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#if anyone wants to write a text tutorial on this PLEASE DO
screaminglygay · 7 months
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KINKTOBER day 5
pairing: ghostface! sam carpenter x fem!reader
summary: you and sam are besties, but do you tell each other everything? (what is this? i dunno)
warnings: smut!!!, dom!sam x sub!reader, sam is a big meanie for a little, spanking, degradation, dirty talk, swearing, killing mentioned, tiny bit of knife play, slapping, crying, not proofread, if anything else, let me know - I’ll add it
word count: 4.4k
an: enjoy I guess, let me know your opinions, also thanks for so much support with wanda, tbh I though that it won’t do this great, but it did and all of you are so horny freaks, including myself, but truly I appreciate it!!!💕💕
(italics = your thoughts)
!MDNI!
Enjoy this spooky season and be safe!
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The phone rings again, hidden caller. Picking up a secret number is really not your style. You let it ring, if they truly need you, they will write you a message.
Buzz.
Oh and they do need something important. You take your phone and look at the notification.
Hidden number
8:36PM
Call me ASAP, please! I can´t open the excel!
You calmed down a little bit as it was probably your classmate and accidentaly made their phone number hidden. Taking a deep breath before calling someone was always your go to thing, since the whole situation is very stressfull, you´d much rather write a long paragraph over a text, then just call someone. But since it´s about school, you´re less nervous.
You finger touch the last missed call and it starts to ring, as soon as you see that the other side picked it up, you started to speak.
"Hey! Sorry, I didn´t hear the phone. Anyways what´s going on with that file?" You took your notebook in case you have to make step by step tutorial to your classmate, because it wouldn´t be for the first time.
"No one ever told you lying is bad, (Y/N)?" You didnt recognize the voice, it wasn´t a voice you remember anyone having from your class, or the whole school. It was deep, raspy and mostly scary. You didn´t like horrors very much, but you were positive that you´ll get prank called or jumpscared by some idiot. And here they are, idiot on the line, at least that´s what you think.
"Haha very funny..." You´re mostly annoyed, but there is this side of little you, who is hoping this is truly your idiot classmate and no one else. "Do you wanna help with the sheet or not?"
Long big sigh can be heard on the other side. "And I thought you were a nice girl, (Y/N). Guess I was wrong. Don´t worry, we´ll work on that."
Now your little scary thought became a little bit bigger. You weren´t so sure it was someone you know.
"Who am I speaking with? Sorry, I don´t have your number added." You hoped they would say your name, you would stop panicking and it would be done it two minutes.
"Someone who likes to play games. (Y/N), would you like to play a game?" the raspy voice asked.
"No, thank you." Out of nervousness and mostly fear you hang up. You didn´t even realize until you stoped hearing the rapsy breath. Even if there was a truly a classmate who wanted a help, they shouldn´t prankcall you. Gosh how much you hated these things.
The phone didn´t ring again for quite some time, so you just let it go. Taking a long shower sounded like the best idea now. Out of the closet you took oversized shirt and some shorts and you headed to the bathroom. Doing your usual skin care routine went on automatic and brushing your teeth as well.
Coming back to your room, you notice that you left your closet opened, you sigh and close the door. Being too tired to prepare your clothes for tomorrows school day. As you lay on your bed, you hug your big teddy bear and your eyes immedietly close as you drift to sleep.
...
The next day goes smooth, first lecture was actually really interesting and you didn´t felt tired at all. You had your morning coffee and today was just a good day, you could feel it. You didn´t have those in a while, so it is very welcome.
Second lecture was indeed boring, but at least you know that the human eye blinks an average of 4 200 000 times a year, which is... a new information, that´s for sure. But the professor ended class sooner, so at least you had more time for lunch. And that´s a plus.
As you´re sitting alone, eating your lunch on a bench in a park, where you like to spend your free time between the classes, someone taps on your shoulder.
"Oh hi, Sam!" You smile, seeing your friend always makes your day better. "What are you doing here, I thought you´re working today." You scoop so Sam can sit next to you.
Sam met you when you were running late, literally. You two bumped into each other few months ago and because you spilled your coffee on her, you just had to pay for it somehow. So after you quickly gave her your number and basically sprinted out, Sam made sure you´ll keep your promise. And you did, few days after that you two met again and over a coffee realized how much things you two have in common.
She seemed like a cold and closed of person at first, but she is actually the sweetest teddy bear, as you like to call her for fun. Sam told you many times she hated it, but you made a good points that she is just so sweet, big and you feel safe when you´re around her, just like with teddy bear in your bed. And she was a taller than you, so that´s another point. After few "arguments" she actually let you win, so she is now your big and protective teddy bear.
You two started to hang out more and more, which just confirms your initial click, that Sam felt as soon as she laid her eyes on your sweet and innocent face.
"Well maybe I lied and I wanted to suprise you." Sam answers as she sits next to you.
"I am surprised," you giggle. "I have like a hour and something before my next lecture, so..." You look at your phone.
"Good." Sam smiles and tilts her head, she notices that you´re smiling ear to ear. "What got you smiling like that, (Y/N)?"
"Hm... nothing in particular, but it´s just a good day. And I´m enjoying a every single bit of it." You answer and your cheeks start to hurt a bit from all the smiling, you did in the last 10 minutes.
"Oh, I see. As you should." She nudges your arm with hers. "What are you doing after school?"
"I have to finish some excel to my statistic class, but besides that... nothing." Your thoughts are taking you back to last night and your weird call, with who you thought was your classmate.
Sam notices your smile fading and put her hand on your thigh, something she did pretty often, but it brings you butterflies everytime. "(Y/N)?"
"Hm? Yeah?" Sam just raises her eyebrow. "It´s nothing, I just had this weird person from school call me yesterday and... yeah, it was weird. A stupid prankcall." You roll your eyes.
Sam move her hand on your thigh up and down, trying to sooth you. "What did they say?"
"Just some stupid stuff, like do you want to play a game. Do I look like I want to play a game?" You sigh.
"Depends on the game. Horor game? Probably not. The Sims 4? Absolutely yes." Sam chuckles as you punch her arm.
"Every woman has her needs, mine is playing The Sims. Can you blame me?" You laugh, Sam always helps you with your bad and anxious thoughts.
The rest of your free time you two shared a lots of laughs, smiles and overall a good quality time together. Until you had to go back to your lectures, which made your day a little worse, since you wanted to keep talking to Sam.
...
Few hours later you finally finished all of your lectures for the day. You didn´t have that energy boost as you did this morning, but you´re still in a good mood. So you decided to walk from school back to your dorm. And even if it was October, it was still kinda warm outside so you put some soft music on and decided to walk.
Stepping into your dorm you notice that something is bad, you can´t point a finger on what it is, but the vibe seems off. Shaking off the feeling didn´t help for long, because as soon as you reach for your keys the ligh on the other side of the hall just turn off.
"Shit!" You flinch and your hands start to shake. As you succesfully get inside you lock your door faster than ever.
"Oh my god-" you take a few deep breaths. "It was just a light, (Y/N), everything is good. It was just a light." Mumbling out loud these words, in hopes that it will calm you down.
You turn all of your lights in your home on as a prevention for your mind from creating something that is not there. Lastly you go to your bedroom and open the door, you stop in your track in a moment when your eyes met a tall black figure next to your opened closet.
A cold shivers run down your spine, but with confidence it´s just your mind playing tricks you turn on the light even there.
But that choice just showed you, that this time, it´s not your mind playing tricks, but there is actually someone in your house. A tall black silluete turned into a big person with a black cloak and a white mask, looking like a ghost. You´ve seen this mask many times during Halloween parties. Quickly scanning the person you notice that they´re holding a knife. A knife!
"Oh fuck!" You qiuckly close your bedroom door, hoping you will get more time, but of course you had to lock all of your locks and jumping from a window was not an option since you´re living in the 9th floor.
Shit, shit, shit. Wait... I don´t hear anything.
The only thing that you can hear is your heartbeat, no steps, no breathing, just your heart. Looking back, noticing that the door you slammed shut before are now open again.
Your living in your worst shitty nightmare.
It´s a tap on your shoulder that almost makes you lose it. You let out the most horror scream in your entire life, you didn´t even think you could scream like that. The tall person with ghostface mask is standing right next to you, they shake their head and one of their hands makes it over your mouth to keep you shut. As soon as your bodies hit the floor, which suprisingly didn´t hurt at all due to all the adrenaline you have in you, right now. They pull their knife to your face and slowly slide it across your cheek, not hurting you in any way.
Your breathing gets faster and faster to the moment you feel like you start to hyperventillate.
"Hello, (Y/N). You cut our call last night, so I felt like meeting you in person, again, would help us solve the excel problem. Don´t you think?" It was the same raspy, deep voice you heard yesterday over the phone.
"I- uh s-sure." You nod as you mumble your answer agaist her hand, noting better came to your mind.
"Sure? Now you don´t have a problem with that, but yesterday you cut me off like I was a fucking no one?!" Now you were truly hoping that this is just a nightmare and you will wake up. "Isn´t it fair if i cut you off too? So you would now how it feels?" Their knife is swinging infront of your face again.
"I- No, please, don´t. I- i uh I´m sorry!" You mumble agaist their hand.
The person on top of you just laughs and bring your hand above your head and now you can´t move at all.
"I think it´s fair, you know how shitty I felt? And today you´re doing like nothing happened? Like I was just.. what did you described me as... as a weird person who said stupid stuff?" Their face coming closer to you. "I think it´s fair to show me some fucking respect." you feel a slight sweet cologne coming from that person.
A scent you know very well, It starts with a fresh burst of citrus, like a mandarin. With a little hint of vanilla and amber adds depth and warmth. This scent is a subtle and comforting, like a cherished memory to you. A cherished person, you know too well.
It can´t be...
Your eyes shift, looking over the mask again, your eyes anaylzing from side to side, like you´re trying to read their mind through the eyes on the mask.
They tilt their head again, the knife slowly going away from your face. You hope that what you thing is just a big misunderstanding, it can´t be her. Not your Sam.
"Sammy?" You mumble as their hand is going away from your mouth. Few tears forming in your eyes.
"Oh look at you, you figured it out." She takes her mask of and it was like a bullet straight through your heart. "Now be quiet or I´ll shut you up." She picks you up, like nothing and wallks quickly into your bedroom.
This was not your Sam, not your friend, she look like her, but her actions were the exact opposite of your comfort person.
She throws you at the bed and you´re now laying on your stomach, she comes closer to you again and whispers into your ear.
"Every woman has her needs, mine is playing with you, (Y/N). Can you blame me?" She chuckles as she repeat what you´ve said earlier. "Ass up." She put her hands on your hips and you put your ass up, as she told you. Too scared to do anything else. "Good girl." Sam praises you.
"S-Sam.." you whine out between with your tears streaming down your face.
"Oh shush, did no one told you to speak nicely about your friends? And not talk-" she spanks you, hard, "shit about your friends?" Sam spanks you again, this time it was even harder.
"I´m sorry, Sam- I didn´t-" you try to talk, but it´s hard when your face is burried in the pillows.
"I. Dont. Want. To. Hear. It. Now." Her voice was harsh and so was her hands on your ass with each words she growls into your ear, even when you have your clothes on, it still hurts too much. "Just take what I give you and then we might talk." Without any warning she takes your pants off, slicing your shirt and throwing it away.
"No bra?" Sam laughs. "You went the whole day without a fucking bra, you´re so pathetic, (Y/N)." She runs her knife on your back, she´s doesn´t want to hurt you really, at least not right now. "You did this on purpose? You´re look so innocent, but you´re not so innocent, are you?" Her hands find its way on your tits, she give them a tight squeeze and you can´t help, but let out a big moan.
You like this, which shock you more than the fact, that Samantha Carpenter broke into your house, just to play with you.
Her big strong arms, oh god how much you love her amrs. The way they hold you during your sleepovers, how they caught you everytime you walk into the street without looking both sides, or how they always brought comfort to you. Everytime.
But now? It´s totally different now, at least that´s what you think and Sam noticed that. And she can´t have you be thinking this much, when she wants to have her sweet time with you.
Her hands playing with your nipples, pinching each one very hard for you to come back to her. And you did, you realize just now that you´re not crying anymore, you´re just a moaning mess.
"You´re doing so good, look at you, mi amor, taking all the spanks as a punishment for how mouthy you were." You can sense the smile in her words and it´s like your Sammy is speaking to you, which instantly make your worries go away. Your body relaxes againt her and she can feel it, it´s like a small win for her. "Good, just like that."
You moan once again, it was more a needy moan than anything else. One second you´re on your stomach and the other one, you´re on your back, Sam holding your waist to scoop you closer to herself. She´s still wearing the black cloak, that don´t scare you anymore. If anything it is kinda attractive, that she´s still in her clothes and you´re just in your panties.
Looking at her with needy eyes was something that Sam saw a many times. Begging her to pick you up after school, or give you her hoodie, when you were cold. Or those many times when you cannot reach something, because it was way to high.
But this time you have this spark in your eyes, the good girl was gone, now Sam could really see the needy whore, who hid under the inoccent cover for the whole time. And this time Sam takes this as the ultimate win.
"Please-" you whine.
The most confident smirk appears on Sam´s face as her hands runs down your body, finally kissing your neck. "Please what?" Sam asks you between those sloppy kisses.
You let out another whine.
"I´m letting you speak, if i was you, i´d better use it." She bites your neck, which will definetly make a nasty bruise.
"Use me." Your move your head, so Sam has better acces to your neck.
"Oh wow, such a fitlhy words, for such a pretty little girl." She chuckles as she keep kissing your neck, her hands finding your tits again.
You never knew your nipples were this sensitive, but Sam knows. Of course she does. You feel as her hands are grooping your breasts, but you´re not satysfied, you want to see her, so you tug on her cloak and let out a whine.
"What?" She mumbles agaist your neck and then she pulls away to make eye contact with you.
"I wanna see you." You tug on her cloak again, "please."
Sam without a beat took her cloak off and she was now in her black underwear, sitting on top of you as your eyes wonder. She gives you a little time for checking her out and god you could stare at her for days. The light in your room making her muscles look even sharper, not that she needs it, but you just can´t have enough of her.
"You´re not so sad now, huh?" She smirks again, fuck how much you hated that confident smirk. Without waiting for your actual response, she dive back, her lips on your neck, making sure that after tonight everybody knows who do you belong to.
After a few minutes of Sam being basically a vampire, she starts to kiss her way down, slowly as she stops at your nipples again. Slowly, but hasrshly sucking on them, making sure to keep an eye contact with you. " Keep your eyes at me." You could cum just from watching her.
She treats you like a blank canvas, and as a skilled artist, she must make sure that you are painted with her in the end and with a pleasure you won´t forget.
Her big muscular hands are sliding down your body, pinching your inner thighs to tease you. She knows what you want, but she won´t give in that easily, even when you´re looking at her with those cute and innocent eyes.
Your hands are sliding off your panties, but Sam qiuckly takes your hands. "They are staying on and keep your hands above your head." Her raspy voice sends shivers down your pussy, that is now drenched, because of her touches and skilled movements.
You put your hands back above your head, wiggling a little to show Sam how impatient you are. She just sends you a quick slap on your thigh and you giggle.
Her finger slowly going up and down your clothed pussy, you can already see how wet your panties are and if Sam wasn´t that needy, she would make fun of you. Seeing you like this gives her so much power and let´s be real you are really feeding her ego.
"Sam!" You move your hips up, hoping she will actually do something.
"(Y/N)!" She mocks you with innocent smile on her face.
"Fuck- I need your fucking hands in me or I swear I´m gonna lose it!" You did lose it already.
"You want my fucking hand in you? You like my hands?" Sam whispers.
"I do! So much! I need your big hands in me, please!" You shift towards her again.
"Aww pretty little girl, do you think that your pussy will take my big hands?" Sam´s finger barerly toucing your slit.
"Yes! I can take it!" You think that you will be crying from the frustration.
"Say it."
"My little pussy will take your big fucking fingers! Hands! Whatever you give me, I can take it, Samantha!" You groan.
"Oh you´re using my full name, you really need it, huh?" She smirks again, but your wish is her command and in the end she wants to make you feel good. Pushing your panties to the side, your juices are everywhere and god she loves it.
"Is this for me?" Sam softly asks.
"Only for you." You give her a small smile.
"In that case-" she slides her two fingers in you, slowly pushing in and out. Sam already feels your pussy pulsating and her fingers get almost swallowed by you. "Oh wow, I was so wrong about you and I´m so happy I was." She adds another finger.
You whine, you feel aready so close, your pussy is feeling like it´s on fire, your hips going up and down and Sam´s just enjoying the view. You want more, so you feel like grabing Sam´s hand is a good idea. She raises her eyebrow and slip her fingers out of you.
You whine out, immedietly feeling empty, you feel like you gonna burst out, you really need to cum, but now you lost everything that felt good.
Sam slaps your pussy one time, but damn it´s painful. "I said, keep your hands to yourself." Her fingers slides quickly back into you, both of you know, that you´re very close.
"Ple-" you can´t even finish the word without a moan.
"Go on, scream. I want you to fucking scream my name, mi amor." She uses both of her hands now, one sliding in and out of you and the other one playing with your clit, which is something that gets you over the edge pretty easily.
Your whole body flex under her touch, this is the best release you ever had, it felt better than anything in this world, she definetly know what she´s doing. As you scream her name, Sam slows down her movements, for you to ride it all out, without being too overstimulated.
Sam gives you two kisses on each of your inner thighs and then kiss her way back up. She´s smiling and you are too.
The atmosphere went from being scared of your life to you having THE time of your life.
"There you go, little girl. How are we feeling hm?" Sam whispers into your ear as she wraps her strong hands around you.
"Fucking confused." You let out a small giggle.
"Watch your tone, young lady." Her hand squeezes your wrist.
"I- I´m good. Just... what just happened?" You lean into her.
Sam laughs as you´re confused. "You know I hate Halloween, you scared the living shit out of me with this prank, Sam. If you wanted to... you know, you could´ve just asked. I though you were some murderer!" You lazily mumble as you are half asleep already.
"Yeah and I love Halloween and asking you for a fuck session is not so fun. Me a murderer? Oh please." She kisses your head.
"Hmm.. whatever." You are too tired to have this conversation with her.
As you fall asleep in the arms of Samantha Carpenter you felt happy, today was really a great day.
Sam made sure you were dead asleep before getting up from the bed, but as soon as she did, you instantly start to move in discomfrot. She quickly grab your teddy bear and made you cuddle him instead and her plan worked. Cute smile was on your face again and Sam was glad you had this stuffie here as a replacement for her, when she needs to do her job. She knew you will be overthing when you woke up to an empty bed, so she quickly scribble down a note.
"I´ll call you later, I had to go to work, -s"
She took her knife that was laying on the ground, take on her cloak and last but not least take on her ghostface mask and went to work.
She was never a murderer, she was and still is just a protector. Especially when it comes to you.
Of course you had to call Sam, when you heard the news.
"Hi, how is my sleepyhead?" She chuckles into the phone.
"Hey, um... did you hear the news?" You quickly say to her, as you´re almost out of breath.
"What news?" She asks you.
"There was a murder, someone in a ghostface mask was seen few streets from my dorm. They killed a girl from my statistic class, I mean... I didn´t know her, but it´s still scary." As you say this, goosbumbs appear on your arms.
"Oh shit, that´s... scary even for me. Are you okay?" Sam asks with concern.
"Yeah, I didn´t know her or anything, but it´s crazy. Especially when you can buy the mask anywhere, since you have it too." You ramble over the phone.
"Right. It´s like I killed her, right?" Sam responds.
"Sam, don´t joke about these things. Can you maybe come to mine after work?" You really need her, to protect you and make you feel safe again.
"Give me 15 minutes." And with that Sam hang up. Drove away from the empty parking lot, where she watched your classmate, Tony. She heard a few stories from you, that Tony was being a dick during your presentation and no one can be a dick to you. No one.
And today is Tony’s lucky day, because you need her now and that´s way important. When she´s with you, no one can hurt you.
Only she can and that´s how it should be all the time.
Thank you for reading! Have a great day!!! And tell me what you think<3
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domaystic · 2 months
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It's Domaystic 2024!
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Hello, hello! This is the third year of DOMAYSTIC, a domestic trope based prompt event running in May :D
This is the main post for the event and in the picture above there are the prompts.
They're 31 prompts (no alts this time), but they are also divided in three main categories, which I loosely labelled as "people from everyday life" from 1 to 10; "things from everyday life" from A to J; and "general-container-stuff that can be bent to one's own desires" from roman number I to X. Plus, at the very end, a free choice option (we never had one and the days are not even ahahah).
List of prompts
Category: people from everyday life 01. driver 02. shop assistant 03. plumber 04. public servant 05. teacher 06. receptionist 07. mechanic 08. health professional 09. baker 10. landlord
Category: things from everyday life A. konmari B. me/us time C. shopping points D. odd appliances E. building renovations F. frozen G. memento H. wild animal I. ritual J. dreadful weather
Category: general-container-stuff I. proverb II. tutorial III. poll IV. numbers V. emergency VI. quiz VII. cliché VIII. art IX. official document X. song
* free choice
Guidelines, tags example, AO3 link under the cut!
General rules and guidelines
Domaystic is open to any fandom or original content.
Any kind of media is welcome. You choose your way of expression.
There are no limits/restrictions on how your fill should be.
There’s a total of 31 prompts for 31 days.
To join the event one can do a prompt a day following the list as it is; or following the sequence they prefer; or only the ones of their liking, even just one.
Or, and this is my challenge proposition for anyone who wants to take it: try to combine one prompt from each one of the three categories + the free choice. Which in total would produce 10 fills + 1 if all are done.
Share your work anywhere you want or keep it to yourself, that's fine. If you share it on tumblr and tag this blog, I’ll reblog it.
If you also want to combine these prompts with another fandom event, that's okay.
Domaystic runs actively throughout May; if you join or tag the blog on a later date, that's fine too, I just reblog on a lower pace after May is over.
In case of lengthy posts on tumblr, use the "read more" option: ctrl-shift-k on rich text; [[*MORE*]] on html (remove asterisks)
AO3 collection
The domaystic2024 collection is open from May, 1st: click here - info and prompts are also on the profile page.
Tagging your tumblr post:
Mention the blog in your post @domaystic - tracked tag: #domaystic2024
State the fandom name or if it is original content
State if it is sfw or nsfw
Please, always TAG PROPERLY for any trigger warning. I will base my own reblog on your tags so, please, take even a moment longer to carefully tag it. I hope all participants to stay safe in this event.
Here’s an example:
It took me 2 nights to write this @domaystic, look at my stuff! #domaystic2024 #[fandom name or original content] #[sfw or nsfw] #[trigger warnings that I get from your post] tw
And this is it! For any question, doubt, etc. the askbox is always open :)
Hi @thebigbangblogproject, can you reblog this? Thanks :D
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hamofjustice · 5 months
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y'know, it's funny, from replaying pokemon scarlet / violet basegame, i'm pretty sure if you're not internet poisoned, then one of the most memorable things about nemona could be that she only battles you half or less of the times that she checks in to help you because she wants it to be perfect and fair for you and really doesn't want to annoy you, to the point it almost seems like she's making excuses NOT to battle you, not that she's a wild dog that's stalking you and will not leave you alone. one of her earliest character establishing moments is looking directly into the camera with puppy dog eyes and apologizing profusely for wanting a rematch because she had fun
she's in the gyms because she's also doing the gyms! she gets really embarrassed that it looks like she's following you around and decides not to battle you to prove she's not! if she is, she's probably following you because geeta asked her to, and clavell literally said she should take you under her wing! she usually gives you advance warning that she's going to be taking you on soon!
in particular, once you're out of the tutorial she talks to and helps you without battling you for the first three badges of her own questline
it's always, like, clavell and geeta being like 'smh get a load of this girl, she needs to back off, who does she think she is, gary oak?' with their body language. the "oops, nemona didn't realize that cutscene didn't heal you" thing the game keeps doing feels kinda forced.
maybe it's just pokemon writing being what it is (i really don't know why they act like she'd use her champion team against your starter, she just picked a starter, what are you talking about. make her look overeager in a way that makes sense with her character or anyone over the age of 5 please) but the way nemona actually is not matching the way everyone talks about her seems to be a thing in universe and out, and i want to remember this rather than fall into a telephone game of what the plot actually was
if anything, I wish she was less afraid to annoy the player, and more present in the game! y'know, appearing in the sidelines during gym battles with the rest of the crowd rather than the text simply saying she was, for example
idk, I wonder if things would be different if the most vocal pokemon "fans" didn't hate characters interacting with them. maybe I want a brock and misty with me the whole game. maybe biri biri and after the rain are the experience I want
acting like the character who puts our enjoyment above her own and is afraid to annoy us still annoyed us is how we get a DLC that never mentions her or the other main characters of the story in 9 months of promotional materials and, maybe someday, a gen 10 with no friends at all.
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weepingfromacedartree · 10 months
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Surviving the AO3 Drought
Hi friends!
We're coming up on almost an entire day of AO3 being down. Since I'm sure most of you are like me and going insaneee with the blackout, I wanted to share this incredibly ROUGH draft of chap 1 of my current Polin WIP for anyone desperate for content.
A few warnings:
This fic is nowhere NEAR being done (emphasis on this being a ROUGH draft). It will most likely be a few months until I start posting the finished chapters.
This chapter (and the fic in general) deals with issues like grief and neglectful parenting, so TW for anyone who might not want to read about that.
Most of this chapter depicts Penelope and Colin as children. It was annoying to write. Might be annoying to read. I promise, they're teens/adults in all future chapters.
I do not condone children taking in stray cats and keeping them as pets. This fic is not meant to be a tutorial of any sort.
Ok if I didn't scare you off... please enjoy!!
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Chapter 1: First Pet
Today: April 29th, 2023
Relationship Status: Dating (Semi-Secretly)
“Gregory just texted to ask if we’re dating. I didn’t think he had my number.” 
“That little arsehole probably sent it to himself when he stole my phone.”
It’s Saturday. Penelope and Colin are sitting on the floor of his flat, a few containers of chinese food littered between them. It’s not a particularly unusual setting to find either one of them on a Saturday night. However, some things are different now. 
Two weeks ago, they would not have been playing footsie. Not this shamelessly, at least. 
“I assumed that Eloise’s ‘vow of secrecy’ would involve her immediately telling Benedict… And that Benedict would tell Anthony… And that Anthony would tell Kate… But I don’t know how the rumour managed to spread to Cambridge in…” She glances down to her phone again. “Six hours flat.” 
“‘Rumour?’” he echos, a smirk on his face. “Surely, you’re not trying to keep this sordid love affair hidden from me as well.”
“‘Sordid?’ God, Colin. You make us sound so dirty.” She kicks his foot away, turning her attention back to the shrimp fried rice. “And I’m not trying to keep it from anyone. We both knew what would happen the second I told El.” 
“Frankly, I’m surprised Greg didn’t text you sooner.”
Colin tries fixing his attention on the kung pao chicken in hand, but it unsurprisingly wanders. 
“So… What are you gonna tell him?” 
Penelope quirks an eyebrow, a look of uncertainty making a quick appearance on her face. 
“Well… I was going to hold him in suspense a little while longer. Maybe take the ‘no comment’ approach at first. Then — I don’t know — the truth?”
“Which is?”
Colin watches as uncertainty turns to downright confusion. 
“Yes?”
Internally, Penelope wonders if Colin is teasing, or if there has been a miscommunication of monumental proportions between them. The look on his face confounds her, though. Neither option seems to be the correct one. 
“‘Dating’ is a bit too casual a word for us, I think.” 
Penelope’s confusion fades away as a familiar tingling sensation lights up her stomach. 
“It’s only been a week. What do you suggest we call —”
“We should get married.” 
“What!?”
He’s teasing. He’s teasing. He’s —
“I said we should get married.” 
Penelope waits for him to expand on this insane notion, but all she gets is that smug little smirk. 
“Okay. Why?”
“Why does anyone get married?” Colin says matter-of-factly. “I love you. I wish to continue loving you forever and ever. Ergo, marriage.” 
“This isn’t funny.” 
“It wasn’t a joke.”
“It —”
“It was a proposal.”
“Colin.” She uses the sternest voice she can manage to muster up, which happens to be quite shrill at the moment. 
“Pen.” At least he has the decency to drop that stupid smirk. He also drops his kung pao chicken, leaning forward to place a hand on her knee. 
“Just, think about it for a moment. We didn’t meet a week ago, we just finally said the thing we should have told each other a decade ago — at least. I’ve been in love with you forever. ‘Dating’ you just feels like an unnecessary step to the rest of forever.” 
Penelope feels at war with herself. At her core, she is sensible. Logical. Reasonable. She knows — objectively — that skipping straight from friendship to marriage is illogical and senseless. 
But is it truly reasonless?
At her core, Penelope is also a romantic. A willing fool. An idealist against her better judgement. And in her heart, she holds twenty years worth of love for Colin. Would it really be so crazy —
Shaking her head ever so slightly, Penelope tentatively — regretfully — brushes his hand off her knee. At the loss of her touch, Colin’s lip juts out in a pout. 
“People date for a reason. It’s an institution — it has a purpose. It’s like a test run for marriage. Different than friendship. Teaches you different things about a person — things that set you up for a successful lifetime together.” 
“Friendship is not so different than dating. At least, not the way we did it.” 
“Colin —”
“You’re right, Pen. Dating is like a trial period where you decide whether or not the person you love is suitable enough to spend the next lifetime beside. You —”
“Do I really sound that unromantic?” she interrupts. Something about hearing her words on his lips makes them sound so clear. 
Colin laughs. “I think pragmatic is the word you’re looking for. But seriously, can you name a single thing you don’t know or feel unsure about me as a partner, after twenty years of friendship? What’s holding you back, Pen?”
Nothing. That’s the truth. There’s not a single thing about Colin that she feels unsure of. Not anymore.
But still… Even if there love has lasted decades, that sense of assuredness has only existed between them for a week. She’s spent more time wrestling on whether or not to cut bangs (and the answer always ends up being not). 
Still…
“Let’s consult the experts.” His words break her from the daze Penelope hadn’t realised she fell into. In those few measly seconds, Colin’s eyes broke away from hers and has rested on the phone gripped in both of his hands. 
“What are you doing?” she asks him. Her voice sounds far away. 
Colin taps something on his phone, out of view from Penelope’s curious eyes. Then he clears his throat. 
“Ten milestones every couple should celebrate before walking down the aisle,” he reads aloud. “Number One: Your First —”
“What are you doing?” Penelope asks again. This time, a laugh escapes her lips as she does so. Something about the seriousness on Colin’s face reminds her of the absolute absurdity of this situation. That it is a joke, even if it was intended as such. 
“I know you think this is all very funny, but I’m being serious. I know you better than anyone else in the world — you know me better than I know myself! I have loved you more than half my life and spent so much time delaying the inevitable. Why waste any more of our time by ‘dating’ one another? It just seems silly.” 
Colin stops ranting briefly, as if to allow Penelope to get her rebuttal in before he has the chance to make his point. When she stays silent, she can’t help but notice a hint of a smile crawl back up his otherwise serious face. 
“And while I know the romantic in you is buzzing to say yes and run down to city hall right now, I know the realist in you needs some convincing.” He briefly holds up his phone to display the article he pulled up. “So we will go through this list, which details everything you need to accomplish during the dating stage of a relationship. If, at the end, we realise that we checked off every single to-do item while we were still just friends, we will make the reasonable decision to get married.” 
If there’s one thing Charming Colin Bridgerton can do, it’s make a convincing argument. The realistic and romantic on each of Penelope’s shoulders suddenly go quiet.
“And where exactly did you find this scholarly article you are basing such a life-altering decision on?” 
He looks down. 
“TheMarriageExpert.blogspot.com” 
“Colin!” 
“They’re an expert, Pen!” 
After her giggles finally let up, Penelope sighs. He has convinced her to play more tedious games before…
“Fine. You have yourself a deal, Bridgerton. What’s first on that list of yours?” 
Finally, that serious expression on his face drops completely. He grins at her in that way that always makes Penelope’s heart skip a beat. 
“Number One: Your First Pet As a Couple,” he reads aloud. “During the course of your marriage, you and your partner will come to share many things together. Finances, homes, memories, and a million other things you cannot even begin to fathom now. A pet will help you prepare for those shared responsibilities. It will teach you both about the importance of…”
As Colin continues reading, a frown pulls at the tips of Penelope’s lips. When he finishes, she attempts to cover her disappointment with a shallow laugh. 
“Game over, I guess.” 
His eyebrow arches. “Pardon?” 
“We’ve never shared a pet, so…”
Colin’s mouth falls open. He pulls his free hand to his chest, underscoring the aghast look on his face. 
“Pen… Did Mr. Whiskers mean nothing to you?”
-------------------------------------------------------
Twenty Years Earlier: July 21st, 2003
Relationship Status: Sister’s Best Friend // Best Friend’s Brother
How did I get here again?
It’s Monday. The first real day of summer holiday. For most kids, that means the start of freedom. Six weeks of fun, followed by real life crashing down on them when the fall term begins. But for Penelope, it means the loss of structure. For six weeks, it is up to her to determine how — and more importantly, where — she spends her time. 
She didn’t want to spend it at home. Not this morning, at least. So she went to Grosvenor Square. 
At just eight years old, there aren’t many places Penelope can run off to unaccompanied. Even the Square, just two blocks away from her home, is hard to get away with. Her mum only allowed it because she was under the impression that Eloise would be joining her — that between Penelope’s sense and Eloise’s toughness, the two girls would be safe in the nearby park. But when Penelope ran across the street, she learned from Anthony that Eloise was not available for a morning stroll in the square. 
She could have just gone back home, but she really, really didn’t want to. So she went to Grosvenor Square. Alone. 
She was walking around the park, careful not to step on any cracks in the concrete. She moved to the grass when she realised that everyone was walking around her (even for an eight-year-old, her legs are rather short); she did not want to pull too much attention to herself and have someone question where her parents are. 
She was listening. To the birds chirping. To the nearby traffic. Mostly, to the people. 
Two teenagers were fighting. She was mad, he was sorry. She said something about him cheating, but after that, their shouts turned to whispers and Penelope couldn’t make out the rest. She wondered what type of exam he could have cheated on.
A little white dog barked at her. His owner looked apologetic. 
A neighbour of hers walked past her, pushing a stroller. Penelope thought about hiding behind the nearest tree, certain that Mrs. Abernathy would notice her and say something. Thankfully though, the baby started crying and distracted her. 
Just as Penelope was about to turn the corner and listen into the couple’s fight again, she had heard something different. 
“Meow.”
She thought her mind was playing tricks on her, but when she walked over to the nearest bush to investigate, a two giant blue eyes stared back at her. 
Oh, right. 
Penelope looks down at the kitten currently sleeping in her arms. 
He had white fur with little patches of black around his ears and nose. His whiskers were long — so long that they didn’t look like they were placed on the right cat. He was so small and scrawny — Penelope couldn’t tell if he was actually a kitten, or just a cat who spent too much time with too little food in his stomach. 
Without a collar or any family in sight (she had spent over an hour looking for them), Penelope decided to take him home. She spent 20 minutes taking the 10-minute walk home. She slowed her steps. She took unnecessary turns and waited too long before crossing crosswalks. She held the kitten tightly to her chest, shielded slightly by the nest she made out of her yellow cardigan. She practised what she would say to her mum. 
“Penelope. Anne. Featherington. Get that rodent out of my house!” 
It had not gone well. Although, even before she landed back on the front steps of her home, Penelope had suspected that there was nothing she could say that could convince her mum to let them keep him. 
She followed her mother’s instructions, fleeing from her house with the kitten in hand. Penelope didn’t have much of a plan once she hit the pavement outside, but like they so often do, she found her feet walking in the direction of the home across the street. But they stopped before they could reach it. 
Ever since Mr. Bridgerton died last summer, Penelope’s mum had warned her about showing up at their house unannounced. There are eight fatherless children in that house now — the youngest of which never even got to meet her father. They have enough going on as it is. 
They have enough going on as it is, she repeats again and again. 
That’s how she got here. Sitting on the edge of the pavement outside the Bridgerton household, a cat sleeping soundly in her lap. 
“It’s gonna be okay, buddy,” she tells him. She wonders if the kitten can sense the hesitance in her voice. 
Silently, Penelope wonders what the right thing to do is. Where the right place to go is. The first place she thinks of is an animal shelter. Surely, that is the most logical place to bring a lost kitten to. They would know how to take care of him, how to find him a home with people who want him. The only problem is that Penelope does not know of any actual animal shelters in Mayfair.
The second place she thinks of is the fire station down the street. Firefighters save cats, don’t they? Or was that —
“Pen?” 
Colin, her mind registers before she even has the chance to turn around. When she finally does, she attempts to smile, while also shielding the contraband from his view. Colin, in turn, throws her his usual smile — bright and true. The one that always manages to make Penelope’s stomach flip over inside herself. It does so now, even with the fresh sting of disappointment still welling up inside her. 
“Oh, hi. Sorry, I didn’t mean to —” 
“What’s that?” he asks, nodding to the kitten she clearly failed at hiding away from him. Before she has the chance to answer, he sits down beside her on the curb.
“I found him in Grosvenor Square. He was all alone and I didn’t know where else to go…” Her voice trails off, once again contemplating what a responsible person would do next in this situation. 
“You gonna keep him?”
“No.” Disappointment is evident in her voice. “Mum won’t let me. She hates cats.” 
Penelope takes her eyes off the kitten to look up at Colin. While only two years older that her, he stands nearly a head above her (he’s tall for his age — she’s short for her’s). Even sitting, she has to tilt her head up just to look him in the eyes. As usual, his brown mop of a haircut hangs so low that it covers his eyes somewhat, but Penelope can still see the blue-green colour peaking through. She’s always quite liked that colour. 
Colin tilts towards her a few inches, then raises his hand to gently pet the kitten’s head. “I’d take him, but mum and Daph are both allergic.” 
Penelope can feel her eyes go wide. Mr. Bridgerton was allergic to hornets…
“Not that kind of allergic,” he reassures her, seemingly reading her mind. “They won’t, like, die or anything. Their skin will just get all red and scratchy if he gets anywhere near them.” 
“Oh — sorry. I should just go.” Pulling the kitten out of Colin’s grasp, Penelope stands. She starts to turn away from him, but is once again reminded that she has no idea where she is supposed to go. 
“Wait — no. Where are you gonna take him?”
“I don’t know,” she admits. “Where are you supposed to take stray cats?” 
He shrugs. “I dunno.” 
“Okay. I —”
“But I have an idea.” 
꙳ ꙳ ꙳
The Bridgertons live on a gold mine. Metaphorically. Literally, they live on nearly an acre of land in the middle of Mayfair. Their back garden is massive compared to the neighbours that surround them, a feat that is only possible due to the home being passed down from one Bridgerton to the next for so many generations. That’s the same reason Penelope’s family is still able to reside in the house across the street, but their garden is not nearly as sprawling. 
“Where are we going?” 
She and Colin hadn’t gone through his house, rather, they went around it. Now, he leads her towards the very back of the estate, a few steps ahead, one hand on the wall to their left. His index finger traces the cracks between the stones. 
“Have some patience, Pen.” 
“I — I do.” And she does. Usually. Usually, Penelope is a remarkably patient girl. Well-mannered. Quiet. She usually wears those attributes on her shoulders like a uniform. But for some reason, they tend to slip away from her whenever Colin is near. 
Penelope’s eyes flick right, towards Colin’s family home. It seems purposeful, that they’re walking along the shadows of this wall. 
“Is Eloise home yet?” she asks, for no other reason than to fill the silence between them. Usually, Penelope prefers such silence. But not right now. 
“Uh, no. Ben took her into the city for her, uh… Her doctor appointment. They usually don’t get back until supper time.” 
Out of Colin’s view, she nods. For the past year — ever since Mr. Bridgerton died — Eloise has been seeing a doctor in the city pretty regularly. Penelope’s mum told her to never ask any follow up questions about these visits… but silently, she’s always questioned what type of doctor is able to fix an ailment like heartbreak. 
“Are you doing anything for the summer holiday?” she asks, another attempt to just fill the silence. She already knows the answer. They always travel up to Aubrey Hall for at least a week, this time of year. Always. 
“Nah. Just staying here, I guess.” 
“Oh.” Dread appears suddenly and sits heavily in Penelope’s stomach. Mr. Bridgerton died at Aubrey Hall last August. Of course they’re not eager to return.  “Us too.” 
“Cool. I’ll see you around then.”
She feels her cheeks instantly flush. “Yeah. Cool,” she says, hoping her voice does not expose the growing warmth on her skin. 
Without a word, Colin breaks away from the stone wall beside them and walks towards a particularly dense cluster of trees. When Penelope follows, she finds Colin standing next to something she’s never seen before, despite the many years she’s spent playing with Eloise in this yard. It’s a wooden shed of sorts. It’s wide and just about as tall as Penelope. 
“What is that?” 
“Some old shed. I dunno… I think they used to store firewood in here, back in the olden days.” He kicks open the latch with his foot. “Empty now, though. I don’t think anyone else remembers it’s here.” 
“So…” 
“So, your cat could live here.” 
Penelope looks down. At some point in the last few minutes, she had somehow forgotten the kitten held tightly against her chest. She had forgotten her whole point in being here. 
“Oh! Right. That’s, um…” 
She steals another glance at the shed. It certainly does look like it was last used during the “olden times.” 
“That’s really kind. But how would he — how would that work?” 
“We get him a bed, milk, food… Everything a cat needs to survive.”
Penelope’s brow furrows. “Those things cost money…”
Colin shrugs. “I’ll steal a $20 out of Anthony’s wallet.” A smile erupts on his face when he sees shock overtake Penelope’s. He didn’t know a child could open their mouth that wide. “Kidding — I’ll just tell him I’m sad. He’ll probably hand me a $20 and tell me to go fix my feelings with ice cream.” 
“Oh — okay. But…” Her mind stalls, searching for another flaw in his logic to voice aloud. There are just so many to choose from. “Mum always says we can’t get a pet cause they’re too much responsibility. You have to take care of them, feed them, make sure —” 
“Hey — we’re both very responsible people. I help keep Greg alive, and that kid thinks licking an electrical socket is a fun pastime. If I can do that, keeping a cat alive will be nothing.” 
“So we would, um…” She steals another glance at the shed before them. She can’t help but look at it and see a cage. “We would just lock him in there all day?”
“No!” He says quickly, a bit nervously. “We’ll keep the door open — or I could even cut a cat-sized hole in the side. You know, so he can come and go as he pleases.” 
“But if he’s able to leave that easily… Won’t he get lost again?” 
“No. If I know anything about cats, it’s that if you feed them, they’ll always find their way back to you. And since you found him hanging out in Grosvenor Square, clearly he’s an outside cat, not an inside cat.”
Penelope looks down at the kitten again. His attention has turned away from her; his round eyes dart back and forth wildly as he takes in all the space around them.
“I thought only strays went outside.” 
“No. A cat can have a home and not want to stay cooped up in at all day long.” Colin takes another step towards her. He raises his hand and scratches behind the kitten’s ear, who immediately starts purring. “Clearly, this little badass wants to roam free.” 
Yet again, Penelope can feel her cheeks burn pink. She’s lived in London her entire life, she’s heard words far worse than “badass” a million times before — but never from Colin’s lips. In fact, the two of them had never really been alone like this before. He was her best friend’s brother — a friend of sorts, but tangentially so. He was only ever in Penelope’s company through her friendship with Eloise. She isn’t used to having this much of his attention on her. 
“Here.” After what feels like hours, she pulls the kitten away from her chest and nearly shoves him into Colin’s. “He seems to really like you.” 
“Oh — okay.” Unsurprisingly — and annoyingly quickly — the kitten settles into his arms. Clearly, Colin’s natural charm works on animals just as well as it does on people. 
Colin finally takes his eyes off of hers, turning around to show the kitten what could be his new home. With his gaze finally off her, Penelope’s mind flushes with panic. With words she had brushed off just moments before. Colin offering to spend his own money. To cut a hole in the shed. To take care of the cat, himself. 
He has enough going on as it is. 
Penelope looks up to see Colin setting the tiny creature down in the shed. Then, without much thought, she steps forward and takes the kitten in her arms again. 
“I’m sorry, Colin. I didn’t mean to get you wrapped up in this.” She turns away, pulling the kitten closer into her chest.  “I’ll drop him off that the fire —”
“Pen, stop.” His hand falls on her shoulder, then squeezes it once, gently. Although she is not very experienced in receiving such small physical gestures, Penelope can tell that he meant it to be reassuring. “He’ll be fine here, I promise.” 
She turns slowly. His hand drops. By the time they face each other again, her blush has almost abandoned her cheeks. Almost. 
“Are you sure it’s not too much?” 
He laughs. Genuinely. Kindly. Just as he always does. 
“No.” Gently, Colin pulls the kitten out of her arms again. “How could this little guy ever be ‘too much?’” 
Pushing away all thoughts that scream that this is a bad idea, Penelope pushes her shoulders back. She stands tall (metaphorically, of course). 
“I’ll do half the work — at least. I can check on his bowl every morning. Make sure he has water and food and whatever else he needs. Maybe you can do the same at night. And if you ever can’t, just let me know and I’ll help. And if it ever does become too much, I can find him somewhere else to live.” 
When she finally closes her mouth, Colin’s smile returns. Then, he extends his hand towards her. “You got a deal, Featherington.” 
Tentatively, Penelope raises her hand to seal said deal. But before she can make contact, Colin’s hand moves, as if to signal her to “stop.” 
“Once last thing. We should just keep this whole thing between us, or ya know… Anthony will send both me and the cat to the nearest shelter.” 
“Colin! I —” 
“Kidding!” He laughs again, which has a surprisingly good effect on Penelope’s nerves. “But really… It’s simpler if we don’t tell anyone else. Not even Eloise — she can’t keep a secret for her life.” 
She tilts her head again, stealing a not-so-quick glance at his eyes (through the mop of hair still obscuring that blue-green colour). Since as long as she can remember, Penelope has always wanted more of Colin — in some ways that she will not be able to define with words until she is much older. But even at just eight years old, Penelope knows she wants to be around him. She wants his attention. She wants to share a secret with him. Even if she knows it’s a bad idea. 
“Deal.” With that, Penelope shakes Colin’s hand and seals their fate forever. 
꙳ ꙳ ꙳
August 5th, 2003
It turned out to be a rather easy secret to keep. 
Penelope was good at staying unseen — at blending into the shadows. Every morning at approximately 7 AM, she snuck into the Bridgerton back garden. And every morning at approximately 7:10 AM, she snuck out without being noticed by anyone other than Colin. Not that has mum or siblings would bat an eye if they happened to find Penelope back there. Before Edmund died and her own mum warned her to keep herself scarce, there were times that Penelope spent more time at the Bridgertons’ home than her own house. And despite Portia’s warnings, they would gladly invite her inside, any day. 
Colin was also quite good at escaping his family’s notice on his own daily task. Every night around dusk, he would sneak into the kitchen or bathroom, fill an 8-ounce bottle with tap water, then hide it in the front pocket of whatever hoodie he happened to be wearing that day. They kept the cat food in the shed, in a locked container Colin bought at the pet store down the street (with money he had stolen from Anthony’s wallet — although he never admitted that he followed through on the theft “joke” to Penelope). The longer time went on, the less effort he put into sneaking out of the house everyday. The longer time went on, the more obvious it became how easy it is to disappear from a house with nine people. Especially when the one person everyone searches for is no longer around. 
The only conspirator that ever put them at risk of being found out was Mr. Whiskers (a name Colin had thought of, after Penelope complained that they couldn’t just keep calling him “little guy.”). Three times in two weeks, Whiskers had loitered around the Bridgerton’s back steps, meowing for attention. Colin had caught him the first time and shooed him off. Daphne caught him the second time and screamed bloody murder. Anthony caught him the third and nearly called animal control, but thankfully, Benedict had stepped in to tell their older brother to “chill out.” Thankfully, Whiskers seemed wary of coming close to the Bridgerton household after that last encounter. 
A routine formed. Penelope would sneak into the garden in the morning. Colin would sneak out of his home at night. Mr. Whiskers would come and go as he pleased between meals. Their paths rarely cross. Until tonight, when Colin spots someone running towards the back of the garden in the moonlight from his bedroom window. 
Someone quite short. 
Less than five minutes later, Colin runs along the same path — far less cautious than he usually is at dusk. He prays his mum or siblings are not watching out their windows like he was his. That they’re asleep — not pacing circles in their rooms in the middle of the night. He knows the risks are there, but the further his feet carry him, the more faraway they feel.
He hears crying in the distance. Quiet, but persistent.
He sees her before she sees him — sitting criss crossed on the entry of the shed, Mr. Whiskers climbing into her lap tentatively. She does not notice him until he is standing but a few feet away. 
Colin had felt distinctly uneasy since the very moment he spotted her in the back garden. But a wave of fear strikes him cold when their eyes meet. Hers go so wide that he swears he can see the moonlight reflect off of them. She does not immediately speak; even her crying goes silent when she realises she is not alone. 
“Pen, what’s wrong? How can I help?” 
“Noth — nothing.” She sounds scared. At least the fearful look in her eye is somewhat obstructed by nightfall. Her words cut clean through the darkness. 
He steps forward, now standing only inches away from her. Instinctively, his hand raises and gently grips her shoulder. He feels her flinch beneath his touch, but not enough to remove herself from it. 
“Pen, whatever it is, you can tell me. I can help.” 
She averts his gaze, focusing intently on the cat still sitting in her lap.
“It’s nothing, really. I — I just wanted to see Mr. Whiskers for a little bit.” 
Colin doesn’t say anything, too busy internally trying to make sense of the words she spills and the worry in her voice. They do not fit together. 
“I’m sorry,” she continues. She uses the back of her hand to wipe at her nose. “I shouldn’t have — I’ll just go.” 
“Don’t go.” Before Penelope can move, Colin squeezes her shoulder again. His mum does the same thing when he gets so upset and that he needs help calming down. 
Slowly, under Colin’s grasp, Penelope’s shoulders stop heaving. Her breath evens out. She meets his eye again.
“What happened?”
“Honestly, nothing.”
“Pen —”
“Nothing that isn’t, like, normal, I mean.” He does not know what she means. He can’t imagine a single normal thing that would cause someone to run away crying from their home in the middle of the night. Especially someone as small and defenceless as Penelope. 
“Mum and dad were just fighting,” she confesses after realising that Colin’s look of concern will not fade unless she tells him the truth. “A bit louder than usual, I guess. But it’s not like I haven’t heard them fight a million times before.” 
“That’s —” Not normal. But he doesn’t say that. He can’t say that. He’s suddenly — alarmingly — struck by the fact that what he deems “normal” might not be the same for Penelope. That there are “normal” things in his life — all of which came about in the past year — that other people would scoff at and tell him are unimaginable for a kid to deal with at his age. 
That’s not right, would be more accurate. But he doesn’t say that either. Instead, he simply asks: “Do you want to come inside? El is probably asleep, but I could wake her —” 
“No — thank you, but no. I should actually get going.” With that, Penelope slips out of his hold. “Mum will kill me if she realises I slipped out.” She places Mr. Whiskers back in the shed before turning to leave. She takes four steps before Colin finds his voice again.
“You don’t have to do deal with this all by yourself, Pen. I’m here. I want to help.” 
At his words, Penelope goes completely still. Deer-in-deadlights type stillness. Then, before he knows it, she’s walking towards him. 
Her arms wrap around his torso. Her hands land firmly on his spine. Her forehead falls on his shoulder. Without a single thought, his body reacts. His arms wrap around her and his jaw settles on the crown of her head. For a moment, it feels like its just the two of them in the world. Until Colin feels something furry cross his ankle. 
“I guess Whiskers was feeling left out,” he says. Penelope laughs and Colin feels a bit lighter. That lightness is quickly followed by something hollow when Penelope pulls herself out of the hug to pick up the kitten meowing at her feet. 
“He keeps trying to follow me home after breakfast.” She giggles softly. “Clearly, he doesn’t remember meeting my mum, or else he would stay away forever. I think she thought he was a rat that day I found him.” 
Colin chuckles, and it’s only somewhat forced. “Yeah, he tried sneaking into my house a few times. He met Anthony last time, though, and I don’t think he’s ever gonna forget that.”
She giggles again. “Was he mad?” 
“His face was red — literally! Although, I’m starting to think that’s just how is face normally is and that it takes great effort for him to appear like us normal people, if that’s how he reacts to a cute little kitten hanging around our back door.” 
Penelope scratches Whiskers behind his ears. Eyes not leaving the cat, she whispers: “I don’t know how people can see something so sweet and get so mad.” 
Colin’s eyes don’t leave Penelope when he responds, suddenly a bit deflated: “Me neither.” 
Slowly, she lowers Mr. Whiskers back to the ground. The cat does not appear to be very keen on leaving her side just yet, but Penelope still insists: “I should really head back now. Before anyone notices I left.” 
Colin spares a glance over his shoulder, towards the family home he had nearly forgotten about. It’s likely past midnight already, but there are still a few lights on upstairs. 
“Yeah,” he grumbles. “Me too.” 
Penelope nods. She looks like she’s about to turn and leave when Colin blurts out: “You wanna meet here again in the morning? When you feed Whiskers, I mean.” 
She doesn’t immediately respond with words, but rather with a very confused expression lit by the moonlight. “I thought —”
“Our system’s like efficient and all,” he cuts in, “but we haven’t exactly seen each other much since we started taking care of him. I dunno, I guess I just thought that we would hang out more.” 
“Oh!” Her voice registers barely below a squeak. “Yeah. I know what you mean. I…” She pauses so long that Colin wonders if it is his turn to speak again. But right before he can blurt out something again, Penelope says: “I’d like that.” 
For the first time in days, a smile creeps up on Colin’s lips. 
“Cool. See you tomorrow.” 
꙳ ꙳ ꙳
August 14th, 2003
“I’m not sure I understand the rules of this game.”
“It’s our game. The rules can be whatever we want them to be.” 
Penelope stands with the tips of her toes and the palms of her hands pressed neatly against Colin’s matching sets. There’s a piece of cat biscuit placed between her right palm and Colin’s left. There’s a tiny kitten peering up at them from where their shoes connect. He looks just as confused on the parameters of this game as Penelope feels. 
The rules, they eventually settle on, are these: 
Before getting into the aforementioned position, one person briefly presents the biscuit to Mr. Whiskers (taking turns to avoid leading the cat towards favouritism of one player over another).
On the count of three, one person takes the biscuit into their hands, both turn around and run in opposite directions. 
Mr. Whiskers follows whoever he believes holds his treat. 
Penelope ends up with the biscuit three times. Colin ends up with it five times. It falls to the ground between them eleven times. Each time, without fail, Whiskers immediately takes off after Penelope. 
“This isn’t fair!” Colin calls out from behind a tree on their twentieth attempt at this so-called ‘game.’ “It’s not my fault you bonded with him first.” He points a finger at the cat currently pawing at her ankles. “I feed you just as much as she does — traitor!”
“Shhh, Colin!” Penelope whisper-yells. “Someone might hear you.” 
“Oh, who cares?” he says nonchalantly, retreating back towards the shed. 
I care, Penelope thinks. She doesn’t want any one of Colin’s many siblings to stumble upon them back here. She’s not ready to give up this secret. She’s not willing to end this game. Not yet, anyway. 
“Mr. Whiskers cares. I doubt he wants to be evicted from his home just because you’re a sore loser.” She picks the kitten up and plops him down on Colin’s lap, now sitting criss-cross in the shed’s doorway. 
“Well, he should have thought about that before picking sides.” He sticks his tongue out at Mr. Whiskers, who continues to appear unphased by his surroundings. 
Like she has come accustomed to doing over the past two weeks, Penelope sits down on the other end of the shed’s opening. His body is turned towards her, but she keeps her positioned outwards, as if to keep watch. Her legs cross in front of her at the ankles, her nails scratch into the grain beneath her, and, sitting upright, the crown of her head brushes the wood frame. Colin is — obviously — slouched in his spot beside her. 
After a moment of quiet, Colin clears his throat. 
“You know, you can come over for dinner tonight, if you want.” 
“Oh, no. That’s okay,” Penelope says quickly. Dismissively. “Mum will expect me home soon. I think we’re having stew.” 
“Yeah, but what about tomor—” It’s a pretty uncommon occurrence for Penelope to see a blush pass by Colin’s typically unblemished face, but right now, it hits his cheeks in an instant. He turns away. “Well, not tomorrow. Obviously. But another day.”
The mention of tomorrow brings a feverish feeling to Penelope’s chest. Much different than the warm feeling she usually feels in that same spot when she’s around Colin.
“I can’t. I — I don’t want to impose.”
“You wouldn’t.” He finally looks her in the eye again. “You wouldn’t, I promise. When you have eight kids, one more mouth to feed hardly makes a difference.” His eyes travel to the side again. They point towards his house, partially obstructed by the scattering of trees they’ve found themselves in. “El would be happy if you stopped in. Mum too.” 
Penelope tries to push out her mother’s voice from her head when she says: “Yeah. Another day. Soon.” 
“Good.” 
After another moment of quiet, she pushes herself forward and lands with two feet on the grass. 
“I really should head back now, though.” 
“Okay, I’ll —”
“But, Colin?” She interrupts — a truly rare occurrence for Penelope Featherington. 
“Yeah?”
“I was just thinking… Maybe I could feed Mr. Whiskers breakfast and dinner tomorrow. I know we have our system, but… I just — I don’t want you to have to deal with taking care of him on top of any… family stuff.”
Colin, now holding rather tightly onto Mr. Whiskers in his arms, considers her offer for a moment. His brows furrow. His eyes glance downward. He starts forming a word on his lips and Penelope expects to hear the word “no” escape from them shortly after. But instead, he nods and says: “That’s kind of you to offer. Thanks, Pen.”
Kindness isn’t something that Penelope has ever been thanked for before. She had been rewarded for it in other ways, but not like this. Kindness had always been something that was expected, not appreciated. Now, she feels hesitant to accept thanks for something as small as offering up a few minutes of her time for someone who has gone through more grief than she can even imagine. So instead of accepting it outright, she simply nods and says: “Goodnight, Colin.” 
 ꙳ ꙳ ꙳
August 25th, 2003
When Penelope walks towards the shed at approximately 6:55 AM this Monday morning, the door is shut. This is strange. The door is always open. Penelope had convinced Colin not to cut a little cat door on the side of the shed (he had wanted to use a saw from their garage), so the door always has to be open for Whiskers to come and go. Always. 
The closer she gets, the harder it is for her to take another step. Her head is already filled with the image of an empty cavern on the other side of that door. It couldn’t have close on its own; the latch is locked. Someone closed it. 
Just as her hand grazes that metal latch, Penelope hears footsteps. Quick and increasingly loud footsteps. She jumps (literally) around — heart pounding, eyes wide — and sees…
“Colin! Where’s Mr. Whiskers?!
“In there.” He points to the shed behind her, still shut tight. Once he gets close enough, he reaches over he shoulder and finally undoes the latch. Just as promised, the cat is there, curiously looking up at them.
“He keeps trying to follow me back into the house after I feed him. Last night, he was scratching at the back door. Thank God I got to him before Anthony.” 
“So he was just locked in there all night?” 
She spares another sideways glance at the shed’s interior. It’s not nearly as bare as it had been that first day she looked inside. There’s two containers. Two bowls. Two electric lanterns. A blanket. A few cat toys. And a few human toys she assumes once belonged to Colin. To an animal as tiny as Mr. Whiskers, it might seem huge, but to Penelope, it all feels very claustrophobic. 
“Yeah, but… Sometimes it’s just safer to stay put for a little while. Even outdoor cats need to be reigned in some nights.” 
Penelope doesn’t know whether to agree or disagree with his words, so she tries her best to ignore them. She climbs into the shed, gives Whiskers an affectionate bop on the head, then fills his bowl with breakfast. 
“I wanted to wake up early and let him out, but… I guess I slept in.” Colin’s out of her view, still standing just outside the shed, but she can guess there’s a guilty look creeping up on his face. 
“You’re not wrong,” she finally settles on. When Whiskers finishes his meal, she finally looks back to Colin. Just as expected, guilt is evident on his face. “But maybe Mr. Whiskers isn’t an outside cat after all. Maybe that’s why he keeps trying to follow us back to our own homes.” 
“I thought that was just because he loves us.” Leave it to Colin Bridgerton to transform guilt into charm in under 30 seconds. 
“Well…” Penelope turns back to Mr. Whiskers again. As usual, he’s peering up at them with a transfixed — maybe even loving — stare. “Maybe you have a point.” 
“I usually do —” 
“But still — do you really think this is what’s best for him?” 
“What do you mean?” 
“I mean…”
She bites her tongue — literally. All of this started because of her own selfish wants. To keep the cat. To occupy Colin’s attention. To have a reason to get out of her house every morning. But the more time has gone on, the harder it has become to see past the potential consequences of her selfishness.
“Summer’s almost over. We have to go back to school and can’t look out for him all day. It’s gonna get cold soon…” Colin’s face looks serious now. More serious than she’s used to seeing it. She looks away. “What if he gets sick? Or needs a vet? I just don’t know if this is really his best option.”
Penelope points both hands towards the shed. Towards the small wooden structure that completely transformed her summer. Towards the only home Mr. Whiskers has ever known — dim and claustrophobic as it may be. She expects Colin’s eyes to follow her lead, but they don’t. For a moment, it feels as though her presence completely slips from his view. His eyes are fixated on something in the distance — something in the opposite direction. Then —
“Shite!” 
His arms hastily wrap around Penelope’s waist. It takes everything in her not to shriek in surprise as he practically throws her into the shed. Thankfully, Mr. Whiskers jumps from the doorway to the back of the shed in an instant, or else she surely would have crushed him on impact. 
“Colin! What —”
“Shh!” Colin climbs in and shuts the door behind him. Thank God those electric lamps are still (just barely) holding onto life and dimly illuminating the space, or else Penelope would not have been able to discern him mouth: “Anthony.” 
The tips of their toes touch in the limited space. Penelope wonders if he can feel her shaking through the plastic tips of her yellow converse. The concerned look he throws her way tells her that he must.
“You okay?” he mouths. 
She thinks about nodding. She briefly wonders if a nod can count as a lie, or if lies can only be spoken aloud. But she doesn’t do anything, except stay frozen in her spot. 
Everything is quiet. For a brief moment, Penelope thinks they may have actually gone unnoticed. Then, she remembers that the latch — the flimsy piece of metal that keeps these doors shut — is on the other side. When Mr. Whiskers paws at the wood beams, the door swings open. The morning light nearly blinds her, but not enough to miss Anthony Bridgerton’s very mad — very red — face. 
“Colin — what the hell?!” 
Just as Colin had thrown her into of the shed mere moments ago, Anthony now pulls Penelope out of it by the shoulders. Just like Whiskers, she somehow manages to land on her feet. 
“I knew it! I knew you were irresponsible, but this —” He bends down and grabs Whiskers by the scruff of his neck. “This is insane. Even for you.” 
Anthony turns to Penelope, as if he has only just now discovered her presence beside Colin. In mere seconds, she watches his face turn from anger to shock to annoyance. He turns to his little brother again. 
“I will be the responsible adult and make sure this — thing — finds an actual home and doesn’t continue living on the streets.” With a near-growl caught in his throat, Anthony tells Colin: “We will discuss this later.” 
He turns to leave, but stops. “And Colin, do not mention this to mum. Or anyone else.” 
He starts then stops again. “And Penelope, please do not let my brother’s bad influence rub off on you. A nice girl like you has enough trouble as it is being friends with Eloise.” 
It isn’t until Anthony has properly stomped away, Mr. Whiskers securely tucked in his arms, that Penelope seems to regain control of her body and mind. Slowly, she turns towards Colin. She uses every second between then and the moment she looks him in the eye to begin preparing an apology. For getting him in trouble with his brother. For getting him caught up in this mess to start with. For being a bad friend. But the moment that their eyes meet… Colin does not look like he is expecting an apology of any sort. 
He laughs. 
“Did you see the look on his face?!” 
“Uhh. I don’t —” 
 “He looked like a tomato! I swear one day he’s gonna burst and —”
“Colin,” she says, concern in her voice, too low to break through the noise of his continued laughter.
“— marina sauce is gonna go flying —”
“Colin!” she says again, a bit louder this time. Thankfully, it seems to get his attention. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have —”
“Oh god, Pen. Don’t be sorry.” 
“But —” 
“But your — your brother —”
“I should be apologising for Ant— even if you and him were both right about Whiskers needing somewhere else to live.”
“Yeah…” As much as she will miss her tiny, furry friend, this is for the best. For Whiskers, at least. “But Anthony was so mad at you. And I —”
“He’ll get over it. That’s the great thing about having seven siblings — wait five minutes and someone will do something even stupider than you. Daph and El are probably inside getting into a fist fight as we speak.” 
The mention of her best friend temporarily draws Penelope’s thoughts away from her internal pity party. She saw Eloise plenty of times over the past few weeks, but not nearly as much as she did during previous summer breaks. Before last August. 
“You wanna come over for dinner tonight?” Colin asks, breaking her from her thought spiral.
“Hmm?”
“I said,” he smirks, “do you want to come over for dinner tonight?” 
“I don’t know… Anthony seemed —”
“Don’t worry about Anthony. He’ll get over it — and you heard him, he’s not even going to rat us out to my mum.” He takes a step forward, then places his hand on Penelope’s shoulder. He squeezes it once. “It’ll be fun. Everyone will be excited to see you.” 
Not for the first time — and certainly not the last — Penelope feels at a loss for words. All she can manage is a tiny nod. A nearly imperceptible movement. 
Colin smiles. 
“Good. Just so you know, the door is always open. Always.” 
Finally, little Penelope Featherington finds her voice again. 
“I know.” 
-------------------------------------------------------
Penelope tries to hide the smile on her lips by shoving another fork full of shrimp fried rice into her mouth. Colin — of course — sees right through her attempt. 
“So…” 
“Anthony was right. We were awfully irresponsible that summer. He was better off after Danbury took him in and he became Lord Whiskers.”
“Hey — give us a little credit! How many 8 or 10-year-olds do you know who could keep a cat alive for a summer all by themselves?” 
“The only impressive thing we did that summer was keeping our little secret hidden from the rest of your family.” 
“What are you talking about?!” Colin says, unable to keep his ever-charming laugh from escaping his throat as he speaks. “Do not downplay our role in raising that cat. You rescued him from the mean streets of London. I —”
“I found him hiding out in a bush in Grosvenor Square!”
“Exactly! And I —” 
“Colin!”
“I built him a home,” he barely manages to get out through his laughter.
“That’s a bit over-dra—”
“We fed and took care of him for over a month. We were just kids — that’s pretty impressive. That means something.”
In her heart, Penelope knows that — obviously — it means something. But does it mean what Colin wants it to mean? That they should get married? Even with the rules he set forth, it seems like an insane connection to even consider.
“I don’t know…” 
“For five weeks, he was ours. That means a lot.”
For a moment, Penelope does consider it. She thinks about who Colin was to her before she found Mr. Whiskers. A friend — of sorts. Her best friend’s brother. A neighbour. A crush. Someone she looked at and longed for. After, she thinks of who Colin was to her on that morning Anthony found them hiding out in that tiny wooden shed. A friend. A fellow kid. A conspirator. Someone who saw her cowering in the dark and asked if she was okay. 
So what, if their hypothetical marriage hinges on a technicality? People have married on flimsier grounds before. 
“Fine,” she relents. “It counts.” 
A moment ago, she wouldn’t have thought it possible, but Colin’s grin grows even wider. 
“Of course it does.” As Penelope attempts to cover her own grin with a scoff, Colin picks up his phone again.
“Let’s see…”
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heck yes I wanna play!!! how about wound + a smutty vibe? with anyone you want my angel 💕
Sweet Anon! This was the perfect thing to get me out of my writing slump. I hope you like it. 😘
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“Motherfucker.” The sigh you expel lasts the precise length of time it takes for an entire roll of gauze to unspool at your feet. Marc, the cocky bastard, had made bandaging himself look so easy that when he’d offered to take a look at your scraped up arm, you’d waved him off with overly confident assurances that you had things completely under control. He’d shrugged and headed for the shower.
By the time the shower turns off and he emerges from the steamed up bathroom with a call of “Your turn,” you’ve at least gotten as far as winding some of the bandage around your upper arm before it slithers away again.
With another sigh you turn to him, defeated. “I give up! I am succumbing to my mortal wounds. Please doc, patch a girl up?” You expect him to roll his eyes, maybe make some smart-mouthed remark while he reaches for the gauze with a “told you so” gleam in his eyes. Instead, concern flickers over his features and his dark eyebrows draw together as he sprints to your side.
“Oh love, what happened? Here, let me see.” Steven’s fingers are gentle against your skin as he takes your arm, turning it this way and that to assess the damage. Those same hands that you saw pulled into fists and gripping a gun barely an hour ago seem utterly transformed. Strange to think that these killers’ hands are the same ones that drift so carefully over ancient texts, that coax you awake so many mornings, that hold your hand and stir your tea that he makes, just the way you like it…
You’re so busy marveling at the thousands of minute differences between the two men you’ve come to love that you fail to answer. Worried, Steven tilts your chin up and peers at you. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” you promise. “Just a few scrapes, barely worth wrapping.”
The silent arch of Steven eyebrow is so dryly academic you wonder if he’d practiced in a mirror and have to stifle a giggle. You reach for the unspooled bandage but he slaps your hand aside, muttering something about “action hero types” and “bad influences.” He unwraps some gauze that isn’t covered in carpet lint and pulls you close to his side on the couch, an expression of intense concentration on his handsome face.
“Hold still, I’ll get you fixed up in a jiff, yeah?”
Figuring he won’t take no for an answer, you resign yourself to his careful ministrations. If nothing else, it’s impossible to resist him like this. There’s something about him fresh out of the shower that drives you wild. His skin scrubbed clean, the woodsy scent of his shampoo, the way his damp curls just beg to be touched. You lean into the warmth of his bare chest and try to focus on what he’s doing lest you be tempted to tug his towel aside and get your mouth on him.
For a man who spends nearly all his time buried in books, he’s surprisingly nimble at first aid, as though he’s been preparing for just such an eventuality. You realize with a start that he might have done exactly that once you started joining Marc on missions. You can picture it so easily: Steven hunched in front of YouTube tutorials on triage and wound care, pausing and taking notes, knowing one day you might be hurt and not wanting to be caught unprepared.
The thought of him planning ahead for you that way, the amount of care and… love - it takes your breath away.
Glancing up from the clever knot Steven’s just tied, he asks “Too tight? I haven’t really done this before, so it might not be quite, exactly right…”
You extract yourself from his easy hold but cut off his protests that he wants to check his work one more time by leaning in and kissing him on the mouth.
“It’s perfect,” you tell him when you finally come up for air.
“Yeah?” Looking pleased, if slightly dazed, Steven tries one more time to ask “Are you sure you’re alright?”
“I’m fine.” You thread your fingers through his hair and nip at his bottom lip until he groans. “See? All fixed up. Now let me take you to bed because otherwise I swear to whatever gods you’re researching this week Steven, I will fuck you right here on this couch.”
He grins. “You know, I do have my PhD.” When you look at him quizzically his grin widens at his own cleverness. “If I’d known you liked playing doctor this much I would have reminded you of it sooner.”
“You’re such a fucking nerd.” You groan affectionately and clamber into his lap, all thoughts of first aid forgotten as you bend to kiss him. As it happens, neither of you mind that you don’t make it off the couch.
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fereldanwench · 1 year
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So I've been kind of wondering for the past couple of months if doing a revamp of my posing/photomode guide for AMM would still be a worthwhile endeavor.
One of the main reasons I made it was because back in the day, posing NPCs (especially any that didn't have the generic male locomotion) was not the most straightforward thing to do, to say the least. But when AMM got the major update that had poses built into the menu, I wasn't sure if it would really be needed in the same way, which put it pretty low on my list of priorities.*
*That guide was also very time-consuming to put together, and while I was happy to do it because I like sharing and organizing information, the main reason I was able to dedicate so much time to it was because I was unemployed. Which, both thankfully and regrettably (lmao), I haven't been for a year.
There are still some quirks with how poses work in AMM (like the way the poses reset if you unfreeze or move a character), but my guess is that it's probably a lot more accessible and a lot less confusing now than a year ago.
I think the support and development for PMU have also done a lot to make posing/expressions (especially for V) way easier than it was in the past.
But it's possible that all of this just seems so much easier to me because I've also been at it for a while now. I don't really feel like I have as much of a beat on where folks, especially newcomers, are with this stuff anymore--Maybe it still feels really overwhelming and incomprehensible.
So, to get to my point: would folks find an update/revamp of that guide beneficial?
I think if I did do one, I would probably streamline it a lot--It would probably just be a refreshed version of the little practice scene to use some spawned NPCs, lights, and maybe a decor item; I think that was what most people used in the current guide anyway. I wouldn't go through explaining how to install AMM, each menu tab in detail, locomotion stuff, etc.
I've also kind of gone back and forth on doing a couple of video tutorials. They'd be a lot easier and quicker for me than writing out step-by-step instructions. But, I know for me personally when I'm learning new processes and software and whatnot, I prefer text over video--Not sure if I'm the minority here.
Poll here for quick feedback, but if anyone wants to share any specific thoughts, questions, struggles, etc., feel free to reblog/comment to do so. (I might not respond to everyone, but I'll definitely read any feedback.)
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awnowimsad · 10 months
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Hi I know you're aroace and aroallo blinkies are about a year old but can you please make an oriented aroace one or at least tell me how I can make one on my android phone?
Hi!! thanks for asking! even tho I haven't posted blinkies in a while it's no problem at all! I made these, I hope you like them! <3
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I included the original ones and 3x upscaled ones. Also blank templates if you want to put custom text in them.
Also! I can't really make a proper tutorial rn, but if you or anyone else want to make blinkies on an android I'll still explain how I made it! I actually make blinkies on my pc, but everything can be done on android, too. (under a cut because wrote a bit much)
First you'd need a digital art app that supports layers (so most of them.) I use ibisPaint x which works fine. (though if you want to use it for blinkies or anything like pixel art you should go to the settings and disable "interpolation on zoom-in"!)
Make a canvas that is 150 x 20 px, and then make your background. In this case that was four 5px tall stripes.
Then for the actual blinking part! blinkie patterns are varied ofc but often for the simple ones I'll just copy them from a different blinkie. This one uses a simple pattern based on the pride blinkies from blinkies.cafe. I just changed it so the bottom "stripe" wasn't aligned with the top one, because then the blinkie would be asymmetrical, I prefer it this way.
For the flowing colors animation, you'll need as many frames as there are colors, so 4 in this case. Make the first frame on one layer then make the following frames, each on its own layer, however you want - by drawing them again or copying the previous one and editing it, whatever.
Then save each frame of the blinkie as a .png and plop them all in order in Ezgif gif maker. Change the delay time to 10 (or something like 8 or 12 depending on how you want it). And voila, a blinkie template.
The text! I'll confess for these ones I just made blinkies.cafe blinkies and removed the background. My art program of choice does NOT like pixel text so sometimes it's easier that way.
Anyway! The text! Write something on your canvas, either by hand lettering or with the text option. ibispaint x has some pixel fonts built in you can use.
You can save the individual frames with the text on it, but then you'd have to do it all again if you wanted different text. I prefer making the blank template like I explained.
So you should make the text look how you'd like it to look in the blinkie, and then save the text as a .png with a transparent background. Then go to Ezgif again and use the overlay tool to add your text! And it's done! Hooray!
Of course, if you wanted to add stuff like animated text it'd be more comlicated, but in general this works.
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Could you please do a short fic about Jane and Anna bonding over some shared activity? In a non romantic - compleatly platonic way.
I know that in the musical they seem like polar opposites, but maybe they kept some traits from their past lives and they are both really good at needlework or something along that way.
Or maybe they could bond over a modern day activity they both enjoy?
Whatever you find easier.
Thanks
so sorry it’s taken me ages to get to this but heres some mush from my notes page :))
hope you like it!!
also hmu if there’s any other ships or dynamics you want me to write xx
seymour, cleves
tumblr ask x
“hey has anyone seen my red yarn!!?”
seymour yelled down the hallway
an inconsistent echo of “nopee“ from 4 of the queens followed.
“hm” jane shrugged and got back to her crochet, she was about to start making a pride flag/blanket for her and her girlfriend, catalina; to take to the pride march in a few weeks.
annoyed, the third queen wandered into her girlfriends room, just to spend some quality time together. Lina was on her phone, distracted and dazed. Jane queried her on the suspicious disappearance of her brand new yarn. “i don’t know mi querida.”, catalina answered without looking away from her phone
“oh well” seymour rapidly sat upright, determined to continue with her day, disregarding her missing wool.
————————————————
Cleves was scared for a second- she hadn’t figured it out in time! she had to return the yarn without jane noticing, anna knew she wouldn’t be mad but it was incredibly misfitting for her to be crocheting. Can you imagine how anne would make her feel? the insults and ‘bullying’ that would follow? (although cathy wouldn’t allow it, there’d still be tension)
the hook wasn’t looping and the yarn was fraying, ‘ugh, how do jane and cathy do this??’ anna thought while she unpaused her youtube tutorial playing on her phone.
————————————————
a few days later
jane had the thought of her wool in the back of her mind - she was reluctant to buy a new set of her wool as the brand that she found best was on the more expensive side - and jane was always one to rather save her money and spend wisely for special occasions.
Laundry basket in hand, she wandered into anna’s room to put her freshly washed clothes onto her bed to be put away.
Jane was often the one doing the laundry for the queens but wasn’t opposed to it as it usually kept her busy.
Cleves was downstairs playing mario kart with kitty and anne, and had seemingly rushed downstairs in a hurry.
Jane spotted something in the corner of her eye. Her red wool! it was hidden under anna’s pillow? - not very well, clearly - jane pulled it out cautiously; she didn’t want to be caught ‘snooping’ by any of her peers.
That was it! Her red wool she had been searching for days, the only question left unanswered was why on earth would anna have it?
her quiery was soon resolved when she saw a metallic crochet hook accompanying the yarn.
The third queen knew that Cleves would be embarrassed if everyone knew she was crocheting, but seymour couldn’t help but smile. Jane texted her in hopes to subtly let her know jane was happy for anna to be crocheting.
“hey i found my wool in your room?? do you want me to teach you?”
“uhh haha sorry bout that, just looked kinda fun lmao please teach me it’s so hard ;-;”
“lol no problem lmk when you’re free i can help!!
just don’t take my stuff without asking next time!”
————————————————
later that week, jane and anna went out to the craft store to pick up a few hooks of various sizes and some yarn.
With a live tutor, Anna seemed to pick up the movements and gist of crochet a lot easier and actually seemed to enjoy the hobby. It only took her a few weeks to be able to make a pink scarf for katherine - which she cherished deeply -
Upon experimenting, Jane and Anna who, prior to this occurance, barely spoke, found themselves crocheting together multiple times a week when they got bored and Anna now had a newfound hobby and a new connection to Jane seymour.
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anyhs-themes · 2 months
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HIATUS (en)
What about my themes? I'm not taking commissions anymore, but all my themes will continue to be available for now, however I'm no longer updating them, so use them at your own risk!
Where to find me? You can still find me on my personal blog (@anyhsalinas). And if you have a theme/HTML/CSS/JavaScript related question for me, as long as it's a simple question I might have time to help you, so send it to my personal blog (here) ONLY. Don't even try to ask about these things on my other social medias where the focus is not coding, please, otherwise I'll block you (I had people doing this before and I get very annoying by that, respect my spaces, please).
Why I'm quitting?
One of the biggest reasons why I loved Tumblr was the ability to customize our blogs however we wanted and turn it into our own space with our own style. And that's why I started making themes for myself and for other people. But over the last years Tumblr has kinda neglected this feature of the platform:
Clicking on a blog through the dashboard now takes you to a default dashboard-like page (this) and not to the customized version of the blog (this), which turned customizing your blog into something pointless because we take a long time customizing our theme only so that it might never even be seen by anyone;
This change also made it possible for people to send me messages without even seeing the rules for messaging me first;
And let's not forget the fact that now we need to contact Tumblr's staff to ask and wait for their permission in order to use JavaScript in custom pages, which makes things so unnecessarily more difficult for people who want to use our custom pages (they say it's for safety reasons, but it's still possible to use scripts on the main theme, so what's the point?).
Let's talk about writing posts as well:
We can no longer use basic HTML codes on posts which made it impossible for me to post tutorials (since it blocks the codes I'm trying to teach) -- which made me need to create a blog on Blogger to post my tutorials there, and have to simultaneously take care of two blogs on the exact same topics, which is kind of annoying;
Also the new post editor has been very buggy for me. Sometimes when I try to copy a portion of the text I'm writting it just won't copy no matter what. Sometimes it will duplicate paragraphs on its own for no reason...
Tumblr has also made some bad decisions (in my opinion at least) over the years of what kind of content to allow in the platform which caused serious problems to the platform itself (as you might have seen in the news around that time), but even before that also caused a big change in its community and the majority of the blogs I loved (the meme, poetry and fandom blogs of shows and bands I like) moved to Twitter (I still refuse to call it "X", lol) and other social medias. So most of what I loved about this platform is gone forever and the only things still keeping me here are the things I have saved in my blogs, my liked posts and drafts (mostly custom content and mods that I found here for The Sims, lol).
I haven't been using Tumblr regularly in... years, actually. Only sometimes I pass by. And I no longer enjoy developing themes for this platform because now, after all these changes, it has turned into something kinda pointless. Also, I've been busy with other projects that are bringing me more joy at the moment, such as my Youtube channels and crafting. So I'm leaving behind this part of my life... I don't like saying this is an end because I can always change my mind. But unless Tumblr goes back to making our custom theme as the main page of our blogs (instead of that default dashboard-like boring page), I don't think I'll go back to making themes for this platform.
But thank you all for your support in this blog and for using my codes through all of these years! Wish you all the best. 💕
— Anyh's Themes (2013 - 2024)
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herotome · 2 years
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Devlog #72-75
Hi-ho, Wudge here. It’s been almost a month since the last one of these, huh?
I have a few smatterings of things to report, at least. 
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I worked on an open/close elevator transition, which I’ve been thinking about how to for a few months. It was cool to bring the idea to life, although currently the doors shut in Jade’s face....
I should be able to bring her into the elevator with us by messing with the layers though.
Photo Sources: https://unsplash.com/photos/I1bcW_t4mPU https://unsplash.com/photos/m01bajOe8E0 https://unsplash.com/photos/zwZpdhoTbU0
On a similar note, I went through and put stand-in backgrounds photos in all the scenes of the game so far. It really helped me see how much I had done, and how much I have left to go. I did some writing around this time; just a few lines and an additional menu choice (you can now say “Ugh” at the idea of living on the same floor as Jade), but still pretty good, I think. I also added proper “yes”/”no” image buttons to the confirm screen, figured out how to toggle Autoplay Text in two separate buttons rather than one (had to use "enable" and "disable" rather than True/False), and worked some more on a UI for a notification/tutorial screen.
This is normally where I share something personal about how I’ve been, but these past few weeks have been difficult for me and difficult to explain.
With my devlogs, my intent is to document my experience in hopes of helping anyone who’s struggling with something similar. Therefore, I’ll be withholding identifying details for this next part; it is strictly in the context of sharing my experience, and is not a call for pity or for justice.
I recently endured emotional blackmail from a teammate I trusted.
They repeatedly pressured me for a stricter schedule, which soon escalated into multiple paragraph messages lined with guilt-tripping and ultimatums. They cited “stress” as the reason they needed me to handle the project their way.
I was and still am frustrated that I didn’t protect myself from them sooner, as I had seen warning signs before that point: emotional dumping, disrespecting boundaries, multiple meltdowns, and even DMing me that they wanted to kill another member of our team - completely unprompted.
No amount of stress makes this acceptable behavior, on a personal or professional level.
I don’t think that they’re a bad person or that they intentionally meant to hurt anyone. I understand as well as anyone that game development is stressful. However, it’s also important to acknowledge that their actions had a negative impact on me and on my work.
Still, impacts heal over eventually. I am no longer working with them, I’ve been making an effort to rest (I’ve been able to do little else, ha), and I will endeavor to be more careful in choosing who I work with in the future.
I have also been very fortunate to be surrounded with gentle, uplifting friends and peers who supported me through the experience, and I’m not sure I would be as okay as I am if not for them. So… tldr; I’m mostly okay. Was on the struggle bus for a while there. I wish I could say I’m back to normal, but struggle bus might be chugging for a little while longer.
Please be careful, everyone, and don’t let anyone treat you the way this person treated me. You are allowed to say no, you are allowed to leave when something doesn’t feel right. Take care out there.
Stay safe and keep warm.
Much love,
Wudge.
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Text
DISCLAIMER! This was written by a human being (me) and no A.I. was used (or harmed) in writing it. 😂 However, the photo was. I can confirm I do not do photoshoots with cowboy hats on…anymore! 😉
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Anyway…👇
Best ways to overcome the inevitable “text based information saturation” that’s coming in 2023?
1) You can’t fake class. Know your stuff and show it. You must show it. Be confident. Use live video, share tutorials, real life stories and examples. Shopping channel style.
2) Show emotion. All business is H2H (human to human) manually intervene when it matters more than automation. Customer service, surprise and delight. Positive vibes.
3) Don’t jump all in on ChatGPT. Nobody knows what restrictions might come into place and the shame that will arise if there ends up being an exposing of “shortcut” copy. Especially when it comes to SEO.
4) It’s a chat bot. It’s not Ultron (yet) and let’s never let anyone do that. We need governance..
so yes it’s impressive but if you have access to it, so does everyone else. Including those competitors of yours that are just way uncool. Would you want a similar content approach as them? NO! You’d want to better it.
5) Google knows everything. It probably knows what colour pants you have on. So If it knows you’ve used ChatGPT, it knows if you’ve copied and pasted it, it knows if (and probably who) you’ve emailed it to, so it’s not hard to trace back and flag that it’s A.I. copy on that “SEO blog post.” This could be a cancer to a companies Google ranking and relationship.
6) I’ve been geeking out on it for 2 weeks and the best use so far has been to help me pack out sentences. I get impatient and make scrappy notes. ChatGPT makes my bad bullet points come out as a well writtten sentence to go in a report. Now THAT is a practical application. I have little patience for those that are “cashing in” on the views to videos with titles such as “best ways to make money with chat GPT.
7) Nobody wants Ultron. Please can we make sure that’s clear and under control? Cheers.
8) What’s impressive at first, becomes boring when everyone does it. Have your fun, but don’t rest on your laurels or you’ll get left behind.
9) Always remember, WE program these things. They are TOOLS. We use them how we are fit. So don’t be a d***. Use it for good. Don’t use it to cheat. (Or pretend you made something (especially get paid!) when really it was available for anyone to attain with the write question…
10) Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.
So there we go.
I’m all for technology and advances in A.I. to help us, but I don’t have much time for digital s***housery.
#artificialintelligence #humanity #2023trends #2023goals
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maxecv · 1 year
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What Does a Good Resume Format Look Like 2023
There is no such thing as a perfect resume format, just as there are no two persons who make it that are exactly alike. However, any CV can be written in such a way that recruiters are taken aback and ask you to the next interview. Read our tutorial to learn how to format a resume in 2023.
A product is a future employee’s abilities and skills, and a CV  guidance is their presentation that must be properly created to stand out among other professionals.
An Updated, Modern Design CV In 2023, using a conventional resume format won’t provide you an advantage over the competitors. You might even be held back by using one.
See, when one of those old resume writing templates shows up on their desk for the nth time, hiring managers tune it out. These dull resumes fail to engage readers or make an impression. Therefore, during that quick 7.4-second scan before it is even reviewed, your resume may be overlooked.
A Bold Pop of Color best colors for resume headings are Bold colour if you really want to stand out and grab someone’s attention on your resume. However, this does not imply that you should fling a rainbow of colours everywhere you please.
Color can be skillfully employed to provide emphasis, contrast, and individuality, as this example demonstrates. Additionally, it can aid in reducing the expanse of black text on your resume.
Diamond Heading CV As the format’s name suggests, diamonds draw attention to the important details, such as section headings, skill levels, and the bullets in the work history section. Since there are no side columns on this modern resume, it’s incredibly simple to browse through your career history in chronological order. An excellent choice for applicants with extensive expertise.
Newcast Resume Template A pretty straightforward template for anyone who prefers to keep things uncomplicated and unambiguous. By using Newcast, you may receive a conventional resume design with a few unique additions that make your application stand out, such as stylish icons for section headings and bar charts to show different ability levels. Newcast is a wonderful option if you’re looking to work for a company with a traditional work environment.
Cubic Resume Format If you want my view, I’d say the most attractive resume format in our builder is Cubic. An exquisite fusion of traditional grace and contemporary imagination. The side column for contact information and talents gives a dynamic variation to the design, and subtle shading aids in guiding the reader’s attention across various parts. An excellent option for job seekers looking for positions in sales, marketing, or IT.
FAQs How long should a resume Things evolve.Pages disappeared just like socks in a dryer. We use email these days. The submission of longer resumes is facilitated by applicant tracking systems.
How to list skills on a resume Therefore, you must be thinking whether there are any abilities that are always best skills to list on resume and that hiring managers would love to see before shortlisting candidates. They do combine hard and soft skills.
How many pages for resume Use one page if you are a new searching for jobs. Use no more than two pages if you have a lot of experience. Avoid using three-page resumes. The format of your resume is less important; instead, concentrate on your summary!
How to update your resume Even if you are not actively looking for work, it is a good idea to keep your resume up to date. You never know when a great chance can arise, in which case you’d need to quickly submit your CV advice 2023.
How to improve resume Your resume frequently forms the first impression an employer has of you, your talents, and your potential, whether you are writing one for your first job or seeking for a position in a new firm or field. With a few improvements and priority upgrades, make a great first impression.
For More Details You can visit us- https://www.maxecv.com/blogs/career-guide/what-does-a-good-resume-format-look-like-2023/
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yamagucji · 3 years
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some tips for writing blogs, especially those who are just starting out. these are some things that works for me and may or may not work for others.
how to add a read more link on mobile
type :readmore: on a free space, then hit the enter or return button
personally i think they’re very helpful because it lessens the space you take up in your dash, and might encourage more people to rb
+ you can also add this on a spot where it gives a sort of cliffhanger, essentially making people want to ‘read more’
headers, banners, and dividers
though not necessary, it’s good to have a title for your work. make sure it’s bold and doesn’t blend in with your notes (aka pairing, warnings, etc.). this also helps when someone wants to look up one of your works in your search bar
i don’t really make banners or covers for my works. but some good apps that i know of would be picsart and canva. if you’re looking for ideas, i definitely recommend going into canva
wondering how to make those really small, thin dividers? you can make them using picsart! to make a divider hit tools > free crop > brush > size (adjust it to your preference > then draw a line along the edge of your photo > save
using the divider you just saved, go back to picsart and edit it again > draw option > hit rainbow square at the bottom left corner > hit suction/droplet symbol right below the check mark > color in the white spots bc for some reason picsart glitches and makes dividers look white-ish
new blog? just opened an account?
this is gonna sound really frustrating. but... tumblr needs to check if you’re a bot or not. what does this mean? it’s likely that your first few posts won’t show up on the search bar. you may not even get to edit your header/pfp yet ://
this happened to me and there was no visibility on my account at ALL. what helped me get ‘verified’ is that i followed a LOT of accounts, liked a bunch of posts, made some posts here and there. now that lets tumblr know you’re not a bot
visibility
the tumblr tagging system usually only allows the first 5 tags in your post to show up. so, what can do you about this? only use FIVE or less tags in your post. wait about 15 minutes or more until you can add some more tags in your post, and they usually all show up like that
another important thing about using tags is not to generalize! especially if you’re using a popular tag. but also don’t specify it too much where barely anyone looks it up. for example, if you’re writing a gn piece about oikawa, i recommend you use the tags such as: oikawa x reader, haikyuu x reader, oikawa x gn!reader, haikyuu headcanons, etc
a good rule of thumb is to use character x reader tags first, then leave the full name or fandom tag last
FOR NSFW: tumblr doesn’t let any tags with nsfw show up. so, give your nsfw works another tag. maybe #namegetspicy idk, you figure it out
FOR WARNINGS: especially if you’re a dark content creator, i highly encourage you to add tw:xyz tags. if you already have a warning note at the top then that’s great. but even better for readers who prefer to actually block these tags that way they never get to see it
another important thing to note is that people have different timezones. it helps if you rb your work at a different time of the day, in case people missed it! (icymi) i’ve noticed that reblogging helps to make your post show up in the tags
interaction + feedback
first and foremost, you are not obligated to write for your followers, and neither are your followers obligated to interact with you. remember that everyone has their own individual lives, and they have their own things to do— so do you, too.
make friends! become mutuals with other writers, visit their ask box. i know it can be daunting having to initiate these things, but you might just turn out to have fun! you can’t expect people to interact with you if you’re not interacting (back). it’s... kind of a two way thing yk? no need to be afraid to interact with other writers. oh, and rb other writers works!
pspsps join tag games or do ask games. it’s fun and very interactive
it never hurts to ask for feedback. i usually do this in a more subtle way because i don’t really expect a full on analysis on my works. maybe a little, is this okay? or feedback appreciated. sometimes it takes a little bit of coaxing for the silent readers
formatting your posts and blog
i generally put in the title at the top in big, bold letters
then comes the header/divider. helps to make the post more... visually appealing ig?
it’s important to add warnings (if any) and the pairing. the audience is not all female, and it might be a little frustrating for male readers having to find out its an x fem reader piece like halfway through your fic
if you have multiple works posted, it’s really really helpful to have a navigation page!
you can organize the posts you make with tags! for example, if you’re shitposting, you can use a specific tag for that. if you have a nsfw related post (ESPECIALLY when your blog is open to the general audience) please make a tag for it
themes + colors
if you have a color in mind but don’t know which direction to go from there, i recommend looking up color + aesthetic
looking to use the same color? download a name color app that’ll give you a hex code for any color you want to use. then, you can type in that hex code for when you’re choosing a color for your tumblr bio
wondering how to make your header image small like mine? just choose a photo for your header and turn off the stretch image option
want to use a different text color that tumblr doesn’t offer? it’s not as complicated as you think. you’ll have to go on a desktop to do this and do some html (but trust me, it’s not very difficult). look up “HTML noob but trying my best - how to use colored text on desktop”
^^ i don’t have the link for the color text tutorial so you can try looking it up
how to make an aesthetic navi and masterlist
step 1: decide a theme! if you’re stuck, think about a character + color/season/mood or look up “[insert] aesthetic” to find some inspiration. or you can try looking at other blogs too
step 2: find a color scheme! it’s easier if you choose fewer colors. if you want to use the same color for both divider and text, download a color name app in order to get the hex code of that color.
step 3: add categories to your navi! most navigation pages include a link to masterlist, about/byi, and rules. your navi should have a title that indicates that it’s... a navigation page. you can add thin colored dividers with the same color to make it easier for followers to navigate
step 4: you can choose to create a ‘cover’ or a picture for your navigation and masterlist! again, i recommend you use the canva app as a starting point
extra: search up emoticon symbols to spice up your titles!
reminder for you as a writer
you’re not obligated to do any of these things. i’ve noticed that we tend to build pressure on ourselves when it comes to content and interaction. remember, this !! is !! for !! fun !! when you realize that it’s no longer fun, then know that it’s time to take a break. and there’s nothing wrong with a bit of self care.
^^ c/p from this post lol
at the end of the day, follower count and interaction doesn’t define you. again for the love of beings, you’re here on your own accord.
will be adding more if needed/asked.
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justfangirlthingies · 3 years
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Caught my eye (Corpse Husband x reader)
Soulmate AU: In which everyone has one eye in their own eye colour and one in the colour of their soulmate. However, when you are close to meeting each other, your vision will change to the soulmate's one, letting you know you are close. When your eyes meet they will change their colour to their original eye colour.
Word count: 4189 words
Warnings: cursing because that is automatically given when writing about Corpse
Another Soulmate AU from my Wattpad account let's go!
Staring into the camera were a pair of, colourwise mismatched, eyes, one iris a deep brown and the other one a shimmering (e/c).
It was not unusual for someone to have two different eye colours in one set of eyes, it simply meant one had yet to find their significant other.
Pressing record on your camera you let your eyes stay right in front of the lens for a second before rolling backwards on your chair, your torso now in frame as well "Hello all of you beautiful individuals! I'm (y/yt/n) and as always I welcome you here!" You waved at your camera, a warm and welcoming smile gracing your lips. "In case this is your first time stumbling over this channel" you paused a second and giggled "Hi, welcome to this chaos!" Slowly you neared the camera again "Leave while you still can" you whisper shouted into your microphone.
"No hold on don't leave please! I was just kidding" You joked at your camera.
A happy sigh escaped your mouth as you leaned back in your chair "Today is q & a time isn't it?" You wiggled your eyebrows at the blinking light in front of you "Well let's get to it then...hmm...lemme see. Youtubetrash asks 'how old are you (Y/n)?' Do you always have to ask that question guys?" You scold playfully "I'm 19, but I really don't get why this is so important to you that I have to answer it in every video, like do you want to know the exact amount of days and minutes? Will you stop asking it every goddamn time then?" You chuckled as you ran a hand through your (h/l), (h/c) hair. "Right, next question! SusanIsAFish wants to know which eye colour my own is. I can easily answer that with either 'both are' or 'hell if I know' I've always had two eye colours like how am I supposed to know." A grin spread on your face as you continued to interact with your community's questions...
"Alright alright these are the last two questions guys. Nightmaresscareme...honestly same" you laughed as you read the users name out aloud. When you calmed down again you cleared your throat and continued "Ahem, anyways they wanna know if I found my soulmate already and who it is....Do I look like I found my soulmate?" You asked smiling as you approached the recording device once again and pointed a finger at each eye. "I have no Idea who it is but maybe you find whoever it is because all of you people are little Sherlock's I swear, you find out everything." Laughter erupted from your throat once again as you pointed at your camera.
"Last but not least, (y/n)stan asks 'when will you collab with Jack again? The two of you promised to make a video or something together?' Woah calm down, honestly I don't even think he remembers that, it was years ago. How do you even remember that (y/n)stan? I swear to god that's exactly what I meant with ya'll being Sherlock's." You wiggled your eyebrows again "But if you do remember, Seán and you magically happen to see this video. What happened to our collab plans dude?" You giggled "Alrighty guys that's it for today's video. Stay awesome my dudes, dudettes and in betweens and I'll see ya in the next one!" You winked and waved before stopping your recording and going straight to editing your video.
Just as you were about to upload your piece of work, your phone rang, scaring you in the process and causing you to delete your video. You groan in frustration holding your head in your palms.
"This better be important..." you mumbled to yourself as you went to check your phone. Seriously?! It was a Twitter notification. You sighed and ignored it for now, saving your video was a priority right now.
After hours of retrieving and re-editing your footage you finally uploaded the video to the worldwide known platform and picked up your phone to see what Twitter wanted from you.
As you opened the app you saw that it was a private message from none other than Jacksepticeye. What a freaking coincidence you thought, a smile now appearing on your face as you read the message. All your frustration was gone and instead replaced with confusion and laughter.  "What kind of message is that?" You muttered as you shook your head laughing.
Jacksepticeye:
Hey (Y/n) what colours are your eyes again?
(Y/T/N):
What kinda question is that? Lmao
Jacksepticeye:
Just answer my question dum dum :)
A raven haired male was on a discord call with his online friend that he had just revealed his face to. "Jack what are you doing now?" The young man laughed at his friend.
"Hold on, I'm texting someone."
The dark haired man sighed and waited "that's not very polite you know" he smiled.
"Pschh I'm finding your soulmate, what's impolite about that?" The Irish man looked up from his phone and back at his Computer screen. Only to start laughing at the other's reaction.
"Corpse? You good?" He kept on laughing at the dumbfounded expression on Corpse's face.
Who as a reaction turned off his camera, suddenly feeling very insecure towards his friend again.
"What do you mean?" His deep voice asked cautious.
"Don't worry man I'm not leaking your face or any info to anyone" he smiled reassuringly. "Your eyes just reminded me of someone else with the same or very similar ones. At least I hope I remember their eye colours correctly" He rambled on.
"Oh..." came from the other line, which was now more quiet than usual.
Seán noticed the change in his friend's behaviour and immediately stopped what he was doing. "I'm sorry Corpse..." the Irishman scratched bis neck awkwardly "I should've asked you first"
"I-it's fine. I just can't imagine anyone wanting to be my soulmate" the male sighed.
His friend flashed an encouraging smile at the screen "Dude! Anyone would be happy to be your soulmate. I know I would be! You are great, I know you probably don't believe me but I mean it bud. Besides, your soulmate is your other half, it's like they were made for you"
One could hear a sigh coming from the black screen as Corpse turned his camera back on, his pink tinted cheeks now showing up on screen as well. He had put his eye-patch on, leaving only his brown eye visible. "And you're really sure?" He asked quietly.
"100% sure! Anyone with half a brain would know how lovable you are" the blue eyed male grinned. "Besides, the person I'm thinking of also has a YouTube channel, I think I still owe them a collab, sooo I could maybe invite them to play some kind of-"
He cut himself off. "They answered!"
(Y/T/N):
Well they're like brown and (e/c), it's such a weird mix though.
Jacksepticeye:
Interesting.
Hey (Y/n), how about we do that collab? You could fly out and we meet up
(Y/T/N):
You still remember that? XD
Yeah sure I'd love that, I just had someone ask me about that collab today.
But seriously dude why are my eyes interesting to you all of a sudden? You found my soulmate or smth 🧐😂
Jacksepticeye:
😏😌🤭🤫
Right....
So when are you coming?
(Y/T/N):
Dude!
You literally just asked me if I even wanna come! Like come on, you think I've booked a flight already? Just like 10 minutes after you asked me to travel there?
Jacksepticeye:
As a matter of fact I don't just think so, I know it ;)
So when do I have the honors of picking your jet-lagged ass up at the airport?
(Y/T/N):
:(
...
This weekend
Time skip
A happy sigh escaped your lips as you felt the plane reaching the ground of its destination. You swiftly grabbed your bag and left the plane to get the rest of your luggage.
A yawn escaped your mouth as you grabbed your stuff, staying awake during the whole flight probably wasn't your best idea, but you couldn't help it. To you it was simply impossible to fall asleep on a journey by plane.
Your eyes skimmed the airport as you were searching for your friend.
After a few minutes of looking around you decided to sit down and wait, he was probably still on his way to the airport.
Just as you decided to open up your phone you got smacked in the face... With a balloon? "What the hell?" You whispered as you were pulled up from your seat and embraced. "(Y/N)! Hey! I haven't seen you in forever"
You looked up a little confused as you reciprocated the hug. "Well hello to you too Seán"
He chuckled and grabbed one of your bags before dragging you with him. "How can you be so motivated and energetic?" You giggled and tried to keep up with your Irish friend. "That (Y/n), is simply because I'm not sleep deprived like you"
Setting up his stream was a curly haired nervous mess. He was always nervous when he had to stream. But today was somehow worse.
The half Mexican ran his fingers through his hair. It was just a game with friends right? However, he had never played this game before.
His nerves getting to him caused Corpse to cancel the idea of a stream. "I'll just be there and play along, that's fine too. I don't need to stream every time I'm playing a game with my friends..." he muttered to himself.
With a bottle of water beside him he started the game and went through the tutorial. "Man this game is fucking cute" he laughed before joining the discord call, just to be engulfed in a complete chaos of voices.
"Hey Corpse is here! Hi hi!" A Swedish voice boomed through his headphones along with the rest of the group greeting him. "Hey guys" he replied as he joined their server in the game. "So what are we doing? Why is no one starti-" the deep voice started but was cut of by someone else.
"HOLY FUCKING- Who the hell was that?! Hello by the way" The whole call erupted in laughter at the reaction of the (h/c) haired individual.
"Uhh hi, that was me" Corpse answered laughing as he scratched his head nervously "and you also just answered my question for me thank you, whoever you are" Everyone laughed once again.
"Okay but seriously who are you?" Dave asked.
"Jack! You said you told em that I'd join" you huffed as you glanced At your friend next to you, you were sharing one discord account for this call as you sat right next to each other and didn't want the quality of the call to go down because of an echo. Both of you streamed online on twitch.
"Whoops! I thought I did" he chuckled once more as he introduced you to the party. "Well then..." he coughed in an attempt to clear his throat "Drum-roll please! this is (Y/n), they came to visit me this weekend. (Y/n), that's Dave, Felix, Joel, PJ and Corpse."
"Hi" you said suddenly a little nervous because you thought everyone knew you'd join.
Luckily no one seemed to mind that you were here as they greeted you. In fact, they seemed ecstatic to meet you.
"So have any of you not played this before?" Pewds asked the group. "Uh yeah, me" Yours and the deep voice said simultaneously. "But I did the tutorial" Corpse added. "Well I didn't" you laughed. "Great then we're all set, shame on you though (Y/n)!" Seán shouted.
"Jeez man, you told me to skip it and I can hear you! I'm right next to you and not deaf in case you didn't know" you sassed back, causing laughter to bounce through your headset once more.
"(Y/n) and Corpse you two haven't played before that means you count as one person for the group things cause both of you are noobs and if you count as one we have even team numbers" The swede joked.
"We're the Meowfia" Jack laughed, starting off with his puns for this game.
(Y/n) snorted at that as everyone chose the animals of their teams. Corpse chose the cat with an eye-patch along with his team. "Maan this is peer pressure!" Your voice called out "lucky for me I like cats"
"That is the truth" the Irish voice boomed through the call once again, "I mean you should see, even their headphones have cat ears"
"I wanna see that!" Dave shouted.
"Can we see them in your cam Jack?" PJ asked.
"Not completely, they're streaming on Twitch though, its at (Y/YT/N) on Twitch and YouTube" Seán smiled as he pat your back.
"You can't just expose me like that!" The cute voice answered panicking.
"I gotta see that, hold on!" Felix shouted as he opened up your stream smirking as he followed you. "Corpse, they'll ruin your life" he continued as your cheeks flushed a bright red, suddenly feeling so exposed and put on the spot "why...why am I ruining his life?" You asked, cocking an eyebrow.
Corpse had also opened up your account as he stared in awe at the enchanting individual now on his computer screen. Were you the one Jack had meant? No it couldn't be.
"Well you see, he wrote a song about cat girls ruining his life. Right Corpse?" This statement made him come back to reality and quite flustered at that "Huh? What-  ...ohhh uhm- uh- yeah" he responded in a stutter, the pale skin of his cheeks heating up and turning red.
"Corpse are you alright?" you asked, concern not only laced in your voice but also written all over your face, which he saw. This whole ordeal just made him blush more. There was a short pause "...Yeah.." the raven haired responded. But not even a second later a laugh erupted in the call "Did we just catch you right handed?" The voice belonged to Dave. "What do you mean?" Corpse asked confused. While he waited for a response from his friend, he started fiddling with his rings as he kept his eyes on (Y/N)'s stream which was still pulled up on his screen. "Well, did we catch you watching her stream?" Dave replied trying to hold in his laughter.
Your expression changed as your eyes went wide and you looked right at your camera "Is that true?" Your voice chimed in as a hint of pink spread across your cheeks, one of your eyebrows arched. "Well..." The man with the username 'CORPSE' cleared his throat "I had to see if Jack and Felix were speaking the truth..."
A smirk spread across your face "And? Were they honest?" you laughed as your Irish companion moved his face into the frame of your camera wiggling his eyebrows. The only answer you got to your question was silence before the deep voice continued "Alright let's start this game." Yet another laugh escaped your throat when you noticed the lack of a reply to your question. However, one could say that silence was an answer on its own.
The young guy sighed loudly after the game had ended, rolling back, away from his table, in his gaming chair he ran his hands through his curly hair. The game was fun, but it was exhausting for the man to concentrate on a game this long. Just as he was about to get up, turn all devices off and leave, he heard a familiar sound coming from his computer screen.
A discord call and video call at that was incoming from none other that Jacksepticeye. So, Corpse rolled forward in his chair again as he checked if his camera was turned off and covered. After reassuring himself that his face was hidden he accepted the call. "Hey whaddup?" He greeted his loud friend who immediately responded with a "Hey my man". His mismatched eyes widened as he looked at the screen, it was not only Jack on the call...they were there as well, a shy smile plastered on their face as they kept their eyes closed "Hey Corpse, tell me when your camera is off. Sean told me it might be on and I don't want you to accidentally expose yourself to me." "Oh yeah, it's off. You can open your eyes it's fine." Just as he finished his sentence their eyelids slowly fluttered open as they stared at the black screen and waved. There was no way to describe the feeling that went through him as he admired you in awe. He seemed starstruck and without thinking he blurted out "You have to visit San Diego sometime, but like soon"
Your eyes widened slightly not knowing how to respond to that "Umm...yeah I dunno, maybe someday?" Jack gasped dramatically "You never invited me over even though I'm the one you trusted enough to show your face to!"
Yet another time today, the male behind the black screen felt a blush grow on his face. "Well i-it's your fault for introducing me to your friend. And umm sorry if I was a bit too blunt there" He stuttered. "No it's fine. I'm a very spontaneous person ya know." You replied an embarrassed smile gracing your lips once more "But you could be a killer for all I know...sorry you probably hear that one a lot haha. Also, would you even be comfortable enough to meet up..." slowly you started drifting off with what you were saying. As soon as you realized you were trailing off of the topic at hand, you tried to get back to the conversation "ahem.. yeah, anyways as I was saying...someday sure. I mean...I am traveling around at the moment because I flew to Brighton. Maybe you know, we could get to know each other a bit better first" you smiled nervously as you replied.
"Ah yes...of course. Though I do have a question for you Seán. Is (Y/n) the one we spoke of a few days ago?" came back as a reply. He had a plan to gain their trust if they really were his suspected soulmate. The man next to (Y/n) nodded and gave a wink to the camera they used for the call. This action just confused you even more and it must have shown on your face because your loud friend started laughing at you. "Don't worry it was nothing bad" Jack reassured. "Hold on, is this about the random-" there was a lot of shuffling coming from the black screen. The noise had startled you a bit, causing you to stop mid sentence. "the random question about my eyes?" You continued your question, looking at that Irish friend of yours, but you didn't get a reply for there was another loud noise coming from Corpse's side of the screen. You shifted your attention back to the screen in front of you again just to be met with more shuffling and a sudden colour change of the screen. Your eyes widened as you saw a face only briefly for a split second before your vision suddenly changed. You looked around to see an unfamiliar room and as you saw the sight before your eyes you felt as though they were going to pop out of their sockets at any moment.
No...
No fucking way...
"Holy shit" you heard the words leave both your mouths. You just stared at the screen in front of you to see yourself, who apparently sat on the other side of the screen next to Seán. And you also saw the live view of a young man with black curly hair, dressed in black in a small window of the computer. You felt really dizzy all of a sudden and the light before your eyes went black briefly before returning to more used surroundings again.
Realisation dawned on you as you blinked a few times and spoke aloud "I-I just imagined that right? There's no way. C-Corpse you didn't happen to experience that right now, did-did you?"
"Holy fuck..." you heard a low mutter coming from the speakers.
Jack looked at you, eyebrows raised in confusion for a second before realization dawned on him and a knowing smirk appeared on his face as he shouted "CALLED IT!"
The two of you could not yet comprehend what was happening, let alone listen and realize what your mutual friend had to say.
After a few minutes of complete silence you tore your eyes away from the pen on Jack's desk, which had become the most interesting thing and perfect staring partner for the past minutes and shifted your gaze back to the young raven-haired individual before you, a small smile and a huge blush grazing your facial features as you spoke up, voice quiet and soft, but also full of nervousness "soo...umm...Corpse, are you gonna give me that address in San Diego?"
The question stood in the room for a few moments as silence engulfed you once again. Corpse's expression on his bright red face however, showed he was pondering."Y-yeah of course...sure...I-I'll text it to you if you give me that number of yours..." Then there was a pause. "Whe-When can I expect you then?"
This time it was your turn to think. "How about directly when you leave Brighton?" Jack chimed in. "But th-that's like in two days..." you stuttered in response. It was a nice idea and you did feel a pull to meet this handsome stranger as soon as possible. "Well yeah, that's the point is it not? I already checked for flights while you two where staring off somewhere....Sooo? Should I buy the ticket real quick? You can thank me later." Your mismatching eyes kept switching your gaze from your friend who had made this crazy suggestion and your apparent soulmate who now wore an eyepatch and was watching you expectantly while patiently awaiting your answer. A small sigh left your lips as you made your decision. When you tried to verbally answer though, your voice had left you, so you made eye-contact with the man also known as Corpse Husband, who had trusted you enough to reveal his face to you, and just gave him a small nod. He seemed to understand and gave you a reassuring smile.
"It's final then?" Seán, who had watched this whole ordeal unfold asked smiling happily as you just nodded once again "Y-yeah"
Two days later you found yourself on yet another plane ride, but this time it was not to England, nor was its destination your home. You sat on your seat in silence, music which you couldn't concentrate on, blasting through your headphones while you  twiddled with your fingers, bouncing your leg up and down quickly. What were you gonna say? He would pick you up outside of the airport in order to avoid bumping into things when the view-switching-thing would happen.
Meanwhile, the faceless YouTuber had finished tidying up his apartment and prepared everything for your arrival. He would be lying if he said he didn't look you up on the socials to learn more about you.
About half an hour before the plane would land he drove off to your designated meeting spot. He arrived there 10 minutes early so he could mentally prepare himself. About 5 minutes later he put on his black face mask and exited his car. At first he was gonna wait for you here, but his nerves and heart got the better of him, so he made his way closer inside the airport building to meet you halfway. What he didn't know was that your plane would land early. So, as he made his way through the people, which was way out of his comfort zone already, he started to see black dots clouding his view, but suddenly he came from the other side. Oh no. The body kept walking until he saw himself in the crowd.
Your eyes met as you tried to navigate through the crowd of people, it was hard as you had to control your own body somehow even though you could only see what your soulmate would usually see. Finally you had gotten somewhat closer to one another and as you came to a halt, your bodies mere inches apart as your eyesight returned to your own again. You looked up at the man in front of you in awe. Your eyes were fixated on his as you noticed the (e/c) in his one eye fade away, just to be replaced by this beautiful shade of brown that was in his other eye. The colour you knew so well because you had seen it in the mirror in one of your own eyes everyday. "Your eyes" you whispered. He smiled in return "yours too..it's nice to meet you (Y/n). My soulmate. You are even more dazzling in person" he complimented. "I can't say anything else besides the same applies to you" You smiled in return as your face went red. "Well then...Shall we?" he grinned as he took one of your backpacks and started walking. "Hey! Wait up!" You laughed as you ran to catch up to your soulmate...
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doubledgesword-2 · 3 years
Note
Can I get Vil Schoenheit x Rival Celebrity? They shoot insults at each other but end up flirting? Take it as far as you want! Any gender reader is fine lol
Oh, ma Gooosh!! This is the first Matcha Tea I've gotten, and I'm all for this. I had so much fun with this one, and I want to show you lil' sugar cubes the difference between characters I know and the ones that I don't. I do my research before writing a character that I'm unfamiliar with, but I will be sincere: I butchered the last request (Shalnark's). I will try to rewrite it, but other characters apart from the stated ones are a bit hard for me ( ˘︹˘ ).
I will always try my best for ya'll! Enjoy this steaming Matcha (❛‿❛✿)
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“What a shameless potato,” nimble fingers scrolled down on their phone, looking at the menagerie of pictures from one single account: yours.
You and Vil were from the same industry, just not the same department per se. While he was a model and actor, you were a j pop star and actress. Your popularity and his were on the same level, but he was slightly higher if you asked him or his fans. Ever since the two of you met on set for a fantasy-like movie, you repelled each other’s presence like oil and water.
Amethyst eyes glared at your smiling picture, and a thousand critiques passed through his mind. Your make-up did not complement your features; what was your make-up artist thinking? That nail polish didn’t match with your skin, and your haircut didn’t go with your face and countless other thoughts. But that wasn’t his place to tell, and besides, you living in his head rent-free wasn’t good for his skin. Stress kills, and thinking about you was very stressful.
The subway doors opened, and Vil gripped his side bag, adjusting his beret and sunglasses and walking out with the amount of confidence and power it took to walk down the runway. The sea of people diligently coming and going parted for him without a cue. They just did like mindless fish around a predator. It was in their nature to give in, in the presence of something so regal.
Vil had a photoshoot to go, and he couldn’t miss a beat. His agenda was full and complicated; anyone who tried to follow it would surely lose their minds after the first three days of the same arduous pace. But he could handle it with the grace of a swan. He was the great Vil Shoenheit. He wondered if you could handle a week in his shoes. You probably would drop exhausted and disheveled, complaining about the hard work. The thought made him smirk smugly, and passerby fans who recognized him couldn’t even keep up to ask for an autograph.
He just couldn’t fathom how you had such a fan base with your attitude and manners. Sure, in front of the cameras, you were a sweetheart, stealing everyone’s hearts, singing like an empowered angel, and making them think you were as far from the villain he knew you truly were. Vil knew your kind and recognized it the moment he met you on set. Heck, you couldn’t even contain your disdain in interviews when the two of you had to sit side by side. It was uncomfortable, to say the least; the poor reporter was so painfully awkward trying to alleviate the tenseness in the room.
“So (Y/N), how do you feel being an actress in a big-budget movie while also singing and performing the next week? Is it exhausting?”
You sided glared at Vil, and gave the reporter a smug grin. “Well, I think I can handle a little bit of work. It’s not in me to sit around and look pretty, you know. But then again, I guess that’s what some people are into, so we can’t judge them. They might not understand hard work.”
Vil smiled with closed eyes. You were such an amateur. If it weren’t for the fact that you were actively throwing shade on him and being so annoying at it, too, he might think you were cute.
Of course, Vil wouldn’t back down; that’s not what he was taught. The crown was his, and he would take it with hard work and determination. Which means potatoes like you don’t really matter in the long run of things.
“Vil-senpai, how do you manage your modeling gig and your acting? I mean, it must be hard to run from one event to the next since they’re so close behind each other?”
“Well, dear, we models are more than just a pretty face. We represent big companies and events that many couldn’t even fathom getting into. My schedule might be a bit tight, but I was born into this lifestyle, and I have learned many skills to help me move and work in these types of environments. I can say one thing for sure not a lot of people can handle my agenda, one day in my heels, and they might slip if you know what I mean, darling.”
You scoffed under your breath, and it made Vil’s smile grow wider.
“Ahh, Vil-senpai is a hard worker for sure. Perhaps one day I could do an interview that can provide insight to one day of your agenda.”
“Anytime you want, darling, it would be lovely,” he knew with every word that came out of his mouth; you simmered even more.
“Are there any hobbies or activities that can fit into your schedules?
Vil was about to open his mouth when you beat him to it.
“Well, I don’t think he’s allowed to have any, you know, with his busy schedule. But I do love partaking in (hobby). I think it is a nice way to unwind and take my mind off of everything. Since stress it’s not good for your vocals, you know. I try to keep myself in top shape for my lovely fans.”
Vil was raging. How dare you interrupt him when he was clearly about to talk. Didn’t your parent taught you any manners, or are you so much of a spoiled brat to care for?
“Ahh, interesting. Does Vil Sendai have any hobbies in particular?
“As a matter of fact, I do” you were looking at him with an expectant smirk. You were genuinely curious to hear what he had to say. “I like to make beauty and make-up tutorials that are beneficial for a lot of my fans. I like to show them how to use brushes correctly what and what not to do with concealer. Those are bonding moments for me and my fans. I think they are important.”
At the end of that interview, a single question brought the anger and tense meter to burst. Now the tensions and dislikes weren’t palpable. They were visible.
“Oh, I’ve had some partners, but I like to focus more on my work, unlike some other artists who like to jump around; my projects come first, and I don’t want to ruin my partner’s and I relationship by not spending enough time with them.”
“Wow, he really doesn’t like to have fun.”
“I do just not with the likes of you.”
“Come on, pretty boy, you couldn’t handle me even if you were begging pretty on your knees.”
“Dream on, potato, you might be prettier than most potatoes, but you’re still that a potato with some potential. I bet if push came to shove, you wouldn’t last seconds with me.
“I bet you wouldn’t make it into the second round without having to retouch your make-up with me. Besides, it’s not like you’ll last long enough to even sweat that much.”
“Well, that’s a relief to know I wouldn’t have to put much effort into pleasing someone like you.”
The reporter was utterly flushed, and that was cut from the interview recording. Good thing that it was, or people might’ve gotten the wrong impression. That you liked each other or something.
Or something.
After that interview, rumors spread like they always do, and fans started gossiping about the two of you secretly together but having to hate each other in public to save face since it’s a big rumor that singers and models don’t actually go well together in the industry.
Such wild imagination and machinations fans have. It brought out a small chuckle.
Vil passed through the automatic doors telling the receptionist his name and guiding him to the set. Once there, he settled his stuff over the make-up table and sat back to look once more through his phone.
“Have you seen this?” A text notification annoying appeared on the screen.
Vil tch and opened the message to reveal a very well photoshopped photo of him and you sitting and drinking at some café. You were smiling like he just told you you were beautiful, and it was a good look on you.
This was outrageous. Who would go to such lengths? Suddenly a bag dropped right on the table next to him. He looked up to meet your eyes as you took off your sunglasses, slowly realizing who was sitting beside you.
“Oh no,” you faintly muttered underneath your breath but not faintly enough that Vil couldn’t hear you.
He scoffed and went back to look at the stupid picture, texting his manager as mad as he was.
“Oh, you saw it too,” you commented, sitting down and looking at your own phone.
Vil didn’t answer. He really didn’t care about your opinion on this; his credibility was on the line. He was supposed to hate you, and that’s how things should go.
“Well, at least they got a good angle of my face, not to mention I’m actually smiling for once.”
“Actually, smil- what are you talking about potato? All you do is smile in all of your pictures. That’s why you have to hide your wrinkles with make-up,” he said as if it was the most obvious thing.
“Well, as presumptuous as that was, proud little peacock, I actually never smile genuinely for the cameras. My genuine smile is reserved for good moments. I guess not anymore.”
At that, Vil felt like the two of you clicked. He knew the feeling, the invasive nature of fame, and the lack of privacy was very real in the industry. It’s the first thing you have to get through. But listening to you say made him realize you’re just like him.
“Well, if you behave during the shoot, I might feel inclined to reward you for good behavior” he grinned at you.
“Mmm, you make it sound as if you don’t like the way I make you crumble in front of everyone. It’s like you’re denying yourself the pleasure, and here I thought you liked the masochism.”
“Hahahaha, I’ll step on you once we’re done here. Maybe that and a little bit of discipline will put you in your place. However, your lack of manners and running mouth might be a problem; perhaps all you need is a nice pacifier. I can help with that.”
You both were so close to each other muttering salacious threats that you didn’t realize how flustered everyone else was in the room.
It was going to be another one of those shoots.
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cherryonigiri · 3 years
Text
my banner tutorial
I’ve seen a lot of people asking how us tumblr writers make banners for our writing/series, so I thought I’d share how I make mine. 
For extra context: I do not know how to use photoshop (or even have photoshop) + had no background in web design/graphic design when i first started making banners for my blog. Everything in this tutorial is FREE to access and can be used in a web browser so you don’t need to download any extra software/programs to make banners!
link to the divider tutorial is here
Banners: Canva
1) Go to Canva (canva.com) You DO NOT need a Canva Pro subscription - I have never paid for Canva (and don’t plan to) and all my banners have been made using the free version of Canva. You can link your gmail, social media to an account for ease of access, or create a new account using your email of choice. 
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2) Choose a template, or create your own
You can choose from Canva’s existing templates, but I usually prefer to create my own template to get a nice size for my banners. Click “Create New Design” (in the upper right corner). From there you can choose an existing template, or you can click “Custom Size” 
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For my banners, I usually do a 3000 px (horizontal) x 625 px banner (vertical). This size has had the best resolution on tumblr while still being the size ratio/dimensions that looks good to me on both mobile and desktop layouts.
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3) Canva Presets/Templates in the editor // CREATE!
Once you enter the banner editing page you can choose from a lot of different things. Canva will generate existing templates for you that you can choose from. It also has a bunch of presets/images to choose from to help with creating a graphic. Since there really isn’t a set process/steps for making a banner beyond setting up the initial dimensions of your banner, here are a collection of tips/tricks I’ve learned while using Canva.
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Some tips/tricks for using Canva:
1) Adding/using images
Canva Photo Library - Canva has TONS of free graphics available for you to use in graphics. You will see that some have watermarks + a crown logo - you can still use that image but the watermark will appear. However, there are still millions of images that are free to use with no watermark. I always look in the canva library first, since the images have a license that allows anyone to use them for free regardless of purpose.
AVOID using fanart/licensed images - Unless you have clear + direct permission from artists, I strongly encourage you to avoid using other people’s digital art! I know it may seem really beautiful/aesthetic, but fanartists have put a lot of time in to creating art for us to see. If you really want to use something for your banner, please check the artist’s blog/website/social media for their policy on using their artwork. 
Other sources of free images: The two image libraries I use the most are Pixabay and Unsplash. Both libraries allow you to download photos under their license that makes their photos free for use without credit. Many of the photos in my smau + banners have come from these sites. 
How to add images to your banner from your computer: if you are using images outside of Canva’s photo library, you will need to go to the ‘Uploads’ tab and upload your image from your device. From there you’ll be able to insert the image into your banner workspace.
2) Changing Background Color - Use the background tab! You can click on the “New Color” button (the paint palette) to create a custom color. 
Background tab + custom color: 
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You can also select from background image library - double click the image you want to make it the background. You can toggle which part of the image ends up as a the background by double clicking on it.
Selecting Image: 
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Image position toggle (double click on background): 
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3) Grouping - This a really helpful function that groups different objects together to help you align them. I usually end up grouping all my banner text into one object so that it’s easy to move around and align with other images/graphics in the banner. All you do is select all the objects you’d like to group and click the “group” button in the upper right corner. (Drag your mouse across the graphic. you should see a blue square form - make sure the blue square is touching all the things you want to group together.)
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4) Text/fonts -
Searching for fonts: Once again, there are going to be some fonts that you will not be able to access without Canva Pro, but there are so many that it doesn’t really matter (all my fonts are from the free font selection offered on Canva). You can also search for font style: some of the keywords I use are cursive (for loopy/pretty fonts), handwriting (for handwritten aesthetic), and corporate (for minimalist/clean fonts) and typewriter (for typed/typewriter aesthetic).
Text templates/presets: In the text tab of canva, you will see that they offer presets/templates of text (one of my favorites is the neon/halogen light font that I used for my 1k event). If you’re stuck on how you want to format your banner, this tab is always a really great place to start!
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