#needed to calm down and making psds

[yandere-icons]

[the cry session i just had] be damned my [freak] can work a [photopea]

[k2ssland]

connie springer found himself crushing on one of his pretty little college girl clients . . . it started when you discovered him through a mutual on campus who deemed he produced the best quality weed in the area and in addition, he was undeniably sexy. curiosity swarmed your mind to see if the weed he was really all that.

even though you rarely indulged in smoking—the only times being for anxiety relief, you got his number and worked up the courage to text. agreeing on a time for his delivery, you sat on your porch, heart pounding through your chest while anticipating his arrival. and he pulled up a little after twelve-thirty am blasting xavier wulf, disturbing all your poor sleeping neighbors. nervously approaching his coupe as he rolled his five percent tinted window down simultaneously lowering the music to a normal level.

"yo, what you doin' buyin' from me, lil' college girl?" was the first thing the brunette-headed beauty said to you. connie's hazel eyes shamelessly trace your plush brown skin body from your fresh goddess braids to the white painted toes in your christian dior sandals.

immediately, his masculine musk mixed with marijuana swarmed your nose and overstimulated your senses making you dizzy. connie leaned back comfortably in his seat and no seat belt in sight, he now tucked his hands into his grey nike sweats, revealing the inseam of his red psds and a glimpse of his perfectly sculpted abdomen. tattoo sleeves ran up both of his muscular arms all the way to his chest.

"the others at yo school usually want rocks, but it's only green ova here." he spoke in a deep tone with a slightly foreign accent, licking his plump cotton candy lips after speaking and slightly showing the blinged-out grills secured to his teeth.

"boy, what the hell? i'm not here for cocaine, that's not what my people do." distraught and snapped out of your daydream by his reply, you painted an almost disgusted look on your face and his laughter erupted throughout the car.

between his laughter, he subtly apologized and continued on with the deal. you apprehensively played it off as you had a big test the following day and simply needed something to calm your nerves, knowing damn well you just wanted to see the infamous sexy dealer in your college town up close.

"oh, word? that's wassup mami. te deseo buena suerte."

he slid an extra ounce in your bag and shrugged it off as a miscount, but the real reason simply being that he was enticed by your beauty. a few days later, before you even finished what you already had, you called him up for another eighth just so you could see his gorgeous face again.

after delivering to you numerous times, he finally asked you out on his version of a date, which was matching in front of a breathtaking view, talking about aliens n conspiracy theories, and after, treating you to whatever munchies craving you possessed.

eventually, connie cautiously opened you up to his world, sometimes allowing you to accompany him on his late-night deliveries whenever you had insomnia. it was definitely different from what you'd known, you wondered to yourself how you, the girl who completely devoted herself to her school, producing top-of-the-line grades, came from a supportive and loving family, ended up skipping class to ride passenger princess in a sexy drug dealer's bmw who knew nothing but the streets.

you knew it was bad and so did he, you two had no business being together, but it was just something about you—something about him.

from you being so oblivious to his street slang and always following up with, "um connie . . . what does that mean?" and vice versa, the way you articulated words only captivated him more, asking you to educate him on their meanings and slowly applying them to his lingo. he admired how you spoke properly regardless of your black friends accusing you of being white-washed because of your pwi.

eventually, he taught you how to weigh his loads, putting your own touch on them by packaging them into pink plastic baggies with their name, amount, and a heart around it.

"mami, they gon' think i went all soft and shit now," is what he told you every time regardless of him finding it adorable.

he thought your innocence and intelligence were alluring and for your sake, he knew he should've kept it strictly professional business, but he wanted to ruin you.

his aspiration only grew larger after one night, participating in a mini competition amongst yourselves to see who would tap out first while smoking as many blunts as possible.

your deep brown eyes were low n red after two, ready to quit due to the feeling of immense drowsiness. feeling as if you were on another planet, you brazenly confessed a few secrets of yours before falling asleep in his arms—one being that you had never had sex before. the thought of connie popping your sweet cherry made him brick up instantly. he would’ve took you right then and there in the backseat of his car, but he wanted you to be completely conscious for it.

teaching you his ways was only the beginning, not only did he want to corrupt your mind, he desired to take over your entire body like a vicious plague.

you sheepishly admitted that being in his scene terrified you but he assured you, "i promise nothin' will happen to you as long as you wit me, mamacita."

he later conceded to you that he was always strapped with his glock-19 and in a way, that made him even sexier. he pulled the weapon out of his baggy sweats and laid it on his lap for you to comprehend. you blurted out asking if he had ever used it on someone.

"ignorance is bliss, ain’t that right, bae?” giving you a small smile alongside a chuckle, continuing on with his delivery route as if nothing happened.

he dropped you home later that night and it was spent under your baby pink silk sheets, one hand tightly resting on your breast, the other rubbing over your aching clit. soft mewls of his name escaped your lips while fantasizing about him holding his loaded gun to your head, finger just shy of the trigger as he fucked you dumb. you messily came undone all over yourself and from that day on, your worries about safety never resumed.

the next thing you knew, connie's plan had you exactly where he wanted you to be. his big body hovering over your adorably small one in comparison and looking down upon you hungrily with low bloodshot eyes, making you indecisive of if the sight was sexy or terrifying, or both.

legs spread onto the dip of his buff shoulders, gold anklet dangling in his face and his precum-soaked tip aimed at your entrance. it was everything you had fantasized about; thick, circumcised, and pretty. veins protruding from the base to his baby pink tip, the same color as your thong he pulled aside.

"wait! wait—connie, before you continue, i need to tell you something.” the fear was evident in your eyes, shakily placing your small chubby hand on his toned lower stomach to avoid him proceeding further.

"oh, that you're a virgin?"

"wait, wait what?" eyes widening, your brows lowering with confusion.

"you do lots of talkin' when you're high, but even without you tellin' it was obvious." his copper eyes briefly shifted towards the chastity ring that never left your finger.

"fuck you, connie."

"oh yea? fuck me, baby? nah, fuck you."

audibly gasping at the sudden aggressive shift into your slit and taking in all of his inches. a smug grin painting his face once he watches the pretty virgin trying to adjust to his length, the stretch embarrassingly being nearly unbearable for you.

"t'hurts," your brown irises rolling to the depths of your skull and he needily bucked his hips against you, balls deep inside of your pussy, slapping against the fat of your ass with no remorse.

“c–connie it’s t’much . . . i can’t.” while gripping onto the sheets as if your life depended on it, light tears swell your sweet doe eyes and your eyelashes meeting with your flushed cheeks from tightly clenching your eyes shut. your pussy crying for him as well, coating his cock with sticky cream ring.

"awn you can't take it, baby? i thought it was fuck me though, right?" he purred in a condescending tone, his russet eyes narrowing before increasing his pace, watching the way your pussy swallowed his dick whole.

"m'sorry . . . connie, m'so so sorry, please."

"m'so sorry," connie embarrassingly mocks your tone creating nearly the same pitch as your shaky voice. his veiny hand wrapped around your neck restricting your breath to a minimum and making you dizzy while soft mewls slithered out of your lips, pain mixing with a foreign feeling of pleasure.

"actin' so innocent all the damn time n yet here you are, pretty pussy creamin' all over my dick." his words spilling from his lips like an addictive poison to your brain.

"ease up f'me princesa, with you clenchin' like that m'not gonna last long." connie's voice coos in your ear as he positions your legs all the way over his shoulders to allow him to plant harsh kisses on your bruised cervix to where you couldn't think straight. gripping your plush thick body in the sweaty palms of his hand and squirming underneath his weight. the room filled with lewd sloppy squelching noises from your pussy suctioned onto the length of his shaft.

your short french tip nails dug into his sweat-glistened skin leaving crescent moons behind and you weren't even fighting back anymore, you embraced it. nuzzling into his chest and wrapping your hands around his neck as he thrusts inside of your tummy.

"oo my gosh, connie. m'gonna cum." your arch faltering, yearning for the sweet release that doing it yourself could never fulfill. his hips angled directly at your sweet spot sending warm n fuzzy shocks through your body.

his dick twitched inside of you and you knew he was close as well based off of his sloppier thrusts. so pussy drunk from your sopping cunt he didn't even hear you talking, he just continued with his pace.

your core tightened and the utmost sensational orgasm ripped out of you. it only took a few more weak strokes to lead to his thick sticky ribbons of goo shooting inside of you and painting your walls completely white.

"connie . . . do drug dealers have hookups to plan b's too?"

© 𝐊𝟐𝐒𝐒𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃 ─ all rights reserved. do not translate. plagiarize, or repost any of my works to alternative sites, tumblr included.

[agileisthegayagenda]

The Professional Scrum Developer Cert

"The Agile Certifications that exist are a complete joke and an utter absurdity." - Robert Martin, Clean Agile.

TL;DR: My company asked me to get this, so I did. Even though I only did a couple of hours of study. All the books I had been reading last year prepped me for it... I'm also good at taking tests.

You should ask yourself: Why the hell do I need this?

If the answer is that it will help you land a job, get a promotion, satisfy management, or assist you with a goal to pursue your learning. No harm, it's $200! However, if you want this to show off to people that you are the most Scrum dev, that is just so Scrum, just don't...please.

With that out of the way...

The first thing they asked me to do when I joined my new team was to get the PSD cert. I had other PM style certs under my belt, so this would be, as the very cool people say, 'no problem.' I figured this would be a fun way to make sure I had the terms and ceremonies down for Scrum. (And I was right, because I think tests are fun.)

I started with this assessment test to understand where I was so I could plan where I should go. I'm a massive fan of taking assessments before you study. You see, the idea of pre-testing is it gives you the shape of the test to come. This method helps my mind map out things that will be valuable to know for the test. I scored 60% on my first try, which was not great but gave me information on how to start my next steps. 

After I studied my answers and noted right and wrong answers. From the reading I had been doing, I realized most of the terms in the test had been introduced over the last year.

Clean Code

Clean Architecture 

Pragmatic Programmer

Clean Agile

Test Driven Design 

Scrum: Twice the Work in half the time

Scrum: A Field Guide

Also, the following online documentation and videos helped me understand a bunch:

DevOps Terminology 

More Devops Stuff

This Pluralsite Course 

The Scrum Guide

Tech Debt 

And some of this post on TDD

So, after reviewing some keywords in those books, I made a:

Let's talk about my study guide system:

First, I take my wrong answer pass and use that to build a foundation of what I don't know and mesh this with whatever core competencies list I can find for the certification. I then research videos and articles that can help me fill in my knowledge.

Then, I review this content, taking notes on any terms I don't understand. I then cross-referenced all of these with terms I noted down from the assessment test and refined my study guide. I do this process till every term, and the wrong answer makes complete sense. 

Then I take the assessment again, but now it's speed mode. I try to spend less than 10 seconds on each question (sometimes more if there is a long setup) or less on each question; if I go too long, I skip (or guess and note it down real quick). The thinking is, in a multichoice test, if I don't know the correct answer immediately, I'm gaming the multiple-choice, not actually "knowing." I refined this technique on a couple of Comptia Certs, which also helped me through a good part of my schooling. 

After 2-3 speed runs. I complete all the wrong answers and any notes on terms or concepts I stall or take longer on. Then I take this and make a:

While speed running, I repeat this process until I pass 10% higher on pre-tests and assessments than I need for the certification test. Because certifications often have question bundles, I can buy them. I will often buy one or two if they're cheap. However, for the PSD, the free one is WAY better than the paid one I bought from Udemy. If I were to do it again, I wouldn't have grabbed the paid one.

After this is done, I look at scheduling an assessment. But as it turns out, that's not something you need to worry about with the PSD; you can take it any time after you pay, so keep that in mind. 

Before the assessment, I reviewed the core test competency materials and took a nice mind break. 

 When I feel calm and centered, I take the test. This method has yet to fail me. Is it the fastest way to cram new info in your head? Probably not, but I do learn whatever the cert is trying to teach me, and as a bonus, I feel very little pressure in the tests, often finishing quickly with enough time to review questions I wasn't so sure about. 

How did this serve me for the PSD? It was 95%, not 100%, as the fabulous folks get, but perfection is the enemy of done in my book. And it is very done!

So now that you know how I took it. The real question is, was it useful? 

Yes? We'll see as time goes on.

[forcedsense]

anyways this continues to be the singlemost greatest icon border i ever made

[ashleysolsen]

(FREE GIFFING MASTERPOST)

𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍𝐋𝐎𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆

y2mate (less safe, faster)

youtubetomp4 (safer, slower)

1080p scene packs

vimeo screen record

(download 720p - 1080p for best quality)

𝐆𝐈𝐅𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐑𝐒

ezgif (best free gifmaker)

gifrun (lower quality than ezgif, but does not require downloading)

kapwing (more complicated, but similar quality)

𝐆𝐈𝐅 𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐒

photopea (best, free version of photoshop)

ezgif

kapwing

𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐗

i. gifmaker tutorials ii. photopea tutorials iii. example gifs

𝐢. 𝐆𝐈𝐅𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐔𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐋𝐒

KAPWING

Start by uploading a video, GIF, or photo from your computer or phone, or paste the link to a file you found on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or any location on the web. In the Studio, you can use the Record tool to use your camera or screen to make a GIF, or go ahead and start editing. The Studio lets you add text, transitions, animations, images, crops, filters, and speed adjustments to your GIF.You can easily convert your video to a GIF by clicking the dropdown menu next to the Export button. This will allow you to take any content you create and output it as an animated GIF. Remember that animated GIFs will not play sound, so converting a video into a GIF will remove any sound from the video file.Kapwing Studio also supports a large library of text animations as well as special effects that you can apply to your GIF. You can remove the background of a video, for example, and add a different background to convert to a funny GIF to share with friends.When your project is all ready to go, export it as a GIF file and either download it to your device or share it directly to Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. These animated files are ideal for quick comments, meme formats, and in-text video embeds.

EZGIF

ezgif tutorial by @arianapopqueen

(I personally download the videos from y2mate or youtubetomp4. for gifs from movies and tv shows on netflix, disney + and amazon prime, I screen record using the vimeo extention)

𝐢𝐢. 𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐓𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐀 𝐓𝐔𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐋𝐒

introduction to photopea by @616rogue 

making gifs in ezgif and photopea by @ofcamerasflashing 

basic giffing on photopea by @benoitblanc 

* text tutorial by @yelenafbelova (made for photoshop, but works!)

colouring tutorial by @lovestory (made for photoshop, but works!)

how to put a psd on photopea @melophobiastuffs 

combining gifs on photopea by @ofcamerasflashing 

isolated colouring on photopea by @ofcamerasflashing 

how to center text on photopea by @ofcamerasflashing 

sharpening on photopea by @ofcamerasflashing 

mirror effect on photopea by @ofcamerasflashing 

photopea masterlist (non-giffing included) by @ofcamerasflashing

* note (this is about the text tutorial): I always use the blending mode difference on the first text layer, because it works better on photopea

𝐢𝐢𝐢. 𝐄𝐗𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄 𝐆𝐈𝐅𝐒

these are a few of my own gifs that I made using some of these tutorials

one year of folklore (text tutorial)

you need to calm down (colouring tutorial)

to all the boys I’ve loved before (colouring tutorial)

the half of it (colouring tutorial)

jennifer’s body (sharpening tutorial + colouring tutorial)

mean girls (basic giffing tutorial)

[kthblackpink]

です 💀 ⌗ ⌗ CHAENNIE ♥︎ 𓄷

N3W P0ST, GUYS !!!﹙🎱﹚ ..·ˊ`·..·

>.< 𝘅𝗼𝘅𝗼 ルールに従う

★⃯ # like or reblog

★⃯ # no need to credit

★⃯ # non-authored psds

★⃯ # we will make a watermark, calm down

★⃯ # icons by (bambi)

愛は愛 ﹙note﹚ 📋 : chaennie w green 🥺🍃

≡ 𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗦 !! ◗

[exotictragedy]

[hobeemin]

Tinsel & Tae

🎁 Genre: Christmas AU, Fluff, Romance, Slice of Life, Non Idol AU

🎁 Pairing: Kim Taehyung x (f) Reader

🎁 Rating: pg

🎁 Warning(s): break ups, fainting, crying, Taehyung being the sweetest big brother, lots of fluffy fluffiness

🎁 Word Count: 2k

🎁 Credits: Beta read by the awesome @nightshadevinter​ 💜 you’re the best!!

Banner resources found here (png & photo stock) and here (psd coloring)

🎁 A/N: @cest-la-tae​ Daija!!! I’m your secret Santa 😀😁 I had so much fun getting to know you dear! I hope you enjoy this little fic

Y/N pressed her ear to the phone receiver, brows furrowed. Maybe she heard it wrong. As soon as the message ended, she pressed the prompt to repeat it.

“YN listen, I…uh…I know this is a crappy way to end things, but it’s not working for me, and I believe we want different things. I hope you find someone worth your time. Love you. Oh, and Merry Christmas.”

Nope, that’s what she heard. She stared at her phone in disbelief. Really? A break up on Christmas Eve? Her hands shook as she placed the phone into her locker. She put her head inside and screamed into her coat. Her co-worker and close friend, Jungkook, entered the employee break room whistling, setting his bag down, but paused once he saw her head buried in her locker. He watched her curiously.

“Everything okay, Y/N?”

She sniffed, removing her head from inside, and slumped down onto the bench. She rubbed her eyes, trying to fight the tears. “No. Everything sucks.”

He groaned, joining her on the bench. He didn’t like seeing her in this state. He just opened his arms, allowing her in, and she began to sob, wetting his shirt in the process. It surprised her because he wasn’t super emotional, but he was here for her, which made her feel good to know he was supportive.

“He broke up with me on Christmas Eve,” she mumbled into his chest.

Jungkook frowned, shaking his head. “Seriously? That prick. Who breaks up with someone on Christmas. You don’t deserve that. I’m sorry, Y/N.”

Y/N hiccupped and grabbed a tissue off the coffee table, wiping her face with a deep sigh. He patted her back gently as he stood. “You’re going to be okay, right? I can ask the boss if you need a replacement.

She shook her head, blowing her nose. “No. No. I need the distraction, but thank you.”

Jungkook smiled at her, tousling her hair, making her swat his hand with a smile, adjusting her hat. “Alright. Let’s get upstairs before we have a riot.”

She chuckled as she looked herself over in the mirror. Y/N smoothed the wrinkles from the bright green dress with red trimming. The bells attached to her dress and matching hat jingled as she turned around, giving herself one last look over. With a nod, she followed Jungkook back out of the breakroom.

***

“Attention holiday shoppers, the mall will be closing in twenty minutes. Please make all purchases at that time. Last call for Santa photos. Have a very Merry Christmas.”

Y/N wanted to jump for joy. At least that was good news. The day was almost over. She stretched, a smile across her face as the flash from the camera went off. With a giggle, she led the child towards their family with a wave. 

“Thank you! Merry Christmas!”

She turned, giving Ben, their department store Santa Claus a sigh.

“Is it me, or does the line seem to be getting longer?”

He and Jungkook laughed at her comment. “It’s just you. Relax, we’ve got only twenty minutes left, and then we’ll be free of these–,” he stopped whispering as another family came up for pictures. “HO HO HO! Merry Christmas! Tinsel, bring some candy canes up!”

“Right away, Santa!” Y/N ran over to the basket and handed one to each kid. “Welcome to Santa’s shop! I’m Tinsel, Santa’s elf in charge!”

Soon the kids posed as Jungkook took a few photos, handing the parents the film with a smile. “Take this over to the booth to pay. Merry Christmas!”

Taehyung held his little sister’s hand as they walked to the middle of the mall. “Hurry, TaeTae! I want to see Santa!”

He chuckled, squeezing her hand as she dragged him along. “Be patient, Soyoung. We’ll get there soon enough.”

Soyoung pouted, tugging his hand. “B-But the store is going to close!”

Taehyung sighed, quickening his steps. “Okay. Okay. I’ll walk faster.” He adjusted the bags in his free hand as they walked faster. They reached the line moments later, standing as he glanced down with her. 

“We made it. Happy now?”

Soyoung nodded with a boxy grin. “Yes!” She bounced up and down. “I have a lot to ask him.”

“Now. Now. Santa is a busy man. Don’t overwhelm him, Soyoung.”

“I won’t, TaeTae.”

***

“Is it me, or is the room getting hotter?” Y/N asked, fanning herself. Jungkook looked up from the camera, shaking his head. “I feel fine.” She sighed, checking her water bottle. Empty. The lights around her only made it hotter to stand. Y/N looked over the line. Only a few families left. She could get through it. Hand out a few more candy canes, take some more pictures, then head home to a large glass of red wine.

Taehyung grinned as they reached the front of the line. “Almost our turn Soyoung!”

She jumped with a giggle. “Yay!”

But as Soyoung stared at the bright lights, decorations, and Santa looming in the large throne, her face paled. She whimpered, trying to hide behind Taehyung.

“I-I don’t want to see him.”

Taehyung’s brows knitted, staring at her. “But you were excited a minute ago.”

She tugged on his coat. “I changed my mind. I don’t wanna see him.”

Taehyung sighed, crouching down to her eye level. “Soyoung–”

Her eyes welled with tears as she began to cry. People began to stare, making Taehyung flustered as he tried to calm her down, but she wailed louder.

Jungkook looked up at the noise and waved at Y/N. “Code blue Christmas!” 

Ben groaned, rubbing his forehead. “This is our last customer. Y/N, take care of it.”

She sighed as she walked over them with a smile, grabbing the basket filled with assorted candy canes. She crouched down by the crying girl and held one out for her.

“Hiya! I’m Tinsel. Are those tears I see?”

Taehyung smiled at Y/N and stood up. “Hi Tinsel,” he brought his sister forward. “This is Soyoung. She’s a little scared to see Santa.”

Y/N smiled at her. “Hi, Soyoung. Why are you scared to see Santa?”

 Soyoung sniffled, drying her eyes. She looked at Taehyung as he nodded for her to talk. “He looks scary.”

“Scary?” Y/N gave her another smile. “Santa is the biggest softie. He wouldn’t hurt a fly. Trust me, I know. I work for him.”

“You do?”

“Uh, huh. The reindeer would agree too.”

“I-I don’t know–”

“How about I walk up with you, and we’ll talk to him together. What do you say?”

Soyoung clutched Taehyung’s coat staring at Y/N. “Only if he can come too.”

Y/N nodded. “Of course, your dad can come.”

Taehyung’s cheeks became flushed as Soyoung giggled. “Uh, she’s my little sister.”

Y/N covered her mouth as she got flustered. “Oh, goodness! I’m sorry. I thought–”

He smiled with a boxy grin. “No worries. It happens all the time.”

Y/N held her hand out for Soyoung to take. “Well, Miss Soyoung, let’s see Santa with your big brother.”

Soyoung took Y/N’s hand as shyness took over and walked up the trail to see Santa Claus. Y/N gave Jungkook a nod as if to say, ‘everything is fine’ and stopped in front of Ben.

“Tinsel reporting for duty Santa. I have a new friend who is anxious to see you!”

Ben held his stomach and let out a jolly belly laugh. “Well, hello there!”

Soyoung waved, shuffling her feet. “Hi, Santa.”

“Why don’t you come on up and we can chat?”

The shyness dissipated as she walked closer and stood next to Santa Claus. They chatted animatedly. The smile on her face grew more and more as she leaned over and whispered in his ear.

Taehyung exhaled as he turned to look at Y/N with a smile. “Thank you.”

“It was no trouble,” she answered. “I was happy to help.”

Taehyung stared at her for a moment, blushing. He couldn’t help but notice how cute she looked in the elf costume. He wasn’t one to be awkward; in fact, he was pretty confident in most situations, but being in front of her made him a little infatuated.

“Miss Tinsel?”

Y/N was about to speak up just when a wave of dizziness hit her. Everything went black as she fell backward into the side of the North Pole sign.

“Miss? Miss? Can you hear me?”

Y/N’s eyes fluttered open. As everything began to focus, she could see Ben, Jungkook, Soyoung’s brother and Soyoung standing near her. Y/N tried to stand as Taehyung held his hand up to stop her. “Don’t move; you might have hit your head during your fall.”

“I’m fine,” she said as her cheeks warmed. She hated having them fuss over her. Besides the slight bump she could feel forming, Y/N felt fine. Jungkook glanced at Ben nervously. “Should we call an ambulance?”

“Guys, I’m fine. Seriously. I think I’m just dehydrated,” she rambled.

Taehyung shook his head. “We need to be sure.”

Jungkook went off to grab his phone and make the call. Y/N sighed as she still laid on the ground. Taehyung noticed how uncomfortable she looked and helped her up to lean against the stairs. “Santa, can we get her some water?”

Ben nodded as he walked away. Soyoung sat next to them, the worry crossing her face. “Is Tinsel going to be okay?”

“Of course, I am Soyoung. Just felt a little dizzy. Even elves get hurt sometimes,” she reassured the little girl. Soyoung seemed alright with the explanation and sat there in silence. 

Soon enough, Jungkook came back with two EMTs in tow, and Taehyung pulled Soyoung back to give them room. They checked her vitals, stating she was a little overheated and dehydrated. They gave her a sports drink to replenish her electrolytes and told her to take it easy.

Taehyung watched from afar with Soyoung, still concerned. Soyoung glanced from her brother to the elf and pulled on his coat sleeve. “TaeTae?”

“Yes, Soyoung?”

“Do you want to know what I asked Santa for?”

Taehyung peered down at her curiously. “What?”

“I asked for you to meet someone pretty and nice,” she whispered.

Taehyung felt his heartache. “Soyoung–”

“I-I know you get lonely sometimes. I just didn’t want to see you sad anymore.”

Taehyung wrapped his sister in a hug. “You’re the sweetest little sister.” He grabbed her hand and walked over to Y/N. He stopped a few steps away and turned to Soyoung. “Wait here for a moment, okay?”

Soyoung bobbed her head up and down as Taehyung stepped forward.

“Miss Tinsel?”

Y/N sat up from the stretcher as her eyes rounded. He was still here. She wrapped her hair around her ear, having removed the elf hat, and smiled. “Uh, hi there. You can just call me Y/N. Tinsel retired for the night.”

They shared a laugh for a moment. “Well then, Y/N. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Kim Taehyung.” He returned the smile, tucking his hands in his pockets. “Some way to end a shift.”

Y/N nodded in agreement. “I’ll say. My life’s filled with never-ending incidents.”

Visibly nervous, Taehyung scratched his nose. “I don’t usually do this, but...uh, you’re probably the cutest elf I’ve ever met. Um…would you like to go out sometime?”

Y/N, taken aback, stared for a moment. She recovered, feeling a bit bashful. Though the pain of her recent breakup still lingered, she gave him a genuine smile. 

“As much as I’d love to, I just got out of a breakup...more like today, but I wouldn’t say no to getting drinks, maybe coffee?”

Taehyung grinned. It wasn’t a complete rejection, but something. “Of course.” He pulled out his phone as Y/N typed her number into the contacts. He smiled, placing it back into his pocket. “Until then, I wish you a merry Christmas, Y/N.”

“Merry Christmas to you too, Taehyung.”

[sugarbabywenkexing]

@lan-xichens​ march gif challenges

Week 1:  Use a base GIF and edit it the way you like

I love making gifs really bright and vibrant! I don’t have a base PSD, but I do have a standard set of layers I tend to start with on all my gifs:

Levels: use the black and white colour pickers to add more light and do some colour balancing

Selective Colour: +10 in the blacks to add some contrast

Brightness/Contrast: +5 brightness, +20 contrast

Exposure: +0.2, again to get some more light in

Vibrance/Saturation: +100 vibrance

From here if there’s still a tint I throw in a colour balance layer between the exposure and vibrance layers and fiddle with the settings until it looks more natural. This time I didn’t need one (the joys of outdoor daylight!) but I did use a red selective colour layer to calm down the skin tone.

Now I’ve got a gif that looks pretty good, but I wanted the colours to really pop, so I threw in a pile of different selective colour layers to really saturate the cyans and greens in the background and play with a few other colours.

Here’s a process gif:

[lovestory]

I've had a few requests so here is a basic tutorial on a method you can use to color your gifs.

Start off with a high quality video as the better the quality, the easier the colors are to manipulate. sharemania.us is a great resource for taylor videos. If you’re unfamiliar with the process of creating gifs, I recommend this tutorial by @tayorswift​ - this is exactly what I do. 

I use CS5 Portable. All adjustments are made by adding adjustment layers - layer > new adjustment layer in the top panel.

I’m starting off with this sharpened gif from the You Need To Calm Down video. The first thing I do is use Auto Curves to neutralise things a little

You just click the “auto” button. This is the result.

Next is my favorite part. Adding exposure makes the biggest difference to the gif. I don’t use the offset much, but the first and last settings make all the difference.

This is the result of adding exposure.

Now, I’ll reduce the reds in hue/saturation. I find that this separates the person’s skin tone from the background, making individual colors easier to change.

Add a bit of brightness/contrast using legacy

I like to then add a couple of photo filters. Usually sepia and dark blue.

This is the result of using photo filters. They’re a great way to make the gif look more even. You can experiment with what works best for the colours in your gif - blue works best when it’s overly yellow etc.

Now I’ll add some saturation to the image. I find that adding straight saturation is too strong, so I’ll reduce the vibrance by half of the saturation.

I’ll always add a gradient map, black and white, set to the blending mode “luminosity”, reducing it to around 30%.

Result:

It can sometimes make things look over-contrasted; if so, reduce the contrast a bit (no legacy)

The last step in the base coloring is to neutralise any overwhelming colors. You can use either channel mixer or color balance. Here is an example of color balance.

This has removed the green/yellow from the gif.

Now is the fun part! This gif has a lot of purple that can be manipulated for so many different results. You can use hue/saturation or selective color to do this and make your gif really ‘pop’. Here are some examples of how you can change the gif with these layers.

or a different shade

+ you can combine selective color and hue/saturation layers. the possibilities are endless! the main thing about coloring gifs is whenever you mess around with colours, make sure that you neutralise with other layers.

HERE is the PSD if you’d like to take a look.

[aharris00britney]

ASKS 20

lmao last time i did one of these was February there is a lot

Anonymous said: What's your collab process when you and other creators make packs? Like how do you decide to do it together and how do you split up the ideas and everything?

I’m going to answer another ask outside of this post that details this but I’ll answer this one here too. The way me and ayoshi do packs is not like a usual collab (in my opinion I don’t think people collab like this). I am good at making meshes. So usually I make a mesh for something and ayoshi makes a base texture that I can use to finish the base of the top/bottom and then we work together to fix any texture issues. Nothing we’ve made has ever been 100% mine or 100% his except for the hairs. Sometimes a mesh is easy but the texture requires a lot of work so it’s more work for him, sometimes I decide I want to try and texture something (like with this AxA I made textures for some of the clothes) and then ayoshi will clean the texture up for me and add some shading for me. So it’s a lot different than what I imagine most collabs are. But I love the way me and him work together and the ability to change something I don’t like because it isn’t just his, it’s ours. 

Anonymous said: I'm so excited for your new AxA collab that female hair is stunning!!

Anonymous said: I s2g if it werent for your cc my sims would just have to walk around naked lmao you literally make the game playable for me, so thank you ❤❤❤❤❤

thank you!!! Assuming the 2nd ask is about AxA too because that’s the only time I make clothes lmao. Excited for you guys to see everything this week. 

Anonymous said: Do you know anyone who recolours your hairs? They’re so gorgeous I’d love to see them in more colours! Xx

I usually reblog recolors of my hair at @aharris00britneyrecolors​.

Anonymous said: I'm a sucker for your sim Bella. Every time I see Bella as your hair models, I click and download

Anonymous said: Hi, sorry to bother, are you planning on uploading your Bella Sim Anytime soon? Love your content!

Bella is a queen, she’s a streamer in my game at the AH00B house. I don’t think I’m going to upload my Sims anymore though :( I have a ton of sliders and presets in my game and I have no idea which ones I use. I have 3 of the ones I know I use listed on my resource page but there are so many more and I don’t want to share them and they be broken in peoples games.

Anonymous said: will there be an axa this year im in desperate need of new clothes for my sims :(

I got this a few days ago before the teaser came out which I thought was funny fvghb yes there will be one

@lysssimpatico​ said: I was wondering if you might consider making the Elli hair have ombre accessory options. There aren't any cute curly ponytail ombres anywhere!

I think I tried making an ombre accessory for it when I made the hair and it didn’t fully work with the way I changed the UV maps. I’m sorry :(

Anonymous said: why the HELL is your dog so cute lemme have her please

Right? She’s an angel omg my dad is watching her while my foot heals but I miss her so much fghvbj 

Anonymous said: Your Daphne hair is so cute!!

thank you! 

Anonymous said: I have the feeling everyone knows what kind of Supernatural they would be if they were one, so what's yours?

I think I would want to be a ghost so i could fuck with people ya

Anonymous said: Does the Natilie hair need to be updated?

Nope, all the updated stuff is in my post that lists all the updated content off. Everything on my download page is up to date.

Anonymous said: Hi im just submitting an idea if you want to - i love your melanie hair and i was wondering if its possible to remove the accessory on it? im sorry if im bothering you im new to all this hope you have a nice day!!

hey :) I am pretty sure someone had to have made a hair similar to that already as it’s just the university ponytail with new ponytail on it. If not I could look into doing it sometime in the future. 

Anonymous said:I LOVE U 😍

and i love u

Anonymous said: Do you know if there’s any hair accessories (like ones that change the color of it) that work with your Elli Hair? ❤️

It comes with an accessory that changes the elastic :)

Anonymous said: Hellooo! first of all, how are you? how´s your day? i´m sorry but, do you know if someone makes maxis match hairs based in kpop videos? I´m searching for that bull all i can find is alpha hair and i´m not into alpha cc :( Thank you very much! have a great day!

I’m not sure if there are people that specifically only do that but I think there are a handful of creators that get inspired from kpop/music videos and make hairs similar to that. Cause we use EA meshes most of the time the hairs aren’t going to look exactly like the inspiration though. Like I have two hairs that are based off Go Won from loona (Go Won hair and Kelsey Hair) but i don’t think you can tell that just from looking at them. 

Anonymous said: I downloaded the new version of the sydnie braids but my game says they're corrupted and won't let me play with them in my mods folder

try to redownload and they should work, I haven’t had any other issues. 

Anonymous said: hey, i was just wondering whether you did or are thinking of doing eyelashes at any point

I am not lmao I don’t think I would be able to make my own eyelashes

Anonymous said: you are incredibly prolific. constantly amazed and delighted by your high-quality work. have a good day king

thank you!!!!

Anonymous said: aaaahh I know this is probably a long shot but I was wondering if you had the quartz eyes psd? I've been trying to find it but all of the links I've stumbled onto are dead :( thank you in advance!! ♥️ and no problem if you don't have it or can't share it :)

here is a link to a post that has the PSD

Anonymous said: the mica hair looks so cute 🥺 you’re amazing

thank you! It’s named after the main singer from Magdalena Bay ;n; i love them

@whendowestopcaring​ said: I love, love, love your work!! + your blog, aesthetic, etc. Keep it up!

thank you!!!! pink and blue all the way bb

@marsupialmother​ said: Not an ask, just a comment. All you stuff is so beautiful. Thank you for being such an amazing creator!!!

no, thank you for sending me this! I appreciate it a ton <3 have a wonderful day

Anonymous said: How long have you been creating CCs for?

I recolored a get together cardigan in Dec 2015 and started making hair in November of 2016 to promote Britney Spears lmao. So around 4-5 years. 

Anonymous said: hi!! just wanted to say i love the item index download option! thank you for your awesome cc and organization :)

You’re welcome! item indexes make things so much easier I agree, happy to help simplify things for downloaders. also they look nice so that’s a plus for me. 

Anonymous said: i love your cc, they are really beautiful but can you do more male hair cc? im just asking

I prefer doing female stuff tbh, I feel like I’m better at it and I get more ideas. But i did 4 male hairs in this upcoming AxA 2020 pack and a bunch of male clothes. I’m sorry I can’t do more :( I just don’t get inspired to make much male stuff personally.

Anonymous said: what happened to Ayoshi???

he’s in the basement working on AxA, don’t ask.  he actually just doesn’t like being on Simblr anymore but still likes making CC with me, so we just make cc on call sometimes when we get bored of a game we’re playing. he sends his regards from the basement of AH00B studios <3

Anonymous said: hello i love all your cc and you’re my favorite creator, i have a question, are you planning to make some more clothes anytime soon?

getting these while working on AxA was so funny because there are like 80 new clothes for male/female sims in it and i was like... these people don’t know what they have coming their way. thank you!

Anonymous said: 💃 How you make all your item index for your pack and collab? 💃

I make mine in Word using tables and then save as PDF. Here’s a peak at the AxA 2020 one

Anonymous said: am i on drugs or have u uploaded an eco lifestyle kids dress conversion? i remember seeing it so vividly, (the zip up kids dress), but maybe it was another creator... lol

I think that was from grimcookies! Here is a link to his eco lifestyle add on set that he made. 

Anonymous said: would you happen to know how to get rid of the weird gloss that can be on some cc hairs?

if you download Sims4Studio and open the package you can make the specular blank but that could cause issues in your game if you play on certain graphic settings. So do it with caution. 

Anonymous said: Awww we have very similar life aspirations, I just want a boring/calm life, settle down with a wife (I'm a lesbian) and become an lit teacher.

yup yup boring lifes are where it’s at. Like i just want something simple lmao if I wanted exciting I wouldn’t do teaching. 

Anonymous said: hi! i hope youre doing well! could you please tell me wcif the two toned jeans on the sim in your eco lifestyle addon collection?

They’re in AxA 2020! We have had so much of the stuff done for a while so i’ve been using it in previews for a while lmao. 

Anonymous said: WAIT is the Love Bomb palette named after the Fromis_9 song???

yessss ayoshi is their #1 fan

[bnha-almost-a-hero]

♕⎯⎯༉‧₊˚♡· feel good again.

 psd used: ☄

inspired by these songs: 🎧 & 📼

( ᶜʳᵉᵈⁱᵗ ᵗᵒ ᵗʰᵉ ᶜʰᵃᵈ ⁱⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ᶜᵒᵐᵐᵉⁿᵗˢ ʷʰᵒ ᶜᵃᵐᵉ ᵘᵖ ʷⁱᵗʰ ᵗʰᵉ ⁿᵃᵐᵉ ᶠᵒʳ ᵗʰᵉ ˢᵉʳᶦᵉˢ. )

⠀  ________ SERIES!

⠀⠀┊  ┊ ┊ feel good again.

⠀⠀┊  ┊ ┊MAJOR TRIGGER WARNINGS!

⠀⠀┊  ┊  ✧ mental illness, past trauma & heavily implied past hospitalization.  

     ┊  ┊ CHARACTER(S)!     

⠀⠀┊ ⊹ ⋆ dabi, reader.

⠀⠀┊. AU!⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

⠀⠀✎ 1930s, crime.⠀ 

                                                      CHAPTER-SPECIFIC TRIGGER WARNINGS!

mentions of electroshock ‘therapy’, mental illness, hallucinations, mentions of death, past trauma, period-typical treatment of the mentally ill & mentions of smoking.

          -`, ✄——————

                                       “i’m trying to hold on to you.”

                                                                                    —————♡⋆.ೃ࿔*                                                            

“did you ever find her again?” 

you can’t bring yourself to look into the shrink’s eyes. mostly because he has none. 

the hollow sheets of glass covering up the bleak, dark holes in his head flash ignominiously. a roll of crushed tobacco lies limply between his fingers. already, you know he’s given up on your case.

it’s in his voice, his slouched demeanour, his furrowed brows and the bottle of golden rum he’s already exhausted in the thirty minutes the session has gone on for. 

it takes a few seconds to process his question and a minute to answer. 

even then, is it really an answer if you simply shake your head?

the psychiatrist scribbles on his notepad, “did you ever find anyone like her?”

this time, you speak—in a shrill, sad voice, “no. no-one will ever be like her.”

the shrink tuts, takes a puff of his cigar and blows out a thick billow of noxious smoke in your direction. you make a show of coughing and turning your cheek away. he doesn’t seem to care.

“well, have you tried to find someone ‘like her’?” the question isn’t particularly offensive, but the condescending wavering of his voice and the rapid gesture of his cigar hand, is starting to—

starting to—

your hand shakes with what your nerves register as anger. it’s the first emotion you’ve felt for months. or has it been? you aren’t quite sure, but there’s no disputing the bubbling acid coursing through your thickening veins.

“no,” you snap tersely, scratching at your wrist, leaving a quaking heat in its wake. “i didn’t need to... i’ve already lost everything.”

what was everything was up to the twisting of your mind.

the puffy gardens of your suburban home could have been the chained-up chicken wire encircling you. the beaming faces of your family could have been the stony loneliness of being, ironically, alone. a well-paying steady job could have been indentured slavery as a quid pro quo for someone’s help.

how do you lose everything?

how do you lose nothing?

you can’t bring yourself to wonder, you can’t bring yourself to think. you’re a spectre following a will-o-wisp through life—caring too much and caring too little, trying to hold yourself together and not caring enough to keep up the front for society.

you don’t have anyone.

nobody cares about you.

“i—i want to stop for today. i really should be going home,” you abruptly murmur, standing up and gathering what little belongings you’ve brought. 

you don’t bother to say goodbye as you shuffle through the door.

the shrink does nothing to stop you.

you wander along the streets, a spectre once more. you feel safe now.

here, nobody cares about you.

but that’s good.

no-one's looking out for you, no-one’s watching, no-one’s judging. 

the wind sweeps against your face as your eyes stop hyper-analysing every bleak detail. the will-o-wisp glows in front of you. the blue light guides you to your home—a shabby, little apartment that was practically falling apart at the seams.  

you barely pay mind when the will-o-wisp turns into a derelict alley. 

nor do you pay any mind to the man with the electrifyingly blue eyes standing at the other end. 

you shimmy into the alleyway, shoulders inches away from the bricks that inclose you. your nose still stings from the shrink’s cigarette and you sniffle, draw your scruffy coat closer and walk on. 

the will-o-wisp soars ahead, then comes to a stop at the end of the alley. 

you don’t notice that either.

you don’t wonder.

you don’t think.

“hey,” 

your eyes dart towards the man, focus suddenly returning to the world. the man’s nothing like the shrink. he’s all skin-and-bones, dressed in an ill-fitting business shirt and slacks and those haunting blue eyes hooded with a dull smarminess.

“you the courier?” he asked, voice cool yet raspy.

you stared at him. your brows furrowed. your lip trembled. 

yakuza. the radio warnings had been enough to scare civilians into avoiding dark alleys and sticking to the main streets. but the will-o-wisp didn’t care about all that.

shame that the spectre did.

“i don’t know what you’re talking about,” you quickly blurt out. 

then, calming yourself, you attempted to wade past him. but he positioned himself to block the alleyway off, trapping you inside. 

your heart thrummed.

yet your brain kicks into action. you swerve around and start to run towards the opposing end. 

you’re free for a moment before two arms dart out to catch you, pressing your body up against the brick wall as his body presses up against you from behind. the air leaves you in an instant, ripe for the yakuza to steal. 

“you don’t know what i’m talking about?” the man asked, gripping your arms behind your back. “then how have you just wandered into yakuza territory, little bird?”

you contemplate screaming, then shoot down the idea as soon as it becomes tangible in your mind. 

you doubt whoever comes will believe the person with the record of ‘unfortunate mishaps’ over what looked to be a calm, suave businessman.

they’d send you back—

back to get a round of fresh jolts—

back to the stone wall with the loquat tree flowering just beyond the chicken wire fence—

“tell me, little bird, what are you doing here?”

and you try to speak, you really do, but a dead man cannot speak. 

and you know, before he even draws a blade, that you are already dead.

[therapardalis]

[Munday Meme from @agentharrisonofshield​.]

14, 5, 17 ------------

14. What is your opinion on formatting, editing and icons within the community? How do you style your own, do they differ from muse to muse?

Formatting ... personally I don’t get the appeal, but that’s OK. As long as I can read what’s in a reply, my partners can knock themselves out if they want.

Same with icons - I use icons for a visual aid to emphasise Thera’s mood, expression or look; whether she’s dressed up nice, working, scruffy, kidding around ... plus 'at a glance’ for what ‘verse the thread is in. So again, I don’t get the idea of having tiny icons with heavy PSDs, but if it makes someone happy, they should go for it. I do have the ‘T’ watermark on mine because I’m almost positive someone started taking them a few years ago. Maybe I was mistaken and I never pursued it, but I’ve used the watermark ever since.

5. What is your least favourite thing about your muse? What makes them difficult to write, or interact with?

Argh, dis bitch! The first layer of the problem is that she is adamant about taking no shit, and I can’t (won’t) bring myself to soften her up to allow things she wouldn’t. I can calm down some of her immediate temper, but not make her back down.

The offshoot of this is that it’s very, very difficult to get her to stay talking to someone who is somehow being a jerk. She’s very much one with the ‘fuck you, I have other places to be’ and will just walk away - which is really awkward when OOCly I need her to stick around so the thread can, you know, continue.

17. Are you confident in sending memes, liking for starters, etc.? Is there anything you’d like your followers to know about your anxiety?

I put up a post a while back that I maybe should find again. It said ‘I am always 99% less chill than I may appear’. I’m much better than I used to be, but I still spend a huge amount of time and stress with overthinking.

It’s less so in established partnerships where I’ve talked to the other mun about exactly this sort of thing, but I am always terrified that I’m being a nuisance. Always. ‘Is this too much?’ ‘Is this too shippy?’ ‘They’re asking for memes but do they actually mean from me?’ Especially if we have a bunch of threads already or I’ve recently sent asks that haven’t been answered and I’m worried that sending more is ‘overloading’ them or being pushy.

Sometimes I push myself up and fake it real good, but take it as read that I’m sitting here like the critter that is way more scared of you than you are of it.

[kthblackpink]

です 💀 ⌗ ⌗ JENNIE & JUNGKOOK ♥︎ 𓄷

N3W P0ST, GUYS !!!﹙🎱﹚ ..·ˊ`·..·

>.< 𝘅𝗼𝘅𝗼 ルールに従う

★⃯ # like or reblog

★⃯ # no need to credit

★⃯ # non-authored psds

★⃯ # we will make a watermark, calm down

★⃯ # icons by (bambi)

─────────────────

愛は愛 ﹙note﹚ 📋 : like two rock brothers !

─────────────────

≡ 𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗦 !! ◗

[voltage-vixen]

A Vow for the Future (Request)

(This is featuring Ayumu Shinonome from HLITF)

“Look out!” Shinonome yelled, while tackling MC down to the ground and taking cover under the desk in the room.

The two were on a mission undercover to infiltrate a drug cartel. Everything had been going according to the plan, and they were even able to sneak into one of the main dealer’s offices. Shinonome was going to attempt to hack into the laptop to see if they could access a client list. All was going well, until MC unintentionally tripped a hidden alarm, causing the rest of the gang to surround them in the office and discover that they were not trusted allies, but in fact imposters. MC raced to barricade the doors shut, and Shinonome could hear the guns outside being cocked. That’s what lead them to their current predicament, as they both silently prayed that the rest of the PSD would arrive in time to provide the back-up that they desperately needed.

Shinonome held MC tightly in his arms, and he felt the rapid beating of her heart against his chest. He knew she had to be feeling terrified, but he would have never been able to guess based on the look of determination that she wore on her face. One could practically see the wheels spinning in her head, trying to figure out a resolution for the situation they were in. MC’s ambition and determination were just some of the many qualities he loved about her. She had been so absorbed in her brainstorming; MC had just realized that Shinonome had been intensely staring at her. Her hand reached out for his, and she gave him a reassuring squeeze, and flashed him a calming smile. “Don’t be such a scaredy cat,” she teased, “You’re supposed to be the lieutenant here.”

The door began to bang, and the pair knew it was only a matter of time before it was broken down, and they would be forced to face their attackers. They were outnumbered, outpowered, and logistically speaking had the disadvantage. Although neither Shinonome or MC said anything out loud, both were in understanding of how severe the circumstances were, and that this could possibly be the last mission they ever attempt. MC suddenly stood up from the desk and pulled her gun from her holster. “I’m tired of playing defense,” she fumed, “If they want a fight, then let’s give them one.” Shinonome wasn’t quite sure if he should admire her tenacity, or rather scold MC for her stupidity. One thing was for certain-he knew that this was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Whether they had only seconds, or many more fruitful years, Shinonome wanted MC to be his partner for the rest of their lives.

MC was about to charge the door with her gun blazing, until Shinonome yanked her backwards, causing her to stumble into his waiting arms. “Always the klutzy one,” he taunted in hopes of distracting her. She went to protest, but he put one of his fingers to her lips to shush her. “There’s something I need to say,” he nervously gulped, “In case anything happens to us, I want you to know, that you are the one I want buying my peach nectar drinks until I give you permission to stop.” Shinonome hadn’t thought far ahead enough to try and anticipate what her reaction would be, but he certainly wasn’t expecting her to scowl and glare at him. “We’re literally on the verge of getting killed in the line of duty, and you have the audacity to think about pink nectar right now!”

Shinonome stared blankly at her for a few moments, before bursting out into a rage of laughter. MC had no idea that he had been trying to propose to her! “Stop laughing!” MC angrily hissed. After catching his breath, he placed both hands on the side of her face and tugged on her cheeks. “I would have thought a super intelligent detective such as yourself, would realize that I was asking you to marry me.” She gasped, and Shinonome took that as a sign to keep talking. “I know we don’t have much time, but regardless of what happens here today, just know that I promise to love you forever.” Tears had begun to fall from MC’s eyes, and she quickly wiped them away. “I would LOVE to be your wife! Let’s make it out of here together, so we can be together forever!”

They smiled at each other, and swiftly kissed, before returning their focus on the criminals that were continuing to try and barge through the door. Preparing to make their attack, Shinonome and MC heard sirens and yelling echoing throughout the warehouse they were trapped in. “We have the building surrounded! Drop your weapons and get down on the floor!” Ishigami’s voice boomed. MC turned to Shinonome and happily embraced him. “The PSD is here!” Shinonome rolled his eyes and pushed her away from him. “Obviously, I already know that,” he sighed. The truth was that he had been absolutely petrified in fear, when he thought there was even the slightest chance, he would lose MC. Not that he would ever admit that to her of course.

The door was kicked open, and Shinonome had never in his life been happier to see Kaga. “Glad to see you iditots somehow managed to not get killed. Now stop fooling around you morons, and come out here to help us,” he barked before storming off. Shinonome started to follow after Kaga, when he turned around to face MC. “About earlier, I meant every word I said, but we don’t need to make a big deal out of this.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he instantly knew it was too late when he saw the big grin on her face. “It’s not a big deal, it’s a HUGE deal! I’m going to remember this day for the rest of my life,” she chattered in excitement while proceeding to the assist the other PSD officers. He pretended to shake his head in annoyance, but Shinonome was really trying to contain his excitement for their future together.

Feel free to check out my Masterlist!

@agustd54, @rikumorimachisgirl

[wntrsnat]

Trying | Natasha Romanoff x Bucky Barnes

(psd by allscallie on deviantart)

- Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Bucky Barnes 

- Summary: For a first time, Natasha and Bucky are on the mission together. While searching for the files about HYDRA’s bases, they somehow manage to engage into the conversation about love.

- Warnings: None

- Word Count: 2.9k

- A/n: A fanfiction for @softhairbarnes‘ “I love you 3000″ writing challenge. My prompt will be in bold. 

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The air was heavy, filling a dirty basement of HYDRA’s base with an awful scent of chemicals and dust. They seemed to crawl into the lungs further and further with each breath, covering every little bone and area, making it almost impossible to breathe freely. It only seemed like that, in reality, those scents where causing nothing besides feeling of disgust.

Both ex-assassins were covered in cuts and blood from a barbarous fight. Their enemies had appeared right by the door as they were trying to break into the underground laboratory, located in the basement

The fight was brutal. They grabbed any weapons they could get their hands on: guns, knives, tear gas pellets and of course, Bucky’s metal arm, which Natasha had to admit he used rather gracefully along with other weapons.

The metal arm always was a flaw in his eyes; a reminder of winter soldier, a reminder of how many lives he has destroyed, how many sins he carries on his shoulders and how much blood he has spilled, but that ‘flaw’ still was helpful during missions, it was his main and most powerful weapon which always will be with him.

But this fact was not helping and would never help him emotionally.

Everyone in the team understood that. Everyone knew what he went through, but no one besides the Black Widow fully realized and felt every part of his story, and even though she and Bucky basically never talk, she partly knew what he felt after killing so many people, what it’s like to live with that thought and guilt which slowly destroyed you from inside. She has been through something like this too when she joined the SHIELD. After all, don’t forget that once she was the Russian spy and the assassin which has killed thousands of innocent people 

“Barnes, mind stopping looking on the floor and helping me?” the redhead hissed out with unhidden annoyance in her raspy yet soft voice as she opened another cabinet in the desk with small glass bottles of colorful liquids (which were giving out that disgusting scent) on the top, in an attempt to find the file that they needed.

Male’s eyes quickly moved up on the Natasha as she called him out, by that bringing him back to reality.

With apologies, Bucky slowly made his way to her, asking what to do.

“Help with searching for the file which contains data about all HYDRA’s bases” she explained, still kneeling opposite the right part of the desk, pulling out yellow files from the last cabinet and reading each of them. “Go to the left part and search there” she said and glanced upon him, carefully studying his appearance before going back to work.

“I’m not sure that they would save such kind of information in the simple, unprotected cabinets” Bucky stated as he took a few steps forward to the left side of the desk, slightly bending over it and opening the first cabinet.

“I doubt that too”

“Then why are you searching there?”

“Keyword: doubt” Natasha told him and slightly shook her head, glancing over at Bucky once again to check if he started doing his part of the job. “I’m not hundred percent sure and even if I was, we would check everything anyway she explained and watched how he opened one of the yellow files before searching through its papers with a cold, almost blank facial expression. It was a little bit hard for him to read all those things. They reminded him of the past, all the terrible things they forced him to do, dark laboratories in which they were wiping him over and over again, the physical and mental pain which he had to experience and accept.

“S-so, what do all those files contain overall?” He asked her, slightly stuttering as he did not move his gaze from the file. He wanted to know if all files would give him that feeling. Natasha had been searching and reading them for a long time already, so he was sure she knew the answer to the question.

“Mostly they are about laboratories, chemicals, and experiments that they have done with them, but I still hope that there will be at least a little information about bases” she answered and pulled out few of them from the cabinet “For example, this one is about…” she paused as she quickly opened a file to read papers and finish the sentence “About a now closed laboratory in South Carolina”

“South Carolina? Never been there but I’m sure it is a beautiful place” Barnes suddenly said in an attempt to keep talking and distract himself from thoughts about the past which kept floating up in his head more and more as he read papers.

The redhead got a bit ...when her teammate continued to talk in such a casual manner, unrelated to their work. But they were doing a simple task that didn't require much focus, so she didn't mind. Even if she wasn't the most open or talkative person.

“Once, I have been there on a mission. That’s why that laboratory is closed now” she said with the corners of her lips curving into slight smirk at memory of the mission “it was indeed a very beautiful place but unfortunately I did not have time to go on the beach and fully experience its beauty” she said “as they say – зло некогда не спит (evil never sleeps), so I always have to be on guard, no time to relax” she said and put the file back in its place.

“So, you don’t have any day off?” he continued the talk, matching his own tone to hers.

“Nope. No day offs”

“I’m pretty sure that’s illegal” Bucky joked while still doing his work, without even suspecting that Natasha’s gaze was on him the whole time when they were talking.

“Darling, I’m the definition of illegal by itself” she teased back and drew her lower lip between her teeth with the smirk still present on her face.

A small but genuine laugh escaped from his fine, pink lips, leaving a light trace of a smile for the first time in a while.

Seems like talking with her to get distracted from the dark thoughts worked. He would even say – more than worked. He did not expect to enjoy the talk that much.

“Oh, are you?” he continued teasing, refusing to give up “Because you seem pretty innocent to me,” Bucky said, turning his head to her direction with a small devilish smile playing on his lips as he caught her biting her lower lip with a smirk.

“Innocent?” repeated Natasha, raising her eyebrows “Since when is knocking out five men in three minutes – innocence?!” she asked as if she was offended.

“I don’t know. Maybe you knocked them out, out of love?” Bucky said with his tongue running over his lips. Of course, he did not mean what he said. He perfectly remembered how Natasha fought, how violent, fast but graceful and smooth her moves were. He felt like he was fighting alongside her his whole life even though this was their first mission together. He was not surprised that Natasha was great like this, Steve had told him a lot about her, what an amazing fighter and person she was.

“Love? Love is just a pretty lie” she said, meaning it even though her tone did not change.

“Well, I will have to disagree with you there, Ms. Romanoff” Bucky told her, a bit surprised when he understood that Natasha really meant it “Love is a quite real thing” he said, looking into her emerald green eyes for a few seconds before moving his own gaze to the files but still waiting for any kind of answer from her.

“Hmm… I’m not surprised that you disagree, Mr. Barnes” Natasha told, knowing that most of the people believe in it “But I’d be glad to hear what love is in your opinion” she suddenly said without thinking, by surprising not only Bucky but also herself.

“Well… love” he started, glancing down on Natasha before opening the second cabinet “Love is something that we usually believe in by default without acknowledging it,” he said, trying to find the right words “But we know the true taste of love once we fall for someone. Even the word is as magical and mysterious as the feeling by itself: passionate, deep, fiery but yet calming and full of warmth, as if it is a blanket which covers you during cold days but surrounds with care and affection, throws a shade on your past, helps you to accept yourself and deal with inner demons” Bucky said, his voice became softer and softer with each word. He remembered perfectly what it was like to be in love and be loved. After all, he had quite a colorful life before fell down from the train to darkness “trust me on this one: The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return”

“No” Natasha snapped looking upon the male and gently closing the cabinet “Maybe it feels great but in the end they always hurt you” she said and recalled a memory with Bruce Banner in her mind as she stood up “You slowly fall for them, give them little pieces of yourself, show them that you care and love and they seem to return the same feelings but then later they crush your heart in the nastiest, worst way, leaving you alone to fix it by yourself”

“Then they were not right for you” Bucky snapped back, glaring at Nat, his eyes burned with confidence in what he said “The one who truly loves you would never leave you” he said and returned his gaze on files “If they ended things then there was no true love, and it is better to be with a broken heart than in one-sided relationships”

The widow clenched jaw after inhaling the air. She knew there was a piece of truth in his words but from another side – he did not know all ‘events’ that convinced her into this.

“Nothing is eternal, including love,” Natasha said and turned her head to the side to avoid looking on him. Her voice was calm but with a mix of slight coldness “So, why should you let yourself fall for someone if at the end they hurt you anyway?” she asked rhetorically, keeping her gaze away from him.

“and what if they don’t hurt you? What if they promise to never leave and love forever?”

“The promises are nothing but empty, meaningless words thrown into the air”

“They are not”

“They always break them. Don’t lie, Barnes, you have done that too – promised a girl love and happy life together but dumped her on the next day. I have heard that you were ladies’ man back in the forties” she said, mentally slapping him with those words without even moving a single muscle on her face.

His eyebrows snapped together as soon as those words reached his ears. Yes, he was a ladies’ man, a bit of a player, he’d been on numerous amount of dates with different girls, not to even mention his one night stands, but he was always honest and treated women with respect. He was a man of his word, always completing what he has promised, so he would never use such a dirty way of flirting and getting a girl. To say more, he has been only in few relationships, and he never promised them anything if he was not sure in his ability to complete it. 

“I’m not one of those men and never was” Bucky stated, referring to empty promises “No man should do such a thing to a woman,” he said and took a few steps forward to the redhead.

With each step the tension between them was growing. It was either because of Natasha’s cold attitude or slight offense which he faced after her words… or both. It was surprising how joyful talk so quickly turned into this mess which was hard to label.

“And if someone did that to you” he started again, figuring out that Natasha might have gone through tough relationships in the past. After all, she must have a reason to think like that “If you went through empty promises and heartbreak, then they are not worth it” he said, gently sliding his flesh index finger under her chin to move her head to face him once again “But if you never experienced relationships, then it is worth to give a shot for the first time and try” he said, moving away his fingers from her chin and crossing arms as Natasha’s gaze remained cold.

“No,” she told him, still being stubborn about her opinion. She did not want to accept the truth. It was hard. Maybe she got rid of Red Room but the beliefs with which they raised her, stayed with her.

‘You are one of the black widows. You are not supposed to feel love,’ ‘Love is for weak, and you must be strong– old voices echoed through her head, reminding her of the true reason why she did not believe in it, and the reason she later got stronger instead of got destroyed by previously mentioned ‘ex’

“Why?” he asked as he took a few steps towards her, not understanding what or why he was doing that but he knew that he wanted to change her opinion.

“Love is a lie. Love is for children” she repeated once again, finally looking into his eyes, not bothering to take step away

“But deep down, we all are children, are we not?” Bucky told her with his arms still crossed and pressed against his chest “All of us need a bit of affection in our lives”

“Not me”

“How do you know that?”

“Never had a desire” a small lie left her mouth. Of course she had such wish a few times in her lifetime but each of them ended badly.

“I don’t believe you” the soldier said without hesitation, getting closer and closer to Natasha “You can’t tell me you never wanted to even kiss someone” he said, taking a deep breath in “to feel their lips on yours and melt under their touch” he continued, not planning to stop yet “Even if you did not love them. Just wanted to kiss them”

”No. Never”

“Liar” he said almost instantly, getting closer and closer to her, not knowing even by himself what intentions he had, but one thing was for sure - they both forgot about files “You just don’t let yourself feel it”

“What about you, James?” she asked and took step towards him as well. Now they were a few centimeters away from standing chest to chest “You say that I don’t let myself feel such things but you are doing same since returned, are you not?”

Bucky did not answer.

“I was always acting like that towards romances but you…” she started but never finished the sentence. The words faded into the silence which fell between them. 

It did not last long. Bucky broke it soon enough.

“The main difference is – I don’t mind trying”

“Then why don’t you try?”

“You are not going to give up, are you?”

“No”

Her words left him wordless. He did not know what to say to break her. She was stubborn but so was he. Neither of them wanted to give up nor leave without a fight. After all, both of them were soldiers - they were taught to fight until the last drop of blood.

His eyes slowly travelled down to her lips as he stood there for a few more seconds, doubting his actions. She was right, he stopped himself from even thinking about it since he returned. He did not want to hurt someone physically (with the metal arm) or mentally (with his own mental state) but now it was a whole different type of situation.

The soldier took  a step closer to her, closing the gap between their bodies. He could feel her hot breath against his skin, he could feel how tense she was, he could feel the coldness in her…

“What are you doing?” She asked carefully with a whisper as she tried not to touch him.

“Trying” He answered, pressing his lips against hers, tasting blood & dirt along with her strawberry-flavored lipstick as if winter soldier got in the perfect mix with his old days. His heart raced faster with each passing second as he parted her lips using his to slip his tongue inside her mouth and slowly take over the kiss before she could process the situation and act. He expected a push, a slap, a punch or a kick but neither of them happened. At first, he felt how her body tensed more but eventually started to relax. She did not try to break it, but she did not try to kiss him back yet. He was confused, he did not know what she thought and felt, did not know if she enjoyed or hated it... honestly,  he did not know what he felt either. A few seconds passed, neither of them broke the kiss, none of them even tried to do it, instead, he felt how she kissed him back, blending two broken souls into one and shattering the wall of chaos around them. Neither of them understood why they kept kissing but it did not stop them anyway, they paused only when Bucky pulled away for a little bit, only to softly whisper something against her lips

“Never had a desire, huh?”