#thank you for the compliment!! :D

[piratefishmama]

You're writing is godly. Can you take a shot at

09.  “I should’ve told you back then, but I didn’t want you to leave.”

Writing Prompts | No longer accepting new prompts

It was the first time in ten years that Steve Harrington had seen Eddie Munson in person, and it was from what felt like miles away in shitty seats up on the balconies, the only saving grace was that Eddie was being tracked like prey by the camera guys, each step, each sway of his hair, each manic, dimpled, toothy grin blown up larger than life on the big screens on either side of the stage. The rest of the band blown up on the ones in the back.

He wasn’t looking at the ones in the back, although the guys suited being up there.

“Steve… he’s uh… Eddie I mean, corroded coffin, they’re playing, y’know? In Indy? Dustin got tickets, but… well they’re not the best tickets, nothing VIP or close to the pit or anything, I don’t think Eddie even knows Dustin’s going, but… we could at least go and see him perform…” it’d been Robin that’d mentioned it, none of them had seen Eddie in person.

He kept in touch when he could with Dustin and his little adventurers, Lucas, Mike, and Erica. But he’d left Hawkins behind with nothing there to hold him back.

There could have been.

Steve knew there could have been, Eddie had told him the night before he’d packed his stuff and left, bore his heart to him in his backyard, hair haloed by the blue light that shimmered off of the pool, nervous but hopeful, he’d offered his heart on a silver platter and Steve… god…

He hadn’t known.

He hadn’t known just how much Eddie meant to him until he was gone, off to stardom with his band, leaving a possible life behind for something else. Could have, should have, would have, it made no difference in the end. Steve had said no when he really meant he needed time to work out his feelings, he’d shut down the possibility before it could grow, and had regretted it ever since.

Eddie had been gone by the following morning, he’d only said goodbye to the kids. Apparently there’d been a record deal offered at his last gig, and his choice depended entirely on whether or not Steve said yes.

Part of him wished he’d have been selfish, part of him wished he’d known his own heart before he’d stupidly let the rejection slip out, things would have been different… but then… Eddie wouldn’t have had this.

He wouldn’t have had a stage, an audience of thousands cheering for him in awe. He would’ve been stuck, in Hawkins, a place that still hated him… Steve was happy for him, truly. Happy that he’d made it, even if it meant Steve could never have him. He could stomp around the stage dressed in denim and leather and shred on a guitar in a way that made Steve’s ears ring but his heart happy, he’d never be tied down to a place that hated him.

He'd never be stuck where the past could haunt him. He could be happy even if Steve couldn’t.

The gig was amazing though, even if Steve stook out like a sore thumb, he’d done his best, wore a little eyeliner, mussed up his hair, he wore Eddie’s old battle vest with the blood stains still visible cause he’d never been able to get them out and Eddie had never taken it back, had seen Steve still had it after they’d won and claimed “it looks better on you anyway” he still looked like someone’s out of place dad, but he was surrounded by the party so, it didn’t matter. Nobody was paying attention to him, nobody was looking for him, Eddie wouldn’t see him from so far away, probably couldn’t even see the row in front of his face with the lights shining on him so brightly.

And yet near the end of the concert, while the band were wrapping up on their final song (before the inevitable encore the audience demanded of them, Dustin claimed it’d probably wind up being Upside Down, or Pariah, two songs he’d always claimed had been inspired by ‘his past’ from the bands last album, they were fan favourites.) A burly guy dressed in a black crew neck with a big white ‘SECURITY’ stretched over his broad chest, flagged him down.

Steve motioned to his ears, he couldn’t hear shit over the music, and could barely hear shit on a regular day, but that particular security guard, simply signed the words:

‘Not in trouble, come with me.’ confidently, as if he knew Steve would understand it. Only when Steve frowned in confusion and signed back

‘why’ did the guy thrust his thumb over into the stage’s direction. The band.

Steve, feeling suspicious, turned to look toward the party, only to find Dustin giving him a thumbs up, and Robin making shoo motions with her hands. Scheming little shits knew he wouldn’t think twice about attending if the seats were so far away. Would think it was safe, that he wouldn’t have to face Eddie. Face his terrible decision that worked out for one of them but not the other.

He wouldn’t have to find himself waiting backstage in a quiet room behind a door labelled ‘Talent’ because of course he’d go. His traitorous legs and heart would force him to go at the mere chance of seeing Eddie again, of seeing him up close, of talking to him, of the chance to fix a mistake he’d made years ago even if his new answer wouldn’t change anything between them. It’d been too long, Eddie wouldn’t still want him when he could have anyone.

If they had told him, he wouldn’t have to see Eddie, quietly (a word not many used to describe the man) enter, his back facing Steve as he closed the door just as quietly as he’d entered. His hair was longer.

The curls fuller, they reached down to his mid-back now and glistened with a mixture of product and sweat, Steve still wanted to touch, still mourned the fact that he’d never gotten the chance to.

“Y’know… When ol Dusty bun said he’d get you here… I wish I’d have believed him. I owe him 20 bucks now.”

“You bet on me coming?” Of course he did.

Eddie turned to face him, a small wistful smile on his cheeks that just hinted the presence of dimples. “Wouldn’t you if you were in my place? Steeeeve Harrington, at a metal concert? Pfft, seems a bit farfetched. You even dressed up too, shit, man, I guess that’s forty bucks. Vest still suits you more.” Steve let his head duck down a little, his cheeks warming under the mans gaze, unsure of the feeling within it. He didn’t know Eddie anymore…

Had he ever really known Eddie though? Had he ever given them chance to know each other outside of sharing trauma and comparing matching scars?

“…Why?”

“Hm?”

“Why am I back here, Eddie? Why’d you call me back here? Why not the party, they’re here too, they’d probably wanna see you too, it’s been years… why?”

“Ah. Dustin told me to, said I should have another go at something I tried years ago that didn’t pan out very well for me the first time around… has been chatting my ear off about it every time he calls… I guess I finally humoured him.” Something he tried years ago? Involving Steve? “Listen, Steve… I—”

Steve cut in, he shouldn’t have, but words just… had to burst from him driven by a flickering ember of hope, he had to, even if it wasn’t the path Eddie’s words were taking, he had to, with hope driving him on “I should’ve told you back then, but I didn’t want you to leave.” Eddie’s mouth shut, his head tilting to the side a little in uncertain interest “I didn’t know… I should have just told you, I didn’t… I wasn’t sure, shit, Eddie… I’d never… you—I’d never felt like… like that for a guy before… I didn’t know what it meant, I should have said—I should have told you that I just needed more time… that I wasn’t ready to answer but… but I didn’t want you to leave. I didn’t know you’d be gone by the time I woke up. By the time I realised I was wrong, you were gone.” He wanted time, but his words had come out wrong.

He’d stumbled through them like he stumbled through everything, struggled to get the right words out and they’d wound up wrong. So so very wrong. “And you didn’t think to call?”

“Heh, you were on your way to fame, Eddie and you didn’t exactly leave a number, Dustin told me you had a chance at stardom… why would I want to weigh you down? Where would I fit in in this life of yours, Eddie? I’m no one, you could have anyone.”

“Mmn, anyone. Even if the one I want believes himself to be no one?” Hope burned brighter, its embers brilliant and warm. “So… can I try again? Or was Dustin wrong?”

“Did you make a bet with him about this too?”

“Absolutely, I’d owe him two hundred bucks if he’s right.”

“Would it be worth it if I said try again?”

“God, Sunshine, I’d drain my entire bank account right into that little buttheads pocket without a care in the world if it meant he was right… i never stopped...” Eddie stepped closer, "I never stopped wanting... even though I wished for the longest time that I could stop... it's always been you, Steve..." now close enough to be within reach, his voice quiet but hopeful “so... is he right? Should I try again?”

“…Please try again.” This time… he wouldn’t be saying no.

[marsuro]

The way you draw is??? Genuinely incredible???? Like genuinely. I feel like I’m peeking into like a classic cartoon. Your shapes, the way you draw Luffy like a muppet oh my god it tickles my brain

Specially for you, anon, a mighty muppet Luffy (and more!) because I made you wait waayy too long

[gendervapor14]

doflamingo would be dealt with. that’s what this note said, that letter here, this crumpled report. finally, doflamingo’s last hand was dealt. it must have haunted him, but love prevailed. it was printed on his shirt, inked after signatures, scrawled on his polaroids. now, he was free. law cracked the window, lit up, and coughed up. it was time to put those notes to rest. together.

artwork by @attyattlaw ♥ ~ prompt: smoke

previous prompt can be found here

thanks for hosting this event @corazon-week !

[spotsupstuff]

HI! love how you draw the ideriters they have so much personality and are so expressive!! Might I request some pebbles and artificer or pebbles and suns? Thank you for sharing your art and have a wonderful day!

here have all three!

[thechaotichorselord]

i love being called sweet/kind

it makes me feel so happy that the other person or a friend considers me to be nice

[parisoonic]

you draw like the official tf2 comics... i am EATING it

thank you! that was a fun excercise - it's always interesting to analyse why styles look Like That! some of it is technical (chunky thick black outlines w/ no broken lineart for easy point-and-click colour filling for a 70 page comic) others are more subtle (everything has 3 shadow tones more or less and you can have shadows WITHIN shadows which is crazy to me...i never do that in my personal art haha) I was learning how to draw people for the first time by looking at tf2 comics 12+ years ago so its makes sense that there's a bit of influence hanging around as the bedrock of my style even now

[waterfallofspace]

When H/awks gets a voice message from D/abi, he doesn't have a clue what he's getting into. (Strongly implied kink!Hawks)

First H/otwings wav~ (and content at all~). It's nothing super big, just a little idea I've had for a bit, and I had time to throw something together~ Mayyybe the fact (most of) it's a voice message can forgive the quality issues? <3

[mitamicah]

i think i'm obsessed with the way you draw mouths. they're like ":3"

it is adorable what can i say

Oh no you didn't 😭 you didn't just draw adorable tiny Bojan and Jere to visualise your point about you loving my kitty mouths 🥺

Look at them, they're adorable :'3 💚💚

[rayjeff]

What are your favorite hazbin characters? :o and are there any relationships you like (romantic, queerplatinic, platonic, etc)?? Your Alastor design goes so hard btw!!!! I can totally see him wearing a turtleneck - I'd imagine it's the closest he gets to casual-wear around other people -- and the tail and pony tail are so!!!! Cute and silly!!!!! Ty for your time :))

weeeell relationships i like huuh??

Alastor and Rosie (their friendship is everything to me rn, platonic)

Husk and Angel Dust (i think they could be a great partners but also really good friends! Eighter way, I'll be happy to see whatever the do together :] )

Alastor and Vox (rivals, ex friends, i would LOVE to know more about their relationship)

If I had to choose my fav character, it would probably be Alastor, but I also REALLY like mentioned above Rosie, Husk and Vox! This is my fav 4

I also like the relationship between Charlie and Vaggie, but I don't think we know enough about them yet for me to be attached to them. You know, I need more LORE and backstories

[thewrothode-if]

Buckle up for a boatful of admiration! First of all; I read the demo, and I adored it. The difference in tone based on whether you touch the statue or not is really good—Though I definitely have to go right back and see what this "attack" is all about, very excited for that. Second of all; I went through your entire archive and I can't put into words how excited I am that we're on the same page about various things IF wise. Especially the gendered difference, I adore that the Male ROs act different with Male MC, and likewise that Female MCs will get to have a closeness with Female ROs that they will not show Male MCs. Likewise with the romance variable, which I will first of all remind to not put too much on your plate; the moment it gets too complicated toss it. Enjoying your writing should always be prioritised. You're trying a new thing, it may or may not work, and there's joy in learning it.

And last, but certainly not least; remember to take breaks and don't put too much pressure on yourself. I look forward to following you on this journey, and eager to see where this project goes. And, while I'm certain you might have found it already, another good naming source is; nordicnames(.)de It has categories, relevant to your project being (tacked onto the end of the "de"); /wiki/Category:Old_Danish_Names /wiki/Category:Old_Norse_Names

Ahh! Thank you so much!! I have been taking a break from this IF so I can focus on other pressing matters. Ugh, life and all that. Even though I feel a little guilty about it, thank you for reassuring me. I really needed that. :,)

On the take about the tone, I love when the readers notice small changes in the writing depending on the choices picked. It makes me feel so giddy seeing my hard work noticed!

And in all honesty, this whole IF is everything I ever wanted in a game. I started this for myself, but I feel like all IF writers do as well.

With all that said, I will definitely check out that naming source because I'm literally running out of good names for side characters...

[ruelin024]

Wait we became moots??? 😳 I'm moots with a god-like artist like you?? WTFFFF /pos

I LOVE YOUR ART ∞/10 ♥️♥️♥️

Hehehe ヾ(≧ ▽ ≦)ゝI see potential mutual of my mutual and I click. Welcome to my blog new moot!

[sweet-s0rr0w]

I love you fics i just wanted to say🥰 Im starting your new wireless fic 2023 and it all came rushing back within 5 minutes, i binge read Nor all that Glitters and Kept in Cages nearly a year ago and now I feel like I should reread them immediately. Also Among the Elements is so very special🫠❤️🩷🧡

Thank you so much lovely anon 😭😭😭 you're so kind! My new Wireless fic is an odd one; I never expected it to be terribly popular (Draco as Christmas shop owner in small Somerset town during a heatwave - bit niche?!) but I got my confidence knocked badly early on with that fic when a couple of people I know didn't finish it. I'm lucky to be naturally pretty chill about stats, but I was a bit down IRL and almost fell into the wah wah I'm so rubbish doom spiral. Anyway! Pull yourself together, sweet, I said (well, actually @maesterchill said), and so I have. So I'm really really especially glad you like this one in particular, and that you thought to let me know!! I like it, it's quite a busy fic but it came out as I wanted - and besides, it has brilliant art by Joy and what I think is some pretty decent smut.

Waking Up Slow (E, 22k)

Among the Elements (M, 8k)

Kept in Cages (E, 77k)

Nor All That Glisters (E, 111k)

[badboysupr]

to all the muses out there who have been genuinely nice to leo:

i'm sorry

he is literally a disaster and a half (or maybe about 5385865363 disasters, tbqh) and is2g every single time anyone just shows common decency to him, he has an Entire Moment that should be backed up by a dramatic musical number at this rate bc jeezum

jeezum

[skimmeh]

I need you to know and always remember for as long as you work on the stareater AU and beyond there are people out there going crazy over your work. rolling around and kicking feet in the air kinda crazy

your style is so memorable to me in the way it pixelates, the way you draw their faces and noses and hair, the color harmonies and then also the story behind all of it.

When putting so much effort into a body of work it can be easy to get discouraged, like when you don't feel like the online people you want to share it with engage just as deeply as you, but I'm lurking around lots and so are many more users, we are

Genuinely so very kind and nice and I will hold this ask dear to me for years!

It truly means so much to me. I put a lot of energy into my work. So it really means a lot that others are enjoying it!! Even if it's just one person!!! :D

Stareater is my child!! And I'll tell the whole story if it kills me- literally having so much fun with it.

Bzbsbdbxbbdvfjfh thank you again-!!! Truly this means a lot to me ...and I'll ... Print it off and frame it on the wall or something shit- so I don't forget.

[mitamicah]

Hi,

your art is adorable, I love the way you draw faces/expressions but especially the eyes. They are so pretty, it’s unique and makes everything pop so nicely. You are fuelling the post esc/käärijä brainrot so nicely. 💚🩷💚

Awwwn this is so nice 🥺

It inspired me to draw this little thing for you :'3 (I guess I now have a reaction drawing with the boy x'D)💚

[good-beanswrites]

Hello!! I really love your writing! I like the way you write interactions between characters and how well you maintain their personalities! Sometimes, after I read these, I need to take a few moments to realize that they are not actually canon. (For me, they still are <3).

If it's not a bother, I would like to request Compliment + Yuno and any other character that you think will fit well!

Because of Yuno's past work, I always thought that the compliments her clients would give didn't truly mean much to her. At first, maybe these words gave her some warmth, but with time, she realized that these words were nothing more than superficial. And I think it would be nice to see Yuno actually being happy with the sincerity of a compliment addressed to her!

Thank you!! 

Hi hello?? This is like the greatest compliment a writer could dream of thank you??? I have been very normal about this ;__;✨ And thank you for the request, I absolutely love that concept -- it's perfect for Yuno! I think between being so used to shallow/physical compliments combined with the fact that she has a lot of self-love already, a new type of compliment could really affect her. I debated on a few characters, but ended up setting this late T1 with Kotoko

Yuno was always complimented on her smile. It was beautiful, she was told. It was pure. Sweet. Innocent. Her lipstick looked nice. Her lips in general looked nice. She was just so… nice. Yuno was glad to have such a bright smile; it hid how much she was wanted to pick up the cards from her solitaire game and throw them as hard as she could at Shidou's face.

“Don’t worry, when you get to be my age, you’ll understand,” he was saying. “But I do love your optimism…”

She stretched that smile as far as it would reach. Shidou kept talking as he stood to leave, and she answered as politely and simply as possible. Once out of sight, she allowed herself a single, dramatic eyeroll. Everyone older than her thought they knew more than her. Men always thought they knew more than her. 

But she wasn’t about to let it ruin the rest of her day. She turned her attention back to the cards, already working to forget the whole conversation. She’d nearly lost herself in new thoughts when a voice startled her at the end of the table.

“You’re strong, Yuno.”

She looked up to find Kotoko staring. She smirked at the comment -- she knew she had nothing on someone like her. The woman exuded strength, and had made more than one comment about the other prisoners’ physical fitness. Yuno flexed her right arm. “I didn’t do very well in the tournament, but thanks, I guess!”

Confusion flashed over her face. “No, not the arm wrestling thing we did the other day.”

“Oh, when we all jumped rope after dinner last week?”

“No, no. I mean… as a person.” Kotoko scooted closer. She always had a calculating look on her face, studying everyone around her. Yuno had expected to feel uncomfortable under such a gaze, (many of the other prisoners had voiced the sentiment,) but there was something almost pleasant about the way Kotoko stared. Yuno couldn’t put her finger on it.

She waved her hand dismissively. She knew the best way to accept praise was to play it down, just a bit. “Eh, sometimes it's gotta be like that, you know? I just do what I can to make it through the day, I wouldn't call that strong or anything…”

“Well I would.” Her gaze was level. “I think the way you handle everyone, never compromising on your own values, is very impressive. I’ve seen the way the others talk to you here. I can only imagine, with the line of work you’re in, what utter scumbags you’ve had to deal with on a daily basis. And yet,” she tipped her head, and Yuno suddenly understood. Kotoko looked at people as if she actually saw them. “You’ve never once raised your voice. Or scowled. Or even cried. Being sent to a place like this, after what you’ve done, it’d be enough to infuriate anyone.”

She surveyed the room, adding, “I'm still figuring this place out, but I can tell it's designed to break us. Which is why we need to stay strong. I just wanted to tell you, from one woman to another -- I'm glad to have someone like you fighting with me.”

Yuno’s smile had faded to surprise. At that moment, she did something that she hadn’t in an awfully long time. 

She blushed at the compliment. 

Maybe it was the way Kotoko said it. She wasn't the type of person to say anything she didn't mean. Maybe it was the fact that it was something new, not another comment about her lips or her laugh or her body. Or maybe it was because Yuno was tempted to believe it.

She’d heard so many voices lately, whispering how weak and helpless she must be to end up in this whole mess. The other prisoners, too, treated her according to her small build and unbroken nails. She suddenly realized how close she’d come to falling into the same mindset.

Getting a hold of herself, she made her voice light. “Well, I'd say the same to you, but I think you already know that, heh. But… thanks for saying all that.”

“Of course.” Kotoko’s smile was neither sweet nor innocent, but it was certainly honest. “I mean it.”

Yuno nodded. “I know.”