#I made a little edit on these pictures to make them more purple ^_^

[tokyoproxy]

富士山 Mt. Fuji by Masayuki Nozaki

[gorgeys]

purple tongues ★ mari ibarra x fem!reader

some couples measure their love in pictures, or flowers, or kisses.  you and mari measure yours in slurpees.

word count: 2700 warnings: maybe mari a little ooc?

a/n: this is barely edited so it's a little rough around the edges

also this is supposed to be the first part of that big mari fic i was teasing here. i started writing a part 2 with more snapshots of mari and reader's relationship in the future but it might never get done who knows.

missing my shayla sm 💔💔

it started the night before everything began.  the night before you left for nationals.

you and mari had ditched the bonfire party early on, mari claiming "this looks like a scene out of can't hardly wait, minus anyone fuckable."  instead, the two of you walked down the lonely, dark neighborhood roads, music fading out of earshot and hands brushing with each step.

mari filled the silence by making fun of everyone's outfits that night just to hear you laugh.  you filled the space by leaning into her side and finally grabbing her hand, which left mari's heart thumping against her rib cage.  until you both stumbled across wiskayok's only 7/11.

sure it was cramped and old and smelled like weed, but the way mari opened the door for you and drawled "after you, milady," made it seem like the fanciest place in town.  you laughed all the way to the slurpee machine, mari guiding you with a hand on the small of your back, where you both reached for big gulp cups.

"half cherry, half coke," you say, filling your cup to the brim.  "just like god intended."

mari scrunches up her nose in disgust, but it's more cute than anything.

"no, no, no.  see, you gotta get blue raspberry like a real adult," mari says as if she's enlightening you.

"yeah, right."  you roll your eyes, but your smile speaks volumes.

she grabs a few crumpled dollar bills from the back pocket of her jeans and throws them down on the counter like it's not even a question that she's paying for you.  then she tugs you by the hand out the door and finds a nice spot on the curb illuminated by the overhead streetlight.

she outstretches her legs and lazily leans back on one hand, the other bringing the straw to her lips.  she moans dramatically after taking her first sip.

"enjoying that?" you ask, glancing over at her with a raised eyebrow.

"oh yeah," she says, grinning back.  "a thousand calories and enough artificial sweetener to kill a horse.  nationals here we come!"

you laugh, the sound mari's come to love so much, before taking a sip of your own.

there's a beat of silence.  it's something mari used to hate, but has come to understand since meeting you.  she actually finds herself enjoying the quiet when it's shared with you.  still she's always one to break it.

"isn't this so much better than getting puked on by randy walsh?" 

you look over at her and grin.  because yeah, that had actually happened last year and she would spend the rest of her years teasing you about it.  but you also smiled because there was no one else you'd rather be with.

"yeah, it really is," you say, breathlessly and genuinely.

when mari turns and sees the way you're looking at her, full of love and everything she doesn't think she deserves, she feels like her heart might as well jump out of her chest and into your hands. because mari, whose first language is sarcasm and shit talking, somehow harbors a soft spot in the shape of you.

"don't look at me like that," she says, but her words lack the bite they usually have.  her eyes flicker down to the asphalt, a similar smile spreading across her face.

you lean in closer, lowering your face so she's forced to meet your eyes.  mari's the opposite of shy, so you can't help but take advantage of moments like this, when she's nervous to show how much she really cares.

"like what?" you ask, a teasing edge to your voice.  like you already know what she's going to say.

"like you love me or something," she says, trying and failing to sound casual.  she looks back up at you, leaning back on her hand with that easy smirk.

"but i do," you say, resting your cheek against your knee, still smiling up at her.

"obviously, you dork."

a breathy chuckle pushes past your lips before you cup her face in your free hand.  your lips meet hers halfway in a strong, sure kiss.  it's not perfect by normal standards --both of your lips are freezing and taste like artificial sweetener and you can hear boys shouting on the other side of the parking lot.  but in that moment, it feels perfect to the both of you.

when mari pulls back she grins like she's just won the lottery.

"i love you too," she says, the words rolling off her tongue more naturally than her own name.

you smile, reaching down and interlacing your fingers with hers on the pavement.  you don't have the guts to say it, but a part of you is thinking it: maybe this could be forever.

if you had known that was going to be your last taste of normal, you would have stayed there even longer, would've bought mari another slurpee, would've kissed her one more time under the neon sign of the store.  instead, you walked her home an hour or two later, kissing her cheek at the door and whispering how beautiful of a night it had been with her.

the next time you think about slurpees, you're a thousand miles deep in the canadian wilderness.  you're starving, borderline freezing to death, and you've just watched your closest friends die.

you're tucked under as many blankets as you could find, legs tangled with mari's beneath them as you try to keep out the cold of the approaching winter.  your faces are so close that you can feel her warm breath fanning against your nose, a welcome reminder that she's still there.  she can feel your hand trembling as it holds onto her arm and the way you stiffen each time a strong gust of wind enters the hut, as if you're waiting for something bad to happen.

you think she might be asleep until you feel her fingers start to trace your cheekbone.  her touch is so gentle you have to question if it's really there or if you're just imagining it.

"do you remember our last night?" she whispers.

you open your eyes, and from the way the moonlight reflects off of them, mari knows you do.

"i think about it all the time," she confesses.  "when i can't sleep, i just try to remember you that night.  how pretty you looked under the streetlight and how stupid i was for not telling you then."

your lips curl into a weak, sad smile.

"and how you threw your head back and laughed at everything i said, even when it wasn't funny.  and-and how everything felt perfect when you held my hand."

"mari..." you whisper, leaning forward so your forehead rests against hers.

"and how happy you were to just be there with me.  i'm scared i'll never see you like that again."

you squeeze your eyes shut, feeling the tears start to swell.  you haven't cried in a while, but as every sight, sound, and taste from that night comes rushing back to you, you suddenly realize how much you've lost.

"i'm scared too, mar," you say, hand moving from her arm to her cheek.  "and i don't know what to say to make it better."

mari exhales, shaky and slow, like she's trying to keep it together for you.

"you don't have to say anything.  it's just...my favorite memory.  you're my favorite memory.  even if you do get that disgusting cherry coke mix that tastes like battery acid."

"shut up," you laugh quietly, pushing her shoulder.  it's a small, broken laugh that catches on the edge of a sob.  "it's so good and you know it."

"yeah, whatever," she says, smiling wider than you've seen in a while.

"i think i'd cut off my left arm just to have another one of those," you sigh.

"what?  slurpee?"

"yeah, that.  but also just...another night with you."  your hand's cradling her neck now, holding her like she's the only thing you've got left.

"tell you what," she starts, voice nearly breaking.  her fingers brush your hair out of your face.  "first thing i do if we get rescued, i'm taking you back to that place.  i'm getting you your battery acid slurpee.  we'll sit on the curb and you'll hold my hand and i'll kiss you so hard our tongues turn purple.  we'll rewrite the memory.  i promise."

a loose tear trickles down your cheek as you nod your head. 

"deal," you whisper.  then mari leans forward and kisses the tear away.

"i love you."

"i love you more," you say, wrapping your arm around her as she buries her face in your neck.

you close your eyes and you see that image of mari: laughing, carefree, straw between her lips.  and for the first time, you let yourself imagine what it will be like after you're rescued, when you get to see that version of mari again.  and it's the first time you have a semblance of good night's sleep since the plane crash.

and then it finally happens.  rescue comes even though a part of you had given up on it entirely.  and mari's there, holding your hand through it all.  from the hospital, to the anxious plane ride home, to seeing wiskayok for the first time in almost two years.

and then, just like she promised, you're sitting the passenger seat of mari's car as she drives you back to that 7/11.  it's a quiet drive, one where you're staring out the window and taking in the sights and sounds of the town that hasn't changed a bit since you last saw it.  and mari's fingers are tapping anxiously against the steering wheel while her other hand rests in yours over the center console like a lifeline, grounding you when everything feels like too much.

when she finally pulls into the parking lot and puts the car in park, you both just sit there.  it looks exactly the same way it did on that night: neon sign outside, too-bright fluorescent lights inside, and the kids with their bikes loitering around the entrance.  it was as if time had frozen that night, and the store had been awaiting your return all these months later.

mari exhales a heavy breath from beside you.

"you good?" you murmur, eyes never leaving the store.  this feels like a dream.  one you thought you'd never get to fulfill.

"yeah, it's just...a lot," mari says.

it shouldn't be a lot.  it should just be a random 7/11 in some random boring town.  but to you and mari, it's everything.

"i know," you say, squeezing her hand.  "we don't have to if-"

"no, i want to.  i've been waiting to.  it's all i've been thinking about for two years and now it's here."  she looks over at you and smiles.  "come on, let's go."

she gets to the door first and holds it open for you.

"after you, milady," she says, just like last time, except her voice is softer and more careful now.  it's a small but sharp reminder that you'll never get back the innocence you once had.

you don't throw your head back in laughter this time, you just smile, hand still in hers, tugging her inside after you.  the smell of weed hits you like a freight train, but for once, you don't mind.  you lead mari to the slurpee machine that's still in the same spot and you sigh when you see the flavors are exactly the same: cherry, blue raspberry, coke, and that weird sugar free green one that nobody gets.

"god, mar, i might cry," you say.  you expect her to tease you like usual, something about how much of a sap you are, but instead she releases your hand and holds your waist instead.

"me too," she says, resting her chin on your shoulder.  you spare her a smile over your shoulder before reaching for two of the largest cups.

"coke and cherry?" she asks.

"just like god intended," you say, pulling on the cherry lever.  mari watches you, no longer bothering to hide the fondness in her eyes.

she eventually heads for blue raspberry, telling you, "somethings never change."

"and i never want them to," you say.

"me neither," she says, looping an arm through yours and guiding you toward the unbothered cashier.

mari tries to pay but you're quicker this time.

"nope, i've had this debt for two years.  time to repay it," you say, sliding a couple crumpled bills of your own onto the counter.  you had been sure to grab them before you left the house just for this very occasion, so that, for once, you could be the one to take care of mari.

"it's two dollars, you idiot," mari teases before dragging you outside to the same spot on the curb under the same flickering streetlight.

the two of you wordlessly sit, knees brushing.  for once, the night air is warm and the sounds of wiskayok hum in the background and there's no weight on either of your shoulders, no fear.

"we're really here," mari says, leaning back on her hand like muscle memory.

"just like you promised."

"i didn't even know if we were going to make it out when i told you that," mari admits.

"i know," you say, elbows resting on your knees.  "but that didn't matter.  just thinking about it made everything a little less bad.  and now, being here, with you, it's better than i could've ever imagined."

she recognizes the way you're looking at her, like she hung the stars in your sky.  it's the same look you gave her that night, the one that made her heart jump and scared her a little.  except now she doesn't shy away. she melts right into it.

she lifts her cup in the air like it's something sacred.

"to making new memories," she says. 

you tap the rim of your cup against hers, making a plastic clinking sound.

"to us," you add. 

because that's what it's been all along, the two of you. and after everything, you know that's how it's going to stay: the two of you tethered, two halves of a whole.

you hold eye contact as you both take your first sips, until the slush hits her tongue and mari's eyes roll back in her head.

"oh my god, that's the best thing i've ever tasted," mari groans, dramatically throwing her head back in true mari fashion.

you can't even respond, you're chugging it so fast.  but then reality hits

"fuck!" you curse, squeezing your eyes shut and pressing your palm against your forehead.

mari turns to you, smirking as if watching you suffer is her favorite comedy.

"brain freeze?"

"yep," you wince.  "battery acid's never tasted so good."

mari laughs, setting her cup down on the pavement.  then she turns her body fully toward yours, like she's about to say something immensely serious.  but there's still that mischievous glint in her eye that tells you she's got something up her sleeve.

"now, time to fulfill the prophecy."

you blink at her and the sudden tone shift.

"what?" you ask, giving her a concerned look.  "are you going all lottie on me?"

"no, dummy, purple tongues," she says like it's the most obvious thing ever.  "i gotta keep my promise, don't i?"

a breathless, free laugh escapes your lips.  it's been so long since mari's heard it, she thinks she might cry.

"you're so stupid," you say, though you're already leaning in.

she grabs your face with both hands, still cold from holding the cup, and pulls you into a kiss.  it's not stolen like it was before.  now it's slow and timeless, but still certain.  she kisses you like she wants to steal back every moment she thought she'd never get with you.  and you're more than willing to let her.

"love you," you whisper against her lips, her hands holding you firmly and not letting you escape her.

"love you too," she whispers back before kissing you so hard you get dizzy.

and that's how your favorite tradition is formed: you, mari, slurpees, and a whole lot of love.

[tojisun]

!! minors dni; simon x cam girl f!reader; kinda sexting; UNEDITED and RAMBLING // divider by @/plutism <3

yall know those ‘ask me’ thingies in instagram and how theyre not anonymous? mmmprmn thinkin about simon finally giving in and sends cam girl! reader replies (he’s not tech savvy, forgive him 😔)

the questions are always fashioned the same way, he’s noticed. you only ever post those, anyway, when you’re in the middle of editing a new video but it’s taking too long so to keep your loyal viewers interested, you entertain them with little questions.

“which toy next?” you posted, showcasing four different sex toys splayed on your bed—a purple sucking vibrator, that bullet vibrator you’ve made multiple videos on, a rainbow-coloured dildo, and another one that squirts which is simon’s favourite if he’s being honest.

you always did cum the hardest when you’re being pumped full. simon wonders how much more intense would it be if you were properly fucked and filled; stuffed continuously, repeatedly, until your pussy’s all wet and sensitive. until it takes—

overtaken by his desire, he gives in and he types out his answer, ��a real prick would look better in you.”

he didn’t expect you to see it, let alone for you to reply, but you did and simon reads it with a huff.

> ok troll

i’d volunteer myself, really. <

> yeah right. like i can trust you

what? you want proof that i can make you feel good? <

your reply doesn’t come in and he knows that you must want the whole interaction to end there, but simon won’t let you—doll, he’s finally managed to talk to the girl he’s been fantasizing about, did you really think he’d let the opportunity pass? you don’t even know how many times he’s fucked his fist to the videos of you bullying a dildo in your sopping cunt or the ones of you squirting while you ride that saddled vibrator that punches out guttural moans from the base of your throat.

jesus, just thinking about you mewling and creaming, your skin shimmering with your sweat, has simon chubbing up in his sweats.

so he gets bolder, changing his accounts—both this and the one he’s used to subscribe to your site—so that you know it’s him. he uploads pictures, exposing enough of himself that it feels real and authentic, and begins to tack on messages to every tips he gives.

it takes about two months until you finally caved.

> so… youre not a troll :(

why the sad face? did you want me to be? <

> course not!

> hby? what do YOU want

simon licks at his chapped lips, his legs unconsciously spreading already.

how about pics? show you what i was volunteering? <

> uh

> you wanna send a dick pic?

yeah. evens out the relationship, don’t it? after all, i just about know how your pussy looks and how it squirts. <

> youre soooo weird LOL

> but sure yea why not ig

simon snorts because try as you may, you don’t sound unbothered at all. after all, he knows you’ve been looking back at him—you followed him back in his socials, you even respond to all his tips and messages, and one time you even moaned his alias out loud during your stream. really, you’re not subtle with your own interest at all.

he pulls his sweats down and takes a pic of his half-chub. it’s a little blurry, and the angle captures more of the tuft of hair than the way his cock’s all flushed and filling-out, but simon knows what a decent dick picture looks like—they’ve all received numerous from mactavish—and this one looks good enough so he sends it to you and watches as his message goes from delivered to seen.

you don’t reply right away, nor after three minutes—he knows because the commercials ended and his game’s back on—and simon wonders if you’re back to ignoring him when—

> oh

> thats a good dick

he laughs, booming.

oh so you want it now? <

a speech bubble appears, then it disappears, then it appears again. this happens for a while and it’s somewhat entertaining to simon, mirth filling him up. then, you finally send your reply and this time simon couldn’t stop the barked out laughter that rumbles from his throat because you sent him your address.

simon’s out the door in minutes, his bike keys clutched in his fist.

[alittlegiraffe]

Title: “Too Much Skin”

You hadn't meant to make a statement.

Honestly, you barely thought about the shorts when you tugged them on backstage, rushing to change out of the too-hot jeans you'd arrived in. They were simple—denim, soft from years of wear, a little frayed at the hem. You didn’t wear them to show off. You wore them because they were comfortable and you didn’t expect anyone to look at you twice.

You always tried to blend in. Stay in the wings. Be his support, not part of the spectacle.

But somehow, that night, you became part of the show.

You stood side stage while Marshall moved like a storm across it, sweat glistening on his neck, crowd roaring with every syllable. You always loved watching him like this. Focused. Unfiltered. Alive.

You swayed a little to the beat, sipping water, thinking about absolutely nothing until a flash from someone’s camera hit your eyes. You squinted, startled—but you were used to that. Fans always caught glimpses of the people around him. You turned your face, let it pass.

What you didn’t see was the angle. What you didn’t know was that your leg was bent just enough, and your shorts were riding just high enough, to reveal the mark he’d left on the inside of your thigh that morning.

It wasn’t meant to show. You hadn’t even thought about it. You didn’t think anyone would ever get that close.

By the time you and Marshall made it back to the hotel, you noticed your phone vibrating like crazy. Dozens of texts, mentions, tags. You frowned, swiped to unlock.

The photo was everywhere. Crystal clear. A perfect image of you standing just beyond the stage lights, biting your lip, one leg cocked, and a very distinct purple bruise decorating your pale skin. His mark. His signature.

You felt your face burn.

“Oh my God.”

You turned the phone toward Marshall, who blinked at it like he couldn’t process what he was seeing.

“…That’s hot,” he said eventually, breaking into a slow, wicked grin. “You mad?”

“I’m mortified!”

He laughed—really laughed—and pulled you into his chest like it was the funniest thing in the world. “They’re just jealous,” he murmured into your hair. “You’re mine. I don’t give a fuck if they know it.”

You looked up at him, scowling, but your chest warmed anyway.

“I just… I wasn’t trying to be seen.”

He held your face in both hands, gaze softening. “I know. That’s what makes it so good.”

You groaned into his hoodie. “I can never wear shorts again.”

“Oh, babe,” he said, already reaching for his phone, “You definitely have to wear them again.”

You tried to smack him. He kissed your temple and kept scrolling.

---

You didn’t check Twitter for a week.

Okay, that’s a lie. You checked it once—on day two—curious to see if it had blown over.

It hadn’t.

Not only was the picture still floating around, it was edited. Meme-ified. Zoomed-in. Cropped. Someone even added one of those fake TMZ-style headlines:

“Slim Shady’s Wife Wearing Slim Shorts—and He’s Leaving Marks.”

You nearly threw your phone in the sink.

Marshall thought it was hilarious.

“Yo, you see this one?” he snorted, waving his phone in front of your face as you tried to disappear into your hoodie.

“I’m not looking at anything,” you grumbled, pulling the hood tighter.

“It’s got a red circle and everything. Like it’s Bigfoot.”

You groaned. “I am Bigfoot. I’m never leaving the house again.”

He laughed so hard he coughed, flopping dramatically on the couch beside you. “This is your villain origin story, huh?”

You didn’t respond. Just buried your face in a throw pillow and waited for the world to forget.

But the world didn’t forget.

Some fans were supportive.

“LET HER LIVE”

“She’s literally married to Marshall, what did y’all think was gonna happen?”

Others were more intense.

“I would pass out if my man did that.”

“Queen of quiet flex.”

“My Roman Empire.”

You nearly screamed. You showed Marshall one of those comments and he didn’t stop grinning for half an hour.

“You’re trending, baby,” he teased. “Didn’t think I’d have to be jealous of my own hickey.”

You smacked his arm. He caught your hand and kissed your knuckles like he hadn’t just caused a small internet meltdown.

For the next show, you wore sweatpants. Full coverage. Hoodie tied around your waist. Baseball cap low.

“Going incognito?” one of the crew asked with a smirk.

You nodded seriously. “I am a shadow.”

Marshall just leaned over and whispered in your ear, “I liked the shorts better.”

You glared at him. “I swear to God, if you even look at my thighs tonight…”

He leaned back, held his hands up innocently. “Hey. Not my fault you’re hot.”

But his smirk said otherwise.

---

You thought it was over.

The original photo had run its course. The memes had faded. You’d gone back to blending in—hoodies, longer hemlines, careful sitting positions when cameras were around. The internet had moved on to some beef between two rappers you didn’t know. You were safe.

Until someone posted a TikTok titled:

“This Is Not the First Time: A Hickey History (Eminem Edition)”

And it had slides.

The first was the recent one—inner thigh, show night, crisp and scandalous.

But then came others.

One from three months ago, when you’d worn a slouchy tank top backstage and leaned down to grab a water bottle. A mark just under your collarbone.

One from a paparazzi shot—barely visible, but there, along your jaw.

One from a grainy fan pic, where you’d worn a dress and sat beside Marshall in the wings. A purpling bruise blooming behind your knee.

Each image zoomed. Highlighted. Frozen in time. With captions like:

“Another one??? Bro.”

“Marshall said THIS ONE’S MINE.”

“Every time she wears skin, he leaves receipts.”

By the time the TikTok hit 4 million views, the phrase “Eminem marking kink” started trending on Twitter.

You stared at your phone in disbelief.

“No. No, no, no.”

Marshall peeked over your shoulder, toothbrush in his mouth, then started laughing. Choking, even.

“I told you they’d find more,” he said around a mouthful of foam.

“You KNEW this would happen?”

He shrugged, totally unbothered, spitting into the sink. “You bruise easy, babe. Not my fault.”

You smacked his arm. “This is humiliating!”

“This is awesome,” he corrected, grinning wide. “I’m trending again and I didn’t even drop an album.”

“You’re trending because people think you have a kink for biting me.”

He leaned against the bathroom doorframe, smirking like he was proud of himself. “Do I deny it? Or give them more content?”

“MARSHALL!”

The comments weren’t helping either.

“He’s a BITER and a LOVER. Iconic.”

“Me if I was married to him? I’d have bruises shaped like Michigan.”

“Eminem’s love language is claiming his girl like a werewolf. And honestly? Respect.”

You turned off your phone and didn’t turn it back on for two days.

Later that week, you caught Marshall scrolling through fan posts, smirking to himself.

“They’re calling me a vampire now,” he muttered, amused. “Should I get you a shirt that says ‘Property of Count Slim’?”

You just groaned and sank into the couch. “Remind me why I married you again?”

He didn’t miss a beat. “Because you’re mine.”

He leaned down and kissed your neck, deliberately slow. “And I mark what’s mine.”

---

It started as a joke.

Or at least you thought it was a joke.

After the TikToks, the memes, the fan theories, and the small avalanche of DMs asking “are the bruises real?”—you figured Marshall would back off a bit. Maybe give you a few weeks of bite-free affection. Let things settle.

Instead, he doubled down.

It started subtle. You’d be getting dressed for a show and he’d catch you in the mirror, eyeing your outfit, tugging at a hem.

Then he’d wander up behind you, mouth brushing your shoulder as he murmured, “Gonna wear that onstage?”

You’d nod, already suspicious. “Yeah. Why?”

And he’d smile against your skin.

“No reason.”

That should have been your warning.

The first time he did it on purpose, he left one on your hip.

You didn’t even realize it showed until someone posted a zoomed-in photo from the side of the stage with the caption:

“he’s doing it again.”

Then came the neck. You’d worn your hair up that night. It was unmistakable.

Trending again.

“Marshall’s gone feral.”

“How does she walk???”

“He treats her like a walking canvas and I respect that.”

You were losing the battle.

“You are doing this on purpose!” you hissed one night, jabbing your finger into his chest while he casually scrolled through your mentions like they were sports highlights.

“Me?” he asked, all fake innocence. “Babe, I’m just loving my wife.”

You narrowed your eyes. “Loving your wife doesn’t usually involve being an international hickey headline.”

He leaned back on the bed, arms behind his head, grinning. “Can’t help it if you taste good.”

“MARSHALL!”

He laughed, grabbed you by the waist, and pulled you down on top of him like it was the most natural thing in the world. “Relax. You’re famous now.”

“I don’t want to be famous.”

He kissed your cheek, then your jaw, then lower. “Too late, sweetheart. You’re my muse.”

You tried layering. Scarves. Concealer. Strategic lighting. Nothing worked.

He always found a new spot. Somewhere just out of reach, just visible enough, like he was planning it. And by the time the next photo went viral, he’d just look at you and shrug like, “Oops.”

Eventually, you stopped fighting it. Mostly because your defenses crumbled every time he murmured “mine” against your skin.

At the next show, a fan yelled “LET’S SEE THE HICKEY” during his set.

He didn’t miss a beat. Just looked toward side stage with that cocky little smirk and said into the mic:

“She’s covered up tonight. I got her good yesterday.”

The crowd lost it.

You covered your face and threatened to never speak to him again.

He sent you flowers that night with a card that read:

“Still trending. Love, your bitey husband.”

---

You were folding laundry when the thought hit you.

Not a slow, creeping realization—more like a slap in the face. One second you were matching socks, the next you were blinking at your thigh, the faint outline of another bruise just barely peeking from your shorts.

This one was from two nights ago. He’d caught you coming out of the shower, tugged you into the hallway, and kissed a path down your hip like he couldn’t help himself. It had been fast. Familiar. Gentle, but with teeth.

It was always with teeth.

And then it hit you:

Oh my God. He’s not just playing into the bit. He likes it.

Like… really likes it.

You froze, towel in hand, and said aloud to the empty room: “Does Marshall have a marking kink?”

The silence said yes.

You tried to brush it off. You really did.

But now it was all you could think about. The way he always smirked when you winced in the mirror the next morning. The way he aimed now—choosing spots that would show just enough. The low rumble in his chest every time he saw fan posts freaking out over the latest bruise.

You remembered the way his hands gripped you tighter when you flinched. How his voice dropped when he said mine.

Oh God. You’d married a man with a marking kink and didn’t realize it for twenty years.

When you finally confronted him, it wasn’t exactly a carefully planned moment. You were brushing your teeth in your sleep shirt, pacing in front of the bathroom mirror.

“Marshall,” you said suddenly, toothbrush still in hand. “Do you have a marking kink?”

He looked up from his phone on the bed, blinked at you, then started laughing. Hard.

You stared at him, foaming at the mouth, half-offended. “What’s funny??”

He just shook his head, grinning like he was genuinely delighted.

“Baby,” he said between laughs, “it took you twenty years to figure that out?”

You spat your toothpaste out like it was betrayal. “YOU NEVER TOLD ME!”

“I didn’t think I had to,” he said, standing and walking toward you. “You never stopped me.”

“I thought you were just… aggressive!”

“I am aggressive. Especially about you.”

You crossed your arms. “That’s not a defense.”

He leaned down, arms sliding around your waist, voice low in your ear. “What can I say? I like seeing my mouth on you.”

Your knees nearly buckled.

“Okay, stop talking,” you muttered, face burning.

He kissed your jaw gently—no teeth, just warmth.

“…You mad?”

You sighed. “No. Just… confused. Do I have a thing now? Are we a thing?”

He smirked. “Oh yeah. We’re definitely a thing.”

Later that night, as you climbed into bed and tugged the covers over your hips, he glanced over and said casually:

“Turn the light on. I need to pick my spot for tomorrow.”

You threw a pillow at his face. He caught it. And laughed like it was the best day of his life.

---

It was like a switch flipped.

You saw it everywhere now.

Not just the bruises. Not just the now-infamous hickeys fans tracked like they were decoding a map. No—now that you knew, you couldn’t not see the dozens of little ways Marshall marked you. Ways he always had. You just hadn’t noticed until now.

It was in the way he always chose your perfume.

The same bottle, worn down to the last few sprays. He never said he liked it, but he always noticed when you tried a different one.

“You smell different,” he’d murmur against your neck.

Every single time.

It was in the way he put his hoodie on you before he’d wear it himself. Even backstage, even at home. He’d slip it over your shoulders first, like claiming you in fabric. You’d catch him later wearing the same one, and he’d act like it was coincidence. It wasn’t. You knew that now.

It was in how he’d guide you with a hand on your lower back when walking through crowds. How he stood behind you in photos, fingers resting lightly on your hip, like he needed people to see the connection. His silent, steady way of saying mine without a single word.

It was the way he kissed you before every show. Without fail. Not rushed, not just for luck—but full-bodied, hand at your neck, lips lingering. Like he needed to remind you before he stepped into the spotlight.

You sat with it one night, curled up beside him on the couch, phone on mute as some old horror movie played. He was half-asleep, thumb lazily tracing patterns along your knee.

And you thought: He’s been doing this the whole time.

Maybe not always with teeth.

But always with intent.

With claim.

With love that didn’t need announcing—just traces.

You leaned your head against his shoulder. “You really like it,” you said quietly.

He didn’t pretend not to understand.

His hand paused, then squeezed your thigh. “Yeah,” he said simply. “I do.”

“Why?”

He turned his head a little, thoughtful. “I like knowing I was there. That you felt me.” His voice dropped lower. “That the world sees it too.”

You didn’t speak for a second. The words sat heavy and hot in your chest.

“And if I don’t want the world to see it?”

He glanced at you. Not a flinch, not a flicker of disappointment. Just honesty.

“Then I’ll leave ‘em where only you know.”

That night, he kissed his name onto your skin like a secret.

High on your ribs.

Inside your thigh.

Behind your ear.

All the places only you could feel in the quiet.

---

It started slow. Quiet.

Like the way a favorite song fades out before you realize it’s over. You didn’t notice the difference at first—not when it came with a kiss, or a lingering touch, or a playful remark. Marshall was still Marshall. Still yours.

But the bruises stopped showing up.

At first, you thought maybe he was being careful. Respectful. Thoughtful after your little meltdown about trending over a thigh hickey and fans shipping you with his teeth.

You’d laughed, curled into his chest, said something like, “Let’s not give them too much material this month.”

He’d kissed your hair and hummed, “Yeah, alright.”

And just like that… he stopped.

No new marks bloomed behind your knee after late-night teasing. No gentle pressure of his mouth under your jaw. His kisses were still soft, still full—but they no longer lingered with intent. His hands were still everywhere, but they didn’t grip anymore.

He’d gotten more subtle.

Scarves. Neck kisses without teeth. Hugs in public instead of the way he used to pull you into his side like he was warning the room.

There was still love. Still affection. But the claiming was gone.

And you missed it.

It hit you hardest one morning when you stood in the mirror, fresh out of the shower, and realized your skin was clear. Completely. Not a single trace of him anywhere.

Not one mark.

Not one bruise.

Not one kiss that still stung in the best way.

You touched your neck absently, your fingertips brushing over nothing.

And your chest ached.

He was still playful. Still gave you the middle seat on the plane and brought you coffee before interviews. Still slept with a hand splayed over your stomach, as if instinctively keeping you close.

But you noticed the difference.

How he paused more often before touching you in front of people.

How he held back a comment once during a fan Q&A, biting his tongue when someone joked about "leaving evidence."

How he stopped smiling when you scrolled past the edits.

You’d told him once you didn’t want to be famous.

And maybe… maybe he believed you.

But now, all you could think was—

Did I make him stop?

Did I tell him to quiet something that made him feel like himself?

You missed the sting of his mouth against your collarbone.

Missed the smirk he gave you after seeing a photo online.

Missed feeling marked—not just touched. Known.

You hadn’t realized how much it made you feel like his until it was gone.

That night, you curled into his side, unsure of how to bring it up.

“Marsh?”

“Mm?”

You hesitated. “You’ve been real gentle lately.”

He glanced at you, something flickering in his expression. “That a bad thing?”

“No. Just…” You traced a circle on his chest, soft. “You used to be less careful.”

Silence.

Then—his hand tightened just slightly on your hip. Not enough to hurt. Just enough to remind.

When he spoke, his voice was low. Rough. “You said you didn’t want the world to see it.”

You nodded slowly. “I know. But… I didn’t mean stop.”

He shifted, pulling you closer. His breath warm at your ear. “Then say it.”

You swallowed. “I miss when you left a little more of yourself behind.”

His fingers pressed into your skin, grip firm. “Yeah?”

You nodded.

And in the dark, he smiled against your throat and whispered, “Then I’ll give it back.”

---

The next morning, you didn’t expect anything to change.

You figured last night’s quiet admission would settle into something soft, slow—a gradual shift back to the version of him who left marks like whispered poems. But Marshall Mathers has never been a slow-burn kind of man.

So when you woke up, his side of the bed was empty. The coffee was already made. And there was a note on the counter in his crooked handwriting:

Don’t make plans tonight. You’re mine. —M

Your stomach flipped. Your heart did a thing.

You had no idea what he meant. But you didn’t cancel a single thing—you cleared the evening.

It started the second the front door shut behind him.

He didn’t say anything. Just looked at you from across the room with that look—the one that used to show up in the studio when he got a verse exactly right. Focused. Intent. A little dangerous in the best kind of way.

Then he crossed the space in three strides, backed you into the hallway wall, and kissed you like he’d been starving for it.

You gasped against his mouth. “Marsh—”

“Shut up,” he muttered, lips at your jaw. “You asked for this.”

He didn’t rush. That wasn’t his style anymore.

He was methodical. Hands sure. Mouth devastating. And when he dropped to his knees in the hallway, looking up at you like you were a prayer and a dare all at once, you realized—

This wasn’t about fan photos.

This wasn’t about trends.

This was about you. His.

He kissed your hip, dragged his mouth lower, and bit just hard enough to make you gasp.

“There,” he murmured, eyes on the skin already blooming red. “You feel that tomorrow, you’ll know who did it.”

Another mark. Inside your thigh.

One on your ribs.

One just under your breast—hidden, perfect, secret.

He worshipped you like canvas, like home, like someone he never planned to leave untouched again.

Later, curled into him under warm sheets, your skin buzzing with love and ache and heat, he kissed your temple and whispered,

“You needed to feel owned, huh?”

You nuzzled against his chest, breath unsteady. “Maybe a little.”

He chuckled. “I’ll stop holding back. I promise.”

Then, quieter:

“I didn’t think you wanted that part of me anymore.”

You looked up at him, touched his face, and said, “I want all your parts. Even the ones that leave bruises.”

His breath hitched. His mouth met yours again, slow and soft.

And somewhere inside that kiss, you felt everything settle back into place.

[imaginespazzi]

Part 7: Home

Masterlist - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6

These hands had to let it go free and this love came back to (us)

(In which with bittersweet feelings, a nostalgic writer, finally writes the end of the story)

Pairing: Paige Bueckers X Azzi Fudd

Themes: Angst and Fluff

Words: 7.1K

TW: Swearing, Alludes to Sexual Content

A/N: Hello my loves! I can't believe we've actually reached the end, who would have thought huh? I'm not sure if there will be an epilogue, mainly cause I don't know what I'd write but never say never. I don't really know how I feel about this chapter and if I've done the end I pictured justice but I really hope y'all like it anyways. There's a fair amount of creative liberty taken with WNBA logistics but please just accept it for the plot. Per usual, did I edit? Yes. Are there grammar mistakes and typos anyways? Yes. As always, let me know what you liked and disliked. And finally, to all my lovelies who have liked, reblogged, commented, sent in an ask, dm-ed me or simply just silently read this fic, I just wanna say thank you guys so, so, much, y'all have made writing every word worth it and I hope you enjoyed reading this as much I enjoyed writing it <3

August 2018

Paige swears, tonight, there are stars in the Minnesota night sky she’s never seen before in her life. The summer sky has darkened with nightfall, yet the shine of the moon and its companions make it still seem ever so bright. Or maybe, it’s just the girl lying next to Paige that makes tonight feel luminescent, sparkling with the promises of something not quite like friendship that Paige has never felt before. She’d spent the whole day with Azzi at the Minnesota State fair, trying to suppress these new butterflies in her stomach that seemed to have taken birth over their time in Latvia. Or well, maybe they’d been there from the start, but they’d really only started this dance of theirs, the one that makes Paige feel all tingly when Azzi smiles, over the course of this summer. 

“Paige it’s cold, stop hogging the blanket,” Azzi chastises, breaking Paige from a trance, as she tugs on the pink and purple blanket covering the two of them, “I knew we should have brought two of them.”

“It’s barely on me” Paige argues for the sake of arguing but she shifts anyway to allow the younger girl to pull the blanket, so clearly meant for one person, a little more towards her, “besides, it’s about sharing body heat.”

“You’re not even warm enough to share body heat,” Azzi mocks as she makes a show of tracing a finger down Paige’s arm and everything in the blonde feels like it’s been lit on fire at the touch. And she wonders if Azzi feels it too, the electricity, the sparks of this could ruin me that scatter through her veins before finding themselves setting her heart ablaze. It’s too much and Paige shakes Azzi’s hand off with a little more force than she means too. 

When Azzi sends her questioning look, she splutters through an excuse, “your hands are cold too. Can we just do the boring shit we’re here to do.”

"Stargazing is not boring,” Azzi says indignantly, opening the little stargazing booklet she’d brought with her, flicking through the pages looking for something specific. 

To be honest, sitting still in an open field and squinting at the sky trying to figure out a distant constellation isn’t really Paige’s brand of entertainment. She’s a fidgety person by nature, constantly embroiled in the urge to be moving. But Azzi had brought it up the other day, with pleading eyes and a hopeful grin and well, sometimes it felt sinful to deny Azzi of anything she wants. And that’s how they’d ended up at a campsite, not too far from the State fair, lying on the grass, heads tilted towards each other, with a single blanket shielding them from the summer breeze. 

“Okay,” Azzi says after a while, using her fingers to point out a pattern in the sky, “I think that one’s Cassiopeia.”

“If you say so,” Paige nods, not really sure what she’s supposed to be looking at. 

“Paaaaige,” Azzi whines, “focus.”

“Dude I can barely see anything, the fuck am I supposed to focus o-”

Before Paige can finish her sentence, she feels herself being pulled by the younger girl, the side of her body fitting into the crook’s of Azzi’s like a perfect puzzle piece. She looks over at the brunette, and the protest dies on the tip of her tongue, as she realises just how close Azzi is to her now, all semblance of air leaving her lungs. Paige gulps, eyes tracing every inch of her best friend’s face, stopping of their own accord at Azzi’s lips, before guiltily flashing back to meet the younger girl’s eyes which are just as focused on Paige. And it feels like there’s no force in this world right now that could make either of them look away. Except maybe the force of friends don’t do this. 

“Just focus,” Azzi breaks contact first, turning her face back at the stars, before gently grabbing hold of Paige’s hand so she can guide it in the pattern of the constellation. And Paige still doesn’t really see it, doesn’t even particularly care about seeing it, but if it gets Azzi to hold her hand, soft skin putting light pressure against her palm, she thinks she’ll try to see some random lines in the sky forever. 

“It’s pretty.”

“You don’t see it do you?”

“Nope,” Paige’s grin widens when Azzi chuckles, shaking her head fondly. Something in her blooms, delighted at being the reason for that. And she’s always prided herself in being funny, she thinks of herself as a little bit of a comedian really, but she’s never wanted to make anyone laugh quite as much as she wants to make Azzi laugh. 

“Well that’s enough stargazing for us then,” Azzi rolls her eyes, closing her little booklet and making a move to sit up but Paige is quicker, pulling the younger girl back down and interlocking their fingers. Her own overeagerness causes a tinge of embarrassment to race up her cheeks, and she hopes it’s dark enough that Azzi won’t see the pale pink blush taking over her face. 

“It’s peaceful out here,” she says quietly, sounding shy even to her own ears and she can’t help but wonder when the hell that happened, “you wanna stay a little longer?”

“Yeah okay let’s stay longer,,” Azzi agrees  and sometimes when Azzi speaks like that, her voice lyrically soft with a secret smile hidden in it, Paige wonders if maybe it would be okay to hope for, to feel something more because maybe, just maybe, Azzi feels it too. 

“You know you should come to the state championship,” Paige says after a second of silence, trying to keep her voice nonchalant but she can hear the wishfulness bleeding into it anyways. 

Azzi raises an eyebrow, “isn’t that in March? That’s like months and months away.”

“Yeah but- well-” Paige shrugs, cheeks burning just a little bit, “you probably wanna book in advance cause like tickets and stuff you know?”

“You don’t even know if you’ll be in the state championship. There’s still a whole season to go.”

“Oh I know. I know we’re definitely gonna be there.” Paige smirks, cockiness back in full-fledged form. 

“Then I’ll be there,” Azzi says, as if it’s the simplest thing in the world, “you better win though Bueckers.”

“Watch me,” and she’s jutting her chest out in arrogance sure, but really everything inside her is swelling with something else, a feeling she’s starting to understand a little too well, a feeling that terrifies her, a feeling she doesn’t think she’s quite ready to let herself feel yet, “it would be nice you know, to win a championship together at some point.”

“I don’t think my parents would be on board with moving to Minnesota.”

“I’m sure I could convince them,” Paige feels a little giddy at the thought, “but I meant more like college, like UConn.”

It’s a topic they’ve stumbled upon a couple of times, with each other, and with the other girls at Team USA. And as much as Paige would love for her other teammates to follow her to her dream school, she’s practical enough to know they might have other priorities. But the thing is that with the rest of the girls, it’s just something she’d like to happen but with Azzi, now that Paige has said it out loud, she’s beginning to realise how desperately she wants that, her and Azzi, on the same team, fighting the same battles and winning the same wars, together. 

“Don’t think you can win a national championship without me Bueckers?” Azzi smirks, twisting her head towards Paige, eyebrows cocked in arrogance. 

“Of course I can,” Paige’s face softens, the vulnerability that only ever seems to come out around her best friend seeping on to her features, “but I think it would be fun to win one with you. Someday.”

“Someday, “ Azzi whispers back, giving Paige’s hand a light squeeze, and then her eyes widen at the sky, “holy shit is that a shooting star? Oh my god Paige look up, quick, it’s beautiful.”

In the dark of the night, a rare flicker of gold shoots across the obsidian Minnesota sky. Paige has never seen one before but it seems fitting really, that she’d see one tonight. 

“We have to make a wish,” she whispers and Azzi, never one to really believe, rolls her eyes but she follows Paige’s lead, closing her eyes. And the thing is Paige could wish for a lot of things really, but she finds herself thinking of only one word that sums up all she could ever want: someday.

***

August 2026 

They’ve been playing against each other for years now and yet the thrill of the face-off still hasn’t quite worn off. Back in the handful of games in high school, it had been quickfire friendly trash talk, two best friends going at it like the competitors they were. College had been drastically different, each game, each play, underlined with the tension of two people who still hadn’t quite figured it out. But Paige thinks her favourite version of them as opponents is definitely this one, the one where they might be on different teams in the WNBA, but off the court, they both know they’re on the same side, together. 

Their relationship isn’t quite a secret; it would have been impossible to hide if after the kiss at the 2025 national championship. But they’d kept as quiet about it as possible, skillfully dodging media questions, wanting to shelter it from the prying eyes of the public. It makes playing each other on national television, just that little bit more entertaining, trying to keep things as cordial as possible. If Paige’s hands end up just a little too close to Azzi’s waist, lingering a little longer than necessary against the patch of skin she’d marked with a hickey earlier this morning, and it makes the younger girl shiver, then that’s just a tactic to win. And if Azzi breathes seductive thoughts of what she’d like to do after the game when guarding Paige, and it makes the blonde want to turn around and kiss the smirk off of her girlfriend’s lips, well that’s just another innovative defensive strategy. 

“Be a good girl for me and move,” Paige whispers, the double entendre in her voice apparent, as she tries to dribble the ball past Azzi. There’s only a minute or so left in the last meeting of the regular season between Paige’s Lynx and Azzi’s Mystics -funny how that had worked out-  and the score is painfully close, with the Mystics closing in on the Lynx’s two point-lead. 

“Always a good girl for you P,” Azzi smirks, her voice the quietest it could possibly be, but Paige hears her next words like they’re on a loudspeaker in the area,  “it’s why I’m wearing your favourite purple panties.”

It takes a second, a second where Paige’s eyes gloss over with lust, as her mind rushes back to the last time she’d seen, the last time she’d touched the silky undergarment, for the ball to be stolen from her hands. She’s a step too slow to recover and by that time Azzi’s already scored the easy lay-up to tie up the game, a mischievous grin adorning her normally stoic game face. 

On the other end of the court, Napheesa draws a foul and Paige and Azzi end up next to each for free throws. Paige is seething, unsure if the heat curling up her spine is from the game or the girl standing next to her. 

“Sorry baby, all’s fair in love and war right?” Azzi teases, pinky brushing against the blonde’s, “I’ll make it up to you later if you want.”

“You’re such a fucking menace,” Paige practically growls. She does want, in fact she’d like it right now if it was possible. Two years they’ve been together, longer if you count the inbetween, and still, every time Azzi lights a match, Paige feels herself burn just as brightly as the first time she’d felt that magnetic pull. 

“Learnt from the best,” Azzi hums with a grin as Napheesa hits both free throws. 

The rest of the game passes in a blur of frenzied shots and hurried fouls but the Lynx pull out an eventual, much-needed win, to better their chances of clinching a higher seed in the playoffs. After missing the playoffs in 2024, the Lynx, despite having relatively low odds, had secured the no.1 pick and there had never really been a doubt that they would pick Paige. She’d helped the team get back to the playoffs last season but they hadn’t made it out of the first round. A championship doesn’t seem quite possible yet, but Paige has her fingers crossed that they’d at least make it to a semi-final this time. 

“The two of you are terrible at this,” Aaliyah’s the first person to hug Paige during the handshake line, “I thought you’d jump each other’s bones in the middle of the game today.”

“We’re not that bad,” Paige rolls her eyes at her former teammate. She high-fives a few more of the Mystics team until she gets to Azzi, who’s already smiling, despite the loss. The cameras are quick to crowd them, clearly wanting a more sensational picture than the one they’re likely to get. Still, despite the unwanted attention, Paige lets herself nestle into the crook of Azzi’s neck. 

“You owe me twice tonight,” she whispers into the younger girl’s ear, “one for the win and one for that bullshit you pulled on the court tonight.”

Azzi’s voice is breathless when she replies, “I can give you way more than two.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“It’s a promise.”

***

“With the new rules, after this season you’ll be a free agent, have you given any thought to that?”

Waiting for the Lynx’s turn in the media room, Paige hadn’t been paying much attention to the questions being asked to the Mystics players, her focus solely on how hot her girlfriend always looked post games. But the words ‘free agent’ pique her interest. The W had changed the rookie contract rules for first round draftees to two years and that meant both Paige and Azzi would be free agents after this year. But while it hadn’t reached the media quite yet, the Lynx were likely to use their core designation on Paige. Which meant the only one of them making any decision about next season would be Azzi. It was a subject the two of them were cautiously tip-toeing around, using the shield of distance to avoid talking about what it could mean for them. 

“I’m focused on the season, this team and the rest of our games. I’m not really thinking about the future,” Azzi answers diplomatically. 

“You’ve obviously got very strong ties to the DC area but you also went to UCLA, if the Sparks or maybe even the Valkyries, considering your connection to Steph Curry, were interested, and there have been rumours that they are, would you consider it?” the same reporter prods. 

“Again, I’m not currently thinking about any of that,” to anyone else Azzi probably sounds neutral but Paige has studied the sheet music of Azzi’s voice to the point where she knows what’s hidden behind every note, behind every little indent. The tinge of irritation is masked by a smile, but the line of questioning is clearly unappreciated. 

“And what about the Lynx?” the persistently oblivious reporter continues and this time Paige sucks in a breath, “you have some ties to that team don't you? Have you given some thought to maybe going there?”

Azzi’s eye twitches ever so slightly, “the Lynx just beat my team. The only thoughts I have right now are about how to beat them next time.”

That elicits a laugh from the media and finally the rather obtuse reporters seem to understand that he’s not going to be able to pry anything newsworthy from Azzi’s mouth. But even if he hasn’t achieved his desired effect, he’s succeeded in making Paige’s mind start running in circles. She hadn’t let herself think about it yet, the potential of Azzi joining the Lynx, the potential of playing with Azzi, the potential of finally just being with Azzi. Because facing the potential for all of that, facing all the things she wants means also facing the potential that maybe Azzi doesn’t want any of that. 

***

The air in Paige’s living room is thick with a suffocating tension as she and Azzi sit on opposite ends of the couch. It reminds Paige a little bit of the before, a dreaded version of them she’d foolishly thought they grown out of, until something reminiscent of their past problems had reared its ugly head, and suddenly it feels a bit like she’s playing a losing game. 

“Will you please stop that,” she bites out, referring to where Azzi’s foot is incessantly tapping on the wooden floors, “it’s giving me a headache.”

Azzi’s eyes narrow, flashing with irritation, “is it my tapping or the alcohol giving you a headache Paige?”

“I didn’t even drink that much,” Paige says through gritted teeth and Azzi scoffs. 

It’s a lie. After both teams were done with post game pressers, she, Azzi and a couple of the other girls had ended up at a local bar as they often did when the other team didn’t have to fly out til the next day. Paige had been tense the whole evening and trying to pretend not to be, especially when Azzi could see right through her façade, had only made the whole thing worse. She wasn’t one to drink too much, always happy just being sufficiently tipsy but then she’d gotten in her head too much. And when the first shot didn’t quite hit the way she needed it to, she’d kept on going, receiving worried looks from all the girls, until Azzi had finally stepped in. The ride back from the bar had been a sobering experience, one look at Azzi’s stoic face, giving away her irritation. 

“That’s why you still reek of tequila?” 

“How the fuck would you know? You haven’t come near me all night.” 

“Don’t you dare try and turn this on me Paige. I tried to talk to you all night til you decided you wanted to act like freshman frat boy,” Azzi spits out, hurt and anger colliding in her voice, “we barely get to spend time together during the season and the one night in forever that we do, you pull this shit?”

They haven’t had an argument like this since they’ve been officially together, the kind of argument that has them balancing on a delicate tight rope, too afraid to take a step backwards in their relationship, and too prideful to take a step forward towards each other. 

“I didn’t think you cared about spending time together during the season,” Paige accuses and there’s a sensible part of her, one that’s currently being held captive by the dangers of liquor, that knows it’s a ridiculous allegation. 

Azzi stares at her, lips opening and closing in disbelief, “excuse me?”

“It’s pretty simple really Azzi. If you wanna spend the whole season together, the option is right fucking there, but I- I can’t even tell if you’re interested in taking it,” Paige is pacing now, teeth gnawing at her lips like they always do when she’s nervous. 

“What- what are you even talking about?” Azzi asks, clearly confused. 

“Free fucking agency. They asked you about it and you said you hadn’t thought about it at all. That’s really great to hear Az, really great to know you haven’t thought about how that could literally change our whole fucking life,” and even as the words waterfall out of her mouth, Paige knows she’s being unreasonable, but the mix of stress and alcohol churning in her stomach is just enough to keep her from taking the words back. 

“I didn’t- that’s not even what I said. Jesus fucking christ Paige,” Azzi rubs her face, looking defeated.

“So you have thought about it then?”

“Of course I’ve thought about it, “ Azzi throws her hands up, “but I wasn’t gonna tell the media about all of that. But you- you seriously think I haven’t thought about what this means for us? You don’t- do you really think I’m not thinking about you- about us- while trying to make this decision?”

“Well you definitely didn’t think of me- of us- when you chose UCLA,” Paige’s eyes widen at her own words, knowing immediately that of all things she could have said, those were the worst ones, “I- I didn’t mean it like that.”

In front of her, Azzi has gone deathly still, face completely devoid of emotion, until the first tear drops and all of Paige’s anger dissipates, the guilt clawing back with full force. 

“I thought we were over that,” Azzi whispers, voice trembling, as she looks down at her hands, “but maybe we’ll never be over that.”

“We are,” Paige sinks to her knees in front of the younger girl, tugging Azzi’s hands into her own, “we are over it. I just- it just slipped out.”

Azzi’s quiet for a moment before she pulls her hands out of the blonde’s grip, sidestepping her as she stands up and Paige feels empty and cold and just a little bit broken. 

“Are you leaving?” she whispers, peering up at Azzi through tear soaked eyelashes. 

“I think I should, before anything else just slips out,” Paige flinches and Azzi’s expression softens, “I know- I know you didn’t mean it like that but I just- I need some space.”

Panic filters into Paige’s lungs, wrapping its dirty hands and squeezing so tight that she can barely breathe. She’s not sure when she’ll see Azzi again, now that there’s no more Lynx-Mystics games left in the regular season and it’s unlikely with their expected seedings that they’d meet at some point in the playoffs. It’s not like distance is new to them, but in the last two years, they’ve only ever said goodbye with an i love you attached to the end. 

“Are you-,” Paige gasps for air, “are you leaving me?”

And it must be written all over Paige's face, just how petrified she is of this moment, because that's all it takes for Azzi to rush back into Paige’s space, hands cupping her cheeks, “oh baby of course not. I just- you’re still drunk and I’m upset and I don’t want us to say anything we don’t mean. And I- need time to think about free agency and I think you- you need time to think about why that slipped out.”

Paige sighs, melting into Azzi’s touch as the knots in her stomach begin to untangle themselves, “you’re so logical.”

“Someone has to be,” a half-smile flitters across the younger girl’s face as she wipes at Paige’s tears, “we’ll figure this out okay? Just- just give me a little bit of time.”

Give me time. It’s a familiar line, so similar to what Azzi had asked for when she was making a decision about college and Paige would be lying if she said there isn’t a part of her that’s terrified fate is going to make them repeat the same mistakes. But part of growing up, Paige surmises, is letting time test you with the same trials and tribulations, and the next time, coming out of the other end on the right side. 

And so she squeezes Azzi’s hand, matching the younger girl's half smile, with a soothing one of her own, “okay.”

***

November 2027 

Paige doesn't know when she ended up in a love triangle with Azzi and the state of California but she wishes she was competing against an actual person. At least then she could throw a punch at the other guy. The W season is barely over and it seems like every front office has thrown themselves headfirst into convincing free agents to join their team. There’s a couple of teams interested in Azzi, but no one seems to be trying harder than the Los Angeles Sparks. Paige thinks whoever gave that city a name meaning “the angels” could not have been more wrong because really it’s a city full of devils constantly trying to steal her girl and no she’s not being dramatic. 

They’re supposed to be leaving for thanksgiving dinner when Azzi’s phone rings and Paige can’t help but roll her eyes when Cameron Brink’s name flashes on the CallerID. The Sparks seemed to have put her as head of their recruiting Azzi campaign and Cam had been diligently doing her part. 

“Azzi, Cam’s calling again,” Paige yells out to her girlfriend who’s still not quite finished getting ready.

“Can you pick it up?”

“Do I have to?”

“Paige,” Azzi whines and Paige sighs, hitting the green answering button. 

“The amount of times you’ve called my girlfriend this week, Brink, should I be concerned?”

“Jealous I’m replacing you as her favourite blonde?” Cam’s voice always sounds like she’s smiling and Paige can’t help her own smile. Goddamn Cameron Brink for always being the sweetest soul on this planet. 

“As if,” Paige scoffs, “it’s a holiday Cam, give the recruiting a rest.”

“Hey, I’m just calling to wish her a happy thanksgiving,” Cam defends. 

“Mmmhmm where’s my thanksgiving wish?”

“Oh please, the two of you are basically a unit. Wishing her is wishing you,” Cam is quiet for a second before speaking again, “the Sparks would be a good fit for her Paige.”

Paige sucks in a sharp breath, “I’m not the one you’re gonna have to convince.”

“I know but you know your opinion means a lot to her. I know you want her in Minnesota and she'd be good there too and I- I know it isn’t my place to say any of this but just- just don’t discourage her from doing what’s best for her,” there’s not a hint of malice in Cam’s words, there never is, but they pierce at Paige’s skin anyways. 

“Okay I’m ready, hand me the phone,” she’s saved from having to answer by Azzi waltzing into the living room and prying the phone from her hands. 

Paige watches silently as Azzi talks animatedly with Cam, noticing the way her girlfriend’s smile widens while talking about certain spots in L.A. They’d subconsciously decided not to breach the subject of free agency after that night. Paige hadn’t interfered in any of the Lynx’s conversations with Azzi, deciding that this time, she’d stay out of it. It hadn’t been easy, every little bit of her itching to pitch why the Lynx were the perfect fit, why Paige was the perfect fit, but she was determined to give Azzi the space -the time- she’d wanted. This time she’d leave the choice solely up to Azzi and whatever she decided, Paige would find her happiness in that. 

“Paige you ready to go,” Azzi waves a hand in front of Paige’s face, eyebrows raised in question when the older girl doesn’t make a move to get off the sofa, “hey, you good?”

“Cam says the Sparks would be a good fit,” Azzi stiffens at Paige’s words. 

“Paige-”

“She’s right,” Paige concedes, fingers fidgeting as she averts Azzi’s gaze. 

The younger girl blinks at her, clearly not having expected that, “she is?”

“Yeah. They need a shooting guard and you,” Paige smiles, reaching out to pull Azzi onto the couch with her, “you’re the best there is.”

“I wouldn’t go that far-”

“You are to me and it’s why I want you on the Lynx,” they both let out a breath with that. It’s not a secret of course but Paige hasn’t said it out loud before. 

“Paige-”

“But it’s okay if you don't wanna be on the Lynx, if you wanna be on the Sparks or stay here with the Mystics or on any other team, if you think it’s the right move for you and for your career then that’s fine. It’s okay and you don’t- you don’t need my permission or anything of course but I just- whatever you decide, I’ll support it okay? What I said that night about UCLA-  it wasn't- it wasn’t about you. I thought about it like you asked me to and it’s me. I was scared that I would fuck it up again and I’d lose you again-”

“You won’t,” Azzi grabs Paige’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze,  “I won’t let you.”

“I know. I know now that whatever happens, we’ll be okay. And so you can choose whatever team you want and it won’t- it won’t affect us, I promise. It won’t be like last time I swear. When you make your decision- I just- I don’t want you to make it for me or for us, cause you and me? Baby we’ll be just fine no matter what. Wherever you go and wherever I am, we’ll make it work, just as we have for the last two years,” Paige smirks, “besides I kinda enjoy kicking your ass.”

Azzi lets out a snort as she climbs onto Paige’s lap, thighs straddling her hips, “you really had to ruin it with that last part huh?”

“Was getting a little too sappy for me,” Paige mumbles and when she looks up, the emotions floating in Azzi’s eyes make Paige’s heart stutter. Because no one else gets this Azzi. This Azzi, who wears her heart on her sleeve, who lets her walls down, only for Paige’s eyes to see, only for Paige’s mind to memorise, only for Paige’s heart to keep. 

“You mean it?” Azzi whispers, brushing a strand of hair out of Paige’s face, touching lingering, “you’d be okay with anything?”

“Yeah, yeah I do,” Paige cups Azzi’s cheeks, brushing her lips against the younger girl’s, “whatever you choose, we’ll be fine. No matter what, I believe in us.”

***

January 2028

Paige groans when her phone rings at 2 a.m., fumbling around in the dark trying to answer it. 

“I swear you better be dying if you’re calling me this late,” she grumbles into the phone, voice scratchy with sleep. 

“Not quite,” Azzi says, and Paige’s eyebrows furrow at the amount of background noise she can hear behind her girlfriend. 

“Dude where the hell are you at 3 in the morning?” she asks, now a little more awake as she sits up. 

“I uh- I had a bit of a revelation,” and Paige can practically picture Azzi, wherever she might be, fidgeting with her fingers and biting her lips. 

“That doesn’t explain anything.”

“I know. I know. Shit, I was supposed to do this in person. I had a whole plan but apparently being with you has made me impatient,” Azzi rambles. 

“You’re still not making any sense,” but Paige’s heart is starting to beat erratically fast in anticipation. 

“I had this realisation while I was in the gym today, it was really quiet and peaceful and I was fine you know- all day I was fine- just doing daily routines and then I just- I missed you. I miss you all the time do you know that?”

Paige does know, knows it far too well. Sometimes she thinks missing Azzi comes as naturally as breathing, an innate part of her day to day, a constant ache that she’s felt since she was 15. 

“I miss you too,” she whispers. 

“And I’ve learned to survive with that feeling, with missing you constantly. I mean it’s been more than 10 years at this point, how could I not? But what I realised today is that just because I can- just because I can live missing you- doesn’t mean I want to.”

“What are you saying Azzi?”

“DC is my childhood. My family is close to there, it’s part of where I grew up. It’ll always be my first home. And LA is where I found myself, my identity, and for a while it felt like home too.”

“Azzi,” Paige breathes out, hands gripping the phone as tight as possible, wrapping that one syllable in emblems of give me forever. 

“But my forever home isn’t in DC or LA and it’s not really in any other place either because-  Jesus this might be the clichést thing I’ve ever said but-,” Azzi lets out a chuckle, “my home is wherever you are Paige. Wherever we’re together, that’s home.”

It feels a little bit like the end of a drought, the wetness on Paige’s cheeks like the rain that comes after. In the pitch black of her room, phone clutched closely to her ear with Azzi’s words floating through it like a swan song, Paige swears she’s never felt the world glow quite like this before. 

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“Beating your ass has been fun as hell but I think we’d make a pretty good team Bueckers.”

And it’s a good thing Paige’s walls are soundproof because the delighted whoop she lets out practically vibrates around the room, all previous wisps of tiredness completely gone from her body. Azzi lets out a tearful laugh and Paige wishes they were together right now so she could tattoo this happiness onto both of their skins. 

“The greatest team ever,” Paige affirms, “When are you com-”

“Attention passengers Delta Airlines Flight 1248 to Minneapolis will be boarding soon, please have your passport and ticket ready to check at the gate.”

“About that,” Azzi says shyly as Paige’s mouth drops open at the announcement, “I uh- I had a moment of spontaneity.”

“Who the hell are you and what have you done with my overthinking girlfriend?” Paige demands and Azzi giggles on the other end of line.

“I know it’s last minute, like really last minute and it was meant to be a surprise actually but I just- I really wanna see you. Is that okay?”

“Is that okay? Fuck Azzi, it’s all I want. Baby,” Paige breathes out softly, “come home.”

*** 

Time isn’t going nearly fast enough Paige thinks as she checks the arrivals board for the nth time. She’d tried for about four seconds to fall back asleep after hanging up the phone but her entire body had been buzzing with excitement. And so she’d gotten to the airport far earlier than necessary, and had maybe one too many cups of coffee if the jittery shake in her left hand is anything to go by.

She swears she feels her before she sees her. The air is electric as if the whole city, the whole state is waiting for Azzi too, for them to get their elusive forever. This moment feels like years in the making, and Paige is ready, ready to grasp it and make it hers. And then there’s Azzi, a clearly chosen-at-last minute wrinkled t-shirt, eyes drooping from the tiredness from not having slept all night, baby hairs in a frenzy across her forehead. To Paige, she’s still the prettiest girl in the entire universe. 

Azzi’s eyes scan through the airport until they land on Paige, a dazzling smile illuminating her exhausted features. It’s the exact same smile that Paige had first elicited from her on the flight back from Argentina when she’d told Azzi she had a feeling they'd make great friends. It’s her Paige smile. The world is still for a second, everything melting away except them and the whispers of the journey it had taken them to get to this point. Every delicately placed step towards each other feels like an ode to every year they’d spent apart. And then Paige is running, not caring about everyone else around her. She jumps into Azzi’s arm, all 6 feet of her, tangling her legs around the younger girl's waist while her arms fasten around the neck. It forces Azzi to let go of her small carry-on, not caring that it falls to the floor with a thud, as her hands wrap around Paige’s back, steadying her girlfriend’s weight on top of her. 

“You’re here,” Paige whispers, still a little in disbelief, “you’re really here.”

“I’ve been in Minny plenty of times before,” Azzi quips, adjusting her balance to properly hold the girl clinging to her like a koala. 

“Shut up you know what I mean. You’re here forever this time.”

“Well I don’t know about forever- OW,” Azzi shrieks, as Paige pinches her arm, “do you want me to drop you woman?”

“You’re never allowed to leave.”

“That sounds vaguely threatening.”

“Good because it definitely is a threat,” Paige says before pulling Azzi into a searing kiss, “welcome home baby.”

***

October 2028 

There are moments in life you remember forever. Sometimes you know they’re going to happen, sometimes they take you off guard and sometimes, it’s a combination of both. The Minnesota Lynx’s journey to the WNBA finals this season had always felt inevitable but the journey there, for a team that had unexpectedly fallen to the 4-seed despite pre-season clamour of them being number one, had been filled with bitter losses and moments of pure uncertainty. In a way, it perfectly mirrors Paige and Azzi’s relationship. 

There’s 11 seconds separating the Lynx from their 5th championship trophy as they lead the Sky by two points. The crowd is up on their feet, ready for their cheering to turn into roars the minute the final buzzer rings. Paige has the ball in her hands on the inbound, Coach Reeves yelling at her from the bench what to do, as she makes eye contact with Azzi. There are no words, not even a gesture that the other team might be able to interpret, but they know exactly what play they’re about to run.

Truth be told it hadn’t been the seamless transition the two of them had expected when Azzi joined the Lynx. They’d been naive to think years of not playing together wouldn’t have affected the backcourt chemistry they’d had almost instantly once upon a time. The first few games, there had been an embarrassing disconnect between the two of them that had resulted in a nasty berating from Coach Reeves and a subsequent argument between the two of them that had lasted into the next morning. It had taken several more practices, and a couple more games of flailing around, for them to finally become the duo Paige had always known they would. 

The game buzzer beeps and Paige throws the ball to Azzi who immediately returns it back to her, and then she’s running off screen after screen to get herself open on the wing, her sweet spot. Paige dribble penetrates into the paint, dragging an extra defender with her as they try to prevent her from getting a layup, the other defender blocks her from stepping back into a pull-up. Azzi’s defender has a momentary lapse in judgement, falling for the age-old trick of thinking she should help on defence, and that’s all it takes. A second for Paige to see Azzi open on the corner and pass it to her. A second for Azzi to shoot it. 

The three-pointer falls through the next with a perfect swish. Dagger shot. 

A small smile flits across Azzi’s face, the only emotion she’s shown all game and Paige can’t help the much larger grin that starts to flash on her own face. She can almost taste victory on the tip of her tongue, the two seconds left in the game are the only thing separating her from finally getting her version of the things we live for. Behind her she can hear Coach Reeves yelling at them to not foul, the 5-point lead enough of a cushion for them to withstand a last minute shot. But the Sky barely make it over midcourt and when Marina Mabrey heaves up a last second prayer, Paige doesn’t bother to see if it goes in as the buzzer sounds throughout Target Arena. The Minnesota crowd explodes in noise and colour as confetti falls from the sky. 

Despite the chaos of everything, Paige has never seen Azzi clearer than in this moment. Since she’d met the girl, in all of Paige’s prayers about winning a championship, one thing had always been constant, that when they’d come true, they’d come true with Azzi by her side. And she had been. The high school state champion, the college national championship, Azzi had been there for both but on the bleachers, as a spectator and as Paige’s biggest fan. But this, winning a championship with Azzi as her teammate, as her ally, as her partner, means something more. This win is theirs. 

“Do you remember when we saw that shooting star?” Azzi says softly, as they find their way into each other’s arms, not caring that there’s a thousand cameras capturing their every move. Paige pulls Azzi closer to her, every inch of her body pressing into the other girls until she’s not sure where she begins and where Azzi ends. 

“That was years ago,” Paige remarks but she can see it clearly, two young girls underneath the stars, unaware of what their future would be but sure that the other would be in it. Those girls would probably laugh at how long it had taken Paige and Azzi to figure out what had seemed so simple back then. 

“Yeah, yeah it was. Do you remember what you wished for?” Azzi asks, smiling when Paige nods, “do you wanna know what I wished for?”

“What did you wish for Az?”

“Before we saw the star you- you said it’d be nice to win a championship together someday. And so I-,” Azzi looks down shyly, “so I wished for someday. I wished for today.”

Paige stares at Azzi, drinking in the sincerity on the shooting guard’s face, silently letting herself absorb the meaning of Azzi’s words. And then she lets out a laugh because of course of course. 

“I didn’t realise I’d said anything funny for you to be laughing at me,” Azzi scrunches her nose, looking slightly offended. 

“God baby no,” Paige cups Azzi’s face, and she thinks this smile on her face will last forever as long as this is her reality, “I’m not laughing at you. I just- do you know what I wished for?” 

Azzi shakes her head. 

“This. The same exact thing you did. For someday.”

It’s not quite the shade of blue Paige had imagined them in, the Lynx blue its own shade, something inbetween UConn’s navy one and UCLA’s sky one. But it’s perfect nonetheless. And when Azzi crashes her lips against Paige’s, someday feels a lot like forever and always.

[holyblonded]

Estrella has dedicated fans. They follow her like it's a cult. Can I have some hcs of fan interactions?

— no stop i love this cause it would 100% happen

— estrella’s fans are absolutely unhinged in the best way possible. they show up to her games in custom-made shirts with her most chaotic quotes printed on them, wave banners that say things like “estrella 001 supremacy” and “our menace, our problem.” they have a whole corner of the stadium that’s unofficially named “the estrella section” because it’s always filled with the loudest, most dedicated supporters.

— there are compilation videos all over tiktok and insta of estrella being a menace on and off the pitch, and the fans eat it up. someone made a full-on documentary-style edit titled the legend of estrella that went viral, and estrella reposted it with the caption, “y’all are actually insane.”

— she once casually mentioned in an interview that she loves a specific candy, and the next time she walked into training, her locker was filled with bags of it. when she posted about it on her story with a crying emoji, her fans doubled down, and now she gets random shipments of that candy sent to the club every month.

— estrella is very much a “i don’t care about the media” kind of person, but when she interacts with fans, she’s the softest ever. she’ll sign every last shirt, take every photo, and have full-on conversations like she has nowhere else to be. she’s especially sweet with little kids, crouching down to talk to them at eye level and letting them touch her cleats like they’re sacred artifacts.

— once, a fan brought their dog to an event, and estrella completely abandoned whatever she was supposed to be doing to sit on the ground and play with the dog. there’s a famous photo of her mid-laugh, lying on her back with the dog licking her face, and it’s one of the most-liked pictures on her social media.

— there’s a running joke that estrella could start a cult, and people would join without question. she once tweeted, “if i told y’all to wear purple to the next match, would you do it?” and the entire fan section showed up in purple the next day. estrella nearly cried laughing when she saw it.

— her fans love interacting with soleil just as much. whenever soleil is spotted in the stands, estrella’s fan accounts go feral, posting captions like “our first lady has arrived” and “protect her at all costs.” there’s even a viral video of estrella spotting soleil in the crowd, blowing her a kiss, and the entire section around soleil losing their minds.

— when estrella does something particularly wild on the pitch, her fans make memes about how olga and ale are going to ground her. one time, after a game where she got carded for excessive trash talk, someone edited a picture of ale looking disappointed with the caption, “wait until we get home,” and estrella reshared it with a string of laughing emojis.

— despite all the chaos, estrella genuinely appreciates her fans more than anything. she’ll go out of her way to thank them, whether it’s through handwritten notes she leaves on signed jerseys or replying to fan edits with a simple “y’all are crazy, i love you.” and that’s why they adore her.

[victorbutnotreally]

OMG I'M FINALLY FINDING A BLOG WHICH IS MY CUP OF TEA. YOU'RE AWESOMEEEEE

i have an idea but i can't write for shit, so i'll give it to my favorite tumblr writer (which is youuu)

smau where han messages the wrong number and it's some guy from like another country. and they become friends and then han comes to find out that his text pal is actually a celeb he fanboys over.

(bonus points if mn knows han as well)

OMG

A/N: Love that!! Thank you sm for requesting <3 (I can't title things for the life of me, so you can ask for a different title in the replies and I'll change it) French music makes writing so much more fun. warnings: slight swearing blue {} - han purple {} - Mn

{Oh. How nice of this person to wish me a good practice session.

"Is he getting here anytime soon?" Minho's voice echoed through the practice room.

"I'll ask!"

When he opened his phone again to change the number, he saw a familiar figure in the random person's profile picture. Mn Ln. Finally, someone who he can rant about the Mn Ln. }

{ Great. Got my hopes up for nothing }

{ Naturally, Mn wouldn't want his personal number leaked. So he lied. He was surprised at how smooth that was, but hey, it's text. He wanted to know more, though. Is that narcissistic?

He set his coffee mug down on his nightstand and looked a lot more like a contortionist as he continued to text, the risk of spilling coffee being gone now. }

{ Being called the best vocalist ever was certainly not something he expected. He was great, sure, but the best? Not when Freddie Mercury has music out there. But he'll take that compliment.

He was impressed at the fan. 'Achilles, my love" was one of his more niche songs, having been written when he was only 15 when he got completely shattered after reading 'The Song of Achilles' and decided to pour his heart and soul into a song which he released years later.}

{They don't know Mn yet, but who wouldn't like him after listening to Achilles my love? The way Jisung made the members listen to Mn's music was like a little kid making their parents watch Frozen. But the members never complained, the music was really good. Would they roll their eyes when Jisung keeps sending Mn memes into the groupchat? Sure. Did they have certain parts of certain songs memorized because Jisung kept watching his edits on repeat? Oh yes. }

{Mn didn't want his identity leaked. He had to think of a name quick. Chris, as in Bang Chan from Stray Kids was what came to mind. }

At the Paris Fashion Week

{Jisung found a spot away from the cameras and was texting 'Chris'. After a few months of them being 'text pals', he was pretty fond of the random citizen. But despite the sheer amount of songs, pictures, and videos he's sent of Mn, 'Chris' was never as obsessed with him as Jisung was.}

{Holding a glass of champagne in his hand and dearly missing his coffee, Mn who was decked head to toe in Hermes, makes his way over to the figure he recognized as Han Jisung of Stray Kids. How he loved that band. He was listening to Han's song 'Volcano' on the way there. As he goes to talk to him, his eyes caught onto the rapper's phone screen. And by instinct, he accidentally read a few texts. Texts that were from him. He wanted to tell Jisung, but how?}

"Hi! Huge fan, Jisung.." Jisung's eyes widened as he shoved his phone into his pocket and extended his hand for a handshake. It was his first time seeing his favorite singer in real life.

"Oh my god...you..sorry, I'm just flustered all of a sudden. I'm your biggest fan, really."

"I appreciate it. We should collab someday." "Yes!!" Was that too loud? No, right?

Mn was endeared by the enthusiasm. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and unlocked it.

"Care for a selfie?"

"I'd love to.." Jisung tried keeping his voice from sounding too loud and excited as he smiled beautifully in the selfie he took with the singer. He took one on his phone as well, along with a photo of just Mn, not being able to resist the opportunity.

A/N: I'm ending so abruptly since I have really bad writer's block rn and I didn't even know how I posted this much. If you have any ideas on how Jisung finds out he's been texting Mn all this time, then let me know in the replies or send a DM.

[ikementally-deficient]

Advice On Writing

I have a couple of writing friends who keep asking me for advice (which is extremely flattering and I love to infodump, please don't stop), but I thought getting my thoughts down on the metaphorical paper and putting them out into the world might be helpful for others as well.

I mostly had fanfiction in mind when I wrote this, but honestly I think the vast majority of it will be applicable to any kind of creative writing.

I would love to get feedback or have conversations about this, so if you want to squawk at or with me, please don't hesitate!

The Bare Minimum

Write

Write as often and as much as you can. If you manage to do nothing else on this list, just writing consistently and continuously will eventually improve your skills, even if it takes a long time.

The Basics

2. Read

Find things you enjoy, and read them. Read as much as you have time for. Things that speak to you and make you feel things (words, turns of phrase, tropes) will all work their way into your subconscious and feed your own writing.

3. Read Critically

Re-read the things you enjoy, and consciously think about why you enjoy them. Why did this scene manage to express such a clear sense of desolation? What about this interaction between characters made me relate to them so much? How did this story give me such a sense of satisfaction and coming full circle? Highlight the phrases you really love. Look for and circle the small details that foreshadow later developments. Identify the things you don’t like as well (nothing is perfect). How would you have done this differently? Do you hate the purple prose, or is it killing you that these scenes aren’t more detailed? Look up the words you don’t understand - maybe the author chose their words poorly, or maybe you’re one of the lucky ten thousand who gets to learn a new vocabulary word today.

The Cringe Parts

4. Ask for constructive criticism

This part is really hard, but vital. While you will inevitably find some of the weaknesses of your own writing, you won’t find all of them. An outside perspective is invaluable. If you’re frightened of constructive criticism, start small. Ask one person to look at SPAG (spelling, punctuation, and grammar). Pick one paragraph or scene to show someone and ask them how it flows. Have someone review your outline for plotholes instead of giving them prose. Brace yourself for things you don’t want to hear. Sit with any and all criticism for a few days before reacting. It’s okay to decide that someone just didn’t get what you were going for, but make sure that’s actually true instead of just a knee-jerk reaction to hurt feelings or a bruised ego. Listen to what your reviewer or beta is actually saying - ‘this part confuses me’ doesn’t mean your writing is bad, it means that your head holds the entire picture and you just didn’t put enough of that down on paper so your reader can see it too.

5. Re-read your own work

Every once in a while, go back and see how what you wrote six months ago or last year holds up. You’ve been writing for a while, you’re a stronger writer, so give yourself the perspective of seeing how far you’ve come. And see if there are any weak areas that are still giving you trouble; you can focus more on those in your next piece of writing.

6. Edit for other people

Editing is a skill. No one falls out of the sky able to give useful and actionable feedback. The act of reading and criticising something you have a little cognitive distance from is far easier than criticising your own work, but it’s still a muscle you need to build. Start with basic proof reading (SPAG). Ask questions: “Why did you choose this word, it seems obscure?” Explain your feedback: “I can’t tell who’s speaking here, I think the dialogue went back and forth one too many times without a tag.” Instead of “I don’t like this,” explain why: “This description feels like something I’ve seen too many times already and feel cliché, but I bet you can change it up.” Learning to give that feedback in a kind and helpful way is something you can bring back to your own writing. Remember that if someone asks you to beta read or edit their work, they too are trying to get better. Don’t just blow sunshine up their ass, give them the respect of being honest about elements that aren’t working. Just don’t be an asshole about it. 

Some resources on being a good beta reader - these also are handy guides for writers on how to communicate their needs effectively to a beta reader:

How to Be a Great Beta Reader and Give Helpful Feedback (dianaurban.com)

What makes a good beta reader? (smallbluedog.com)

Tips on how to beta read, from a beta reader : FanFiction (reddit.com)

Advanced Class

7. Try new things

Try a different format. If you mostly write long, multi-chapter works, aim for a short story. Write some poetry. Change up your genre. Consciously try to imitate someone else’s style. Stretch out of your comfort zone. Feel like you write too much descriptive detail? Force yourself to write nothing but dialogue, like Isaac Asimov. Feel like your characters are always floating in empty space? Indulge in some Robert Jordan, down to every detail of what the characters are wearing. This is going to be difficult, and the results might not be something you want to share publicly, but it’s still worth the effort.

8. Read about writing

There are university courses on this stuff. Check your local library for a copy of the Little, Brown Handbook - it’s aimed at academic writing, but it’s a great resource on grammar and syntax and planning and revising your work. Look for fun ones like The Transitive Vampire and The Well-Tempered Sentence, or Eats, Shoots & Leaves. Centre for Fiction has a great list of books on creative writing by writers, and industry professionals (if publishing for profit is a goal of yours). 

Back to the Beginning

9. Keep writing

You might not be the next Stephen King, or Jude Devereaux, or Isaac Asimov. Cool, me neither. You don’t have to be. As long as writing is still giving you joy, keep doing it. 

[roseatedesire]

hello! do you have any tips for creating your own psds? right now I'm just sort of throwing things at the wall and hoping it sticks!

Hi hi nonnie! I am NOT the best person for you to ask this (not in a miiile) BUT I tried making this in the most concise way I could and prayed to god it didn't get too confusing since a lot of the times I too just throw things at a wall and call it a day. I'll teach my usual psd making style and a more general one just in case that's what you were looking for! They're under the cut since it probably will get a tiny bit long but I hope it's helpful to you! <3 as always reminder that there is no correct way to make a psd this is just how i do etc etc

This has a lot of text and images so beware of the big scary maica

First of all: While you certainly *can* make a psd based solely out of one image or a compilation of your own edits (as i have done on the past), I'd say in general it's more useful and easier to make something when you have more than a singular image to check and a color spread to use. I made this little template in 5 minutes (which is a lie because my photopea crashed at first and so I had to re-do it) and I'll link it here alongside the psd itself so you can poke around and check how I do things! If you want to do your own template or anything, though, here's the color spread I use! :]

It has a spectrum, a bar line and some skin tones so it should be helpful! You can also use Travi3sapsd swatches if you'd like, since I know some people would prefer having a view of the colors before and after the psd to check!

Talking about skin tones, Amemcth also has a nice collage with characters of varying skin tones so you can check how your psd look on different skin tones. I don't think it's obligatory for all psds to look fine with every skin tone, however, I think if you're not doing it for a singular character and are indeed posting that psd for public use, making it work with darker skin tones is something good and that I encourage. If it doesn't work, remember to always indicate it by adding a "Works fine on most skin tones" or "Doesn't work on poc characters". Those warnings can also be useful for other things, like not indicating the usage of the psd on irl pictures, cartoon pictures etc.

So, final thing before we get into psd making itself (if you are using a image mask template to check colors) is adding the images! I always recommend adding characters from different sources and irl images to be sure, and with either varying colors across the spectrum so you can be certain the psd is working nicely OR images that feel similar enough in vibes so you can be certain the vibes of the psd are going towards where you'd like them to. However, it's also important to consider which colors you will be working with to make the psd, since I think it's easier to make a psd for a character when you have something in mind. For my own psds, I usually limit myself to a maximum of three colors + black and white (which I'll mess with to change their tones), so for this tutorial I'll be using yellow, purple and pink! This is the where we start. (I won't be trying to keep skintones working for this since it's all pale characters, but please have the common sense to make psds that work if you're editing a black character. don't make them white and for the love of god don't make them grayish)

Also reminder before anything that if you're editing a card and that card works weirdly with the psd you can always add adjustment layers to the card itself and mess up with the hues on it hashtag editing some characters just are a pain in the ass to edit because of colors being too similar etc so don't be afraid to fight them

First: Make A Folder for your psd to be built on. It makes things a lot easier to drag around once you have it done and arranged. Name it after the psd name, name it psd folder, whatever, just put your layers under that folder. Onto the layers.

My autistic ass mostly does psds only following one single pattern, but in case you want to mess around and play, feel free to have fun and mess around. A lot of psd making really is just messing around. In my case, these are the main adjustment layers i use: Threshold, Selective Color, Hue/Saturation, Photo Filter, Color Balance, Vibrance and, on occasion, Gradient Map and Curves. You can use others but I am >not< the best person to tell you what they do and how to work with them.

So, you now have your pretty little image layout down and the colors you want to work with in mind (pink purple yellow + bw), so what now? Well, I usually like to think on which direction I want to take this psd towards. People will always have different methods and directions on psd making. Some of them like to make some of the most eyestraining things I've ever seen which somehow work, some of them like to make a pastel so bright I can feel my eyes burning, some of them prefer to make desaturated tones, some of them like to lower the vibrancy of the image so much I almost can't see shit. Everyone has their own preferences and I work w pretty much anything, but for this I'll try to keep a standard bright view, if a little pastel and desaturated, for this.

So now, we have our colors, our images, our color swatches and a direction in mind.

First thing I like to do whenever I'm making psds is to add a threshold layer. However, not in the way I usually see around editblr. When you add a threshold layer, it should look like this

Don't just do that. Go there on that little normal bar and click it. I know people who use others, but I usually settle with either Multiply or Soft Light for it, then lower the opacity down until it's somewhere I'm satisfied with.

So this is where we end up at. I don't let my threshold opacity go any higher than a 30%. threshold basically serves to bring out the shadows on your images and bring out the shapes on them. it helps make the focus on the image clearer yadda yadda yadda. Be careful when using it on darker images, but for brighter ones it sure helps w making everything easier to see.

After adding a threshold, I add my Selective Color layer. With this you'll basically be playing around with the sliders until your colors look the way you want them to. This messes *slightly* with the hue without fully changing them (we'll get there soon), so it gives you some chance to balance out the initial shades of the psd. For the current method i'm teaching (focused colors), i usually recommend you to make the colors you >dont< want on your psd brighter or in a shade that still feels coherent with the colors you dont want in it. we'll be dealing with them soon.

So we get there. HOWEVER! don't think we're done once you mess with the main colors. the 1st selective color white is, what i'd say, one of the most important parts of psd making. you know how most anime characters in gacha games these days look pale white? Yeah. this can change it. What i usually do is bring the black slider on the white layer to the right and then increase a bit of the magenta and yellow. Boom.

It's quite tricky to use on images with heavier shadows, but for the standard pale white anime gacha character? it helps give some life to them. its quite subtle, but can help a lot to make the image get more lively. A counter thing to this is that yeahhh this can mess a lot if you want to make, you know, a >white< psd since it will also mess with the white tones themselves, so there's no 100% settled need to mess with it, just keep it in mind in case you wanna make the character a bit more tan or, you know, have a normal skintone. It also helps a lot with defining shadows, so keep it in mind :]

I usually don't mess with the neutral since it can fuck around a lot w skintones and, if i do, i always make sure to keep them on less than 20% for all levels. be careful when playing w it.

Black is a tricky one. I know a lot of you pastel girlies across editblr and psd making communities like turning it all the way down so theres no black but honestly, contrast is important. I usually make sure to bring the black scale to the right and then mess around w the other three so the black is still visible and bringing contrast to the image, but w the help of the other three, make it so the black looks softer and matches the psd itself. So, here we are!

After the selective color in my psd process, that's where we erase any unwanted color and shift the hues to where we'd like them to be. Make a hue/saturation layer and go to the colors you dont want (in our case, green and cyan) and move that hue slider to a color you want babyyy. I encourage to mess around with the color scale on the specific color so you have more power over what colors change or don't, in case it's messing with colors close to it on the scale (cyan messing with greens, greens messing with yellows etc). Be aware that doing this will fuck uppp certain images with those colors, cry about it for a bit, and go back to making your psd

If you're a picky mf just like me, you WILL add 1 or 2 more hue/saturation layers to fully clean that bar of any color you do not want. If you're normal, you'll be chill with how this looks and call it a day, so onto the next step.

After arranging your colors and possibly finding out how green is an absolute shit color to try and erase traces of, we get to color balance which is, well, where you balance the colors. go around and mess w the scale until your colors lean more towards what you want them to look like. I personally don't mess much here and the difference will be suuubtle subtle, this is more if you're just picky with colors like me and want them to look perfect in the idealized version of the psd you hold in your head.

Photo filter will basically bring the whole thing together. It serves as a filter to bring eeevery tone you have going on into a cohesive line. Always remember to lower down the density of it so the other colors are still noticeable. a lot of the time i will add more than one photo filter and play with it until I'm satisfied with how it looks <3

Then this is the time where I'll usually add ANOTHER selective color layer just to mess more with the tones and finally get them down to where I usually stop playing around.

A few more touches and you should be done! I really don't know how to even explain curves and gradient maps so play around with them for a bit and you should at least understand how they work. One thing I do a lot with my psds is make toggles to make colors darker/bring more focuses etc etc, so if you're someone who struggles to make decisions, toggles might be a good thing to add to your psds!

Now... If you don't want to limit yourself to a set number of colors? Quite simple! Simply skip the hue/saturation layer steps or delete them altogether once you're done with your psd and there, a psd that plays with the tones of the image to make them more harmonious while keeping everything cohesive! You can mess around a bit more on the two selective color layers you have if you do this by deleting the huesat layers, but it should generally look pretty nice still!

This should be it! So, to summarize everything Ive been yapping about so far...

Before diving head in, decide if you want to limit your colors or not. Also decide on a set type of psd (bright, pastel, desaturated, dark...) you want to go towards

Use multiple images to make your psd, either with similar vibes so you can ensure it's becoming something you wanted or with varying colors so you can cover your ground

Use a threshold layer with lowered opacity before anything else so the shadows on your images have more contrast

You can use a selective color layer on the white part to darken pale characters skintone and bring some more life to them, but be careful when doing this because of cards with heavier shadows, if you want to keep white as a color on the psd etc

Don't lighten the black part on the selective layer as that messes with contrast and might make your psd harder to comprehend when looking from afar

Try to still make your colors distinct enough so you're able to tell apart shapes if from afar, it can be a difficult thing to do but it helps a lot with readability

Don't be afraid to go back and forth between layers! If you're on a photo filter layer, you can always go back to make a specific color more prominent if you miss it overall

Use hue/sat as a way to change colors you don't want instead of replace color. It's tricky, but it covers more ground

Use photo filter to bring all colors more cohesion and make it so they look more harmonious

Have a headache trying to work around cards with harsher shadows

DO NOT make poc characters gray or straight up orange/red for the love of god

Feel free to make different toggles for your psds if you can't decide on which path to go towards, you can always duplicate layers and make different paths depending on what you want!

If a specific image you're using has difficult shadows or different tones to work around with the overall set, you can always just mess with that image alone and make adjustments to make it work out with the rest of the set

Remember that psds work differently on photopea and photoshop, so make sure to check that out if making them/using them/posting them anywhere and make it clear for which app they were made for!

Good luck with psd making and have fun overall! <3

Here's my psd test yet again if you'd like to mess around with it! Just don't repost and it should be fine ^^

[twst-hottest-takes]

Hottest take of all, but when designing Malleus and Vil, Vil should have gotten the green eyes and Malleus should of had purple. The green eyes are the most striking features on the Queen Grimhilde and would fit Vil's jealousy against his rival. Purple eyes, on the other hand, symbolize magic and power, and who is the strongest cast member? I get that the eyes are supposed to symbolize Maleficent's flames but still.

*The blog owner grumbles while opening photoshop.*

*Doing my best Vil impression*

"Really. How dare you make me do this."

Hmmm. . .the jury is out on this one. What do we think, everyone?

(Personal commentary after the signoff.)

Thank you for your take.

Personal commentary because I spent about 45 minutes editing pictures to come to this conclusion: Overall I think it looks pretty good. I actually really like how Vil's eyes look as this shade of green, though I realized a bit too late into my edits that they are pretty much the same colors as Rook's. Malleus' eyes also look pretty great purple though this might not be the best example. The reasoning given for switching their eye colors around is solid, but less so in terms of our Dragon Prince. Malleus is based off of Maleficent so green is mostly given to him to tie the overall color scheme together and him being a dragon would have the same eye color as Maleficent as a dragon. The saturation of Malleus's eyes also makes it tougher to get just right to make it work, but trust me when I say I made it work. This was a solid suggestion, and, my grumbling aside, I had fun picking pictures and adjusting the colors for the hex of it. Originally I tried going for pictures where I thought the alternate eye colors would compliment the scenery of the illustration, but when it came down to actually making the thumbnail for this post I decided to just go with my edits for their dorm uniform base art. There are more than a dozen collective edits between the two of them in neat little collages should anyone ask me to add them. . .but . . .like. . .you guys want to see them right??

[xoln04f1xo]

Racing Hearts (Part 2) - OP81

Fluff

Pairings: Oscar Piastri x Reader

Part 1, Part 3, Part 4

WC: 856

🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡

The paddock hadn’t quieted down after the session, if anything, it had become more alive. Mechanics bustled around, packing up equipment, while team personnel swapped notes and debriefed strategies. You were supposed to be doing the same, but Oscar’s antics had left your focus in shambles. Thankfully, your best friend wasn’t one to let you spiral.

“You’re staring into space again,” a voice teased, cutting through your thoughts. You turned to see one of the junior engineers grinning at you. “What’s got you so distracted? Let me guess... a certain driver?”

“No,” you replied quickly, too quickly. The heat rising to your cheeks gave you away, but you forced a nonchalant shrug. “Just tired.”

The engineer didn’t seem convinced, but before they could press further, Oscar appeared, freshly showered and dressed in team gear. His damp hair was tousled, and the casual joggers and hoodie combination made him look more approachable than the teasing menace you’d dealt with earlier.

“Hey,” he said, his voice softer now. “You’re still here?”

You gestured to the camera strapped around your neck. “Still on the clock.”

Oscar’s lips twitched into a faint smile. “Come on, let’s take a walk. You’ve earned a break.”

Your instinct was to argue, there was always more to do, but the way he tilted his head, quietly imploring, made it impossible to refuse.

The two of you wandered away from the main paddock, the noise fading into a distant hum. It wasn’t uncommon for drivers and team members to sneak off for a moment of peace, and you appreciated the reprieve as much as he seemed to. The golden glow of the setting sun painted everything in warm hues, softening the sharp edges of the day.

“You’re quiet,” Oscar noted, glancing sideways at you. “That’s not like you.”

You laughed, though it sounded nervous even to your own ears. “Just trying to figure out how to survive another day without embarrassing myself.”

Oscar’s brow furrowed. “Embarrassing yourself? You’re the most put-together person I know here.”

“You’ve got to be joking,” you replied, rolling your eyes. “Have you seen me trip over my own feet trying to avoid stepping on cables?”

“That doesn’t count,” he said, grinning now. “It’s part of your charm. Besides, you’re the one keeping this whole social media thing running. No one else could make us look half as good as you do.”

His words were earnest, and for a moment, you didn’t know how to respond. You’d grown used to blending into the background, letting your work speak for itself. Hearing him acknowledge it so directly was... nice.

“Thanks,” you murmured, feeling your cheeks warm again. “But you’re still trouble, you know.”

Oscar’s laugh was soft, genuine. “Yeah, well, someone’s got to keep you on your toes.”

The two of you walked a little further, the conversation flowing more easily now. He told you about the race, the good moments, the tricky ones, and the hilarious miscommunication with his engineer that had him laughing even in the heat of competition. You shared bits about your day, the behind-the-scenes chaos and funny fan interactions that made it all worthwhile.

“I saw that kid with the McLaren flag,” Oscar said, his eyes lighting up. “The one in the grandstands? You got a picture of them, right?”

You nodded. “Of course. It’s already in the edit queue. Thought it might make a good post.”

“You’re the best,” he said simply, the sincerity in his voice making your heart flutter in a way you tried to ignore.

As the sun dipped lower, painting the sky in fiery oranges and soft purples, Oscar stopped and leaned against a low barrier, looking out over the now-quiet track. The moment felt serene, almost fragile, as if the world had paused just for the two of you.

“I don’t say it enough,” he began, his tone thoughtful. “But I’m glad you’re here. It’s easy to get caught up in all this, the pressure, the expectations. But having you around... it makes it feel a little less heavy.”

You swallowed hard, caught off guard by his honesty. “I’m glad I’m here too,” you said softly. “Even if you do make my job unnecessarily difficult sometimes.”

Oscar laughed, the sound bright and unrestrained. “Wouldn’t want you to get bored.”

“As if that’s even possible,” you retorted, grinning.

For a moment, neither of you spoke, letting the quiet settle around you. It wasn’t awkward or heavy; it was the kind of silence that felt like a shared secret, a bond that didn’t need words.

“We should probably head back,” Oscar said eventually, though he didn’t seem eager to move. “People might start thinking we’ve run off to start our own team or something.”

You laughed, shaking your head. “Imagine the chaos.”

“Pure brilliance, you mean,” he said, flashing you a grin that made your chest feel lighter.

As you walked back together, the paddock lights coming on one by one, you couldn’t help but feel grateful. For the job, for the laughter, and most of all, for the friend walking beside you who somehow made even the busiest, most chaotic days brighter.

🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡

Masterlist Series Masterlist

[mittykidi]

i like to think even if [insert any of the main fnf or picos school characters here in any order because i ship p much all of them] got into a poly, theyd each still have their separate rooms. its just nice to have your own space sometimes, surrounding yourself in your own comforts and allat, especially if youre goin through mental hell (which all of them do, undoubtedly at least the newgrounds trio).

its not like they cant all sleep together, like they can have sleep overs in each others rooms and even in the livingroom, and they can routinely sleep together if they wanted, but if they decide not to, then that option is so much easier and accessible.

that being said, i haven't really thought about what all their rooms would look like, id imagine most of them enjoy maximalism.

random room headcanons below the cut

DARNELL

- the walls are lavender, faint marijuana scent + gasoline

- he has at least two lava lamps, one is purple

- ungodly amounts of pillows (the good kind tho)

- neat wall display of vinyls and posters

- keepsake box under his bed he thinks nobody knows about (pico and nene will watch him pull it out sometimes while hiding behind the door)

- obvs he has a small setup for his music career (idk all the tools specifically n im lazy)

- a drawing desk at the foot of his bed for sketching out blueprints, album covers, etc.

- usually pretty clean if you can ignore the burn marks up and down the walls.. and the bed... and the

NENE

- walls are pink, well, if you can even see the wall; smells like rose water

- stickers everywhere, pink everything, posters everywhere

- animal shaped candles... well until darnell gets his hands on them

- curtains over the bed- the bed is circle + beloved giant seal plush as pillow

- she has a pin board where she pins up polaroid pictures and letters/ drawings she gets and loves enough

- you will be stepping on beads in her room. nail polish is embedded into the carpet also

-usually pretty clean but clothes are often strewn about

-she has one of those giant mirrors with the squiggly border- and she has cute retro lightswitch covers/ doorknobs

PICO

- green walls. smells like marijuana

- glowing star decal ceiling, accompanied by a bullet hole or two (covered poorly with the stars)

- he has little dinosaur figures on the windowsill

- also hangs up vinyls and posters

- mood lights, all around. he loves them (easy on the eyes)

- bed is basically a fortress of mismatched blankets and plushies. insisted his mattress be on the floor (darnell made sure it was thick enough to not hurt his back)

- black out curtains

- his mini fridge is his night stand (likes having control over food)

- he has a mental map of where every weapon he has hidden in his room is; hidden more weapons than youre probably thinking

BOYFRIEND

- walls are a light blue & red, room smells like old books (i mean that in the most comforting way possible i love the smell of old books)

- has a tv in his room + gaming setup (messy edition)

- adhd piles (not clean or organized looking but he knows where everything is)

- many marks on the walls from throwing things aside without 2nd thought like a cartoon character

- blacklights and LED lights

- idky but i feel like he would have a cool bedframe like a racecar or a shark bedframe- beloved plushies !!!!

- keeps a snack stash near his bed

- comic book collection galore !!!! + some figures and posters around the place

GIRLFRIEND

- walls are a deep purple, room smells like cherries

- rose shaped bed, weighted blanket, beloved plushies !!!

- fairy lights along the walls

- adhd piles (ditto)

- posters of games she likes + tv and gaming setup (she has a lot of gaming consoles)

im gonna b fr im struggling to imagine her room x_x but im making pinterest boards for all of them later so hopefully thatll give me some ideas lmao

thats it yea 💥

[cartridgeconverter]

Don Giovanni characters as fountain pens

I have long postponed making this post as I was afraid it might convince me to spend more money. However, armed with a new sense of fiscal responsibility, I think I am prepared.

I've tried to have a range of prices that roughly correspond to the status of the characters, as well as many different brands. Honestly all of these are just vibes, but I've tried to give my justifications were I can.

Leporello - Sailor Profit Junior in Kohiru ($60 as part of a limited edition set, including other products)

I know I just said that I would try and match the lower-class characters to appropriately-priced pens, but look at it. It has a bunny on it. This is the best pen ever.

Don Giovanni - Visconti Opera Gold in Red ($348)

This is probably the only pen on this list that I would absolutely never buy, no matter how much opera-themed branding it has, because it is a ridiculous price and also looks stupid. But "ridiculous price" and "looks stupid" are both things I associate with Don G, and he would definitely be a Visconti whore -- it's a brand highly associated with luxury.

My other choice for him is also a Visconti model, this time the Divina Matte in Bordeaux. This is an even more ridiculous price, at $796. However, it is less obnoxiously red than the Opera Gold, so it is an alternate. He probably would have both anyway.

Donna Anna - Nahvalur Voyage in Shanghai ($130)

I have this one! She is beauty, she is grace. She is also very poorly designed but I forgive her for that. This pen is super elegant, albeit large, and is made from resin with real diamond flakes in it. I love the color also - black, with streaks of blue that show up under light. It reminds me a bit of Anna's costume in the Kasper Holten production. It's simply a very beautiful pen (with tons of design flaws and constitution issues, grr).

The Commendatore - Parker Jack-Knife with silver filigree ($5 in 1902, which is equivalent to $183 today)

This is a very lovely vintage pen from the Parker company, of which I scoured this ancient website for a picture (https://parkerpens.net/index.shtml). As an aside, this site is great; it's very well-kept and contains a detailed account of Parker models through time, with pictures. This pen, though gaudy, is exactly the type of thing that I think old men who do things like duels in the middle of the night would have. (Please work with me here, I don't exactly have a lot of content to go off of :P)

Don Ottavio - Sailor Pro Gear Slim, Shikiori Amaoto collection in Kirisame ($360)

Honestly, any purple Sailor will fit for Ottavio. They're generally on the smaller side, but the designs have an elegant simplicity to them. Also, purple. It's him! It's just him.

This will probably be the ultimate piece in my collection. It's such a lovely little thing, with a 21k gold nib. Unfortunately, I will not be purchasing it any time soon, due to my responsible spending habits.

Donna Elvira - LAMY Al-Star in Black Purple ($48)

Also another model I own -- I swear by Lamys as a great everyday pen. They're reliable and ergonomic, even if they're not as visually appealing as some other brands. The Al-Star, being made of aluminum, is a bit of an upgrade from their plastic model, the Safari with a slightly higher price. I think it's very fitting for Elvira, as a travelling woman.

Zerlina and Masetto - LAMY Safari in Savannah Green and Terra Red ($19)

The Lamy Safari is my favorite everyday pen to use, full stop. It's the same model as the Al-Star, but made from a lightweight plastic. They have a very practical and minimalist aesthetic, but it works, and it works well. They're super durable and apparently can survive being run over by warehouse equipment. I just think this model really suits these two, or maybe I'm biased since it's my favorite.

In particular, these are the two special edition colors made to celebrate the 40 year anniversary of the model, as they were the original colors to be manufactured. The green (which I own) matches Zerlina's dress in the IvH production, which is why I named it Zerlina to begin with. That seems to have been a good name - although filling the converter for the first time was a dramatic ordeal, it's been a reliable pen no matter how much wear and tear I put it through (the black paint on the clip has completely flaked off by now).

Hope you guys enjoyed this tenuous connection between my nerdy hobbies that was actually just a vessel for my rant about how much I love Lamy Safaris. I had fun putting it together, even if a few of these are out of my price point right now. Maybe I will do inks next, although I have put less thought into that.

Off of this list, I hope to eventually buy both Sailors (Leporello and Ottavio) as well as the other Safari (Masetto), although that's not a priority. I just like thinking about having nice things.

[mermaidslabyrinth]

A little edit of one of my new favorite Targ boy OCs. He is awesome, and his lore is phenomenal.

First off, words cannot describe how seeing this makes me feel just:

That picture was me upon seeing this. It still is me whenever I look at it.

This is so very sweet and kind of you. I’m treasuring it, that’s for sure. Your talent is beyond amazing.

His hair looks so good. Plus, you putting him purple and silver, his mother’s colors, just has me 🥰. Because he does cling to anything related to his mother. So, he does lean towards wearing purples and silvers just as much as the Targaryen black. If not more.

To hear you say he’s new favorite Targ of yours got me like: 🥺. For all their flaws, the Targaryens are some of the most fun characters I have ever written. And I am beyond pleased that I created my OC to be one. (Also so happy Daemon was such a cunty, hot mess that when I saw him I went: Now let’s give him a teen son that he becomes unhealthily attached to as well as beyond possessive of)

And to hear you enjoy Rhage’s lore, just has me 🥹. Because what I have so far is a good year of putting so much effort into creating Rhage as who he is. He is still evolving. I’m still learning how he is and what makes him tick. He is my specialist boy. His story may not be for everyone but the little community that I have become a part of accepts him regardless. I will always be appreciative to that and to the people who I interact with.

Here’s another little lore about Rhagerys: When Rhagerys was 14 he cut his hand and fused his blood with a wound that Starsong had. That made them as one from that day one. Later when he’s with Aemond he gets Aemond to do the same with Vhagar.

So, when Rhage and Aemond combined their blood with their little makeshift Valyrian wedding in a way the four, the two riders and their dragons, create a blood bond between themq.

[antrylis]

✨Tragon !✨

Trans...dragon..It's funny, right ?- Also, I know it's a wyvern...Dragon sounds better...

It's pride month, so it was the perfect occasion to finally make a dragon, yay ! It's also my first time making something akin to a dragon (technically the second time,, but the first one is truly horrible), and even if the proportion are still a bit out of place, it could have been worse. It's also my first time doing custom wings, but I'll talk about that in more details beneath :}

Also, it needs a name ! I’m really bad with names, but I would gladly take suggestions ! (And here is an alt picture, in its natural habitat-)

Anyways, details/closeups under the cut !

None of these picture below are edited, because it's exam period- Enjoy the green backgrounds :}

I have to say, before any other comment, that I made the body way to heavy for the two poor sockets of the legs. The position above is the only one where it's actually standing upright. Also, my stock of pink and rightly-shaded blue was much smaller than originally anticipated, so I would have done a bunch of tings differently, if it wasn't for that. Still, I was lucky to have that many curved blue pieces for the top part. Well, all of the ones with purple diamonds on them have been forcefully taken from a small Elves dragon, but it was worth it (I also really enjoy the purple here, it contrasts nicely).

All of the joints are mixel socket joints, except for the knees, which are just hinges. It gives a lot of movements, from the tail to the jaw. Even if these are limited, it gives it a wide range of positions (even if, realistically, it won’t change it much from the one I gave it). Still, it can sit ! (Including small trans flag)

The pointy scales on the back are some of the only elements which aren’t directly attacked to the body : one 2*2 plate holds them down, and a modified 2*1 under the plates keeps it from sliding in any other direction, so even with little connections, it doesn’t budge. I really liked these angular pieces. To keep them from being too repetitive, they are only connected to each other by one stud, with a small angle, which gives them a slightly "round" effect.

The tail here is not really complicated, it's just a bunch of socket joints linked together with curved tiles on top (one of the sticker is backward, and it's unnerving, but it's not my fault and I can't risk changing it...), with white arch pieces underneath. Not sure of why I added these in the first place, but it looks cool. And of course, the end of the tail is a big heart, because it simply fits the vibe, doesn't it?

Of course, I can't forget what is the most important, and what makes this creature as cute as it is ! (It is cute, and if that is the hill I have to die on, I will.)

The green background doesn't show it well, but the flame offers a good contrats with the rest of the head, and brings the eyes there first (instead of all the mistakes present). Because there are a bunch of these.

I spent nearly as long on the head as all the other body parts cumulated (except for the wings), because making something detailed yet small enough to be a good head is tough. I actually started from the top (for the piece with the sticker, more exactly), instead of the bottom, like I usually do, in order to get an idea of scale (because I already knew I wanted the jaw to move, and for that I needed to see how big it would be). Then, I did the back to quickly have a neck connection point, to see if it would fit. Because the neck is larger under the connection sockets, the socket of the head is actually pretty high up, but the colours are practically aligned so it works well.

Then, the next thing was the eyes and the spikes. The spikes took me a hile to figure out, because without the rest of the head, they looked kinda dumb, but it does bring the head together when everything is in place. Then the eyes : on the small dragon I took apart, there were these blue tooth pieces which I used to get some texture above them, so that they don't look flat, and then, I connected them to the center connectors of a 2*4 plates. That works well in placement, but I ran into the issue of what would be around. If I didn't do anything, there would be two gaps, which would look terrible. Instead, I stuck two 1*4 tiles in these gaps, and since the tooth pieces are around either side, they don't move - well, not much, they still produce a shaking sound when I'm moving the head.

Then under these plates, I directly have 1*4 pink bricks, which stick out behind the head. At first, it was a problem, and I had nothing else to replace them; but they actually restrict and hold the neck, so that even if the head is technically a bit too heavy, it remains in place.

The actual teeth are modified 2*1 plates, four at the top and four at the bottom. To keep them with such a small gap (and to attach them to either sides of the jaw) I have use modified 1*1 plates with a ring. There is a single one at the bottom, and then underneath a few cut 2*1 and 2*2 curved tiles to make the jaw triangular; and two on top, one which connects it to the head and one with holds the snout (which is using a cheese piece and another one of the blue tooth).

So, custom wings ! It isn't actually complicated, if only a bit tedious. Here below is all that I needed to make them :

As you can see, it's not much. Most important, of course, is a good, solid sheet of paper, and a cutter (precision cutter is better, in my opinion, but anything works). To make things easy (or if, like me, you don't know how to draw properly), you can take a basic lego wing, and trace the outline and where the holes go. I would advise only doing a single, blank one, at first. Once you have your proto-wing, you can start to make the actual frame it will be attached on. I chose to use bricks above it to act as claws, but you can use socket joints, like in most sets. The advantage of using plates is that the overall look is better, but if you want overhangs like I did, you have to get the holes really close to the edge of the wing.

Once you have your frame, trace where the holes would go on it ! (if you used a wing model, it might be easier, but it could also not fit, which is why you make a prototype first). To make holes just the right size, I would advise first cutting squares (easier than circles) at just the right size, then scratching the edges with the blade of the cutter. Once it looks good, try to fit an axle inside. If it just about fits, and can rotate, it's good ! Otherwise, just remove it and scratch again.

When that's done, test if it can correctly fit on your frame. Once that's done, you can either make two wings with that pattern, or simply make another copy. I personally made two new from my first prototype because it took me a while to figure out exactly how to place the holes.

Finally, once you got two wings, you can finally add whatever you want on them (easier when they're not actually on the frame, although that should've been obvious), and you're done :}

I went for a really basic thing, but technically, any shape is possible. I'll likely use it again someday, because it's quite fun !

And of course, the bonus picture, since you’re here ! I like the symbolic of this (also don’t pay attention to the tentacles).

I actually really wanted to get rid of this castle (which was gifted, not exactly desired, although I must admit it’s really well designed), and well. Now, it’s gone, and in its place lies the dragon…and my horrendous crab, too.

[bluginkgo]

Quick announcement (before the diarrhea of information):

I'm gonna go on a semi-hiatus for a week or so. I'll still be around, just not posting any drawings. Need to replenish my energy and drawing reserves cause I'm dead >_<

Sleep behind scenes!

So... Ginkgo why the hell did this take you so long? Sorry, sorry 😅 Here's what happened. I got burned out after like 10 pages (specifically the manor backgrounds killed me, plus having the full gang in the story) and then got sick and was not feeling all that great. Working through the burn out, sick, AND college work on top was quite hard not gonna lie though, but I wanted to finish it ^^

Alright, now as for little unnecessary Easter eggs, I added as nods to the show and my other interests. ^_^

1. Undertale save point. Undertale had me sucked in for a good long while, and for some odd reason decided to re-emerge in a form of the star save. Made it purple for Uzi's effect over N. She made him more rebellious, so he started to question why is it his memories and dreams are strange/corrupted/missing instead of just going with the flow.

2. Ep3 nod. V and N have history, history that I wish we get to see. V was nicer, kinder, in my opinion, prior to the absolute solver going rampage. So it makes sense for them to have some sort of friendship at the VERY least. So I decides to give it a small spin to it too. A direct quote from ep3 ^_^

3. Ep 2 + 5 nod. I kinda pulled the moment when James dismissed N from ep2 together with events that follow after N leaves library in ep5. Chronologically, these events don't fit together, seeing as ep2 is when N first meets Cyn and ep5 is when she's already set up the massacre. But this is exactly what I was going for. N's memories are jumbled at best, so I took liberty in mixing, matching, and editing his memories just as the admin program would probably.

4. Absolute Solver symbols nod. My chats with @absolute-solver (sorry for annoying you with tag 😅) made me realize that the absolute solver ought to have more presence now. It's activated and running systems in the background for Uzi. Whiiiiich means that drawing absolute solver should start now. BUT, it's rudimentary at best. Symbols don't really make sense and are not completed for most of the time. Not until Uzi at least sees the error message in ep2, when she truly starts questioning what that weird symbol on her visor is. I headcanon that N does know or at least feel that the absolute solver symbol is familiar, hence the little comment.

5. Absolute Solver Nori. Why is there so many absolute solver Nori around? I'm certain she went back to normal, just like in pictures Khan showed us in ep4 post core collapse. But I connected the solvers together here. Uzi's absolute solver string is up and running, and because the solver is a hivemind, it'd connect the memories and warp them a little. So that's why Uzi's doodle of her and Nori at the end (and during memory recall) was so full of absolute solver. It's slowly taking root, whether she wants it to or not.

Personal touches/added/cut ideas:

N's tail wrapping around Uzi like a hug. Originally, Uzi was supposed to look more nervous, but not for the reasons you might think. I cut the nervous look to a more upset look so it wouldn't be confused for fear. Uzi's never scared of N (yes, I don't count ep2 either, that was a lot of events at once and very little time to process them). The nervous look was more of a "Why are you butting in?" type, you know? Being a loner makes you cautious, so when N prods at feelings, I figured Uzi would be a bit defensive.

Cyn is fully rendered and yet I glitched her so much I felt bad. So here's full absolute solver Cyn eldrich monster thingy. ^_^

I pulled a Hazbin hotel moment. Did you see it? Abracadabra GONE! All the scraps from first couple pages with NUzi chatting POOFED out of the existence. Did I get lazy and tired? Yes, that was the tell tale sign of burn out, when I stopped keeping track of background details and just kept the pod.

These progress shots show pretty well how the story boarding goes and how I change my mind too easily. 😅 storyboard is still as much of a mess as ever, sketch shows you I was gonna keep Uzi's hat, but decided against it in final product. I figured this. Nori gave Uzi the jacket whenever Uzi got a bigger body + hair. These are the same jacket and hair Uzi has in canon. Uzi's body is just upgraded again and her hair gets shorter in that regard. The jacket would be big on her, and cover her hands, but what's up with the fluff if I draw canon jacket more spiky? And where's the death battery drawing? I headcanon Uzi drew those on once she got into the angsty teenager stage. The jacket is more spiky from wear and tear.

Fun fact! You can sorta tell who's gonna show up in the comic by what memes I post prior. Here's some examples ^_^ Cyn showed up, and that was first practice with maid outfits and Cyn's eldrich form. Closely followed by manor gang, the second/final form of maid and butler outfits and prime practice for those scenes. This example is a bit spoiler for a meme I'm working on right now! I've never drawn Nori before, so I quickly sketched out the idea and continued on with the comic (otherwise, I'd lose my steam and procrastinate on it again). Memes are filler for you guys while I work on the actual projects (comics), and along the way, they give me practice and change in drawing style ^_^

Is it a coincidence that this comic is called Sleep with the release of a certain horror game? Actually, yeah pure coincidence 😅 I had this drafted allll the way back in November, and didn't take particular interest in poppy playtime until I saw lanky boi, which was actually during a stream I watched on release day of the chapter.

(I didn't know tumblr, or at least the phone app, had a tag limit of 30, BOY was I surprised @brookiedaaroacecookie that must have been THE tag city, sorry 😅)

Next comic is Loneliness 1 and 2

This one is split into 2 POVs from both Uzi and N side, thus its 2 separate comics. That one will be more NUzi centered, too, a slight angst and comfort spin to it. That will come... sometime. I have a few more projects I wanna finish up with prior to starting on these guys ^_^

Why are you still reading this? Omg, have a cookie 🍪 you made it. Have a nice day now ^_^