literally losing my mind over your frat boys au klllllljkkljkllkklljll
please know it has been living in my mind since yesterday, so here's part two, aka what i actually thought about when i saw the original ask (@gaycrunch) ...
part i (re: this)
He finds him outside, hunched over on the porch with his phone in his hand and a half-full bottle of vodka open between his thighs.
“What’s a pretty boy like you doing out here all by himself?” Daniel asks, teases as he drops down to sit next to him. “If only there was a party somewhere, with like, good people and shit.”
Max grunts, barely moves as Daniel hooks his knee over Max’s. He brings the bottle to his mouth, swallows a mouthful of vodka as his free hand comes to rest on Daniel’s knee. “You know already probably, this is why you are here,” he says, digs a finger into the scar on his kneecap, the faded line from when he cut himself on a beer can.
Daniel does, was pulled aside by at least five different dudes who told him where Max had gone, “But I’d rather you tell me, Maxy.”
Max pours another shot into his mouth, keeps the bottle by his lip as he talks. “What even is a rose? This makes no sense, Daniel,” he says, and to his credit, he does sound frustrated. He’s a little drunk too, always is these days when the night falls, but Daniel doesn’t know if it’s cause or consequence.
“It’s an old school thing,” Daniel relents. He steals the bottle from Max’s hands and takes a tiny sip just so he won’t keep drinking. “Reckon I’m plenty sweet for the lot of us, yeah? Don’t need a lady to tell me how to act.”
He didn’t know frats still did this kind of shit, thought they were all past it now, that men could be graceful and charitable too. Hadn’t even thought to mention it to this year’s pledges, but then maybe, Max could have used the lecture anyway.
“Did you really tell her to go suck a bunch of dicks? Because if so, Maxy –“
Max huffs. His leg shakes underneath Daniel’s knee, jostles loose the slide he wears on his foot. “I of course did not say this,” Max says, snappish, taut. “She said she was the best at sucking dick, and I said, ‘this probably is not true’. She showed me this thing she did with her tongue, with her straw you know, and it did not look good, Daniel.”
Daniel chokes down a laugh, relents easily when Max reaches for the bottle again. He watches with unbridled want as Max pretends to suck off the lip of the bottle, interrupted too frequently by his own commentary on the technique.
Daniel reckons he’s right, the tongue is too much, barely touches the bottle at all. Not like Max had done that night, lips heavy around his dick, his tongue firm against the underside of the head.
“So like, you didn’t tell her to suck a dick?”
Max jams his elbow into his side, jolts when Daniel clams his hand around the top of his thigh to keep him in place. “Always this was not – Daniel, I would not say this,” he says, glares at Daniel when he doesn’t relent. “I said maybe that she had to practice more. I have of course sucked a lot of dicks, if she wanted to be like me, then.”
Daniel laughs, loud and surprised, and suddenly Max laughs too.
The Kappa Alphas are dicks anyway. They wouldn’t lose anything if Daniel took them off the social calendar, isn’t really a party if the entire frat can’t go, is it?
“Why didn’t you go home?” He asks after a while. The lid has been put back on the bottle of vodka, and Max has been fed whatever was left in his cup of water.
Two weeks after officially becoming a pledge, Daniel had found Max passed out in a pool of tub juice, white tee soaked in sticky sweet alcohol. He hadn’t vomited – Daniel doesn’t know then if he wouldn’t have just left him there – but Daniel had dragged him upstairs and into the shower. Had scrubbed the marker off his face but left the blue marker in his hair to watch the botched, fucking dip dye his hair had held onto for almost a week.
Max had slept in his bed that night, does it at least every two weeks now, cuddled up between Daniel and the wall. They haven’t fucked since that first time, since Daniel realised Max would be pledging the frat. But sometimes they kiss, and it’s. It feels nice, feels easy, breezy even.
“I have to wait for Carlos,” Max says, shrugs.
Daniel had elected not to pair himself with Max, chose instead one of the legacies who seemed to find power in whatever fucking hazing ritual Daniel threw at him. He kinda regrets it now, knows how shit Carlos must be at this big brother stuff. Knows he left more than an hour ago with Max’s friend from the lacrosse team, apparently without saying shit to Max.
“Nah, Maxy. You’re fine,” he says, squeezes his thigh again when Max hesitates. “Let’s go back to the house, yeah? Maybe Carlos is waiting for you there or like, we can send him a text or something.”
Max doesn’t look convinced, sceptic, like he’s the one who’s on his third year in the frat. But he takes his hand when Daniel gets up, pulls him to his feet. “Lando has the dorm tonight,” he says, shows him a picture of a sock on a doorknob.
It looks fake, but Daniel hasn’t actually seen it for himself ever. Like with the rose, doubted it was even done anymore. But then, Lando’s always been an odd guy.
“There’s always the couch if you want,” Daniel offers, shivers. “Or like, there’s also my bed. Probably the best if you don’t wanna wake up when Scotty gets home.”
Daniel doesn’t hold his breath, he doesn’t, listens instead to the crunch of the road underneath them. It’s no more than ten minutes until they’re home, Greek row almost condensed down to one block.
“Okay, Daniel,” Max says, quiet in the dark night. His hand brushes against Daniel’s, and he tries not to jump, stays still in case Max does reach out. “I think that would be very lovely.”
110 notes
·
View notes
How to give good feedback on art (from an artist)
I often see people talk about how they want to leave good comments on art, but don’t know how/don’t know what to say. As an artist, here’s what I often look for to have something to say to other people!
The composition of the art – how different elements of the piece guide your eye, how certain parts are brighter against darker backdrop/darker against a bright backdrop. What catches your attention? How have they put the piece together to make this happen?
The lighting/shading – how have they rendered the piece? Do you like how the lighting is bright, harsh lines, or how it’s gently blended in? Do the shadows add extra depth that makes the whole piece look more 3D? Did they use funky, unconventional colours to shade?
The lineart – is it smooth? Sketchy? Are the lines thick or thin? Do they use lines at all? Are they in a colour other than black? How does it add to the piece? Do they just outline a piece, or add texture with lineart as well?
The colours – have they used a pallet of complimentary colours? Do they remind you of something specific – perhaps to the fandom, or to a season, an aesthetic, etc? Do they only use one colour? Do they use unconventional colours? Do they have one pop of contrasting colours against a monochrome background?
The anatomy – do they stick to exact proportions? Do they lean towards a more cartoon sizing? Is it like Powerpuff Girls, or like Tim Burton? 90s anime, or modern day anime? Do they make things very angular, or really smooth? What about it do you like specifically?
The texture – in the frame of digital art especially, have they used a specific brush to create a certain effect? Do you like how sketchy it all looks, or how they’ve blended the colours together? Does it look like watercolours bleeding, or a stamp/print made over the entire piece? Is it all rough, or super smooth?
The details – talk about how you love the tiny pattern on a blanket, or the multiple earrings in the characters ear. Talk about how you like how they’ve done the hair, or the little glint of light against a ring. Talk about the celtic patterns in the body, or the crooked teeth in their smile. Little things that jump out to you.
How it makes you feel – anything at all, but try to explain what in the piece evokes it strongest. Are you hit with isolation by the lonely figure in a wind-swept hill? Or joy, does that bright smile make your heart swell? Try and pick something out and babble about that.
Any meaning you can pick out – a little more tricky and often quite personal, but if you can pick something out that you think you can interpret, talk about it! I don’t think people ever get offended, even if you’re wrong – it’s interesting to see how other peoples brains work, and what they take away from something you’ve made.
Anything that stands out to you as a signature of Their Art – typically for artists you’ve followed for a long time – when you look at a piece, do you think ‘oh, this is by X’. How do you know? Is it how they draw the mouths? How they shade? The anatomy? The details? The colours? The composition? The expressions? Tell them!
I try to mix and match a few of these, focusing on things specific to the piece. Talking in depth about a piece helps an artist to know you haven’t just glanced it over and gone ‘oo cool!’ and moved on. If you want Tumblr to continue having a thriving art community, it’s beneficial to engage in and spread art around, as well as letting the artist know their work was seen and appreciated. They put the work out there for you to see for free! What can take you a few minutes of your day can make their entire week. Go support your artist friends!
131 notes
·
View notes