#i haven’t looked in a while for tutorials since i already have my way of doing things
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That Crybaby Witch!
you are here! - ch. ii - ch. iii - ch. iv - ch. v
Word Count: 3.3k+
Tags: Meet Cute/First Friends
Art is by 1000kcal_ on Twitter!
No human being is born inherently evil, but no human being is born inherently good either.
Mina held the plastic wrapped veggie sandwich in her hands as she slipped out of the crowded lunchroom. Searching for somewhere quieter to enjoy her lunch. It was a shame she struggled to make friends like the others around her. Even when she witnessed the other girls popping out of the coffins to join the school’s population at Night Raven College… The excessive amount of boys was too terrifying. The ratio wasn’t equal in the slightest and the Headmage did not account for the possibility of a small collection of young ladies staying on campus.
And it wasn’t like she could easily explain the reasoning behind her phobia. “Too much of a bummer…” Mina grumbled as she made her way through the long empty halls of Night Raven College. She had already been here two weeks and she had yet to gather the courage to speak to the other girls staying in Ramshackle. And Mina couldn’t fathom making a male friend of her own free will. Well, except Mr. Handsome. She looked down at the pink puffball with a smile, watching him sway back and forth from each step she took. “You don’t mind spending time with me do you?” She asked and gently scooped him into her palm as the gold clasp attaching him to her bright pink school bag magically came undone. “Your Majesty, I would like nothing more.” His voice was rich and deep, which always soothed Mina despite her fear of the opposite sex. Maybe it was because he was her legal guardian? “You don’t have to call me that. I’m not a queen anymore. And I haven’t been since… Uhhh… Well, y’know.” She smiled awkwardly and the puffball remained motionless. “It would be rude of me to address you by name. Even with time passing… Even after changing your diapers-”
“Alright, alright…” She stopped him with her cheeks filling with red rouge and the tips of her ears began to burn. Mina looked away, listening to him chuckle as she continued to walk through the school’s halls. “I am only teasing, my kindest Mina.” He apologized sweetly as she ducked into the first classroom she spotted in hopes of eating alone with Mr. Handsome. But this new world wasn’t that kind.
There was one other person in the room. A male student with long, dark colored hair. He had his head resting on his folded arms, face down on the desk while softly snoring. He was sleeping in the farthest back row, which means Mina would place herself in the farthest front row. She had wanted to speak with Mr. Handsome during the short period of respite. But if there was another person present that wouldn’t be possible. She was already seen as a bizarre person in her old world. Mumbling to a small puffball and addressing him with a nickname… She looked as friendless as she actually was. Mr. Handsome told Mina that he wouldn’t engage in conversation if there were other people around. For the sake of Mina finally developing a social life.
If she didn’t start now, she would become a far more tragic adult. The blonde sat on the smooth wooden bench and slid down the row, laying Mr. Handsome on the table before placing her school bag beside her.
She pulled out her phone with a fresh new case for the week. Last week was a plain dreamy pink. This week was clear, with hot pink leopard print spots and gold lining the exposed area where her three cameras were. A necessary purchase from Sam’s shop. Next was her colorful dolphin themed notebook with a matching fluffy gel pen. After that was a heavy green book she had gotten from the library so she could study for Professor Trein’s upcoming quiz in magical history.
But today? It would be her phone stand as she watched videos and ate quietly with Mr. Handsome. It was a Halloween nail tutorial for today’s entertainment as Mina bit into her sandwich with a pleased smile. Sourdough bread, pesto, coleslaw, and red peppers. Mina sensed that her skin would start breaking out soon from the stress of the ‘I’m stranded in an entirely new universe’ situation. Which means, oily meat and sugar had to go for a while. She opened her water bottle with a soft sigh as she watched the tutorial showing how to make candy corn designs and little ghosts. But the young lady had grown quickly disinterested in what she was watching. Mina began to daydream about the fizzy deliciousness of pop rocks candy on her tongue. How she wished she could have a sweet lemony tea or a nerve jittering iced coffee. A delicious turkey and honey mustard sandwich with a small bowl of cotton candy grapes. She looked sadly at Mr. Handsome. Although in the keychain state, he looked just as distraught as she did over the lack of protein and sweets. “It’s all for the sake of my skin. One zit, and I’ll be condemned to online classes until we get back home.” Mina whispered to him sadly as she returned her focus to her phone screen. Even as the video demonstrated how to paint spiders on her nails, she was fantasizing about the taste of honey glazed lamb over rice and a plate of karaage with spicy mayonnaise as the dipping sauce.
But her thoughts of greasy goodness and sugary heavens were dashed by the sound of movement behind her. Mina couldn’t help but crane her neck back out of reflex. They say curiosity killed the cat. But Mina believes that it was satisfaction that brought it back. The male student that was once asleep against the wooden table had sat up with a low roar and a stretch of his jaw. Was he yawning? He glanced around the room with a string of lazy blinks before raising his muscular arms over his head to stretch. Only then did she realize he wasn’t entirely human. He had little brown ears protruding out of his messy dark hair. Crowley had explained to those who had popped out of the coffins that there weren’t just humans attending classes on the campus. Some were Fae, some were Mermen, and some were Beastmen.
This would be a beastman. His eyes were a lovely shade of summer green, his skin was bronzed by the sun and his wavy hair was a pleasant milk chocolate color that shone in the early afternoon light. Mina was sure she had seen him in passing at least once or twice. So this would be the third time the two of them have crossed paths, even if the male student didn’t notice. Mina hadn’t realized she was staring at him, soaking in his handsome features until his lovely summer green eyes had met her mismatched ones.
Their gazes locked, but Mina didn’t feel anxious. She felt embarrassed.
The blonde’s heart knocked against her ribs. Her eyes broke away first as she stared at her sandwich as though it would play the role of her savior. Mina wondered if maybe this was her cue to leave the room. But the thought crumbled away when she heard the student behind her slowly rise to his feet with a soft hum. “You a herbivore or somethin’?” His deep voice was requesting a response from Mina. She flinched, her hands pulled her sandwich towards her chest as a heat bloomed in her cheeks and spread to the tips of her ears. The blonde glanced back at the sound of leisure footsteps approaching from behind. “Ahm…” She trailed off anxiously, her eyes met the beastmans again. The anxiety had been replaced with bashfulness. As he came closer and closer with his gloved fingers brushing each table he passed, Mina was starting to forget what he asked. “Like… A vegetarian? No… I eat meat… Sometimes…” She mumbled awkwardly and glanced down at her sandwich in her hands.
Was he going to bully her?
Mina felt her stomach twist into a tight knot when the student sat on the end of the bench, leaving a healthy distance of three feet between them as the nail tutorial ended. “Why’d you pass this time? That lil’ sandwich isn’t going to fill you.” He sounded disappointed with her choice albeit this being their first interaction. Mina pouted and looked up at him, seeing his relaxed posture with his arm resting on the back of the bench. Her pout quickly faded as she turned up her nose instead. Her face was still hot.
“It’ll fill me just fine! And meat has too much oil, so I try not to eat it unless I cook it myself! My skin can’t handle it right now!” She defended her precious sandwich as the student slid an inch closer. Again; he looked disappointed in her response. “What did you eat for breakfast? Carrots?” He teased as Mina snapped her head in his direction. His gaze was intense, but his eyes were half lidded as he gave her a smirk. He looked amused.
Mina wasn’t sure why he was so interested in talking with her. Maybe… He was trying to be polite since she was sitting alone? “Absolutely not! A girl like me has to watch her figure!” She rested her hand against her chest with a shocked expression. “Toast with butter or a single fruit! That’s all you can afford to eat if you have time.” She stated this as a form of fact as the beastman’s smile was replaced with a concerned frown. “You’re a guy, you wouldn’t get it.” Mina shook her head as a small smile formed on her lips. This was the first time she’s spoken to someone other than Mr. Handsome since she’s come here. “Pretty girls have to sacrifice those things for the sake of a slim waist. Don’t you know the price of beauty is expensive?” She snickered as the beastman eliminated another inch of space.
“Not exactly. Don’t you have P.E in the morning with the other frosh? Runnin’ around on an empty stomach is going to get you hurt.” He warned with a small swish of his tail against the smooth wood of the bench. Mina quickly retracted her hand into a curled fist with her smile growing impish. Appearing as though she had been caught by the beastman. “Haha… About that…” Mina trailed off, placing her sandwich down on the plastic wrapper before pressing her pointer fingers together. Her long acrylic nails covered in rhinestones and baby pink paint shimmered as they crossed one another with a soft plastic clicking sound. “Soooo… A cute girl like me isn’t really made to do all that physical stuff… Usually I sit on the bleachers and watch everyone else. Coach Vargas said it’s okay for now! But…” She trailed off again as she peeked over at Mr. Handsome who seemed to be staring not at her, but the beastman beside her.
Mina was a master of using the ‘I don’t feel well’ or ‘I’m on my period!’ card when she needed to get out of running around and sweating. Ruining her hair and make up. Risking her precious nails being broken. She hated gym class the most. And the class was mixed gender. She didn’t want to run around with boys when she could easily sit on the bleachers and play on her phone. “You see… The P.E uniform won’t fit me. I just haven’t gotten the fabric to make my own.” She sighed as she looked over at the lion with her smile growing in hopes of him understanding her reasons. “It’s also hella uggo, soooooo I was gonna make my own.” She didn’t notice the beastman getting closer and closer as his grin re-appeared. “Poor thing. Missing breakfast and an’ early morning jog? Sounds lonely.” He purred as Mina looked away from him and at her darkening phone screen.
“It is a little bit but, sitting on my phone is better than getting gross and sweaty and having to re-apply my makeup. I want to tell the Headmage I have a serious condition that if he makes me take P.E I’ll die.” She joked as she relaxed against the bench with a frown forming. “The other girls seem to like it though. I’m kindof the odd-one-out.” Mina never truly thought about how lonely it was seeing the other girls try and figure out how to get a broom off of the ground or having to jog in a big circle. Or how they would talk to one another during the lessons. “It’s okay though!” She quickly shook her head and pushed a smile onto her face. “I never had friends in highschool before! So it’s waaaaaaay harder now that I’m one of the oldest girls in my class!” She beamed with sparkling eyes as the beastman stared in shock at her cheerful disposition. His expression made her feel worse.
“Please laugh or something!” The facade quickly shattered as tears welled up in her eyes. Threatening to spill over as her face filled with a frustrating red color. “I don’t want to be sad about it!” She sniffled and balled her hands into fists as the beastman started to relax, appearing even more worried now. “I wanna have so many friends! Everyone seems so nice but it’s seriously SO intimidating for me! I want to know if they like sweets, what colors they like, what kind of pajamas they wear! I want to have so many friends that my phone is always buzzing! Like on TV!” She couldn’t stop the tears from rolling down her face and she quickly reached into her school bag as she sniffled.
Mina pulled out a small pack of tissues and dabbed at her cheeks and her eyes. “I want to hold hands and go to cute cafes… I want to explore the school with someone, not just myself!” She whimpered as the tears continued, and when she looked up, the beastman was now inches away from her. His ears were flattened against his head as he looked down at her. “Well, don’t cry. School only started a few weeks ago.” His deep voice was calming, leaving Mina with a different internal conflict. She still didn’t feel afraid of him. Intimidated, but not what she usually felt when she interacted with the opposite sex. Maybe it was because he was talking with her? “M’sorry. I cry super easily. This isn’t serious but I have waterworks like so bad.” She could see he was concerned as she turned to properly face him, her exposed knee was only millimeters from brushing against his thigh. “How do you feel now?” He asked as Mina gave a small shrug in response.
She wanted to blame herself for the lack of friends. But since she had zero in her world, making them in a new one almost felt pointless. “I don’t think the other girls will want to be my friend.” She looked sadly at the crumpled tissue in her hands. She hadn’t realized she was venting to the beastman about her dilemma until she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “Girls need to make friends! But I’m nineteen and I don’t have a single bestie!” She sniffled sadly as the beastman’s eyes widened. “Well, don’t cry anymore,” his ears flattened against his head as Mina hurriedly pulled another tissue out of the plastic wrapping. “It is pretty sad. But all you have to do is take the first step. Not everyone will like you. That’s just how the world works. But I’m sure someone will want to be your friend.” He assured her, watching as she quickly wiped her tears away a second time with a small sniffle. “Think about it. In a few months, you’ll have so many people to talk to that you'll forget you were ever alone.” His green eyes studied how she perked up and how she stuffed her tissues into her school bag. Replacing them with a small leopard printed makeup bag. “... I’m sure you’ll make tons of friends seeing how prepared you are.” He chuckled as Mina puffed up her cheeks, flushed from the overwhelming emotions. “I just cry a lot. It’s healthy.” She huffed as the beastman nodded. “Whatever you say.”
He leaned over the table, resting his chin in the palm of his hand as she studied herself in her phone camera. Mascara, eyeliner, lip gloss, blush and highlighter. “Is it hard to do that stuff with your nails?” The beastman spoke up, seeing Mina’s eyes break away from the camera before quickly returning to touching-up her makeup. “Not really. People think so since they don’t have long nails like mine.” She explained and the bashful feeling returned. People don’t usually ask about her nails.
“They’re pretty. Do you do them yourself?” Mina almost dropped her lip gloss as she turned to look at the beastman who was patiently waiting for her response. “You like my nails? You think they’re pretty?” She asked hopefully as a warmth bloomed in her chest. Her eyes began to fill with excitement as the beastman nodded. “I think they’re very pretty. They suit you. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it.” His soft smile looked genuine as Mina’s smile widened and she presented her hands to the beastman proudly. “I just did them this weekend! I wanted something plain so I did my fave shade of glittery pink!~! Then I did an accent nail,” she wiggled her ring finger during her explanation. “So I just gave it a light coat, added glue, and just packed on a ton of gems so I could sparkle through the rest of the week! I really like how they turned out!” She cheered happily as the beastman nodded along.
Mina liked that he was a listener. She always feared being too talkative. It could be he was just being polite, but even then… She appreciated it a lot. “Um… Can I ask you something?” Mina swallowed down her anxiety as the beastman nodded. “Shoot.” He was starting to seem less and less intimidating to Mina. She wanted to see him more. She wanted to talk with him more. The blonde reached for her phone, holding it tightly in her hands before opening her empty contacts folder and holding it out to the beastman. Her heart started to race again as her words caught in her throat. Mina wants to try. She wants to take that first step. “Will…” She trailed off as her face burned with bashfulness. Her fingers squeezed around her phone before she lifted her mismatched eyes to meet the beastman’s summer green ones. “Will you be my first friend?” Mina asked as the student’s eyes widened in surprise. But the expression melted into one of satisfaction. From an outside perspective it looked smug, but to Mina he truly looked happy.
“Sure.” He chuckled softly and gently took her phone from her hands, his larger fingers brushing against hers for only a second. The blonde felt her chest swell with excitement as she watched Leona tap away at her phone before returning it to her.
Just as the bell rang to end their lunch time. “I’ll walk you to your class, you can tell me all about what other friends you want to make.” He teased as Mina grabbed her bag and clipped Mr. Handsome back onto the strap. “They’ll mostly be girls! Unless you’ll let me braid ribbons in your hair too?” She giggled and slid off of the wooden bench to stand beside Leona with her phone hugged against her chest.
Her first friend ended up being a guy…
For once, Mina felt hopeful for the future.
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Chapter Seven
I adjust the cat ears on my head for the fourth time, despite only being there for ten minutes. They’re a bit slap-dash, the construction isn’t great, because I made them by following a YouTube tutorial on my laptop the night before the party with bleary eyes and a bit of a tension headache. Izzy let me borrow her glue gun so that I could attach triangles of white foam to black and curl the ears around an old plastic hair band I had that I had lying under my bed, but I’ve been finding myself pulling glue strings off it constantly.
“You look nice.” She assures me now, dressed as a pirate. “Very cute.”
I feel too cute for Halloween. Everyone else is dressed either scary or funny, while all I’ve done is paint whiskers on my face, the result being that I’m neither, I’m just lazy. The tight pleather skirt and corset that I never gave back to Marnie after I borrowed it two years ago makes me feel naked and self conscious, too uncovered, too done up, like a little girl play-acting like an adult. Nobody else is even wearing high heels, not even Claire, who’s in a witch costume from Dealz, and I feel ridiculous in mine. It’s only Shane’s house anyway, Shane’s friends, who I don’t know, and are certainly not bothered about the fact that I can balance in five inch heeled boots that come all the way up to my thighs and have me paranoid that my mother will somehow appear and ask me to change.
Shane is dressed as Darth Vader, helmet under his arm, because when he’s wearing it he’s not able to eat or drink anything. Someone already got a video of themselves trying to shove Doritos through the tiny mouth slits to no avail, and now there’s crumbs all over the floor that nobody will take responsibility for. Every time he walks into a room, be it the kitchen or the living room, somebody chants “Shane-oooooo” and then all the boys make these weird animalistic sounds with the grace and decorum of gorillas at the zoo. He just grins like he’s used to it.
“Eviiiiiieeee.” He musses up my hair as he saunters by, as if to subtly remind me that while I might have made an attempt to be sexy tonight, I’m still perpetually twelve in his eyes. He’s also been drinking, and Shane, on account of the rules of the football team, is not allowed to drink. We’ve all been warned that if his coach finds out he’ll be in trouble, hence why nobody is allowed to take a picture of him with a beer in his hand. I’ve seen the scene play out about three times already. The flash of a digital camera and then him, waving his hand around. “Nah, man, delete, delete.”
I think it’s been three years since I’ve seen him this way, and while he’s the merry kind of drunk, I can’t help but wonder if all of this has anything to do with the argument I accidentally overheard between him and Claire earlier this evening. I haven’t asked her about it, as she will deny it, but as I watch her from across the room, her body seems wound tight, tension emanating from her like an aura. Even as she’s laughing with the guy in a cow costume, I can tell her heart isn’t in it. I know her fake laugh from her real one, when she really wants to be somewhere and when she’d rather be at home snuggled in blankets and watching Say Yes to the Dress.
I wander into the kitchen and take a moderately warm beer out of a box. The fridge is full up with lunchboxes of chicken and rice meals and eight litres of milk, a carton for each of the four guys who lives here and refuses to split one with anybody else. I go into the living room but vacate soon after I come in, as some lad with a big square UCD head has cleared the room by trying to show everyone how he can rap the song from the end credits of Men in Black without looking up the words.
Michelle and Simon are just arriving, and are unloading a shopping bag full of mixers onto the cluttered counter when I return. They wave me over when I wander in. “Are you drinking Galahad?” Simon says in a voice caught between outrage and disgust. I stare down at my hand. I suppose I am.
“It’s all that was going for free.” I admit. “I didn’t bring any of my own drink.” I’m too cheap. And trying not to drink, clearly unsuccessfully.
“You like that shit?”
“Um.” I crack it open for an experimental sip. “Not really, no. It’s not the best.”
“Oh, have some of ours then” Michelle says brightly. She lightly grabs my forearm and pulls me closer to them, out of the path of another man in another obstructing helmet who cannot see where he is going. I realise, as she’s rummaging in her giant handbag that there’s actually something quite disarming and pleasant about her. I never thought she seemed particularly friendly before, there’s something tough and no-nonsense about her, but now for the very first time she seems rather sweet.
She yanks out a bottle of El Jimador Tequila and my palms prickle at the sight of it. I didn’t really intend on diving right into spirits tonight, but something about the way that droplets of condensation are clinging to the outside of the cold glass bottle while the can of Galahad warms even further in my hand makes my mouth feel twice as dry.
“You alright with tequila?” She asks, reaching around for a few plastic cups stacked on the counter.
I shrug. “I’ve no issue with tequila.”
“Grand.” Michelle unscrews it and starts pouring glugs into a cup. “I know someone who vomits at just the smell of it, which is why I asked.”
“Great image to have while you’re serving it up to me.” I comment, and she laughs. “Sorry, yeah, I just can’t really think about tequila without thinking about that.” I help her by reaching for a nearby bottle of orange juice. It’s what Marnie and I would always mix it with when there was nothing more sophisticated to be found. As I pour it into the cup, Simon gets distracted by someone nearby and strikes up his own conversation, and I take advantage of my moment alone with Michelle.
“Hey, sorry if it’s awkward, but I was talking to Jude the other day…”
She nods, still looking at the cup.
“…and he was wondering if he could have your new number. He said you’ve changed phones or something? He didn’t say why or anything, I just told him I’d get it for you.”
Her eyes flit to mine. “Oh yeah, no worries. You have your phone handy?”
“Uh, yep.” I wrestle it out of the tight waistband of my skirt, embarrassed by the imprint on my skin on the screen. She taps in her details, then I offer his number to her, and transfer the details from one phone to the other. The middle man, just here to facilitate whatever weirdness this is without any insight into why.
“He didn’t say anything to you about Jen, did he?” She asks, a tinge of vulnerability behind her words, and I blink. “Um, no, he didn’t. Not really.”
“Alright cool.”
“Should he have?”
“Ah, no, it’s nothing, like, I was just wondering. She hasn’t replied to my messages in a few days. I thought maybe he might have heard from her.”
“Isn’t she coming tonight?”
“I doubt it. She was invited, but she didn’t respond to the invitation, as far as I know.”
“Oh. Well, Jude didn’t mention that he heard from her, but I have a feeling he hasn’t. I didn’t think they were talking at all.”
“Yeah, well, they’re not not talking. She’s just a bit off the grid at the moment. He said something to Pamela once that pissed her off, but honestly, I can’t really keep up with everything that’s been said or not said…” She fiddles with the torn collar of her zombie school girl costume. “I just hoped that since she’s not replying to me she might have replied to him.”
“Well you can ask him yourself now.” I say with a smile that I hope says please don’t involve me, which prompts her to smile back. A wide, even smile that calls to mind a photo I saw in the depths of her facebook profile before where she was wearing braces. I wonder if Jude’s dad was her orthodontist. They’ve made her look very pretty, but even with crooked teeth I think she’d still be. As if somebody like Jude Turner would have ever settled for anything less than the prettiest girl at his school. As if he’d ever have to.
She looks down at her phone, staring at his number in her contacts. “Yeah I’ll text him tomorrow, or he’ll text me, I suppose. Whichever. It’s honestly a bit weird to see his number in my phone again, but…” her eyes flick to mine. “What’s the story with you two anyway? Jen said you liked each other, or you’re together or something?”
I bark out a laugh, surprised. “No, well, I fancied him once, and he didn’t like me back. That’s all, nothing really happened.”
She frowns. “Oh right? Because I-”
“Well, okay, that’s a lie. We kissed once.” I blurt out. “Twice, actually, but it was like, I heard he kisses all of his female friends so it’s a bit classic, you know? I know it didn’t mean anything.” I bury my nose into my cup and take anxious sips from it. I probably shouldn’t have said that. She probably doesn’t need to know it, but her face softens into a smile. “Right. I know how he is. He can get a bit swept away.”
“Right, because you were together… how long?” I say, even though I already know the answer. I’ll have to do this dance, regardless of how stupid and awkward it makes me feel so that I won’t have to admit that I scoured her Facebook page with the kind of intensiveness that could only be rivalled by a full time private investigator.
“Eleven months. We broke up when he got into that Berlin school, he just didn’t want to do long distance with me, so,” She shrugs, pouring herself a drink. “It didn’t feel great but I got it. I get it. You either have the personality for it or you don’t. Maybe I could have done it, but he couldn’t.” She exhales a laugh. “He definitely couldn’t. He needs too much contact with people. I think he’s a bit ‘out of sight, out of mind’.”
“Still, mustn’t have been easy.”
“No. I liked him a lot. It just felt really hard to understand why we broke up at the time, like there was nothing wrong with our relationship and it felt like he was just chucking it out and that pissed me off for ages.”
“I get it, like if he was your first-”
“Oh, no.” She interrupts. “We weren’t each other’s first anything. He was just my friend who became my boyfriend and then all we ended up doing was making things weird for Jen when we split up. The whole thing was a stupid idea, honestly. I was just young and I was…” She trails off in search of the right word. “Enticed by him.”
“He’s enticing.” I agree, and she nods. “He is. He’s always had that specific american brand of charisma, we all used to make fun of his accent and stuff when we were younger, I mean, to the point that he tried to disguise it, but actually it was one of the things that made him interesting. You know?”
“I do.”
“And if it means anything to you at this point, I mean, I don’t know how much you even care, Jen told me that he fancied you once.”
“Hm?”
“Ages ago.” She waves her hand dismissively. “Like, years probably. I forced it out of her when we were hanging out, I dunno why, like, I suppose I was feeling self destructive or something, I asked her if she knew about any other girls and she’s so bad at keeping things in, I knew she’d eventually just tell me, and she said that he liked this girl he met on the beach.”
“Oh.” I say with deliberate neutrality, “Well, it was so long ago, I suppose it hardly matters now.”
“Bit late, yeah?” She says with a laugh. “But I think it’s nice to know those kinds of things. It’s good for the ego. I was mad jealous, by the way.”
“You were?”
“Yes of course! I looked up your Facebook page and everything.”
“Oh God” I shield my face. “The state of my Facebook page back then. I bet that made you feel better about yourself.”
“No! I was raging, you were so pretty.” I roll my eyes but she insists. “There was this one picture I remember fuming over, where you were standing by the edge of a swimming pool, and I just thought ‘for God sake, her legs.’”
I stare down at my legs now, poking out of the bottom of this pleather skirt, and they look perfectly average to me. Paler than average, maybe, but that’s about the extent of their uniqueness. “My legs?”
“Yeah obviously. They’re perfect. I almost cried looking at you, like, knowing that he’d never want me again when he’d already wanted someone like you. Then we ran into you that time at that horrible cocktail bar and I had to pretend not to recognise you, I was so scared that you’d somehow figure out what I’d been doing.”
“God, Michelle, that’s so crazy. I did the same thing as you. When I found out who you were I stalked your Facebook for hours.”
“You didn’t!”
“I swear to God.”
“What did you think?”
I tell her, and we laugh about how silly we were, and how much cleverer we are now, and all the things that used to fill our heads and ruin our days, and it’s the most strangely healing thing to know that I wasn’t the only crazy girl, and even she, the sharp, intimidating person I pictured, was unravelling on the inside just like me.
When I finish my drink she pours me another, and I find myself warming to her utterly. She’s funny, she’s honest, she’s charming, which only makes me feel worse about the horrible, envious thoughts I had about her years ago. Eventually Simon rejoins our conversation, so we pivot to other things, like art and film. The party swirls around us and the music gets louder, and eventually, by the time Macklemore’s Thrift Shop is on its fourth rotation and my cup has been filled and emptied twice more I excuse myself and head out to the front steps for some fresh air.
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Hii I need vh advice pls. I have 5 knowledge points, I've already researched pouches and vault compass. I'm fairly new to tech mods. What should I research?
that depends on what you need or want to do next! some options I might suggest (with the caveat of “check you have the materials you need before you buy a mod”):
if you want better storage: either drawers + refined storage + iron generators or colossal chests + refined storage + iron generators. this will give you everything you need to have a fully functional digital storage system. since you’re new to tech mods like I am I’d say refined storage over ae2 because refined storage’s documentation was easy for me to understand and ae2’s was not, but which you choose doesn’t actually matter. drawers or chests are a matter of choice - chests are really big cubes of storage, drawers store many stacks of single items - and will be connected with an external storage to give you more cheaper storage space than the disks for rs. iron generators is just the cheapest power generation, which you need for either rs or ae2.
alternately if you want easier to set up and understand storage my friend is using colossal chests and simple storage network to search them; keep in mind ssn doesn’t have features like the crafting grid, importers and exporters, or even the ability to set priority on the link cables (so I’d say don’t use drawers with it), but if you’re looking for simple mass storage this is probably the easiest kind to understand!
if you just want more stuff in the vaults: double pouches giving you the refill upgrade cannot have the usefulness of overstated. also you can store more stacks of things. when all else fails just getting better and better pouches never does.
alternately I haven’t messed with the new potions much but I imagine if you want more healing unlocking that mod will be very helpful for you!
if you want to start making efficient production: when it comes to the production mods, choose the one that gives you the drops that you want help with the most now! snad isn’t worth it, and easy piglins isn’t worth the amount the other mods increase by for the small pool of drops you’ll get. if you want villager drops easily, get easy villagers. if you want basically every non-tree plant in the game, go botony pots. if you want mob drops without having to build farms, go cagerium. and if you like the “building a farm” step actually and just want the best rates for mob drops, go ispawners. note that cagerium and ispawners require you have spawn eggs, which you can get from completion crates or in the vault past level twenty.
you want one of the big mods: create is easiest to understand as a “new-to-mods” person in my experience due to working in a very skewmorphic-to-life way, and also due to having in-game tutorials. however if you don’t like create, my understanding is that botania gives you a lot of pretty blocks but isn’t great at a lot of the altar materials, mekanism does basically everything but is expensive, and thermal expansion is good for specific altar materials. note that thermal and mek also both require a power mod, while botania and create don’t! this is a matter of preference.
you want to build farms: go for modular routers or dark utilities, probably. modular routers confuse me but are vital if you want to pick up and store exp, items, and more from your farm. dark utilities just makes building a mob farm super easy.
hopefully this helped and didn’t just confuse you! you can also go with anything I didn’t suggest - you want trashcans, you GET those trashcans, you know? the mods you pick are up to you and what will make YOUR playthrough more fun! this is hopefully just the information you need to make sense of them. hopefully this helps!
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game. of. the. year.
okay so highlights from my eleven-days-and-counting playthrough of tears of the kingdom so far:
“DID HE JUST TAKE 27 OF MY HEARTS IN 3 SECONDS???”
yelling “YOU CAN REWIND TIME???” on day 1 and making my mom laugh while she was next to me on the couch
catching a star fragment out of the sky while diving, not once but twice
taking either five minutes or an hour to figure out any given shrine
related to this, either saying “I am a genius” or “...I went to an Ivy” (derogatory) depending on how long it took
saying “holy damn you can go through solid walls?? neat” in ascend tutorial and then forgetting that was a solution to early game problems for the next ten hours
“damn I wish your botw horses transferred” *later* “wait, THEY DID????”
“how thE FUCK do you kill these creepy hands omg stop murdering me I just want the underground shrine!!”
“I’m not smart enough to build shit in this game tbh” *builds a rocket raft for a korok*
the rocket raft breaks apart and the korok falls back down the mountain and into the sea, forcing me to start all over
“where is my house WHERE is Hateno Village was it this far away before???”
(I have made it to Hateno Village. I still have not reached my house)
either curbstomping black bokoblins or being curbstomped by them, with no in-between
*for three real days* “I MUST return to Tarrey Town!! I want to see what’s happening there!!” *finally makes it there and only stays 20 minutes before swanning off somewhere else*
“I think I’m watching these Zelda memories in the wrong order”
having my first Zelda Theory and having to keep it to myself
staying off twitter to keep from being spoiled... only to get lured into a false sense of security since people kept only sharing korok videos, and get spoiled for something I haven’t reached yet anyway
saying “what the fuck is THAT, NOPE” every time I see what looks like a giant elemental dragon in the distance, starting with the first lightning one in an old castle ruin
making so many cold resistance meals, only to not even use most of them for their intended purpose because I already bought all the cold resistance armor before meeting Tulin
trying to dive down from a glide and kill a construct enemy only to miss and fall to the earth below
saying “yeah I’m going to Kakariko” five times a day and not going
getting lost in the Lost Woods again bc WHAT THE FUCK YOU LITERALLY CANNOT TAKE ONE STEP WITHOUT HELLO DARKNESS MY OLD FRIEND. WHAT AM I DOING WRONG. (please do not tell me)
finding the underground tunnel to Hyrule Castle and wandering around murdering an obscene amount of Like Like enemies
“oh look, this is where the Hylian Shield was in botw, maybe it will be here again--I can’t open this door--NO FUCK NOT THE GLOOM HANDS AGAIN”
...wait. I can’t get in the room which means the gloom hands can’t get to me. But I can hit them with arrows through the bars. Advantage: me
Tulin’s avatar and I defeat the hands, finally, proof that they can be fucking beaten, I can turn my attention back to getting in that room--no. Phantom Ganon boss appears. Immovable gates do not stop him
the reward I receive for beating Phantom Ganon, sacrificing many good weapons and a shield in the process, is not worth the scare to my heart, because it is not the Hylian Shield
that time I went to sleep peacefully in a stable and the Blood Moon cutscene smacked me immediately in the face
trying to get to a shrine sitting on top of solid ice in the dumbest ways for an hour, before realizing that I could just rewind time on some of the falling stones in the area to get high enough in the air to float down to it
“I have so many bomb arrows!” “...now I don’t”
saying “why can’t we have remote bombs, stasis or cryonis back” at least once a week mid-puzzle
“whisper to me, horse god”
“THERE’S A MEAL LIMIT??”
“THERE’S SHRINES IN THE SKY???”
“THERE’S SHRINES UNDERGROUND????”
living out my dream of being a journalist even though I have the wrong degree IRL (thanks Lucky Clover Gazette)
“There’s how many wells?”
seeing a black boss bokoblin in Hyrule Castle and just going “NO.” and turning around
two Lynels have seen me. neither have engaged
living in fear of the day Hestu gets bored and leaves Lookout Landing
“are my other botw friends besides Teba okay... I’m scared to check”
“you know, Rauru’s kinda.... nevermind”
holding in my trauma because I’ve been poor in video games before even when others were rich, but this is the first time I really feel poor (and so do other people apparently)
Beedle is my best friend
“cool, pirates in Lurelin”! *doesn’t go to investigate*
performs most haphazard tower-and-shrine-collection methods of all time
dying a billion times in the first few days. and still dying. died today in fact
“you know, Ganon’s kinda... NEVERMIND”
having either 100 brightbloom flowers ready for the depths or 17
wondering when I will feel strong enough to fight a Hinox, Stalnox or other big boi
*first Talus-riding Bokoblin encounter* “WHEN I SAW THIS IN THE TRAILER I DIDN’T THINK THIS WOULD BE REAL”
having to almost bite my tongue to keep from calling the “ultrahand” ability “godhand” in the first few days for some reason idk why
“I will reunite you!! I must get you to your friend! This is so exciting!” <- me about the first korok-friend-reuniting mission......
“please tell me there’s not 900 more koroks in this game, I didn’t even get them all in the last one”
searching for an outfit that isn’t weaksauce in defense but lets Link have his hair down because....~
dying several times on the tutorial sky island because I needed to get down to a lower platform and I forgot that diving into water is a safe activity
RIP to my fire fruit stash
“I SUCK AT SHIELD SURFING NOW :’(”
...and I’ve only done a little of the game.
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Here’s my note before I’ll get started….
(NO COPYING OR PLAGIARIZING FROM ME AND ONE OF MY CLOSEST FRIEND’S WORK! THAT INCLUDES OUR CHARACTERS, DESIGNS, STUFF, ETC. IMPOSTERS AND SEXBOTS ARE NOT WELCOME TO FOLLOW MY BLOG WHATSOEVER! 😡 That will be all….I mean it.)
My 2023 item review - Dockable Case (w/ Screen Protector and Thumb Grips) - Part 2/Final [Jan. 9th, 2023]
Back for this continuing review, my friends! While already covered the first parter back in Jan. 26th, I’m still catching up to do by installing my Switch system alongside my Joy-Cons. Before of doing that though, I wanted to make sure my Switch system needs cleaning and dusting. Which we’re in for today’s continuing review. However expect this one will be the final before moving to other items I’m eager to share.
⬆️ 14th through 15th Images
Here you can see I’ve two different wipes, a dust absorber, a cloth, and a screen protector onto my Switch for cleaning. There were came from the box after opening, BTW. Anyways, I handle well with the cleaning, wiping, and picking dust that I know what these are use for. At least I took about few minutes before moving to install the screen protector next.
⬆️ 16th Image
Now for the next one, I’ve been carefully to install a screen protector on my Switch system. It’s a good thing I did just a bit right, but got it fit nonetheless. Though I recommend some stickers and an alignment frame tool for extra help. At least if I had the alignment frame tool for my Switch system, but I haven’t. 😅
⬆️ 17th through 19th Image
Nevertheless, at least now I’m moving on to placing the dockable case shorty afterwards. I started on the back where I needed to be careful of installing. Thankfully as always, it fit right in where I took some time of showing off. Though I would’ve prefer changing the color for my dockable case than this, but probably next time. Regardless, it does stand out as I expected; especially for the material as I holding with my hands. I’ll get to that for later.
⬆️ 20th through 23rd Images
I’m now doing with my Joy-Cons that needed covering, but hold on. You may asking “are these new Joy-Cons instead of my original Joy-Cons? The gray ones?” Well ever since my original Joy-Cons had been worn out a bit; especially the last time where I show off the R button from the right sided Joy-Con. ➡️ Link Here
Not only that, It also came with an issue of stick drift which is unfortunate. Though I know I should get it fix by watching some tutorial videos like VK’s YouTube Channel if learning right. (Don’t know of fixing the R button, though) Nevertheless, I asked my mom to buy me second set of Joy-Cons; which happened back in April. 13th, 2021.
That’s my story of it, but hoping to expect as I going through this review and saving my new Joy-Cons test later soon.
Anyways, back to setting up my new Joy-Cons to cover up; which I have when placing from bottom to top. Though I had to switch up from top to bottom, but at least fits right up as well. Just making sure it doesn’t have some scratches for each Joy-Cons. On the plus side, it’s what I’m hoping for so I don’t leave out any smudge stuff when holding my hands. Mostly my right sided Joy-Con when I’m pressing the A button for example.
⬆️ 24th Image
And now it’s finally completed! All secure with a screen protector upfront. As I picked up with my hands, it felt smooth due to the materials of my dockable case. I looked up that it made with "shock-absorbent and anti-scratch PC" material. Sounds promising, right? I'll see if it can hold up until I'll get a new case soon. This time, I’m picking a theme like blue or the Super Mario themed case.
⬆️ 25th through 28th Images
Not done with this review though, I have a set of joy-con thumb grips/caps to pick on. There are ten total of caps in two each: red, blue, black, and purple with paws. The difference between four black caps is smaller while the other was a bit big; though at least not way too big. If I had to pick though is going with red and blue for each joy-cons. Does make sense of having both new controllers I’m having. However how well protective for each controlling sticks on top? They’re pretty alright that it made in different material. I tested out when pressing and moving them; especially in games like Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Very appreciate of using the caps so far, but I’m okay with the red and blue ones.
My Overall Thoughts:
After owning one of last year’s Christmas gifts, the dockable case and other accessories is something I’m hoping for. These includes a screen protector right after cleaning and ten total thumb grips/caps. The main item itself though was good too. It’s made with "shock-absorbent and anti-scratch PC", but felt smooth when holding both hands as to playing games in handheld mode. Do hope this holds longer as it should and to everyone can get one of those. If you had your Nintendo Switches that is. My mom ordered from Amazon.com, BTW. ⬇️
Link Here #2
Hope you guys enjoying my first review of 2023, but as always be back for more throughout this year. For now though, I’m taking some breaks until another day arrives.
Previously ⬇️
My 2023 item review - Dockable Case (w/ Screen Protector and Thumb Grips) - Part 1[Jan. 9th, 2023] - Link Here #3
Tagged: @murumokirby360 @carmenramcat @alexander1301 @rafacaz4lisam2k4
#review post#my review post#review of 2023#dockable case#nintendo switch dockable case#protective case#cover case#screen protector#thumb grip caps#nintendo switch#nintendo switch system#part two#final part#february 2023#february 4th 2023
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I’ve been tagged by @katastronoot and @sheirukitriesfandom
Feel free to take if you haven’t been tagged already.
1) Describe one creative WIP project you’re planning to work on over the summer.
Just a few days ago I decided to pull myself together and finish my drafts, debts and references queue. There’s a number of tabs with refs hanging in my browser... Need to get rid of them! Then I’ll also finish some tutorials from my previous lessons as well as rewatch the ones I already did, just to get back in shape. And will probably dive into some other courses - I have some good videos.
Was thinking about making some doll, clothes after a long break. My drunk shepherdess needs this, as I changed my mind to sell her away! (she’s another story). And a bag for my favorite tarot deck, now I use the the bag I made for another one, while that another one rests in a bag that once was part of friend’s Christmas present.
The rest is optional for now, but I hope to start drawing more portraits again. Maybe, by the end of the year I’ll be taking requests and trades for your OCs and favorite characters... That would be super cool.
I wanted to start attending my IRL art class again, but looks like I won’t be able to afford it 😢 Sadly I’m not making much money these days, and there are some unexpected expences.
2) Rec a book!
Tanith Lee, The Night’s Master. I think Elden Ring fans will appreciate 😉 Made a post about it a while ago.
I also liked The Winter Players - finally, a good and strong female protagonist! Not evil, unlike Zorayas - the one from the Night’s Master 😉
3) Rec a fic!
False Azure in the Windowpane by Tulak_Hord
If you don’t mind het Malenia ship. I don’t because it has a lot of fluff and an interesting Tarnished. I loved the first 55k words, excluding the chapter where they sparred (for me, that felt too long and boring). But I keep reading it.
Also Flamed Aeonia by BadMonsterFr
This one has fem shipping, also a lot of hurt/comfort and fluff - just the way I like it!
I love Malenia fluff. So more Malenia fluff pls! If you can rec me anything else like this, you're welcome! (yes I know and love Unalloyed, esp. the epilogue. It’s somewhat different, more on Millicent and Miquella, but just my vibes as well).
(also I’m really sorry for not reading some of fandom’s buddies works, I do - I’d like to support you more ... started some of them, but couldn’t keep up. I’m a bad and slow reader, and prefer smaller sizes to long ongoings. There are just two long ongoings I'm reading, False Azure and Rebecca's, because they are updated not really often).
4) Rec Music!
I’m on my Breton and Francophone folk kick again, so I recommend
- La Boutine Souriante, folk-rock from Quebec (so far I’m listyening to their earliest albums, but they’ve been around since 70s and have many albums)
- Tri Yann. Modern Breton classics, I’d say! Love those old men who are still fit and well.
5)Share one piece of advice!
I agree with @vidvana Take care of yourself! Also don’t skip meals, get enough sleep. And if you feel you’d use some support, seek it any ways. If you can’t afford therapy or anything, there’s plenty of books and resources. Sometimes it’s even easier to help yourself than to find help. I’m quite experienced in self-help, I know what I’m talking about.
For me, Julia Cameron’s “The Artists’s Way” has become that single straw I grasped in my darkest times, and it actually helped greatly! I also used her list of further reading and quotes, thus finding Shakti Gauvain, whose books are inspiring and supportive as well. Later I was a moderator for several groups for the Asrtists’Way. Not an easy experience, but it taught me something as well.
But if there’s a chance of any therapy, groups, any other support, don’t give it up as well.
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February - 2023
Games
Disco Elysium- I’ve actually been slowly going through it for over a year (I would play for a few days and then take a break for a few months and then forget where I am and restart). However I finally finished it and I can very easily say it’s one of my favorite games ever. The writing, the style, the music- what’s not to fucking love.
I could talk about this game for hours and I have actually done that enough to convince friends to play it as well. But I probably can’t say anything that hasn’t been said before me.
Great game- I might be in love with Kim kitsuragi.
Rain world(?)- to be honest I haven’t played it (yet?) but I spend way too much time watching gameplay of it and videos about it, went into a deep dive in the wiki. This world absolutely fascinates me, the ecosystem is just wow- even though it seems like a very difficult game I might actually get it one day.
Decide to include it cause it’s my list and I make the rules, also it ate a chunk of my month.
Monster hunter rise- this is my second time trying to get this game and last time I (apparently) quit before even going on a mission. To be fair it was a combination of my own stupidity and the game’s absolute horrible tutorial that made me drop it so fast.
However given a second shot I’m already having more fun, flipping and riding and monster hunting.
I have no idea if anyone ever cared about a character in this game but the monsters are cool and I love them lots.
Why is there a tower defense section is beyond me- I never liked any kind of tower defense, but this is very much the wrong game for it.
Can’t wait to try a hunt with friends- I heard it’s awesome.
Start again: a prologue- a delightful lil rpg that made me feel a lot. I love time loops as a concept already and this was executed so well- I will cry about it.
Can’t wait for in stars and time!! I need more of this cast and world.
Lookouts- another game I’ve been making my way through oh so slowly, no reason here since it’s not really long. It’s a visual novel and I have trouble focusing on reading, that’s my main issue.
However I’m happy I played it- trans cowboys on opposing sides falling in love and find a way for them to have a life- I am the target audience. I love them.
Hue- sure was a puzzle game. And it was a nice one, pretty sure I got it for free and I mostly used it as something to play while I listen to podcasts. It’s cute and not very long and the puzzles were nice.
Shows
Mob psycho s2- still doing my rewatch, still love my sons.
Darry girls s3- finally got around to it, honestly liked it less then the other seasons however it was a nice end to the show as a whole and I’m glad they wrapped it up nicely.
Animation vs Minecraft- what if I told you the animation you used to watch on YouTube as a child kept going on while you looked away. That there is now a storyline spanning several hours which is very neat and dear to my heart.
How simple are your blorbos? Mine are literally just different colored stick man (they are my sons and I love them very much).
I want everyone to watch it, you can’t understand how hard it goes in the final episodes you don’t understand ahhhhha.
Podcasts
Something rotten- did I start this podcast just cause I wanted more Jacob Geller? Yes.
Am I happy I did that? Also yes.
I do not care even a little about the games they talk about but it’s still fascinating to hear them talk about them (along other kind of related topic)
Personally never heard of Blake Hester before but glad I know him now.
Can’t wait for next season where I might play along since I have one of the games in my library for some reason.
Etc?
The prince by Abigail throne (philosophy tube)- so like one of my favorite trans creators writes a play and uploads it in full- I had no doubt it was gonna be good.
Love the characters, love the themes, and the setting (of being stuck inside a play) is very fun.
But man do I not understand Shakespearean speak but that’s more of a me thing.
Felt a lil cliche/sappy at times but it was cute so I had no problem with it.
#disco elysium#rain world#monster hunter: rise#start again: a prologue#lookouts#hue#mob psycho 100#darry girls#animation vs minecraft#something rotten#the prince
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right now my absolute favorite musical is wicked, coinciding with my perpetual oz interest (I hope I used that word correctly). I used to listen to Dear Evan Hansen quite a lot but haven’t listened to it in a while. Except for “a part of me”, one of the cut songs.
can I ask why it’s your favorite?
Wicked and Oz in general are awesome. I read through the books semi-recently (as well as re-watching Return to Oz) and it always amazes me to remember just how different in tone the 1939 film is. It's truly a world of it's own, with a different feel an overall mood - Dorothy is obviously far different. Our stage adaptation is primarily based on the 1939 movie so my analysis is based on that, but I'd practically call it an Oz AU with all of the liberties it takes. Mostly with Dorothy. She is largely a pawn in games played by the Witches and Wizard of Oz. A game that ultimately, Glinda won. (My feelings about the 1939 version of Glinda are very similar to my feelings about Dumbledore for similar reasons.)
But Wicked is different. Wicked is a commentary on...on, so many things, but I think a major one is complacency. (It's similar to why I love Borrasca actually.) The idea that there can be something rotten in the state of Denmark, something bad happening in Oz, and people will look the other way. It's painfully realistic. Galinda's whole character arc is intertwined with this. Because it's like Elphaba says. She'll grovel in submission to the corrupt institution if it means advancing her own position and career. But in her heart, she knows better. I love the repeated use of the words "good" and "wicked" blatantly deconstructing them and proving that things aren't black and white. That good and evil are just...words that we say. And their weight depends on who is saying them and about what.
The only thing I don't care for when it comes to Wicked is that...well, it kind of succumbs to what I call "Prequel-itus." As a prequel to Wizard of Oz (well, it technically is both a prequel and a retelling since it goes past the end of the original but I digress) Wicked feels the need to give everything and everything a backstory. Fiyero...didn't need to be the Scarecrow. Fair enough to that one, since it was clearly planned and a major part of the story (though it casts a shadow over his bond with Dorothy in all honesty) but Boq as the Tin Man? Give me a break. That asshole is nothing like The Tin Man, who was sweet and sensitive and, oh yeah, already had a backstory. Not to mention the hastily thrown in line about the Lion being the cub from Act 1? Come on now.
As for Dear Evan Hansen.
I just. I really love human dramas. (Again, Borrasca. I can't recommend it enough, except, every trigger warning you can imagine applies to it.) Dear Evan Hansen is such a magnificent story about realistic people going through emotional issues. It's a story that isn't guided by plot, but by characters reacting based on their feelings and desires. The inciting incident is Connor's suicide and the misunderstanding with Evan's note, but after that, the entire plot could be resolved if the characters (mainly Evan) just made different choices. Better ones, smarter ones. But it's not a plot hole, either. It's characterization. You can see the exact moment when Evan falls in love with the lie. "And I see him come to get me. He's....come to get me. And everything's....okay." I've seen a slime tutorial of this show and based on the performance, that is the moment that Evan went from awkwardly trying to comfort a grieving family....to telling himself a better story, about his own life. One where he had a best friend, and wasn't having suicidal thoughts.
And that's one of the major themes of Dear Evan Hansen. Rewriting history when there's no one to contradict you, and living in the new reality you've created from that story, because there's nothing to stop you except yourself. It crops up all over the place, not just in the #BigLie, but Evan also initially lies to Larry about the situation with his father. This idea is echoed in Sincerely, Me as well. "All that it takes is a little reinvention." and "Just believe you can be who you wanna be." It comes up again in Words Fail which is...the most fucking raw and emotional that a musical has ever gotten, for me anyway. I sob when I listen to that song, especially at the crescendo when it reprises Waving Through a Window. Evan talking about no one seeing the real him, because he fears "Will they hate it too?" Just broke me. Because...honestly? I relate to it. And I think a lot of people can. "Will I just keep on running away from what's true?" Like. Oof.
Everyone in this show is miserable, in different ways, and they manifest it in different ways that are typically unhealthy. Though I think my favorite character is Heidi. I don't know if she's considered problematic in the musical fandom, but I will pick up my foam finger and defend her to the last. She was doing everything she could. Evan's anger at her for being absent is understandable, but it wasn't out of negligence. She was working multiple jobs to keep a roof over their heads. She didn't always handle situations the best, like the dinner with the Murphys...but she was blindsided over and over that night, so, fair enough. She isn't very knowledgeable about her son's mental health issues, but it's not for lack of trying. She's doing her best, and also, Evan isn't telling her anything. He's not sharing with her. He's lying to her, on top of lying to everyone else.
The situation needed to end. Because it was unhealthy. Even if Connor and Evan's friendship had been real, it was reaching unhealthy levels. They gave Evan Connor's clothes. They gave him Connor's college fund. Given how he was sleeping over at the Murphy's house all the time, and I don't see them making him take the couch (or allowing him to crash with Zoey) he was probably sleeping in Connor's room. Like, it was reaching creepy levels even if you ignore that it was all based on a lie. And when they find out...yeah, they don't forgive him. Why would they? It would be way too good to be true, Evan would be getting off far too easy, if they just forgave him. They didn't expose him to the world and that is charitable on their parts. Evan had to lose the life he'd gained and return to reality. I like that even though Zoey ultimately forgives him, they don't get back together. Realistically, there's no way they would.
God this story just rips me to shreds. I feel bad for everyone involved, but they're also culpable for their own choices. Like...Alana is another example. We're meant to sympathize with her (and Jared) by the end. Sure, she's a little annoying, but she means well, and her dedication to the Connor Project is sincere. That said...she really doesn't know what she's talking about, claiming the emails "don't make sense" because Connor seemed to be doing better before he died. That's...shockingly naive. Also, the fact that she posted Connor's suicide note (as far as she knew) online without permission. She didn't ask his family if that was okay. She did it explicitly against the wishes of his best friend who the letter was written for. That's fucked up.
I could write similar analysis of Jared, Connor's parents, Zoey...but I can already tell this one is gonna be a long runner so I'll cap it here.
#Wicked#Wizard of Oz#Dorothy Gale#Glinda The Good#Dear Evan Hansen#The Tin Man#Evan Hansen#Alana Beck#Heidi Hansen#Connor Murphy
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hi miss megan!! seeing your serendipity gifset pop back up has reignited my creative streak and i was wondering what gif program/app you'd recommend for beginners? 🥺👉🏻👈🏻
oh my gosh 🥺 that makes me so happy ahhhhh!! tbh if you really want to get into giffing, the only program i’d recommend is photoshop. i remember back in the day (like 10 years ago lol) trying other programs and the results are either really crappy quality OR you spend more time trying to figure out how to get through loopholes in the free programs. if you’re trying to make quick gifs, i’m sure there’s apps that work just fine. but since you wanna get creative, photoshop is The Best and you have so much liberty to mess around with settings and have fun! i believe you can get a free trial of ps to try it out (and there’s *cough* links i’m sure) and i’d recommend looking up some tutorials! it’s really not too bad once you get started! i’m on my phone rn so i can’t easily link any good tutorials atm but if i think about it i’ll try to add some when i can :’)
#i know hobies and nochuie have tutorials!!#although i think that’s more for specific settings and stuff like avisynth and vaporsynth#i haven’t looked in a while for tutorials since i already have my way of doing things#i have taught it to ppl before tho if you need like step by step help!#ps can be intimidating but it’s truly the best option out there#anyway i hope this helped!!#i smiled so big when i got this message#answered*
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So, BO2W Breakdown
Buckle up, this is gonna be a long one.
Here we’ve got Ganon’s...energy taking over Link’s arm. Ordinarily, I’d call it Malice, but based on what it turns into, I’m just going to be calling it corruption. We don’t get much information from this scene besides this expression:
Link’s grabbing the corruption with his other hand, and wincing. It looks painful. I personally think it’s for cinematic effect that it was included, but it COULD be a gateway into a Phantom Hourglass sort of mechanic--Link has to function on a time limit, or using the corruption’s power could drain his life.
Next we’ve got a closeup of Ganondorf. F in chat to the rehydration theorists.
And the closeups of his jewelry. The only significant thing I can see is his necklace, which looks like a cross between the Gerudo symbol and a Fleur de Lis:
But what I’M most interested in is this tie on his belt:
For one, it’s WAY bigger than it needs to be, and that’s deliberate. Ganondorf’s got a jewelry aesthetic he’s already hit above; everything else is gold, why not this bit?
Most importantly, you can barely make it out, but the designs either look Sheikah or Zonai--they’ve got that same kind of swirly busy pattern to them. The red tint and tan-ish lines in it makes me think it’s possessed Sheikah tech.
Next, we’re shown Zelda falling. This looks like it happens right after these two caps from the first trailer:
So we reach for her as the ground collapses, and evidently, we fail to pull her back up. So my next question for that scene is going to be what the in-game reason is for us not diving in right after her. Maybe we won’t get one, since the appeal of the original BOTW was that you could fight Ganon whenever you wanted.
Up next, we’ve got a skydiving shot:
The first thing to notice is that Link’s pose while skydiving is just about identical to his pose in Skyward Sword:
Second is that, yes, he’s falling towards a floating island, and that in itself is noteworthy, but he’s FALLING. There’s something either above him that he jumped off of, or a force that carried him high enough TO fall, and I doubt Nintendo’s encouraging magnesis flying.
So, there’s a few options: Loftwings making a return (which is unlikely, but a hope I have), something like Revali’s Gale boosting Link up for a cinematic shot, indicating that the corruption arm has that kind of power, or islands higher than the one shown here.
Now the island itself:
In Skyward Sword, Skyloft looks like this:
And (spoiler alert) we loose this island here over the course of the game:
Now, it’s not a PERFECT 1:1 match, as most things between games aren’t, but a quick rotate and overlay shows it’s got the same kinds of shapes between the two. The same “W” shape along the eastern side, the same tiny island off the northeast point, the same relative edges.
Now, I don’t know what happened to the plaza at South Skyloft, or the Knight’s Academy isle, but it could very easily be drift away from the central island.
The presence of other islands through the clouds seems to support that theory. Now let’s look at Link here:
The outfit is new. We haven’t, to my knowledge, seen one of this design in other games. My gut reaction to this image was “oh, we go back in time and we’re the first hero now!” because it’s vaguely reminiscent of Tapestry Hero.
But upon closer inspection, that theory’s null and void. Under Link’s tunic in the image above, you can see that he’s still wearing the shorts he woke up in in the first game. So either Sheikah boxers haven’t changed in 10,000 years, or it’s taking place in present day. Jokes aside, I’m curious to know if the outfit he’s wearing is modeled after Tapestry Hero.
Next thing to point out is the obvious:
Link’s arm here looks less prosthetic and more...withered, I almost want to say. The corruption here’s made his hand look frailer, and armored them up with Zonai patterns before it fades out at his shoulder. Based on how the tattoos look, I think they’re an artifact of the corruption taking hold.
Also, the belt here:
Aesthetic purposes, or specific function? The presence of the second, smaller one on the side reminds me of Skyward Sword’s adventure pouch, which could be how the new game handles inventory size:
Next we’ve got another flying shot:
It seems like he’s flying towards Ruined Skyloft, and you can see the bottoms of islands above it, possibly meaning that the sky serves as more than just a hub world like it did in Skyward.
Now let’s look at the paraglider he’s using. It’s new.
This is how the paraglider looks in the original BOTW. It looks like we still have the Rito symbol in the center, but other than that, there’s a LOT of changes here.
First off is the color. We’re now blue and gold. The shade of blue makes me think of the Kochi Dye Shop’s navy blue:
So, possibly a dyeable paraglider?
The new pattern surrounding the Rito symbol makes me think that it’s combining the paraglider with Skyward Sword’s sailcloth:
Other than that, there isn’t much else to say about the paraglider besides the handles looking like they’re made of bone. Craftable paragliders? God, I hope not.
Back to Link:
Here we have him in different gear than the last shot. He’s wearing the snow boots, he has a shield with a stylized Eye of Truth looking upwards, and he looks like he’s carrying a traveler’s sword and an unknown bow. The presence of the bow makes me think that the shield here is a lower tier item, rather than this game’s Hylian Shield equivalent.
Now, let’s get a better look at the horizon:
The trees here look a lot like the smaller trees you can find in Akkala, but there’s a distinct lack of red among them.
Then it looks like we’ve got some ruins at the furthest isle.
Whatever the rock formations are over there, they don’t LOOK natural.
Another thing I noticed is the bottoms of the islands.
These look a little too geometric to be natural, too. Now, this one, I’m a little muddy on, because it COULD be a stylistic choice. But it also reminds me of the Shrines if you clip out of bounds:
And a little bit of the dormant Gate of Time from Skyward:
My money’s on the cube-like nature of the islands’ undersides being deliberate, rather than just a far-off render.
And then there’s this thing!
What is it? It doesn’t look broken at all; look how nicely the roof(?) is kept. The ribbing on the sides makes me think it might be a Zonai thing, but the shape makes it difficult to figure out. A giant temple? An airship? A sloped coliseum? This thing haunts and vexes me.
Our next shot is presumably from one of the islands, based on the color. Here we can see that there are definitely ruins all over the place. Link is in the same gear as before, so I won’t touch on him.
This, however, has my interest. The design here has more geometric patterns--Zonai ruins?
We’ve got another one off in the distance here. Sky checkpoints, like Sheikah towers?
Now this guy here. There’s a LOT to look at. First off is the eye design, it’s the same sort of upward looking one that Link has on his shield in the previous shots.
The energy that’s pulling this thing towards its base looks like the same green energy that surrounds the arm holding Gan in place in Trailer One:
This stuff. That, plus the fact that the robot has to be pulled into its base rather than just existing, implies that either A: Link activates it himself, like a trial thing, or B: that the green energy here functions in the same way Malice does in the original BOTW.
This pattern at its base is intriguing, too. I don’t recognize the gold symbol in the center, but the green around it reminds me of the portals from Twilight Princess.
Which, yes, everyone’s already said that the Twilight Princess patterns look like Zonai things. But another thing this weird dial thing reminds me of is from Lanayru Desert:
On top of that, the color palette of this guy looks like that of the Lanayru Robots from Skyward:
BO2W robot on the left, Lanayru robot on the right. Given that Skyward is a lot more vibrant than other non-Toon Zelda games, I think this is a fair enough comparison to draw similarities from.
And then we get a closer view of the sky ruins from the last shot. I don’t know if the geometric pattern in the corner is a deliberate carving, or wear from time, but since the pattern looks ALMOST mirrored around the corner, I’m going to go with the former.
A better shot a few frames later. The robot has HANDS, which I do not like in any way shape or form. However, we get a better look at the sky ruins.
We haven’t seen this style of stairs before, to my knowledge. The pedestal out front looks like a light source, and it has the same floral egg thing the robot above has on each shoulder; the eggs could easily be a power source for Zonai tech. And at the top of the stairs, we see a pedestal, backing up the theory that these ruins function as our new Sheikah towers.
This is our next shot. Which...
Unikoblins. Can we talk about that? UNIKOBLINS.
Anyways, Link is here again in his old clothes. This is a very early game shot, because his right arm isn’t corrupted yet; this means we get to explore Hyrule before we embark on the main quest. Which gives rise to a question: Where’s Zelda?
The hopeful side of me wants to say that she’s a tutorial companion, like Navi or Tatl, at least for the beginning here. The pessimistic side of me thinks that she’s waiting for us at a predetermined location, and this is just part of getting to her.
Now the unikoblin structure itself is built on a Talus, meaning that the dev team at least intends to have more inter-monster interactions. But if you kill the Talus, does that mean that the base falls apart, or does it just drop down as a separate entity?
Also, what are these background ruins? The one on the left looks like it’s a distinctly different style than the one on the right. It looks almost like a giant guardian arm.
Our next shot is Link’s arm getting corrupted. Which, first of all, the effects look beautiful.
Now, we can see a corner of Link’s hip here, and we know that this is his right arm. So Link’s lying down here. Unconscious? Knowing how Zelda games like to start with Link waking up, probably. Although it looks like at least part of his shorts got an update.
We can see what looks like circuits here. It looks a bit like the electricity puzzles you can find in the Divine Beasts and Shrines in the original.
Then we’ve got these strange symbols.
Whatever this circular stone he’s lying on is, it looks a lot like the Zonai puzzle from the “A Fragmented Monument” sidequest.
This one that everyone thought was the Mirror of Twilight for years.
Our next shot is Link using the corruption powers against enemies:
The spike ball itself looks solid; the question is, is this a duplication power, or a visualization of how the spike ball is set into motion?
We see it barreling over a poor Unikoblin or two, but I’d like to turn your attention to the Moblin and the background.
The moblins here have helmets, and the bases, while they carry the same design, look like they have more cause and effect in mind. The left base’s rock, for instance; that’s a lot bigger than the rocks we got to play with in the last game, and it looks like we can barrel anything in the screen over with it.
The helmet, though, concerns me a little bit. It looks natural rather than forged; like it’s the moblin’s horn, just very much deformed. Does it mean a harder enemy, or is it just for flavor?
Our next shot is this strange flower thing. Note that Link’s right arm is perfectly fine in this shot, meaning that it’s still early game.
This is what Link’s flamethrower looks like. And this:
Is Zonai art.
So the question is, what IS the flamethrower? My first thought was that it’s either a new item in its own, or it’s a Sheikah Slate upgrade. The latter might sound a little far fetched, but Link in this game is right-handed, and in BOTW, he always held the slate in his LEFT hand when using it.
We have more of the weird faded designs that we saw on the Sky ruins:
And we’ve got some kind of pedestal or stage behind the ground flower thing:
It looks like it’s either an altar or a grave, from what I can tell. The stairs aren’t the same design as the ones in the sky, and there aren’t any patterns on it.
More importantly, though, is that this place is underground. This could be a part of the game you’re required to go through, in order to get to Raisin Gan.
A few seconds later, though, we get our answer to what the flamethrower is!
It’s a shield!
Off to the left side, we can see pillars with more weird scribblings towards the top. These match the Sky ruins’ pillar shape, with a narrow base and a wider top.
Our next scene is...weird.
We see a puddle splash in reverse. It’s hard to tell if it’s actually water or not, but the design on the ground implies that it’s either been there for a long time, or that that’s a dedicated splash spot. And the quality and zoom makes me think that this is part of a cutscene. Return of the timeshift stones?
We then see Link...surfacing out of the island? I don’t know how else to describe it. However, his arm is changed again, and glowing, meaning that this is a corruption power. And the “water” he rises out of here looks a lot like the puddle in the last clip.
We get a good look at the Zonai Lights:
A Sky ruin that looks like it contains a room:
And a glimpse of other isles’ ruins in the far distance.
And then as the camera zooms out...
We can place a location!
We’re right over Thundra Plateau!
We also get a mildly better look at the back wall of the sky ruin, which looks to be some kind of table:
The next scene is Hyrule Castle:
The ground shakes and it starts to rise up. However, notice that the columns surrounding the castle are now missing.
We’ve also got red sparks in the air, like we would have in a blood moon. However, due to the sky color, we can assume that this is a conscious decision by Gan himself, and that he isn’t drawing power from his surroundings.
We then see that power bleeding out of the ground. It’s MUCH more red than Malice is, which has always been a kind of burnt pink-ish color.
However, even though Ganon lifts the castle up, he doesn’t lift it very high.
The castle’s about triple the height it was. But since we’re talking Skyloft levels of floating islands, this is still pretty ground-level. What’s interesting to me, though, is that in this shot, despite the game now being about sky islands that we should be able to see from ground level...there aren’t any here. This, to me, means that there’s going to be a sudden appearance of the isles in the sky, rather than them simply being accessible now.
And that’s the whole trailer! I have many questions.
My blog! If you have any opnions/questions/theories, feel free to drop an ask!
Part 2 is up! We missed a lot!
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who do you love [lexi howard]
lexi howard x reader
requested: Hiii! I just discovered your page while looking for Euphoria fics. I saw that you don’t have any Lexi Howard fics. Could I request a fic where Reader is partnered up with Cassie for a project or something and they meet Lexi and develops a crush on her, but Lexi is clueless and thinks reader has a thing for Cassie? Fluff please. Also your works are absolutely amazing!
a/n: italicized are rue's voiceover
*not my gif*
Lexi has always lived in the shadows of her sister. Every guy or girl she liked just never fell for her. They always fell for her sister. Cassie was the one in the spotlight and Lexi was just the background character.
You sat there with your earbuds in as your teacher went on and on about some project you guys had to do. But again, you weren't exactly listening.
Until he came over and ripped your earbuds out of your ear. You looked up at him with innocent eyes, "Ms. Y/L/N, you're partnered with Ms. Howard. Hopefully, she'll be able to fill you in since you weren't paying attention,"
You sent him a small smile before trudging your way over to Cassie. You heard a lot of things about her, but you didn't really care what everyone thought around here. Most of them were assholes anyway.
"So were you paying attention to anything he was saying?" you asked as you plopped down into the seat next to her.
"Not a word, but my friend Kat heard all of it. If you want you can come over tonight, we can start working on it, getting it over with," she offered and you nodded.
“Sounds great,”
You see this was the start of a beautiful friendship for Y/N and Cassie. They became as thick as thieves. Everyone thought that Y/N and Cassie would eventually get together, but the entire time Cassie was just trying to get her newly found best friend to admit feelings for her sister.
And those feelings started, cheesy to say, but at first sight.
You knocked on the Howard’s door, bouncing on the balls of your feet. You didn’t really know how to feel, Cassie was popular and well you? Not so much.
The door swung open and you swore your jaw dropped all the way to the floor. You were met with the younger Howard sister. She was beautiful. Her beautiful brown hair fit perfectly with her fair skin.
“You must be Y/N?” she says, snapping you out of your daze.
“Yeah, that’s me. Hi, Lexi, right?” you asked, stepping into the house as she held the door open.
“Yeah. Cassie went out with Maddy, but she texted me and said she’s on her way back. You can come in, you don’t have to wait outside like a dog,” she joked and you laughed together softly.
The two of you sat together on the couch. Your eyes gazed to the TV to see her watching Crazy Rich Asians. One of your favorite movies of all time. The screen was showing the montage of Rachel trying on all the different dresses for the wedding.
“This movie is a masterpiece,” you tell her.
She nods, “This is my first time watching it and I’m completely sold,”
“Oh, you haven’t even gotten to the best part yet. The wedding scene is-” you put your fingers to your lips and kiss them, “Chef’s kiss!”
“Hmm, I’ll have to take your word for it,” she said.
You continued watching as the wedding scene started. Lexi’s eyes were glued to the TV, but yours kept drifting towards Lexi. The way she watched intently as Kina Grannis started singing “Can’t Help Falling In Love”.
The scene ends and she looks at you, tears boarded at her eyes, “Why am I going to cry?” she laughed.
“Because it’s one of the most beautiful scenes in history,” you told her.
The two of you just stared at each other. Her doe brown eyes were captivating and you couldn’t help your eyes from drifting down to her lips. There was a moment where you thought she did the same thing.
The door bust open filled with laughter and Cassie and Maddy’s eyes landed on the two of you, “Hey Y/N, sorry I’m late. I see my sister was able to keep you company,”
“Oh yeah, Lexi was great. It was nice meeting you, I’ll see you around,” you told her.
You see, my best friend Lexi developed a crush on Y/N right after that. But despite me and Jules telling her constantly that she felt the same way, Lexi still thought that you fell for her blonde sister and not her.
“Cassie! I am not telling your sister that I like her. She does not feel the same way that I do. I am not going to risk my friendship that I’ve built with her and you,” you told her as the two of you laid on the bed in her bedroom.
She looked at you with her blue eyes like you were on drugs, “Are you kidding me right now? You sound like you just bought something from Fez. I’ve never seen my sister look at anyone the way she looks at you. You need to stop being a fucking coward and just tell her how you feel,”
“Okay, what if she does want to be my girlfriend? What if something bad happens? I lose the both of you and I can’t do that. I don’t want you to choose between me and your own sister,” you whispered.
Your heads were slightly tilted towards each other as you just stared at her, “I think you need to take advice from your favorite movie: you’re not playing to win, you’re playing to not lose. So play to win. Don’t think about the what if’s and even if things go south with my sister, I found a sister in you. You’re not gonna lose me either,” she said, “You’re one of my favorite people in the entire world, possibly my favorite, don’t tell Maddy that though. I love you so much Y/N,”
Little did the two of you know that Lexi was at the door way. She didn’t hear anything besides that you’re Cassie’s favorite person and that she loves you.
“Awww someone loves me,” you nudge her shoulder, “But I’m for sure going to tell Maddy that I’m your favorite person. She’ll have a field day with that one,”
She pushed your face away from her, “You will not! I’ll just tell Lexi myself then,”
You gasped, “You wouldn’t dare!”
“Then you do it!” she exclaimed.
Lexi avoided Y/N after that day. She also avoided Cassie. The two girls didn’t know why the brunette Howard was avoiding them. All they knew was that she avoided them every chance that she got.
It broke Y/N’s heart. She was finally ready to tell Lexi how she felt. And now, she wants nothing to do with her. No more movie nights. No more random ice cream days. But rather, Y/N going over to visit Cassie and being disappointed when their mom would answer the door and not Lexi.
You finally caught up to her as she was trying to sprint past you in the hallway. You grabbed her wrist and she looked back at you. The first time actually seeing those beautiful eyes of hers in weeks.
“What did I do? I understand if you don’t want to talk to me. I understand if you don’t want to be my friend, but please just tell me what I did. That’s the least I deserve,” you whispered, your voice breaking at the thought of losing one of your best friends.
She shook her head, “Nothing, you didn’t do anything,”
“I obviously did something, you’re not talking to me!” you exclaimed.
Lexi broke free of your grasp, “You don’t need me Y/N. You have my sister. Cassie always wins. She’s always been in the spotlight. She always gets the guys and girls. Everyone I’ve ever liked, she went for them. And she always wins. I just thought for once that I mattered. That for once, the person I fell in love with chose me, but I guess I was wrong,”
She stormed away and you were left with your mouth agape. Everything she said twirling in your brain. You immediately told Cassie all of it and your brain worked together to try and figure out a way to win her back. Until it all finally clicked.
You stood outside in the backyard of the Howard’s house. A slip n slide was in the path leading to you, switch on candles. You sat on the opposite side with a guitar in your hand. Luckily, you can play.
Singing on the other hand, well let’s just hope it goes well.
“Cassie, I already said I don’t want to talk to you! You can’t bribe me with Bob Ross tutorials!” Lexi’s voice echoed as she closed the backyard door.
She spotted you sitting there and she was immediately about to go inside when you yelled out to her, “Lexi please! Just let me explain, it’ll take maybe three or four minutes of your time,”
Lexi walked down the slip n slide, but not before falling on her butt and sliding towards you. You let out a roar of a laugh as she finally reached down to you. She tried hard to fight off a laugh and a smile, but you could see it faintly.
When you finally came down from your high she looked at you with raised eyebrows, “Well, I’m waiting,”
You started playing the guitar. The melody you learned just hours before playing from the guitar. You took in a deep breath as you started singing the infamous song that got you to fall in love with her in the first place.
“So, take my hand, take my whole life too. For, I can’t help falling in love with you. For, I can’t help falling in love with you,” you finish the song.
The two of you look at each other as you place your guitar down next to you, “You do matter to me, Lexi. More than you know. I’m sorry it took me so long to tell you, but ever since the first night I met you I’ve always been in love with you,”
“Cassie actually told me that I need to play to win. And if I had to slip on my ass a thousands times trying to set up this low budget recreation of the wedding scene in Crazy Rich Asians, I would. I did it because I need to win your heart, because Lexi, you already have mine,”
A small smile breaks out onto her face as she closes the distance between the two of you. She kissed you ever so softly as you tasted the sweet taste of her lips.
“And you have mine,”
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Hi! I love your tutorials, and I may also have a question 😊 I've been making gifs recently, but I am having trouble with Tumblr showing them correctly. For example, I work on them in photoshop and then post them on Tumblr via desktop and they look fine when it comes to brightness. However, when I look at them on the mobile app, they are so dark, it bothers me. If I adjust the brightness of my phone (which really hurts my eyes LoL) they look fine again, however when I put it back to the lower brightness it's darker again, while other people's gifs do look brighter than mine. How do you ensure the correct brightness without losing quality? I've seen brighter gifs, but when I look at those on PC they are super grainy. Thanks in advance for the help!
Hmm. I’ve never actually paid much attention to the brightness of gifs, or at least not in a comparative desktop-vs-mobile light. That could be because I so rarely use the app (and often as a last resort, because I truly hate the mobile experience) but something I do keep an eye on is colors and colorings, just because something that drives me bananas as an editor is the fact that colors can look anywhere from mildly to wildly different between screens.
A general piece of advice I’d give to you or any creator—and I emphasize any, because I’d give the same advice even if someone isn’t experiencing this specific issue or something similar to it—is to save your gifset as a draft instead of posting it straight away, if you don’t already do as much. This allows you to see how the gifset looks on both screens, and make adjustments accordingly.
Now, in terms of advice that’s specifically brightness-oriented, I would probably recommend... the backwards of a lot of people? Because I use Curves to do everything. Literally everything: brightening, adding contrast, even color correcting if Color Balance isn’t quite getting the job done for me. I used to use Levels, but never do anymore unless I’m trying to create a silhouette. I never use, or so much as look at, Exposure. And the only time you’ll see me use Brightness & Contrast is to actually lower the brightness for scenes that are on the too-bright side of things.
You might find you like other adjustment layers better, which is more than fine. I’m a firm believer in there being no one particular or exclusive way of doing anything in Photoshop. But since I keep my computer at max brightness and keep my phone near or at min brightness, and I haven’t seen much of a difference (beyond colors) in how my gifs look, I thought I’d give a quick rundown of what I do in case you’d like to try it out.
My ‘base’ layers tend to look like this:
Curves (for brightness or brightness and color correcting)
Color Balance
Curves (for a little bit of extra brightness and some contrast)
Curves (for contrast; sometimes disabled if a scene already has a decent amount of contrast, or if the first Curves layer does double-duty)
And this is what my Curves layers typically look like:
The trick to using Curves without making things too grainy, I’ve found, is to avoid any extremes. Instead of tinkering with that first Curves layer on the far left, I a) adjust the opacity of the layer as I see fit, and b) duplicate it when a scene is still dark and calls for some added brightness.
Alternatively: The droppers on the left side will do a lot of the work for you in both the brightening and color correcting departments if you know what you’re doing. (And, like anything in Photoshop, it really is just playing around with it until you get a feel of how it works.)
When picking the brightest point of a scene doesn’t brighten it to my standards, I go for the brightest point on or near a character’s skin (typically around the nose and forehead area; wherever the light hits them) or hair, if they have lighter hair like Ciri and Geralt do in The Witcher.
Here’s a quick Before and After look:
There’s obviously no 100% guarantee of retaining The Most Perfect Quality, especially when uploading on Tumblr, but as long as you’re working with HD footage (1080p or 2160p), sizing your gifs correctly, and choosing the right Save for Web settings, ensuring brightness shouldn’t mean loss of quality.
If you’re still experiencing issues with it, feel free to let me know! I’m always happy to work with people one-on-one.
#okie-dokie-artichokies#ask ava: an organizational tag and not an advice column (unless it needs to be)#ps asks
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Harry Holland - Polaroids
A/N & WC - I do not know Harry or the other people mentioned in this fic, nor do I claim to; this is a work of fiction. 3.9k.
Warnings - Swearing, mention of food, smut: depictions of oral (m+f rec), penetrative sex, use of toys, bondage & bdsm, photos being taken in the act, mild exhibitionism and definite voyeurism (not Harry or reader) 18+.
Summary - You and Harry have an exciting intimate life to say the least, and he rather enjoys taking photos of the two of you in compromising positions. However, in his sex-addled mind, one vital fact is let slip when he allows Sam into his room unsupervised.
“BUD, WHERE ARE THOSE PHOTOS you took of my food the other day?” Sam asks.
The sizzling of pancakes overlaps the conversation, and you mussing up Harry’s hair distracts him, his attention drawn to more important matters than his brother. Harry barely swallows his giant mouthful of food before speaking.
“By my bed there’s a huge pile, they’ll be somewhere,” he answers flippantly.
Flippantly.
Usually so cautious and so organised Harry lets one thing slip his mind for five seconds, and his life is going to fall through the cracks. His reputation will be utterly destroyed. Just with his brother, but it still stands. Sam is… more innocent than Harry has ever been. And Sam will also tell the others, and likely their friends…
“Remembered something, baby?” you muse sardonically from beside him, your hand halting its movements as you cup his jaw, turning him to face you.
The second his green eyes meet yours, you watch the world crumble in his eyes. You’ve never seen him scramble up from his seat so quickly. His bare feet slap on the tiled floor violently, thudding sounds echoing through the house as he blunders around, swinging around the banister with the force and elegance of an elephant.
“Sam! FUCK— Wait!”
“Don’t look in that pile of photos,” you add in a feeble shout.
It’s not like what Sam’ll find there is any secret. You’ve been together a long time, you and Harry, and everyone knows full well that you’re shagging, but that doesn’t mean you necessarily want them to know exactly what happens in the bedroom, in your most intimate, secret moments together. That’s sacred, even if it seems like sacrilege to so many.
No matter how quickly you hear Harry legging it upstairs, his lean legs carrying him up the stairs perhaps three at a time, his curly hair even more unruly than before from the exertion, you know he won’t be fast enough, and that Sam is an insolent bastard when he wants to be. You’ve lived with them all long enough and have had more than your fair share of near misses: no chance will you not be found out, this time you’ll be caught. Better than the alternative and the other times, you suppose, as you cram one more syrup-drizzled and strawberry-covered pancake into your gob, reluctantly trudging your way upstairs to the hive of fun.
It’s chaos by the time you get there. Dozens of artfully-taken photos spilled out onto your duvet, Harry’s freckled face paler than you’ve ever seen it, his hands tugging at his pyjama shirt convulsively while Sam stands on the other side of the room, his dark eyes wide, his expression agog, his jaw unhinged, staring blankly and pointing at whatever the most incriminating thing is he sees next. You just hope he doesn’t go ferreting through your drawers, because then you’ll really be in trouble.
“What… the fuck.”
You come up to Harry’s side, and wrap an arm around his slim waist, lending a weak, “Surprise?”
It’s their fault if they haven’t guessed, frankly.
You can’t draw your eyes away from the pictures, so many of them, all displaying different aspects of your sex life at varying degrees of explicitness. You can even recount the minutes and hours of pleasure that led to the photos, each occasion etched into your mind. Sure, you and Harry go at it a lot, but you don’t always go the extra mile, hence why these commemorative photos of your special nights are so treasured. And private. Or, were.
The first one… oh boy, that takes you back to the most far-out, extreme experiment you tried—the most recent, as well: just this past weekend. You’re still covered in rope burn from it, though that could’ve been prevented if you hadn’t writhed or wriggled about so much while in those bonds. The amount of attempts it took, the sheer number of YouTube tutorials you had to watch, but it was definitely worth it. The intricate patterns the ropes formed all across your body, creating braids down your back, suspending you prone with little movement in your arms or legs. It was heaven to have Harry tugging on the ropes, contorting you into new and wonderful positions for his own delightful access to all of you. Perhaps it’s not something you’ll gravitate towards again, but it was fun while it lasted, and it’s another thing to tick off your list of fun, kinky bedroom experiments to try. To be fair, even though the swathes of soft, rose-coloured rope, intricately woven around you were a lot, you certainly wouldn’t be averse to trying something else with rope. Less shibari, perhaps just normal levels of bondage. You can feel the skin on your arms prickling with heat: Harry feels it too, winding his fingers into yours, holding on tight as he struggles to suppress a smirk.
The next set is interesting, and rather common. Harry’s freckled, ring-less hand is unmistakable in the dappled light as it grapples with the handle of a leather whip, or a paddle, even his belt, bringing them down harshly onto your ass cheeks, already reddened with hand prints, purple from bruises. In one of them, your skin is even glistening with his release, and another, your hands are suspended behind your back. Harry’s always been one for spanking, and the rest of them know it. Even before you were sleeping together he’d playfully smacked your bum, and he certainly hasn’t stopped even with the sexual connotations it now conveys between the two of you. As though he can read your mind, he snakes a hand down and pats you on the bum; his wink telling you it’s just for good measure. Cheeky shit.
One in the dead centre brings shivers throughout your body. Not because it wasn’t fun or pleasurable, but because of the way it made you feel afterwards. Yes, you’d talked through it in thorough details—as with everything the two of you do—how it made you feel going in, throughout, and you’d got a safe word sorted, but perhaps you hadn’t discussed all the long term risks of it. The pretty pink collar, the satin blindfold… The whole subservient thing is a big turn on for Harry, and you played into it, you always do and you naturally fall into a position of less power in your relationship because of the way you are, but being degraded in such a way isn’t for you. You can’t help but feel a sting of shame ricochet through your heart. Harry must feel it this considering how reactive he is: he leaps towards the bed and snatches it up, shredding it before your eyes, chucking it into the bin, and curling another protective arm around you.
“Look,” you whisper to Harry, turning his attention elsewhere as you point to the bottom few: your favourite photos of all.
Despite the disarray, they’re all together, and they remind you of an incredible night. Your anniversary, and what a special day it was. Butterflies swarm you at the sight of them again, but it feels strange for someone else to be looking at them. Not that you or Harry are exactly in a fit state to be proactive about preventative measures now Sam’s seen them all. His eyes bulge from his face, his mouth going dry as he swallows viciously, suddenly having to shift his already apparently tight shorts. Again.
“You’re so sexy in those, baby,” purrs Harry.
He’s damn right, you do look incredibly sexy. And though the first one in the chronological series is you mostly covered, you can remember how hard his dick was at the sight alone, salivating, clenching his fists to stop from ripping the lingerie from you piece by piece. You wanted to put on a show for him that day: who was he to deny you?
On top of your bra, panties and stockings was a nightgown, and above that, a dressing gown. Each image shows you in a further state of undress. It was a deep burgundy lace set of negligée with soft satin straps that pushed your boobs together, lifting them up, the lace hooked together with a single eyelet on your spine, whereas the panties, though half covering your cheeks with dustings of lace, hid nothing while they sat high on your hips, revealing your entire upper thigh where a matching satin garter sat with tiny lace bows. The entire thing cost a fortune. You forked out a damn arm and a leg for what you got, even with a discount included with a certain toy you bought.
First went the dressing gown, letting it fall from your shoulders, allowing it to pool around your feet as you showed off the skimpiness of the silk slip in a series of flourishing twirls, much to Harry’s delight. Next went the slip, and you honestly wish you’d taken a picture of his face utterly agog—as you stood there in stockings held up by garters, barely there panties and a push up bra. There’s one shot of his rough fingertips playing with the trim of the stockings delightedly, like a kid in a candy shop. Next went the feeble scrap of fabric that you dared to call a bra, barely covering your nipples, allowing your breasts free, spilling into Harry’s awaiting hand. You remember the next part vividly, because he was just about to peel the panties off when you laid a gentle hand on his shoulder.
“I’ve got a surprise for you, babe.” you cooed.
His twinkling eyes grew as wide as saucers, and you dared to card your fingers through his curls as you settled yourself over his lap, letting him keep his camera in one hand while leading the other down, down, a little further…
He’s never since made a sound quite like it, so visceral and animalistic, so ready to devour you, to come on sight. He’s never been as hard as he was in that instance.
“You’re gonna be the death of me,” he moaned, a deep groan released from him the second his fingers slipped through your folds to find dripping arousal all ready for him. “Just—wait a minute…”
You followed his every instruction for the next few moments, finding yourself standing up in a good lighting position, Harry strategically beneath you as he snapped a particularly incriminating (yet oh so sexy shot) of your bare pussy in crotchless panties. Harry’s never recovered. He’s already openly admitted that he uses those particular photos more than any others to get himself off whenever you’re away from him. However, the creases and folded corners of one particular photo can’t be blamed on him, since that’s the one you use when you're away, two of his fingers plunged knuckle-deep inside you in those exact panties, from that exact angle, desperately trying to replicate the irreplaceably pleasurable feeling of him within you. He took a good few more than had to be thrown away. Spillages are awfully unfortunate… He fucked you that night with the panties, stockings and garters still on. Twice. Then without the panties, then without the stockings, then nude at last at some ungodly hour of the morning when he took you at last as the sun rose. You didn’t sleep a wink.
There are more of you with lingerie on, nightgowns and matching sets, scraps of silk and strange one pieces that took you hours to get on, but they’re bound to make a sort of book, stowed away neatly (mercifully) beneath his bed.
Sam still hasn’t moved from his state of paralysed shock, and though you should probably clear the photos up from where they’re dumped, you feel a filthy swelling pride within your chest, a glean of risk as you watch Sam rove his eyes over some more, these all involving toys. If only he knew where you hid them. One his eyes focus on is you with a thick purple rubber dildo deep inside you, a rabbit vibrator stuck to your clit. Your body is but a blur, writhing around for Harry, your hands cuffed before you and not released no matter how much you moved. Harry wouldn’t let you stop coming for what felt like hours: it was the first time you squirted for him as a cry tore from your heaving chest, drenching the bed with your fifth orgasm of the night. Harry vowed he’d be the only one to make you squirt after that, no toys involved, and he’s stayed true to his word.
There’s a few more, and Sam seems to be furrowing his thick brows at the sight of the Polaroids. Glass wands, spreader bars, clit suctions (that admittedly look like they’d be used in a spa for a facial). Poor boy is being corrupted...
Good God, you need to get those toys out again.
With his twin's attention diverted, you snake your hand down the front of Baz’s shorts, wrapping your fingers around his already hard member through his boxers: he seems to be enjoying this as much as you are.
You point out one of your favourite pictures, a debauched mess that shouldn’t be viewed by anyone else, frankly. Harry was reluctant about hurting you or pushing you too far, but you begged to be gagged. You meant just by a tie, maybe his bandana—which features in many images in many different manners: as a bind for your hands, tying you to the bed, keeping your ankles together, even wrapped lightly around your neck, but never as a gag—but he went all out. When you got home, he was waiting in his room with a leather-bound ball gag.
“You begged, baby,” he said, and you couldn’t refute. You had begged, but this was above and beyond. You complied with his every wish that night, and though you’d do it again in a heartbeat, Harry wasn’t a fan of not being able to shove his fingers or cock down your throat at any given moment. He liked hearing your whines and moans and hushed curses, prayers of his name. He also liked hearing your bratty, belligerent rebuttals when he took on a dominant role. You enjoyed it more than a little, but only now can you see how much of a mess you were, messy hair and tears spouting from your eyes, drool down your chin...
Given the chance of the slightest spark of stimulation, you’ll be coming on the spot.
There’s a scattered pile of the two of you in just about every position under the sun, every shape in the karma sutra, fucking both inside and out, al fresco sex beneath the big oak in the garden, anyhow, anywhere and everywhere you could fuck safely and privately, you would, and you didn’t even realise Harry had snapped some of these shots after consenting to him taking them at any time. Your eyes squeezed shut as you peaked, Baz’s palm kneading your chest, your skirt hiked up around your stomach while your jaw was agape, your pussy exposed and glistening slick in the mirror, penetrated by Harry’s cock. That was a good day, mirror sex, and definitely something you’ll try again. This time with your own mirror... There are a few snapshots of oral, perfect Polaroids of Harry’s nose nuzzled into your pussy, his tongue deep in your core, his lips on your labia, all of them for your sake whenever he goes away.
“Gonna recreate that one tonight,” Harry husks, pointing towards one image in particular of you sucking him off.
His huge member down your throat, you’d trained yourself to breathe solely through your nose, but the neatly trimmed patch of hair there tickled your nostrils. Harry’s talent for photography reveals your doe eyes were red rimmed, saliva trickling from the corner of your mouth matching the mascara tracks down your cheeks. You’ve never looked so fucked out, and Harry couldn’t believe you remained in that innocent façade, rosy cheeks and a coy expression even with his dick rammed down your throat, making you gag.
However, the one you’d like to recreate is one he picks up on, surreptitiously moving a hand to your chest, his fingers hovering over your peaked nipple.
“Reckon we can go again the second Sam fucks off?”
“Yes,” he eagerly exhales.
You don’t blame him, especially not when both twins are staring at the same image of your tits, pushed together with Harry’s dick between them, fucking your chest despite the fact his come already painted your chest in hot white strips, a beautiful painting you’d always wish to frame. He certainly has an obsession with your boobs so there are a couple like that, his hands all over them, the tip of his member tapping them, but the debauched one is by far your favourite. Similarly, there’s one of you tied to the bed, completely spread eagle, his dick resting on your stomach while your belly is coated in his come once again.
It seems, however, that’s what snagged Sam’s attention and has his face a ghastly shade of grey because it's so pale, is the one photo Harry never wanted anyone to see. You leap and snatch it up in one fell swoop, and Harry draws you into a bear hug within his arms, kissing your temple affectionately in thanks as you stow it away for safekeeping. Though Harry naturally carries the more dominant title in your relationship, you always like to shake things up, hence why this photo (and a series of others he already has hidden) depict Harry as your submissive. You walked around as the picture perfect dominatrix in stilettos, carrying a whip while Harry lay there with his hands bound, a blindfold on in some photos (you took them so they’re not as great, but he still looks damn sexy) with a vibrating cock ring wrapped snugly around his girth. He’s never come so hard or so much after you finally removed it and cuffed his hands to the bedpost and began to ride him. You can still feel the warmth of him climaxing within you if you close your eyes and clench your thighs.
“I promise I’ll touch you later,” boy do you hope he sticks to that promise he whispers while nibbling on your earlobe, “but Sam’s coming out of his daze in 3... 2... 1...”
“OH MY GOD.”
“Okay, I didn’t see that coming,” he remarks breathily, hazel eyes wide as he pivots, met with two incredulous stares. Tom’s cry wakes Sam up right on cue.
“Harry! What the fuck?!” Sam demands, his voice a bellow, horror and disgust and... something unattainable just emanates from him. “Why do you have three porn mags worth of your girlfriend down here? That’s fucked, mate.”
“No it’s not. We just like to have photographic reminders of all our... sexcapades.”
Sam is, unsurprisingly, retching, now finally turning his head away from the pile without even bothering to pick up.
“This was cool until you called them sexcapades,” Tom chimes, smacking Harry upside the head as he swaggers over to the bed, fishing a few photos up before tossing them back down.
Sam's horrified attitude doesn’t seem to be spreading thankfully, but you and Harry are understandably rooted to the spot, stuck to the carpet, just biding your time until this is over. Then again, you can’t really tell, since no one is saying anything. You nor Harry want to be the ones to break the silence, though, and you can tell with the furtive and expressive stares you’re sharing that his anxiety is increasing the more people are seeing this.
Momentarily, you think someone may remark about your silent communication, your fixed glances and speechless conversation, but instead, Harrison comes up to you both, a sly smirk etched onto his pretty model face as he clasps a hand around one shoulder of yours and one of Harry’s.
“Harry Holland, you kinky fucker,” he praises.
You definitely feel a swell of pride at that. And the fact that Tom is trying desperately hard not to look at you while also trying to hide how flustered he is, somehow still abhorred by the sight. Harrison’s intrigue is palpable, gnawing on his lower lip as his lithe fingers trace you on the polaroid's, whereas Sam? He can’t decide whether to cry or scream. Harry huddles in closer and cuddles you, ensuring you feel every part of him, just how much he wants this lot to leave to finally have you at his mercy once more.
“So you two are shagging,” Tom observes.
You and Harry nod between kisses.
“Dangerously.”
You nod again, though this time a little reluctantly.
You expect Harry to nestle down with you again, but instead he detaches himself, unravelling his arms, and shoulders past Tom and Haz. He gives Sam a death glare as he piles up all the Polaroids and shoves them deep in a drawer for him to organise later, away from prying eyes and judgemental comments.
“Really, though?” Sam bursts out, flailing his arms before grasping Harry’s collar. “I thought you’d just handcuff her and give her a smack at most, very vanilla.”
As much as he tries to fight it, Harry’s face flushes bright red, leaving no visible distinction between his forehead and hairline. “I think those photos, erm, tell a different story.”
He rocks on the balls of his feet, tugging himself out of his brother's grasp, only to fall into another, saved by Harrison’s scowl at Tom.
“Can you lot bloody get out? Please? I’d like some alone time with my girlfriend after that sodding invasion.”
“If you’re having alone time, we’re leaving the house for a while,” Tom jokes, “how long?”
You smirk, striding over to meet Harry, eyes fixed on him as you press onto your tiptoes, wrapping your fingers around his shoulder before kissing his earlobe. He wilts into your touch.
“Two hours should be enough time. Scram.”
They do, gladly, and you slam the door shut as their scurrying footsteps down the stairs recede. Harry’s grip increases around your waist, a growl escaping him as he pushes you onto the bed. You gasp when your back hits the mattress, his lips instantly attacking your jaw.
“Which of those polaroid's do you wanna recreate first, baby?”
—
It’s hours later, and you're all around for your weekly dinner at the Holland house. You and Harry, having some ‘business’ to attend to before leaving the house, are the last to arrive, and Paddy, poor unfortunate Paddy, has the delightful job of letting you into the house.
“Sam asked me to give you this,” he says barely before you’ve entered the porch.
Harry’s face pales as he unravels the small piece of paper bundled into his hand by his younger brother, but you could swear all blood drains from him the second the words sink in.
‘You took them, you lost them, you collect them. What would mum and dad say, Harold?’
“Harry, what’s happening?”
“That utter wanker stole the polaroids as revenge for scarring him. He’s hidden them around the house. We have to find them before mum and dad go looking. You in for the ride?”
“Only if Haz can join us tonight,” you tease, and after calling a hello to Harry’s parents, you follow him around the house, detaching all the pinned photos.
Harry's learnt a solid lesson today: hide his damn Polaroids better from now on, away from the prying eyes of his bloody brothers. But, he thinks with a smirk, by no means will the two of you stop taking them.
#harry holland#harry holland imagine#harold holland#baz holland#harry holland fluff#harrison osterfield#harry holland smut#harry holland x reader#harry holland angst#harry holland fanfiction#harry holland blurb#harry holland fic#harry holland x y/n#harry holland one shot#harry holland x female reader#harry holland x fem reader#harry robert holland#h holland
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Smile For Me, Sweetcheeks ~ Ghostface x Fem!Reader
I've thought of this for a while, and it's gonna be
F U N
---
Y/N opened her eyes groggily, finding herself on the grassy ground - As she lifted her head to scan her surroundings, she realised she was in some strange, dark place that resembled some weird park with tall trees, yet had random small buildings here and there...It almost seemed like a place to play hide and seek, was her first thought.
Next to her, 3 other people were getting up, looking extremely frightened, as they bolted the hell out of that spot, going in different directions.
But Y/N didn't, and instead, she walked around aimlessly, until she spotted someone dressed in all black, with a weird ghost-like mask, peeking from behind an old car, almost timidly, only to see him wave at her.
Grinning at him, thinking she finally met someone friendly around this place, she extended her arm up in the sky, waving excitedly, which made the man make his way to her.
"Hi! I'm Y/N! It's great finally seeing someone nice around here. The 3 other guys just yelled in my face and ran away. How rude, right?!" she sighed, crossing her arms with a pout, before going back to her friendly smile, extending her hand to shake his.
"Woaw, those guys are jerks. Call me Ghostface, darling." he said in an amused, yet somehow hoarse voice.
"Uhhh, Ghostface, how cool! You must be a horror movie fan, then? So am I! ...Hmm...Actually, do you have any idea how we got here? I think I need some lecithin, my memory is failing me." she scratched the back of her head sheepishly, only for him to chuckle.
"Welp, there's 4 survivors and a killer. All you gotta do is either repair 5 generators and find the exit...Or find the hatch and escape. Basically, don't die, I guess. Fun, huh?" the guy explained, putting his arm around her shoulder, guiding her to who knows where.
"...What the hell is this, the Hunger Games?" she looked up at him with a weird look on her face.
"Haha, that would be fun! Alas, nothing like that. Ah, look at this, a gen! Here I'll show you how to repair it. You have to tinker with these parts, and then merge these together...You get the cables in the respective coloured sockets...Et voila! Haha, look at it! Fireworks! What a reward!" Ghostface clapped and cheered at the fireworks the generator made, laughing at the startled look on the girl's face, as she clearly didn't expect something like that to happen.
"Uh...Honestly, this is insane. Can't we just, like...Go home? I don't think I'm up for dying, even if someone paid me to go through with this silly game." she sighed, crouching down to the next generator, awkwardly trying to repair it, but she was much slower and clumsier compared to him, and it even exploded in her face, making her yelp and fall down. "Dude! Not cool! This gen is working against me!"
"Shoulda seen the face you made, toots! Haha, so funny! You're very entertaining, girl. Here, lemme help ya out." he said as he got on the other side of the of the gen and helped repaired it.
"You're a real pro at this, man. Have you been playing this for long? Did they at least give you a worthy amount of money for the trouble you're going through? I mean, I'm sure you won very often...Or maybe you're like...The tutorial teacher or something? Is that why you look eccentric compared to those lame-os?" she was asking so many question, but boy, was she so off that it amused the killer so much! He now perfectly understood the wolf who dressed as a sheep, it was too much fun! She was so blindingly trusting, he could mess with her, and more, with the survivors at his heart's content!
"Yeah, I win quite often, but they don't pay me! The guy is kinda blackmailing us to play his game, but it's fun when you get used to it." he explained, only to have two other survivors go past them - Her and Ghostface waved at them merrily, but they just shrieked and ran the hell away from there.
"...Do I look that scary?" she muttered, looking at the man next to her with a confused expression.
"Nahhh, you're a cutiepie. Those guys are just jerks." he petted her hair, beginning to walk again, only to find some really nasty, rusty hooks.
"U-Uhm...Gh-Ghostface...? What are these for...?" she stuttered, frowning as she clinged on his arm instinctively.
"I think you already know, toots. Careful with those, killers LOVE to impale their victims on these things. It's like a sacrifice for the big guy who's keeping us here." he chuckled as he watched the girl tremble like a little lamb seeing the knife approaching her neck.
"...Can we go away from here, please? M-Maybe we can look for the...Uhm...Hatch, you called it?" she muttered, pulling him away from there.
"Yeah. It's like a trap in the ground that leads to safety. It only appears when there's only 2 gens left. Felt that shockwave? It meant that the Hatch just appeared. Ah, sorry baby-cakes, I gotta run, but I'll see you around before the match ends, okay?" he was grinning under his mask, knowing that he has to kill the other 3 to make sure the Entity doesn't punish
either of them for some annoying reason...And oh, the shock and horror on her face will be fun~.
"N-No...! Please don't go! This place is huge and scary, I'll get lost without you! And who knows what would happen if the Killer finds me? I don't wanna end up...Th-There...!" awww, that cute, little, frightened pout on her face, how lovely~! If only she knew...
"Don't worry, cutie, is'yo' first game, the Killer ain't gonna mess with ya, I promise. And if he does, Imma make sure he regrets it. I'm sort of a boss here, you see." he put cupped both his gloved hands on her face, pinching them a bit too hard, just to hear her yelp one more time - And clearly, she didn't disappoint, as her eyes even watered a tiny bit. What a cute little lamb...
"...If you're sure, then...Okay. I trust you." she muttered, turning away as she started walking away, only for her to look back at him and yell "Make sure you stay safe too, okay?! We have to escape this place together!"
He raised his arm and waved dismissively, barely able to keep himself from laughing, as he started running and stalking the annoying survivors who actually thought they'd have such an easy game!
No, no, clearly not with him!
First, he slashed one of the survivors and put him on a hook, then mori'ed another and took a really cool selfie with their bloody face, and the last one he just messed around with, before repeatedly stabbing his back and throwing him in a corner, just where the Hatch was.
Those idiots thought they could escape him.
Think again.
He wasn't that idiot 'Legion', or that lame ass Amanda. Four lame thugs who can't do a simple job properly, or Jigsaw's useless lackey.
Keh.
And at least he was fun, unlike Boring Michael! I mean, look at this masterpiece he made, it's a perfect piece of art! He even wrote Y/N's name on the wall in front of the hatch, so she could see and appreciate his work!
A loud noise that resounded through the place made him realise that, as he was having his fun playing with the obsolete Survivors, his cute little Y/N had her fun repairing generators, meaning that the exits could be activated, if he wasn't careful.
He had to find her quick.
Not that it was difficult for the Master of Stalking, especially since she was so clueless that she didn't even crouch to hide, or at least try to hide in lockers.
There she was...! Look at her, watching everything like a frightened meerkat! Aww, how he wanted to boop that cute nose of hers~! Maybe he could even let some blood paint her nose, and make fun of her, calling her Rudolph!
Ahh, Ghostface, you're so funny!
Yeah, Ghostface, I KNOW, right?!
"Yo, Y/N, over here! I found the hatch! Come on!" he waved his arms up in the air, yelling for her, and the look of sparkling glee on her face as soon as she saw him...Wasn't she such an adorable dummy~?
"Ghostface, you're okay! I got so worried when I didn't see you in so long! I heard screams, and I thought something happened to you! I got so scared that I ran away and tried to do the last generators...And then a loud noise almost deafened me, and I had no idea what to do." she gesticulated rapidly, making him chuckle in amusement. Of course, he was worried for nothing. She wouldn't realise what she'd have to do, even if it bit her leg. Hmm, actually...~
"Nahhhh, I'm cool, haven't see the killer. Here, take the key, it will unlock the hatch. Less'goooo~!" he put his arm around her shoulder, guiding her casually where the hatch was, making sure she didn't see his work of art yet.
"Oh, so this is the Hatch, huh? It looks scary. Are you sure this isn't some ladder that leads straight to hell or something? It looks...Shady." she muttered, looking at the dark abyss down below.
"Don't worry, chickadee, ain't that long of a ride down. It's like a bunker filled with survivors, you'll be okay. They'll tell you what to do from then on. If you're scared, take this flashlight. See? You can see the bottom of the ladder. You'll be okay." he chuckled, weaving the flashlight around.
"Wait...You're not coming down with me?" she gasped, her eyes carefully searching for the truth in his...Covered face.
"I'd go down on you any day, sugar, but maybe next time we get to play around." he laughed crudely watching her frowning, flustering face.
"H-Hey, don't be a jerk! I'm just worried about you!" she muttered, looking away, hoping her hair would cover her blushing face.
"Hahaha, you're so fun to tease, Y/N. Only one person can go through the hatch. But s'all cool, I just gotta open up the door, since you did a great job with the gens. We'll see each other later, I can promise you that. Can't get rid of me that easily." he sniggered under his mask, waiting in anticipation until the girl realises his true nature.
"Mhh...Alright...If you're so sure..." she muttered, shakily stepping down a few steps, only to be stopped by the man who took out a camera.
"Wanna take a selfie before we finish this? Y'know, your first game, and a victory nonetheless...Come on, Smile for me, Sweetcheeks~!" he got on his knees, raising his mask a bit, before gluing himself to her body, one of his arms extending with the camera, while with the other he grabbed her face, kissing her cheek, making sure he guides her eyesight to his masterpiece, and as soon as he heard her gasp, he took the photo.
It was worth more than all the money in the world.
"Y-You...? You were the killer...?!" awww, look at her tremble! Her eyes were glistering with tears, and her plump, rosy bottom lip was quivering in betrayal.
"You're too cute for this world, Y/N." he harshly put his mask down, before showing the girl the selfie he took as he mori'ed one of the survivors, and waved her goodbye with his knife, as she quickly descended down the ladder, soft whimpers echoing through the place.
"Till we see each other again, sweet cheeks~." the Killer rose to his feet, slamming down the hatch with his boot and wiping the blood from his knife with his latex glove, before laughing loudly at the endearing experience he just had.
If THAT was the reaction she had when seeing his little gift for her, imagine her cute faces when he'd actually go down on her, as he promised~.
#dbd#dead by daylight#dbd x reader#dbd imagine#dead by daylight x reader#dead by daylight imagine#ghostface#ghostface x reader#ghostface imagine#ghostface dbd#dbd ghostface#dbd ghostface x reader#danny johnson#danny johnson imagine#danny johnson x reader#jed olsen#jed olsen x reader#jed olsen imagine
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Eunoia - Harry Styles
a/n: i’ve been meaning to write a piece filled with just fluffy, domestic moments through a relationship, and that’s when i created Flora in my mind. wrote it with an OC bc i had very specific traits and stuff in my mind about her and it didn’t feel right to write it with y/n but feel free to read however you’d like it! but i think Flora is a delightful girl, she is a teacher and a free spirit, i think you’ll like her!
pairing: Harry x OC (Floortje ‘Flora’ Hoven)
word count: 9.5k
masterlist
Eunoia
(n.) Beautiful thinking: a well mind.
Harry is always looking forward to times when his days aren’t filled from morning to midnight, traveling all around the world, meeting dozens of new people at various new meetings. Don’t get him wrong, he loves the buzz his life comes with, but one can drive this lifestyle only for a while before getting tired. He now appreciates his calm periods, when he is not living out of his suitcase, he has the time to drop by a café and enjoy his morning coffee sitting down instead of grabbing it in a go-to cup and chugging it down in his car. When he can just take a walk when the weather is nice enough and his favorite is when he has the time to just look at things without a rush and appreciate them.
He has built up a habit of going to the same coffee place since he got off tour and jumped right into his well-deserved months off filled with meditation, resting and focusing on himself after giving so much for the world. It’s just two corners down his place, falling perfectly into his way to the gym and now he even has a favorite table in the corner, because it gives him a great view of the place but the vines hanging from the ceiling masks his presence enough that people don’t often notice him there, providing some privacy for his morning coffee.
It was his third day here when he first noticed her. She was sitting at the table by the window, near the door, deep in a book, another pile waiting for her on the free seat next to her as she intensely made notes of her reading. She had her wild, curly hair in a puffy bun on the top of her head, clearly just thrown into it haphazardly when she started working. Her ivory frame glasses kept sliding down the bridge of her nose and thy seemed a bit too big for her face, but they overall fit perfectly with her knitted sweater and dungarees. And Harry couldn’t look over the fact that she had little sunflowers painted on her nails. That instantly made him smile as he adorned her from afar.
As the days passed and Harry spent almost all his morning at the same spot, he started seeing or more like noticing her more often. She always sat at the same table and Harry figured it was because of the natural lighting coming through the windows that came in handy, because she was always either reading and making notes, or doing something crafty, mostly origami, he noticed. She often had her laptop open with tutorials on different origami works that she was trying to make herself, not always succeeding, but she got it right most of the time, a triumphant smile plastering across her face every time she finished a piece, her dimples digging deep into her round cheeks. Harry couldn’t stop herself from smiling whenever she held up the finished work and adorned what she just created. He often wondered what happened to the little creations afterwards, but she just usually shoved them into her backpack before leaving.
By the fifth or sixth time he has seen her, he already knew her order. Vanilla latte with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. Large sized, of course, so she has something to sip on while she typed away on her laptop or finished reading another book.
Harry caught himself looking for her on mornings when he didn’t see her, which were usually Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, but one Wednesday, when he had an early meeting for a change with his team, he arrived before 8 am into the place and for his biggest surprise, there she was, sitting at her usual table, drinking the same drink as always. Later, Harry found himself coming earlier on those days just to find her there yet again and he figured her work schedule must start earlier on those days.
As the days went by Harry started to play with the thought of walking up to her. He wondered if she has noticed him as well, but it seemed like even if she did, his presence didn’t impress or bother her at all which just irked his curiosity about her even more. But every time he thought about finally talking to her, he decided against it, feeling like he would just be an intruder in her morning sessions. Until one day, the chance was handed to him on a silver plate.
She is doing origami once again on this particular day, making little cranes, one after the other, using different colored papers to make them form out a mess rainbow on her table. It’s a quiet morning, only a few more people sitting around at place. It’s been quite windy the past couple of days and today seems to be the worst, the trees are being tossed around by the howling winds outside, but it just makes it even cozier to sit inside in the warmth, enjoying a nice hot drink.
Harry finds himself watching her intently as her delicate fingers work on the paper, one crane following the other, she is starting to have a whole army of them.
An older man walks into the café and as he opens the door wide, the wind is quick to run into the place, knocking over everything that’s not heavy enough to stay still and the paper cranes are the first ones to start flying off the table.
“No! Darn it!” she gasps, her hands grabbing after them, saving just a few, but most end up on the floor, somersaulting away from her table. Harry is quick to jump to his feet and come to her rescue, lending her a pair of helping hands as she gathers her creations. “Oh, thank you!” she breathes out softly, her eyes meeting his and for his biggest surprise… she doesn’t seem to be stunned or even surprised by him, as if she doesn’t know who he is.
Maybe she doesn’t, it’s a possibility, he tells himself, smiling at her as he collects the cranes from the floor.
“Guess they wanted to be free,” he jokes, setting them on the table with the rest.
“It wasn’t my brightest idea to do it on such a windy day near the door,” she chuckles, looking over the bunch she’s been working on for the past thirty minutes.
“May I ask why you need so many paper cranes?” Harry inquires, leaving out the part that he’s been watching her do her origami for weeks now.
“Oh, I want to make decorations out of them, hang them up in my classroom. I’m a teacher,” she adds smiling.
That’s the most fitting job he could ever imagine for her, she is definitely the cool and adored teacher every kid is obsessed with.
“Wow, and how many do you need?” he asks, the stack of paper at the edge of the table looks quite a lot and he wonders if she wants to use them all for the cranes.
“Well, as many as I can make before my fingers fall off,” she jokes. Harry notices her freckles from up close that have been hidden behind her glasses until now. Her hair is in two space buns today and she is wearing a striped shirt with light-washed jeans and colorful sneakers. The sunflowers are gone from her nails, replaced by tiny daisies, but Harry likes them just as much as the previous flowers. They fit her well.
“Do you… I would love to help, if you want,” he finds himself offering, not even thinking about the question before it slips his mouth.
“You sure?” she asks, seemingly surprised but she definitely doesn’t find it weird that he just offered to help her.
“Yeah. Looks really calming and I haven’t made one in so long. Want to see if I still remember the steps,” he smiles.
“Take a seat then,” she nods, returning his smile. Harry goes back to his table to grab his stuff and join her.
“I’m Harry, by the way,” he introduces himself as he takes the empty chair at her table, holding out his hand for her that she gladly takes.
“Floortje, but everyone just calls me Flora,” she smiles.
“Never heard that name, what’s the origin of it?”
“It’s Dutch. My dad is Dutch, he came up with the name as well and my mother liked it. It means little flower, nothing grandiose,” she chuckles, reaching for another paper to start her next crane.
“Do you have a Dutch last name as well?” he asks, but then realizes she might not feel comfortable sharing her full name just yet. “You don’t have to tell me your last name though, if you don’t want to.”
“It’s alright,” she chuckles. “It’s Hoven, which is Dutch, but you pronounce it pretty much the same as you’d if it was a simple English word, just with a softer V in the middle,” she explains, her fingers working easily and fast on the thin paper, the crane is already starting to form. Harry reaches for a paper himself and tries to recollect his memory of the steps.
“Were you born in the Netherlands too?”
“Yes, I was born in Eindhoven, but we moved here when I was five. But my Dutch is still just fine, luckily. My dad refused to talk to me in English when we moved, he said he won’t have his daughter forget her mother tongue just because he is getting paid more here,” she explains with a soft chuckle as she finishes up the crane, putting it to the pile.
“I always envied bilingual people. Must be great to speak two languages that easily,” Harry wonders, eyes fixed on the paper as he is trying his best with the crane. It’s slowly coming together, though it’s not as pretty as Flora’s.
“It’s not that fun when I suddenly forget a word in one of the languages and then spend twenty minutes trying to remember when I know for a fact I know the words, it’s just stuck on my tongue.”
Harry laughs, finishing up his creation, holding it up and Flora looks at it as well. It’s a little crooked and one of its wings is longer than the other, but overall, it’s a decent first one.
“You don’t have to use it if you don’t want to,” he chuckles, putting it to the others.
“What are you talking about? It looks great!” she smiles, taking it into her hand, looking at it from all angles, smiling widely as she places it back to its peers. “It’s a nice one, and after all, it’s not your job to make cranes, so you’re fine,” she jokes.
Harry reaches for another paper as he thinks about if she knows him. Does she know what his job really is? Not that he expects everyone to know him, but she seems his age and it’s been quite impossible for him to meet someone close in age to him and not know a thing about him.
“Yeah, origami is definitely not my job,” he hums and then adds: “You… know what my job is?”
Flora glances up at him, a small smile tugging on her lips.
“Is this your way of trying to find out if I know you or not?” she smirks, tilting her head to the side, and it’s already a giveaway that she is very much aware of who she is sitting at a table with.
“I know, it was lame,” he huffs awkwardly.
“No, it was alright. And to answer your question, I do know what your job is, Harry Styles,” she replies.
“Sorry for asking around about it, you just seemed so casual and unbothered when you saw me, I thought you have no idea who I am.”
“I’m a teacher, my job is to treat everyone the same, I take equality very seriously. I don’t want my kids to think I put any of them above the rest, but I do the same outside of school too. Or do you want me to gasp and stutter now that you are sitting here?” she teases him making him laugh.
“That’s not needed at all.”
They work on their cranes in a comfortable silence and just as Harry thought, it’s quite relaxing, his thoughts slowly clear out, only focusing on the little birds he is creating. Then he glances up at Flora and suddenly his thoughts are filled with her once again. Now is his chance with her, he doesn’t want to leave this café without at least asking for her number even when he knows that he will surely see her around, just like always.
“Can I ask you something?” he speaks up as they both keep folding the colorful papers.
“Of course.”
“I hope I won’t sound creepy or something, but I’ve seen you around a lot and noticed how much you read. Is that just your hobby or…?”
“First of all it’s not creepy that you have noticed me, it’s flattering, because I have noticed you as well,” she smiles, paying him a quick glance.
“Really? I had a feeling you haven’t even seen me.”
“I did, but I thought you come here for the same reason as I do; to have some peace for yourself.”
“Ah, I see,” Harry nods.
“But to answer your question, I’m working on my second degree.”
“Oh, what’s that about?”
“Special education, speech therapy to be exact,” she tells him and Harry is even more stunned by her. Education is already a field not many can handle and then there is Flora, who didn’t just take up on it, she jumped right into it, pursuing a second degree in special education, a hard and challenging part of this job.
“Any particular reason why you chose it?”
“I have a younger brother, he is ten years younger than me, so he was already born here, but he was taught Dutch too. However, it wasn’t as easy for him as it was for me to speak two languages at the same time and he has developed some speech errors. Nothing major, but it was enough for him to be bullied in school. I saw his face every day when he came home and lied to our parents that everything is fine but then he cried to me in my room when they weren’t around. I don’t want any other kids to go through that, I’d love to be the one to not just help them come over their speech errors but also make sure they are treated the same way as everyone else.”
Harry hasn’t even noticed that he stopped working on his crane, he is now staring at her in awe, completely stunned by her. The more he learns about her the more he thinks she is a literal angel sent from above and that he can’t let her slip from his hands.
Flora looks up at him and finds him staring, a blush appearing on her full cheeks.
“Sorry for staring, but I just… this is so beautiful. Your passion about education is just one of a kind, truly. And the way how you made it your whole career and everything, I’m just… blown away,” he admits.
“Well, you made a career out of your passion too, didn’t you?” she chuckles softly.
“I did, but your story is just a little more touching,” he smirks. “Flora, I’m gonna be honest with you. I’ve been meaning to come up to you for a while and now that we officially met, I just—I would love to take you out on a date and get to know you better.”
She blushes again and Harry notes how well the pinky shade fits her even if she probably wishes she could control it more.
“That would be lovely,” she smiles shyly and grabbing a crane from her pile she grabs a pen from her bag and writes her number to the wing of it before handing it over to Harry.
He loves that she could have easily just typed it into his phone, yet she chose to do it this way. He smiles down at the crane and puts it into his bag, securing it as if it was his biggest treasure.
When Flora opens her door for Harry she is still wearing her apron that’s filled with tulips, a pair of simple jeans underneath it with a bright yellow shirt. Harry smiles as he leans down and greets her with a soft kiss. Ever since their first kiss he has been obsessed with stealing one whenever he has the chance. Their first one was nothing grandiose, such a simple and mundane moment but for him, it was perfect. They were visiting a gallery, he chose the exhibition hoping she’ll be a fan of it since the theme was botany, all paintings connected to flowers, gardens and plants and he was right. Flora was stunned, fascinated by each painting as they stopped at one after the other, taking their time to adore the works. They were looking at a painted garden filled with colorful wildflowers around a small cottage in the distance. Flora’s eyes wandered over all the tiny details as Harry stood close to her. She then leaned closer to point out her favorite flower and once they realized just how close their faces were, he just easily closed the gap and kissed her softly, surrounded with art, but he was convinced she was his favorite masterpiece he has ever seen.
“Hi, sorry, I’m a little late, dinner is not ready yet,” she huffs letting him inside. “Had to stay at the school a little longer than expected.”
“Don’t worry. Can I help with anything?” he asks following her into the kitchen, putting the bottle of wine he brought into the fridge to keep it cool until dinner.
“No, it’s fine. I just need about fifteen minutes to finish up the veggies,” she smiles at him and tiptoeing she steals a quick kiss. Harry hasn’t been the only one obsessed with kisses. “Make yourself home.”
Harry leaves to use the bathroom quickly and on his way back he finds himself wandering into her bedroom. He has been in her home just a few times before, only spending short minutes here when he was picking her up but now he has time to actually look around, hoping she won’t mind him snooping around.
Her whole place is just as colorful as she is always, each piece of furniture a different style and color, yet fitting so well when you see it as a whole. The quilted patchwork blanket over her bed is definitely homemade, each patch has a different flower on it while the left lower corner has Floortje embroidered into it. Harry wonders if it was made by a friend or family member, either way, it’s surely a special piece.
Her dresser is cluttered with rings, perfumes and endless amount of hair ties. She has complained before that her hair stretches her elastics out so fast, she keeps buying new ones every month. The little armchair in the corner is covered with a few of her used clothes, ones she’ll wear once more before putting them into the laundry basket.
As he walks over to her nightstand that’s filled with books, at least seven piled on each other, his eyes stop over something that makes his heart flutter.
A crooked little paper crane is sitting on the edge of the nightstand, the one he made the first time they talked, to be exact. Harry takes the bird and looks at it in awe, surprised that she kept it to herself. However he doesn’t find it odd, not even a little bit, since he has also kept the one she wrote her phone number onto, it’s sitting on his desk in his study.
“Found something interesting?” Flora walks in and Harry’s head whips towards her, feeling like he was just caught. But the warm smile on her lips is a telltale sign that she doesn’t mind him looking around.
“You kept it,” he states matter-of-factly, holding up the paper bird.
“Of course I did,” she nods, walking closer. “It’s a special one.”
“Thought you treat everyone and everything the same,” he teases smiling as he puts the crane back, his hands finding her waist.
“I guess there are a few exceptions,” she smirks slyly, her hands running up on his arms until they reach the base of his neck.
“Am I an exception?” The corners of his mouth curl up as he places the bird back on her nightstand and circle his arms around her waist.
“Did I say that?” she teases him. “I think I called your work a special one.”
Harry narrows his eyes at her, pretending to be hurt at her words, but he can’t push the growing smile back from his lips. They’ve been seeing each other for only over a month, but it was enough time to make him completely hooked on her. He is amazed by her in every possible way, feeling like he could never get enough of the ray of sunshine that Flora is. His favorite thing is that she makes him feel so normal, just an average guy dating a girl he met at a café. Not once did she treat him any different because of what he is and it’s just the feeling Harry has been looking for for such a long time.
“Come on, dinner is ready,” she smiles, pecking his lips before peeling his arms off of her frame, taking his hand as she pulls him out of the bedroom, however they surely end up in there again sometime after dinner, but with way less clothes on.
Harry watches as Flora plays with the bubbles in front of her, picking some foam up into her hair, watching it move around on her wet palm before blowing on it gently, her delicate fingers poking at the small bubbles that escaped from it. His hands are caressing her sides under the warm water that was once hot when they first got into it about an hour ago.
It’s been a lazy Sunday, Flora arrived early in the morning and went plant shopping. Her home has always been filled with plants and Harry has grown a liking to all the greenery, wanted some more in his house as well and Flora was more than happy to help him pick out the ones that are the easiest to take care of. Then they cooked lunch together, watched a movie and cleaned up the mess they made in the kitchen before running the bath. Harry has been loving these domestic days, lounging around his or her home, wearing comfy clothes and not caring about much of the outside words, just enjoying each other’s company.
“Remind me to buy peanut butter the next time I’m going grocery shopping,” she speaks up, leaning further back against his chest while Harry rests his chin on her shoulder, his arms tightening around her waist under the layer of bubbles.
“What do you need it for?” he hums, nudging her hair with his nose, her curls ticking his face, but he doesn’t mint it.
“I want to make cupcakes for the kids next week.”
“What for? Is there gonna be a special occasion?”
“No, they’ve just been super nice lately, we set up some new rules in the classroom and they’ve been really good following them.” Harry hums, loving how she is so eager to treat her students, he is convinced she is easily the best teacher he has ever came across.
“So peanut butter, huh? I think I need some too. Been dying to eat a good burger with some peanut butter.”
“I cannot believe you put peanut butter into your burgers,” she chuckles, peeking at him over her shoulder.
“Don’t bash it when you haven’t even tried!” he defends himself, kissing her cheek softly.
“The Aztecs would be so disappointed,” she sighs turning back forward, so she doesn’t see the puzzled look on Harry’s face.
“The Aztecs?”
“Yeah, they technically invented peanut butter,” she nods, as if it was common knowledge.
“Do I want to know why you know this about the history of peanut butter?” he chuckles softly.
“Well I had this kid last year who was obsessed with it and I started looking up fun facts for him for mornings when he looked a little moody. Then the others started enjoying it too so it became our morning thing that I told them a fun fact about anything.”
“Oh really? Tell me one then!” he asks smirking, pressing a kiss to her shoulder.
“Okay, um…” she thinks to herself. “Do you know what the Olympic rings stand for?”
“I do not,” he shakes his head.
“The five rings stand for the five inhabited continents of the world, united by Olympism.”
“Sounds logical,” Harry nods. “Tell me another one,” he asks.
“Are you going to make me tell you all my fun facts?” she chuckles, turning a little so she can look into his beautiful green eyes.
“Maybe. I like it when you talk like this,” he smirks playfully.
“Like what?”
“Like… smart. I love how you know all these little things about the world and teach it to not just the kids but to me as well.”
“You don’t think I’m a smartass?”
“Why would I?” he questions, eyebrows furrowed.
“I used to be picked on in middle school because I liked to learn, more than what was required.”
“That doesn’t make you a smartass, baby. You don’t go around, correcting every tiny mistake around you. You use your knowledge to educate, like you should.”
Flora smiles softly at him, his words bringing the sense of reassurance she’s been seeking for so long. She pecks his lips shortly before turning back forward.
“Do you know how many days a billion seconds make up?” she asks, smiling to herself.
“I don’t.”
“11 574 days. That’s a little over 31 years.”
“So I haven’t lived a billion seconds in my life just yet,” Harry states, doing the quick math.
“No, you haven’t,” she smiles, mostly at the fact that he didn’t just listen to her little fun fact, but also thought about it a bit deeper.
They stay in the bath until the water gets cold and Harry keeps asking for fun facts and Flora gladly tells him whatever comes to her mind.
Harry finishes up the fresh salad, filled with Flora’s favorites: cherry tomatoes, feta cheese and corn with some kale, baby spinach and garlic dressing. He even sprinkled some sesame seeds on top, now he is pretty proud of his work, it looks like something influencers would snap in an aesthetic photo to their Instagram feed.
His bare feet tap against the hardwood floor as he makes his way to Flora’s bedroom where she is still curled up on her chair in front of her computer, her hair in a mess on top of her head, glasses perched up on the bridge of her nose. She hasn’t moved much from the spot in hours, intensely working on her thesis that should be finalized within the next two weeks. She has been gradually working on it over the last few months, in no mean she is behind, but she’s been extra nervous about making it as good as she wanted it when she started and Harry has been nothing but supporting about it, knowing how much it means to her. So he’s been her moral support, making sure she eats, gets some rest and doesn’t get herself too worked up about her research. She appreciates his efforts and though she often feels bad for neglecting him lately, he made sure to assure her, he’ll be right here when she is finally done with it.
Harry walks around the mountain of books on the floor she has piled up from the library these past two weeks as he walks up behind her while her fingers type away on her computer so fast he can barely believe she even understands what she’s typing.
“Hey,” he softly calls out, leaning down he kisses her cheek, holding the bowl of salad in front of her, drabbing her attention, making her gaze move from the screen to the food in front of her.
“Oh, hey! Is this for me?” she asks with a soft smile, lifting her head so she can look at him. Even with the circles under her eyes, the messy hair and worn out t-shirt that she’s wearing, he thinks she is the most wonderful creature he has ever seen.
“Yeah. Come take a break, yea?”
She doesn’t protest, just saves the file before moving away from the desk to the bed along with Harry. She props herself up against the headboard, a tired moan escaping her lips as her spine rests against the pillows under her back. Harry hands her the salad and she digs right into it, only just now realizing that she’s been feeling hungry for the past two hours, but ignored it entirely.
“How much do you have left?” Harry asks nodding towards the computer.
“I’m finishing up the last part, then I just have to write the abstract and then…” she explains, popping a tomato in her mouth. “It’s just gonna be the formatting. I think I’ll be done by Wednesday.”
“That’s great,” he smiles proudly. He has always admired how hardworking she’s been when it came to school and her profession. He could never imagine himself do the same, especially because he didn’t even finish high school. He used to feel a little self-conscious about it when they first started dating, afraid that she might think less of him because he didn’t finish his education properly, even though it was never something that bothered him. But Flora assured him that it makes absolutely no difference in her opinion about him.
“It’s not about the papers or how many schools you’ve finished. It’s about how you see the world and if you are willing to learn when it changes around you. And I think you are perfect in that department, your curiosity and openness makes you an excellent learner,” she told him without even thinking about it.
Harry lies on his side next to her, one hand propping his head up while the other one wanders to her thigh, massaging it gently. She hums to herself, enjoying the food he made and he can’t help the smile that creeps on his face. He loves taking care of her, especially because most of the times it’s her that takes care of him. Cooking for him after a long day at the studio, putting his laundry away while he is in an online meeting or writing him a list for when he goes grocery shopping, Flora has been watching out for him through these little things, but now it’s finally his turn to give it all back.
He’s been thinking about asking her to move in with him for a few weeks now, he just hasn’t been brave enough to bring it up, thinking that she might find it too early for such a big step, seeing that the two of them have been dating for a little over nine months. He’s been playing with the thought of coming home to her every single day, waking up next to her in the mornings, watch her form his home more to her liking, creating a space for the both of them, making it a home not just for him but her as well.
As she finishes up her salad, completely oblivious to what Harry is thinking about, he decides to bring it up once she is done with her thesis, not wanting to bother her in any possible way until she is finished.
“Mm, this was lifesaving, thank you,” she sighs, leaning over she kisses him softly as her appreciation for the sweet gesture. “I’ll finish up this one paragraph I’m in the middle of and then we could watch a movie. But strictly without subs, because I’m done with words for today,” she jokes, making him laugh as he takes the empty bowl from her hands.
“Sounds good,” he nods. “I’ll clean up in the kitchen and find something to watch while you finish.”
“Thank you.” As they both get up from the bed, she pulls him down for another kiss, Harry’s free hand finding the small of her back right away. “I love you,” she whispers against his lips, his heart fluttering in his chest at the words he has heard before, but it never fails to stun him.
“I love you too. Now go, finish it so we can cuddle,” he smiles, smacking her bum gently before they let go of each other.
“Ja, pappa. Dat klinkt fantastisch. Ik zal het hem vragen. Ja.” Yes, dad. That sounds fantastic. I’ll ask him. Yes.
Harry listens to Flora talk to her father on the phone as she applies her lip balm, the one she uses every night before going to bed. He loves it when she talks in Dutch, many tend to criticize the language, but not Harry. Or maybe it’s just because he only hears Flora talk it and he loves everything she does.
“Ja, dat is goed. Dank je. Tot ziens, pappa, ik hou van je!” Yes, that’s great. Thank you. See you soon, dad, love you!
She ends the call and switches the light off in the bathroom that’s been not just Harry’s but hers since she officially moved in with him just last week. Harry finally built up the courage to ask her opinion about the possibility of living together in the near future once she was free from the worries of her research and thesis. For his biggest surprise, she was on the exact same page as him, definitely a fan of the idea. So three weeks later they started slowly moving all her stuff over to his until her apartment completely emptied out. Now all her belongings are splattered across Harry’s home, they haven’t found the perfect place for everything just yet, but it’s slowly starting to feel like home for the both of them.
“Dad called, asked if we would go over for dinner this weekend,” she tells him, moving around the bedroom as she takes her little hoop earrings off, placing them in the shell she uses as a jewelry holder on top of the dresser. She is wearing a pair of yellow sweatpants with one of Harry’s shirts, nothing underneath them, just how Harry loves it.
“It’s cute how you always tell me it was your dad, but he is the only one you speak Dutch with,” he chuckles lowly as she climbs to bed, pulling the covers over the both of them.
“It comes so naturally, I don’t even realize I’m switching languages,” she admits smiling.
“Dinner sounds lovely,” he nods, getting back to what she was talking about before.
“Arnold is bringing his girlfriend too,” she smirks, her eyes sparkling from excitement.
“Your brother has a girlfriend now?” he hums, eyebrows rising at the new information.
“It’s the girl I saw him with at his basketball game last month. They made it official like two weeks ago.”
“And he is already bringing her home? He is not beating around the bush,” he chuckles. “Is it going to be the first time the girl meets your parents?”
“Yeah, so it’s gonna be exciting,” she nods, cuddling to his side.
Flora is playing with the little cross pendant on Harry’s chest and he is watching her delicate fingers flipping it over, her fingertips tickling his chest a little in the process.
“When we have kids, will you also teach them Dutch?” he suddenly questions, the words just blurting out of his mouth. Flora lifts her head, resting her chin on his chest as she looks into his curious eyes. She stays silent, but a small smile is tugging on her lips for sure.
“What?” he asks, feeling a little nervous. It’s the first time he is bringing having kids up, but he definitely has been thinking about it, especially since she has moved in. They haven’t been dating for that long, but Harry is one hundred percent sure he is in the long run with her.
“I just… love how you said when and not if.”
“Well, it’s a question of when for me. What about you?”
“Same goes for me,” she smiles warmly. “And yes, I do want my children to speak Dutch. It’s important to my family and me as well. How does that sit with you?”
“Totally fine. In fact, I always envied kids growing up who were taught another language so early in their childhood. Would love that for my kids as well.”
“Dan is het geregeld,” she smiles widely at him.
“What’s that mean?” He furrows his eyebrows.
“I said that, then it’s settled. We’ll have some cute, bilingual babies,” she chuckles, half jokingly, half seriously.
Today has just been one of those days that were doomed from the moment Harry opened his eyes. He has been overwhelmed with stress lately, working on new music, but his studio sessions haven’t been as successful as he wanted them. He is also flying out to LA for two weeks in just a couple of days and he has to miss Flora’s mom’s birthday this weekend, which has been torturing him with guilt ever since he found out he can’t push his trip back.
This morning it felt like the universe just plotted against him. He slipped in the shower, broke a glass in the kitchen and successfully ripped one of his favorite jeans when he was getting dressed. He had a one way ticket cranky city, turning Harry into a moody little child. It didn’t take him long until he started a fight with Flora over the smallest, most ridiculous thing. It started with how Flora misplaced a bowl in the cabinet and took him two moments longer to find it than usual, then they ended up disputing about every little thing about each other they’ve been finding annoying, but neither of them voiced their feelings about them.
Flora, on the other hand, was not in the mood to argue with Harry so early on a Tuesday morning and she chose to just walk away and let him stew in his own anger. Harry knew the moment he heard the front door shut that she was mad at him: she didn’t kiss him goodbye like she does every day before she leaves.
He took a cold shower to cool him down and clear his head, get his thoughts straight so he can apologize like she deserves. Getting into his car he drives to the florist he usually goes to when he needs flowers for whatever occasions. The old lady greets him with a warm smile and upon describing what he envisioned, she immediately knows what to create for him this time. The result is a giant, colorful bouquet that reminds him of Flora in every possible means.
Driving down to her school he is met with an extreme amount of nostalgia even though it’s not even the school he went to as a kid, but it still brings back some memories.
The security guard immediately stops him when he walks into the building, but once he has explained him the situation, the old guy gladly tells him which classroom is hers so he can go and surprise her. His footsteps echo in the empty hallways as it is the middle of the second period, all students are locked up in their classrooms, lucky for Harry, because he surely can’t deal with teenage girls recognizing him right now. Holding the flowers in one hand he stops when he finds room 414 and he can hear Flora’s voice coming from inside, enthusiastically explaining something about penguins and it makes Harry smile.
Even with such a horrible morning behind her, she is still giving one hundred for her students. He brings up his hand and softly knocks on the door, interrupting her speech.
“Come in!” she calls out and Harry opens the door, popping his head inside first, then holding up the bouquet of flowers, making the kids start chattering in excitement at his arrival while Flora is staring at him shocked.
“Miss Hoven, do you have a moment for me, please?” he asks with a shy but charming smile. She quickly gains back control over her features before turning to her class.
“Please start working on task two and five, I’ll be right back,” she orders, but the chatter doesn’t die down so she raises her voice at them. “This is not how we act when we have guests, guys!”
The kids are quick to quiet themselves, eyes curiously switching between their teacher and the intruder at the door.
“Miss Hoven, is this your husband?” one of the kids, a little blond boy asks.
“No, Michael, he is not. Harry is my boyfriend,” she answers calmly, heading towards the door.
“Wait, I know him!” a girl exclaims gasping. “He sings the watermelon song!”
“Lilian, no discussion now. Do the tasks!” Flora tells her before walking out, but keeping the door open so she can hear what’s happening inside. Her cheeks are flushed and eyes wide when she finally looks at Harry again. “What’s—What’s this?”
“These are for you,” he clears his throat, handing her the bouquet. “And I came here to apologize for being such an arsehole this morning. It wasn’t your fault, I’ve just been crankier lately and I took it all out on you. I’m very sorry.”
Flora’s eyes soften on him as she takes one of his hands with her free one, giving it a squeeze.
“I said some nasty stuff too, so I guess I’m sorry too,” she sighs, her anger and frustration from earlier now long gone.
“I brought that out of you, so I’ll take the blame,” Harry chuckles softly. “But the point is that I’m sorry.”
“Well, you are forgiven. You were even before you came here,” she assures him smiling warmly. “Why don’t we order something tonight and just get lazy on the couch?”
“You said you have some tests to go through.”
“That can wait. You’re leaving in two days so I want to spend time with you.”
“So we won’t get our tests back tomorrow?” they both hear a muffled voice coming from inside and Flora chuckles shaking her head as she opens the door wider and steps inside. A small group of kids run back to their seats, but not fast enough to not get caught.
“Lilian, would you mind telling me why you left your seat without permission?” Flora questions the girl who just rolls her lips into her mouth, pretending like she hasn’t even moved all along. Flora sighs stepping outside once again. “I gotta go now, but thank you for this. They look beautiful,” she tells Harry.
“I love you,” he murmurs and leaning down he kisses her quickly, feeling like he is breaking rules even though he is not a student or a teacher here.
“I love you too,” she smiles back before walking back inside and shutting the door. Harry stays for a minute, just out of curiosity to hear if the kids ask her some more questions about him.
“Miss Hoven?” a girl calls out and Harry bets it’s the same nosy girl who recognized him.
“Yes, Lilian?”
“You have a nice boyfriend,” she exclaims, earning a soft chuckle from Flora.
“Well thank you, Lilian, but let’s get back to our new unit. Let’s see the tasks you had to solve!”
The splashing sound of vomit arriving to the toilet hits Harry’s ears once again as he is rushing up the stairs with a glass of water and the Emetrol his hands that he dug the kitchen cabinets through for. Arriving to the master bathroom he finds Flora just where he left a few minutes ago, kneeling in front of the toilet, arms on the rim as she is taking a deep breath, hoping to calm her stomach and stop throwing up finally.
“Oh baby, here. Found you some Emetrol, this should help,” he coos gently, sitting down to the marble floor next to her he places the water beside him as he pours some of the liquid medicine into the cap for her. She lifts her head, skin pale as the wall, the dark circles under her eyes make his stomach churn, he hates to see her in this condition and wishes he could just help her.
“Thank you,” she mumbles, her shaking hand takes the cup and she downs the medicine before taking a few sips from the water. “Harry, I’m so sorry for ruining our date,” she sighs in defeat.
“Oh shush. Don’t you dare apologize for being sick,” he shakes his head, putting the Emetrol aside before he towers above her to redo her hair so it doesn’t fall to her face. Today marks their one year anniversary and though they only planned to go out for a nice dinner, nothing extra, Flora still feels bad they had to cancel on their reservation when she started throwing up this afternoon. She’s been feeling nauseous ever since she ate that leftover casserole for lunch. She had a feeling she should have just gotten rid of it, but she hated wasting food so ate it. Big mistake.
Harry’s fingers delicately work on her curls, piling them on the top of her heat before he secures the bun with professional movements using the elastic he tends to wear on his wrists, just because Flora always loses hers. He likes to keep one on him as well. His long haired days trained him well, her hair is neatly kept out of her face as she frowns, feeling her stomach churning again.
“Can I do anything else for you, baby?” he gently asks, pressing the back of his hand to her forehead to make sure she doesn’t have a fever, but she feels alright. She probably just has to get rid of the bad food.
“Can you please get me a wet washcloth?” she asks faintly. Sitting to her butt she leans against the wall beside her with her eyes closed.
Harry nods and he is on his feet in a blink of an eye, grabbing a washcloth from the cabinet and wetting it in some cool water. He kneels in front of her and starts gently tapping it against her cheeks, forehead and neck, wiping off the thin layer of sweat.
“This is not how I planned to spend our anniversary,” she groans with a frown, making him chuckle.
“We agreed, the anniversary is postponed. Don’t even think about it.”
“But I wanted to look nice for you, even bought a new dress.” She pouts her lips at him, eyes opening narrowly, glistening from the tears that watered them while she was throwing up.
“You always look nice, baby,” he softly tells her, letting her take the washcloth before she places it over her forehead.
“Even now? After you saw me throw up four times? We have very different versions for the word nice, H,” she jokes with a soft chuckle and Harry is thankful to see her smile, even if it’s still very faint and tired.
“Even now, baby,” he nods smirking and he is not lying. Though the situation is saddening, Harry still enjoys taking care of her, being the one she can rely on even on her worst days.
They sit on the bathroom floor as the medicine slowly works and she finally gets rid of the urge to throw up. Then Harry scoops her up and undressing the both of them, he helps her take a nice shower before dressing her in clean clothes, tossing their dirty ones into the laundry basket, noting to do them sometime in the morning.
When Flora is settled under the cover, head comfortably sinking into the pillow, she immediately feels her eyes closing, the strenuous afternoon has successfully sucked all her energy right out of her body. Harry brings her another big glass of water for the night and just to be sure, puts a trashcan next to her side, if things go south again. When he gets under the covers she is already half asleep, but she hums when his fingertips dance down the side of her face.
He allows himself to shamelessly admire her as she finally falls completely asleep, her lips parted as she slightly snores, but she looks so peaceful, the painful frown he saw on her face all afternoon is now gone from her beautiful face. He hasn’t fully wrapped his mind around how an entire year has passed with such a wonderful creature by his side. As their anniversary was coming up, he caught himself thinking about what the future is holding for them more often. There were so many things they needed to experience together, so much to see and do as partners and Harry couldn’t wait for it all to come.
As he lies in the bed next to her, a smile tugs on his pink lips at the thought of the possibility of spending the rest of his life with Flora. His future has never seemed brighter than in that moment.
“This is harder than I thought,” Flora admits, focusing on the instrument on her lap, trying to figure out if she is holding down the accords the right way, but a moment later Harry’s hand covers hers on the neck of the guitar and he fixes her fingers on the strings until they are in the right position.
“Like this. Try it now,” he murmurs, his chin resting on her shoulders as she is standing between his legs, back leant against his chest. Flora has been begging him to teach him a few accords on the guitar and today finally brought the moment Harry would turn into her master.
The two of them are sitting on the bed, Harry only in his underwear while Flora is in one of his hoodies with only her panties covering the lower parts of her body. Harry came back from a week-long trip to New York and they haven’t left the bed too much since he set his feet inside the house, only emerging from the bedroom to fulfill their other physical needs.
Flora’s fingers strum against the strings and the instrument comes to life, giving her a clear accord finally, bringing a triumphant smile to her lips.
“You are a natural talent, baby,” he smirks, giving her hips a gentle squeeze before kissing into her neck.
“Don’t tease me, I’m trying!” she warns her playfully, playing the chord again, loving how she can create such a beautiful sound with the instrument.
“Mm, you’re coming for my career?”
“Oh, surely. I think I would make an excellent rockstar,” she nods confidently, making him laugh.
“You are so not the rockstar type. More like the chill indie singer who dances barefoot on stage.”
“Yeah, but I could spice it up a little and make it rockstar-y,” she explains and glances back at him over her shoulder. “Don’t you think I would look hot in one of your stage costumes? Sparkly suit and all?”
“Oh I know you’d look amazing,” he nods eagerly. He has spent quite some time imagining her girl in one of his suits and he quite liked the thought. Flora chuckles as he puts the guitar aside before she turns around and straddles him, her knees on each of his sides.
“Yeah? I would need a better name, mine is not too fitting for a star,” she explains. “Easy for you, your name is basically the most perfect name for a rockstar.”
“You think so?” he cocks an eyebrow at her, his palms coming to cup her bum as he tilts his head backwards since this position makes her the taller one for a change.
“Harry Styles? Oh please, it’s like Anne knew she would give birth to a legend,” she scoffs making him laugh.
“I’ve been told it’s a nice one,” he shrugs smugly. “I think it’s the surname.”
“It’s pretty cool, yeah.”
“What if you had the same? Flora Styles? Sounds pretty badass,” he suggests and at first, she doesn’t even realize the hidden meaning behind his words, tasting the name so obliviously.
“Flora Styles? You might be right, the surname sounds very cool,” she agrees and it amazes him how easily it went over her head.
“You like it?”
“Mhm,” she nods, her hand reaching for the guitar once again, but Harry stops her, taking it between his as he blindly finds her ring finger that is now ringless.
“Do you like it enough to actually take it?” he questions, hoping she would get the hint now where this is heading. She blinks at him a little puzzled but it’s until she realizes that his fingers are fidgeting with her ring finger, more specifically where a ring would sit on it, his fingertips gently caressing the skin around it.
“Harry?” she gasps with wide eyes as she just watches his grin grow wider. “This is not… Are you--?”
“What?” he chuckles, feeling entertained how she lost all her smug confidence all of a sudden. “What’s it that you’re trying to say?”
“No, what is it that you are trying to say?!” she snaps back, still in shock about what he just implied. “Was this your sneaky way of… proposing?” she asks, whispering the last word as if it was a curse word.
“Why do you act like we have a forbidden love and marriage cannot be even mentioned?” he chuckles at her.
“Because I was shocked! Not that bad now though, you haven’t pulled out a ring so I guess it was just a cruel joke.” She narrows her eyes at him, kissing his smug grin shortly, but Harry is definitely not done with her just yet.
“I wouldn’t be that sure about it, baby,” he warns her before gently pushing her off her lap to get off the bed. Flora’s eyes widen as she follows him walk to his suitcase that’s still lying on the floor next to his dresser, waiting to be unpacked. He digs under his clothes before pulling out a small velvety box, making her gasp immediately. Harry gets back on bed as he holds out the box in front of her on his palm, not opening it just yet.
“Did you buy that in New York just this week?” she asks with her mouth hung open.
“I didn’t. I’ve had it for about a month, I just took it with myself because I was afraid you’d find it,” he chuckles as he plays around with it between his fingers. “Have been planning on it for a while, but I couldn’t come up with anything so then I just decided to wait for the right moment and go with the flow,” he explains.
“And this is the right moment?” she questions, her heart beating in her throat as her gaze is switching between Harry’s green eyes and the box in his hand.
“Felt like it, yeah,” he nods, the corners of his mouth curling up.
Silence settles between them as they both just wrap their heads around the weight of the moment. Harry’s heart flutters in his chest, a little afraid it’s too early. They’ve been dating a little over two years now, marriages have been tied way earlier in a relationship before, but Harry feared Flora would feel it too rushed just yet, however the question is out there now. Or is it?
“Well, are you gonna ask it?” she questions and as Harry’s eyes flicker up to meet her gaze, he is met with that playful challenge in them that he adores so much.
“I just asked,” he mutters.
“No, you asked if I would take your name. That’s not a proposal,” she reminds him and he realizes she is right. He never actually asked the big question.
So he finally pops the lid open revealing the vintage diamond ring he bought a month ago when he was just out and about. The moment his eyes laid on the jewelry, he knew it’s the one he’d like to see on your finger and bought it right away.
“Floortje Hoven, will you marry me?” he simply asks, his dimples digging deep into his cheeks as he smiles widely at his lover.
“I will,” she nods, her heart hammering in her chest as she watches him take the ring out of the box and carefully put it on her once empty ring finger. Still holding her hand, he brings it up to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to the ring before leaning in he connects his lips with hers.
-
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#harry#styles#harry styles#harry styles fanfiction#harry styles fanfic#harry styles imagine#harry styles fluff#harry styles au#harry styles x oc#harry styles x you#harry styles oneshot#harry styles one shot
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cherry flavored kisses - t.h
pairing: tom holland x youtuber!reader
summary: tom and harrison try to do your makeup while answering questions to know ‘who knows you better’
warnings: swearing, a lot of dialogue
words: 3.2k
a/n: this is absolutely not my favorite writing, but i still quite like it so, here you go!! lol i really hope you guys enjoy it, i love writing this series (can we call it that?) and i have so many ideas for it :)) please, let me know if you like it and want more of these <33 i think that’s it for now, enjoy!!
Another day, another video to film. This time you weren’t alone though, you had your boyfriend Tom and one of your other best friends Harrison with you, to film a video you had been dying to.
You were finishing setting up your camera to start recording when you felt two strong arms wrap around your torso. “Tom, stop! I have to finish this!” You chuckled, already knowing the owner of those arms. “Couldn’t resist, you look good from the back.” Before the warning, Tom swatted your ass, causing you to let out a muffled scream, which got the attention of Harrison, who was previously on his phone.
“C’mon, you guys will seriously keep flirting with each other during the whole video?” Harrison huffed, tossing his phone away. “No, we’re not!” You assured your blonde friend, but Tom had a different idea. “Speak for yourself, love!” He smirked, happy to annoy his friend. Rolling his eyes, Harrison said, “I already regret accepting this!”
Once your equipment was ready, you called Tom and Harrison, who got settled in your bed, with you between the two. “You guys ready? Did you turn off your phones?” You asked, not wanting to have anything getting in the way of your filming. When both boys assured you they had, you relaxed, pressing the small record button on the remote on your hand.
“Hi everyone, welcome back to my channel! Today I have two very special guests here with me. On my right side we have Tom Holland and on my left, Harrison Osterfield. I don’t think you’ve ever been officially to my channel before, Haz?” You asked Harrison, to which he responded, “No, I don’t think so! Hello everyone!” He said, flashing the camera an smile.
“Well, you guys are already familiar with Tom, so he doesn’t need any more introductions.” You sassed, laughing at his offended face. “Rude!” He said, before giving the camera a little wave. “Hi guys, it’s me again, Tom! I know, I know you guys have been dying to see me again, what can I say?” Your boyfriend let it out, taking complete control of your video.
“Okay, that’s enough, movie star! Can we actually start the video now?” You asked, Tom, letting out a laugh. “Yeah, yeah! Go ahead!” He rolled his eyes to the camera, but you could feel the small kick he gave your foot, wanting to make sure you knew it was all a joke. You smiled, and before you could say anything else, Harrison came through.
“What is the video about, by the way? ‘Cause, I don’t know if you guys know but we have absolutely no idea what we’re doing here.” The blonde said, pointing to Tom and himself. “Yes, they have actually no idea why they’re here.” You laughed, being met with worried looks from both of the boys. “I didn’t like that laugh,” Harrison exclaimed, being followed by Tom. “Should we be scared?” Asked your boyfriend, but you quickly shrugged them off.
“No, just shut up and let me tell them, and you, what you’d be doing. On today’s video...” you said, before getting the makeup box you had put together for this video, which was hiding under your bed. “You are going to be doing my makeup!” You exclaimed, laughing at the boy's surprised reactions.
“Haven’t you realized I’m not wearing any?” You asked, pointing to your bare face. “No! You know you look beautiful anyway, love!” Tom cooed, making your cheeks grow red. “Oh, shut up!” You rolled your eyes, flashing him a smile.
“I don’t like this!” Haz let it out, inspecting some of your makeup products. “Isn’t it fun?” You smirked, making him roll his blue eyes. “You’re kidding, right? How am I supposed to do this?” The blonde huffed. “Actually, this is a test to know if you watch my videos, cause you’ll have to recreate one of my looks.”
Tom and Harrison shared a look that could only be translated by the word fear. “You do makeup-related videos?” Tom asked, completely oblivious. “It was not a proper makeup tutorial, it was more like a get ready with me.” You smiled, trying to ease both of the boys' nerves. “Well, clearly you both haven’t been watching my videos, so it’s your fault you have no idea what to do.” You sassed, putting your tongue out.
“We’re fucked, mate!” Your boyfriend chuckled. “Don’t swear on my videos, Thomas!” You scolded him, slapping his arm. “Okay, so I’m gonna show a picture of the look you have to recreate but that’s the only help I’ll give. You can’t ask me anything related to makeup during the video, got it?” You questioned, to which they nodded. “Also…” before you could finish your sentence, Tom added, “There’s more?”
“Yeah, I’m going to be asking you questions about me while you do my makeup, to know which one of you knows me better.” You squealed, feeling the excitement in your veins. The boys didn’t seem to be so happy, especially Harrison, who claimed this was not fair, since Tom was your boyfriend, therefore know more about you.
“We’ve been friends for forever, Harrison! I bet there’s stuff you know that Tom doesn’t.” You said, getting an offended reaction from Tom. “Hey!” He protested, to which you rolled your eyes. “Can we start now, please? We’ve been here for 10 minutes already.” You pleaded, getting them to finally agree.
“Okay, where do you guys wanna start?” You asked, being met with confused glances. After a couple of seconds, you heard “Foundation!” and “Primer!”, all at once. “Yeah, primer! That’s exactly what I said!” Tom tried to cover it up but Harrison wasn’t having it. “Fuck off, Tom! I said it first!” Swatting the blonde's arm, you went back to scolding, “I told you two not to swear!”
While the boys started to choose between your selection of products, you took back your phone that was currently sitting on the bed, with the selfie you took with the look they had to recreate. “While you guys start on my face, I’ll ask the first question. What do I like more: sweet or salty food?” You asked, closing your eyes for Harrison to apply the primer on half of your face.
“Sweet!” Tom answered, squeezing some of your favorite primers on his hand, before applying it to your face. “Yeah, you’re like an ant. Always looking for crumbs of sugar.” Harrison responded, making you chuckle. “True, I have a very sweet tooth.” You smiled, before going to the next question. “What is one of my biggest fears?”
While they looked for a foundation, they answered, again at the same time. Tom said spiders, while Harrison said, clowns. “I mean, you’re both right! But if I had to choose it would probably be clowns.” You said, laughing at Harrison's little victory dance. “C’mon, you can even look at a spider, love. You always call me to get rid of them.” Tom protested. “Well, yes but I would rather have to kill a spider than a clown.” You tried to reason but ended up making the three of you burst out laughing.
When you finally recovered from your fit of laughter, the boys started with their foundation choices. “Wait, you only put your skin tone foundations here, right?” Tom asked, still trying to find the perfect one. “Yeah, I’m not that evil.” You laughed. “Can I use this to apply it?” Harrison asked, holding one of your beauty blenders. “What did I say, Haz? No makeup-related questions.” You smirked, hearing him groan.
“God, I hope this works!” By your side, Tom started spreading some of the foundations he had placed on the back of his hand. “Okay, next question! Am I an early bird or a night owl?” Harrison was quicker than Tom this time, “Night owl! She just doesn’t sleep. It’s ridiculous!” He complained, to which you scoffed. “I do sleep, but I’d rather stay awake until 3 am than having to wake up at 6 am.” You reasoned.
“Just admitted, love! You stay up ‘cause we have lots of fun in bed.” Tom winked, making your face grow red, and Harrison gag. “Seriously, Tom?! Ugh, disgusting!” The blonde exclaimed while you tried your best to calm your nerves. “You did not just say that!” Tom only shrugged, laughing at both of your faces.
“Moving on, what was the most embarrassing moment in my life? Oh no, I already regret that!” You said, scared about the answers you were gonna get. Tom laughed while trying very hard to blend your foundation with an eyeshadow brush. Great.
“The time you slipped and fell into the water fountain.” You instantly cringed, remembering the moment vividly in your head. “God, I hate that I told guys that!” You let out a groan, asking for Harrison’s answer. “I was gonna say when you walked in your underwear without realizing Tom was doing an Instagram live, but that's pretty good too.” Harrison laughed, making you blush at his words. “Oh my god, I had completely forgotten that!” You exclaimed, joining your friends in laughter.
“It’s okay, babe! You looked really good.” Tom stated, pecking your lips. You blushed, still getting flustered by his compliments. “Thank you!” Smiling, you kissed him back, before checking your face in one of your blushes to see how they were doing. “That’s actually not bad, good job, guys!” You high-fived them, laughing at their smug faces.
“What’s next, then?” You waited for an answer, which came from Tom this time. “Concealer?” He was so unsure of his answer that it ended up sounding more like a question. “I don’t know, is it?” You shrugged, glancing at Harrison. “I think so, all I know is after concealer, you have to contour,” Harrison stated, taking you by surprise.
“By your shocked reaction, I think we’re right.” Tom laughed, you and Harrison quickly joining him. “Okay, while you guys do that, I’m gonna ask some other questions. Ready?” When they both nodded, you continued. “What is my favorite time of the year?” Tom immediately answered, afraid Harrison would say it first. “Autumn!” Your boyfriend proudly said, while your friend's answer was “Christmas!”
“I do love Christmas but my favorite has to be autumn, it’s just the perfect temperature and the trees are all orange. It's beautiful! So, point for Tom!” Tom smirked, making Harrison roll his eyes. “Next one, what am I allergic to?” You asked, and that was the only question you weren’t sure they had the answer for.
Harrison looked at you as if that would give him the answer. “You don’t have any allergies.” He stated, to which you shook your head. “I have one.” At that, he stopped applying the concealer to your face, totally focused on his next answer. “I have no idea, Uhm, pollen?” The blonde tried, but he was wrong.
“Walnuts, she’s allergic to walnuts!” Tom triumphantly exclaimed, knowing he was right. “Realy?” Harrison asked, to which you nodded. “I had no idea, you know how dangerous that was? I could give you something with walnuts and kill you?” He inquired, making you laugh. “I wasn’t going to die, Haz! It just gives me bad itches.” You clarified, watching him nod.
When the boys moved on from concealing to contouring your face, that was when things started to go south. Tom chose a colorway too dark for your skin tone, while Harrison put so much on your face turned orange. “I’ll give you guys one tip, just ‘cause I don’t wanna look like a clown at the end of this video.” You told them, before explaining they could go back to the concealer to clean the mess they made.
Once everything seemed good, they moved on to blush and highlighters, and you to your next question. “How many tattoos do I have?” You waited for the answers, while the boys kept painting your face. “Two, your star sign on your finger, and a butterfly on your ankle you did when you were 16 and regret it since then.” Harrison proudly said, making you wince at his words. “Ouch, you didn’t have to go that hard, Haz!” You smirked, looking expectantly at your boyfriend.
“What’s your answer, Tom?” Taking a break from your face, he cleared his throat before answering. “Three, the two Harrison said and a rose on your hip.” The brunette smiled knowing that, once again, he was the only one right. “Another point to Tom!” You exclaimed while Harrison looked at you like you had two heads.
“See? I said this game wasn’t fair! How could I know you have a tattoo on your hip?” The blonde protested, making your roll your eyes. “That’s not an excuse! The tattoo is visible when I wear a bikini, Haz!” You tried to reason, but clearly, he wasn’t having it. “Oh, sorry I don’t pay closer attention to your body!” Harrison mocked, sticking his tongue out when you flipped him off.
“The rose is my favorite one,” Tom stated, a smile wide on his face. “I wonder why!” Harrison exclaimed, and this time, it was Tom who flipped him off. “Okay, you guys finished with the skin, then?” You inquired, taking another look at yourself in the mirror. Overall, it wasn’t bad. There were a couple of patches here and there where they messed up the contour but, to your surprise, it actually looked decent.
“Now, you guys are lucky I chose a look with no eyeshadow.” You stated, getting excited about the next part. “But you’ll have to put false lashes on.” You smirked, knowing what was to come. “And you call that lucky?” Harrison inquired, making you laugh. “C’mon, it’s not that hard! Here, I’ll show you how to do it.” Taking the lashes from the box, you started to show them how to apply the glue and carefully place the falsies the closest to your real lashes as possible.
“God, I’m sweating!” Tom breathed, making you laugh. “I’ll close my eyes for you to apply, ok?” The boys nodded, and once your eyes were closed, you could hear their nervous breathing at each side of your face, making you chuckle. “This is stressing me out massively. You’re buying dinner tonight for making us go through this.” Your blonde friend sighed. “Oh, shut up! I do this every day!” You flipped him off, still unmoving.
Once you felt they stopped moving, you asked if you could open your eyes. Deciding to do a little prank, you pretended to open them, only for it to be stuck. “Oh my god, I think you guys glued my eyes shut!” You cried, already dying to watch his reactions. “What? We could do that?” Tom exclaimed, completely freaked out. “y/n, look at me!” Harrison asked, and you felt his hands going to your eyes.
“It hurts!” You whined, “trying” to get your eyes open. “Fuck, what do we do now?” Tom practically yelled, making you laugh, which obviously confused them. Opening your eyes, you saw two shocked faces, staring with wide eyes, right back at you. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I had to!” You laughed, feeling tears starting to form in your eyes.
“I can’t believe you did this!” Tom breathed, while Harrison shoved you harshly, absolutely pissed. “You fucking asshole! I’m never filming with you again!” He stated while you tried hard to recover from your fit of laughter. “I’m sorry!” You apologized, doing your best puppy dog eyes for them.
“My hands are shaking!” Tom informed, showing his hands that were in fact, shaking. “Baby, I’m so sorry! I didn’t know you’d believe it.” You said, guilt coating your words this time. Tom assured you it was okay, even saying he did find the prank kinda funny in the end. Harrison did not agree with your boyfriend, pretending to be mad for the rest of the video, even though the corners of his mouth gave him away.
Seeing you guys were filming for about forty-five minutes already, you decided to not even check the boy's work with the lashes, going straight to the last question, while they applied lipstick. “Okay, so here’s the final question, what is my body count?” You smirked, Tom’s expression completely shifting.
“Seriously? That is the question?” He inquired, raising his eyebrows. “Hey, they suggested the question.” You defended yourself, pointing to the recording camera. “I’ll go first then, let me see…” Your blonde friend said while pretending to count with both of his hands, over and over again. “Fuck off!” You flipped him off, watching his smirk grow in size.
“I’m kidding! But uhm, I would say five?!” Raising your eyebrows, you nodded, before turning back to Tom. “What’s your answer, sir?” You playfully asked. “Six, the answer is six!” He rolled his eyes, annoyed with the question. “Oh, shit! I’m so stupid! I forgot to count Tom!” Harrison face palmed himself, making you burst out laughing.
“Yeah, sorry to break this to you, mate but we already banged,” Tom smirked, shooting you a wink. “Tom!” You scolded him, while Harrison pretended to gag. “Gross! I didn’t need the image of my two best friends fucking in my head.” Harrison exclaimed, making your cheeks grow red. “Okay, that’s enough! Are you guys finished with the makeup?” You quickly asked, dying to change the subject. “Yeah, yeah!” Harrison murmured, while Tom smirked.
Taking your blush, you finally checked yourself in the mirror to see the finished look. “Oh my god, it actually looks good, guys! Good job!” You exclaimed, shamelessly fixing your lashes. “Well, I’m not gonna be the one judging who did it better, so now it’s with you guys. Who do you think did better, Tom or Harrison?” You asked, showing both sides of your face to the camera.
“About the questions, I’m pretty sure Tom won.” You stated, much to Harrison’s dismay. “Of course he did!” The blonde rolled his eyes, making you laugh. “Good luck next time, mate!” Tom teased, a smirk sitting proudly on his face. “Stop it, you two! Now say goodbye before I finally end this almost hour-long video.” You groaned, dreading the moment you’d have to edit the video.
“Bye everyone, thank you for watching! Please, vote for me!” Tom smiled, giving the camera an adorable little wave. “Mate, you already won the questionnaire, let me have this one,” Harrison whined, sounding like a child. When he said goodbye, you finished your outro, before finally stopping recording.
“We did it! Thank you, guys! It was a little chaotic but you did a great job.” You smiled proudly. “Of course, anything for my girl,” Tom stated, getting up from his spot on the bed, stopping right by your side. With both hands on your hips, he closes the distance between you, landing a soft kiss on your lips. “Okay, I had enough of you two for today. Bye!” Harison exclaimed, before also getting up, leaving your bedroom.
“Why do you taste like cherry?” Tom asked as soon as he let go of your lips. “Oh, it’s probably the lipgloss. It’s cherry-flavored!” You explained, asking if he liked it since his eyes kept trailed to your lips. “Hum, I love it!” Your boyfriend smiled, and this time it was you who closed the distance, giving him another one of your cherry-flavored kisses.
funny story (that’s actually not funny at all): the water fountain part it’s based on true events 🥲 lmao
tagging: @stuckonspidey @bi-writes @duskholland @screamholland @missnxthingg @wazzupmrstark @peeterparkr @veryholland @cali-holland @mrs-hollandstan @uglypastels @storybookholland @bi-lmg @spideyspeaches @sinisterspidey @rosyparkers @hollandswife @sunshine96love
#tom holland#tom holland fanfic#tom holland fic#tom holland imagine#tom holland blurb#tom holland one shot#tom holland au#tom holland x youtuber!reader#tom holland x reader#tom holland x you#tom holland x y/n#tom holland x fem#tom holland x fem!reader#tom holland fluff#my writing#tom holland writing
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