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theunbearableweightofpedropascal · 5 months

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Mother Knows Best

Blaise Zabini x Hufflepuff!Reader

Warnings: (angst, fucked up family dynamic)

A/N: This is the dress I had in mind in case my description doesn't do it justice. All credit to the artist here. and hair inspo (top right). Also I'm not sure why I keep writing that Blaise hates yellow but it feels right, idk.

Summary: With your parents abhorrent views you doubt they could choose a decent partner.

Word Count: 5.6k

The wizarding community was small which meant that Hogwarts was even smaller. Thankfully you had been able to slip under the radar, which in hindsight was easy since your classmate was Harry Potter. Either way, people wrote you off as timid and boring but the truth was far worse.

Growing up everything seemed fine you came from a prestigious family that was more than respected. With that came expectations as you were told but understood, you made sure your magic was comparable to no one. You had practiced so much that there were cramps in your hand and wrist regularly. However, the expectations that your parents meant were far more nefarious than being a prefect.

For your sorting ceremony, you had come from a family of Ravenclaw’s and Slytherin’s so when the hat called out Hufflepuff it seemed a slight pause was taken. There wasn’t explicit disappointment written on your father’s face but you knew what he would have preferred. But in his words at least you weren’t Gryffindor.

Motivation thrummed through your body to make up for less than adequate house. You’d managed to become quite knowledgeable on many subjects, even things as taboo as muggle studies. You’d never dared to take the class but had read a few books out of morbid curiosity. There was never anything explicitly anti-muggle spoken about in your household but deep down you knew better. The kind of family you were born into would never be outspoken about that sort of thing, it’s unbecoming in your mother’s words.

After the death of Cedric Diggory, more talks of he who shall not be named permeated the community. Some believed it was an unexplainable tragedy while others were in complete denial. Not only were you disgusted by what they did to him you also felt sad for Harry, it was crystal clear what happened. Your parents on the other hand seemed unaffected, that should have been the first sign but you were too busy giving condolences to Harry.

Next was the stream of people they contacted in the coming months. At first, none of them rang any alarm bells but more and more suspected Death Eaters would permeate your childhood home. A small riff formed between your parents and you, the seemingly loving people who raised you held such nasty views. Visits to your childhood home soon became limited to mandatory holidays under the guise of you studying for your O.W.L.s.

Soon enough you could see exactly where they stood and it terrified you. There wasn’t anyone you could turn to without fearing it would get back to your parents.

……..

On your scheduled visit home you were indifferent to finding certain members of the Ministry leaving your parent's home. However, as your father stood before you in the foyer expectantly you couldn’t help but wonder why. Usually, it would just be your mother receiving you due to the constant stream of ‘meetings’ your father held. No words were exchanged between you two before he gestured for you to follow him to his office.

The once warm memories that this house provided now gave way to shivers down your spine. It felt like the closer you were to approaching his office the harder your heart thundered in your chest. Uneasiness settles within you because of your father’s seemingly cold nature.

Inside his office, he gestured to the seat across from his chair and your heart sank. Although you didn’t feel at home anymore, you didn’t have the heart to fully distance yourself. For so long all of your work was due to upholding the family name and reputation and if you let that go there was nothing else. Your mother gave nothing away while she stood off to the side.

“As you know darling a war is brewing, and now is the time that our Dark Lord needs his loyal correspondents.” His hands on your shoulders send a cold shiver over you. “And it worries me that my daughter seems to sympathize with mudbloods.” Even though you couldn’t see his face you could only picture the defeat on his face.

“I-” Before you could attempt to defend yourself you were interrupted.

“I thought I had made my expectations for you obvious child.” Your father’s fingers dug into you causing a grimance across your face. “Only for you to embarrass me after I put all of my hopes and dreams into you.” Tears well in your eyes from the pain of both his words and his harsh grip.

“Have I not given you everything?” In spite of how you’ve felt about his purist ways, his words cause you to scramble to reassure him. After all, you didn’t put in as much work as you had to disappoint him.

“You have and I-” The words become stuck in your throat because of how much you are trying to say at once. “I’m so sorry.” Shame has your head hanging low while your tears wet your pants. “I saw Cedric as a friend and I let my judgment get clouded.” Sobs wrack your body and your father lets his death grip go to comfort you.

“It’s okay darling sometimes we become a little misguided. As long as we find our way back that’s all that matters.” The same hands that caused your breakdown are now nursing you back with slow circles. Your breathing begins to even out and your father takes that as his cue to continue with what this meeting is really about.

“Now that we’ve taken care of that, I wanted to talk about what we are gathered here for.” His hands clap together in what you assume is excitement, and a glance at your now-smiling mother confirms it. “Tonight we are celebrating your impending nuptials.”

Never has your head swiveled so quickly, you weren't privy to any marriage conversations. As far as you knew you weren’t promised to anyone but you knew better than to question anything in this moment. From the corner of your eye, you see your mother leave the room and the thundering in your heart amps up once again.

“And what better family to be joined with than the Zabini’s?” Your mother is the one to drop the name of your future husband as she glides into the office again. Behind her, you see the infamous Zabini’s. Everyone is familiar with the Zabini’s, more specifically the rumored black widow Domenica Zabini. Her track record of 7 dead husbands speaks for itself. There was nothing short of perfection about their appearance, not that you expected less.

The joy on your mother’s face feels like you’re in an alternate universe, one that involves a happy family. Somehow you didn’t see the gilded cage that had slowly been closing until it was too late. If there was food in your stomach it would have been thrown up by now.

“Don’t play coy darling, they’ve come all this way to meet you.” As if your breakdown didn’t just happen your mother ushers you out of the seat before urging you closer. “This will be good for you, for us.” The low tone of her voice leaves no room for opposition.

Domencia’s keen eyes take you in and you almost can’t believe this woman killed her husbands. There’s nothing overtly cunning or evil-looking about her presence as one would think. Her son, on the other hand, had a menacing demeanor for someone who you’d never heard utter a word. Since Hogwarts was small his best friends Theo and Draco more than made up for his silence.

His brown eyes are calculated while he takes you in and your heart betrays you by skipping a beat.

“You’re even more breathtaking in person.” Were the first words you ever heard him speak and you hated to admit how your whole body fluttered. The low register of his voice made it feel like only the two of you were in the room despite your parents lurking off into the corner.

“So the mythical Blaise does speak?” You keep your voice low like his.

“Considering you are my future wife I’d say it’s imperative.” And just like that the reality of your future comes crashing back to you.

Blaise gently grabs your hand and brings it to his lips before running his thumb across your knuckles. His eyes never leave yours and you can’t help but wonder if he’s trying to disarm you. Either way, you remember to keep your guard up around him.

“Is there anywhere for us to talk, privately?” Although you doubt your parents can hear you he still goes the extra mile to bring his lips to the shell of your ear.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” Your eyes dart around the room in an attempt to get out of the situation you’ve landed in.

“Afraid you’ll actually come to like me, sweetheart?” Blaise, as observant of ever, notices your hesitation to him despite his very convincing charm.

“No.” Even you weren’t convinced by your answer however, you refused to give him the satisfaction.

An amused smirk plays on his face and he finds himself more than pleased with this arrangement. The air between you was thick with undeniable tension.

“You know,” Your mother places her hands on your shoulders gently but that doesn’t stop the small wince on your face, “You should show Blaise around the grounds since he’ll be around a lot.”

“That would be lovely.” His award-winning smile splits his face in agreeance with your mother.

Seeing no way out of this you tell him, “Stay close to me.”

Many would say that your familial land is almost as grand as Hogwarts, but that only applies if you enjoy greenery. The house is incomparable to the vast amounts of land you can explore and observe. Your mother favored her garden and maze, so much so that the familial home was inconsequential to the lands she demanded.

“I take it you weren’t as up-to-date as your parents led me to believe?” Now that you two were truly alone Blaise saw no need to hold back.

“I wasn’t but I can’t say I’m completely upset with their choice.” The truth is they went far beyond your expectations.

“So I still have a chance?” He pulls back before the two of you are more than a couple feet from the house. “I must plead my case.” His general nature gives you pause, you’ve never met someone so magnetic.

“And what exactly is your case?” Your curiosity gets the better of you.

“We could make this a long engagement, I don’t mind a wait. Frankly, I enjoy your presence and I wouldn’t mind growing from that.” His hands reach for yours, and somehow it doesn’t seem desperate.

“You’re making this feel so easy.” As much as you wanted to reject any man sent your way through your parents, Blaise was different. Not to mention you weren’t in a position to bargain.

“I don’t want to force you, but I will promise absolute devotion.” This time when he kisses your knuckles there’s no prying eyes, making the moment much more remarkable.

Truth be told above all else you wanted someone exactly like Blaise, but your parent's involvement sort of ruined the moment. Emotionally you were still reeling from your father’s outburst, and you know it won’t be the last. If you could keep him off your back with this there would be less pressure surrounding any future mistake.

But that does peg the question of how you’ll fare should this relationship get serious. Would you be the first of many wives for Blaise? The thought sent a chill down your spine and there’s no way you could outright ask. For the time being you decide being a team player is most important and string Blaise along until he tires of you.

“I would love nothing more.” Maybe you laid it on a little thick but Blaise doesn’t seem to notice or care.

………….

With news of you and Blaise’s engagement spreading amongst the parents, you knew it wouldn’t take long for the gossip mill at Hogwarts to circulate. By the time you return from your visit whispers follow you through the corridor.

“So you wanna tell me why everyone is talking about your engagement to Blaise?” Madeline, your closest friend, saddles up next to you as you barrel down the hall.

You slow down your fast pace to pull her into an empty classroom. “I knew my Father held some anti-muggle ideals but now he’s talking about doing the Dark Lord’s bidding. I went home this weekend to find out they had me betrothed to Blaise Zabini.” Your hands find their way to your face in an effort to rub the emotional distress out. “Not to mention he completely freaked out on me for expressing my sympathies for Harry. Mads I’ve never seen him like that, it scared me.”

“Godric,” She made her way to stand beside you before rubbing your back in gentle circles. Madeline was first assigned as one of your dormmates, she took it upon herself to adopt you. She'd seen first-hand the immense pressure your parents put on you, and in turn the pressure you placed on yourself. “You know you’re always welcome around mine?”

Although you did know that it would only prolong the inevitable with your parents. Nevertheless, you thank her and rest your head on her shoulder.

“The worst part is the fact that I don't completely hate Blaise, I mean he would be perfect if my parents hadn’t been the ones to arrange it. Now it feels tainted you know?” Your eyes are glued to the floor while you pour out everything you’d had to hold in this past weekend.

“Of course, not to mention his mother has an interesting romantic history.” You are glad that you’re not the only one who noticed.

“But he’s so gorgeous.” You tilt your head away from your best friend with a whimsical sigh.

“You’re preaching to the choir.” Her agreeance has you craning your neck to blink in surprise at her.

“Not too much, he’s still my fiance.” Playfully you narrow your eyes at Mads before bursting into laughter with her joining you.

With your spirits back up the both of you head back into the hall and make your way to the grand hall. Studying would help in taking your mind off of everything else, somehow it was relaxing. The table was decorated with textbooks as you and Madeline delved into your academics.

“You look even more radiant when you’re focused.” That low drawl had your head quickly swiveling to meet Blaise’s eyes in surprise.

“There’s a lot I need to stay up to date on.” Your answer must have been enough for him to take a seat next to you. But you don’t let his presence deter you from your agenda. Madeline squirms in her seat across from you to get your attention only to give you a knowing look.

“I’m sure there is,” He lets his eyes fall over your form, and warmth spreads throughout your body at his brazenness. He clears his throat before continuing, “ My mother’s hosting a party next weekend and I was wondering if you’d do me the honor of being my date?”

From the corner of your eye, you could feel Madeline’s widened eyes taking in this conversation. You’re not sure why you expected Blaise to ignore you once you returned to Hogwarts, but strangely you’re pleased he didn’t. Finally, you set your quill down to properly address him.

“I would love that,” You school your features to not look as giddy as you feel. “Any specific dress code requirements?”

“If you don’t mind I got your measurements from your mother and had a dress commissioned.” He had the gall to look sheepish.

“And what if I find the dress ugly? What if I had said no?” The questions fly out one after the other.

“Your mother promised me you had no shortage of beautiful gowns, and if you had said no I would have found another way to gift it to you.” His eyes peer down at you while you bashfully glance towards Madeline. Once he leaves you know you’ll never hear the end of this.

“Well thank you,” For once you are truly rendered speechless and there is no other feeling more embarrassing.

Blaise, as observant as ever, senses the end of the conversation and readies himself to leave. Before he completely takes off he places a folded piece of paper in your palm and closes it. When his back faces you you let your eyes wander after him with a stupid smile splitting your face. You realize too late that once he reaches his table his friends have already caught you grinning like an idiot. They proceed to clap him on the back and you quickly face Mads only to be met with a teasing grin.

You resign yourself to laying your head on the table until the smile on your face calms down. When you unfold the piece of paper you find a rough draft of a fluffy green gown. His penmanship impressed you but his eye for detail on the various layers of dresses solidified your opinion.

…………

The box holding the dress Blaise commissioned is sitting on the ottoman by the foot of your bed. It was a deep emerald green with a light green bow wrapping around it. Your mother delivered it with a bright smile as soon as it arrived in the morning. She was adamant about opening it but you wanted to wait, even if the anticipation was killing you too.

Your parents were attending as well but they had been rather agreeable lately. Just as you assumed once you showed interest in being with Blaise they seemingly backed off. The last thing you want is a repeat of what happened.

With the sun setting you begin taking down your hair, and the curls bounce as you rub oil on them. You deliberately save the front braids for last while you finish individually placing each curl. The front of your hair is parted to the right side, and you begin gathering half into a small ponytail. You decide to leave a small piece of hair out from the right side that is curled away from your face.

A smile graces your face at the finished product and you turn to the box that’s been calling to you all day. The note attached to the bow was the first thing you read.

I hope the dress is up to your standards -B.Z.

You place the note on your bed and untie the bow before lifting the top. A lavish hunter-green bustier greets you, before fully pulling it out you take note of the silver and black jewels lining the entire top. You carefully grab the strapless top to pull it out of the box and a gasp involuntarily leaves your mouth at the mass of the dress.

Flowers made of sheer fabric litter the waist and sage green fabric lines the sides of the dress. Layers of tulle overlap with leafy designs that feature silver accents. You had never seen a dress as beautiful as the one in front of you, Blaise clearly had an eye for fashion. The drawing he gave didn’t do the dress enough justice.

Progressively you place the dress on the floor and step into it. Perfect is the only word to describe it as you gaze at yourself in the mirror. Even in low light, the jewels sparkle enticingly and you note that he used his house color on you. You do a spin before heading to your jewelry box, only to find that you missed a matching necklace and earring set at the bottom. The dangly earrings remind you of snowflakes and the necklace matches the gems atop your dress.

“Please tell me you’re rea-” Your mother bustles into your room but pauses mid-sentence at you. “My, you look stunning.” She slowly circles you before noting the jewelry in your hand and she gestures for you to face the mirror. She delicately takes out your stud earrings and replaces them with the one Blaise gifted you. When she reaches into the box for the necklace a gasp, much like your earlier one, leaves her red-tinted lips.

“When he asked me about your measurements I never expected this.” She circles her arms over your head to gingerly lay the necklace over your sternum. Her polished nails circle your shoulders for a gentle squeeze, “Let's finish up before your father storms in here.”

She sits you down on your vanity chair before pulling out a brown lipstick and gloss. You tilt your head back to allow her an easier time and her sweet perfume fills your nostrils. Once she finishes she steps back to admire her handiwork with a smile. She opens her mouth to say something but is interrupted by your father’s call.

“We are now thirty minutes late,” The both of you share a silent laugh before heading downstairs to put on shoes and meet your father.

………..

Blaise is bored out of his mind waiting for you, he was surrounded by friends but it was clear he was anxiously awaiting your arrival. Although he thought you would like the dress he couldn’t be sure, maybe it was a bad idea to not consult you.

“Oh cheer up Zabini your girlfriend’ll be here soon.” Theodore’s quip was met with laughter from Draco.

“Not girlfriend, fiancee.” Malfoy corrects Theo before Blaise can open his mouth to say the same thing. While they laugh Blaise rolls his eyes before scanning the hall once more. Theodore could sense how his friend felt despite him trying to downplay it.

“Is there an actual ring or is this a vocal agreement?” Draco decided to push his limits

“There’s plenty of rings but we aren’t there yet kind of like you and Astoria.” Draco rolls his eyes at the reminder of his love life. “And who knows when a woman will become agreeable to your presence Nott.”

Both boys exchanged looks of amusement at Blaise’s snappy tone.

Time seems to stand still when he spots you at the entrance of his mother’s grand hall. His heart thunders as he realizes you are wearing the dress he helped create. The low light of the room captures the shimmering jewels that line the dress and he can’t recall anyone as lovely as you. For once he is rooted in place unable to fulfill the greeting he had prepared.

“I think I understand now mate.” Theodore is stumped in place as well when he follows Blaise’s line of sight.

Everyone in the hall spares a glance at you, how could they not? The dress gives the illusion that you are gliding across the floor. His mother intercepts your family and focuses on you. It’s obvious she’s fawning over how alluring you are. Your eyes scan the crowd scantily and Blaise takes that as his cue.

“I’ll catch up with you two later.” He doesn’t spare his friends a glance as he makes his way through the crowd to you.

When your eyes lock with his he internally melts, the closer he gets the more you steal his breath away. A symphony with booming music plays in his head to match his beating heart.

You straighten your posture when Blaise stands before you in a three-piece emerald green tailman suit. His hand collects yours before bowing to kiss your knuckles, and after he comes up you curtsey before him. Your dress pools around you in the most elegant way before you slowly come up again. It was nearly impossible to rip his eyes away from you but he had to greet your parents before whisking you off.

“Would you mind excusing us?” Blaise’s polite manner brings joy to your mother’s face and approval to your father's.

“Of course not,” Your mother and Domencia are quick to shoo you and him away.

His hand glides around to the small of your back while he guides you to the refreshment table. The array of food makes it hard for you to pick anything and he senses your indecision. He hands you a plate to pick as much as you want.

“Thank you, for the dress it really is amazing. Your drawing was beautiful but I never expected anything like this.” The sparkle in your eyes is all he wanted to see.

“Anything for you.” His declaration left you speechless once again so you focus on picking your food.

He then leads you to your table to eat but you hesitate before moving to sit. Blaise angles your body and dress to sit comfortably in his lap. Your stomach flutters for the umpteenth time and you try to look anywhere besides his face.

“This was your plan all along huh? Create this elaborate dress so I’m woefully dependent on you.” You begin trying the various foods on your plate while Blaise watches you.

“If I’m being honest I wish I had come up with that, but I did want to see you in a beautiful gown. Maybe steal a dance or two.” His complete focus was on you enjoying your treacle tart.

“Nobody else is dancing though,” You spare a glance around to find everyone mingling while the live band plays quietly.

“So?” His head was being cradled by his large hand as he searched your eyes.

“You must be the fiancee, we’ve heard so much about you.” Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott step into view on the other side of the table.

“I kind of miss Zabini when he was quiet and mysterious.” Theodore jokingly pouts his lips at Blaise before taking his seat.

“Fuck off,” Blaise tries to look annoyed but everyone catches the slight crack in his face.

“The only Blaise I’ve encountered is the lovesick puppy variant.” The boys roar with laughter at your one-liner.

“As much as I love this conversation, I should probably do a couple of laps around the room,” He places his hands on your hips before addressing you, “You think you’ll be okay with these vultures for a couple of minutes?”

“I think I’ll be alright,” The mischievous grin on your face convinced him and you stood up so he could fulfill his hosting duties.

“That's the spirit,” Malfoy clapped his hands at your willingness to entertain them. “Shall we get you a drink to catch up with us?”

“As long as it’s fire whiskey.” Your agreeance has them flagging down the nearest server for a round of glasses.

Surprisingly talking with Draco and Theo is easy, mostly because they’ve been shit-talking Blaise. You keep your intake of whiskey to two glasses to keep your wits about you. This wasn’t that kind of party.

They tell the story of how Blaise was knocked off his broom by an ex-girlfriend's spell. A re-enactment of how he flailed for 30 feet ensued but luckily the table was toward the back. You’d been breathing in short bursts for the past few minutes and you hope for a reprieve.

“Alright if you all don’t mind I’ll be stealing her for a dance,” Blaise’s hand stretches out to you before he calls, “M’lady.”

One last giggle escapes from your lips when you place your hand in his and slowly rise from your chair. On the way to the middle of the floor, you realize the band is playing a much louder tune than before. Blaise’s steps slow and his hand guides you around to the front of him while your dress flows flawlessly.

Each of you repeats the bow and curtsey from earlier but this time you keep eye contact. Once both of you are upright you wait for the musical cue to begin your first step. When the violinist begins their solo you step forward attaching one hand to his right shoulder and the other in his left hand. His hand envelops yours before sliding down to the small of your back, just above the flowers.

Just like you thought you two were the only ones about to dance, and people were quickly realizing that.

“Don’t look around, I want to see those beautiful eyes aimed at me.” With warm cheeks, you gaze up at Blaise who smiles back at you taking the first step in the dance. Completely confident in your steps, you follow his lead while he guides you in circles.

“This dress is the best gift anyone’s ever given me and don’t even get me started on the jewelery, thank you.” You step back as Blaise raises his arm to spin you, showcasing the multiple layers of tulle whirling around you.

“Does this mean I need to begin drafting another?” The moment you step back into each other’s space it feels as if the whole room is empty save for you two.

“If I could make a request, would you mind yellow?” The slight grimace crossing his face makes you laugh.

“And your very first flaw rears its ugly head.” You swallow the chuckle that wants to escape so that you can back away from Blaise once more. This time you both take a step to your left before holding your palms close but not touching. With your left hand behind your back, you keep your eyes on the only person in the room as you walk in a circle.

“Where would I even wear another dress like this?” Events like this don’t exactly happen every week.

“I’ll plan another party for you.” His words cause your heartbeat to thunder in your chest you almost thought he could hear it.

All playful banter between you ceased and all that could be heard were the strings of violins increasing in tempo. At the same time, you turn so that your right hand can hold a sliver of space between them. Something within his eyes made a jolt run through your body as if you took Amortentia.

With the tempo slightly decreasing it was time for you to stand side by side, facing the fireplace and his hand guiding you backward. Now that the both of you are facing each other once again you circle the other in a figure-eight motion. If you were thinking about anything other than Blaise you would feel ridiculous but there was nothing else running through your mind.

His mouth firmly remains in a smile and yours mirrors his if the strain in your cheeks had any say. Your dance comes to an end when you face each other before your last curtsey. Applause fills the room and you remember you’re not alone.

“I think it’s time for a tour.” Blaise bends down to speak lowly into your ear and a shiver runs down your spine.

“I would love that.” You place your hand on his bicep and follow his lead out of the ballroom.

The corridors are dim with only candles lighting your path. Your heels click rhythmically in time with Blaise’s steps, echoing off the walls.

“You’re enjoying yourself I take it?” Even though he meant to sound sure you could hear the doubt in his voice.

“I love it, I love this dress, and spending time with you isn’t terrible.” Everything about tonight has been great and you were starting to come around to the idea of actually being with Blaise. Maybe the deal with his mother’s dead husband had a logical explanation.

“That sparkle in your eye tells me it’s a little better than terrible.” He slows to a stop before sliding his arm around your waist. An alcove that has stained glass lets the moonlight shine through allowing the colors to reflect off your skin.

“It would kill me to admit my parents are right.” Your whisper causes the biggest smirk to split his face and you almost retract your statement.

“It would kill me if you were to let that stop you.” Both of his hands find themselves planted on your waist playing with the jewels.

After a moment of looking at you his thumb and forefinger lift your head so he can press his lips delicately to yours. You tilt your head to kiss him back while your hands find purchase on his biceps. The way his thumb caresses your cheek makes you lose all inhibitions. Suddenly your hand wraps around the back of his neck to bring his lips closer, your poor dress getting squished in the process.

It felt like the two of you were molded together, if someone walked past they wouldn’t know where you end and Blaise begins. A groan sounds from him as he slides his hand from your face to the back of your neck, balling his fist full of your hair. When he pulls a gasp leaves your lips and allows him to slide his tongue in.

“Godric, save that for the honeymoon.” Theodore’s voice and Draco’s laugh feel like cold water being poured over you. Blaise’s hand leaves your hair but stays around your waist while you keep both of your hands at your side. Lip gloss makes his lips irregularly shiny and you're tempted to wipe it but you're interrupted.

“Your mother’s asking for the both of you, so we did you a favor and came ourselves.” Draco smiles before raising his glass of fire whiskey and tipping it back.

You and Blaise begin leading the long trek back to the ballroom.

“They’re going to breed like gnomes.” There was no telling who mumbled that out but it resulted in laughter spilling out from everyone.

#blaise zabini x female reader #blaise zabini x reader #blaise zabini imagine #slytherin boys #slytherin #harry potter fanfiction #hufflepuff #hufflepuff x slytherin #hufflepuff reader

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moons-of-dewclan · 2 months

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I was curious how to get your clan really set off? I recently (LIKE EARLIER TODAY JFJSJFJ) started my own clangen blog but idk if it's worthy of Tumblr😭

How can I improve my art and improve my process? You're one of my BIGGEST inspirations ngl you're literally him (or her or they I'm so sorry I never caught your pronouns) but I was just curious on how to be better? If you wanna look, don't. It's like, rlly bad so.... save your eyes. Have a lovely nighttt <33

HELLOOOOO I'M NOT 100% SURE WHAT YOU MEAN BY SET OFF I'M SORRY :{ if you mean to get people reading it, i think it's vastly just luck also appealing to an audience by accident i posted my art online for 10 years (i started posting in 2010 as a wee ka- told you i'm an adult haahahueu) before anyone showed consistent interest and i valued those two or so commenters who occasionally had something to say about my stuff, so much LAKSNLKD. that entire decade i got between 2 and 30 favourites for every piece i posted- usually between 2 and 10- until around 2021 when a making a comic aANNND joining a wolf ARPG group exposed me to many kindred art-enjoyers that wanted to keep up with my goofy stories then for some reason, i posted Dewclan's first page on tumblr and it got way more engagement than any other piece of art i've ever posted SO LAKSDNLKDAS WE CANNOT PREDICT THESE THINGS.. at least i can't if you're looking for engagement, pLS AIM FOR ENGAGEMENT THAT FEELS MEANINGFUL over anything else IN MY OPINION, and it's just my opinion- part of being 'better' is, first and foremost, being able to enjoy your art alone. and then being excited with what you choose to share! even if you don't care about your quality of art, care about the story. if you don't care about the story, care about the process and just having fun. but you have to have fun in doing it, and do it for your own eyes primarily. like if you were alone in a room and creating only for yourself! because, until you happen to find others who like what you're liking, you are then when someone is interested and you get to share that excitement, even that ooone comment on something you care about is OOGHHH SUCH A NICE FEELIN. enter communities, comment on other artists' work, try to make friends! but make sure to remember, if you create with the hopes others will like it, without liking it yourself, you're going to be really broken down if someone doesn't like it FOR you :{ loving your own art is tough work but it's integral to your longterm relationship with drawing ON IMPROVING.. for me, nothing is more integral to improving than finding a way to practice that suits you (looking at live figures doesn't help me at all. i don't know why. it's insane), and having fun doing it. i can't grasp anatomy unless i break it down with shapes. SHAPES ARE EVERYTHING. study the shapes of what you want to draw. break em down by tracing simple shapes over your subject. see if the leg is the same length as the head from muzzle to neck and lock that info in. STUFF LIKE THAT on the technical side of things, it can be super helpful to dedicate half an hour or so to drawing a day- eventually it becomes a habit and you just default to 'oh i think i wanna draw' when you've got nothing else to do. more drawing, more improvement!

HONESTLY THO another important thing is not putting yourself down. i know it's a hard habit to break (i struggle with it outside of art myself!), but it doesn't do you any favours. the more you rag on yourself, the more it'll manifest as something that actually damages your art, AND your relationship with it. let it be fun- don't sabotage yourself! you can be critical of your work and still kind! little tip here, improving can take a while, but experimenting with styles can make an INSTANT shift in how you perceive your stuff. ALSOOO EXPERIMENT WITH DIFFERENT BRUSHES FOR SKETCHING AND LINING. I PROOMISE. PLS DO IT. IT'S LIKE A MAGIC TRICK. i cannNNNOT sketch with a hard brush. everything looks horrible. marker brush tho?? so smooth. full of character. lovely. binary brush sketches? suddenly i'm Anime. pencil brush?? i digidevolve back into baby ka who loved to crosshatch and do semi realism. airbrush??? i explode into atoms actually

i find for a lot of people, they don't need to improve or be 'better' at art, they need to learn to enjoy what they're capable of doing now, and improvement is a byproduct. from what i've seen through the years, unless you work to curb it the negative view of your art will stick with you no matter what 'skill level' you get to bc the calls' comin from inside the house, yknow what i mean 3: it can be a long process to learn to accept your art, and sometimes you just plain grow out of it over time! but in the meantime it can't hurt to make efforts to fight your d e m o n s

I'M SORRY I WROTE SO MUCH IK YOU DIDN'T ASK FOR THIS ALL IT ISN'T JUST TO YOU, ODESSY-CLAN BLOG RUNNER, IT'S AIMED AT ANYONE WITH ARTSY SELF DOUBTS. i hope i phrased everything kindly bc i meant it all kindly 3: i hate to see an artist doubt their work, but THERE IS NO SHAME IN IT. i want to encourage loving it regardless of any flaws tho, even though it takes time!

#kasks

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scrunkalicious · 9 months

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A Lackadaisy Victory!! (A LackaVictory!) :)

In less than an hour, Lackadaisy exceeded it's 125K goal on Backerkit on the first day. In that same first day, we've already funded 500K, half of that last Million Dollar goal. In five days, we reached 900K. Last night while I was sleeping, we managed to fund the full ONE MILLION!!! And, along with all of these Backerkit goals being reached, the Lackadaisy Pilot on YouTube reached 10 MILLION views!

Think about that! Over one Million Dollars, in just 8 days! Half of a million on the first day. That's extraordinary! Thank you to everyone who has been working on Lackadaisy. Tracy, Newt, Fable. All of the voice actors. Every single sound designer. Every clean up artist. Every storyboard artist. The violinist who played Rocky's violin parts! Every musician. Everybody else who had a contribution to the series in some way, thank you!

Thank you to the fans who were able to back the project. Thank you to those who may not be able to back the project, your support still matters!

The Lackadaisy community is so supportive, welcoming and kind.

The Lackadaisy community is by far one of the best communities and fandoms I've been a part of. Everyone is so kind, nice, and welcoming to everyone. Whether you've been here since the comics, or since the pilot came out (I'm this one!), or anywhere in between, we've all come together for the silly booze cats and a great time. Seeing all the Lackadaisy fanart, LackaOcs, fanfiction, all of it, makes me so happy! It's nice to see such a big and heartwarming community. There's a place for everyone, and everyone is so kind to each other. Seeing every theory and discussion makes me giddy with joy, because who knows what could happen next?

Every person who loves a certain character to a certain degree of insanity normality (Don't worry, I'm guilty of this too!), and finds comfort in them, it's so nice to see people finding comfort in something as great as Lackadaisy. Whether you love the poetic Rocky, the stoic Mordecai, the baby boy baby Freckle, the ecstatic flapper Ivy, the dynamic duo Savoys, or anyone else, I love being able to see how these characters make everyone feel good.

And that's just how great the community is. I haven't talked about Lackadaisy itself!

When I read the Lackadaisy comics, or (re)watch the pilot, it's clear that a lot of love has been put into making Lackadaisy what it is. Each character feels so real, their personalities are so in depth, you feel as if you can find someone with their same personality in the real world. I knew a guy who was almost exactly like Mordecai! And the character's backstories make you/me want to cry and give them a little hug. Everything is so in-depth, and well thought out about.

The time and research Tracy must have done to also make Lackadaisy historically accurate is amazing. I love reading the comic on the website (Lackadaisy.com) and seeing the little notes at the bottom of every part in the little box thing that may explain some 1920s slang, or something that people may not get right away. I've personally learned quite a bit about this time period thanks to Lackadaisy, and I have even done some extra research myself.

And the art. Oh, the art and graphics! Lackadaisy's art style, both in the comics and the pilot, have inspired me a lot in my own art. Studying the style and drawings of silly little booze cats have helped me improve quite a bit.

The story is so intuitive, and in the comics, I love how we can see a bit about each character, whether it be through flash backs or retellings (Like when the Savoys tell Mordecai about them). When you reach a comic chapter that doesn't include a certain character, you wonder "What's going on with them right now?". Lackadaisy's story is easily something that makes you want more.

Usually, when I get into a fandom, I tend to stay for maybe a month or less, then drift off. I don't know why, perhaps I just don't connect with it. But, Lackadaisy is one of the few that I really connect with. The community is one of the reasons I connect with this fandom. I've made so many friends and mutuals through Lackadaisy. It's also nice to see how Tracy and so many people who worked on Lackadaisy look through the Lackadaisy tag and like people's posts, it means a lot to fans like me!

I've had a fixation on the 1900s-1960's for quite some time, maybe since 4th/5th grade. I've seen a few fandoms that wrap around anywhere in that time period, but Lackadaisy is the first to go all in with this period. That's another reason I stay.

And overall, I love the booze cats! I love them all!! Especially Mordecai!! Mordy my beloved!

So, thank you to everyone ever! I can't wait to see something great! I'm really happy to see that Lackadaisy has a bright future!! :) <3

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homochadensistm · 5 months

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I can't stop thinking of that story of the Palestinian photographer manipulating the Israeli photographer. And also her reaction.

It reminds me of the sociology concepts Cixin Liu explores in his books and his idea of "chains of suspicion." In a network of suspicion, it's impossible to tell who is benevolent and who is malicious. No one can tell who anyone else is. So everyone reaches the same conclusion regardless of whether their intentions are benevolent or malicious. And that conclusion is that everyone is capable of potentially annihilating you unless you annihilate them first.

But Cixin Liu's chain of suspicion describes interactions between advanced civilizations in space. He emphasizes in his books that Earth sociology is different. Chains of suspicion are supposed to resolve quickly on Earth because of our shared ecology and biology. Humans communicate through shared circumstances and love. And that communication breaks a chain of suspicion. A textbook example of this would be photographing shared landscape and bonding over love for the same land. That's supposed to break the chain of suspicion.

The Israeli photographer is benevolent and did everything right to build peace and trust according to Earth sociology. But after realizing artists and intellectuals in Gaza are active in Gaza's terror regime, she changed her sociology. She said no one in Gaza is uninvolved. And that seems extreme. She is now saying the same thing that many people in Gaza say about Israelis. Everyone is locked in a chain of suspicion. So regardless of whether they're malicious or benevolent, they think the same way. People will say "how can you think this about the other side after what you've been through?" But how can you not? When you can't even bond over shared love for art, land, and life, what is left? How can you even begin to break the chain of suspicion?

I don't know. But I don't think Palestinian intellectuals and artists will be interested in breaking that chain of suspicion anytime soon. I think the Israeli photographer is 50% correct. No, not all Palestinians are involved. But, at a certain level of status and class, Palestinians are definitely involved.

#israel #palestine #well said

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lucyandthepen · 9 months

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(give me that) can't sleep love | cyj

you’ve been managing yeonjun flawlessly for a few good years now, but there are just some things you can’t keep under control. the obvious solution? a blind date that skews towards the unexpected.

pairing: solo idol!yeonjun x reader rating: T genre: romance warnings: none! like the narrative has a swear word like idk once? word count: 3.5k

author’s notes: yeah it’s not actually valentine’s day but we write for a completely new fandom because we simply have no restraint !! just kidding, i’ve actually been hoping to extend my writing for other groups, but i haven’t yet because i’m extremely slow and a bit fickle. this is my first time writing for anything txt, but i hope to do so a bit more in the future!

if you like it, please consider reblogging to help spread the word!

Maybe your mom was right. Maybe the entertainment industry just isn’t for you.

She’d actively warned you against dedicating your time to, well, anything involving the glitz and glam, but you just hadn’t listened. There had been good opportunities, great experiences you’d never get anywhere else. For the most part, your choices had helped that expectation become that reality; you’d met people not just anyone got to meet, and you’d definitely had a substantial amount of unique encounters.

Still, you were aware that the only reason you’d ever gotten the chance to taste a little bit of the high life was because you had Yeonjun on your side. Choi Yeonjun — the rising star of the idol world, with a better career trajectory than the guy who owned Apple, it seemed. His job was the access pass to everything you enjoyed. Unfortunately, your ticket to all the good things was also the key to your prolonged misery.

As his manager, you have a ton of roles to play — logistics coordinator, scheduler, alarm clock, wardrobe checker, and, on one unfortunate incident, last-minute make-up artist when the original girl had been a no-show. You were supposed to be busy at every turn, but Yeonjun on the job was something of a well-oiled machine, learning how to feed himself while you were on the phone and follow the line-up to the letter as long as he was awake enough to do it. It’s possible you could blame him for all the downtime you got that had led to the bulk of the problem.

Actually, you aren’t sure when it started or even how. Maybe it had happened somewhere in the middle of all his showcases and shows, sandwiched between the constant fever of communication and movement. Maybe it had come up in those hectic car rides where you’d spent a ton of time reminding him of what to do and what to expect. Or maybe it had grown with every time you had to wake him up in one of many lonely hotel rooms, with his head half-buried in the pillow to muffle the sleepy groans he’d use to respond to your soft voice.

Whenever it was, all you could be sure of was that you liked him. A lot. Maybe even with the time you’d come to know him, after all these years, a part of you was ready to say you loved him.

But that was the biggest barrier in the job, wasn’t it? Managers are supposed to stop their idols from dating, not want to do it with them. For the most part, you’ve been successful in holding yourself back from doing something stupid, which is technically the bare minimum for you. These days, though, you aren’t sure what it is; maybe you’re just on edge from all the work in this year’s promotional stint, and that kind of contributes to a weakened mentality, or some kind of wack explanation like that, but you find yourself more often losing your train of thought when you’re with him. Even without detailing the specifics to your friends and co-workers, they’ve noticed something was bothering you. They’d urged you to relieve yourself of your duties a little, maybe hire a co-manager to do all the menial stuff, but you know that’s not really the issue. Only one person — Sunyoung, Yeonjun’s wardrobe stylist — had managed to hit the nail on the head semi-accurately.

“Look, I get it,” she’d said one evening, after she’d shooed Yeonjun out of the dressing room so he could strap on his in-ear piece and prepare for the stage. You were supposed to be running around like a headless chicken, making sure everything was in check, but you were just slumped on the couch in the dressing room playing some dumb shark game your nephew had downloaded onto your phone. “You’re tired. You’re lonely. You can’t even go out for a cup of coffee without worrying about Yeonjun. But he’s fine. You can relax a little.”

“I’m totally relaxed,” you’d mumbled, watching your shark devour a poor surfer on your screen. “I’m fine.”

“Then you should get out more. Leave all of this behind and meet new people. Go on a date. Listen,” she’d covered your phone with her palm, and you heard the telltale music of your game coming to a bitter end. “Do something fun. Go on a date, seriously. I can set you up. It doesn’t even have to be anything serious, ____________! Just do something not work-related for once next week, and get this toxicity or whatever out of your system.”

You didn’t have the heart to say no or the courage to admit that nothing really would happen if that date wasn’t with Yeonjun, considering how far gone you were, so you’d just agreed.

Sunyoung had set you up for a Valentine’s Day date. Ironically, while the point was supposedly to get your mind off of Yeonjun on that day, he had a scheduled fan sign in Sinchon that you couldn’t miss out on. You had to pack an extra set of nicer clothes and a make-up bag that Yeonjun had eyed questioningly but silently as you’d entered the van.

“So how long is this fan sign?” He’d asked instead, immediately turning his attention to his phone the moment the van had started moving.

“Until six.”

“Then I don’t have another schedule, right?”

“No.” You don’t really ask why he’s curious; Yeonjun enjoys his personal time, as any celebrity does. “You’re free after. The van can take you home, or wherever else you need to be.”

He’d hummed appreciatively, fixated on his phone, and the rest of the ride is consumed in silence until you’d arrive at the venue.

Yeonjun is whisked immediately into hair and make-up, and Sunyoung emerges from his dressing tent a few moments after he disappears inside, portable clothes steamer in hand. “Hey; did you get my text?”

You shake your head; you’d spent the car ride irresponsibly ignoring your phone, opting to gnaw on one of your nails instead.

“I sent you the details of a reservation slot in this nice Italian place near Dongdaemun. Just drop my name and they’ll lead you to the table.”

“Look, I don’t really know if I want to do this,” you mumble sheepishly. “Blind dating isn’t my speed.”

“Just go. It’ll be fine. If you don’t like him, you don’t like him. Just give it a shot. If all else fails, just enjoy the pasta,” she’d said with finality, bopping the nozzle of the steamer on your shoulder as she walks away.

Yeonjun is out of the dressing room in twenty minutes, and even then, you’re not sure why it takes that long. You’ve consistently held the belief that Yeonjun doesn’t need make-up to look good, and you can hardly tell when he has it on, anyway. Still, it’s nice to see his stylist pushing his hair up into a neat, tiny quiff, and he’s changed from his standard white tee and jeans to something that resembles a casual suit. You guessed they did it for Valentine’s Day — emulating the coveted boyfriend look, and all that.

“How do I look?” He asks you, right before you lead him onstage. His eyes follow your hand as you fix the front of his jacket quickly.

“Great,” you reply. “As usual.”

“So until six, right?” His mouth is lifting into a grin that you can’t really understand.

“Until six,” you confirm, now a little curious. “You got somewhere to be?”

“Not sure,” he looks down at you enigmatically. “It’s my off time, so we’ll see what happens.”

“Don’t do anything stupid,” you warn him, even though there’s no heat in your words. You know he’s not dumb enough to gallivant around doing things that will get him on Dispatch’s radar.

He just laughs, giving you a small wink before he hops onstage, taking two steps at a time. The voices around you are drowned out by the screams that ensue once his fans see him.

From then on, it’s just the same pattern for the next two hours — you, standing on one corner of the stage beside a guy from security, watching hundreds of girls in a line titter and scream and fall to their knees in front of the table where Yeonjun is seated at. They’ve all got albums in their hands, offering them to him reverently for a signature, and he takes them all good-naturedly, scrawling his name and some short, practically unreadable message somewhere around it while chatting with them about food he likes and what movies he’s into these days.

Since it’s Valentine’s Day, a ton of girls come with romantic gifts — flowers, chocolates, goodies baskets. One girl even brings a large teddy bear, plopping it down in front of him unceremoniously and scaring Yeonjun into accidentally miswriting his signature. You and the rest of his management team aren’t really strict about prohibiting gifts, but Yeonjun refuses all of them — nicely, of course, but to the disappointment of many fans. Every time he says no, he glances at you, like he’s worried you’re going to tell him off if he says yes. You’d wondered once before if he was just trying to pin the blame on you, but you know he’s not cruel like that. Today doesn’t make a difference; he rejects people with apologetic looks as he gives their albums back, and you can see their dejection as they trod off the stage. The teddy bear girl had left the toy by the stairs in her disappointment.

Yeonjun starts his closing ment at a quarter to six, and you tap the security guy next to you to remind him to bring him straight backstage after he’s finished before dashing off and ducking into the dressing room to change. You hear deafening cheers coupled with Yeonjun’s cute little goodbye! that signal the end of the fan sign, and you’ve just finished combing your hair back when Yeonjun walks in, idly patting his hair to see if everything is still in place.

“You look nice,” he observes casually, shrugging off his jacket. You try to avoid looking at him, even if his shoulders are so impossibly broad that you can’t really ever keep them out of your peripheral vision. “Do you have plans?”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” you admit, unsure as to why you feel so guilty for saying so. You’re not dating, you have to remind yourself. And you’re allowed to go out after work.

“Meeting someone special?”

“I’m not sure. Could be. I don’t know who I’m meeting, if I’m being honest.”

His expression is unreadable; his fingers are twirling his marker in quick, hypnotizing circles.

“Well, have fun,” he finally says, moving to hang his jacket on the back of a chair. “You should take the subway or something. Rush hour, and all that.”

“Thanks for the tip.” His words sound pretty dismissive, but you’re not sure why you don’t just leave right away. Maybe you’re expecting him to say something, although it’s really more about what you wish he would rather than what he reasonably would, and he just continues to stare quietly, still toying with the Sharpie. “If you… need anything, just call. You know?”

“I know,” he replies simply. “But I won’t bother you on a date. That’s just plain rude.”

“I’ll still answer. You know you’re more important than a blind date.”

“Am I?” He looks amused. “Sounds like you take this job too seriously. Don’t worry about me. I’ll probably just go home after all. There’s a wildlife documentary I’m dying to catch.”

You’re pretty sure you hadn’t meant the job, but you don’t correct him considering how that would out you. “Okay. See you bright and early tomorrow. Remember you’ve got a radio interview at nine, so can you please not stop by Starbucks before you go home? Please?”

“Sure, sure,” he waves you and your nagging off, and you bolt out of the door, feeling kind of stupid and a little flushed.

You take Yeonjun’s advice and get on the subway, except the first two trains Dongdaemun-bound are full to the brim and you have to squeeze yourself into the car of the third train by elbowing a couple of annoying teenage boys. The other problem you run into is that the train station exits are a fair way away from your destination, and you aren’t used to running in heels. You clip-clop your way down the sidewalk and hit every red light for the pedestrian crossings, much to your ire. At one point, you stop in the middle of the crossing and consider just storming back to the opposite end of the road and going home, but the subway station is too far away for that choice to make sense at that point anyway.

By the time you get to the restaurant, you’re about fifteen minutes late and have to sit on the chairs for walk-in customers to give your feet a break. The guy at the front of the house has the decency to wait for you to catch your breath and even quietly point out that a lock of hair is stuck to your lip gloss before he asks if you have a reservation.

You nervously pick at your dress and comb the ends of your hair as you follow him. You notice someone is already seated at the table, back to you and looking over the menu. You think about all the things that you want to say — sorry for being late, have you been waiting long?, I totally understand if you want to just leave — but there’s a weird nagging in the back of your mind that grows as you approach the table.

Maybe Sunyoung had known you had a type, so to speak —lean, sharp, nicely dressed. Technically, that wasn’t such a difficult set of characteristics to find, but the fact that they were all rolled up into one package seated at your table, so similar to the guy you’ve pinned as ideal, was just kind of spooky. Even the fact that your blind date was laughing to himself at God knows what, alongside the fact that the way his angular shoulders moved up and down comically the way his would, isjust weird.

That, or…

All thoughts of apologizing fly out the window once you reach the table. All you can do is stare, your ears ringing and your fingers clutching your wallet tightly. Your mind has completely disconnected from reality, and the first thing that tumbles out of your mouth is loud and a little crude.

“Literally, what the hell?”

All the guy at your table can do is laugh harder, clearly because he’s Lee Freaking Yeonjun, and he’s finding this situation sidesplittingly hilarious.

“Yeonjun,” you hiss, your hand flying up and curling into a fist in an attempt to restrain yourself from grabbing him by the collar. “What are you doing here?”

It takes him another half-minute to sober down, and he’s still chuckling a little as he answers. “Waiting for my date, obviously.”

“Explain,” you demand, pointedly ignoring the looks couples from another table are giving you.

“Okay, but you have to sit down first,” he motions to the seat across from him. You pull it back and plop down onto it, gaze unwavering. He pauses, kind of dramatically, before continuing. “So there’s a set course meal, but I know you don’t like shellfish, so I thought—”

“I don’t want an explanation of the menu!” You shut your eyes, trying to block out the scene for a second. This can’t be happening. It makes no sense. “I want to know — wait, is this a prank?”

“What? No, of course not.”

“How are you here?”

“I took the van here,” he says, once again elusive. “I actually thought you’d get here before me, but then I realized you probably had to walk a long way. Sorry.” He has the decency to look sheepish at this point.

“Why are you here?”

“I’m on a date?” He shakes his head. “What’s not clicking, ____________?”

“Don’t sass me. Please. Do me that one courtesy, if nothing else.” He watches you down your water in one go, still looking politely amused. “Did Sunyoung put you up to this?”

“Actually, I asked her to rope you in.”

“Because?”

“Do I have to spell it out for you?” He looks incredulous. “Because I like you. I thought that was kind of obvious from the get-go.”

Nothing is making sense to you. Your head is starting to hurt a little, maybe from the situation, maybe from the cold water you’d drunk too fast. “How was it obvious?” You thought you had been kind of obvious, which was why you had attempted to stay distant and pretty aloof for the past few months.

“I listen to everything you say.”

“You have to,” you point out wearily. “That’s literally supposed to be our professional relationship.”

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t have done it so well and so frequently if it were anyone else who were my manager,” he tries to reason, then continues when you look unconvinced. “And the gifts. I don’t take them.”

“So?”

“So, I don’t have a reason to not take them, technically. I just don’t because I don’t want you to think I’m accepting other people’s affections.”

“That makes no sense. They’re your fans, so that has nothing to do with personal affections. You’re terrible at this.”

“Okay, fine — but so are you!” His voice transitions into something a little accusing. “It’s not like you’ve been good at showing me you like me either.”

He pauses, and for the first time in your life, you see something cross his face — uncertainty, maybe, or anxiety.

“You do like me, don’t you?”

The fire of indignant anger fueled by your initial shock dies down, and you’re left feeling a little embarrassed now. The entire walk here, you’d been torturing yourself with the fantasy that you could be somewhere else with Yeonjun on a date, but now that he’s seated across you in the flesh, you have no clue what to do or how to react properly. You toy with your napkin, but you feel his eyes burning into you.

“Fine. I do, but,” you raise your voice a little at the conjunction; he doesn’t even take you seriously, choosing to look relieved instead. “But I’m not supposed to, Yeonjun. This is bad.”

“Why? We’re at an old people restaurant. No one’s going to recognize us.”

“Because I’m not supposed to go on dates with the idol I’m managing.”

“Be honest,” his bottom lip juts out. “Is that all you think of me?”

Your lips thin out into a tight line; it’s easy to say no if you’re cheeky like him, but you’re pretty sure it’s easier to fire a manager for dating off-bounds than it is to cut off an idol’s career for the same reason.

“Can’t we be, you know,” he points between the two of you. “Just us? Not manager and idol. Just you and me. Just for tonight. And we can see how it goes.”

You hate that you cave so easily. You hate that you know you do because you like him so much. Your hand comes up to your face, trying to rub the ache away from your temples. A small, triumphant grin is growing on Yeonjun, like he already knows what you’re going to say. It occurs to you that after all this time you’ve come to know him well, he may have reached the same level of familiarity with you as well.

“Fine,” you mumble, and he doesn’t even contain his joy, pumping his fist into the air embarrassingly. “Fine. Just for tonight.”

“Just for tonight,” he agrees. “Then we can see how it goes.”

When you finally decide to meet his eye, you can’t help but laugh softly. He’s looking a little smug, and you want to smack him, or maybe just kiss him a little, but you just nudge his foot under the table. It doesn’t do anything to faze that little shit-eating expression on his face.

“Don’t think this gets you off of waking up early,” you warn, but you never do get to threaten him effectively with just how soft your words are. “I’m still hauling you out of bed at seven.”

“As long as it’s you,” he grins. “And no one else.”

“Shut up,” you try to bite back your smile, ducking your head instead to look at the menu when you feel it growing anyway. “Order your food.”

You know he’s not looking at the menu even as you pretend to peruse it. Still, he falls quiet, eerily so, and you think he’s just staring until you feel something soft land on top of your hand.

Your eyes lift again to his face, and he’s still smiling, albeit a little more serenely, without that joking expression he’s practically trademarked. His hand squeezes yours tightly, and even when he loosens his hold, his palm never leaves yours.

“You really do look beautiful tonight,” he says softly. “Happy Valentine’s Day, _______________.”

#yeonjun x reader #yeonjun x you #yeonjun imagines #yeonjun scenarios #yeonjun drabbles #yeonjun fanfic #yeonjun scenario #yeonjun drabble #yeonjun imagine #txt x reader #txt x you #txt scenarios #txt imagines #txt drabbles

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bengiyo · 9 months

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Be My Favorite Ep 10 Stray Thoughts

Last week, Kawi and Pisaeng started dating and Not immediately ruined it by making everything about him as always. Not outs them repeatedly and tries to use it as an in with Pear. He breaks things off with Kwan, who genuinely likes him, and gets his ass handed to him by Pear. Meanwhile, Kawi is spiraling that once again his mistakes are causing problems for others, and Pisaeng pushes Kawi to try to see life more optimistically and just try to take care of each other. Pear is having her own problems as she reckons with her mom finding success as an artist after leaving her family to pursue that art.

Hopefully we get Max back this week.

Love us coming back to Kawi and Pisaeng affirming their connection and Pear affirming that she and Not do NOT have one.

YES, MISS PEAR! COME THROUGH, SIS! She said, “Kwan is my friend and you are a dick. DICK IS ABUNDANT AND LOW IN VALUE!”

I want to say here that while I absolutely despise Not, I think Title is giving a great performance in this role. He’s very good at playing disaffected man who is also the source of his own problems.

Okay, this boy just put hands on Kwan. Let’s stomp his ass.

I’m with the dad on “The more you forgive, the stronger you get.” It’s so easy to burn yourself out in righteous rage. I was there for a long time early in the BLM movement, and all I succeeded in doing was giving myself a bunch of a stress-related health issues. The work I do now is about uplifting now and less about fighting. We talked about this on @the-conversation-pod in The Eighth Sense about how forgiveness isn’t about admitting the other party is right. It’s about accepting what happened, determining the boundaries you need to establish for the future, and then focusing on what’s important to you. Holding resentment traps you in the moment you were last offended. You become a living ghost.

Oh interesting. Kawi is reading Crazy Rich Asians.

They are crushing me with the fathers today. I’m going to need Tom Phollawat and Kob Songsit to get off my neck. In all seriousness, Kob is clearly ridiculously talented. Krist is responding to his emotions better than he has with anyone else in the series.

There is something so poignant about Kawi doing everything he could to try to save his dad, still losing him, but getting closure this time because he was able to say goodbye to his father before the surgery. I’m trying not to cry right now.

I love that the first people we see Pear interacting with after that talk with her dad are Pisaeng and Kawi. Love that she made sure to clear up any angst between them. It’s beautiful because the show says she has a right to be disappointed about how things went even as she commits to maintaining two important friendships. These boys are throwing themselves before Pear about who should be castigated more and I love that.

Yes, now that Pear has affirmed her support for gay love, let’s go hang out with the gays. Welcome back, Max. I’ve missed you. You look amazing as always. Love these boots.

I love Max. He’s correct. Just because we know what’s going on doesn’t mean we also don’t need to be told. Up until we’re told, we technically just suspect. Kawi is lucky to have community.

Before I engage with Pisaeng’s mom’s latest form of gaslighting, I need to know what show they’re watching on this projector in the background.

Sowing doubt into your son’s first real relationship is so cruel. Pisaeng knows exactly what she’s doing, and Gawin is playing his hurt and offense completely legibly.

I’m really loving the theme in this show that there is a difference between avoiding misery and finding happiness.

I do love seeing folks figure out the early parts of their relationships. Kawi doesn’t like Pisaeng avoiding his problems with his mom around him, especially when Pisaeng came to him for comfort. Now we get to see these two sort out how intimacy is going to work for them.

I’m never going to complain about parents turning things around and choosing to support their kids, but I don’t think I like Pisaeng faking a conflict with his mom in the hopes that Kawi will be intimate with him.

The mom’s smile is giving Gates McFadden at the end of Make the Yuletide Gay (2009).

I’m really enjoying the way Gawin plays Pisaeng as flirty or cheeky.

I’m obsessed with Max wearing this big black jacket but having these shorts He has such long legs that the juxtaposition fees intentional.

The Ace Friend and Gay Slut duo is undefeated. Kawi being on the ace spectrum doesn’t surprise me. I’m sure people are going to chide Max for how he spoke to Kawi, but I get Max. He’s a sexual being and it’s clear that some of his experiences weren’t great. There are things to unpack there. However, this show is about accepting people as they are and understanding where they’re coming from. We’re not aiming for perfection. We’re aiming for honesty and kindness. Kawi does need to consider the needs of his partner if he’s going to be in a long term relationship with someone who isn’t on the spectrum like him.

Oh, Kawi. Don’t pretend to sleep.

For a moment I really wondered if the snow globe would transport Pisaeng, but he’s already rejected magical help for his problems.

I’m really hoping this show does something interesting with the asymmetric sexual desire between Kawi and Pisaeng. We were here before during SOTUS and it’s hard not to recall that.

The amusement park thing is not subtle, and I’m not sure how to feel about it. Kawi has always wanted to visit a place full of excitement and thrill, but is here just to soak in the vibes and eat food. Pisaeng isn’t on that wavelength and is a bit frustrated.

Okay, so the preview seems to indicate that Pisaeng maybe did time travel. Unsure about how we went from a kinda botched date to their first sober kiss and implied first time.

I’m not sure where I sit on the sex stuff this episode. I think I’m going to leave myself in this moment of uncertainty until next week to see what we learn about Pisaeng’s potential time jump, and Kawi’s follow up on Max urging him to consider the role of sex and intimacy in romance.

#be my favorite #be my favorite meta #thai bl #bl series #Ben watches

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funkymbtifiction · 1 year

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In a recent ask you said "Being artistic and sensitive is not 4". Can you please similarly say what's something people constantly get mixed up about each dominant function? Like I constantly see Fi doms described as artistic and sensitive, but is it really an IxFP thing or just a general human trait? Also: I wish you the best on your new ventures and thank you for all the work you've done for the typology community, you'll be missed 💐

Hmm.

Fe-dom: [stereotype] "unselfish." While EFJs usually care about their larger impact and reputation, they are not nicer to people or less selfish than any other type -- they can be selfish and want their way. It varies between EFJs. You will meet a lovely one who is so sweet and words things so carefully to avoid hurting your feelings and lets you "be," and then meet an EFJ who pushes their values off on you, and thinks that they can say whatever they want and it's all "okay" even if it's hurtful to you.

Fi-dom: [stereotype] "selfish." Yes, Fi-dom is self-centered, as in, their sense of everything is centered in their inner lens, but this does not make all of them exhibit what society calls "selfish behavior." The stereotypes about IFPs not being considerate of others are erroneous and cause many IFPs to mistype; IFPs can spend a lot of time and effort being a "safe space" for other people, and trying not to hurt their feelings (because they wouldn't want their own feelings hurt). As with the above, you may meet an IFP who is highly considerate of you and your feelings, or you may meet one who says what they think, without concern for whether it will offend you or not.

Te-dom: [stereotype] "workaholic." Yes, ETJs love to get things done, they are highly organized and motivated individuals, but the workaholic trope comes from very specific Enneagram combinations rather than is standard for all ETJs. Many of them know when to go out with friends, go home, etc. Another stereotype is not caring about people -- they care a lot, it's just that their brand of helping their loved ones tends to center around how to find solutions, as opposed to just crying with someone. As with the above examples, you will find an ETJ who cares a lot about their employees and does not want to fire anyone, and finds workarounds to keep them on staff even though it is costing their bottom line, or you will find one who only cares about the bottom line.

Ti-dom: [stereotype] "obnoxious, argumentative, hair-splitting." Not every Ti-dom is "Sherlock." Many of them just want to do their own thing, and for things to make sense. And not all of them are inventors or mechanics, either. Some of them are artists, actors, or writers. They can and do understand how things 'work' and want to make sense of them in their own mind, but not all of them are gifted in innovation or technology or in building an airplane from scratch. Some of them will be obnoxious and hammer people for their bad logic, but others don't see the point in trying to change your mind.

Se-dom: [stereotype] "party animal, shopaholic, unfaithful." Yes, they are energetic and outgoing and can do a lot in a day, but not all of them enjoy excess socializing, care about their wardrobe, or can't keep a relationship going due to a roving eye. Se is about hands-on learning and opportunism, seeing a good thing and going after it, rather than a certain set of expected behaviors. Some ESPs will work at things (including relationships) and others will "skip out."

Si-dom: [stereotype] "remembers everything." No, they only recall what is of specific interest to them, such as their favorite author's books or hairstyles from the 1950s. They don't have better memories than anyone else for generic facts and daily remembrances. Another stereotype is having no interest in trying new things -- wrong, some of them hate new things and some of them want as many experiences as possible to build their collection of memories or internal experiences.

Ne-dom: [stereotype] "can theorize about anything on the spot." Yes, if it interests them, but if it doesn't, they won't generate any ideas related to it. They are not automatic idea-machines, they need something to bounce off of and inspire their creativity. If they deprive themselves of those things (books, movies, music, etc), then their creativity can get stifled. They also don't have a thousand ideas in their mind all the time; rather, once they start working on and thinking about something, ideas "occur to them" along the way. Some ENPs have way more of a busy mind than others (7s).

Ni-dom: [stereotype] "mastermind." Not all Ni-doms have a life plan or know what they want ten years down the road, but all of them have a future focus, tend to get strong impressions and/or instincts about where life (theirs or yours) is headed, and they trust their insights. But they are not all evil masterminds who plan things down to the smallest detail; their mind is more impressionistic than that. And yet, there will be occasional "genius" INJs who do just that.

#question #mbti

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kedreeva · 2 years

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I’ve been on tumblr since 2012 and following you pretty much that entire time and have never reblogged or posted a single thing under my name. Before that I was on LJ for years and never posted anything. I send (nice) asks to people on anon, and leave (nice) comments and kudos on ao3. I used to interact some on LJ when anon kink memes were a thing. I am a part of fandom and have been for close to 20 years, I’m just not comfortable having any kind of public persona online that people can see, even if it has no attachment to my real name.

I know that the influx of new, young fans and the way they treat fandom the same as other online content creation/consumption is a problem. But fandom has always had lurkers. I do my best to positively interact in the ways that I am able to within my comfort zone, and I follow the rules of fandom etiquette. There’s so much pushback against lurkers now that was never there before, and I just don’t understand it.

It's a difficult line to walk, but there's a difference between going to a blog that has zero posts, zero likes, no header, no icon, not even a note that says "just lurking," and a person that's here to look at stuff that displays at least enough humanity to say "hey don't block me I'm just looking."

And look... yes there's always been lurkers. And there probably always will be. And it wasn't an issue for you or for creators or fandom in general, because it didn't hurt anything before. In just my living memory, fandom spent a while just being mailing lists- so creations/discussion went to everyone. There wasn't really anyone else to pass stuff on to, so it didn't matter if you just signed up and never said a word. Webrings based the spread of creation in the site itself, because everything was small back then. Livejournal had public and private communities that were searchable and creation was based inside of those communities, and interaction was based on commenting - what you're used to doing, and okay doing - meaning community was based in the comments and people linking to various communities. Back when places like deviantart and ff.net were pretty staple major sites for everyone, community formed in comment sections there as well.

And as much as I do love social media and the advent of community messaging systems... it's changed the face of fandom in ways that make lurking - and I do mean straight up no interaction, if you're sending messages and commenting, you're participating - break the links of community.

Look at it this way:

Back on LJ etc, it didn't matter if you, personally, lurked. Or even if 100 people lurked. Creations and community were centrally located. People all gathered to the same stable location (a post, or a community feed) to look at the things, and comment etc so if you commented or didn't, they could still find the creations. Sites like that brought people together. Now? *shakes head* Social media sites have divided us, and AI/Bots/Algorithms are conquering us because we disseminated too far.

Where do you go, on twitter, if you want to find fic? How do you find a conversation about something? Where do artists go so you can find groups of them and their galleries? You can scroll a tag, but anyone can put anything in that. I have literally no idea how tiktok works because every time I go on it, things just start scrolling past and playing videos for me that I didn't click. It's kind of horrifying. Instagram is... god, I don't even know how to classify that mess, but it's not a community. it's a museum. don't touch anything.

Tumblr is... it's not livejournal, it's not deviantart, it's not mailing lists or webrings but... it's people touching real people still, or it has the ability to be that if we continue to fight for it. As much as there are shitshows around here on occasion, it's still largely neighbors passing notes over the fences separating us.

But for as much community potential as it has, with the way it can function - with the way it USED to function, the way I REMEMBER it functioning a long time ago - it still separates us. There's tags, like on twitter, but anyone that tag dives (like me) knows what a hot fucking mess the tags can be, and there's no other central collection.

Tumblr's saving grace, though, is the ability we, the users, have to interact like humans. To share what we can with one another. To create networks that still kind of resemble the webrings of old, where you can come to one location (someone's blog) and find gateways to other blogs the way one page/site used to lead to the next so the separate, divided things spread across the world WIDE web don't get lost.

Except the link gets broken here, when folks just have empty blogs. There's (thankfully) no algorithm deciding what we should look at, but the trade off is that we have to be responsible for that step in fandom again. The way we used to be.

Not to mention that... there was never really a point for bots back in the LJ days. It would have been hard for them to survive because everyone knew at least some of the people. Not that there weren't, but it was harder and not rewarding for them to exist en masse. Now? Now bots use social media sites and users. Here, on tumblr, they follow accounts to make it look like they're legit to search engines. Whatever central account they're using to scam people, it collects the bots and the network the bots make, and uses them to look legit, so they can scam people, so they can spread viruses, advertise porn or whatever they're doing. They're exploiting users here, and they do this by following us.

And the ONLY recourse we have? is guessing that they're bots and blocking them. Because reporting a blank blog won't get tumblr addressing the issue. So, when someone lurks in a completely faceless, anon way, a way that makes them look like a bot, then the people who are being followed are going to learn to treat them like the bots that are trying to exploit them to do bad things.

And that's not on you! It's not your fault that they're doing those things, or that people have to react the way they have to react to curb that nonsense. And it's not your fault that social media wants to separate us so it can sell us whatever it wants and keep us from communicating and forming communities where we can entertain ourselves instead of feeding on their ads or whatever. It's not your fault that the way community functions on a human level has been backed into a corner by algorithms/bots.

But that IS the lay of the land these days. You and I have both been here long enough that we've watched the landscape shift. It's not the net we knew. And that's unfortunate. But it's probably not going to go back to the way we knew once upon a time. So people are pushing back against folks being quiet, because the alternative is to let algorithms win and do the talking for us. To let bots use us to hurt others. To let fandom founder because it's being directed by whatever AI is in charge of telling us what to look at.

I'm not going to tell anyone they can't be in fandom if they don't reblog stuff or make stuff or whatever. Just... that fandom is going to have a LOT harder time existing in this new breed of divided space if we don't reach out and connect and help one another connect to others, too.

#fandom #tumblr #asks #anon asks #this got long #listen I don't mind people lurking #and you gotta do what you gotta do for your own well being #but it can't be every person #it can't even be most people #or fandom stops existing in these kinds of spaces #because community isn't based on a central space anymore #it's built on our backs and depends on us linking hands #for people to have roads to get around on

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louisupdates · 10 months

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Front of the Line: Dedicated Louis Tomlinson fans find inspiration at Boston show

By Haley Lerner | July 25, 2023

Louis Tomlinson inspired fans to line up in the wee hours of the morning ahead of his first of two shows at MGM Music Hall in Fenway.

His pop rock music filled the theater Monday night, with concertgoers turning out to see songs from his latest album, “Faith in the Future,” along with fan favorite songs from his days as a member of One Direction, including “Night Changes” and “Where Do Broken Hearts Go.”

Tomlinson’s mother died of leukemia in 2016. And in 2019, his younger sister died of a drug overdose. His perseverance through difficult times inspires his fans, who say his music and his live persona provides comfort.

As Tomlinson has traveled from city to city on this tour, many fans of the English singer have followed along. Ri Caceda has already been to 20 shows on his current tour. Forsaking a hotel during her trip, she stays in her car when she’s not in line waiting to enter the music venues. She showed up the night prior to line up for the Monday show — and is staying for Tomlinson’s second Boston performance on Tuesday.

“I love this man so bad. I love him so much,” Caceda said. “The connection between him and his fans is so strong. He’s super humble about his upbringing and what he’s been through, so you know he’s super appreciative of what we do for him.”

While Caceda certainly is taking Tomlinson fandom to a new level, Dannie Amador is no slouch. She came to Boston to see Tomlinson perform for her 11th time, driving from New Jersey to have the experience.

“It’s something so intimate you share, being front row,” she said. “With Louis, there’s no one in front of you, so you literally feel like it's just you and him, main character moment. Dopamine rush.”'

Jessica Torres, from Queens, New York, agreed that the community Tomlinson has created with fans is special.

“Louis, he’s so eager to release music just so he can go on tour and I'm like 'Wow, you want to see us so bad.' The last time I saw him was last year. He’s calling my name, it’s been too long,” she said. “I came early because some fans of his are crazy. We’re not crazy! Just dedicated.”

Audrey Imbeault and Emma Barbieri both came from Canada to Boston for Tomlinson's show this week — and they plan to see him on multiple other dates throughout his tour.

“He’s an artist that makes me feel I’m in a safe place. These shows make me feel like I can forget about everything else. It’s so comforting to have him in front of you,” Imbeault said. “You know he loves you the same you love him. He always reminds us that he cares about us.”

“I’ve only seen him front row once before, so not having anyone in front of me is so fun,” Barbieri said. “I just love his music. And he has such a good relationship with fans that you don't find with most other artists, and as someone who loves a lot of other artists I feel like I can say that pretty confidently.”

Many of the loyal fans at the front of the line came equipped with signs they hoped would make Tomlinson notice them in the crowd and give them a coveted moment of interaction with their idol.

Barbieri and Imbeault both brought signs for Tomlinson to see from the front row. Barbieri’s states “Thumbs up for Canadians who drove here (me),” while Imbeault’s displays the words “Your voice grows the prettiest flowers.”

Caceda had two signs: one encouraging Tomlinson to jump on her, and another that says “Pls draw me a love heart” with a spot for Tomlinson to draw, in the hopes he could draw a symbol that she could get as a tattoo. “I want that on my body forever,” she said.

And the loyal fans that secured front row positions did get their up close and personal moments with Tomlinson. For the final song of the night, “Silver Tongues,” he came off the stage and sang over the barricade to his fans.

“A massive, massive thank you to every single person in here,” Tomlinson said during the show. “This is by far my favorite part of this job, I don't get to do these shows without all you incredible people, so thank you, thank you, thank you.”

#louis press #louis tomlinson #fitfwt23: boston2 #25.7.2023 #thank you anon!

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witchofthesouls · 1 year

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This was a weird crossover thought, but hey, it’s a rare pair:

Grandmama Frump has no idea how, what, when, and where the ancient grimoire had dumped her, nor the spellwork that pushed her into a metal body, but the entrails did say she will be on quite a transformative journey. Meets up with the DJD by intercepting on their List. Not her fault if the mechs were stupid enough to bother her and joins them after admiring their skills. Grandmama Frump and Vos would get along like fire on a gasoline-soaked body.

She can fully appreciate a being that can fully transform into a sniper rifle. Granny Frump prefers to go down and bloody close to the target, so she tries to convince him to get a bayonet attachment.

Nothing says romance than a personal stab, together.

Just as nothing says “I love you” so much to an Addams than causing chaos, mayhem, and murder with a partner, especially if they could literally use their partner. How intimate…

Vos and Grandmama would croon sweet nothings full of murderous intentions to each other. Unfortunately, they do all the time, especially during meals.

No one understands what the hell they’re saying since they’re speaking in the respective dead language of Primal Vernacular and Ancient French. Except for Tarn… and he’s dying from the horniness.

The leader of the DJD feels beyond uncomfortable, but Tarn can’t turn away when Granny climbs into Vos’ lap, face to face as she steadies herself with his shoulders. The romantic locked deep in his untouched spark practically swoons as Granny tenderly cradles Vos’ mask and simultaneously recoils from what Vos purrs back.

There are some things a mech is not meant to know. Please stop playing with the ruffles and seams of her armor.

Actually, everyone is dying from the horniness. They may not understand, but even the blind mech could feel that raw tension.

There’s many strange sounds in Vos' habsuite. It’s screaming. A lot of screaming. Not of terror. Sometimes agony, but it’s mixed with pleasure. With laughter. High and demented that leaves scratches over a brain module, like rusted nails shoved deep into a helm.

Once it stops, the door opens to dreamy Frump swaying to invisible music as she heads to the shower rack.

The way she moves is reminiscent to the artistic bodily freedom of the Golden Age music underground and the famed courtesans of the High Towers and Primal Palace: strangely sensual and oddly provocative in its fluid grace of free-form steps and twirls. The armor she uses doesn’t help, it sways to her movement.

Vos, in berth and completely enraptured, watches on, smoking a cygar.

Tarn and Kaon gives him hell for it since the ship has designated smoking areas and the communication officer hates the smell leaking to his hab.

Grandmama had commandeered the kitchen and refuses to let anyone else into it. Not even if it causes the fire alarms and toxicity sensors to blare. She has it well in hand, sonny! There are at least three cauldrons always on the flames from a sweet simmer to furiously frothing to the point the lid will become a deadly projectile. The smell can be absolutely delightful or completely atrocious -far, far worse than Tesarus not properly deep-cleaning his most inward blades.

Tarn has no idea if Granny Frump is trying to kill them by an obvious poisoning attempt since whatever she heaved over to the shared table is... ghastly vibrant with a sludge-like consistency. And possibly in its dying throes as she smacks the cauldron insides with a spiked ladle. And he’s absolutely not imagining that muted shriek-

Between Nickel’s medical programs, Tesarus’ ununtrium-coated tank, and Helex’s ability to heat his own internals to a deadly scorch to kill everything, they can take on whatever malice she wields.

Luckily, there’s the usual Energon dispenser in the mess hall, but Tarn can only watch in mute horror as everyone else eats it, even the Pet enjoys it.

Helex and Tesarus wolf down over half the cauldron with large doses of aluminum flakes and cobalt swirls. Kaon eventually switches to the dispenser, but only because the smell overrides the lovely taste. Vos eats his extra blended portion with a straw. Even Nickel is in on it: sipping on her bowl with a side of boron biscuits.

He is not the weird one. He is not-

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always-andromeda · 1 year

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teehee hiii hello! :D im very new to the danonation community, despite being an admirer of mr paul for almost a year now,,, there's so many amazing people and content they make but, it's really overwhelming and a bit scary to explore on my own! you're one of the few people i instantly felt safe to approach so, would you be so kind as to direct me a little bit? which danonation blogs are active right now, or maybe even personal friends of yours, just to start my journey in this community? i really really wanna participate, but since i don't have a single creative bone in me and can't contribute in art or writing, the least i can do is give love to all of you lovely people!! 🥰 thank you for your time 💛

p.s. if you don't mind, i might have more questions later!

p.s.s. your blog themes are always so adorable and so so aesthetically pleasing it's amazing 😭💞

Hey hi hello, my friend!! Thank you so much!! I’m gonna leave all of my account recommendations under the cut because wHOO I went a little bonkers! Other than that, you’re always welcome to shoot me an ask whether you have a question or you just wanna say hello! Super glad to have you here and I hope that you have fun getting to know everyone and everything!!

@lost-in-sokovia

I couldn’t get through a post about talking about creators in Danonation and/or my friends without mentioning Soph. Not only is she immensely talented, but her ability to shift between writing the sweetest moments and angst is basically unmatched. Shoutout to her for warming me up to the concept of having kids tbh bc wOW I did not see that one coming! She’s also one of my closest friends on here and I would heavily recommend giving her a follow and sending an ask; she’s absolutely precious to me and deserves all the love this community can possibly give her (but that’s just my opinion 🙄).

@quietsounds

Now, if we're talking about my friends, I have to drag my wonderful Storm into the conversation as well since we met through Danonation. Storm has a wiiiide range of interests and gifs a lot of different things bUT his gif sets are fucking phenomenal. He hasn't been super active on here lately but I would still recommend dropping him a follow because lmao I am hugely biased (because I love and adore him) and because he's one of the most creative people I know and his work deserves to be seen by as many eyeballs as possible and fully appreciated.

@riddlersbimbo

Okay, I should preface that Bowie is on a bit of a hiatus and they’re kind of running on a queue schedule. However. I still adore Bowie with all of my heart. I genuinely cannot explain it; all I know is that I was born to be Bowie's biggest fan. Aside from that, they are such a pillar in this community. The work they put into giffing every Paul movie?? And furthering the Chubby!Eddie agenda?? And the bimbo agenda?? Listen, on this account, we’re all Bowie stans (lmao, new mandate, friends; we’re all Bowie stans now).

@puzzlekinq

It’s only been for the last few months that I’ve been following Ethan bUT LEMME JUST SAY. I cannot fathom how my dash survived beforehand. You can be sure that Ethan will always have something either slightly unhinged, horny, or downright hilarious to post. They also write a bit as well and it’s some damn good writing if I do say so myself!! Also literally every time they post this plays in my head (but that piece of information is more for Ethan's benefit than anyone else's lol).

@riddlers-den

I feel like almost everyone in my little circle has read or at least heard of Max’s Edward fic, Disarm. And I can confirm, Disarm is fantastic. But I also adore basically everything else of hers that I’ve read. Max’s interpretation of characters (specifically Eddie and Calvin) just makes my writing brain so happy. She is also incredibly funny, a massively talented artist, and a very lovely person to talk to and I couldn’t imagine this little community without her.

@finniestoncrane

I should preface this recommendation by saying that Finnie doesn't post purely Dano content and is more in the realm of the DC fandom in general. I would also give her content warnings a once over beforehand since they might not be everyone's cup of tea! But I still wanted to include her here because, her work and her personality has always inspired me so heavily and...goodness, I love being able to call her one of my mutuals. Her sense of humor is top notch; like truly, whenever she posts her little pictures where she draws herself as a stick figure wrapped around one of the Rogues, I lose my absolute mind. Anyways, stan Finnie too, Finnie is the coolest.

@bloomdolly

If you are in the market for a cutesy, coquettish aesthetic and Paul content wrapped up in one super sweet and kind person? Look no further than Ushuaia! I swear, every time I interact with her it feels like I’ve been hit was this pastel ray of light complete with lace frills and ribbons. She’s the absolute sweetest and the bits of her creations that she’s put out reflect that entirely and I can’t wait to see what else she can think up!

@the-odd-devil

Goodness, it feels like Odd and I have been mutuals for literally forever because they’ve been there pretty much since the beginning of this account?? I always love getting a chance to interact with them and it’s been so cool seeing them start to develop their own ideas (and I swear, Odd, I will get to your dark academia college!Eddie fic as soon as I get a chance to actually sit down and read it). Also…their 70s Pornstar!Jimmy Tree headcanons…god if they ever post about them, I will actually lose my mind.

@starlightsearches

Fun fact: Star was among the first fic writers I read from when I first got into Danonation! They are a multi-fandom blog but again, I just had to include them because their writing is fucking intoxicating and I'm sorry but I'll never get over it.

@danoberry

So this serves as apology to Wren for being awful at keeping up with fics lately because ages ago I know I promised to read one of her Calvin fics and then I never did sO I AM SO SORRY. But this also serves as me taking the chance to gush over her work. Like y'all know I will fawn over anything Joby Taylor related and her Joby fic, i'm so sick...GIRL I'M SO SICK ARE YOU KIDDING MEEEE. Like truly...I lost my mind for part of a day when she followed me because hahahah I'm a nervy little guy and I am always so hesitant to make new mutuals (especially when they're this talented goodness gracious).

@jeusschrist2005

Okay, I will admit that I'm also a little newer to their work! But goodness gracious, just from the bits I've seen of both their Joby fic and their Eli stuff, I love what I've read so far and I really wanted to include them on this list as well!!

#askmeda✨#anon ask✨

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notoriouslydevious · 2 years

Text

Twitter is fucking weird. IT’S FAN ART.

Haven’t posted my personal thoughts on tumblr in a LONG time and after seeing what I saw on my TL, I just wanted to get everything off my chest. I’ve been posting more settphel fan art on here, but as I’ve stated before, I’m not really a fan of the ship; however, I can appreciate the artists work who draw the ship. Something people on twitter can’t do.

Apparently someone drew SB Sett & Aphelios with their own OC and it made Settphel-GayLeaguetwt explode? Of course, Bitches- I mean, Witches, is at the forefront (are we even surprised?). Here’s the art in question:

Sett and Aphelios with Ace’s friend’s OC in the middle. Their oc is absolutely adorable, just vibin’ in the middle of Sett and Aphelios.

Tweet that started it all:

a mutual of witches said they thought the artist’s oc was cute. This was their response:

Peak intelligence. Destroyed them with facts and knowledge. I don’t know if they’ll ever be able to recover. Even more quote retweets:

“Can we have anything?” How does this take away anything from you? A single piece of fan art in the PLETHORA of Settphel fan art. As someone else mentioned; GravesTF was confirmed this year, Ezko in pulsefire, Lee Sin & Udyr, Aphelios in Sett’s Firecracker splash and now Settpehl in SB? I guess all of these dont count anymore because someone drew fan art of Sett & Aphelios with someone in between them.

People calling the pic “homophobic” even though Sett was hinted to be Bisexual by his narrative writer for the skin line. While people HEADCANON that Aphelios is mlm or ace, he hasn’t been confirmed by Riot as either. So, no, not homophobic. This commenter biphobic? most likely.

“I hate women making mlm relationships be about them” “How dare someone draw these characters, that I don’t own, the way they want! They’re so selfish!”

This was the comment that pushed me to making a post:

“Seems disrespectful” to who? Random people on twitter.com, who ship two fictional characters? How is this fan art ‘disrespectful’? Better, why do you feel disrespected by it? The fan art wasn’t made for YOU, so if you feel disrespected, that sounds like a you problem. Also implied (where?) =/= canon. No where in lore or voice lines, (as of right now) has stated that Aphelios is mlm. I would say that it’s headcanoned by a majority of the Settphel community, but remember, your head canon =/= canon.

They have since deleted their original thread but they’re still quote retweeting:

Again, how does this one piece of fan art erase your representation? This artist’s fan art isn’t canon. Riot themselves didn’t make official promo art of Sett with Soraka or changed his voice lines so he doesn’t call Aphelios mooncake. Settphel is still “canon” whether artists draw them with other characters or not. (also the “I was bi for half my life,” good for you? Dont know what that has to do with fictional characters and a piece of fan art = erasure. It’s giving “I have a black friend” energy.) Also, “people with too much free time,” yet you made a whole ass thread about how “disrespected” you felt about a piece of fan art and continued to talk about it in quote retweets AND in dms after you deleted said thread so...

Doesn’t matter if it’s canon or not, stop trying to police what artists can and cannot draw. Fan art DOESN’T HAVE TO BE CANON, IT CAN BE WHATEVER THE FUCK PEOPLE WANT IT TO BE BECAUSE IT’S *THEIR* FAN ART. I cant believe that has to be said. There are HUNDREDS of other artists on twitter actually drawing Sett and Aphelios together. I’ve only seen a couple of people draw Settraka and other art like this because psychos dogpile and harass these artists into either deleting the artwork or privating/deleting their account. Yummy, bullying people over fucking fan art. Someone pointed out, “people bully settphel artists too because they don’t like settphel” to which I say, don’t ever bully ANYONE. PERIOD. You don’t like what the artist drew? Block & mute, baby. Leave them alone, let them and mutuals enjoy their art/ship in peace. No one gives a fuck and needs to hear you announce that you don’t like it. I’ll personally say on my own tumblr blog, “I’m not really a fan of [insert ship here]” but if I ever do make that comment, it’s usually followed by, “but I definitely can appreciate the artist’s work and I like the artist’s style.” Again, I’d never comment that under the artist’s post; I’ll say it in my own personal space. I’ll just give them a like, maybe a retweet and keep on scrolling. They don’t need to know that I’m not into that ship. They probably also dont care and have enough people already telling them that anyways. They didn’t draw it for me, they drew it because they liked it. “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” I’ve been being a lot better about typing up something to someone else and just thinking to myself, “its not worth it” and deleting the whole thing. I’m not gonna change their mind and they aren’t going to change mine so why bother, you know? Here is my own personal ranting space so it’s a bit different.

And yes, before you point out how this isn’t the only fandom that’s toxic and how toxic other fandoms are, like the genshin fandom, almost everyone pictured here is also part of the genshin fandom. Coincidence? No. Toxic individuals of a feather are gonna flock together lol.

A cherry on top:

“I’m going to need to take a break from the community because someone drew fan art of two characters, that I don’t own, with their own oc, and it made that me upset.” Bruh.💀 Fucking toddlers, man. Alright everyone, lesson of the day is: you’re not allowed to draw anyone with anyone else except their canon significant other or the most popular head canon. Yes, I’m going to police what you draw and if you draw what I dont like, it’s erasure and it hurts my feelings. :’c Y’all can only draw what I like, okay? Okay. But seriously like... bruh. Over ONE. SINGLE. PIECE. of fan art. In the OCEAN of Settphel fan art that’s all over twitter, some settphel fans felt so attacked and butthurt that this person drew one picture of Sett and Aphelios with their OC.

The artist didn’t give a shit about their feelings and drew this in response. All I gotta say is power to ‘em.

It’s giving:

You’ll always hear me say, as long as it’s not illegal, gore, incest, etc, ship what you want to ship. I’m also going to add to that, let other people ship what they want to ship. Someone drawing the two characters you like not together and with someone isn’t erasure or a personal attack. Sett and Aphelios aren’t your OCs, and artists can draw them doing whatever they want.

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