#i keep looking at my art and think ooh im getting better

[koko2unite]

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

Ooh I’ve been very hesitant about reaching out to you for this (my own mind being weird don’t worry) but I just really love your fics and I would love to see some more because it brings me a lot of joy seeing your work come by on my dash. im sending lots of love and creative energy your way!!

as for the emojis that i almost forgot:

🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼🔼

Aww hey!! No need to be nervous with me I love receiving these and I am so very appreciative of the kind works <3 Thank you!!!

60 for 🔼:

We might reach some big spoilers here? Unsure!

---

And he means it. August 4th 2020 Shannon better get ready. “You want a hand carrying things up?”

“Oh,” Shannon says. “It’s okay. There’s an elevator.”

“Still,” Buck replies. “It’s a lot to carry.”

“You’re relentlessly helpful,” Shannon accuses.

“Guilty as charged,” Buck grins.

“Fine,” she says. “I’d appreciate the help, Buck.”

It never once crosses his mind that going up into her apartment would be a bad idea. He swears, it never does. 

◀️

It’s a mistake. 

She knows it’s a mistake as soon as the door is shut behind them, and he’s laying her dry cleaner bags over the back of a chair. It’s a mistake because he has no reason to stay, but she doesn’t want him to leave. 

And maybe she’s not really thinking, is the other thing. There’s no inherent malintent. None at all. She’s not really thinking, because he’s asking her about art and the things she used to like.  For a moment, she just feels like herself. Like Shannon, the person who used to exist. Before she drained the hope from Eddie’s eyes. Before she got married to a choppy video call reception with the desert. Before she failed to keep her baby healthy after a birth injury she didn’t see coming. Before Helena drilled into her how she was failing; as a mother, as a wife, as a woman. Before she lost her mom. She’s just Shannon, with dreams and goals that someone thinks she’s capable of. 

So when she steps closer to him at the door and thanks him for helping her today, and he smiles at her and says, “it was really my pleasure, Shannon,” her brain goes offline. 

She’s just Shannon. She doesn’t have a husband or children. Her relentless hormone-induced horniness is just because of the gorgeous man in front of her. The kind, thoughtful man who wanted to spend time with her. Who makes her feel good about herself. Her body is on fire and her brain has melted and…

And she kisses him. 

She reaches a hand to cup his face, stands on her tiptoes, and kisses him. 

He’s warm. His lips are soft. His face is a bit stubbly. It’s been a very long time since she has kissed anyone but Eddie, but this feels different. Not a bad sort of different. A little thrilling maybe. She wants more. A lot more.

Buck takes a second to respond. He is understandably caught off guard. 

There’s a brief second, after he processes, where he starts to kiss her back. Where he raises a hand, lets it hover above her waist. But he doesn’t touch her. He comes to his senses before then. 

Buck pulls away, scrambling back from Shannon like she’s burned him. His back hits her door. 

Shannon steps away from him, hands flying to her mouth.

“Oh my god,” she exhales into her palm as the full gravity of what she’s done crashes over her. 

Buck looks horrified. Those kind blue eyes are twisted with confusion  and something else she can’t read. 

“I would never do that to Eddie,” Buck says. His tone is scathing. Scolding. “I-I would never!”

[borathae]

Chapter 7

are we about to see his art collection or his "art collection" ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

sneaking around is fun keke no wonder she is all excited and giddy haha cutie pie

Stop laughing”, Taehyung warns quietly, looking over his shoulder. He carries fondness in his eyes and a mischievous grin on his lips. stop IM GONE IM SIMPING IM A PUDDLE

NO UR A MENACE FUCKER DECIDES TO TICKLE ME TO STOP MAKINGME LAUGH NOPE watch my ass fall down the stairs and wake the whole house up

“You’re beyond adorable."

I told my familiar to light the candles your WHAT????

Taehyung is thinking into the future. THATS I WHAT THOUGHT TOO YIPPEEE

other than the rest of the house - which reminds you more of a museum than a home - his wing looks like a home. Bear in mind it was still a very impressive - and royal - home, but it gave you a homely feeling with its burgundy red walls and hardworking radiators. ooh red walls, they feel cozy/warm and very royal vibes

He is already wearing fur slippers HOW DID HE DO THAT dudes faster than flash

Why ruin your home with the dirt of outside? FR 💯

HE TOOK OFF OUR SHOES AAAH and TOUCHED OUR ANKLES THEY BOTH ARE FOR THE COBBLESTONES

They are matching with his UWU, im imagining cat slippers its too funny

You have the prettiest of ankles, my sweetest me to hobi and kook

ALSO HOW MANY ANKLES DID U SEE MY MAN (ik he saw a lot considering he is ancient lol)

Tall windows let in the moonlight from the left, illuminating the paintings on his walls that sounds extra cozy, i want to put a fluffy blanket on my shoulders

“Doesn’t he? It’s the reason why I purchased it”, he says excitedly. 👀 u sure about that?? 👀 did he get kneller to paint it for him 👀👀you sure that this isn’t like your great great great grandfather BABY CONNECT THE DOTS

come now I want to show you something else. HE CHANGED THE SUBJECT

Oh no”, you chuckle, “he just likes to show off.” still cool cousin kudos to him

“Three years? Holy cow and I can’t even work on an essay for twenty minutes without feeling the need to procrastinate.” WOW TAEHYUNG DAMN THATS SICK also u didnt need to call me out like that i-

Delicate roses climb up a marble pillar thats amazing i love murals

"A very long time." edward cullen who

Shall I show you something else too?” he asks quietly. aww my cute lil pookie go ahead why so nervous, smooches the fuck out of nervousness😭

the description of him playing violin gave me goosebumps and its 33C here. why am i slightly teared up

THERES A SECRET DOOR OMG IM GONNA PLAY BARBIE AND THE SECRET DOOR THERE FUCK THIS IS SOO CUTE AAAH

Gosh you own so many cool things.” ik he is soo cool, he can totally murder me on the stairs

Do you have your secret stack of drugs up there?” you joke, dont what if he is a mafia boss???? also he is about to throw you off the top 😭 yeet

Okay yep, holy cow. This is better than drugs FR OCTAGON SHAPED ROOM ARE THE BEST, my uncle's living room is like that and its amazing to play "find the object with hints" type games

if I could marry one room it would be this one TAE MOVE SHE IS MINE WE ARE MEANT TO BE MARRIED wait tae dont move, we can be a throuple

people were right, namjoon copied love yourself album FROM SIR KIM TAE-ITH HYUNGWILL THE THIRD, love thyself

His skin is glowing silver again, like water when it reflects the moon at night or snow when the sunlight hits it just right. singularity performances *shudders

You are the only person who knows this room exists.” SAY WHAT *faints

Why did you paint the stars?” THAT TOO FOR 3 YEARS AND HE THOUGHT OF IT AS HELL, his therapist will need a therapist

NAUR THE ICE CREAM NO SHE JUST TOLD U NOT TO hes such a cute lil shit i cant

oh the trying to be invisible, i do that too, i keep doing that for half of an academic year, and all that time i just vibecheck everyone and the other half, i slowly come out of the shell (not much tho lol) that way i dont miss anyone or does anyone miss me and they cant hurt me too

this chapter was so cute, fluffy and cozy and they both speaking more about themselves aah its sooo good. and i loved his home/wing. the description of the place was just great i could feel the bed and the stars

byee 💜💜❤️❤️

This ask was a ghost ask on my computer 😶 like I saw that you sent me an ask in my notifs and I could open it on mobile, but it was non existant on my laptop HFHADHSF help

sneaking around is fun keke no wonder she is all excited and giddy haha cutie pie

no but they're so cute no joke 🥺

I told my familiar to light the candles your WHAT????

he's just a rich lil spoiled vampire

Taehyung is thinking into the future. THATS I WHAT THOUGHT TOO YIPPEEE

EHEHEH <3

other than the rest of the house - which reminds you more of a museum than a home - his wing looks like a home. Bear in mind it was still a very impressive - and royal - home, but it gave you a homely feeling with its burgundy red walls and hardworking radiators. ooh red walls, they feel cozy/warm and very royal vibes

I agree YES 🥺

HE TOOK OFF OUR SHOES AAAH and TOUCHED OUR ANKLES THEY BOTH ARE FOR THE COBBLESTONES

he is so fucking HOT

You have the prettiest of ankles, my sweetest me to hobi and kook

I'm obsessed with their ankles 😶 it's the Dom in me 😶

ALSO HOW MANY ANKLES DID U SEE MY MAN (ik he saw a lot considering he is ancient lol)

imagine all the ankles he had resting on his shoulders 😶

Delicate roses climb up a marble pillar thats amazing i love murals

NO BUT ME TOO 😭 I wanna paint a forest mural on my bedroom wall, but I'm too scared to mess up

Shall I show you something else too?” he asks quietly. aww my cute lil pookie go ahead why so nervous, smooches the fuck out of nervousness😭

he's just a lil pookie <3

Okay yep, holy cow. This is better than drugs FR OCTAGON SHAPED ROOM ARE THE BEST, my uncle's living room is like that and its amazing to play "find the object with hints" type games

ooh nice I love this vibe <3

Why did you paint the stars?” THAT TOO FOR 3 YEARS AND HE THOUGHT OF IT AS HELL, his therapist will need a therapist

he does not a Therapist I can tell you that much HAHAHHAAH

oh the trying to be invisible, i do that too, i keep doing that for half of an academic year, and all that time i just vibecheck everyone and the other half, i slowly come out of the shell (not much tho lol) that way i dont miss anyone or does anyone miss me and they cant hurt me too

That was me too when I was younger, but we're allowed to take up space on this earth. That's our right too, remember that my love 💜

this chapter was so cute, fluffy and cozy and they both speaking more about themselves aah its sooo good. and i loved his home/wing. the description of the place was just great i could feel the bed and the stars

I'm so happy that you loved it so much seriously heheh 💜💜

[starlightkun]

Hi!! You write so well! I want to become a fic writer as well, but I lack knowledge of broader vocabulary terms, sentence structuring, and consistency. How do you write so well? And is it normal to search for "term" + synonym online 😭😭 I feel like cheating tbh.

accept that it's okay to write bad. it's okay to make "bad" art (which is, of course, subjective). it's okay to do things not "critically" good. like, the only way to get better at something is to do it. which means doing it bad at first. your first fic (or attempt at anything) is very likely not going to be your magnum opus. which, i also don't think should be the point of fic, personally? i've been writing fic pretty consistently for 10 years now, and it's always been bc i have fun doing it.

and be sure to read (books and fic) not just as a reader, but as a writer, too! i know when i read, if i come across a word, a motif, or a sentence structure that im kind of taken with, i'll make a little mental note like "ooh, i like that!" or "i never thought about that word order/sentence structure but i love how it feels" and see if i can use it in my own way later on.

and never feel like ur cheating for looking up synonyms for words like i cannot tell you how much of my google search history is "[word] synonym" like 😭😭 not only does it help prevent the overuse of words, but also i seem to always have words on the tip of my tongue, or my brain will reach for a word and grab one nearby in meaning but it doesnt have the right connotation/wasn't the one i know i need so i have to desperately search for synonyms and vibes until i can find it.

also never feel ashamed for using some simple words/sentence structure either! if every single word is so superfluously elegant, your readers will get exhausted, and nothing will stand out. just like using said!! i am a firm believer that there is nothing wrong with using said if someone is literally just saying something! like if everybody is growling and snapping and cheering and wailing all the time, then you'll never have any impactful, emotional dialogue because everything is emotional

TLDR; really, my best advice is to just start writing, and be willing to keep writing. and unless you're literally plagiarizing (this includes using AI to write for you, i cant believe i have to say that) then you're not cheating at writing

[justsomeoneintoomanyfandoms]

HELLO!! how are you? I’m here to request for (PLATONICALLY) sk8 the infinity, mystic messenger and obey me please! now let me introduce my fabulous self

My name is Joey, im 14 years old, i use He/Him pronouns, im transgender, aromatic and unlabeled, im a Extrovert, my MBTI is ENTP

Appearance: I have shoulder-length brown hair (will be cut into more boyish hair soon), brown eyes, im 5’6, I wear glasses! but I also use contacts, i dress in a lot of different styles such as goth (trad goth, romantic goth, mall goth and nu goth) gyaru (hime gal, himekaji, agejo, rokku, manba, kogal and tsuyome), scenemo/emo and vkei, ouji and lolita but I also drsss pretty normal when I’m not in those styles such as hoodies, T-Shirts, anime stuff, jeans, sweats and other comfy stuff also this is what I look like atm

Personality: We’ll I am Extroverted and my MBTI is ENTP but firstly I am pretty awkward at first so it may take me time to adjust to a new person or more, i love to ramble about my interests(forgot to add I have adhdism), i love to talk online the most through iPhone, computer, anything electronic, i like to use “hai” as a joke and I say “I’m homophobic” as a joke as well (DONT TAKW TAHT SERIOUSLY), i also make sexual jokes as well.

Hobbies: Anime/manga, art (drawing, painting, pottery, digital art, etc), music, fashion, gaming, writing, editing, learning new languages (Japanese and Spanish), cooking, cosplaying, social media, volleyball and more ^^

Likes: cats, hajime hinata (danganronpa), a silent voice, albedo (genshin impact), lemon demon, felix kranken (twf), bread, sharks, christmas music/christmas in general, scp 3008 (roblox game), get a snack at 4am (roblox game), hotels, and my friends!

Dislikes: negative mentions of my voice, people comparing me to people like “you remind me of ____”, spiders I hate them with all my life, hate talk about my interests and that’s rlly it

thanks!

Hi Joey! Ooh, a platonic matchup! That's a nice change of pace!

In Sk8 the Infinity, I match you with...

Miya is your platonic soulmate. You share so many interests!

You both loves cats, video games, social media, and (at least I think) cosplay.

And, let's be real, if Miya was allowed to in the show, he would be making the most inappropriate jokes imaginable. He's a 13 year old. What did you expect?

He enjoys listening to your rambling but he will act like it annoys him. Just say you can stop though and he'll make up some excuse like "it's better to blabber to me, rather than annoy someone else". Don't listen to him. He loves listening to you.

I also see Miya as an arachnophobe (me too Joey and Miya, me too). He's calling up Joe anytime there's a spider near either of you. He's not dealing with it and he's not making you deal with it either.

In Mystic Messenger, I match you with...

LOLOL buddies! Yoosung gets pretty competitive though so keep that in mind when you're playing with him. Nothing that will break your friendship though.

LOLOL lobbies can be pretty rough places. If someone starts trash talking you about your voice or your rambling, Yoosung's jumping to your defense. No one talks to his best friend like that!

Another one who hates spiders! He probably just panics and forgets he can use his phone to call someone for help though, so that duty will have to fall to you. In the meantime, he's closing the door to the room where the spider is and locking the door. You don't need to go in there right?

Yoosung definitely watches anime. His favourites are comedy action shows like One Punch Man and Mob Psycho 100. He's willing to watch pretty much anything, though he's not a huge fan of anything too scary or sad.

In Obey Me, I match you with...

I'm not sure why Beel stood out to me as the right choice but he did, so this will be a journey of discovery for both of us.

Beel is so used to Levi rambling about his hobbies that listening to you is basically second nature to him.

He also enjoys playing video games (though not to the same extent as Levi) so I can see the three of you setting weekly gaming nights.

He loves trying your cooking! Beel will eat pretty much anything but he assures you that your cooking is up there with some of the better tasting things he's put in his mouth.

Takes care of spiders with no issues! He won't kill them though. He's associated with bugs after all. He's finding a bowl and a piece of firm paper and taking the spider outside.

[obscuremechala]

testing testing 123

i just got here so i wanna test things out, probably won't keep this post in the long run but maybe i'll forget this is up or something idk

this is my profile pic, i drew it myself real quick and i don't feel like elaborating why. the url is a tad different bc i was thinking of sharing it on instagram (i didn't tho) and tumblr doesn't allow underscores apparently

but i digress

i don't have much to talk about but that's 'cause i don't have a prompt or anything this was just meant to be a test

one day i'll ramble about my story stuff bc there's a lot going on there but there's still a lot i need to figure out

hmm maybe ill do an intro or something

but probably not here i don't think it'll fit

ill test things in the meanwhile

italics? oooh yes

bold

[redacted] (huh would that be unredacted or what is this a paradox)

awelkhfas ooh different fonts too

point 1

point 2

there are no points

what am i doing

idk man

i just got here and want to learn and maybe interact

i tend to just lurk on socials but i am capable of interaction

i just usually don't

friends are nice, i wish i could interact with mine more

testing testing one two three

bigger

biggest

moths are cute, i like moths

one of my fantasy races/species are inspired by moths but that's for another time

i don't expect anyone to actually read this

tho i do expect it'll take me some time to get used to things here

ive seen a lot of posts on pinterest while looking for writing advice and character design inspo, tho now my feed is 1/3 transformers, 1/3 pokemon, and 1/3 misc. tumblr posts

i also like robots and transformers

what if moth robot

hmm lemme think

i could def make it work in my universe, i shall ponder

anyway more tests

ooo smol

wonder what this does

color text nice

this song is great i found it a few days ago and have listened to it several times on loop

however i don't have spotify i just have youtube music

sad that they deleted google play music, at least i could listen to music outside of the app and with my screen off without paying money

i haven't actually played undertale, i watched a neutral run playthrough and have played deltarune, if i get the game id probably do a pacifist run

undertale music is good tho

h

there is no 2

what did that do

i don't really get it

maybe it'll do something when i publish this

ooo i should post some art

i don't have a lot tho

maybe i should redraw my old art bc i looked at some last night and yikes

apparently i only recently discovered decent anatomy/proportions and that was via mostly guesture poses

i have recently been shown the way of shapes and im watching a lot of character design and redesign stuff along with my hermitcraft

i never really got into miraculous ladybug but for some reason watching people tear into it and redesign the characters tends to pull me in like a moth to a light

it's funny bc i have no investment in what people are complaining about but im interested in how they make things better/different

also taking notes on what not to do so

i wish i could draw my characters, a good chunk are robots and hard to design, 90% of the rest of them are homemade fantasy races/species i have to actually conceptualize, and then the humans are kinda just there

bc i do have humans there just arent a ton bc i must make everything hard for myself

dw its fun for me it just takes a long time to actually hammer out

i wanna talk more about them but im thinking of better ways to actually organize my thoughts that just vomiting words on a page that no one will see anyway

it's gonna take some tome to figure out this place

maybe ill make separate blogs for original and fandom stuff idk ill explore the features more and get back to

[alketaire]

ce lore pseudo-liveblogging under the cut

link to an upload post

started with the osiris logs. always fucking stoked when ikora and ophiucus are doing their thing.

he can’t even say Sagira’s name nooooo ;_; IKORA CAN’T EVEN DESCRIBE HOW HE LOOKS AT HER SHELL NOOOOO TT_TT

and then he’s a tea snob lol ofc. if you hand osiris anything he’s prob encountered it in at least 320400 timelines, he’s a ___ snob all day every day

we’re at a 2-harrumphs-per-page consistent rate so far, most excellent

significant discussion so far of potential ways both Sagira and Savathûn could be brought back. HMMM.

ooh, use of “katabasis” in the mythological sense as a metaphor for what Osiris thinks Savathûn might have gone through, neat

why is Osiris mumbling to himself a point of worry, he’s been talking to himself for three kajillion years. plus he’s mumbling about inanna and i am ALWAYS down for more sumerian mythology in media

lol Ikora and Ophiucus talking again is great bc the second one of them agrees with the other they switch sides and keep arguing, love it

-

ok on to calus! dan said this one has people in an uproar which. the woman is a civilization of problems in a 500-pound bag, i think i’m ready *immediate missing mom* oh no.

baby caiatl slip slidin around you deserved so much better than the everything ;_;

oh, cool, specifics of uluran biology/history/culture! love it except this family is still a fucking nightmaOH JESUS CHRIST WHAT THE FUCK

ok why is Umun’arath the least insane person here

wait. wait. WAIT THE FUCKING SECOND. THIS SEEMS TO IMPLY THE PSIONS ARE THE ECUMENE. WAS OXA MADE FROM TAOX. I THOUGHT THAT SHIT ON REDDIT WAS PURE SPINFOIL BUT WHAT THE FUCK

this whale riding shit sounds like if you asked calus what he thought “drunk driving” should be

aw MANNNNN i wanna turn into a monument of solid bone when i get too old

gotta say all the like uluran worldbuilding so far is just. cool as fucking hell. lithium-carved cave art would be super shiny for a while compared to the oxidized rock surrounding it. shame torobatl and the uluran homeworld wherever it is are fucked.

speaking of cool as fucking hell, caiatl, empress of ‘rip to my copilot but im different’

lol @ calus smooshing his face through a model of the Almighty as he throws a drunk tantrum at umun’arath. he’s, uh, not wrong tho?

glad that caiatl and dan agree about ghaul’s voice. that man could be telling you to go to the corner store for milk and you’d be ready to duel someone to the death for the last carton of lactose-free 1%

OOOOOOO THE GHOST PRIMUS WHO WILL RESURRECT OUR EMPIRE HOLY SHIT HOHOHOHO guardianghaulsomehowplease

mood whiplash, am now crying

so MUCH fucking light imagery around ghaul, cmon now

aaaaand ahamkara. fuck’s sake. do we - OH NO. oh shit. caiatl empress of being fucking BORN paracausal!!

fortunately, she is caiatl and spends the entire next page going “yeah fuck all this bullshit” because a wish for someone to love does not mean a wish for someone who won’t be your downfall lol

omg cabal fantasy football i’m DEAD

-

on to the elsie book! i have known tokki for two lore entries and three paragraphs and i would die for her

oh so cloudstriders are uluran-sized. neat.

hmm. wonder if pouka’s communication works that way with guardians. or even non-exos, for that matter.

oh so elsie knew there was a mega-human out on a station near pluto two four years ago but nbd, what is this fish thing?????? ig it helped her learn stasis but ma’am really?

lol after a bunch of people being all like ooh hive magic is the next darkness class ooo! nah brah hive magic was fancy stasis the whole time

OH NO. yeah fuck that timeline elsie. ooh THAT timeline fucks though

ooh so does that one! mara with stasis yes please

OH POUKA IS AN EMOTIONAL SUPPORT DARKNESS FISH, VERY COOL

the image of elsie breaking out of stasis prison shouting SCIENCE is pretty good, not gonna lie, but for a second i thought it was gonna be ALLAHU AQBAR and that’s also pretty fuckin good

man i knew the brays were all fucked up but “i didn’t in hundreds of years think of just loving my sister (eta: WHO SPENT TWO LIFETIMES DESPERATELY SEARCHING FOR WHAT IT MEANS TO BELONG. IF YOU DIDN’T NOTICE.) like a normal goddamn person until i was threatened with death over my need for total control” is a pretty big L, elsie

[live-love-laugh-lesbian]

helloooo how are youuu!!

omg so real with rainbow dash and aj?? i saw this poll and she was the least liked and i was appalled how can someone NOT like applejack???????

im sure your gift receiver will love theirs!!

i mainly drink coffee for the caffeine andnrnsnf but i like the flavour too! id much rather drink a coffee with good flavour and not as much caffeine rather than one woth bad flavour but pure caffeine yk?

and fun fact!!! electric violins are a thing (but maybe you already knew that and i misunderstood?) theyre really cool sounding anything electric sounds awesome to me tho so maybe im biased akfjjrsjfj

okay three careers: id be a games designer, animator and an author! i want to pursue all of those in my one life but that seems unrealistic ajdjrjsjf i really wish i did have three lives to pursue each of them!! and your careers seem so cool!! my mums a teacher and she respects the ta's that help special needs kids so much!! and honestly i do too!! ooh medicine!! medicine was fascinating to me as a child i always either wanted to be a fashion designer or work in the medicine industry!! and we are SOOO twins with animating ajdjejsjf i love art and also yours is sooo good omg your velvette art>>>>>>>>>> akkdjejsd

for me!! dogss but im biased bc a) my mum had three dogs and my aunt has dogs and dogs in family so im used to being around them <3 and b) a dog didnt try to kill me!! (i will not elaborate ajdjrjsjfn) and omg your cats sound sooo cutee and i love how so many cat owners i know are like 'yeah shes unhelpful but shes cute!!' because honestly thats so valid ajdjrnsjfjr

oh yeah i totally get warm colours sorta stuff! my fav colours are either grey or lilac ajdjrjsjd so aksjdjsjd

hmm see this is hard because id love to control fire just bc itd look cool ajdjrjsjfj but also i think mainly air? bc if i hate someone i can just mess their hair up /j ksjdjejsjd but i think airs cool! but also lile fire because it looks cool but im biased bc im a fire sign so i think im supposed to be loyal to fire ajdjrnsnf but if i had to choose one, probably air! what about you?

and my question to you: what is the best compliment youve ever gotten and whats your fav way to spend a day off?

byeee!!!! this is so long sorry ajfjrndnf

-swiftie spring exchange anon

So first you don't need to apologise for length!! I love long messages XD

I think people like her the least because she's like..."normal"? She doesn't necessarily stand out as much as the others do, and I get the impression that makes people pay less attention to her :( But she's lovely!! She's a loyal friend, hardworking, and I love her family relationships too!! I'm super close to my siblings and love seeing those bonds in media XD

That makes sense!! I imagine coffee is like tea, wherein some is just like...a better taste. Okay sure I only do herbal tea, but some herbal teas are better than others XD

I did not know electric violins were a thing!! Worldview changing news right there. (sincere in a mildly hyperbolic way) I need to know what other electric instruments exist now however...I want an electric saxophone. Do those exist? I need to find out. (Okay turns out YES oh my god I love it. Some of them feel faintly cursed but that's ok I love a cursed instrument.)

It's cool how much we have in common X'D If you wanna keep talking post exchange I'd be up for that! Tbh at one point I too wanted to be a games designer...I tried to make a visual novel once. I did not have the patience for it. (It's funny cause my job requires a lot of patience, but then often I do not have patience?? I joke that my job uses up my patience but tbh I think it's just a different type of patience. Explaining concepts to a child repeatedly feels different from learning to code or play an instrument. I imagine there's many people who have the patience for the latter who would not for the former.)

I ALSO at one point wanted to go into fashion design - specifically, wedding dress designs!! I basically went from STEM careers to art careers then settled in education XD If I could do all three I would. But for now I'm satisfied with art as a hobby and education as a job. My mum also works with kids, but like, early years so before school aged XD I guess I sort of take after her in that regard.

Re: dogs and cats! My uncles both have dogs XD I think I'm kinda wary of dogs because I know many poorly trained dogs. But then like...one of my uncles has the most chill dog ever? Kinda a dumb dog too. They got burgled once and on camera they found that the dog had been awake and the burglar just stepped over the dog. She's just a very docile dog that doesn't feel a need to get worked up over things XD

I am very sorry about the cat trying to kill you tho!! Some cats can be vicious, to be fair. My two are very sweet thankfully - a black and white one who is 5 in October, and a tabby who turns 2 in May! The older one is generally more chill, she just likes to sleep and cuddle and judge others. And then the younger one wants to run around and cause trouble (nothing major, to be fair, worst she does is steal my post) and play all the time lol. She also wants to cuddle a lot, but she finds it hard to sit still long enough.

Fun fact I am making a pair of lilac trousers atm XD They're corduroy and I'm gonna add sequined hearts on afterwards.

Ooh which fire sign? I'm a scorpio XD I'd probably go for water. As a kid I wanted to do earth because I was a fan of Toph from ATLA, but I think I'd find water easier...am I looking at ATLA to decide? Yes. Yes I am. But yeah I think water! Also if I could control water I could swim maybe...

My favourite way to spend a day off is basically art, time with my sister (and friends, but usually I have to text because we live a few hours apart), and then a date with my gf. I like a bit of gaming too (found out Stardew Valley updated so been on that today after I finished work). It's also less energy consuming, so it's nice to use light gaming as a break inbetween art stuff. Providing it's single player games. I am extremely competitive when it's multiplayer, woops. My family and I once ended up contacting a monopoly helpline because my uncle and I got into such a debate over one of the rules lol. And as for compliment...not really sure? Sometimes I have people ask me where I got my clothes, or ask if I got them from specific brands, and that feels like a compliment because it means I made something that looks at least vaguely professional XD Honestly compliments on my art always make me happy. Oh, and compliments professionally - whenever a child or parent has positive things to say about me I'm like :D. I think I just like to know that others appreciate the things I can do? What about you??

My turn for a question...do you have a "bucket list" of sorts? Like are there any things you wanna do in life in particular? And do you think you'll get those things done?

[silvermuffins]

Pokemon Scarlet liveblog!!! Part 5

I dunno if anyone's reading these but someday I might so we're still doing this.

now where was i? oh right. olives.

okay that's a weird bug....there's a little sprite of Flittle dancing around my screen....it relates to my camera positioning??? how do i get Rid of it

i am going to fly back to the school and show my dex to teacher and then fly back here to see if that fixes it

the flittle is still there at school. ....okay i THINK it's gone.

nope it's back when i go outside.....okay we're gonna save, close, and reopen!

there we go all better

you know, it'd be goofy if they like. Put a picture of Mew on the bottom of a truck model. Easter egg for those who could finagle a way to see it. Xylly the Kricketot has joined us.

Special tera Diglett! The fuck type is THAT? Fighting??? Dig is super effective...your hame is Hotdog and- that was rock. Huh!

fuck i keep tripping over Diglett as im trying to explore. ooh, found a Vespiquen, now I don't need to hunt for a female combee. You're Frank now, in lieu of other words.

Wanders about, exploring the orchard, kills a chewtle....ooh there's another special tera mon and it....is invisible. I can hear it sparkling. But I cannot....see it.

i fixed it. it's a Fletchling, fire tera....booooring you get that type anyway! Bronzor, tho, you're Dinnerplate. Finally got a Chewtle to name Faxly. Now we reach Cortondo!

We're gonna take a break for a minute to eat some punkin pie.

that turned into a break for the night. Back at it, now that England and the US have come in at a draw 0-0 but DAMN that was a good game.

Cortondo!

the usual shops....with a few new items! i should maybe doublecheck the stores in Artazon for different ingredients....

oh there's a really cool treehouse or something here. OH it's the arena.

man EVERY house here has a pool. okay quick artazon check then we return. ....alright i believe we just unlock additional stuff as we make progress. i do not have a flabebe to give this man.

aight let's tackle this gym. Nemona you're absolutely sneaking ahead of me just to play "wow weird coincidence" and we both know it. ....wait didn't you promise you'd battle me next time we met? now you're going back on it? we've only battled twice so far what's going on WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DID YOU DO WITH NEMONA

ooooh olive soccer ig. steamrolls by. throws the ball over a fence. time to destroy Katy. oh what a swetie she is...alas I am OP. ....oh i get it....she has a BUGBEAR. i...am not gonna get tooh yes i will. oh the buggy hat is so cute!

SHE GAVE ME CUPCAKES

i've seen this man at school! I have seen him in the art room specifically i think. the fuck you mean he's E4?! I wasn't sure we were doing that this gen!

two artists in one generation huh....looks something up rq....noppe

anyway. how to answer his question....

"All paths lead to the Great Crater of Paldea"

all paths lead to the great crater

ALL PATHS LEAD TO THE GREAT CRATER holy shit i have Fears

oh Nemona is the youngest Champion in history? time to steal that from her. ....sir this conversation has made me very uneasy.

anyway back to class. oh Salvatore is A Guy. Possibly the most guy ever. aaaa he said mata ne i have feelings unrelated to pokemon (sayounara, mata ne!)

hassel is great at asking questions that make me nervous and also i don't know why but I feel a great deal of concern for him? hm. HEY we have Penny in class instead of Nemona for this one?!

anyway friendship time. i love the teachers so much. awah, Miriam...

okay, now then...where to next....maybe off to Iono's town??? I think that will work. I'm trying, here. Anyway, Tripto the Magnemite. The hell's a Varoom and where do I get one?

aaaaa i Continue On im nearly to Iono's city. OH Pebbles is evolving....i'm not getting it on the field? this one has like a classic evolution background... Tinkatuff! Found an office worker who is letting himself act like a child to relieve work stress.....this feels like a cry for help....and a guy wanting to be like the wind which gives me mata ne-related feels. Those who know me well know what I mean.

Awright Levincia here we are! Ooh, Grimer. You'll be Bort. Hey, a Kirlia! idt I got a Ralts before but I'mma need two anyway! oh shit, oops. Right, gonna need some luck with a quick ball then. doot, your name is Duck. ROTOM you're gonna be Prodro.

The usual food shops...OH and a sushi place! Hat shop, shoe shop, are these gonna be all the standard accessory shops? ooh one is a bit higher end. Too rich for my blood. Oh, and a fancy restaut=rant. All the big cities are so big.

Running around Levincia's skyscrapers is uncomfy. I think it's because of all the capitalism.

Now the other side of the city....oooh, Chinese food place. Once again confirming that POkemon are dietary staples, with a pickled Toedscool dish.

I got a bag that looks like bones!!!

Now we head in to do this gym thing. Nemona I am going to steamroll you. She's got something called a Crocalor.... Croc. Calor is hot. Thaaat's a Starter. That animation....she can't control her Tera orb well? Almost looked scared of it for a second... ...Nemona. Nemona what would challenging me again literally right now change? It wasn't even close. Nemona I am begging you please stop assuming I want to just battle you 24/7 that's unhealthy.

Anyway let's go handle Iono.

WHY IS CLAVELL HERE

oh my god

y'know if i were a viewer i think iono's streams would bore or annoy me very quickly. thankfully i am neither! and these gym trainer battles are going to tell Iono exactly how I'm gonna beat her: mud shot spam.

Oh her Bellibolt is actually kinda scary idk what its ability does...and it's beefy, too. Okay, recalculate. That's a clean switch, Salt Cure will take it down while I revive Pebbles... Ooh, she has a Mismagius, huh? Those have levitate, right? That's fine, i have Smack Down. ...Oh. Oh Sotero can't take two hexes and won't outspeed...okay Jupe, take over, OH COME ON WHY IS HEX SO POWERFUL. Do I have NOTHING that can do this??? Maybe if I use Scoots or Daya... we're gonna try Scoots. Okay, Scoots can take multiple hexes.

That was annoying.

oh hey that's Miss First Champion, isn't it? Geeta! Chairwoman of the league...

The last League Chair i dealt with was a megalomaniac with a messiah complex, you know. Please don't be like him.

alright back to school, there's classes and probably friendship available....i oughta check for new sandwich ingredients and such, too!

i have midterms?!

doo de doo classes....oh hey Arven's in Art with me this time...oh so there IS a way to change a pokemon's tera type!

doing some friendship before the exams. awww Dendra.....and i just adore Saguaro....oh no he has other fans...oh no he felt pressured and went for the spicy sandwich...OH oh aaaaa i love this this is so cute. don't worry professor i am here for you!! i will protect you

who dat??? in Hassel's event???? she's dressed like a superhero....

okay! midterms!

back to cortondo after the literal blood sweat and tears poured into midterms on fani's part. we heading north now. And....wait the map says theres an eevee here somewhere

gave up on the eevee, found a Capsakid. gonna call you Choods.

wanders along.....man i thought i saw a person with a picnic table.....oh well i can BE the person with the picnic table.

whyyyyy do my sandwiches always have weird slopes that destroy my plan by yeeting my ingredients into the ether.

I FINALLY GOT AN EGG!

now there's a tera Buizel....ice type, I like it. Crit capture, you're Spink from now on!

ohhhh we gonna have to play dodgeball to get to the next titan. boy howdy i can see it from here.

made it up without even getting on Koraidon or getting hit once! Bombirdier? It's...it's a stork.....oh my god are the bombs babies

okay so it powered up and then i OHKO'd it....with Nuzzle. And then the moon went flying into place.

arven why do you hate koraidon so much??? oh wait, no, you're tsunning. !! Koraidon learned Surf! well, not the battle move. but i don't need to fear water now.

arven what is going on??? do you have miraidon or something???

DOG. HE HAS SICK DOG? or old dog.....oh no....baby....

oh no this is gonna be something like the family dog was more of a parent to him than his mom was....but the dog's old and he's scared and lonely.....and he resents Koraidon because mom's research kept her away. something like that????

dog is hurt oh no....oh no did KORAIDON hurt him???

;A; ARVEN, BABY.... WE'RE GONNA SAVE YOUR DOG

once again, sada....how do you KNOW

aha HERE'S flabebe. I need two of these. Names of Morley and Kad. wait, technically i don't need two, I realize as I throw a second ball and crit capture...

don't think i should jump off this cliff til koraidon can scale it but....i see another lid thing? in yellow this time...fuck it let's go see. This one has the ruinous sword.

oh shit, electric tera jolteon! I think i want that? ....EXCEPT IT'S LEVEL 50. I need to get out of here!

wheew. Got Boydey the Numel tho. Gonna get a Bombirdier, name it Pachetti. FUCK i muscle memory killed it. Will ned to find a new one.

The superhero clothes are back and on someone else, turns out they're for dragon tamers!

i think I am about done for the night. I accomplished a lot!

[rapidhighway]

7, 10, 21

Bruh im like so sorry i was having a bad day and forgot i was doing this thing ajxbsjxbxjxbxjbf

7. Show us a wip

(yall are hungry i see... Spare me, i don't have that many but I'll show what i have xdd)

Here’s secret au little Cas I never got around to finishing <3

10. How many different sketches do you usually have until your piece is finished?

It's usually just one sketch and then we go straight to lineart. Sometimes i will play around with the pose and it can take from two to even like, idk, a doze of little sketches and tries before i like something. It also depends if it's digital bc i usually take much more time to figure out the sketch when i do traditional art. But in digital, most of the time i just don't care. I really don't get people who makw more than one sketch before lineart, who's got that much time?

21. Something you would like to improve on.

Ooh so much. But the worst i think is colors and posing. I just don't have that many good ideas for poses. I don't have many good ideas period :/ im just unimaginative i guess. I keep failing to draw anything that looks interesting bc my pose game is so weak. My colors are just flat and most of the timw I really hate how thwy come out. I think i used to color better but i just lost it somewhere along the way and i can't get myself to do it right again...

ask game

[mdverse]

Hey there!! Im not the most consistent tumblr scroller but when I have time sometimes I come check your page out and I stumbled across your post on your art journey and man, it was really special to read.

I really liked what you said about practice and experimentation, and starting with copying/tracing/referencing folk we really like), and slowly finding a way to develop asystem that works for us, whether it be for brushes or writing- in my case!

I also really resonated with the part about finding something to be inspired by, to push us to create our own shit - and I guess thats the cool thing about art, and writing, and music, and science etc etc I guess? The fact that everyone builds on the stuff that comes before!

But yes - it's been so cool and 21st century weird, I guess - to feel like I've seen your work evolve in this year thanks to tumblr?

Ooh this got long. But Im sendin u lots of love :)

Yeah!! U get me!

I've gotten a lot of comments from people saying they could never draw the way I do and it's frustrating bc like. Yeah you're gonna suck at drawing for a while but everyone goes through that stage! You'll never get better at anything if the fear of failing prevents you from even starting! And the feeling you get when you compare your recent art to your older drawings (or writing, in your case) and see nothing but improvement is unparalleled. I can't speak for everyone obviously but when I compare sth I've drawn recently to my earlier digital artworks I get a massive rush of pride because I know how much effort I've put into art over the past few years and sometimes I forget it. But then I see the progress and it all feels worth it again. It really is a special feeling! And to be honest I feel like showcasing growth is so important. Like that's part of the reason I still keep all of my old art on my ig page - I could delete it bc it's embarrassingly bad in my eyes, but seeing it evolve over time is sth that really motivates me, and hopefully motivates anyone else who makes or is considering making art :)

And the fact that everyone builds on the stuff that comes before!! So very true! It's wild to think that the people I look up to have their own sources of inspiration, who in turn have their own sources, etc in an endless cycle! I can't think about it too much bc it'll get overwhelming really quickly but it's incredible, isn't it?

Anyway this will get long too unless I stop myself haha, talking about art will never not get me excited. I'm sending you so much love too, it's lovely to see you here 💞

[theaviskullguy]

Ink and Petals

@dapple-dualies-propaganda here's the au

Tattoo artist! Rider x Florist! Goggles

hope you enjoy!

---------

When was it not busy at Squid ink?

It was one of the top Tattoo Parlors in Inkopolis. and it was also on a pretty busy street. So, it got a lot of customers. Also the fact that one of the artists was a famous turfer.

Rider hadn't formerly retired, but he had eased out of playing Turf Wars. He had found other interests outside of the sport: Theater, art, reviewing old movies online... He still did Turf from time to time, albeit the adult league. He was too old for the more popular teen division.

So, he found a job as a tattoo artist. And he rather loved it. Not only did most of his friends consult him for tattoo advice (from where the best places are to good designs), but he also knew some gossip. One of his regulars had beef with her neighbor because he has a pet raccoon who keeps stealing her trash and Rider could NOT wait to hear more about this story.

Another thing was, well, Rider had seen some shit. From people covered head to toe in tats, to people eagerly wanting their first tattoo, even to shyer folk who wanted one to defy controlling parents or to mark something important.

None of that prepared Rider for the news he got when tattooing one of the customers. More specifically, Gloves.

You see, Gloves had been coming in for the past few days. They had wanted a pretty complicated butterfly tat, so for the last 3 days Rider has been exchanging stories with the resident enby about... pretty much anything.

This is how this exchange happened;

"So you remember Goggles, right?" Gloves asked.

Rider rolled his eyes. "What, you think I'd forget the guy who kept pulling down my pants?"

"Oh ha ha. Anyways, apparently he works at that flower shop now."

"...He what?"

"You heard me!" They said. "I went there yesterday to get something for a project and there was Goggles! He misses you, 'ya know!"

Rider was just. quiet. He hadn't talked to his crush in a while, contact dwindled when Rider stopped doing Turf as much. Never once did he think Goggles would miss him, but that was probably the self hatred talking.

"...I'll think about it." Was all Rider said.

The conversation continued like nothing happen; Gloves saying multiple cursed things and Rider sharing interesting stories he heard on his job. Time flew by and soon, the tattoo was done; a butterfly with the bi colors on one wing and the nb colors on the other. Rider was quite proud of it, and Gloves seemed to like it. They waved, and left the store, humming to themselves.

Rider looked at the clock. His shift ended in just a few minutes. He knew he had no other appointments that day, so he took to watching old recorded matches in his phone.

Those were over a decade ago. Yet he still remembered everything. His favorite part was still learning he won a match by such a small margin. It was just... amazing.

He sighed. Rider missed those battles. But he has to say, he missed his crush a bit more.

He clocked out, saying goodbye to the other employee-Cherry (business relationships were easy to maintain when your coworkers were your siblings), and headed towards the flower shop for more reasons than one.

Army had a performance the next day. And yeah, Rider knew it was romantic, but platonically giving your best friend flowers was always nice. Plus, he wanted an excuse to see Goggles again.

He looked into the shop-the blue inkling was nowhere to be seen, but then again neither was the front desk. So, Rider shrugged and stepped in.

The floral scent was strong, but not overwhelming. Plenty of blossoms lined the stands, along with tags of what the flowers were and what they meant.

Rider looked around, trying to remember which flowers Army liked again, when he heard a familiar, youthful voice.

"Hi! Need any help?"

The inkling turned around. Goggles had definitely changed since Rider last saw him; his tentacles were longer and in an actual bun, for once. His blue eyes still had that clarity, and he still had that goofy smile. Though he didn't seem to recognize Rider.

"Uhh... I'll be fine. I'm just trying to remember what flower my friend likes the most." He said, hoping his accent didn't give him away; there weren't many in Inkopolis with an Australian accent.

But, Goggles didn't seem to notice or care. "Oh, okay!"

Rider internally breathed a sigh of relief. That would have been awkward if Goggles recognized him.

He looked around the shop, before spotting a bouquet of lilies. He knew Army liked lilies. If they weren't his favorite flower, it'd be close enough.

Rider took a few of the bigger ones, and a few white roses for variety, and took them to the counter.

Goggles smiled. "This a special occasion?"

"Not exactly. Just, my friend's doing a performance for a musical and I wanted to get him something for it." Rider explained.

"What musical?" Gogs asked, arranging the flowers with a sheer, white ribbon tying them together.

"Hadestown. He got Eurydice."

"Oh! I went to go see it last night! Army's amazing at that role. He's your friend, right?"

Rider internally panicked, but calmed down after remembering he wasn't Army's only friend. "Yeah. We've been friends for a while now."

"Well, tell him I said hi!" He handed the bouquet to Rider. "On me, alright? It's for a friend anyways!"

Rider nodded. "Thanks, mate."

"You're welcome!"

------

A few weeks went by. Rider occasionally stopped at the flower shop and got flowers for...well, no real reason. He'd use them to add color to his house, or give them to friends. He just wanted an excuse to see Goggles.

He'd talked to the blue inkling a bit more, too. He'd gotten into the business since, well, he really liked flowers, and he wanted a job where he could just...relax! He still did Turf, of course, but the Adult league was more serious than the teen one, and he just wanted to have fun instead of be expected to take a game seriously.

He still didn't recognize Rider. The yellow-green inkling was a bit hurt by this, to be honest.

Though, it was a bit startling when Goggles actually walked into Rider's work. And Rider was assigned to give Goggles his first tattoo: A blue jay on his shoulder, taking off from a branch.

This time, it was Goggles' turn to ask questions as Rider worked.

"Sooo.... you've been coming into my shop for a while and I still don't know your name!" The blue inkling stated. "I mean, you can probably recognize me though!"

Rider shrugged. "Well, who can forget Goggles of the Idiot Blue team?"

Goggles giggled. "You do know me! I still don't know you!!"

"...I can assure you, we've met before that day I got Army flowers." Rider said.

"Ooh! Can I try and guess who you are?"

"Ehh, why not."

"Okay! Umm..." Goggles thought for a moment. "Clams facemask?"

Rider shook his head. "Nope."

"Inkfall?"

"Wrong."

"Eging Jr?"

"Not even close there."

"Stealth Goggles?"

"Getting closer, I'll give you that."

"....Rider?" Goggles asked.

Rider chuckled. "Took you long enough, idiot."

Goggles smiled wide. "I finally found you! Hi Riri!"

"Hey, Gogs. It's been a while."

"Yeah! I'm a bit surprised I didn't recognize you, since we were pretty close!" Goggles stated.

Rider shrugged. "Well, I'm not the most memorable person anyways."

"Riderrrrr don't say that!" Goggles said. "You're still really popular!"

"To some people, maybe. Not everyone."

There was a tense silence, other than the hum of the tattoo needle as it made the drawing.

"....So." Goggles started again. "How's life?"

"It's...well, better than it was." Rider said. "Got my own place, for one. Though it gets a bit lonely.. You?"

"I'm still living in an apartment. I really want a roommate!" Goggles proclaimed. "Maybe we could move in together?"

"..I'll think about it, Gogs. Though it might be fun being your roommate."

"Really? Thanks Rider!" Goggled smiled.

The conversation grew more casual. Rider enjoyed it; turns out Goggles had his fair share of gossip. It was kinda cool.

And as the next few days passed, Rider looked forward to each of those sessions. His crush seemed to go from "this person would be fun to date i think" to "hOLY MOTHER OF THE GODS IM IN L O V E", and it didn't help that during those meetings, Goggles had to be shirtless.

The days turned into weeks and months. Goggles moved in with Rider, and the two became incredibly close friends.

And, it came to a head near valentines day. Goggles' shop was very busy, as expected. Luckily, Squid Ink wasn't as much.

So, on his day off, just before Valentines, Rider headed to the flower shop and got a bouquet of roses. Cliché to confess on Valentines day, Rider knew, but he's a pining gay cut him some slack.

And Rider came home right as Goggles was leaving for his shift. So, that left Rider with a good 3 hours to practice his confession.

"Alright, Rider. This has to be CASUAL. 'Hey, I've liked you for over a decade but just now had the confidence to confess!' No, too creepy sounding. 'Yo, Gogs. I really like you and maybe we could go out to dinner sometimes?' ...Too casual."

....Yeah, this went on for a while.

Rider groaned, collapsing his his bed. "I wish feelings were fucking easier...I should just call Army."

So, he grabbed his phone and selected the contact, Veronica Sawyer Kinnie

"C'mon, Army... pick up."

And not one ring later, "Rider, what is it?"

"...I need romantic help. Please." Rider asked.

"Look, just because I'm married to Aloha, doesn't mean I know how I ended up here."

"Yeah, I kinda know that." He stated. "Still. I really need some help."

Army sighed. "Who is it? It's totally that one person with the raccoon story-"

"Actually, no. It's, um.... It's Goggles."

The octoling on the other end of the line could be heard sighing. "Still a morosexual I see."

"OI! You're the one who married a fuckin himbo!"

".....Touché. Still, there's a difference."

Rider huffed. "Just... give me some advice. I wanna confess to him tomorrow but I've got no idea how. I'm giving him roses, but like, there's gotta be something more I could do, y'know?"

"Have you tried asking Prince?" Army suggested. "He is the one with the obsession with rom coms and romance novels."

"This is his exam period, Army. I'm not about to potentially interrupt a cram session by asking for romantic advice!"

"Fair enough. I'd say...well, just rip off the band aid. Like... 'Hey, Goggles, I really like you and was wondering if you'd like to be my boyfriend.'"

"...Thanks, Arm. I'll, uh, give it a try."

-------

Rider couldn't sleep that well. Mainly out of anticipation.

He was gonna confess to his crush of...over a decade, at least. He didn't fuckin know what was gonna happen!

Like, would Goggles reciprocate? Would he hate Rider after it? WHAT THE FUCK WOULD HAPPEN-

He sighed. He needed to get his mind off this shit.

Rider looked over to his bedside clock: 5AM. 5 hours before his shift. 5 hours to get his shit together and plan for confessing to the world's cutest but also dumbest man later that night.

C'mon, Rider. Think. Army said to rip it off like a band aid, but Goggles might find that a little sudden and out of the blue. He could write a letter and leave it for Goggles when he went to his shift (The flower shop was closed on Valentines day). That would be a safe option.

Rider sat up, and got out a piece of paper and pencil, writing a note.

"Hey, Goggles.

There's something I've been wanting to tell you for a while. I really, really like you. As in, a crush.

I totally get it if you don't like me back, or think I'm weird, but hey, I was wondering if you'd wanna go out to dinner or something. Probably not tonight cause of Valentine's day but maybe tomorrow night or something.

-Rider"

Quickly, he folded it and wrote Goggles' name, putting a little heart sticker on it. It was corny, but hey, Rider had to use up those stickers somehow.

Rider attached it to the roses, and kept it on his desk.

And so, the morning went as normal. He had breakfast, got out of his pjs, put his hair up... the usual.

But as Rider left to go to work, he left the note and rose on the table, and left the house quickly.

During the day, he nearly forgotten all about it; He caught up with the gossip-Apparently the neighbor with the raccoon and the regular were now dating. So that was a nice little end to the story.

Squid Ink wasn't AS busy-probably because it was Valentines day, people were spending it with their lovers, not getting inked up (unless they made the appointment when single)

And it was near the end of Rider's shift when he heard his name mentioned. Probably someone making an appointment before he heard the familiar voice of Goggles going "Okay!!"

The blue inkling walked over to his station. "Hi Ridey!!"

"...Hey, Gogs. Getting another tat?" Rider asked, trying to keep his cool.

Goggles nodded. "Yeah!!!"

"A'ight anything specific in mind or-"

"Can I get just a simple quote one?"

Rider nodded. "Where do you want it?"

Goggles pulled down the collar of his shirt slightly. "Right here, please!"

"Okay. Just try to keep holding that down so I don't mess up.

-----

And so, tattoo conversations ensued.

The quote Goggles had wanted was a simple Pride one, that said "love is love". It was discreet, but a bit of it could be seen poking out if Goggles ever wore a v-neck.

"So, any plans for tonight?" Rider asked, trying to keep things subtle. Maybe Goggles hadn't read the note yet.

The blue inkling nodded. "Kinda! I had mental plans buuuuut nothing serious."

Rider raised an eyebrow. "Who with?"

"..I m-mean, I still have to ask him.." Goggles' face turned a shade of blue, and he averted his gaze.

"....Can I guess who he is?"

"If ya can!"

He smiled. "Does his name have an R in it?" Rider had a guess it was himself, but it wouldn't hurt to check.

Goggles nodded. "Yeah!"

"Got an accent?"

"Yep!!"

"Is he doing your tattoo?"

"....y-yeah?" Goggles sheepishly smiled. "I'm n-not that discreet, am I?"

Rider chuckled, but on the inside he was screeching. "Honestly? I had no clue myself."

"Really? I've been dropping the most obvious hints!"

"...Like what?" Rider asked, now a bit curious.

"Welllll I've been picking movies you like during movie night, I've made sure to get your drink on coffee runs, Oh! And I offered to cook dinner that one time!" Goggles stated.

"...Damn. I'm just oblivious then." The former dynamo user laughed, before turning off the needle. "There. It's all done." Rider held up a mirror for the blue boy.

Goggles' face lit up. "Whoa! It looks amazing!!! Thanks Riri!"

Rider smiled. "You're welcome. Now, uh, ...did you read my note?"

"..Y-yeah, I did. And, um...I like you too Rider!!" The blue man pressed a small, quick kiss to Rider's cheek.

Rider blushed. "S-so, you'll let me t-take you out?"

Goggles nodded. "Yeah!!!"

"I...thanks, Gogs."

"You're welcome Riri!!!"

----------

aAAAAA RUSHED END

but like. hope yall enjoy!

[lover-of-trash-and-people]

shadow and bone rewatch s1e6 while drinking mid-range scotch

I wish I have a face that is as unlined and pretty as Ben Barnes' when I'm 39

Arken you dirty dirty liar

the face Alek is making at his lies that he knows are lies firstly because he knows the art of lying so well and also because he can read people very well

okay Ivan is kind of a bad bitch with his smirk at Arken's lies

alek's eyes narrowing and his little smile when Arken says 'im an entertainer' bitch I love this show

*grabs hand, pulls up sleeve, and discovers Arken's hand is full of marks indicating successful passages through the fold* 'well, that is certainly entertaining' I love this man with all my heart

him screaming is so fucking hot, is that weird for me to say

Nina being the Darkling's spy is quite interesting

Ben giving the Darkling crazy eyes when Arken owns up to his guilt is so cool

also wtf is Arken a fool trying to negotiate with possibly the strongest man in the world

kind of loved the darkness literally eating him

also love Alina learning to use her powers better when she is alone than when she is with anyone else, wish we got to see the cut in this season as per the books, ah can't have everything I guess

the camera pan to Jesper's gun at his side, amazing

god Jessie is literally so beautiful I need to see her bring Alina to the peak of her power so bad

netflix you better renew this series to let the plot run to its completion

HOW THE FUCK DID THEY CAST THE CROWS SO PERFECTLY

INEJ FUCKING TREMBLING JUST THE TINIEST BIT AS SHE BOWS SLIGHTLY TO ALINA SGSHSBSJJSJSSJ MY TWO QUEENS

'And where is my Summoner?' my little Darklina heart ouchie I really wish you hadn't used and manipulated her like this Alek it was incredibly fucked up especially considering you actually caught feelings

'Ivan and I won't fail you' oh Fedyor my baby, my angel, you don't deserve what is coming

Helnik literally recreating Titanic lmao stop this is a joke

I too would jump off the raft if I came to consciousness to see a gorgeous woman with magical powers with her hand on my back

omg but why is ryevost so pretty though

'I know exactly how she felt. The King's soldiers treated me the same way... I'm not myself today.' why must you do this to me, why must you fuel my darklina soulmates agenda idiocy

I don't quite think I have a problem with the Zoya Darkling relationship as much as I have a problem with the line they chose to reveal it to use with.

my drink's over and I don't know if I should have another, considering that it's 7 am

the tenderness with which he looks at Zoya and takes her hand and then when he says 'I shall relax when I have Alina' makes me believe more that the man that is reduced to tears time and again in front of Alina could in fact be the master manipulator I know him to be

god I can't wait for Zoya's character arc

'I speak six languages, it's part of my job' why is Nina literally the fucking coolest

Alina blinding the oprichniki was so hot, I can't wait to see more of her power and her ruthlessness

I know I've said it before but good god is Jessie Mei Li gorgeous

HER LITTLE SMILE AMONGST ALL THE PANIC AS SOON AS SHE SEES MAL, THE AUDACITY OF THIS SHOW TO MAKE ME FEEL THIS WAY

THE SCORE COMING IN AT THE RIGHT MOMENT, THEIR HANDS MEETING, HER SMILE AGAIN DHDHSBSNSNSNSNAN IM IN PAIN

REALLY?! YOU'RE GONNA GO DIRECTLY FROM MALINA TO HELNIK WITH NO CONCERN FOR MY HEART?

I simply cannot get over Calahan's accent lmao it's really funny

'im not afraid of you' he says to the insanely gorgeous girl with magic

HIM HANGING HIS HEAD IN DEFEAT TO INDICATE NINA HAS MADE VALID POINTS YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND I CAN'T BREATHE

'You're just a man. Like all the others.' she says and then forgets her train of thought looking at him as he strips. god I love this

not sleeping all night and then scotch is not a good idea, I think

'I promise not to ravish you' 'I hate the way you talk' her hand on his chest, his hand gripping hers, my fucking heart feels like it's about to explode

good god these shooting locations and sets are so beautiful

Alina throwing the flask at Mal and Mal going 'OI!' I fucking can't, I guess I am a

simp for childhood friends to lovers, give me more of that banter and childhood friend energy, I am thriving

wow it literally seems like they took book! Mal sl*tshaming book! Alina and made show! Alina sl*tshame show! Mal, hmm, interesting

'They would have split us up!' MAL'S LITTLE SMILE AT THIS, and the 'You wrote me letters?' Mal's nod, the Malina yearning stare, the Malina hug, 'thank you for finding me' 'always. I'll always find you.' NO MALINA YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND YOU HAVE MADE ME ABSOLUTELY FUCKING FERAL

I understand they had to split time between my ravkan babies and the crows and that is why there were several aspects that were sort of not reflected on enough but Alina's training at the Little Palace, Alina's cut, Mal's personality, a teensy bit of backstory for the crows, maybe one lockpicking scene from my boy Kaz

random note: we have far too many idols and paintings and pictures and whatnot of Hindu deities in our house apart from the specially designed temple (we are Hindus, so maybe it's not that weird but it's a little weird)

Kaz's cane is a literal star, it's so beautiful my heart wants to explode

'Why would Heleen get the Crow Club?' *literally fucking gets up and walks aways instead of answering the fucking question* I LITERALLY CAN'T BREATHE I'M LOSING MY MIND

'I know that voice' WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO MAKE ME FIGHT FOR PLATONIC SHIPS IN FANDOMS

'We won't starve' omg get you someone who packs food for you when you go on the run together hiding from your ex who wants to capture you and use your powers as a weapon against your consent

Mal looking surprised at her summoning sunlight, Alina looking cautiously at him waiting for him to disapprove or run for the hills in fear or smth like that, 'I'm sorry it took me this long to see you... But I see you now' my dumb little shipper trash heart ouch

they really said we're gonna feed you this part asian couple as the protagonists in this show in 2021 and guess what I'm eating it's really tasty I'm very satisfied as a south asian

NINA'S LITTLE SMILE WHEN MATTHIAS WAKES UP WITH HIS ARM AROUND HER

'I can feel how much you hate sleeping next to me' 👀👀👀 BITCH SAID IMMA SPILL THE TEA AND THEN SHE DID

it's 8 am and guess what I'm getting another drink my parents have c*vid and are in govt qu*r*ntine centres there is nobody to supervise or stop me

I too say 'Why do you have to say things like that?' to my pretty crush when she flirts with me

Nina smiling at Matthias bragging about his conservative ways is my aesthetic

'No, it's not natural for someone to be as stupid as he is tall and yet, oh, there you stand.' MY FUCKING QUEEN

Matthias laughing uncontrollably at Nina saying something which isn't even that funny is a whole ass vibe

Kaz Brekker saying 'The Black General' ooh fuck yeah

YESSSS STEP OUT OF THAT CARRIAGE ALL SEXY BLACK GENERAL

isn't alcohol supposed to like kill germs? well, the amount in my system definitely will

I love my crows so much (always but this time particularly for setting that alarm in the stolen carriage)

ooh Polina recognising Inej by the knife yesss let's go writers

this Ivan Jesper showdown is all I needed from life and yet did not know about

Ivan taking off his cloak was, um, sexier than I wanted it to be

I just realised how thirsty I am going to sound in this post

'Has no one told you that keftas are Fabrikator-made and resistant to bullets, hmm?' 'Oh, I do love a challenge' LITERALLY EVERYTHING

im sorry to be pointing out flaws in a perfect show and adaptation but the line delivery on 'You robbed me of my brother, now I'll rob you of your life' from Polina was kind of weak

'You're a-' *gets knocked out with the back of a gun* LMAO we love the hints

got excited at the prospect of kaz v. zoya until I realised they will not be letting the opportunity of kaz v. darkling pass up

my goodness is Amita Suman a splendid actress

I AM NOT KIDDING WHEN I TELL YOU I SQUEALED WHEN I SAW DARKLES EMERGE OUT OF THE SHADOWS IN FRONT OF MY BABY BOY KAZ

THERE BEING ACTUAL FEAR OR ATLEAST DOUBT ON KAZ'S FACE, THE LITTLE BACK STEPS AS

THE DARKLING WALKS TOWARDS HIM, AAAAH I CAN'T

THE DARKLING STOPPING AT KAZ SAYING 'SHE FLED ON HER OWN' AND THE HINT OF TEARS THAT WE SEE IN HIS EYES

'IT WAS PRETTY CLEAR SHE WASN'T INTERESTED IN BEING A CAPTIVE ANYMORE' YOU TELL HIM, KING

*ACTUAL FUCKING TEARS IN THE DARKLING'S EYES AS THE SHADOWS APPROACH*

NOT ME YOWLING LIKE A HYENA THAT THIS CHILD OUTSMARTED THE MOST POWERFUL MAN IN EXISTENCE WITH A FAKE MAGIC TRICK

'Are you sure you added enough cloves?' literally warranting a wide ass smile from my queen Alina making my entire fucking day

for some reason, no matter how much I push it from my mind, Ben Barnes dressed up as the Darkling, dancing to 'push it' keeps coming to mind, it's absolutely ridiculous

I got somehow distracted with interviews but good things came out of that as it gave my body the time for the booze to kick in

and I would just like to say that I love Leigh for all she has given me

Alina is so fucking compassionate, I have no much love for her. I can feel her guilt and her sorrow as Mal talks of Mikhail and Dubrov

don't particularly like how the stag plotline is woven in, could have been executed better

'You're afraid you might start to like me?' *flaps furs like a bird's wings in frustration*

'I DO like you' my fucking heart you idiots

the sexual tension is so palpable and the moment is so intimate I simply cannot

OMG SHE FUCKING FELL

that moment where you think he might let her fall despite having read the books and he doesn't and he tells her his name I- <3

YOU DARE TRANSITION FROM A HELNIK SCENE TO A KANEJ SCENE YOU REALLY HAVE NO MERCY FOR MY HEART HUH

people have talked about this endlessly but Freddie's little jaw tic after he says Inej because Inej is wounded and he can't physically bring himself to help her I fucking cannot

THE MUSIC PICKING UP AS KAZ LOOKS TO THE DARKLING'S CARRIAGE I CAN'T WITH THIS SHOW ANYMORE

and now for one of my favorite scenes in television and cinematic history, David Kostyk throwing a book at Jesper Fahey without even knowing who he is merely because he opens the door of his carriage and says hello to him before getting knocked out by Kaz Brekker while trying to run away

Immediately followed by another, the scene with David Kostyk raising his finger to put forward his point in front of the Darkling and the Darkling trying to let him know he doesn't have to before obliging is one of my favourite scenes in the world

also sir please stop being devastatingly attractive in your glorious appearance with your face and your black kefta and cloak because all that comes to mind is Ayesha Erotica's Emo Boy and I'm afraid that is terribly inappropriate.

'No, you look great.' *literally looks down from embarrassment or blushing* MALINA RIGHTS?

THE LOOK ON THE DARKLING'S FACE BEFORE HE SAYS 'NO ORDINARY TRACKER, NO ORDINARY GIRL' BITCH IM OUT OF BREATH

'ORPHANS OF KERAMZIN, REUNITED.' 'ADORABLE.' HE FUCKING SNEERED IRL I FUCKING CANNOT

GOD IT'S SO GOOD

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 6/1/21

do you ever just Have A Week

listening mrs farenheit by the clans. the lead singer has a really unique presentation of indie frontman voice, get better soon. it’s a goofy little song with some grumbly guitar and the lines “ya got me burnin up/ i think i'll call you Mrs Fahrenheit” which i find charming. i rarely have anything particularly deep to say about music i just think this song is neat. 

undefined

reading the lost tribe of the sith novellas by john jackson miller. im writing this very late monday night bc i don’t want to stay up even later reading these, but i don’t care for them very much. getting me really invested in one family’s story and then skipping a thousand years (TWICE!!!) is a weird method of storytelling, and i don’t think it’ll suddenly come together in the last sixty pages of this book. wish i cared about star wars less

watching army of the dead (2021, dir. snyder) is one of the most strangely tensionless films i’ve ever seen. it’s a HEIST FILM. with ZOMBIES. i’m not surprised zack snyder has never heard of the Hitchcock Bomb Theory, but GOD would this movie be greatly improved if someone had a wristwatch that was counting down the minutes and they looked at it every so often, or the camera ominously lingered on said wristwatch every once in a while. instead, problems are presented and immediately solved. characters deliver tragic backstory and their motivations of said tragic backstory like they’re delivering mantras at group therapy. it’s such a cool concept but such a bad film, not even fun bad. soulless. there are so many moving parts in this film and all they do is trip all over each other. combined, it could have been a frantic, tense careening rush from one problem to the next, but instead i never felt like anyone was in real danger until the literal last ten minutes of this two and a half hour movie.  there’s almost nothing that makes you go “ooh how will this pop up later and fuck them?” bc this movie completes every single sidequest as it comes across it.

all of it is so poorly executed. the only good part is tig notaro chomping a cigar and doing her best han solo impression. go find a supercut bc it’s really and truly not worth your time

playing autogenerated word is “integration”, itch.io spat out Carnelian by Autumnotopia, a short point-and-click horror thing (maybe fifteen minutes, if that?) made by someone who counts homestuck as a formative art influence. this is not a dunk, i too read homestuck (yes all of it) and played hiveswap. i think it works here, bc it does give me that good early tens/teens ms paint nostalgia, and this game did make me very tense. you know in movies, when someone knows they’re almost certainly going to die but they square up and do their job anyway? mmmm. gets me in the heart somewhere. an interesting way to spend fifteen minutes.

while playing through it again to get screenshots i discovered some new dialogue, so just keep clicking on people more times than you think is necessary.

making the wretched hive piece continues apace. the buildings are my least favorite part, bc it’s a fuck of a lot of brown and a fuck of a lot of backstitch, unfortunately, in order to reap the rewards of having a pretty thing to go on the wall, you have to go through the ordeal of making it properly.

[antiadvil]

Somebody to Love

summary: Dan and Phil’s first meeting in 2009, loosely inspired by the song Somebody to Love by Queen

rating: PG13

wc: ~3k

notes: for the @phandomreversebang! art provided by @anironsidh and betad by @awkwardest-sam. writing this fic was... a journey, and they were a really great and supportive team the whole time and I really appreciate them <3

read under the cut or on ao3

Dan’s train was running late, and he couldn’t stop his anxiety from running absolutely wild. He hadn’t missed it, had he? Maybe it had showed up early and left before he got there. Maybe it had showed up while he wasn’t paying attention and left already. Maybe it had-

The train pulled into the station. Dan relaxed his shoulders. He wasn’t going to miss his train. He managed to stay calm for a few minutes after he boarded until a sudden new thought hit him.

What if he missed his stop?

He groaned, letting his head drop into his arms. He couldn’t even get a ten minute break from his ridiculous thoughts.

He took a deep breath, trying to focus on something else. To try to distract himself, he pulled out his pen and notebook to work on a few video scripts.

He had finally gotten into a groove, allowing himself to forget his worries, when the train lurched as it approached its first stop, sending Dan’s pen and notebook spilling to the floor. He picked up the notebook, but his pen had already slid out of sight.

Great. Looks like he was going to have to find some other way of passing the remaining two and a half hours of his train ride.

He stared out the window, trying to calm his nerves, but his leg was bouncing up and down almost uncontrollably. He put his hand on his knee, forcing it down.

It was hard to believe that after months of nonstop texting and skyping, he was about to meet the boy from his computer screen in person. He still remembered the first time they had spoken, when he had finally gotten up the courage to message that cool youtuber on twitter.

He had sent him a message about a Queen song, and was shocked to receive a reply. He still was a little bit shocked every time Phil messaged him. Every time, he thought Phil would get tired of him. Every time, Phil kept coming back.

They had talked about their favorite band for hours that night. Then the conversation had shifted to themselves, their families, their hopes and dreams.

They still talked about music sometimes. It was a nice excuse to be in constant contact.

His fingers itched to text Phil, the way they always did when he was anxious, but he and Phil had been trying to stick to Skype lately. Last month’s phone bill had not been fun to pay. He shouldn’t text Phil until he arrived, to tell him where he was so they could meet.

His leg was bouncing again. He sighed in frustration, wishing he hadn’t lost his pen.

He bought a magazine to flip through. It was surprisingly entertaining. He managed to lose himself in it for nearly half an hour before he checked the time again.

Fuck the phone bill. Dan gave in and pulled out his phone. nervous (^_^;), he sent.

good, Phil sent back nearly instantly.

good?

im nervous too and im not allowed to be the only one

Dan laughed. His phone buzzed again

in a few hours we can be nervous 2gether

Dan couldn’t think of anything to send in response to that other than a smiley face.

now go away u spork remember ur phone bill

Dan let a smile break across his face. Phil did that to him frequently. fine, Dan sent quickly.

He returned to his magazine, calmer this time. It was silly to be so worried. It was just Phil. Phil, who he had known for months now. Phil, who he wanted to meet. Phil, who wanted to meet him.

Everything was going to be alright.

When his train arrived in the station, Dan climbed out, letting his eyes search for Phil. Quickly, they landed on a tall, pale boy with dark hair wearing a green plaid shirt. “Phil!” he shouted.

The boy brightened, looking to find the source of the noise. “Dan!”

“Phil,” Dan said again, running towards him, and the other boy was running too, and suddenly they were in each other’s arms, finally, after all these months of imagining.

Phil was holding Dan tighter than he’d ever been held, but it didn’t hurt. It was one of the nicest things Dan had ever felt.

After what felt like an eternity, Phil pulled back. “How was the train ride?”

“Good,” Dan said, his smile so wide he thought his face might split in two. “How was your bus ride?”

“Someone recognized me,” Phil pouted.

Dan laughed. “You’re a proper celebrity now.”

“I don’t want to be a proper celebrity,” Phil whined.

“You’d be a good celebrity.”

“How is someone a good celebrity?”

Dan shrugged. “You’re cute.”

Phil rolled his eyes. “Is that all?”

“Yes.” Dan giggled, though he hadn’t meant to. It was silly, he thought, a nineteen year old giggling over a boy.

Phil was smiling, too, though, and a bit of pink was showing through his pale skin on his cheeks, so he must not mind.

“Where to first?” Dan asked.

“Starbucks,” Phil said, bouncing up and down. “Starbucks, Dan, we have to-”

Dan laughed. “You’re such a sugar fiend.”

“C’mon!” Phil tugged at his hand.

Dan looked down at their hands in shock, surprised to find them tangled together.

“Sorry,” Phil said sheepishly, dropping Dan’s hand.

Dan wiped his hand on his jeans, then immediately cursed himself. He didn’t want Phil to think it was because of him, his hand was just sweaty. “No, you’re good- um.”

“Yeah. No. We’re in public, I should have-” Phil stuffed his hands into his pockets. “So, uh, Starbucks?”

“Starbucks,” Dan agreed, gesturing for Phil to lead the way.

“Right,” Phil said, heading down the street. Dan followed. “What are you planning to get?”

Dan shrugged. “Whatever you get. You’re the expert.”

“Well, I haven’t actually decided what I’m getting yet,” Phil explained.

“Oh really? What are the frontrunners?” Dan asked.

Phil spent the rest of their walk explaining his various drink options, each sugarier than the last. “So I think maybe the caramel macchiato. Maybe? I can’t decide.”

Dan interrupted before Phil could go through his list again from the beginning. “You should get the caramel macchiato.”

“You think so?”

“I think so,” Dan confirmed, opening the door to the starbucks.

Phil bought their coffees, over Dan’s protests. “You’re the one who came to visit me,” he said. “Let me do this for you.”

Dan gave in. “I’ll buy you coffee if you ever come to Reading.”

“Deal.” Phil took a long sip of his coffee and let out a long, relieved breath afterwards. “So good.”

“The caffeine or the sugar?”

“Yes,” Phil said.

Dan took a sip of his own drink. It was good. Maybe not as good as Phil thought it was, but good.

“I’m trying to cut back on coffee,” Phil said mournfully. “I only had three cups this morning.”

Dan snorted. “Only three?”

“Yes.” Phil stared glumly at his already half empty cup of coffee.

Dan shook his head in mock sympathy. “You poor thing.”

Phil finished his coffee with disturbing speed. Dan did his best to keep up, but to avoid burning his tongue, he had to finish about ten minutes after Phil.

Phil’s tongue must be nearly burned off from how quickly he had

Dan should stop thinking about Phil’s tongue.

“Where do you want to go now?” Phil asked, saving Dan’s mind from going to some places it really shouldn’t be going right now.

“Can we just walk around for a bit?” Dan asked.

“Sure!” Phil was bouncing on his toes, already ready to move.

Dan wondered if he was as thrumming with nervous energy as Dan was. “Lead the way, then.”

Phil knew his way through Manchester better than he let on, pointing out a few shops and landmarks he recognized along their walk. “There’s so much to do here. We’ll have to come back sometime.”

Dan absentmindedly agreed. It was nice, the thought that this would happen again. That he could come back. That Phil didn’t seem to hate him yet.

Dan almost missed the apple store when they walked past, but he saw it out of the corner of his eye and stopped. “Wait,” he said, “I want to post a selfie.”

“Ooh,” Phil said. “Good idea.” He opened the door and gestured for Dan to follow him.

They got lucky when they were immediately able to snag a free laptop. Phil opened photobooth and messed with his hair in the camera. Dan did his best to straighten out his hair, and struck a pose.

Phil put on a (ridiculous) facial expression and took a photo.

Dan stepped up to take a look. “Wait,” he said, stepping back. “My hair looks wrong. Can we retake it?”

Phil rolled his eyes, but stepped back into his pose to take a new picture.

About 20 pictures later, they had finally taken one Dan was satisfied with. He logged into his dailybooth account quickly, doing his best to ignore the line of people growing behind him.

“There,” he said, pressing post and logging out of his account.

He did his best not to make eye contact with anyone in the line behind them as they left the apple store.

They found a bench in a nearby park and spent the next few hours people watching, making up stories about the people they saw.

“She’s in an unhappy marriage,” Dan whispered. “She’s having an affair with him.” He pointed to the man across the playground from her, where her daughter was playing.

Phil took a bite of the sandwich he had bought from a nearby cafe. “Does her daughter know?”

“Of course not, Phil. She’s like, five.”

“Just hoping for maximum drama,” Phil said around another mouthful of sandwich.

Dan grimaced. “Stop chewing with your mouth open. It’s gross.”

Phil swallowed. “Your mum’s gross.”

Dan hit Phil on the back. “Take that back.”

“You first.”

“No.”

“Then I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree.” Phil looked almost sad.

Dan snorted. “Let’s disagree to disagree.”

“How does that work?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t put much thought into it yet.”

Phil laughed, taking the last bite out of his sandwich and brushing a few crumbs out of his lap.

Dan checked the time. “Is there anything else you want to do before we go back to your place?”

“Well,” Phil said. “I, uh. Have a reservation for after dinner.”

“A reservation?” Dan looked down at his clothes. He hoped it wasn’t too nice.

“The sky bar,” Phil said. “I don’t know if you know it, I’m sorry, I-”

Phil looked so anxious. “No,” Dan said, doing his best to sound reassuring. “It’s fine, just… unexpected.”

Phil smiled in relief. “We should get going if we’re going to make it on time.”

When they got to the sky bar, Dan looked at the menu and tried not to panic at the prices.

“I’ll pay,” Phil said quietly. “Don’t worry about it.”

That only made things slightly better.

Phil must have noticed that the worry didn’t fall from his face, because he tried to reassure Dan again. “Really, it’s fine. Get whatever you want.”

Dan nodded, but he scanned the menu for the cheapest items and ordered those anyway. Phil had just graduated uni; he wasn’t exactly rolling in money, and Dan didn’t want to feel like any more of a burden on him than he already did.

It didn’t matter. His drink tasted incredible.

“Is it alright?” Phil asked, still anxious.

“It’s perfect,” Dan said. It was. The sun was beginning to set, and the view from this high up was beautiful. The view next to him was even prettier.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, staring out the windows and watching the sun bathe everything in a warm, golden glow.

Dan reached for Phil’s hand under the table. Phil reached back.

***

It was dark when they boarded the bus back to Rossendale. The bus was nearly empty, but they chose two seats in the back, as far away from everyone else as possible.

“Busses are weird.” Dan yawned.

Phil giggled. “It’s not even late. Are you tired?”

Dan glared. “Shut up.”

Phil stuck out his tongue. “Make me.”

Dan hoped his face wasn’t as red as it felt. “Shut up,” he managed to squeak out.

Phil sat back in his seat, smiling in satisfaction.

“Shut up,” Dan whined, poking him.

“You sound like a broken record. Do you say anything other than shut up?”

“Shut-” Dan stopped. “Yes,” he insisted.

Phil smirked. “Prove it.”

“I’ve said so many things other than shut up today.”

Phil shrugged. “If you say so.”

“I do.” Dan leaned back into his seat, trying to project confidence.

Phil shrugged again. “I believe you,” he said, with the air of someone who absolutely did not believe the person they were talking to.

Dan sighed, and changed the subject. “How long is the ride?”

“About half an hour, hopefully,” Phil said.

His train ride had been much longer than that. He could survive this. Especially with Phil with him.

“I met a boy on the train once, you know,” Phil said, startling Dan out of his thoughts.

Dan looked up, slightly confused. Why was Phil telling him about some other boy? “You did?”

“Yeah,” Phil laughed. “He was really cute, too. We spent the whole train ride talking, and it turned out he actually lived really close by. This was when I was in uni. But anyway, at the end, he asked me for my number, so I gave it to him, and then-” Phil paused to hide his face.

“Then what?” Dan asked, perplexed.

“I texted him,” Phil said, muffled.

“What’d you say?”

“I asked him if he was asking me out,” Phil said, still with his face hidden in his arms.

“Was he?” Dan asked, though he suspected the answer by now.

“No,” Phil whined, lifting his head up. “He wasn’t. He was straight.”

Dan couldn’t help a horrified giggle.

“It’s not funny,” Phil said, though a smile was starting to peek through his carefully composed sulk.

Dan wanted to stop laughing, he really did, but he just couldn’t. His giggle grew until it was the dumb hyena laugh he always felt self-conscious of, but with Phil sitting next to him, he didn’t mind.

Phil was starting to laugh a little bit too. He buried his head in Dan’s shoulder to hide it. “You’re the worst.” He landed a half-hearted punch on Dan’s ribs.

Dan just laughed harder. “That’s awful, oh my god.”

“So stop laughing!” Phil whined.

Dan finally managed to quiet his laugh. “It’s a good thing, though, really. Because now you have me instead of stupid bus boy.”

“You’re so much better than stupid bus boy,” Phil whispered, reaching for Dan’s hand to give it a quick, reassuring squeeze.

The warmth of his hands lingered even after they were gone.

***

Phil’s house was dark and quiet when they finally arrived. Dan didn’t know what else he had expected. Phil’s parents weren’t home; that was the whole reason he was visiting right now.

Dan declined politely when Phil asked if he wanted a full house tour, instead choosing to dump his backpack on Phil’s bedroom floor without asking first. He thought, halfway through doing it, that maybe he should have checked first, but Phil didn’t seem to mind, so he just left it.

Phil’s bedroom looked different than it did on Skype. Less grainy.

Phil dropped himself onto his bed, gesturing for Dan to follow him. “Wanna play some music?”

“Sure,” Dan said, sitting down next to Phil. “Queen, probably, it’s the least we can do to thank them for bringing us together.”

Phil laughed. “Not because they’re good?”

“No. Just because gay.”

“Freddie Mercury would be proud,” Phil said.

“He probably would be,” Dan admitted.

“What song?”

Dan thought about it a bit, chewing at the inside of his lip. “Somebody To Love,” he finally said.

Phil grinned. “Excellent choice.”

“Thank you,” Dan said, basking in the glow of Phil’s approval as the piano started playing. “I can play this on piano, you know.”

“You can?”

“Yeah. I can play most Queen songs.”

Phil tilted his head. “You’ll have to show me sometime.”

“But you don’t have a keyboard.”

Phil tilted his head. “Guess I’ll have to visit you sometime.”

Dan couldn’t help the nervous thrill that ran through his stomach. “A shame, really. You have no other option.”

“I’ll survive.”

Dan hummed along to the chorus.

Phil poked him. “Just humming? Coward.”

Dan startled. “What?”

“I want to hear you sing.” Phil’s eyes were twinkling with the slightest bit of mischief.

“No. Absolutely not.” Dan crossed his arms.

“Fine,” Phil said. “I guess I’m going to have to sing myself.”

“That’s almost worse,” Dan said.

Phil pouted. “I’m a great singer.”

“I’m sure.”

Phil began to sing along, his voice warbling.

“Shush,” Dan said. “I want to hear Freddie Mercury.”

Phil sighed, but switched to dramatically lip syncing instead.

“Much better,” Dan said, trying to control his facial expression so Phil couldn’t tell that he was being a little bit cute right now.

Phil’s performance was so over the top it was honestly funny, until he reached the end of the song. He sang along, softly this time, looking directly at Dan in a way that gave him goosebumps.

Dan couldn’t help but look away.

“How was my performance?” Phil asked.

“It was alright,” Dan said, leaning back on his elbows.

“Oh yeah?”

Dan sat back up. “Not too relatable, though.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve already found somebody to love,” Dan said, smiling at Phil.

“Really,” Phil said, teasing. “Who?”

Dan felt his cheeks warm. “You probably don’t know him. He goes to a different school,” he managed.

Phil laughed. “I like you too.”

Dan didn’t think it was even possible for his cheeks to be any warmer. “I guess you’re kind of cool too.”

“Shut up,” Phil said, pulling Dan closer.

“Make me,” Dan said.

“Okay,” Phil said, promptly kissing him.

Dan shut up for quite a while after that.

[kiyomie]

When you get this, you must publicly post something nice about at least 5 different people you follow, then copy and paste this in each of their ask boxes :^) [in case you've got more people you want to shower with compliments~]

ooh i recieved two more of these from @alice-chan-chan and @qvalcuno i'll be posting them all here~ (this'll be pretty long but ily all so endure)

@dicennio i think everyone knows how utterly talented this human being is (i always shower u with compliments in each of your edits❤) not to mention i love your sense of humor and overall just a really c o o l person

@eijunes woah cat your gifs are on another level seriously your fkbu gifsets (which ive seen but havent reblogged bc spoilers i havent watched them) the different colors you use in each of them BRO WOAH MY EYES BLESSED also ur a kind person our interactions were fun and cute i'd like to talk more in the future❤

@kagehjna oooh ilaydaa we dont talk often anymore but i really love your presence around my dash sm❤ i never forget how much of a fun and kind person you are thank you for leaving all those kind messages in the tags ugh my heart melts everytime

@haru-kaas anto!! i think you know already how much i love your content (if u didnt know well now u do🤩) and i love our interactions too, you're also one of the people here who just make this site way better

@kuroushi aahh omg i love your blog and holy shit your sense of humor😶 pls how could i live without your shitposts and memes and not to mention quality👌 edits in short tumblr won't be the same without u and wow are u so kind to talk to, looking forward to more interactions!!

@jaegerists siri!! i think you're one of the first mutuals i have on this site?? i remember thinking woah- they followed back😶 do know that i treasure your presence here on this site and also those lovely tags u leave on my stuff! all the love❤

@yokamis liiiaaaaa oMg i just love how damb sweet you are to me, your asks and replies (basically our past interactions) just melt my heart with how kind you are, you are also again another person i'm glad to have met on this site, thank u for existing you sweet person❤ i hope your doing amazing!!

@kurootetsuros audreeyyy!! yet again another person i'm blessed to have met here omg tumblr made me meet so many wonderful people including you, you've been so kind, supportive and fun through and through i would really love to talk and interact more with you and your talented self (hav all my luv❤❤❤❤)

@reddoriot tsuki!! AGAIN another sweet presence on my dash, you spread so much positivity how can anyone not love you😭 gosh ur talented too your art and gfx?? gimme sum of that talent🤲 you're simply just a lovely person your kind messages make really me smile🥺 (do know that ily too mwa❤)

@todoya k e l l y YOU are just- UGH im so bad at words but omg ily?? you took my heart already and are taking good care of it uwu everytime i rb my edits and leave those messages i cRI because how can one person be this sweet?? my fcking heart, also not to mention, you're so approachable?? what?? I feel so comfy in interacting and talking with u and that means a lot all the love always (watch mp when u have time pls)

@runwiththewind gabi!! ahhh i think we've only been mutuals recently and what?? i hate that sm, why have i only discovered your amazing blog recently?? your talent is i m m e n s e are you kidding?? I get even more in awe everytime i look at your edits, they're fucking superior period accept it, just...the work that goes into them...also thank you for hyping me up everytime i post my heart melts so much with how supportive you are❤ i'm looking forward to more interactions!!

@todorokih angell!! is an angel herself actually, we dont talk very often anymore but still i treasure all our interactions and you've always been the best in all those times, you're also talented af i hope you know how much i love the signature coloring you have on all your creations, all the love❤

@alice-chan-chan alice!! ofc i'll tag you here too you've seriously always been so kind and supportive always, i'll always never forget to mention how i love the cuteness and vibrance of your edits, your style is so distinctive wish you all the bests ❤

@qvalcuno aahh yes i'll tag you here too honestly i think you don't know how much i appreciate all the support/likes/reblogs, i really hope we get to interact more and ALSO if i remember correctly your blog (yourself) has a special place in my heart here bc you're the first person to ever send me an ask complimenting my small works and edits not too long ago❤ all the love as well

@villainii aaaahh we don’t interact much but do know that i also treasure your presence a lot <3 i really love seeing you and your blog around you are a kind and talented gfx maker i’d love to see more content from you!!!

@kioymi hey mika!! i would like to let you know that you're also one of those people who make my tumblr experience better, cute and sweet people like you never fail to shower positivity everywhere seeing you around my dash sure does brighten my day a little❤ your edits get better and better each time omg!!

@kikisdeliveryservices jill!! we haven't interacted much but im so thankful to know someone like you here, thank you for your kind words always, i never forget anything like that, and thank you again for sending in that ask when i recieved anon hate that one time, i really want to interact more with you your blog itself is just cute ghibli heaven (but im one of those uncultured swines who've only watched 2 ghibli films rip) but i love all your beautiful gifs and content❤

@ohreigen hey mary!! we dont talk much too but just know that bruh...i admire your edits with all my damn heart, to me before you were one of those big blogs whose creations look up to you always never fail to deliver quality content, keep making them pls everyone on this site (esp myself) need it!!