#might make a part two of this explaining how to use this method for more complicated movements

[napoleon-usher]

KEYFRAME TUTORIAL FOR THOSE WITH A WORKING KNOWLEDGE OF PHOTOSHOP AND GIFMAKING

This is my gif with the coloring I want it to have eventually (including the manipulated color). I changed the yellows and reds in the scene to be purple. I want the majority of the gif to be purple and cyan, but do not want it to be on her skin.

First add a layer mask to the adjustments that are creating the color you want to remove. I used several layers to create the purple coloring, so I grouped them together and added the layer mask to the group instead of having to do them individually. In this case, I erased anywhere the purple was on her skin.

She is walking away in this scene, so this layer mask alone is not enough. This is where keyframes come in.

In the timeline window, scroll to the layer that your layer mask is on (or in my case, group). On the far left side, each of the layers should have an arrow which toggles a drop down menu. Click it and it will list options for Opacity, Layer Mask Position, and Layer Mask Enable. Make sure the current time indicator (small blue arrow and red vertical line in the timeline window) is positioned at 00:00:00 and then select the clock icon next to Layer Mask Position. It should place a small yellow diamond at the same place as the indicator. Each successive move of the mask will place a grey diamond at the timestamp that you move it.

CMD+click on the layer mask in the Layers window so that the area of the mask becomes outlined with a dotted line in the main workspace. Click the chain icon next to the layer mask in the Layers window to unlock the mask's movement.

The next steps are the most tedious. You have to manually move the layer mask every few frames to a new position that follows the movement of the gif. I usually zoom the timeline in so that each second is broken into six sections and pick a new layer mask position at approximately each section. If there is more rapid movement in the gif, you may have to pick new positions at more frequent intervals and vice versa.

After the initial layer mask is set at the 00:00:00 point in the timeline, select the next interval that you want the layer mask to move to. Do this by moving the time indicator to your chosen point. Now with the move tool, click within the layer mask and drag it to where it needs to be to keep coverage on your desired area. The longer/more frames in the gif, the more keyframe points you will have to select. This gif was about 2.5 seconds long and I used 14 different points.

These are just a few of the keyframes I made on this gif. You can see here that the original area that I erased in the layer mask doesn't quite cover all of her skin throughout the movement. I just erase a bit more until I'm satisfied with the coverage.

Once you have mapped all the points out, deselect the mask area and click the blank space where the chain icon was to make it reappear and return the mask to a locked position.

Scrub through the gif to make sure that the mask covers everything you want and also that the keyframes make it move smoothly. Shorter intervals and minor position changes between keyframes usually keeps choppiness (this normally presents as the mask noticeably jumping to a new position) to a minimum. You should not be able to notice the mask's movement except in the way it removes color from specific areas as intended.

Export and save the gif as normal.

This is my finished result:

#userfanni #omgari #usersunny #userbells #userkraina #tuserabbie #tusergabriela #useroli #userangelic #supervalcsi #userphe #keyframes #*tutorial #tagging a couple of you who have been like ‘how tf did you make this’ on sets that i used this technique hope you dont mind #idk how coherently this reads or if it even explains it well enough but feel free to ask for clarification #there are also other keyframe tutorials on here that are written much better so check those out too if mine doesnt make sense #but yeah this is how i make my vibrant gifs that have movement in them #i'm going to make a tutorial explaining the actual coloring process too eventually #might make a part two of this explaining how to use this method for more complicated movements #like when your subject moves in multiple directions or there are multiple subjects #riah.gif #riah.txt

[gallusrostromegalus]

You ohhhandedly mentioned tessai livong through ww2 and… wow thats true there were a lot of characters that got a first row seat to both conflicts, even if only the second was really impactful on japans history. Does urahara, yoruichi, tessai, the vizored or any of the shinigami have any specific feelings on ww2/the nuclear bombs? I know its a wild fucking question but it literally just occurred to me and i cant stop thinking about it.

Yeah WW2 is an entire 5-chapter arc in the fic because apparently Kubo is from Hiroshima, and Karakura town is based on his memories growing up there. Stuff that happens during that arc:

The Soul Society's sole warning that something catastrophic might be coming is the arrival of an irradiated and enraged Coyote spirit from the Trinidad test site. It's up to Newly-appointed captain Komamura to calm it down and explain what happened, and Mayuri is able to work out that atomic weapons are real from it's descriptions. He gives Soul Society about a month before the humans drop one on a city.

Unfortunately, he's correct.

***

Urahara and the Visoreds use the fact that they're already dead to mitigate some of the damage from the bombing by walking into the epicenter and shoving carbon rods into the most radioactive points, stemming much of the radiation damage, but there's nothing they can do for the initial wave of destruction.

It involves going through a new gigai every trip and learning what if feels like to have the flesh actually melt off your bones, but Hirako Shinji and the other Visored are no cowards, least of all about Hard and Dirty Work.

Tessai makes Ururu and Jinta out of spare parts from Urahara's Gigai experiments to house a heavily damage Kitsune and Tanuki spirit pair from a shrine that was destroyed. Ururu is the Tankuki, and the older one- Jinta seems a bit more 'organic' because Tessai learned a lot making his sister, and because as a Kitsune, he's a better actor.

***

Soul Society is in major trouble though.

with the sudden influx of souls- first from the bombing, but then from the radiation sickness and the famine that followed, the living and spirit worlds are in danger of becoming unbalanced.

It's a Major Crisis!

Fortunately for them, people with sociopathy tend to operate really well during Crises, and I realized the reason Mayuri hasn't been fired or killed by the time Ichigo shows up is that when shit hits the fan, Mayuri's lack of emotional response to the suffering of others means he can buckle down and fucking DELIVER.

Expansions to the pocket dimension that the queue of incoming souls is housed in? He didn't sleep for two weeks to get it done on time, but there was more than enough room when the bomb dropped and for the few months after as casualties continued.

Emergency rations for all these incoming factory workers that know nothing about farming? Behold, Nutritionally complete meals that you can eat right out of the box! And smaller, friendlier ones for the kiddies!

Hell, the 12th division even makes instructional propaganda videos about how safe and tasty these new foods are, featuring The Grand Clown Himself, and distribution centers featuring his likeness, so Mayuri enjoys a peculiar popularity in the Rukongai, not unlike an off-brand and sometimes educational Krusty The Clown.

Just ah. Stop asking questions about the ingredients list.

***

"I'm not fucking killing civillians." Says Kenpachi when Yamamoto begins to bring up the historical method that the Shinigami have used to balance out sudden influxes of souls from the living world.

"Oh?" Yamamoto glares at him. "You have a better idea?"

"What's them big fuckers that come outta tears sometimes? Hundred feet tall, black, bird faces?" He asks, waving as he tries to remember the names.

"...Menos Grande?" asks Ukitake, who has gotten remarkably good at interpreting for the man next to him at meetings.

"Yeah!" Zaraki grins, patting his six-foot-tall colleague on the head like a small child. "You said they're like... combination creatures of a thousand souls each right?"

"Zaraki is correct." Pipes up Tousen, who is also extremely eager to not murder civilians and even more eager to absolutely fuck up the army of Menos Aizen has been gathering in Hueco Mundo. "-It wouldn't be *easy* but dispatching approximately Five hundred Menos in the next week seems much more doable and much, much more morally sound than killing five hundred thousand civillians. Sir."

Kaname can feel the curse nails on his back starting to bleed from Aizen's glare but he presses on.

"-There appears to be a significant population of them gathered on the far eastern edge of Hueco Mundo. It would probably take most of the 11th Division's forces but-"

"IKKAKU!" Zaraki is already bellowing out the door to his lieutenant. "TELL EVERYONE TO PACK AN EXTRA PAIR OF PANTIES, WE'RE GOING ON A HOLLOW HUNT!"

There is a distant but enthusiastic whoop form Ikkaku in reply.

"An excursion into Hueco Mundo is exceptionally dangerous." Unohana notes, voice placid as he returns to the table.

"-and? I don't do this job because it's safe 'n' easy." Zaraki shrugs.

Her neutral expression softens just a bit into a small, affectionate and perhaps ever-so-slightly lascivious smile. "May I suggest that a detachment of the 4th Division accompany the 11th? It won't make the work easier, but it will mitigate some of the risk."

Yamamoto groans, aware that the decision has been made for him.

"Fine." He grunts. "Take a detachment of the Ninth too, you can use that newfangled radiodar whatsit to keep me updated."

"Pardon?" Mumbles Kaname, slightly woozy from blood loss.

His circulatory situation is not helped when an illusion-blind-to-the-blood Zaraki grabs him about the middle and starts carrying him off under his arm in exactly the direction the 9th and 11th are not like a particularly bewildered purse Chihuahua.

***

Aizen... almost strays from his path.

The Hogyoku is slow and tiresome, his first plan to barrage Karakura with Menos to create the Oken is being trashed and actually being forced to work his job of Rukongai Management is- Well, it's reminding him just why he started this quest to Dethrone God.

What loving creator would make an afterlife of squalor, where the 'lucky' are cursed to outlive everyone they know and love? Not one worth worshiping, surely.

But actually being out here, setting up emergency food distribution, implementing the latest in civil engineering from the newly arrived and seeing it immediately improve the quality of life, uniting families and... actually helping people? it's making him question his path. Perhaps- Perhaps God is not some uncaring regent on a distant throne. Perhaps God is something that lives in all souls, a kindness and goodwill towards one's fellow man, and to spread the will of a loving creator, one must Act to Enact God's Will...

Gin Panics.

He has not spent the last 300-odd years dangling the Hogyoku in front of Aizen, stuffing him full of spiritual energy to feed to the machine that generates reality like he was fattening up a goose for Pate, only to have him give up his quest for divinity NOW.

He's gonna have to do something drastic.

He's gonna have to convince Aizen he was right all along, and that he needs to keep using the Hogyoku.

He's going to need to use Aizen's own Illusions against him, and convince Aizen that the souls of the citizens of the rukongai aren't worth playing a Benevolent God for. That the whole thing needs to come out and be replaced.

Sure, it's a dick move

but those are his specialty.

***

It's the night before the 11th and the two detachments are supposed to leave for Hueco Mundo, and Yamamoto's been doing some thinking.

He is also in Zaraki's quarters at midnight sharp. "Captain-General." Nods Unohana, pausing mid-activity to acknowledge him. "Bruh." Zaraki grunts to indicate they were busy. "I need to borrow Zaraki for an hour or so, and then you may continue." he says, and then steps back outside so the man can get untied and dressed.

"This better be good old man, I know you haven't been married for a few centuries but REALLY-" Zaraki grumbles, emerging and putting his sandals on. "Don’t worry, it’ll take twenty minutes tops, all you have to do is stand behind me and don’t hide your rage." Yamamoto explains. "-We'’re going to go see the central 46." Zaraki pauses mid-sandal, slowly looking up at him with an intrigued arch to his brow. "Yes, it’s forbidden." Yamamoto says, not tearing his gaze away from the moon above them. "-But I've received reports that the Central 46 has acquired blueprints of the... Device. Used in the living world earlier this month and I'm nipping this at the damn bud." Zaraki grins, and finishes putting his sandals on.

The Central 46 are alerted to the Presence of Yamamoto and Zaraki by the main gate to their district being kicked through the wall of the council chambers.

"Hello, Sages and Wise Councilors of the Soul Society!" The Old Man greets them as he steps through the hole he just made, and The Barbarian squeezing through after, sword casually over his shoulder. "Well isn't this a surprise, everyone here in a full meeting at One in the Morning on a Teusday!"

"Wh-What is the meaning of this?" one of the head councilmen sputters, mustache bristling. "Shinigami are forbidden form this place, I'll have you both execu-!"

"Shut up." Yamamoto glares, and sparks fly from the corner of his eye. The hem of his Haori is starting to smolder and singe as well as he approaches the table the councilors are crowded around the blueprints from the living world.

"Now, we are all good and honorable people here." Yamamoto says, casually waving a hand in what would normally be a placating gesture but now only made his sleeve flicker as Ryujin Jakka grew hungrier. "-But I've been around long enough to know how Power corrupts."

"And we've all been exposed to a new, horrific level of Power."

"Oh, of course, you would never! It's unthinkable to sink to such a level!"

"...but it's been a few weeks. The initial shock has faded, and you're starting to understand the full toll of the destruction." he explains, strolling up, the diamond insignia on his back spreading across his shoulders as the Haori singes. Behind him, Zaraki is following with an unpleasantly carnivorous stroll, yellow eye lazily moving from face to face, taking stock of all those present. "...and you are perhaps developing a new standard of devastation and suffering to wish upon your enemies."

There is some muttering, some protesting, and worse, some agreeing. They are silenced by a sudden electric crackle of Energy from Zaraki.

"I’m just here to tell you all-" Yamamoto continues, unperturbed. Or perhaps so perturbed he's warped all the way around to a deep, ruthless peace.

"If I hear any ONE of you has taken steps to develop a weapon like this-" he points a finger at the blueprints, which singe and then burn, a low, slow flame that reduces them completely to ash.

"-I’m going to kill all of you."

"Actually," he explains, as the blueprints finish burning and the table catches as well, fire blooming and crackling, lighting him from beneath. "I’m going to kill all of you and your families. By which I mean, I’m figuring out who all your ancestors were going back Five generations, Kill them, and kill all their descendants."

The table burns, and the floor is threatening to catch, but nobody can move to ring the fire alarm or grab a bucket of water.

"-Because that’s the kind of indiscriminate destruction these things cause." he explains. "It's a damn shame to say this, but this is the first time we've been able to settle whole families in the same town- because five, six, even seven generations of families, from great-great grandmother to the newest infants were burnt together in an instant."

"So if you want to wield that kind of destruction, you best be prepared to deal with those kinds of consequences." he growls, and suddenly sweeps his hand over the fire, which snuffs out immediately.

Slowly he turns to go, and regards Zaraki behind him.

"Oh, and just in case any of you had thoughts of hastening my retirement in regards to this matter-" he speaks up, and points to Zaraki "-Near as I can tell, this asshole is immortal and indestructible, so if I happen to be dead, he'll do it for me, won't you?"

"Yes, sir." Zaraki Nods, eye fixed on the head councilor, committing his face to memory, blade and crackling eagerly.

"-and he's nowhere near as speedy and clean a killer as I am, so I suggest you don't test either of us." Yamamoto grins, and Ryujin Jakka can't help but flicker off his brow for emphasis.

"Goodnight, and go fuck yourselves." Yamamoto bows, and exits through the same hole he entered.

The walk back to the 11th is largely silent, but Yamamot can feel the pleased-yet-curious thrum of reiatsu from Zaraki.

"Question, boss-" he suddenly speaks as they approach the 11th.

"You're not supposed to question orders, Zaraki." He sighs. He'll make a proper shinigami out of him. Eventually.

"...Request for clarification, Boss-" Zaraki tries again, and Yamamoto nods. "-Why me?"

Yamamoto arches an overgrown brow at him.

"Not complainin'-" Zaraki explains, pointedly looking up at the moon and scratching his neck in deferment. "-But Byakuya's got more sway with them and Gin's definitely better at terrifying first impressions."

"Hm." Yamamoto nods. "It's in the follow-up, not the impression, you see."

"I do not." Zaraki says. For all his faults and frustrations, Zaraki sure keeps Yamamoto on his toes about not being lazy and actually explaining himself.

"-I am very serious about you killing them and their descendants if they ever think about making one of those devices." he sighs and Zaraki nods, waving a hand for him to continue. "-So I picked the Shinigami most invested in a peaceful future to make sure my orders would be carried out."

Zaraki still looks confused.

"You're my only captain with children, Zaraki." Yamamoto explains. "I know you only give half a rat's ass about the court guard, but I've seen what you'll do for Yachiru."

Zaraki nods understanding now, and a few more paces of silence pass between them.

"...Thank you, Sir." Zaraki mutters, bowing his head and using the honorific with genuine intent for the first time since Yamamoto had known him. "-For understanding."

"Thank you, Captain Zaraki." Yamamoto nodded slightly, stopping before the gate to the 11th. "-For understanding as well."

"-Now get back to Captain Unohana before she schedules some sort of blood test of a thousand needles for me!" Yamamoto grunted, prodding at Zaraki with his cane, and the man didn't need to be told twice.

#AEIWAM #an elephant is warm and mushy #bleach #bleach fanfic #zaraki kenpachi #mauyri kurotsuchi #kisuke urahara #genryusai shigekuni yamamoto #kaname tousen #retsu unohana #long post

[goosefruit]

the best cure for period cramps

vanessa shelly x fem!reader

tw: nsfw, period cramps, period sex, oral, fingering, yeah thats pretty much it, i guess you can say theres fluff A/N: yall i actually dont know how to use tumblr so i hope im doing this right

================================================

"Y/N, baby? You okay in there?" Vanessa's voice rang out from down the hallway. 

You rubbed your eyes, groaning as you made your best attempt at sitting up. The clock on the wall read 11:30AM. 

For the past hour, you had been drifting in and out of sleep, the pain in your lower abdomen growing progressively more intense. It was that time of the month again, when your uterus made it impossible for you to do anything except lying in bed miserably. To make matters worse, you had ran out of painkillers again.

"Yeah. Well. Except for the part where I feel like I'm bleeding out to death." You replied with a wince as another round of dull, throbbing pain seized your body. 

Vanessa had woken up an hour ago to make the two of you breakfast, the smell of freshly made bacon evident even behind the closed bedroom door. 

"Period cramps?" She entered the room to sit on the edge of the bed.

You nodded, grimacing at how pathetic you must have looked. 

"Aw, I'm sorry you're in so much pain. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I'm out of painkillers. And I'm so thirsty I'm starting to wonder if I'm evaporating on top of bleeding out."

Vanessa let out a little chuckle at that. "Wait here. I'll grab you some water."

She came back a few moments later with a cup of hot tea and a plate of bacon and toast. The food was mouth-watering, but the torturous pain was ruining your appetite to the point where you feared you might throw up if you tried to eat. 

"Do try to eat something, but I understand if you're not hungry right now." She placed the breakfast and tea down on the nightstand before joining you on the bed. "Come here my love, let me hold you."

She wrapped her arms around you and placed a gentle kiss to your slightly sweaty forehead. You took small sips of the comforting tea, the warm liquid providing some momentary relief. 

"I don't mean to cross any boundaries, but..." An idea sparked Vanessa's mind. 

"..mhm?"

"A drive down to the nearest pharmacy would take at least 10 minutes. And then another 10 back. Since you're in so much pain, I do know a quick method to relieve period cramps...but it's unconventional."

"Please Vanessa, tell me. Anything."

"Orgasms." She bit her lip to avoid making a face. 

Your expression made it obvious that this was not the response you were expecting. However, you were not opposed to the idea. At all.

"Let me explain. Orgasms release dopamine, which, you know is the chemical that helps with increasing pain tolerance." She sounded like a total nerd, which you found adorable. "So if you want to, I can make you cum, maybe even multiple times. I've tried it before, and God does it work wonders," she added that last part with a blush.

"Are you sure? I don't feel exactly sexy when I'm passing blood clots from my vagina every hour."

"Baby. I would love to go down on you. The only thing you have to do is let me know if you're comfortable with it."

And that was how you ended up with your girlfriend between your legs, blood dripping down her chin as she lapped at your clit. 

"Mmm, fuck Nessa. 'M so sensitive." You whined, clutching a fistful of the sheets. Everything felt tender on your period. 

"You-- got this-- my love--" she breathed out between strokes of her tongue. "Doing so-- fucking--- good for me--"

You moaned loudly as she pushed one finger inside of your sore pussy. It slid in easily, the blood acting as extra lubricant. 

"Harder, Ness. Baby, please fuck me harder."

She pumped into you harder at your request, adding in a second finger to stretch you out. Her fingers repeatedly brushed against your gspot, and you gasped in response every single time. 

Vanessa looked so unbelievably gorgeous going down on you: loose blonde strands falling out of her usually neat ponytail, eyes gazing up at you with a combination of lust and care, blood smeared all over her face and dripping from her swollen lips. The sight was almost enough to make you climax at a glance. 

"Don't stop. Holy shit, don't stop, I'm so close." The knot in your stomach tightened.

"Cum for me Y/N," the blonde wrapped her lips around your puffy clit and brought you oh so close to the edge. "Come on my tongue and give me every last bit of your pain. Let it all go, my angel." 

Your mind was too blurry to form a single word, so the only noise you could let out was a scream as your pussy twitched around her fingers, an orgasm crashing into you with full force. Vanessa continued to draw circles on your clit with her tongue until you had come down from your high. It must had been a whole minute before the stars in your vision cleared. You smiled, both at the intensity of the orgasm, and as you noticed the lack of aching pain in your abdomen.  

"So, how do you feel?" Vanessa looked so proud of herself, pulling her fingers out and wiping her bloody chin with the back of her hand. 

"Oh my god, I fucking love you. That was mind-blowing." 

Trailing kisses up your body, she pressed her lips to yours, filling your mouth with the metallic taste of your pleasure. 

You found that the taste of your blood was oddly sexy, perhaps because the image of her covered in it, devouring your cunt, was still ingrained in your brain. 

"Want another pain reliever?"

"I'll let you know when the cramps start up again." You chuckled and pulled her in closer to deepen the kiss. 

#vanessa shelly #vanessa afton #vanessa fnaf #vanessa shelly x reader #vanessa shelly smut #wlw nsft #fnaf movie #fnaf x reader

[manipulatedstars]

We'll Be Alright

Genre: fluff, slight angst if you squint, non-idol AU, office romance, coworkers-slash-friends-slash-idiots-to-lovers

Pairing: Mingi x gn!reader

Word Count: 3.3k

Warnings: Pink Mingi (a valid warning), symptoms of anxiety and panic but nothing serious, mentions of gambling ig, Wooyoung being Wooyoung

Summary: When Mingi overhears some colleagues talking, he realizes he has to finally make his feelings known - easier said than done.

A/N: Can you believe this bitch (me)? Apparently I write now?? This is my first ever finished fic, and I'm eternally grateful to @hobarine for being the greatest beta reader without agreeing to being one in the first place. I love your sexy brain. [clears throat and wipes tears] I'd also like to thank my dear friends who made this possible in the first place - check the end of the fic for what violently inspired me to write this. Feedback and reblogs appreciated! Also - this is not a song fic (well... I suppose it very much is, but not in that way), but I'll Keep You Safe by Sleeping At Last very much set the tone for this, so I highly recommend you check it out.

The first couple times your new coworker had poked his head around the side of your cubicle, it was all business - or at least as much business as it could be considering that new colleague was Song Mingi.

It had all started out with work-related questions when he joined the company and, being one of the company’s top salespeople, you were quickly tasked with showing him around and answering any questions he might have. Your boss had personally offered Mingi the position, so he wanted to make sure the newcomer was going to stay, considering he was a “natural at his job” and would “undoubtedly prove to be a huge asset to the team.” You'd learned not to question your boss's decisions after he'd proven time and time again that he had a gift for picking out new team members, despite his sometimes questionable and unusual methods.

You also didn't question why Mingi, even after he'd grown accustomed to his new work environment, kept sticking around you. He never addressed this but he was shy around other people and you were still the only one he sort-of knew. And you, having grown to enjoy his company despite him being borderline clueless and painfully clumsy at times, weren't gonna complain.

So what started out as, "I'm so so so sorry, could you please explain the printer to me again? I'm so sor-" quickly turned into deeper, more personal questions and conversations. Not in a weird way, of course, he just really enjoyed being around you and wanted to get to know you better. Or so he kept telling himself and others when someone pointed it out. Over time, he had become fairly confident that you two could be considered friends, and he couldn't be happier. So you got used to him just poking his head, adorned with his signature pink hair, around the corner and asking you about movies and books you’d recently enjoyed, your most hated color (because according to him, asking for a favorite everything was overused), and your go-to spots in the area. At times you'd even catch yourself thinking how cute his childlike nature was. The only thing that put a damper on his mood was when one day he was put in a cubicle on the side of the office furthest away from you, for “productivity reasons" - not that it actually kept him from coming over to you just as often. In fact, he claimed to need a rest at your desk from the “extensive workout” they made him do in order to come this way. You never commented on how he was the only one to blame for full-on sprinting through the office space instead of walking like a normal person.

His favorite days are measured by how often, and how loudly, he managed to make you laugh that day. He could get lost in the sound, and knowing he was the reason for it? He wouldn't be able to wipe the smile from his face if he tried.

If only he knew that his visits had started to become the best part of your day, too...

You were thoroughly enjoying each other's presence. Always having lunch together, and taking a little bit too long to walk to your respective cars after work.

It was a regular Tuesday when Mingi made his way to the break room to get his regular drinks - a green tea for you, and a coffee with an obscene amount of sugar for himself - something you’d chided him for, telling him time and time again it would kill him one day.

He didn’t mind waiting for some coworkers to free up the coffee machine. He’d gotten used to it pretty quickly after the second one had broken some time ago. This just meant that the room was less crowded, since the majority of his colleagues had since chosen to head to the cafeteria downstairs instead of having to stand in line like he was now. But in his opinion, they were the ones missing out. He enjoyed getting to know the usual suspects of the breakroom a little better each time they happened to get something to drink when he did - which was the same time every day.

So it would’ve been just a regular coffee run on a regular Tuesday, if it hadn’t been for the conversation happening in front of him. He wasn’t one to eavesdrop, but nothing caught his attention quite like you did. Or, in this case, your name falling from one of the men’s lips. Mingi decided that he didn’t like the way it sounded coming from someone else, someone who probably didn’t even appreciate you in the way you deserved.

The men didn’t seem to notice him standing close by, or simply didn’t care whether they could be overheard or not, because their conversation didn’t seize.

‘’...I mean have you seen them lately?’’

He sure had.

‘’I’d be stupid not to make a move. They’re a catch.’’

NO! Well, yes..but-

’’Isn’t Song head over heels for them though? Kind of a dick move if you ask me…’’

They knew?

’’Come on, we both know he’s too much of a coward to actually go for it.’’

Mingi began to panic. He’d been so enamored with you since the two of you had been introduced that he’d never even entertained the idea of someone else possibly hitting on you. Of course he knew you were pretty. Gorgeous, even - he had eyes after all. He also knew you were the epitome of grace and kindness. Anyone would be lucky to be with you. But he’d been trying slowly and carefully to inch his way into your heart, and now realized that he was so focused that he hadn’t even considered the possibility of anyone else sharing the same end goal.

God he was so stupid-

He knew he had to act. Fast. Despite his insecurities trying to convince him that you’d surely be better off with someone who didn’t stumble over their words, someone who was confident and could sweep you off your feet, he knew he would forever regret it if he didn’t at least try.

Even if the chances may be slim, he couldn’t live with himself if he lost the opportunity to make you his, especially if he lost it to his own mind.

You were just typing up a response to Park Seonghwa from HR, who had once again asked you to consider joining their team, when suddenly, a loud BANG startled you out of your thoughts. You joined some of your other coworkers in getting up from their seats to see what the commotion was about, and you couldn’t help a bright smile from lighting up your face the moment you saw Mingi standing in the doorway. Though your smile dropped just as quickly when you noticed the look of pure distress on his face, his eyes scanning across the room rapidly. The second your eyes met, he started hurriedly making his way over to you, ignoring any of the worried and questioning glances and occasional comments that people were throwing his way.

What was going on?

‘’Mingi, what-’’ your question was cut short when he gripped your shoulders the moment he reached your cubicle. He was panting, eyes blown wide and never leaving yours, as if he was afraid you’d disappear the moment he so much as blinked.

As if he was only now noticing the stares and whispers directed his way, he glanced around the room timidly. His nerves seemed to catch up with him, because he turned and went to leave as quickly as he’d arrived - if it hadn't been for your quick reflexes and your hand curling around his wrist, stopping him in his motion.

It took you gently calling his name a couple of times for him to finally turn around to face you again - and now you could see the sheen of sweat covering his forehead.

He was also avoiding eye contact.

Now you were really worried. Was he sick? Did something happen?

"Hey, what's wrong?'' No answer. ''You look really pale... are you not feeling well?"

When he stayed silent again, you brought one hand up to his forehead - an instinctive action for you, but definitely not what he’d expected, because his face quickly went from looking sickly pale to flushing a deep scarlet.

Your eyes widened when you noticed how warm his skin was, placing your other hand on one of his cheeks. "Mingi, you're burning up. Do you need to see a doctor?" When again he didn't answer, you turned to grab your things, preparing to carry this man to the nearest hospital if need be, but now it was his hand around your wrist that kept you from moving further.

You glanced from where he was touching you with a gentle yet desperate, clammy hand and back to his face, noting the panic in his eyes that were still refusing to meet your own.

Any stranger passing by would've assumed you were approaching a stray kitten, desperately trying not to scare it off, but you knew how much of a flight risk Mingi could be when things got too much to handle. "Hey, you know you can talk to me, right? I'm only trying to help you," you said with the gentlest voice you could muster despite your racing thoughts.

Yeah, that was the main problem, he thought, you're the only person who makes this job bearable, and I can't lose you by messing this up. You bring both your hands up to cup his cheeks when you notice the tears welling up in his eyes, threatening to spill over.

"Hey, look at me.’’ you dipped your head trying to lure his eyes into meeting yours. ‘’You won't lose me. Why would you?’’ a gentle brush of your thumbs over his pretty cheekbones ‘’How could I make it through one day at this crappy office, with its crappy coffee and the crappy AC that’s broken more often than not, without you?"

Oh shit, his eyes widened even further. Did I say that out loud? Oh god-

He was about to bolt again, mentally calculating how long it would take him to make a detour to a wig store or a hairdresser on his way to the airport, determined to start over in a faraway country, when he involuntarily locked eyes with you. He never understood how you did it, and he was sure there was no possible scientific explanation for the effect you had on him, because the way your eyes, filled with nothing but kindness and understanding, always managed to calm him down instantly was nothing short of magical.

You had to be a heavenly being sent to look out for him - him, this mere human - and him alone. It was in this moment that he remembered what you'd told him time and time again. Realized that he really could say what had been running rampant in his mind for months now. Reminded himself that he could be open and vulnerable with you. You, who had never shown him anything but support and guidance, even when you were having a bad day yourself. Alright. You, who always managed to find a peaceful solution to any argument or tension that arose in the office… He'd be alright. You, who somehow didn't hold grudges even when people had wronged you. You'd both be alright.

You must've noticed the change in his demeanor, because your lips curled up into a small version of one of your beautiful smiles that he loved so much. Shit, he wouldn't be surprised if you could hear his pulse slowing down, his heart rate finally dropping to a point that wouldn't have sent an entire hospital wing into a panic had he been hooked up to a monitor, with news reporters flocking to his bed trying score an interview to find out how the hell he had managed to survive that.

So he closed his eyes, which were now stinging in protest to having been kept open wide for way too long, and took a deep, if shaky, breath.

That was all you, too. Your encouragement to face difficult situations despite every fiber of his being telling him to run. Your influence. You were the one who told him time and time again that things were going to be okay. You showed him that he was in control of his fate and his feelings, and that even when it felt like the whole world was against him, you'd be by his side. No wonder the HR department was desperate to get you to join them…

Mingi couldn't run away now if he tried. He owed you this much. If nothing else, he owed you an explanation, and honesty. He wanted to make you proud.

So with another deep breath, this one a little less shaky (the first one had you worried he might burst into full sobs at any second), he covered your hands in his much larger ones, pulled them from his face and intertwined your fingers with his between your bodies. When he finally opened his eyes again, they were full of determination.

This shift in tone, with him being calmer and more confident than you'd ever seen him, had you thankful for the grasp he had on you, needing his hands around yours in support as your breath hitched when you noticed the raw adoration in his gaze.

His voice, beautifully airy and deeper than you swore you'd ever heard it before, sent shivers down your spine. There was everything yet nothing as you got lost in his gorgeous, warm eyes, and now his voice too. You weren't in your office anymore. You were standing barefoot in a forest, surrounded by majestic trees and vibrant wildlife, a gentle breeze almost calling out your name. You were on a beach, the warm sand comforting between your toes, the waves softly crashing behind you, a pair of strong arms wrapped around your shoulders. You decided then and there that his eyes' gorgeous shade of brown was your new favorite color.

It took his voice calling your name softly to bring you back to the present moment, a bashful smile on his stupidly handsome face. Had he always been this pretty?

"Please tell me you heard what I just said?'' he asked shyly, knowing full well you'd completely spaced out.

"Uh..." You grimaced. At that, he couldn't help but turn his face downward as he murmured to himself, but you were so focused on him now that you had no trouble making out the words. "Oh my god, I can't believe you're making me do this again". He would've buried his face in his hands had they not been occupied with the much more important job of holding the world's greatest treasure.

He hadn't missed the way you'd gotten lost in his eyes, and it only fueled his confidence. He hoped that maybe, just maybe, it was the same way he’d been looking at you more often than not since he'd met you.

He took a deep breath. "I said..." he paused as he brought one of his hands up to your cheek, his other hand easily holding both of yours in their previous position.

You felt yourself blushing. Hard.

Stroking his thumb over your cheek gently, he continued "...that I like you. I like like you. No, scratch that -’’ a gentle shake of his head ‘’-I'm crazy about you.’’ His gaze dropped again as he started rambling. ‘’I hope this doesn't make things weird between us, and I'm so sorry if I read things wrong, and if y-" he started mumbling, nerves catching up to him again, insecurities trying to invade his mind and win back precious land. But you noticed. And you smiled at him in adoration, and squeezed his hand in reassurance. This made him look up at you again. You're going to be alright, you tried to convey with your eyes, we're going to be alright.

Another deep breath, followed by a lighthearted chuckle at his own antics.

"The point is, I really like you, a-and I would love to take you out on a date? O-only if you want to of co-" he couldn't finish the sentence, because you promptly freed your hands and grabbed his face again, pulling him down to you (what they fed him as a kid to get him so tall, you'd really have to ask his parents one day) and pressed your lips to his in a firm and reassuring kiss.

His eyes widened again, cheeks heating back up, but he melted into you as soon as the first shock wore off, arms wrapping around you almost on instinct. As if holding you was their only job, and what they were meant to be doing all his life. He pulled you up to his level seemingly without effort before getting lost in the next kiss. Feeling your fingers running through his hair, he groaned inwardly. Mingi could do this forever, and he would if you let him. He'd figure out a way to survive without oxygen. If not, he decided the team would be fine without him.

You only pulled apart when you noticed the cheers and clapping that had erupted around you, even the occasional wolf-whistle coming from your coworkers, most of who'd gotten up from their seats again, if they’d even settled down after the shock of Mingi’s arrival. You hadn't seen them this lively since the day your boss had ordered a coffee and snack truck to the parking lot in celebration of sealing a deal everybody had worked hard to finally make happen. The majority of them had their headsets still attached, and had you not been so ecstatic you would've felt bad for whoever was getting their ears damaged on the other end of their lines.

"About damn time, Song..."

"TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH!!

"He finally grew a pair!"

These were only some of the lines being thrown at the two of you that had you blushing furiously, and Mingi hiding his face in the crook of your neck.

You could've sworn you saw a few fist bumps and some money being passed around, but you decided not to dwell on it for your own sanity’s sake...

After the noise had mostly died down, Mingi put you back on your feet just so he could press his forehead to yours, both of your breaths mingling. Maybe oxygen wasn't so bad after all if he got to share it with you.

You almost missed the signature fake gagging sound of your most obnoxious co-worker, but before you could chase him off like you usually would when he started to tease you about the way you, in his words, "spent more time staring at Mingi than actually working", the telltale sound of a palm making not-so-gentle contact with the back of someone's head (and the dramatic pained yelp that followed) made you realize that your boss had already taken care of Wooyoung himself. You swore he kept an extra set of eyes on the mischievous man-child just so he wouldn't miss an opportunity to reprimand him.

The same boss who sent you a curt nod and a small smile, before telling “the two lovebirds" to get back to work. Though you knew that he’d want to have a word with Mingi later, seeing as how the force with which he’d slammed open the door must’ve left at least an indent on the wall behind it.

It was safe to say you didn't get much work done the rest of that day, but you also never had to eat lunch alone again, or walk to your car without a strong, loving hand holding your own...or drive to work yourself, really.

Even years later, with your left ring finger now permanently occupied, you loved to remind him how proud of him you were.

✨Lore time✨

Here's how everything started:

Bonus:

(I was, in fact, not almost done)

A loving shoutout to my dear friends for planting this idea in my head. And thank you to everyone who read through it and left valuable feedback - you know who you are 💜

©manipulatedstars 2023 - do not steal, copy, repost, translate or otherwise plagiarize my work. If you do, I'll eat all your cereal and pour milk in your shoes.

#mingi #mingi x reader #mingi x y/n #mingi fanfic #mingi fluff #song mingi #ateez mingi #mingi angst #ateez #ateez x reader #ateez fic #ateez imagines #ateez angst #ateez hurt/comfort #ateez x gender neutral reader #ateez x you #ateez x y/n #k-pop fic #ateez fluff #jo writes?? #gn!reader #reader insert

[thejournallo]

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE VOID STATE AND THE VOID:

tag: @aestheticlizalis

As always, I will love to hear your thoughts! and if you have any questions, I will be more than happy to answer them! If you liked it, leave a comment or reblog (that is always appreciated!). if you are intrested in more method check the masterlist!

Every time I end up talking about the void state, there is a part of me that tends to raise awareness about the void itself. It is a thing the void does not help you manifest, like the void state. In this post, I will try my best to explain how much these two things are truly different.

WARNING: COGNITO HAZARD (For those who do not know, a cognito hazard is a term used to describe an image, pattern, sound, or any other kind of sensory signal that directly causes harmful or undesired physiological or physical effects to one who senses or perceives it. (It is specifically used as a warning when talking about "forced awakening" things like the void.)

You are free to believe or not believe every word I will say in this post, and you are free to not believe every word I say. If, while reading this, you start to feel a negative emotion or a sensation as if you are lost or bodily or emotionally sick, DO NOT CONTINUE READING.

let's get deeper in this rabbit hole shall we? 

i will talk breefly about the void state and then i will get in a more detailed way into what the void is, just because i aready explained the void state many times.

the void state:

is a state of deep meditation where you feel like floating and feel nothingness embodies you, making you feel one with the universe helping you to manifest. (Click the name if you actually want to know more.)

the void:

The void is nothing and everything at the same time. Let me explain better: the void is a place where everything is possible and exists, but at the same time is impossible and does not exist.  The thing is, the void in itself is a pass to every other dimension because every dimension resides in the void, even the cursed ones or the ones that never will be or never were timelines.  As a person with a lot of experience in the void itself, I will tell you that it is not a nice place.  Every kind of entity can catch you, good or evil, whatever they might be. As mere humans in the void, we are exposed to a lot of deep-rooted energy that corrupts our bodies in the long run. 

As humans, in the void, we can only "survive" in the backrooms.

what is a backroom?

One thing that is definitely more popular than the void itself are the backrooms that reside in the void. The backrooms became popular around 2012 as a SCP thing as images of liminal spaces. But I assure you, they are pretty much real, and they have many levels, not in a specific order. On every level, we can find different things and different entities, as mentioned before. We can find the good ones that will try to keep you safe and the bad ones that will literally try to kill you. 

I will also add that the backroom exists because we are the front room, so for every timeline in existence, there is a backroom, and much like the universe, the void is pretty much endless, so there are infinite possibilities for the frontroom and the backroom.

why im i telling you this?

because I talk from experience, and let me tell you some of them were not fun. Still to this day, when I go to sleep, I find myself in the void. Bruh, I don't know how it simply happens. And that's been my life since I was 14 years old. I had my time to understand and learn a few rules to exit the backrooms fast enough or not to be killed. 

I will put them at the end, but first, a little check on the main differences that we found out about the void state and the void itself:

The void state is a meditation; the void is an "endless place.".

The void can be a dangerous place, but the void state is harmless.

The void state helps us connect with the universe; the void is not used to manifest.

The void is a constant state of rooted energy, which means, in more basic words, that the energy in the void is dirty, and on the long run, a normal human will not "survaive.". In the void state, it is your energy.

In the void state, we find only ourselves; in the void, we can find an endless amount of dimensions, timelines, frontrooms and backrooms, entities, and liminal spaces. Some are all put together.

If you decide to go into the void state, it is a conscious decision. You can mistakenly enter the void by just falling asleep.

Those are the main differences, just because I can't say much more about the void itself because, as said before, it is a forced awakening, and I don't want people to feel sick with too much information. 

if by mystake you enter the backrooms here some rules that will help you get out faster:

Don't scream; you will give off your location to any type of entity. In whatever level you enter, you will find the exit in the same level.

Not every level is scary. Some have flowers and are pretty; others are simple rooms. Those levels are safe as long as you don't hurt yourself. Be careful.

Don't take stairs, and don't jump in holes or on poles. Again, you will find the exit on the same level as you entered.

If you see fluffy entities, look at their eyes first. If the eyes are blue, they are friendly; any other color is to be avoided.

There is only one entity that is 100% friendly and will help you. It looks like a shadow with no features; it does not talk, but you will understand her.

If you hear a sound, go in the opposite direction; if you feel like a sound surrounds you, hide and stay still no matter what; some entities don't have eyes.

If you can't find the exit, pray to whatever god you believe in, and good entities will find you and help you.

On rare occasions, you might find other humans; don't trust them; they are no longer humans.

and I think that I said everything that has to be said. If you have any questions, I will be more than happy to answer them, and I hope you did not feel sick or do any negative things from this post.

#manifestation #manifesting #shifting methods #loa methods #manifestation method #manifesation #spiritual development #journal #explain the method #explained #the void #scary #psychological horror #living dead queue #sleep paralysis #dreams #cognitohazard #cognitive functions #cognitive dissonance #loa tumblr #loassumption #law of assumption #neville goddard #law of assumption blog #the void talks #the void screams back #the void speaks #the void state #the void rambles #void

[ueasking]

"The real me is completely different from Wei Zhiyuan. Our personalities, the way we think, they're all very different," says Kurt Huang, who's been described as a "typical leo" by those around him.

Although he seems like the silent and dark type, Kurt Huang actually has a bright and straightforward personality. Since he was young, he has always been very "open" in that he expresses his feelings directly, is very straightforward with his words, and is incapable of pretending. This realness helped him gain popularity through variety shows. But for his acting work, which is what he loves the most, this realness made portraying characters all the more challenging.

Kurt Huang has long known that he's unable to "play" a character. Therefore, whenever he gets a role, he transforms into that character from head to toe. Instead of relying on his imagination or trying to figure out the character so that he can play the role, he lets himself become that person, to give the rawest reactions from a first-person perspective. He explains, "Wei Zhiyuan is someone who does not easily show his feelings, but I couldn't simply be expressionless or wear the exact same expression all the time! So I had to truly "become him" to know how he'd feel and act in each situation." 

In addition to his complete understanding of his character's personality, he also has high work standards and pays a lot of attention to detail, so that he can portray the role as accurately as possible. For instance, he carefully considered how he as a 26-year-old could express the pure emotions of a teen boy as well as the unique brotherhood that's portrayed in the show. He explained, "Many might think that Wei Zhiyuan's feelings for his brother are like that of a family member or a significant other. But that isn't the case. He was abandoned at a young age with no one to rely on, so his brother became his whole world. It's an important difference."

You can read a script thoroughly to thoroughly understand the character, but letting yourself truly become that character in the flesh, is a much greater challenge. In the past, Kurt Huang would find the similarities between his character and himself and use that as a starting point. However, this time round, he wasn't able to find any similarities between Wei Zhiyuan and himself as he doesn't have siblings and is an open book, so what was he to do? Two months before shooting started, he began implementing what he termed as an "extremely twisted" method: to lock his human interaction- and outdoor-loving self at home, and force himself to be still.  

During this time, he was in his room every day taking character notes, which filled eight pieces of A4-sized paper. He also shared that in order to better understand his character's emotional journey, he wrote about all of Wei Zhiyuan's "firsts," such as the first time he touched Qian and the first time he called Qian by his name. In his view, these are the moments that really made Yuan's heart flutter, and doing all this helped him better get into the role.

He can talk about this lightly now, but Kurt recalls that going through that period of repression was very difficult, and at one point he even felt as if he couldn't take it any longer. As he continued to live in Yuan's inner world, even his mother got worried. To make his portrayal as realistic as possible, he continued to live like this once filming started, even when the cameras weren't rolling. "Once we finished filming, I started filming another project and was finally able to pull myself out of this mindset. But when we started promotions (for Unknown), initially, I didn't really want to think back to that time as it was very very hard. But my manager encouraged me and said that thinking about that time and talking about it could be therapeutic in a way, and that helped me find the courage to talk about it."

Note: I only translated the parts related to Unknown.

#unknown #unknown the series #關於未知的我們 #kurt huang #huang hong xuan #*unknown

[gurugirl]

The Con Artist | Part 5*

Summary: You and Harry admit how much you like one another but a traumatic event confuses everything and leaves you feeling unsafe and terrified. Harry thinks he's doing the right thing by keeping his distance.

A/n: This is detective!harry x crimina!reader / y/n | This is part of a short series. This part might have some triggering content. Read warnings before continuing.

The Con Artist Masterlist

12.4k words

Warning: Smut, angst, a kidnapping attempt, use of guns & drugs, some violence, a quick hospital scene

◈ ◈ ◈

You told Harry everything. All about your methods of getting a man to take you to his home or hotel room. That you had a dealer who supplied you with the pills (and weed for yourself), who also bought the jewelry off of you. You told him how much money you’d been able to save and told him that most of it was still stashed in your apartment, hidden away, and that you never kept any of the items you stole for fear of being searched one day and found with evidence. The cash could be explained. A Rolex with a serial number that matched a stolen one was much more difficult to talk your way out of.

You were nervous telling him, though. He was still a cop and you were still a suspect in a case. But you trusted him. You knew it was safe to tell him and if you wanted to really give it a go with him for whatever it was you two were doing, then you needed to be honest with him like he’d been with you.

And Harry learned that you weren’t some super devious criminal mind who knew the law and how to work the system. You just learned things as you went and you’d been lucky until you stole from the wrong men. Men that had some sort of influence and who had security cameras and lots of money.

But he was impressed with how much money you’d made over the years. You were a little bit scrappy and very brave. And you had more money than he did. A lot more in fact.

“Think I got into the wrong line of business. Bet I could get rich women to take me back to their home and make a fortune,” Harry laughed.

“You totally could. But women are harder than men. Women are smart and think about outcomes and the big picture. Men tend to narrow their ideas a little and think of the immediate idea but not much past that. Especially when they think they’re about to get lucky. So it’s easy to get a man to take you back to their place. A woman would take more time to work. Except you are quite attractive,” you reasoned.

It was freeing to tell Harry everything. He had plenty of questions for you and seemed to be more intrigued than put off. You’d never told a man you slept with about what you did honestly. But Harry was… well he was Harry.

You two didn’t wind up getting as much sleep as you intended that night. You ate the rest of the convenience store junk food for dinner and tried to sit through watching some crime drama program on TV but when you two got into a heated debate about which television show was better, Killing Eve or The Mentalist (there is no competition, Killing Eve is far superior), Harry told you he knew more about the law than you and then he Harry dragged you over his lap, pulled your shorts down, and spanked you, which led to him fucking you so hard against the headboard that the wall behind it was punctured. You both laughed about it but the headboard hid the damage well enough.

And then you woke before the sun rose and Harry had you in his arms next to him and you couldn’t help yourself when you kissed over his chest and nuzzled into his pecs a little, kissing over his nipples and Harry woke up when he felt your mouth on him.

“What’re you doing?” He spoke in a groggy voice.

You tilted your head back to peer up at him, “Your chest is so nice, Harry. Your muscles and little nipples. I’ve never felt the need to kiss on a man’s pecs before I met you,” you grinned at him. And it was true. Harry’s body was insane but his chest was so nice and he always smelled so good anyway, so it was hard to control yourself when it was right there in your face.

Harry adjusted his hold on you and moved himself down to your breasts, “I feel the same about your pecs…” he laughed as he licked over your left nipple but you weren’t laughing. His warm mouth on your tit, the way his back was flexing, the messy head of brown curls at your chest, his naked body…

You pushed him down and climbed on top and rode him hard. It was a delicious pre-dawn orgasm for you both before going back to sleep for a few more hours, only to wake up and do it all again.

Harry had you on your back as he hovered over you, fucking you slowly as you both gradually woke up and worked yourselves toward release. Sleeping naked together also didn’t help. You both insisted that was the best way to sleep, and it truly is, but when you’re naked and in bed with a man that looks like Harry, and talks like Harry, with a cock like Harry’s, well, you learned you cannot resist and when he was just as down as you the result was a lot of sex.

And plus you just really liked him and he really liked you. Even if you were debating about crime dramas or arguing about UK politics (which you really knew very little about, but you wouldn’t admit that to him and let him win) it was all like foreplay to you. And he liked your attitude and how combative you tended to be even if he said you were a brat for it.

By the time you’d packed up your things and gotten a ride from Bob to the shop to get Harry’s car, you were so satisfied from all the orgasms you had, you felt like you could resist Harry sufficiently for a while. And Harry was probably in the best mood you’d ever seen him in. Of course, he was, he’d been having sex for almost two days straight and getting his prick sucked. All those feel-good hormones would put anyone in a good mood.

The bumper didn’t match the rest of the car but Harry didn’t want to wait any longer to get it painted to match. He’d worry about that later. It was road-ready and it was time to head back North to Cottonwood.

You and Harry decided to head back to your mom’s to get your car, stay the night in Cottonwood, and then figure out what to do next. Before you got back on the road Harry had made the decision to call Rebecca and tell her what was going on (well, a version of what was going on).

The call didn’t last as long as you thought it would. Harry was leaned against the driver’s side door while you fiddled with your phone inside the car. You could hear most of what was said.

“I know. I know, I’m sorry,” he lied that he’d left his phone in his car after the small accident and it took longer to get the car worked on than he anticipated.

He said he was still trailing you but that he was having doubts that you were guilty anymore which had your ears perk up.

“I haven’t seen anything from her that suggests she’s the one. I thought I had a good lead but I was wrong, Volanti… I understand… I know,” he sighed as he spoke.

When he got into the car he rubbed his hands over his face and then looked over at you, “She wants me to stay on you for one more week just in case, and then they’re going to start moving the case to a cold file of sorts if there aren’t any more reports of the crime. She said you’re probably on to me which is why you haven’t made a move,” Harry laughed, “and I guess technically that’s true.”

You smiled and nodded, “I’m definitely on to you Detective Styles,” you laughed, “but does that mean I won’t be a suspect anymore once the file is moved?”

Harry started the car up and looked in his rearview mirror as he backed up, “You’ll still be a suspect, but as long as you don’t do anything it should be okay. I think they’ll put less focus on it, that’s what happens with cold files. The case still gets worked, just not as aggressively.”

That all sounded like very good news to you. It was a relief to know it was Harry that was the one who was working the case and not another cop. If had been anyone else you might already be in jail at that very moment.

The drive back to Cottonwood was smooth going. Your mom was surprised you were coming back so soon, and that you were bringing Harry.

“So…” Harry said with a sigh, “I was thinking I’d just get a room and that motel. I don’t want you to get all bent out of shape over it. I just think out of respect for your mom we shouldn’t be sleeping in your room together.”

You frowned but you knew he was probably right. It wouldn’t be smart to have him in your bedroom with your mom right next door. There’s no way you’d be able to stop yourself from doing something to provoke him and then getting dicked down even with your mom so close.

“Well, what if you just slept on the couch?” You looked over at him as he stopped at the stop sign before accelerating. You were only a few minutes from your mother’s house.

“Y/n,” Harry glanced over at you before placing his site back on the road, “I still think that’s a bad idea. From what I gather about you over these last few days,” he smiled keeping his eyes ahead, “is that you’d probably try and seduce me anyway. Just knowing I’m in the same house as you would be trouble. You can’t resist this,” he gestured his hand over himself.

You scoffed and shoved his arm, “Shut up. You’re the one that would be begging me to let you in my bedroom. If anyone’s weak here it’s you. Just consider how we met and that’s all I need to say for you to know I’m right,” you crossed your hands over your chest with a grin as you looked out the window.

Harry laughed, “Oh please. You were so dickmatized by me that you didn’t even see it when a cop was inviting you to his room. And the way you begged me this morning…” Harry pulled up in front of your mom’s house and parked, “you’re obsessed with me and my cock and you can’t deny it.”

You squinted your eyes in fake annoyance as you looked at the man who was grinning at you. You realized it was a bad idea to have him stay at your mom's. Of course, it was. You were both unable to resist and that was the truth.

Harry grabbed your suitcase and pulled it from his trunk, rolling it up to your mom’s front door behind you.

Your mom had left for work already, she told you to make yourself at home. You led Harry to your bedroom and he looked around at everything in your room when he sat your luggage by the door. You watched him closely as he leaned in and looked at pictures and the little trinkets you had from when you were younger.

“I’m gonna run to the bathroom. I’ll be right back,” you said to Harry. He stood upright and turned back to you and nodded.

When you got back to your room, Harry was sitting on the edge of your bed with a shoe box in hand and that damn dimpled grin. Your eyes widened when you realized what shoebox it was. You had a variety of shoeboxes where you kept little things for yourself. Small mementos, notes from friends and exes, pictures, and in the specific box he was holding, a small dildo, plastic cuffs with pink fur, and a half-used box of condoms. It was from your quick stint in college. You’d upgraded to a nicer dildo and vibrator when you moved to LA and so you didn’t need the beginner one in that box. Your mother knew you had it in there, she was the one who encouraged you to buy one in the first place. Not in a creepy way, but in a it’s healthy and normal to explore your body kind of way.

The condoms were for when you were fucking your ex, the guy who took your virginity. They were probably expired. And the cuffs, well they were mostly just a joke. They’d actually never been used before.

You walked to Harry and grabbed the box but he put his hands over yours and pulled you down onto the bed next to him, his grin widening, “What’s wrong, dear?” He laughed as he spoke.

You rolled your eyes, “It’s rude to go through someone’s personal shit, Harry. That’s from a long time ago anyway,” you tried taking the box from him but he lifted it up and out of your reach as he shook his head.

“Is it? Isn’t that what you do for a living? Going through people’s personal shit? Just thought this little thing looked quite well used is all. How many times did you make yourself come using it?” Harry was leaning in toward you as he kept the box just out of your reach.

“What is wrong with you?” You pushed at him but you couldn’t stop the smile that started to crawl over your face so you turned away from him.

Harry reached around and put his fingers at your chin and pulled your face back in his view. He’d placed the box down behind him and he brought his mouth over yours as his other hand took your wrists in his hand so you couldn’t grab the box like he knew you’d try for.

You laughed into his mouth but then Harry softly licked your top lip and moved his lips gently to the edge of your mouth and down to your jaw and spoke into the curve of where your neck and jaw met, “When does your mom get home?”

You would have rolled your eyes at him but his lips were brushing down your neck and your brain didn’t seem to work very well around Harry. You sighed and closed your eyes, “A couple of hours,” you spoke softly.

Harry let go of your wrists and stood from the bed, removing the lid from the box and dumping its contents out. He lifted the little dildo and raised his brows at you, “Good. Then you have time to show me how you use this on yourself,” he walked to stand over you where you sat and you tilted your head back to look up at him.

“Harry… come on. Seriously…” you said as you started to shake your head.

Harry tilted his head to the side and looked at the dildo and then down at you before getting to his knees on the floor and crawling between your legs, moving them apart to fit himself in, and placing the dildo down by your thigh, “What if I beg you?” He put his arms on either side of your lap and gave you, what you could only describe as puppy dog eyes, “Say yes, please. I want to see it. Please?”

How were you supposed to say no to him when he rounded his eyes like he did and spoke so sweetly, using, please?

You closed your eyes and shook your head with a smile, “Harry, you’re insane,” you laughed before opening your eyes to look back at the man between your legs. He moved his hands up to the tops of your thighs and kept his eyes soft on you, “Please, Y/n?”

You huffed a breath through your nose and brought a hand up to his jaw, “Okay. Then you’ll need to do something for me next time I ask. No matter what it is.”

Harry nodded and hoisted himself up to crawl over you, making your back hit the mattress and he pressed his mouth onto your neck. You felt him pluck at the front of your shorts to unbutton them and then he swiftly moved them down your legs before pushing you further into your bed as he stayed over you.

He sat up and ran both hands on the insides of your thighs and pushed your legs further apart. You were still wearing your panties when Harry began to thumb over the spot where your clit was hidden under the cotton of your underwear.

“Gonna get you all wet first,” he looked from where his thumb was up to your face, “which shouldn’t be hard since you love my fingers on you. Don’t you?”

You rolled your eyes and looked down to where his hand was, “You’re so full of yourself.”

Harry let out a loud laugh and removed his hand. He stopped for a moment as he looked down at you before tearing your panties down your legs and behind him into the floor. Harry scooted himself so he was latched on to your pussy with his mouth and that effectively shut you up.

Harry’s mouth was good. He was good, there just wasn’t any other way to put it really. He knew what he was doing when it came to cunnilingus and you loved being on the receiving end. And it was obvious Harry loved giving head too.

The moment you were drenching his chin he backed away with a gasp and looked over your pussy, “All wet. Now it’s time to show me what you do with this little thing,” he said as he lifted the dildo up and pressed it over your clit.

You bucked up toward it and Harry smiled, “Oh? Do you want me to use it on you?” He smiled down at you as he lowered the silicone tip to your entrance, “I’ll do it for a little bit but then I want to watch how you do it.”

Harry pushed the toy inside of your cunt and you closed your eyes. You’d never had a man use a toy on you before so it felt so vulnerable to be lying on your childhood bed letting a cop fuck you with your old dildo.

“Not as big as me, but this works nicely for you I bet. Look how wet you are, Y/n…” Harry slid the dildo out and lifted it up and you opened your eyes to see. Yes, it was shiny, clearly, your arousal had covered the thing in its entirety and you nodded.

Harry dipped the toy back in and then pulled it out, then pressed it back in slowly, the sound of your wet pussy being parted with the silicone toy was actually pretty hot. You moaned and pushed your t-shirt up and squeezed your breasts. In all honesty, you were sure that you were feeling so good because Harry was doing it to you. Harry was so fucking gorgeous, and his deep, raspy voice egging you on was so hot.

After he pumped it into you a few more times Harry stopped, leaving the toy inside of you and pulled one of your hands down to grasp the dildo, “Okay. Now you do it. I want to know how you masturbate with this. Looks so pretty already, Y/n.”

Harry sat back and undid his jeans, pulling them down just enough to free his cock from the front of his briefs. That got you going even more. The view of his cock in his hand while you pressed the skinny dildo in and pulled it out a little.

After some pushing and pulling into and out of yourself with the dildo, you decided it was time to add your fingers to your clit. So, with one hand you rubbed your little button and with your other you fucked yourself. Harry’s cock was so hard and long in his hand and the sight of it was yummy. You watched him stroke himself as he watched you with the toy in your pussy.

You went faster, really getting the toy as deep as it could go, making it nearly disappear on each inward thrust and Harry’s breaths got deeper as he spit over his tip and smoothed his saliva down his shaft, “Fuck, baby. You’re so fucking pretty. You gonna come on that little dildo for me?”

You needed to concentrate, because as good as it felt with Harry’s eyes on you and the dildo inside, you could only imagine Harry inside of you at that moment. His cock really filled you up and pressed into parts that the dildo couldn’t reach. You closed your eyes and panted as you quickened the pace of your fingers on your clit and continued pumping the dildo.

Harry’s own little noises were sending you too. You were spread out before him and Harry knew he could come easily like this, but he could see you were struggling.

You felt the bed shift and you opened your eyes to see Harry on his knees, pushing his jeans down further, and then his hand was covering yours, pulling the dildo out, “I think you need something a little bigger in there right now. What do you think?”

Harry put the dildo down on the bed and scooted himself between your legs and the whine you let out was pathetic as you nodded, “Yes. Fuck me please.”

That was all he needed to hear before he was dipping his large cock inside of you, stretching your muscle and fucking you like you needed.

Harry lifted your legs and put them on his shoulder as he continued rolling into you. Everything was loud and fast. The bed was nearly bouncing off the floor with the way he was pounding into you and your pussy was so happy a real cock was inside of you. And once again, you realized Harry was inside of you with no condom. You guys were asking for trouble. You were okay as far as birth control was considered, but you hadn’t discussed anything further. Harry could be diseased for all you knew but your brain only worked at half capacity when his cock was in view. Or inside of you. And all you knew, despite your better judgment, was that having him without a condom was like having full-fat, real-sugar ice cream with all the toppings as opposed to sugar-free vanilla with only one or two toppings. The condom really did make a difference in the way it felt and it still felt really good with Harry but without one, you felt all his ridges, and his warmth and the sound of his dick pushing into your wetness was even better. He also somehow felt harder and thicker without the condom, if that were possible.

“That’s what you needed, isn’t it? Needed this cock,” Harry panted his words between breaths.

You moaned and grabbed for the back of his thighs to keep hold of something.

“Tell me you needed my cock, Y/n…” Harry slowed his hips and looked down at you.

You weren’t in a state to answer him like he wanted. Your thighs were shaking, your heart was pounding, and your head was mush. The way he was sinking into you made your gut tighten.

But when Harry stopped altogether he lowered your legs, your feet hitting the mattress and Harry leaned over you, “Tell me,” he grasped your chin in his hand as he rutted upward into you causing you to gasp for breath at the harsh thrust, “that you need this cock, Y/n.”

Harry just wanted to hear it. He wanted the pleasure of you telling him you needed his cock. That would have made his whole week. He loved it when he was wanted and needed. And he also wanted to hear you say it because he wanted to tell you he needed your pussy. It was the closest he could allow himself to get to saying (or thinking) that he needed you or hoping that you needed him. So, the next best thing was if you needed his cock.

You looked at the man above you and realized he meant it. He wanted you to say it and so you nodded and breathed your words out, “I need your cock, Harry.”

The smallest quirk of a smile broke out on his face when he responded, “Fuck that’s good,” as he began to rock into you slowly, “Because I need your pussy, Y/n.”

And when Harry dipped down and kissed you as he continued thrusting into you, it became clear to you why he wanted you to say it. You understood what he really wanted with the kiss he gave you. The soft brush of his lips on yours, the way his tongue ran along the seam of your lips, and how both of his hands moved up to your face, holding you in place as he continued peppering deep kisses to your mouth, slipping his tongue past your lips.

You were in heaven every time Harry kissed you. It wasn’t something you could explain. Your feelings were hard to identify, especially because you hadn’t known Harry that long. You’d watched and read plenty of romances. You knew about the fabled existence of falling hard for someone too fast. You’d just never experienced it in real life and didn’t think it was something that would happen to you. So you wanted to be very careful. You trusted Harry but did he even know what he was doing to you? Did he see it happening to himself?

If you were to select a type to fall for quickly, you’d easily answer it was Harry’s type. Sweet and spicy and stubborn. Handsome, obviously. And it’s not like you were really looking for anyone. Your plan was to continue doing your thing for a few more years and then you’d retire and let life happen to you from there. You never saw yourself settling down with anyone. You figured you wouldn’t really find anyone that you could stand for too long. And who would be able to stand you and your smart mouth either? It would be easier to just have the occasional thing with someone here and there. You wouldn’t rule out meeting someone who could be a partner for you, but you doubted anyone would want to stick around for too long.

And you still felt that way. You felt like Harry would grow weary of your attitude. He deserved a nice woman with a regular job, who was honest and thoughtful. You weren’t any of that and any man you might fall for would deserve a little more than you could give certainly.

You felt the blissful unfolding of your orgasm spread over your middle as Harry’s lips stayed on yours and his cock turned your insides to molten lava. You gasped at how deep he was. His hips were pressed into yours and it gave you what you needed inside and out, rubbing into your clit perfectly.

“You want my come inside of you again, Y/n? Yeah?” Harry moved his mouth away from yours and looked down at you as he ravaged your inner walls with his thick length.

You kept your mouth parted as you nodded and whimpered his name. He could feel your pussy clamping down on him just as you were about to come so he thrust into you harder, deeper, his groin pressing over your clit in synch with his thrust and you cried out, holding onto his back for dear life, your fingers pressing into the muscles on his lats and he groaned when he felt your spasming orgasm around him, squeezing and pulsing.

Harry kept driving into you, the bed below you squeaked and for a moment you thought it could break from the movement but then you heard Harry’s groan and he said your name as he moved his mouth over yours and spurted his come into you before you were even done coming. You tried returning the kiss but your lips wouldn’t close as you trembled and moaned.

Harry rutted up into you a few more times, pumping his come inside of you before pressing up and burying himself into you, stopping his movements as he let himself feel you around him as he came down from yet another orgasm for the day.

Harry laid over you and kissed your cheek softly as you both caught your breaths, your heart rate slowly normalizing. It was quiet and gentle. You put your hand into his hair and ran your fingers through his curls with your eyes closed.

But then you heard something outside of your bedroom and both your and Harry’s eyes widened as you quickly looked at one another.

“Fuck,” you whispered as Harry pulled out and jumped off your bed. He tossed you your shorts and he quickly slid his jeans up his legs. Both of you still had your t-shirts on luckily so you were partially dressed. You pulled your shorts up your legs and winced as Harry’s come dripped down your thigh. The shorts would need to be changed out for something else to wear after you investigated the noise that had come from inside the house.

You heard it again, the sound of someone moving things, setting things down.

You quickly opened your door and Harry grabbed your wrist and spoke quietly, “Behind me,” he said as he pulled you to his back and slid out of the room in front of you, sneakily walking into the hallway and then quietly moving into the living room. You followed close behind, Harry’s large frame covering you from seeing much beyond his back.

“What the fuck?!” You heard a familiar voice shriek and Harry’s tense stance loosened as he laughed and turned to you, moving out of your way so you could see who the intruder was.

But you knew who it was the moment you heard her voice. Raechel. You told her you were headed back to your mom's and that you wanted her to drop by. You forgot all about that, though, as soon as Harry started playing around with you. You slapped your hand to your forehead.

Raechel stood with her mouth dropped open as she looked from you to Harry and then back to you. She sort of looked like she was about to leave with her purse on her shoulder and the way she was standing close to the front door.

“Uh… this is Harry,” you gestured toward the man next to you and then pointed at Raechel, “Harry, this is Raechel.”

Harry nodded at Raechel, “Nice to meet you, Raechel,” he moved forward and stuck his hand out to shake but she only looked down at his hand and then back to you before responding to Harry, “Did you at least wash your hands? I heard you guys, so…” she trailed off and the look on her face was still surprise and confusion.

You laughed and shook your head, “Well, we sort of didn’t have time when we heard you in here. Thought it was my mom for a second.”

After you and Harry cleaned up a bit and you changed your shorts for a skirt, the three of you sat in your mom’s living room and tried to forget about the awkward greeting you’d just had.

Raechel kept looking Harry over and you could tell she was a little uncomfortable. Which was understandable given that she heard him fucking you before she ever even met him.

“Y/n, um… can I talk to you in private for a sec?” She looked at Harry with a smile.

You nodded, “Sure.”

You went into the backyard and sat on the porch swing together. She wanted to know who he was and where you met him and all the details about him right away. Some man you’d never once told her about that you were now bringing to your mom’s house. A man whom she heard fucking you the moment she walked into the house.

But it wasn’t easy to explain. Not when you weren’t sure what to say just yet. Was it okay to tell her he was a cop? That he had been trailing you? That you were considered a suspect for the crimes you’d committed? She knew what you did for a living already so it might not be much of a surprise to her but it wasn’t as easy as just a nice little story like we met at a volunteer outing and the rest is history!

So you told her bits and pieces but left out big details because you needed to know what Harry was okay with you saying. She wasn’t satisfied with your answer.

“So, you’re not going to tell me much then? Is he in cahoots with you? Like, you know… stealing and stuff?”

You laughed and shook your head, “No, it’s not like that. I’ll tell you soon. I promise. But it’s a long story and we’ll want to sit down and discuss it in detail when the time comes. But right now is probably not the best time to do that.”

She smiled and nodded toward the house and turned back to you with her eyebrows raised, “But he’s good in bed?” She chuckled. She heard enough to surmise that you were getting it good when she walked in.

You coughed out a laugh and looked toward the house and back at Raechel, “The best.”

Your mom came home not long after your “talk” with Raechel and the four of you decided to go out for Mexican food. There weren’t many restaurants in Cottonwood but Macias restaurant was pretty good for small-town California. Your favorite was the cheese enchiladas with salsa verde.

You all cozied up into a booth and ordered your meal and margaritas. The sun was going down and the restaurant was playing some classic banda-style music. You and Harry sat next to each other while Raechel and your mom sat across from you. You noticed the way your mom was eyeing you and she was being nice not to scare Harry away with a million questions. But you were pretty sure that at that point any questions Harry was asked wouldn’t scare him away given the little secret between you two.

“So, Harry, are you going to stay over tonight? There’s only one motel here in Cottonwood and I wouldn’t recommend it to my enemies,” your mom said as she sipped her salty margarita (Macias usually put a bit too much salt on the rim of the glass that wound up melting into the drink).

Harry tapped his fingers on the table and looked down at you before answering your mother, “I figured I’d just get a room at the motel tonight. I don’t want to be a bother to you in your home.”

Your mom snorted a laugh and nudged at Raechel’s side, “Doesn’t want to be a bother yet takes my daughter away with him to god knows where after I haven’t seen her in so long…”

You tapped the table and raised your brows, “Mom…” you warned her.

She put her hands up, “Sorry… it’s just that I don’t think having Harry stay over is going to put me out in any way more than… well, it’s just that I think I’d like to have you stay for a week like you said but then a handsome, mysterious man shows up and you leave with him and it’s all so secretive and strange…” she paused and laughed, “I’m thinking this second margarita is making me forget my manners, but come on… you have to admit this is all very suspicious,” she waved toward you and Harry.

Raechel kept her eyes on you and nodded with a humph in agreement with your mom.

You smiled and sighed, “Can you blame me?” You batted your lashes with a grin and looked up at Harry, pinching his arm a little. You were trying to deflect from your mom’s scrutiny. She had every right to be suspicious, though.

“But you’re right mom,” you looked at your mom with a smile, “I promise to stay here with you for a week. Soon. And I’ll tell you everything. Maybe I’ll even be coming around more.”

You figured now that you had the police on you, you couldn’t do any more jobs or you’d surely get caught. It was probably time to lay low from now on. You could be happy with the amount of money you’d saved over the years. Your brokerage account was nice with a healthy amount of dividends already coming in every month. You’d continue to slowly deposit the cash you still had stashed around your apartment and then move that over to your brokerage account. You could live out your days with the money you currently had. There was no real reason to continue doing what you’d been doing until you turned 30.

Your mom had convinced Harry to stay over. She would make him a spot to sleep on the couch and he was secretly relieved he didn’t have to sleep in one of those awful beds at the Travelers Motel again. But he was a little bit concerned about doing something inappropriate in your mom’s home.

After Raechel left you, your mom, and Harry watched a few shows on television but you were exhausted. Harry stretched his body out on the couch and fell asleep rather quickly and when your head hit the pillow on your bed you were in dreamland in no time.

So when you woke up in your dark room and felt a large hand cover your mouth you blinked your eyes open and your heart jumped in your chest and you were foggy and confused. You tried to make the figure out above you but it was too dark and your brain wasn’t firing on all cylinders quite yet.

The large frame over you pulled you up and violently yanked you into their arms and that’s when you saw another large figure standing by your door. Your eyes widened to take in as much light as possible so you could see but then you felt something pinch your arm and you gasped into the palm over your mouth. You kicked your leg and felt your toe hit your nightstand which hurt like a motherfucker but it knocked your cell phone off the edge and onto the floor.

Heavy breaths, grabby hands, muffled words, a soft and comforting buzz throughout your body, and then shouting. A light above. A struggle.

You felt the floor under your back and you closed your eyes and knew Harry’s voice in the chaos. You heard the commotion but you were slowly being lulled into dreamland once again.

Harry heard the noise from your room and he was up in less than a second to check on you but that’s when he saw the man at your bedroom door, his back to the hallway. Big mistake. Because the man didn’t see Harry and Harry could see that there was another man in your room. Harry knew they’d leave from the front door when he turned back to the living room and realized they’d come in through the front door because it had been left ajar. Harry soundlessly made his way to his duffle bag and pulled out his gun, slipping the magazine into the grip handle and getting it ready to use if necessary. He looked out the window to make sure there weren’t more men and realized it was just the two idiots.

He silently walked back to your bedroom and stuck the gun to the neck of the guy who should have been on the lookout and spoke calmly, “Let her go.”

The man who had you in his arms dropped the needle he’d poked into the skin of your arm and you fell to the floor with a thud. Harry turned the light on and saw that the two men in your room both had ski masks and the one that was closest to you pulled his own gun out and aimed it at you, “Drop your gun or I’ll shoot her,” his fabric stifled words barked.

Harry pressed the gun harder into the lookout’s neck and shook his head, “You won’t shoot her. You need her for whoever hired you. Now put your gun down. Now!” Harry moved the man he was holding into the room further and he heard your mother behind him suddenly.

“Go back into your room! Call 911! Tell them we have two armed intruders,” Harry shouted at your mother, not turning to look back at her but keeping his eyes on the man with the gun aimed at your thigh.

“That’s a big mistake. This girl is wanted by the cops. If you call them she’s going to prison. We’ll get a slap on the wrist,” the man with the gun tried to reason.

“Wrong. I’m a cop and you’ve threatened me and my safety. That will land you in prison,” Harry scoffed and moved in closer to the man with the gun.

“A fucking cop? What?”

Harry kept the gun at the neck of the man in front of him while he patted him down with his other hand to check for a weapon. He found a gun tucked in the back of his pants and pulled it out, still keeping his eyes on the man with the gun and keeping his own gun tucked into the lookout’s neck. Harry shoved the man down to the floor and put his foot onto the middle of his back and now had the gun aimed at the man who was standing over you.

Both of Harry’s hands were now on his gun, raised in a stance to shoot, aimed right at the other man’s head, “Drop your weapon or I’ll shoot you.”

The man with the gun raised his hands in surrender and slowly knelt down, putting the gun on the ground.

Harry stepped harder into the middle of the back of the man who was under him, keeping his gun aimed at the man next to you, “Kick the gun away from yourself.”

The man complied. He knew he was fucked. Harry was trained and they didn’t realize they were breaking into a house where there was a cop inside.

When Harry had both men on the ground, face down, hands zip-tied behind their backs he knelt between them and lifted your arm to check your pulse. You’d be okay.

“What did you give her?” Harry looked at the needle on the ground and back to the man who seemed like the brains of the operation.

The man told him what was in the needle and then Harry asked who sent them. He wanted an answer. Who hired them and what did they want?

Neither man wanted to talk. But when Harry twisted the wrist of the lookout and pressed his knee into his back he spoke lowly into his ear, “Tell me what you want with her.”

“She stole something important! We were just going to get it back is all!” The man whined as Harry put his weight into where his knee was digging in and twisted his arm harder.

“Give me a name,” Harry growled at the man just as he heard the sirens of police approaching.

Harry didn’t get a name but as he suspected, they were hired to kidnap you and hold you for ransom or get the important item back for whoever had hired them.

The paramedics looked you over as the two men were put into handcuffs and placed in separate cop cruisers. Harry showed his badge and told them who he was and that he’d been on a case that was a dead end. He came clean about some of the details but not all. This would get back to his boss for sure. He lied and said he was on a stakeout in his car when the men entered.

Your mother was beside herself but Harry kept her calm and told her she’d done well. With his arms around your mom, as you were loaded into the back of an ambulance, he helped her into his car to follow it to the hospital, “You did exactly what you should have. You even had them bring an ambulance. Y/n is going to be just fine.”

And Harry told your mom everything on the short trip to the hospital. She saw his badge and how he had a gun and told the other police who he was. But he reassured her that you weren’t going to be going to jail, “I don’t have any evidence and even if there was, I wouldn’t be taking her to jail.”

You woke up with a headache and a sour stomach. It felt a lot like when you woke up after Oregano had given you something. Painful and grating.

Your mom was in your view the moment your eyes popped open, “Y/n! Honey! Look, Harry!”

And then you saw Harry over you, his messy curls hanging in his face.

After a series of questions, filing a report, and one last check-in with the doctor you were free to go.

You learned about what had happened from both Harry and your mom. You always knew what you did was putting you at risk for something like that, you just never thought it would happen to you. Attempted kidnapping? Someone had hired these men to come after you. Would it be possible there were others out there too?

And for the first time, you were scared of what was going to happen next, rather than looking forward to what the day held. You’d always thrived on not knowing and the thrill of throwing caution to the wind. But now you were terrified. You weren’t safe anymore.

You stayed in your room with your mom bringing you water and speaking softly to you. Harry popped in to tell you it was okay and that he wasn’t going anywhere. But you just needed a minute to wrap your head around it all. What if Harry hadn’t been there? And you couldn’t remember most of what had even happened to you and that was terrifying. Whatever they’d been looking for was long gone. You never kept anything you stole (except a few purses and nice coats). What would happen if they found out? Would they just then kill you? God, you couldn’t stop your mind from racing about the what-ifs.

When the sun began to set Raechel came over and you finally decided to move into the living room with everyone. Your mom had ordered pizza from the Eagle’s Nest and Raechel picked it up on her way over.

You listened as Harry explained everything to Raechel and you learned that he’d already told your mom everything. You ate your slice of pizza slowly and everything just felt so far away and strange to you. You didn’t have much to say. Not yet anyway.

Harry wasn’t sure if you wanted his comfort or not. Everything was still so new for him too and what had just happened to you was traumatizing. So he decided to give you space as he sat in the armchair on the opposite side of the couch from where you were sitting.

Raechel stayed for a couple of hours but you were clearly tired and not thriving with company. Your mom cleaned up and Harry helped while you stayed on the couch like a zombie looking at the television. You heard them talking and didn’t care to know what they were saying. But you did note how scared you were feeling and how you didn’t want to be left alone in a room by yourself anymore. So you stood from your spot and walked into the kitchen to be near your mom and Harry.

They both turned to look at you and your mom pulled a chair out for you and helped you sit. You scoffed, “I can sit down on my own mom.” But you were thankful for her kindness and care. It did make you feel good.

Harry just watched from where he stood and then leaned against the cabinet as your mom sat next to you, “I know, honey. I just want to help. You’re okay physically but I’m still your mom…” she laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

You smiled at her and glanced over at Harry who hadn’t made his way over to you yet. Which suddenly stung a bit. Was he going to start being cold toward you again? You needed to feel safe and you wanted him as close as possible but he wasn’t budging from his spot as he looked at you with pity.

“Thanks, mom. I know. I appreciate it,” you gave her a weak smile and your heart felt heavy. You had the sudden urge to cry. You weren’t sure why. Maybe it was because of what had happened to you. It made you feel so violated. The men who came to get you both had guns and masks and drugged you. And now everything in your life would be different from then on. You’d probably have to move from your apartment and go into hiding if there were others after you. And now, the man with whom you felt so safe and comforted was standing as far away from you as possible, making no move to show you the kindness and care you needed.

The first tear that drizzled down your face when your lip began to quiver your mom saw, “Oh sweetie… it’s okay to cry, honey…” she rubbed your back and took one of your hands in hers.

You didn’t want this. You didn’t want to cry in front of anyone but you couldn’t help it. More tears ran down your cheek and the longer Harry was silent and remained standing across the room away from you the more you cried. Finally, you were pissed and you stood up, looking down at your mom, “Thank you, mom. I’m going to go into my room now.”

You slammed the door behind you and lay on your bed and cried. It felt so ridiculous to cry but your emotions were everywhere. You had no control over the way you felt at that moment. You reasoned that it was because of what had happened to you, and you understood the way it made you feel was confusing, but you really couldn’t get over the way Harry didn’t even try to comfort you. It hurt because you’d started feeling things for him and you just knew that if he wrapped you in his arms and you could bury your face into his chest and inhale his scent you’d feel so much better. But you were too stubborn to ask for that. He should just know that’s what you wanted. Obviously.

You wound up falling asleep, exhausted from the day, exhausted from your tears and your confusion. Exhausted from thinking about Harry.

Your mom went to bed, leaving her door wide open in case you needed her. Harry checked on you and saw you asleep on top of your covers, still dressed in your clothes. He wanted to help you into something more comfortable and pull you into his arms on your bed and listen to you breathe while you slept but he didn’t know if you wanted that. He figured it was better to wait until you told him you wanted him near.

Early the next morning Harry woke from his phone ringing. It was Rebecca.

He stood up from the couch and answered, “Hold on one minute…” he spoke into the phone. He didn’t want to wake anyone but he wanted to check on you first.

He saw you snuggled under your blankets on your bed and you looked like you were still asleep.

He turned and walked out the front door to speak to his boss.

“Hi, Volanti,” he said with a sigh.

She found out about the attempted kidnapping and told Harry he’d done good to follow the men into your mom’s house and stop them from taking you. She informed him that now that he’d been made, he’d be off the case. Harry listened to her tell him all the things he already knew.

He was to come back to LA and get his reassignment and in the meantime, she’d keep the case open but it would be a low priority since there wasn’t tangible evidence, “But, Styles, I have a feeling she is our girl. I know you said you don’t think so, and she’ll probably be laying low now that this has happened, but I have a gut feeling about it. The good news is, if there is any in this situation, is that this may scare her from doing it again in the future. And now that we know where she lives, where her mother is, and everything you’ve found out for us, we can keep an eye on her if she does slip up.”

It wasn’t the worst news but now Harry was expected back in LA. But he didn’t want to leave your side. What if more men were after you? He felt like you needed protection.

“I’m hesitant to leave so fast. If I wasn’t here she’d have been kidnapped. What do you think the chances are that others are after her?”

When you woke up the house was silent and your thoughts immediately swung to Harry. You sat up and looked at your cell phone. It was still relatively early. You moved your feet off your bed and stood up, stretching your arms overhead with a yawn.

In the living room, there was no Harry to be seen, but you could see he’d been on the couch with crumpled blankets bunched in the center. He wasn’t in the kitchen but you did see his duffle bag. You peeked out the front window and you saw him pacing, talking to someone on his phone. He looked stressed. Upset. Your heart dropped.

You went back to your room and closed the door. You had no reason to feel the way you were. To be so unsure of yourself and long for Harry the way you did. You two barely knew one another. Why would he feel the same way for you? Why did you feel anything at all? It made your head hurt trying to work out your thoughts and your emotions.

You heard him walk back in and your ears perked up. He wasn’t on the phone anymore, that much was obvious. You could hear shuffling and then you heard the bathroom door close.

You needed to get it together. To confront him and find out what was going on. To find out if he meant what he said when he asked you to stay with him.

So you went into the living room after running your fingers through your hair and trying to make yourself look at least a little cute. You sat on the couch and waited for him to come out. The moment he saw you his eyes widened, “Hey. How are you feeling?”

He walked in front of the coffee table and sat in the armchair. Away from you. And that had you feeling that squeeze in your chest again. The searing one that made you feel like he definitely didn’t feel the same way about you. How could he not see it?

“I’m better. But what’s going on, Harry?” You sat with your back into the cushions of the couch and kept your eyes on him.

Harry squished his brows together and shook his head, “What do you mean?”

“Like… I don’t know. Are you staying? Do you still…” you really didn’t want to finish what you were going to say, do you still want me around?

Harry crooked his head to the side and kept his eyes on you, “I have to leave. Back to LA. I’m being reassigned. So, I can’t stay for much longer. I told my boss I thought you should have protection for a bit longer but the local police are making the rounds. And your mom is here…” Harry trailed off when he saw the look on your face.

You tried to calm yourself. You couldn’t understand why you were so worked up about a man that you’d just met. No man was worth it. This you’d learned from your mom a long time ago. And now Harry was getting out as soon as he had the chance.

“Fine. Your job is done here. You can get your shit and go.”

Harry sat up straight and a look of confusion tore over his face, “What?”

You stood up from the couch and pointed at his bag, “Get your shit and go back to LA. You’re done, aren’t you? No need to stick around me anymore.”

Harry sighed and closed his eyes. He didn’t want to feel hurt by you because he knew you were reacting to what he’d just said. But it did hurt. That was it? You wanted him gone?

Harry stood up and ran a hand through his hair and laughed, “So, that’s it for you? You just want me out of here?”

You nodded, “Yep.”

Harry shook his head and blew a breath out from his mouth and looked up at the ceiling and back to you. He wanted to be level-headed but you made him crazy. He looked back down at you with your arms crossed over your chest and he couldn’t help himself when he said it, “Good. You’re more trouble than it’s worth.”

He scowled at you, knowing his words were hurtful but you hurt him. He stepped toward his bag and knelt down to stuff something inside and then zipped it up. He stood up with his bag in his hand and pointed at you, “I’m disappointed in myself that I believed all the lies you told me. You really had me going, Y/n. I thought you liked me. At least a little,” and then he turned and headed toward the door, opening it and pausing for a moment. He hoped you’d say something. He hoped you’d stop him and tell him you didn’t mean it. But instead, he heard your sniff and a small gasp of breath so he turned and looked at you. You had tears on your cheeks and your hands were by your sides, balled into fists.

Harry frowned when he saw the state you were in but then you were charging toward him, your face red, “You asshole!” you said louder than you meant to, knowing your mother was still asleep. But you were angry and you couldn’t control the volume of your voice, “Don’t say that to me! You have been distant from me and I can tell you’re happy to be leaving finally. And you said it yourself, I’m not worth the trouble so you can fuck off,” you pushed at his chest and couldn’t stop the tears from falling. It was embarrassing. You were making a scene and crying in front of Harry while he was stoic and unbothered by you at all.

“You’re fucking mad, Y/n. You know that? I was trying to give you space! You had a traumatic thing happen to you and I didn’t want to crowd you. But you’re obviously ready for me to get out of your hair so I’ll make it easy for you.”

You grasped the front of his t-shirt, “You’re a coward! You put all this on me! I didn’t know what to do with myself and I thought you’d at least try and comfort me or something! Fuck!” You balled the material into your hands tightly, “But you’re ready to get out of here the moment Rebecca tells you it’s the time!”

Harry scoffed and dropped his bag to the floor, putting his hands over yours to pry them off of his shirt, “If you want me gone I’m gone, Y/n. Let go!”

Suddenly your mom was behind you, “What’s going on here?” She saw you grasping Harry’s shirt and the tears on your face. She heard the emotion in Harry’s voice and the look on his face.

It was that moment that your mom saw everything for what it was. You were both being stubborn and blamed the other for hurt feelings when the reality was so clear to anyone who could see you two.

“I was just leaving, ma’am,” Harry started to speak but your mom started laughing.

“Oh? And clearly, you want to leave and Y/n here is just shoving you out the door huh? You two are ridiculous. Look at yourselves,” she gestured toward the both of you standing close, Harry’s hands clutched over yours. “Do you not see it? For fuck’s sake you’re both acting like children.”

Harry loosened his grip on your hands and you let go of his shirt as you both turned to face your mom. You pointed at Harry, “He was going to just leave. After everything. He got the call to go back and so he was out as quick as he could be.”

Harry rolled his eyes, “Yeah? And you told me to get my shit and leave. Didn’t even give me chance to talk to you or anything,” He looked down at you.

Your mom shook her head, “Since I’m clearly the only adult in the room right now, I’m sending you both to Y/n’s room,” she raised her brows and pointed at Harry, “you’re not going anywhere until you two have spoken first. And Y/n,” she looked at you with a look of warning, “you better not fuck this up. You need to calm down and listen to the man instead of getting all bent out of shape like I know you do. Tell him the truth. Be honest with each other.”

Harry let out a breath and shook his, “I’m sorry, ma’am, I think she wants me gone and I’m not in the mood…”

Your mom stood in front of Harry and looked up at him, her finger pointed toward the hallway, “You aren’t leaving until you two have spoken. If after you two hash it out and find you don’t want to stick around and she wants you gone, well then, you’re free to go.”

“Mom, please…” you spoke but she shook her head and she picked up Harry’s bag, holding it close to her body, “Shut up and do what I said. You’re both acting like idiots. Go and talk now. You get this back when I’ve decided it’s time, Harry,” she jutted her chin toward the hallway.

Harry looked down at you and then back to your mom and you huffed in frustration as you stomped toward your bedroom, Harry following behind. You passed through into your bedroom and Harry stopped at the doorway, still wanting to make sure you even wanted him to follow you but your mom was right behind him, “Get in there. And you both better be honest with each other,” she looked from Harry to you, “because if you’re honest, I think you’ll find that you both feel the same way about each other. So stop being dumb.” She pushed Harry and closed the door behind him.

You sat on the edge of your unmade bed and looked down at your feet. You knew you were an overreactor when your feelings were hurt. You were either cold and detached, or overreacting and emotional. In this case, you were being very emotional and definitely overreacting. But that’s because the truth was that you really liked Harry and all you wanted was for him to return your feelings.

“You didn’t let me even try and tell you what I wanted,” Harry spoke first as he paced the room.

You looked up at him, “Well here’s your chance.”

Harry stopped pacing and turned to you, “I told you that I was being reassigned. That my boss wants me back in LA. And then I guess… I just wanted to know what your reaction would be to that but I didn’t expect you to blow up and tell me to leave. I hoped you’d want to come with me or ask me to stay or… I just didn’t expect you to tell me to leave like that.”

You watched him start to pace again as you responded, “And you didn’t even want to be next to me Harry. Last night or this morning. I needed some comfort. I wanted your care but you stayed as far away from me as possible, so yeah, I assumed that was it and that you were ready to go.”

Harry stitched his brows together and looked out your window, “I didn’t know if you wanted me close, Y/n. Everyone responds to trauma differently and I didn’t want to push it. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to comfort you. I just wasn’t sure what you wanted.”

You breathed out a laugh through your nose and shook your head, “And it felt like you made it clear that you didn’t want to be around. Telling me you were leaving and that I had local police here and my mom… so, if that’s what you want…”

Harry interrupted, “No. Stop. Let’s not assume anything about each other for a minute. I think we’ve got it wrong and we’ve both had our feelings hurt and we’re acting based on hurt emotions,” he spoke calmly and walked toward the bed, sitting next to you, “I don’t want to go, Y/n,” he looked from the floor over to you, “Or, at least if I do, I kind of hoped you’d want to come with me.”

You’d heard him say it twice now. That he hoped you’d go with him. You considered his words for a moment and sighed, “I do want that. I wanted you to tell me to come with you or something. To hold me and make me feel safe and tell me everything was going to be okay. Last night that’s what I needed but you kept your distance and it made me feel sick. Made me feel like I imagined everything you told me. And I know we don’t know one another that well,” you kept your eyes on his, “but… I don’t know. I just… figured it could have all been in my head that you felt about me the way I feel about you. Especially after telling me I’m more trouble than it’s worth. That really hurt, Harry.”

If your mother had heard you at that moment she’d have been proud of you for your honesty and total vulnerability. But you were very much still in your head and guarding yourself in case of any pushback from Harry.

Harry dropped his gaze down over your t-shirt and then back up to your face and pulled you into his arms, pressing your face into his chest. Just like you wanted last night. Just like you wanted this morning.

He didn’t say anything at first, instead, he just kept his arms tight around your body and smoothed a hand up and down your back. You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding and relaxed in his arms, placing your own arms around his middle and inhaling his scent. Comfort. Safety.

“I wasn’t lying. You didn’t imagine it. We both said it and I think we both should be better about saying what we want to each other instead of trying to act so tough,” Harry pressed his lips onto your forehead, “I am so sorry for saying you aren’t worth it. God that was dumb,” he kissed your forehead again, “And it’s not true at all. I think you’re incredible actually. I want you to come with me. I want to keep you around. Is that what you want?”

You smiled into his t-shirt and nodded, “Yeah. And this,” you said as you squeezed him harder and so he squeezed back until you were both laughing and Harry loosened his grip and brought a hand to the back of your neck and dropped his lips to yours.

You don’t know how long it was that you and Harry were making out like teenagers on your bed, but your mother knocked on the door, interrupting the moment before it could get too steamy, “Okay, I heard you guys laughing and now I’m concerned that you’re both naked. Please don’t have sex in my house. I’m still a mom. Come out when you’re decent.”

You laughed and Harry smiled down at you, his hand still at the back of your neck. He pushed his lips over yours once more and then parted from you, nudging his nose to the side of yours, “I like you.”

You held onto his biceps and smiled with your nose still pressed into his, “I like you too, Harry.”

Your mom was happy to hear you’d worked it out. And that you were staying for another day. You would leave with Harry the following morning to head back to LA with him.

“You better keep an eye on my daughter. She’s all I’ve got in this world. If you hurt her I’ll kill you. I don’t care if you are a cop,” your mom pointed at Harry as she made coffee. She was mostly joking. Mostly.

Harry glanced at you with a smile. He was glad you had your mom. She was tough and smart and she raised you to be the same. But he was even happier that you were going back to LA with him. He wanted to keep you with him so he could make sure you were safe. He knew that you were probably out of danger, that there probably weren’t others out looking to kidnap you, but he couldn’t know that for sure and he knew he’d feel better to have you close. But also for his own sake. So he could see you and touch you and… he tried not to let his mind wander further. Not in the kitchen with your mom standing fifteen feet from him.

 And you were finally getting what you needed from Harry because now he knew what that was. To stay near you. To hold your hand and brush his warm pads against your arm occasionally. To play around with you and not feel like he was going to hurt a delicate flower.

“You’re fucking up the recipe! Get out of the way!” Harry scolded you with a smile on his face as he bumped your hip from your spot so he could take over adding the ingredients to the bowl.

“Harry, it’s shepherd’s pie. There’s no way to fuck up the recipe,” you scoffed as you leaned over to watch him.

Harry stopped his hands mid-air and turned to you with a look of shock, “And that’s how I know you shouldn’t touch this sacred recipe. It’s not shepherd’s pie because this is made with beef. It’s cottage pie. Shepherd’s pie is made with lamb you absolute dolt. Get out of my kitchen!” He pointed toward the living room and went back to his work.

You laughed and your mom stood in the threshold between the kitchen and the living room watching you and Harry. She wasn’t sure yet about Harry but she liked his spice and his temperament. She liked how he handled you and after talking about what had gone wrong and why you’d been upset she understood why he kept his distance from you. She liked him. But she hoped he wouldn’t hurt you because who could know what the future held?

“Well, it’s not even pie if we’re being picky about semantics here. You British assholes act like you have a method but it’s the same shit and it’s just potato on top,” you pointed at the bowl and Harry ignored you as he opened up the refrigerator. You hopped up onto the counter and sat, watching Harry move about.

Harry took the bowl and added another ingredient and then he looked at you sitting on the counter. He didn’t know how he was going to keep it in his pants for another whole day. You two were at your mom’s and the next morning, super early, you’d both head out and the drive was long. You couldn’t really have at each other until you got to his house in Long Beach.

He put his hand over your knee and squeezed it and your heart did a little flip at his sudden sweetness. You liked how he could go from testy teasing to confection cute and then back again.

The three of you ate the cottage pie and watched a movie together. The day was relaxing and easy. A local police officer dropped by to ask some more questions and that was really the most action you’d had all day. Raechel had to work but she Facetimed you on her break and told you to take care on your way back to LA.

As you watched the movie you had your back leaned against Harry’s chest and his arm was draped over your front. It felt sweet and warm and you felt safe.

When you all decided to call it night you didn’t want to leave the comfort of Harry’s arms but you dragged yourself with a frown to your room and your mom commented about how silly you were being.

“It’s only for a night, Y/n. You’re in my house. I don’t want any funny business going on.”

But when the house was dark and quiet and you were sure your mom was asleep you crept into the living room and crawled over the top of Harry.

“Are you okay?” He asked as he lifted his blanket and opened his arms for you to climb atop.

“Yeah. I just want to sleep in your arms.”

So you settled on top of him and Harry shifted so it was more comfortable, wrapping his arms around you and finally, you fell into a deep dreamless sleep, comforted and happy and warm.

Part 6*

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#harry styles smut #detective!harry #criminal!reader #harry x reader #harry styles x reader #harry styles fic #harry styles #firstpost

[bloodyquillink-blog]

hi i’m not sure if your taking requests, but if you are can you do a logan walker x reader where the reader and logan were engaged before logan got taken by rorke, and when he gets saved he’s a completely different person and is closed off and even more quiet, but when one of rorkes members send a message to the ghosts team saying they want to take the reader now aswell, logan gets super protective and opens up to her about eveything that happened? if not totally ok!! thank you so much!!

A/N: I am and thank you for being my first tumblr request! I hope I’ve done you justice with this.

Warnings: Big angst, hurt/comfort, descriptions of injuries and torture methods (if I missed anything please let me know)

Word Count: 4.4K

To Be Changed, Logan Walker x Reader

Your marriage was so happy and perfect, even though the world wasn’t. Despite the fear of your whole wedding being destroyed before you and Logan even put on the rings and said your vows, that didn’t stop either of you. If you were going to die, you might as well die tied to one another, surrounded by the people you treasure most. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case. The wedding went without a hitch, ignoring the occasional pitches of anxiety that bubbled in everyone's stomachs. There was a beautiful mountain that overlooked a nearby beach, it felt like the clouds parted just for you two that day. The sun shone down on the white you and Logan wore. The red rose in his breast pocket, the artificial one you gave him when you went on your first date, was accentuated by the surrounding colors of blue water and green grass. 

Logan was usually fairly quiet, but that day when he said his vows, he spoke more than you did. He managed to avoid stuttering, though you could feel his hands shaking. You were so proud of him and each word from his lips warmed your heart. That alone let you know that this was the right decision, the only one. 

Before you cut the cake, he whispered to you, “I can’t find the words to describe how much stronger you make me feel.” You looked at him, confused and curious, before he continued. “I barely speak to my own family and brothers, maybe because I don’t need to… but you changed that. Now, I’m just droning on and on about whatever’s happening at the moment. Because of you. Hell, my mom barely heard me talk this much.” He wrapped his arms around you, cupping your hands that held the knife for the cake. “I bet she’s watching us now. She’d love you so much.” And with that, you both cut the first slice. 

A quote floated through your mind, “To be loved is to be changed.” and by God, did you change Logan.

That’s what made today so painful.

That’s why you sat on the floor in front of the front door to you and Logan’s home. That’s why David held you, holding the back of your head so you didn’t see him silently crying while you sobbed. You held Logan’s mask and dogtags close to your heart. Eventually, Keegan and Merrick had come out of the car they drove here. Keegan knelt down to rub your back, attempting to comfort you as best as he could. Merrick told you more than he, as a Captain, should tell any civilian. He’d made an exception for you. Seeing as he had a job to protect his best friend's children in the most dangerous job they could all have now, you joked that Logan and David were his adopted kids.

He never denied it. Because of that, you might as well have been his adopted kid, now in-law too. And as that in-law, it was his job to tell you that Logan was, for better or worse, not dead. You looked up at him with tears still falling. He explained what happened from the beginning. A man, a horrible man, named Rorke who was a former Ghost that the Federation destroyed and turned into something repulsive. David added that it was Rorke who had dragged Logan away on that beach. That fucking beach. He explained how it was his own fault for not doing more, for not saving him despite his injuries that, even now, two weeks after, he was still healing from.

You almost slapped him. You wanted to slap Merrick too. You were heartbroken and afraid and every negative emotion you could possibly feel nearly boiled over. You sat on the couch, the men around you as they tried to help you breathe. When you calmed down enough to speak coherently, you asked a simple question:

“Will we ever see him again? Alive?”

Merrick answered, as hopeful as he could be.

“We’ll do everything we can to make sure we will.”

That’s all you could really ask for. David moved and carefully dug into his front pocket before he pulled out his hand and offered something small and shiny. It was Logan’s ring. Both of your rings were made of titanium for its durability, Logan was worried about scratching or otherwise damaging it, so he chose titanium. Strong and durable. You had told him it reminded you of his personality, how he just kept going under all circumstances. You would’ve started crying again if this alone hadn’t already exhausted you. As much as you wanted to hold all of Logan’s things to try to feel like he was with you, you handed his mask and dog tags to Hesh. You knew where the mask came from. Who originally wore it.

“I think they’d want you to hold these.” you said, quiet as ever. David knew you weren’t just talking about Logan, but their father, Elias the “Scarecrow”, as well. He grabbed the mask and tags, putting the tags on and clutching the mask like a lifeline. As everyone stood up and walked to the door, you hugged David and whispered to him, your voice still shaking.

“It’s not your fault. I know he doesn’t blame you. I don’t either.”

“Thank you,” He paused, “I’ll do everything in my power to bring him back to you.”

You hugged Merrick and Keegan before they walked back to the car.

“Be safe!” You called out. A useless but well-intentioned farewell to the soldiers. They waved back before pulling out of the driveway, leaving you alone.

That night, you took Logan’s ring and put the chain of your favorite necklace, one he had given you before your marriage, through the ring and laid it around your neck. You cried, holding his cold pillow and wearing an old hoodie you’d stolen from his closet while he was gone. Your body ached with every sob.

Three months later, you began cleaning the house before the depression that kept you in your room most of the time got too bad. It helped a little, going through every nook and cranny. You even went into the attic. Any time either of you traversed into the usually dark storage, it would end with you holding the giant vacuum, claiming you saw a spider the size of your head while Logan chuckled. After a bit, he’d go up with a flashlight only to find some critter that got stuck up there because of a hole. Once he’d patched up the hole and cleaned out as much as he could, it all felt more comfortable.

As you looked through old boxes, you found pictures. The oldest going back to when you both first met. It was a charity for veterans in your old town where Logan, David and Elias were stationed. There were games you and your friends played, competing. At one point, Elias jokingly joined in which pulled David and, naturally, Logan. As the night went on, you and Logan got closer. He barely spoke but his chuckles at your comments were enough for you.

“I was so close to winning! You gotta give me credit for that!” You argued, cheeks hurting from smiling so much. You turned to see Logan looking at you, his brow raised and smirking.

“How? You’re 25 points behind me.” He remarked.

“I would’ve won if… if I had been playing with someone other than you!”

“Like who?”

“One of my friends, probably Ash!”

“You have 10 points.” Each time the tiny basketballs went in the hoop, it was 5 points. 

“Yes and I would be 10 points ahead of them which means I would win!” He practically wheezed at that as you giggled. You looked  over to see David and Elias staring at the both of you, wide smiles plastered on their faces.

You kept looking through the box. Finding photos from the day you met Keegan and Merrick, then the day you visited Mrs. Walker’s grave for the first time. You stared at that picture of Logan and David sitting together in front of the stone. It was so peaceful.

You held the photo to your chest and thought of Logan. You whispered to yourself, “Please, please protect him. Keep all of them safe. I just want them to be happy… Elias and Diane, please watch over all of them.”.

Another three months later, you hadn’t heard from David, Keegan, Merrick or any other military personnel. It had been a total of eleven months since you last saw your husband. You were Logan’s emergency contact and many people aside from the Ghosts knew you, so if something happened then someone would contact you. This should be comforting. No one calling you means no one’s dead, right? Nothing bad. So why were you so anxious? You couldn’t reach anyone so maybe something did happen and-

Your phone rang. It was David. You answered immediately.

“David? What happened? Where have you been?”

“Come outside, I have to show you something.”

It’d been a long time since you ran that fast. David sat in his truck, as you ran over to the passenger side, he leaned to open the door from his seat. As soon as your door closed and you buckled in, he began driving.

“David, what’s going on?”

He inhaled through his nose, you noticed how hard he was gripping the wheel and that he was going a bit fast. He was a careful driver normally. If he was amongst civilians, he was calm and never dared going above the speed limit in case there was a child or a dog or pedestrian walking when and where they shouldn’t be. This drive, however, was different. Something happened.

“We got him.” He looked at you, your eyes wide as they slowly filled with tears. “He’s back.”

“W-when did he get back?” You stuttered.

“Almost two weeks ago-” You opened your mouth to speak but David put his hand up. You waited. “Knowing Rorke and his history, we kept Logan on base to heal some and do some mental evaluations.”

“David…”

“I need to warn you right now, he’s not gonna be the same man you knew before all this shit happened. He’s gonna have a lot of recovering to do.”

David went on to explain Rorke and what the Federation did to him. You were quiet.

“Did he do all of that to Logan?”

“We aren’t sure. We just know that whatever it was wasn’t good. He’s clear to come home today if both of you are ready, but I just needed to tell you.” Good thing the house was clean.

“Thank you, David. I know this has probably been harder on you than anyone.” David tried to laugh.

“I mean it’s my job-” You put your hand on his shoulder.

“You know what I mean. Thank you. Seriously.” He exhaled slowly, he seemed to relax a little.

“You’re welcome.”

“You can come by whenever you like if Logan comes back. Maybe just give me a warning, ok?”

“I will. I promise.”

David parked the truck after you checked in at the front gate. Your heart beat rapidly despite the slow walk through the base. You recognized some of the men and gave a half-hearted wave when they greeted you. You could already tell. They knew why you were here.

You walked into the base hospital. David took you down numerous hallways you knew there was a chance you’d see one day but never expected, never wanted to walk down. But this was for Logan. David opened the door to the room you stood in front of.

You couldn’t tell if your heart was breaking or if you were having a heart attack or what…

There he was, sitting against the bed he must’ve been in since returning, looking at you.

Logan was in a hospital gown, his arms and legs below the knee exposed. The skin was covered in jagged scars and stitches that were still such a dark and aggressive red. Along with that were numerous bruises, a painful variety of purples, yellows, and green in some spots. His right arm in a cast and sling. On his other hand, his ring and finger are wrapped, probably broken or dislocated. You notice how his left shoulder and upper arm seem to be wrapped with gauze. You don’t want to imagine what injuries he must have that you can’t see.

His face. His handsome face. He looks so tired. Logan turned towards you and tried to limp over, using the bed for stability. You rushed forward instinctually. Once he was close enough, he slowly wrapped his unbroken arm around your back. You looked at him. He had dark circles under his eyes, faded bruising on his left cheekbone, two intersected scars ran across his face. One started between his eyebrows to his cheek. The second from the middle of his chin, across his lips until it passed the other scar on that same cheek. His skin was cool and pale, unlike the warm complexion he had prior to the kidnapping. 

You ended up staying for about two hours before you got a list of medications from doctors, some extra gauze wraps and a pamphlet detailing how to handle a deep second degree burn at home. That was why his shoulder and arm were wrapped. You said goodbye to David, Keegan and Merrick soon after.

The first few weeks, Logan mostly stayed in bed. Every day you checked his injuries, the stitches and the burn, to make sure there was no infection and they were healing properly. By the fourth week or so, the burn had healed, leaving behind a large patch of discolored skin. At nearly the sixth week, his cast was removed. His arm and fingers had healed well and correctly. David had told you that when Logan was taken, his arm was broken. When he was found, his arm had healed incorrectly as a result of improper care, assuming any care was given, so the doctors had to re-break it before putting it in the cast. 

After the seventh week, Logan was able to walk around without limping. However, he mostly just stayed in your room. Sometimes, you’d spend the day in the living room in hopes it would coax him out. It didn’t work. You cooked his favorite meals but he would usually bring the food back to the room. When it was time for bed, you essentially snuck around the room to avoid scaring him in case he was sleeping. You were pretty sure he wasn’t sleeping, at least not as much as he should’ve been. It remained this way for a few more weeks.

A month and a half into Logan being back home and he’d uttered a scarce amount of words. “Okay”, “alright”, “yes”, “no” and whatever else kept his sentences short. He barely talked to you anymore. Of course, you kept David updated as often as possible. You felt like he just wasn’t there. Now, he was more of a ghost than ever.

Two months in and he started going to the base again. For what? You don’t know. You had asked where he was going, dressed in his “soldier getup” as you called it.

“I’m going to work. Can’t be late. I’ll be back later.” He’d stated hastily before heading out. This continued on for another two weeks until you decided to talk to him before he left.

“Logan, honey, can we talk?”

“Um… sure, but I have to leave before 9.” He was trying to rush again.

“I wanted to ask about that actually…” He looked at you, mostly expressionless. “You were just gone for almost, what, six months? Why are they having you back at work when you might as well have just finished actually healing?”

“I… There’s still work to be done.” he stuttered. You cocked your head. You turned to him from your position on the couch.

“What work?” you asked slowly and quietly. You knew he wasn’t lying. You didn’t want him to think you thought he was lying. You wanted to keep the conversation calm so he wasn’t overwhelmed.

“It’s a lot. I don’t think- right now isn’t the right time.” he began to turn.

“We can talk later if that’s better, but I just want to know. I’m worried about you.”

“You don’t need to worry, I just need to do some things.” His voice carried no emotion. He was almost at the door when you stood suddenly.

“Logan, I just want to understand!” Logan stopped in his tracks. You stared at his back. “I want to just talk, please… I know your job is important and I don’t want to get in the way with complaining…” Your voice cracked. You wrapped your arms around yourself. Logan was here, in the same house as you. You stared at him but you felt lonelier than ever. “You’re so far away, Logan… and… and I know there was so much that happened and we didn’t know if we’d ever see each other again, but we’re together now!” You walked closer to him. He heard your steps but he stayed still. “We don’t have to act like nothing happened. We couldn’t if we wanted to, I know that… but please talk to me again. I married you because I love you. I married you and everything that came with you. I said those vows and ‘in sickness and in health’ because even when you’re hurting, I’ll be there. I’m here right now! But I need you to let me be there. I need you to stop hiding yourself away from me. I want to know you again, Logan.” Your breathing had picked up as tears welled up in your eyes.

Time just stopped. You turned and sat back on the couch facing away from him. You quietly wept into your hands as everything just seemed to spill over. You had reached your boiling point. You didn’t hear the footsteps coming to you until you opened your eyes and noticed the giant boots that faced your much smaller feet. A large pair of hands slowly removed your hands from your face, one tilted your head up.

You saw Logan’s beautiful eyes, a sort of hazel that seemed gold in the light. He slowly knelt down in front of you and hugged you. Not like the barely there hug he mustered at the hospital when he couldn’t even walk on his own. He pulled you tight against him and you immediately curled around him as you sobbed. He let you. Logan pulled back after a moment and held your face. He wiped your tears with his thumbs. 

“I love you too… more than anything.” He stared into your reddening, tear-filled eyes for a moment before sighing as he sat next to you. You held his hand, his thumb stroked your knuckles as he thought about his next words. “A couple days ago,” he started, “something happened. I can’t tell you what yet but it was cause for concern. Especially with Ghost team.” He paused and looked at you, directly into you. “I want to tell you everything, but it’s going to be a lot to process and it’ll probably be scary. I don’t want you to deal with this, with all the problems coming to us because of Rorke but you’re right to want to know what’s happening and you deserve to know.” You looked at the time, 8:55 A.M. You stood, Logan followed, still holding your hand. He pressed your hand against his chest and over his heart.

“I love you.” You whispered.

“I love you too. I’ll talk to Merrick today and I’ll try to get home as early as I can. We can talk about everything while we make dinner.”

“Together?”

“Together. I’ll call you if anything comes up and if you need me to, I can get groceries, ok?” You nodded. This is all you asked for. You hugged Logan tightly as he wrapped himself around you. You walked him to the door where he kissed you goodbye, on the lips. It felt like it had been forever since you’d done that. You stopped him before he moved. He almost retorted when you pulled off the necklace you still had on. He stared at the ring hanging from it. You took the ring off and put it back on his hand. He stared at it for a moment and smiled. A tired little smile that took so much weight off of you. Logan grabbed the necklace and took the time to put it back around your neck before he kissed you again.

“Thank you.” He whispered, still smiling. You smiled back as he walked to the car, waving when he began to drive. It had only been 10 minutes at most but those 10 minutes were so freeing. The rest of the morning you spent outside, reading and occasionally texting your friends when they checked in. The sun warmed your skin and the air was so fresh. You went back inside around 3 P.M when Logan called you:

Logan: “I can come back home around 6 tonight.”

You: “Sounds good, any ideas for dinner?”

Logan: “I could really go for lasagna.”

You: “Can you stop at the store on your way back? I have a list!”

Logan: “Yeah, just send it to me.”

With that, you texted everything you needed before moving to clean up the kitchen and free up space.

Later that night, Logan returned with everything you asked for plus a tub of ice cream. Your favorite flavor. You got to cooking, boiling the sheets and preparing the sauce while the oven preheated. You cooked together, like old times. It had been so long. Music quietly played as you both took turns tasting everything. A little extra salt and paprika here, with some pepper too. You laid down the floppy lasagna sheets while Logan poured the sauce over top then you both spread your favorite cheeses before adding more sheets and so on. While the lasagna was in the oven, you sat on the couch together. Logan held you in his arms as you stroked the hair on the back of his neck. After savoring the peace of the moment, Logan started talking.

When he was kidnapped, Rorke had put him through the same trials he himself had experienced. Being force fed poisoned food was the start until Rorke seemed to grow bored and eventually forced him to eat the plants the poison had been extracted from. Logan told you everything. All the grim details. At some points, you actually felt nauseous just hearing the horrors. When he was almost done talking about what he was forced to endure, you just held him and continued to encourage him to talk. He held you tight as he explained. The beatings he was put through. The way his arm healed wrong and he could hardly use it without feeling pain.

Then he looked at you. You felt so fragile with the way he looked at you with his tired eyes. He spoke again.

“Rorke knows about you.”

You never met this man in your life, never saw pictures. But he was like a boogeyman. He could appear from under your bed at any moment. 

“His soldiers… left us a message… Threatening to take me again. They said this time they’d take you too.”

That’s why he was going back to base. To work with his brother and everyone to make sure nothing happened. You didn’t live far from the base but they were thinking about bringing you on post to be cautious. That’s why Logan went back to work so soon. To protect you. That’s why he was telling you all of this now, to further protect you.

You were scared. Hearing about something like this happening was one thing, but knowing the man who stole your husband and almost broke him from the inside out was completely different. Especially when you knew that he wanted you too. Oh god. Logan held you and told you that the two of you could always move on base where you’d be protected and closer to him. You’d be amongst him and the other soldiers and Riley, Hesh’s dog. They wouldn’t let anything happen. And so you agreed. That night you just focused on being together, holding one another and eating your delicious lasagna as you reminisced together. 

Over the course of the next week, you brought as many of your necessities over to base where you and Logan continued living together. You met some friends of his and their partners, gaining your own group of friends not long after moving. Some had even assisted in bringing more of your things over when Logan had to work.

Later down the line, the Ghost team flew out. You weren’t told anything about what the mission entailed, but when Logan came to you, mask on, and put his ring in your hand before kissing you goodbye, you had an idea.

“I will make sure no one, not a single person touches you. Not a single damn person. I will keep it that way. I promise.” He whispered, voice more stern than ever. 

Your friends on base were all a wonderful support system during the next week they were gone for. You weren’t able to reach out again but you believed in them. You took care of Riley, who’d grown to love you.

When the week was done, they came back and Logan had made a beeline for you. You were reading, his ring back on your necklace when the door opened and your husband walked in, covered in dirt and other unidentifiable muck and alive. You rushed to jump into his arms and kiss him, ignoring the weird taste of said dirt in your mouth. You gave his ring back, ignoring the dirt that was on his hands too. While you held him, he whispered in your ear, “It’s all over now. We can go home.”.

So you did. David, Keegan and Merrick were kind enough to assist with moving your things back over and checking your house for anything that wasn’t meant to be there, anything that indicated a break in. Shit, they’d even checked the vents too. When that was all done, you made lasagna for them and spent the evening laughing together and savoring the peace that had finally come over the world again. Later, you and Logan laid in bed together, happy as ever and whispered sweet words to each other. Both of you could finally get some rest.

The end, thank you for reading! I will also post this on my ao3 @ RiversSong82

#cod ghosts #cod ghosts fanfiction #cod fanfiction #cod fanfic #logan walker #cod logan walker #logan walker x reader #logan walker x m!reader #logan walker x f!reader #logan walker x gn!reader #quill writes

[kate-bot]

OKAY SO I've gotten two asks about my Noisette cosplay AND THANK YOU SM FOR THE KIND WORDS !!!!!!!! It was sm fun to make this cos, so I will gladly explain everything I did in hopes that it might help someone else!! also both anons please share your cosplays with me when theyre done i would love to see them....

I've tried to link everything where I can, where I got stuff etc... I only rarely cosplay (although I am thinking of going as the noise in May Comiccon) and this was my biggest ever project so!! It's very trial-and-error! But without further ado

KATES EXTENSIVE(ish) GUIDE TO COSPLAYING NOISETTE FROM THE HIT GAME PIZZA TOWER!!!!!!! (warning its kinda long)

THE HAT

Okay i’m gonna be real my mum helped me so much she basically did all the sewing for me. Sewing is the fucking bane of my existence I hate doing it so much so we planned it out together and she basically executed it. Props to her for that she’s so real… She also wrote down what she did!! So i’ll just paste and colour that in for you to read!!

“The black material (seen in the above image) was originally a beanie hat that was picked apart to use as a template…

This was game changing basically. We had experimented with making the hat from scratch but it was far too difficult and we were both too stupid so we just unstitched a pre-existing hat and stole the template. The hat we cut up was one we had lying around for years so i cannot tell you where to get one from, but any beanie that is stitched together will work i guess! So I would recommend finding a hat that fits you snugly and doing the same thing!

…and the wool fabric that was utilised gave the finished product was stiff enough to be structurally sound.

I just got this from my local fabric shop, I would recommend wool over something like felt because it’s super sturdy and I was pulling on my mask a LOT.

Once sewn together, I attached a stiff card facemask to the front to help provide some structure, and to locate where the eye holes should be cut.

I think this picture shows it pretty well, my mum was able to curve the shape of the fabric to fit a pre-existing mask- we got ours from Hobbycraft, just one of those stringed white template masks yknow. We cut off the string, made the eyeholes a little bigger and just stuck it straight on!! I should mention this was pretty much all done with a sewing machine as well!

After that, we made two ears from a paper pattern, stuffed them and put some wire inside to allow them to be positioned, before sewing them onto this headband, which was then sewn into the hat. The bottom of each ear was also stitched to the crown to give it some additional stability and to secure the headband correctly in position (having fitted it on the wearer).

Yeah it was actually less of a mask and more of a headband!! That was what gave it most of the support and meant the ears would stay up, I’m not sure how it would work without it!! The ears were the only part that I could actually help with LMAO i just freehanded a little template, stuffed it, and then put in some modelling wire to make them able to be posed :)

Then it was a lot of hand sewing, and glueing the eyeholes to the mask to create a cohesive look.

AND YEAH that’s pretty much all it was! I also attached some little felt eyelashes to add to it as well. Honestly I could never come up with a step-by-step guide for the process because it was such a trial and error thing (i’d made two test-hats before we even came up with the method) but it was so fun!!

I would 100% recommend if you want the ears to stay UP to stuff them AS MUCH AS U CAN and/or put wire in them!! :) I also made some cute little bows to clip into my wig in the same fabric to make it more cohesive!! I also put a bow (and a bunny tail heheh) on the back of the dress too!!

THE DRESS

Super simple! I just found one online (okay for some reason the link has been taken off of the website, but just look up "overall dress" on google shopping and you will 100% find something super cute)- I made sure to buy the dress first, and then take it to the fabric shop to try and colourmatch the mask fabric as best as I could. Then it was just buying some big ol buttons off eBay and sewing them on!! (I could actually do that bit by myself, I'm bad at sewing but im not THAT bad)

EVERYTHING ELSE

Cute patterned knee-high socks cuz shes cute like that. Leg warmers, I think I got them both off of Amazon... Converse I got from Depop and I had wanted to buy a pair anyway so I was super stoked to get them cheap!! I chose converse over a pair of high-heels or Mary Janes just for comfort reasons, I was walking around loads at the con so... Everything else apart from the shirt was from Amazon or just. Somewhere online(I have no idea where to get fancy white gloves LOL) and the shirt was from Depop as well! I liked how frilly it was, re: Noisette is cute like that!!

oh yeah and the wig. I hate wigs it was awful. I have no idea how to style them. underneath the hat was the most awful bowl cut ever I just. It wasn't my best moment. Dont ask me about wigs please .

Also I should mention I got this bag for the cosplay (which I now use all the time cuz its so cute) because i needed space to store shit and I wanted something on-brand with her cafe... this isnt the exact link I used but I just got it off of ebay :P

PROPS

Unfortunately I don't have a lot of WIP pictures of my props but they were pretty simple to make!! The coffee cup was literally just spraypainting over a reusable coffee cup and using POSCA pen to draw on the front! Fun fact the cup says "To Peppino" because originally my boyfriend was gonna go with me as Peppino before the Cruetly Squad brainrot got to him so. YEA

And the tip jar was also pretty simple, I just painted on the lid a plastic jar (can't be glass, not allowed at ComicCon) and cut out a bit of vinyl to work as the sign. The cobweb was just hot-glued 3D printer filament, and the spider was made with foam modelling clay (literally the best thing ever if you're making small models like that) and i stuck him to the lid of the jar with Kandi string so he'd bounce around :]

AND I THINK THATS IT!! i may as well post a pic of the full cosplay since I dont think many people would have made it this far.... But I think it turned out pretty cool!! I got recognised a few times as well which was amazing!! (cropped out my bf cuz idk if he wants his face on tumblr gfhhfg)

SO YEAH!!!! if anyone has any questions please let me know.. but GOOD LUCK IN UR COSPLAY MAKING FRIENDS!!!! :D

#ask #pizza tower #noisette pizza tower #noisette cosplay #pizza tower cosplay #Yes this is very longwinded! But I really wanted to include all the details!!! #also second anon im so sorry it took me so long to reply i completely blanked on its existence #I HOPE THIS IS HELPFUL TO SOMEONE... ANYONE #re:noise cosplay in may? i'd love to try out making a mask (like out of paper-mache of his whole face) rather than a fabric one #might be fun? not sure #also face reveal ig i hate How i look in the cos cuz i rely so much on my hair to look half decent but. #IN THE NAME OF HELPING SOMEONE... ough #anyway ill stop rambling #thank u for the asks!!!!!

[atruththatyoudeny]

Happy 28th! Here are all the fics I read and enjoyed this month. this could either break my heart, or bring it back to life | anditsonlyforthebrave | [18k] Harry never really cared for love: he has two children he needs to care for, and a Country to rule. Love is just not in his cards. Enter Louis, who spins his children's lives but most importantly Harry's. In Shining Armour of Trackie and Trainers | LadyAJ_13 | [9k] Online dating isn't exactly working for Harry. In fact, it couldn't really be going much worse. But then the door of the bar opens, and the pack of friends walking in parts and - that’s Louis Tomlinson. Louis fucking Tomlinson.

Angel Baby | brightgolden | [51k] “You’d be a MILF,” Louis teases, squeezing Harry’s love handles. Harry smiles, dimples deep in his cheeks as he hums in agreement. “I would, wouldn’t I? Your MILF.” OR When Louis’ sugar-baby-turned-mate suddenly wanted a pup, he simply couldn’t say no to his bright-eyed omega. After all, who didn’t want a mini Harry running around the house? He should have known that it wasn’t all wonderful in the wonderland of baby making. It's Fine To Fake It 'Til You Make It ('Til It's True) | sunflouwerhabit | [141k] Harry Styles @HarryStyles_KE hi again! so, i wanted to apologize one more time for the whole “helogogjs good gksdjid” thing, and also say that i didn’t just accidentally open your DM’s when i wasn’t paying attention earlier. i sort of had a question about a tweet you posted yesterday? like. the whole “rent a boyfriend” thing? is that something you were serious about? and if so, how does one come to hire you to be their boyfriend? i’m, um, asking for a friend ***** Harry dreads an impending visit to his hometown, where he’ll be forced to reunite with a newly engaged ex-boyfriend, a childhood best friend turned near stranger, and a family who never understood just how desperately he needed to leave. In the midst of it all, a ludicrous Twitter proposition brings him to Louis.

It’s Only Sunny Cause the Planet’s Dying | LetTheMusicMoveYou | [14k] The man leans back in his chair and looks down at the tarot cards in front of him. “Wow, that was really impressive. How long did it take you to memorize all this bullshit?” He raises a brow and that challenging look is back on his face, but he’s not even bothering to mask it this time. It makes Louis’ blood run cold. “I beg your pardon?” The man chuckles, but there’s no humor in it. “If you take a peek in my wallet that you just stole, you’ll see there’s a detective’s badge in there. Why don’t you come on down to the police station with me and you can explain your methods to me there?” (Or the one where Louis is a thief and a con-artist who’s used to getting what he wants, using any means necessary. And Harry is is the straight-laced detective who might just be tired of always doing the right thing). Running Over Thoughts That Make My Feet Hurt | enchantedlandcoffee | [5k] Louis is the little league coach of 'The Ducklings', the team that Harry's daughter plays for. Whilst she tries her best, she doesn't quite have the skills so Coach Tommo steps in. He offers private lessons to try and help her, and if he gets in her dad's good books? Well that'd just be a bonus. Save Me (from myself) | Imogenlee | [159k] The problem with being friends with Liam Payne was that he had a lot of friends... and forced them to be around each other. When they finished high school, both Louis and Harry were equally relieved that they wouldn't have to tolerate each other constantly or whatever it was that they did. For five years, it worked out perfectly. They'd only had to see each other a handful of times. Unfortunately, Liam had to go and get engaged, ask them to both be groomsmen, and then go full groomzilla on their arses. With just twelve weeks to plan the 'perfect' destination wedding and throw every ridiculous pre-wedding celebration Liam and his fiancée stumble across, it was safe to say they were firmly back in each other's lives. And no one could have predicted that was exactly what they needed. Fight For Us | FallingLikeThis | [11k] Louis isn’t okay. It’s beyond wrong, the way they’re held in a cage waiting to be chosen for mating. It’s the way it’s been all Louis’ life, but he never wanted to end up like this. He’d hoped against hope that he’d present as a beta since they don’t have these same restrictions on them. They don’t have to adhere to their biology. And one dark night, long after all of the other omegas in the pen have fallen asleep, biology comes calling for Louis. In The Name of Being Honest | sunflouwerhabit therogueskimo | [124k] Back at his desk, Louis closed his eyes for a moment, trying to settle into the reality of this. He was leaving the UK for only the second time in his life. Suddenly, the holiday he took to Spain three summers ago felt like it paled in comparison. He was going to the U.S. - for work, it was true, but still - alone. He’d been all for seizing the moment when his boss had been looking at him with a gaze of steel, but now he felt vaguely nauseous. Louis took several shaky breaths, feeling like the air was being sucked from the room, and opened the manila folder, laying it flat on his desk. His breath caught as he saw the destination, centered in a large, block font at the very top of the first page: Robinson Publishing - Chicago, Illinois, United States of America. ~~~ After two years of living in an everlasting cycle of work, sleep, and regret, Louis finds himself wandering brand new streets perpetually haunted by the ghosts of his past. The Chicago Fic.

#28th appreciation #fic rec #monthly favorites #monthly fic rec #my reads #my fic rec #larry fics

[kleefkruid]

Hello, I hope this isn't an awkward or rude ask, feel free to ignore tho, but I've been tentatively interested in polyam, but more specifically being in a relationship with two partners I love and cherish. I've seen a lot of posts say that this isnt how polyam stuff works tho and I have no touch stone other than my own lovey dovey fantasies, but I know you're polyam and I figured I'd ask what I should think of and or expect out of a polyam relationship? How does it all work? I hope I explained what I mean well enough. Thank you for your time!

Hi! I'm assuming by the way you worded this you're talking about a triad, a relationship where you are dating two people and they're also dating each other.

I'm gonna go into a few points here 1. triads and their prevalence 2. unicorn hunting, what is it and why is everyone yelling 3. how to 'look for a 3rd' in a not-terrible way 4. a little something else about polyam relationship dynamics

Triads exist! But it's true that outsiders assume it's the standard, as you'll notice in pop culture most poly people are triads, and also here on tumblr as a fanfic trope it's also very prevalent.

But in reality triads are not too common simply for the sheer statistic probability. You have to find someone you like, they have to like you. You also have to find someone else you like who also likes you. Then that first person must also like your second person, and your second person must also like your first person! And then after all this, you have 3 relationships (you+b, you+c, b+c) and you still have to find a way to make the 4th relationship dynamic work (you+b+c). Personally, none of my partners or other people I was connected with, have dated other people I'd wanna date. It's usually people I think are cool, good looking and I want them in my life, but they're not people I wish to date. All triads I have spoken or read their stories have kind off stumbled into it. Usually someone was already dating person b, starts dating person c, and by happenstance person b and c do find this connection. So, it happens, it's great when it happens, but it's just not likely purely bc of chance.

2. When talking about this, I have to quickly get into unicorn hunters, because you will run into this term, and you have some overzealous polyam people who will throw this at any person walking into the scene (looking at you, certain message boards) You might think allright, I'll start with finding my person B, and together we'll look around until we find someone we both like! And this is a fine idea, truly (*I am pushing a yelling crowd away at this point*) but there is a certain type of couple that have made this method veeeeery unpopular (and are responsible for like, 90% of the shit polyam people get online), and you have to make sure you're not those people, and then you'll be fine. This specific kind of couple is what people mean when they use the term unicorn hunters. Scenario: You have a mono couple. Usually a straight man and a bisexual/curious woman. They decide they want to dip their toes into polyamory. No problems at this point, although going from mono to poly is a whole post on it's own. But the man doesn't want another man in the relationship, he like the idea of having two girlfriends though, and his girlfriend is interested in girls anyway, so let's look for a girlfriend for us both! This girl they are looking for is what is jokingly refered to as a unicorn. Because they're looking for a bisexual woman (already a specific subgroup) who is poly (again, upping the rarity) who likes them both, equially, and who likes to be barraged by two complete strangers who are like "hey do you want to date us both or maybe have a threesome and see where is goes" A lot of these couples can be to forward (hence the 'hunting' part), because they don't know the dynamics of the poly scene they walked in, but they're usually also not knowlegable about the basics of the queer scene. They're the couples that message lesbians, not seeing how that's fucked up. Often the girl will match with someone on lesbian tinder, who's often not even poly, mind you, and then go "by the way, this is my boyfriend, wanna have a threesome?" If someone enters a relationship with those two, they're often treated as an assesory, lower on the ladder, and they're not allowed to date other people. It's pretty much universally a bad experience for the so called unicorn. It's a stereotype sure, but it's a really fucking prevalent one and any poly person has run into them, every wlw, whether they're poly or not, will have to slap they away when they enter any online dating or even when just existing. So that's why just being a couple looking for a 3rd, even if you're being perfectly respectful (which again, possible) will get an aggressive response in poly cirlces, because we all get the flak that's meant for those people. Lot's of people, especially again mono lesbians, don't even want to associate with me when they hear I'm poly bc of these people, while we get ecually harassed, but in their eyes, that's what poly people are, even though they're misbehaving tourists at best.

3. Now, I have talked about probability, what you shouldn't do, but this leaves the question, what should you do?

Firstly, take it easy, what needs to happen will happen. If you're interested in being polyam, just start with that. Dip your toes into the water without having a route or destination mapped out. If you get a better feel about how it is to be polyam and what the dynamics are like, it will be easier to figure out if being poly is something you want to really get into, and what you want from it. It's a learning process like anything is. Mono peoples first dating will differ wildly to the long term relationship they're in years later. It's just like that, again.

Practical, finding people. I recommend looking on poly specific dating websites. I met my current partner on feeld. The fun thing about feeld is that you can connect your current partners profile to yours. So you're matching people on your own, but you can be like: this is my other partner btw. Feeld is open for both people looking on their own, or couples. And people communicate in their bio what kind of thing they're after. You can also connect your partner for funsies without looking for a 3rd, the connected profiles I see are about 50/50. There are other poly or poly-friendly apps but I have not tried them so you'll have to ask around about those!

tinder: If you make a profile for yourselves just start with saying you're poly in your bio. If people give you shit after you were clear from the start, that's they're problem and they're just being an ass. If you're dating on your own, I would also mention this so people don't think some 2nd person will jump in after you match. I have succesfully dated on tinder as a poly person. I mentioned that I was poly, that I was dating one other person and that we were not looking for people together. I didn't have any mishaps with that. If you're dating and looking together: making a couple profile on tinder, I don't recommend, because again, people will take you for unicorn hunters even if you are not. If you're different genders you'll also get into the space of people who don't want to see you, like an m/f couple getting into a women only space. If you're a w/w couple or a m/m couple you can get into those spaces genreally, especially the mlm community is pretty open to open relationships (hehe) but be clear about what you're doing (start your bio with this) and leave people alone who aren't looking for poly/threesomes/whatever. People who are open to this will usually communicate this clearly. (I'm just talking about men and women here and not going into any kind of gender fluidity bc let's be real there's no dating website that has an ideal system in place when you're non-binary, so that's a bit of a case by case situation) If you're dating and looking together nr. 2: Don't walk up to strangers in bars. Just don't do it. Plain. Simple. You can meet irl people, but don't do it with this intent.

4. about polyam dynamics.

When you get into poly dating, you'll discover more relation dynamics (I get into solo-poly and relationship anarchy here, look into that). You'll figure out that a hinge relationship, like this:

is also a relationship between 3 people. You're not all romantically involved, but all relationships (family/friends/romance) are equially worthwile, and sometimes the lines will blur. I have friends I love a bit, I have friends I have sex with, I have friends I'll never have sex with. I'll love a metamour (partner of my partner) for the love they give my partner, but I don't want to date them. Maybe someday I'll have a metamour I do want to date. You can also have 3 people who all are dating each other, but do it sperately and don't want to turn it into a relationship between all 3 of them together. You have people who form a family and live together, but not all of them date each other. You have people who'll always live alone regardless of the people they're dating; Everything is possible, if you just communicate clearly and have the maximum respect for everyone involved.

I hope this little 1.0.1 thing was a bit helpful to you, if you have any more questions feel free to ask. It's a wide subject that can (and has) filled entire books but I'll try to give an intro as good as I can

#polyam #polyamory #poly #ask

[importantgalaxyrunaway]

The investigation- chapter 4 Colby x y/n 🧸

CONTENTS: more y/n Lore, tw⚠️ Scratches and blood, fluff, bit of angst, implied sex, cliffhanger

AUTHOURS NOTE: ITS NOT AS BAD AS IT SOUNDS OKAY I’m definitely overstating the angst part and please like and let me know how you feel I worked hard on this. Sorry it took a while to make. I think I might put it on wattpad but if I do I won’t stop posting it here I will post it one both. Ty for reading

Skip to later in the tour

we were in the kitchen and the medium was explaining about the satanic panic that happened for a while witch I found absolutely fascinating.

“They can also form themselves are other entities, like a youthful energy” Colby said

“yes they can desguise themselves” she answered

“and one of the popular theories is that sallie is not just a little girl” Sam added

-skip a bit bc the thing didn’t go off on Colby’s forhead bc he had the necklace-

As we went up the stairs and through the rooms. I felt a strange presence like someone was watching us. They weren’t hostile but they were curious “there’s a woman’s presence here” said the medium reading my mind. Colby put his hand in mine

“is it like..hostile or?” sam asked

“ she just observeing by us” the black pendulum said waving the equipment over the closet “and tall”

“she’s like, ‘whatcha guys looking at?’” We all chuckled at sams joke

-skip to the investigation

While the others set up and checked the equipment seth pulled you out into the hallway for a conversation

“so uh..you have fun last night?” He asked jokeinly

“Uhh what” I say

“your hickeys” he said pointing at you neck

“oh OH OH. Seth I’m so sorry I didn’t even realize” I replied turning bright red with blush

“Lemme guess it was Colby?” He laughed

“how did you know?” I smiled

“y/n” he looked at me sarcastically “ I’m not blind it’s obvious to literally everyone”

(Colby’s pov)

I go over to get y/n and Seth for the investigation and see them laughing together

was Seth flirting with her! That was the first thought that crossed My mind mind. but I needed to calm myself I was jumping to conclusions.

“Time for the investigation” I said a little firm

“okay” y/n said cheerily as she walked into the investigation room but Seth stayed back and whispered in my ear

“ next time you two have ‘fun’ don’t leave such obvious marks on her”

I blushed heavily as we all went back into the investigation room. It’s funny how both Sam and Seth told me to try and keep my hands off y/n. Sam said that I should at least wait till we get back to the hotel before making out together in a haunted house. But it sure was hard she is so beautiful.

(end of Colby’s pov)

When we all got back into the room i see Sam standing over a rem pod with sallie toys all around it almost immediately the rem pod started going off in a very strange and specific pattern. It looked like the ghost was walking around the pod in circles. Obviously everyone freaked out a little bit because the rem pod had never gone off this way before.

“ wait what was that?” Sam said in a whisper we all quickly went over to see it and set up the music box. At first the music box was calibrating but then it started to go off. “Woahh” everyone reacted. For some reason I got bad chills and I was the only person who got this.

Ghosts had always been targeting me in particular more than anyone else. They would seek me out and touch me. They would say my name in the Estes method and would prefer to speak with me more than anyone else. I suppose this is because of my gifts and my connection with the afterlife. From now on I decided that I would try and honor my grandma’s legacy and tap into my abilities.

for majority the investigation went on well but I got this weird feeling as we went on. Like someone or more likely SOMETHING was trying to take hold of me. before we were about to do the Estes method I got this horrible feeling. Like my back was suddenly hot. Really hot. It felt like a burning pain

“ahh” I cried out as I fumbled from the pain

“What’s wrong?” Colby asked catching me

“y/n are you okay” sam said concerned

“ it’s - burning like — hurts so ba- cut” I stutter crying a bit into Colby’s arms.

he looked down “ oh my god” he exclaimed as he took the camera to show a long bleeding scratch all the way down my back. At this point I was crying because of the pain.

Sam and Seth went out to have a discussion about weather they should end the investigation here. They decided to leave me and Colby alone together.

And I collapsed into Colby’s arms as he comforted me “shh it’s okay baby” I cried even harder I felt weak for crying but I was so scared “I love you” I managed out in a shakeup voice he pulled me even closer. The blood had soaked through my white shirt at this point. “I love you too” he said trying to be strong for me but seeing her cry really broke his heart

little did I know thing were about to get a whole lot worse.

#cliffhanger #sam and colby #colby brock fic #colby brock x reader #colby brock fanfic #sam golbach #colby x reader #ghost hunting #colby brock #colby brock imagine #colby brock fluff #colby brock blurb #finally I’ve finished this chapter

[joshslater]

First One Free

Similar stories and bonus material on my Patreon.

"Exceed your widest dreams," the spam had said. It was a cheesy sales pitch pun from some local trainer. Try one PT session for free. It had stuck in Jordan's mind all morning though. Apparently there is a real advertising strategy to sneak spelling mistakes into ad copy to make people read the text slower and remember it better. He didn't think the amateurish spam had been quite so calculating, but the effect was the same nevertheless. He had thought of starting to exercise, and a free PT session might be just what he needed, so in the post-lunch lull he replied to the e-mail and was pleasantly surprised to quickly receive a response with suggested time slots. He had kind of expected it to be a scam. All the time slots were for four hours as well, so way more than any of the other offers he'd seen. Was it even effective to train for that long? Well, Wednesday 4pm to 8pm he would know.

The guy, Gary, an athletic but not crazy built man in his late thirties met him outside of the gym and walked him in through the front desk. The super-blond, super-tanned girl waved them through. He showed Jordan the locker room and handed him a shaker with opaque contents. "You're gonna need all of it," he said with a smile. Jordan emptied the shaker, changed into his workout clothes, and joined the trainer in the exercise room.

What followed was the most intense training he'd ever had. It was low intensity, but relentless. The guy had him do the same exercise over and over again with very light weights. They were basically going from machine to machine. After two hours he was handed another shaker, this time with a translucent red liquid that tested like synthetic strawberry. "Electrolytes" Gary had told him. He felt like he was running on fumes when finally Gary told him how proud he was of the work Jordan had put in. There was still one hour left of the time, and Gary explained that one very overlooked part of proper exercise was to properly stretch and relax the muscles after a workout, so they recovered as quickly as possible and increased in strength and volume as much as possible.

They went into a small side room with a massage bed where Gary slowly and methodically worked on Jordan's body with some kind of soothing oil. It felt heavenly on his sore muscles. Gary told him he would feel more soreness the coming days, but it was just natural while the body built muscle mass. While massaging he gave Jordan some easy tips on post-workout care, basically drink a lot, and went through some rudimentary dietary recommendations, all of which Jordan thought he would never do.

As they were getting close to part ways, Jordan was bracing himself for the inevitable sales pitch. $1000 per month or whatever the going rate for a PT was. There are only so many hours per day for them to sell after all. He almost felt robbed of not having to use any of the scenarios for wiggling out of any commitment that he had run through his head the night before. "Just email me if you have any more questions," he said. Not until Jordan had already showered and left did he consider that perhaps Gary was working for the gym somehow. Get people in for a killer session and then have them return, but shouldn't there be some follow-up then too? He was going to follow the hydration advice after all, he thought as he was heading home. He was incredibly thirsty, which wasn't a surprise after such a workout. Perhaps even buy a case of isotonic bottles as Gary had suggested?

Jordan was in pain as he woke up early morning the day after. He'd expected to be sore, but this was worse than he had ever experienced before, and he spent some time contemplating sleeping in. After minutes of tossing and turning he decided it was not going to happen, and perhaps a shower would better ease his angry muscles. Immediately getting up he realized what a transformation he had gone through during the night. His belly which had been slowly expanding since graduation was gone and his chest looked a little bit more like pecs than boobs. His arms looked about the same as yesterday, but when he moved and flexed them the difference was obvious. The shoulders looked more pronounced as well, perhaps more from posture than more muscles, but the change was obvious there too. He was shocked how one session could make such a big impact, and in just one day. Maybe he would follow the diet suggestions. This was close to his dream body that a few boring dishes and some crunches would nudge him that little extra step to visible abs and arm definition. Besides, he was starving.

It was impossible to concentrate on the work because of his constant low-level discomfort. Whenever he sat still for just a few minutes he felt stiff and as soon as he moved he felt sore. Only halfway to lunch he was starving again and raided the office kitchen's snack bar for trail mix and energy bars. He was hot too. He imagined all the worker cells being busy repairing all the muscle damage from the workout. But it meant that his normal cup of coffee wasn't anywhere near enough and he ended up with a water pitcher and a glass on his office table that he kept refilling.

For lunch, still hungry, he had plenty of helpings from a China buffet. He tried to think about the advice he had gotten from Gary on chicken, broccoli, and rice, but in the end he got plenty from all the dishes. By half past two he decided he needed to leave early and rest up at home. The feeling of burning hot had just gotten worse and he felt clammy from sweating. Perhaps he had the flu? That would explain a lot, the body aches, the slight fever. On the way home he bought a big four cheeses pizza and plenty of isotonic drinks, devoured it as soon as he got inside, and promptly crashed in bed for a nap.

It was dark as Joran woke up in agony. As he reached for the lamp switch he heard the sound of fabric tearing. He froze with his hand on the switch after he had flipped it, staring a the alien arm controlling the bedside light. It was massive, even in this stretched-out form, with finger-sized veins snaking up the tanned skin. He slowly drew his arm back, shocking himself with the size of the bicep as the arm bent. His mind raced with thoughts. Is this a fever dream? Don't think so. How did this happen? Don't know. Is it even possible? Sure looks like it. What does the rest of the body look like? What will the guys at the office say? What about mum? Tanning while sleeping?

He lept to his feet to the sound of more clothes ripping apart and stumbled over to his dressing mirror. Why his shirt wasn't holding up was immediately obvious. His shoulders were inches wider, as were his chest and his arms. His trousers were visibly straining from the size of his legs as well, and probably ripped apart on the back.

Getting out of the clothes turned out to be complicated. Where the seams hadn't given up the fabric was straining aginst his muscles, hugging his body. His attempts to undress were also hampered by him suddenly not being able to reach everywhere. His muscles had gotten bigger everywhere, but he or his arms hadn't gotten longer. He gave up and used some scissors to undress, and then cut off the arms of a T-shirt to get something on his upper body that fit. Just as he was about to put it on he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and for a split second thought someone else was in the room with him. Just a day ago he was considering getting visible abs, and now he had ones big enough to show through a tight sweatshirt.

He drove to a 24/7 supermarket wearing just the cut-off T-shirt and a pair of basket shorts to get some real clothes, then, having changed in the bathroom he went to the gym just as they opened. It was the same girl at the front desk as when he and Gary were there. She obviously didn't recognize him, but to his surprise she told him Gary didn't work there. She was at first hesitant to talk about any other customers, but must have decided to treat Jordan as "one of them" given his pro-body builder physique and said a guy had paid for two people including access to a treatment room. She hadn't seen him neither before nor since.

[randomfoggytiger]

David Duchovny's Face: an Aesthetics Study

(Courtesy of: Deborah Feingold)

Wanting to learn more about fashion and knowing I retain information better by mapping it onto areas of previous interest, I've decided to craft a post analyzing David Duchovny's face-- specifically, its Masculine vs. Feminine dynamic.

In this incredible video by dear peachie (whose research is far superior to and more knowledgeably vast than most other beauty or fashion sources out there), the Masculine vs. Feminine attributes of the face are examined to highlight physical traits and others' perceptions; and how that balance shifts and changes with personal styling, colors, techniques, and ultimately age.

**Disclaimer**: I am a noob.

MASCULINE AND FEMININE AESTHETICS

dear peachie begins Part 1 by stating:

"Our face is inarguably the first thing people notice."

The video then explains the Japanese method of identifying one's overall "vibe" by Masculine or Feminine attributes to the face, and specifying up front that Masculine does not equate to a "manly" appearance (and leaving the audience to assume the same rule applies to Feminine and "womanly" respectively.)

The screenshots below illustrate the basics of this concept; but know that I'm just scratching the surface because of the "only 30 images per post" Tumblr mandate.

COMPARING MASCULINE AND FEMININE VISUAL AESTHETICS

Masculine Aesthetics have angular or prominent bone features to their cheekbones, jaw, or nose bridge while Feminine Aesthetics have fleshy or less prominent bone structures.

Masculine Aesthetics have eyes likely positioned higher on the midface ratio whereas Feminine Aesthetics have eyes likely positioned lower.

Masculine Aesthetics have a long lower face ratio with a longer chin compared to the Feminine Aesthetics short midface and shorter lower chin ratio.

Masculine Aesthetics sports sharper corners to their eyes, mouth, or nose; and usually accompanies this well-defined structure with closer set eyes. Feminine Aesthetics, meanwhile, have no particular structure to their rounded eyes, mouth, or nose; and usually have moderate or farther set eyes.

A simple and easy comparison of the two main (we'll get to that) Aesthetics:

Tzuyu on the left has a Feminine Aesthetic: eyes positioned lower on her facial ratio, a shorter lower face ratio, and softer, rounder, "fleshier" contouring to her cheekbones, eyes, and jaw.

Liu Wen on the left has a Masculine Aesthetic: eyes positioned higher on her facial ratio, a longer midface ratio, and sharper contouring to her cheekbones, eyes, and jaw.

OUR SUBJECT

If we divide David's face into thirds, four facts become swiftly clear:

His bone structure-- cheekbones, jaw-- is softer and less prominent overall, a Feminine aspect.

His eyes sit on the lower half of his midface ratio, a Feminine aspect.

His nose-to-chin ratio is small (shortening his midface ratio as well), a Feminine aspect.

His eyes, mouth, and nose have rounded or softened corners, a Feminine aspect.

(Curtesy of @scullyblues's edits here)

With these facts in mind, it makes perfect sense why David was able to use his softer features fluidly between Denise Bryson and Fox Mulder within a few, short years.

Changing with Age?

An interesting note: personal styling can temporarily disguise the dynamics of one's face aesthetic, but aging might do so more permanently-- the Masculine Aesthetic becomes more prominent with the loss of the natural, youthful facial fat; and shifts a potentially Feminine Aesthetic into a more Masculine one.

As you can see, David hasn't changed all that much as he's aged; but the youthful plumpness to his face has winnowed, exposing more of his cheeks and jaw and adding a touch more Masculine Aesthetic as the years ticked by.

HOW DAVID CAN SHIFT BETWEEN THE VISUAL AESTHETICS

It's possible for a person to shift their Masculine vs. Feminine contrast.

To enhance his Feminine Aesthetic, David (or his stylist) must pinpoint his most Feminine feature and build upon it: since makeup isn't DD's style, cutting and styling his hair into softer, rounded edges highlights the softness present in his facial features.

To shift his Feminine Aesthetic, David's most Feminine feature must be identified and shifted to a Masculine one. Makeup is the easiest way to do so-- applying eyeliner to "sharpen" a rounded eye shape, drawing straight brows into arches to "lengthen" the midface ratio, etc.-- but since that's not DD's style, cutting his hair into shorter or more jagged edges brings more sharpness to his appearance, tipping the balance a little more favorably in the Masculine Aesthetic direction.

High and Low Visual Weight

Technically, the Masculine vs. Feminine Aesthetic doesn't end there, breaking the classification further into four subcategories.

Visual weight is a popular point of discussion in Asian beauty and fashion, trickling over to the West via Tik Tok and promptly getting butchered by the well-intentioned but misinformed masses. Visual weight has nothing to do with a person's weight gain or loss nor an ability to tell their future or fortune based on those features-- it simply maps the regions of one's face where the most "weight" rests, i.e. the "sturdiest" or most prominent part of the facial region. Visual weight is how heavy or light and delicate the facial bones appear.

High Visual Weight has more prominent facial features: higher cheekbones, higher-positioned eyes, and a natural "lift" upward to the face as if the skin were being gently pulled back by a high ponytail. Low Visual Weight has less prominent facial features: lower cheekbones, with the widest point of the face settling down in the lower facial region near the lower cheeks, jaw, and mouth. Neither is more beautiful than the other, of course.

Besides personal styling aesthetics, High Visual Weight and Low Visual Weight affect how others perceive or judge a person's overall "personality": High Visual Weight exudes a charisma that easily attracts attention, seeming more magnetic or vibrant or alluring. Low Visual Weight exudes a lighter, calmer, and refreshing aura, seeming more down-to-earth, mellow, and welcoming or friendly to others.

We need only to look at David with longtime costar and friend Gillian Anderson to see the contrast between High Visual Weight (Gillian) and Low Visual Weight (David.) With age, Gillian's Visual Weight became more prominent-- revealing her sharper cheekbones and chin-- while David's Visual Weight stayed relatively the same (thanks @slayerbuffy for the original comparison here.)

How does this combine with Masculine and Feminine Aesthetics?

Well, Masculine and Feminine combines with High Visual Weight and Low Visual Weight to create four subtypes: Low Visual Weight, Feminine; Low Visual Weight, Masculine; High Visual Weight, Feminine; and Low Visual Weight, Masculine.

How to both High Visual Weight and Low Visual Weight types change back and forth from Masculine to Feminine Aesthetics?

Low Visual Weight types do not have prominent features to counterbalance, meaning their primary visual weight needs only to be enhanced by a personal touch here or there-- the "Maximize" method. Like a chameleon, one feature at a time can be is focused in and amplified to shift an Aesthetic.

However, maximizing High Visual Weight types prominent facial features would create an "overkill" or excessive appearance; therefore, these types need to introduce a contrast in their overall look-- the "Counterbalance" method. For example, if a High Visual Weight Feminine Aesthetic wants to achieve a more Masculine Aesthetic, dyeing their hair a darker color would be a quick way to add more "heaviness" to the visual weight, directly contrasting the lighter, more delicate features they naturally have.

How does this apply to David Duchovny? Because David has Feminine Low Visual Weight, it is easy for him to enhance his more feminine features to skillfully pull off the role of Denise Bryson.

Short but Fun Aside: Exploring David's "Personal Types"

I've heard or read (or both) here and there that David is attracted to women that look like himself; and, whether those conjectures were meant maliciously or affectionately, it piqued my curiosity.

So, in the name of science, I've pulled up his past girlfriends, ex-wife, and current girlfriend to compare and contrast.

An important note: these are respectful comparisons, and are not meant to shame, demean, or unfairly juxtapose these women against each other. Unfortunately, this world is such that I must put a preface up first.

The conclusion? Might surprise you.

While David does have an aesthetic type, he's actually drawn to women with predominantly Masculine Aesthetics, the opposite of his own Feminine Aesthetic.

Maggie Wheeler, Lisa Loeb, Perry Reeves, and Lucy Liu-- and more, but I'm not spamming this post with too many examples-- were his 80s and 90s love interests, respectively. Not only do they have prominent bone structures, higher-set eyes, and sharper corners to said eyes, mouths, and noses, but they also have longer midface and lower face ratios.

Tea Leoni and Monique Pendleberry also have all of these aspects, as well as the close-set eyes typified by the Masculine Aesthetic.

Fun Fact from dear peachie:

"Feminine Visuals are usually selected as the main girl in Asian drama series while the Masculine Visuals are frequently picked as the supporting character due to the unique charisma and individuality of their looks. They can give a strong impression on their audiences."

Conclusion

While none of this information is too surprising, it was a nice little walk down Fashion Lane. Hope you had fun as well!

Thank you for reading~

Enjoy!

#txf #but not #DD #fashion #randomfashiontiger #is this a new tag? #David Duchovny #dear peachie #Part I #their videos are amazing #and a very brief #GA #meta #mine #thoughts #analysis #Masculine v. Feminine Aesthetics #aesthetics

[oftlunarialmoon]

The Slime Trend- What It Is and Why It's Great For Neurodivergent People

originally posted to www.onlyfunthings.org on December 13, 2016

Ciao Lovelies! I bet at least one or two of you have heard of the "Slime Trend" recently. If not, I'll explain everything below! (Images Updated as of January 2019)

(UPDATED AS OF 1/21/19 CLICK ME FOR PART 2!)

So recently, the subject of slime- all types, fishbowl, iridescent, traditional, floam, glitter, crystal, etc- has been trending everywhere. Anywhere you look, you can find YouTube tutorials for how to create slime, find "stim" blogs on tumblr and plenty of gifs of slime, kinetic sand, and more. There are even entire Instagram accounts dedicated to videos of slime!

But what IS stim, or stimming, you might be wondering?

Well, let's let Wikipedia sum it up for us!

"Self-stimulatory behavior, also known as stimming and self-stimulation, is the repetition of physical movements, sounds, or words, or the repetitive movement of objects common in individuals with developmental disabilities and most prevalent in people with autism spectrum disorders. It is also commonly seen in people with anxiety disorders such as obsessive–compulsive disorder, ADHD, and Tourette syndrome, and in people with neurological disorders or brain infections" 

The Wikipedia article containing this information can be found HERE.

To summarize, stimming is some form of movement, sound, or texture that is common in neuro-divergent individuals and usually used to self soothe, control anxiety, or filter/block overwhelming sensations.

Autistic individuals are not the only people who stim, however. Some sufferers of anxiety stim to control themselves and calm down, often this manifests in behaviours like nail biting, hair twirling, or repetitive motions like rocking.

What does this mean in terms of the new slime (and other stimming toys) trend?

For one thing, it's good for neurodivergent people because now the things they do to relax are no longer stigmatized but seen as "normal" and acceptable. Colleges even have events around finals making "self-care" kits containing things like play-doh. While these are not advertised as "Stimming," many people use Play-Doh or other molding doughs and such to stim.

Another great thing coming from this trend is that it is opening up the discussions around being neurodivergent and normalizing the idea of talking about mental health. People are adknowledging that stress can be helped by non-conventional methods. Perhaps we are finally reaching the days where instead of someone saying "Oh, you're stressed? Just breathe! (or any other conventional method)", they would say "Well, try playing with some slime or chewing on a chewing necklace!"

Another great outcome of this "trend" is that stimming toys like chewing necklaces, fidget toys, tangles, kinetic sand, floam, and others are becoming much more common and inexpensive!

However, we need to ensure that this "trend" does not become offensive to autistic or neurodivergent individuals. All kinds of stimming are equally good, whether it's rocking, tapping, hand wringing or flapping, etc. If we are normalizing stimming methods like chewing and slime, we should also work to normalize non- "aesthetically pleasing" stimming!  

Thank you for reading, remember to love yourself, stay awesome, and I'll see you in our next post!

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[rosekasa]

Hello! I am a beginner artist and I love ur art!! Super pretty and the colors are very tasty. Do you have some tips? I'd love to see your art process!

HELLO ANON!! first of all i am very honoured that u would ask me this because 90% of the time i feel like i have no idea what i am doing and like im still a beginner artist myself DSDSJDF. i would love to share some stuff i learnt and some stuff about my process (regardless of how messy it is sdfhsj)

(final piece)

here's an old example of my process i found! while the steps sometimes look different for other pieces, i feel like this is a good demonstration of how the basic structure looks.

1. the sketch - this is where i'm mainly figuring out how i want the piece to look. i was redrawing a screenshot for this piece so it looks a LOT neater than what a lot of my other sketches look like, for example, here's the process of me figuring out my recent drawing of haise:

(final piece)

in the first two steps, i was mainly working with showing myself what the piece was going to be. the last one was where i used references/technical knowledge to try and show whoever will be looking at it what the piece was

2. cleaning up the sketch + base colours. these two usually occur simultaneously because i will get bored cleaning up the sketch midway through and want to start adding colour LMAO. on a more practical note, sometimes putting down the base colours and having a better idea of what the finished product will look like might make it easier to refine things.

a note: cleaning up for me doesn't mean doing lineart. it mostly means erasing any overly messy lines on the sketch and redrawing small parts to make it look tidier where needed. i often leave it 'messy' at this stage, too. like here:

(final piece)

3. light/shadow. this is my FAVOURITE part because it's where the piece starts pulling together. the method i used in the current piece was putting a multiply layer over the colours folder and filling in where light would be obstructed. after that, i used a luminosity layer to put in some bright sunlight. marc brunet has a great way of explaining it by advising to pretend that the light is the camera and you're behind the lens. this is such a good way to block in average light/shadow values! sometimes this looks a bit crazy because everything is still so messy but that is why we have...

4. rendering. this is where i fit all the remaining pieces of the puzzle together. i'll refine the colours a bit more -- e.g. colouring in the eyes, -- and fiddle a bit with the shadows to add some more variation to the hues/value. this is where i think a lot about light and shadow theory and try and make it look more realistic. marco bucci saved my LIFE with his videos about ambient occlusion and ambient light (part 1 / part 2) -- essentially, what i keep in mind the most is that if a plane in shadow is facing the sky (or is open to any other form of light that isn't the direct light source) it will contain ambient light. it is SUCH a game changer when you add it to your pieces, trust me, even if youre lazy about it. if needed i'll pull up some references to make everything look good!

5. rendering... part 2? honestly this step kind of blends with the last one as i tend to do it simultaneously. i basically clean up all the messy lines from before by painting over them! with the majority of the colours i need put down, i can just eyedrop them and paint over anything that's needed. this also comes in with the light/shadow, where, if i need a more subtle hue for either/or, i will eyedrop it and brush it in.

some further notes:

i very rarely use references during the first stages of my sketch. i think it tends to look quite stiff and unnatural if i rely too hard on the. and i personally prefer the creative room when the idea is still being conceived. references come in when i can look at what i have down on the canvas and have a fairly decent idea of what i want, including pose, composition, etc. it's essentially a first draft to guide me to where i want to go with the piece. it's when i'm done with this that i bring out references, and even then, they don't necessarily have to be the exact pose -- i'll usually get a couple of pics which show what i need to double check and keep them up as a guide. by the end of the 'sketch', i usually have a basic construction of what i need to continue, even if it's messy.

i use very soft brushes when putting down colour because it allows for more hue variation. like i said, i enjoy eyedropping and brushing in colours afterwards, so this really helps!

layer modes are ur friend! i try not to rely on them too hard during rendering because i like the freedom of painting over but they're very useful when you're blocking in your initial colours

sometimes, when i feel like i want to try something new with my art, i'll keep pieces that inspire me up in front of me. i have two of sui ishida's art books and sometimes i'll just flick to a page that oils the Art Gears in my brain and keep it open while i draw. i don't necessarily reference it, but i like having it there so i can glance over every once in a while. i don't usually make a conscious choice where i'm like "ok i want to render skin the way he does" but it's more like. my brain knows what it likes in his art and it'll try and push that part of my art in a similar direction.

honestly the best advice i have is that art is very much based on vibes. everytime i've tried to think too much about it, to do things 'correctly', to rigidly stick to art theory, my art has not come out nicely. i think the technical parts of art are important to know and understand but i also think it's important to let your knowledge come through naturally when it is needed instead of pressuring yourself to do things 'right'. tbh you probably already know that but it's something i forget a lot so maybe it serves as a helpful reminder?? sedsfhsl

ANYWAY SORRY THIS WAS SO LONG! i hope i covered what you needed and if you need anything else/want me to expand on anything feel free to drop me another ask ! <3

make sure to look after yourself and trust yourself and ENJOY!!! art is about having fun!

#art tutorial #art help #drawing tips #art tips #art advice #long post #ask #anon