#I also haven't drawn it yet so there's that lol
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some more kitty cat doodles
#haven't drawn Odile as a cat yet but she'd be a snow leopard#bonnie's supposed to be a serval but i decided to give them exaggeratedly large ears for their exaggeratedly large hat lol#and mira's a ragdoll cause i think her being a house cat would fit her being a housemaiden. also they're just very cute cats :]#im not happy with how i draw humans so this is the next best thing. kitty mode
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"someone will die" girlfriend x "of fun" boyfriend
(kelbrey twitter rq for a mutual)
#had a lot of fun with them :)#i'm surprised i haven't drawn them together yet lol. or at least with shipping them in mind#but i do like their dynamic quite a bit#also i don't normally draw requests unless i'm asking for them .. so pls don't drop in requests unprompted !!! thank u !!! :'D#omori#kel omori#aubrey omori#kelbrey omori#fan art#becki draws stuff n stuff
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Touch
Some Vetvimes for y'all~
Discworld © Terry Pratchett / art © Murderous-Coffeebean (tumblr & dA)
#vetvimes#discworld#havelock vetinari#lord vetinari#sam vimes#vimes#art#fan art#discworld fanart#my art#my posts#digital art#Touch#2024#22.5.2024#i haven't drawn much recently (sad sigh) and the whole ghost merch shirt sitch has had me unwilling to post much art ever since#but the discworld fandom is alright so i guess i'll make an exception#anyway thanks magpiesketchins if you see this i love your discworld comic and it actually inspired me to draw sth for these idiots (affecti#*(affectionate) again#also lol idk abt the anatomy here and like. vetinari's hand. but after years of stressing abt art i post i can finally shrug and move on. y#anyway the second one could be sad if you wanna but i think it's more vimes being followed by his thoughts or memories or sth#also this vetinari isn't 100% how i want him to look like yet but this vimes? that's my vimes design. this one i am 100% happy with#edit: nearly forgot this in my drafts woops#anyway#happy glorious 25th of may#unfortunately i haven't had time to make sth like last year so i hope this suffices#it's not my fave piece ever but i'm v happy with vimes so whatever
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“Neuvillette,” she stated. “It’s all going to be alright, because I will be this nation’s god.”
-Dulce est Desipere in Loco
More of my fic art because obviously had to draw this scene.
#fic stuff#my art#genshin impact#neuvillette#furina#these 2 continue to make me a bit feral#my sad co-dependent mother and son#they are trying their best#also needed to draw more of them together because I've mostly drawn lots of spoiler Furina lol#also egeria#so much egeria that i haven't finished to post yet#I think I've mostly figured out her smfwtwd design (cause she survives to modern day so she has new duds lol)#but yes stop reading if u haven't read this fic yet#but while this is literally the scene from the fic#its a bit stylized to get the symbolism across#mostly the waters surrounding them on all sides#the waters being Furina's 'spring'#which gets darker and darker and has hints of purple#betraying its true nature#also Furina's hands are blood stained#yes because of Neuvi clawing into them#but also cause yeah#dedil stuff
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10 facts for Mist and Magoo?
Mist:
Mist wears really thick glasses due to his astigmatism, he's had it since he was a kid but it's gotten worse over the years due to studying in the dark
When Mist fights, he uses fog magic to create structures and changes them to stone using his earth magic
Mist prefers to grow out his hair, but has to tie it dor school
Mist has a bit of a type, he finds blond people really attractive (especially if they're strong)
Mist is autistic, and I'm not sure if I'll actually go with it but aí think he might be bipolar as well
His style mostly consists of thick clothes and heavy fabrics (due to being in a cold region) but he's a big fan of "hawaiian" style shirts
He has a bit of a sweet tooth, but doesn't like people knowing that so he eats mostly inconspicuous stuff like mints and black coffee
Mist's emotions are very easy to discern in a way that upsets him, so he always tries to keep a straight face no matter the circumstances
He's not particularly good at that, though, and is otherwise very expressive (aka he doesn't cry, he bawls, he doesn't snicker, he laughs)
He doesn't tend to swear when speaking, but his thoughts are filled with swear words 24/7
Magoo:
Magoo has quite a lot of scars, which stems from his younger days where he wasn't as good with healing magic
Two of those scars rest on his wrists, which is from the time where he was jailed as a child
He's not exactly the reason why his party's still going, but he plays a vital role as the best healer and source of support (doing stuff like conjuring food when they need it)
He has a massive birthmark shaped like a bow and arrow on his chest, that being the symbol of a goddess who blessed him
He has a companion animal named Mel, a dog who's been with him since he was a child
Despite being over a hundred years old, Mel is still young due to the magical aura of a place she was in for a long time
This magical aura also allows Mel to transform into a large wolf, making her very useful both for travel and combat
One time, in an almost uncharacteristich fit of rage, Magoo killed an unconscious cultist due to him worshipping the same god as the people who invaded his homeland
His preferred weapon for combat is the bow and arrow, but he's very good at using a spear
He's quite chubby for elven standards, he had to live in the wilderness for A While so he doesn't really care about watching his weight or anything like that
#pulim's rambles#foggy glasses and corroded copper#fgcc#mist argentum#magoo greenleaf#MASSIVE lore dump on Magoo I am so sorry for that#it's just that funnily enough most of my thoughts about him are post-arc and I haven't drawn that design of his yet lol#also massive hint on where Mist's story is going lol
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What are some rare characters you love that you think people don’t draw or write about enough
Do Max and Dex count I love them and I feel like I'm approximately 80% of the Helix fandom rn lol
Doug Peterson and Russ Frushtick from Law Abiding Citizen - the fandom has gotten real quiet over time but I still love them so much ♥ There's a lot you can read into or leave silly with their dynamic, I still wholeheartedly recommend the emerge, transformed series as one of my favourite interpretations of Russ especially 💕
The Editor from Jazzpunk - he's just a silly little guy! It's honestly such a shame that he's only really in the last chapter, I would love to see him explored more, he's the worst ♪
Tatsumi Souichi from Koisuru Boukun - genuinely one of my all-time favourite characters, and The Only Good Tsundere as far as I'm concerned lol. I'm gonna write about him! I've got my fanfic and video essay sitting in my drafts, but like agh!! He's so interesting!!! So beautifully flawed - he's internally consistent which is my Favourite - and watching him grow and change while still being himself over literal years has been a truly unparalleled experience as a reader 💖
Luke Wigglebig and Florette from Pajama Sam: You Are What You Eat From Your Head To Your Feet - I joked before about being the only person on the internet who ships them but like, I'm pretty sure that's actually true lol. Even just more fanart of them by themselves would make me happy, they're so cute!! Especially Luke, his design is adorable
And then probably a more well-known one but I haven't been following his fandom popularity lately haha, Fai D. Flowrite from Tsubasa - him, Nova, and Watanuki move in and out of being my CLAMP faves, though Fai is probably the most complex of the three of them. And he's a trash man! A garbage fire of a wizard ♥ I love him
#This also made me realize I didn't have a Jazzpunk link in my taglist over on Drabbles lol - fixed now!#And also that I apparently have a fairly wide margin for ''Characters who I want to see more of'' and ''Characters I want to make more of''#How rare are we talking here 'cause uhhh#If you wanna get into fancharacters/OCs/etc. I have perhaps Too Many of those as well lol#That's literally the only reason Max and Dex are a strikethrough because otherwise 10000%#And y'already know about my big feelings towards many others - I wouldn't have a whole Vargas blog if not lol#I have other OC faves as well :D Cheerybot jumps out to me haha#As well as when smol shares her characters with me <3#There was this one story that I was told by an artist as context for a commission and I was enthralled but never followed up on - a shame!#I ended up making a little extra art out of inspiration haha ♪#Anyway lol - these are just the ones that immediately spring to mind since I've drawn them :D#I almost certainly have more who just haven't made it to my paper yet lol#Not enough girls in this list - tossing in Wendy (and Jennifer) from Rule of Rose as well ♥#I could probably talk about several of these at even further length lol - I already have for some!#There's also specific dynamics I rarely see - my favourite rarepairs are probably Krillin/Vegeta(/Bulma/18) and Thranduil/Bilbo lol#There is too little appreciation for polyships!! So many of my faves have two hands!!#And to be fair Nova is probably rarer than Fai - there's definitely not enough fanfic about her dynamic with Hikaru!#I kept almost including other faves but I was like No Wait this about rare characters lol#I'm delighted to see all of my faves! But I would doubly so to see these get the love they deserve hehe <3#Can you tell that I really enjoy ahem Interesting Personalities lol#All my faves are disasters I love them <3
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I'm not familiar with your Links meet AU. What are all your Links' names and ages?
King: sksw, He/Him, 25, the monarchy has to start somewhere
Hero: oot/mm, They/He, 24, is trying their best to be a normal guy since his timeline is the one that none of their adventures happened in.
Hunter: tp, He/Him, 27, some emo phases last longer than others, his has been going on for about 10 years
Captain: ww, He/They, 21, leaning into the whole pirate thing real hard
General: hw, He/Him, 23, distinguished gay disaster incarnate
Linkle: hw, She/They, 23, chaotic gay disaster incarnate
Sage: botw/totk, They/She, 22, I'm diagnosing this champion as a necromancer and you can't stop me
Guardian: aoc, He/Him, 22, just had his entire life and identity flipped upside down and is taking it... fine...
Gish: loz/aol, He/Him, 14, team baby, also going through his emo phase, gets adopted by Sage
Possible Future Additions:
MC Link: the group needs another baby I guess
LA Link: idk I think they'd be a funny addition I just haven't played these games at all yet
#quick intro to the blorbos#also they all have zeldas and it's a fun time#the whole thing is based around what they are after the hero thing is all done which is why most of them are in their 20s#also some of the ages are a little shaky I haven't made a whole lot of hard decisions yet#i do think it's funny to make general one of the younger ones though#ask andromeda#hsfr#heroes spirit family reunion#ive also drawn most of them so if you wanna look through the tag that'll help put names to faces lol
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i didn't realize how much ryan was a knock off harry styles until i was looking for faceclaims for him as an art reference and reluctantly could only come up with harry styles
so tbf i'm a little faceblind irl unless there are jarring differences but like they have similar hair, and narrow-ish eyes and eyebrows, and like usually have a little bit of stubble,,, honestly i didn't realize that harry styles has a somewhat triangular jawline, which is important to me bc in my head that's how i differentiate ryan from the other guys this season
like this is my reference board rn
(that being said if anyone has a different faceclaim for him, would be highly appreciated)
#im sure this has been pointed out before but i'm looking at them rn side by side and am like oh yeah that's the same man#i'm shocked they didn't change him up a little bit lol at least get a different haircut ryan#litg ryan#litg s6#oh yes also working on a ryan fanart bc he's one of the few s6 islanders i haven't drawn yet simply bc he left my playthrough so fast
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alrighttttttttttttt, now i gotta hurry up & get used to the new tablet and figure out my new setup lickety-split so i can get back to drawing the good stuff already 😤✊️✨️
#the hurdle of csp not allowing the lifetime license on mobile devices is speed bumping me something fierce tho#so i've been experimenting with what kinds of hoops i can jump thru to get around that#and i Should be able to hook this tablet up to my laptop & use it like the old one; haven't tried it yet but it Should be possible#ugh what an annoying little thorn in my side 😂 but we adapt improvise and overcome here so!!!!#doodles#also i've been having fun doodling my sona bc i've never actually drawn them before lol
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So I saw @mambodork 's post last night and I loved it and it affected me on some deep internal level. So today I woke up and before I knew it I'd drawn this because my brain went "ough what are the intermediary stages between bald, wrinkly baby bird Grian and standard avian Grian".
My general thoughts were that avians pretty slowly grow in feathers (and hair lol) compared to standard birds that do it over the first month or so. They're sort of in the ugly duckling stage until about age 7 (give or take), at which point they've built up a base level of soft feathery down but haven't grown in their flight feathers yet, so are still nestlings that can't fly. At about ages 10/11, their wings are mostly fully grown, allowing them to fly, making them fledglings . Awkward bird puberty done just in time for human puberty to start a couple of years down the line! Yippee!!!
Also I just headcanon Grian fidgets with the hem of his jumper a lot.
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Doodle this during @vurelly stream today, and I've been having this stupid joke stuck in my head for so long, and I just see them saying something like this, lol. Also gave them their tail. How do they have a cat tail when they're technically a sheep? Next question :)
Also sorry for the scuff Leshy, I haven't drawn him yet so this is my first attempt-
#cult of the lamb#cotl#cotl leshy#doodle#digital art#art#artists on tumblr#albaake#currently working on the next comic#its gonna take awhile-#so ill try to post doodles here and there
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I think I'm getting the hang of it here are my three D&D guys that I drew on paper forever ago but now digital
so far with my drawing tablet I have
-said fuck layers and then realized actually layers would be nice when I want to erase something but not the entire thing
-accidentally colored almost the entire thing on the lineart layer
-idk what I'm doing with the backgrounds but they're turning out to fuck supremely
-learned how to flip a selection
#They all have weird freak sex together and also are plotting the abdication and/or forcible ejection of the monarchy#I gave up on making kitties background look not dogshit because it's what he would want. He's annoying on purpose#I have the talent of being able to look at a reference and then draw it pretty okay#But when it comes to like customizing or doing it from my brain I do not have the skill lol#I traced all three of these from my original art#So I haven't technically drawn something from scratch yet on the tablet#But I think I will be able to easier now#idk why Echo looks purple here she's just dark blue#In this house we hate purple
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nonidol!jung sungchan x f!reader
at some point beneath the glittering summer sun and along evening tides, you and sungchan tripped over the line drawn in the sand.
▷ genre, warnings. brother's best friend!au, friends-ish 2 lovers, family vacay + sungchan lol, swearing, kissing, fluff, humor, sungchan does go shirtless (it's a beach), mentions of food, mentions of alcohol; lee jeno, sohee, and anton r ur brothers! (so u have the lee last name but u "look more like ur mom"); barely proofread, also im sorry if this is boring my head has not been in the game for Months
▷ word count. 10.0k
DISCLAIMER: i DO NOT actively write for or stan riize; this is literally just a birthday present T-T so if dynamics/personalities aren't right, i literally don't know these guys 💀
a/n: happiest birthday to my beloved soulmate and wife @justalildumpling :')) i hope u like it <3
OFTEN when you came back home from work, your joints and muscles ached to the point you could barely stand, your hair felt gross on your head, and your eyes stung from dehydration and sleep deprivation. That was the toll of working closing shift at the restaurant you worked at, and had been working at, for the past several years.
It wasn't out of the ordinary to see the lights in the house still warm and bright when you got home either. Your family was a handful of night owls, not discounting yourself. They had witnessed you in this particular rat-nest dump of a state time and time again, which was why you didn't worry about looking like Death Incarnate.
“Hey.”
Your soul left your body.
Sitting on your living room couch was not a family member. Though, he might as well have been a part of it from how much you had been seeing him lately. Jung Sungchan was your older brother Jeno's best friend, but Sungchan was in your year rather than Jeno's. The two met via the high school soccer team and had been good friends since.
Years later, he was sitting on the living room couch, nearing one in the morning, his hair damp from a recent shower, T-shirt sleeves rolled up his shoulders, and his phone paused from the game he was playing. Your brain was too tired to even register the amount of muscle packed onto his arms (what the fuck—).
“Sorry, did I scare you?” He chuckled sheepishly, reaching up to ruffle his dark hair, grown out slightly.
“What are you doing here?” You blurted instead. Exhaustion meant that conventional politeness was completely defenestrated. It was one in the morning on a summer night… usually your older brother was out clubbing or drinking (not that you were any different, but you worked quite a bit more nights lately).
Sungchan's eyes danced up and down your form. “Jeno and I decided we're gonna pull an all-nighter for the road trip in—” He glanced over at his phone, “—seven hours and just knock out in the car. How was work?”
Road trip? Car ride? If you could just make it to the shower… “It was fine. Tiring,” you said with a sigh. You trudged over to the far side of the room, behind Sungchan, into the kitchen. You grabbed a cup to fill with water, then drained it down your throat just as fast as it had been filled.
With water in your body, your systems were finally coming back online. Road trip. Car ride. Your eyes widened. “Oh my god. I have to pack.”
“You haven't packed yet?” He queried, tone light and teasing as he watched the progression of your panic with amusement. “Even Jeno's packed.”
You sputtered back at him, “Quiet, you!”
Sungchan's warm laugh followed you out into the hallway and all the way to your room. You couldn't understand why your face felt so hot; you should have been too preoccupied to be embarrassed, after all.
You slammed your bedroom door shut, dragging a hand down your face. You couldn't believe Sungchan just saw your I-just-worked-for-eight-hours-in-customer-service face. Not even some of your closest friends had seen the aftermath of your night shifts at work yet.
Crazy.
It wasn't every family vacation where a plus-one was invited. Your family tried to set aside time for these trips just for the six of you, but this time was an exception. Somehow—you weren't a part of the delegations—Sungchan was invited on this summer's trip to the coast. Your mom mentioned offhandedly it was because Sungchan “was a nice boy,” or something to that effect. Your family rented out a cabin right along the beach for a week, and the lot of you were going to be stuck in the family minivan for a good eight hours together.
And if Sungchan was tagging along, that meant you were going to have to fight for the middle row seat or—
“Yn—you’re in the back with Sohee and Anton.”
You came to a screeching halt on your way out of the house, a bucket hat shielding your puffy eyes from the waking world, your duffle strapped over your shoulder. It was seven hours later—an ungodly eight in the morning. “What? Nuh-uh; I don't think so.”
Jeno stood only a few meters ahead of you by the door of the minivan, his hands primed on either side of his hips as if he was the self-proclaimed guardian of the car seating chart. “Well, I said so. Sungchan has longer legs than you—”
“Why don't you sit in the back then?” You shot back with a saccharine sweet smile. You were too tired for this shit.
Sungchan scratched the side of his head as he walked out of the house to stand by you and join the argument, his flip flops thwacking against the ground. “Uhh, I can sit in the back middle seat. It's cool, dude.”
“Sungchan's too tall for the middle seat,” your dad interjected. He took yours and Sungchan's bags to add to the trunk. “Yn's in the back. Sorry, hon.”
“Dad,” you groaned.
“You can switch with Jeno half way.”
“Dad!” Jeno squawked this time.
Your father gave a tired sigh, saying more than he would ever say aloud. “Everyone in the car. Can't you two be like Sohee and Anton? At least they're knocked out.”
“They know they'll be sent to the back without question,” you pointed out as you made your way to the minivan. As you passed by your brother, you sent him a very potent stink eye, then clambered into the back row.
Like your father had said, your younger brothers, Sohee and Anton, were already dead asleep. Their mouths hung open wide enough to catch any wayward fly with their heads angled back against their neck pillows. You snorted and snapped a photo of them to add to your collection of brotherly blackmail.
Your mom was settled into the front passenger seat already queuing up driving directions to get to the coast. From your perch in the middle, you had a clear view of her phone screen—seven hours and two minutes. Yay.
You supposed there wasn't anything too terrible about the middle seat; you were out like a light as soon as the car pulled out of the driveway.
When you woke up, it was about four hours later, and your parents were having a hushed discussion amongst themselves and Sungchan. A baseball cap had materialized on top of Sungchan's head at some point when you were asleep, and the sleeves of his T-shirt were once again rolled up to expose his muscled shoulders. Did this guy not have a tank top?
“...I like it, at least—well, I don't mind all the extra requirements, and I know it'll help me reach my ultimate end goal, so.”
Your mom let out a hum of approval. “Ah, that's good that you like it. You'll be busy as a nurse.”
Right, Sungchan was in the nursing program. Your brother wasa kinesiology major, and you were going into law. It made for quite the diverse pool in the car.
You opened your mouth in a yawn and fumbled your hand around your lap for where your earbud had fallen out of your ear, carefully so that you didn't shake off Anton's head on your shoulder. (Oh no, was he drooling?)
“Yn-ah, good morning,” your mother teased quietly.
You glanced up, eyes going wide when you realized both your mom and Sungchan were now peering back at you. “Morning,” you murmured. Your fingers enclosed around your fallen earbud to tuck it into the case left in the bag at your feet.
“Sleep well?” Sungchan piped up. There was that twinkle in his eyes, the same one from last night. It made your stomach twist in a way that was more pleasant than not.
You cleared your throat, unconsciously reaching up to adjust the placement of your bucket hat and praying you didn't look like a sewer rat. “For the most part,” you replied. “How about you?”
He shrugged. “I had a decent power nap. Your mom says you're going into law. That's really cool.”
“Oh,” you blinked. “Thanks. And you're in nursing, right? That's cool, too—super admirable.”
Sungchan's mouth widened into a small grin. “Thanks. It's only our first year, but it feels like so much work already.”
“Right? Tell me about it…”
Less than fifteen minutes later, the family van pulled into the parking lot of a diner off the interstate, exactly halfway through your journey. The seven of you, weary and hungry, filed out of the vehicle and into the establishment. You and your parents slid into one booth, while your brothers and Sungchan occupied the one behind you.
There was a low-spun fan swirling above your heads, an 80s song you vaguely recognized wafting through the air at a dull decibel. Your phone was stashed away in the bag tucked into your end of the booth seat while you idly sipped on your glass of iced water.
You jolted at the feeling of something light hitting the back of your head.
A gasp from behind you.
You rolled your eyes, twisting around in your seat while picking the wadded up straw wrapper from your hair. “Who did it?” You deadpanned.
The boys table was filled with sheepish expressions, to their credit. Your younger brothers, who were sitting on the far side facing you, thrusted their fingers in each other's faces in a torrent of blame and accusation.
“Aish, never mind. I don't care who did it,” you dismissed. Your eyes caught onto Sungchan's. He sat just diagonally to your left and for some reason, his eyes on you made you feel warm.
You flicked the wrapper back; it hit Anton square in the forehead. Jeno barked out a laugh.
“Nice shot,” Sungchan nodded, extending his fist to you.
You couldn't suppress the smile from coming onto your face as you bumped his fist with yours.
Food arrived swiftly afterward, and it was demolished as quickly as it came. In the sway of a palm tree frond, the seven of you were back in the confines of the family minivan.
The remainder of the car ride carried over quickly. Though Jeno unhappily sat his ass down in your previous spot with you claiming his from before, he and your other brothers snored away five minutes in. You didn't go back to sleep despite having a full belly and less than five hours of sleep under your belt; you watched the world pass by outside the window in a blur.
Urban skylines melted into rolling emerald mountains and pastures, sank into palm trees and sandy shores that met a blue horizon as far as the eye could see.
The beach house your family rented this year was a two story cottage-type. It was small, with only one bedroom and bathroom upstairs, a bathroom downstairs, and a living room and kitchen. The rest was all beach. It was determined that you and your mom would be given the honors of the upstairs bedroom and bathroom, while all the boys piled into the living room.
Once everyone was settled in, there was little else to do but go make use of your new backyard for the next week.
“Yn! Come on, slowpoke!” Sohee shouted at you from the shoreline with cupped hands. You saw his bare back as he splashed into the waves after Anton, who was already only a speck in your vision.
Your bare feet sank into the sand, and you wiggled your toes between the warm grains. Sunshine, glorious and concentrated above the distant horizon, soaked into your skin. Ah, this was the life.
Just as you reached for the hem of your shirt to reveal your bathing suit, you caught movement from the corner of your eye. Jeno and Sungchan were coming onto the beach from the front of the house, a disassembled volleyball net hanging between them.
Your eyes nearly fell out of your head at the sight of Sungchan's back—
Before Jeno or any of your other brothers or Sungchan could catch you ogling, you gave yourself a nice, mental slap to the face. No more. You needed to stop this. When did you ever look at Sungchan like this?
(You could still remember when he was the gangly kid with the growth spurt trying out for the high school soccer team. He was paired with Jeno to test his potential, and the rest was history.)
Sungchan was the first to spot you as he and Jeno determined a place to set up the net. He beamed boyishly, his chin inclining toward you. “Hey, wanna play?”
Your eyes flickered to the corded necklace hanging from his collar and between his—Yn, shut the fuck up. “Sure,” you said simply, feigning nonchalance.
If he noticed your wandering eyes, he didn't comment. Instead, he nodded back at you. “Sick.”
You both turned back to your original tasks. Your hands went back to the bottom hem of your shirt to tug it up and off your body. (Maybe you weren't the only one with wandering eyes, though.)
You draped your clothes over the back porch railing and began making your way down to the shoreline. “I'm gonna take a dip and then come back up!” You said to Jeno and Sungchan.
“Oh, okay—ow!”
You didn't see nor hear what happened, but when you glanced back, Sungchan had his back turned to you as he furiously rubbed the back of his head, while Jeno smiled innocently.
Your older brother waved you along. “Carry on!” He said.
Walking backward for a couple steps, you shot him an incredulous look, then turned around to meet your little brothers in the ocean. Whatever.
You had been staring at the wooden ceiling above your head for the past forty-five minutes. Your mom's even breathing and the ocean waves rolling outside the window failed to rock you into unconsciousness. You'd figured the sunlight from this afternoon would have made you tired, or perhaps all the food you ate for dinner, but your eyes continued to stay wide open.
A quiet sigh fell from your mouth as you rolled over onto your side and gently peeled the covers off. With near silent footsteps across the oak floors, you slipped out of the bedroom and down the stairs.
The cacophony of combined snoring from all the men in the living room was comparable to the volume of the waves just outside.
You barely contained your snort of amusement. You didn't worry about waking any of them up as you crossed the living room, full of a smorgasbord of limbs and bodies draped across the large couch sectional and blankets on the floor.
The back door was left unlatched when you reached its threshold. Outside, moonlight dappled across the calm sea like a sprinkling of diamonds. You slowly pried the door open, freezing.
You and Sungchan made eye contact from across the back porch. He was perched on the top step, nursing a bottle of beer in his hand. A loose breeze wafted through the strands of his hair.
“Sorry,” you whispered, moving to retreat back into the house.
“Oh, no—please.” He patted the empty space next to him on the porch step.
You blinked, at odds. He was clearly out here for a reason and you'd figured he wanted some space, but if he was inviting you, then…
You closed the back door behind you and settled beside him, with a comfortable amount of negative space between your bodies. You folded your arms over the tops of your knees and stared out at the midnight horizon. It smelled of salt and sea spray, and the light wind was a refreshing crispiness against the humid evening air.
“Couldn't sleep?” He murmured, glancing over at you.
You nodded. “Yeah. You?”
He hummed in response.
“I'm not surprised,” you said. The corners of your lips curled upward. “I wouldn't be able to sleep amongst my brothers either. Their snoring could wake a bear.”
Sungchan sputtered out a laugh as his eyes crinkled upward and he pressed the back of his knuckles against his mouth. “I wasn't gonna say it, but…”
You shared a grin with him. “I will happily say it for you, dude.”
His eyes were stunning in this lighting. The moonlight hit his irises at an angle that made them shimmer like a shade of molten copper. He licked his lips, and you saw his eyes dart from your eyes, down a few inches, then further down to the beer bottle in his hands.
“Oh, uh,” he stammered, tipping the bottle nose in your direction, “want some? I thought the alcohol would help me sleep, but it's not looking awfully promising.”
For a split second, your heart leapt at the thought—your mouth pressed against the place his mouth had been, tasting the place he'd drunk from.
You dashed the thought from your mind. It couldn't have been so significant as your brain was making it out to be. You were probably just sleep deprived.
“Thanks,” you said while reaching across the gap to accept it from him. Judging by the weight, it was just about half full, and you took a light swig.
A drop of liquid dribbled out of the corner of your lips, and you swiped it with the pad of your thumb, sticking the finger into your mouth to suck it off. You passed the bottle back over to him, catching his eyes not looking at yours.
(The organ in your chest was no longer in your chest. Was it normal for your heart to make a home in your throat instead? Why did he look at you like that?)
“Any reason for not being able to sleep?” You asked him to break the silence. “I mean, besides the symphony my brothers and dad are conducting, of course.”
His eyes shuddered, as if breaking out of a trance. “Oh, uhm—nothing in particular, I guess. Maybe it's just from all the excitement. I think it's usually hard for me to sleep in new places.”
You bobbed your head in understanding. “No, I get that. It takes me a little to get used to new environments, too. I don't know how I would have survived if I was living in the dorms at uni and not at home.” The university you attended was a decent commute from your house, so living on campus was never something you gave much thought to. The idea of living independently appealed to you sometimes, but in general, you didn't have a ton of qualms against your circumstances now.
“For sure,” Sungchan whistled lowly. He contemplated the opening of his beer bottle, then took a gentle sip of its contents. “Have you made a lot of friends? I feel like it's a lot harder than people make it seem.”
You passed him a curious glance this time. “Some, but it's definitely not as easy as high school. You haven't made a lot of friends?”
“The soccer team, mainly,” he chuckled. “The occasional ally in my classes.”
You let out a bright laugh that made his smile widen. “'Ally?’” You parroted. “What a fun word to call classmates.”
“It's true!” He insisted, chuckling. “Some of these professors are evil, man. Competitive grades? Not a chance,” He scoffed. “We're all in this together, even if the curve is against us.”
You clapped a hand over your mouth to keep from being too loud, but the rolling waves likely covered your noise plenty. Your family were deep sleepers.
“I just figured that you meet lots of people,” you offered when your mirth died down to a giggle. You toed a pile of sand sitting on the last step of the porch. “Your socials are pretty active,” you said, “but I guess I shouldn't judge a book by its cover.”
“I could say the same about you, Miss Party Girl,” he smirked. “When are you gonna drag me to a rave?”
Heat raced up to your cheeks. “I've only been to one,” you said, rolling your eyes. He'd seen that post? First, the post-work daze, and now, the turnt raver? “I haven't gone to a party in a few weeks 'cause of finals anyway.”
Now that you thought about it, you'd been so busy as of late, you couldn't even count the amount of outings you'd declined on your two hands.
“Trust me, I get it.” He raised his hands in an act of surrender, his knees angling toward you. The negative space was suddenly a lot less negative.
Another tip of his beer bottle; it swapped hands once, twice more. The liquid dribbled smooth down your throat just as Sungchan knocked the rest back. The empty glass made a dull thunk sound as it hit the wooden porch to Sungchan's right.
“So what I'm getting,” you drawled, mimicking his position by angling your knees toward his. You felt your legs brush—the stimulus sent a jolt down your nerves that warned of addiction and tasted like the forbidden. “Is that you've never been to a rave before?”
Sungchan gave a noncommittal shrug. “Maybe I have.”
You mocked his shrug. “Maybe you have.”
“Or maybe it's just that I haven't gone with you yet.”
Even the waves seemed to quiet for a second. Your heartbeat stuttered in your chest, and you tied down the nervous laugh ready to bubble out of your mouth. You bit your lip and found yourself nodding. “We'd paint the town red, Jung Sungchan,” you murmured.
There it was again—that flicker of his gaze to some place you both knew crossed a line. It was the beer, was what you were telling yourself. It was the beer.
Seagulls surfed the ever-blue sky. Eternal summer could be thought of as a filter of golden, glittery gauze across one's already rose-colored glasses. But summer, truly, was the shade of Jung Sungchan's tank top peeling off his body as he sprinted down the sandbank after your brother, Anton.
You watched the fabric whip around in the salt breeze before settling into a heap where his footprint melted into the mineral grains. You were giving Sohee the sunscreen spritz-down up on the covered porch, while Jeno barreled down the bank after his friend and brother.
From behind you came the scratch of the back door sliding open. You and Sohee peered back to where your mom poked her head out.
She just barely caught her sunglasses in time as they slipped off her head. “Hey, your dad and I are heading out. Watch each other, okay?”
“Got it!” You and Sohee chirped.
One more nod from your mom, and then she was gone. Your parents were going to take a date into town, just the two of them. That left you and the boys here with the surf and sand—definitely not a terrible compromise. If you wanted, you could probably have the whole house to yourself, anyway. These guys could entertain themselves.
“Yn! Sohee!”
Jeno arced one arm up into the sky to beckon you down to the sea, only to get dragged underwater by his two comrades. You and Sohee harked out twin laughs as you watched Jeno fight for his life with limbs flailing and foam flying into the sky.
You patted Sohee's shoulder as you set the can of sunscreen onto the porch step. “Alrighty, you're good to go, bro.”
“Thanks—race you down!”
“Hey!” Your laughter echoed as you bolted down the sand after him to join the fun.
As your feet dug into the wet embankment, your palms made purchase against Sohee's shoulders to shove him into the water. A yelp leapt into the air, and you turned away to avoid getting hit in the face with the consequence of your prank.
“I'm so gonna get you for that!” Sohee spat water out of his mouth, a wicked grin pulling onto his lips.
“No, you're not, actually!”
You bolted—well, stomped, your way through the knee-deep water, furiously trying to get away from karma. Water yanked down on your limbs in a forceful coax to give into your punishment, but you were determined.
You could hear your brothers’ hollers of encouragement: “Get her, Sohee!” and “RUN, YN, RUN!”
Adrenaline pumped through your veins and you pushed your legs harder.
“I got her!” Wait, was that Sungchan?—
You suddenly felt a pair of hands on either side of your waist—you swore as your legs came out of the water and your world twisted.
“No, no, no, no, no!” You squawked, squirming wildly in Sungchan's arms as he scooped you into his hold like a bride. (NO. NOT LIKE A BRIDE. WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE A BRIDE?—) One arm cradled your back and the other under your knees, and he laughed—he chuckled—as you attempted to flip yourself out of his grasp.
“You're not getting out of this, party girl,” he said close to your ear.
For a heartbeat, you lost your breath at the rasp behind his words and the grin on his face. But a heartbeat was all he needed.
There was free fall, and then all sound muffled as cold water engulfed your body. You plugged your nose and screwed your eyes shut. You felt your ass hit the sand at the bottom in slow motion, before the air in your lungs began to lift you back up to the surface of the water.
You broke out with a gasp, hair flipping back as you furiously swiped your hands down your face to get the water out of your eyes. They stung like a bitch, but you could feel the rush of blood in your ears; it was thrilling.
A hand in your vision enclosed around yours.
“You asshole!” You scowled up at Sungchan from where you knelt, though it was half-hearted.
He beamed back at you boyishly with damp hair hanging in his eyes and water running down the crevices of his stomach like a goddamn system of canals. “You're a good sport, Yn.”
“I'm really not.”
You had the distinct pleasure of seeing the smile slip off his face before you used his grip on you to yank him into the water. You swallowed a good half pint of saltwater, but the revenge couldn't have been sweeter.
When Sungchan's head broke the surface, it was followed by a dog-like shake of his head. You laughed to turn away from the spray of water; Sungchan delighted at the sound.
Amusement still lingered on your lips as your eyes snagged on the piece of seaweed that made its home on his head. You didn't think twice about it before leaning closer to reach it.
You stepped forward, and—oh boy, was that a mistake.
You had a front row seat view of a droplet of water slipping down the slope of his nose, the curve of his lips, and the cliff of his chin. You wrestled down a swallow, and pulled the seaweed off his head, flinging it into the water.
“You had, uhm, a little…”
“Right, thanks—”
You both flinched apart as a man-made wave of water crashed into your sides. “AMBUSH!” Your three brothers declared, springing up out of the water and parading a full-blown attack with all weapons firing.
You and Sungchan were swift to launch your own counterattack.
Merriment filled the summer air as much as saltwater embedded into your skin and eyes and mouth. You almost made the mistake of thinking your racing heart was just from the determination to beat your brothers, and not from the guy on your side of the war. The heat was getting to you and the sun was getting to him.
It was about an hour later that you found yourself lazing upon the slick and smooth plane of a surfboard. The ocean rocked you gently from beneath the board; it had been surprisingly calm all of today.
At some point, you and the boys established a truce in the Great Water War, mainly because your brothers were hungry and there was a big, juicy watermelon just begging to be cut open and devoured in the house.
Suffice to say, you let your brothers figure it out.
Your consciousness faded into the foreground of your mind as a distant sound of splashing neared. You peaked one eye open, lifting the rim of the hat up to see who dared to encroach upon your isle.
You could recognize Sungchan's mop of hair from a mile away, at this point. You couldn't tell if that was a good or bad thing, but why did it have to be either?
He cropped up right beside you, pushing back his hair to keep the water out of his eyes. “Hi.”
A smile curled onto your lips, teasing. “Hi. Good swim?”
“Good nap?”
“As good as one can be on the open ocean,” you said, shifting the hat up so you could see him better, but keeping your face shaded. “I don't know how dolphins sleep with half their brain on.”
Sungchan's brows rocketed toward his hairline. “They sleep with half their brain on? Crazy.”
“I know. I can't even stay awake with half my brain on.”
You and he shared a laugh, and he set a palm on the board next to your body. “Aw, no,” he assured. “If you've got less than half a brain on at all times, then I've got one brain cell.”
“Joke's on you, half my brain is half a brain cell.”
He wrinkled his nose at you. Cute. “Sweetheart, hate to break it to you, but that's not how brain cells work.”
You nearly fell off the board. “Okay, Mr. Know-it-all, do tell.”
“I'm not about to talk about neurons on my vacation.”
You challenged him with a look. “Overruled, counselor. Answer the question.”
His mouth fell open in a stunned daze, and his reaction made you break face for a moment to laugh. He blinked. “I have to be really honest with you…” Sungchan carded a hand through his hair, then pressed his knuckles to his mouth. “That was really hot.”
Was it suddenly five degrees warmer out here?
If blood rushing in your ears was akin to the sound of waves crashing, there must have been one hell of a tsunami in your veins right now.
You sputtered a laugh. “You need to get out of the sun—”
“I'm sorry I said that aloud,” he grimaced sheepishly.
“Nurse? Nurse!—” You feigned raising your head up to look around for an imaginary nurse in the middle of the ocean. “Oh, right. You are the nurse.”
He groaned, tilting his head back and playfully punching your shoulder. “You're so—”
“Hot?”
You howled at the sight of his cheekbones blooming the color of ripe watermelon. “I'm kidding; I'm teasing!”
He sighed, smiling despite the pain etched onto his gorgeous features. “Never living that down, am I?”
You shifted your position to laying on your stomach now, your arms folded beneath your chin. Sungchan carefully turned the surfboard so the tip faced him, and you were trapped in his gaze, head-on. “It was cute,” you consoled.
“So you think I'm cute?” He cocked a brow.
“And you think I'm hot.”
He flicked water at you. “Aaand, there it is!”
You laughed again, delighted at the red lingering on his cheeks and the tips of his ears. God, he was fucking gorgeous.
A beat passed for a second. Something settled between the two of you, a thing you couldn't yet put a name on, but it had been there since last night. Or maybe it had been there longer, festering in the negative space between you until said space could become something of a memory.
You weren't sure why he was here—why he'd swum out here to meet you when his best friend was back at the beach house, gorging on watermelon and getting his ass handed to him in Mario Kart by his siblings; why he all of a sudden occupied a part of your mind like the tide creeping up the embankment at four in the afternoon. At first, he was far enough for you to settle into a false sense of security; until all of a sudden, there he was, the foamy waves lapping at your feet and his smile the only thing you could see when you closed your eyes.
His tongue swiped over his lips and he cleared his throat. “So, uh, watermelon?” That was his original reason for coming out here. (He did volunteer, after all.)
You perked up. “Right, sure. Watermelon.”
“Great.” He broke into a smile, but the corners of it were softer, fonder. You could get used to the look of it.
There was this saying—the elephant in the room—but here in the cabin living room, it was definitely more of a blue whale. Just completely out of the water, weighing about thirteen tons, the size of twelve school buses… yeah, that sounded about right.
“GO FISH!” Anton flung his finger across the circle at Jeno with the glee of a kid on Christmas morning. “Suck it!”
Your mom sent an express glare his way. “Anton.”
Your youngest shrunk down sheepishly. “Sorry, eomma.”
The seven of you were settled in the living space this fine evening with a deck of cards. Your parents were on the couches watching the movie on screen and the game before them, while you, your brothers, and Sungchan huddled around the coffee table playing said game. Sunsoaked and weary, it only took one hearty and filling dinner to perk the lot of you right back up like a field of sunflowers.
“This is a stupid game,” Jeno sulked as he examined his hand of cards.
“You only say that because you're losing,” you pointed out. “Anyways, Jeno, can I have that three?”
Jeno cut you a glare as the rest of the table rolled into fits of laughter. Your smile was cheeky, reaching out to snatch the three Jeno revealed he had during his turn.
“That's cold,” Sohee snorted.
Your eyes darted over to Sungchan opposite you. His eyes were glimmering. “Yeah, I didn't know you had so much ruthlessness in you, Yn.”
“Why do you think she's going into law?” Jeno grunted. Though one card less, it meant that he had one less pair in his finished pile. At this rate, you might win and end up with the most pairs.
“Guys, it's literally just how you play the game.” You nodded over at Sohee. “Sohee, do you have a jack?”
Your younger brother handed it over without ceremony. “Unfortunately.”
“Anton, do you have an ace?”
He shook his head. “Go fish, noona.”
“See?” You said to the rest of the table, but your eyes went to Sungchan's. “The nature of the game.”
They let you off the hook because you didn't plunder everyone of their cards this round. It continued on with Sohee, then Anton, before landing on Sungchan.
He made a show of considering his cards, a furrow between his brows. He glanced up at you over the rim of his hand and gestured with a curl of his fingers. “I'd like that ace, Yn.”
“Oooh,” Anton giggled.
Jeno grinned as you extended the ace across the table to Sungchan. “Karma.”
“Thank you—” his fingers grazed against yours as he plucked the card from your grasp, “—very much.”
You pressed your lips into a small smile, nose wrinkling up at him. You had a few cards left to rid yourself of.
Your dad cleared his throat as he stood up from the couch to bring his empty bowl to the sink. “By the way, are you kids still going into town tomorrow?”
The five of you exchanged brief eye contact with one another. “Yep.”
The idea had come up during dinner after your parents came back. They'd mentioned a variety of activities and little shops to visit that might be fun for you to see, including a hand churned ice cream shop and a port side arcade building. It would just be the five of you going, while your parents would walk down to the beach trails about a mile from the cabin to go hiking.
In the morning, you and everyone else in the house took your time getting up and ready for the day. Breakfast was taken together at the table before you split off into your separate parties.
Jeno took the wheel with Sungchan riding shotgun, and you sat in the middle row with Sohee, while Anton occupied the back. You rolled down your window to rest your chin on the fold of your elbow, your sunglasses slipping down the bridge of your nose as you watched the scenery pass by.
Right in front of you, Sungchan also had his window rolled down with his arm propped on the lowered sill. He chatted animatedly with Jeno about whatever game he and all three of your brothers were playing this morning, but you could feel his gaze go to his side view mirror more than once.
The ride was an easy, breezy one.
The main town center bustled with locals and visitors alike in the late morning. Jeno found free parking about a block away, and the five of you walked over as one big group.
“Ice cream first!” Anton declared with one arm raised toward the sky.
“I concur,” you chimed in. You lifted your sunglasses up slightly so you could read the town directory easier. “Seems like we're close by.”
Anton nodded in approval. “Onwards, then.”
You and your youngest brother led the way. The idea of ice cream made your mouth water, especially since you could already feel a bead of sweat dribble down your spine. Why was it so goddamn hot?
The shop was a cute, little building with a pink and white striped awning and a large window in the front that gave visitors a front row view into the ice cream churning experience. You snorted as Anton pressed his nose up against the glass, a wide grin splitting his face.
“You're scaring the workers, dude,” you jested, tugging your brother along.
Anton scrunched his nose up at you. “You scare me every morning.”
“Just because you're a wimp when I put toner pads on—hey! Do you want ice cream or not?” You cackled as he attempted to flick you square in the forehead.
Jeno groaned. “Guys, can we please act normal for once?” He asked as he swung the door open for everyone.
Sungchan beat you to the punchline, slapping his friend on the back while he ducked inside. “That's rich coming from you, man.”
“Hey!”
The squabble was swiftly swept out of your mind when you stepped foot into the shop. You were nearly knocked over from the potency of the sugary waffle cone scent that occupied the room. At the sight of tubs upon tubs of frozen treats kept within the display case, your entire face lit up, eyes going glassy with wonder. “Oh no, too many to choose from,” you gasped, cupping the lower half of your face.
Sungchan chuckled beside you as he crossed his arms and assessed the dozen options before you. “I didn't know you were such an ice cream fanatic, party girl,” he mused. He glanced over at you with a fond sort of gleam in his eye.
“Don't even get her started,” Sohee groaned. “She and Anton have a sweet tooth to rival Willy Wonka.”
Anton flagged down one of the workers, having already found his targets to try. He was in here for less than two minutes and was already rattling off the entire menu to the poor girl behind the counter.
“Tiramisu sounds really good,” you muttered. Your eyes moved slowly from tub to tub. Another gasp flew from your lips, and you clasped a hand on Sungchan's shoulder. “Wait—but strawberry shortcake—hhhhh.” You wrinkled your brows together, lips pressed into a taut line.
This was not good.
“You could always get a double scoop,” Sungchan suggested.
You bobbed your head. “That's true, but I'm just worried I won't be able to finish, y'know.”
“Well, maybe I'll get one of the flavors you want and we can split.” His shrug was all too casual.
“Really?”
“Yeah, sure,” he said, biting his lip through a smile.
The organ in your chest gave a hop, skip, and a leap. You weren't sure if it was at the thought of it all working out alright or if it was because of Sungchan's generous gesture. You were telling yourself it was the former, but you could be persuaded it was the latter if given a light shove in that direction.
When everyone's scoops were paid for, you fell into a loose formation to stroll around town while you finished your treats.
You and Sungchan were glued to each other's sides out of necessity since you were sharing flavors. Jeno walked on his other side, however, lapping at his cotton candy blue scoop seated upon a throne of waffle cone. The two youngest walked in front, leading you all to wherever they wished to go.
The town itself was rather quaint when you finally soaked it in. It seemed like the kind of place everyone knew everyone, and if you were new or only visiting, the locals were just as friendly and welcoming. The town center was stocked with anything a resident might need—a small grocer down the street, clothing stores and restaurants lining the boulevard, a newspaper stand at the corner, a laundromat, a hardware store, and more places you were certain you wouldn't be able to see in just one walk.
As you scooped a bite out of some of the last bits of tiramisu in Sungchan's cup, Jeno was summoned up to his brothers who were debating over which way they should turn next. You and Sungchan lingered behind to finish off the ice cream in your respective cups.
Just as you slurped up the melted shortcake ice cream at the bottom of yours, your eyes caught onto a storefront behind Sungchan. It was decked out in cliché boho-chic, with braided nets, shells, and sand dollars in the window and over the door frame. The souvenir shop seemed to embody the quintessential tourist trap, and you didn't mind falling into it.
“—guys, we're gonna go to the arcade now!” Jeno said, beckoning you and Sungchan over. They must have decided on a route then.
You made your decision. “You guys can go ahead! I'm gonna pop into this place for a second. I promised I'd get my friend Minjeong something.” Minjeong was one of the few close friends you made at university, and though you didn't promise to her face you'd get her something, you were determined to get her a little trinket as a token of your affection.
“You're gonna go alone?”
You blinked. “Yeah, I'll just meet you guys at the arcade.”
Sohee piped up, “But mom said buddy system.” Okay, you should probably honor that, but it wasn't as if the four of you always followed that rule.
“I'll go with you.”
All eyes went to Sungchan who tossed his empty cup and spoon into the nearby trash can. He gave a nonchalant lift of his shoulders. “I wanted to get my mom something anyway.”
You tilted your head to the side curiously as Jeno narrowed his eyes at Sungchan, like they were communicating telepathically. Odd.
In fact, you didn't really know what to think about being alone with Sungchan. There was a difference between coincidentally ending up on the porch together or conversing in the ocean away from everyone else, to purposefully breaking off from the group to spend time with each other.
Then again, he said he was getting something for his mom. That gave a different implication to him volunteering to accompany you. The goal was capitalism, not something forbidden.
Maybe you were thinking about this too much.
“Okay, fine,” Jeno relented. “We'll meet you at the arcade, but don't take too long or we'll leave without you.”
“Aye-aye,” you teased, raising a hand to wave goodbye to your brothers. “C'mon, Sungchan.”
You dumped your empty ice cream cup and spoon into the trash before slipping inside the souvenir shop with Sungchan following right after you. You lifted your sunglasses up on top of your head, skin prickling with gooseflesh from the draft of air conditioning wafting overhead. A soft-toned acoustic played in the background, accompanied by the cheery greeting of a staff member from behind the register.
You and Sungchan lifted your hands in warm reply, then disappeared into the aisles to explore.
Your fingers grazed along the racks of clothes branded with the beach town's name and minimalist artwork; your eyes roamed over the ships displayed in bottles on the walls, the not-for-sale surfboard hung for decor. Like many souvenir shops, there were several turning displays that boasted rows upon rows of themed keychains with specific names engraved into them.
“I will never find my name amongst these,” Sungchan mused quietly from beside you as the two of you rifled through the surfboards and seashells and sharks. “And yet, I look for the S names all the time.”
“Valid,” you nodded. “Sometimes I can't find my name either, but it's the hope that gets you.”
“And fails you,” he pointed out.
“Touché.”
Near the keychain displays stood a tower of hats and head accessories galore. There were crocheted bonnets, straw hats, ball caps, and even headbands. Your expression glittered as you plucked up a headband with twin sunflowers on the top like a pair of antennas.
After hanging your shades on your shirt color, you donned the headpiece, twirling around to show Sungchan. “Thoughts?” You asked, failing to sweep your grin away.
Sungchan beamed back at you. “Oh, you're too cute.”
You ignored the heat creeping up the back of your neck to reach for another headband—this time, one topped with red crab claws. Sungchan graciously bowed his head for you to crown him with the piece.
“Fabulous,” you declared with your hands on your hips.
He peered into the small mirror to the side of the hat rack. “You think?”
“Of course.” So much so, that you pulled out your phone to snap a picture. You tilted your head toward his to fit both of your faces and headbands in the frame.
Sungchan peered over your shoulder to take a glimpse at the photos. His tongue was jammed into his cheek, and you could feel his breath along the shell of your ear. “Send me those?”
“I'd need your number first.”
He grinned boyishly, roughing a hand through his hair before taking your phone from you. “You don't even have to ask.”
As he saved his contact information into your phone, you attempted to calm the giddy butterflies in your stomach by peering back into the mirror at the headband on your head. You squished the plush sunflower heads with your fingers, humming thoughtfully. “I low-key wanna buy this.”
He glanced up from your phone before handing it back to you. “If you buy that one, I'll buy this one,” he replied, pointing up at the crab claws on his head.
“You're such an enabler,” you jested. A beat passed. “Okay, but only if you get it with me.”
“That is what I said,” he chuckled, eyebrows arched.
The remainder of the time you and Sungchan spent in the shop was mainly to figure out what you would purchase for Minjeong and what Sungchan would buy for his mom. (Mainly, implying that there was still room for shenanigans.) It took a little more than half an hour, but you both emerged from the souvenir shop with a gift bag each, containing your headbands and the baubles bought.
The arcade was only about a ten minute's walk from your location, so you and Sungchan took your sweet time getting there. As the two of you walked—the backs of your hands grazing against one another, shoulders bumping—you nearly forgot that Sungchan was your brother's good friend. Jeno had never made it a point that you and his friends should never mix, and you knew he could care less about your love life, but this was different. (Was it?) It felt like something that shouldn't happen, and yet, why were you starting to want it so badly?
The outside of the arcade was a cream colored building, much like the others in town, but with large posters on the outside beckoning guests to come in and try their hand. Your brothers texted you to let you know they were in a game of laser tag right now, so that gave you and Sungchan a little more time to yourselves within the arcade.
“I have an idea!” Sungchan grabbed your free hand and hauled you off toward something in the distance.
The feeling of your fingers slotting with his had more than just your steps skipping. “Hey, man—you and your long legs need to chill!” You hollered at him through a laugh.
He sent you a look over his shoulder before stopping at one corner of the arcade. With jazz hands, he presented his marvelous idea. “Ta-da!”
Before you was an all-time classic: Dance Dance Revolution.
Your eyes widened just as your smile did. “It's like you read my mind,” you marveled.
The machine was just like the movies with a multicolored screen of bright blues and purples, a platform with two sets of arrows in the floor, and two arched rails at the back for each player to hold onto as they danced the night away.
Sungchan marched up onto the platform and fished a wadded up paper bill out from his wallet. “Have you played before?”
When the machine devoured his money, the screen leapt to life and blasted its opening music to announce that somebody was willing to step up to the challenge.
You set your gift bag down at the foot of the platform and climbed up to join him. “I've only seen it done before, but I've always wanted to try it.”
You and he locked eyes, and you were sure the twinkle in his was a reflection of just how excited you were.
“Well, today is your lucky day, party girl,” he chirped. “Let's see what you've got.”
It didn't take long for you to figure out that “what you've got” was a lot less than whatever Sungchan had.
You grappled onto the railing behind you tightly as you stomped your feet against the coordinating arrows that flashed on-screen. How long had it been since that fateful first round? Ten minutes? Two days? It was all mashing together.
“This is unfair; you have longer limbs,” you groaned after missing a few arrows in a row. Why were you so out of breath?
A bead of sweat dribbled down the side of Sungchan's head. It was almost comical how serious you were both taking this game. “I have practice,” he corrected cheekily.
“Same difference!”
“A master never blames his tools.”
You huffed. “Bullshit.”
At this point, your losses were becoming ridiculous. Desperate times called for desperate measures.
For a sequence you knew you were going to miss, you leaned over and pinched his side. Sungchan jolted—it did the trick, and he missed the steps. His head whipped over to you, an impish gleam in his irises.
“Oh ho ho… you wanna play that game?”
You placed your hand on your hip as the round ended. “If I'm gonna lose, might as well go out with a bang.”
His tongue swiped over his lip. “You're on.”
The next round commenced, and adrenaline spiked through you like a spear, more powerful than before. You knew to expect Sungchan's revenge, but you struck first.
A poke at his side resulted in a tickle at your waist. You returned his parry with a blind poke at his stomach.
Anticipating his response, you spotted his arm incoming out of your periphery and moved to step out of his reach. Instead of solid platform, however, your breath hitched at the feeling of half your sandal slipping off the edge.
Sungchan's eyes went wide and his arm instead curled around your waist and hauled you to him. “Shit,” he muttered, “are you okay? Sorry, that was totally my fault.”
Your palms had landed on his chest, your heart rate slowing but not fast enough. All of the excitement in your veins was likely more so from the game itself, and not from almost falling off the platform… and perhaps, another part of it was you realizing just how close you and Sungchan were now.
You nodded. “Yeah, I'm completely fine; don't even worry about it. And it wasn't your fault���I miscalculated my step and I started it anyway.”
He pressed his lips together. “Still.”
“Nice catch, by the way,” you said quietly.
You saw his eyes leave your gaze, and this time, you followed in his movements. He ducked his head, almost shyly. “I guess so,” he chuckled. “I'm glad I caught you.”
If anything, your heartbeat was gaining speed again. The hand pressed into your waist was a little more addicting than you would have liked, and his mouth was closer than you thought it had been.
In the neon glow of the Dance Dance Revolution screen, you and Sungchan leaned toward one another with one aim, and one aim only.
“Hey guys!”
You leapt off the dance platform at the same time that Sungchan zipped to his side, gripping the railing with an expression akin to a deer caught in headlights.
You pressed a hand against your palpitating heart and turned to find all three of your brothers bounding over to where you and Sungchan were.
“Oh my god,” Anton gasped, “is that DDR?”
It seemed that Anton and Sohee were more focused on the game than yours and Sungchan's compromising position. But Jeno… you noted the suspicious narrowing of his eyes, his arms crossed over his chest…
You swore you and Sungchan swallowed at the same time.
“Did we interrupt something?” Jeno drawled.
“Nope!”
You and Sungchan looked at each other at your simultaneous answer. Great. That definitely wasn't even more conspicuous or anything.
Jeno pressed his lips together. “Uh-huh,” he said, unconvinced. “Well, Mom and Dad texted and asked for us to meet them at the house, so we've gotta go.” He lifted the screen of his phone up for you to see. Dear god, you hadn't even realized they'd texted the group chat.
You cleared your throat. “Right.”
You picked up your gift bag, and your younger brothers immediately flanked you on either side to gush about the game of laser tag they had just partaken in. Though you nodded and engaged in their conversation, your mind was elsewhere.
Plus, it was hard not to be hyper aware of the fact that Sungchan was now alone to face Jeno somewhere behind you. You were not looking forward to the car ride back.
There were always some, unspoken fine lines that should not be crossed—at least, purposefully. In retrospect, you knew Jeno didn't care about who you chose to spend your time with, as long as they treated you right. In the same vein, you didn't care much about what he thought when it came to your own decisions, and yet, you found yourself caring a little more because this was one of his friends. Not yours.
But feelings were feelings… and you were slowly coming to terms with yours.
It was like déjà vu when you crept down the stairs in the dead of night for the second time this vacation. You simply could not bear staring at that wooden ceiling any longer with your mind reeling from this afternoon's events.
The living room was yet again a cacophony of light snoring, and you crossed the room toward the back door once more.
You paused again, the sight of Sungchan's back a familiar one. Instead of sitting on the porch steps, though, he leaned against the railing, gazing out at the dark waves. It was yet another calm night out on the embankment, but the moon tonight was hidden away behind a few wisps of cirrus clouds.
He glanced over his shoulder at you. “Hey.”
“Hey,” you greeted softly, gently closing the door behind you so you could join him at the railing. It was funny how you both were on the same wavelength. Fate had a funny way of encouraging you.
You and he hadn't properly spoken since the arcade, and Jeno hadn't said a word about it to you either. Dinner had gone on normally enough, so you were unsure of where this all stood.
“I wanted,” Sungchan began, “to talk to you about something.”
You glanced over at him and found his eyes already on you. “Sure, of course.”
He straightened, gesturing to the sandy beach beyond. “Walk with me?”
You nodded and followed him down the porch steps. Your feet met the cool grains of sand, and a sense of calm seeped into your bones from the bottom up.
A hand outstretched in your vision, uncertain. You clasped your hand in his palm, and the pair of you began to walk. You couldn't recall whether you began to adore the feeling of your hand wrapped up in his earlier or just now.
“So…” you trailed off.
“So,” he picked up. “About earlier today. I wanted to, uhm, make sure we were on the same page about something.”
He stopped you both when you were a good distance from the house, where the waves slipped along the sand louder than the snores.
“I had a really fun time with you today,” he said.
You nodded your head in earnest. “I had a great time with you, too.”
He smiled then, hand letting go of yours to drag over his face. “I'm—I’m happy to hear that,” he replied, and you were sure he was trying to hide his growing giddiness.
You reached over and gently pried his hands away from his face. “Did Jeno talk to you about today? Did he say anything?” Before he could reply, you added, “Because I know he means well, but who I choose to spend my time with is my decision. If he can't handle us together, then he'll have to learn to suck it up.”
“He did say something to me about it,” Sungchan admitted, “but it was just to make sure I wasn't playing around.” With his hands locked in yours, he gave your palms a reassuring squeeze. “And Yn, I'd like to take you out sometime—properly. No playing around.”
No more toeing the line in the sand.
Your heart rattled violently in your chest. “I'd really like that.”
His expression melted into something tender, like the dark swirls of molten chocolate in the scoop of tiramisu ice cream. His thumb grazed over the back of your hand. “Okay,” he murmured, barely audible over the soft laps of the waves, “good.”
He considered you for a moment longer, teeth digging into his bottom lip. “I also—I did intend on kissing you earlier today, and I probably should have prefaced it, but—mmmh!”
You looped your arms around his neck and pulled his mouth over to yours. He sank into your hold with a content hum, his hands slipping around your waist to tug you closer to him. You'd never really thought about what kissing Jung Sungchan would be like, but you knew that your imagination couldn't have been better than this.
When you broke apart with your foreheads pressed against each other and sharing breathing air, you let out a small laugh. The sound coaxed a warm chuckle out of your counterpart.
“Sorry,” you breathed against his lips, “I probably should have asked first.”
He smiled against you. “You can apologize by kissing me again.”
He most certainly didn't have to tell you twice.
a/n: pls remember to reblog + comment if u enjoyed! (idek if that was good, im off my Game and off my Rocker dkfnrj)
m.list
permanent taglist: @flwoie @vatterie @seomisaho @hqrana @ja4hyvn @outrologist @rikizm @luumiinaa @meosjinn @fluorescentloves @http-gyu @mvvnsseul @kflixnet
#kflixnet#riize x reader#jung sungchan x reader#riize oneshots#riize imagines#riize fluff#riize scenarios#riize drabbles#sungchan oneshot#sungchan fluff#sungchan drabbles#sungchan imagines#sungchan scenarios
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# #. DOING THEIR MAKEUP !!
featuring: nrc 1st years !! You're usually bored in Ramshackle, even while having sleepovers with the other first year boys. But then, you suddenly have an epiphany!! To do their makeup!! But how do they react?
srry I haven't posted in a while >.< I've been working on some projects that I hope you guys will enjoy! Plus winter break is always so hectic for me lol. I hope all of ur holidays went well and i hope you have a happy new year!
# #. ACE TRAPPOLA
Ace is initially sceptical at first. Why would you offer to do his makeup? It was such a random request, he couldn't help but be nervous. Were you about to prank him? Or draw a dick on his face??? Was this payback for all the times he's drawn them on you and Deuce?
It doesnt take much convincing to let you though- drawing that heart day after day gets annoying. Especially because Riddle makes sure it's perfect every morning. It'd be nice to have someone do it for him.
Ace sits in front of you, legs spread for you to sit in between. He's leaning against the couch, slouching and complaining about how long this would take. Yet, the sudden feeling of your hands on his face shuts him up. Huh. When did the two of you get so close?
Your hands brush against his face, a sort of tension in the air as you do so. The soft sensation of the makeup brush, the powder on his face, the chill of the air. It was all calming and cold. Yet he couldn't help but feel warm.
You were too close to him. That had to be it! So close he could feel your breath on his lips. Once he felt your fingertips press against the plush of lips, he flushed brightly. He hoped you didn’t notice his stare.
Once you finish he smirks. That stupid, snarky, voice leaving his lips. He teases you for being so close to him, saying you must've done it on purpose. Luckily, you couldn't notice his pink cheeks under the blush you placed on him. He hums lightly, a cheeky grin forming on his face. He’d have to let you do this again.
# #. DEUCE SPADE
Deuce had makeup on his face before, seeing things like foundation and concealer were common to find on him. His mom would put them on him, it was due to their matching complexions, she would say, giggling.
He stopped during his delinquent era, using it occasionally to draw scars and bruises to seem “cool.” Makeup reminded him of his mom. Of his time as a delinquent. Of both his bad and good decisions. Perhaps that’s why he was afraid to agree.
Nonetheless, he accepts, albeit a bit nervously. Deuce sits on his knees, body tense as he glances around the room. You sit before him, laughing at his flushed face. You probably wouldnt even need to blush him with how red he was. Deuce was panicking, you were way too close to his face.
He's nervous and tense when your hands come to caress his cheeks. At first not even registering your touch. The feeling of his skin on yours is too much at first. It’s like he’s about to explode with how fast his heart.
However, he soon relaxes, face still flushed and heart still pounding. But he had a dazed look in is in his eyes, so close to falling asleep. The feeling of your hands on his face, gently putting product on him. He could fall asleep to this. It was comforting.
He flushes bright red when you wake him up, stuttering apologies like he had accidentally pushed you or something. You laughed at him, ruffling his hair (that you did while he was asleep) before pressing a teasing kiss to his cheek. Now he was burning.
# #. JACK HOWL
Jack's also confused, why would you want to put makeup on him of all people? Wouldn't you prefer someone prettier? But then you comment on how pretty he looked during the fairy gala, leaving him with a wagging tail and twitching ears.
Jack still looms over you, even while sitting. So it's better to have his head in your lap, or have him sit in a chair while you do it. You chose the former option (obviously). So he lays his head in your lap, albeit awkwardly.
Your hands travel to the back of his head, slightly massaging the hair behind his ears. His eyes are closed, body tense, like any sudden movements would disrupt you. You just giggle, petting him more and telling him to loosen up.
Soon, he relaxes, melting into your touch. His heightened senses usually make things uncomfortable, especially with things on his face. Yet your touch was calming and nice. Plus the scratches did help.
It reminded him of his siblings, and how they would make him play dress up and put makeup on him for fun. All those tea parties he had to attend, and those scrutinizing hours of just sitting there seemed to be useful once in a while. His eyes open to meet your own, golden eyes gazing up at you.
You were concentrating, biting your lips slightly as you blush his cheeks. He can't help but smile at your face. Once noticing Jack's stare you smile, complementing how still he was, compared to everyone else. Would he let you do this again? Yeah. If you asked.
# #. EPEL FELMIER
Epel sighs, dramatically falling to the floor. Of course you'd want to do his makeup. Ever since coming to NRC he's had to deal with people (Vil) wanting to put products on him like he was some sorta mannequin.
But you're not Vil, and you weren't forcing it onto him. And Epel could admit the teeny tiny crush he had on you. ( Having your hands on him was like a fever dream- ) Plus you were one of his closest friends! So with the sweetest smile ever, he agrees.
He sits crossed legged, with you on your knees above him. You look down at him, lifting his head up slightly. You cup his cheek, gently running your finger down the soft flesh, they were so smooth that not even a single blackhead was there. Vil's products really worked!
Meanwhile Epel was trying so hard to not scream at the top of his lungs. He could feel your warm, minty, breath, your skin softly caressing his own. He wanted to shove his face into one of the couch pillows and scream for an eternity.
Luckily, he's able to keep his composure, and soon gets lost in the familiar feeling of makeup on his face. It was oddly comforting, or satisfying at least. But he just can't seem to let go of the butterflies in his stomach.
Seven forbid he opens his eyes again ( they've been closed this whole time ) cause as soon as he sees your focused stare he's gonna retire to the countryside. The smile you give when finishing melts his heart. When he gets back to pomefiore he's gonna scream into that pillow like there's no tomorrow.
# #. SEBEK ZIGVOLT
Sebek is yapping and refusing, saying how it's unbecoming to wear makeup as a knight. He would get messy and dirtied during his training anyway, so what was the point? You remind him that Lilia's a knight, and that he wears makeup. He shuts up...Before yelling once more.
You sigh, groaning into a couch pillow at his annoying voice. Looks like you'll have to bring out the ultimate weapon for this. You stand up, batting your lashes as you place an arm on his shoulder. "But Sebek, don't you want to look your best for Malleus?"
That gets him to shut up. He sits on the sofa, posture still perfect as he grumbles to himself, arms crossed. Yet you can see the nervous excitement on his face. It was both cute yet annoying how dedicated he was.
You stand above him, a cheeky grin on your lips as you hold the brushes to his face. He's rolling his eyes at you, telling you to hurry it up. And that you do. He doesn't care much for the feeling, finding it somewhat pleasant- in a weird way.
He's far more focused on the way your standing above him. Your eyes gaze at him, and it feels like your staring deeply into his soul. He notices how your lips pucker slightly, carefully placing lipstick on his own. Your lips look oddly nice....
GAH- you're just a dumb human!! Why was he thinking about you like this?? He's suddenly flushing a bright red. Sputtering curses and nonsense- something about you bewitching him?? You just roll your eyes, quickly finishing the job before kicking him out. At least he looks good for Waka-Sama.
#twisted wonderland#twst#twst x reader#twisted wonderland x reader#ace trappola#deuce spade#jack howl#epel felmier#sebek zigvolt#twst first years#ace trappola x reader#deuce spade x reader#jack howl x reader#epel felmier x reader#sebek x reader
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🦋💌
(i take too much canvas size, so Tumbrl does not want to insert sketches in one line 😔😔)
more more more!!
the second sketch was drawn back in August, so don't pay attention to the fact that it is so different from everything lol ☝️🤓
support
and now there will be random sketches that you haven't seen yet (I think I should show them because this is my art account—)
Margo for @//thelone-copper
old and new design. tbh i wanted to draw another mob version, but I don't have enough strength 😮💨
this is a gift for @//clownsuu's birthday (which was September 21-22. my time zone is very different, so I didn't understand the exact date 😔💥). I liked this silly sketch, so why don't I show it to you
🤭🤫 yeah, this is not an illusion. my WH oc is under development
so, why I started drawing so rarely:: I'm trying to cope with my bad thoughts that tell me that I'm drawing nonsense that no one needs. I want to somehow stand out among other artists, so I put myself in a stupid frame that significantly slows down the process of drawing..... and also I get very tired because of the things in my life—
#welcome home#sketches#art#artists on tumblr#frank frankly#eddie dear#fank frankly welcome home#eddie dear welcome home#frank × eddie#welcome home oc
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The one and a half Stans AU has such a chokehold on me AGH. It has the potential to be adorable yet also heartbreakingly cruel.
Idk if this is in character for Ford but baby Stanley is so freaking cute and I just wanted to draw them being happy lol
Not crazy about this, but I've been feeling very blegh all throughout August and haven't drawn much at all.
I want to make more art of this AU! Classes start in a week though so idk if I'll have much time-
Please enjoy :)
#gravity falls#one and a half stans#gravity falls stanford#stanford pines#stanley pines#stan pines#ford pines#gravity falls fanart#gravity falls stanley#gravity falls au#baby stanley pines#gives me cuteness aggression#i wanna hug him and tell him his dad sucks#1.5 stans#young stan pines#my art
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