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tkaulitzlvr · 5 months

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REGRET - T. KAULITZ

synopsis: when a video of tom getting a little too close to another girl circulates around the internet, your confrontation sparks a heated argument between the two of you. but after tom says something in the heat of the moment, he is determined to make it up to you.

content: angst

a/n: i have risen from the dead🎀 i’m really rusty so if it‘s not up to scratch i’m sorry, ill post about why i’ve not been writing later but for now enjoy whatever this is🗣️

my eyes are glued to the small computer screen in front of me, face twisting in disgust just a little more every time the low quality video replays. it is almost nauseating, yet i can’t turn away, fixated until my features are scrunched up in an agitating mix of anger and confusion. i am hoping that the events will change the next time the video restarts, that maybe my eyes are deceiving me, but as the same scene plays out in front of me, i quickly realise that it is real, and that my worst nightmare is coming true. not much can be distinguished - whoever had taken the video clearly hadn't payed much attention to keeping their camera still, or investing in the most high-tech gear, but i can tell that it is him. his dirty blonde dreads fall just below his shoulders, hand clutching a drink, surrounded by a crowd of girls whilst flashing lights illuminate his figure every few seconds, lighting up the bustling club before returning it to darkness. he knows that he is the centre of attention, but that doesn't seem to matter to him, his focus on the small blonde to his right.

much to my frustration, the video is only a few seconds long, showing tom leaning into the girl's ear, whispering something before pulling back, a smirk etched upon both their faces. it quickly cuts off just as his hand brushes along her arm, leaving much to be imagined - far too much. though this is probably for the best, watching another second of my boyfriend touching another girl would probably drive me close to insane - if i haven't already reached that point. i can't tell when the video was taken, but it is clearly recent, most likely from one of his tour after parties. he had arrived home last week, and i had been naive enough to miss him - until now.

i hurriedly rush to turn the computer off, sure that i will throw up if i have to watch that video one more time, its existence torture for me as i question how to go about this. tom is totally oblivious, having left for the studio this morning. however as each second passes, i realise that he will be home any minute, long before the anger that courses through my veins has any chance of burning out. my jaw is clenched, breathing heavy and eyes bloodshot as they fight tears, focusing on the blank wall ahead in an attempt to hold them back. the silence is peaceful, an almost laughable contrast to the chaos that echoes within my mind, thousands of unanswered questions racing through it as i am just about ready to pack my bags and never come back, sure that i have seen enough - and the only explanation is that tom has cheated on me.

but when the front door opens, i am trapped, any plans of escaping now far out of reach as tom's soft voice sounds from downstairs.

"baby? i'm home, where are you?" he almost sounds excited to see me, and on any other day, my heart would melt. but today, it twists with dread, feeling as if it has been ripped out of my chest and stepped on. i stay put, maybe because i know the capabilities of my mind, and its tendency to place me in uncomfortable situations, or perhaps it is the nagging in my chest convincing me to delay any conversation with him for as long as is physically possible.

the realisation that i can't avoid him forever comes much faster than i had anticipated. the dull thud of his footsteps trudging up the stairs are enough to capture my attention and pull me out of whatever trance i am subject to. my back falls back against the bed, shoulders slacking with the intent of looking as relaxed as possible, even if the current situation is the exact opposite. i wince when his presence makes itself known, attempting to conceal the uneasy look settling across my face.

"schatz, there you are." there’s no ill intent in his voice. infact it is sickly sweet, laced with an all-too innocent sense of security that on any other day would gravitate me towards him. this part of his day, when he would trudge into bed tiredly, was reserved just for me, for us, and it was something that we both looked forward to. but now it has fizzled out on my end, an excruciating discomfort habituating in its place, becoming harder to ignore with each passing second. the seemingly rigid walls into tom’s heart visibly crumble as he lets his guard down, his tired frame sinking into the soft mattress.

he leans his head against my arm, the limb tensing slightly in response to his touch. it feels wrong. how many other women felt him this close? the thought alone brings a sharp stab to my chest, its non-existent blade twisting within at the almost sickening idea of the same hands touching anybody else. with difficulty, i lift my arm up, heaving it to rest loosely across my torso. from the rigidness of my movement, tom senses that something isn’t right. whether it be impulse or a craving to feel me against him, he readjusts himself, grasping at any opportunity to weave himself even closer, my stiff demeanour offering him the upper hand.

the concept of control seems completely out of grasp now. although unaware, tom tears every remnant of serenity from my still frame, forcing me to follow his gaze and finally look into those eyes. his lips tug into a soft smile at the eye contact, pointer finger aimlessly grazing my lips. though emotionless, he appears to miss the look on my face, far too occupied with his own desires, no matter how light-hearted they seem.

“you have no idea how much i’ve missed you.” he mumbles against me, but when i dodge the kiss that he tries to place on my cheek, he finally pulls himself out of his selfish trance and realises that things aren’t as perfect as he had thought.

"hey, give me a kiss." his voice boarders the waters of hurt and confused, eyebrow furrowed with his eyes scanning my own desperately. when i don’t respond, he misjudges my silence for compliance, leaning downward to plant a soft kiss onto my lips. i don't reciprocate, remaining motionless, eyes wide open as he wraps his arms around me. he presses his lips harsher onto mine, desperation the clear motivator of his hurried movements. it quickly fades into concern when he realises the still lips that his own try to move against. breaking apart and surrendering his desire, he finally captures the hurt etched upon my expression, eyes trailing off into the blank wall behind him. he remains on top of me, his hand reaching to cup my cheek gently, the touch providing the exact opposite of consolation - instead allowing the bitter taste of resentment to settle along my tastebuds in place of his tender kiss. another woman felt those hands against her.

"look at me. what's wrong? did i do something?" his eyes scan mine desperately, feverishly attempting to fathom reasoning for my sudden standoffishness, all whilst his thumb rubs slow and soft circles along my cheek, an action which doesn't go unnoticed.

"did you think i wouldn't find out?" my jaw clenches, eyes narrowing as i finally push his body away. his confusion only intensifies as he collects himself as quickly as he can, scrambling to stand up and reduce our distance once again. his figure towers over mine, clearly failing to grasp the hint that i practically throw at him. if my actions aren’t able to spell it out for him, my words make what i want crystal clear.

“don’t touch me.”

though subtle, i notice the way he winces at my words, choosing to let them go for the time being. "what? baby what are you talking about? find out about what?" his chest rises up and down, expression totally readable, so much that i can sense his every thought, and it is terrifying. each second of silence thickens the already heavy air, so much that a heaviness begins to set in my chest.

i say nothing, instead walking toward the computer and switching it on. the screen lights up, the all too familiar video resuming from the point that i had left it. i grit my teeth, tempted to punch the screen and tom, both ideas becoming increasingly appealing. i turn to face him, remaining calm in spite of all brutal urges screaming out from within me, deciding to put them to bed.

"see for yourself. i'm sure you'd love a reminder of your little fling. she's very pretty, i'll give you that." his mouth opens to say something, quickly shutting with the realisation that he doesn’t have any words - none that would make the situation any better, anyway.

"shit, the paparazzi." he mumbles under his breath, massaging his temples a couple times before shutting the computer off, his eyes darkened as an unrecognisable look takes over. “schatz that isn't what it looks like, i promise you-"

"really? so i haven't just witnessed by boyfriend cheat on me with some blonde whore? you tell me you missed me? you seem to have got on swell without me.” my instinctive sarcasm soon burns out, replaced with an unexpected sadness, one that makes it next to impossible to remain composed.

"jesus christ. i wouldn't ever cheat on you. i don't even know who she is, georg said that he knew her so we let her hang out with us for the night. nothing happened, nothing at all. i love you and only you." he begins to get more defensive, voice raising slightly as he tries once again to move closer to me, an effort that even he knows is futile.

"what so you whisper in everyone's ear like that? you touch everyone's arm like that? you smile at everyone like that? i’m not as stupid as the whores you take to bed.” his excuses are almost laughable, and if my heart didn't feel so heavy with the realisation that he hasn't stayed faithful, i would probably laugh. my composure is deceptive, this soon coming to light with the coming of tears along my waterline.

"no, baby, please don't cry." he starts, protective instincts taking over in spite of the situation, his own eyes becoming glassy. when i shoot him a glare he knows to step back, though it is clear he wants nothing more than consoling me, as he usually would. now it is different, when he is the fuse that ignites this entirely fucked up situations "look, that's the only time i spoke to her the whole night. we were making a joke about georg, that's all."

"you must be kidding." my brows raise, searching his eyes for any hint of amusement, quickly understanding that he is being completely serious, this realisation only angering me more. “you know what? i’m leaving.” i attempt to move past him, struggling to progress even a few steps forward when he grabs my wrist, pulling me back in front of him. he is far too strong for me to put up a proper fight, but that doesn't stop me from trying my body tenses as i pull back, his grip only tightening, proving my efforts as worthless.

"can you just listen to me? i get that it looks bad but you're really overreacting here. Ive told you that nothing happened, why can't you just trust me?" he is no longer sympathetic. instead, his voice holds an anger within it that takes me aback slightly, his change in persona almost frightening. though his sudden defensiveness only alerts my suspicions more, silently reaffirming the fact that he has cheated, even if his words tell otherwise.

"trust you? fucking trust you? i have trusted you! and look where its gotten me. do you know how hard it is to have your boyfriend leave for months? no contact besides from a ten minute call every day, not a kiss, a hug, nothing! and this is what i see from your tour. what the fuck am i supposed to do with that?" i raise my voice, its harshness mirroring tom's as i finally manage to writhe myself out of his grip, now standing a few feet away from him. he clenches his jaw, looking to the side as silence takes over, its presence only brief however, soon destroyed by the sound of his voice, far louder than it had been through the course of the argument.

"i'm sorry that i don't have a normal career, okay? i've told you so many times that i don't have eyes for anyone else. every single night on tour i go back to the hotel early, because i miss you! and you can't even trust me!" he stops suddenly, almost as if he is contemplating his next words, enduring a silent battle between his mouth and his heart, knowing that both are leading him in different directions. i wait for his response, noticing the way that his expression darkens, eyes refusing to meet my own.

"well? that's all you have to fucking say? you seemed pretty comfortable with her. do you know how much that hurts? why am i not good enough for you?"

"stop it. you know you're good enough for me. don't say shit like that." he is quick to cut me off, his voice laced with disbelief, clearly failing to understand how i could come to such a conclusion.

"do i? seeing shit like that pretty much reminds me why i'm not-"

"look, maybe if you weren't such an insecure bitch then this wouldn't be a problem!" my face drops, lips parting slightly as i pray that my ears deceive me, creating their own truth, one distorted and far from reality. i stay silent, far too astounded to produce any witty comeback, or even look into his eyes. the silence between us is louder than any words spoken, and even more painful than those left unsaid. when i quickly take a glance at him, he realises his mistake just as fast as he had spoken. regret flashes across his face, his expression softening as he walks toward me. i nod slowly, far too defeated to argue back, wrapping my arms around my small frame and walking past him, my entire body shaking slightly as i sob.

"fuck- i didn't mean that. i'm so sorry, god i'm sorry baby." he spews out incoherent apologies, though i am far too hurt to comprehend them, instead tuning them out as i walk out of the room, closing the door harshly behind me.

it doesn’t take long for him to follow, his hurried pleas sounding from behind me. i am far too angry to listen, rushing down the stairs and into the hallway, scrambling for the nearest pair of shoes that i can find. his rambling quickly turns from frantic to desperate when he picks up on the reality of the situation, soon understanding that we are far beyond a kiss and an apology to resolve this.

“wait, hold on schatz. can we please talk about this? don’t leave me, please. i love you so much.” he tries to conceal the small sob that escapes his lips, but i notice it, the almost inaudible sound enough to make me reconsider my choices. but when his arm wraps around my wrist, though not with enough pressure to hurt, i know that forgiving him would be stupid.

“let go of me. i’m leaving for a while. do whatever you want, i don’t care.” my voice is surprisingly calm, the coarseness within it somehow washing away with each shallow breath i take. but the softness of my tone doesn’t match the strength of my movements as i yank myself from his grasp, reaching for my keys and clutching the door handle before he can stop me. i hesitate for a moment, taking a second to look back at him as he continues to spew out his apologies, mixed with incoherent promises that he loves me, along with his own tears that begin to fall from his eyes.

“bye tom.”

please come home, i’m so sorry - 8:35pm

baby? - 8:35pm

i love you so much - 8:36pm

i promise i didn’t cheat - 8:36pm

can we talk about this? - 8:37pm

please tell me you’re safe - 8:39pm

sure, tom and i had arguments just as every couple did. but when i showed up at my best friend’s house, makeup smudged and eyes bloodshot, she knew that this one was more than just a disagreement on who’s turn it was to make dinner. it was obvious that she had questions, but my delirious state was enough of a motive to save those for another time, instead choosing to rush me inside and wrap me up in blankets on her small couch, insisting that we order takeout and watch movies until i calmed down.

“he’s still texting you?” she questions, referring to my phone vibrating yet again, as it had been for the past hour. i nod my head weakly, body sprawled across her couch, shuffling over to make room for the small brunette beside me. she offers a sympathetic smile, handing me a pint of ice cream and sinking into the cushions.

“i’m sorry.” she says, reaching over and pulling me into a hug, noticing the glassy sheet that forms over my eyes, squeezing me even tighter. “boys are assholes.”

i nod in agreement, hearing my phone vibrate once again, this time not even taking the time to look at the message. they had gotten pretty predictable as they became more frequent - either telling me that he loves me, or that he wants me to come home.

“you’re welcome here as long as you need, okay?” she fills in the silence, recognising that all i need is consolation right now, creating a conversation not on the top of my list of priorities. i mutter a small thank you, feeling my eyes becoming heavy.

the beginning of a new day somehow intensifies the feeling within the pit of my stomach, the exact opposite of what i expected from a fresh start. now that i have settled down, the reality of it all feels like a fresh wound, one that i can’t envision myself ever healing from. though any time to endeavour into the complex puzzle of my emotions is drowned out by the all too familiar sound of my phone vibrating, and this time i have lost every ounce of self-control, reaching over to the small device embarrassingly fast. the bright light emitting from the screen causes my eyes to squint as i adjust, vision slowly clearing to reveal at least a hundred unread text messages, each one from tom. my sympathetic nature gets the better of me, a wave of guilt taking over as his messages spring from concerned, to apologetic, to borderline insane at my disappearance. i groan internally, quickly realising that i can’t hide forever, no matter how much i convince myself that it is the safer option.

luckily the task of getting myself ready to go back home isn’t a particularly long one. my jeans begin to dig into my sides, a rather unpleasant yet convenient reminder that i am still wearing the same clothes as the day before. quiet snores from the bedroom alert me to sleeping body of my friend, a small chuckle leaving my lips at the sound. i decide against disturbing her, instead scribbling a messy note and sticking it on the fridge, hoping that she’ll understand.

- going back home, thank you for all ur help. i’ll keep you updated, love you

the house is silent as i enter it, the lack of noise almost eerie though short lived when i place my keys on the table, the metal clattering with a small thud. there is no sign of tom, not even the sound of a tv from the living room, or the quiet sizzle of fresh food, indicating that he is making breakfast as he would every morning. though it seems that i hadn’t entered as quietly as i had hoped, the sound of tom’s steps, quick and erratic, echoing from the kitchen, getting louder and louder until he is standing in front of me.

our distance is temporary, quickly diminished as he takes me into his arms, pressing his lips against mine with as much strength as he can muster. i only realise just how anxious he has been when his palms cup my cheeks. they are shaking, the skin cold against my own as his entire body begins to tremble, my stomach sinking. he is crying. in spite of his vulnerability, he is the first to pull away, firmly wrapping his arms around my frame and hugging me tightly.

“god i love you, i love you so much. i thought you weren’t coming back.” he struggles to get his words out, a mixture of incoherent sobs and quiet sniffles accompanying his speech. his grip only tightens, hands running up and down my back as he repeatedly kisses my hair, tears continuing to fall down his cheeks. my arms remain firmly by my side, sympathetic enough to allow him this small touch, yet no where near as forgiving to consider returning the act.

“are you okay?” he becomes worried, putting his emotions aside and finally separating his body from mine. his calloused fingers run over the smooth skin of my arms, looking for any sign of harm. even though he knows me well enough to guess that i had gone somewhere safe, his protective instincts kick in, convincing him that the worst has happened.

“i’m fine.” i mumble, releasing myself from his grip and walking into the kitchen, taking a glass and pouring myself some water, my throat dry from the strain on my voice from the night before. he quickly follows behind, taking my hand in his. he notices my hesitation, running a thumb over the back of my hand in an attempt to soothe me, and somehow, it works. seeing him in front of me brings back memories of last night, their sting still painful and effects strong with the irritating onset of tears. tom sees this just as fast as i do, reaching upward to wipe them before they are able to fall.

“i’m sorry, i’m so sorry beautiful.” he whispers, his touch so gentle i almost don’t feel it. he replaces his thumb with his lips, kissing just below my eyes, damp with evidence of my upset.

“how could you?” i mumble, voice barely above a whisper as i struggle to make eye contact, tom’s own gaze pained. his eyes are bloodshot, cheeks red and blotchy and entire body still trembling slightly. his face softens at my question, and silence takes over for a few moments.

“i know. i know how it looks. i shouldn’t have gotten so close to her, not when i have you. but i promise you that i didn’t cheat. you’re everything i want and i’d be an idiot to throw that away. you have to believe me baby.” his voice begins to break, thumb running across my cheek and eyes staring into mine, scanning desperately for any sign that i am convinced. it isn’t the most detailed nor thought out explanation, but i know him enough to see that he is telling the truth.

“okay.” i nod my head and look to the floor, swallowing harshly in an attempt to calm my shallow breathing. his fingers come underneath my chin, gently pulling it upward so that i am facing him again. the pain is still there, regret etched upon his expression as seeing the woman he loves in such a state hurts him just as much as me leaving. he takes me in his arms, lifting me up and gently kissing me again. this time i reciprocate, a small sob leaving his lips as he recognises this, his hold on me only getting tighter. the previous lack of contact had affected more than i had realised, the small reassurance of my kiss enough to crumble his usually calm temperament.

“i love you.” he whispers against me, his lips bitter with the taste of tears. that doesn’t matter to me. pressing my mouth to his as harshly as i can, my arms wrap around his neck, bringing him in even closer. he holds me so tightly, like i may slip away, the fear of losing me all too real. my small hands cup his cheeks, attempting to deepen the kiss, though doing so unsuccessfully as his voice vibrates against me. he sounds broken, his request coming out as a desperate plea, cut off by a short sob. “please say it back. you haven’t this whole time and i-”

“i love you too.” i mumble against his lips. he holds me even tighter, something which i didn’t think was possible. but considering the realms of possibility is an activity for another day. i have no time to consider anything as he kisses me once again, his touch addictive, and more than enough to make me forget everything.

#tokiohotel #tomkaulitz #tom kaulitz x reader #kaulitz twins #tom kaulitz #kaulitz #bill kaulitz #tom kaulitz fluff #tom kaulitz smut #tom kaulitz angst

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luselih · 5 months

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Hiya! I wanna know if you'd write a scenario/drabble about the reader being the "emotional support demon" for the upper moons. Like they all collectively allow the reader to show some sort of affection towards them. (Preferably SFW pls)

demons favor || upper moons

ask/summary: demon!reader is emotional support demon for all 6 uppermoons!

content warnings | i tried to made it sweet but realistic, mentioned killing, possessiveness and obsessiveness (kinda yandare if you squint) , 5 love languages, comfort/fluff a bit too i guess? contains later manga stuff so manga spoilers!…

a/n - #1 i made this with mix of everything, i think it can be seen as platonic/non-romantical in most of settings (i think?)

#2 also reader is initially chubby hinted/written in mind so it’s up in text somewhere but i think i didn’t emphasized it too much so i guess anyone could read! Gender is not mentioned much too, maybe just some feminine parts couple of times.

#3 i so sorry for being inactive, i am graduating high school in 2 months so i gotta get grades and everything also i already wrote this but tumblr deleted it so i gotta do it again 💔

It was definitely very...very surprising and confusing for other lesser demons to see such... non scary scenes in front of them, especially one who were lowermoons and see them on more “regular" basis than others, who was that demon?

You were there practically chilling amongst uppermoons, one whi could kill any human or demon alive being so... tolerant with you? No one even remembers how did you even spawn in Infinity Castle at one of meetings they had with Muzan, yet everyone seemed to sooner or later get comfortable with you around, your presence giving each individual some kind of comfort to them...

Kokushibo only likes to spend some quality time with you after it took him a long time to get comfortable and used to you, now reading books or playing hanafuda together. He liked your presence when he got time to spend without training or killing people. It reminded him of his past self and life, his wife and two kids he left to chase his dream, it brings a sense of domestic warmth and comfort in his lonely life for the second time in his life after he willingly lost it. He even consider having you all to himself, what can other demons do about it? absolutely nothing.

Douma likes to receive physical affection and acts of service from you. He loves when you put your head on his chest, his arms wrapping around your waist and pulling you in his lap as low beings (humans) or different called his followers in Eternal Paradise Faith as you two listens to them and gives them advices. He simply cannot choose between having you close to him or when you go out and easily collect new followers that are especially young human women that he can eat sooner or later, he simply adores you <3

Akaza crave quality time and words of affirmation from you, or better said someone. He is living for a second time to avenge his death fiancée, but as any other being he grows to be closer to you. He can only pray that Koyuki isn’t jealous or mad at him as you praise him while watching moon together , your beautiful smile shining underneath moonlight as he caught a glimpse of her in you :(

Hantengu needs words of affirmation to survive due his constant suffering from his past self, all kills, lies and evil is laying heavily on his soul so he stoped crying as much as before. (i don’t like him so this is bad, sorry not sorry 🤷‍♀️)

Gyokko prefers to receive acts of service and gift giving as a form of affection from you, since he lives in vases he started liking you when you gifted him a handmade vase. He liked it very much that he almost considered living in that one instead of this he was using that was given by Douma. He absolutely loved when you cleaned all of his vases once, even organized them in order by shape, size, pattern and color :)

Daki + Gyutaro needs all 5 love languages, so count on words of affirmation, acts of service, receiving gifts, quality time, and physical touch. They were kids/very young when they died so they considered you as a sibling/guardian/prerent in some way. Letting you tend their needs and expectations, they also wants you all to themselves sooner or later :3

#bambi ᝰ #demon slayer #demon slayer x reader #demon slayer x y/n #demon slayer x you #kimetsu no yaiba #kimetsu no yaiba x reader #kimetsu no yaiba x you #kimetsu no yaiba x y/n #kokushibo x reader #douma x reader #akaza x reader #hantengu x reader #gyokko x reader #daki x reader #gyutaro x reader

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bonkscanopy · 2 years

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#listen i know it looks like shit but i will redo it properly once we get the bluray #i just miss them and needed them here ):#low quality gifs for high quality scene SORRY #.bonks #top gun: maverick #top gun maverick #top gun #rooster #bradley bradshaw #bradley rooster bradshaw #bob #bob floyd #robert bob floyd #rooster top gun #bob top gun #miles teller #lewis pullman #the beach scene #bobster

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tawaifeddiediaz · 2 years

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hi can you make a tutorial on how you sharpen your gifs? i especially love the black and white ones you make

Hi Nonnie! Sorry you've had to wait a little bit, I've just been really insanely busy with a thousand things 😅 Anyway, I'm not sure how exactly to do this, but hopefully this makes sense!

We'll be doing this scene, to go from the top gif to the bottom gif:

(This tutorial assumes basic knowledge of gif-making and smart filters, and is probably long-winded because I haven't been making gifs for very long, but this is the way I do mine.)

Tutorial under the cut:

Couple things to note that make a huge difference before you even start:

Use high-quality videos! I try not to go below 1080p for anything, and sometimes that means downloading bigger files.

Make sure that whatever application you use to get your frames isn't distorting them, or skipping frames. I use MPV player.

Make sure your gif size is correct when you crop it, if you're posting it somewhere). For example, if you're making a single gif on a row, Tumblr's optimum width is 540px. If you make it 500px, or 550px or whatever, it's going to look super crunchy and weird after you post it, so stick to their sizes.

We're gonna begin at this page (if you need a tutorial on how to get here, let me know, but I'm assuming you know!)

First, make sure your gif is a smart object! If your gif isn't a smart object, you won't be able to apply the smart filters. If it is, you'll see this symbol next to it. To convert all your layers to a smart object, select them all, right-click, and select "convert to smart object."

Next, duplicate your gif layer so you have two. Hide the top layer and select the bottom layer. Your layers should look like this:

Remember we're working on the bottom layer first! Go to Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen. Use these settings, depending on what looks best for your gif/video quality:

The radius can be set to 0.2px to 0.5px depending on your quality/preference. You can also choose to remove Lens Blur instead of Gaussian Blur but these are my preferred settings. (I don't do anything with the Shadows and Highlights section)

Next, do another Smart Sharpen, but this time, use these settings:

(a popular choice for this second smart sharpen is 10%-10px, but I like the clarity 20% gives just a little bit more.)

This is what my layers look like right now:

And this is what my gif looks like. I removed the sharpening from the right side of the image, and while it's not super obvious like this, I think you can see the difference best in Buck's eyes. The eye on our left has much more detail and depth, while the one on our right isn't as clear:

You can stop right here if you want to, if you're happy with the way your gif looks. However, my preference is always to soften the crisp edges just a little so it doesn't look over-sharp, and also give it some clarity, which is where that second layer comes in.

Select that top layer and un-hide it. Remember that there are no filters on this layer so far. Go to Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Choose a radius of 0.4-0.7px, and click enter. The gif will look like this:

Next, change the opacity of this top layer to 20-25%. You should have your sharpened gif back, but it will look just a little softer and less harsh along the edges. You can change this opacity depending on your scene, so it's really like a slider you can control to go back and forth.

Your layers will look like this:

Then, one more optional step that I like to do is add a noise layer. This seems counter-intuitive, but when you have big blocks of color, the noise helps disperse them just a little bit.

Go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise. Use these settings:

Then, in your Layers pane, right-click where it says Add Noise, and in the menu, click Edit Smart Filter Blending Options. You should get this dialogue box, where you can change the opacity of that filter to 50%.

I know it kind of seems like "what's the point?" when this particular layer is already low-opacity, but it does make a difference (to me, at least) in some gifs where there's a lot of color/light, especially after you color the gif in!

This is what your layers should look like:

And this is what my gif looks like after I run it through the frame animation, all sharpened!

Here it is colored the way I color my gifs xD (and also slightly slowed down):

And here it is in black and white (I love black and white, too xD):

I hope this helps, Nonnie! Feel free to drop me an ask if something here doesn't make sense.

Last tips:

Don't be afraid to play around with multiple settings until you find the one that works best for you.

Make. An. Action. I can't tell you how much actions save time when I'm working because then I don't have to remember every last detail. The first few times, just get in practice of doing it yourself, but after that, actions are amazing. Some people on tumblr have actions you can download and use, too.

Different scenes/lighting will result in different outcomes of your sharpening, so you might have to play around with it. Sometimes, I add an extra Smart Sharpen layer to that bottom layer to help clarify some of the details, and other times, I just change the existing settings to fit the scenes.

Sharpening tends to be a personal preference thing, so just play around with all the settings until you find one that works best for you.

Happy giffing!

#zee's tutorials #tutorials #gif tutorial #sharpening #photoshop tutorial #resources #ps help #dailyresources #userkosmos #userrin #tuserkay #usermarsy #userphotoshop #completeresources #usermare

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absolutebl · 3 years

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BAD BUDDY - Ep by Ep Snarkfest

Not sure if this will be a trash watch or not, but are you ready for this?

But first... I thought it might be fun to see what my predictions were back in 2020 when GMMTV first announced this show.

I should acknowledge that I publicly stated, many times, that I thought Nanon would NEVER do a BL. So this is me eating crow:

DEETS!

Origin: Book (Behind the Scenes) adaptation of a enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, Romeo & Romeo, secret relationship, university sports setting y-novel

MDL Listing | Trailer

Wait I’ve seen them do BL before? Seriously? Fine. Nanon Korapat in My Dear Loser+ like everything GMMTV not BL. Ohm Pawat in He’s Coming to Me, Make it Right 1&2, Dew the Movie, The Shipper + like EVERYTHING BL.

Side dishes: Drake (My Tee, 2gether, 1000 Stars) and Marc (My Gear and Your Gown)

My 2020 Predictions: It’s from GMMTV with BL director Backaof attached (1000 Stars, He’s Coming to Me, Dark Blue Kiss, Still 2gether), so it’s gonna happen. Both actors and director have a history of picking quality projects with decent scripts, and production values are likely high. Should be excellent but low heat. Ohm will have his shirt off a lot.

Shall we begin?

Episode 1 - Oh well, fuck me, it’s actually great

They had me the moment Pran took his earbuds out and put them carefully into a case before going into battle. This show is fantastic.

Officially, as of this moment October 29, 2021, I’m declaring there to be too many gay engineering students in BL for me to keep track of anymore. Bad Buddy has defeated me. It is the gear the broke the smock-covered back.

Pat’s little sister is my spirit animal I LOVE HER. I’m sorry tho, I can’t call her Pa, so I’m changing the spelling to Pah henceforth. (It’s Thai to English, all spelling is merely a figment of your deranged imagination anyway.)

The pace was great, this was a FAST moving opening episode. Ironically, that means I’m now concerned about pacing - a lot happened already, how are they going to daw this out into 12 eps unless it’s super slow burn? Then again, this is based on a Y-novel, so should be better than normal Thai BL (although the horrible looming shadow of My Gear and Your Gown is RIGHT THERE) so trust is thin on the ground.

All that said, we are off to a GREAT start and so far I’m loving this show. (I would have bet good money Ohm would be topless first, tho.) Also, yes we all GOT the Romeo & Juliet bits GMMTV, thank you for clipping us upside the head with those. Is Drake actually playing Tybalt? In which case, who’s Mercutio? (Randomly: does the kid playing Wai look like Heeseung from Enhypen to anyone else, or is it just me?)

How cute was that bit where they subverted the wound tending trope though? Pran was like “You must be joking.” I got quite a chuckle out of it.

Little to no seme uke with these boys, which is good, suits the actors’ dynamic.

Looks like GMMTV is gonna both start (1k*) and end 2021 on a high note. Fingers crossed. Honestly it just so nice to have them back in the game.

Episode 2 - Damnit, It Continues to be Good

The first quarter of this ep, with them trying to keep their friendship groups apart is so flipping funny. And then I remembered, the best of 2gether was when it did stuff like this. (That drunk scene with Fong flipping his shoe, Gunsmile in the dolly, and Tine driving air still makes me laugh). GMMTV’s stable excels at this stuff, it’s how School Rangers kept going all these years. And Ohm and Nanon are two of the best. It makes me feel like I am in safe hands when they do a montage run like this.

Also, seriously, the amount for flirting these two do over text is off the chart. And should we talk about the epic eye fucking? Eh, probably not, it speaks for itself. Or doesn’t speak per say... just eye fucks.

Epic Eye Fucking is the name of my punk band.

Amused to see the combined the mistaken identity game with the rooftop trope. Oh and post-it love note, haven’t seen that trope in a long while.

I hate hate hate the scene with Heeseung - sorry, Wai - at work at the bar. Which means i really hate Pat’s friends now too. In fact I hate all their friends, this is a blanket statement - GMMTV rectify thyself. I want to love friendship groups in BL, not hate them. V annoying. I hope they all get booted from school for egregious shed collapsing.

FOLK my love! I have missed you.

NO SINGING. Thailand, we have talked about this at length!

So they were separated eternally for being in a band together?

I get it. They were singing in a BL. I’d have done it too.

Meanwhile tickle is apparently a good word in every language. Although in Thai strawberry will forever be my favorite.

BL = closing elevators on the good stuff since Cherry Magic.

Episode 3 - Is this the one true scion of SOTUS?

I’m getting a serious “inheritor of our SOTUS forefathers” feel from this show (NOT a bad thing) but I’m not entirely sure why. It’s not the narrative, maybe it’s more an aura of confidence that’s the result of a combo of capable acting & solid production? Maybe you lot can help me figure this out?

How smooth was the guitar pick student ID flirting action? Also a never before seen love offering. Adorbs. And then Pat paying for both their noodle bowls later.

Boy is GOOD.

Also, word’s second most handsome pick. First one? Here:

I love Pat & Pran’s dynamic, it’s this perfect combative competitive flirtation. Reminds me a bit of PeteKao at the beginning of Kiss, although with less of an edge to it.

Also reminds me of grade school. Honestly, when is Pat just gonna pull on Pran’s pigtails and dip them in ink? Break a slate over his head?*

* (10 points to anyone who gets that reference.)

This is a damn good script.

It lets Pat, in particular, push right up to the edge of confession and then backtrack or turn it into a joke constantly (maybe intentionally, may unconsciously). This has the effect of jerking Pran around, but not maliciously. It means, i think, if they ever are going to actually get anywhere as a couple it’s gonna have to be Pran who really makes the first move, since he’s the only one who has the overt capacity for sincerity.

It’s very clever. Makes me wonder if the original y-novel was this well done or if this is part of Ohm and Nanon’s dynamic coloring their characters.

Question for y’all.

Is “fighting with chopsticks” the new euphemism for “dueling with swords”?

Asking for a friend.

Oh and here’s a reminder, because I keep needing it with Pran’s friends.

Apparently Episode 3 feels compelled to do a major TROPE DUMP.

The appearance of the meet me in the library trope made me especially happy. Romance in libraries is a favorite setting. Also them pressed together in the elevator thing is fun, doesn’t pop up often in BL these days (Cherry Magic excepted). Plus some more predictable BL tropes:

side eye,

look of love,

stare from a close distance,

black & white striped shirt,

lie on ground,

central aperture framing,

head pat,

and so forth.

On a serious note, the way Pat & Pran’s friends are driving them right back into the corners that their families did as children is really fucking sad. But it sure makes for excellent external tension.

Looking forward to another week of all I care about is Friday, and not for the normal reasons.

Episode 4 - annoying friends remain annoying

Look they’re starting to really bother me in an imma fast forward kinda way, they’re no longer adding to the story. Although it is fun to see them tricked into working. But I like to see anyone tricked into working. Leave me alone with a child and I’ll have them conducting regression analysis in about half an hour. (That is NOT a euphemism.)

Pat wandering into Pran’s room and then just grabbing a book and setting up residence made me think that these two are also a puppy/cat pairing.

I like the not-a-faen-fatale but more a friend from their past who knows who they are to each other. Cute twist on a tired archetype. Also I am fining myself basically delighted whenever Pat’s sister shows up. Why are sister characters such fun in BL?

Yes but also... tiny impossible but very cute girl ship has set sail!

Okay but how many times is Pat gonna call Pran cute or his boyfriend in this one episode? I mean boy actually couldn’t flirt any harder. And then to pretend he likes a girl. Tut to the tut tut.

Pacing on this one continues to be excellent I’m still excited for where the next one is going. So far, this show is a win.

Meanwhile someone asked me to go into why Nanon’s acting is so amazing, so I donned my professional-esk hat and had a stab at it here.

I’d like to see them start redeeming the friendship groups at this point. Pat’s should try helping him win the girl and Pran’s shoudl recognize his misery and try to cheer him up. They can remain at odds with each other, but we (the audience) really need to like them more now.

See you next week! Same Pat time, same Pat place.

Episode 5 - they boyfriends

These two are basically boyfriends already. I can’t take the morning routine cuteness: pet names, ordering each other around the kitchen, stealing food.

Thus the terrible date with The Girl (TM) was appropriately terrible and meanwhile...

So Pat finally figures out his feels, isn’t jelly of a girl (is jelly of a boy). I kinda like that the jelly is being used to determine identity rather than just as a dumb plot device.

This is a clever little romance.

Thank goodness we only had to listen to one song tho.

Meanwhile Pat is like, oh shit did we actually fall in love in high school and I never realized it? I love this kind of trope. Himbo alert! Big dumb bi boy utterly out of touch with his feelings is just too delicious. Also Ohm got to be subtle for a change, showing this whole remembering of old heartbreak just with nuances of facial expressions at the music concert.

Question: At the Wai Pat confrontation scene, how did Pat end up on the ground? Did he just decide to fall down in the middle of a fight? I’m confused.

Finally... GREAT FUCKING KISS.

Look I was gonna give kiss of the year to SamYu (and I still will because, frankly, Taiwan is just better about this stuff) but this one was REALLY good. Much more than I expected of GMMTV, although not from Ohm.

We all knew he could kiss like a dream from Make it Right, and he was fricking 16 in that series. Apparently some things DO improve with age.

Anygay, VERY nice boys. Thank you.

And then Pat’s face. That tiny lost smile: absolute joy and then crushing disappointment in knowing reality won’t let them be together - almost in the same breath. Beautifully done.

(A DM ask about this kiss has made me natter more so here it is...)

THAT KISS

I don't analyze the experience of BL as a watcher all that much (more just type out my snarky reactions) but I was asked, so here’s more about Ohm and the kiss.

I think that smile was a bit of everything: euphoria at having his feelings returned but also the hopelessness of their situation and also a brave front and also first love nerves. It was very complex. Ohm knocked it out of the park this ep but I've seen Dew so I had absolutely no doubt he could do it.

I love that the director and story had Nanon carry the weight of the emotional burden for most of the first half of the show and now suddenly Ohm has picked it up. It's very cleverly done and could only happen with two extremely good actors.

I do think we are in for a very bumpy ride going forward as a result though. Both of their reactions to the kiss are foreshadows.

How will they cope with the pressure of friends and family and secrecy if/when they are in a relationship?

Will they smile or wince or both, like Pat?

Will the joy of first love be enough to keep them on the metaphorical rooftop together?

Or will one of them run, as Pran did?

If production is smart with the talent (and clearly they ARE), we'll get flip flopping of who carries the emotional burden of the narrative for the next 5 eps or so until The Dreaded Episode 11 (TM).

Pacing is different in this BL though (this kiss came early) so DOOM might descend at ep 9/10 or even sooner. It’s hard to predict, this one. Yet another reason just to sit back and enjoy the ride.

EXTRAS

Pat & Pran’s language with each other: pronouns, honorifics, and endearment/insult teasing.

More about the kiss and the dialogue on the rooftop and queer identity.

Moving on from The Kiss That Broke The Internet.

Episode 6 - Show Me the Seme

I was thinking Bad Buddy was pretty much was not going to have a seme/uke dynamic (Thailand’s skipped it before), but in this episode we got us a classic seme active pursuit vrs tsundere uke resistance - so I guess for now, we back to normalcy.

Director Aof pretty much dropped in half the tropes of the Thai BL arsenal into this one episode, so my heart is full, but I think that was mostly to keep the pacing on point since this ep didn’t advance the story much:

touch my lips and think of kissing,

beach frolic,

close stare,

crash into me,

drag baby around,

boys contemplating water.

The parents are whack immure arses but hay, Love Sick started that nonsense - it’s a grand Thai tradition.

I kinda love Pat showing up on the bus. I literally said, “You little shit” while I was watching. Also, how much do I love Ohm’s “I’m a self satisfied little shit” face? SO MUCH.

The dealing with sulky boyfriend at the marketplace was adorable, because of course Pran likes the bits of Pat that are most unlike himself, like the sunshine teasing. And Pat is just learning how to activate that to get his boy into a better mood.

We ended with the best confession that isn’t a confession meets flirting but make it ridiculous scene in BL. It was great. Pran basically said,

“Boy, you wanna piece of this, you gotta court me proper.”

It was adorbs. Also, his smile when Pat calls him his boyfriend in the stinger = fantastic!

Finger licking good, one might even say.

I am anticipating these two giving us one of the best and most dramatic public claiming sequences ever.

Don’t disappoint me, Bad Buddy.

Next week.... secret boyfriends trope launches at last.

Episode 7 - Oh They Trope-Verse Seme-Switches!

Okay I figured it out with this episode, Pat & Pran are classic example of no seme/uke, they’re also classic trope switches. I’m glad that’s settled in my brain now.

I’ll talk about how I came to this conclusion in a moment, but FIRST... we need to talk about these two:

I’m not sure GMMTV has the guts to give us a full on GL sub plot, but they are absolutely setting one up. But then they throw Wai with a crush on Pah into the mix, so ???

This will get v messy for Pran & Pat no matter which direction Pah goes with her choices. Which is very clever of the writers. I love it. I am ALWAYS in favor of clever writers. And you know I like messy. So I’m looking forward to wherever this sub-plot goes, GL payout or no. (Although I recognize there are gonna be some seriously disappointed tumblr rants if there is no actual GL.)

Pran unleashing his pent-up flirt is a thing of beauty. Also the not-dating dating musical montage was adorable.

Okay, so, secret boyfriends gave us all the tropes in this one, interestingly if you assume Pat is the seme from the last ep, these all largely subverted that dynamic.

your relationship with that water bottle (standard seme execution, but I think they just wanted Ohm’s shirt off)

wound tending (subverted)

caged wall lean (subverted)

the library assignation

sponge bath (turned into product placement, very clever GMMTV)

baby is a messy eater (subverted)

(Here’s the post where I talk about how certain tropes in BL basically “belong” to either the seme or the uke and that we should pay very close attention when the dynamic is flipped because the narrative is very much trying to tell us something about the motivation and complexities of the characters. A pair that does this while maintaining seme/uke but using it to show us how very soft that dynamic can be are SolorGui in Oxygen.)

And then Bad Buddy used the cheek kiss, boyfriend peck kisses, and makeup removal trope to show Pat & Pran both pretty much doing this to each other at the same time. That’s basically screaming out that these two are narratively verse.

So yeah, I’m calling it for no seme/uke in this BL. In fact this episode could be a master class in how to use BL trope expectations to counteract seme/uke standards. It was basically Thai BL undermining Japanese live action yaoi. It’s kind of like:

Look at how far we have come! These boys will use your tropes for a verse agenda, thank you very much!

Which I of course flipping loved. (You see what I did there - FLIPping?)

You know what else I loved best in the world? This line:

You know why?

Because it reminded me so entirely of Seryo in Seven Days:

You know I love anything that reminds me of Seven Days.

Yet again Bad Buddy kept the tension up with no slump in engagement despite this being (on paper) a pretty basic filler episode 7, thin on narrative. I must applaud them. I’m looking forward to more secret boyfriends next week. But I do think someone is gonna find them out. The question is... who?

In other news: the mom character, instead of gay for you, she’s homophobic for you. Thank you thank you. Trope abuse is my forte.

Episode 8 - Shirtless Secrets

Finally the episode where Ohm spends most of it shirtless. The gay gods applaud you, GMMTV.

So right, the breakfast in bed was so adorable. These two are the biggest flirty teases ever, Pat & Pran are both such good secret lovers.

The fucking holding hands thing is going to wreck tumblr for days. Are you happy? I hope you’re happy. GMMTV what have you done to us.

Odds on a shot of Pat miserable and cuddling this T-shirt after the inevitable break up? Come on, you know they wanna do that to us.

I love the character trait of Pat being obsessed with the way Pran smells, speaking as someone whose partners have historically been dictated almost entirely by smell.

Meanwhile the lesbians got the wound tending and the shrimp peeling trope - a rare but very important one, IMHO. (Thank you AePete. Incidentally the Thai polite style of peeling shrimp, with a fork and spoon, actually works REALLY well. I taught myself how to do it and am now a bit of a fan.)

I actually don’t have a trope board for this one since it’s pretty rare.

And we ended on tension.

Did I say already that this show is written like, and reminds me a bit of, fan fiction? The way it’s paced, very nice.

Episode 9 - Wooing a Friendship Group (or 2)

I thought this episode would have a lot more doom, I was pleasantly surprised by how soft it was. A ton of cute tropes were casually dropped: hair dry, face cradle, significant hand hold, the lying loom, boys in black & white stripes. Still, Pran’s friends, especially Wai = the biggest arses. I wasn’t sure they could redeem Wai’s character (and I’m still not sure they did although they gave it their best shot).

Look, I’m only gonna say this once.

If you make it hard for someone to come out, you don’t get to blame them for hiding themselves.

Doesn’t matter what form that coming out takes (secret relationship or queerness). There are countless ways to demonstrate trust-worthiness and allyship, especially around your friends. The onus is on us to be the safe person, not them.

Nanon playing crestfallen is ADORABLE though.

Did you hear Korn use “nong” in this scene to mock flirt? It’s very very funny if you understand the implications of the term “nong” under the context of Korn & Pat’s friendship (equals and age mates) and Pat pretending to be jealous of Wai in order to cope with how much Wai is hurting his boyfriend. Korn is doing it to cheer him up. It was sweet and hillarious.

Who knew Korn would turn into the biggest PatPran shipper?

Meanwhile Pat chucked his crown into the ring for Bi King (gonna take a lot to dethrone Neo, Leon & Na, though.)

Pat = Pransexual

(Shut up, I am beyond chuffed with myself.)

This is, in part, GMMTV making an obvious effort to correct for some of the great sins of SOTUS in particular and the BL genre in general (gay for you, wifey terminology, punching down humor, and poor GL rep). Marvelous that they are using their flagship show and its massive platform to do so. We of the Queer Normalization Brigade salute you. (Our uniforms are FABULOUS.)

The GL ship got pushed a little out of port.

Do I think there might still be some issues with the GL supply chain? Why yes, yes I do, but it’s still very nice to see an attempt made at delivery. (See what I did there?)

Anygay, we got the friendship groups to come around and now... the parents! How much you wanna bet this drive the break up? Also I really hope the boys uncover a really good reason for the breach between the families, it’d be a lot better if they gave us a solid external stressor.

I got faith though.

Episode 10 - Wai’s Lesbian Redemption

Honestly this ep started with the public claiming sequence to end all public claiming sequences. This may win this trope category for all time.

I really appreciate the continued efforts to keep this drama light - much lighter, in fact, then it has any right to be. I think I have laughed out loud in pretty much every single episode.

Similarly I appreciate the ridiculous care and thought they are putting into crafty product placement. It’s almost like they are making fun of the way this was handled in 2gether. I wonder if it will spawn more of this kind of mockery in other Thai BLs going forward?

There is a literary technique called light housing, which is when writers take a flaw or inconsistency in a text/narrative/plot, and instead of trying to burry it, they highlight it and call attention to it, sometimes with 4th wall breaking, sometimes by ostentatiously turning it into a plot device or pivot point. The way Bad Buddy treats product placement feels like that. There’s this attitude of “well if we must include it, instead of trying to hide it let’s make it a party. It becomes less clumsy and shoehorned in (like in Kdramas or other Thai BL) and more an extra playful perk, like a cheerful garish bauble.

It suits the Thai style to approach product placement this way.

Could we talk about the Wai giving up on Pah sequence?

Good, ‘cause we’re gonna.

Far be it for me to turn the lesbian arc into a chat about the straight dude in the mix, but that’s what is about to happen. (Probubly my most anti Bechtel moment, ever.)

First of all, Pat’s attitude is aces, let’s just put that out there. For an older brother to say about his younger sister (in Thai culture), “I’m gonna let her make her own romantic decisions” Is fantastic. And maybe wouldn’t have happened if Pat hadn’t been through his own conflict over romance and identity.

But we gotta talk about Wai.

This was actually one of the best redemption arcs possible for Wai’s character and one of the most queer moments we’ve gotten in what has been, so far, one of the queerest Thai BLs I’ve ever seen.

There is along and very storied history of straight dudes (patriarchies, whole cultures) not believing in lesbian relationships because “real love” and “real sex” must involve a penis. Gay sex and relationships have historically been treated as taboo, disgusting, or sickening - but valid. Lesbian relationships and sex on the other hand, have mostly been treated as laughably impossible or inconceivable.

In the past, this lead to things like Boston marriages, where women spent lifetimes together as partners and were tacitly permitted to do so simply because "romantic love and sexual interest between two women is simply not possible.”

(When I harp on about queer being a feminist issue, this is one of those aspects.)

So the way Wai just instantly notices and believes that Pah has a crush on Ink and that this crush is not only valid but OUTRANKS his own is INSANE. Like never before seen on screen.

He accepts that it is Pah’s right to like whomever she wants, and if the one she likes is a woman, that’s not important because it’s just as valid of a choice.

I can’t tell you how important this kind of scene is in film. And how much it redeems his character.

This is a HUGE queer statement being made by this narrative. It’s unprecedented. And it’s specifically one of lesbian support.

Also it goes up against BL notions of the prioritization of a crush over mutual affection. Wai backing down is a way of saying not only is queer love as valid as het love, but that a crush is less important than the return of feelings.

Meanwhile, Ink’s stink eye is the best.

Ink asking for permission is even better. Gotta love consent. Not to mention cheek & forehead kisses.

Also the return of dark room romance!

Anyone else getting PickRome vibes?

Back to the main story:

Of course it all turns out to be the sins of the father. What did we expect?

Although, honestly, it’s a bit rich (pun intended) for someone in such a fancy-pants outfit to be complaining about having her life ruined. Things seemed to have, frankly and fashionably speaking, turned out okay for Pran’s maa.

Next week is ep 11, but who the f knows with this show? It seems to be specializing in non-standard BL behavior patterns.

Episode 11 - Doom Light

A sort of achey wistful episode 11, because we know, right along with the characters, that Pat & Pran’s attempt to escape the family strife is, in fact, doomed.

This whole honeymoon sequence (including the shoehorned allegory about Junior not wanting to go back with his mom + Uncle wasting his life on ideology) is just another one of those coming of age moments. Running away and still staying part of the world isn’t really possible, even if you don’t like the world or can’t fit into it (the world doesn’t like you).

For me the saddest part was at the end when Pat & Pran stand in front of their respective homes crying, because the idea of going home should feel good, and safe, when for both of them it’s the opposite. That is such a queer experience - it was like a gut punch.

And suddenly this show is reminding me of I Told Sunset About You.

I’m now going to speculate on the time jump final ep.

If they really are going to go there, that is a VERY Kdrama tactic. Under the auspices of the tropes of those dramas (and not BL) the following can happen:

the ending is left up in the air but slightly implies that they get back together (see Something in the Rain)

they get back together in the last 10 min of the last ep, in what feels like a super rushed job (see most het romance Kdramas)

we return to the Japanese roots (of both BL & Kdramas) and Bad Buddy doesn’t end with an HEA, but instead with them still apart and a sentimental romanization of lost love

In this last tactic, the romantic glory is vested in the unchanging nature of the memory of having once experienced the true passion of youth. The two characters often reminisce about their past over drinks together. I have been known, at my most acerbic to call this “Arthouse Smackdoodle.”

Now, I am open to being surprised.

In fact, please surprise me.

Because I don’t like any of these 3 options. In my personal opinion, Kdramas are unquestionably weak around endings.

On the other hand, with the increasing quality of the BL and companion talent, production values, and performances we must acknowledge the silly frivolous fluff is going to lose against the compulsion to be taken seriously. Especially in a narrative like this one, that doesn’t have a compelling story, just compelling acting and directing.

So I’m not sure if I should be legitimately scared by the Episode 12 teaser. Or if I’m being expertly manipulated to be scared. Or if I am betraying trust in Bad Buddy by being scared, even though it clearly wants me to be.

ARGH.

Honestly, this whole series journey has been a bit much for me. I’m happy Bad Buddy is ending next week not because I didn’t like it, but because I like it too much.

I need less stress and more poor quality Thai pulp bullshit BL in my life.

I know, I know. Be careful what you wish for. Paint With Love is still airing.

Episode 12 - Glory Be, They Stuck the Landing!

In which Tumblr collectively decides if BB can’t stick the landing, we riot. We did not get off to an optimistic start. I hate hate HATE the Kdrama time jump in the final episodes trope. If you’re gonna do a reunion romance you should do it from the start. I don’t like it when he has to go away and find himself by writing a novel, or solving a mathematical proof, or any of that rot.

It’s the equivalent of saying to the audience that the characters found something more important then their love for each other, yet we just watched a whole fuck-off drama about how important their love for each other was. You can’t do us dirty like that.

Oh look! I’m FINALLY ranting about this show and I am less than 2 minutes into the final episode. Only it’s not really this show at all. Squirrel!

Fortunately, as they have been doing all along, Bad Buddy subverted this trope too.

Take THAT Kdramas!

Pran apparently landed in Singapore. (Don’t make them speak English, please.)

Singapore is one of my favorite places on earth. That view out Pran’s window is of the Marina Bay Sands hotel, I've stayed there! Here's what the Singapore Strait looks like from the roof at sunrise (it’s my phone backdrop).

This has been your moment of glob trotter reverence.

I return you to your regularly scheduled waffling.

I actually liked the bit of Pat getting together with old friends. It reminded me of exactly that kind of thing in my own post-uni days, and the three on screen together are good. Made me wish I'd gotten more of that friendship dynamic all along. Jimmy really is a great addition to the GMMTV stable. I'm looking forward to his BL this year. (Did you know he's a doctor as well? Apparently.)

The reunion

Did I tear up at the longing glances across the room? Of course I did. I am, after all, a sap. Plus both actors are so good at emoting. However, the high school reminiscing at the reunion was too drawn out for me.

That said, I was happy to have been tricked for the first half of the episode.

They did long distance and stayed secret lovers the whole time. Nicely twisted but a bit too much audience manipulation. It’s going to fail on rewatch potential. Better than the other options, tho.

And then... the hanging photos trope. Been a while, a rarely used one but fun to see. Reminded me of Dark Blue Kiss and PeteKao’s secret anniversary - a sweet call back from GMMTV to one of their other “keeping it in the closet” romances. (Great, now I want do a DMK rewatch.)

T-shirt memory sniff... called that one.

Also that’s a v cute subversion of the punishment trope, Pran.

The horsing around and wrestling ending was pitch perfect for this couple and this drama but also pleasingly unusual for a romance story.

Bad Buddy really tread the line between BL and queer romance and I kinda adore them for that.

This is a special little drama, and how lucky to get to start the year this way.

The bar has been raised, Thailand.

In the end, I loved Bad Buddy.

The family struggles and friendship group made it a little bit difficult for me to take at times so I am not certain how much I’ll end up rewatching this one. We shall see.

However, the acting was really excellent and the ending was unexpectedly satisfying if not typical romancey. For now, I am giving Bad Buddy a solid 9/10 - 9.5/10 if I did that because of all the queer affirmation and effort put in to specifically subvert damaging Thai BL tropes.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

(source)

#gmmtv #bad buddy #bad buddy the series #thai bl #Nanon Korapat #Ohm Pawat #episode racap #episode recaps #patpran #pranpat #bl tropes #this week in bl #bad buddy analysis #pickrome #inkpa

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hellboys · 3 years

Text

low quality video -> "HD" gifs tutorial! (updated version here!!!)

for the lovely @tomdestry and anybody else wanting to learn this trick (;

this works on movies/videos in 720p and lower

must have basic gif making knowledge

I'm using photoshop cc 22.3.1 (2021)

TUTORIAL UNDER THE CUT ⤵️

In this tutorial I'm gonna show u how to create an illusion of high quality and film grain in your gifs just by using smart filters, coloring, and noise! This works on 720p, 480p, 360p, and 144p resolutions

1. So to start make the gif base

I am using a scene from qb vii in (a terrible) 360p

(I use the timeline version of making gifs sorry 😅)

2. Add 'unsharp mask' filter

filter -> sharpen -> unsharp mask...

Amount: between 50-110% (no higher than 110)

Radius: between 1.0-2.0 pixels

Threshold: 2 levels

3. Add 'smart sharpen' filters

filter -> sharpen -> smart sharpen...

I like to add 2 layers of smart sharpen with these settings. So overall you will have 3 layers of sharpening; unsharp mask, smart sharpen, smart sharpen 2. THIS IS OPTIONAL. Sometimes you won't need the second layer of smart sharpening but that's up to u (:

4. Add the 'add noise' filter

filter -> noise -> add noise...

the add noise filter helps soften out the hard pixels of the video and creates a film grain effect. play around with the amount to see what works best for you but I wouldn't go higher than 4%. AND GO BY DECIMALS! don't just use 1, 2, 3, 4. try out like 2.5% or 3.6%, etc. In the end i used 3.4% of noise for this gif

5. Color your gif

edit it and use any coloring u like! try to push the shadows and add more black in your 'selective color' adjustment layer just to give your gif more contrast (for an even sharper look)

6. Save!

once you're satisfied with how your gif looks, save for web and you're done! here are my save for web settings

My results!

360p video:

480p video w 3% noise:

(put too much contrast on these gifs but oh well u get the idea 😂)

End notes/tips!

obviously this trick won't work on every low quality movie

play around with the sharpening, noise, and color settings to find the best version for u!

the higher the quality (720p, 1080p dvd) the less noise you will need to add (1 to 2.5%)

gifs look even better if they are put into 2 column posts instead of a single column (268x instead of 540x)

the noise filter does mute the fine/sharp details of the gif so take it easy on the noise. only add in small increments!

and lastly - this is fake HD, it won't turn your 480p video into a crisp blu-ray 1080p quality. it just gives an illusion of higher quality (:

Any questions or suggestions, pls feel free to dm me or send me an ask. I am more than happy to help my fellow content creators! 💙

#i made this on my phone so hopefully its ok #resources #gif resources #gif tutorial #tutorial #my edits

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alldayangst · 3 years

Text

lovebug (Tom Holland)

GIF is from gaybuckybarnes here on Tumblr. You can access my masterlist here. This was written for @worldoftom’s lolbrosgetsicktoochallenge. The prompt I had was: ‘Tom self diagnoses himself as sick. He’s got all the symptoms. He’s speechless, over the edge and just breathless. He never thought he’d get hit by the ‘love-bug’ again’. Inspired by the song Lovebug by Jonas Brothers!

A/N: Y/N is an assistant director on Cherry in this fic. This has a lot of Cherry (the movie) references but most are explained if you haven’t seen the film. Such as, it was filmed in Cleveland and Morocco, directed by Joe and Anthony Russo. Some scenes in this fic borrow from the movie & I’ve linked clips from the film if you’d like to listen/watch along. WC: 4K.

“Yeah, Mum, I’ve just got like the sorest throat at the moment.” Nikki’s picture cuts in and out on a scrambled screen on the South side of London, her husband’s hand periodically reaching out for her, rubbing her shoulder, then leaving the frame almost as quickly as it came in. Even through the low quality, the pixels dashing about his screen, Tom can make out his mother’s brows knitting together and can’t remove the feeling of utter guilt when he sees her grow redder and redder out of anger, concern and confusion for her son. “But I’ve got Harry here with me.” Harry waves from behind his brother, his trusty mug swapped for a Phoenix Coffee Cup in his spare hand, just to get a taste of the States.

Tom reckons that's why he’s sick. He barely drinks coffee on the other side of the pond, and would bet good money that an at home PG Tips would beat America’s swankiest coffee joint any day. But now, he’s betrayed his usual routine and his body’s all out of whack and his throat is hoarse, he’s breathless even at times.

Harry shoots his mum a half smile to comfort her, but he doesn’t know what it's like to be a mother, and his and Tom’s mouth both form an ‘O’ when Nikki begins to type so hard her screen jolts and Tom swears she’s put a dent in it. “You know what? I’m going to give them a piece of my mind, Tom! They’re overworking you!” Nikki looks intensely to find her baby boy in drug-addled eyes and his jungle of curls on his newly shaven head. She guesses it becomes easier when Tom pushes his face halfway into the screen and pleads like the child he’ll always be to her, “Please, please Mum! I can’t have any days off. Under any circumstances, I need to finish this film!”

Tom turns to his younger brother for help. “Tell her, Harry!”

And as little brothers do best, Harry spills the beans as soon as Tom’s phone is in clutch. “Tom’s fallen in love with the first A.D., Y/N.”

Nikki immediately loses her frown, knowing how love can knock Tom off his feet and blow all the wind out of him. Tom’s father, Dom, re-enters the frame to match Nikki’s grin. He never misses an opportunity to tease. “Oo, caught a case of the love bug, have you?”

Harry has to whip the phone around to dodge Tom’s protesting arms reaching for it again. “Don’t listen to Harry. I’m not in love. I just like Y/N.”

“A lot.” Harry mutters. Tom’s family doesn’t budge any further, knowing how bad Tom was hurt after his last relationship. They weren't sure when the love bug would come back to bite him again. So after they all shared a knowing look, Harry handed Tom his phone back. “I’ll keep you updated. Bye, Mum.”

It all started five weeks ago. Tom, at 24, was beginning to feel like love was trudging up a high hill he couldn’t come down from, where every beat of heart was feeling like an ache on an open wound. Tom had yet to meet a lover to prove distance makes the heart grow fonder, finding himself in six month long entanglements and illusions of love before things inevitably went sour.

He’d say, perhaps, you were the closest thing to the real deal. The problem was, he didn’t know if you liked him back.

“When life was beginning, I saw -”

“When life was-”

“When life was be-fuck!”

“When life was beginning, I saw you.”

Tom could make a picture book out of the day he first met you. He remembers how your hair looked that day, the speckles of genuinity in your eyes, how your ear-to-ear smile seemed to be a mirror because every time he saw you from then on, he brandished the same beam. He recalls how his eyes went low as he dropped his script to his lap and stared at your lips, so soft and kissable, as you repeated his words back to him: “When life was beginning, I saw you.” Then you chuckled softly as Tom waited patiently for his head and his heart to return to him.

“I’m sorry. I’m dyslexic. I have a bit of trouble reading.”

“It’s cool, I'm the first A.D. That’s what I’m here for.”

You rubbed your hands on the back of your trousers, your mic jostling in your back pocket as you attempted to rid yourself of your nervous, sweaty palms.

“I’m Y/N.” You reached out for a shake only for Tom to cough loudly into his own hand.

“Fuck! I’m so sorry! That wasn’t me trying to get out of your handshake. I- I-.” Tom looked at his hand for it had failed him for the first time in his life. His hand that had helped him up during handstands, being his crutch through cartwheels and backflips, but had decidedly run out of luck to be on the receiving end of Tom’s monstrous cough impending a handshake with someone his eyes just couldn’t look away from.

You laugh again. Your laugh sounds like melody, Tom muses. Awestruck, he wishes he could play it again, repeat it like a radio hit and never wash himself of the feeling he got when he heard your laugh for the first time.

“It’s all good. I’ll see you around.” You disappear from his trailer, likely on a venture to your own, when Joe and Anthony block his view of you walking away.

Anthony and Joe take on the ghost of you in Tom’s room, “Tom! The man, the myth and the legend!” Joe comes behind him to rub his newly hairless head. “We’re so glad you agreed to do this movie!”

“Bummed that you’re not coming to the Browns game tonight, though.” Anthony remarks, throwing a football at Joe who sets it in his lap.

“Harry and I, we’re British, mate. We play football with our feet.”

Joe doesn’t know it then, but his next words are the beginning of the end for Tom. He rubs on his football and looks Tom in his eye when he poses, “It’s a shame ‘cause the whole crew’s going. First day of filming celebrations.”

“The whole crew?”

Anthony mumbles an ‘mhm’ as he picks up a framed photo of Tom and RDJ sitting pretty on Tom’s dresser, posing like father and son.

Tom’s usually self assured when he’s on set, but he’s hesitant to say this next improvised line. His voice trails off as he speaks. “Including Y/N?”

“Y/N?” Joe queries, with a smile that’s half scary and half comforting, and the butterflies in Tom’s stomach are begging him not to fuck this up and suddenly every second a word is not spoken feels like hours have passed and he might have ruined things before they’ve even started, gosh he just met you and-

Tom tries to play it cool. “I don’t- they’re cool.” Tom coughs again. “I mean, I don’t really know them but Y/N seems cool I guess.”

Anthony and Joe smile at each other, scrambling to exit. “Whole crew’s going, baby!” Joe beams.

“Please don’t tell Y/N I asked!” Tom shouts before they’re out of earshot.

“Yeah, yeah. Anthony, go long!”

A few hours later, Tom was sitting next to an unamused Harry, you on his left, foam fingers pointing every which way.

“Are you a big football fan?” Tom asked, imposter syndrome creeping up on him. He had the best seats in the house, but knew not a thing about this sport he’d come down to watch. Meanwhile, crew and crowd alike sat themselves around you guys, cheering leaving throats raw for days to come and a tussle for a foam finger between Joe and Anthony leading to hundreds of sugary popcorn shells scattered on the stadium floor.

“I mean, I wouldn’t ever turn down the option to look at Odell Beckham Jr. Are you?” you replied.

Tom looked over to his brother who sat with his chin in his hand, lips pulled into a thin straight line as his rusty curls were blown about from the wind of brown and orange flags flown from fans behind him. “We could learn to love it.” Tom flashed you a toothy grin, unsure of where to guide the conversation next. He knew for sure that he wanted to keep talking to you, but his ego began putting up a fight, eager to show himself off if you’d have him in any way. Tom sighed. “Truth is, we have no fucking clue what’s going on.” Tom could hear the commentary about a player reaching the end zone, but they were all just words that went into one ear then came straight out of the other.

You giggled. “I have no idea either. We could make up our own rules if you want.”

Tom likes the way you think. He also likes the way you speak. He loves the way you laugh.

“You have a beautiful laugh.”

You covered your mouth. “Oh, fuck, I hate my laugh!”

“I’d make you laugh a thousand times if I could.”

You pointed to the jumbo screen as Mayfield made a touchdown, unable to stop laughing from sheer nerves as you felt Tom’s hot, burning haze on you. An advert for Cleveland’s Own Phoenix Coffee flashed on the screen as you spoke. “We’ll make our own rules. Every time we see the quarterback pick up the ball, we’ll cheer.”

By the end of the night, Tom is speechless, breathless and over the edge of his chair in faux excitement and anticipation of the quarterback receiving the ball once again.

“Another coffee?” The service worker asked.

“Yes please!” You and Tom both say in unison, pumped as the quarterback began circling around to collect the ball in open arms.

The footage of the game is cut abruptly as the camera points to a confused, solo Harry; Anthony and Joe are seen at the edge of the frame whispering suggestively and pointing towards Tom, the camera eventually capturing the superstar who looks back up at his own reflection. Poorly green screened hearts flood the screen and the camera pans to include you in the frame too. Tom looks on in horror when he realises what’s going on and how it could be too late, and turns to you.

“I promise I didn’t know this was going on. We don’t have to.” Tom panics.

You hear him loud and clear, that you don’t have to, but your heart and eleven thousand people are telling you to kiss him otherwise. “Oh well. We should just do it.” you murmur, the bright pink ‘KISSCAM’ logo flashing in and out.

It doesn’t take more than a moment for the gap between you and Tom to close, for your face to get lost behind his, his lips pressing against yours, eyes closed, trusting each other to share your air. This was probably the first thing that night worth cheering for, howls and whistles erupting around you.

Tom doesn’t understand American football, but he thinks that the best seats in the house could be anywhere next to you.

Harry’s on the phone to his twin brother, Sam, when you and the rest of the crew make it back to the hotel later on. “-Yeah, and Tom spent half the night with the first A.D. cheering and screaming at fuck all.”

The Cleveland Browns lost that night, but Tom remains none the wiser. He stood in the doorway as Harry continued to relay his day to Sam. “Oh, and Tom, Mum said to give her a call, eavesdropper.” He flicks Tom’s reddening nose before closing the door.

A week and a half later, Tom reckons that's why he’s sick. He never has the time anymore to attend ‘real’ football games back home, and he actually understands the game back in Britain. But now, he’s cheered at almost every given opportunity to impress you stupidly, and his chest and voice is suffering as a consequence.

You and Tom walked onto set with your pinkies intertwined, growing closer and closer by the minute, but Tom doesn’t miss how Ciara’s boyfriend visits set every day for her, doesn’t miss how they rub their nose together in this lovey-dovey affection he wishes he could bestow upon you.

The scene wasn’t working.

The crew was beginning to grow restless and Tom silently became more frustrated as the minutes went by and he was unable to get his lines right. He remembers how a week ago, it felt so easy. You were there to correct him when he stumbled upon his lines and you picked him up so effortlessly, a twinkling smile on your face. But then? Then you were different. Your eyes were scrunched up behind the lens of the camera and you were mumbling something to Anthony about how the sun was due to go down in Ohio soon so you needed to hurry along.

“Alright.” you announced. “Take five!”

And Tom was thankful, Ciara perched upon a swing for the scene they were filming, Tom dwindling the rope of the swing under his finger as her boyfriend approached her once again. “Hey dude, are you okay?”

Ciara looked at Tom with the same concern, hands finding home in her boyfriend’s nest of hair. “Yeah, Tom, are you okay?”

Tom coughed into his hand. “Yeah, guys, I’m good.”

“I think you’re coming down with a nasty cough.” Ciara muttered.

“Yeah. It’s you guys. You’re too cute. You make me sick.” Tom laughed humourlessly for a short while, wanting to be that adorable with someone, maybe not anyone, maybe just with you someday. Then Tom shook his head, a bitter feeling in his throat as he yawned. “It’s the Browns game. I was yelling and screaming every time a quarterback got the ball. Of course I’m a little unwell. I’ll be good as new in a few days though.”

Ciara already knew Tom wasn’t playing a man with the healthiest of habits, but she worried that Tom was getting this bad this early. “Maybe you should talk to the first A.D. about reducing shoot days from five to three?”

Tom didn’t like the prospect of seeing you less. “Yeah.” Harry had a clapperboard between his hands, leading Tom’s eyebrows to furrow as his brother yelled something about it being take 13. “Maybe.”

Harry resumed to a new position in your chair, with you taking Harry’s place right across from Tom, a coffee waiting for him when the scene was over like Harry always did. Ciara’s boyfriend left the frame to watch supportively on the sidelines.

“Lights. Camera. Action!” Anthony called. “Time is money, you guys! Let’s try to get this one right this time.”

They’d been over this already twelve times today.

“Hey, I’m really happy you’re here.”

Ciara read her line back. “Why’s that?”

Tom could hear whispers of the crew, the sound guy glaring at them in case they were picked up in the scene, and he knew it had something to do with the fact that he couldn’t for some reason get the next line out all day. And that reason, unbeknownst to everyone, was because Tom couldn’t say something he didn’t mean - feeling like his heart was locked in a cage for which only you had the key. He looked past his co-star, Ciara, and up at you; feeling so close but you were far away, leaving him all day without anything to say. And overcoming his speechlessness and breathlessness, even in just that moment, he ran his hand over the rope to say, “Cause I like you. A lot.”

Ciara and the rest of the crew broke into a wide smile once Tom finally spoke his next line, but the only person Tom was focused on was you, who wasn’t smiling, but mouthing his words back to him.

Ciara breathed, “Shut up.”

And Tom’s sure to look you in the eye when he says, “I really do.”

When the filming for the day is said and done, Tom makes a beeline for you across the greenery. You hand over his coffee to him, “It’s a little cold now, but a warm hand is holding it.”

Tom quirks an eyebrow. “Are you inviting me to hold your hand?”

“Don’t push your luck.”

“You swapped jobs with Harry, I saw.”

“Yeah, well. It’s good he gets to grips with the job now. You know, in case anything changes.” You pulled your phone out of your pocket. “I should probably give you my number. In case anything changes.”

“Oh no, yeah. Your number is?”

“216-XXX-XXX. Speaking of changes, I heard you’re trying to get your days reduced.”

“You were eavesdropping?” Tom looks at your face that bears no trace of guilt. “You’re just like me!” He pulls you close.

“Tom, if what happened today is because you’re working too much, I’m happy to reduce your time.”

“Nah, nah.” Tom sniffles, rubbing his nose on a jacket probably worth more than your life. “I’m just a bit sick, s’all. I’ll be fine.”

Two weeks pass and Tom’s no better. With the Cleveland game nearly a month ago, Tom has nothing to blame and as first A.D., you’re obligated to reduce his hours. Tom’s on the phone with his mother when you approach his trailer.

“Don’t listen to Harry. I’m not in love. I just like Y/N.”

“A lot. I’ll keep you updated. Bye, Mum.”

You’re so quick to skip happily back to your trailer that you miss Harry calling out to his brother, he’s his protector now that his mother was countries apart. “Tom?” Harry starts.

Tom mumbles an ‘mhm’, hoping Harry would make it quick as he sees you FaceTiming him. If only his mother could see him like this. He’d get to call her tomorrow and tell her he’d called you for the first time yesterday, he could hardly wait to utter, 'I've finally found the missing part of me’. Harry sighs as the FaceTime ringing is relentless. Tom’s eyebrows threaten to meet in the middle of his face as he clutches onto his phone.

“Tom.” Harry begins. “Y/N is giving up assistant director.”

Tom’s really not sure where Harry gets the source of his information from, but he’s sure this isn’t true. He thinks you’d tell him before his brother if you were leaving the film behind, leaving him behind.

The film is due to move filming to Morocco soon, and Tom’s well aware that not all film crew joins them when production moves abroad, but to Tom, you’re an extension of this movie universe. And Tom refuses to leave the memories of you in this filming cycle. “How’d you know?”

“I’m taking over.” Tom’s screen lights up with the glow of your call, and as bright as it is, as bright as you are, as bright as your smile surely is on the other end of the phone call, Tom’s in his deepest darkest feelings wondering how he fooled himself into thinking romance could go right for him this time.

He’s going to Morocco. You’re not. You’re funny, smart, promising, beautiful. You’ll find someone good for you, a better pair by the time he’s back.

“That doesn’t mean it won’t work out, man.” Tom sulks in his bed, the light from your constant calls bleeding through his bed sheets. “I just wanted to warn you.” Tom nods, screaming into his pillow. Harry decides that’s his cue to leave, a glimmer of light from outside seeping through the crack of the door as Harry escorts himself. Tom musters all his might and courage to reluctantly answer your phone, the ear-to-ear grin he knows so well greeting him once again.

Suddenly, he forgot how to speak. Hopeless, breathless, couldn’t you see that?

“Tom?” You call out his name a few times before cutting straight to the point. “Do you like me?”

Tom shifts slightly but not enough to show that he’s alarmed. “Huh? Yeah, I like you.”

He sits up, but doesn’t reciprocate the outrageous smile you wear like a heart on your sleeve. Tom’s eyes are sunken, dark circles forming under his eyes where he and his disturbed character become one. You suddenly remember why you shouldn’t have run away so fast, perhaps Tom was overworking himself. He continues, “But I’m an emotionally unavailable hopeless romantic. So I wouldn’t waste your time on me.”

Tom can’t help the hurt in his heart when he sees your smile drop so suddenly, knowing it was earnest. “Tom, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying, life is unfair. And I’m gonna quit while I’m ahead. We wouldn’t work out. And I like our friendship now. We should stay that way.”

You’re not convincing when you nod rapidly, not letting Tom see your face as you play with your fingers to avoid his gaze. “Yeah, I agree.” You’re much less convincing when the last frame Tom caught of you was a shot of tears dripping down your face, as three rings followed you. Tom’s screen went black in your absence, and Tom falls asleep with eyes even redder from crying, and he wonders when he’s gonna shake this sickness.

It’d been a few days since Tom had got his shots to allow him to go to Morocco. He sat opposite the doctor on set, a coffee cup placed on the desk between him.

Tom reckons that's why he’s sick. Shots always have their side effects, and he’d taken multiple shots in one day. And now, he specifically asked for you to hold his hand during the process, Harry branded in a glinting jaw-drop, only for you to leave directly after.

“I’m speechless, constantly feeling over the edge, breathless.” Tom explains his symptoms to the doctor. “At first I thought it was because of that stupid football game, then all the coffee I’m drinking, now I don’t know if it’s the shots. I feel like shit, doc.”

“I know exactly what you’re dealing with.”

“What?”

“Lovebug.”

Tom stares at the doctor in utter bewilderment. “You figured that out based on my symptoms?”

“I figured that out based on the puppy dog eyes you gave for your first A.D. when they left without a word.” The doctor begins to laugh softly, but Tom is unamused. How is he supposed to shake this illness after completely ruining your relationship? How is he supposed to mend your bond after talking so recklessly, so emotionally? “Tom, I’m not here to be a fairy godmother, I’m being strictly medical. At a certain point, what you feel in your mind affects your body. So I prescribe that you talk to Y/N and say everything you need to say.”

And while that seemed easy enough, Tom’s ego was at work again, and Tom was feeling far too bruised and wounded to speak to you first. Surely if you cared enough, if you liked him back, if you were willing to be distanced, you would reach out first.

It seems Tom’s pride had forgotten that you already did.

“I heard that this is the exact shit that happened in Cleveland, and he couldn’t get the line out.” Tom hears the whisperings from behind the camera, the amount of familiar faces in the crew dwindling after the change in location. He doesn’t respond. He waits for someone to take five. And when no one throws him a bone, he asks Harry to.

“Alright, everyone take five.”

“Someone get this kid a fucking coffee, he’s always on edge.” Joe instructs.

“And you think giving a kid in twenties coffee is taking him off edge?” Anthony chuckles.

Tom doesn’t care whether or not he gets the coffee, rocking side to side. He’s got all the motion for this role, but he feels nothing. All he felt was for you.

“Here.” Harry sets a Moroccan mint tea down next to Tom, hoping it would calm him down. When Tom takes a few sips, the look in his eyes is less pleading, and everyone’s ready to rumble, this being the last scene of the day.

Harry feeds Tom the line. “Baby, are you seeing bad things?” Tom is seeing bad things. A life without love, a life without you. Unable to contain it all, Tom turns his frustration into laughter. “Why are you calling me baby for, man?” Tom has this ear-to-ear grin but even he feels it's not as innocent, as genuine as yours. He never knew a smile so wide could be so full of pain.

“I have an idea.” Harry saunters off to collect his phone. “Don’t stop rolling the cameras.”

When Harry comes back, there’s sounds of shifting erupting from his phone. “Hi, Tom.”

Tom didn’t know it would be so bittersweet to hear your voice again. He wasn’t sure if he should put walls up again or if twice was the charm. Even if you worked out in the short term, whose to say Tom wouldn’t get hurt again? And Tom wouldn’t want to hurt you.

“Are they taking good care of you out there? I don’t think I took good care of you.” Tom doesn’t say anything on the other side of the line, so you continue. “I’m not a good A.D. if you’re always sick and tired, and I didn’t want to see you any less, which was selfish of me, so I didn’t change your schedule.” You sigh as you admit why you left. “When you asked, though, I swear I was gonna do it, but then I heard you liked me, and I got carried away. I had to remove myself from the situation to do what’s best for you. Do you understand me? I did it for you.”

“I, uh, I got a diagnosis.” Tom stumbles.

“Oh my gosh, are you seriously sick?”

“I’m speechless. Over the edge, breathless.” Tom laughed dryly, finally feeling like he can choose an ending.

“What did they say it was?”

“Lovebug.” Harry smiles softly at his brother.

Your laugh is like nectar entering Tom’s ear.

“I might just love you way too much, Y/N.”

“Are you sure you’re doin’ okay?” Tom tries his best not to sound dejected that you didn’t say it back, knowing he’s already felt the brunt of this heartache already.

“I just miss you, that’s all.”

“I miss you too. I love you.” Joe stops recording, and Harry lowly whispers ‘take.fucking.five.’ as he and the crew creep away from Tom’s new found love scene.

“Anthony, can I borrow your phone?” Harry begins to type Nikki’s number as soon as Anthony gives over the phone. “Mum, Tom just told the first A.D. he’s in love with them so guess who’s out of a job?”

Tom knows why he’s sick. He used to feel like love was trudging up a high hill he couldn’t come down from, where every beat of heart was feeling like an ache on an open wound. Tom had yet to meet a lover to prove distance makes the heart grow fonder, finding himself in six month long entanglements and illusions of love before things inevitably went sour. But now, Tom has found you.

#tom holland imagines #tom holland fanfiction #peter parker #tom holland #tom holland fluff #tom holland smut #tom holland fanfic #tom holland imagine #tom holland blurb #tom holland x reader #tom holland x y/n #tom holland x you #tom holland angst #peter parker angst #peter parker imagine #lolbrosgetsicktoo

257 notes · View notes

criminalmutantsins · 4 years

Text

Top 10 Favorite Young Justice Characters

10. Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle

Starting off the list is Blue Beetle. Young Justice introduced me to him, and I was hooked. He’s probably the most mellow and calming voice. His arc and relationship with Bart (friendship or not) were my favorite aspects of S2. They bounced off each other in every scene. I was very disappointed when Jaime and Bart were sidelined so much, and hope S4 changes this (particularly with Bart).

Jaime in the number 10 spot since he doesn’t really have much of a memorable personality. Still love him to bits though.

9. Will Harper/Red Arrow

Funny enough, I did not like Will. He was an asshole in S1; S2 kind of changed my mind about him but not enough since he didn’t appear as much. What really changed my mind was the episode “Private Security” (S3 Ep.4). I started looking back into Will’s storylines and, I have to admit, his is probably one of the best character development.

The first season had him unwillingly living a lie and betraying the people he cared for. In season 2 he was so consumed into finding the original Roy for five years, not even caring or focusing about his own life. I felt really bad for Will because he was probably going through an identity crisis and thought he couldn’t live his life without finding Arsenal. Probably felt guilty.

Seeing him living his own life and being happy with his daughter was so heartwarming. I smiled every time Will appeared in the latest season (totally ignoring the Will x Artemis fiasco), especially with Lian. I’m very proud of him.

I feel bad for putting him so low, yet I adore the next characters more.

8. Garfield Logan/Beast Boy

I have been a massive Beast Boy fan since Teen Titans so you probably can imagine how excited to see him. His origin story was unique and his brother-sister bond with M’gann was very sweet. It was pretty weird seeing how much younger Gar was than Dick, but I got used to it. I was bummed that Gar wasn’t in S2 as much; however, S3 truly made up for it.

After watching Beast Boy being a great leader in S5 of Teen Titans, I wanted a leader-like and more mature version of him. Young Justice truly delivered with Gar being the leader of the Outsiders. It’s nice to see him treated with respect rather than as a joke because that was my biggest gripe with Teen Titans. Though it was weird seeing him not crack a joke at all.

Gar’s story with his mom was heartbreaking to see. I literally cried seeing his reaction to revisiting his trauma in S2 and S3; I just wanted to hug and tell him how awesome he is. My only complaint with Gar in S3 was that the Outsiders weren’t established until near the end of the season.

His voice actor being Greg Cipes also gives him extra points (He’s a chill guy and radiates BB energy).

7. Dick Grayson/Nightwing/ Robin I

Sorry to all the hardcore Nightwing fans.

I love Dick (don’t get any ideas), but he doesn’t get enough development in the spotlight. One of the things I really wanted to see from him is his growth as a main leader, and his journey to becoming Nightwing. I was really bummed when these happened between the first two seasons.

To be honest, I don’t have as much to say about him other than straightforward qualities I enjoy about him.

1.His Voice (it’s so soothing)

2.His Personality (very charismatic)

3.Very Handsome (Probably in the top 3 my most handsome YJ Men list)

I put him higher than the others since he made a lot of contribution to the story and his new words (gotta love that aster!)

6. Megan Morse/M’gann M’orzz/Miss Martian

If I made this list during S1, M’gann would have probably been in my top 3 (maybe even No. 1), but S2 didn’t give her any brownie points.

I really liked S1 Miss Martian because of her kind heart, awkward girl next door personality. Her trouble fitting in the beginning reminded me of when I was going through a time in high school; seeing her having trouble as well helped me feel not so lonely. M’gann powers were (still are) my favorite since I am a big fan of mind-like powers. I would feel so powerful. Watching her identity crisis(?) arc was great too. I’ve had trouble feeling comfortable in my own skin as well as my social anxiety (I’m a mess) and I could understand how scared Megan was of her friends’ thoughts on her true form.

Oh boy. Season 2 basically ruined her. Learning what she would do to enemies was terrifying to see and left me wondering what happened to Miss Martian that made her step this far. What she almost did to Superboy was almost unforgivable. You do not try to manipulate with your boyfriend’s mind when you guys have an argument! Shame on you M’gann. If Superboy hadn’t forgiven you then I wouldn’t have either.

Good thing S3 somewhat redeemed her. Her kind heart was noticeable again and she refused to do that mind trick again (thank god). Very excited for the Superboy and Miss Martian wedding! Please creators, I beg of you to not skip over it. I want to cry my eyes out in happiness!

5. Kaldur’ahm/Aquaman/Aqualad

Now we’re in the top 5 with Aqualad (*ahem* Aquaman) starting it off.

Creating Kaldur was the best decision the creators ever did. I love him with all my heart!

He added diversity to the original team and was a great leader. S1 was not his breakout season, though the second season definitely was.

Kladur played the villain so well that he deserves an automatic Oscar. I never doubted that he was with the heroes, but he didn’t disappoint. My favorite part about Aqualad’s performance was when he rose from the ocean slowly like a cliché villain (he made it work), and the line he said right after he “killed” Artemis; it sent me chills. Love it!

Pretty disappointed that he didn’t appear as much in S3. Very happy that he is a part of the LGBTQ+ community and is in a happy relationship. I’m a part of the community and loved that there was finally some representation in one of my favorite shows. Even so, I have to criticize how rushed and sidelined it was. I hope Kaldur and Wyynde’s relationship gets development.

4. Kon-El/Conner Kent/Superboy

Like Will, I did not like Superboy at first. Mainly angry and volatile characters were never really my cup of tea. I do understand why he was upset and felt bad for him; I just handle anger the direct opposite as him. My love for Conner started growing around the end of S1. He was very sweet towards Miss Martian (bless him for not caring about her appearance) and his anger was in control.

Season 2 pretty much switched my opinions on him and M’gann. It was awful what M’gann almost did to him. That scene with him being so sad that what she did ruined that special bond they had almost made me cry. I wanted to give him a hug. He grew so much too since I don’t think he would have handled the whole M’gann drama as well in S1. A lot of furniture would’ve been broken.

I gotta admit something. I almost put Conner near the bottom (maybe no. 7). A comment in a poll in Amino changed my mind. I wrote a poll asking other fans who did they prefer SB or MM. At that point I said SB, though I didn’t think much of it. Someone (specifically yjfangirl) responded “Superboy has the best development in the show.” This had me thinking about how far SB has gone. In the beginning, Conner was an angry guy who felt alone and rejected by the person who he was meant to emulate. Now he is happier and living for himself rather than to be the next Superman. He’s getting married people! A little detail I noticed when rewatching S3 was Superboy mentioning to new characters that they weren’t obligated to be a hero because of their abilities. I adored this! The main reason why Superboy was created to be Superman if the original ever died, and another one of Luthor’s puppets. But he strayed from that pressuring path and is doing his own thing. Conner doesn’t want other people to feel like he did. What an absolute pure soul.

Also, yjfangirl, first I want to say Hi (*waves*)! Then say thanks for writing that comment. It made me really think about the bigger picture with SB and my love for him as grown exponentially. You probably didn’t mean to do that, but I still want to thank you. 😊

3.Wally West/Kid Flash

We’re in the elites now.

I don’t know how to explain it, I just love Wally. He makes me laugh, and his character growth was great. At first, Wally was this cocky flirt who didn’t take the hero work as seriously. That changed in “Cold-hearted,” one of my favorite episodes in the series. This was when I really started seeing more of Wally than being this dumb flirt. It was great seeing him actually caring about helping people since I believed for a long time that he wanted to be a superhero to just have powers rather than actually protect others. The regret in his eyes when he thought his impulsive behavior killed Perdita helped me see who he really was- this somewhat arrogant speedster who had a kind heart. Episodes that can make me change my perspective on characters are truly special.

I was very upset that he wasn’t in S2 a lot. I understand why since he gave up the life, but I was still bummed. Seeing him being so loving and protective towards Artemis was amazing. Spitfire is my favorite ship and I will not give up on them. All I want is a happy ending! The penultimate episode of S3 was a hint that it will happen. Watching the S2 finale was heartbreaking, I cried watching him disappear, his love for Artemis being the last things he said. Artemis’ reaction did not(I just wanted to hug her).

I have more to say, though I’m leaving it for another post. 😉

2.Bart Allen/Kid Flash II/Impulse

Picking between Bart and Wally for second place was tough. Took me a while to decide; I’ll talk about it later on.

The moment Bart made his appearance, I absolutely adored him. He is amazing and I live for his hyper, fun attitude. His arc and relationship with Jaime were my favorite aspects of S2. What can I say, their chemistry is great to see.

That scene when he was meeting the Flash family was so adorable. His excitement was infectious and spoiling his dad and aunt’s births was hilarious! I watch it occasionally whenever I need a good laugh or reason to smile.

Unlike most time travelers- at least the ones I’ve seen- Bart was very involved with what was going on and befriended his biggest enemy- evil and weirdly huge future Blue Beetle. He was pretty careful about disclosing very important information and took things very seriously. You never know if disclosing everything was the thing that brought the world to chaos.

What I found interesting was his choice on how to interact with everyone. He seemed pretty gloomy in the future, but decided to portray this cheerful, devil-may-care attitude to be more likable. I understood (still kind of do). I had terrible mental health issues and I pretended to be happy in front of loved ones because I thought they wouldn’t care about me anymore. Bart got some brownie points for that.

I was dissatisfied when his role was greatly reduced. I wanted the creators to go further with Bart by revealing his past and how it affected him. He was pretty much comedy relief. You couldn’t imagine how disappointed I was, especially with it involving my second favorite character. Season 4 better change that.

I know that you shouldn’t assume a character’s sexuality, yet I really hope Bart is gay. There needs to be more clear representation and Bart can be one of them. I’m also a Bluepulse and Bartuado shipper (fine with either one as long as Bart’s bond with each of them stays strong).

Anyway, I mentioned that I would explain why I chose Bart for 2nd place over Wally. It mostly stems from wishful thinking. I really want S4 to have Bart as a main character since I believe the future will be strong plot point in the season. Development could surely happen such as Bart opening up more about what he went through. Let all those feelings go.

I’m going to write an article on my hopes for S4 when a release date is announced. Bart and Wally will most definitely be talked about.

…..

We are finally near the end!

And my No. 1 favorite character is…

Drumroll please!

…

1.Artemis Crock/Tigress/Artemis

That’s right people!

Artemis Crock, original member of the Team and daughter of villains!

She is such an inspiration to anyone who wants to go their own past without their parents’ support.

It’s hard to describe how much I love Artemis. She’s brave, strong-willed, and a kind person. It’s crazy how great of a person she is after all the terrible things that happened to her. I look up to her because I don’t have a healthy relationship with my parents (verbal and mental abuse) and there are times I don’t feel strong enough to stand on my own. I want to carry the amount of strength Artemis has as my own.

After all that happened in S2, it was amazing to see Artemis come back to the team and train the new generation. It must have been hard to walk away from a safe, comfortable life for a chaotic, dangerous life. I admire that in everyone, but I hold more respect for Artemis since “the life” “killed” Wally. I wanted to hug her so bad.

She’s also one of the kindest people in the show, the events in S3 being the best example. When Zatanna was crying about her dad, Artemis was there to comfort her. It was so sweet! Roy and her also took in Halo and Terra like they were a part of the family; the archer treated them like the best big sister. That rainstorm scene was heartwarming to the core.

Wouldn’t Artemis be an amazing mother? Lian and her have a strong bond like a mother and daughter; I loved it, and Lian is in good hands with Roy and Artemis. Though Jade deserves a chance to be a mother. Artemis also seemed to enjoy taking care of those kids in that S1 episode. Wally too. You guys know what I’m guys insinuating. 😉

Get ready for some fanfics on that someday.

My favorite Artemis-centered episode was the second to last episode of S3. I was waiting for this episode centering around Artemis missing Wally and learning to move on. It was great yet heartbreaking. Nothing bad happened. That Will and Artemis kiss never happened. Everyone makes a mistake. No matter how terrible it was.

Anyway, seeing Artemis and Wally living their lives and having a baby gave me life, even if it was fake. It was a vision of the future. I will believe this until there is confirmation that Wally will not come back.

Did anyone else cry when Artemis was so desperate to, but Wally wouldn’t let that happen (the real Wally would do that)? They are a great example of a healthy relationship with all the love and support they have for each other. I want that.

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cloveroctobers · 4 years

Text

HEARTBREAK ANNIVERSARY | J. BAKER

a/n: this is finally part 2 to “love blind” although I had a alternative version to it saved in my drafts for weeks. I just wanted to dive right into the scene with inspiration from this week’s episode! I may or may not release the alternative version if I ever decide to go back and finish it that is. Here’s option 2!

WARNINGS: language!

Prompt: “how am I supposed to ‘love you’ when I never had feelings to begin with?

Here’s a synopsis to what led to this if you haven’t read part 1

Also s/o to my crap gif quality lol! + I’m not writing any else until Friday or the weekend but I have some ideas in the works or I might hold off until after the new episode on Monday. We’ll see!

Del and Jordan were at each other’s throats since he came back from the store with JJ, Simone, Asher, and Vanessa. Big bear was gorgeous and the Californians were not used to the snow and wanted to enjoy all that it was. The main mission of coming up here for part of the winter break is to relax and enjoy each other’s companies but Del wasn’t that optimistic about this whole magical idea Layla had from the jump.

The Pakistani girl knew how to keep her distance and remain unbothered yet Jordan just knew how to get under her skin. No matter how hard she tried to brush off the comments made under his breath, she was going to snap sooner than later if he kept pushing her. They were all seated around the bonfire, something strong in their mugs...except for Olivia who apparently had Simone’s famous hot coco in her’s as they sat around playing never have I ever.

This was Vanessa’s idea and it was also her idea to invite Cam, Dane, AND Jeff? Jake? Well one of the dude’s Delphine hooked up with from Beverly High’s revival school over, running into them at the grocery store in the small town here. This girl was also for pushing these agendas and bright idea’s much like Layla, however Delphine liked Layla—sometimes whereas she wanted nothing to do with Vanessa.

“Never have I ever said I love you to get into someone’s pants without meaning it?” Vanessa stated, her eyes curious as she glanced at everyone in the circle her stare lingering on Delphine, Asher, and Olivia’s.

Asher, JJ, Cam, Dane, JED, Chris, and Jordan all took a sip. The boys all shared a look with each other, bashful smiles on their lips after they took a swallowed.

“You’re all whores!” Patience rasped, jokingly.

Dane pressed his elbows into his knees unapologetically, “a man’s gotta do what he’s gotta do to get some. I’m sure most of you females are being too embarrassed to own that.”

Vanessa tilted her head to the side at that. Delphine was too busy rolling her neck around trying to release any tension there since she was slowly but surely starting to feel the aftermath of sitting in a car balled up for a few hours on her body. She checked her phone to see that it was 12:31 am and let out a low yawn before she looked up to see some eyes on her.

She blinked, “can I help you?” She directed this at the eyes that drilled holes into her.

“I noticed you didn’t take a sip.” Jed was the first to answer before Dane or Vanessa could say anything.

Delphine molded her lips together with a raised brow before she answered, “yeah so?”

“Definitely would have thought you’d be the main girl here to take a sip.” Jed boldly said what some were thinking.

Scoffing Delphine fanned her hand at the boy, “oh I know what this is, you’re in your feelings because I didn’t text you back? Sorry that I wasn’t interested in something long term with you, it was just a one night stand. Get over it, Jeff.”

Dane and Cam both shared a snicker at that while their buddy was clearly in his feelings over this.

“It’s Jed.” He corrected, “and it’s clear you have issues.” It was clear he was upset over the whole ordeal that Delphine couldn’t bother to remember.

“Whoa, whoa. What’s all this gaining up on Del for?” Olivia jumped to her best friends defense while Del we just used to the same bullshit.

However she didn’t have to take it but she knew what required her energy and what didn’t. This Jed guy didn’t.

“We’re just playing the game and people have the right to ask questions, right? To get to know each other better?” Vanessa added making Olivia and Delphine side eye her.

Spencer spoke, “well some things should be discussed in private not put on blast, ya know?”

“Thank you!” Olivia agreed.

Asher snorted at that, earning a look from Olivia but all he did was sip from his cup and look elsewhere.

Coop let out a low whistle as the circle got quiet for a moment. Dane yelled out another statement to continue the game but the damage was slowly rising with each passing moment.

“Never have I ever had a threesome!”

Cam and JJ were the only two to take a sip with Jordan nudging JJ, knowing of the story and almost witnessing it go down.

“Okay, can we ask some questions that aren’t strictly about sex?” Simone suggested.

Dane laughed, “why? is it bothering you? Making you uncomfortable that your sexual experiences continue to be nothing but boring.” He chuckled with Cam who smirked.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Simone hissed, sitting up straight in her chair.

Jordan placed his hand on Simone’s knee as he turned to Dane, “look I’m only going to tell you this one last time, we’re trying to be cordial with you guys but you’re overstepping. So I suggest you shut your mouths and respect what’s being said or I’m gonna ask all of you to leave cause frankly you’re not a guest here at all.”

“Ooo, I’m shaking in my boots. Don’t be upset with me because you’ve proven that you’re less than a man.” Dane was clearly tipsy but that never stopped him from running his mouth.

Delphine was annoyed at this point. She didn’t want to hear this constant beef with any of the boys here. It was exhausting and...stupid.

“You want to talk about what makes a man but you’re the only one here who couldn’t step up and claim your kid so you get off on calling the girl you slept with out of her name to make yourself feel better. Sounds like to me you’re the definition of a bitch.” Jordan announced, turning the heat up in here.

Chris and Coop had to give it Jordan, he always had the talk to match the hands if it got to that point. And if you messed with someone he cared about, there was no stopping what he wanted to say to you. Delphine also knew that very well.

“Why don’t you say that to my face then?” Dane pressed his elbows into his knees, heat in Jordan’s direction. It was evident Dane didn’t like to be put on the spot in front of people especially when the other was getting the best of him.

Jordan smiled and held his hands out, “I believe I just did. I’m looking right at you, bro.”

Dane rubbed at his face nodding his head, “aight keep talking and see what happens. you sure have a lot to say about a—

“I’m warning you, don’t finish the rest of that sentence.” Jordan cut him off.

Dane loved to instigate and opened his mouth to say more but it was actually Cam who gripped his shoulder to halt him further. Dane glanced at the hand on his shoulder in question at the confrontation was silenced for a few pauses.

“Should we keep playin’ or....?” Coop asked, digging the bottom half of her face into her puff jacket.

Layla looked uncomfortable at this, “I don’t know, I think we should probably wrap it up and get inside? It is getting kinda late.”

“Aw, c’mon I still wanted to hear the dirt on some of you guys!” JJ pouted a bit, “you know what I always say, the party doesn’t stop until the sun comes up!”

Delphine pressed her earmuffs closer over her ears as she replied, “as fun as this is, I’m over listening to Keenan and kel start shit with everyone. That’s basically why they’re here and I think mike wazowski did this deliberately.”

“Excuse me?” Vanessa was offended as she met Delphine’s eyes, “literally all I did was invite more people to the bonfire to get to know everyone better.”

“Yeah, you keep saying that.” Olivia muttered.

Delphine crossed one leg over the other, “sure but did you ask everyone, Layla maybe? if it was okay to invite them here when we’re not even friends with them or YOU for that matter?”

“That was uncalled for, Delphine.” Asher spoke up.

“Yes,” Layla concurred, “and I don’t like for anyone to feel unwelcomed, you know that, Del.” Layla expressed.

“And I asked if Vanessa can come.” JJ added.

Delphine rolled her eyes as she replied sarcastically, “well that about settles it then? We just invite anyone to this shit? Why don’t we ask the Blair witch or Goldilocks and the three bears to pull up too?!”

“I’m not just anyone, I’m Vanessa.”

Delphine widened her eyes at this, confused, “Is that supposed to mean something to me?”

Vanessa looked up at the sky annoyed before she continued, “if you all weren’t so territorial with each other maybe you would learn to let other people in and stop giving everyone else the third degree. It’s like you all don’t realize the inner issues you have with yourselves and each other so you pick fights with anyone else instead of solving your own bullshit. It’s just fraudulent.”

“Girl, gon. nobody asked for that psychoanalysis.” Patience bit at Vanessa who nodded her head.

“You’re proving my point, ya know.” She pointed.

“...I mean she’s right.” Asher slowly approved.

Olivia clasped her hands together, “of course she is! How about this, never have I ever spent too much time with someone else’s boyfriend that you don’t realize or either you don’t care that you’re butting into the relationship.”

Delphine was smug as she kept her gaze right on Vanessa who immediately dropped her head. It was about time Olivia called them out on this shit.

“Liv.” Asher addressed his girlfriend beside him, leaning towards her as he tried to keep his voice leveled and find out what to say next but he was stunned.

Olivia glared at Asher for a bit but burned holes into Vanessa who fell silent, “what? Now you don’t have anything to say? What a miracle that took! I’m going to bed.”

Jordan shortly followed after his sister, knowing that he didn’t want to be in Dane’s presence any longer but to also check on his twin. Far as he was concerned, this little event was now over.

“What is she talking about?” JJ decided to ask.

And Layla let the cat right out of the bag, “she saw you two in Mexico together.”

“What?” Asher breathed.

Del couldn’t believe Layla felt it was her place to further deliver the news for their friend.

“Yup,” Layla rubbed her hands against her pants legs, “she went to surprise you and caught the two of you instead on the beach.”

Asher rubbed at his face in disbelief while Vanessa sunk back in her chair.

“And yet you want to talk about fraudulent, tuh.” Patience commented before getting to her feet and pulling Coop up with her, “Good night y’all, I’ve had enough.”

“Good night.” Simone and Layla chorused while Coop gave a small awkward wave.

Spencer was now staring at both Vanessa and Asher, although he already knew the tea. He wanted to know what the two had to say for themselves, especially since Olivia was continuing to burry anything that bothered her.

“...You and Asher?” JJ breathed, highly disappointed, “the two of you could have least said something so Olivia and I wouldn’t have looked like idiots.”

Delphine immediately shook her head, “no JJ, you shouldn’t feel like shit. These two knew exactly what they were doing and now that their skeletons came to light, they’re the ones looking pretty dumb to me right now.”

“You know what Delphine, you’re the last person that should be sitting here acting all mighty and judging us right now.” Asher was mad and when he was mad, he was going to take it out on the nearest person next to him.

Delphine quirked up a brow and tilted her head to the side, beckoning Asher to say what was on his chest. It was about time he said something instead of hiding shit or whining about his problems instead of doing something about them.

“You’re no better than anyone here.” Asher argued, “you think you have it so bad that you do shit too in the dark not understanding that it messes with other people too. You don’t think your actions have consequences? You don’t get how it makes you look?”

Delphine let out a belly laugh before she sat up straight, “here’s the thing, Asher. You and I were never friends, you’re just there and I’m over here. So nothing you can say to me will ever hurt my feelings because...who are you to me? so you won’t ever get to know what I’m about, you see what you want to see and i don’t ever give a fuck about what you or anyone else thinks about me. I learned that the hard way, I live for me and me only. Not for anyone else’s opinions about who and what I should be. so yeah, I’m judging the shit out of you just like you’ve done to me since we met.”

Vanessa was all frowns as she looked at Asher to say something more. To fight back, to be the confident and bold Asher that she met over the summer. But it was clear Asher was a whole different and defeated person back here in California. She wanted to say something for him, like she commonly felt like she needed to do. Yet she didn’t know any of these people and she could tell that she was barking up the wrong tree here. However a part of her felt like she was never going to water down who she was for anyone either. In this moment she decided to not say a word and let it go because after all, Vanessa would learn and find her place soon.

It was Delphine who finalized this bonfire being over, as she made her exit with no words left for anyone. She flipped her poncho over her shoulder and walked off, leaving everyone else to decide for themselves what they wanted to do. Delphine always knew what she wanted so when she was done, she was done. Simone couldn’t help but to watch the girl in curiosity, the two never held a conversation together but the natural haired girl could tell that Delphine had a lot to say to her but Simone would not be the first to say something although she wanted to.

Now probably wouldn’t be a good time but by what Del said to Asher, Simone seemed to get a better understanding herself about Delphine Wateridge...

It was pushing 6 am when Delphine found herself in the kitchen, sitting at the island while staring out the large windows at the frosted mountains. It was surprising for her to not have a phone sitting right in front of her or to be up this early. However she was used to being woken up this early since her parents would be praying and it was something she used to participate in when she was younger. There was a shift in not only herself as a person but her parents too as the years went on, she noticed they stopped rising to pray too and the dynamic between her parents was off. Just like a lot of things in her lifetime...

“Sorry cruella, didn’t think you’d be awake.” Jordan croaked as he entered the kitchen, flicking on some lights that made Del squeeze her eyes shut a bit.

Del pursed her lips and shrugged her shoulders.

Jordan pulled out a pitcher of orange juice shocked, “what? No shit talking from the ice queen herself, This morning? C’mon!”

“Is this what it’s going to be like until we finally separate and go to college or wherever we end up?” Del asked, playing with the rings on her fingers.

Jordan leaned against the island taking a sip as he thought about it, “dunno...we don’t have crystal balls thrown in any of suitcases do we?”

“I wish we did...might make things easier by being around you.” Del ran her fingers through her tangled bed-hair.

Jordan rubbed at his eyes, “...didn’t take you as someone who wants to get a glimpse of the future while we’re here in the present.”

“Well Jordan, I don’t know about you but... this life thing is pretty exhausting right now. And not just last night made me realize that.” Del let out a humorless laugh as she was honest with him, almost as if they were two old friends again.

Jordan felt a part of him wanted to be concerned by that statement but he couldn’t fully allow himself to. He kept his eyes on Del while she looked anywhere but at him. She was being vulnerable with him right now and that was something he hadn’t seen from her in awhile. Delphine built a wall around herself, that much was evident...and although they were no longer friends, Jordan knew this was not who she used to be.

Simone told him what Asher said to Delphine in front of everyone and honestly he wanted to choke-slam Asher but knew he would not. That would show that he still cared. And that he did not. Or say he says...

“The whole shift in our friendship, what happened with me and that asshole, how I chose to live my life now...I mean it is what is but this place hasn’t made me feel at ease yet. I don’t think anything will, it’s like something is missing but you keep trying to fill it up with pointless shit ya know?” Delphine vented.

Jordan slowly nodded his head and molded his lips together. He got that but he was so angry and hurt at what they became he decided to say the wrong thing, “okay...I don’t know what you want me to say or do about that but this has nothing to do with me. It’s like what you said to the Jed guy you hooked up with, you have to move on.”

“Woooow,” Delphine should have believed her ears but she tried to take a different approach at dealing with Jordan by being honest and this is what he came up with, “I’m not the only one that’s here to blame, Jordan.”

Jordan furrowed his brows, “you’re just looking to point the finger and I’m not going to be your punching bag. That’s one of the reasons I removed myself out of your life, to do the both of us a favor.”

“You know what Jordan, fine.” Delphine pinched the now building tension at her temples.

“Fine?” Jordan asked more than concluded.

“I’m sick of this, so fuck you.” Delphine slammed her hands down on the counter as she scrapped the stool back that she was sitting on.

Jordan pointed at his chest, “fuck me?! How dare you, Delly. We haven’t seen eye to eye in months and now you decide everything is peachy by sitting here feeling sorry for yourself. As if I want to hear this? As if I don’t have a girlfriend up stairs that I care about.”

Delphine stared at Jordan incredulously, “where the hell is the correlation in that?!” She screamed, sure now that someone in the house was awake. “I don’t know why I thought I could attempt to clear up the air with you, when you have your head buried so far up your own ass, that you can just continue your life on like it’s okay to not give a single shit! about the one person that’s always been by your side, no matter what, even when you continued to hurt me.”

“And what?! You dont think you ever shitted on me?” Jordan yelled back.

Delphine shook her head from side to the side, “that’s the difference between you and I, Jordan! I always acknowledged the fact whenever I did because I know how to apologize! I always knew how to tend to your needs over mine because if it isn’t Jordan’s way then the end of the world will demolish by your hands! I mean fuck, Look at what it’s done to us because of your stubbornness.”

“So what? now you’re telling me I’m a bad person because I have feelings too?” Jordan didn’t understand what Delphine was getting at.

Delphine rolled her eyes, “I never said you were a bad person, I’m saying you had times when you weren’t the best friend to have around. I never made you feel like your feelings weren’t valid. Ever. You made me feel like mine weren’t because I was in love with you, you had to have known that and you loved me too but it wasn’t enough.”

Jordan went silent at that not sure how to feel about that exactly. He knew Delphine was in love with him, I mean how could he not? Yet he played on those feelings, not intentionally? to have sex with her and knew she would always be around if he needed her to. She was his best friend and took advantage of that. Just like all these other dudes and girls did. He never saw it that way but looking back on it, now he understood. But they didn’t call Jordan stubborn for nothing.

While he off reminiscing he zooned back and said something that Delphine would never forget, “how am I supposed to love you when I never had feelings to begin with?”

And for the first time, Jordan watched someone, not anyone, but Delphine’s heart break. Her eyes burned with tears as she left out bated breaths before chewing on her lips.

“If that was even the slightest bit true, then what was all of that in Vegas then? I still have those messages, you asshole.” Delphine held her ground, watching as Jordan stepped back, next expecting her to throw that in his face but she sure did.

She could always keep up in their disagreements so if he wanted to hurt her then she could do it too.

“...everything cool in here?” A voice cut in as they watched the two in the room appear as if they were in a stand off.

Which they were.

Delphine was the first to turn to Darnell and gave him a small smile as a tear slid down her cheek. “Everything’s perfect.”

Darnell didn’t believe that. Him and Spencer were in fact the first ones to jump at the noise, well rather Spencer nudged him to come along for back up since Darnell wanted to mind his business but the doorbell caught their attention to on the way up to the kitchen. Spencer just had to handle the door while leaving Darnell to deal with the constant arguing between Delphine and Jordan.

Spencer finally entered the room since Darnell was not sure what else to say in this moment, “uh, someone’s here for you, Del.” He informed, glancing back and forth between her along with Jordan.

Quickly Del wiped away any tears as she angled her body away from Jordan while she grinned at the boy who finally appeared from around the corner.

“Cody,” She breathed as she made her way over to the tall buzzed hair boy who was has his signature smirk plastered on his face.

She embraced him, pressing her nose into his shoulder while he squeezed her back. “Mi amor, told you I’d be here.”

He didn’t even glance Jordan’s way as Delphine pulled back to peck his lips and pull him away from this scene. Leaving what needed to be left behind her.

Jordan smacked the glass onto the ground, making Darnell and Spencer jump back not wanting any of the shards to come their way.

“I guess everything isn’t perfect, then huh?” Darnell widened his eyes as he sighed looking at the glass and juice now decorating the kitchen tile.

Spencer was the first to cautiously make his way over to Jordan who now held his bleeding hand. “Bro, tell me what’s going on?”

“Who the hell was that and why is he here?” Jordan snapped.

“A friend of Del’s, she invited him I guess.” Spencer gripped his shoulder, hoping to calm him down.

Jordan snorted, “yeah a friend. Yeah okay, is that what she’s calling them now? That’s hilarious.”

Spencer glanced over at Darnell who just shrugged his shoulders and patted his stomach as it growled. He turned back to Jordan and encouraged, “let’s get you cleaned up before everyone gets down here for breakfast, huh? I got you, c’mon.”

And Jordan let Spencer guide him away from his own heartbreak.

Darnell pushed his lips as he stepped over the glass looking at the fridge and looked back at the two boys that left him alone, “so y’all just gonna leave me here to clean up his mess?”

When he didn’t get a response he sighed as he snatched a rag up, “guess so.”

A/N: fc’s for “Jed” is deff from legacies if you didn’t catch that or don’t watch that show + “Cody” is now played by Aron piper instead but I won’t tag them since I almost had my head chopped off the other day lmao

#Jordan Baker #all american #all american cw #all american fan fiction #Jordan Baker x oc #Jordan Baker x reader #michael evans behling #Spencer James #Layla keating #Olivia Baker #Asher Adams #Vanessa montes #Vanessa Montez #coop x patience #Darnell Hayes #Simone hicks #jj parker #Chris Jackson

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pokepony · 4 years

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Animaniacs Animation Studios: Tokyo Movie Shinsha (TMS) Part 1 (Redux)

Remake of original post (again thanks a lot Tumblr), so sorry for anyone who’s basically reading (most of) the same thing as they did before.

Long story short, this was the first of my posts where I share my thoughts on the animation studios of Animaniacs.

A big credit to @legion1979 who has unfortunately been inactive for years, but check out their posts for a quick analysis for each episode.

Anyway, no time to waste.

To be honest, TMS is the studio where I have the least unique thoughts on.

TMS is TMS. They’re the gold standard of animation style for the show.

To me, their trademark will always be the awesome expressions and poses and the overall frenzy they give to a scene.

Also I know that “Hooked on a Ceiling” is put up on a hella high pedestal, but I think it’s a bit overrated. Just a bit; it’s still good tho.

They also strike out on the visual gags for me.

“Taming of the Screwy” has that one where Scratchy tells the kids to stop with the gags and while Yakko and Dot just have blindfolds, Wakko has a whole lock on him. I’m in stitches almost every time.

One other gag is from “La La Law” and it’s a little in the background (or foreground haha). While Yakko is talking in one scene, Wakko takes a bite out of his chair and Dot’s worried expression kills me.

Speaking of “Taming of the Screwy”, I wanna talk about it for a sec.

It is considerably low-quality than the rest of the TMS library. Tatsunoko Production gave the Warners really beady-looking designs and the backgrounds are pretty washed out, overall it reminding me of an 80s anime. But that’s why it’s so charming to me. Honestly, it’s one of my favorite episodes, if not my definite favorite.

“Roll Over Beethoven” is another one of those lower-quality segments.

Even though there are quite a number of ugly drawings (including Dot with the long sexy legs like honestly why), I go back to it a lot.

This sequence is my favorite animation from it. Points that it’s honestly the best that the cartoon is gonna get.

A detail that I love is the character tics that they give to the Warners.

Yakko is the protective big brother so he often has his arm wrapped around his siblings.

Dot usually has her hands on her hips, showing that she’s the sassy one. Wakko has his hands behind his back, showing that he’s the reserved one. They are small touches, but ones that I love.

Continued in part 2!

#animaniacs #animaniatag #animation #a!countdown #yakko wakko and dot #yakko warner #wakko warner #dot warner

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profiler-in-courage · 5 years

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So I started writing a story about a police detective and pictured Claes Bang playing him and now I’m SIX chapters deep.

For those of you that wanted me to post it, here is the first chapter. It’s long I’m sorry!

Chapter 1.

Emerson Woods sucked his hazelnut iced latte out of the green straw, while he simultaneously flicked his thumb over women’s Tinder profiles who were somewhere between 30 and 45. He was a hip cop.

Detective actually, 10 years. He had made detective when he was just 35 years old.

And look at me now, he thought.

Forty-five and single, he had somewhat ashamedly resorted to making a profile on a “dating” website. His niece had told him about it. Which to him was even more pathetic. His niece was 16.

He sighed as he closed the app. What was he doing?

He glanced out his car window and scratched the side of his face. If you wanted to get technical, he was sitting in his silver ’63 Karmann Coupe Porsche. No, not bought from a detective’s salary, an inheritance from his father.

Emerson was on what the movies call a stake-out, but what anyone in law enforcement calls boredom. It’s not like TV. Nothing ever comes from sitting in your car for hours in the middle of the night, at least not in his experience. And there weren’t even donuts.

Well, at least he had coffee.

There had been a series of disappearances in the Connecticut city of Creekmore. All had been women, all from different parts of the city, from low income to high-income parts of town. They had been different ages as well. The oldest fifty-three, the youngest four. It had been going on for a few months now. No leads.

Emerson sighed, debating whether or not to open up the Tinder app again. It was nearing 11 pm, and he was tired. And bored.

The Creekmore Police Department had officers sitting in every neighborhood in the city, wary that since the last disappearance had taken place a little over five months ago. Whoever was abducting these women was due to strike again.

He was stationed in a residential middle-class neighborhood. The kind of neighborhood he would’ve liked to live in. Once upon a time.

Trees lined the sidewalk along with painted white houses with dark roofs and watered grass. The typical picturesque street.

He pressed his thumb over the red and white app.

Kristy, age 39, occupation: elementary school teacher.

Among her list of things she liked to do was:

Hit the bar for a night on the town.

He swiped left. He didn’t drink.

Emerson thought back to the last time he had tasted alcohol. A year after his wife died, which had been eight years ago.

He hadn’t taken her death well.

Who takes death well? he thought.

He supposed a better way to put it was he took it with a bottle of bourbon every day for a year.

Lyla had been 32 when she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. It didn’t take long.

Every time he heard the term he felt a silent rage build up inside him. Cancer felt like it had escaped a life sentence because of a technicality.

Emerson gritted his teeth. Eight years later, he had made peace with the death of his wife but not with the fact that cancer was still incurable.

He ran a hand through his dark hair, flecks of grey scattered throughout it.

11:30 pm.

His hazel eyes flicked back down to his phone screen. He rubbed the side of his Warby Parker Haskell frames.

He had paused on a picture.

The image of a woman with dark brown hair and even darker brown eyes. He pressed on it.

Gwyn, 33, occupation: artist.

Her bio stated:

Please don’t use slang and conduct your sentences like you’re somewhat educated. If you want a response.

The corner of Emerson’s mouth tugged up into a smirk. It was something he could’ve written himself.

He swiped right.

He had a moment of regret only for a second when he wondered if 33 was too young for him. He mentally shrugged.

11:49

He was beginning to yawn now. Bored with sitting in his car, bored with his bachelor style life. He turned the keys in the ignition, about to press his foot to the gas pedal, but stopped.

He had to stay. He had orders to until sunrise. Though no one would know if he left.

You can’t, he thought.

However bored this stake-out was making him, his morals wouldn’t let him leave. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if anything happened. And with his luck it would.

He dropped the keys back into his shirt pocket.

His center console buzzed. His phone had vibrated. Gwyn had matched with him.

Emerson wondered if he should send her a message, or wait. His usual style was to wait. He had been using Tinder for a month and while he had sent the occasional message, the conversation had never gone anywhere. People didn’t know how to talk anymore.

Through the conversations that had gone on for more than three days, came dinner dates. Three women so far, all had led to nothing except him buying their meal.

Not that he was looking for casual sex. He wasn’t, he just wanted to find someone he wanted to date. And more importantly, that wanted to date him.

He’d found that a lot of women didn't fancy the idea of dating a police detective.

He didn’t know if he should find that concerning or not.

He swiped over to his own profile.

Emerson, 45, occupation: police detective, likes reading, people who know how to use their indoor voice, and the handful of people who take this app seriously. My niece says my style is professor-chique with a hint of cowboy.

The pictures he had of himself on there consisted of two selfies. One with glasses, one without. One clean shaven, one with scruff. Different light-colored button-up shirts. He figured he’d keep it simple.

He went to his phone’s weather app. It was currently 48 degrees. He could feel the cold settling into his car. The sweater and blazer he thought would be enough, apparently wasn’t.

His boots were doing nothing for warmth either but he had refused to go around wearing those clunky winter boots people on the East Coast seemed to love. He’d stick with his square-toed Ariats.

Probably should have went with hot coffee instead of iced, he thought.

To take his mind off the cold, he began running it over the case. The only thing that connected the eight women who had disappeared was that they were all female. The pattern in which the killer chose, was hardly even a pattern. One a week, age of the victim varied. Sometimes it was back to back adult women, sometimes a woman then a young girl. All from different areas, all different races. Frustrating.

He worried about his niece. If it were up to him, he would be sitting outside of her house. Headstrong, fearless, sixteen, no regard for her curfew. His sister had her hands full with Abigail. Detective Burnham, his best friend, was stationed around his sister’s neighborhood.

They will be fine, he thought.

Still, it didn’t stop his brain from depicting scenarios. He had experienced tragedy once, there was no rule that said it couldn’t happen to him again.

After Lyla died he had moved from San Antonio to Creekmore to be closer to his sister and Abigail. They were the only family he had.

He pulled up Abigail’s contact and typed a text message.

I’m assuming that since you are in high school, you are still awake at this hour?

The bubbles that meant she was typing popped up.

I’m safe in my bed, not abducted Uncle Emerson.

He smiled, she was intuitive. And for once not out partying. The stories his sister Eve had told him, it almost made him glad he didn’t have children. But not quite.

Abigail was typing again.

So…any new matches?!

Since she had persuaded him to download Tinder, she had amusingly become interested in his personal life.

He remembered her saying something along the lines of,

“Stop being a stereotypical lonely detective and get yourself a love interest!”

Emerson responded.

One. Go to sleep. School tomorrow.

He could picture her rolling her eyes as she read it.

His phone vibrated. Gwyn had sent him a message,

G: Hi Emerson.

That was it?

Though something about the simplicity of the message intrigued him. No one had said a simple “Hi,” to him on here, they usually began with,

“What’s up.”

Or,

“What are you doing?”

Somehow this felt more personal. More genuine.

E: Hi Gwyn.

He had faith that sending an equally simple response wouldn’t stop her from sending him another message.

As another one from her popped up, his phone rang. It was his precinct chief.

“Woods, get to Wilshire as soon as you can. We have bodies.”

He clenched his teeth. He had a bad feeling.

Even when called to a homicide the chief always had some sly remark or joke about Emerson’s whereabouts and why he wasn’t already at the scene.

This time there had been nothing. Only a quick order.

He put his keys in the ignition and pulled away from the curb.

As Emerson drove down the barren streets his stomach started to churn. He felt sick almost, like the sort of feeling you get when you’ve eaten something that’s been sitting out for a while.

That happened to him sometimes. Though only when something really bad was about to happen. It was like his own version of seeing the future.

It had happened the day his wife had told him about her breast cancer, the day his parents had been in an accident, but never before seeing a body.

He was good with crime scenes, even the really gristly ones.

So why did he have this feeling?

He pulled up to the yellow caution tape and walked out to where he saw the chief and Detective Rawley standing. Wilshire was on the outskirts of town, the street was in between two fields that went on for a couple of miles.

This is weird, he thought.

All of the other bodies that had been found had been in the city.

Just as Emerson was thinking they might not be victims of the town serial killer, the chief caught his eye.

No, it’s him.

“Woods,” the chief nodded in greeting.

Rawley looked up at Emerson in uninterested acknowledgment.

“Chief…..Rawley,” Emerson nodded to each of them.

He hadn’t even seen the bodies yet and Emerson was already in a bad mood. He couldn’t stand Rawley. Arrogant, rude, loud. All qualities he despised.

He stepped over the marshy parts of the field to get to where the tarps were covering the victims.

“What do we know?” Emerson asked, as he lifted up one of the tarps.

It was a female, white, blonde, age anywhere between 13-17 he would guess.

“First one is Halley Reece, age 15. Judging from the backpack it looks like she has been missing since school got out this afternoon,” said Chief.

Emerson lifted the tarp on the other. Female, white, brunette, same age range.

Chief sighed, “Her friend is Melanie Myers. Fifteen, also looks like she had been missing only since this afternoon. Both of their ID cards say they went to Creekmore High.”

Emerson’s eyes wound over their bodies, studying where the blood had pooled.

“Stab wounds cause of death?” he asked.

“Yes, different from last week,” Chief answered.

That was another erratic thing about the killer, his methods were all over the place.

One week it was stabbings, the next it was gunshots or strangelings. But always female. That was the only constant.

“Dude must have a bad ex-wife for him to hate women this much,” Rawley joked.

Emerson rolled his eyes.

“Do we have someone talking to their families?” he asked.

Chief nodded, “I have the patrol cops who found them handling it.”

That was the one thing Emerson did not miss whatsoever about being a beat cop, being the first to inform next of kin.

He took his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose,

“Have forensics been here yet?”

Chief let out a curt laugh, “Are you kidding? You know how long those guys take. I swear they intentionally wait 20 minutes before getting their asses out here.”

Emerson glanced at his watch, it was almost 1 am. He was tired and wanted to go home. If forensics hadn’t even been here yet and patrol were taking to the families, there was really nothing he could do right now.

And my stomach hurts

He couldn’t shake the doom feeling. He needed to sleep it off.

“Anything else Chief? I should get home and start looking over the case files, see if anything matches up.��

Lies

Chief said he could leave and he would see him tomorrow. Emerson quickly evaded the muddy puddles and headed back to his car before Rawley could say some gaudy remark about going home and fucking one of his many one night stands.

How the chief put up with him he would never know.

Emerson pulled into his driveway and just sat in the car for a moment. Thinking.

He still had that feeling in his stomach and he knew it was because of the killings.

They were speeding up. It had started as one every couple months, then went to one every couple weeks, and now it seemed like it was one or two every week.

With no leads.

The killer left absolutely nothing behind. No prints, no hair, no signatures.

Nothing.

At this rate, the whole city would be dead in a couple years if they didn’t catch him. The town was in a cloud of panic.

It was mind boggling. Stomach churning.

He grabbed his phone from the center console and went inside. By the time he showered and got into bed it was nearing 2 am. His stomach hadn’t stopped hurting yet either.

As he leaned over to set his phone on the nightstand, he remembered he had gotten a message from Gwyn right before Chief had called him.

He opened up Tinder.

G: Inside voices huh? What about when in bed?

He smirked.

E: If the bed is inside the rule still applies.

He saw message bubbles pop up.

G: Hmmm so you’re a whisper in the ear kind of guy? I like that. Takes the pressure off having to fake it, or having to scream, “YES ALL POWERFUL WIZARD WIELD THAT STAFF!”

Emerson raised his eyebrows.

E: Have you actually said that before?

While he waited for her reply he checked the local news. The story hadn’t broken yet.

G: Never let a friend drag you to a World of Warcraft singles mixer. Also, never sleep with someone from said mixer.

He scratched his nose, he wasn’t that great at banter but Gwyn’s easy going humor made it a little less challenging for him.

E: Are you not someone from said mixer?

This was certainly the most interesting conversation to come from Tinder.

G: No, I was dragged there, against my free will. Come to think of it, you should probably arrest the woman who dragged me there.

Emerson chuckled.

E: I would say I need a warrant but I think this is grounds for an exception to the law.

G: Thank you.

E: You’re welcome.

He could barely keep his eyes open at this point, and decided that discussing arrest tactics with Gwyn would have to wait till tomorrow.

His stomach felt better though

#claes bang #is this a fanfic idk #it gets better i promise #wait till he meets gwyn #im dying at them

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piracytheorist · 5 years

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My Notes on Rewatching “Call Girl”

I amuse myself by thinking that watching this film is an important rite of passage for anyone who’s an all-in Colin fan, as in, one who’ll watch anything and everything he’s in, no matter the content, theme or quality.

I actually used to think that this was a pretty bad movie... but, as you might have seen from my last few posts, I recently realized this isn’t the case. Sure, it is not your average short film, but breaking it down you realize it’s doing most things right from a filmmaking point. I mean, you don’t have to love it, but it does a great job overall.

And I mean, it’s got Colin in it. How bad can it be? ;)

Beware of spoilers, if you haven’t seen the film. And if you do wanna see it, here it is :D

I'm still surprised that... this is it. That's Colin freaking O'Donoghue right there. The pirate. The cowboy. The astronaut. The man the myth the legend.

Ah, early 00's.

Wait. Ok let's make a breakdown of the decoration here. There's: 1) a heart anatomy poster 2) a frame with an undiscernible picture 3) IS THAT AN ASTRONAUT FIGURE? dun_dun_dun.mp3 4) a small penguin (?) plushie with a nautical (?) hat on it 5) are those... mantis figurines stuck on the sides of the screen????

Oooooh boy you sure have some very specific decorations on your desk.

The music stops abruptly when Brendan's mother calls out to him to not close the door because she wants to see him studying. That's interesting. Also how old is Brennan supposed to be? Is he supposed to be in high school, or an adult in college? What was the age of consent in Ireland in 2003?

This vibe, though. White perfect shirt and dark vest...

The look of "I'm gonna look at hot girls with my bedroom's door open while my parents argue across the hall" ALSO YES THAT'S A MANTIS

This just makes me laugh so much. Can you imagine sweet innocent (mostly) virgin Brendan typing it and his heartbeat skyrocketing?

Seriously though, that "Welcome back Brendan" thing. With one small addition you add a whole point in his backstory about him trying to deal with his urges.

Jesus I have forgotten so much. As soon as Brendan hears his mother coming, he immediately clicks "Dump her" on the "Virtual Babe" and it just... explodes.

With a full low-quality boom sound effect to boot. Like seriously if you were trying to hide why the f have your speakers on. You had one job, Brendan.

A rare glimpse into Brendan's room, and I'm trying to understand what the pattern on his sheets are. Maybe I'm just confused by the astronaut figurine, but it looks... vaguely... about space? Like, if you squint, the circular thing on the top left looks like Saturn's rings. No?

Also, Brendan's mom being obsessed with disinfection. That was 2003.

"I don't want filth getting into my house while I'm gone." And two hours later, her son has sex on her bed.

Oh wait, his father says "The only contact [Brendan] has with the outside world is through that bloody computer of his," in a... weird, tone? Like he's trying to placate the mother's fears of any rave party suddenly taking place in the house, but also with his tone (and maybe by using the word "bloody"? idk I'm no native speaker but it piques my interest) it doesn't seem like he's very... understanding and/or supportive of his probably very shy and/or socially awkward son.

Mom: That reminds me, block off the internet, will you? Dad: *scoffs* Why not lock him in a tower while you're at it?

He is sassy though!

Lookit him though! So sad he won't be able to create and look at Virtual BabesTM while his parents are gone.

The parent's accents strike me more towards a British one and I got confused for a bit, but then I remembered that we see Brendan use euros later, lol.

*hatching the plan to search in his father's briefcase for any cards for escort services*

This is where I started feeling that this movie is better than I’d remembered. Like, it does the job of delivering Brendan's guilt over "tresspassing" into his parents room and disobeying his mother, as well as his fear of being discovered, even though he watched his parents drive away, so he'd hear the car if they came back, in a pretty well-done and clear way.

I love how he immediately knows exactly where to look. His father's such an organized fella. Also those pills that he seems to not need immediately (thus leaving them behind for the weekend) are... something. They're put there for a reason and I wonder what that could have been.

There's not even a moment of hesitation, once he opens the briefcase. He doesn't put the card back in, he only looks briefly at his parents' photo but then he's like "Yeah. I'm doing it."

That smile as he sees the card though, lol.

Casual reminder to have safe sex, lads.

And then the phone operator is like, full business mode. Brendan stutters for one (1) second and she's immediately like, "You want a girl?" She's like, I've had tons of people like you, lad, can't waste my time waiting until you find the courage to ask. You wanna hire or not?

OH MY GOD I JUST REALIZED The operator asks for the address, Brendan gives it, then asks how much does it cost. Then the operator says "Same as usual." BRUH she knew the address from how often his father used the service!

And then poor Brendan checks his savings and his "Uh..." says it all about how he wishes he could hire someone for longer than an hour. Bro, calm down. It's your first time.

And then he's like, waiting all anxiously by the door. I've never hired an escort service but I feel ya dude.

And of course Barbara the nosy neighbor, here to bring us to the edge of our seats, lol.

Look at how organized their fridge is. Why is that chick suddenly so eager to cook something for him? There looks to be so much food already prepared in there.

And dude. This movie has set-ups. Barbara tries to open a cupboard to like pick up ingredients to cook something, and Brendan, with a sudden "No!" rushes in and closes it. It only makes sense later, when we see that that's where he hid the money for the call girl.

Yikes she booped his nose as she left... what is he, ten? I mean even if he's supposed to be a teen here it's still... like... he's not a little boy to fucking boop his nose. No wonder her mother seems to trust her with taking care of him, with how both treat him like he's a child.

Hi there! You're gonna die :D

Shit I just noticed the portrait on the wall. Is that a... is that a fucking ruff collar his mother is wearing???? (btw I had to search to find that term with "shakespeare collar" XD)

I mean... you can't help falling for it. At first you're like, she seems too... simple for a call girl. But then you're like, who else could it be who also knows his name?

I wonder what would've happened if she hadn't asked to use the bathroom, which prompted her to look at his parents' bedroom and him to... initiate contact. Would he have mustered the courage to actually ask her about it or would he have been so flustered until she'd say something? What would she say? "You know, your mother said you would [something]" and he would FREAK THE FUCK OUT because how does his mother know? Would they have stayed there in awkward silence long enough for his mother to call, him to pick up and find out what she was really there for?

I mean, look at that! I'm speculacting the "what-ifs"! Good fucking movie!

That look, though. You suddenly go from "Aw you cute" to "WTF I know you're thirsty for it but that's... creepy"

Look at that smile, though! She is pretty nosy!

I just... I love everything about this. The way she's smiling at nosing in in her boss' bedroom. Him creeping behind her like the future killer that he is, actually scaring her. The way he says "This is my mother's room," so shy and collected. The fucking music, too. How it slowly builds up from the moment she spots the bedroom and it starts developing when Brendan kisses her.

And that kiss. So chaste and shy and yet she's like, wow yeah let's have sex now.

"You're not as shy as you look." LOL

For the pre-sex scene I just wanna link y'all to @killian-whump 's post about it, since it says it all.

Also dude the voicemail is set up from that moment too, but we've yet to hear what it includes, aside from his mother being bossy about the smallest things. "I hope you haven't gone back to bed." IF ONLY YOU KNEW. Not only what bed he's gone to, but also what he's doing on said bed.

"You don't waste much time, do you?" Lol if only you knew. And again his first response is to apologize if he did anything wrong.

And you know what? Plot twists are a hell of a lot of fun and well made when they make you go back and see things with the new perspective. Like, how chill and simple she was, why she said the last line I mentioned, the newly-known reasons why she said it was kinky to have sex in his mother's bedroom... *slams hand on table* That's a great way to do a plot twist! A fucking plus!

Like seriously, this convo: B: Have you met my father? M: No, but a lot of the other girls have though.

Pre-plot twist viewer: Wow whAT how do you say it like that Post-plot twist viewer: Yeah makes sense

M: I think he gets sympathy from them, like, you know, cause his wife's such an old witch... *realizes* Oh, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said that! *more failed excuses and then THAT face*

And like, that's a bit inappropriate in any case but pre-plot twist you're like WTAF. And then you're like eh makes sense for frustrated employees to pity their bitchy boss' seemingly calm husband...

And there's that set-up from before. Job well done, film.

And then their argument about the money. Brendan being confused about the amount, Mandy saying she'll come back and speak to his mother about it...

Seriously though what if he'd found out the voicemail after he'd had sex and before the "confrontation"? Would he like, have sent her on her merry way with all the money and then had more sex with the actual call girl?

And then his instinct, to try and make sure his mother won't find out, is to fucking threaten the woman with a knife. Wow, a little too much, Brendan. And then his first instinct, when they're fighting, is to search and grab the knife and fucking stab her. Lbr though that's just baby Colin finding his call for playing messed-up characters.

Also how did she die so quickly. Guess I found one weakness in the plot XD

And now you're like Jesus he just murdered her but when Barbara comes a-knocking and he looks at her and exasperatedly calls her name, you're like... same, bro.

And the stupid bastard didn't even wash the blood off his arm. Like seriously, Brendan, either do a murder correctly or don't do it at all. At least you can't say he wasn't dedicated, bro sliced his own arm open. *pats head* you'll learn, my little murderous bean, you'll learn.

Brendan: I was doing the dishes. Barbara: Did your parents leave them for you to do? They must have left in a rush this morning.

Yes, Barbara, he can do the dishes, he's in an undetermined age between late teens and-

Barbara: They didn't even make their bed.

Wtf you nosy bitch.

See what I'm saying? Full character development for a character with like, two minutes of screentime.

And then the voicemail drops like an anvil. My first thought when his mother said that Mandy is nothing but trouble I was like "Yo look who's talking" but then I thought that... yeah she did creep in her boss' bedroom, actually had sex with her son in it, then pretty much talked dirt to him about her... I mean she definitely didn't deserve to die, but maybe his mother was a good judge of character for one (1) moment.

And then Lorraine appears.

And Brendan's like "Now I have money for like, three hours with her. Maybe I'll even convince her to help me hide the body too."

“OR MAYBE I’LL JUST KILL HER TOO.”

In conlusion, yup, I’m pretty glad I spent a good hour and a bit watching, analyzing, writing this review and screencapping this film. 10/10 would rewatch and review again.

#Colin O'Donoghue #/#//#///#////#Call Girl

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