#I FINALLY GOT MY TABLET PEN AGAIN WERE SO BACK

[pansy-picnics]

Post vat7k team radical save me

[reallyhardydraws]

2023.

i hope any of you reading this will forgive the essay. i started posting to this art blog ten years ago in 2013 when i was just at the very end of high school, uploading short animations i'd made for one of my final projects, preparing myself for art school where i was gearing up to become an illustration/animation student.

i went into my art foundation course in 2014, still thinking i was going to be going into storybook illustration or with faint hopes of becoming like a concept artist for game/animation, although even then i'd started thinking about patterns...

and then in 2015 i did go into my BA, going in for that illustration with animation degree that... usually when i talk about it in real life, i say didn't really feel like the best place for me. if i think back, the best things i got out of it were two of my best friends, one of whom is now my partner. looking back on my BA era, there's some bits of sketchbook stuff...

and while i was at university my main fandoms were thunderbirds are go and x-men for a bit... these are from the end of 2015 into the beginning of 2016...

then for a little while i was doing this still sort of pastel-ish lineless situation:

and i alternated between that and this thin fineliner type work (pretty sure all of the linearted pieces were done on paper and scanned, and all the lineless were graphics-tablet-only) - it was in this style that i started to offer commissions for the first time too.

and i also had fineliner-lined work in sketchbooks that i coloured with marker and posca pens, the colours of which were generally a bit more intense just based on not being able to slide the hue/saturation around on paper:

also 2016 was when i discovered the spongebob musical just after it's trial run in chicago (which ended in july of 2016) and i started making fanart at that point... which would have the biggest effect on the way i drew (and i did end up handing in a piece of spongebob musical fanart as one of my art school homeworks lmao)

from summer 2016 until early 2017 things were still quite soft and pastelly in my digital art, colour-wise:

and then suddenly everything got whacked up to 100% on saturation. also i was using the binary tool to give everything really thin pixel lineart for some reason.

then i went on vacation in summer 2017 and didn't draw for maybe a month? just short of? and when i came back i decided to change everything up again... giving characters blobbier, more ugly-cute faces with large squinting eyes and big nostrils and i was worrying a lot less about making anything look smooth, lineart-wise. i turned off the pen stabiliser in SAI and let it wiggle.

then... the spongebob musical opened on broadway in late 2017, i went to see it live in person for the first time... and my whole brain was ENTIRELY consumed by my love of it. i was putting that david zinn inspired pattern explosion into everything, even if it wasn't sbm fanart.

as we go into 2018, i started colouring my lineart. my biggest interest was still broadway musicals (with spongebob at the top of the list)

i think summer 2017 - early 2018 is probably my favourite art era, i was at my most bright and colourful and exciting... although i know in my actual real life i was struggling a lot with my home situation and i had been for some time. art was definitely my escapism back then, and i think a lot of the time i drew really bright, joyful stuff to try and inject that feeling into myself.

as for my university work, i was putting my focus into 3D paper-mache puppets:

and i was also starting to do more repeat patterns, mostly inspired by things around me. i'd learned how to make patterns actually tile and repeat in 2017, so made a few during my time at uni just to accompany some of my projects, but never as the focus of them. one of my university tutors told me that maybe i should put more focus on doing surface pattern, and maybe applying it to textiles, but i said i wasn't interested.

i graduated from my BA in the summer of 2018, and immediately began volunteering at the whitworth art gallery doing anything i could - stewarding, helping with arts and crafts, dancing with families...

in 2019 i was still very colourful... i was trying out more chunky colouring on characters skintones that i think was def inspired by tumblr artist jadenvargen:

but the blobbyness and ugly-cute style of drawing faces was gone by here, and i think... the way i drew characters probably had better *anatomy*, proportions were maybe a bit more realistic...

in 2020 i started adding the black shading to under the chins and some other places on characters' bodies because i started watching the anime my hero academia with my brother, lmao (and i was starting to pastelise colours a bit again, these are the most pastel-ish examples) my lineart has really smoothed back out too, though i never turned my pen stabiliser back on in SAI. i think my hand just adjusted. probably seems a bit insane to miss that, but i do.

by the end of 2020, the almost-year of lockdown over cobid had... made me a bit insane, i think, and i moved out of my mother's house and into a flat with a friend from university.

in 2021 i think things were much the same... i think from this point on is where things have sort of settled. i don't want to say stagnated, but i do think things have been very... like this for a while.

2022 - got the most exciting examples out...

also i was very into these little frames in 2022.

and then on to 2023! in 2022, i did begin trying to shift gears a bit -- hoping to put more energy into sewing and making products (like my tutor has suggested back in uni, even though i'd really resisted the idea.) i sold at a few in-person markets during winter of 2022, but got disheartened by the amount of money i had to sink in up front to sign up for a spot...

which has made me VERY grateful for the people who have supported me via online sales. it has really helped me stay afloat in 2023 - AND it has felt more wonderful than i can describe that there have been people interested in my work... especially when a lot of it has been my original designs, rather than the fanart that i expect a lot of people initially followed me for.

i've also... in the past 2 years... branched out a bit more when it comes to 'being an artist' - and have had the opportunity to deliver arts & crafts workshops with local refugee & asylum seeker support charity, afrocats. it's taken me to their home base in a church to hotels across the city where asylum seekers were temporarily placed while waiting on their new homes, and of course to my beloved whitworth art gallery, where we welcomed visitors from all backgrounds: from the typical white middle class visitors the gallery usually expects, to all the refugee visitors coming into the space for the first time.

and through my volunteering at the whitworth, i showed up so often they decided they might as well pay me. so i've also become a facilitator of... creative play sessions, my favourites of which have been outdoors. monthly, year-round, we have 'outdoor art club', where i get to paint with mud and make potions from leaves with kids & families - here you can see me tell you a little bit about it in this video below with 'crempog' a puppet character that makes videos about activities for kids and families around manchester (my bit starts at 01:10 although i am in the intro and thumbnail haha)

and then of course the summer 'PLAYTIME' activities we've had the past two years: scrap studio in 2022, and play market in 2023. it's the best freelance gig ever -- just to hang out and encourage families to be creative and have fun.

in working more in these new avenues... outside of being - as i've called myself for a long time - "an internet artist"... i've found myself more interested in this sort of thing. in being a "real world artist" too. in doing surface pattern design, and being a workshop facilitator, i find myself wanting to put more energy into these sorts of projects.

in 2023 i've also dabbled a little bit more in youtube videos! i have had a channel for a while and have made videos in previous years, but 2023 has been the year i've done the most in. admittedly most of them haven't been about my art, and more just like... random things that interest me (the spongebob musical in particular) but i've really been enjoying video editing. that's kind of an art form too, so i'm including it here!

moving forward, want to keep putting even more of my energy into other things. my shop, with a bigger range of products to offer. workshops in real life, where i can make a difference.

as for my art blog... i feel like i've done the least drawing in many years in 2023, and... well, things have been weird and complicated for a bit in my real life. i hope to draw for fun a bit more again very soon, and to return to doing things in more of a wild and crazy way, to be more creative and exciting with the way i draw things. still, here's some of my favourites from 2023:

thank you so much to everyone who has borne witness to my art journey this past decade!!! i hope you will stick with me, who knows, maybe for another 10 years if tumblr holds out. especially a big thank you to everyone who has ever commissioned me, or bought anything from my store, you literally keep me able to make art at all and i cannot, cannot, cannot overstate how much it means to me.

i'm moving homes soon, possibly into very cramped temporary conditions for a little while before HOPEFULLY starting my real life with my partner. if i can take one more moment to plug my work, then [here is a link to my online shop] and [here is my ko-fi page too.]

cheers, cheers, cheers!

- LOREN 🌈🍍🎉

[di-n]

Partner in Crime

Pairing: Javier Peña x female reader

Summary: One of the things between you and your dream career as an agent is Javier Peña.

Author's Note: English is not my first language! Excuse me if there any mistake, I hope y'all can understand what I'm saying.

Warnings: flirting, tension, fun, mention of drinks, sex - I might add something else on the way.

Part 01 | Part 02

____________

I am looking at the ceiling and trying to sleep as I’m nervous about tomorrow.

The last pre-tests were okay and I did well, but tomorrow is the final test. That determines my future. Everything I’ve been dreaming about.

Besides, there’s one thing that might get in the way. And his name is Javier Peña.

Peña doesn’t want me to get the job. Of course not. I was the kid who used to laugh at him in kindergarten because he pronounced some words incorrectly. But that wasn’t just me. The whole class used to do it. I was just one more. Now I know that is not an excuse and I was not right to do it, but I was a kid. I’ve learned a lot since then and I’m a totally different person now. I just might got the chance to prove that to him now.

But he seems to never forget those years and life happened. He happens to be one of the judges of my tests to become an agent that will work alongside him.

Of course I wouldn’t want to work with him either, but it’s my only chance. I got away from home and now this is the only opportunity I have to make it on my own.

“It’s okay” I think. “You can make it”.

The pre-tests were a bunch of forms we had to fill, but the final test is personal. Besides physical and mental tests, we have a challenge we need to overcome. Whoever do the right things gets to be Peña’s partner.

So I take a deep breath and try again to fall sleep.

I’m up and making my breakfast as I try to stay calm. I decided to make this anxiety my ally and use it in my favor. That means I get there early, get ready and get shit done.

I take a shower, brush my teeth and put on the comfortable clothes I’ve chosen: a white t-shirt, a legging and a white sporty sneakers. I fix up my short hair, grab a bag with some stuff I might need and leave to the department building it’ll take place.

I am not the first one to get there, but the second. That makes my anxiety come back a little bit. But nothing to worry about, I’m super focused.

As I go inside the department, I am told to wait in a big white room with some chairs where my opponent is waiting too. I give him a smile and sit at the back. As some people arrive, I can see through a glass at the wall people walking, coming and going. At some point, my heart almost stops at the glimpse I saw of him. “How am I letting him trough my emotions like this?” I focus again and try to chill. After some minutes the class has about 10 people and a woman comes in. She looks and talks like a leader.

— May I have your attention. Welcome. I am Emily, co-director of the department and today you will be doing your final tests to start your career as an agent. At least one of you. You will be called as soon as possible. Good luck.

She leaves the room and I start to get nervous again. But I don’t even have time to get nervous because I am the first called.

First is the mental test. All it is: a conversation with a psychologist and answer a few questions about how I normally react at some situations.

Then, it’s the physical. I have to push some weights, do some exercises that requires my reflection and fight with a doll.

“I’m doing great so far” I think with myself.

Now the challenge. The part I was most excited about. I am really good at solving things and that’s why I think I gotta a good chance.

I’m lead to another room, like an auditorium, where there’s a bunch of people. I can see Emily through and, of course, my eyes go directly to the corner where Javier Peña is looking right back at me. Everyone is silent.

At the front of the room there’s this big desk with a map, a pen and a tablet. In the tablet, there’s the description of the task. I need to find the criminal to a crime that was committed 15 years ago. There’s some clues and a history I read to and my brain just gets into work. I take my time but I’m betting the time also counts in this, so I am going as fast as I can.

I take about half an hour to find a suspect and I need to speak how I’ve come to that result. I talk on how I found some clues that were not in the description and how I got at the suspect by elimination in that case. I am secure and that reflects in the way I talk, so I feel thankful. When I’m done, Emily says an Okay and tells me I can leave the room.

As I get outside the adrenaline kicks in and I feel my heart accelerating. I’m thinking “have I done everything I could?” “what if I let something pass by me” “what if I got it wrong” I come back to earth when this other woman is trying to talk to me but I wasn’t listening.

— What?

— I said you can come with me.

She leads me into the first room I was, where there’s nobody now, and tells me I can wait there. I go to the same chair I was in the back and wait for the others to come.

I let the anxiety take over me. I am having these negative thoughts. Specially thinking that Peña will do everything to not make me his partner.

Suddenly we are 10 people again in that room and Emily comes in.

— Well done everybody. As you know, you will know the result in three days. You can leave now and good luck.

“Three fucking days”

I go outside needing some coffee – like I’m not anxious enough – and there’s this cafe at the corner of the department building. I go inside and order my coffee. I grab it and when I turn around there’s Peña behind me.

— Jesus! — I almost yelled.

— It’s Javier — he says like this meeting is no big deal — I know you remember.

— Of course. Peña. — I try to chill — Good to see you.

— Really?

— Yes. Sure. I mean, it’s a familiar face.

He smiles with the corner of his mouth.

The waitress is waiting to get his order.

— Next!

— Go ahead. I need to go anyway. Good to see you again!

I leave desperately and embarrassed. As soon as I get home I started thinking “should I have said something different?” “I should have enjoyed the opportunity to ask him about the test” “I should’ve apologized” “for what?” “shit forget it”

I get into bed and try to convince my brain that we have three days of waiting.

[kekaki-cupcakes]

hello!! Hope you’re doing well!!

could you please do a Leo x mortal reader cafe au like the Connor stoll one? And could the reader be a Greek mythology nerd also please have a little brother who she’ll randomly quiz about the Olympian gods?

have a nice day 😚😚

heyyy i didn't get your whole request in but i got the vibe dw and also kind of made a moodpboard for it cause I loved the whole aesthetic and no one requests mood boards <3 LISTEN TO EXPRESSO BY SABRINA!

Leo Valdez x Reader--- cafe au

»»————-　★　————-««

“Hello,” you said, looking up from your screen for a millisecond, “what can I get you today?”

When whoever it was ordering didn’t respond, you raised an eyebrow, hand hovering over the digital menu. The boy frowned at the screen above your head where it listed all the different drinks. He had the nicest brown curls, you noticed, and looked back down before he caught you staring. 

He tapped his fingers quickly on the counter. Sabrina Carpenter's new song was playing over the cafe speakers. It sounded like summer.

“How many espresso shots are you legally allowed to put in one drink?” The boy asked with a crackly voice. He had dark smudges under his eyes. And on his hands. Huh. You really needed a camera to look into at times like this, for comedic effect. Like the office.

“About six,” you said, dropping your customer service voice with a shrug, and opened up a new order on the tablet, your bracelets jingling. “What can I get you today?” 

You loved your bracelets. Some were from that second hand store down the street full of goths and grandmas where you’d bought yet another version of the Odyssey yesterday, and the rest were from your little brother. 

You never admitted it to anyone, but he’d made them based on all your favorite Greek gods. The ones you were wearing today had pomegranate seed charms and antler horn patterns.  

His eyes widened considerably. They were brown. And sparkly. “What happened to your voice?”

You squinted at him. Someone else came into the cafe with three little dogs stuffed into their giant handbag. 

“That was my customer service voice.” Your brain was finally receiving enrichment in messing with this cute greasy boy. You put it on again, paired with a fake smile. “What can I get for you today?” 

He chuckled, and hitched a giant canvas tote bag over his shoulder. There was a giant inked cat with butterfly wings on it, and a long metal pipe sticking out the back. You had a feeling this boy would steal your name if he got ahold of it, or trap you in a ring of flowers deep in a forest.

“Uh,” he trailed off, and then winked, scrunching up his entire face. “Surprise me.”

You blinked at him. How entirely helpful. You watched him pull an entire fucking old fashioned pocketwatch out of his pocket to check the time. 

Medium was the most commonly ordered size of drink, so you selected that, and then a caramel latte with whipped cream. You had that knack that every person in your generation seemed to have been born with. 

Selecting random objects and flavors to match someone’s vibe precisely. You just happened to be a barista. 

For instance, this talkative sleep deprived boy was rocky road slices with peanuts in them, and torn open sugar packets, and caramel. Your coworker, Lou Ellen, who was wiping down tables behind the handbag dog man, was those butterfly shaped ice-cubes and home brewed black coffee from a saucepan and dragon fruit juices.                            And that thick book on Greek mythology she’d bought you for your birthday last year [she’d nicked it from the library and peeled the sticker off]. 

“Four dollars and sixty cents,” you said patronizingly, in your customer service voice. He grinned like you had just invented the funniest inside joke ever, and handed over five dollars in fifty cents coins.

“Keep the change.”

You printed out the receipt and reached for a medium sized cup and the ballpoint pen from a uni campus open day, after pocketing the generous tip of forty cents and a paperclip. 

What a gentleman. “Name?” 

“Leo Valdez, super sized Mcshizzle, bad boy supreme,” Leo Valdez super sized Mcshizzle bad boy supreme said happily, as one of the handbag dogs escaped the bag and started chewing on his laces. 

You desperately needed that camera to look into now. You should be the star of a sitcom at this point, with you as the tired main character dealing with silly customers while desperately longing to go home and read your books, Lou Ellen as the hilarious trashy best friend, Will [your coworker who was currently taking out the trash] as the angry bisexual lumped with the night shift crew, and your little brother, who would pop in at random times in each episode to deliver the punchline.  

Instead of letting the credits roll, unfortunately, you scribbled out an unintelligible scrawl to represent the complete nonsense you were supposed to instead. Your smile was strained this time. “I’ll call you when it’s ready.”

Leo [you assumed that was his name] beamed. “Thanks!”

It was only as you frothed the milk and tried not to burn your fingertips on the spout did you realize that the song was still going. Lou must’ve looped it, as she did with every song ever until she got sick of it and hated it. 

You nodded your head and tipped the bubbling milk into the cup, reaching for the tube of caramel sauce. “Soft skin and I perfumed it for ya, I know I Mountain Dew it for ya.” 

“That morning coffee, brewed it for ya.” You rolled your eyes to no one and tipped the extra caramel sauce into it. It was ten o'clock at night, and your shift had just started. Morning coffees meant college students rushing in at two a.m. so they could finish their projects. 

You shook up the whipped cream. “One touch and I brand-newed it for ya.” 

One of the most satisfying parts of your job, apart from spinning around and introducing yourself as the manager [you are not the manager] when someone demands to see the manager [who comes in once a month, looks around, and leaves again], is the whipped cream. The sound of it and the little pattern it makes just itches a scratch. 

You smile as you finish the swirl, which sinks into the cup of espresso shots and caramel milk. You spin around, “now he’s thinkin’ ‘bout me every night, oh…”   

“Is it that sweet? I guess so,” you hum under your breath, and ducking the spray bottle Lou Ellen launches over your head, you stick a straw in the cup and walk to the bench, where Will’s serving the man with three purse dogs a jelly donut. 

Leo’s digging through his bag while you wait, not bothering to rush him and leave the 24/7 rip off starbucks diner empty. 

You pick up the pen and take the lid off with your teeth, doodling a little cat on the blank bit of the cup. The tail comes out all wrong, and one of the whiskers slides halfway around on the plastic with a scratchy sound. 

You add rushed fairy wings to its soft looking back, and hand the cup over as Sabrina Carpenter sings about being a singer. Her voice is so pretty. Like caramel. “There you go.”

Leo grinned at you, and while you watched in absolute horror, proceeded to pour an entire monster energy drink he’d pulled from his tote bag into the perfectly made coffee. 

“Excuse me?” you whisper shrieked. 

He blinked at you owlishly, and you tried not to notice how warm his eyes looked in the vintage yellow lights of the shop that made everything seem seventies. “What?”

“That’s enough caffeine and chemicals to give a water buffalo a heart attack,” you said, pointing at his awful concoction. It started to fizz. You wondered if the building had chemical reaction insurance.

“I’ve got a lot of work to do,” Leo shrugged, and picked up his cup happily. He looked down at it, and a grin split across his face. “I got a drawing!”

»»————-　★　————-««

It was only a few days later when the bell rattled quietly by the door and you looked up to see Leo and smiled despite yourself, fingers tapping on the cup in your hand, wear the ring you’d made from that paperclip sat, did you realize what role he would play in your heart shaped ice-cubes Sabrina Carpenter soundtracked paperback books late night set ballpoint pen sitcom.

The love interest. 

»»————-　★　————-««

[dumbasslesbi2]

Let Me Read To You ~ Chapter 1 (Agatha x Rio Bookstore AU)

Summary:

Agatha has just finished finalizing her divorce to Wanda and now has to move to a new town with her son Nicholas. When she moves in her neighbors recommend she joins the lesbian book club. However she can't help but fall for the owner of the store, Rio Vidal.

Notes:

Hi! Omg we're back with another series! This one may or may not be longer than the last one and we may or may not be smut in this one.

Agatha needed to leave, she needed a new place to go. She needed a place that would be safe for Nicky, her precious baby boy. She had recently been divorced by her ex wife Wanda, even though she was the toxic one. For the years they were together she had been cheating on Agatha and now basically had a whole other family that Agatha never knew about. Luckily for Agatha, Wanda wanted no custody of their child but that didn't mean the divorce went easily. Agatha said fuck it and drove. She drove and drove with Nicholas until she found a quaint place, Westview. She was able to afford a house there and since she did remote work it didn't matter where they lived. The house had everything she needed, 2 bedrooms and an office for her to work in. She couldn't have been happier with her decision.

“Hi! You must be the new neighbor, I'm Jennifer but you can just call me Jen. Do you need any help?” Jen said, walking up to Agatha who was getting boxes out of her car. “ Oh perfect! Could you please? I didn't realize how much of a pain it would be to take the boxes out of the car than putting them in. My name's Agatha” she told Jen, putting down a box to shake her hand. It was then after the handshake that Agatha heard crying in the house and ran inside to go check on Nicholas. She had already set up his playpen and let him have his tablet but of course he still wanted attention. “What's wrong my precious prince?” She asked Nicholas as she lifted him up. “Wanted Mommy” he said in-between sniffles. “Well, I'm right here, we still need to unpack baby.“ She said, kissing the crown of her son. “Hey Agatha where do you want me to put this one?” Jen asked as she entered the house. “Right here in the living room is fine for now, it's just more of Nicholas’s toys” she told her, still holding her child. “Nicholas, say hello to Jen” she told her son with a smile. “Hi Jen!” He said, giggling. “Why hello there mister. Looks like we're going to be neighbors now” Jen said, taking the small child's hand and shaking it. Nicholas couldn't help but laugh more. Agatha put him back in his play pen and unloaded the rest of the boxes. They got all of them squared away and Agatha thanked Jen for all her help. “If you ever need help just come on over, me or my wife should be home” Jen told Agatha before taking her leave. “Noted, thanks again for all the help!” Agatha said before tending back to Nicholas. 

It took Agatha a couple days to become adjusted to their new lives, she enrolled Nicholas into pre-school since he was only three and he had a tough time being away from his mother. She felt heartbroken that he was crying so often for her but the teachers reassured her that it just takes children a bit to adjust and that he’ll get used to it. She talked to Jen more and even met her wife Alice, after learning about Agatha’s situation they both recommended that she join them for the sapphic book club. Apparently the town had a famous lesbian bookstore that had a lesbian book club that met every saturday. She gave it some thought and said heck with it, she even made sure to book a babysitter for Nicholas. “I’m so happy you agreed to come with us!” Alice said as she was starting the car. “Thank you guys so much for inviting me, I really have to repay you two for all the help you’ve done for me” Agatha said as she was putting on her seatbelt. “Nonsense, everyone deserves friends and a support system” Jen said, fixing her makeup. 

As the three pulled up to the bookstore Agatha couldn’t help but admire it for a moment. It looked old and relic but in a good way, she loved the vintage look of things. “Come on girl!” Jen said to Agatha holding the door. As the three went through Agatha couldn’t help but space out and stare once again. “Rio! We got a new member, this is Agatha!” Alice said, getting the bookstore owner. “Perfect, we really need to recruit more people” Rio said, coming out from the back of the store. Agatha turned around to greet the woman but was speechless. She was absolutely stunned by the woman that appeared before her. Rio was wearing an oversized sweatshirt and some jeans with her big nerdy glasses that she always wore but Agatha couldn’t help but find her adorable. “Oh uh, hi! I’m Agatha” she said to Rio, shaking her head slightly to take herself out of her daze. Little did Agatha know that Rio was doing the exact same thing Agatha was. Rio couldn’t stop herself from checking out the total milf that Agatha was. Even though Agatha was also in casual wear just wearing a button of shirt and some jean, Rio thought Agatha was the sexiest milf she ever laid eyes on. “Hi, I’m Rio” she said, taking Agatha’s hand and kissing her knuckles. Jen and Alice couldn’t help but snicker, they kind of planned on this happening especially since Rio was a total milf lover. “Follow us to the next room, that’s where we hold our meeting, we should be all set to start” Rio said, showing Agatha over to their reading room. It was a candle lit room with a very calming vibe that Agatha couldn’t only think of as eternal and unworldly. In the room was already another woman, much older than the rest of the group. “Oh a new member, how exciting!” said the lady, already sitting down. “Lilia, this is Agatha, our newest member” Rio said as she was grabbing a book. “Hi! It’s nice to meet you” Agatha said, taking Lilia’s hand and shaking it. 

The women spent two hours talking about different sapphic books but also talked about town drama and problems in their own lives. Also complaining how homophonic the small town could be. Agatha didn’t know anything about the town before moving but she learnt that the town had deemed them as “witches” and thought of their book club as a “coven of witches”. Agatha couldn’t help but laugh at the names, being unused to such labels since she came from a big city. “Besides that though, most town folk don’t care about us and leave us alone” said Alice, giggling with Agatha. “You should have seen this town before the club and bookstore, it used to be horrible when I was growing up. Now you all can at least be yourselves” Lilia said, thinking of her olden days. “That’s why I built this bookstore as soon as I got enough from all my books,” Rio said with a chuckle. “Books? Do you write?” Agatha asked, looking over at Rio. “Yeah, my Rio Vidal if that helps” Rio said before getting up to get some snacks and drinks for the club. Agatha was starstruck, she thought Rio’s name sounded familiar. Rio was a famous sapphic author, known for writing pure lesbian smut. She had actually gotten into hot water since one of her books were being picked up by a large teen audience and many parents thought Rio was trying to turn their kids gay. Once Rio came back with the snack, the group picked up conversation again for about an hour or so before everyone deemed it time to leave. 

“Oh Agatha, can I actually talk to you before you leave?” Rio asked, winking at Jen and Alice. “We’ll be waiting in the car!” Jen said to her before Agatha could even respond. “I- oh, sure, what is it Rio?” Agatha asked, helping Rio clean up. “By any chance are you free tonight or maybe tomorrow? I would love to take a lady like you out and about” Rio said, smiling at her. “Oh! Um, I think tonight would be good, I have a babysitter for the day so I’m free right now if you wanna maybe go out?” Agatha, trying her best to maintain eye contact with Rio. “Perfect, why don’t you tell Jen and Alice while I close up shop” Rio said, hurrying to clean the store. Agatha went outside and told Jen and Alice what happened, getting an instant approval and congrats from the two. Rio was outside quickly, with a jacket on while she was locking the store. “Have a fun date you two!” Alice said before the two of them drove away. Agatha couldn’t help but blush, it only just hit her right then that she was on a date with the Rio Vidal. “So, what’s on the agenda?” Agatha asked, looking up at the woman. “I was thinking maybe a small stroll in the park and dinner? They’re both walking distance from here so up to you” Rio said, offering her arm.

“So what made you pick a quiet and small town like Westview to move to?” Rio asked as they arrived at the park. “I don’t want to spoil the mood but let’s just say I unfortunately got a divorce” Agatha said, wincing hoping that Rio would still want her. “Ouch, that’s rough. If you wanna ever talk about it, I’m all ears.” Rio said, tugging on Agatha’s arm more. Agatha couldn’t help but smile at Rio’s response, it was the first time she felt actually comfortable and open with someone since the divorce. “Thank you, it’s just been rough having to raise a three year old on my own” Agatha said with a groan. “Aw I’m sorry, I bet you have a cute kid though” Rio said, smiling down at Agatha again. “The cutest, his name’s Nicholas” Agatha told her, getting her phone out to show her a picture. “Yup, I was right. Cutest kid I’ve ever seen” Rio said with a chuckle. “Thank you” Agatha said, giving Rio a kiss on the cheek. She couldn’t help herself anymore, she thought Rio was so cute laughing and the least she could do was kiss her on the cheek. Rio instantly blushed and tried to calm herself down. “Do you wanna sit at that bench? We’ve been walking for a minute” Rio asked, hoping that sitting would help her from being flustered. “Sure!” Agatha said, letting Rio take the lead. “So what made an author like yourself choose such a small town to live in?” Agatha asked, playing with Rio’s fingers. “Honestly, I got tired of the big city and wanted a break from so many people,” Rio said, still blushing. “Oh I couldn’t agree more. I just hope Nicholas doesn’t mind growing up here” Agatha said with a sigh. “He’ll be fine as long as he has you” Rio said, smiling once again at Agatha. There was a moment of quietness as the two just enjoyed each other’s company. Agatha hadn’t felt this at ease with someone else for some time now and was relishing in the feeling. “Do you wanna head over to the restaurant, it’s only a block away from here” Rio asked. “Yeah, that sounds good” Agatha said, clearing her throat to take her mind off of wanting to kiss Rio. 

As they walked to the restaurant they kept asking questions about each other, trying to get more info out of each other. As they arrived at the place, Rio held the door out like the gentleman, well gentlewoman in this case, that she was. They got situated in a booth and ate while also drinking a glass of wine each. Agatha hadn’t had a date go this well since the divorce and was scared of how much she was attracted to Rio. Rio couldn’t help but feel the same, it had been long since she had a date go this well, especially in a small town like this with such a small lesbian population. Agatha couldn’t help herself and excused herself to go to the bathroom to calm down. However, Rio decided to follow her after a minute of waiting. As soon as Rio saw it was just Agatha in the bathroom, she held her by the hips and kissed her. Agatha was taken aback for a moment but then reciprocated the kiss. They stayed like that for a minute or two before leaving the kiss. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself” Rio said with a giggle and her and Agatha’s foreheads touched. “No don’t worry, I’m happy you followed me” Agatha said, also laughing at their antics. “Making me feel like I'm in highschool” Agatha told Rio, pecking her lips. “How about I pay for the bill and we get out of here” Rio asked,swaying their bodies. “That sounds perfect, thank you” Agatha said, stealing another kiss. 

As the two walked back to Rio’s bookstore they couldn’t help but laugh and steal kisses here and there. “Let me drive you home gorgeous,” Rio said as they stopped at her bookstore. “Well, if you insist” Agatha said, giggling and kissing her cheek. “I do, come on” Rio said, taking Agatha’s hand and taking her behind the bookstore. Rio opened the passenger door for Agatha to which Agatha couldn’t help but tease her about it. “Quite the charmer I see” Agatha said, giving Rio another peck on the cheek. Rio closed the door gently as she ran over to the driver’s side. “What can I say, I can’t help myself with such a pretty lady” Rio told her, shifting the car to drive. The car ride was silent but that was only because of how much Agatha was admiring Rio. As Rio pulled up to Agatha’s home she was almost sad that their time together was ending. “I don’t know if this is too forward but can I see you tomorrow?” Rio asked, playing with the rings on her hand. “Let me ask if Jen and Alice can look after Nicholas. If they say yes then I would love nothing more but to see you tomorrow” Agatha said, taking Rio’s hand and kissing it. Rio couldn’t help but blush, “If they say no, they’re banned from book club” she said jokingly. “I wouldn’t mind if we kicked out everyone and just had it be the two of us” Agatha told Rio, winking at her. Rio short circuited and had no snarky reply, she could only blush and be flustered in her seat. Agatha reached in her purse to give her number to Rio before giving her a goodbye kiss. “Call me” she said with a wink before getting out of the car. Rio sighed a breath of relief as she started putting Agatha’s number in her cell. 

Agatha greeted her son and the babysitter. She thanked them for taking care of her son and paid them for their service. Once she was alone with her son, she sat on their couch and let out a sigh she didn’t know she was holding. She felt her phone buzz and already saw a text message from Rio. 

Hi sexy lady. Can’t wait to see you tomorrow, tonight was amazing 💚

Agatha couldn’t help but smile at the text as she was replying back with her own snarky remarks

Sexy? Have you not seen yourself honey? We’ll see what Jen and Alice say about tomorrow. Hopefully we can see each other. Tonight was perfect, can’t wait till the next time 😘💖💖

Agatha put her phone away and spent the rest of the night getting Nicky to bed while also doing her own night routine. She thought about all the kisses her and Rio shared while laying in bed, hoping that she could see Rio tomorrow . It had been less than a day and she was already falling for her. 

[doshiart]

🖤 ART TAG 🖤

Hey to all artists! I want to talk about our art journey. Some of us have a long path, some have started only recently, but each of us has had our own individual path and I think it's really important to remember how we all started. And it's also important to share it with others so that no one would be scared to start their own journey and just create.

How did you start drawing? What year was it that you become more seriously and consciously interested in it?

As everyone I'll say I've been drawing since early childhood, but I think the end of 2019 is my beginning. Because that's the time I started to practice actively.

When you felt the urge to share your art with other people? When did you start posting your drawings on social media?

Maybe it's always been? I think for the first time I posted something traditional drawn on my personal social media. I started my art socials in 2020.

Your first/earliest drawing. What were your impressions of it back then and what are your feelings now?

It's hard to track my very first drawing, but here are the early traditional drawings and my very first digital hand drawing. It was before I got a tablet, so it was drawn with a mouse. My impressions? My hand was tired... But if seriously back then it looked like something cool to me and I was surprised that I could draw something like that. Now, of course, I can see all my mistakes. But let's be honest, any mistake is a move forward.

🚧 ALARM 🚧

My very first attempts after getting a tablet.

Should I mention that I was upset at the first second that it didn't work out on the first try?

Your first fanart ever

I had a lot of traditional drawings of Adventure Time (I'm a big fan of Marceline). It's roughly a little over a decade ago.

But in digital, I guess this? Snufkin and The Groke from Moomin stories. [aug 8, 2020]

Your first gallavich fanart

Hi babies! This post and this post.

[nov 27, 2023] - oh my god it's almost a year???

But what if I told you that my sister asked me to draw Cameron Monaghan… Who knew that ten years later I'd be drawing him once again...

When you had bad days and things didn't work out, what inspired you to keep trying?

I just need to rest, try again, or think about what exactly goes wrong. When I started my path as a digital artist I was very inspired by the older work by 'big artists'. No one is perfect at the first moment and there is always a long road of striving and practice behind cool works. And I knew that the more I tried, the more I could consider myself 'cool' too. (spoiler: that feeling is still with me)

Show your old piece that you strongly dislike and tell why.

It's a hard choice. I stopped liking a lot of my work after a time, but this one was initially a struggle. I really didn't like how it looked in the end. I wasn't able to draw it as I wanted, and had problems with the face and dynamics. But the background is cool! (A lot of the work you don't like has some good in it!)

Renee and Andrew from AFTG [dec 5, 2021]

Show your old piece that you very like and tell why. What's the difference with the previous?

I love the shading and the face, especially eyes. And i still love this drawing! Face looks better than previous and hair has a dynamic, and the expression is really good.

Buck Toothsome from School for vampires [nov 8, 2021]

Show your old piece that you were very proud of back then.

I really loved this study redraw!

Ginny with Marcus from Ginny & Georgia [june 22, 2021]

Do you do any practice sketches or warm-ups before you draw something big?

I've started to do it recently! I'd forgotten how many sketches I made in sketchbooks when I was studying drawing.

I tried to change the pen pressure.

Sketch vs Final. Show your process.

Actually, it's been a tough process.

Your most recent drawing.

I'm working on my secret santa's gift right now, so I can't share it 🤭But here's my last sketch during warm-up session 🤲🖤

Give yourself some praise! Look at what improved in your art!

I just want to say that four years ago I would've been shocked by my current drawings. I've really improved in drawing faces and anatomy, I'm trying new interesting composition, trying to learn new things and use it in my works.

Any advice you'd give to your earlier self?

Do more thinking while creating your art. Do a sketches warm-ups before digging into the big work. Don't be afraid to draw it again if something doesn't work. Take breaks to physically exercise!

Set a goal for yourself for the coming year.

I want to improve facial expressions. Make a professional portfolio. Keep growing and enjoying drawing.

I want to see more your drawings...

@deathclassic @suzy-queued @kiennilove @gallapiech @spookygingerr

@konaiiro @michellemisfit @heymrspatel @vintagelacerosette @sgtmickeyslaughter

@burninface @lingy910y @crossmydna @deedala

[being-addie]

How to have a productive study session.

When your finals are in 2 days, and you've definitely NOT studied enough, it's normal to panic. You sit down to study and get a solid 30 minutes of calculus done, then jump down the rabbit hole called YouTube. Soon enough the dread creeps up because you're still not done.

As a girl who doesn't attend school regularly due to coaching classes I go to (I'll expand on this later), it's pretty easy to forget to study for exams and projects.

But there's nothing better than getting 98% on that exam. So I'm writing this as someone who's been scoring straight As all my life. Here's how to have a productive study session:

Note: This isn't a guide for romanticising studies. This is meant for a serious, productive session. I will, however, be making a guide to help romanticise studies because I've found it helps a lot.

Before you study

Identify what your distractions are: Let's be real, almost everyone has their phone on hand during study sessions. Put your phone on Do Not Disturb and keep it in a corner of the room. Add a few selected contacts that can reach you while your phone is on DND. If you can turn off notifications entirely, do that.

Taking measures: After I keep my phone away, my brain turns to the next thing it could be distracted by. My laptop and tablet. Put those devices in focus mode, so you won't be tempted to use any other apps and use a Chrome extension like StayFocused or WasteNoTime to not get sidetracked.

Resources: Make sure you have all your material on hand. Video lectures, notes, guides, your formula sheet, and flash cards. Keep everything on hand so you won't have to rifle through papers to find that reference sheet.

Your space: Clean your desk. Keep only the things you need. Your pens and pencils, chargers, annotation material and water bottle. If you want, light a candle. Do not clutter it unnecessarily. Your desk is a sacred space. Treat it that way.

When you sit down

The checklist: Do you have all the material required? Electronics, chargers, a snack and a drink? Water bottle? Extra pen? If you have everything beforehand, you'll be less likely to lose focus because you forgot to charge your headphones.

Make a plan: I cannot stress this enough. You'll sit down and just start studying, and next thing you know, it's 7pm and all you've done is watch videos on celebrity drama. Make a goddamn plan. Write down a realistic number of chapters you can complete and then STICK TO IT.

Begin: Reread and review your notes. I usually like to rewrite my notes in neater handwriting, because my handwriting in class is appalling. To really solidify information, I recommend the 'Blurting' method. Read a paragraph, then close the book and say what you understood out loud. Reread to see what you missed and take note. I did this for my history exam and got a 100%. This shit works for a reason. Use the Pomodoro technique to maximise productivity. Set an alarm for 25 minutes, and do intensive study. Once that's done, take a 5-minute break. Return and repeat.

IMPORTANT

Take a break: Ah yes, if you don't get up every 40 minutes or so for a break, eventually whatever you're studying will start looking like garbage and you'll be back to square one. GET UP. Walk around. STRETCH. You've been looking like a croissant🥐. Eat something. Rehydrate.

Forgive yourself: If you couldn't hit your target, don't be harsh on yourself. Find out the cause: Were you distracted? Did something unavoidable come up? Then try to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Study buddy: This is a double-edged sword. Studying with a friend can either increase your productivity by a massive amount, or it can help you get absolutely zero work done. When revising with a friend, make sure you study with someone who has the same goals as you and won't get distracted by things.

It's 2023, procrastination is cancelled. Go drink some water, eat a granola bar and finish that assignment you've been delaying. Be the person who finishes all their work, on time and perfectly. You can do it.

<3

[gggreengoblin]

3.1 K words. It is 3rd part of my Girl!Daniel fic. Part 1 | Part 2

Summary :: During an argument, Daniel said something she shouldn't have said to Max. She had to navigate the consequences of her rash action.

She was seated in the passenger seat of a rental car and couldn't stop herself from jigging her legs along the beats of the rap song. She had been away from a circuit for too long. Excitement was fueling her body. Once again, her system was flooded by adrenaline, making her feel alive.

"Please stop, Daniel. You are making me anxious." The driver said. Well, he was, technically, not a driver. Just a Red Bull crew who picked her up from the airport.

Daniel warped her hands around her jeans-cladded knees. "Ah, sorry. I am just excited. I've been stuck in England for weeks. It's nice to be able to travel again."

"I heard about that," he said. "I think it is a bad idea, really. If I could afford to live in Monaco, I would leave London in a heartbeat. And for you, to do the opposite is-" he made a hand gesture with his right hand while the other holding the steering wheel.

"Nuts, right? It only took me two weeks to realize it was a bad idea." She laughed at her own stupidity.

It was silly of her to think moving would solve her problem. It was a mistake– a big one. Turns out London was too lonely, too cold, and bleak for Daniel's taste. And nothing could help her feel better there.

The only thing she could think about was her old normal. She missed traveling, sunny days, and a friend who would visit her whenever he could. So when Red Bull told her to prepare herself to do some testing during the Fp1, she was overjoyed. She packed her bags and suitcases, shoving her racing gears, which were still inside an unopened cardboard box.

They wanted her to arrive at the media day morning. So she boarded the plane, put her Red Bull polo on once she arrived at the airport, and went straight to the circuit.

When they arrived, the paddock was bustling, full of journalists and crews. They interviewed and took pictures of the drivers like they could get enough of them. Some of them said hello to her. The PR team snapped some pictures of her while she was dragging her suitcase and bags through that overcrowded place.

"Hi, guys!" She waved at the camera. And they waved back.

She unpacked her suitcase in her driver's room. She took out her racing gears and hung them in the small closet. For a moment, she let herself admire her racing suit. Oh, how she loved its color, but she loved it more because it had her name and flag printed on its waist.

And then she went to the garage. She met with her newly found engineer friends, the ones she bugged whenever she felt the need to do something during her weeks-long exile in England. They were already working; paper, pens, and tablets were scattered around the long table. She stood among them, trying to mimic her surroundings.

Heavy technical talk bore her, so Daniel wandered and walked around the garage. She ran her hand on every surface there, just a ghost of touch, not moving things or pushing any buttons. She wanted to burn this experience into her core memory because it might be her last time being inside an F1 garage as a driver, even just as a test driver.

When the engineers had finished their discussion, she approached one of them, who was standing in front of the monitor, reading his notes. She greeted him. She knew that man, Theo. He was a friendly Englishman.

"I didn't know we would use Max's garage. So cool," she said.

He just smiled and showed her his black binders. "Look at this." He explained to her what they would do the next day. "I think it would be great to finally test it out with a real car because the sim test data is immaculate. Thanks to you, we have more than enough data from the sim."

"Yeah. I can't wait." Honestly, Daniel didn't understand half of the things Theo said, but she got the picture. It was okay, she would get a detailed explanation during the briefing anyway.

"I feel like building a rocket ship, not a car."

She understood what he meant. These cars were beasts. Fast and reliable. Some people had already called them rocket ships.

A big hand squeezed her left shoulder lightly. Max was standing beside her. "I heard you were here," he said, a little breathless. Clearly, he was running away from his media duty and sneaked to the garage.

Like everyone in this garage, he was clad from head to toe with their merch. There was something different about him that she could not put a finger on yet. But she noticed his new cologne. It was sweeter than usual, with maybe a little bit of a chocolate undertone in it.

"What's up, Maxy? Do you miss me already?" She offered him her biggest smile.

"Do you miss me?"

"I asked first." There was a hope in her heart that he would say he missed her. She had limited their texting for the last few weeks. It would be impossible for her to move on if they were still texting every single day.

"I do miss your cookies."

"Only my cookies?" she teased. "Too bad, I didn't bring any."

"I need to talk to you about something. Can we move to somewhere more private?" Max said, out of the blue.

Daniel looked at Theo who just gave them a knowing glance. "I need to go back to work." He gathered his papers and put them back inside his binder. "See you later, Daniel. Bye, Max."

"Can we go to your driver's room?" Max said after Theo left. It was an unusual request. They didn't hang out in their driver's rooms.

"Yeah." Curiosity got the best of her sometimes. "What's going on?"

Max led her into the narrow hallway, exiting the garage. "Who is he?"

"Our engineer. A friend. Why?"

"Great. So you still like your mysterious guy?"

"I guess."

"When will you have time to visit Monaco?"

She opened her door and let them in. "Sorry, it's a mess." She pushed her suitcase and bags that were lying around on the floor to the corner of the room. "I can visit you during winter break, maybe before Christmas. Why?"

"Daniil just broke up with his girlfriend. If you want, Kelly and I can arrange dinner for you."

She froze. "Dinner with Daniil?" She turned around and faced Max, who had a blank look on his face. "Wow! What? Did I- did I miss something?"

"You like him, right? I want you to be happy, Daniel. If he can do that, I will do anything to make it happen."

"Oh my god, I can't believe it! You two are so cruel!" The thought of Max and Kelly discussing her dating life made her blood boil. And for them playing matchmaker, arranging Daniel a date with Kelly’s ex not the least, was unbelievably evil.

"You said you like him!"

"I never said that!" she said, raising her voice. "You made your own conclusion. Just leave it alone, yeah. Why do you have to always bring it up? Every single conversation we have had has always ended with you bringing this topic up." She wished she never opened her mouth and blabbed her feelings to Max. If she knew Max would be obsessed with this, then she would have buried this secret even deeper.

"I just want to help, Daniel."

"But your help only makes things worse."

"Then tell me what I can do!"

"Just let it go, yeah. It would be better for us if you just left it alone."

"No. I know you are miserable. Let me do something. Tell me. Just tell me who it is, Daniel. I promise I will shut up after this."

"It's you, alright," she said.

The room became quiet. Max just stood there, looking directly at her, not blinking. She could hear her heartbeats in her ears. She felt her palms become wet and cold. She wished she could disintegrate and become a pile of dust, gone, blown away by the wind.

She cleared her dry throat, trying to find her voice. "Can we move on, now?"

"What do you mean?" He finally said something after a minute of silence.

"Max, I'm sorry. Please forget it, okay? I don't mean to say that. My feelings will pass, and everything will go back to normal. I don't want to ruin everything. Shit." She opened the door and gently pushed him out of her driver's room. But he was larger and stronger. He didn't even budge.

"I love you too."

"No, you don't." She tried again, pulling on his bare front arm, trying to drag him out of her private room. She just wanted to be alone and hide in her room, God damn. "Don't make fun of me like this."

There was no point in trying to make a grown man move when he didn't want to. So she left him there. She ran back to the garage while doing her breathing exercises to calm herself down. She knew Max was trailing behind her. She could feel his gaze behind her head.

She found Theo's notebook lying on the table, unattended. She opened that binder with her shaking and sweaty hand, pretending to read. She was trying to look busy, so no one talked to her.

"I was not making fun of you," Max said with a hushed voice. He was standing close to her, too close, so no one could hear what he said.

Daniel scanned the garage. She was grateful there was no camera pointed at them. It would be a nightmare if people knew. Sure, Netflix would put their conversation in the documentary if they caught them in a video. "Not now, Max. I need to focus on tomorrow's testing." She took a step away from him.

"Daniel, there you are!" said a crew member from across the garage. She walked closer to them. "I was checking your room to make sure you got everything you needed, and I noticed you didn't have your balaclava. They said that you bring your own gear now."

"Sweet, I might have left them in my bedroom," Daniel said bitterly.

"It's okay, we'll find one."

.....

After she was done with the day, she packed her things from her driver's room and went to the hotel. She took a quick shower and changed her clothes. She was grateful to see that the black silk blouse she brought was not totally crumpled. She put a little makeup on her face- just a hint of color on her tired face. The humid air of the city made her curls difficult to manage, so she straightened them and tied them into a ponytail. She put a bandage on her bleeding thumb and then left the hotel.

She let out a sigh of relief when he got into the taxi the hotel had ordered for her. She asked the driver to take her to the shopping district of the city.

She opened her phone, which had been vibrating every few minutes for the last hour. She received several messages and missed calls from Max. She turned her phone off and kept it in the small sling bag she carried.

Daniel visited several unique shops on the street but didn't buy anything. Occasionally, she met fans who recognized her. They greeted her and some asked for selfies with her. She didn't mind.

She ends up visiting a cafe. She stopped by because she smelled the freshly baked pastry from inside of the cafe. She ordered some pastries and a cup of fancy latte to brighten her mood.

She sat in the corner, far from the big front windows. She didn't want to be disturbed. She wanted to dwell on her thoughts in peace for a bit. She didn't want to touch on what happened a couple of hours earlier. She wanted to put the memory in an imagination box and lock it, but she couldn't. It kept appearing in her consciousness even when she kept pushing it away.

Daniel wanted to blame it on Max. Because he had pushed her into confessing her feelings to him. But, can she? Maybe it was because of the nature of emotion. You can only suppress it for a certain period of time; after that, it will bleed. Like pushing a bubble of air inside water, the bubble would always surface.

It was already said. She couldn’t take it back. The only thing she could do now was navigate the disastrous aftermath. Maybe this was the end of their friendship. Was it a friendship if she had not thought of Max as “only a friend” for years?

She ate the cake and sipped her latte slowly. She savored them until she felt like several hours had passed. She asked the waiter what time it was; it was 8 o'clock. A good time to go back to her hotel. She needed a good night's sleep for tomorrow anyway.

When Daniel returned to her hotel, she found Max pacing in the hallway of her room. He played with his phone while putting one of his hands on his hip. When he saw Daniel, he immediately pocketed his phone and walked towards Daniel's door.

"Where have you been? I've been waiting in front of your door for almost an hour." He cranked his head to talk to her. With her heels on, she was a couple of inches taller than him.

"Jeez, everyone has their own thing going on, Max. Besides, you didn't tell me you would be here, right?"

Max observed Daniel's appearance from head to toe, lingering on her neck, where she put her dainty silver neck chain on. "Dinner?" he said.

"No, thanks. I'm good."

"I mean, did you just come back from dinner?"

"No, I was just walking around. Window shopping. What do you want?"

"Can we talk about earlier?"

"Do we really need to talk about it? Listen, I'm sorry. It was so selfish of me. I shouldn't have said anything."

"Can we talk inside your room? I— I need to explain everything to you."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Max."

"So you want to talk here? Okay," he said nonchalantly with a shrug.

Daniel looked around. There were only them in the hallway, but who could guarantee that no one would eavesdrop on their conversation? She took the key card from her bag, opened the door, and let them in.

"Please, be quick. What do you want to explain?" Daniel put her bag on the nightstand and took off the high heels while sitting on the edge of her bed. She massaged the soles of her feet. They were sore from her long walk.

Max stood there, four feet in front of her. She can still smell the circuit's aroma that clings to his skin and clothes. He took off his cap and ran his right-hand fingers through his hair. "I want you to know that I have been loving you for years."

Dumbfounded, she stared at him. She said nothing because her brain was overwhelmed by his confession.

"You don't believe me, do you?" Max said.

She shook her head. She felt her heart stop beating. She gripped the bedsheets. Trying to remember her grounding exercise. Who would believe him, though? When a guy who was in a long-term relationship with another woman told you that, it sounded like a lie, right?

"I broke up with her right after our conversation in the garage. Daniel, I was with her because I thought you only saw me as a friend."

She still couldn't process what she had just heard.

"Say something, Daniel."

"Ah, yeah– I–" she tried to form a sentence. She cleared her constricting throat and took a deep breath. "Max, that's so wrong."

"I want to be with you."

It took her back to a couple of years earlier. Daniel remembered what had happened to her at that time. Rumors had circulated that she was the reason one of her friends broke up with his girlfriend. It made her head spin, and she tasted a bitter sensation in her tongue.

"We can't! You just broke up like hours ago! I want to retire. I want to enjoy my last months of racing in peace, Max. The last thing I need is to be followed by drama everywhere I go. If people find out—if she tells the media why the two of you broke up—they will hunt me down." She still remembered how every interview she did always discussed that gossip. How they monitored and analyzed Daniel's interactions with her male friends. She wished she would never have to go through that again. 

Max took her clammy hands, enveloping them in his bigger ones. His hands were freezing too. Maybe she was not the only one who felt lost, they were in the same sinking boat after all. "We are not celebrities," he said, "nothing will happen."

"Oh, you don't remember. They will find out and paint me as the bad guy. It did happen years ago, even when I had nothing to do with that breakup. I don't want to be put in that situation again."

''I didn't tell her anything about you. I will be okay, Daniel."

"She will know, Max. You broke up after we saw each other for the first time in weeks." Kelly was a smart woman. She surely would put two and two together. And if she were a cunning person, she would make this public to gain more attention, clicks, and followers. She could turn her misery into money.

"If something happens, I will take care of it. I promise. I will tell the PR in the morning." He held her hands tighter. “Give us a chance."

"We can't be together now, at least not yet. We will screw things up if we rush into this. We are not thinking clearly." She pulled her hands from his hold and stood up. There was a need to put some distance between them. This closeness felt too much, suffocating.

"We just found out about each other's feelings this morning. And I think you are downplaying your feelings for her, too. You're not a heartless monster, Max. If you feel nothing, you won't spend years in a relationship with her. Let's wait."

“How long do we have to wait?” He looked at her with his doe, pleading eyes.

“I don’t know.”

[ryemackerel]

any tips for starting on digital art? I've got a little wacom tablet and downloaded krita and I'm having fun but it feels like theres some kind of barrier that isnt letting me transfer traditional skills I've learnt over to digital

hey!! so i used to be exactly like this a ton of years back. my first time really getting serious with digital was around 2015, but i definitely remember how difficult it was transferring my traditional art skills to digital. here’s some advice :]

at first, although it will be difficult to get over that barrier, LOTS of practice will help you get into the groove of things again. going to digital art after being solely traditional changed my style a lot to begin with. with new mediums/programs, your art style is *bound* to change a little bit. at first i didn’t really like how my digital style looked, but i started to realize the more i drew, the more my art skills started to shine through. switching up mediums (ex: from traditional to digital) might even help you acquire a new art style that you might like :D

another thing! before i used a tablet for the first time back in 2022, i used to love just drawing with my finger on my phone and use pencil + paper. as soon as i started using a wacom tablet, the feeling was incredibly weird? though, i always liked to treat my tablet as its own pencil and paper.

trying to visualize this helped me immensely with traditional to digital. since you did traditional beforehand, i think starting off with a pen and tablet is a great gateway to starting digital art. pen+paper vs pen+tablet is almost identical to each other, the only thing being that the pen+tablet is more digital.

and! with digital, there is absolutely *no limits* to what you can put on your canvas. i highly implore you to experiment with as many brushes as you like, edit your art with effects, add textures, and go crazy with the shading and lighting. :) eventually you will definitely find a brush you’ll love, and from there things will feel much more comfortable to figure out.

again!! this takes a lot of practice and effort to really make your art skills shine through, and it will take a while to finally get used to it and make a piece you’re going to like. but eventually you might find yourself enjoying digital art, and i hope this advice guides you along that journey <3

————

(somewhat related but my switch from wacom tablet to ipad was SO rocky. it took ages for me to try and transfer my tablet skills to my ipad, and procreate felt uncomfortable for me to use. however, eventually i got over that barrier and now i use procreate and ipad as my main sources :] hopefully this helps inspire you)

(left: november-december 2022 vs right: november-december 2023!! one full year of using procreate!)

(the old ones had duller colors and less defined sharpness/lines. they look cool but i wasn’t proud of how dull they were. in the new ones, i feel like ive started gaining a mastery of the program and my art is now super vibrant again :] )

[yononart]

no new art yet, so let me yap a bit about my Tav/D&D rogue Aerin - did the same kind of post on bluesky so I might as well share stuff here!

art improvement journey under the cut! This is gonna be long and I'm also gonna talk about some stuff I went through over the years as an online artist.

Around 2016-2017 I started playing D&D with a group of friends, so of course I chose the rogue class to start. My DM did not allow drow characters for whatever reason, so Aerin at the time was just a random elf lol. I did not care much since I was very new to D&D.

This is what she looked like in 2017, my very first art of her:

big purple anime eyes lmao. what even is that shading...

I grew very attached to her during our campaign, roleplaying a smartass rogue that somehow always landed 19 on Perception checks was definitely fun, so of course I had to draw her again. Her skintone changed to be more tanned, her eyes changed color, but she was pretty much the same.

early 2018 (left) and late 2018 (right) art of her:

definitely looks better with golden-ish eyes

Sadly our campaign ended when the whole group parted ways and the DM kinda disappeared from our lives, yet I still loved my character a lot! I wanted to keep her alive, even without a D&D campaign!

I tried drawing her again in 2020-ish (I think?), but I never finished this:

Looking back, I can really see how much my style changed from anime to whatever it is now. Lmao. The 2020 wip is definitely closer to what I was trying to achieve at the time.

Back in the days I used to be very active on deviantART and Tumblr, but also joined IG for funsies. And oh gods, it was the worst idea I ever had in my entire life. While in 2015-2017 I was extremely productive, I started to slow down a lot, drawing just for the purpose of getting attention. I tried to draw things that were likely to be liked, or DTIYS stuff I didn't even care about. I was extremely uninspired because of how much I tried to please others and not myself.

Unfortunately that is when the big old artblock demon got me - I stopped drawing from 2020 to...2023? Pretty much. Maybe even earlier than that. Just a couple sketches here and there, but many and many months passed with me not even trying to draw anything. The "pressure" of trying to get some likes, being acknowledged etc was what made me stop drawing. I felt extremely unwell about what my art looked like, it was not good enough, I kept trying to change my artstyle to whatever, kept comparing my stuff to other people's works, it really became stressful to even hold a pen. I was pretty sad, cause in my most productive years I drew whatever came to my mind without giving a single f about anything. I completely lost this mentality over the years, so I stopped drawing.

Then Baldur's Gate 3 came out and oh my god. Holy hells.

I kid you not when I say this mf game did wonders to my creativity. Ngl, I already was in the mood for trying to get back to art - I bought a new graphic tablet (smaller, more comfy to use), tried out different brushes, followed some tutorials here and there, sketched a bit whenever I had the time to do it. But Baldur's Gate 3 really dragged me back to that carefree mentality I was yearning for. And after a "trial" run with a random character me and my partner created together, I OF COURSE had to bring back to life my beloved rogue. And finally turned her into a drow, heheh.

In no time I started drawing again, having no idea how to do anything anymore, kinda scared of how the result would look like and boom. Here we go, with Aerin again.

(left) more simple style VS (right) painted kinda style?

I do not think I am especially good at art. I lack many things (I suck at anatomy and proportions, it takes me ages to finish one piece) but...I can still see the improvement, even after years of not doing anything. It really surprised me. I never stopped observing art - I did not draw, but my eyes were still trained - and somehow this reflected in how I draw nowadays.

I am extremely grateful to this game. It fueled me so much with creativity I literally have too many ideas and things I want to draw (but no time lol), and I don't even care too much about what others may think. I am drawing again for myself, not to please others. I draw what I want.

And honestly, all this big post was just to say:

If you feel overwhelmed by socials and art isn't fun anymore, take a break. It doesn't matter if it's long or short - just take a break. Do not ruin things for you because of a couple of likes or whatever. Instead, try to keep the fun alive. It doesn't matter if your artwork doesn't get shared or liked a billion times. Your art is not worth the number of likes it gets. And if you have fun drawing your stuff, just do it! If you don't have fun in the process, the result is gonna suck for sure. At least for you.

And what if the result is not so good? FUCK IT!!! You cannot improve unless you work hard. You cannot improve unless you draw and keep your eyes trained. Consume art, draw, do whatever works best for you. Every artist, even the best you can think about, started from ugly sketches and cringe art. And keep your old art at hand - you may not notice it yet, but after a year or two go back to your old stuff and compare it to the newest you have. You will definitely notice the difference. That, my fellas, is improvement. It's hard to notice if you compare your last week's artwork with the current one you're working on. Go check older stuff. You ARE improving. You just didn't notice.

Take it from me, I'm an old 31 y/o hag and I have experienced things. Never let the fun dry out.

[twisted-leader-of-something]

The Centenary

Something was here.

Something was there.

Some big event was here, forboding across the land. And most couldn't see it.

But Ramshackle Dorm could.

Grim embraced the kindness being shown to him, while Yuu and Quentin. . . were more nervous about the situation.

Everyone around them was more generous than the three remembered, especially at Night Raven College.

More parties and celebrations being thrown for no real reason.

There was more joy in the air. And it seems everything felt that joy.

Well, all but Ramshackle dorm.

It was. . . interesting.

Friends where suddenly more willing to pay for lunch, less homework and schoolwork from teachers.

Everyone was still, well, everyone just with more. . . generosity.

It was strange.

Strange times indeed.

"Dorm Leader Nighty-Sallow!" Yuu called out and Grim came into Ramshackle's dorm lounge to their dorm leader, sitting in her rocking chair.

"Yes?" Quentin answered, stopping what she was doing.

"I found these strange coins!" Yuu proclaimed.

"Even stranger than the other coins with the strange symbols and 100s on them?" Quentin asked, to which Yuu nodded before pulling out three coins-all with pictures of them on it with the strange symbols and 100s plus another set of symbols for their pocket, and putting it on the table.

Grim's chest puffed out with pride. "It's nice to know we're finally getting the recognition we deserve, especially me!"

"But who would do this? And why coins?" Yuu asked, with a hint of worry in their voice.

Quentin pulled out her magical pen-and the coins glowed with magical power for a moment before falling back on the table. "I can't find anything. It seems like totally normal coins."

"Huh." Yuu said in confusion, but Grim's chest puffed out again.

"See! It's a coin of recognition! Someone finally recognizes us for our hard work!"

"But who made it?" Yuu asked, once again.

"Could be the same people made this 100 coins." Quentin said. "And Yuu seems to be able to find use of it, so if you want to keep it Yuu, you can keep it."

"Really?" Yuu asked, with a face that Quentin couldn't tell was joy, confusion, or disgust, so it probably was a mix of all of them.

"Yes. My magic has determined they're harmless, so I don't see anything bad about keeping them if they might help you with whatever you're doing."

Yuu nodded. The coins stayed in Yuu's possession.

"We're going to the National Art Museum in the Land of Dawn!" Dire Crowley smiled to the other dorm leaders.

He'd called an emergency dorm leader meeting. . . for a sudden announcement?

Typical Crowley. Quentin looked at the cheery old crow with scorn.

"I'm sorry?" Riddle Rosehearts, Heartslabyul's dorm leader asked, clearly confused.

But Quentin knew Riddle. Riddle wasn't asking a question, he was panicking at the suddenness of the Dire Crowley's announcement.

"Yay!" Kalim smiled, even pumping his fist in the air before the tattooed boy blinked a few time sand dawned a confused face. "Wait. Where is the Museum?"

"In the Land of Dawn, didn't you listen?" Leona Kingscholar spoke up, his ears twitching in irritation.

"Right, sorry." Kalim rubbed the back of his head.

"An Art Museum?" Malleus leaned over to Quentin.

"It's like an art gallery, only it's more for the public than for one family," Quentin answered to which Malleus nodded.

"Why, exactly?" Azul Ashengrotto spoke up.

"Because they're holding an anniversary party for a '100 years'!" Dire Crowley cheerfully said, making almost everyone in the room sigh.

"We've got a free pass to the Museum because there's an event going on and you've always wanted to go there, didn't you?" Quentin simply looked at Crowley.

"My Ms. Nighty-Sallow! You make it sound like I planned this out!"

"Because I'm pretty sure you did." Quentin sighed and the tablet in the room, representing Idia, made a snickering noise.

"Quentin realy said no mercy today. We stan a girl who ran out of fucks to give." Idia giggled.

"It's true that the Nation Museum of Art in the Land of Dawn is famous for its' art, but this truly is a once-in-a-lifetime for you all as well! We've been invited to the celebration afterward as well!" Crowley said.

"A party?" Vil Schoenheit commented, and Crowley nodded enthusiastically, seeing to make the Pormfoire dorm leader cringe.

Quentin narrowed her eyes at Crowley then looked around the room-the other dorm leaders, besides Kalim, didn't seem all that interested in the event, and if Quentin was honest, neither was she.

A Party? With art people?

No, thank you. Quentin already had enough pretentious people to deal with in her life.

"I'm sorry, Headmaster." Quentin said formally, seeming to grab Crowley's, and well as everyone else's attention. "I don't think I, or my dormmates for that matter, will make to the event. After all, I, much less Ramshackle dorm have no formal clothing for a centenury event, much less have the resources to get there on our own plus our school obligations will prohibit us from fully joining the event because we've been so busy lately. Please go without us."

The other dorm leaders seemed to catch on to what Quentin was saying and they shot smirks at her as if to tell her she'd done a good job, well, besides Kalim, who seemed to be downtrodden at the mention of Ramshackle's financial situation and Crowley who seemed surprised for a moment.

"Aw!" Kalim said, rushing over to the other side of the table and holding unto Quentin's hands seeming to tear up. "You all can't go?"

"I'm sorry Kalim. Ramshackle just doesn't have the resources like the other dorms all do." Quentin said. "We'll have to sit this event out."

But before Quentin could even relish in her clever comeback to Crowley's proclamation, Crowley spoke back. "Oh, there's no need to worry about that."

Several 'Tch!' noises sounded through the air as well as a small laugh from Malleus.

"Because it's a school event! The school will provide the outfits necessary and the transportation."

"Oh, I see." Quentin said, to which Kalim tackled her into her chair with hug.

"Isn't it great Ramshackle can go?!" Kalim smiled.

"Indeed, it is." Quentin said, sighing.

So, Quentin walked back to her dorm and told her dormmates.

"We've got a celebration to go to tomorrow," Quentin told Yuu and Grim, making them confused.

"For what?" Yuu asked.

"We've been invited to an art museum and Crowley wants the whole school to go." Quentin said.

"What's an art musuem?" Grim asked.

"It's a place where pieces of art are put in one place. Normally it's a public place." Quentin answered.

Grim nodded in understanding.

"There's a party afterwords and we're also going to that as well."

"Really?!" Grim's eyes lit up.

"Yup." Quentin sighed.

"When is this party?"

"Tomorrow."

"TOMORROW?!" Yuu and Grim said in almost complete unison, though with completely different tones.

"YES!" Grim cheered, bouncing up and down with his whole body with pure joy.

Yuu, on the other hand, was not happy. They seemed rather confused and worried. "Isn't that too sudden?"

Quentin sighed. "You know that old crow. He does what he pleases."

Yuu sighed as well before smiling. "Well, at least we're getting out of school for this."

Quentin then smiled herself. "Yes, that's one bonus."

The next day, the dorm found a box.

"Open it! Open it!" Grim cheered from his dorm leader's shoulder.

"I'm working on it, Grim." Quentin teased and opened the box.

Inside the box was. . . outfits.

"Outfits?" Yuu questioned.

"This must be Crowley's outfits for us." Quentin said. "I feel bad for Crewel."

"I want to try it on!" Grim said.

"Grim, we have to-"

"I WANT TO PUT IT ON!" Grim quoted, even throwing himself into the box and clinging to the fabric with all the power his tiny paws could muster.

"Grim, listen to me!" Quentin picked up the cat, who still clung to the fabric but seemed to be listening. "We can put them on after we eat breakfast! None us have eaten yet!"

Grim lit up and the proposition. "Oh yeah! Of course we can!"

Grim then let go of the shiny fabric and went rushing towards the kitchen and Quentin and Yuu looked at each other before laughing their way to the kitchen.

After a decent breakfast, Grim insisted the group try on the outfits in his and Yuu's room. So, with a very insistent Grim, Quentin brought the box to the duo's room.

After laying out the outfits, there were three of them, each in a bag with each of their names on it.

A small bag that had the name 'Grim', there was a small silver and purple suit that Grim enthusiastically put on when he saw how sparkly he was. He had a silver sparkly long suit jacket with silver buttons, a white shirt with the same silver buttons, a purple pair of pants with silver buttons, and a small black bowtie. But, after a while, Grim seemed to be struggling to put on the pants before he gave a pleading look to Quentin, a signal he needed help.

Quentin gave a sigh then a smile then looked at Yuu. "I'll help Grim put on the suit. You go put on your outfit in the bathroom, if you need help, I'm here to help. I'll put on my outfit when I know you two have yours on."

To which, Yuu nodded, grabbed the bag with their name on it, and then went out the door, hopefully to go to the bathroom.

Soon enough, Quentin went back to what she was doing and helped Grim into his clothes. First, the pants were a lot more form-fitting than what Grim was used to since, well, he normally doesn't wear anything.

"Hey, is 100 years a long time?" Grim asked, seeming genuine.

Quentin laughed. "As a human, I think so."

"That's not a good answer." Grim pouted as Quentin finished buttoning up his vest, which honestly acted more like a vest.

"I'm serious." Quentin smiled at Grim before she pulled out the coat. "Everything has its own sense of time. Humans only live around 100 years, so for us, it's a long time. But to other species, that may not be as long. Some Beastman can live longer than humans, so they think it's a shorter amount of time, like a few years. And the Fae, well, to them a hundred years feels a little more than what we call a year."

Grim looked at her in wonder. "How long will I live?"

Quentin laughed again. "That depends on you."

Grim looked confused as Quentin adjusted his coat and continued, "I'm not sure what kind of monster you are, so I can't tell you how long you're expected to live. But I can tell you this-as long as you take care of yourself, you'll live a long life."

Grim looked at Quentin for a moment and then spoke again, "So then, what's a 'legecy', and how do I make it?"

Quentin looked at Grim in confusion, but then stopped, as she seemed to have finished. "Ah. Has Crewel been talking about it?"

Grim nodded.

Quentin sighed. "A Legecy-is complicated."

"Complicated?" Grim tilted his head.

"A legacy is something you leave behind after you've done something. It's what happens after an action. It can be good, it can be bad. Like a magical war leaves a legacy of damage to anything around it, or a magician can leave a legacy of people wanting to learn magic as well."

Grim's face scrunched. "That is complicated."

But QUetin quickly grabbed Grim in her arms and hugged him before Grim started to protest. "But you don't have to worry about it. It's too early for you to worry about your actions just yet. You're a young magician. It's okay to be irresponsible while you're learning how to deal with magic. I was irresponsible with my magic when I was still learning how to use it"

Grim looked at his dorm leader seriously. "Really?"

Quentin laughed. "I've done so many stupid things. I used to love flying on a broom-and I'd chase people around just for fun on my broom, or go to the highest place I could when people told me not to. Or I'd play with magical animals that weren't safe for me. I think it's better you learn your magic in a safe place than in the real world-where things can get complicated if you make one wrong move and they'll get mad at you."

Grim looked at Quentin-and but there was nothing there. There was nothing in those eyes of hers. A dead woman lived in those eyes. but Grim didn't have much time to study Quentin before not for long as Yuu walked in their outfit, and all of a sudden-the light in her eyes came back.

"What are you two doing?" Yuu asked.

"Waiting for you!" Grim said, jumping out of Quentin's arms and towards where Yuu was standing.

"You look good." Quentin stood up and looked at Yuu. "I think it suits you. You look like a polished diamond."

"Of my minion does!" Grim said cheerfully as Yuu blushed. "Only we could see their true worth before, but now the outfit they're wearing really shows it."

"Indeed it does. I bet the boys will regret ever treating you badly. after they see you" Quentin laughed

Yuu was starting to become the same color as Riddle face when he was mad. But they thought quickly and grabbed the bag with the dorm leader's name on it. "Are you going to make us do a fasion show by ourselves? Put yours on!"

"Sure, sure." Quentin said and she quickly cast a spell to put on her version of the purple and silver clothes.

The Dorm Leader's outfit was a dress silver princess dress with see-through silver sleeves and a huge white bow with a smaller purple bow on the inside and a purple strand flowing down the dress across the waistband of the dress with a silver asymmetrical skirt with a purple lining underneath. She also had a pair of matching purple gloves with a single silver bracelet on her left wrist and a pinwheel silver bow with a purple gem in her hair.

"You look beatiful, too." Yuu offered.

"Pfft." Quentin laughed as she put an arm around Yuu, the kind of way a close friend would when trying to tease, to pull you towards a place, to hold close and show that you were there. "No way. You look more beautiful then me!"

"No way!" Yuu laughed and pushed on back playfully.

But before the group could say anything else, a white flash of light came from the room, engulfing the room, and taking those inside with it.

Quentin clung to Yuu for dear life as they found themselves in a void of white, Quentin then looked around and saw Grim before quickly grabbing his hands and tucking them as close as she could into her chest as the surroundings around them seemed to be. . . almost coming into focus like a blur camera being adjusted to come back into focus.

Soon enough, Quentin's feet touched a solid surface. Then she started to see the lighting of the area, and then, she finally could see where her dorm was.

She was. . . in front of. . . what would you even call a building as big as this?

There was no way that was a house. It was simply too big for a single person. It seemed like it could fit a whole city comfortably.

A mansion? A castle?

Maybe both with how big it was.

The building in front looked something like a Cape Cod-Victorian styled mansion-castle that glowed with lurid light that shined into the sky as if it was announcing the building to the world. From what Quentin could tell, the building was made from stone, which had silver and purple decorations scattered all over the building, like what looked like party decorations. Ballons and various other objects seemed to be leaking from the windows like there were too many to hold inside and could burst at any moment.

The place looked so glittering and radiant that was almost like it was begging for them to come inside. And if Quentin was honest. . . this place was beyond gaudy. It almost made her sick how extravagant this place was.

Quentin no doubt this place was hiding something. There was no way this was just a party for a celebration. that was an excuse.

This was a display of wealth.

But. . . for what?

She, Yuu and Grim were in a garden of sorts with various displays of statues flowers, and shrubbery of all kinds.

And. . . the place was filled with people coming in and out that Quentin couldn't even get a count of people. . . and filled with noise.

"Quentin. . . where are we?" Grim asked.

"I. . . don't know." Quentin answered. "Are you two okay?"

To which Yuu and Grim nodded.

"Hello!" A voice appeared out of nowhere, and a glowing disc-like mouse head with dots all over that seemed to glow in the dark appeared out of nowhere, as well as a pair of gloved hands coming from the flat disc-like head.

Yuu and Grim let out a screech in panic while Quentin tried to pull out the dorm weapon. . . which had turned into a. . . white cane?

"Oh! I'm sorry, does your world not have technology?" the flat disc-like head creature said, fearfully..

"Um, I'm sorry, where are we?" Quentin asked, putting down the cane.

"The party, of course!" the robot smiled as if trying to calm them down.

"The party?" Grim poked his head out from Quentin's neck.

"Yes! You were invited by Mickey himself, weren't you?" the flat disc-like head robot asked.

"How do you know Mickey?" Yuu asked, and the robotic being beamed.

"Why, Mickey and Minnie knows everyone! They're the ones hosting the party, after all! You three are Mickey's friends, as well, as under Oswald's protection! Mickey never, ever leaves anyone close to him out! Nor would Oswald ever let you all be forgotten!" the robot smiled.

"What are you?" Grim asked, to which the robot head smiled kindly.

"I'm Toodles, I'm here to help you!" the flat disc-like head said. "Now, I know you three don't have much time to party with us-"

"Woah, woah, woah there." Quentin said, even unintentionally slamming the cane into the ground. "We never got an invitation."

The floating flat disc-like head looked confused. "No. You did."

The robot's hands pointed to one of Yuu's pockets. To which, Yuu shuffled through their pockets pulling out the three coins that said a word, and then a "100" and the Ramshackle trio's faces on it, and when the robot saw the little coins in Yuu's hand, he beamed. "See? You have an invitation!"

"Um, how does this count as a-" Yuu asked but was quickly cut off.

"So, like I said before," the robot head started to float away and the Ramshackle trio followed him. "Mickey knows you all have business to attend to soon, but nonetheless, he still wanted you to enjoy the festivities on a day such as this. He said you all can come back later if you'd like, and he'll even provide dinner for you all."

"Dinner?!" Grim smiled, making Quentin sigh.

Toodles smiled with such optimism it kind of freaked Quentin out a little. "Yes! Should I tell him you'll be having dinner with him?!"

"Hold on, can we go to our obligation and see how we feel afterward? We've got a lot on our plate for our event." Quentin quickly jumped in, before Toodles could force them into something else.

But the robot didn't seem phased at all as he and the trio approached a large door with grand cravings on it of a mouse's head. "Why, of course, you can!"

Toodles then opened the door to reveal. . . A grand party with so many people Quentin couldn't even begin to count them. If she thought there were so many coming in and out-she was wrong. There were so many people here she couldn't get a headcount. But she noticed one thing-all of them were wearing white, purple, or both.

Just like her dorm's outfits.

And they were partying it up.

Quentin only had to look around for a few moment before she understood what kind of party this was right now.

She'd seen this kind of party before. Not exactly like this, but in a different form.

This. . . was a pure party on the verge of going into chaos.

Almost everyone where was drunk on pure ecstasy. Like all of them were truly happy.

But before Quentin could deduce what exactly what the party atmosphere was-she noticed there was a small crowd of people around the door, as if waiting for them. An anthroponotic group of animals, to be exact. She could see two white ducks, one male one female, a tall black dog-like creature, two smaller chipmunks, a yellow dog, a female black cat, a female black mouse and. . .

Wait. . . is that. . . ?

She recognized a rabbit and a mouse. They were. . . Mickey and Oswald, right?

They were the ones she saw in her dream when the school was almost taken over by Malleus' Unique Magic.

The rabbit, Oswald, if Quentin remembered right, was wearing a white top hat and rubbing a white cane with an outfit mirroring Grim's outfit, only without the buttons on his pants and an open vest.

The mouse, which if Quentin's memory served her well was Mickey, who was also wearing a similar outfit as Grim. No scratch that-it was almost the exact same outfit, where it not for the buttons on the mouse's shorts being bigger than Grim's.

"What if they got lost? Or they didn't send them here? What if-" the rabbit fretted, alongside the male mouse who had a very worried look on his face.

"Oswald," A female black cat in a white dress and hat spoke up, holding the rabbit's shoulders, and another mouse figure put her hand on the other mouse's shoulders. "Your dorm will be okay. They're probably coming with Toodles as we speak."

"I've brought the last guests, Mickey!" Toodles announced, and the group of animal's heads whipped around to look at the trio. When Oswald saw the three of them, his whole body lit up with joy.

The kind of joy that you get from your guardians when you graduate from school, or doing something great and accomplish something-a mix of pride, pure joy, hope, and love all in one bundle. That moment that you remember as a happy moment for years when you have nothing left.

"There you all are!" the black rabbit smiled, and quickly tackled the three in a bone-crushing hug. The kind of loving hug like they hadn't seen you in a long time. "I was getting worried about you three."

"Um, hi." Yuu spoke up.

"What is going on?" Grim asked.

The group of animals looked at each other for a moment in confusion but after a few moments, they all seemed to have realized something.

"Ah. It must have been so sudden for you all. Sorry 'bout that." Oswald scratched behind his head.

"I'll explain," Micket spoke up. "but first let's sit down and eat. You all must be hungry after the journey."

Grim's once more eyes lit up at the mention of food, but upon seeing his realization, he seemed to snap back to being skeptical, like Quentin and Yuu were. Despite this, none of the other animal-like creatures seemed alarmed they seemed rather relaxed.

Mickey lead the trio to a more secluded area of the party, one where you could still see and hear the party but wasn't as loud as in the main room and the other animals followed suit, almost seeming to form a circle around the Ramshackle trio as they walked towards the spot the mouse had designated.

As the group walked, Mickey kept getting called out to.

"Hey Mickey!" A boy with spikey brown hair called out. "Where did you go?"

"Hey-ya, Sora!" Mickey called back. "I was just waiting for the last of other friends!"

"Ah. The ones you said would be late?" the boy answered back. "You got to introduce me to them!"

Mickey nodded. "You betcha!"

"Mickey!" A man with elf-like apperance with red hair appeared before the Ramshackle trio upside down before looking towards the black mouse. "Are those the ones from Twisted Wonderland?"

"Yup!" Mickey nodded. "But they need some time, it being their first time with this and all."

The man gave a smirk before flying off.

"Mickey." A lion that looked. . . No. The King of Beasts said from a nearby bed. "Don't us me wait too long."

"I won't Scar!" Mickey answered back, with fear in his voice.

Mickey then guided the group up a flight of stairs, and then guided the group to a large table, and gestured to the seats, Ramshackle did find their seats, to and the other animals sat near them, especially Oswald and Mickey, who sat closest to the dorm members.

"To answer your question, Grim." Mickey said. "Well, I think it would be best if we introduce ourselves. You all know me. Just in a different form."

"Different form?" Grim questioned before Mickey nodded.

"Hold on a 'eond." Mickey smiled, before he seemed to change and. . .changed into someone they knew.

The red pants with the white buttons and big yellow shoes and black eyes with no pupils.

"Mickey!" Yuu and Grim said at the same time in joyous voice.

"Aw shucks." Mickey simply said, matching their joy and putting his hands on his hips. "Now you're embarrassing me."

Yuu and Grim seemed to relax after seeing a familiar face, but Quentin didn't.

"This is Minnie, my girlfriend," Mickey gestured to the female mouse that had comforted him earlier who gave a little wave.

"This is Goofy and Donald, who I'd mentioned earlier, Yuu." Mickey smiled, gesturing to the male duck and tall dog-like beings who smiled at the Ramshackle members.

"This is Daisy." the female duck smiled kindly and waved a little at the trio.

"This is my dog, Pluto." Mickey gesturing to the yellow dog.

"And the chipmunks you saw earlier-they where named CHip and Dale. They're off getting food." Mickey sighed.

"Or causing trouble." Donald offered.

"And but not least, this is Oswald, and his wife, Orsentia." Mickey gestured to Oswald and the cat who had comforted him eariler. Oswald and Orsentia beamed at being introduced.

"I've been waiting to meet you three ever since you were sorted into my dorm." Oswald smiled while Yuu looked confused, and now Quentin looked alarmed.

Grim, meanwhile seemed to find nothing wrong here, smirked. "Of course you have! I mean, who wouldn't want to meet the Great Grim?!" which seemed to make Yuu and Quentin sigh but made the other animals laugh.

"Oh, it's so nice Twisted Wonderland could join the party this year!" Minnie said, clapping her hands together, and a wave of nods came from the anthropomorphic animals. "Despite how old you are, you weren't invited to anything so only Mickey could really tell us anything about what was going on over there. I thought they wouldn't allow you all into the party this year, but thankfully I was wrong!"

"Yeah!" Goofy smiled. "It's nice to have some new faces around here!"

"Yeah!" Donald cheered. "I can't wait to see how your story plays out!"

After some chatting, Grim seemed to get more comfortable and Yuu seemed okay enough to go with him eventually, the two first years were led down the stairs with Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and Pluto to where the food was.

Quentin watched them as they went into the main party with a look in her eyes that was hard to pinpoint. Sadness? Confusion? Unease?

"What's the long face for, my elect?" Oswald spoke up.

"I'm sorry I just-" Quentin sighed. "I don't understand. I'm really confused."

"You don't have to." Mickey simply said. "This is a party, you're here to have fun."

"That's not what I mean-" Quentin said. "What's all this about Twisted Wonderland and 'new faces'? Who is 'they'? What do you mean by 'your story'?"

Both Mickey and Oswald looked at each other for a moment before looking at Quentin with a smile on their faces. The kind of empathetic smile like they are hiding something-but not without reason. THe kind of smile Quentin saw too often.

Then Oswald took Quentin's hands. "It's alright. You don't have to understand."

"Understand what?" Quentin asked.

Oswald sighed, the kind of tired sigh like a father would give. A sigh that worries the child on the other end, despite the father not meaning to. "There are things in this world that are completely out of your understanding. Out of the laws and principles of your world. Forces beyond comprehension are at play in your everyday life. And while it is scary-it's completely okay."

"You don't have to understand everything," Mickey added, also taking Quentin's hands, placing his on top of hers and Oswald's as if to protect them. "Actually, it may be better if you turn a blind eye to this one. You won't have to feel the pain like we do."

"Pain?" Quentin asked.

"Think of this as a dream." Mickey smiled and said in such a soft voice, it was like he was comforting Quentin as if trying to comfort her very being. "And I think you'll be alright."

Quentin looked at Mickey and Oswald in confusion, but the rabbit and the mouse seemed to want to change the subject, and eventually lead Quentin down the stairs into the party as well.

Mickey and Oswald lead Quentin to the food table and give Quentin one of each food despite her protests and insist she try some.

The food was good-there was many kinds to try, all oddly enough either looked like people at the party or was based on a theme and Grim and Yuu seemed to enjoy it even if people kept coming up to them.

Eventually, Quentin was surrounded by just as many people asking so many questions about her, Twisted Wonderland, what was going on that Quentin was starting to feel overwhelmed. She wasn't sure when exactly sure when she lost track of people, but she did after a while and started going through the motions, hoping she'd survive.

The Great Seven came to the trio first and spoke with the trio. They went parading the three around like favored children to a bunch other other people, who also struck up a conversation with Quentin. Quentin couldn't remember the conversation to save her life-but she thought it was mostly praise and asking about oddly specific things...

Next, Quentin remembers talking to some princesses and princes after the Great Seven, they probably asked the trio were right and then asked them a few questions.

Quentin remembers seeing the people from stories she'd read as a child-The Brave Prince, The Wicked Queen, The Designer Princess, The Lawyer, The Foreign Queen and even the Foreign Princess who all seemed to love her and treated her to lot. Quentin really felt a connection to the Foreign Princess

Next, Quentin remembers a blur of others who were like her-and the rest of it Quentin doesn't remember at all. Things blended into each other until things became as shiny as the silver on everyone's bodies.

Yuu and Grim seemed tired of talking, as after a while, they started to hide behind Quentin whenever someone came up to them like scared children hiding from strangers.

But, before anything else could happen, a clock chimed and everyone seemed to suddenly rush outside.

"What's going on?!" Quentin asked as the Foreign Princess dragged her out, but the Princess simply smiled.

"It's almost time!" the princess in blue smiled as widely as she could.

"Time?"

"It's almost 5:30 for them!" the Princess proclaimed.

Quentin looked confused, but let the princess drag her outside.

When she got outside, almost everyone was outside, looking at the sky as if waiting for something before someone started to count down.

"10!"

"9!"

"8!'

"7!"

"6!"

"5!"

"4!

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

A loud bell rang outside, and as soon as the bell rang, the loud cheer and animals calls ripped through the people around her.

Bottles popped, glasses clinked, party-poppers went off, balloons and streamers were released into the open air and people hugged each other.

A hysteria of joy flooded in the area and infected the people around her.

Quentin looked at the darkness that the light didn't touch.

And all of a sudden, she was in the party, and not in the party at the same time.

Quentin opened her eyes.

"Child of Andalasia?" Malleus Draconia called to Quentin. "Are you alright?"

Quentin reached up her hand. "I fell asleep, didn't I?"

Malleus nodded. "It is time for us to go."

Quentin laughed as she place a arm over her head. "I had a strange dream just now."

"Is that so?" Malleus asked.

"I don't remember much-only shades of silver, purple, gold and black and talking to people and something with fireworks."

Malleus seemed confused. "Was it good?"

"I think so."

[redsthebeststick]

Beach Day

SC: Hey guys?

Red: Mm?

SC: How 'bout we go to the beach today?

Green: Hell yeah!

Yellow: Sounds good to me!

Blue: Sure!

Red: Nice!

SC: Guess it's set then! Let's go get all our stuff, I'll ask Alan if he can help me draw some bags to put all the stuff in.

The others all agreed to go get all their on stuff, and then bring it all down and pack it.

Green: I'll call Purple, I'm sure he'd love to come.

Blue: K!

Green went into her room and called Purple. Purple was ecstatic and said he'd be over right away.

Green put down the phone, grabbed a towel, sweets, sunglasses, and her guitar, and ran back to the living room to put her stuff down. Blue and Yellow packed whilst Green was on her phone waiting for Purple to arrive, and Red followed SC to adobe flash where Alan and him drew and animated. 

Red: Sec wait!

SC turned around.

SC: Red! You ok?

Red: Do you mind if I try to draw something?

SC: Yeah sure!

Red: Thanks.

SC passed Red the pen, and she started drawing. At first, SC couldn't understand what she was drawing, but as it got more detailed, SC realised that she had drawn 6 surfboards!

SC: Those are so good! Since when were you that good at drawing?

Red: Well, I watch you and Alan draw sometimes, it's quite calming, I guess I must have picked up some tips.

SC: Well the only thing is, how are we going to fit these in bags?

Red: We'll have to carry them! There is no way I'm missing out on surfing. 

SC: Your very determined aren't you?

SC said smiling at Red.

Red: I thought you would've figured that out by now hollow head.

Red said, kissing him lightly on the cheek and walking away.

SC laughed and went back to drawing with Alan.

After all the packing was done, they loaded it all up into bags and travelled to Purple's laptop where the city was, as Purple said he was going to meet them there. They came to the beach, and it was beautiful. The sun was high up in the sky, and there was only about 50 other people there. It was a really big beach, so they had so much of it to themselves. Green squinted and saw a purple stick in the distance.

Green: Hey guys! I think that's Purple!

Yellow looked the same way.

Yellow: Looks like it, oh hang on, I have binoculars.

Yellow took them out of one of the bags and looked through them.

Green: So?

Yellow: Yep it's him alright, but he's so far away! How do we get his attention?

SC: I got an idea.

Without another word, he took out a little tablet ad started scribbling something.

Red: What the...oh! Good idea!

Red said as she looked at what he was drawing.

When SC was finished, he reached into the tablet and pulled out a megaphone.

Through the megaphone, he shouted:

SC: YO PURPLE! WE'RE OVER HERE!

Yellow looked through the binoculars again, and saw the purple stick running towards their direction.

Yellow: Haha, I think it worked.

As the stick got closer, it started to shout.

Purple: HEY GUYS!!!!!

Finally, Purple reached them, and Green ran up to him and hugged him.

Green: Purple! How are you?

Purple: I'm great thanks! How are you?

Green: I'm great. Come on, we need to get all our stuff set up! I can see you brought some stuff too!

Purple: Of course! Couldn't come unprepared for the beach now could I?

Green laughed.

Green: Of course not.

They got out beach umbrellas, mats to lay down on, and a cooler bag for the drinks.

Green looked up. This place seemed familiar.

Green: Wait...oh my god...wow.

Blue: What's wrong?

Green: Don't you remember a couple of years ago, we came to this same beach!

Blue: Do you mean...it was the one that was covered in litter!?

Green: Exactly! Look at it now!

Yellow: That's...crazy.

Red: No way.

They all smiled and continued to set up. Once it was all done, they all went into the sea and threw a ball around for a bit. 

SC: I don't know about you guys but I'm starving!

Red: Me too.

Blue: I saw a fish and chip place nearby, maybe we could try there?

Purple: What's fish and chips?

The others looked at him in shock, until Red came up to him and said:

Red: Something your really gonna love!

Everyone looked at Red with a grateful expression. They didn't want to make Purple feel insecure. He had missed out on a lot of normal things kids did, trying fish and chip being one of them apparently. Asking Purple why he had never tried it would've made him really sad, so Red avoided the question with her quick thinking.

Yellow: Let's go!

They went the fish and chip place, and Green talked to Purple about all the different options he could have. Purple eventually decided on just a bag of chips, and the others got their meals as well. They sat down back at their beach spot, and ate lunch. Purple looked at the chips in worry.

Purple: Do I just..?

Green: Yeah! Just try it, honestly they're incredible.

Purple took a chip and popped it into his mouth. For a second, Green thought Purple was going to throw up due to the blank expression on his face, but then he widened his eyes and turned to Green.

Purple: Where has this been all my life!?!?!

Green burst out laughing and so did everyone else, including Purple. They sat under the beach umbrellas for a couple of hours, just chatting and talking.

Red: I think the tide's good now, should we try surfing?

SC: Yeah sure!

They all agreed and brought out the surfboards.

Purple: Wait, you guys got one for me? Thank you so much!

Yellow: 'Course we did.

They all got a surfboard and waded out to sea.

Yellow: Wait guys! 

Blue: What's wrong? 

Yellow: I-I don't know how to surf...

Blue: Oh, that's fine! I don't either!

Green: Me neither.

Purple: Me threether!

The others laughed and walked more out to sea. When it was about waist high, all of them started paddling and they got up onto the surfboards.

Yellow: How the hell do you balance on these things?!

Blue: I have no idea!

SC: Let's go a bit farther out! That's where the big waves are!

Red: Yep!

Yellow: Ummmmm imma stay back here ya know, hahaha,you know just-just chill...ye-yeah chill...

Blue: Me too...those waves look pretty big.

Red: Alright then! Have fun!

They continued to surf farther out, and suddenly, they saw MASSIVE wave in the distance.

Red: oh.My.GOD!!!!

Purple: Holy crap!

Green: Jesus christ!

SC: HELL YEAH!

The wave came closer and closer, and finally, they stood up on their surfboards and road the wave.

Red: WOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SC: LET'S GOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Green: HOLY SHITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Purple: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Red: Wait wait WAIT! READY FOR THIS!?!?

SC: WHAT?!

Suddenly, she crouched on her surfboard, and surfed into the wave and to the top of it!

SC: HOW THE HELL ARE YOU DOING THAT!?!?!?!?

Red: NEW TRICK HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!

When the wave finally disappeared, they swam back out and kept riding waves, until they were exhausted and swam back to the shore, Yellow and Blue waiting for them.

They grabbed the towels and laughed as they dried off. 

A few more hours went passed, until they all decided to go up to the cliffside.

Red: It's so beautiful up here.

The sunset was incredible, and the waves were crashing on the cliff.

SC: How about we all jump in together?

Yellow: I don't know...it might not be deep enough.

Red: Oh don't worry! I already checked with the lifeguard and they said that it was fine to jump in and that it was definitely deep enough because they checked this morning.

Yellow: Oh ok.

Blue: Ready?

They all walked to the edge.

Green: Ready.

SC: 3...2...1...JUMP!!!!!!

They jumped into the water, making a big splash as they went under. They all came up fine, and they walked back up to the beach, tired, laughing, and so, so happy.

[reidak-artcreature]

2023 recap!

Can't belive the year is over! Time to look back cause I sure don't remember half the stuff I've done

January

Birb got 10 notes and I couldn't believe how much people loved him.

I tried a crochet kit and was defeated. In my defense I have to say it was right after an exam and it was really cold.

I got a watercolor set and rediscovered my love for watercolor

February

Discovered Funguary, and made 4 charactes. It's a really fun challenge that I'm surely going to participate again.

I made quite a few watercolor pieces, I still like them all a lot

March

Don't know how, but I finished the 100 head challenge. There are some awful monstruosities, but I learned a lot. I'll probably do it again in the future, it's a pretty nice exercise.

I finally made a sona! And this one has stuck! I love my lil shadow creature.

April

Made what is probably the watercolor piece I love the most. And one the pieces I like the most overall.

I got FlipaClip and had a lot fun making some little animations. Someone even used one of the lil gifs! That made me pretty happy

I personalized a little notebook to carry around, and it was the best desition of my life. I love that thing. And it's amazing that I don't have to search for the pen, it's all together!

May

The coin pouch is also one of the best things I've made. The strings are a bit long and the embroidery is a bit loose, I'll fix those on the next one I make (looking at you, squid pouch)

The anual redraw of Coral and Sebastian couldn't be missing. The poor Sebastian finally got his (I hope) final design. I was in love with how it looks, but looking it now... What hapened to their faces?

Decided to redraw some old drawings I had on Ibis. The progress I've made since I drew the originals.

Mermay, of course! Somehow they turned into oficial ocs. I love the stupid trio.

June

Aaaaaaahhhhh!!!! It's almost July and I haven't updated my ArtFight references! "Chibi" versions it is. At least now a lot of them have colored full body references.

Painted a box! It's now buried under too many trinkets I have to clean up, but I still love how pretty it looks!

Started a new sketchbook and painted the cover. I love the mushroom lantern.

Made this year's Artfight gif, banner and artfighters. The silly gif brings me a smile every time I see it.

July

ArtFight! 42 attacks and 21 defenses. I have no idea how I managed to make so many. I did get burned out on the second half of the month tho. I absolutely love every single art I received, but this one with Coral and Sebastian has a special place.

What do you do when you are burned out? You make a new style, of course! I love the simple style that came out of that. Feels weird to see that is fairly recent, I feel like I've been using it for ages. It has evolved a bit since, those thin lines in the eyes look weird now.

August

Nuclear Waste was born. And people went crazy. The silly boy loves and appreciates all the affection you've showered him!

Smaugust is a thing? Dragons! I still need so much prectice with them and animals in general.

I made a comic! I love it, it's so silly. I had a great time with it.

September

Pirate shirt! It fits a bit weird, but I think I can fix it. It took soooo long to hand sew it

I got a drawing tablet! Took me a couple of weeks to get used to, but it was worth it. I love using it.

To practice I made every single prompt of CuteGirltober. The only reason I was able to finish is that most of them were left as sketches. Should have learned from ArtFight, I can't draw every day, that's too much.

November

I made a font! It works really well, and it's so fun to type something and see it look like you handwrote it.

Got to write a bit too. I need to do that more.

I also worked on some proyects I've been wanting to do but haven't touched in a long while.

Including bookbinding a little notebook! I filled it with headshots of my ocs.

December

ArticFight prompts and a secret santa were mostly the reasons I drew. I love this one with Alex and Layla.

I also made some free adoptables. There might be some left when this is posted.

And we are done with the year!

That was so much! Thank you everyone, hope you had a good year and an even better 2024!

[sandwichfordinner]

Hi hi! Ok so can we have edgar headcannons with a gn who does digital art and their s/o teaches them on how digital art works? (I hope this isnt breaking your rules and your emil and ada fanfic is hella good :D)

Edgar with a s/o who is a digital artist

Guys I am sorry for not posting.. I am at my writer block era rn..😭

Can we all ignore in the last fic how I wrote that Edgar didn’t like the digital drawing too, thanks.

ALSO TYSM! <33

* Yours wasn’t a regular one. When you draw something quickly in it it becomes live, and slips out of the screen.

* Yours wasn’t a regular one. When you draw something quickly in it it becomes live, and slips out of the screen.

* Yours wasn’t a regular one. When you draw something quickly in it it becomes live, and slips out of the screen.

* It can be butterflies, birds, anything.

* And that’s the thing that it makes it a lot useful.

* You can even always draw the other survivors items but just once. You’re kinda like lucky guy but more lucky cause you draw those things really fast in it and the screen gives it to you so you can use it.

* All of the survivors excited they always bother you to draw something real quick because they need it, or it’s just because they want to see an animal or toys or other things.

* Example Emil and Ada really wanted to have a pet which is not dog. You guessed they were more of a cat person.

* So you drew a cute little grey baby kitten, and when it came out of the screen you put it in a little box with holes on the top so it can have air and gave it to their 1-2 years anniversary.

* The moment Emil opened the box, and Ada beside him watching , his heart melted when he saw a little kitten in the box.

* Ada gasped and held her hands on the mouth of shock because of how cute it was. Both of them were holding it carefully and petting it carefully.

* Months have passed and the cat has grew, it was a she. She was a really calm and good cat. Both Emil and Ada were really grateful to you.

* Okay to the main part, where Edgar took interest in your digital art.

* Sometimes you watched him in your free time how he draws, Whenever it can be in the waiting room, garden, or even his room if he let you in.

* Every time when you watched him paint , it made him feel special finally. It has been a lot of time since someone took an eye of his art. Sure the others know that he paints, but they have never really took interest in it. How can they be! Art is a very creative , ease hobby. It’s even better than being an acrobat, dancer, batter, postman etc. They don’t understand! Well that’s what he thinks.

* One time when he was painting next to you, you thought maybe you can copy what he paints and draw it on your tablet with different colours.

* So you got out you tablet and pen out of your bag and started drawing. You were glancing his painting from time to time , which made him raise a eyebrow of confusion. He stopped painting and looked at the screen. It was his painting!

* He scoffed, mad how you copied him. You probably will show it to the others and they won’t stop praising you how good you drew it!

,,Why are you copying me.’’ He broke the comfortable silence which made your body to take a screenshot.

,,I… well uhh, I thought you’re painting was really nice and I wanted to try too with different colours… I wont show it to anyone I promise!’’ You looked down at the screen from embarrassment, avoiding eye contact.

,,Tch why are you doing this anyway.’’

,,Because your paintings are nice..’’ you said softly still avoiding eye contact.

* His cheeks reddened from the praise and went back to painting leaving him quiet.

,,I won’t show it to the others I promise!’’ You were waving your hands in front of your face panicking.

,,Okay. I believe you.’’ He said quietly but you heard anyways because there was no one in his room except you and him.

* You calmed down and looked again at your screen. Your drawing was almost like his in the canvas but it was with different colours. Your cheeks were getting hot. ‘Please don’t tell me that I like him..’ you thought still staring at your screen blankly.

* Edgar noticed your staring and asked you.

,,Are you gonna continue or..?’’

* You quickly got up from where you were sitting, face red as tomato.

,,No I am good! I just need to rest-‘’

,,Why is your face red? Let me guess. It’s cause I made you embarrassed right?’‘ He smiled at you.

* Your eyes widened and your face got hotter.

,,I um.. well no?? It’s just i feel uhm hot.. NOT IN THIS TYPE OF HOT ITS JUST THAT MY FACE FEELS HOT AND..FORGET IT I WILL GO REST..’’

* He clearly knew you were lying but he brushed it off.

,,Alright then. Bye.’’

You quickly got out of his room. Hands sweaty and shaky.

* You face palmed.

,,How can I be this weird??’’

,,What’s the matter Y/N??’’

,,Oh uh! Nothing Emma I just feel tired that’s all!’’ You laughed awkwardly.

,,Why is your face-‘’

,,Bye Emma!’’

* You fell in love with the painter 💀.

* From time to time he tried to draw on your tablet. Let’s say he did enjoy it. Actually he did a lot.

* He didn’t need to get dirty and stuff.

* At the beginning you explained to him what to do, effects, blending, details. Although he knew about details.

* He remembered everything you told him and tried to draw in it.

* First tries weren’t bad, but later on he was really good at it.

* So now he was drawing on a paper and digitally.

* Most of the times you needed the tablet for your matches or because someone needed something and you had to draw it. He didn’t mind that.

* Both of you became really close because of art.

* (Thanks to the art🙏)

* You kept falling more for the painter, you thought those feelings would go away..

* So you just had to do it.. confess.

* It took you a day to plan everything. The confession was in his room.

* You were drawing a heart with the name Edgar on it.

,,Hey Edgar?’’

,,Hm?’’

,,Can I tell you something?’’

,,Sure’’

* You shoved the tablet into his arms. He looked at the screen and saw a heart. Before he can think of anything, this heart hit him on the face.

,,OH MY GOSH EDGAR?? ARE TOU OKAY?!’’ You asked him panicked. He lay on the floor, the big plushie heart hugging his face.

* You quickly snatched the heart which was read ‘Edgar’ on it.

* You tried stopping the heart going to hug Edgar again.

* He got up confused and looked at the heart you were holding in front of your hands.

* He narrowed his eyes to read the text.

* ‘Edgar’ was written on the middle of the heart.

* He quickly understood everything and his face reddened.

* You successfully stopped the heart from moving leaving it a normal heart plushie/pillow.

* Both of you were staring each other’s eyes with red faces.

,,Do you.. like me?’’

,,No.. I don’t only like you.. I love you.’’ You tried avoiding eye contact.

* Something made Edgar’s heart flutter from excitement.

* He was holding where his heart was, sweating and really red.

,,I… I love you too.. Y/N.. I love everything about you.. How creative you are.. how you.. made me feel special too.. you are one of the nicest people I have met in my entire life… protecting me during matches… How can’t I fall inlove with a person like you..? You are amazing..’’

* He tried to confess too.

* Both of you were speechless and with red faces.

* You grabbed his hands and kissed him on the lips.

* The kiss was soft. He returned the kiss when he grabbed your face.

* It didn’t last long after both of you pulled for some air.

* Edgar has finally found the meaning of love. True love.

* And with a talented s/o who knows how to draw digitally.

If you all are wondering why my fic is weird written and why are the same sentences copied than one time.. than that means I am violating their community guidelines??? I am literally not writing nsfw here?????? 💀💀

[lis-likes-fics]

Yes, Sir | Chapter 1

You walked through the busy building, your mind set on your destination as you carried yourself with your head held high and your hips swaying slightly to the song playing in the back of your head. You carried a small stack of papers and folder in your hands, going over them in your mind as you headed for your boss' office.

Walking through the dark wood doors of Mr. Mikaelson's office, you spoke calmly and clearly, "Sir, I have a few things for you to sign off on so that I can turn it in before the end of the day." He did not look up at you as his pen scrawled over the pages he was currently working on in an elegant cursive.

Without looking up at you, he nodded and held his hand out for the paperwork he was to be signing. You handed them to him as you went over a very brief, very vague summary of the documents. You took a look at the papers he was already working on, it looked as though he was tweaking his presentation for the meeting coming soon.

Mr. Mikaelson quickly scrawled his signature on each of the documents without a word. He trusted you by now to know what he would and wouldn't approve of signing. This was a usually routine when it came to needing his signature. It sped up the process and made for good business.

As his assistant, you would read his important documents for him and carry what he would sign to him. Having known him for five years, you were able to pick up a few things along the way about how this man worked.

You there while he signed the papers, going over the agenda for the rest of the day (the day that was more than halfway over). "Our meeting with the Salvatores starts at 5:30, the meeting room is vacant and will be set up very soon. Everything should run more than smoothly, sir."

After signing the paperwork, he handed them back to you and finally spoke, his gaze still on his documents, "I need you to double check my presentation, make sure the catering is set, and print out these copies for the meeting. Please and thank you."

You smiled and nodded, "Right on it, sir." You adjusted the papers in your arms to tidy them, glancing at your watch to make sure everything was being done in a timely manner. You would never let him run late.

Mr. Mikaelson added, "I have already emailed you the print-outs and the presentation. I trust you already know the menu for the catering?"

Again, you nodded, "Yes, sir."

"And what about the new chauffeur?" he asked.

You nodded, "Yes, he should be here soon, sir. I've already got the selections done. I just need to do a fitting and he should be ready to work in no time. He's a very good worker."

"Excellent," he spoke, his eyes scanning over the page in front of him.

You turned to leave the large office, setting the documents on your desk just outside of his doors. He called your name and you turned around, walking up to the doors with a hum. He gave a smile and finally looked up at you with those chocolate eyes, "Thank you, Ms. Y/L/N. You're the best."

You smiled back at him, sending a wink his way, "I know, sir." You then set your hands on the door handles and closed them shut. You sat down in your chair, fixing your pencil skirt as you brushed the invisible lint off of the fabric.

You opened your laptop, typing away at an unfinished email before hitting send after double and triple checking it. You then looked over your emails, clicking on the two sent by Mr. Mikaelson. They opened as you quickly scanned over the information, hitting the print button so fast you double checked to make sure they actually printed.

You then picked up your tablet sitting next to the computer, opening the presentation your boss had sent you so you could look over it like he asked you to. You stood, your eyes still on the screen, as you headed to the elevator to get to the copying room just a floor below you.

As soon as you entered the elevator, two other employees entered with you. You all gave polite nods and smiles as you greeted each other kindly. You then turned back to your tablet, tapping through the presentation.

The elevator starting to descend, hitting your floor first as you got off. You turned off the tablet once you reached the copying room. You stopped by the door when you saw someone standing in the room. He muttered under his breath in frustration, hitting the palm of his hand on the copying machine as it whirred and made noises.

"Damn copier," he muttered.

You spoke up, "Is there something wrong?" You walked further into the room and tilted your head. He turned around, a nervous smile on his face as he went to scratch the back of his neck. He chuckled lightly, "Oh, sorry. I just...the copier isn't working."

You raised your brows as you walked further into the room, "Have you checked the paper? Most times people just forget to restock it." You did just that, looking to see if the copier had any paper in it to work with. When you saw the empty tray, you offered him a smile and a stack of copying paper off one of the shelves.

He smiled bashfully, rubbing his hands together, "Oh... thank you." The machine began printing the papers as he mentally cursed himself.

"Are you new here? Don't think I've seen you around here before," you asked him as you stood, waiting for your copies.

He nodded sheepishly as he spoke, "Yes, it's actually my first day. My name's Joshua Rosza, but people just call me Josh." He held his hand out for you to shake and you did with a smile.

"Ah, yes. I've been expecting you. You're the new chauffeur for Mr. Mikaelson. I'm Y/N Y/L/N, Mr. Mikaelson's assistant. It's wonderful to meet you," you told him. You gestured to the room, "What are you doing in here?"

He scratched his neck again as he chuckled, "Funny story, I was looking for the right floor to meet you and a woman stopped me and told me to go pick up some papers from copying. I didn't want to be rude, so here we are now..."

You chuckled with him. You were proud of your hiring skills, you made the right choice with Rosza. "Gotcha. You probably ran into Pierce, she's a bit of a bitch around here."

As the words left your mouth, you hear the annoying feminine voice coming down the hall. "I heard that, Y/L/N." You raised a brow as you looked at Josh, "Speak of the devil."

Josh smiled with a snicker as you both turned to see Katherine enter the room. "Pierce," you greeted stiffly with a smirk. The woman eyed you, shooting daggers at you with just her glaring eyes. If looks could kill, everyone in the building would have been dead by now.

She spoke bitterly, "I just came to see why pretty boy was taking too long."

You almost rolled your eyes, "Well, 'pretty boy' isn't your assistant."

Katherine didn't even try to refrain from rolling her eyes as she sighed, "Speaking of assistants, I heard you and Mikaelson were striking a deal with the Salvatores."

You gave her a bittersweet smile - one that was more bitter than it was sweet - as you picked up both stacks of papers from the copier. "And I heard they declined your deal last year." You handed her stack to her with your smile and she eyed you before snatching the papers.

You sighed, "Well, I would love to stay and chat, but I have a business meeting to finish prepping. See you, Pierce. Josh, please follow me."

"Glady," he muttered as you both exited the copying room together. You walked over to the elevator, stopping next to him as you told him, "Don't mind Pierce. Watch out for her and you should be perfectly fine here. I will be seeing you later today about fittings and sizes for your uniform. If you need anything, simply ask for me and I will help you anyway I can."

He smiled at you and you shook his hand. He nodded, "Thank you so much."

"Don't mention it," you told him before letting him go. He went to one elevator while you took the other, both of you going in opposite directions. You quickly got back to your desk, separating the papers that needed to be taken care of later and the documents for the Salvatore meeting.

Katherine Pierce was Mr. Mikaelson's assistant before you. She was moved down after an incident just before you were hired to take her place. People always loved you and applauded your work, some would openly claim how much of a better assistant you turned out to be.

Katherine held a grudge. It was the reason she hated you so much. Now hearing that you're attempting to strike a deal with the Salvatores - something she tried and failed at doing - she was really working up a temper.

And you loved to do it.

You finished looking over the presentation on your tablet, approving of the perfection that was Mr. Mikaelson's work. You wrote back to him on his email after you finished up.

'Everything is perfect, as always, sir. It is perfectly ready for the meeting.'

You sent the response and went straight to the meeting room with your stack of documents and tablet. You pulled up the menu for the catering to make sure everything was set. When you walked into the room, you smiled as things were just being finished. There were three people left in the room, adding their last touches and arrangements.

You looked over everything a second time, making sure everything was perfect for Mr. Mikaelson. You double and triple checked, just to be positive. You looked over the chairs and counted them. One, two, three, four. You furrowed your brows. There are supposed to be five chairs present: one for Mr. Mikaelson, two for the Salvatores, one for their lawyer, and one for yourself.

You checked your watch to see the time and cursed. 5:17. It was too late to grab another chair, you were supposed to be early, as early as 5:20 sharp. No exceptions - by your own standards at least, Mr. Mikaelson allowed your flexibility because you were such a good assistant.

You sighed before setting out the papers at each space. You fixed the waters just slightly, nitpicking at everything to make up for the missing seat. Everything had to be perfect.

Just as you finished up, Mr. Mikaelson walked in and examined the room. 5:20 sharp. He gave an approving smile and spoke, "Everything looks perfect. Thank you, Ms. Y/L/N."

You nodded with a smile, "Of course, sir."

His smile faltered a bit as his eyes narrowed at the set up, his gaze darting between each of the seats. "Wait, there are only four chairs present. Where is the fifth?"

You internally sighed, crossing one leg over the other as you spoke, "There was no time to grab an extra so I will be standing during the presentation, sir. Besides, it helps for when I pass out documents."

He shook his head, "Nonsense, take my chair. I will stand."

You opposed with a small smile, "Really, it's fine. As your assistant, I adjust to what you need. It's no problem for me to stand during the presentation. It works out well."

Mr. Mikaelson thought for a moment over your words, silence settling in the room. You tried not to fidget with your watch, a habit you had been trying to break. Relief washed over you as the sound of your boss sighing filled the room.

"Very well then," he said. He went over the agenda of the meeting with you one last time - even though the two of you had been going over it over the past week to prepare for it - before he allowed you to go to the door and prepare to greet the incoming clients.

You waited for only a few minutes before the three men got off the elevator to your floor. You gave a welcoming smile as they walked over to you. You offered an outstretched hand as the younger Salvatore shook your hand first. "Hello, Mr. Salvatore."

He shook his head with a polite smile, "Please, call me Stefan."

You nodded, "Welcome, Stefan." He let go of your hand and you reached for the second brother. He gave you a smirk, one he expected to have you fawning over him as you stared into those icy blues; however, you were used to dealing with men like this. He didn't affect.

You greeted him respectfully, "Hello, Mr. Salvatore." He sauntered over to you, shaking your hand as he stood fairly close to you. He wiggled a brow and winked at you, "Damon." You nodded once as you continued to smile at him, "Of course. Come right in."

He walked into the room, shooting a look at you over his shoulder. You breathed a light chuckle and turned your attention to the third man. You shook his hand firmly, "You must be the Salvatores' lawyer. I'm Y/N Y/L/N, Mr. Mikaelson's personal assistant."

He gave you a nod and a smile, "Nice to meet you, Ms. Y/L/N. Alaric Saltzman."

"Shall we go in?"

"Lead the way," he said. You both entered the room as you closed the door behind you. You took your place behind Mr. Mikaelson's chair, adjusting a folder in your arms as he greeted each man. Damon's eyes kept looking back at you, winking and smirking as he flirted. Stefan seemed to notice this as he mouthed "sorry"s to you.

Once the introductions were finished, everyone took their respective places around the table. Mr. Mikaelson clapped his hands together and gave a professional smile, "Well then, shall we begin?"

~

The hour long meeting was a mix between long and short. Between you standing - which didn't really bother you - Damon's winks and smirks, Stefan's mouthed apologies, and the professional words exchanged between the men about the deal, you couldn't quite tell.

You smiled as you looked at each person throughout the meeting, noting the approving looks of Mr. Saltzman and Stefan - Damon seemed more interested in you than he did the presentation. But as the meeting came to an end, Mr. Mikaelson spoke as he looked between each man, "What do you think? Do we have a deal?"

Stefan and Mr. Saltzman shared a glance before all three of them turned their chairs more toward each other and away from you and your boss. They whispered to each other as they talked it over.

You narrowed your eyes a little as you watched them, glancing down at Mr. Mikaelson at the same time he glanced up at you. You gave a small smile and nodded once, which had him smiling in response. You both turned your eyes to the men and you did your best to keep from fiddling with your watch.

After another few moments, they broke up and turned back around to face you and Mr. Mikaelson. Their faces were blank as they seemed to assess you both the same way you were assessing them.

Mr. Saltzman's eyes landed on your boss' as they stared each other down. That's when your smile widened very slightly. Mr. Mikaelson always won stare downs. His gazes were always so intense and intimidating that it was impossible not to look away or crack under his powerful look. You would win this one.

Mr. Saltzman soon smiled, glancing away at Stefan momentarily to ease the tension of Mr. Mikaelson's stare. Both he and Stefan nodded as they held out their hands. You both shook their hands as Stefan spoke, "It's a deal."

You internally celebrated at their acceptance to the offer, keeping a professional stance as you shook their hands. You told them calmly, "It will be a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Saltzman. You won't regret it."

He smiled, "Please, we're business partners. Just call me Ric."

"Very well then," you smiled, "Ric, is it."

Mr. Mikaelson smiled as he spoke up, "I propose a celebration in honor of our new deal." You smiled up at him and the men nodded. Alaric spoke, "That'd be great."

He smiled regally, "How about drinks at the Mystic Grill. 9:00, on me."

"Great, we'll see you then," Stefan smiled.

Alaric spoke up then, "I actually won't be able to make it tonight. I have prearranged plans."

You nodded, "We understand. It was wonderful to meet you, Alaric."

"And you as well, Y/N, Mr. Mikaelson," he said. There was one last round of hand shaking as everyone began to exit the meeting room. Damon spoke, "I hope to see your lovely assistant, Ms. Y/L/N, as well."

Mr. Mikaelson turned to you, that same smile still resting on his face as he nodded, "Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Yes, I will be there," you smiled, "I can't leave Mr. Mikaelson on his own. What kind of assistant would I be then?" Small laughter scattered through the rooms as the meeting officially came to an end.

At the door, Damon kissed your hand cockily and winked, "I'll see you tonight." He then turned and left with Stefan and Alaric in tow. Stefan shot you one last look to apologize for his brother. You shrugged and watched them leave. Once the elevator doors closed behind them, you turned with a heavy sigh to face the room again.

You smiled at your boss, "Another job well done, Mr. Mikaelson."

You walked over to him, your gaze moving up with each step closer. He smiled back at you, a more casual smile versus his professional one he usually kept on his face. Instead of looking at you with a raised head, he lowered his gaze so he could see you properly.

"All thanks to you," he responded, "You really are an amazing assistant."

You blushed very lightly at the compliment as you chuckled lightly, "It's nothing, sir. I'm just doing my job."

His hand came up to his lip, brushing his thumb against it as he told you meaningfully, "And you are very good at your job, dare I say the best. I truly appreciate your help over these past five years. I could not have asked for better. I have you to thank for most of my accomplishments - if not all."

You breathed a chuckle, diverting your eyes to the ground to hide the blush that was creeping up your neck at his kind words. Even if you didn't have huge feelings for the man, he knew the right things to say to get a girl blushing.

"Well, if it weren't for you, sir, I wouldn't have this job. So I suppose we both appreciate each other," you tilted your head as you looked up at him. He licked his bottom lip into his mouth, biting his lip slightly before nodding, "I trust I'll be seeing you tonight?"

You nodded gently with a gracious smile, "Yes, sir. I'll be there. Who else is going to plan it?" You both shared a laugh before he gave you a quick nod and left the room. You took a moment to stand there and breathe, allowing your thoughts to wander to the man you were so happy to be able to know and work for. 

When the moment was over, you shook your head and began tidying the room. You then returned to your desk, tidying the things out of place as you got your things together. You grabbed your laptop and tablet, putting both in your purse before grabbing the folder of the signed papers from earlier in the day.

You knocked on Mr. Mikaelson's door, listening in for his answer, "Come in."

You opened the door and spoke gently, 'I'm taking these papers before I head out, sir. Also, the new chauffeur Mr. Rosza arrived. I will inform him about tonight and what time to pick you up. Is there anything else you need before I go?"

He shook his head with a smile and said, "No, that should be all."

"Great," you said, "I will see you tonight then, sir." You ignored the tiny skip of your heart as the words left your mouth. They were just simple words. Nothing to get excited over. He nodded, "Thank you, Ms. Y/L/N. I'll see you tonight."

You closed his door and left toward the elevator. Just as soon as you got on the elevator, Katherine joined you. You sighed as she stepped in next to you, her own bag thrown over her shoulder as she got ready to leave. There was a smug look on her face as usual as she prepared what nosy comment she was going to say to you.

"I overheard you talking with the big boss man. What was that about 'seeing him tonight'?" she asked, looking at you a with suggestive, and quite vexing, expression. You were tired of her sticking her nose in places she shouldn't.

Maybe you shouldn't have gloated, but it was the end of the day and you were close to tired - especially after dealing with Damon. "The Salvatores accepted our deal and the five of us are going to celebrate tonight. It probably would have been cool if you were able to, huh? Do you have anymore questions for me, Ms. Pierce?"

She kept quiet, now annoyed and pissed off by your fortune. You relished in the silence of the rest of the trip down to the lobby. When the elevator doors opened on the lobby, she got out as her heels clicked on the marble floors.

You smiled as you stepped out, walking over to the receptionist. "Hey, Cami," you smiled at her, leaning over the counter. She looked up at you and smiled back, happy to see her friend visiting her, "Hey. Long day?"

You thought over it, thinking about Stefan and Damon and then taking into account Cami's job. You sighed, "Probably not as long as yours."

You both shared a light laugh and continued, "Yeah, I gotta get ready for something with my boss. We made that deal with the Salvatores!"

Cami gave an excited look as her eyes widened, "No way! That's awesome! 

You nodded proudly, "Yeah, we're celebrating at the Grill tonight." She went to respond when the phone went off and she sighed. "I've gotta get back to work. Congrats on that, though."

"Thanks. Bye, Cami," you waved as you began walking away. She waved at you as you walked out of the building into the parking lot where you got in your car and headed back home.

[miekasa]

six thirty

+ pairing: armin arlert x (fem) reader

+ genres and warnings: college au, enemies to lovers… kinda… in a very nerdy academic rivalry kind of way, me being a comedian you’re welcome, fluff, smut/nsfw content

+ word count: 5.6k… pls say sike

+ notes: shout out to ryn​​ for listening to me during our very many rambling sessions and also for extorting me into posting this. consider it a late birthday present for my favorite menace </2

+ side notes: no i am not a part of armin nation and i never want to be, nor do i wish speak of this again.

Armin Arlert is the perfect student. Prompt and well prepared during lecture; smart and insightful during office hours; the apple of any teacher’s eye. Unfortunately for him, so are you.

If you asked Armin, you were a little too clever for your own good, and liked to make it very well known that you believe you’re the smartest person in any room you walk into. That may be true, but it doesn’t mean that he has to sit there and worship your superiority complex. 

If someone asked you, you’d say that Armin was a know it all, and a manipulative little piece of shit. Again, not a completely false statement, but perhaps a slightly biased character analysis.

Neither of you are wrong. It’s why you’re both the bane of each other’s existence.  

There’s a noticeable grimace on your face, chin in your palm, elbows resting atop your desk, as you turn your head to where, sure enough, Armin is seated where he always is: first row, right side, directly in front of the podium, like perfect little teacher’s pet he wants to be. He doesn’t have any books to unpack like everybody else because a shiny, blue iPad is propped up on his desk in place of all of that. He’s robably looking through his pre-written list of showboaty questions to ask during lecture. Like he’s a cut above everyone else.  

Maybe some of the other morons in this course, but not you, that’s for damn sure. You bet that if you broke his thousand dollar tablet he wouldn’t think he’s such hot shit anymore. Maybe that would knock him down a couple of pegs.

“Look at him sitting there with his stupid blue eyes, and his stupid Bieber haircut, and his stupid, shiny blonde hair, and his stupid fucking glasses. I bet they’re not even real and he just wears them to—”

“Did you just call his hair shiny?”

You snap your head to your left, “What—no, of course not. I said shoddy, he’s probably a bottle blonde. Maybe all the chemicals from the hair dye seeps into his head and warps his sense of reality.”

“I’m pretty sure you said shiny.”

“Shut up, Annie.”

She raises an eyebrow at you, “You got something against blondes? Because your track record would beg to differ.”

“Once. We kissed once, and it was truth or dare, and we were both sloshed.”

“You still chose me,” she reminds you, pulling her notebook out of her backpack.

You huff, ignoring her words and turning your head back to Armin, this time finding him twirling his stupid fucking expensive Apple Pencil between his fingers like it’s nothing. You can feel your eye begin to twitch.

Perhaps he can, too—or maybe he can just feel your eyes boring holes into him—because he turns in your direction and ceases his pen twirling the moment you make eye-contact. More students filter in, walking past your line of vision, but each time they move, you and Armin meet gazes again; neither one of you daring to look away, a palpable tension between you.

His eyes might be icy blue, but you can see the rose pink tint underneath his skin, even from the distance; a familiar blush that spreads across his nose and cheeks. You exhale with a silent laugh, breaking your eye contact before he grows completely red, just in time for Dr. Zöe to start the lecture.

Everybody thinks that Armin’s so brilliant, so smart, so untouchable. You know that his only genius is that he’s fooling everyone into thinking that he’s the kind, humble, little nerd boy who wouldn’t harm a fly, when that’s far from the truth.

Armin is mean. He’s competitive and possessive and snarky and sly. He’s the definition of a wolf in sheep’s clothing, but you’re pretty sure the only person in the world who might believe that is Eren. Though, you’ve heard some of the insults Armin throws Eren’s way, and they’re not exactly soft. Granted, that’s a factor in any friendship, and most of his jabs are coated with a layer of intellect the brunette likely doesn’t understand, but that doesn’t make Armin any less sarcastic. It just means Eren’s too dumb to know what’s going on.

Poor kid. Maybe it’s for the best.

That’s all to say that Armin is nothing but a big talker—not even; a smooth-talker, is more like it. He comes across as perfect, all good and sweet and soft, because that’s what he lets people see. Nobody else looks through to the sharp tongue and ragged edges, because they’re too busy cooing over innocent blue-eyed baby in front of them.

But you know that Armin, the one he doesn’t want other people to see: the one that’s so good, he’s bad; so sweet that he’s sick; so nice that it’s cruel. And you know just how much pressure to apply to make his façade crack.

And you intend on doing so.

“I don’t know which formula to use—hey, are you two eye fucking again? Cut it out, I’m trying not to fail over here,” Eren exclaims, poking Armin’s shoulder with his pen.

The jab averts the blonde’s attention back to his friend, eyes wide as he blinks himself back to reality. He curses under his breath when he feels a familiar warmth creeping across his cheeks. Few things piss Armin off like the way he gets red in the face after thinking about you, or even just looking at you, for too long. Whether it’s red out of pure annoyance, or another feeling he tries to push down, it’s irritating, and above all, embarrassing.

He spares one more glance over his shoulder, to where you and Annie are sat a few tables away in the library. You’ve looked away by now, focusing back on your notes, but Armin swears he can still see that irritating smirk on your face from this angle.

He rolls his tongue along the inside of his cheek. He should be able to keep it together around you by now, but he can’t, and it bothers him. You bother him.

“We weren’t eye fucking,” he refutes, turning his back to you completely, “She’s such a little know it all sometimes, s’annoying.”

Eren raises an eyebrow. He knows that you and Armin don’t get along, but he doesn’t understand why. Armin knows almost all your friends, and you definitely know all of his—Eren would even go as far as to say that you and him are pretty close friends—so it’s not a matter of not spending time together. You’re also the two smartest people Eren knows. In theory you should have more than enough to talk about together, but every time you’re in the same room, you hardly acknowledge each other outside of surface level commentary, or glances that border on staring.

Thankfully, the bickering remains in the classroom for the most part. Eren’s seen you and Armin go at, and he’ll be the first to admit that it’s beyond intimidating. Though, a little part of him finds it oddly entertaining, and he can’t help but to be impressed. All the more reason for you two to start playing on the same team. 

Eren thinks the two of you should get to the root of the issue already. Which, if you asked him, has very little to do with your rivaled academic genius, and a lot to do with your lack of it concerning your feelings for each other.

“She’s not that bad,” Eren vouches for you, “I think you two might get along if you ever spoke outside of trying to one-up each other in class.”

“I’m not trying to one-up anybody,” Armin rolls his eyes, a nasty habit he’s picked up as of late, “And if you stopped and used your brain for a moment, then maybe you could solve the problem.”

“I did use my brain!” Eren’s lips fall into an offended pout, “But none of this makes any sense to me! I fucking hate math, you know that.”

Armin sighs, feeling sympathetic for Eren as he slumps into himself defeatedly. He knows that Eren isn’t dumb, but math in any capacity is certainly not his strong suit. He also knows that he shouldn’t give Eren all the answers, but sometimes he needs a little push to get him there. A little bit of added guidance and motivation to keep him going. It’s either that, or he has to trick Eren into doing the work himself, but clearly that method wasn’t working out today.

“You already solved for the activation energy, now you’re supposed to use the Arrhenius equation in the expanded form.”

Eren’s lips fall into a small o-shape, as his eyes scramble across his paper again. “But—how do you—”

“There’s two measurements given for temperature.”

“Oh. Oh, yeah! Okay, right, but then—”

“You have to convert it to Kelvin first or it won’t work. It’s given to you in Celsius.”

Eren furrows his eyebrows together, and then it finally clicks for him. He mutters to himself as he puts his pencil to paper to begin to work through the problem, “How do I convert—”

“Add 273.15 to it. Make sure you put the bigger one first in the equation, or else you’ll get a negative error.”

“You didn’t even do it,” Eren huffs, angrily punching numbers into his calculator, “How do you know it’s right?”

“Because I took this class already,” Armin reminds him, sparing a brief glance over his shoulder, “Isn’t that why I’m tutoring you?”

Eren coughs over his embarrassed blush, “Oh, yeah, right.”

It’s quiet between them as Eren makes a final attempt at solving the equation, carefully and proudly circling his answer when he’s finished. He looks to Armin with bright eyes, and is content when the blonde gives him a reassuring nod, confirming that his answer is correct.

“Well that was a bitch to work through,” Eren sighs, stretching his arms behind his head with a slight yawn, “Chemistry is nothing but glorified math. It’s barely a science.”

Armin shrugs, but he doesn’t disagree. He isn’t the biggest fan of chemistry, unlike somebody else he knows. “Why’d you take chem if you knew it would have so much math?”

It’s Eren’s turn to shrug, slumping back in his chair and running a hand through his hair, “I gotta take all the pre-med requirements… just in case.”

“You wanna go to med school? Since when?”

Eren averts his eyes from his friend, a telltale sign of his bashfulness coming over him. It doesn’t happen often, but Armin knows it’s sincere when it does.

“Dunno. I’m not sure of it, just wanna keep my options open, you know?” Eren replies casually, “Doctors help make a difference and all that, and surgery looks kind of cool. Besides, if my bastard father could do it, how hard could it really be?”  

A gentle smile grows on Armin’s lips, “You can do it. If you really want to, I know you can.”  

Eren’s head snaps up, eyes wide and filled with affirmation and adoration. He relaxes his expression quickly after, but the pink hues are still present, “Thanks, Min.”

From his position he catches eye of another head of familiar blonde hair over Armin’s shoulder, and beside it, your own hair. There’s a flash of a moment when your eyes meet Eren’s, and you offer him a small wave before turning back to Annie to resume doing your homework. Eren barely gets the chance to wave back, but a dopey smile sits on his features at your kind gesture. It fades when he looks back to Armin, once again pondering the animosity between you two.

You and Armin aren’t all that different, you just need to get to know each other better. Actually, Eren thinks that you might make a good couple if you both stopped overthinking it.

“So, what’s the deal with you and (_____)?” Eren asks, bending his right knee to wrap his arm around his leg and rest his chin on top of it, “You act like she kicked your cat.”

“What?” Armin questions, flustered, “What—no, she wouldn’t touch Soup.” 

Eren quirks an eyebrow at that. “I still can’t believe you named your cat Soup.”

“It’s technically a nickname.”

“A nickname for what?”

“…For Miso Soup.”

Eren blinks. “Okay, if she didn’t mess with Soup, then what’s the issue? You scared of her or something?”

“Why would I be scared of her?” Armin asks, tone incredulous; then softer, more subdued, like a kid who doesn’t want to admit they’re wrong, “’M not scared of her.”

“You stare at her like you are—well, you look kind of angry, but also scared. Like, when you see those balloon things outside of car washes. You hate them, but you can’t look away from them—”

“I am not scared of those!”

“You are, and it’s okay,” Eren waves away his friend’s denial, “Oh, I get it—is this one of those things where she makes you nervous, so you respond with anger and sarcasm instead of thinking through your feelings?”

“You’ve been going to therapy for one month, relax.”

“Maybe you two should go to friend therapy and work this out,” Eren bites back, “It probably doesn’t help that she’s always with Annie. They both look like they would murder someone with no remorse. I admit, it is kind of scary… but it’s kind of hot, too.”

Armin spares him an unamused glare. Eren crosses his arms in defense, “What? I’m not wrong. It’s sexy in a scary kind of way, maybe that’s why you’re always eye fucking. I don’t blame you, she’s hot. I would let her and Annie axe-murder me without regret.”

“Eren?”

“Yeah?��

“Shut up and do problem six, I don’t have all day.”

Eren huffs, but flips the page to the next problem, grumbling under his breath as he attempts the, “It’s not as sexy when you’re mean, you know.”

Armin hits him silent.

Tuesdays are Armin’s favorite days because he only has one class. Sure, it’s three hours long, but it’s much more bearable than his usual eight-hour day.

It’s also the one class he shares with you. Which is why he’s always mentally exhausted by the end of it, but physically, he feels like he could punch a wall; all his pent up anger and frustration is channeled into his body and he’s desperate for an outlet for it. It’s a feeling he hates to love.

Annie seems to have cut class today seeing as she’s not next to you; and it’s almost as if it’s emboldened you to mess with him even more than usual.

He bites his tongue as Dr. Zöe enthusiastically uses your latest point as a segue into the final topic of the evening. He made that same point ten minutes ago. You just worded it differently—admittedly, more concisely, but somehow with a little more nuance, than when he had hesitantly proposed it—and, yeah, maybe you made it sound more convincing, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t come up with it first. If his stupid, fancy stylus didn’t cost upwards of $200 he might have snapped it in half.

You’re definitely the better conversationalist, that much he can admit. Words have never been his forte and he hates the way you can talk circles around him, and that there’s so little he can say to make you stop.

He wishes you would just shut up. In fact, he’d like to shut you up himself.

Thankfully, class ends sooner rather than later. Armin finds himself briefly talking with Dr. Zöe afterwards, most other students having taken the opportunity to leave early for the night. To nobody’s surprise, you’re not one of them, having stuck around to talk to the professor, too.

“The two of you should consider lab research this summer,” Dr. Zöe suggests ardently, walking between the two of you as you exit the lecture hall, “I could really use two students like you!”

Armin chuckles at his boisterous professor. He’s known about the research opportunities at their lab for quite some time now, and he knows that you have, too. “I don’t know that lab work is really my strong suit.”

The three of you come to stop at the hallway intersection, the professor now standing across from you and him. You give them a polite smile, “And I’m not sure that collaboration is mine.”

Armin spares a glance just in time to see you flash one of your own in his direction. Dr. Zöe’s eyes flicker between the two students rapidly, a slight squint to their eyelids.

They aren’t quite sure why their two brightest students seem to despise each other. They wish you two would just get along already, so that they don’t have to spend the summer training half-witted chemical engineering majors how to use basic lab equipment; and instead, conduct some actual research.

“Well, I hope the both of you reconsider,” they smile, “I’ll see you during office hours, I presume?”

You two nod in sync, sending the doctor off with happy smile, just long enough until you see that they’ve turned the corner further down the hall

“Had fun stealing my point earlier?” Armin questions, looking your way as you still wave mindlessly, eye-twitching at your polite façade.

“I would call it improvement,” you tell him, not bothering to turn in his direction; still and smiling waving like the professor can see or hear you, “You should stick to showing, rather than saying. You never were good with your words.”

Armin kisses his teeth together. He’ll give you what you want, if that’s how you want it.

In a fit of irritation, he grabs your moving hand by the wrist, and pulls you down the opposite hallway, not caring for your dramatic wailing behind him.

“Hey, Einstein, the exit is the other way, do you have any idea where we’re going?”

“Ever heard of observational learning? Maybe if you shut up for a second, you would figure it out,” he snaps, pulling you further.

There’s a door on the left that Armin knows is unlocked, and he’s quick to open it and pull you inside. Before you have the chance to glance around, he has you pushed up against the wall, jaw forced up and forward.

He could scoff at the small hitch in your breath at his actions, clearly a little too satisfied with being manhandled; but instead, he takes the opportunity to press your lips together. Armin quite likes the feeling of your lips on his; warm and soft and far too welcoming; a rare moment of silence.

“Someone could hear us.”

Or not so silent.

“Then be quiet,” he snarls.

Armin feels your fingers weave themselves into his hair, scraping along his undercut in sync with his lips trailing down your jaw. A groan falls from his when he feels you tug at the ends of the strands, just hard enough to force his face back to eye level with yours.

“You’re the one with the big mouth.”

“You’re so smart, huh. Always got something to say,” Armin lets out a low chuckle, deft fingers running down your sides to squeeze at your waist, “You can be really fuckin’ annoying, you know that.”

You mirror half of his ministrations, letting your right hand trail down his chest barely brushing over the very visible bulge in his jeans, before hooking your index finger under the belt loop, effectively pulling him closer to you.

The smile on your face is dirty, but you’re not laughing like he was, “Do something about it then.”

His blue eyes grow cloudy as he takes a good look at you; slowly rakes over your features, from that stupid, snarky look in your eyes, to your kiss-bruised lips, down to your chest, and back up again. Armin finds himself copying your smirk for all the wrong reasons. But it’s your own fault; you always did like to push him one step over the edge.

“Fine.”

Despite your twisted grin there’s a look in your eyes that’s eager; willing; ready for the taking. That same look you have when you talk over him in class; when you pretend to ignore him around your mutual friends; when you want him to fuck you stupid.

Armin uses his right hand to cup your jaw again, closing the distance between your mouths with a less than gentle kiss. He feels your groans reverberating through his body, waves of heat accompanying them and going straight to his erection. Your arch your back into the kiss, but he forces you backwards, left hand flat against your tummy.

Following suit, he pushes himself against your body, pressing his knee between your legs; the thin fabric of your stockings doing little to prevent your thighs from rubbing against him.

He swipes his tongue over the seam of your lips, earning a frenzied whine when glides his tongue across yours, and teasingly licks at the roof of your mouth. Your tongue is lithe against his, but somehow just as deceptive and sly as always, and Armin would be a fool to deny that he loved it.

There’s a spark flickering in his stomach when you push your center harshly against his; and it’s only ignited further when he feels you bite his bottom lip. A guttural growl escapes him, his right hand moving to your throat with practiced ease, pushing the back of your head into the wall.

He pauses for a moment, drinks in your wide eyes and desperate visage, “You are the single most frustrating person I’ve ever met in my entire life.”

And he couldn’t get enough of it if he tried. He couldn’t get enough of you.

You must see through his words, into the grainy expression of adoration in his eyes, because he can see it filtering into yours, pupils dilating with both want and care.

“Aw, baby, I love you, too,” you pout, leaning forward as best to can to peck him on the lips, “Now, shut me up and fuck me. It’s exhausting being this pretty and smart-mouthed, you know.”

Armin dips his head into your neck, squeezes against the column of your throat with warning until he hears a gasp escape from your lips. He presses gentle kisses into your skin, in stark contrast to the increasing pressure from his fingers, waiting for one last request, and then, finally—“Please.”

He smiles, loosens his grip for a moment, just long enough to hear your pretty panting, before slotting his lips against yours again. Your moans are lewd and sloppy and breathless between kisses, and it makes his dick twitch in his pants. You really are so fucking loud. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

He uses his free hand to push your skirt up, and subsequently dip past the weak barrier of your tights and underwear. The slightest flicker of his fingers against your center has you choking out a moan, and Armin is forced to press his right thumb harder against your neck.

“Quiet,” he reminds you, “You asked nicely, so I’ll give you what you want. No need to be loud about it.”

He watches you nod with short and restricted movements, a sadistic kind of power washing over him at your eager compliance. He uses his middle finger to rub slow, careful circles around your clit; the feeling of your wet cunt against his fingers, coupled with your wanton moaning only spurs on the throbbing in his pants.

“Armin,” you whine, impatiently; but he expected that of you, “Don’t tease.”

His eyes flash to yours briefly, pressing his lips to yours again to swallow your shuddered moans. He dips his tongue into your mouth at the same time he does his middle finger into your cunt. An obscene moan echoing through the classroom, as Armin feels your body arching into his again; feels your fingers frantically flying to his hair, searching for purchase to anchor yourself on.

He pulls away in time to add another digit and watch you groan underneath him. He pushes both his fingers in to the knuckle, carefully curling them upwards to elicit the prettiest sound out of you. He has to admit, it’s probably his favorite thing to hear come out of your mouth.

He keeps a steady pace, pumping his fingers in and out of your pussy with perfect friction, teetering between letting you moan his name and choking you silent. Your hands are frantic in his hair, grasping and pulling and so, so, desperate, Armin can’t help but to finger fuck you harder.

“You want one more?” he questions, but his voice is taunting, words ghosted over your lips just out of reach for you to kiss.

He can feel your leg trembling against his, see you pupils shaking along with your shaking head. Armin stops to smile; he thought you might do that. He could probably make you cry right now if he wanted to. Maybe later.

“Want you to fuck me,” your words short and ragged, eyebrows raised when he uses his thumb to press lightly against your clit, “Armin, please.”

The blonde shakes his head, “You’re dumber than you look if you think I’m gonna fuck you in a classroom, baby, so if you want to cum now, you better tell me.”

You have the audacity to pout of all things, “You’re mean.”

Armin lets out a breathless laugh. “You like it,” he leans forward to peck you sweetly, “So, what’ll it be?”

“Fine, but I want head later, too,” you tell him, words becoming less firm when Armin teases his ring finger against your slit, “Please.”

Armin hums in compliance, leaning forward to kiss you again, this time with more tact, and he chases your whines when he finally pushes a third finger inside of you.

“Look at you,” he croons breaking your kiss and forcing your head back again, “You take it so well.”

“Ah—fuck, there, Armin—there,” you cry, wet heat squeezing around his fingers in intermittent spasms.

Armin watches your chest heave with desperate breaths, air stuttering to pass from your lips to your lungs with his hand around your neck. He can feel your walls constricting around his fingers, feel your body shaking underneath him when he increases his pace. He curls his fingers again, just right, just until he hears you sing a strained call of his name. And when he feels your nails scraping down the nape of his neck, and the slight weight of your body convulsing, Armin knows you’re done for.

He’s nice enough to fuck you through your orgasm, shallow thrusts of his fingers bringing you to and down from your high as he watches you pant for him. He presses small kisses against your throat, up, up, up, until he’s kissing you, and carefully pulling his fingers out.

He removes his hand from your neck, and slides it down your waist to offer you support. He’s not prepared for your sudden pull on his neck, forcing him into a kiss that conveys your content; he’s quick to raise his left hand, palm meeting the wall to hold himself up against your sporadic actions, chuckling lightly into your kiss. You were always so reckless and happy after an orgasm.

You kiss him like you have him wrapped your finger despite being the one pleading moments ago. You do, so he supposes it’s not unwarranted; and he welcomes your flirtatious kisses despite the annoying blush they always bring forth.

And sure enough, he can feel his face on fire when you pull away. Armin scoffs internally at himself; he really should be able to keep it together around you by now. But when you kiss him like that, you kind of make it hard to think straight.

“You’re so good when you’re not… pretending to be good,” you hum, a blissful, hazy look on your features as you wrap your arms around his neck.

Armin shakes his head with a chortle of disbelief; leans forward to kiss you again, “’M not pretending. I am good.”

“Yeah, you’re such a good little saint that arguing with your girlfriend turns you on,” you taunt him, “It’s okay, Armin, you can admit it.”

He groans, out of shallow annoyance this time, and it makes you giggle. “Why are you acting like you’re not complicit in this?”

“Oh, no, no, no,” you refute with an exaggerated roll of your eyes, “You get turned on by hearing me talk about biochemistry. I like it when you tell me to shut up about it. We are not the same.”

“Yeah, because you look hot doing it,” he tells you, “Speaking of which, Eren called you hot today, so I kind of need you to slip a neurotoxin in his Gatorade.”

“Aw, Eren thinks I’m hot? Tell him I think he’s hot, too,” you bat your eyelashes at him, but Armin only offers you an unimpressed glare in return.

“I think he might be onto us, actually,” Armin notes, affectionately bumping his nose against yours.

“If he’s onto us, then it’s because you’re the one giving it away, not me.”

“Oh, because you could never do anything wrong, right?”

“Right,” you flash him an overconfident smile before reaching up to kiss to the tip of his nose, “See you’re so smart, baby.”

Armin shakes his head again in disbelief. You’re a handful, he can see that much.

“Come on,” he prompts, “We should go, I still have to finish my lab write up, and I know you haven’t started your paper.”

Armin tries to motion you forward, but is stopped when he feels your hand combing through his hair, and sees the genuine spark of concern in your eyes. “The one for your elective? I thought you said you were going to finish it on Monday.”

“I was,” Armin admits, “But then I didn’t.”

“You want me to help you with it?” you offer kindly, pushing his bangs back and letting your hands fall down the sides of his face, palms resting against his ears.

He nods gently, turning his head to press a kiss into your left palm, before wrapping his hand around your wrist, “I can help you outline your paper.”

You nod in return, and Armin spares one more kiss, before pulling your hand away to lace your fingers together.

Thankfully, nobody’s around to catch you exiting the classroom, or see you holding hands as you make your way out of the building and towards the bus stop. This was Armin’s favorite part of any Tuesday; the one time he could hold your hand on campus without the fear of getting caught by your friends.

He reasons that you guys should probably tell them soon, though, especially if Eren might have an idea of what’s going on. You were bound to get caught sooner rather than later. That, or Eren and Sasha would start meddling.

“If you think Eren knows, then Mikasa definitely knows,” you note, swinging your intertwined hands as you walk through the parking lot as a shortcut.

“Maybe if you actually remembered to hide Soup’s toys, there would be less evidence for her to piece together.”

“Yeah, well, maybe if you didn’t forget when your midterms are, I wouldn’t have to emergency cat sit the hour before Mikasa comes around, and there wouldn’t be any toys to hide in the first place.”

“I’m bad with dates, you know that!” Armin pouts, “I don’t say anything when you forget about ten page papers until four hours before they’re due.”

“You’re saying something right now, actually.”

“That’s not what I—you know, you’re so—”

Armin’s quiet when he feels your lips pressed against his cheekily, “Annoying. I know. You like it. You’re not very good at staying mad for very long.”

Armin’s tempted to roll his eyes yet again—he really needs to quit it, or at the very least, get your own temper under control before it’s irreversible and completely rubbed off on him—but takes the opportunity to kiss your forehead, instead.

“You’re lucky you’re cute.”

Your eyes twinkle under his affections. “And that you love me?”

He nods, “And that I love you.”

“And that you’re gonna fuck me before you make me write my paper when we get home, right?”

Armin chuckles and presses another kiss to your forehead, “We’ll see about that one.”

Hange huffs as they make their way through the parking. They always forget their keys in their office, and always, inconveniently park half-way across the campus. In their defense, this parking lot is free, and the one closest to the Medical Sciences building is not. So, really, capitalism is the one to blame for their frequent late night car lot strolls.

They hear two familiar voices bickering just as they’re about to step into their car, and are more than surprised to see their two favorite students walking together. Walking together and holding hands. Wait—you and Armin are walking together and holding hands?

Hange blinks for a moment, drowning out the sounds of the conversation after they see you two kiss. Their jaw practically falls to the asphalt and they might not blink for a full two minutes as they process what they just saw.

Their trance is broken when it finally, finally clicks together, and Hange has to try their hardest to contain their squeals before sitting in the driver’s seat, an overly forceful slam to the car door following. They waste no time fumbling with the pockets of their lab coat to fish out their phone, and make a call to their favorite math professor.

“Levi, I told you Arlert and (_____) had to know each other outside of class! I think they might be dating! You know what this means, right? I can have them both in the same lab without worrying they might start a chemical fire, and I won’t have to hire two brick heads this summer!”

Levi has never hung up a call more quickly in his life.