Here, have my silly Ilmo Reaction Images

kyoho | ksj

You love your grape boy, and your grape boy... well, he might just love you a little too much.

pairing: seokjin x f!reader

rating: pg13

genre/warnings: established relationship, swearing bc when is there no swearing in my fics, mentions of seggs, suggestive themes, fluff, crack?? idk, my brand of fics is Unedited y'all know that's how we roll

word count: 1.8k

notes: i've been buying a lot of grapes lately (am i a grape person now??) and i've been eating them almost every day and of course i had to think about grape jinnie my beloved, my ultimate favorite seokjin and i want him to come back to me :((( idk that's how this lil thang came to me lmao it's the most crackhead shit i've ever written sOoOoOoOo please laugh or else ! 👿 jk but not really

— as always, i’d appreciate any thoughts or comments you may have, and please drop a like and/or reblog if you enjoy reading ♡

"If you do this, we're done."

"Y/N."

"I swear, if you go through with this, we are over!"

Seokjin sighs, rubbing a hand over his face, clearly not expecting you to be so passionate about the subject at hand. "The appointment is in an hour," he says.

"Cancel it. I don't care!" you cry. "Please don't do this. Don't take him away. He means the world to me."

Your boyfriend stares at you, mouth agape, then points to his head incredulously. "Him? My hair?"

"Yes!" You crawl over to his side of the couch to straddle his lap, actual tears welling in your eyes. You run your fingers through his hair, marveling at how soft and silky it feels in your hands. His gorgeous, gorgeous purple locks. The ones he's ready to sacrifice in favor of half blond, half red hair by demand of one Jeon Jungkook.

You shouldn't be this upset over him dyeing his hair, but you are, despite knowing full well that the purple will be gone soon anyway. His dark roots are starting to show already.

It's shark week, and there are not enough words in the dictionary to express how devastated you are that he's taking away your emotional support Grape Jinnie.

A couple months ago, when he told you that he'd be dyeing his hair purple, you were highly skeptical of the decision. You didn't know if he had the face to pull off purple of all colors, even though you had already seen him sport every other color of the rainbow and absolutely rocked every single one.

The whole week leading up to his salon appointment, you teased him endlessly - started calling him Grape Boy, bought him box after box of Kyoho grapes, photoshopping Kylie Jenner's purple hair onto his head and making it your lockscreen... It was mostly just grape puns, you were really milking that whole thing.

But then he came home, hair freshly bleached and colored, and your jaw dropped to the ground and stayed there for ten whole minutes.

Your eyes almost fell out of their sockets from how good he looked.

No, he didn't just look good. He was stunning, breathtaking, mindbogglingly beautiful and all the other synonyms that one could name.

The man fucking ate and left no crumbs.

That night was one of the best sex you two have ever had.

To say that you were obsessed with this shade on him is the understatement of the year.

"Don't do it," you plead. "If you really love me, you won't do it."

"You're being so dramatic. It's just hair." Seokjin puts his hands on your waist while you keep yours on his head, clutching his strands like a lifeline. "Plus, I have to honor the bet!"

Your expression turns stony then, as your eyes travel from the silky purple down to his face. You tighten your grip on his hair and tug on it sharply until your boyfriend is scowling in discomfort.

The bet. The stupid fucking bet he made with Jungkook.

You had explicitly told him there no chance in hell that he could win, but Seokjin could be an overly confident asshole sometimes.

He was in way over his head, and now you're the one suffering.

"You idiot," you hiss, pulling on his hair again, "why the fuck did you think you could do more pushups than Jungkook?"

"I don't know! We were tipsy and it seemed possible at the time!"

Releasing his hair, you tuck your face into the crook of his neck and inhale deeply.

"Why am I being punished for your actions?" you mumble against his skin, then you ask, voice full of futile hope. "What if you just... don't do it?"

"Then I have to buy him a new mattress. He cut his mattress with scissors to make it fit into his bed frame and now it's all fucked up."

You give yourself a minute to think. There has to be a solution to your distress. You just gotta think. Think, brain, think!

And then you remember. Seokjin is still a man.

You lean back to look at him properly, straightening your position on his lap. You give him your biggest puppy dog eyes before you say, "I promise I will blow you every day from now on if you keep the hair."

If he was drinking water, you're fairly certain that he would've choked. Your boyfriend's eyes widen in surprise, his skin turning a dozen shades warmer, blushing from his cheeks all the way to the top of his ears.

Bingo.

"What?" he asks, like this is something so scandalous.

You lean forward to pepper kisses all over his face, putting more weight on your offer. "I promise," you say, pecking his cute cheek, "to blow you," then his forehead, "every single day," then his nose, "from now on," and finally his lips.

You linger near his mouth, not pulling away just yet. Your lips brush against his once more until you feel his hands tighten on your waist. You wrap your arms around his neck to hold him closer as you press forward, giving him a proper kiss to seal the deal.

Seokjin practically melts underneath you. Victory is so close that you can taste it. You're doing this for the greater good of mankind, for Grape Jinnie. Jungkook can fuck off with his half seasoned, half fried bullshit.

But then, Seokjin abruptly rips away from you to shriek, nearly blowing your eardrums out. The suddenness of his movements almost make you tumble off the couch.

"No, don't try to tempt me! Mattresses are expensive as fuck!"

It's been a few hours. He should be back any minute now.

Ever since Seokjin left to go to his hair appointment after having to peel you off of him because you were clinging to his body like a goddamn koala, you've been wallowing in your misery. You even busted out the big guns - Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup ice cream (with real peanut butter cups!) - to help you through this difficult time.

You're in full grieving mode now. Goddamnit. Fate is a cruel mistress.

Or in this case, Jungkook. Jungkook is a cruel mistress. That fucking guy.

When you hear the door open and the subsequent clanging of Seokjin's keys as he hangs them on one of the hooks in the entryway, you prepare to give him the biggest pout you can manage.

But then, he comes into view a few seconds later, and you gasp. You actually gasp. Before he knows what's happening, you're rising from the couch and sprinting toward him, launching into his arms with the biggest smile on your face like a kid on Christmas morning.

"You're still a grape!" you squeal joyously.

Seokjin lets out a surprise Oof! at the sudden force of your body knocking the breath out of him.

"What a warm welcome," he mutters. "I don't think you've ever been this happy to see me."

"What happened?!" you ask, eyes wide, grin even wider. "Did you change your mind because you love me so much?"

You run your hands through his hair to make sure that it's real, that you're not hallucinating this because you just love the purple so goddamn much.

And it is! It's still here! His hair is still that luscious shade of purple that you adore with your entire being.

Seokjin eyes you for a moment before he says, "I compromised with Jungkook. Did something else instead."

"What did you do?"

"I got a tattoo."

"You what?!"

"He said I wouldn't have to dye my hair if I got a tattoo of his choosing."

"Oh, no," you try to sound sympathetic but fail miserably. You cover your mouth with your hand to hide your smile, already sensing the absolute crackhead chaos that will ensue in a matter of minutes. Having been friends with Jungkook for years, you know that dude comes up with the craziest shit sometimes.

Seokjin turns around and pulls up his shirt, and you almost die from the fit of ugly snorting laughter that immediately rips itself free from your mouth. His skin underneath the transparent cling film is still slightly red, but the letters adorning the expanse of his lower back is clear as day.

You cannot find it in yourself to blink, not when the black ink is just staring at you like that. The font, so formal and classic, and yet the content of it... what a contrast.

"Kim Seokjin!" you wheeze, wiping tears from your eyes and struggling to catch your breath. "How could you possibly think that this is a better idea than to just dye your hair!"

"You begged me to keep the hair!"

"I did," you agree, clutching your stomach as giggles continue wracking through your whole body. It's almost painful at this point. "But I don't want my boyfriend to have a tramp stamp that says fucking Chicken in Times New Roman!"

"It was either this," he says, turning back to face you, "or a sketch of his head on a chicken's body."

"What is up with him and chickens? Is that his new thing now?"

"I don't fucking know!"

"Well, thank you for doing that for me," you say appreciatively as you pull him in for a kiss, which isn't very graceful because you're still tittering the whole time. "But please tell me that's not permanent."

Seokjin stays quiet, his eyes dropping to the floor, and you stop laughing immediately.

"Oh my god," you say. "Is the Chicken tramp stamp permanent?!"

"No," he finally admits after a moment of hanging it over your head. As funny as the whole thing is, you do not want the love of your life to walk around sporting the most ridiculous tattoo in human history. "It's supposed to fade after a month."

You lean into him again, heaving a giant sigh of relief and wrapping your arms around his neck. One of your hands go for his hair again, weaving through the soft locks with your fingers because how could you not? "I love you, Grape," you say, pecking his cheek with a grin.

Seokjin rolls his eyes affectionately, but returns a peck to your own cheek. "I have a tramp stamp of the word Chicken and my parents might disown me for that, but at least you get to keep your Grape Boy," he says, making you giggle again.

"Because you love me so much, right?"

"Hmm. You're lucky I do."

You give him another kiss, one full of gratitude, for indulging your antics. When you move to return to the couch, Seokjin tugs on your wrist, pulling you back into him.

"Now correct me if I'm wrong," he says, acting all coy and shit, "but I recall you making me a promise earlier, no? What was it again?"

— all rights reserved © jeonqkooks. reposting, translating and/or modifying is not permitted by any means. [posted 16.04.2023]

ACE OF HEART — SEUNGMIN. CHAPTER 1

⚾️ synopsis: new school year means new beginnings, right? you are a new student at prestigious seido high school with the goal to become the ace of the baseball team and win nationals. but to your surprise, some arrogant asshole kim seungmin is currently in the position of pitcher and ace of the team. how steel are your nerves and how long will it take you to steal his place?

pairing: seungmin x reader(afab) genre: baseball player au!seungmin, enemies to lovers, slow burn warnings: mean seungmin, reader has ego, underage characters, mention of daddy issues, reader has anxiety, A LOT of baseball terminology word count: 4.9k a/n: yall please appreciate my photoshop skills LMAO. i had to turn “11” into “1”, cause seung is the ace

chapter one | next . . . series masterlist . . . terminology

april — the second month of spring, the second month of the season of love. you hated april. not only because everyone around you seemed to find a relationship all of a sudden, but also because it meant the start of the new school year.

it was not an average school, but a prestigious seido high school with its own baseball team. located in tokyo, it was almost impossible to receive an acceptance letter. your screams were heard all over the house, when you opened it on your laptop. it took you an eternity to finish all trials, so you had zero hope by the end of them. but you succeeded. maybe it was just dumb luck, or maybe you were actually good at baseball. you kept telling yourself the latter.

the sound of endless chatter filled the courtyard as students were trying to figure out where to go, meeting possible new friends, and as well as old friends. senpais were giving glares to new girls, what made you want to vomit.

you were there too - standing in the courtyard, an email with instructions opened on your phone. new chapter of your life was about to start.

since you were a member of the baseball team, unlike ordinary students, you were given the opportunity to live in a dormitory. fortunately, the dorm has been divided into female and male part, so you didn’t have to live with nasty boys who won’t clean after themselves. but you’d have meet one of those type of guys on the field for sure. after all, baseball is a male dominated game.

“seido spirit dorm”

it looked more like an apartment complex. as you walked past the sign, you already noticed bats, basket with balls and other equipment. it definitely didn’t look like an ordinary dorm. it thrilled you with excitement, you’ve never felt so normal before. baseball was a passion of yours that no one around you understood. you’ve made it all the way on your own, and this simple scene with some equipment laying on the floor next to the room, made your eyes watery. you couldn’t wait to meet your roommates, teammates and the current ace. you were ready to learn a lot.

despite all the panic that was thrilling inside you, it wasn’t hard to find your room. you stared at the names on the sign.

“sanada rin

fujiwara aoi

l/n y/n”

suddenly, the door opened and two girls appeared in the doorway, welcoming you in.

located on the second floor, your room had a view right on the baseball field. your roommates turned out to be quite nice. two senpais - year two aoi and year three rin.

they quickly introduced you to the team, best players and the system that your coach uses.

the school was so popular, that current amount of players, including first-years, exceeded one hundred. obviously, everyone can’t play on the team, because baseball is an nine player game (not including the benched players). that is why seidou has two team lineups. first one consists of best of the best. while second one is for those, who are good, but not enough. and the rest, who did not make it even to the second lineup, need to work twice harder, to get noticed by the coach.

these were not a good news. you caught yourself getting anxious. but what about the acceptance letter and the trials? you thought that meant a guaranteed spot on the team. your roommates just laughed at your words, saying that with the number of overconfident players these restrictions are the only right option.

time flew, as you talked up until the midnight over a bottle of soju. it was not the smartest decision, considering that tomorrow was the first training and a meeting with the team at 8 in the morning.

of course, you felt drenched, squeezed out like a lemon, when you woke up. for a future baseball player, ace of the team, it was a bad habit of hating to wake up early in the morning. but you’ve decided to leave your thoughts about your future for now. it was time to leave the best first impression, so the coach would notice you in the sea of first years.

the cold morning air was refreshing. you shuddered as you tried to cover yourself in clothes more. the grass was still covered with dew drops and the sun has just begun to rise. despite your new friends in the faces of your roommates, you tried to stay apart and not stick to any people on the first day. you weren’t here to make friends, you were here to play baseball. and you wouldn’t let absolutely no one to distract you from the sport that you loved so much or your goals of going to nationals.

everyone was asked to line up, and the newcomers in the front row were told to take turns telling their name and the position they would like to play in.

oh you didn't like that. it felt like the coach hadn't even read the profiles of his students, since he was asking for everyone's names and dream positions.

finally your turn.

“watashiwa l/n y/n des! i want to play as a pitcher and my dream is to become an ace of the team! i have years of experience and a lot of potential. i am ready to show all my skills! thank you!” you finished your speech with a bow.

there were chuckes in the back.

“alright. thank you for your honesty, l/n y/n! let’s hope you will show your passion on the field as well.” coach replied coldly, crossing his arms.

if you had daddy issues, you'd start soaking over him, just like your roommates. he was definitely in his forties, but he was quite thin and tall, with a layer of trimmed beard and dark glasses on his nose.

did you say something wrong? the coach looked like he was unhappy about something. and those chuckles from behind hurt your ego a little.

after the roll call, you were approached by a group of guys who looked at least a year older. at the center of this not-friendly looking gang was a guy, apparently the leader and the ace, judging by the way how confident he looked, and of course the number 1 emblazoned on his chest.

“so you’re the kohai, right? aiming at ace position? how cute.” he grinned cockily, scanning you from top to bottom. “i bet you can only throw a fastball. am i right?”

“i don’t even know you.” you snapped back, turning around and getting ready to leave. you were already irritated because of failed introduction.

“i am your senpai, so i’d like to have your full respect.” he folded his arms across his chest, stretching out to his full height to show his dominance even more.

that made you look at him again. right, senpai. why do boys always keep using this as an excuse for their rudeness?

“i am kim seungmin, by the way. current ace of the team.” he turned around and pointed at his number on the back, as if you haven’t noticed it already on the front of the uniform. “i am just a second year, but I became an ace after two months on the team.” he squared his shoulders, braving himself even more.

you were about to reply with something like “so what? i will beat your so-called record, you won’t even have time to react.”, but you couldn’t. because he was your senpai.

“right. that’s what i was talking about. respect your senpais.” he smirked, patting you on the shoulder. you shrugged off his hand, making him let out a small laugh. “okay, we will see you around, i guess.”

not being able to say anything back you just stared at him, hoping that you would be able to burn a hole inside the number 1 on his back.

ugh.

and you hoped that you would be able to learn something from the current ace and even form some bond. maybe you shouldn’t have brought your goal up. but you wanted to show your coach that you were up to a good fight for a place on the team. you didn’t want to stay on the bench for the next three years, like your roommates. you were passionate and hardworking - that’s what led you in this high school after-all.

the training has started pretty light. after a warm-up and a few laps around the field, you were divided by positions. all fielders went to the field to practice and try assigned positions; first and second lineup players went to the pitching machines; the match of the season was already approaching, meaning that both lineups needed to be ready; and all the pitchers were gathered together with the second-year catchers in the bullpen. coach and his assistant were standing in the distance, planning on watching the new pitchers from afar. the main responsibility in spotting new talent among the newcomers laid on the team captain and current pitchers.

as you have already understood from the conversations, the team was short of pitchers right now. three other pitchers were third-years and will leave the team in half a year due to exams and graduation. of course, there was also kim seungmin who held the ace position, but no matter how talented he was, he physically could not pitch the entire match solo. the team needed a starting pitcher. the one who can open the match, confuse the batters with some unique pitching. this was your chance.

senpais looked scary. four pitchers, including kim seungmin, were giving everyone frightening glares, as if first-years were about to steal their spots right now. catchers on the other hand, did not care much about the upcoming rivalry. but they looked intimidating regardless, because of their layers of protection and masked helmets.

you uncontrollably shanked under the condemning gazes and you haven’t even shown anything yet. the atmosphere was tense and far from team spirit. the amount of rivalry within the team was shocking to you.

around three or four pitchers got assigned to each catcher. and god, you were sure that your catcher was the guy you saw next to that cocky kim. senpai kim.

the first-year pitches have begun. you watched everyone with interest, feeling like you were part of kim seungmin's gang.

first-years were really good. they had good ball control and different pitching types. you managed to notice a couple of cutters, of course a lot of fastballs, some were so fast that you only had time to flinch at the sound of gloves, sliders and even one changeup. and with such monsters you had to compete for the place on the team?

standing in line, you managed to get anxious and started overthinking. so when it was your turn, you could barely move your legs to get closer.

your fingers nervously clutched the ball in your hand. inhale and exhale.

out of the corner of your eye, you noticed kim seungmin grinning, his arms crossed over his chest. his gaze was burning a hole in you.

you decided to start with regular fastball, so as not to screw up completely at the first pitch. the key was throw the ball with speed and accuracy. pretty simple, you have done it plenty of time before.

“throw when you're ready, but don't delay it, there's a whole queue behind you.” catcher said. how thoughtful and generous of him. you shot a wry smile.

to relieve the tension you tossed the ball in your hand a couple of times. the anxiety finally got replaced with excitement. time to play.

you sensed the familiar feeling of the ball rolling off the middle and index fingers, creating a backspin.

it went right into the catchers glove with a loud slap. perfect accuracy. feeling the confidence again, you relaxed a bit, shaking off tension in the muscles.

it sounded quiet, but you still heard the arrogant. "i told you she only throws fastballs."

it took all your force not to look at him. can this kim “i am the ace” seungmin shut the fuck up?

feeling the need to show off and shut him up with your perfect pitching, you decided to throw a slider. you placed your middle finger directly on a seam, while the index finger went on the leather. both fingers were important at release to impart the necessary spin that would lead to a slider’s desired movement.

it’s a quite difficult pitch to learn and you still weren’t confident in it. the problem was that it’s not as straightforward as the fastball, and takes a lot more patience and a good coach to learn it. you probably should have chosen to throw another fastball to show off your accuracy and speed, but the desire to shut kim seungmin up was stronger.

getting into the stance, you lifted your left knee in the air, transferring the weight from the back leg to the front leg, generating force and velocity in the throw. as soon as you felt the ball leaving your hand you felt like it’s gonna turn out bad. you heart sank.

slider should be thrown as hard as possible, because of the speed change in the end. depending on your success, the pitch should move towards cather’s glove and drop during the last few feet. but something went wrong. maybe you didn’t throw it with enough force, maybe you messed up with the grip or maybe you were just nervous? the ball just flew to the right, not even in the strike zone, falling awkwardly next to the catcher. silence.

and then there were few giggles behind you. you felt your ears turning red. how did you fuck this up so badly?

you really couldn’t focus on your pitching. the feeling of his eyes burning holes in you was so distracting. you were holding yourself from turning right at him and yelling what’s been on your mind since morning.

“i am waiting.” catchers voice brought you back to reality. he was still holding a glove open, waiting for the ball, eyes looking at you, scolding through the mask.

you took a deep breath again, trying to collect your thoughts. alright, it’s just a simple pitch. forget about others and focus on your goal. your journey has already started, stop slacking off.

deep breath and you’ve got into position again, bringing your hands together. then, a quick kick of the leg and the ball flew out of your hand.

STRIKE!

with a loud slap the ball finally landed right into the glove, cutting the air.

you were so stressed, you didn’t notice you held your breath this whole time.

it was perfect. the speed, the fall in the end, the accuracy. it was…

“next!” catcher interrupted your thoughts.

he didn’t even leave any comments on your pitching. of course, he was a second or third-year already. probably, he didn’t give two shits about a new girl.

the corner of your eye caught a sight of kim seungmin again. your eyes met. he was still looking at you, even though you had already stopped pitching. did you make him nervous with your secret weapon? well, kim “i am the ace” seungmin, get ready to fight for your place.

you gave him a wink, getting an eye roll in response. it made you laugh a little. the displeased look on his face was a balm to the soul.

the training was over. the coach and his assistant said that in the evening they will announce the first-years who will become a trainee for the first and second lineups. it was time for lunch, and then your first school day was about to properly begin.

the schedule was cruel indeed. trainings were assigned in the morning and evening in combination with regular classes at school. baseball players had a special schedule - you had to attend classes in the afternoon. but even with the special arrangement of classes, you had no idea how you’d be able to survive like that. no wonder every player on the team has been rude as hell so far if they have no time to relax. what sacrifices do people make to become a professional player. and the graduates of seido high school were guaranteed a future career.

the dorm had its own canteen, which the baseball team could use for free. after taking a shower, you headed straight there with your roommates.

“i saw your pitching, it was good.” rin patted you on the shoulder.

the three of you were sitting at a table in the corner of the room. it was actually even better that you sat aside, because there was such a ruckus in the canteen. the guys were discussing something at the top of their voices, not holding back in their expressions. many of them didn't even bother to take a shower before lunch. it made you wonder once again why you didn't choose some kind of girls-only school.

“thank you!” you smiled. “actually, i panicked a bit because of the taunts and messed up. i wonder if it will affect coach’s decision.”

“taunts?” aoi asked curiously. “who’s bothering you already?”

“kim seungmin.” you sighed.

aoi and rin couldn’t hold their laughs. “okay. you don’t need to explain any further.”

you smiled as well. “has he always been… like this?”

“hmm…” rin thought for a second. “i was a second-year when he joined. at first i thought he was a nice guy. in fact, he was very shy, and then something changed in his attitude. but he managed to improve his pitching in a short period of time, which, frankly, is impressive. and then he became an ace, which was not surprising, because none of the pitchers we had could beat him.”

a shy guy who turned into an asshole. what happened to you one year ago, kim seungmin?

lunch was over. you said goodbye to rin and aoi and went to classes. to be honest, you could not care less about paying attention, especially when the biggest announcement of your life was about to happen in a few hours. whole time during classes you spent thinking about it. was your pitching good enough to impress the coach? will he count your failed attempt? will kim seungmin somehow sabotage your candidacy? you were fidgeting in the chair like crazy.

it probably looked funny how quickly you stormed out of the classroom. five minutes before the start, you were already standing on the field dressed in a uniform again. you were exhausted, almost falling asleep, but excited to hear the announcement.

as soon as the whole team was gathered and the coach arrived with his assistant, the speech began.

“good evening, everyone. i hope you worked your hardest in classes today, because as i remind you, your academic performance will affect your ability to attend trainings. anyway, with the help of my assistant, our team captain and our pitchers, we have complied a list of five player who will be accepted as trainees in the first and second lineups.” the coach’s voice echoed loudly across the field. “so. the first player who showed themselves at today’s training was-“

your breath hitched. honestly, you’ve never stressed so much in one day. this school will be the death of you.

loud clapping brought you back to reality. you looked around, hoping that your name got called. but no. some random guy walked out of the crowd, bowed and stood next to the coach. of course. and your naive ass thought you had a chance, especially after that failed slider.

everything repeated until only one place was left vacant. you’ve lost all hope, because every player that got chosen made an impression even on you. and you rarely acknowledged other pitchers.

“and the last candidate,” coach frowned. “had a really controversial reputation after just one day. but after some passionate discussion with my colleagues,” coach gave someone the look in the crowd. “i decided to change my mind and gave this person a chance.”

your heart skipped a beat.

“please welcome our last trainee, who has shown great potential and a good slider-“

no way.

“l/n y/n!”

you eyes widened. despite the fact that you hoped to get accepted, you were still surprised to hear your name.

still feeling like you were in a dream, you walked out of the crowd and headed forward under dozens of stares from your teammates. you bet that kim seungmin was the first one to burn a hole in you.

the coach gave you a slight nod and gestured to get in line. you saw two warm smiles in the crowd. aoi and rin. for a second, you felt bad. they had both been on the team for so long, but the chances of them being on one of the lineups were so little. and you doubled their chances in one day.

the coach said a few more encouraging words and let his assistant to step in. batteries were about to be announced. each pitcher was going to be judged not only based on individual skills, but also on the ability to work in a battery.

and here you were - anxious again. you didn’t disagree with coach on this, but still. your chances of getting an actual spot depended on your catcher. what if he is an asshole? what if he-

“takigawa aki and l/n y/n!”

you looked around, searching for someone to approach you.

oh, hell no.

it could have been anyone. anyone on the team, there were plenty of good catchers. but no. it was him, the guy who catched your piches in the morning. the friend of “i am the ace”. without protection, he looked much thinner, but still tall and intimidating. you saw dark brown hair and glasses, that you hadn’t noticed before. to be honest, you recognized him by his scolding eyes. he would actually be quite cute if he wasn’t kim seungmin’s friend.

“just call me aki. i don’t wanna see your grimace every time you’ll address me as senpai.” was the first thing he said when he approached you.

you chuckled. aki was straightforward indeed.

it was honestly impressive how you managed to create such a reputation on the first day.

“i have a question.”

“what is it?”

“are you friends with kim senpai?” you highlighted the last word, making aki chuckle. “cause i think i saw you next to him in the morning.”

“yes, you are right.” he admitted. “he is a good friend of mine, but i don’t really agree with how he treated you on your first day. gladly, you managed to get a spot as a trainee.”

aki seemed to be better than you predicted. maybe you really should stop overthinking.

“listen…” he cleared his throat. “wanna go practice a bit after we’re done? i know it’s your first day, but it’s better to start soon, so you’ll have an advantage. your slider was good, i think you just need more practice and a good coaching.”

“you think so?” you repeated shockingly.

aki nodded. “you are being too harsh on yourself. you are just a first-year, you aren’t supposed to know every pitch and be good at it. so… are you down or no?”

“count me in.” you smiled.

evening training was light. the coach was not so harsh on you on the first day. instead of pitching, you worked on your batting. it was the first time you used a pitching machine and you were terrified the whole time.

after the end of the training session, you waited for aki, and the two of you headed to the gym inside, because it was already getting dark and cold. your muscles felt so stiff. why did you agree to this again?

aki turned out to be a great coach. he explained you the basic of pitching in a way you’ve never heard anyone explain before. then he pointed out the mistake you made in the morning and why your slider failed. it was exhausting to throw over a hundred more pitches, but aki said it was a good start for your stamina training. as a pitcher, you had to be ready to throw that ball at least a hundred times per match, while standing under the burning sun.

even if you were dying when you finished, you still felt motivated. after all, it was your first day and you’ve already made so much progress.

on dying legs you made it to your room. the clock showed 11 in the evening. only having enough energy to walk to your bed, you laid on it and immediately fell asleep without even changing your clothes.

you overslept. fuck. you overslept on your second day and the first day as a trainee. yesterday’s workout really took its toll on you. the evidence of this were your sore muscles. and you still had to take a shower… gosh! you were a mess.

that’s how you ended up hiding behind a wall, thinking about the ways out of this situation. the coach was giving an introduction speech to the trainees and checking on older players in his usual strict manner. you couldn’t just walk out in this atmosphere. what could you even do?

“shit! they’ve already started.” sudden voice came behind you, making you squeal.

you turned around and faced the man himself. kim “i am the ace” seungmin was standing face to face next to you, as frightened as you were. what a surprise. never though you’d see the golden boy like this.

his voice was low, face swollen and eyes half-sleepy. he was still yawning, as if he just rolled out of bed and came here first thing.

“what are you doing here?” you raised an eyebrow. “aren’t you the ace? the best on the team?”

“shut up.” he leaned against the wall, still hiding from the sight of others. “it’s none of your business. i just fell asleep really late.”

“ah, right.” you rolled your eyes.

so now you were stuck in this position with him out of all people. great.

“anyway, why are you here?”

“what do you mean why? i am a new trainee, weren’t you at the training yesterday?” you gave him an evil look. this guy.

“ah yes, i already forgot.” a cocky smile slowly morphed onto his features. “wow. so you are late on your first day as a trainee? you have a big attitude wherever you go, huh?”

“you fu-“

“shh!” he put his hand on your mouth to muffle your approaching yell. “be quiet! they will catch us!”

you slapped his hand, making him to take it away from your mouth.

“i don’t wanna hear your notations, especially, when you are in the same position as me right now.” you clicked your tongue, turning away from him.

“well, our head coach is extremely strict about being punctual, and you’ve just got selected as a trainee. i don’t think we are in the same position, darling. you’d better listen to the discussion of your candidacy that happened in the office yesterday. and now you are about to show up late. worst case scenario, he will find a replacement for you and forget your name forever.” kim seungmin gave you the cockiest smike.

that’s bad. very bad. the wave of anxiety hit you again.

“should i just go there and beg for forgiveness on my knees? i think he will understand.”

“no, just calm down. a tardy is a tardy, even if you apologize. it won’t make your sentence lighter.” he shook his head. “however… what if you sneak into the line without anyone noticing?”

you looked at him suspiciously. what is this guy on?

“look here.” he gestured you to sit down next to him and you both cautiously peeked out from behind the wall. “take a good look at how they’re lined up. coach is talking to every player directly from far end to the close end. once the first row is done, it goes back to the far end of the second row. while the farthest guy is answering coach’s questions, everyone will be looking at him.”

“i still can’t believe i’ll be able to sneak in like that.” you whispered.

“take that chance and run quickly. you’ve got it.” he assured, looking right at you.

“what about you though?”

“i will be right behind you.” he patted you on the shoulder.

“are you sure? wouldn’t we be in bigger trouble if we fail?” you still weren’t convinced enough by his plan.

“don’t worry.” he grinned. “i did the same last year.”

“you’ve done it before?!” you almost yelled in surprise, but quickly lowered your tone.

“just trust me.” he said.

with that he talked you into it. you scooted a bit to the left, getting ready to run as soon as the attention would be on the guy in the second row.

“watch closely. we have one chance.” the ace gave you a thumbs up.

“alright, next is…”

you saw the coach turn his head in the opposite direction.

“c’mon!” kim seungmin almost shouted, signalizing you to go.

holding your breath, you crouched down and started running. the plan was working perfectly, you thought. the coach did not even pay attention to what was happening behind his back. a few more steps and…

“AAAAA! she came late and is trying to sneak into the line!”

you froze in disbelief. kim fucking seungmin was screaming behind you like some kind of alarm system. everyone, including the coach, turned around and looked right at you.

if you don’t get kicked off the team right now, you definitely going to beat his ass.

a/n (2): i’d really really really appreciate your feedback! i want to know what you think about this chapter. and please reblog, because likes do nothing to promote the post!

i wanted to leave this chapter as an introduction to the school, side characters and “y/n”, because i don’t wanna leave that unexplained. i promise that next chapter will have more interactions with seungmin!!

masterlist | taglist

TAGLIST (OPEN): @helloliaaaa @ghostbladee @jihnyah @lonelylandofan @fun-fanfics @anifxa

Graphic Design is my passion...

I have a small headcanon that Morris makes the coupons for his store. Like he gets a certain discount cleared or given to him by corporate and instead of just putting up the signs Joja provides he goes into photoshop and makes those coupons he hands out at Pierre's himself.

You think he's up late to work on paperwork? No. He's just tediously cutting each coupon out by hand lmao

hii manu, im so curious and i apologize if you have answered before, but what is your editing process like for the banners and wallpapers you make ? what kind of apps and tools do you use ?

hi hi risu! i don’t think i answered such a question before, honestly. and even if i did, i doubt it was very in-depth.

this ask surprised me a bit, so my answer might be too vague, but i’m always willing to elaborate on that even further or prepare step-by-step explanation or… dunno :) i’ll gladly help, at least as much as i can <3

however, i must say that my process and possible tips most likely won’t be beginner or casual-friendly. i’ve been doing graphics since a very young age and i’m after an art high school (though they didn’t teach me that much if it wasn’t for my own passion lmao). also, unfortunately, i don’t know much about phone apps as i’m mainly a pc girlie :’)

i use adobe photoshop most of the time, though for simpler stuff i prefer adobe xd because it works much faster lol i can recommend trying out adobe express which is their free and quite easy-to-use app with amazing tools. another friendly app is canva. i used both when teaching kids during online graphic design courses. if you want a more serious alternative, i suggest photopea — some madman (positively!) basically remade photoshop into a free web app haha

my process is… messy. i often play around with many ideas just to get myself into the vibe and not forget how to do things :P sometimes it works, sometimes not. and i’m a perfectionist, so, for example, i won’t use an automatic background removal, but manually cut out characters etc. lol (at least it’s relaxing).

if i’m doing something casual (read: not entirely from scratch and by my hand, all right reserved etc.), i start by searching for inspiration on pinterest. sometimes i copy pictures to use them for later, especially if i want to cut out some parts (like with the mosaics on my new theme).

generally i want to have a rough idea of what i want to do before i even open the app, and after that i’m just moving things around, resizing, rotating, recolouring them until it looks decent. it’s similar to making a collage out of stickers and magazine pages <3 but to freestyle various designs is also cool, especially for brainstorming — it’s just definitely more time-consuming and usually not the best if you want a specific outcome.

tbh at first i didn’t want to spend hours on my theme because it’s just a personal writing blog, but i’m glad i came up with the flower divider (it was just a singular flower i copied and connected with lines, and applied gradient on top) and my colour palette, because now i know it will always work for me. i’m sure that most people would be happy with simpler results and that’s totally okay, but i’m just pushing myself to be better at design :’3

asks

these r all the asks i got last night about the whole aesthetic discussion i'll answer in order of when i got them :p

truth b told if i started simblr like. today and knew nothing about photoshop then i'd probably be pretty demoralised too but also thats exactly how it was starting simblr anyway i just worked on it until i was happy w my skills... no one gave me a cheat code i just put time and effort into it

i agree with u im ngl like i do sincerely wish everyone had the opportunity to put hours and hours of their lives into learning how everything about this works if thats what they truly wanted. also if anything doing it solely by urself will make the process all the more time consuming but if u ask around for help people (including me! im down to help fr) will usually give it to u and that'll speed up the process more. being mad at me for having that is pointless what am i gna do go back in time and unlearn it all and for what? dsfghjk

okay i did see this being said a lot and uhhhh i was trying to understand it but like. i also don't. like ok with cluttered aesthetic build shots or yknow the odd landscape with heavy bloom shader on it i guess if ur looking at it completely from that pov yeah i guess it looks like some posts that "blow up" r just sort of the same shit. but the fact remains that its also it's good shit like anyone can clutter a room and take a photo of it what really counts here in my opinion anyhow is shot composition. and there's literally preestablished rules for this sort of thing u can google cinematography basics and get it for free... there's a whole field of study looking into what draws the human eye. like maybe the core concepts behind what makes a popular post popular is the same but thats because it just works. if u wanna shy away from that entirely but then complain about ur posts not being as popular then that's very much a u problem it doesn't have anything to do with the rest of us

amen these are my ocs wdym these are "sims" LOLLL these are the real people living in my head if i bust my ass making them look good then thats a choice i made

u can call this an empathy problem and try explain it to me more but i dont see how other people feeling insecure about what their current ability scales up to is any fault of mine or my problem to bend backwards to try fix... or even how i could. like is the standard high now yeah honestly it is. the learning curve was steep as hell when i first started as well. no disagreements here. but what am i supposed to do about it LMAO like i didn't create the human proclivity to be drawn to beauty i just ride off of it.

idk why i'm the bad guy for being honest for my reasoning behind what i do and don't reblog? lots of other people have been saying they dont really care about aesthetics which is great but if i said that i'd literally just be lying to you. i'm not gonna apologise for not lying... i like being able to see the passion and energy poured into the same video game we're all playing it's only natural to appreciate that- if that reads as passive aggression and u don't understand my stance that's fine by me

i would say for me personally try watch visual media that u can recognise as "beautiful" and not to shit on like. cw shows but i mean stuff that is marked by its cinematography being truly excellent. and just really examine how those set and lighting designers use angles and lighting and how the people filming and editing choose to frame their shots to achieve what works. hell looking at art helps with this too. look at other people's stuff on simblr analytically try to seriously work out why it appeals to people the way it does. ik u asked for editing tips but i think it really starts ingame you can have the most incredible editing style but it doesn't work if ur shot comp doesn't work then it'll won't hit as hard

take time to learn what most of the adjustment layers do on photoshop, and what all the blending layers look like, download other people's psds and play with them on top of ur shots to see what works! what u personally think looks good will be different from what i personally think looks good, i like dramatic lighting and muted colours and mid level contrast so not too strong but i can't speak for whether you will too. ALSO im a religious user of @/simmerstesia's psd set here i think a well chosen shot can be really elevated by using something like this to really give it that final polish

additionally if u have any like really specific questions or need some advice u can ask me on discord my dms are open like i can talk u thru it. promise it's not as daunting as it can look

🤬📱

HI HELLO THANK YOU FOR ASKING !! Last time you swore in anger Oh boy, anger is quite an emotion I don't often feel or register lol (big ass can of worms lmao). Probably at work this week, working on the project we've been working on for the past month? One of the tiktoks is out now so it's not nda anymore, but for the past month I've been prepping kids toy pictures for rigging on a tiktok project for Magna-Tiles. We're making little animations for them with the toy characters they sell. The project isn't the problem, the characters are actually really cute! But my specialty and passion is rigging, not photoshopping toys lol, so I've been a little bit frustrated. But it has to be done for the process, so that's life!

Last conversation you had on the phone My lovely husband eheheh

watch ghost files with me eps. 2

or watch the second episode with me <33

ALCATRAZ BABY

(you would think I know any of these places but my European ass could never I only know them through buzzfeed unsolved 💀)

actually the intro gives me ghostbusters vibes

who you gonna call? GHOST FILES!

(well that sounded way better in my head)

I mean Ryan you could always try and swim away

by daylight the island doesn’t even look that bad, I wouldn’t get spooked there

taking that back now that it’s dark 💀

bro I’m still not over the high quality of this show the budget must be so high

like good for them, I’m soooo happy

THE BLUEPRINT

the ‘the rock’ comment lmao

honestly the prison looks kinda fancy like okay

“… bc I hate myself.” It’s okay Ryan we all hate ourselves here

no shit Sherlock in the shower room you shower what a strange concept that is/j

can you imagine showering and then just getting stabbed to death, that must be one of the worst deaths frfr

showering with the ghosts <3

spirit box my beloved!!

why is the spirit box kinda working this time and not saying some random bullshit between plausible answers??

i don’t like the photo lmao, it’s really unsettling even if it were photoshopped

fondle the pod 😠

cell block tango or whatever

not Shane expecting sexy evidence 💀

“I don’t want to die.”

“And watch everyone you’ve ever loved die?” “How do you know I haven’t already done that?”

you know what maybe Ryan is the demon after all 😃

Bernard is trying, my man, give him some time

not the footsteps 😃

“World’s finest” - not the ghosts always trying to flirt with Ryan (I mean same but 💀)

not the ghost fucking with Ryan lmao

the disembodied voices tho

“yEaH 👺👺👺”

well if anyones scared then it’s you Ryan so I guess they are talking about you 🥴

now that’s a tragic love story

okay the blood licking kinda ruined it I’m taking back what I said

a jealous rage murder 👀👀

or maybe blinded by passion

“We’ve got a barber?” - why is that so funny to me 💀

purple faced fella!!

not Ryan being self aware that he will lose his mind as soon as he has to do solo investigations 💀

why is Ryan always oversharing before solo investigations

he be sitting there and suddenly he goes “I’m scared of seeing ghosts, I’m scared I die, I’m scared Shane will find me dead, I’m scared of the future.”

like baby girl calm down you’ll be fine

and Shane is in the building all sad boy hours bc he’s asking for ghosts to hang out with him but yet again no one showed up

you know what the sink face looks like? It’s this emoji 🤖

but also this guy

non of the ghosts are taking responsibility for what happened to that toilet - the silence is so loud lmao

Shane “ghost hunter” Madej: I do all of this to see historical sites without all the tourists

not someone screaming on Ryan’s solo investigation 💀

tho I have to say it sounded like a bird or something

not Shane predicting that Ryan is muttering his little mantra and then it cuts to Ryan muttering his mantra

AND THAT WAS ALCATRAZ

that’s now locked away in the ghost files

Hello I was wondering how you make your Dan heng dividers.

hihi! i’m not sure which dividers u mean exactly! but i’m gonna assume u don’t mean the banners with the fic title (if you do— i just crop the image to around 3:1 ratio and then add font using canva!!)

if you’re referring to the one i use for drabbles + some requests i’m too lazy to make a banner for AHJDJSKS then i just went on photopea (literally have never used it before the day i made the divider i just looked up free photoshop alternatives LMAO) used a white background, then new layer of a chibi dan heng emote, then new layer made a filled shape that was the color i wanted LOL and made it one line on the side. then copied and pasted that layer and put it on other side for other line. then select all the white bg and delete and then save project as png !!

i hope that made sense bc graphic design is not my passion!! i just tried my best LMAO 😭🙏

I’m gonna be reflective for a sec, life is just cool. I started this blog when I was 14. I’m 21 now. I’m about to graduate with a degree in graphic design, which is crazy because I never expected to do that or have any passion for it, but looking back on this blog it’s so clear to see the origins. This blog was the reason I downloaded my first cracked version of photoshop lmao, and I loved making edits and gifs and some of them are so bad but a lot of them are really cool and like? now it’s about to be my job? ok

it’s just nice to have this all here preserved because a lot of the time I feel like I’ve changed too much from my younger self and I look up to her and seeing what I was up to back then makes me feel invigorated, and yeah I guess I’m just rly grateful for that time in my life

Thank you for all your posts on The English. Your tags and commentary and commentary in your tags have kept me going. I stayed up past 3AM binge watching the series the first time and now rewatch my favorite parts on repeat. No one I know has watched so I'm thrilled to have found this little community to ugly cry with!

You’re so very welcome!! I’m sorry I’ve been late replying to this message, it’s been a busy time. I’m SOOOO GLAD you’ve also found that kernel of obsession with this show because I had the same feeling, I watched it and came on tumblr assuming it would be super popular but there were basically like… 3 gifsets in the tag at the time lmao

Anyway if my harrowed yelling in the tags brought you some joy in finding the show then that makes me happy. I love seeing people get passionate in the tags of anything I make so I like to do it for other gif makers too! And let’s be real there is just so fucking much to yell about with The English. I just looked at a post or two just now and I can already feel myself going a little insane again. I have gifs I made back in December that I still haven’t posted… gotta get back on photoshop

thanks again!

hi emmy!! ♡ I hope you're doing well !! I wanted to ask for a ship, preferably for the Pacific :) um so here's some information on me!

Brief description of my looks; Curly hair that's brown with highlights of blonde and red. It's like a mixture of my parents hair colours. I am tall, 175cm. Fashion wise; Starting to get into more of some sort of punk fashion. I like fashion in general but punk fashion has been especially cool as of late, imo. Band tees!! I wait for the day a pretentious man asks me for songs by the hand; I'll list a whole album to spite the man. My friend calls me her scary dog privilege !! The same friend (I love her sm) labeled my eyes sea glass. My facial expressions are either sorrowful or a bit stand-offish. No in-between.

Personality; As you can tell I can be talkative but in that same sense, I am very quiet. I enjoy observing rather than speaking. I am a bit shy and tend to blush rather easily. Oftentimes, people find me to be therapeutic which has its ups and downs. I have the tendency to act like a leader, it just comes naturally? Especially if there are people much younger than me in a group setting. I love making jokes. I love seeing people smile and enjoy the moment, that's the most beautiful sight. I have photoshopped cowboy hats onto pictures of my friends & set those photos as their contact pictures. I don't think this is a personality trait but I'll say it; I am Jewish. Oh! So important thing to me; Music!! I listen to music all the time. Some bands I enjoy include; the pogues, the clash, second thoughts, the ramones, joy division, stone roses. The list goes on, actually here's a band name that'll make you laugh; "The nipples erectors" um, don't ask me lmao. Anyway!! I'm an equestrian, english discipline. Oh, I love geography!! I'm trying to memorize the world map. I write. Like a lot. I'm passionate about a lot... oh yeah, I suppose I need to mention I struggle with depression & have a baggage that I'd rather not say out loud... but it exists and greatly distorts how I view my body. also if this helps; I'm an infp and type 3 enneagram.

Anyway, thanks!! Mwah!!

Hi babe!! honestly i feel like you and i would be fashion twins irl!! your style sounds so cool ngl <3

I ship you with:

Bob Leckie from The Pacific!

ship theme song: She's My Religion by Pale Waves

okay Leckie lowkey needs and craves a punk bitch gf!!

the man tries so hard to be an edgelord stg

he needs a punk queen in his life!!!

i feel like he would just see you walking down the street one day

and he's just like

"god damn... this girl is my QUEEN"

is it your sea glass-colored eyes that captivated him first?

or your ripped fishnets and doc martens??

who can say???

dude probably writes romantic emo poetry about you at 2am in his bedroom

literally pining after you and he works up the nerve to finally ask you out

like Leckie, you're either very quiet or a chatterbox

no in between

he appreciates your quietness and conversation equally

Leckie thinks its so dang cute when you blush

so he tries to make you blush often

over the most stupid stuff, too!

he loves going on double dates with you and Runner and his gf

or Chuckler and his gf

and your natural leadership tendencies take over

he'll just smile at you stupidly

but inside he's just like

"oh yeah... that's my dang gf >:)"

he's so intrigued by your Jewish heritage

he loves going to Passover at your family's place each year

your parents are totally smitten with him

but his most favorite thing to do with you is to go to the record store on Saturdays

he'll let you pick out as many records as you want

and will gladly buy them for you

depend on Leckie to fuel your music addiction >:)

he loves how passionate you are about everything you do

he considers himself really lucky to know a girl like you <3

also, Leckie is deals with his own certain type of baggage

so he's no stranger to anxiety and depression

he hopes that you'll share your worries and doubts with him

and he'll be open and truthful with you as well :)

YEAH LIKE I level with the sentiment in the way I do when I like, feel a little disheartened when things change to my dislike, like personally I prefer 2D animation drawn frame by frame, the oversautration of rigged animation and 3D and stuff can be like oof sometimes, but it'd also like a) again a lot of the reason that's oversaturated is because of corporate studios opting for what's faster to produce, which leads into b) there are plenty of small studios and independent artists who animated with that style and tools that are very passionate about their work, and c) there will always be some sort of audience for 2D hand drawn stuff, it's never going to fully be Replaced, and the way to like counteract the oversaturation of Disney animated crap and marvel cgi garbage isn't to wish those tools would disappear but to consume less of the crap and support smaller studios and indie work.

So it's like I get it in that sense like if you're an illustrator you might be like "oh the latest trendy tools get people over a lot of the challenges I face illustrating in photoshop", but firstly that's not intrinsically a bad thing and like ultimately, again there is no replacing that specific type of work because like. If you want something VERY specific it is going to be a huge challenge getting an ai tool to spit it out perfectly, you're either going to have to do a massive amount of editing and/or work shopping it in the ai, or like just illustrating it yourself and take less goddamn time going that route

Companies wanting to exploit whatever gets the fastest cheapest results is nothing new and yeah a lot of the general public eats it up and we just live around that all the time with games and TV and movies and everything but obviously the lot of us here are like "my god the cgi in she hulk is terrible" well that's going to be what it's like when they throw ai art into the mix we're gonna be like lmao did you make that in dalle mini looks bad

Directions: Fill out the below sheet for your muse, then tag anyone you think may wish to play. Repost, don’t reblog!

* 𝐄𝐃𝐌𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐄𝐖𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐓

* 𝐑𝐎𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐓 𝐑𝐎𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐒

(Blank template is under read more and under the explanation)

TAGGED BY: @honorhearted​​ ( thank you! )

TAGGING: Steal it from me! Anyone with a canon character or an oc! I would tag people but idk who would be interested in this dash game.

(Explanation below!)

I did all of this on mobile so I hope it’s all still readable. I just didn’t want to go through my suitcase and retrieve my laptop and wait for photoshop to run.

Hewlett: In my first watch of t.urn, I did not like Hewlett in the first season. I liked him a little more in the last episode of s1, but with the whole gravestone thing -- it just gave me a really negative impression of him. I thought he was really egotistical and selfish. It was mostly s2 & s3 that got me to soften towards Hewlett and he became oen of my favorite characters. I like all of the t.urn characters (well mostly, except maybe Arnold, Simcoe, or Abe at times) but i really softened towards Hewlett and I’m a fan of Annlett anyways, so that very likely made me feel more fonder of Hewlett. 

Hewlett had plenty of screen time, but with him being one of my faves, I will always welcome more screen time lmao. I think with how little we know of the real Edmund Hewlett and how t.urn made it their own vision, I think they had an easier time developing his character besides the others. (Even with Abe, the writers held somewhat of a tie to his historical counterpart, but obviously not much). So compared to the others, I think they had a better idea on what to do with Hewlett from the beginning and maybe Burn Gorman had a lot of say and a lot of ideas to put out there because i feel like he was really passionate about Hewlett. So, anyway, it was easier with Hewlett. I like his whole progression from how he became this guy most people would disagree and hate to a more likeable character towards the end. I liked his whole slight involvement in the spy ring because enemy spy plots? Sign me up. Bit I liked, too, with that whole involvement, he still stayed to his loyalties even if what he was doing was the opposite of being loyal. I just found him to be a really complex character imo. I could go on and on here but this is already getting long.

Rogers: So Rogers didn’t get as favorable result for this as Hewlett, but if I’m writing a character, usually that means i like their character or I’m interested in them in some way. Rogers & Hewlett are complete opposites and writing both is a fun time, but I find it easier to write Hewlett and all of the flexibility he has. Rogers is a majorly violent character so I feel like with his characterization from t.urn and just how his character is, I get stuck in a box sometimes. But I do like writing both, they are both fun to explore, but like any muse: there’s pros and cons to writing someone. It’s not any of y rp partners’ fault at all, it’s mostly just how T.urn wanted to portray him and my lack of ideas.

Rogers isn’t my favorite, but he’s fun to write. I think similar to my Hewlett section, the writers had less of an idea to do with him because we know more about him than we do of the real Edmund Hewlett of Setauket. Rogers was hardly involved in the revolution, he left after he got “fired” and lost his rangers (and not in the way t.urn depicted). He is more known from the French and Indian war and t.urn was close to the historical counterpart with a few twists (and the timeline is off), but I think after that, they didn’t have any ideas what to do with him. His whole “revenge” arc gets easily pushed to the side and forgotten. The only revenge we ever hear of him is with Andre, the Ben & Rogers feud is forgotten after the first season. I like his part in s3, but I think the writers should’ve done more with his character.

Regardless, I do like to study Rogers’ character generally. I can associate more songs with him than I can with Hewlett, so I also like to figure that stuff out and find songs that match his vibe. I just kinda wish they had Rogers do more in the show, have two antagonistic violent characters running around to add more stress and drama fro the spy ring (and could be manipulated to go after one another since Simcoe & Rogers have their own grudge with one another, more so Rogers and his wounded pride. We see thsi in s3 a bit but idk they could’ve done more with Rogers’ hunt for vengeance to all that wronged him).

Hello! I hope you don't mind me asking, but how do you come up with your gif compositions? They're always so pretty and they fit together perfectly! They never look messy even when you incorporate a lot of things into them.

Hello dear one 🥺 this is so sweet of you to say, i don't know if you realize how huge of a compliment this is for me sdgsd- i'm pretty self conscious about my blending but the thing is, there's no right way to do it! i actually like it more messy right now than i did a few years ago, if you scroll back through my edit tag you'll see how much it changed as i experimented more with different styles.

Most of it is just about choosing the right scenes and that'll come with experience. Once you get the basics down (eg. it's usually easier to blend two scenes that have similar lighting, or that at least are both dark/both light even tho a white background is a bitch to work with, that you can manipulate some of this shadow/light balance through curves etc.) it's really just a matter of training the eye to put together things you think would work well!

Don't think I don't spend time, sometimes hours, on this when I gif! Sometimes it's easier, I think visually so when I get an idea for a gifset I usually already know more or less which scenes i want to blend but the grunt of the work is done mid-photoshopping. When it's something like TUA, which i'll admit i basically know scene-by-scene so it's almost like scrolling through a pictures album, I can speed up the process, other times it takes a little more trial and error.

In my latest gifset for example, I knew I wanted the 6th gif to have that one scene of Allison and Viktor and I knew I wanted to pair it with Klaus and Ben. But I didn't know which one would work better since I had to manipulate colors quite a bit to create enough space for the blending not to look ugly. I tried a few ones out and then decided a wider shot would work better because I wouldn't need to worry about faces becoming indistinct. For the 9th gif I made the decision to use that Klaus, Diego, Five scene even if it doesn't look really good and it was difficult to color purely because I wanted the parallel with the words to work that way. Here on the other end, i created all my black spaces just using shapes that were already in the gifs, enhancing the shadows and painting over the lighter points.

Always remember you can also experiment with perspective! I almost never keep the scenes at the same size, depending on where I want the attention to go first. So play around! Resize them, put them upside down, look at the shadows, can they work as a frame for my second/third gif? And if not who says I can't take a black brush and create those spaces myself? So really, it's just about practice as everything else is but also if you're just starting and want to focus on the technical part without spending time looking up scenes, it's not a bad idea to write them down as you watch them, if they caught your attention! I used to do this all the time, i have tons of journals with just lists upon lists of scene I liked and gif ideas lmao

As I always say, this should be fun but it's also a creative outlet, at least for me! So treat it as such, with the passion and the lightness it deserves ♥

Survey #544

this is three days old... oops lmao

What makeup product do you never use? I mean... all of them these days, haha. But one that comes to mind that I've literally never used is bronzer. Have you ever seen a jellyfish? Yes, in an aquarium by the beach. Has anyone ever randomly licked your face? A partner mighta just to annoy me, but idr. Did anyone ever draw on your face when you were sleeping? No. Have you ever done that to someone else? No. My friend and I did once draw eyebrows onto our old boxer Cali though and shit was fucking peek entertainment. Can you imitate any other accent? I do British very well. Have you ever protested? No. Tbh I think I'd be afraid of things turning violent, and I also physically can't stand for an extended period of time. I'd like to do so peacefully and stand for what I'm passionate about, but. Dunno if it'll actually happen. Have you ever participated in a parade? No. Were you ever chased by an animal? No. Have you ever told an elder to fuck off? No; I've never had a reason to, but don't go thinking I won't if you deserve it. I don't care what age group you're in. Are you single/or taken? Taken. ^ Are you happy with that? Yes, very. He brings an incredible amount of light into my life. Do you feel guilty about anything? I always will. Have you ever started talking to someone that you thought was someone else? OH MY GOD YES and the guy was SO confused, I'm so sorry my guy. When someone sneezes, do you say “Bless you,” or “God Bless you?” "Bless you" by habit, even though I don't like it. I don't like the religious implication, so this question actually made me realize I'm going to try and start saying "Gesundheit" instead. What are two things you are excited to do in the near future? Fully complete the DP forum. :') Have you ever seen the movie A Walk to Remember? Cliche or worth watching? Bro no shame, it was a wonderful movie. Do you ever put condoms in old people’s buggies at the store? I may not know how to be an adult for the most part, but Christ I can at least be mature enough to not do that. Do you live in a house, apartment, or another type of arrangement? Mom rents this house. Are you kind of a loner? Do you like being alone? Oh absolutely, very frequently to my own detriment. I NEED my alone time, and honestly a lot of it, but I can also become extremely lonely if I overdo it. Are you one of those people who like to spell out numbers? It depends. In English it is generally accepted that you write out 1-9 fully and then transfer to using only digits after. Or something like that. What's one event your town has that you don’t like to participate in? I don't participate in any. Are any of your siblings married? What are their spouse’s names? Katie is married to Josh, Misty is married to Franky, Bobby's wife is uh... okay I forgot her name, and Ashley is tragically married to Nick. Name one lyric from the song you’re listening to/the last one you listened? It's in German, but the English translation is: "And the fear grows into the night; door and gates are guarded / the back's wet, the hands clammy / everyone is afraid of the Black Man ('Bogeyman' in German)." It's a brilliantly political song about paranoia between a country's own people dividing them all, with the most fuckin rad music video ever. Have you ever owned a turtle? Did it ever bite you when you owned it? As a kid I briefly kept a poor red-eared slider, which even worse, is invasive here. I eventually let it go nearby, but for real, don't take animals from the wild, y'all. I don't remember it trying to bite me. Does your father have any creepy or scary friends you dont like? I have zero clue who his friends are now. Do you have Photoshop? If so, how often a day do you use it? Yeah, it's part of my photography editing bundle. I never used it a whole lot, not even once every day, but I quite enjoy it and got shit to make when I get a new laptop that can handle it, haha. Do you watch any shows that you know your parents wouldn’t approve of? I don't watch shows period, but thinking of those I've enjoyed in the past, I'm sure she'd be unhappy about Deadman Wonderland. Like she wouldn't stop me from watching it, but she sure wouldn't watch herself. How long have you lived with the person/people you currently live with? Since I was born. Do you see yourself still with your current partner in 10 years? That's easy, honestly. Do you have any Italian ancestry? Not that I know of, no. I don't think we really know Dad's ancestry? I know his last name is Irish, though. What was the dumbest thing you ever did as a teenager? I let some guy be my sole source of happiness and convinced myself there was no way in Heaven or Hell I could live without him. Do you prefer water to be ice cold or at room temperature? It has to be frigid or else I do nooot like it. I am so immensely picky with water, which I don't really like anyway. Does anyone in your family have green eyes? My eyes are mistaken as a greenish color sometimes, when in fact they're primarily blue, but definitely with tints of gray and green. What was the name of your first ever pet? I was born into the family when my father owned a stunning female collie named Trigger, but I have zero memories of her because she died when I was just a baby. The first pet I remember owning as a family was Chance, a stray cat we took in. Now if we're talking my very first personal pet, it was either my guinea pig Squeak or Chinese water dragon Shadow; I can't recall who came first. Have you Googled anything today? What? Ugh yeah, edema relief. Now that I'm in the spare room a lot, with my legs very used to being elevated, it builds up. I'm trying to strike a balance so I can leave the bed without dealing with edema to a dangerous extreme. What do you like to eat for breakfast these days? Cereal, usually. Is anyone in your family a nurse? Well, close; my sister Ashley is a mammographer. There may be other family member in the medical field too, but I don't know about it. Do you like to wear lipstick? What colours do you think suit you best? Should I already have black eye liner (and sometimes shadow) on, I think a black lipstick looks great on me, I just don't have a quality one that doesn't immediately get on everything. If I put it on, it's literally JUST to take a picture lmao. Who was the last person to recommend a book to you? My aunt Kelly. Who was the last person to tease or joke around with you, in a friendly way? Girt and I do that shit daily lmao Is there a jar of peanut butter in your house? We always have one. Who was the last person that said you were beautiful? My boyfren. :') Do you think witchcraft is interesting? I do indeed, but nowhere near to the extent of my sister Misty. She sincerely considers herself a witch. What do you think of people who hate vegetarians? "I think they could be so much more productive with their time." <<<< 100% this. If a person feels healthier and/or more morally at peace by not eating meat, okay???? Let them. Holier-than-thou vegetarians/vegans exist, sure, and they're annoying, but the fact still remains that their dietary habits have zero effect on you. What is your favorite Johnny Depp film? I actually really enjoy his performance in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Do you like the color purple? I do, it's pretty, especially when blended with hues of pink. What film are you looking forward to seeing the most? At this moment I'd actually really like to go see The Black Phone. I should talk to Mom about that. Do you like dragons? I fuckin LOVE dragons, GOOD GOOD SHIT. I'm always interested in dragon content, and I like collecting dragon decor and such. Which one of your parents has the worst temper? I don't think I can fairly answer this question. Dad was definitely more volatile when my parents were together, but they split like... almost a decade ago, and I haven't lived with him since. Mom spites the fuck outta him for it, but my dad is infinitely happier and more pleasant without her; since I re-established ties with him a couple years after he left, he was just a brand fucking new person. I mean maybe he still gets angry faster than Mom, but I can't say that with certainty since I just don't see him enough. What’s the last thing you learned? So in my Rammstein obsession lately I've been more intent than before on learning the stories that aren't obvious behind some songs, right? WELL I learned the detailed story behind "Mein Teil" AND,,,,,,,, IT'S A LOT,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, When’s the last time you felt obsessed? ^ lmao oh, my passion for these goofs has been out of this world lately What would you spend $1,000 on? Okay so we're gonna say I can't save it for this, in which case I would probably get my big tattoo I want on my left arm, and if I have money to spare, I'd cover Sara's handwriting tattoo with Teddy's tribute one. What’s your job, or what do you want to do as your job? Blah, blah, I mention not having a job enough already. it stresses me the fuck out, but I just. Don't know exactly what I want to do to earn my keep, and by now the only thing that feels even mildly realistic for me is to be a housewife. There are some days where I horribly spite that, and others where I don't mind too much. It's like, I want to accomplish big things, but there is a lot in the way that I just do not know if I can get past. Then I'm also a person with a metric shit-ton of love in her, so this side says there's great position in just being a loving, supportive wife that helps keep her spouse motivated and happy. Ugh this answer is getting long dude, I just don't know. Maybe there's like this compromise where I'm a housewife that makes some income with her hobbies, idk dude, I really don't. What kind of covers do you have on your bed? They're a thin, airy pink that works well for hot weather. What song plays in your head the most? Rammstein's "Zick Zack" and its entire music video literally live in my head at all conscious moments completely rent-free. Have you ever received a card signed individually by a large group of people? Uhhh, maybe as a family collaboration for a birthday? Idr. Who do you know that’s pregnant right now? One of Ashley's oldest friends (and a neighbor for a massive chunk of our lives!), finally!! She's an elementary school teacher and just SO sweet, she is going to be a spectacular mother. <3 What did you last use scissors for? To make a starting point to open a bag of pizza rolls. Who have you helped move? Jason, and to a lesser extent, I helped get us into this house... barely. I am just so, so incredibly weak that to be honest I barely did anything and cried about it, but my family supposedly understood. And what age was your first kiss? I was a month into 16, I think. What is the last strain of weed you smoked/consumed however?............. I did not know weed had "strains" lmfao I don't know shit What is the last YouTube channel you watched? Rammstein Official; I watched their "Making of..." video for "Mein Teil." Do you have any nieces or nephews? Oh yes, many. I only see my immediate sister's three children regularly, though. The others live in different states entirely, as far away as Ohio. Have you ever been to an extremely dirty house before? Whose house was it? OLJAKSLDJFAKLWEJAFLER yes, Colleen's mother's when we were still friends. We went in there and out so fuckin fast. My mother also has a friend who is a hoarder, but I don't know if things have cleaned up since she had to move to a new place. I hope so; she's such a sweet woman that was just too low in sorrow over her mother's passing to take care of the house. Would you ever or do you hunt? I genuinely think I would rather starve and die, but if it was a serious survival situation, I really don't know what I'd do. I think that's one of those situations where you have to be in it to really know. Do you like to play games on your phone? What games do you play most often? I only really ever play Pokemon GO. What is the most recent video you took of? Damn dude, no idea. Maybe Teddy's last birthday when he got his "cake" and Mom and I sang "happy birthday" to him. Has wind ever done any extreme damage to your home or anything that you own? No, not extreme damage. We've had a tree fall onto our roof by a hurricane, and it required a bit of patching up, but it really wasn't bad. Do you enjoy taking photos with your significant other or are you just not that type of couple? If you don't have a significant other, do you enjoy taking photos of yourself more or of your friends and/or family? It's been 12 years of knowing on another... and ONE picture of us exists, and I'm barely in it lmaoooo. Girt just isn't a picture person, and I just feel too ugly all the time to try taking some. If I wasn't so self-conscious, oh, I would absolutely force this man to take some with me, haha.