#first time making gifs on my new laptop after literal years

[leesunmis]

I don't care if we go all the way I gotta get to know ya MR STRANGER Runnin' into danger Gotta get to know ya Mmm

[jpbpxma]

pour some sugar on in me;

content warnings/tags: very nsfw, contains smut, breeding kink, pre/no outbreak!joel miller x f!reader, age gap (as you want it).

It originally started off as a scare. You both got drunk after a New Year's party and ended up having a passionate night of sex- without protection, leading you to think you've gotten pregnant. Although it's been a year and a half since you got married, it had been a mutual agreement that kids were not in your future plans; Joel, thinking he might be too old for it and you, just not wanting that type of burden/responsibility in your life. However, when you found out you were not, in fact, pregnant, Joel found himself oddly disappointed and told you about it. "I dunno, it just felt nice to think of having a little one running around, being all cute 'n all," he had said. Surprising yourself, you agreed with him. So you decided to officially to start trying. And now, he couldn't get enough.

He's never been able to have sex with you raw like this before so every chance he could get, he found himself getting worked up and ended up taking you right then and there, no matter where you were or what time is was. Whether it's right when you woke up in the morning, when you were in the shower, when you were in the car, in the kitchen, and even a few times when you were in public. Not that you were complaining, you were enjoying it as much as Joel was. You loved the feeling of intimacy and you were constantly in a state of post-orgasm bliss.

"Hey, what you up to? " You hear Joel say from behind you, shuffling closer to put his arms around your shoulders and rest his chin on your head. "Finishing this dreadful assignment, why? " You question him, raising an eyebrow. "No reason, you're just looking really sexy right now," he hums as he places a kiss on the top of your head. "Joel, I'm literally in an oversized sweater and pajamas," you deadpan, even though you felt butterflies at his words. Ignoring you, he massages your shoulders under your sweater, his touch as electrifying to you as it was the first time. When you involuntarily let out a soft moan at a particularly sensitive spot, he reaches over to close your laptop and spins your chair around.

"Okay, that's it. You're coming with me," he announces. Before you realize what's happening, he has you in his arms, carrying you over his shoulder to your bedroom. He smacks your ass hard, making you yelp, before throwing you down on the bed. "You're crazy," you laugh out. "Uh yeah, crazy for you, baby," he counters, clearly proud of his comeback. God, he was such a dad already. He chuckles when you roll your eyes, taking his shirt and shorts off in the process. Now that you were in bed and after seeing those delicious arms, thighs, just everything of his on display, you were definitely getting in the mood too.

You run your fingers up his soft tummy, getting up to kiss along the little hairs that lead down his happy trail, smirking when you feel him let out a shaky breath. You pull down his boxers, his already stiff cock springing free, hitting his stomach. Licking your lips, you get closer to take him in your mouth when he pulls you back by the hair to meet his eyes. "Maybe another time, baby girl, right now I need to be inside you," he says impatiently, pushing you back into the bed before taking your pajamas and panties off.

Climbing on top of you, he cages you in his arms, kissing you fervently. You kiss back with the same intensity, your hands on either side of his face to hold him in place. He pulls away from the kiss, pressing one more peck to your lips before lifting himself up to slide between your spread legs. You can feel every ridge and vein of his length as he pushes into you- you could never get used to how much more pleasurable it felt uninhibited by a condom. "Oh my-" he grunts in a low voice, you know it feels worlds better for him too, "Fuck, you feel so good, baby." You squeeze around him at the compliment, biting your lip to muffle your moans.

"Joel, please, move already," you whine desperately. He takes your ankle and hooks your leg over his shoulder, shifting closer and pushing in to bottom out completely. You watch, enraptured, as he pulls out to the tip, and slams back into you. You cry out, gripping the bedsheets tightly as he smirks, pleased with your reaction. He sets a fast pace right off the bat, hips working into overdrive as he fucks you the way he knew both of you liked.

The only sounds resonating through the room were the sounds of skin slapping and the moans and groans you were both letting out. At this angle, he connects with your clit with each thrust. You wiggle your hips just a little and he hits it square on and that's when you really scream. "Oh fuck, you like it that much? " Joel asks earnestly. The corner of his mouth lifts smugly when you nod frantically, slowing down a bit to make his thrusts hit your sweet spot more accurately.

You're beside yourself with pleasure, he knew exactly how to get you to your peak and in the most ecstasy-filled way possible. He could tell you were close by the sounds you were making, lowering himself down, still slamming just as hard into you. He messily kisses your neck, your jaw, then moves up to nibble on your earlobe, whispering, "Want me to fill you to the brim with my cum and then fuck it all back into you again? Want to get pregnant with my children? Be my good little baby maker, hm? You'd like that, wouldn't you? "

His words combined with his thrusting send you careening over the edge and you convulse without warning, orgasm washing over you as you grip his shoulders for support. You clench around him involuntarily and he's so caught off guard by your sudden orgasm that he's sent over the edge into his, too. You feel his cum, hot inside you, pumping into you with every thrust. Joel is still deep inside of you as he finishes, his hands caressing all up and down your body.

"Well shit, we're really good at this, aren't we? " You nod, still out of breath and voice lost from all the screaming. He snorts at your inability to reply verbally but hums and bites along your neck as he nestles himself deeper into you and gathers you in his arms. "My beautiful girl, I don't think we're going to have any problem having kids." You couldn't help but smile. You didn't think you are, either.

[otomiyaa]

nice.png

(literally how I named the image, couldn't think of something else)

Hi guys :') To my followers and tumblr friends, I'm really sorry if my sudden disappearance scared or upset you. It wasn't quite... planned. And today was a busy day and I needed some time to consider what I wanted to do.

Short version of the story:

My tumblr account got terminated for copyright infringement. A certain Mr. Green got me in unlucky trouble (ref 1, 2).

I won't get it back, or try to get it back. It's gone.

Needed a moment to consider 2 options: ask Mia to extend my dramatic farewell letter and stay gone, or make a new blog.

Not planning to post new writing here. I won't be using words like 'never' or 'forever' because I'm a known clown with things like this, but the intention is to no longer post fics. I will finish Tickletober on AO3 and then take a break from writing. So yes, I cancel the swiftscribbles event too, sorry!

When I opened my laptop, I could see my old blog in its final hour lmao (I found out about the loss on my phone). So that's what the snap is from on a fitting grave. It was fun while it lasted!

Long version of the story:

Losing my blog(s): My Tumblr account with main blog + sideblogs got terminated overnight, it was quite the surprise! I've either been reported or tracked by bots. The posts are a bunch of numbered URLs I can't open, but the message is clear: for including anime content, genshin impact or media from other sources (whether it's videos, screenshots, official art, gifs or even fanwork) you technically can get a strike. Upon googling the claimer I quickly found this first, and knew it was a lost cause. Although it feels shitty and unlucky, I am in no place to appeal. It's like when I used to make AMVs in the past, you never knew whether a song or even anime footage was going to give your YT account a copyright strike or even a ban, it was a gamble. I have lost YT accounts before, and now I lost the Tumblr one. With 7+ years of tickle trash content and a bunch of sideblogs. But oh well, moving on!

Starting a new blog: It was a serious consideration whether this was my ultimate chance to do what I've always said I wanted to do eventually - quit my blog. My first thought was to ask Mia to share my explanation and literal goodbye with you guys, and stick to my chaos of a Twitter account to indulge in fandom stuff. But then I thought of how happy Tumblr made me, even without the fic writing, but just.. reblogging things, getting random asks, shouting about life and of course, about tickles. I decided to make a new blog after all, but also decided the following:

The 7K+ milestone swiftscribbles event is cancelled, for which I apologize! The follower milestone, together with the motivation to write the fics, and even the asks with the requests I got, all died with my former blog.

I will see how long I can survive without posting a new fic or drabble. A loose headcanon or two might fly around sometime. And if necessary, a link to a new fic on AO3.

Tickletober? Hell yes I'll finish it, I would cringe in bed for 49 days at least if I would stop. I just won't post the fics here, but on AO3.

Reposting/reblogging my old works? Undecided at the moment but I'm tired and lazy. I don't feel too upset since most of my fics are still on AO3 at least and not completely gone.

Anyways, I'll see what happens and how long I can enjoy this nerfed version of blogging.

Surprisingly I'm not upset about losing my other blog, there were a lot of memories but it was also very cringe. I'm gonna be just as cringe here, but at least I feel cleansed.

For those who choose to follow me again, thank you, but please know that there won't be much original content coming from me, for now!:)

[wolffwish]

More Than Just A Short Time

Warnings: Distressed reader, miscarriage, mentions of anxiety, panic attack, soft!Toto x reader,

A/N: Personal experience used here, so please be understanding. 2022 was the worst year of my life, losing a baby and my fiancé within 3 months of eachother. I’ve been wanting to write something for months, to try and help me cope with my emotions. This hasn’t been spell checked, I literally have finished it and pressed post. So please bear with me if there’s any mistakes or it’s not that great, or sonically cohesive. It’s literally a coping mechanism. I’ve also tried to incorporate Taylor Swift’s “Bigger Than The Whole Sky” as that song has bought me a lot of comfort. Thank you so much for reading and I hope soft Toto brings you comfort if you need it ♥️ my inbox is open to anyone if you need to talk about anything.

It’s been a long 5 days without Toto, and your physical health was declining by the hour. Your period was the heaviest it had ever been, but you didn’t want to tell Toto, because everyone has periods and usually, they’re nothing to worry about.

Toto knew you were struggling physically, and had been the ever-supporting husband that you could’ve dreamed of. Virtually working instead of heading into the office, skipping races and rescheduling meetings or holding them online— to the point where he’d be sitting on the bed with his laptop perched on his lap on Zoom with people at Brackley, with you sleeping next to him and him not taking his hand off of your head once, constantly stroking it to ease your pain.

He was away in Bahrain for first race of the season and it was the longest amount of time he’d been for a few months. You hadn’t been feeling that great in the lead up to him leaving, a bit run down and not your usual self, extremely tired and incredibly nauseous. You just assumed it was your birth control playing up again.

It was Sunday. Race day. You were feeling rough, and after yesterday’s ordeal in the ER followed by a strict instruction for bed rest and preferably someone with you, all you wanted to do was curl up on the couch, watch the race and wait for your man to come home.

You hadn’t been contacting him much over the past 4 days, mainly just good morning and good night texts, as you knew he was going to be flat out busy with media, meetings and all the other stuff that goes with the job he’d worked so hard for.

11am. You heard your phone ping, with his specific text tone and notification lighting up your screen.

💬 1 New Message: Toto🐺♥️ — Liebling, I have a free half hour. Can you talk? We need to talk.

“We need to talk”? You read it three times, making sure you were reading it right. Need? Panic sets in. Usually, when anybody receives a message of “We need to talk.”, ending abruptly with a full stop, that’s never a good sign, right? Right.

Before you could even start typing, he was ringing. Accidentally, you pressed the green answer button, steadily putting the phone to your ear.

“Hello?” - your voice broke as you awaited his response.

🐺 “Schatzi? Is that you?”

“What do you mean, is it me? You rang my mobile?”

🐺 “Oh. Thank god. I had a missed call from the hospital, they left a message asking me how you were after yesterday. I didn’t— what happened yesterday, I didn’t know you wen—“

“Oh my god, are you kidding?! They rang you?”

Anger that started in your stomach was slowly making its way up your body, flushing your red cheeks and making your hands grip the phone tighter. You were checked into the ER yesterday after having what you thought was a 3 day long, heavy and extremely painful period. You had to call the ambulance because you were bleeding so heavily you couldn’t control anything, and started to feel dizzy and weak. With nobody around, and Toto working, you had nobody to call.

🐺 “Come on baby, talk to me. Why did you visit the ER?”

You paused. You didn’t know what to say to him, but neither did you want to lie. You knew as soon as the ER nurse asked if you’d had any morning sickness or previous experiences of dark red heavy periods that this wasn’t just a period. You were having a miscarriage, not even knowing you were pregnant.

🐺 “Liebling? Whatever it is, you can tell me. It doesn’t matter that I’m here, ok? You are my priority, just let me in.”

“I can’t tell you over the phone, Toto. I’m sorry. Just concentrate on the race, and I’ll see you later. I love y—“

🐺 “No Schatzi, baby please, I can’t concentrate unless you tell me what’s going on.”

You knew that he wasn’t going to give in. Tears started filling your eyes and the pit of your stomach started knotting. Emotions got the better of you, your breathing started to get shorter and faster, even though you were trying to disguise every bit of it, so you didn’t make him panic even more. But you just couldn’t do it. You fell apart. You needed him, now more than ever.

“I’m sorry, Toto. I didn’t know. You know I’m on birth control, it was just a heavy period, and then the nurses started asking all these questions about morning sickness and the colour of it and they rigged me up to the machine and started doing all these scans and I was really scared and I didn’t know what to do and then they kept apologising to me and I was in such a state I didn’t know what they were talking about until they— until they said it wasn’t a heavy period, and I’d lost—“

That was it. Uncontrollable tears streamed from your eyes as you relived the worst day of your life all over again, for the millionth time. Hysteria creeping in and your adrenaline winning, you began to shake. You’d been reliving every second of it since you got home, and it took a lot of persuasion for you to the nurses to let you home on your own. But they all knew your situation, they all knew Toto and who he was, so they made an exception. You didn’t think they’d call him.

🐺 “Oh my go—, baby, I’m so sorry. Shit. I should’ve been there, I knew you weren’t right when I left, but I had no idea it could be this—“

“Don’t apologise Toto please, it’s not your fault, I just, I can’t wait to see you later. Please try and just do the race and I’ll be here when you get home.”

🐺 “I don’t care about the race Schatz, baby. I’m coming home now. I’m walking to Rosa right now, she’ll get me on the next flight darling. Hold tight for me, ok?”

You didn’t want to ruin his day like this, especially the first race, but you were done fighting with yourself.

“Ok.” - through tears streaming and sniffles of your nose to try and control your breathing, a simple ‘ok’ was the last thing you said to Toto before dropping the phone on the bed. You’d almost been in denial about the whole thing, and saying it all out loud made it more real. You pulled your legs to your chest, your body still screaming in pain from miscarrying, back pains so intense you feel like your spine is on fire and a headache strong enough to make you squint at any view of light.

You could hear the television in the background, the race build up had started and you began watching it hoping it would distract you from everything that was happening in your head at that very moment.

The grid walk started, and Martin Brundle was desperately searching around for Toto to ask him where he thinks the two Mercs’ we’re going to finish today’s race. He eventually came across Shov, who was ready for an interview.

MB: “I was hoping to talk to your boss, any idea where I can find him?”

AS: “He’s had to rush off, personal matter, so won’t be able to watch the race today, but I can answer any questions you may have - just not with as much Austrian flare as he does!” he tried to laugh and distract from the situation- but you knew social media was about to blow up.

A few hours passed, and the sheer emotional state you were in made you fall asleep at some point during the race. You woke up as the podium ceremony started, that damn Dutch national anthem again. You flicked over the channels and started watching some random nature show about birds. Anything but that damn podium.

Anxiously waiting for Toto to arrive, you kept drifting off to sleep, losing track of the time, until you heard a key in the door and footsteps running up the stairs.

“Schatzi, where are you baby? I’m ho—“

The bedroom door swung open and there he was, still dressed in his white button down shirt and black trousers, so damn handsome. Your man was home.

“Toto, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Tears streaming, you sat up on the bed, trying to adjust your body to a position you weren’t in pain.

“Baby, it’s okay. Come here, little one.” Toto softly sat down in front of you, cupping your face in both hands and softly brushing the tears on your cheeks away with the pad of his thumbs. “I’m so sorry, baby. I’m so sorry.” He brought his lips up to your forehead, pressing the most gentle kiss just above your left eyebrow, muffling the words “Let go baby, I’m here now. Just let it all out.”

The reassuring words from Toto meant every single emotion waved over you like a tsunami, and you fell apart in his arms. The tears came streaming down your face as you leant forward into him. You adjusted your body so you were sitting side aways on his lap, legs resting on the bed and head resting in his shoulder. His arms wrapped around you like he was protecting the world, his gentle touches making you feel safer than you’d ever felt.

“Let’s get you into bed properly, baby, get you more comfortable.” Without hesitation, Toto stood up with you in his arms as he gently walked around the bed, making sure not to walk into any furniture or make any sudden movements. He slowly leant down, to lay you on his side of the bed. He grabbed a blanket, took his shirt and trousers off, walked round to the other side of the bed and got in with you.

“Are you comfortable? Do you need to move?” He asked as you started rolling over as he got into the bed beside you.

“I can’t get comfy, it’s so frustrating, everything hurts and I can’t move without feeling like I’m making a mess everywhere, it’s horrible.”

“Hey hey baby, it’s okay, don’t cry. It doesn’t matter if there’s mess, we can clean it up, okay? Come here, lay here.” He perched himself up on the headboard, his bare chest gleaming in the night light that was the only light on in the room. The smell of him just felt like home. Lightly tapping his torso, he helped you lay your head on his chest, right on his heart. You moved your arm over his toned tummy, slightly tapping your fingers over the grooves of his muscles.

“There we go baby, you just lay there and relax now. It’s okay, I’ve got you my girl.”

A few minutes of silence passed as Toto gently run his fingers through your hair, up and down your back and over your shoulder.

“Toto?”

“Yes, baby? What is it?”

“We’re never gonna meet her.”

You didn’t know if it was a girl or a boy, but your initial thought was it was a girl. You don’t know why. It’d been playing on your mind all day whenever you caught yourself thinking about what would’ve been, what could’ve been and what should’ve been.

A deep breath came from the pits of his stomach as he saw your heart break in front of him.

“I know darling, I know. But look…” he pointed out towards the night sky, a sky full of stars. A sky so beautiful, that you would’ve thought you’d made it up.

“She’s up there. She knows you’re looking at her. Hey, she’s that really bright one, look” he points to a specific star, that is, quite literally, the brightest one in the sky. “She’s bigger than the whole sky, isn’t she?” he looks down at you, as you’d cocked your head to see the star he was talking about. Making eye contact, one side of his mouth turned into a slight smile, as he leant down to kiss you on the lips. “I love you, little one.”

You kissed him back, finally feeling like a weight had been lifted off of your shoulders now he was home.

“I love you too, Papi.”

He smiled down at you again, bringing his hand up to the side of your face and gently guiding your head to lay on his chest. You heard him snuffle, and felt a teardrop on hairline where your hair meets your forehead.

“Toto?” You looked up at him, tears in his eyes as he looked out of the window.

He responded immediately. “It’s okay, baby. I’m okay, I’m just so sorry I wasn’t here.”

“Don’t be sorry, I’m sorry for not telling you when it happened. I just didn’t want to pull you away from work and—“

“Baby listen to me. You are my world, ok? Nothing is more important than you. I would sail the seven oceans to be with you in a heartbeat. Don’t ever think anything is more important than you, Schatz. I love you so much it hurts.”

He looked down at you again, kissing the top of your head and stroking your hair. “You can rest now, baby. Daddy’s got you.”

You closed your eyes and felt your entire body relax into the indentation of his body, and sunk into the bed with him. The soft strokes of his hands over your arms, hair and back brought you more comfort than you’d ever felt before, and the sound of his slow controlled breathing meant your breathing started syncing with his. You both drifted off to sleep, holding each other close. His arms wrapped around you, you laying on his chest.

This was home. He was home. He is your home.

——

[j0kers-light]

Hi, how tall do you see y/n as?

Also could I please get a headcannon that's ledger!joker (ofc) with a short mixed fem reader if that's possible please (I'm 5'0)

Hey hi anon!! 🖤✨

Yes of course you can! CAN THE SHORT LADIES PLEASE STAND UP ON STEP LADDERS?!

Lol, I'm short (and petite 😭 like a whole kid out here) but proud! PSA: I love tall daddies. Therefore, Joker is written at least 6'0ft. Y/n is however tall you are since I write for reader insert. So yeah, he's towering over us girl. Buckle up!

Joker is forever making fun of your short stature in comparison to his. Its both endearing and annoying. Its not your fault your mixed genetics robbed you in the height department but he doesn't have to rub it in every day..

His favorite hobby is to move things in the apartment well out of your reach. J doesn't like you climbing counters and etc. to grab things and prefers if you call him to get it for you. It strokes his ego that he's providing for you. Keep in mind that he created the problem in the first place!

Cups, boxes of cereal, the tv remote (?), even your laptop-- nothing is safe from being stolen and tucked away 'safely' out of your reach. Oh the irony.. Joker thinks it absolutely hilarious when you get frustrated and try to grab things by yourself.

"Awwww is my wittle bunny too short? Need some help?" You flip him off and try to grab whatever he stashed away. You almost had it!! He just laughs and shamelessly enjoys the show. Your butt jiggles each time you jump and Joker can watch it shake all night.. that is until you trip and lose your balance.

Then he's rushing over to catch you before you break something and/or hurt yourself. "Easy there doll. All ya had to do was uhh, ask for helP." He hands over whatever you almost broke your neck for with a lopsided grin. God, you love this annoying clown.

Thankfully there are instances where you get payback for Joker being taller. Low clearance areas are your favorite since you get to watch J clip his head and laugh at him when he grumbles in pain.

Watching him squeeze into a tight space (he's more mindful of the places he drags you into for a quickie) is hilarious since he's all arms and legs whereas you are in your element.

The height difference is so comical that Mac and Neo have joked about your stellar climbing skills. It's clearly a sexual innuendo and Joker gave them the death glare for it. They haven't joked about your height since. Mac gifted you hiking boots in secret with a card that read, "Enjoy climbing Mt. Joker." You can't bring yourself to wear them. You must admit; you are an excellent climber..

Joker loves to rest his arm on your head or pat your braids like you're a puppy. It irks your soul and he learned the hard way that you are short and therefore closer to his balls. You punch them in retaliation every time he treats you like a kid.

You like bringing Joker down to your level. Literally.

A plus in being shorter than J is that you tuck adorably into his side. No matter how much your weigh, he's picking you up and tossing you around because, "You're uhh, fun size Y/n!" That applies in and out of the bedroom. The two of you snap together like the perfect puzzle piece.

But despite all the teasing Joker makes about your height, he loves being your protector. He's the one you run to if something is bigger and scarier. He's the tall, murderous bf, that'll scare off anything or anyone for his Bunny. It’s a new concept to be a savior and Joker isn't complaining.

You'll never get used to being hit on. You get it; you’re very beautiful with your lighter complexion and the way you carry yourself.

Men and women are always hitting on you but normally after you utter the words, "I'm spoken for" they go away but this guy is rather persistent.

Years ago he would be your type. Tall, athletic, and cocky with white teeth and oozing lightskin fboy vibes. He was definitely the quarterback in high school and wears gold chains with black turtlenecks. The single Y/n would have your fun and kick him to the curb before he broke your heart. However you were happily involved with Gotham City's most infamous criminal who would literally kill anyone that dared to take away what was his.

You were doing this guy a favor trying to turn him down but the second he grabbed your arm and insisted you go on a date with him, you knew, he f__cked up.

"Let go."

"Nah just one date ma. You'll love it so just say yes. A dinner, a lil talking, then I'll take you home n' sweat your weave out." He grinned.

You arched an eyebrow at him assuming your hair was fake but before you could open your mouth, a shadow fell over the two of you. Your persistent suitor rolled his eyes and glared at the newbie.

"Is there a problem?" He asked Joker.

Joker's left eye twitched as he glare at this pathetic stain touching you. J wore a mask to conceal his identity yet his scowl was evident. "Is he hurtin' you doll?" Joker asked you.

You shook your head no but that wasn't enough to save a life.

J pointedly eyed the hands holding you until the guy wisely let you go. If he hadn't, Joker had no issue removing them by force.

You hid behind Joker's towering frame and vanished, you were so short. Joker made sure you were safe behind him before focusing on the idiot.

"Uh yes. Lots of errr problems. Let's see.. You talked to my bunny, you touched my bunny, and the worsT of all. You. Made. Her. Uncomfortable. Its been ten hours since I killed someone. I'd hate to break my errr record.."

The guy must've understood that Joker was serious for he backed away with his hands up. "Listen man I didn't know she was your girl. Have at it, I'm out."

Joker waited until the guy left before he turned around to check on you. "You good?"

J wasn't expecting you to hug him so tightly. Your head barely came to his chest and for once you didn't get offended when Joker patted your head. "Say the wo~oooord and he's dead, Y/n."

You laughed and stared up into Joker's eyes. "Don't break your record, J." You tapped your lips, making Joker furrow his brow.

"What? Ya wanna kiss?" You nodded and Joker made a noise. "I dunno Bunny. If ya can't reach my lips.... do ya deserve a kiss? Maybe if you were hehe.. taller?"

You rolled your eyes and shoved Joker away. He laughed at your little temper tantrum but stopped you from walking away with meaningful kiss. Your attitude melted away and Joker left you speechless when he pulled back.

"You're soooo spoiled. Is that whatcha wanted short stuff?"

[mikareo]

“ ࣭⸰ ★ post of gratitude ! <3

⊹ ⠀⠀ hi guys! on my old blog, i'd make a post every november to spread gratitude for the mutuals i interact w most n wanted to carry that tradition onto this blog! ily all and hope that your day was wonderful today (unless ur a nanami stan bc that was rlly rough im so sorry abt that ep ajskl)

psa; if u weren't tagged in this post, pls know that i appreciate u very much and would love to interact w u more!! msg me anytime n i'll try my best to visit ur inbox in the near future!

꒰ . . to my readers ꒱

⋆⋆⋆⠀ ⠀ thank u so much for supporting my work by reading, liking, sharing, or commenting on any of my writing! i love reading through reblogs and seeing what u guys think of my ideas,, it's so motivating n i appreciate it so much like omg sometimes u got my kickin my feet reading thru ur comments ajskl i hope to post quality content for ur enjoyment n i luv u all,, much more to come as time goes on !!!

꒰ . . to my mutuals ꒱ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ᯇ in alphabetical order

⌗ @chigirizzz ₊ ˖ ་.

⋆⋆⋆⠀ ⠀ hi val! just wanted to say that i love how supportive u are of other creators on the site,, i feel like whenever i see u on the dash ur always hyping someone up or making their day brighter! ALSO i cant believe u also know the voltage otome games bc i feel like i'm crazy sometimes bc no one know what they are LMFAO i hope u had an amazing day !!!

⌗ @doobea ₊ ˖ ་.

⋆⋆⋆⠀ ⠀ dooby!!! i love the bright energy u bring to my dash n i think ur absolutely gorgeous (u ate that choso costume up omg ajskdlf) ur always such a pleasure to interact w n i think ur writing is amazing,, i rlly need to just binge it all one night ESP the choso fics u post bc ur writing rlly captures how much u love him LOL my fav choso worshipper <3 hope yall get married!

⌗ @hesthermay ₊ ˖ ་.

⋆⋆⋆⠀ ⠀ hi pookie teehee,, i haven't answered ur text yet bc i was trying to figure out how to fry chicken (3 of them were raw ajsklf) but i will after i post this lol. ilyvm and i can't wait for u to stay w me,, i'm gonna take u to the mall n treat u to some canes chicken fingers *heart eyes* (i'm typing on my laptop forgive me) you've been w me since my org blog from sept 2020 n i act can't believe how long we've known each other now (3 years!) ur so old like ur my granny but that's ok bc ur my favorite granny ever,, sorry for violating u #ageism is not okay,, i miss u so much n i miss ur bf bc ur my mom n dad (legally) i even miss ur roommate who i actually can't rlly remember the name of but that's not the point i'm trying to make so forget i said that part,, i definitely know his name!!! also i decided that kingsley is my favorite dog u have bc he's tiny n reminds me of my doggie,, luv ya! text u in a bit!

⌗ @itadorey ₊ ˖ ་.

⋆⋆⋆⠀ ⠀ omg hi inez, remember these? no u probably don't bc i got rlly lazy w my blog in the late days (rip aitarose) i love all of the tiktoks u send me n i love ur instagram stories bc they make me laugh n i love how much u love snoopy,, he's literally my idol n there are so many statues of him in my city it's so funny n they always make me think of u. ur my yung gravy queen,, i love u so much n i'm so glad hq tumblr let me meet u even tho it was lowkey traumatizing (yikes) our mudae days were so fun,, esp the night i let that person put the roleplay bot into my server jkals so grateful for u !!!

⌗ @kitorin ₊ ˖ ་.

⋆⋆⋆⠀ ⠀ hiiii souta!!!! i just wanted to say that i LOVE seeing u comment first on my writing posts,, like it motivates me so much bc i know i have such a large support system coming from u n ur so sweet n talented AJSJJJ u were (i think?) my first new mutual on this blog when i first made it,, n you've made coming back to tumblr such a welcoming n amazing experience! i'm so grateful to be ur mutual n i hope you've had an absolutely amazing day!

⌗ @mymegumi ₊ ˖ ་.

⋆⋆⋆⠀ ⠀ firstly BITCH ANSWER MY TEXT. secondly, happy thanksgiving! <3 wish we were spending it together but distance is real n it hates us :( miss u and can't wait to see u whenever that is lmfao like whenever plane tickets decide to stop being so expensive,, so glad we aren't beefing anymore haha that was so silly of us... anyways... whenever i do see u, i'm going to give u a big hug n then we're going to gossip abt everything that's happened since we were last together n it's going to be great bc i'm going to make u watch twice videos n ur gonna love them as much as i do bc i'm ur sister n u have no choice but to love what i love! hahaha... i love you so much n i'm so glad ur my sister #meimei n jiajia 4ever <- that's actually approved by me n that's all that matters bc i'm actually the president of the world and ur my favorite person on it jaklsdf ANSWER MY TEXT BITCH

⌗ @pokkomi ₊ ˖ ་.

⋆⋆⋆⠀ ⠀ chiu u r genuinely one of the most positive ppl i've ever met on tumblr n i love u sm for it like jaskdlfjdkl u always make my day when u reblog a post n reading ur tags is so heartwarming n it makes me want to write a million more pieces just to see what u think of them,, ur theme is absolutely adorable n i love ur alpha wolf pfp bc it's so funny n i was literally giggling when u were answering asks abt it n i saw them on my dash,, i hope that every day is an amazing day for u n if u ever need anything u can come in my pms to chat or my inbox (i will def be saying hi later in urs LOL) have an amazing amazing day n i can't wait for u to post any kind of writing in the future!

⌗ @rewh0re ₊ ˖ ་.

⋆⋆⋆⠀ ⠀ hi hana!!! i'm so glad u popped into my inbox n said hi bc i always saw u interacting w ppl on the dash n i was too nervous to say hi jakfsdlkl i love interacting w u n talking abt whatever n whenever in inboxes or replies,, ur username always makes me giggle n i love it so much (i always read it as 'reo whore' for some reason asjfdkl but i love it) i send ur kuroo fics to my kuroo stan friend n she eats them up,, ur writing style is so beautiful n emotional,, i love the way u structure ur plots w metaphors n repetition n symbolism n everything u put into ur hard work it's all so amazing,, wishing u the very best day tmr ever!

⌗ @wishmemel ₊ ˖ ་.

⋆⋆⋆⠀ ⠀ HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAFI!!!! ik i alr said it but it never hurts to hear a million times n more! i associate u sm w sanrio like idk if mymelo is ur favorite but in my head u r the real life her ajsfkl,, ur so sweet n genuine i love interacting w u n seeing u all over my dash,, I HOPE UR BIRTHDAY WAS AMAZING !!!! ... fixing this bc im screaming bc i can't believe i mixed that up omg... anyways... LUV U

⌗ @yoisami ₊ ˖ ་.

⋆⋆⋆⠀ ⠀ OKAY FIRST i literally LOVE ur theme like it's so cute n so fitting to ur personality i love it sm ajsfkdl saki ur so sweet n i'm so glad we're mutuals bc i always look forwards to seeing u on my dash or going to ur inbox (which i'm lacking on rn but i promise i'll visit it more soon jaskdl!!!!) the way u support ff writing on tumblr is so amazing w ur reblogs n tags,, n i look foward to reading more of ur writing in the future (hopefully i can live up to ur sweet tags!) !!! have an amazing amazing day saki !!!!!!

⌗ @y2kuromi ₊ ˖ ་.

⋆⋆⋆⠀ ⠀ screaming bc i got ur bday mixed up w another mutual but HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN LMFAO !!!! i hope that ur day was so amazing n that i'm not getting this wrong again (SORRY SAFI) !!! mimi ur so nice i'm like giggling so hard rn im so sorry,, happy happy birthday hope it was amazing!

⌗ all of my other loves <3 ₊ ˖ ་.

⋆⋆⋆⠀ ⠀ i love being mutuals w all of u n being a part of such a supportive writing community! ur all so talented n ur blogs r beautiful, i hope ur day was absolutely amazing n that we can interact more in the future (i will be invading ur inboxes that's a promise ajfskdl) !!!! happy november!!!

[iwritetopassthetime]

Bradley and Blossom house hunting headcanon

Part of my home to you universe // Masterlist

Wordcount: 1.4K

Summary: you and Bradley start looking for a house

Warnings: some angst, but mostly fluff

(this is Bradley talking about his dream house with Blossom)

Bradley and Blossom's house hunt begins not long after she starts her new job. between her settling into her position at the landscaping firm and Bradley spending almost every day of the work week on base, they manage to devote a few hours every weekend to sitting down and doing searches online for their new home;

Blossom definitely buys an organiser to keep on top of the planning, while Bradley is more of a 100 tabs open with different real estate sites kind of guy (his laptop sounds like it’s having an asthma attack and is always just another tab away from fully melting);

so Blossom takes over keeping record of everything (contacts of estate agents, pros and cons of each house, pricing, and the rest);

surprisingly, despite his bad info keeping habits, Bradley is very good with the budgeting side of things. having saved a lot of money over the years by keeping a pretty standard way of living and residing in navy-provided housing, means that their house hunting budget is substantial;

Blossom starts feeling bad about not being able to chip in for the house. her salary is stable enough and is allowing her to save money, but from the looks of things Bradley would be the one actually paying for whatever place they decide to buy. when she shares that Bradley one saturday, he assures her that it’s not a competition of who pays more, they’re a couple and everything his is hers and vice versa. they reach an agreement that she can be in charge of refurbishing costs which settles the matter;

they meet an estate agent (Blossom calls him “our Phil Dunphy” mainly because of his incredible likeness to the Modern Family character in terms of looks and personality);

they seem to get offers pretty quickly and are super excited that they might find the perfect house sooner rather than later. but that excitement is soon diminished when the first twenty places are either too pricey and too small, or would need too much fixing that it would make them cost more than their initial price;

“Phil” asks them to stay positive and keep a mind open — the inflation and housing crisis makes things tricky — but he’s sure that he can find them something; 

Penny, being the literal, fucking angel that she is, keeps reiterating that however long it takes, they’re more than welcome to make the guest room their own for the time being;

Amelia seems the happiest that they haven’t moved out yet;

she has Bradley AND Blossom to watch TV and reality shows with (their favourite pastime is making fun of contestants on Too Hot To Handle) and do literally anything fun with.

i mean, she is rooting for them to find a house that she can “occasionally” visit, but she’s enjoying the extra time with her besties;

Maverick is the one who is very sceptical of “Phil” and decides to start his own research to help out. he acts like a total dad with that I-can-do-it-better-than-the-professionals attitude;

Blossom finds it endearing;

Bradley has to pull his reins a little 'Mav, you’re a navy pilot, not an estate agent' but to the og Brossom supporter (ship name is still wip), there is no such thing as 'i’ve never studied how to do that, i’m fucking doing it for y favourite couple ever!';

“Phil” takes Bradley and Blossom on a house viewing in mid-october and the place is simply wonderful;

it's a single level, dark blue shingled bungalow with white trimmings. its asking price is a little steep, but “Phil” is sure he can convince the sellers to "bring it down a smidge" since the kitchen needs full remodelling. and there’s a massive backyard for Blossom to create her own garden space;

a few days before Halloween, however, they get a slapped across the face with a message from “Phil” saying he was sorry, but another buyer — some app developer from San Fransisco — came and took the house at the selling price;

Bradley really tried to hold himself together, seeing Blossom's crestfallen expression when she had to cross out “blue house” in your list. there wasn’t even a single one left that didn’t have that angry red line running across its title;

the two are not really in the mood for another house viewing after that. “Phil” understands their dismay, but reminds them that they shouldn’t give up;

Bradley and Blossom decide to give it a rest and enjoy halloween with friends and family, since stressing over the house hunt is not gonna help them in the end;

they leave “Phil” to keep searching while the two take some time off of that whole project;

Blossom puts her organiser away and doesn’t give it too much thought throughout the week after Halloween;

Penny and Mav organise another barbecue;

this time the party is a little bigger, with more people. and a surprise guest there is Sarah, Ice’s wife;

she comes in with a homemade cake and Bradley is immediately on her, hugging her and kissing her cheeks;

he has very warm memories of spending time at her and Ice’s as a child seeing as uncle Ice was a very prominent figure in his formative years;

Sarah is delighted to meet Blossom

‘She’s absolutely amazing, I’m very happy for you, Bradley,’ she tells him when Blossom's off to get some drinks;

‘She is.’ Bradley is like a kid getting a gold star for spelling, whenever someone compliments her because “yeah, my girl is absolutely fantastic!!! do you know she’s a horticulture expert?? yeah she’s fucking incredible" this man is just smitten and loves his girlfriend to bits; 

Bradley and Sarah are chatting, Blossom join them soon after and Bradley pulls her to his side. Sarah mentions that Ice kept everything from Carole's old place in a storage container for him because GODS KNOW Maverick wouldn’t have been able to handle that;

'i’ll give you the location and the key so when the two of you want to move into your own place, you can have everything’;

Bradley mentions that the they are indeed looking for a house, but are unsuccessful so far and Sarah’s like ‘oh, I’ve got a place. yeah, Tom and I’s first house — we used to rent it out quite a lot and David’s (their younger son) been in charge of it since Tom passed away’;

the two of them are immediately like ‘oooooh, tell us more’;

Sarah has pictures of the and tells then everything about it (Bradley barely remembers it, but apparently he’s been there as a child): it’s a two-storey, mediterranean style house. three bedrooms, fully furnished kitchen but some appliances are in need of a change. two and a half bathrooms. with a big backyard and a shed. a literal dream;

‘i can check with David, but i don’t think it’s being used at the moment. you two can move in straight away, free of charge, but i know that David expects it to earn something on the market. but I’d just be happy for it to go to someone in the family.’;

Bradley goes all mushy at that (our boy is has a lot of emotions) and it’s down to Blossom to keep a level head and ask Sarah for her number so the two can discuss it further; 

Sarah gives her some more info about the house, letting her know that the soil is quite rocky there so it might be tricky to grow anything. but that’s a welcome challenge for our girl Blossom;

at the end of the night, the two of them are just ecstatic about the possibility of finally finding their dream house. Blossom remains realistic and tell him that they still need to see the place in person before making a decision, plus there’s “Phil”s feelings to consider;

what happens really is the next day, Sarah invites them over to the house and you two are settling on a price with David (an incredibly lowered one considering how expensive houses like that are these days), but they are not ones to look an extremely generous gift horse in the mouth;

Blossom calls “Phil” to thank him for the help, of course. they've found their house;

Bradley and Blossom are moving in around mid-november, opening a new chapter in their life as a couple

home to you tags: @gretagerwigsmuse @jupitercomet @youlightmeupfinn @craftymoonchaos @the-winter-marvel33 @agent-jbarnes @blahehblah @katieshook02 @amysteryspot @daisyhollyxox @marantha @piceous21 @mak-32 @twoosinrooster @adoringsebstan @everyoneslovechild @shityoudidntaskfor @alluringshawn @marsontoast @lemur46 @taytaylala12 @benhardysdrumstick @strangeangelflapsuitcase @shanimallina87 @beachesandboats @ishipit1420 @machsachds @wishfulhope (crossed over names are people I wasn't able to tag, sorry)

[ryozaki21]

brownies - l.yy

"...I spent 2 days making the perfect brownie for you!"

genre: pure fluff , yangyang x reader

warnings: yangyang being a softie TT, wc: 1.2k

an: this one's from the shelf aswell, i promise i'm working on a new fic!!

--

"No! Yangyang stop, you're messing it up!" You yelled at your boyfriend when he started mixing the batter mixture rapidly, making some of it splash out of the bowl.

"I just wanna try it, It would be two times faster!!" He proudly says to you. You stared at him blankly.

You looked up, "Jesus christ I dated a five year old." You mumbled.

"Told ya this was a bad idea, Y/N." You heard Ten, sitting at the couch.

You just rolled your eyes as you continued to make brownies.

"Come on baby, promise I'll stop." Yangyang as he put his palms together and looked at you with his puppy eyes.

You sighed and rolled your eyes.

"Alright give me the chocolate." You said and took your hands out.

You were waiting for him to give you the chocolate but he just stared at your palms.

"Uh.. I ate h-half---"

"Oh my gosh! What?! Why?" You angrily said to him, making him turn his head down.

"It took you so long to prepare I got hungry! And I thought it was out for snacks, I didn't know it's in the recipe!" He fired back at you.

"Really?! We're literally making brownies, Yangyang and you thought we didn't need chocolates?! Wow, genius!" You sarcastically complained.

"Hey, you're the one who dragged me into this! You knew I hate baking!" He yelled back.

"What?! I said I'm baking brownies and you said you want to do it too!" You pointed at him, now yelling louder.

"I was just being nice. I didn't know you were gonna be this bossy!" You looked at him with disbelief, and angrily put down the spatula that you were holding.

"Ugh! I'm not doing this with you. I'm done." You gave up and went out of the kitchen to go to his room.

"Where do you think you're going?! You're at my dorm!" He shouted.

You stopped walking, and gasped with his words. You turned around.

"You're right, hah." You sarcastically laughed and walked towards the jacket rack to get your coat.

"Don't even think of calling me, Yangyang. I'm done with your shit." You harshly said to him before leaving the dorms.

You went home, still angry to the point that you were crying. You and Yangyang have always been fine and never really fought. Just arguments here and there but not to the point of yelling on top of each other.

You turned off your phone, and went to sleep right after. You got tired because of crying so you dozed off pretty quick.

--

2 days have passed, and Yangyang still isn't contacting you. You've already missed him so much, but your thoughts drowned you.

You assumed that he was done with all your shit as well, and didn't wanna talk to you too.

You sighed as you stood up, looking for your laptop. You need to finish some designs for your boss, but you couldn't find your laptop at your apartment.

And that's when you realized, you left it at WayV's dorm. Half of your clothes are there as well. You pretty much live with Yangyang, until ofcourse, the fight happened.

Fuck, the deadline's tomorrow. I need that laptop. You thought to yourself.

You didn't want to call Yangyang, because It would be embarrassing. You told him never to contact you again, it would be stupid if you call him.

"Aish." You mumbled as you got your keys and drove straight to WayV's dorm.

You knocked twice, Xiaojun opening for you.

"Don't wanna hear it, I just need to get my stuff." You told him and pushed him out of the way.

"Y/N?" You heard Kun, in the kitchen, with aprons on.

You didn't face him as you walked straight to Yangyang's room. He's not there, luckily for you.

You opened your backpack, and started to gather your things.

"Y/N I think you should wait for Yangyang first before you do that.." Ten as he watched you grab your clothes.

"What? Don't worry I won't take any of his things, Ten." You said and rolled your eyes at him.

"That's not what I meant." He seriously said.

"You two should talk first." He sat on Yangyang's bed, as he stopped you packing.

You gave a big sigh. "I know what I'm doing." You sternly said and continued packing.

"Alright." Ten put both his hands up and slowly left the room.

After about 5 minutes, you were done packing and got your laptop. You went outside the room.

As the room's door close, that was when the main door opens, revealing Yangyang, holding a packet of... sprinkles?

He froze and looked at you, as his eyes slowly lowered to your bag.

"Y-you're leaving m-me?" He silently said, as he let go of the sprinkles.

"I just need my s--"

He walked towards you and hugged you tight.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry Y/N, I truly am! I promise I won't do it again just don't leave me please!" He pleaded hugged you really tight, burying his face on to your neck.

But that's not what you're surprised of, the shocking thing was you felt his shoulder shake, and your neck started to feel wet.

"Are you crying?" You patted his back trying to calm him down.

"Please don't break up with me Y/N. Please baby don't go!" He whispered as he continued crying.

You grabbed both of his shoulder and pushed him a bit to make him face you. and you were correct, he's bawling.

"Aish." You mumbled and grabbed the tissue from the table beside you and wiped his tears.

He's still looking at you, sniffing, while you fix his hair and wipe his face.

"I'm not breaking up with you, okay?" You clarified to him.

"T-then why are you taking your stuff?" He carefully asked.

"I was only here to take my laptop, But I thought I would take my things too because you don't... you don't like me around here." You quietly said the last part because you were embarrassed.

"So not true?!" He said in a high pitch.

"Then why didn't you call me?!" You slightly hit his chest and he caught your hands.

"I spent those 2 days making the perfect brownie for you.. Kun-ge's teaching me and I thought I could surprise you.. so I didn't wanna call you cuz that would spoil the surprise." He gave you an innocent look.

"Oh my gosh, baby..." You said and hugged him tight.

"I'm sorry I've been bitchy and bossy.." You said as you pulled away from your hug, almost tearing up.

"No baby I'm sorry for being immature." He said as he put his hands on your cheek.

"How about we're both sorry?" You said and smiled at him, which he gladly returned to you.

"Hmmkay baby." He leaned towards you but before you two kissed--

"No kissing in front of us, kids!" Ten shouted.

You both laughed, turning your heads to him.

"How about I help you put those back on my dresser?" Yangyang said, as he pointed at your backpack full of clothes.

You nodded at him and he put his arms around you as you two walked towards his room.

"Kun-ge, you can finish the brownies, right? We'll back after 20 mins." Yangyang said,

"30." You corrected and coughed.

"30minutes." Yangyang repeated.

As you were to close the door, you heard Hendery.

"Be quiet or you're out!"

[slowestlap]

i have to shoot my shot and ask - HOW on earth do you make your gifs so crisp. they're so clean its literally out of this world!!!!!! when your gifs are on my dash i almost always know its you just by the QUALITY of the gif. help a girl out!!!

Hii! Thank you!! <3 I'm happy with the way my giffing process now goes but it's taken years and a few different fandoms and stumbling upon good tutorials which is why i decided to make one of my own too.

I still love figuring out new things to try and hopefully you can get some new tips to your process from me too. Under the cut is a long af post about gif making, focusing on some basic stuff and sharpening/coloring tips.

________________________

WAY TOO LONG INTRO

Before i get to the photoshop part, the base stuff is super important: You can't turn a very bad video into great gifs since there's only so much photoshop can do BUT you can turn a good video into great gifs. So, obviously the original video quality matters a lot.

I religiously stand by the correct tumblr size dimensions (see example, the numbers mean the width. Height doesn't really matter). However in 3 column sets i’ll sacrifice that one pixel and would make them all 177px. The empty space between gifs in 2 column sets is 4px, in 3 column sets it's 4px + 4px.

Since tumblr can only properly handle 540 gif pixels in the same row, sets with two wide gifs side by side can be laggy to scroll by. So for example, 268px gif will not be as sharp as 540px gif (if you click on it to see it bigger), since it legit has only half of the pixels, but if you plan to post 2 gifs in the same row, the 268px will look better on the dash in the gif set since it’s correctly sized for the best dash result.

I download videos when i can (dl is always better than screen recording), so that's youtube, instagram/twitter etc. Streaming sites/broadcasts i have to screen record and i use OBS to do it. It's the best i've tried for hq recording. I record with 60fps and use display capture. OBS is a heavy program, as is photoshop, so a good enough computer is also super important imo. I used to make gifs with a laptop of 4gb ram/128gb emmc and lost my mind after all the crashing and spent 1k€ on a new one. Basically, have as much performance as you can afford, and editing experience will be much much more pleasant. Of course gifs can be done with an average computer too, it'll just likely be slower and clumsier and you need more patience 😫

Also, i've gotten rid of the urge to be the first to post a gif set when new content drops. I'm not the fastest, i always do every coloring from the scratch. I save to drafts to see how it looks like on mobile, i go back to ps to correct the things that don't look right (too dark/bright, too green/yellow/red, too slow/fast), i make the changes, then save to drafts again and then post. I'd rather post a set i'm happy with than to post quickly knowing i could've made it look better with just a bit more time. (It'd bother me and i'd go back and re-color for my own peace of mind 😅) And i just wanna say it's totally fine when people make gifs of the same stuff!! The more the merrier, no need to think only the first to gif something somehow now has the rights to that moment. I just never get the best result if i try to hurry, so i’ve stopped trying to get my sets out asap. I’ll post when i’ll post.

________________________

SHARPENING

All these words and i haven't even gotten to the point yet 🫣 But fine tuning the details won't work if they don't have a proper base at first. Which!!! Finally brings us to your question:

I'm not sure if the order really matters but the main steps i do in this order: once the layers have been converted to video timeline and video timeline is converted into a smart object -> smart sharpen -> crop -> resize -> coloring

I like to sharpen things first, to me it makes sense to do it before resizing because after resizing you've already lost some pixels, so feels better to sharpen when you still have all the original pixels.

All the above steps (sharpening, cropping, resizing) will affect how the gif looks, so i do the coloring as the very last thing so i can better see how the end result will look.

To me sharpening and coloring go hand in hand, and you use both of them to get the best result. Sharpening obviously does what it says but good coloring will help to make the gif look cleaner and smoother too.

Finally, examples!! The key to a sharp result in my process is 2 sharpening layers. The main layer and the second layer.

Enjoy looking at judgy max f i giffed last year and chose to use as an example here. The source video quality was 1080px and i screen recorded with OBS.

I use photoshop CC2019 so cannot guarantee that these will work the same way in other ps versions. As always, it's about fuckin around and findin out 🙏🏻

__________________

1. Example with resizing done, but no sharpening or coloring (blurry and ungood)

2. Example with resizing and main sharpening layer (already much better)

3. Example with second sharpening layer included (more depth, dark spots are darker, almost too strong of an effect but coloring will fix that)

4. Example with all of the above + coloring (the final result)

5. The final result as a gif

And how did we get that result?

Main sharpening layer settings (yes, it’s in finnish but i think the options are in the same place in every language):

Because the sharpening is quite heavy, I double click on this thingy (red circle) in the layers panel to lower the opacity to 50-70%

The middle layer is gaussian blur, which i’ve set to 0,2.

So basically i intentionally oversharpen the gif and use the opacity function and blur to soften the effect. Dumb or smart, who knows not me, but it’s working for me so i’m rolling with it.

The top layer is the second sharpening layer. A godsend trick i’ve learned along the way: (the difference between the example photos 2 and 3 above)

(I've created an action, so i just gotta push one button and it'll run thru these sharpening settings, ie. i don't have to manually click thru these every time, saves crazy amount of time)

Wasn't sure at which point i'll mention this so i'm just putting it here: when saving the gif for web, i almost always use adaptive and diffusion.

________________________

COLORING

I’m not gonna go thru every coloring thing in my process since this is already so long hsdkfjdkjgkd but i’ll give some info on what i usually do and some tips i've found helpful.

My style is quite natural and i prefer colder tones. I hateeeee overly green/yellow/red skintones that are caused by bad lighting so I always try to correct that. The below stuff is more or less what i did to color that example gif too. (Everything is down to preference, these are just the way i like to color)

My most commonly used coloring layers:

Curves. Utilize the eye dropper tools, pick white eye dropper and click on a white spot on the gif (not pure white tho since it won’t do anything) and it will turn that spot to 100% white and correct the other colors at the same time. Black eye dropper will turn a dark spot you picked to 100% black. It can be super effective, just try a spot, undo, try another spot, undo, until you find what looks good. If you like the result but it’s too strong, lower the layer opacity. And of course you can just simply drag the curve up and get brightness that way. There are times when the eye droppers won't work nicely but it's always worth a try.

Levels. Works similarly to curves, they are basically the more efficient brightness/contrast combo.

Color balance. No gif of mine has been made in the last 3 years without dragging the blue in the midtones to the right. I also often drag the green to magnetas side. 

B&W gradient map. I set the blending mode to soft light and lower the layer opacity. Gives the gif a bit more depth and pop to the dark/light parts.

If the dark parts in your gif are too dark, for example details around eyes look messy but you don't want to lower the contrast, then try adding light colored gradient map (light yellow-white or light blue-white etc) and set it to soft light and play with opacity. It will give light and brightness to the gif without making things blinding and not losing much contrast.

Photo filter. I’m almost always going for cold blue and 10-20 setting. (Orange filters can give a nice effect too, if you want to bring some warmness to the gif.)

Vibrance. Always adding at least a little bit, helps colors to pop and makes skintones look nicer.

Selective coloring. Just drag them sliders to left and right to see what works, that’s really the best advice i can give. If you want reds to pop, go to red and play around. If you think the white spots are a bit blinding, go to white and then slide the bottom one (black) to the right. If you want some more contrast, go to neutral and slide the bottom one (black) to the right. Same with black (black).

Also, i don't like to do too much with one layer. I tend to do different colors with different selective coloring layers, so if needed i can lower the opacity and it will only affect that one color. Also it's handy to duplicate layers if you really want a certain color to pop, one layer often isn't enough in that case so duplicate it and if it's too strong then play around with opacity.

(Left image below). If you want to correct overly yellow/green skintones, go to yellow and you can try these settings. Then lower the layer opacity to see what looks good. 

(Right image). If you struggle getting rid of very red tones, you can use hue/saturation layer, go to red and just drag the middle slider to the left. (This is also a good tip with POC, when you think their skintone is overly orange/red but you are afraid of white washing. This setting will usually correct the orange and red tone without taking the dark/black color away.)

______________________

THE END

Wheew this is what happens when you give me an opprtunity to talk about giffing 😅 I hope it was easy to follow, feel free to ask if i was unclear about something!! And hopefully you got to learn something new. 

Also these are obviously just my way of doing things, not the Only Correct way, do whatever you like and enjoy and don’t worry too much if other people do things differently. Most important thing is to have fun creating 🫡

[aprillikesthings]

OKAY time to do more She-Ra rewatch woooooo

I mean to get started on this hours ago pffft okay at least two episodes tonight and THEN an edible (if I watch it while high I'm not going to remember a damn thing, okay)

s1 ep5!

(At this rate I am never going to finish. On weeknights I have to watch anything in the living room, where other people are, but I can't find my wired headphones, and my laptop is an old macbook that hasn't been able to find anything on bluetooth in YEARS. I need to look harder for my damn wired headphones!!)

I keep thinking someone super-nerdy has to have made a proper map of Etheria

Oh, they did! Of course they did. There's multiple fan maps out there, actually. Nice.

[EDIT: also her dad's retired? Like, okay. I get that the reason they say it that way is literally "he's not DEAD but he's not important to the plot" but like, that implies that he also no longer gives a single fuck about his kingdom or the fate of his people. Or his own daughter. Also retired where. Is there a retirement home for former Princesses]

ALSO as I was digging through old posts of Nate's on twitter I found out that when people get his published autobio comic signed (I've read it, but on Kindle) they've often taped over or crossed out his old name on the cover, and he thought it was sweet--though it doesn't bother him to see his old name.

But Netflix should still fix it. 😤

Every time someone pointed out something they needed, the music stopped and then started over--that was a nice touch lol

I feel bad for skipping the intro every time but I have to admit I do not enjoy the song much. There's nothing *wrong* with it, it's just not my thing at ALL.

Blobby creature on the left looks like a Pokemon doing a sexy dance, help

UHHHHHHHH

like I know that thing is its ...nose? mouth? and it drinks from the bottle with it right after this shot but THAT LOOKS LIKE A DILDO OKAY, like one of those smallish smooth silicone ones for people new to pegging

Too hard to capture without video but Glimmer's POV literally pans up on someone with a sexy hourglass figure and she makes a little noise, ahaha

I struggle with Sea Hawk. As a character he's great. But from my POV as a viewer he is in fact kind of annoying sometimes

"Just because Sea is in your name doesn't tell us anything about your actual qualifications" this whole scene is just lampshading the dumb names She-Ra is saddled with because of the original series in the 1980's being made to sell toys.

"It's the ship that made the Kessel run in less than twelve parsecs!"

I know everyone knows that Bow and Glimmer are both bisexual but still

they're both such himbos sometimes lolol

"Last week, on She-Ra--"

I love the way they introduced Scorpia.

also how did she make it to Force Captain when she's so kind and goofy

(while going through my own old spop posts I kept mentioning that I knew Scorpia would eventually change sides, but it still took WAY longer than I would've expected given what she's like)

Catra's hatred of water (and the way she consistently reacts to Scorpia just picking her up for hugs) is great, I love it when they lean into Catra being a cat

"What are you some kinda furry" no I am a furry ally, there's a difference

...no comment

Also I get that there's all the jokes about shanties but his song actually sounds like an homage to Gaston's song in Beauty and the Beast

The way Catra's voice goes up in pitch here is hilarious.

I know this becomes a whole Thing that Adora can read it and almost nobody else can, but just noting that Mermista's palace's walls have First Ones writing all over them

So Mermista's dad was part of the Princess Alliance? I wonder if "Princess" is just the gender-neutral word on Etheria?

Voice-acting Mermista must've been so much fun. I feel like she was inspired by Daria.

This reference ages me, doesn't it lol

See, I keep forgetting stuff. But I did watch these episodes in like 2019.

If the characters were allowed to curse, Mermista would've said something like "what the fuck??"

I remember watching a thing where a few SU voice actors were talking about recording "efforts," which these little kinds of sounds for when the character is doing something physically difficult.

The problem of course, is that I'm rewatching this show so I can write a fic with explicit sex in it, and so my brain is like "heheheh are these also her sex noises"

(I'm going to headcanon that and you can't stop me)

do they ever address where he's from I forget

I...immortal? I mean obviously we know they *can* die because otherwise their world would be literally overrun by princesses (plus, y'know, the thing later) but wait how did I miss that

ALSO I can't get a good screenshot but Kyle is playing a ball-and-cup game in EVERY SCENE HE'S IN

eheheheheheheh

wait hold on

Here's a post of Daci and doing that two different times

Also it's not far off from the ASL for lesbian, which is part of why me and Daci did it

I am reminded of this post.

Like, is she insulting Adora or attempting to flirt?

(yes.)

A bunch of fics have mentioned all the scars Adora has from Catra fighting her, and this is the first time we see that during the show; but I can't help wondering if Adora didn't already have faint scars somewhere from when they played as kids? (I know she gets much worse ones later.) It's not like a childhood in the Horde is idyllic or gentle and I doubt they were discouraged from fighting/rough-housing, and I can easily imaging a child!Catra not being good at knowing how hard she was scratching someone.

EHEHEHEHEHEH

Okay, so Catra taunts her and literally injures her, and THEN Adora is able to fix the gate?

Is she motivated by spite or the adrenaline rush/complicated emotions around seeing (and being manhandled by) Catra?

(yes)

this shot is deeply hilarious

Also yayyy Mermista has joined the Alliance

Also also I had to edit this post bc it turns out you can only have thirty images per post, whoops!

One day it will take me less than two hours to make one of these posts >_<

Catra is still convinced (or pretending to be convinced) at this point that Adora's defection is temporary, huh.

[emilianadarling]

For the ask meme: 13, 29, and 35, please!

Continuing to work through the submissions I got for the writer ask meme. :3

Weird Questions for Writers (because writers are weird)

13. What is a subject matter that is incredibly difficult for you write about? What is easy?

Oof. I suppose on the 'difficult' front, there's a spectrum between:

'difficult to write about but I still DO write about it', and

'so difficult to write about that I choose not to write about it, period'.

In the former category, we have *wince* things like trauma to hands and fingers, which is very deeply unpleasant to write about but I absolutely WILL and HAVE done it. It's aksjdhajksdhkjsahdj to write about for me personally, but I CAN soldier through.

For those of you who've read Until My Dying Breath from way back in 2011-2012, I quite literally had to write the 'Vampire!Kurt snaps a guy's wrists backward like twigs' scene with my eyes averted as I typed, my little 21-22 year old self going 'ahh' 'AHHH' out loud at the laptop screen as I did so, then went back and edited out all the typos another day once I'd had a chance to steel myself. I don't LIKE writing it, but I have and will again.

Then there is the 'so difficult to write about that I choose not to write about it, period' end of the spectrum, which is for me a more pernicious kind of difficulty. For me, that's things like partner betrayal, infidelity, certain fundamental betrayals between close family. I can feel out of my skin for days after encountering those elements in stories unexpectedly, and so it's just not a topic I have much desire to feature as central elements of my writing.

Obligatory 'writing battle scenes is also hard' note here lmao, but while it's true and they ARE, I think working through my battle scene anxieties by way of repeated exposure and beta reader/collaborator support.

29. Where do you draw your inspiration? What do you do when the inspiration well runs dry?

The first thing that came to mind are these passages from On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King:

"... good story ideas seem to come quite literally from nowhere, sailing at you right out of the empty sky: two previously unrelated ideas come together and make something new under the sun. Your job isn’t to find these ideas but to recognize them when they show up."[...]

"We are writers, and we never ask one another where we get our ideas; we know we don’t know."

This may not be everyone's experience, but there are elements that certainly echo my own. Sometimes it strikes all at once, a convergence of concepts into a story you want to read so badly you feel compelled to craft it into existence.

The next closest answer I can give is "other people's stories", because everything is a story and the world is a story and we all creatively stand on the shoulders of giants. We build upon the stories that fed us!!!

35. What’s your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

Perhaps not into smithereens, but I do have a counterpoint to Orwell’s Rule: "never use a long word when a short word will do".

While the underlying sentiment is, for me, often supportable... in practice, my gut preference is to go with the word that describes the thing as precisely, evocatively, and accurately as possible. Often times, that's a shorter one; sometimes, it's a longer one.

There are some words out there that are apt as fuck. 'Load-bearing words', if you will. Describing Din's armor as "a metallurgical second skin" gave me bone-deep satisfaction during revisions. It just felt right, and I knew Caro would LOVE it once they did their beta reading pass... and they DID.

So -- short words are OFTEN better, in my eyes. But not always. Sometimes, a longer word will do.

[singsweetmelodies]

18, 35, 51

first of all - thank you so much for the ask, friend! 🥰 all the love ❤️ secondly, though... *gnashes teeth* tumblr. my beloathed. i fucking hate you sometimes. 'cause like... i had BEAUTIFUL replies typed up for this. genuinely beautiful and funny and insightful and all. and then as i hit post, guess what? tumblr :) ate :) them :) so now i'm on my gf's laptop instead of mobile, hoping for the best LOL 👌

18. Do you enjoy research?  Which fic of yours required the most research?

for me, research is one of the BEST parts of fic writing! 😍 it always makes me laugh so much to go back and look at my google search history afterwards - like, without context, it's SO weird, hahaha! i'm someone who loves learning new things, though, so for me the actual research part is *chef's kiss.* especially because what i end up researching is never something i'd usually stumble over in my day-to-day musings? so it's inevitably fascinating, and yeah, i more often than not find myself elbows-deep in the wormhole of this link goes to that site where i click that link about this again and and and -- yeah lmao 🙈 but i love it a lot!

as for which fic of mine required the most research - oh, that would have to be love's a game, wanna play? aka my super self-indulgent fake dating au wip. for this one, i've ended up researching everything from french chateaux to french wedding traditions to outdoors treasure hunt ideas to outlandish fascinator designs. yep. and there'll be even more insanity to come, i'm sure 😆 SO much fun though, truly.

35. What’s your favourite fic you’ve posted?

this is actually quite a tricky one, mostly because i've only posted, what, four fics in this fandom 😂 and they are all pretty self-indulgent, so trying to pick a favourite is like trying to choose only one favourite fanfic trope. i could never really do it! however, if i have to single one out for you: ils se connaissent par coeur will always have a special place in my heart, for several reasons. firstly because it's the first fic i ever wrote in this fandom, and coincidentally also the first fic i've published in about seven years. secondly, it's also the one where i first tested out pierre and charles' voices, and looking back on it now? i am genuinely very proud of the character work i did in it. also, y'know. it's post-monaco hurt/comfort. #katiecore. what more can i say.

51. Does what you like to write differ from what you like to read?

this is a great question! and for me personally, at least, the answer is no. i've had experiences where i completely lose all interest and motivation in a fandom because i was writing too much of what other people wanted, and not enough of what i enjoyed. so for this fandom, i'm being the most self-indulgent writer imaginable, LOL. literally, all my ideas go something along the lines of "damn i really feel like reading this specific fic now... oh there isn't one 😔 *thanos voice* i'll do it myself, then." prime example? my fake dating au. i'm writing it exactly the way i'd love to read it if i could, and making myself laugh like an idiot, and you know what? i am having the BEST time.

thank you so much for asking! 😍 i really enjoyed answering these (after tumblr stopped being a giant fucking arsewipe, LMAO.) hugs!! 🥰

fanfic q&a

[magicshopaholic]

The Fifth (Jungkook x OC)

Summary: Jeon Jungkook is the world famous golden maknae, capable of anything, afraid of nothing. He's also the worst date you've ever been on - and now he wants a second one.

Pairing: Jungkook x OC

Genre: Teasing, banter, slowburn fluff (is that a thing?), idiots to lovers

Word count: 7.9 K

Warnings: Insinuations of sexual harassment (not from Jungkook)

Part 1 of 2 (Part 2)

Listen to: "whistle for the choir" by the fratellis

jungkook masterlist | main masterlist

You barely waited for the car to stop before you began grabbing your stuff - your bag, your phone, and what remained of your dignity. You threw the door open and had one leg out, ready to get this hideous night over with, when you decided to give him one last look. One last chance to look even the slightest bit ashamed.

No such luck.

He sat in the driver’s seat, staring straight ahead as his hand clutched the steering wheel, as though ready to zoom away the moment you closed the door. You stared at the baseball cap on his head - the same cap he’d worn throughout the date, even inside the damn restaurant. Filled with the sudden urge to take it off and smack him with it, you opted to scoff instead.

“Good night, I guess,” you muttered, unable to keep the disdain out of your voice. If he noticed it, he didn’t show it.

“Right.” His fingers visibly tightened around the steering wheel.

You waited for him to say something else but when he didn’t, you were done. You were out of patience, finally, after three hours of possibly the worst night of your life. Without another word, you stepped out of the car and slammed the door of his fancy Hyundai shut, walking straight to the entrance of your building. You turned one absolute last time to look at him; even through the window of the car, this late at night, you could make out his sharp jawline, aquiline nose, and the scowl under that stupid baseball cap.

He was gorgeous. He was sensational, he was adored, he was worshipped. But above all, you decided, Jeon Jungkook was the absolute worst date ever.

“Is the coffee machine still not fixed?” You slam the side of it and groan when it simply gurgles. “How are we supposed to perform at our best if we don’t even have caffeine in the morning?”

Seulgi clicks her tongue from behind you, typing something on her laptop, a steaming mug of green tea in her other hand. “There’s literally a coffee cart in the lobby.”

“I know, I saw that,” you mutter, walking over and sinking in your seat next to her. “But the crowd in front of it was insane. Is it some new popular brand I don’t know about?”

“Doubt it,” she says, sliding her cup over to you which you accept gratefully. “I think they put it up for BTS. It’s their first official day back, right?”

You freeze for a moment, mid-sip, before going back to work. Seulgi seems to remember it then, too.

“Oh, do you think Jungkook will seek you out?” she wonders, eyebrow raised under her glasses. “I mean… to apologise or whatever?”

You snort. “Not likely. He barely had anything to say to me that night; I doubt he’s going to start today.”

“You never know. You both work at Hybe - it’s just a matter of time before you bump into each other again.”

You give her a look. “I’ve been working at Hybe for four years and he still asked me out at the liquor store across the street. And after that disaster of a date…” You shudder. “I’m not holding my breath.”

“Yeah, it’s probably for the best,” agrees Seulgi, who, by virtue of being in the very same liquor store but in the adjoining aisle, was the only person who knew that you’d been on a date with Jungkook. It also meant that you’d vented to her and only her about it - and thankfully, she’d been just as disgusted when you’d told her about the baseball cap.

“I have to say, though,” she continues, getting up to pick up a sheaf of prints from the other end of the table, “Jungkook is not the one I would’ve pegged to be that aloof on a date. Taehyung, maybe - and only maybe. He could’ve been having a bad day - he was still serving…”

You tune her out partly, having heard all this before. You’ve considered all this too, but so far, Jungkook has not only taken you out on the worst date of your life, he’s also denied you your morning coffee. You have no patience, especially when you begin reliving that horrendous night six months ago.

It’s true, he’d been back on a break from his military service. The whole country knew about it, which was why you weren’t only surprised that he was in a liquor store across the street from Hybe, but that out of all the things he could’ve been doing on his few days back, he chose to go out with you - and bomb it. He’d picked you up in a stale mood, barely greeting you before he zoomed away towards the restaurant whose name he’d texted you the previous night. When you’d stepped out of the car, your jaw had almost dropped at his attire: faded jeans, a hoodie and trainers that he’d probably worn to the gym that morning. To top it off, he’d thrown on that ridiculous baseball cap just before entering.

You’d followed him in a daze. When you’d found out the name of the restaurant, you’d searched it online and carefully curated your outfit, keeping in mind how refined it was. Not only had Jungkook made no such effort, he’d chosen a table next to the kitchen and taken his seat first, leaving you to sit right next to the kitchen door. He’d barely made any conversation, looking at his lap, the menu, his phone any time you tried to initiate dialogue. Finally, by the time your food had arrived, you’d lost all interest and instead chosen to at least make the best of the free meal you were getting.

Less than five bites in, the door behind you had opened with a bang and knocked your chair - and you - into the table, making you choke, when you’d felt a trickle of something ice cold down your chest. You’d turned in horror to see dark red wine make its way down your shoulder and chest, permanently staining the dress you’d spent a quarter of last month’s salary on. While Jungkook had initially made no effort to help you out, perhaps it was the sight of your top getting more and more translucent by the second that compelled him to sullenly offer you his hoodie - but, you reasoned, only because he was wearing a jacket over it.

The rest of the night had gone just as abysmally, until you’d opted to decline any dessert from the waiter, ignoring Jungkook’s affronted expression. You just wanted to get home.

It’s a few more days before you consciously think of him again. Seulgi drags you into the conference room where the entire marketing team has just concluded a meeting, leaving behind them an empty room of coffee cups and stray laptop chargers.

“It’s a gold stud,” she mutters again, shuffling over to where she was standing to hopefully spot her missing earring. Tugging on her ear, she suddenly gets down on her knees, peering under the table.

“I’m going to be screwed in this meeting,” you mutter worriedly, setting a file to download before placing your laptop on the table and helping Seulgi search. “Check in the cushion of the chair in front of you.”

“Believe me, they won’t even make it to your part of the presentation,” says Seulgi absently, and you can’t help but think she’s right. “They always go on and on about print for some reason and I just can’t understand - holy shit, it’s here!” She pops up, holding the tiny stud in her hand like a talisman. “You were right!”

“That’s great,” you say hurriedly, scrambling to your feet. “Now can we -”

The glass door opens with a soft squeak, interrupting you.

“- looking at different concepts just because you’ve all come back - oh. Excuse me.” A man in loose pants, a bomber jacket (in April?) and a fedora on his head strides in before stopping to a halt. Taking one look at him, you know he’s talent, probably a producer or a sound technician which means you have no business talking to him unless it’s strictly about work. The moment he spots you and Seulgi he stops talking, and both of you bow immediately.

“We’ll just be out of your way,” says Seulgi quickly, and you nod, picking up your laptop when you notice the person he’s with.

“Wait, I - I know you,” says Jungkook, eyes wide with confusion and wonder.

All thoughts of not talking to artists go straight out the window. You frown, taking a moment to process that he’s talking to you. “Excuse me?”

Next to you, Seulgi’s eyes widen. The person with Jungkook only raises his eyebrows, but you aren’t really looking at him anyway. Jungkook, having already shown more interest in you in the last five seconds than he had during your entire date, seems to be realising something.

“Lia!” he exclaims suddenly, making you raise your eyebrows. “Your - your name is Lia… right?” He frowns, looking incredibly doubtful, as though afraid of answering a question wrong in class. “We met in the - in, um…”

You can’t find words - any words. Sure, the date had been terrible. Maybe you’d expected too much from men; maybe you’d even come to expect that Jeon Jungkook was a diva in real life, insulted at the idea of dating the common folk. What you didn’t expect, though, even for a moment, was that he wouldn’t even remember you.

You consider watching him struggle for a bit but it gets too painful, your humiliation eventually taking over. “Uh, actually, we’ve - we’ve never met,” you interrupt him, shutting your laptop in your hands, the snapping sound making him jump. “You must be thinking of someone else. Excuse me.” You sidestep the men and exit the room with Seulgi, deliberately not looking back.

“He remembered your name,” points out Seulgi eventually, sounding uneasy. “And he did… no, I can’t. God, what a jerk.”

What a jerk indeed. You intend to use the slowly bubbling anger to help you approach this meeting a bit more confidently and you mentally talk yourself up as you simultaneously curse Jungkook. To your absolute horror, he catches up to you when you’re on your way, running up next to you in the middle of a corridor.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” you hiss, taking a deliberate step away from him when you notice someone walk by and frown at you two.

“So we have met,” he says, sounding far too victorious for someone who’s evidently run up two flights of stairs to catch up with you.

“Good job. Now, if you’ll excuse me -” You try to walk around him but he keeps up with you easily.

“Look, wait, I’m sorry - I didn’t forget, I just needed a moment to place you, I - will you stop for one second?” Jungkook slides abruptly to stand in front of you.

You bump into him before jerking back. “Do you have a problem?” you ask in a low voice. Behind him, you see people filing into the room where your meeting is about to take place.

“No, I just want to apologise for - well, for -”

But you cut him off again when you spot your boss making her way into the room. “Listen, I don’t know what you’re talking about but I really have to go -”

“Okay, but can we talk after you’ve -”

“I wouldn’t count on it. Goodbye, Jungkook.” Nudging him out of the way, you half-jog away from him, laptop in hand. You make it inside just in time, greeting people on the way as you approach the front of the room, plugging in your laptop to the projector. As the screen loads, you notice Jungkook outside across the corridor, still standing in the spot you left him.

---

After your meeting, which ends up going reasonably okay but extends by over an hour, you stop by the cafeteria for a protein bar before going back down to your desk. You’re about to pack up for the day when you notice a purple post-it on your bulletin board, pasted over the picture of you and your brother at his eighteenth birthday party. You sigh, having a feeling what it is.

Make six copies of the LA proposal and leave it at our desks before you go? Thanks.

Ever since your boss made it clear that you can expect a promotion decision by June this year, barring any complications (her words), it’s almost like she expects you to willingly perform chores for extra credit. You suppose you should be grateful there’s a thanks at all at the end, so you set the files to photocopy and tiredly make your way over to the copy room, protein bar in one hand. You take a large bite and push the door open, only to see someone already in there.

“Hi.” Jungkook, seated on the table next to the copy machine, smiles timidly.

You choke - literally. Clutching the doorknob, you cough until the piece of protein bar in your throat dislodges itself, while Jungkook hops off the table in a hurry and leaps over to pat your back.

“How -” you wheeze, sure your face is beet red by now, “- do you manage to do this to me every time?”

“Sorry,” he mutters with an awkward smile, stepping back once you start straightening up. “Thank God you came, though. I was starting to think I’d have to wait here all night.”

You stare. “How did you know I’d come here? Did you leave that post-it on my desk?” you ask suddenly.

“No. But I saw your boss leave it and I asked to confirm if it was your desk and she said yes…” He smiles again, looking like a woodland creature from a Pixar film. “She’s really nice.”

“Sure. How, uh… how did you know what department I’m in? I’m pretty sure that never came up.”

“Um…” He rubs the back of his neck, looking slightly uneasy now. “I asked at reception and the lady told me… it’s not private or anything, right? I mean, she wouldn’t have told me if it was. Right? She was really nice, too, so…”

You try not to roll your eyes; of course everyone’s going to be nice to Jeon Jungkook. “So you decided to corner me in the copy room?” You look up at him for confirmation. He’s a good five or six inches taller than you but you hold your ground.

“Kind of,” he admits. “I wanted to apologise. I swear I didn’t forget you… Lia. I just - it took me a moment to place you from - from our - from October.” He pauses, screwing his eyes shut before opening them again. “Which brings me to the other thing I need to apologise for.”

This should be good. You fold your arms across your chest, choosing to let Jungkook ramble on. He’s remarkably different than he was that night. He’s far better dressed, to begin with, in a white t-shirt and a smart black jacket, jeans and combat boots. Most importantly, there’s no baseball cap. He’s also said more words to you in the last two minutes than he had in three hours during your date and from the embarrassed look on his face, he knows it too.

“When we, um -” He breaks off, clearing his throat. “When we went out, I was - well, firstly I was on a break from service,” he reminds you, shrugging, “but I also wasn’t… I mean, I wasn’t in a great place. And, uh, I think I took that out on you. And our date. And I’m sorry.”

The strange thing is, you can tell he means it. He genuinely is sorry, but the actual apology itself is so half-arsed that you simply stare at him in disbelief.

“That’s it?”

Jungkook’s eyes go wide - very wide. It takes you off guard for a moment. “Um… I, uh -” He stutters, clearly not knowing where you’re going with this. He looks so pitiful trying to decode your comment that you roll your eyes, grudgingly deciding to help him out.

“Do you remember what you told me? On our date?” you prompt.

His frown deepens. “Um… about - about what?”

“Exactly,” you say forcefully. “You didn’t say anything! You wouldn’t talk to me, you wouldn’t look at me - and you wore a fucking baseball cap inside a restaurant,” you snap, unable to let that detail go.

Jungkook takes a deep breath, as though just remembering the extent of how horrible the date was. “Yes. Yes, I - I do remember that. Although -” He breaks off again, apparently deciding not to say anything.

You raise your eyebrows. “Although what?”

“It’s not important.”

“Oh, just say it.”

He sighs and runs a hand through his hair, looking extremely uncomfortable. “You were… a bit overdressed. I mean, you looked great,” he adds quickly. “But… it wasn’t that fancy a restaurant.”

You’re stumped for a moment, mostly because you’ve had this thought more times than you’d care to admit. “Well, it wasn’t KFC either,” you retort, albeit a little weakly.

Jungkook bites his lip. “Anyway… I am really sorry. You were actually being very nice and I was…” He rubs the back of his neck again, “... not cool,” he finishes.

You observe him, frowning. He’s refusing to meet your eyes, leading you to believe he’s truly apologetic. But there’s still something there to unearth.

“Why did you ask me out?” You ask the question that’s been on your mind since the moment you got into his car six months ago. “I mean, you clearly didn’t want to be there. Why bother at all?”

“Um… my friend told me -”

“Oh, please don’t tell me it was a dare,” you interrupt in a low voice, scathing but with a fear starting to bloom that you haven’t felt since high school.

“What? No, no… it wasn’t a dare. The date was real,” he adds, rubbing the back of his neck again. It’s his nervous tic; you’re surprised you don’t hate it. “But he did convince me and...” He sighs. “It’s really stupid.”

“Oh, I believe you. But I still would like to know why you asked me out on a date where you played nothing apart from One Direction’s greatest hits in the car.”

He gasps. “It included their solo works, too!”

You roll your eyes. “My mistake. Are you going to tell me or not?”

“Fine. I used to have a crush on this girl and my friend thought that going out with someone else would help me get over her.” He rolls his eyes. “I was really pissed off because I didn’t want his help but he insisted and I was just determined to prove him wrong. And… I took it out on you. And I’m really, really sorry.”

“Oh.” The momentary panic in your chest fades into something else and you’re not sure you’re meant to like it. It’s suddenly harder to meet his gaze but you force yourself to do so. “So, your friend just… he just told you to walk up to a random girl and ask her out? What if I was a sasaeng or something?”

“No, we knew you weren’t,” he answers tiredly, shaking his head. “Or he did, at least. He said he recognised you from Hybe.”

You frown. You have virtually nothing to do with the artists; your job is in digital marketing and sponsorships, unlike Seulgi who’s actually part of creative production. The closest you come to interacting with the talent at all is at launch events where they’re centre stage and you’re shunted to the corner with the rest of the suits. You wonder if this friend is another member of his band before deciding it’s far too much of a coincidence. You change tacks.

“Right. How do you know her? This girl?”

He looks a bit taken aback, like he hadn’t expected you to cross-question him about this. “Um, she’s a friend.”

“Did you ever ask her out?”

“No, she has a boyfriend. Why are we talking about this?”

It’s a good question. You remind yourself that this is none of your business, even you can’t help but feel slightly insulted. “I don’t know. But, you know… I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help.” You move to walk past him.

Jungkook wrinkles his nose. “Oh, no, I got over her ages ago. That’s not what I meant…” He huffs, apparently frustrated at not being able to express what he does mean. You feel him turn to watch you as you make your way over the copier and punch in a couple of commands, noticing him jump slightly when the machine comes to life.

“Look, I’d really like to make it up to you,” he ventures again, bravely. “Do you think… can I take you out on another date?”

You don’t even bother turning around. “You’re kidding me, right?”

“Um, no, I just thought -”

“Listen, Jungkook, I appreciate the sentiment and all but, really, I think we both learnt our lesson when it comes to dating. Each other, at least,” you clarify, waving your hand. You turn back to the copier, staring at the paper slowly disappearing into the machine until he comes to stand next to you.

“Look, I know you had a terrible time last time - and it was my fault,” he adds quickly, “but I’m not a bad date! I swear. I just - I feel really bad about how it all ended and how it’s not fair to you and -” He breaks off, taking a deep breath. “Please let me make it up to you. You can - you can choose the restaurant.”

“What if I don’t want to go to a restaurant?”

“We can go somewhere else, too,” he suggests, but you can hear his voice perk up.

“I want to go to the bird observatory in Bukhansan National Park.”

“I - okay.”

“But only at night, when the birds are asleep.”

“Um…” You can hear the frown in his voice. “Why?”

“Because then I can wake them up.” You turn to face him with a straight face. “They start making a ton of noise - it’s kind of like an animated version of metal music.”

Jungkook swallows, clearly trying to mask the confusion. “Well… okay. We can - we can try that.”

“But if they don’t wake up, you have to be absolutely quiet. Oh, and we’re not allowed to take food or drink inside,” you add.

“That - that sounds… so fun.”

You roll your eyes. “Right. Okay.”

“Okay?” His eyebrows snap up and his eyes go wide, face shining. You almost feel bad.

“Okay… my copies are done,” you clarify, reaching over and pulling out the warm paper from the copier tray. “I’m sorry, dude, but it’s just not a good idea.” You give him a mildly apologetic glance before moving to exit the room, stopping momentarily at the door. Turning around, you frown at him. “Were you really ready to take me to a bird observatory?”

He’s made no move to follow you out. “I’ll let you pick the music, too,” he offers.

For the first time in Jungkook’s presence, you smile, you humour albeit directed partly at him. “Boy bands aren’t really my thing.”

—

A couple of weeks later, Seulgi asks you for a favour. Kind of.

“Summer.” She drops a thick spiral bound notebook onto your table where it narrowly misses your laptop. The cover is glossy, like a magazine page, with the Hybe logo and multiple papers, post-its and tags sticking out of the side. Your first thought is a Burn Book.

“What?”

“Summer,” she huffs, falling into the chair beside you. “It’s summer, which means summer launch party, which means I need an entire team on board to oversee all the arrangements including the campaign launch, the goodies, social media, fan management, the pop-up store -” She breaks off, groaning loudly. One or two people look over and you duck your head behind your laptop screen.

“Yes, but just like summer itself, doesn’t the launch party happen every year?” you ask from the corner of your mouth, knowing the answer. It does; you know this because not only is it obvious, it’s also the one night you get one hundred percent off because all your commitments need to be done and delivered well in advance, leaving you free while the creative and event management folks scurry around to set up the party.

“Well, yes,” she answers, “but Taeyeon put in his papers yesterday, which means that for a whole twelve hours, nobody thought to let me know that we’d be one member short in guest management.” She sighs again, loudly.

Without looking at her, you continue typing out your email. “Why do I feel like you’re building up to a favour?”

“Oh, thank you for offering and yes, it’d be great to have you on board, thanks a lot, Lia.” She says the whole thing in one breath and sinks back into the chair.

You would be annoyed at the presumption but it’s hardly the first time you’ve depended on each other like this. Plus, if your manager is aware of you picking up extra slack, it’ll only help your case for a promotion. Moreover, Seulgi genuinely looks like she’s bursting at the seams from a bandwidth point of view. “Happy to help, I guess. What do you need?”

A lot, as it turns out. The launch party is only a week away, which means vendors and suppliers and consultants are constantly on speed dial. Thankfully, you have directly replaced Taeyeon in guest management which means your actual work - mingling to make sure high profile guests find their places and have what they need - is limited until the actual night of the party.

On the day of the party, you arrive in the afternoon, your dress and make-up in a separate bag at Seulgi’s insistence. You find her talking to a young girl with her hair in a bun, holding a bouquet of orchids in either hand.

“- theme of the night to be drilled into their heads by the end of the - oh, hi.” She turns to you, looking somewhat demented. “We were just talking flowers.”

“Got it. You needed me to set something up?”

“Yes, it’s right over here.” She provides an instruction to the florist before sweeping away, motioning for you to follow her. She reaches a guy you vaguely recognise from the celebrity endorsements team and holds out a hand, into which he deposits a sheet of paper. “Guest list,” she declares with a flourish. “You, Jieun and Minho -” she points to the same guy with her thumb - “will take care of one group each. Don’t worry, you have the easiest one.” Ignoring the dirty look Minho throws her, she steers you away.

“You know, Minho can have the easiest one if he -”

“No, Hybe doesn’t want a woman looking after the celebrities so he has to. Don’t ask me why, I don’t want to get into it,” she adds immediately, still scanning the paper. “Jieun is taking care of sponsors, Minho as you know is taking care of celebrities, which means you get…” She flips the sheet of paper to hand it to you dramatically, “... press.”

“Huh.” It’s not too bad. However, since the press is also the first to arrive, you head inside the hotel soon after to get ready. You’re straightening your hair in the bathroom when you get a message from Seulgi. Listen, you know I’m your friend and totally in your corner when it comes to stuff but if Jungkook tries to talk to you, please don’t engage. You know how pissed off the managers get when the artists are seen with employees - I just can’t afford that shit tonight.

You sigh, suddenly feeling sorry for her. We haven’t spoken since he randomly apologised that day. There’s like two hundred people here. You’ve got nothing to worry about.

You place your phone down after replying, feeling a sense of foreboding in the pit of your stomach. You wish you hadn’t said that. Of course, it’s true; you and Jungkook haven’t had a jot of interaction since the day he cornered you in the copy room. You’ve passed each other in the corridors a couple of times but it’s always been so busy and he's always surrounded by people, so you aren’t surprised. In fact, you have a feeling you embarrassed him a bit that day. While it felt mildly good at the moment, you found yourself if you’d maybe been a bit harsh when turning him down.

But you can’t worry about that now. Packing up your stuff, you head outside to drop your bags in your beat-up car before going back inside, trying not to trip over your heels.

A couple of hours later, the party is in full swing. The CEO is giving a speech on stage while everyone listens. Waiters glide around with glasses of champagne while the room generally sparkles. Standing near the sound station with Jieun and Minho, where you’re far away to not be considered guests but also close enough to help in case someone needs it, you stealthily pull down the hem of your dress.

“Just try not to sit at all,” mutters Jieun, sounding sullen. “It makes your dress ride up and then you have a creep commenting on it and his posse laughing, all because he was decided worthy of being a CEO to one of our sponsors.” She scoffs. “Arsehole.”

You frown. “Do you want a drink?”

“I’d love one. But I’m a lightweight and the buffet doesn’t open for hours.”

She’s right. Besides, as staff, you can’t quite accept champagne the way the guests do. No, if you want to drink, you need to sneak a quick one in the lounge or, like Minho, roam around with a flask attached to your hip under your jacket.

You bite your lip as the CEO cracks a joke and everyone laughs politely. You wish Jieun hadn’t brought up food. You haven’t had a chance to eat ever since you got here and although there are hors d'oeuvres being offered to guests, you know you aren’t one of them.

Once the speech is over, there’s a series of further introductions until a host comes on, a minor television personality who calls out names of top management, a couple of top sponsors and Hybe’s artists. You tune out; as Seulgi rightly said, the small group of journalists are the most low maintenance guests in attendance, treating you more like a host and less like the glorified maid Jieun seems to be perceived as.

It’s another half an hour before you come to a decision. Secure in the assumption that the journalists are going to be occupied as long as there’s a speech going on, you mutter an excuse to Jieun and Minho and slip out, determined to find food before your stomach starts growling in public. You only need to make it to the bathroom so that you can retrieve the half-eaten protein bar you have in your clutch, when you look up and see you’re not alone.

The mirror on the wall shows only one other person in the corridor. Hardly daring to believe it, you whip around to see, in the wildest coincidence that you still feel you should have seen coming, Jeon Jungkook, looking dapper in a suit and slicked back hair, eyes wide and surprised.

“Lia!”

Shit. You want to run but you’re frozen on the spot - and you honestly have nowhere to go. Plus, when he starts walking towards you with a smile, you find you don’t quite have the heart to run away from him.

“Jungkook,” you greet him in a low voice, moving to side-step him.

“What are you doing here?” he asks.

“I’m… working. What are you doing here?”

He raises his eyebrows. “I’m… also working. Technically.”

“No, I mean -” You shake your head. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in the hall with the rest of the band? Oh, my God, does Minho know you’ve left your seat? Does Seulgi?”

Jungkook frowns. “I don’t know who any of these people - wait, is Minho the guy who showed us to our seats?” When you nod, a bit frantically, he nods in understanding. “He told me where to find the bathroom. And I’m not sure but I think he offered me a drink.”

“It’s probably cheap whiskey, so please tell me you turned him down,” you say uneasily.

He grins, and it’s gorgeous. “I’m good at keeping my alcohol down,” he informs you, “but I’m not in the mood for whiskey tonight.” There’s a pause. “Can I buy you a drink, though? I mean, no offense, but you look like you could use it.” He grins again, as though to let you know it’s a joke.

You make a sound between a chuckle and a choke. “It’s an open bar. Or is this your sneaky way of asking me out again?”

“I mean, I’m not calling it a date but if you want to...”

“You should really get back to your seat before someone notices.”

But it’s at this moment that Jungkook seems to have noticed something. His eyes fall to what’s below your face and he frowns. “Hang on, is this…” He looks up at you again, as though trying to solve a complicated math problem. “Is this the same dress you wore on our -”

“I - what?” you sputter, immediately pulling the hem down again. “How - how do you even remember that?”

He gives you a look. “I wasn’t completely out of it, you know? I told you you looked good. But, seriously, how fancy did you think our date was? Or -” He ignores your burning cheeks, “how casual is this party? Why am I being forced to wear Louis Vuitton?” he demands, tugging at his tie.

“Okay, don’t ruin your outfit,” you implore tightly, reaching up to swat his hand away from his collar, “and please get back to your seat.”

For a moment, it looks like he’s going to argue but then he nods reluctantly, like a child being told what to do. You wonder if he’s used to this. You give him a gentle nudge. “Go back to your seat, Jungkook,” you repeat, hoping he listens, Seulgi’s pleading text from a few hours ago floating through your mind. You take your leave and just as you round the corner, you turn subtly to see Jungkook walking away in the other direction, looking tall and lithe as ever, and you breathe a sigh of relief.

As it turns out, your relief doesn’t last very long at all. When the chief guest of the event comes up on stage to make a speech and begins with “In 1964, when two teenagers had only dreams of changing the world…”, you hear Jieun groan next to you. You understand her; the heels and the dress and the tantalizingly close alcohol and the lack of food are turning this into a bit of a nightmare. Plus, given that most guests are in jackets, someone has turned up the AC and you can feel goosebumps erupt on your arm.

You train your eyes to the journalists’ table. It’s only six people, and they seem reasonably well taken care of. Jieun’s already been called over by more than one of her guests to be asked nonsense questions, each time having to walk precariously in her high heels and artfully bend such that her dress doesn’t ride up. Minho’s guests aren’t quite as entitled, which is probably why you don’t think you’re imagining the faint scent of whiskey from him.

Just as you think it, a fifty-something man turns and locks eyes with Jieun, raising a hand slightly. “There’s a gun in my parents’ safe in their Gangnam apartment,” she mutters from the corner of her mouth. “If I go over and this guy asks me to come closer, I want you to shoot me with it.”

“I’d rather shoot him.”

“Works either way.” Plastering on a fake yet very pretty smile, she makes her way over. Your need to find food now transcends your own hunger; you feel so bad for Jieun that you’re willing to slip out again, even if it means leaving your own guests unattended a little longer - especially when they’re nowhere near as annoying as hers.

“Hey, Minho.” You tap him on the shoulder. “Will you text me if my guests need anything?”

“Oh, sure, ‘cause it’s all about the guests.”

“I’ll take that as a yes.” You slip out from the door behind the sound station, continuing to pull the hem of your dress now. It’s a normal black cocktail dress, nothing fancy. Overdressed, my arse.

You head to the lounge; it’s where normal guests go to dine. Since it isn’t dinner time yet, you’re hoping you can sneak in a couple of appetizers in a napkin. You enter the stairs, hoping to draw less attention to yourself when somehow, in a sea of coincidences, the one that finds you is in the form of Jeon Jungkook yet again, this time entering the same flight of stairs from the bottom.

“Shit,” is all he says, like he’s expecting to be scolded.

To be fair, you don’t disappoint. “What will it take for you stay in your seat, Jeon?”

There’s a momentary pause before he grins. “I could tell you but you already look pretty pissed off.”

“Seriously, dude, what the hell are you doing? Do you know there are people who can get in trouble if they lose track of you?”

He swallows, eyes narrowing slightly. “Fun as that sounds, I’m looking for food. I’m starving,” he confesses, looking a bit embarrassed.

You stare at him before sighing. “Finally, something we have in common,” you mutter. “But you know you’re a guest, right? The food being passed around in there is for you,” you inform him, trying not to sound too accusing.

“Yeah, I know.” He shifts a bit uncomfortably. “We’re not allowed to - I mean, we’re not encouraged to eat out there. Most of us put on weight in the military and we need to lose it before our comeback in a couple of months.” He sticks his tongue into the inside of his cheek again. “But I’m too fucking hungry to care right now.”

You frown, running your eyes up and down his figure, noting how perfectly fine he looks. Incredibly fine, in fact; the suit does him wonders, making his figure look tall and fit as he stands at the bottom of the stairs. Finally, you start walking down, motioning for him to join you when you pass him. “Come on, then,” you say, business-like. “Help me find the lounge.”

When you do find it, Jungkook throws the door open and begins walking straight for the buffet before you grab his arm and yank him back.

“Ow, what the -”

“You cannot be seen sneaking food from somewhere else while the event is going on,” you state firmly. “It’ll be a disaster. Stay in here and I’ll get it.”

“Get the quiche!” he whispers loudly as you walk away, ignoring him. You skim the buffet as quickly as you can, loading up a plate with two of everything and four mini quiches before scurrying back into the stairwell.

“Don’t judge me,” is all Jungkook says before reaching for the plate and placing it on a stair, loosening his tie and taking off his fancy jacket which, if you’re not mistaken, probably costs about four months’ rent. Adequately prepared, he picks up a quiche and, before you can process it, places the entire thing in his mouth and moans, sinking backwards.

You watch him in mild interest, still standing, as he slowly chews and swallows, eyes closed the entire time. When he’s finally done, he opens his eyes and gives you a lazy smile. “That was good. Thank you.”

Biting your lip, you realise you’re actually smiling. “I can tell. And I’m not judging you,” you add, taking a seat on the opposite side of the plate and pressing your thighs together.

Jungkook points at the piece of fried chicken in your hand. “I know why I’m starving. Why are you?”

“I had to fit into this dress,” you confess, “and it’s pretty skintight, so I’ve eaten nothing since breakfast.” You expect him to give you a disapproving look or make a statement about how that’s not healthy, you know. But he only frowns slightly before nodding once. You wonder if he relates.

“Don’t worry,” you say after a moment. “I never judge a good appetite. And it might be the only thing I found out about you on our date,” you remind him as you pop a fried shrimp into your mouth.

He shakes his head, reaching for a shrimp as well. “When are you going to forgive me for that?”

You eat in silence for a moment. “I already have,” you tell him, realising it’s true. “Look, it wasn’t a great night, and I was pretty pissed off the last time we spoke, mostly because you didn’t remember me for a moment there. But you were going through something, too, and… you apologised. And I accept it. There’s really not much else to it.”

“Huh.” Jungkook chews thoughtfully. “Well. Thank you, Lia.” For a few seconds, neither of you speak. “I really would like to take you out again, though,” he says softly.

You sigh inwardly. “That’s not necessary, Jungkook. Besides, I work for Hybe. I can’t be dating the talent. I’d get fired.”

He looks up, frowning. “I work for Hybe, too.”

You scoff. “Believe me, the way I work for Hybe and you work for Hybe are completely different. I can actually lose my job without breaking a million hearts and losing the company half their revenue.”

He processes this. “Then why did you say yes the first time?”

You shrug, your cheeks heating up a bit. “I was intrigued. Thought it might be worth the risk.” You look up, suddenly realising how he might interpret that but the moment to correct yourself has passed.

If Jungkook picks up on it, he doesn't say anything. "What was the worst part about the date for you?" he asks after a few seconds.

You chuckle, almost choking. "What? Why would you ask that?"

He shrugs, but there's a smile lingering on his face. "People usually ask about the best part. In this case, I feel like I should probably ask the opposite. Don't worry, you won't hurt my feelings."

You don't quite believe him. He's cute and charming - and the biceps visible through his thin white shirt are more than welcome - but he also seems… young. It's strangely endearing.

"Um…" You dust your hands to get rid of the fried chicken batter. "Actually, the worst part had nothing to do with you. It was when the waiter accidentally spilled that red wine all over me?" You tug on the edge of your dress. "This outfit you were commenting on? It's been through a lot. Washing, scrubbing, dry cleaning…" You shake your head dramatically.

"Oh, man. The dress really made it through. It looks great." There's another pause where you see his ears redden. Then -

"Wait, do you have my hoodie? Lia, I've been looking for it for months!"

You freeze mid-bite, suddenly remembering that you have Jeon Jungkook's hoodie stuffed in the bottom of your laundry hamper. "Oh… that's right, I do. Well, I'll just wash it and dry clean it and, you know. Send it to your apartment."

He bites his lip. "I - I can't give you my address. I mean, you're nice but… I don't really know you that well," he adds apologetically.

"Fair enough. I can give it to your manager. Very official."

He raises an eyebrow. "You don't want to go out with me because I'm a colleague but telling my manager we went out is no problem?"

"Okay, fine. What if I place it in a secret location and give you a code to -"

"Jesus Christ," he exhales, laughing despite himself. "There's a much easier way for you to return it… but I don't think I should bring that up right now."

"No, you shouldn't," you agree, giving him a warning look. “I bet you don’t even remember which hoodie it is.”

“It’s a brown one.”

“Too vague. What brand is it?”

“I think Fila…” He frowns as he chews. “But you know what? You can keep it if you want.”

“I don’t want,” you say forcefully. “I will return it. Once we figure out an appropriate method, of course.”

“Sure, if you insist. Although -”

“Alright, you know what? I’ll make you deal,” you interrupt him when you see where this is headed. “If you can tell me five things about me that you remember from our date, I’ll consider a second one.”

Jungkook’s eyebrows shoot up. “Really?” He looks more skeptical than surprised. “You’ll consider it?”

“Yes,” you confirm. “Five things. If and when you remember them, I’ll genuinely consider another date. Not things I’ve reminded you about after, but things I actually told you or you noticed yourself.”

He nods slowly. “Interesting. Alright, challenge accepted.”

“Sure? You might lose.”

“Oh, I don’t lose.”

You chuckle in slight disbelief. “Some might call that overconfidence.”

He shrugs. “I call it self-confidence.”

“Whatever you say,” you murmur, nudging the last of the quiche towards him. "Go on, you can have it," you tell him when he offers it to you. "You seemed to really like it."

The tips of his ears redden again and he silently picks it up, shooting you a grateful look, when you remember something. "Shit, I was supposed to take food for Jieun,” you mutter, standing up and dusting yourself off. Jungkook follows suit, picking up his jacket.

“Why? And - who’s Jieun?”

“She’s a colleague,” you answer, gathering your phone and clutch, “and she’s having a horrible night. Her guests are a pain and honestly? She deserves some of that quiche.”

“It was some good quiche,” he agrees, straightening his jacket. Both of you sneak out together and while he shuffles to the corner to deposit the plate, you return to the buffet to steal a mini quiche in a stack of napkins before both of you hurry back to the hall.

“Now, please, please, just stay in your seat?” you ask him as you both near the hall.

“What?” Jungkook gives you a mock-affronted look. “Can you honestly tell me you didn’t have a decent time sharing a plate of stolen snacks with me?”

You raise your eyebrows thoughtfully. “It was a better date than the last one,” you allow, grinning when he laughs. It’s a lovely laugh, you have to admit. “Now for the love of God, before Seulgi or anyone else sees you talking to me, go back to your seat.”

“Why can’t anyone see -”

“You ask a lot of questions, Jeon,” you inform him. “And -” You sigh and look around in the empty hallway to make sure there’s no one around before swooping up to him, pulling out his hand and placing your quiche in it. “Hold this. Your collar is all messed up…” You reach up and fix it, taking care to yank on his tie a bit when he grins at you. “Now, go.”

“What if we go in together? Just to shock people? Imagine what -”

“Absolutely not,” you interrupt him, giving him a solid push as he laughs again.

“Christ, you need to loosen up.”

“Watch it, kid. I’m three years older than you,” you remind him.

For the first time since you’ve met him, Jungkook smirks. It suddenly occurs to you how close he’s standing. “Yes, but I’m five inches taller than you… noona.”

You can feel your cheeks heat up as you hold his gaze. You weren’t sure he was even capable of eliciting such a reaction from you. Taking a deep breath, you tilt your head slightly.

“Jungkook.”

“Yes, Lia?”

“Get the fuck inside.” You ignore how he guffaws, throwing his head back as you push him towards the door with both hands; he’s built like a goddamn wall. “Go in there and don’t let me see you roaming around again,” you warn him when you can’t get any closer to the door without being seen, feeling rather like a teacher. As you go around to enter through the back door, you turn back one last time to see Jungkook about to go in the main entrance, still looking in your direction. When your eyes meet, he holds up five fingers and winks at you, grinning when you roll your eyes.

It’s a beautiful smile. And you hate it.

---

Part 2 will be up shortly. Thank you for reading my very first fic on this site and let me know what you think!

[elizabethsaige]

Rough Day

Florence Pugh x Reader

Warnings: none, just some fluff

Word count: 1,087

A/n: this is my first time writing in like 2 years, maybe more. pls be nice :) 

*gif not mine

It’s been a long day at work, no doubt. The entire day was a shit show, from your boss yelling at you all morning, to the surprise snow storm you had to walk through just to get to your car that conveniently was parked 2 blocks away from your job. But the one and only thing getting you through it is being able to talk to your girlfriend, Florence, once you get in the door.

Florence has been gone for over 2 months now filming a new movie and although you were nothing but proud and excited for her, it didn’t change the fact that not being able to see her every day was proving to be more of a challenge than you thought. 

That’s why the second you got inside of your apartment, you ran straight for your laptop to open Facetime, not even stopping to change out of your wet clothes from the snowy weather outside. Florence was more important.

 Seconds went by as the line rang, keeping you staring at your reflection on the screen before a smiling Florence popped up, causing your stomach to drop. Even after the 8 months you had been together, seeing her face still made you so nervous.

“Hello my love, how are you?” Florence screamed at the screen, her heavy accent coming through. You could tell that she had just woken from a nap, her hair all disheveled and accent thick. 

“Better now that I get to see you, how was your day?”

“Oh, boring as always, nothing going on at all,” she joked, making you roll your eyes and smile. “But how are you darling? How was work? I want to hear everything.”

30 minutes went by, you telling Flo about how your boss was being an ass again and how someone stole your lunch for the 2nd time this week. You weren’t going to pretend you weren’t struggling, you had been feeling so stressed out at work and having to keep up with the house work and not having Flo there on top of everything was really bringing you down. Normally you were one to keep everything in but just the way she was looking at you made you let all of your grievances out at once. 

“Y/N, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you were feeling things so intensely about everything. I miss you every day, I can’t wait to be back home with you.” 

You nodded, letting out a huge sigh of relief after getting everything out. Talking to Flo always helped. But there was still a huge pit at the bottom of your stomach, one that was always there whenever you were away from Flo. 

“Is there anything I can do to make you feel better? Anything?” Florence asked, looking at you with those beautiful eyes. Truthfully, all you wanted and needed was a big Florence hug, nothing more. But under these circumstances, you’d have to settle for the next best thing. 

Thinking, you closed your eyes, rubbing your hands all over your face to get rid of some of the tension built up from the long day. 

“Can you just talk? About anything, really. I love to hear your voice, even if you’re so far away. It helps a lot.”

A huge smile formed on Florence’s lips as she nodded, “Anything for you my love.”

She went into an almost hour long story about how she and her co-stars are in a massive prank war, spreading to the crew and director now. Even with the elaborate story, all you could do was stare into her eyes, getting lost in them as her beautiful voice filled your ears. You could literally feel the tension and stress flow away the longer she spoke. You hadn’t realized that you eventually closed your eyes while listening, placing your head on your arms as you leaned on the desk. 

“Baby, are you sleepy? Do you need to go to bed?” Florence spoke once she realized you had put your head down. She wasn’t mad or anything, she actually found it quite cute the way you had a soft smile on your face as she spoke. 

“Maybe, but I just want to keep listening to you talk. Please, just for a few more minutes,” you spoke, as a yawn took over for the last half of the sentence. Florence chucked and nodded, as she wrapped up her story. 

You shot your head up once you realized she wasn’t talking anymore, only to find her staring at you through the screen. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You’re just so cute when you sleep, you look so peaceful,” she said with a hint of a smile. 

“I wasn’t sleeping, I was just resting my eyes,” you said, the weight of your eyes finally setting in. You were exhausted, ready to crawl into bed, but with so much still left to be done in the house and with dinner. 

Florence noticed the small crease setting in between your brows, causing her to frown and jump in to ask what was wrong. 

“I just have so much to do tonight but all I want is to get in bed and sleep. With you.”

Silence fell over the two of you. Flo couldn’t help but notice the twinkle of tears in your eyes, seeing the exhaustion on your face. If only she were there to make things easier. “I know darling, I know. That’s what I want too.” 

Whipping out her phone, she quickly pushed a few buttons and then set it back down. 

“Forget all that you have to do tonight baby. I just ordered your favorite Ramen to be delivered to the house, it should be there in about 45 minutes. Go hop in the shower, wash the day away, and then crawl into bed with your food and relax, okay?” 

You looked up at her, ready to cry. “Why would you do that for me?” Your voice was small, fearing you’d let your tears go if you spoke any louder. 

She smiled, shaking her head. “Because you’ve had a long day and the least I can do is make things easier for you. I love you, please, go take care of yourself.” 

With that, you said your goodbyes, promising to talk tomorrow at the same time, and after, you did as you were told and got in the shower with a permanent smile on your face, thinking about how you had the absolute best girlfriend ever. 

[youngbloodslut]

celebrity crush | 2/??

a/n: the first interview is mostly based off of dove cameron and ava max’s interviews with popbuzz

summary: actress! reader somehow manages to bring up her crush on calum hood in every interview

pairing(s): calum hood x reader, platonic! reader x tom holland

warning(s): swearing? slight mentions of kinks

“She’s at it again mate,” Ashton smirked as he carried his laptop over to Calum who was sat on the sofa. He flipped open the computer and hit play on y/n y/l/n’s newest interview.

“C’mon, I don’t wanna-” Calum rubbed his hand over is face and shook his head.

Ashton ignored him and turned up the volume to drown out his protest. “Shhh.. watch.”

“Hey guys, I’m y/n y/l/n and this is the Pop Buzz Tower of Truth.” You spoke as the title popped up on screen.

“I think I’m gonna end up tipping it before I can even get one block out,” You said as you tried to carefully pull of a wooden block. 

“That will never work,” Calum heard a voice from off camera say and recognized it as Tom Holland. He tried not to frown as you laughed and mocked him.

“Y’know what, we’re leaving that one.” You laughed, leaving the original block alone and easily pulling out another block.

“There we go. Okay, what was the last movie or tv show that make you cry? Dead Poets Society. I love Dead Poets Society so much and Tom had never seen it so we watched it after finishing yesterdays interviews.” You placed the block on top of the tower. “And he cried.”

The camera crew laughed as Tom shouted a, “Hey!”

“Tell us one thing about you that we don’t know. Um, this is hard because I’m always saying stuff that I shouldn’t be. Um, I’m an Oxford comma worshiper.” You said, unsure whether or not that’s interesting enough.

“Oxford comma?” A crew member behind the camera questioned.

“Yeah, y’know, the comma that comes before ‘and’ when making a list. I hate that people don’t use it because then I get all confused. Like if I were to write ‘Lizzie, Tom, and Robert are going to the party’ and I don’t add a comma before ‘and’ then it seems like Tom and Robert would be arriving at the party together. But some people who don’t use the Oxford comma could mean that all three people were showing up separately so I never know. Y’know what I mean?”

The camera crew were all silent after her rant and Calum chuckled a bit to himself. He thought it was cute that you were so passionate about the smallest things. Ashton looked over to him as Calum admired you through the screen. He wasn’t an idiot. He knew Calum secretly liked how much you talked about him.

“No,” Tom responded honestly

“Ugh,” You rolled your eyes dramatically and looked into the camera, “See, these are the type of guys you got to look out for: Un-grammarly men.” You joked.

“Un-grammarly isn’t a thing.” Tom laughed.

“Well if it were a thing, you’d be one.” You fired back at Tom.

“Anyway, who is your favorite artist right now? Um, probably Wallows, I love them and their music.”

“I was really expecting Calum Hood to be honest.” Tom shouted from across the room.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe I just forgot about him like that. I love you Calum Hood. I love 5sos.” You held up your hands into a heart shape and moved your hands from side to side. 

You then dropped them and grabbed another block. “Sorry, I keep forgetting that people are actually going to see these interviews. Like, he could literally see this. Dude, I hope he doesn’t.” You paused, “Oh god, do you think he knows about my crush on him?” You had been mentioning him for years and it had never once occurred to you that he could actually see these. 

Calum laughed at the irony of the situation. Here he was watching a video of you saying you hoped he’d never see said video.

“This is humiliating.” You mumbled though you didn’t seem to actually care, “Who was your first celebrity crush? Oh uh, definitely Andrew Garfield. I remember when I first watched the Social Network and I was like obsessed. My friend and I both watched it over 10 times within like two months. And then would continuously make Mark Zuckerberg jokes. But of course, Calum Hood now owns my heart.” You put the block on top of the tower. “I’m actually doing really good, I thought I’d knock it down by now.”

“Describe in detail the worst date you’ve ever been on. Okay so I was like fifteen right, and, well I’m not even sure if this counts as a date. I think he considered it a date so I guess it was but basically we were in the car, he was sixteen so he could drive. We were in the drive through, we had already ordered, and he started feeling around in is pockets and I was like oh god, cause I knew what was about to happen. He was like, ‘oh no i think i lost my wallet’, and I was like its fine I’ll pay. I really didn’t mind. I ended up paying, we got our drinks and without missing a beat, we hadn’t even pulled out of the drive through, he was like’oh here’s my wallet.’ I really didn’t mind paying for my coffee, I wouldn’t mind paying for both of our coffees. But him going out of his way to lie, and then not even lie well, was so irritating.” She placed the block on the top and picked up a new one.

“What is the most useless idem you’ve ever purchased? Um, I bought a seven foot giraffe while I saw drunk once.” The block was added to the top, the tower now taller than you. “He’s in my living room if you wanted to know.”

You grabbed the next block carelessly, immediately regretting it when the tower fell behind you, “Oh shit, well I guess we’re done then.” You said nonchalantly, looking at the blocks on the floor. “I don’t think I’ll be playing this again anytime soon. Love you guys,” You held up your hands, “Love you Calum Hood.” You winked before the outro began to play.

“She must really love you, Cal.” Ashton poked Calum’s cheek annoyingly, “She’s got no shame.”

Calum wouldn’t admit it, but as soon as he got home he looked you up again. He clicked on the same video Ashton showed him and scrolled through the comments. 

y/nscalumhoodkink: MOMOMOMOMOMOM

datemey/n: Queen of Jenga

ashtonfletchersbitch: Y/N LITERALLY IS ME

5esohes: no because y/n y/l/n and calum hood together is my kink

noemptywalletshere: not only does y/n own this fandom, but my ass too

He couldn’t help but laugh at the comments no matter how interesting they were. But something in the back of his head kept yelling at him. She doesn’t acting like you. Shes just likes your music, nothing more. He sighed and clicked out of the video and was about the close his laptop when his cursor handed on a video. 

Y/n Y/l/n foaming at the mouth while talking about Calum Hood for 5 minutes straight.

He clicked on it a little too quickly and waited for it too load. 

“Calum Hood choke me challenge.” You stuck out your tongue and threw up a peace sign with an innocent look plastered on here face. 

“Bro imagine if Calum Hood saw this?” “Oh he would definitely fall for you after this video”

The third thing to pop up was a tweet from 2015 just saying: #marrymecalumhood

“Calum Hood send me hand pics. This is a demand, not a request.”

Calum continued to watch the entire video. Normally, the thirsty comments would have made him uncomfortable, but them coming from you made his heart race and cheeks flush.

God, what was happening to him?

[wizkiddx]

work with me

this is for @worldoftom 'lolbrosgetsicktoo' challenge event thing - go check it out bcos lots of much better writers have got involved too✨! I'm v new to these things but I tried :) the prompt was: 'would you quit whining and just get in the bath' . (also look at me acc posting sort of regularly, who'd of thought?!?!)

warnings: sickness / fever (more dramatic than it needs to be) / LOTS of medical inaccuracies

summary: when tom doesn't take advice and ends up very ill, very far from home, there's one person whose stuck dealing with it

“Please Tom… I need you to work with me!”

It wasn’t his fault he was being a complete nightmare, though your patience was wearing off somewhat.

For context, you were in Morocco, where he had been filming part of his next film, which only made trying to take care of him that bit harder.

Everyone got ill sometimes. It wasn’t his fault.

That was the mantra ringing through your head, even if you had a more challenging time believing it. Tom wasn’t stupid, as much as he liked to joke about it. HOWEVER, what he was less good at was heeding warnings. He was a white boy in Morrocco; the health and safety briefing had literally been aimed at him. Had he taken the advice not to eat any dodgy looking meats at the market?

Of course not; that’d be boring.

Everyone else was fine. You’d all sampled Morroccos culture without giving yourselves the worst case of food poisoning you’d ever witnessed. But not Tom - possibly one of the only ‘indispensable’ people on the set. If you, or one of the minor characters, or even the director, had got ill - the show could continue.

When you’d been rudely awoken by your phone going off, you’d known instantly. It was as if you’d told him not to take a bite out of the weird burger once you were away from the eager view of the street vendor. Sure enough, with bleary eyes, you hissed at the brightness of the phone screen before seeing ‘Tom H’ on the screen.

“Y/n?” His voice was croaky, but just from the single call of your name, it was clear he was feeling sorry for himself.

“Are you okay? It’s late T.”

“Um I… can you come over? You…you might need the key I’m - um- in the bathroom.”

As his stylist, it technically wasn’t part of your job description to also be mother when he was sick, but (unfortunately for you) after the 3 years working side by side with him - you were also friends.

Which you were almost regretting by the second time rinsing the toilet bowl clean after he’d evacuated what seemed to be the majority of his vital organs into it. Honestly, it was impressive how he managed to keep going.

That had been at around 4 in the morning- the doctor had been called at 8, coinciding beautifully with his 5th toilet extravaganza. Once the doctor had confirmed your original, if completely unqualified, diagnosis of food poisoning - you hadn’t been able to bite your tongue. Perhaps an ‘i told you so’ might’ve slipped past your lips, but Tom was a bit too out of it to argue back.

You’d been given firm advice from the doctor - he said little sips of water, rest and control his temperature. It all had seen pretty simple - though the action? Not so much.

It wasn’t his fault, yet Tom was not super compliant. You and Harry had both been taking turns in practically forcing him to take sips of water, having to turn off ‘modern family’ till he did. The blackmail had put you both in his bad book.

Honestly, thank the lord Harry was here too. You’d woken him up at seven, begging for help and since then, you’d tagged teamed. While one was looking after Tom, the other was phoning the director, the doctor, and the crew to inform them of the current situation.

Again, of all people. Why’d it have to be Tom?

Mainly because you knew how mortifying he found this. He didn’t like people fussing over him, never had. He liked to work hard, liked to make people happy - definitely didn’t like to feel a burden. Perhaps what made him feel ten times worse was that he knew he was inconveniencing the whole production team massively.

And yes, as you’d unhelpfully reminded him, it was ‘his fault’.

The lavish hotel room, big bathroom and pretty efficient AC still didn’t manage to mask the pungent in-the-back-of-your-throat smell from the bathroom. At the doctor’s advice, who had been a little concerned at Toms fever, Harry had cranked the AC on high. It had forced you to steal one of Tom’s big hoodies and a pair of joggers- you hadn’t left his room since he first called you, still wearing your tiny pyjama shorts and an old tee.

“Please turn the air con off.” His little voice whined from where he was lying, huddled up under the covers. Perched on the other side of the double bed, but over the covers with your laptop on his lap, you could actually feel him shivering with the chills. It felt like you were torturing the poor boy.

“T you know I can’t. It’ll make your fever worse.” The way he looked up at you, like a little Labrador that you were refusing to pet, actually pained your heart.

Okay, so yes it was his fault, but you weren’t mad, you just felt so awful for him.

“Please I’ll- I’ll pay you more.” His voice was hoarse; though he denied a sore throat, it sounded like the constant sickness was burning his windpipe.

“Tommm” you pouted, sticking your bottom lip out “I don’t want your money, want you to get better.”

Apparently giving up, brown eyes shot you the filthiest look in disappointment, rolling to face away from you. You thought he was giving you the silent treatment in a huff, but instead, he was praying on the weaker one.

“Harry, I’ll buy you that set of golf clubs-“

“NO!” You had to interrupt before Harry would say yes - because from the way his younger brother shot up from the arm chair, he was about to. Scowling eyes slowly focused back on you in annoyance, making you huff - shutting the laptop and kneeling on the bed to face him. After pressing the back of your palm to his forehead, which was scorching hot, you sighed. “I know you feel shitty and I’m so so sorry but I’m trying to make you better. So shut up, drink this and go to sleep!”

Like a child scorned, you received another death glare however, then he complied, taking a sip of the water you offered before lying back - huddling even tighter.

And it had been relatively peaceful for a few hours; Tom seemed to be getting some sleep - even if he was tossing and turning. Eventually, a prescription that the doctor had requested worked its way through the system, Harry getting a text to say he could go pick it up. The nearest pharmacy was probably a 30 minute drive from the hotel, so he left as soon as.

This left you alone with Tom, where the situation only descended into more chaos.

Almost as soon as Harry had left, Tom had stirred with a grunt. All it took was one look at his face for you to know. Both of you leapt up and flew into the toilet, Tom once again getting very familiar with the Moroccan toilet bowl.

This time though, when he had leant backwards, he’d sort of lost control and flopped most the way - you catching him before he could hit his head on the tiled floor.

“Woah, easy there!” It wasn’t like he’d passed out, but the look in his eye as he slumped into your lap… he wasn’t all there either. “Hey Tom… you with me? Tom?”

Lazily he blinked up at you, not really replying except for groans of half-formed words.

Deciding this had all got a bit direr, you almost sprinted back into the room, grabbing your phone and returning. He was still on the floor, his thumb and first finger pressing into each eye - groaning again.

“Hey Tom? I’m gonna call the doctor you need anything?” He whined in response, stopping only when you stroked his sweaty hair back, most of your attention on dialling the correct number.

The solution he’d given wasn’t pretty: Tom’s fever was too high hence why he was all woozy and groany. Until the doctor could get over with the stronger medications, you needed to lower his temperature in other ways or take him to hospital. He’d absolutely hate hospital, but the other choice? Boy, was he not going to like it either.

Ignoring Tom’s croaked question of what you were doing, you busied yourself switching on the bath taps. You let the water run until it was the right (very mild) temperate, then turned back to Tom, who’d managed to work himself up to sit against the sink unit.

“The doctor says you need it.” His brain was foggy, his mind was slow but your tone told him enough to know something was wrong with the bath. “Just take your clothes off and then I’ll help you-“

“Absolutely fucking not.” Good. He was still with it enough to argue.

“I am just as uncomfortable as you are Tom, but we both know you can’t stand up without fainting, so you are going to need my help.”

“Y/n!”

“Keep your boxers on and it’s just like a fitting! I’ve seen you have those before!”

It was clear as day just how emasculated he felt, especially because he knew you were right. Sitting up at this current moment was a push; there was no way he was getting in the bath without some help. Defeatedly he nodded, but gave you a piercing look to turn around before he started wiggling himself out of the flannel pyjama trousers and light cotton t-shirt. Most confusingly, he still felt freezing cold, yet he had long since learned not to argue with you - especially when your justification came from the advice of a doctor.

Your cue to turn around came in the form of an extra angry-sounding grunt- the look you got when you did wasn’t much better either. It was a weird contrast, though, having someone who physically appeared so indestructible (a superhero for crying out loud); to have been absolutely beaten to a pulp by a few mouth fulls of weird meat. You had seen his bare torso before, although it still wasn’t something easy to get used to - making you clench your teeth together just slightly. A very welcome view.

Perhaps you looked just a little too long at the man who was technically your boss, hunched angrily on the floor in nothing but his calvins - another grunt shaking you out of it. By now, the bath was almost full and you hurried to shut off the water, feeling your cheeks heat up as you cursed silently to yourself.

“Okay come on, gimme your arm.” Begrudgingly Tom followed your request, slinging his arm heavily over your shoulder as you crouched beside him. As strong as he looked, you knew right now he felt powerlessly weak - all that muscle was just going to be almost dead weight.

Now it was your turn to grunt and groan as you pulled Tom up to stand, him focusing on blinking away the headrush he got.

“Come on T work with me here.” Getting him to the side of the bath wasn’t too difficult, the issue came when he stepped with one foot into the bath and yelped, instantly withdrawing as if it was a literal ice bath.

The sudden movement had you both losing balance, ending with Tom sitting on the edge of the bath and you leaning over him, in between his legs, and slapping your hand on the wall opposite purely so you both didn’t end up in the bath.

“Tom!”

“It’s like ice water!”

“Its lukewarm like the doctor said!”

“It is not its from the fucking arctic!”

“Oh for god sake!” Exasperated, you paced up and down the bathroom shaking your head at his ridiculousness. This was ALL. HIS. FAULT.

You came back to him with an ultimatum.

“It’s this or the doctor said I had to drag your ass to hospital.”

“Nooooooo.” The 25 year old seemed to convert into a whiny three year old again.

“Those are the two options. So will you PLEASE quit complaining and get in the bath.”

Keeping up the toddler persona, Tom huffed but reluctantly nodded in agreement - you had come up trumps. It didn’t stop him yelping when you helped to lower him in. His breath was shaky, as a response to the ‘cold’, but he was firming it. At least when you felt his forehead after a couple of minutes, it certainly seemed as though the fever was starting to ease off .

“You can go if you want.” His voice was murmured and as you looked up at him, he did his very best to avoid your gaze.

“Not a chance, if you drown on my watch, Nikki will never forgive me.” At the very least he seemed to appreciate your joke, scoffing a little with a small nod. “If you don’t want me here I get it. As soon as Harry’s back, I’ll swap with him.”

“No! It’s not that its… I’m just an ass when I’m ill.”

“A self aware ass, though.” Again he chuckled a little, as you folded your arms on the edge of the porcelain tub, resting your head lying to one side. “You had me pretty scared there for a moment, you know?”

He nodded a little, creating a wave of ripples in the water which you watched to avoid his gaze - which you knew was tracing all your features inquisitively.

“Hey it’s in the job description, always a bit dramatic... I’m sorry though I should never of called you- don’t know why I didn’t just get Harry.” In response you tutted, taking a moment to lean up and push his sweaty curls back a bit.

Just because you could, it was allowed in this moment.

“’m glad you did.”

“Yeh me too” He sighed, eyes fluttering shut in the easy silence of the bathroom. You kept a vigilant eye on him for the next 20 minutes, checking the temperature of his forehead using the back of your hand, whilst he seemed to finally get a bit of proper restbite, appearing like the worst had passed. You had no idea what was taking Harry so long; in fact it was the doctor that arrived first- who you ran to let in (not wanting to leave Tom asleep in the bath one bit).

Whilst the doctor did all his checks, taking his temperature properly this time, satisfied that it was much more manageable. He still wanted to set him up with some oral rehydration rescue packs to get his hydration status a bit better and give some anti-sickness tablets and antipyretics.

Having actually been getting some rest before all the prodding and poking, Tom was back to being a grumbling dick - now not wanting to leave the bath (the irony was real - making you roll your eyes). Once again, he appeared embarrassed to have you see him like this, so you left the doctor to help him get out and changed- instead going down to reception to get a fresh set of sheets, as he’d done a pretty impressive job of sweating through the old ones.

Even if tired and grumpy, when Tom exited the bathroom, he looked much better - he was walking himself without the doctor’s help. Which honestly was such a relief because when he had passed out on you, you genuinely were terrified. Thankfully the doctor stayed for the next 20 or so minutes, which was just when Harry returned with a bag of medications - which were now wholly redundant, given the doctor had already supplied everything.

“What happened?” Harry asked you in a hushed voice, whilst Tom was distracted with getting his medications. Recounting the story of Tom pretty much passing out, Harry grimaced for you, then launching over to give you a tight hug.

“Are you okay?” That was a novel idea, you hadn’t really thought about yourself at all - but honestly, you were a bit shaken, having been running on adrenalin for most of the night.

“I-uhm… yeh I think so… just-just was a bit scared, I guess? Felt bad too because he didn’t want me there but-“

“I can promise you Y/n, he did want you there. Just probably embarrassed he wasn’t all manly and that…” With a nod, you smiled softly at the frizzy-haired boy.

Whilst working with Tom, it also meant getting pretty close to his younger brother. The two Hollands were almost attached at the hip, which you were very much okay with.

It was weird though... your relationships were completely different. Harry was just your brother, through and through. He wound you up like a sibling but also knew you as if he had your whole life. With Tom… it wasn’t that. Arguably, you were closer to Tom, but on a different level. It was more exciting, more nerve-wracking and heartwarming all at the same time. Honestly, you couldn’t get your head around it properly.

“Hey, you’re probably shattered. Why don’t you go back to your room and get some sleep? I got it in here.” You knew Hary was trying to offer something nice, and now all the excitement had worn off, you were unbelievably shattered. But you didn’t like the idea of not being there, as a just in case.

“Uhm, I think I might just stay, you know?” And he did, with a deliberate, knowing smile, he nodded.

He knew you were worried. He knew Tom had really really scared you. He also knew how much you cared about his brother.

Just like how Harry knew Tom wanted you there, even if he felt embarrassed. Well, anyone would- when you are passing out half-naked in front of the one person that really matters.

It was just at this point that the doctor was done, giving Harry instructions about the rest of the day, when you made a beeline for the bed. Tom was propped up against the headboard, still with a pale sullen look and tired eyes, but a bit less clammy and more human. He cracked a smile as you crawled up onto the other side of the bed, kneeling next to him.

“How’re you doin’?”

“All drugged up, just feel fucking exhausted.” Instinctively you reached up to feel his forehead, really appreciating the fact it felt almost normal.

“Join the club mate, I had a 5am wake up call too.” You almost whispered, intending to make Tom laugh, but instead only getting a pout.

“I am sorry, a-are you going to go back to your room?”

“Nah” Tom’s eyes didn’t light up, except the fact that they very much did. “Can’t trust you not to get into trouble while I’m gone Holland.”

“Thanks.” He laughed weakly before shimmying down on the bed, so he was much more comfortable. “And thankyou, I-I’m sorry I’m a dickhead and made your life-“

“Shut up Tom!” Laughing, you lightly slapped his arm, also leaning down on the bed, so you were lying facing him. “You’re all feverish; go to sleep before you say something stupid.”

There was a long pause, Tom just gazing deep into your eyes, because he was pretty sure what he was thinking was nothing to do with the dodgy unidentified meat he’d had the evening before.

“What... like asking you out?”

…..

“Maybe that wouldn’t be so stupid.”

~~~~im really not sure how I feel about this one, let me know what you thought ;) ~~~~

tagging: @lovehollandy12 @hallecarey1 @crossyourpeter@hollandfanficlove