockwork Orange', 'My Sister's Keeper' and 'Misery' - an oddly varying mix, but all strongly recommended. 8. What's your go to book for comfort reading? Sophie Kinsella or Louise Rennison books! No books make me laugh as much as 'Confessions of a Shopaholic' and 'Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging' do. I can read them again and again. 9. Do you have a favourite series or trilogy? Harry Potter, without question, despite how many series and such I've read in my time! It always ends up back at HP. 10. Is there a film or series adaptation that you love? Most recently, I have really enjoyed Netflix's portrayal of 'A Series of Unfortunate Events'. I personally think they did a really good job of it. I also love book-movie adaptations of 'The Lovely Bones' and 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower'. ~ Meg. X

[bi-bard]

Denial - Luke Brandon Imagine (Confessions of a Shopaholic)

Title: Denial

Pairing: Luke Brandon X Reader

Word Count: 1,506 words

Warning(s): mention of lying (I don't know if that needs to be there)

Summary: Rebecca decides to play a game of matchmaker that only pays off after literally everything else goes wrong.

Author's Note: I loved this movie far more than I was expecting. Also, this got so out of hand.

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

I don't want to say that I was confused when Rebecca was hired at Successful Saving.

But I did question Luke's decision-making abilities a little bit when he hired her.

No matter my confusion, I decided to help her out. This was very clearly not her scene and if I watched the human equivalent of a golden retriever get chewed up and spit out by the world, then I would carry that weight to my grave and accept my sentencing to Hell.

I had gone over to the apartment that Rebecca shared with her friend just so she had some kind of writing buddy. Someone to help her clean up some of what she had written. My work was done anyway.

She didn't seem to need much of my guidance once she got into the habit though. She just needed the spark and then she could take off running.

We were sitting on her couch, kind of just working in mostly silence.

"If you don't mind me asking," she said. "Why are you helping me so much?"

"Is there a reason I shouldn't," I asked, not looking up from my laptop.

"Well, no," she shrugged. "I just don't know why you were so willing."

"Not everyone at that company is an ass," I muttered.

"Did Luke tell you to help me?"

"No," I chuckled, looking at her. "Why do you think that?"

"You two just seem to talk a lot more than everyone else."

"A few days and you have the whole office figured out?"

"Well, it's hard to ignore."

I reached over and grabbed my coffee off the table. "Luke and I were friends long before he started at Successful Saving. We've just been close for a while."

She nodded.

"He's a good guy," I explained. "Nice. Smart. He just takes the job seriously."

"I know, I know," she replied. "So... close?"

"Yup."

"How close?"

"We've been friends for a long time."

Her eyes scanned me for a moment. She was looking for a sign of something that I couldn't see. I just awkwardly grinned at her before going to take a sip of my drink.

"Oh my God, you like Luke," she said excitedly. "You have a crush!"

I choked on my coffee a bit. "No, I don't. No."

"Oh, come on," she replied. "You so do. You have a thing for the British accent, don't you? Or is it the eyes? Or that little smile he gets when you two talk? Oh, just tell me!"

I rolled my eyes. I jumped when she reached over and touched the side of my face.

"Your face is so warm," she teased.

I pushed her hand away. "I'm drinking coffee. It's a warm beverage. Known to raise the body temperature."

"Would it be all that bad," she asked. "Having a little crush on him?"

"I didn't say it'd be bad. It's just inaccurate."

"Please don't talk about your feelings like a news article."

"I'm not," I chuckled. "I'm just being honest. There's nothing there."

She hummed, shrugging dramatically. "Whatever you say."

"Can we get back to work now, so I can make sure you don't lose the job you just got?"

"Fine," she muttered. "Stay in denial."

After that night, Rebecca refused to let the crush thing die.

She was determined. I had to compliment that.

It was mostly small things. Poking at my side whenever I got a compliment. Small jokes from time to time. She would tell me on and on about what things Luke would say that may have hinted that there was something between us.

The only problem with her great match-making plan was that I was just as stubborn as she was determined.

I liked things that way.

It was nice to have a friend to be around without work always having to be our point of conversation.

And I had that with Luke. But it was just different with him. If I wasn't such an idiot, I would've been able to admit to why it was so different, but I was an idiot, so I was convinced that I had no idea.

And then, everything went wrong.

Luke and Rebecca went on TV because of the success of "The Girl in the Green Scarf". In the middle of the interview, a debt collector stood up and confronted her on TV. The debt collector that she claimed was an ex-boyfriend that had been stalking her.

Those things I could've forgiven. As strange as it sounds. It seemed like a case of embarrassment and addiction. She needed support.

But when I walked out of the studio to follow Luke and Rebecca out, it became so much more than that.

"I only took the job to get to Alette," she admitted. I stopped behind her, completely stunned.

Luke barely got out a few more words before he walked off. In all honesty, I hadn't been listening.

It took me a few seconds to come back down to Earth and walk around Rebecca, going to follow Luke out.

"(Y/n)-"

"No, no," I stopped her, turning to face her. "This... Was all of it an act? A powerplay? Just to move up the ladder?"

She shook her head.

"Why bother with me if this was just a stepping stone?"

She looked down for a moment.

"Was it because of Luke's family? You thought getting close to him would give you some pull? Or... I guess getting close to me to get to him? You thought it would boost your reputation?"

"(Y/n), no-"

"You let me help you and give you advice and you tried to look like my friend by asking and poking fun at my love life," I listed. I sighed. "Just leave me alone. Please. I... I need to go check on Luke."

I followed closely behind Luke. I only properly tracked him down when I got back to the building. He was sitting in his office, running his hand over his face.

It honestly made me angry to see him get so stressed over everything.

"Hey," I said, lightly knocking on the door.

He looked at me. "Hey."

"Can I sit," I asked, motioning to the other chair. He nodded.

I sat down opposite him.

"How are you feeling?"

He sighed. "Angry. Disappointed. Confused. How are you? I know you two were getting close."

"I'm just... I don't even know how I feel right now," I muttered, deciding that counting spots on the carpet was better than looking him in the eye. "I feel used, for lack of a better term. I thought she wanted to hang out with me, not that I was some weird piece on a chess board."

Luke didn't speak up. I wasn't quite sure why.

"I've never had someone that I'd call a best friend before, y'know?"

"Thanks," Luke commented.

I scoffed. "Oh, come on. That's not the same thing. You're different."

"How so?"

I looked at him. "You just are. I don't look at you like a best friend. I..."

I trailed off before anything else could be said. The words were going to be said out of instinct. Without any thought to them. It was something that my subconscious had known without my conscious figuring it out. It caught me completely off-guard.

She was right, I thought. Shit. Rebecca was right.

"How do you look at me then," he asked.

"Well..."

I couldn't think of a way to put this thought without it having some dramatic impact on how we saw each other.

It may have been the first time that Luke had seen me truly speechless. He seemed confused. His head tilted to the side and his eyebrows furrowed.

"(Y/n)," he said when he realized no other words were going to form. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

"You didn't answer me," he pointed out.

I sighed. "I... I like you. A lot. That's why I don't just see you as a friend."

"Oh," he replied. I felt sick to my stomach until I saw a grin forming on his face. "I like you too."

"Oh," I mumbled.

There was a pause between us.

"This feels like a really weird time for this to be happening."

Luke laughed at me.

"Does it not?"

"A little," he admitted. "We could always wait. Talk about it over dinner tonight?"

I scoffed almost completely out of shock. "That was smooth."

"Thank you, I try," he shrugged before leaning forward on his desk. "What do you say?"

"I'd like that," I replied. His phone rang before we could talk anymore. I stood up and started walking to the door. "We'll meet downstairs?"

"Sure," he said, starting to reach for the phone.

I gave him a thumbs-up before walking out and leaving him to his phone call.

It wasn't until I got to my desk that I put my face in my hands and let a stupid smile break out across my face.

And yeah, I didn't have coffee as an excuse for how warm my face was anymore.

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

Navigation Guide

What I Write For

Some Original Characters

[bi-bard]

So. I spent my day watching an actual shit ton of Hugh Dancy projects and now I want to write for them.

However, I want to know what you want to see.

Here's a list of what I've watched and am willing to write for (or have already written for):

Will Graham (Hannibal) - fucking obviously I write for Will

Jack Barber (Downton Abbey: A New Era)

Adam Raki [Adam (2009)]

Cal Roberts (The Path)

Luke Brandon (Confessions of a Shopaholic)

Nolan Price (Law & Order)

Bobby Bronson (Roar)

Aiden Galvin (Blood & Chocolate)

Galahad (King Arthur)

Prince Charmont (Ella Enchanted)

I AM NOT LOOKING FOR FULL REQUESTS! I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE!

(also, there are characters that I am willing to write for that I haven't watched the projects for if people really want to see them. So, just leave the name and I'll see what I can do)