#Web design definition

[lordofmasks]

Welcome to the Internet 🌎🖥🐬✨ A whimsical collage of internet nostalgia :-)

Tshirt preorders available now until July 1st!

For Raw Paw Print Studio's World Wide Web Design Challenge.

[icewindandboringhorror]

indeed my exact process once every 8 months or so

[morganmnemonic]

Sketch of a comic for my Magnus archives au. This idea occurred to me and I felt like the funniest man alive

[keeps-ache]

expodes forever

[duncanor]

Going back to my old ass Manga ""project"" and changing everything about my OCs because I can, I'm older and wiser and it fits the themes better anyway.

[hyperionwitch-art]

Hey holy shit I have a website now! Mmmmainly it is a portfolio atm, so it has all my big illustrations (still adding more) and a section for Tev/Dren comics and stuff.

I'm not going to stop updating my Tumblr or anything, this will be in addition to all my socials (which, uh, I have a Bluesky now so look up Hyperionwitch if you want in on that??), but I figure if people are trying to make Ye Olde Internet happen again with the personal sites and the webrings and the sparkly cursors and autoplaying MIDIs (jk I do not have that, I promise), I might as well join in.

I'm still adding to it (more illustrations and sketches coming, probably a commission section, probably a link to my TeePublic, maybe a cosplay section?, etc.), but it's working adequately for the moment.

Thanks for checking it out, if you feel so inclined! 🖤

[radarsteddybear]

@staff this new layout hurts my eyes

[the-it-cart]

How To Conduct Effective Logo Design Research

Logo design is an essential element of branding that captures the fundamental nature of a company or an individual in a solitary visual depiction. A proficient logo is more than just a work of art; it is a strategic instrument that communicates a brand’s identity, values, and mission. Even before you start the creative process of logo design, it is important to conduct a comprehensive research and gather sources of inspiration. This initial phase guarantees that the ultimate design connects with the intended audience and distinguishes itself in a competitive market. This blog will examine different strategies and techniques that are generally used for performing efficient logo design research and approaches for collecting inspiration. The step by step strategies for conducting efficient logo design research, its methods for research and collecting inspiration can guide the designers to produce logos that possess both aesthetic appeal and have a significant influence. 

Comprehend The Essence and Identity of The Brand

Before undertaking a logo design job, it is important to gain a comprehensive understanding of the brand. This entails exploring the brand’s objectives, mission, values, and historical background. A thorough comprehension of the brand will direct the design process and guarantee that the logo precisely mirrors the brand’s identity. To understand the brand, one must actively involve themselves in the company’s goal statement, its narrative, its future vision, brand’s core values and principles. The question should include: Who are the intended customers? What specific feelings should the logo elicit? These basic comprehensions can establish a strong base on which the design can be constructed, guaranteeing that each component of the logo has a specific purpose and is in complete harmony with the brand’s fundamental statement.

Target Audience Analysis

Understanding the target audience is essential when designing a logo that deeply connects with them. Engaging in audience research increases comprehension of the inclinations, cultural subtleties, and curiosities of the intended target audience. Audience research can be done using methods like surveys, focus groups, or social media analysis. The accurate comprehension of the demographic characteristics, including age, gender, income, and lifestyle preferences, facilitates the customization of the logo design to appeal and attract the target audience. For example, the appearance of a logo designed for a government organization will be significantly different from the logo of a children’s toy brand. The objective is to develop a design that effectively communicates with the consumer at an emotional and psychological level. 

Collect Visual Stimuli For Inspiration

Gathering visual stimuli for artistic procedure can encompass a wide range of subjects, including art, architecture, nature, historical monuments, local birds or even the culture. A mood board can be compiled to assist in categorizing various sources of inspiration and igniting fresh concepts. A mood board is a compilation of visuals, including images, colors, textures, and typography, that is intended to bring out the desired aesthetic and emotional response for the logo. This will function as a visual point of reference throughout the design process. The designers can also utilize platforms such as Behance and Pinterest, utilize actual cuts from publications, to gather and organize their sources of inspiration. This visual analysis will aid in discovering recurring motifs and artistic techniques that can be integrated into the logo design, ensuring its distinctiveness and aesthetic appeal.

For more details visit us at How To Conduct Effective Logo Design Research - THE IT CART

[cre8tivit]

Progress. Slow, eventual progress.

Getting a bit tired of staring at this, but at least it's no longer color-vomit.

[psychogeniccircuits]

HTML Definitions

Element: Everything from the start tag to the end tag.

Tag: a piece of markup language that is used to indicate the beginning and end of an html element in an html document.

Example: &lt;p> your text here </p>

Nesting: when you put things inside the main element, usually with indentation.

Indentation: when you indent code

Self-closing tag: a tag for an element without a closing tag.

Attributes: special words used inside the opening tag of an element to control the element's behavior. An example would be a source attribute which can come after an image tag, specifying an image's url.

Example: <img src="url">

{{ under construction }}

[kedreeva]

Can I have your attention for a minute

It's nothing bad!

I wanted to share a little website with you, one i have used in the past. It's called Future Me.

All it is is a little web based word processor, that you fill in a letter to your future self, fill in your email address, pick a date, and hit send. The site will store the letter, and send it to your designated email on your designated date. It's completely free, though they accept donations if you like the service.

I've used this site for YEARS, it's not at all new, but it has at times been a little bastion of hope and good things for me. Every year on my birthday, I send a letter to myself, and I receive the one I sent the year before. I write about what I've been through that year, what I've accomplished, and what my hopes are for the year to come.

I have cried every single time I've gotten that letter. I know it's from me, but by the time it comes around, I've usually forgotten I sent it. But... every year on my birthday, I receive a letter from Past Me, who cared enough to sit down and have hopes about my future. And it makes me want to pay it forward to Future Me, and dare to hope that she, too, will remember that someone cared a lot about her future, and choose to keep going even further.

Anyway, I am giving you the link now, because there are definitely going to be rough times ahead of us, but I feel like maybe writing ahead to Future You, to the You that has made it past the rough times, might make them ever so slightly easier to endure. Knowing that Future You is waiting at the end of the line to welcome you, holding onto the letters you sent.

[chow0w]

sundew pretty please i just love your style sm

Of course! here's my take:

@ardienothesieno , @natureforlife , and @buonsai also requested this redesign and here it is!

I wanted Sundew's design to mirror the plant she's named after, by adding more orange-pink tones into her design and including these little webbed dots that reminded me of sundew droplets.

As for the rest of her colors, I tried to stay true to her original design as much as possible through the use of dark green shades and gold markings. Of course, I did end up putting a spin on things when it came to her limbs - mostly because I needed to balance the overall colors in the design. I added some red polka dots to mimic the sundew plant again, as well as changing her web/under eye color to be more orange-red. As for her wings, I honestly wasn't really sure what to do since sundew plants don't have a leafwing shape at all. I kind of just mimicked a leaf pattern in orange to keep it consistent, adding small green veins in the wing membrane.

The most interesting part of redesigning Sundew was definitely the vest! I was never really able to conceptualize her pouches when reading the book, although I think that's probably because of how they kind of just appeared whenever she needed them and weren't really described in full. So it was a joy to finally sit down and design Sundew a real combat vest, with enough pouches and flexibility to accommodate her occupation and also act as a little bit of camouflage. Sundew was definitely one of my favorites from arc 3 - and I don't know if it was just me, but I always imagined her sounding like tigress.

Thanks so much for this request! If you haven't seen my blog before and you'd like to request a character for redesigning, please head over to my inbox or check my pinned post to see if your favorite is already on the waitlist! And of course, since it's pride month, Willow will also be posted after this. To anyone wondering, my art contest is still running until the end of the month! You can find a link to my discord server (Where it's held) on my pinned post!

later (￣ω￣)

[gadgets-ark]

The Top 10 Freelancing Websites: Your Guide to Remote Work Opportunities

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[piulreblogseverything]

THEY DID MORE THEY DID MOREEEEEEEEEEE

fan in hfjone

[genericpuff]

I've been griping about the normalization of identity outing via social media for a while now. To put it simply, it's become almost some weird societal requirement that if you don't have every detail listed about yourself in your Twitter/FB/etc. bio, then it means you have "something to hide" or that you're not as "verifiable" because your account looks indistinct from that of a bot.

But that societal norm has really only benefited the people who profit off of that information in some way, whether it's through selling user data or through weaponizing details about a person against them.

I know that a lot of us love to use the fun little labels and acronyms in our bio that help others like us identify us as a 'safe person' or as someone who's in the same social/racial/identity groups as them. We're humans, we love to categorize things, it's in our nature (and it's fun!)

But if there's any time to start regulating that habit and challenging the norm that you're obligated to include all your personal info online - it's now.

There was a time when sock puppet accounts were expected and typical, not "suspicious".

There was a time when even age-sex-location was considered "too much information", but once it became the norm, we only EVER gave our personal information beyond generic ASL to people who we knew both online and in real life, or at the very least, people who we had known online for a significant enough amount of time that they had proved to be trustworthy (and even then, we didn't owe that information to anyone, ever; there are forum friends who I made online 10+ years ago and still talk to who do not know my personal information beyond broad strokes).

There was a time when simply being an avatar with a funny username was enough. And it still is enough, but massive platforms like Facebook and Twitter have been brainwashing us for years to believe that's not the case, under the guise of, "You wouldn't want to be dishonest, would you?" Through these same norms, we were led to believe that anime profile pictures are cringe, that having a fake online name is stupid, that the photos of you having fun at social events have to be taken JUST right otherwise you might imply to others that you're not actually having fun.

And considering how long these platforms have been around now, we have entire generations of children now who have been born and raised on that version of the ZuckMusk web, who have been taught that it "protects them" to express to everyone publicly their age, their school, their workplace, their family members, everything about themselves, because to not do so would be disingenuous.

None of this is to imply that the Internet was "safer" back in the day. I definitely should not have been on the Internet as much as I was when I was 13 in the late 2000's, it definitely did not benefit my brain development or my social skills. But the version of the Internet we currently exist in now is one that's been predicated on the false sense of security - the belief that if you're honest, everyone else has to be, too.

We've always had ways of identifying our safe people - by participating in the communities that we know are designed around our hobbies, our interests, our people. They might be small, they might not be as "cool" as the idea of netting yourself a big following of thousands of people, but they're also a lot safer and more genuine than that idealized following ever could be.

Don't feel pressured to include every bit of information about yourself in your bio. Even on Facebook, there's no rule that says you have to list your workplace, your school, your family members. There's no rule that says you have to list your personality type, queer labels, and neurodivergent disorders in your Twitter bio. There's no rule that you have to "prove" your life is real and fulfilled through the verification of photos, location tagging, and open-book sharing. If you share those photos, it should be because you genuinely want to share them, not because you feel some societal pressure to live up to others' expectations.

And I guarantee you, even your local mutuals on Facebook - your former classmates, family friends, distant relatives, coworkers, etc. - do not actually give that much of a damn about your personal life that they should be owed that much of a look into it on a daily basis. They've got their own shit going on, they literally do not need to know every detail about you.

I know it sounds scary. It also sounds kind of boring, when we've been used to a certain "way" of browsing and participating for years, that if we don't do so, it feels like being in the "out group" and that we're "breaking the rules". But I promise you, after spending over half my life online, those rules do not exist or benefit anyone who wouldn't profit off that information.

If you're wanting to learn how to branch off from major platforms like Facebook and Twitter and/or become more self-sufficient online, here are some guides to navigating the Internet like an old schooler that may help you!

FREE SITE BUILDER:

DIGITAL PIRACY 101:

(also in addition to everything mentioned here ^^^ they neglect to also mention Tor Browser which is a light and free-to-use browser software that allows you to browse anonymously; note that it's similar to a VPN in that it helps hide your identity online, HOWEVER it won't mask you from your ISP quite as effectively as a VPN, and if you sign into personal accounts with Tor, that's still going to obviously out you online lmao but I love using Tor for the odd time when I need to make a sock puppet for something and don't want it linked to my IP! and unlike a VPN, it's free to use!)

LEARN HOW TO USE RSS FEEDS:

People still use these! They're especially helpful for getting updates from your favorite pages and sites directly to your browser WITHOUT having to worry about stupid algorithm bullshit picking and choosing what you see. And many sites DO have RSS support once you know how to find it! (like adding in /rss at the end of a URL! Like this!)

FAKE EMAIL SERVICES:

LEARN HOW TO CODE IN HTML/CSS/JAVASCRIPT (AND MORE!):

DECENTRALIZED SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS:

I hope this helps arm you with some new knowledge in how to navigate the Internet like a Certified Old Person™️(like meeee!) Make your secret alt blogs for besties! Make your formal Facebook accounts that are clean of personal information and present the most neutral, safe-for-work version of yourself and keep the fun stuff to the secret profiles and chat groups that are just for you and friends/family/etc!! It might be "inconvenient" to have multiple accounts for the same purpose, but it's also INCREDIBLY freeing and can make your online experience both safer and more enjoyable.

Being "less" of yourself online does not make you any less you. It is your identity - you do not owe any amount of it to anyone beyond yourself. And in times like these, your identity is your greatest asset. Protect it.

[savouringmidnights]

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Ode To Her

(A Love and Deepspace x Non!Mc Reader fic)

(TW: Angst)

(Word count: ~2.7k)

🌟 Disclaimer: If the following trigger warnings or the general genre of the fic make you uncomfortable, then please do not proceed ahead, thank you! 🌟

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(Image Credits: Pinterest)

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(Guide:

Colour codes—Pink and bold is used for MC

Blue and bold is used for Zayne

Yellow and bold is used for Xavier

Green and bold is used for Caleb

Red and bold is used for Sylus

Purple and bold is used for Rafayel.

Mixed/Multiple colouration stand for multiple characters at the same time, as to be followed by the colour code given)

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(GIF Credits: Pinterest)

Ode to Her, who intermingles and entangles the fragile webs (of our lives that) we weave.

Ode to Her, who leisures around with the fabrics (of realities), knitting them up together into a bewitching rag or even a hideous robe.

Ode to Her, who along with Lady Luck composes symphonies and dissonance.

Ode to Her, who creates the Illusio of choice and free will.

Ode to Her, who makes YOU believe to be the creator, when all you are is a mere follower…

🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀

Time had flown like violent waves coursing through a stormy ocean. It felt as if eons had passed by, leaving a barren field behind, which once bloomed with the blossoms of Happenstance.

Happenstance? That’s right, that’s how you’d met him all those years ago, three to be exact.

If you take a tour down memory lane, it will all flash right in front of your eyes as if you were watching a high definition movie…

🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬

You’d moved to Linkon City with hopes of something long forgotten but mainly for, continuing your passion for writing. When you were younger, you too wanted to pursue a career path in becoming a Deepspace Hunter, having a really strong affinity towards the profession. But upon growing up further, your past dream had slowly shrouded within the neural networks of your brain.

Life in Linkon was moderately hard, with the occasional Wanderer outbreaks and Hunters reaching the designated area on time for action, saving civilians. You admired them, you admired them from the depth of your Heart…you wanted to write about them, but you barely found the words to do so.

It left you frustrated and up late every night…only for the next day to continue as a torturous loop of boredom. Not even three months in the City, you were already bored…

You wanted a wish…a wish to be granted…a wish to cure your boredom…and you wanted write all over again…

You wished for it.

Three weeks into the beginning of your third month in the City, you meet someone, you never knew would play such a significant role in your life.

You met her…

MC was her name. She was a new Hunter at the Hunters’ Association but ever so skilled and compatible. A strong, independent woman; someone you soon grew close with.

It was a coincidental occurrence.

You were at Destiny Cafe, a favourite place of yours added to your recency list, when Fate did Her magic.

She was sat at the table alongside Tara,

(who was a ray of sunshine, a pure soul, her colleague and friend, one she’d made at the Association.)

As time flew, hangouts and sleepovers became more common, mostly happening at hers, Tara would often join the two of you, but if she didn’t it was the both of you…

The two of you could spend hours talking and talking, as you’d ask her about her day and missions, taking inspirations for your work, while she’d about the stuff you wrote.

“Ode to Her, who intermingles and entangles the fragile webs (of our lives that) we weave.”—your first wish was granted.

….

Two weeks into the middle of your fourth month in the City,

Perchance You were out with MC and Tara at the Kitty Cafe, playing several rounds of the Advanced Mode of Kitty Cards—

Perchance one evening to Azure Square at that one bakery that MC had told you about, to feed your craving for Macarons—

Perchance on the way to MC’s apartment when you almost run into her upstairs neighbour—

Perchance at a local Casino to feed your thirst for a game of Blackjack—

Perchance out an art store, where hung a pretty wooden board containing the symbolisms for each colour—

When you’d first met him.

There was no verbal exchange, just the meeting of gazes for the very first time.

Later that night, your heart had already started skipping beats from the encounter, your mind started creating scenarios of your second meet, if there was any to come. You hoped for it…

You wished for it.

You wrote about it. Told MC a few days after…Her face lit up, she knew him. Oh?

He was an old friend?

her primary care physician?

a colleague at work?

someone she works as a bodyguard for?

a fruit vendor?

She asked if you wanted to formally meet him. You nodded.

So you did.

at her apartment, when she’d called you over two evenings later.

at Akso Hospital when he was on his lunch break, she’d taken you to.

at the beach, she called him over.

at the Karaoke place, she told he’d like.

It was awkward as heck, what would you have said? That ‘Hello I am the girl you made eye contact with days ago.’, you were nervous.

Maybe he sensed that, he spoke first, he remembered you. You smiled.

The weeks passed, growing with them the bonds of the new friendship that you had been gifted with. The two of you would often meet up almost everyday if time permitted…but you would…

Sometimes with MC, sometimes without her.

You cherished your times spent with him, they made you feel special…a little bit too special, that your heart would strum along the strings a melody, you were oh-so utterly familiar with…but you didn’t want to hurry…

As the saying goes, “Slow and Steady, wins the race.”

Each night you’d return home, stare up at the ceiling giggling like a teenage girl with a crush.

A Crush…!

Plus you’d blame him for making you fall…

How dare he remember your favourite flower,

your favourite colour,

your favourite song,

your favourite food,

the things that make you smile or ick…

He knew the ways of your little world better than your own comprehension.

All so crystal clear, within just a matter of months…

You were bound to fall…and you did…

You fell hard…

“Ode to Her, who leisures around with the fabrics (of realities), knitting them up together into a bewitching rag or even a hideous robe.

Ode to Her, who along with Lady Luck composes symphonies and dissonance.”—your second wish was granted.

….

A year and a half had passed since you met him…and you were down bad for him…

In Every star cluster in the night sky,

Every flower blooming and blossoming in a garden making it rich,

Every flake of the gentle snow which landed upon your nose,

Every ray of the Sun that caused the ripples of the Sea to glimmer,

Every winning gamble-

-you saw him.

You envisioned him, by your side…hand in hand for as long as Space-Time marks it’s existence.

You wanted him to be happy…

You wished for it…

Your pages were diluted in his essence, as if every word you wrote was written for him…

Did he even had the hint of what went on within yourself?

Perhaps.

Did you want him to know?

Perhaps.

Would you ever tell him about it?

Perhaps.

But did the two of you hush out your deepest secrets with each other over call in the silence of the nights?

Absolutely.

“Perhaps…”

It was a word that shrouded it’s true pose from you for a long time.

A word that created the illusion of bliss over your story like a veil.

It was not sooner or later when you had finally been able to snip your way out of the veil…witnessing the harsh truths of reality…

You started noticing him and MC together more over the weeks, observing their conversing patterns… You had asked him, countless of times, if he was sick…if he was alright…if he was okay…but to no use, he would always divert the conversation, so you eventually stopped.

You knew about his past, he had told you…hence,

You would see saw how his eyes would illuminate as if they held constellations behind.

You would see saw the colours and hues that would splatter over the canvas of his face.

You would see saw the easiness in his body language whenever she was near.

As if it was all meant to be…

Each day became a new lesson upon the ways of the unfair world, each night a review of the same.

Confrontation is never an option when it’s the people you consider home.

And what would you confront about?

When you could see the Alchemy of their amalgamations transcend to the cosmic levels, it was as if the Universe had made them a pair, a bond. Eternally bound to each other.

If the word ‘Soulmates’ held ground, they would be the Altar which it stood upon.

Such was the strength of their unity…

It hurt, hurt like anything to accept this epiphany that you had come across…but did you have a choice?

How could you ever compete with what the Cosmos had set in stone…

So what did you do? You wrote about it…you wrote and wrote like there was no tomorrow, every night, all night…at least it took off a minute-fraction of the load that your heart had to carry…

Of course you didn’t stop talking to either of them or cancel meet-ups…well not with her…

With him however, you started growing a bit distant, often cancelling your usual meetings…you needed the space to get a grip on yourself…

You always covered it up over text, just like you masked off every single emotion from your external appearance…

It was on you, upon you, your fault for you had termed your third wish in the wrong way…you should’ve been selfish, not caring for his happiness…but what’s done is done…

His happiness was your happiness…

Her happiness was your happiness…

Even so this happiness was a curse,

You were happy.

The funny thing was that, the more heartbroken you got each night, the more creativity painted herself with words onto the canvas of your notepad…

So you brain came upon a gentleman’s agreement with your broken heart, a business deal if you may describe it as…your broken heart would provide the flow of emotions to the brain which in turn oozed out your creativity; while your heart would feel the weightage of the load lessen even if it meant by fractional amounts…

And what did you do? You let yourself bask in the Status Quo.

“Ode to Her, who creates the Illusio of choice and free will.

Ode to Her, who makes YOU believe to be the creator, when all you are is a mere follower…”—your third wish was granted.

🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬

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Ode to Her, who intermingles and entangles the fragile webs (of our lives that) we weave.

Ode to Her, who leisures around with the fabrics (of realities), knitting them up together into a bewitching rag or even a hideous robe.

Ode to Her, who along with Lady Luck composes symphonies and dissonance.

Ode to Her, who creates the Illusio of choice and free will.

Ode to Her, who makes YOU believe to be the creator, when all you are is a mere follower…

🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀

Oh he cannot form sentences about the way his heart soared with elation when he met her again, in this lifetime,

for the first time…

His heart thumped loudly within his chambers, as if it were banging against a locked door, pleading to be let out, set free…If he’d ever known Love, then it was because of her existence that he understood the concept of Love.

She was the Destiny to which he elected to be Eternally bound. The connection they shared was beyond the mortal realm, transcending to the reaches even beyond metaphysics. It was Cosmic, he knew it, he felt it. It was the Universal Truth.

Hence why he felt desolate from within when she didn’t recall the past…the “Them”, that he carried on evermore in every one of his lives. He will continue to do so for eons to come.

Whatever she needed—time, familiarity, he was ready to give it to her. After all he was hers and she was his, they were an amalgamation…

Besides what Love wasn’t obsessive, sacrificial, a misconstrued treachery, or chastised.

So he waited, like he always had…

….

His days had grown monotonous without her memory.

‘When will she remember?’, was the fundamental thought that occupied his state of peace…

A change of scenery was much needed from this cyclic motion of work-life.

So he went, out for a stroll one fine evening.

Maybe he found out from his ‘trusted sources’ who sent notifications every second from her phone to his, that MC was at the Kitty Cafe along with some friends, playing several rounds of the Advanced Mode of Kitty Cards. Plus he needed to make sure she was with good company, after all he was only looking out for her—

Maybe he took a turn towards that one bakery the both had often ventured to satisfy their cravings for sugar—

Maybe he wasn’t a fan of his pre-planned stroll and instead made his way towards MC’s apartment when someone almost bumped into him. Letting out a flurry of sorries—

Maybe at a local Casino—

Maybe passing by an art store, where hung a pretty wooden board containing the symbolisms for each colour. He stopped by to judge them of their mistakes—

When his eyes met new ones, he’s never seen you before.

Maybe you were a new friend of hers, maybe even a stranger? Or an acquaintance? Whoever you are, it was of no concern to him…

….

A phone call was unexpected the very next evening, but not unwelcome. Infact he strived to hear her voice in some way or form, every single day of his being. She wishes to officially introduce him to her new companion? Oh?

Again unexpected. But if that’s what her wish was then it’d be his command. Although he was a bit hesitant upon meeting this mysterious person…majorly because he heard her go on for hours about how the two of them had gotten closer in just a matter of months.

She was sly, never mentioning the gender of this new ‘companion’ of hers. Maybe she enjoyed keeping him shrouded in half-truths.

What was his response? Yes of course. As if he could ever say No to her.

She’d assigned him a place for the meet-up along with the date and time, told him not to be late.

It was another dusk hour on a Sunday,

at her apartment,

at their assigned bakery they often go to, for replenishing their sweet teeth, well mostly his,

at the beach,

at the Karaoke place,

…You again?

Well at least it wasn’t a guy

You seemed awkward of the situation at hand, he could sense your nervousness scattered all over your features, profoundly. He wasn’t any big of a fan of first-impressions, but maybe a part of him wanted you to ease up…so he spoke up first, he remembered you.

He could see you heave a big sigh of relief internally at his words of consolation. You smiled…

The prescribed time soon had passed, enveloped within getting to know each other, while MC would often chime in to restore/uphold the fluency. He got to know considerable amounts of informations about you. You? A few adding onto the context of what you had already gathered from MC…

It was pleasant.

Days to weeks, weeks to months,

When had the Rendezvous metamorphosed into simple Hangouts, he couldn’t recall…

It started with the three of them when the familiarity was still in it’s budding stage…then slowly over time, the need for a watched maintenance of your fluency became discretionary,

for there bloomed beautifully the bonds of this new friendship, which got nurtured through your affection and dedication each day…making it grow stronger…

Hangouts became often (sometimes she would be there…sometimes not), almost everyday if permitted by time. If not? You’d substitute through calls and texts..

….

Time felt as if moving in a slow pace after ages of being driven with constraints and limits…here was none…

Things felt natural…innate with you, like the gentle breeze on a calm spring night, or the heavy shower accompanying a stormy day…

Like every phenomena in nature, often overlooked but are daily and recurring…

He couldn’t quite put his finger around it…yet…

He forgot to keep track of the exact moment when he

Started paying attention to the posters you hung above your bed—

Or the way you would try to stand your pen upright on your desk when your mind would wander off while writing—

Or the way you would duplicate multiple tabs on YouTube, each one filled with a specific song or mixed genres, while you would try resonating with it, to incorporate the same into paper—

Or the collection of hair ties that you possessed—

Maybe even the pre-existing tiny dent on the wall above your kitchen counter, which you said you would cover up with something but keep forgetting—

Maybe it was the way you’d smile everytime he was within your proximity—

Or the virtual hug you’d send him through your collection of cute bunny, crow, apple, snowman, artsy birb, stickers, every time before he went to bed—

Maybe it was the way your eyes would stare into his whenever he was over at you place and you were thinking of how to go forth with your words on paper—

Or everytime the two of you would be out, and you would feel like a breath of fresh air—

Soon he found himself accustomed to the ways of your world,

What made you ick or inspired,

Your favorites:

The certain colour of paint , or mixture gradients he’d use on his canvas that made you filled with joy, so he’d restructure his paintings like such—

The symbolism that each of the Cards and their Suits held within the deck of 52, making you speak on and on about them for hours, over text or via voice message at 3a.m—

Late night outings to go stargazing at the park, sitting on the plain grass, while you ask him about the different constellation…maybe just maybe while doing so, your head slowly tilts down to lay comfortably upon his shoulder—

How it became a regularity for you to visit the hospital every late night he got off of work, with a 6packed box of strawberry flavoured macarons…well two for each night on a row for three days, following the similar pattern for two weeks. Then came a gap for the next two weeks, as the cycle continues…but maybe what he wants to say was that, you’d be the Constant, coming over every night—

Every movie marathon you’ve been having, while he would cook for you. Not to mention how you’d constantly refer to him as ‘Maverick’ and hum along the theme song every time you watched Top Gun…Apparently it was your favourite thing to do, along with constantly complimenting his cooking in Shakespearean English and fumbling often—

Alongside the feeling of a calm warmth flowing through his body…a something else—resembling to fear??? Was slowly nibbling it’s way through his heart.

….

Uh oh…

A year and a half had passed already since he met you? And you had already confide countless of your deepest secrets to him…How could you trust him so much? Why did you trust him so much? Should he do the same…tell you about all his past lives, that haunt every hour of his existence?

Oh no…

The epiphany struck him like a truck when

In

Every star cluster in the night sky,

Every flower blooming and blossoming in a garden making it rich,

Every flake of the gentle snow which landed upon your nose,

Every ray of the Sun that caused the ripples of the Sea to glimmer,

Every winning gamble-

-he saw you.

Oh…

He had ever so slowly, fallen for you…

Now this filled him with panic,

He was panicking like a madman, like he had never before…

He didn’t know what to do, or how it was even possible for him to fall for someone else when the Love of all his Lives was MC…He needed to talk it out with MC…come up with a solution, something, anything…

All his thoughts and feelings were clogged and cluttered over his brain.

All this time he’d been beating around the bush, trying to press it down into the depths of chambers to be never found again…but somehow the feeling re-emerged, digging through every ground that he wanted to bury it beneath…

He felt like a nomad, like he knew nothing about the ways of the World…like a newborn…

Plus how would he even bring this up to MC, what if she gets heartbroken, or worse…

He couldn’t afford that…

But neither could he mute the sound of his thumping heart for you…

You…

Why did he have to fall for You? Who were you? A no-one till one and a half years ago.

He wouldn’t even have known about your existence if he didn’t meet you by Happenstance that faith-forgotten evening…

He could barely concentrate on work…Everything around him felt like a spiralling vortex and he was trapped inside…

Being the man he is, he somehow let his discomforts escape your radar eventually, after you had asked him over text, call, in-person countless number times, if he was alright…if he was sick…if he was okay…

MC eventually takes notice of this and confronts him…she had never seen him this distressed, calling him over at Destiny Cafe to talk.

Not sure how to go forth with the conversation, he hesitates…

He felt like he was stuck within a soft-lock of the game, his life had reduced to temporarily…

He had two choices,

“Either to abandon his future and stick to what Fate had woven for him eternally.”

“Or venture into the unknown and embrace the beauty of no obligations.”

She initiates.

He eases up…

Finally opening up…

Going on for weeks, he too gets to learn that she was plunged into a similar situation. There’s someone great that she met months ago during a mission, someone she saved…she’s been meaning to tell him but she didn’t know how…

‘They were on the same boat.’

Discussing upon ways how to break something that’s eternal…

Would it cause an anomaly?

Maybe a rift in Space-Time?

Or a breakage in the Universe?

What if the Cosmos punishes them, or worse the person they’ve been doing all this tallying and calculations for…

The risk was high but worth taking…

If it meant they could finally be free from this blessing-turned-curse.

Now came the part where he has to finally admit his feelings for you…

‘This scared him shitless’,

Being tied down to Fate and Eternity to one person was something he was familiar with—something he thought would last for all his lives to come…

But then you appeared, as the anomaly…

Like an error that could make a whole equation go wrong…

A glitch in the fabric of what he thought was Reality…

A new chapter added onto his story…

And he couldn’t wait to write it together with you…

🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀

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🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀

—To be continued—

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A/N: This fic was highly inspired after reading the prompt by @chika-seno, so full credits to them, and thank you so much for writing such a wondrous inspiration. Hope you enjoy, the entire fic when it’s finished.

~🌙