#I had to google who the artist in the ask was... does he have some connection with rats I dont know about?

[bedupolker]

Does Rusty like listening to Nujabes' music? How about 90's Hip Hop?

Heres his spotify wrat. I mean wrapped.

Slightly more serious answer: hes definitely a 90s seattle grunge boy... he would apply for social security after hearing nirvana on the classic rock station.

[purplephloxpress]

Another year, another Fanfiction Writers Appreciation Day!!!! If you are a writer of fanfic, please know just how appreciated you are!! Fandom would be such a different space without your creativity and labors of love. 💜

Holidays are all about making traditions, and the bookbinding friends with @renegadeguild once again came together to bind copies of fics for their authors as a show of our appreciation. This year I had the absolute joy of binding Emergency Help Wanted by the wonderful @piyo-13 and even got to collaborate with her on some of the design elements! It's a Modern AU Jiang Cheng/Lan Xichen fic that starts with a "help wanted" ad.

EMERGENCY HELP WANTED

I lied when I got my job. I told them I had a kid so I could leave early from work to pick him up from daycare, take him to doctor's appointments, and occasionally miss a day when he's sick. Long story short, I'm in too deep. I didn't think it through. Looking to rent a kid for bring your child to work day. Must be a boy ages four to six, longish dark hair, likes soccer. Must also be artistic as the macaroni noodle paintings I made seem a little advanced for his age. Also, I will pay extra for someone willing to play the role of husband when dropping him off. He's a prosecuting attorney who often brings his work home. Message me for further details. Serious inquiries only.

Ok. So. I may have gone a little feral with this one. Online "help wanted" ad spiraled into loading wheel scene dividers, spiraled into fake Google search result headers, spiraled into FULLY committing to those authentic looking text messages. In full color. (There are so many. I typeset in MS Word. It was SO worth it, but god what a struggle at some points.) And don't forget the "recent searches" title page! Or the computer cutout on the cover! (It's bluescreening, just like Lan Xichen through this entire fic!) Also that cover/title page image that I just kept adding details to. (It's supposed to be Lan Xichen's desk, so it simply didn't feel right until it had sticky notes on the computer, #1 dad on the mug, scissors and measuring tape, scribbles on the sticky notes) Did I have a ton of fun designing this one? Perhaps. Couldn't say. Maybe just a tad. (This is a lie I had an ABSOLUTE BLAST!)

Historically, I've waited until I finish at least the typeset before reaching out to the author, but not so with this one! I got the idea for the fake google search results from Piyo's authors notes, teasing the contents of the next chapter. But! Those didn't start until about chapter 4! So I reached out and asked if we could collaborate and I'm forever glad I did! Not only does this have teasers for each chapter, I also got to bounce design ideas off of her, including what shade of blue and purple for the text messages. Because my friends, that is a serious matter and changed SEVERAL times throughout the process.

Also shoutout to all my Renegade friends who gave input and encouragement over the past year while I worked on this (what endpages to use? how to make this shade of green perfectly Nie Huaisang? how do we feel about this text message design? or how about this one?) - I love you all dearly and appreciate you so much for putting up with my nonsense at all times.

Binding details below the cut!

Fandom: The Untamed/Mo Dao Zu Shi

Pairing: Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin / Lan Huan | Lan Xichen

Bookcloth: Aqua/Purple Dubletta from Colophon Book Arts

Endpapers: Craft Consortium Ink Drops - Ocean pack

Textblock paper: short grain cream from Church Paper

Titling: We R Memory Keepers foil quill

Endbands: leather cording core, DMC embroidery floss for the bands

Body Font: EB Garamond

Title Font: Berlin Sans FB

Text Messages: Roboto

Additional fonts: Times New Roman, Kunstler Script, Magis Authentic

Title page image from Rawpixel and designed in Canva

Various computer graphics from The Noun Project

Tumblr insists on eating and doubling text in this section at its own whim, so if there's something missing that you're curious about, feel free to DM me an ask!

[libraryofloveletters]

Stuff It

Charles Leclerc x Fem!Reader

Warnings: cheesy boyfriend charles, horrible artistic skills, pascale knows you two are just idiots in love, first christmases together.

Word Count: 661

Author's Note: charles seems like the type of guy to go to his mom when he's stuck on what to give as a gift so here we are lmao

--

Charles goes a bit over board seeing that it’s your first Christmas with him, as his girlfriend that is. He revives an old tradition you two had as children.

The thing about lifelong friendships, they often leave a little to no room for a surprise.

So on you and Charles, your lifelong best friend, finally being to date, there isn't much he could do to surprise you.

It's your first Christmas together as a couple officially, and Charles just wants to do something to make it special for you. He's tried to do everything he could think of, from googling to Pinterest to asking his brothers, who let's be real, weren't much help. He finally turned to the one person he knows would have an answer for him.

"Maman, je ne sais pas quoi faire." (Mom, I don't know what to do.) Charles's chin rests on the palm of his hand, watching as his mom cuts the fruit at the kitchen counter

Pascale hums, as if in thought for a moment before she speaks. "Why don't you stuff a stocking for her?"

"I'm not 6 years old, maman." He huffs, his brows furrowed and she smiles - he looked exactly like he did when he was 6 years old right now.

"I know that Charles, but when you guys were little you used to exchange stockings, remember? You draw her a picture and we put sweets and little toys in for her."

Charles tries to think, it sounded familiar and he nods. "Yeah, okay."

"Are you staying for lunch ?" The woman asks and he shakes his head, kissing her cheek after he gets up. "I'll be back tomorrow, love you!" He shouts to her as he heads out the door.

He has the shops with one thing in mind, find you a stocking that suited you best. He searches and searches and with no luck does he find one with a picture that suits you. Finally in a last ditch effort, he ends up in some random shop that sold random odds and ends for Christmas.

There's a blue stocking with snowflakes, and printed along the side of it with your initials on the top; Charles thinks what is his luck to find this.

He pays the man at the counter and heads home with the stocking shoved into the bag. He had picked up a few things he thought you'd like while he was at the other store.

The stocking sits on the coffee table, filled with all your favourite beauty products, sweets, and a few other odds and ends that Charles thinks that you might need or like.

He was working on the last thing that he wanted to put in, a drawing of you and him in front of his race car, which was, in his words, rather poorly drawn.

He folds the paper carefully, slipping it into the side of the stocking before picking it up to put it away before you come home.

It was as if he summoned you, the front door opened and in you came with a bag in hand. "Hi love," you smiled.

Charles's hands are behind his back and he's a bit shifty. You look at your boyfriend with raised eyebrows. "You okay?"

"I have something for you," he says, pulling the stocking out from behind his back.

You can't help but laugh, a big smile on your face as you reach into the bag that you brought in with you. You pull out a red stocking with Christmas trees on it and show Charles.

"Did you talk to my mom?" He asks, as you two switch stockings. You nod, smiling, "I guess you did too."

It was no surprise that you and Charles found your way to each other, you are identical in almost every way. The stockings contain a few of the same things, the same sweets, the same drawings.

To be fair, your drawing was a bit better than Charles' but it's the thought that counts.

Your hand rests on his jaw, giving him a kiss. "thank you baby, this is the sweetest thing you could have done."

[paranoiddreams]

Random Gojo HC’s

Warnings!! - Not really any except for mentions of his big ass ego, my silly takes, and the Kendrick vs Drake situation from earlier this year. Also, not hate to imagine dragons or Disney adults, it’s just funny to imagine Satoru Gojo associated with those things😭

A/n!! - smth short bc I don’t feel like writing anything long rn😭. I’m working on some asks, including one for MHA so I can put something up on there, but for now, he’s some goofy thoughts I’ve had abt Gojo over the week✨

- He’s the proud owner of a few pet rocks, which are just rocks he’s seen on the ground during his nightly walks and picked up.

- Don’t mistake this man’s goofiness for insincerity, although, because that’s not it at all. He gets nervous, and resorts to a joke. Or, he gets angry, so he tries to cool down with a joke.

- Satoru DOMINATES at just dance, he’ll dance up a storm no matter who he’s competing against.

- Has started fights/gotten people angry because of some of his off handed jokes, but is completely oblivious to it…like you’ll think he’s trying to act like nothing is wrong, when in reality he just DOESN’T KNOW?!

- I was thinking abt making a whole post on this, but I think he’d listen to artists like Imagine Dragons (unironically), Chase Atlantic, BTS, Charlie XCX, and NewJeans. Although he’s not much of a music guy, he does like to listen to stuff when he’s alone on a walk or in the car.

- This man has a god-complex, and we all need to admit it even thought he’s our silly little guy…🤧 but he definitely strikes me as the type to get very absorbed by his ego at times. But best believe he’s got people around him that’ll smack some sense into him, because he really does have a big heart deep down.

- Satoru has an iPad. I can’t explain, all I know is that he has an iPad 10th gen and it’s blue.

- Has a strange attachment to the Barbie movies. All 52 of them. He watched the first one when he was like 12 (I did an unnecessary amount of math and googling to fact check this) and thought “omg? Another fabulous, multitalented, attractive person like me? I’m in.”

- She was definitely not his first crush though, that was Meg from Hercules fs.

- He’s not a Disney adult, but if he were to go to Disney, he’d be able to name each character, ride, and find all of the hidden Mickey’s. So he’s pretty damn close.

- Has used his biblically accurate eyes to blind many people before. Although, most of the time it’s unintentionally. The other times, he’s just being a little shit or distracting an opp.

- Didn’t care about the Drake vs. Kendrick thing, but when Yuji explained the whole ass lore to him he said he was on Kendrick’s side to appease him. He has nothing against either artist, he’s just too busy waiting for 2025 for the BTS reunion to care about anything else culture wise LMAO

Dividers by @animatedglittergraphics-n-more <3

[wolfish-trickster]

Choso headcanons

(I'm sorry i just love this gif so much 😩)

General

He likes to listen to indie bands

There's just something about having a band "all to himself" and being the sole fan where ever he goes

But after a while starts to feel a little lonely not having any fellow fans for friends

Doesn't really see the point in people taking care of plants in their home, especially those that only bloom once and then they die

Isn't a dog or a cat person, he likes both

Would want to learn at least the basics of every skill he can find

His favourite day of the week is friday

Stays up super late even thoigh he promises himself to fix his sleep schedual

Spoiler: he never does

Keeps fit and builts muscle to protect his family

If he meets people who are pretty agressive about their opinions and unable to listen to a different point of view he just up and leaves, doesn't want to waste the energy

Doesn't look like it but he's quite artistic, he especially enjoys making his nose mark into different shapes and ornaments to make himself look cool

His favourite part of working out is laying down and letting his body cool

Learned how to cook so he could take care of his brothers

Friendship

At the begining he would be just observing you

Not even trying to befriend you or your friends, nah

Just quietly watching from afar

His brothers would call him creepy for that

But he just wants to be sure you'll be worth the try

Eventually he's betrayed by Yuji who straight up tells you he has been looking at you when you do your thing

He tries to explain that he isn't shy or anything, but yeah, he was pretty closed off from you after you guys started talking

But since he spoke less he heard more and learned all your little quirks

Where others would buy you generic things for your birthday like a book or a mug he would buy you three new headphones becuase he remembered how you complained to him how often they break for you

Or he would give you something you genuenly need in your life and what would be useful

Also he would want to show you his creative side

Sketch you, write poems and haikus for you

He even tried to crochet you a flower but that failed quickly

He made you an origami instead 🥹

As he started to have feelings for you he needed advice from his brothers on what to do

They all just told him to ask you out

He didn't like that idea

What he did instead was collect his favourite hard rock and metal songs about love and give you that playlist on a CD on your birthday

He hoped you would get the hint

Your oblivious ass didn't 😭

He literally had to spell it out for you the next time you guys met

You gladly accepted his feelings (who wouldn't)

He asked you out on a date the very next day

Homeboy had no idea what to do on the first date tho...

So he improvised and went to ask the almighty google

Relationship

He made a list on his phone consisting of advices he took from google and rom coms: first he had to take you see a movie, then go to a theme park, then restaurant and then either take you home or to a hotel

Not his ideal plans for the first date but it's how humans do it apparently

Long story short, it was a catastrophy

As he went to your house to pick you up it started to rain real bad

You guys decided to wait it out in your home

Rain turned to storm

Choso then admited he had a plan written on the phone Yuji gave him

You told him ypu guys cane have home date instead

You and him watched a movie

You guys spent a long time deciding what to cook together but eventually agreed on pasta with some exotic sauce

You had lots of fun

You guys ended the date curled up under your sheet cuddling the night away as the storm raged on outside

Choso found out he loves home dates

He only ever does that from then on

One night him and you decided to take quizes to learn more about eachother

His love language is physical touch

Which makes sense since from his first night of cuddling he has had his hand on any part of your body anytime you guys met

It's like his hand and your body were two magnets

He loves hugging you from behind, shows how much smaller you are than him

Sometimes he likes to lay on your chest and listen to your heartbeat (is what he would tell you but really he just likes to listen to your blood moving in extreme speeds through your body, but he wants to be romantic for you)

Not the one for PDA, will jold your hand at max when outside but inside the house he goes all out

All cuddling positions, all surfaces, all times of the day

Your first kiss happened a week after you had the furst date

He honestly had no idea what kissing was

You introduced him and gave him few lectures 😉

It's safe to say the student surpassed the master

His lips are surprisingly soft and warm

The first time you kissed him he was a little stunned and his nose mark swerved a little

But then he got addicted

Giving you kisses all over your face

He likes the neck the most

Especially the parts where he can feel the blood in your veins

And when he found out tongues can get involved?

He almost didn't let you breathe

The feeling of your soft and wet muscle against his was heavenly to him

At first a little weird but he quickly got used to it

Would chuckle everytime your teeth clinked together

You also thought of introducing him to the concept of hickies but he already figured it out on his own

Doesn't like giving them too often tho, to let your veins regenarate properly, otherwise he would be painting your neck purple every day

He had his time when he read a post on social media about a guy literally dying after his girlfriend gave him a hickie and oit of fear and anxiety refused to give you any hickies for a month

After about half a year of dating he decided to introduce you to his brothers

They already knew all about you

Choso doesn't talk often but when he's in the mood he won't shut up

And lately he has been talking mostly about you

All of them were nice to you and all of you got along super well

Choso fell for you even more

One date night you picked a movie that was a little less innocent than all the ones you watched before

Thankfully you didn't have to explain the birds and bees to choso when a particularly heated scene came on

But you needed to explain to him how to get rid of his very first boner in his life 💀

NSFW

Your first time happened a year after your first date

He wanted it to be special since it's both of your first time

He studied

Aka he watched porn

Didn't get hard from watching it tho, only after he started playing out the scenes in his head with you and him in the actors' places

His first ever jirkoff happened because of this

He made a playlist to get both you and him in the mood

Wasn't needed in the end

After the very awkward first round you went into it like rabbits

Remember what i said about Choso and cuddling? Same goes for positions

All positions, all surfaces, all times of the day

Tho he had his favourites

Among his favourite positions were those he could have you in his lap

He loved it when you could drap yourself all over him

He also like the access to the skin he got

His least favourite ones are where he can't see your face

The different facial expressions he gives with different thrust angles are what keeps him going

His favourite places are the bed or the couch

And he doesn't really care about the time of the day as long as both of you are willing and not busy

The first one to propose oral was him

He was curious about how it tasted down there

He didn't find the taste anything spectacular but could see the appeal

He liked the texture on his tongue more

He also found out your juices taste different during different parts of your month cycle

That way he could keep track of your period better than you

Sometimes after he was done eating you out he mentioned how your time of the month is coming so you should be prepared

Made you chuckle every time with how bluntly he says that

You also offered to give him head

Likes it when you gently drag your teeth along his shaft

Like the feeling when you have an itchy spot and you give it a good scratch, that's the same for him and your teeth

Isn't really sure if he prefers to give or recieve yet

But doesn't mind either way

Period sex is a whole different stuff to him

As soon as he found out coming can help period cramps he was all in

At one point he was curious about what would happen if he pulled out the entire inner lining with his cursed technique

Ended your period bleeding that very day

You loved him even more

Does that for you every single month

But he's not gonna lie, he has a little sadist hidden inside of him

Likes to see blood on his dick

But only period one, as soon as it's real blood from harming you he's out

Doesn't really have any other kinks than that but he's open to explore with you

Would quickly find out he has his horny days too

On those days he would ask you all shy if you two could fuck

You never told him no how could you with those eyes

Long story short he got to try a lot of exciting things with you, for which he's grateful

[leidensygdom]

AI bros from hell

Hello! Do you have a bit of your time for a story on AI bros and clients from hell? I bring a really fun one!

I met this guy at a con I was tabling at over a year ago, before AI was a thing. He said he enjoyed my art, and inquired me about whether I did book illustrations. I said yes- He was specifically interested in my bigger pieces, the fully rendered and detailed ones. He agreed to send me later a DM to discuss specifics.

For two weeks, he kept DMing me on details about his book, what he wanted, etc. He wanted full illustrations for inside the book as well as a cover, all of them fully colored, painted and rendered. He also wanted illustrations in this style to post on social media to promote the book. I had warned him that something like that would be costly, but he insisted that he needed this to be the best of the best.

Now, I was getting bad vibes from the guy. I shit y'all not, his instagram handle was "The next tolkien". I wasn't however gonna refuse a job opportunity. Now, he finally asked for prices: He had reassured me he was willing to pay fairly for this. Since he's a starting author, I gave him my non-commercial quotes, which are much, much, much lower than the standard for book illustrations. I mean "if you search for how much this costs on google, the lower prices are x5 times more expensive than what I offered".

The guy, upon receiving that, just ghosted me. Immediately unfollowed, didn't reply me with a "sorry, I can't afford it" or "sorry, i was expecting to pay $10 for a full rendered full background several-characters-picture". Nothing.

The other day I decided to search what he was up to. He's now released... THREE books for this series. There's a single review in the first one. Not even written, just a stars one. Also, notably, he had a webpage put together promoting the book, and. Yeah.

All the art is AI crap.

Which makes sense. My guy was very on his high horse about how fantastic of a writer he is, but I guess art isn't really to be compensated fairly. When he saw the "art stealing machine you just pay a subscription for", I'm guessing he was very excited.

So, uh, here's some of the marvelous pictures he generated of the characters, which surely tell you about how great the book is. AI is theft, so I don't give a f*** about reposting it.

I have a lot of opinions about creators who write, draw or make music, who are more than happy to use AI for other stuff- Album covers made with AI, writers using AI crap for book illustrations, artists using AI-made music. It feels like you're sh*tting in any other artistic field and showing how little you respect anyone but yourself. Like, I'll be honest, I don't have interest reading a book from someone who considers that other forms of art aren't real or worth any money. It just tells me you're devoid of any interest for art or humanity.

As an ending note, his instagram description is "More closer to god than to human", which does add to the clownery.

[kvothe-kingkiller]

I'm not the best writer when it comes to writing convincing essays or whatever, but I'm going to give this a go because it's something that I've thought for a long time that I've never seen anyone really acknowledge unless I bring it up first. (also I am sick and don't really want to do much editing here, just rambles, so good luck)

I think that when most (not all, but most) people get salty about 'modern art', they are not salty about the things people think they are salty about. When they say "this isn't art", theres an important bit that they're not articulating. What I think most of them mean is "this isn't art that should be in a museum." "this isn't art that should cost this much" "this isn't art that should be getting this kind of recognition". And there is a huge difference between that and just saying "this isn't art"

Firstly, all of the arguments about why modern art is in fact art straight up....don't apply. They don't address the problem, they don't answer the question. This isn't really anyone's fault per se, given that it is addressing the literal statement, it's just I think most people aren't actually thinking that literal statement.

So then what do they really mean? Like I said, I think they're trying to articulate why they're frustrated that this art is in a museum when "they could do it". So when you say "okay then, you do it" that doesn't address the core issue, which is "but why is this getting recognition for it, and I would get none" because yes, unless they are famous, they would get Zero recognition for it. Nobody would be lining up to buy their art, no one would ask to put it in a museum. Best place they can hope to have this displayed is a fridge door.

When you look at a piece of fine art, most can see the amount of effort put into it. They see how much training it took to get there, they see how much time it took to put those strokes on that canvas and they can go "yeah, that took skill, that took effort, not everyone can do that. it deserves recognition". And a lot of modern art does take skill, it's just skill that isn't easily noticeable to the average viewer, such as rothko's color fields, they do take a lot of skill and effort, you just can't see it if you don't know. But a lot of modern art that people complain about isn't something that has skill that's not recognized, it just requires very little technical skill at all (not a condemnation, btw).

When you're talking about something 'anyone can do' that piece's value is often not a recognition of skill, or even of the message, it's a recognition of a name. It's similar to having a gucci bag because it's a gucci bag, not because you care remotely about the bag. Yes, art isn't displayed because of how much effort went into it, but it's a huge industry that many many people are making money through from sheer name recognition alone.

Like that one painting of that one artist's (I forget which artist and my cursory google isnt finding it, but also its just an example) where it got replicated and sold to a bunch of people for a large amount of money so they could all have something that had a small chance of being a genuine painting by the artist, that's an excellent example of the fact that a lot of the gallery-level art world is Entirely about the name, not about the piece itself. If someone just made that painting but didn't say it could be from the artist, then who cares?

If you go to ringo starr's art website (https://www.ringostarrart.com/) then you can see that some of his work, especially his older work, is of that category of stuff that many people would say "I could do that" to. For instance, these two? 1,400 and 6,000 pounds respectively for a PRINT of these from his website

....okay this one I kinda enjoy.

but still. 2,000 pounds for a print.

All of this is possible because he's ringo fucking starr, he can sell his paintings for whatever he wants. If I tried to sell those for that much, I'd be laughed out of the room. All of it is just clout, it's just how big your name is and how much you can use that as leverage.

This is not to say that other forms of art don't also have this issue, they do, especially with people devaluing creative works so much today. But you could probably get a few commissions if you sell realistic art or do commissions of people's characters, while you Cannot get any money trying to sell stuff like ringos art unless you already have an audience who will buy it.

This does somewhat lead into a discussion of how art curators pick which artists are 'good' somewhat arbitrarily, but that's a whole other post.

Doing art for 'yourself' vs for other people or money is also a whole other post, one which I've actually seen quite a lot on here. But suffice to say if your response to all of this is 'just make art for yourself! Why do you need recognition?' then maybe go find some of those posts. It's not bad to want recognition, and it's not bad to question why that guy is getting much more recognition for the exact same thing you're doing just because he has a bunch of rich friends who are able to host fancy parties and go 'hmm. yes this is good art.' (not that all modern artists had rich friends, but they did almost all get Extremely lucky in some shape or another that led to them now being widely accepted as good artists).

You cannot make a living off modern art unless you're well known, and if you happen to be well known already, you could likely make a living off modern art without having any experience, and that's what a lot of people hate about modern art, even if they don't articulate it. While some would, most wouldn't say "my five year old could do that" to someone's personal piece that they made themselves and hung up in their home, or that their friend made and gave to them. They say that about the pieces bought for thousands of dollars or millions of dollars.

And I don't want people to think that I do hate modern art, I don't (though this is tumblr, so I'm pissing on the poor just by writing this). I don't hate any of the famous modern artists, I don't think modern art isn't art. I do hate the industry that says their art is suddenly worth something just because some rich fuckers somewhere decided they should be, and anything I tried to do in a similar vein, original or not, would be better suited to sit in a coffee shop and continuously marked down and never sold.

So next time you say "so why don't you make it", maybe ask yourself if you would buy it.

[e-dubbc11]

I was wondering…in the Sweetest Pain Series, around what age does Dylan go from sweet mama loving baby, to the cool guy he is currently?

Hello my darling friend! Thank you for sending in this ask ♥️ I hope you like what I’ve done here and I know this technically wasn’t a part of my follower celebration but I think I’ll put in in the masterlist for it when I create one. So thank you for sending in this ask for our favorite family ♥️

He’s Not So Little Anymore

Photos are not mine. They are courtesy of Pinterest/Google.

Pairing: Tattoo Artist Billy Russo x F! Reader with their son Dylan

Warnings: I think a couple of swear words, the rest is pure fluffy bunnies and unicorns, a few tears, feelings of your babies growing up

Word Count: 1.8K-ish

Summary: Reader is feeling a little sad that her son is too old to hang out with his mom. Billy comforts her.

A/N: Thank you again for sending this in, I know how much you like this series and this family and to everyone else who enjoys this series, thank you all for reading! And I’ll leave the rest of the series linked HERE

As always, thank you for reading!  I appreciate it so much and comments, reblogs are welcome and encouraged. Don’t be shy to tell me your favorite part. 💕💕💕

Acceptance is a difficult emotion to navigate.

Knowing Dylan wouldn’t be little forever, you tried to convince yourself that you still had some time left for cozy snuggles, for him asking you to watch a movie with him, secretly observe him play with his dinosaur toys, or to hear him call you “mommy.” But the truth was he had outgrown all of those things and you were having a hard time accepting that.

Dylan was your second baby but he wasn’t a baby anymore. He went from playing with toy cars to racing go-karts with his friends. His once round chubby little face had started to thin out, he started styling his wild dark brown hair before school every day and suddenly he didn’t trust you to pick out his clothes anymore. Dylan had asked for you or Billy to take him shopping for school clothes because he had his own taste now, he knew what he liked and didn’t like, and he wanted to be the one to pick out his own clothes.

You were still getting used to your daughter, Anna Raven, growing up also. She was 14 now and her own little person with her own ideas, likes and dislikes. She was on her way to becoming a young adult even though it killed you to watch her grow up when it seemed like it was just yesterday she was getting her first pair of toddler Converse sneakers and saying her first words.

But Dylan was your precious baby boy, your little man, and, like Anna, he was growing up before your eyes. He was 10 years old, into playing video games, taking guitar lessons, and really enjoyed hearing about all the pranks his father and Uncle Frank pulled on each other while they were in the Marines. He was always just in complete awe of his dad serving his country being a marine.

While Dylan was at his guitar lesson, Billy came home a little early and found you in the living room.

“What are ya doin’, sweet girl?” Asked Billy, as he walked toward the couch where you were seated.

With a slight hitch in your voice, you replied, “Looking at Dylan’s baby pictures.”

Billy sat down next to you, looked down at the open pages, and you watched as his lips curled into a slight smile.

He pointed to one at the top of the page. Dylan was sitting in his high chair with cake and frosting smeared across his face. His fingers spread far apart on his chubby little hands to help him grab as much cake as possible to shovel into his mouth and his cheeks were so full of cake, he looked like a squirrel storing acorns for winter.

“His first birthday. He destroyed that cake, remember?” Said Billy, with a slight chuckle.

You laughed a little too as you swiped a tear away from your cheek.

“The T-Rex didn’t see that coming, did he.” You said with a warm smile.

Billy could hear the hitch in your voice like you were fighting back tears and you really were, they burned the back of your eyes as you tried to keep yourself from weeping. He knew you were barely holding yourself together when he drew you in close, your ear flush against his chest, and you could hear the gentle rhythm of his heart.

“It’s ok, baby. You can cry if you need to.” Said Billy, kissing the top of your head.

Your gentle sob broke through, “He’s not a baby anymore, Billy! Sometimes I…I miss when they were little, that’s all. Anna’s a teenager, she’s starting to do more things with her friends and is very involved in school. And Dylan, he used to be my little buddy, we used to do a lot of things together and now he’s taking guitar lessons, actually combing his hair and flashing girls that perfect Russo smile of yours.” You said with dryness in your throat.

Billy softly pressed his lips to your forehead, you could feel a wide smile stretch across his face, and a slight chuckle escaped the side of his mouth. Like a cat, you buried your face into his green Henley as his long arms squeezed you tightly.

Your voice was somewhat muffled as you said, “You’re laughing at me, Billy.”

“Only a little.” He replied. “But that’s what they’re supposed to do, sweet girl. We prep them for the real world, teach them not to be assholes, guide them in the right direction and off they go. They still need us, baby, but I know what you mean…sometimes I miss when they were little too.”

You remembered how nervous Billy was when he found out he was going to be a father, he never had one so he was scared he wouldn’t be a good one. He watched Frank with his kids and he loved being an uncle to Lisa and Junior but knowing he was going to have a child of his own, Billy was scared he wouldn’t be good at it.

He surprised himself at how he took to it so naturally when Little Raven was born. The first time he held her, fed her, changed her…and although it was still difficult, it was easier than he thought it would be and by the time Dylan came around, Billy was a professional.

He really was a great dad.

Both Anna and Dylan were always very relaxed when Billy held them with the exception of the time period where Dylan always wanted mommy, not daddy. They rarely cried or struggled and instead, just melted into his arms like you did when he held you in an embrace.

You remembered telling him then, “They trust you, baby. You make them feel safe and protected, just like you do for me.”

Inhaling the scent of green soap from his shirt, you replied, “Not fair baby, you’re using my words against me.”

“Well my wife IS a lot smarter than I am. She knows what she’s talking about.” Said Billy.

When you raised your chin up to meet his gaze, Billy was fondly looking down at you with his endless brown eyes and the loving smile that he’s given you thousands of times. He inched his face closer to you and softly pressed his lips to yours, they tasted like peppermint and his hand cupped your cheek.

After setting the photo album down next to you on the couch, you crawled into his lap, brushed the bristles of his beard with your thumbs, and deepened the kiss as a low growl escaped his lips.

Billy’s hands traveled to your ass which took you by surprise and you let out a yelp.

“Ya know, beautiful, Anna is just upstairs and Dylan should be home any minute from his lesson. You keep kissing me like that, it’s gonna lead to somethin’ the kids shouldn’t see.” He said with a smile in between kisses.

With a slight pout and a quick bat of your eyelashes, you said, “Okaaaaaay, will you play with me later?”

Outside, a car door slammed shut and then you heard a key in the lock.

“Just try and stop me, sweet girl.” Said Billy, as he kissed the tip of your nose.

The front door closed and Dylan walked into the living room carrying his guitar case.

“Hey Mom, hey Dad.” Dylan said. “Whaaaaat were you guys doin’?” He asked with narrowed eyes.

“Lookin’ at your baby pictures! You wanna see?” You asked excitedly.

“Maybe later, I gotta go practice. Oh, when Ms. Mullaney dropped me off she was talkin’ about this old movie she likes that she thinks I’d like called Aliens. You know it, right Mom? You know every movie on earth!” He said.

“Excuse me? Old movie?!!” You said with an elevated voice.

Billy jumped in.

“Uh, baby he’s not wrong, it is an old movie.” He said.

Deflated, you replied, “Yeah, you’re right it is old…I just didn’t wanna say it out loud because that means I’m old.”

Billy and Dylan started to laugh, both of them exuding that perfect smile that you loved so much. Your not-so-little boy was an exact copy of his father from his wild dark brown hair, intense brown eyes, and, of course, the million dollar smile.

Billy said, “And just because it’s old, doesn’t make it any less awesome…just like your mother. I’m kidding! I’m kidding, baby!”

He started to laugh as a long drawn out gasp escaped your lips.

“Billy Russo! How dare you!” You said as you tried to keep a straight face but ended up laughing too.

“Dad did say you were awesome too, Mom.” Said Dylan with a reassuring smile. “So, will you watch it with me later, Mom? Please?”

The tears stung the back of your eyes. Trying your best to not let them fall, you replied, “Of course I will, buddy.”

With an excited smile, he replied, “Cool! Well, I’m gonna go practice for a little while. Be ready to watch when I’m done, ok?”

“I will be ready!” You said enthusiastically as you watched him walk up the stairs to his room.

As soon as his door closed, your tears fell but Billy was right there to catch them before they streaked down your cheeks and placed a gentle kiss on your lips.

“See sweet girl, he’s getting older but Dylan still wants to hang out with his mom.” He said with a wink. “I love you.”

You replied, “I love you too, handsome. Ooh! We get to play our favorite game! Ok, 20 bucks says he’s gonna start his practice session with Come as You Are – Nirvana. What’s your guess?”

Billy pondered for a minute and scratched at his beard with his long fingers before he said, “Smoke on the Water – Deep Purple.”

The two of you shook hands and waited patiently for Dylan to fire up his guitar. It was so quiet in the living room, you could hear a pin drop before the familiar riff of Come as You Are traveled from Dylan’s room down to the living room where you were.

Pumping both fists in the air, an excited smile stretched across your lips as you let out a taunting laugh.

“HA!! Pay up, baby!” You said.

“SHIT!” Exclaimed Billy as he pulled a twenty out of his pocket and aggressively slapped it into your hand. He hated to lose at anything. “Are you cheating? I’ve lost like four in a row now!”

“I don’t think I like your tone, lieutenant and I resent your insinuation that I would use our child to cheat.” You said with a narrowed expression and a sly grin.

“Alright, can we call a truce?” Billy said with his hands up.

You snaked and clasped your hands around his neck before inching yourself closer to him. Your lips ghosted over his before you said, “I’ll give you a truce, if you kiss me like you mean it, Mr. Russo.”

Billy touched the tip of his tongue to the roof of his mouth before purring in your ear, “Yes, ma’am.”

Both of your children were growing up, exploring, and doing their own things but you and Billy will always have the wonderful memories of creating and enjoying your beautiful little family.

Tag List: @wheresthesunshinesblog @idaoftheburningmind @rafaelakelley @fakehappy27 @snowkestrel @music-indie-tv @kayhi808 @munsonownsmyass @gijos @fictional-hooman @nutmeg17 @k-marzolf @vaguekayla @rosaleenablack @danzer8705 @fireeyes-on-teller-dixon-grimes @aoi-targaryen @mysteriouslydeafeningwerewolf @rachlovesactors @qu1etwolf

Others that might enjoy: @itwasthereaminuteago @fluffyprettykitty @ittybxttykxttytxtty @imagine-a-fictional-boyfriend @mrsbillyrusso @colereads

If you’d like to be added (or removed from) my tag list(s) for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕 If I tagged you but you didn’t want to be, just let me know and I’ll never do it again.

[jmdbjk]

Cultural reset...

These are just my own opinions and I think it's time I address this.

I had to google "cultural reset" to make sure I was using the term properly. New Google AI Overview says:

A cultural reset is when something significant in popular culture changes or is added, causing people to change the way they view things or to have a lot of people hop on the trend. For example, in K-pop, a cultural reset is a song that is very influential, usually one that gets pretty popular and many people love. It has a lot of influence over the K-pop fandom, and gets a lot of attention.

I did not ask Google AI Overview to specifically give me an example in K-pop. That's just my browsing history telling Google AI Overview that this bitch is obsessed... scary right?

(But I'm a little miffed that Google AI Overview generalized my BTS browsing history as K-pop because I don't look at or search up other K-pop artists. I am BTS only.)

Anyway, thank you Google AI Overview. Actually, I was more interested in styling concepts that are a cultural reset.

Let's stop stalling and just get into it.

I know none of us knew what to do with this Jimin when the photo folios dropped:

Definitely a cultural reset in my opinion.

We had never seen a Jimin like that before. Only in our fanfic-AI generated images imaginations had we ever thought...I don't think AI images was even a thing when this Jimin dropped on us.

Does anyone else have the urge to smooth the wrinkles and creases out of those pants for him? No? Just me? Ok.

Photo folio-black lace up leather gloved-patent leather panted-big chain belted-horny mask Jimin was a cultural reset for me and for many of us. The gloves really put it over the top. We'll never go back. He's covered from neck to foot except for a few slivers of skin. It's wild. It's just a smooth arm pit. Ok, before I run off the rails here... what was I saying? Oh yeah.

Also a cultural reset for me:

Every time I see this come up on my Youtube I watch it because it deserves all the views. Even the soundtrack was perfect.

I know Dora-the-Explorer haired Jungkook is not the favorite of some but I absolutely adore it... wait... sorry. There's a word there that I'm striking from my regular vocabulary from now on. Reasons.

This Jungkook was a cultural reset for me. He's never looked like this before and hasn't since in any concept photos. This was brilliant styling, I don't know if it was JK's regular stylist or if a Calvin Klein stylist did it but it was pure art.

He played that camera until the camera wilted, I just know it. I hope he grows his hair out long again when he's back with us.

And no shoulder booboo. I wonder when the shoulder booboo incident happened and I wonder if we'll ever hear the details.

While I'm talking about cultural resets, I have an honorable mention:

Not just this visual but the song too. PJM2 is coming. I feel another cultural reset coming.

Talking to my partner in crime the other day and I think a meeting DID occur where they detailed out a timeline for Project Naked Bangtan. Because they weren't going to go full frontal on us cold turkey. (Somehow all those words together sound hideous but you get my meaning.)

Regardless of Tae and his proclamation that "Chapter 2 isn't about us taking off our shirts" it is about showing a more mature side of themselves which inevitably is going to lead to showing some skin and some cuss words. Little did we know.

I can imagine how it went down in the brainstorm meeting of them trying to come up with content to fill in the time until they are all discharged...on a whiteboard possibly... because some of us are visual learners... someone drew a timeline of nakedness, possibly for each member.

I can hear it now:

RM: "We have to ease them into it. Who's first?"

Jin: "Hyung will do it." LMAO

What's been your Jimin and Jungkook cultural resets?

[apomaro-mellow]

allo friend! i have an writing thought for you: steddie au -> artist!steve who draws random strangers that inspire him for tiktok or something similar and draws musician!eddie, not knowing who he is, just drawing him and adding him to the long list of people he’s drawn.

The video started as it normally did, with a close up of Steve's face as he exclaimed, "Drawing random strangers because everyone is beautiful and deserves to be immortalized!" And then cut to a view of his sketchbook in his lap as the video sped up to show him drawing a person.

He never showed the real life person, only their image captured through his hands. Of course, thanks to the virality of some of them, on occasion, people would find out that they'd been drawn and would stitch their reactions to it.

Steve held up the finished drawing of a man sitting on a park bench with a rottweiler, leashed and sitting at his side. The man was smiling down while his dog had his head in his lap, giving him the biggest eyes as he got scratches behind his ear.

"I love drawing dogs, they're just the sweetest. And some breeds like rotties get a bad rep. Anyway, join me next time for more random strangers!"

tacklepizza: "random stranger" draws Eddie Goddam Munson

9epper8utterfly: is he playin or nah? i cant tell with this guy

idiot-cinnamon: imagine people watching and Beyonce walks by like

Steve looked at the comments on his latest video and was definitely confused. He'd never heard of Eddie Munson. It was times like this, he really felt his age on the app. He considered asking who it was or just googling it to save himself the embarrassment, but he didn't even have to do that. Before long, Dustin sent him a tiktok. And the first thing he saw was the man he had drawn.

Oh god, he was reacting to it.

There was something slightly embarrassing about hearing his own voice in someone else's video.

"I got tagged, I can't tell you how many times in this damn thing, so it better be good. I appreciate and support the arts, so let's see what this guy's got. Just a paper and a pencil, you know there's beauty in simplicity. Oh there's a little doggy. You know Cocoa and I went out earlier and she-wait, was someone else walking my dog? Wait?" He leaned in until the video only showed his eyes and the top of his head as he looked as close as he could.

"Wait, shit", he started to laugh. "Holy shit that's me! Me and my baby, oh doesn't she look precious", he cooed.

Steve felt his heart flutter. It was always good when people complimented his art but...coming from this man...this beautiful man...

"That looks fucking amazing dude, and to do it on the fly? And I know I didn't stand still. Okay, I needa get in touch with this dude. It might be for some album art or maybe me and Cocoa will finally get that family portrait, but I gotta get some of his art. Does he do commissions?"

Steve did in fact do commissions. And it took less than a day for him to get a DM from one Eddie Munson, inquiring about his services.

[weareallgonnaliveforawhile]

Mob Psycho x Saiki K AU/ Kokomi Reigen AU

Alright so, to start, I'm gonna start from the very beginning, before the actual start of the story.

You might be asking, why the hell would Kokomi decide to work at a run-down little 'company' that specializes in exorcising spirits where the only other workers is this weird sweaty adult guy and his middle schooler son(?) 

I am here to say that it started with one little thing; Kokomi realized that Saiki was in the 'occult' club. Now Kokomi is a normal teenager and when she finds out that her crush is interested in something, she wants to join it...

if she did, she'd have to deal with Toritsuka all the time plus she doesn't want her fans to flood the club and ruin the time she wants to spend with Saiki, so joining was absolutely out of the question. 

But what WASN'T out of the question was trying to learn more about the occult and that type of thing so that later she can mention it to Saiki, and then he'll be so impressed with her that he'll have to say Oh wow-

But the thing is that going to libraries is also really hard for her because of her looks, so she decides to google the shit out of things and stumbles upon a site for this quiet little 'Exorcist' place that has a lot of positive reviews, and it's the only place that she's seen that's not a tourist spot. 

Maybe if she talked to the owner, she'll be able to learn more about the occult! (From the reviews, he’s either a middle-aged man or a dude in college and both types of dude LOVE her so she'll be able to charm him into helping her with her research if need be) Plus, it's in an isolated area so if she does her best to attract as little attention as possible, she'll be able to get there with 50% fewer stalkers!

Though, when she gets there she's given several surprises 

The owner guy, while he did (predictably) say 'Oh wow' when he saw her...that was it. He didn't get heart eyes or anything like that, he just went straight to business

There was a random middle schooler there and he was the same! He said 'Oh wow' and blushed but all he did was quietly ask if she was related to some girl at his school then get embarrassed and continue his own work without looking at her!

The office is a real hole-in-the-wall place, hard to find if you don't have an exact address or were told by someone else where it was.

She made it there with no stalkers. She managed to lose some stragglers by hiding behind a tree, but there was just a weird energy in the area that seemed to make them go away on their own. She liked it.

She gathered that the occult was almost definitely not what they did most of the time. While the dude did seem to offer some 'Ghost Hunting Services', the other half of the services were just a lot of fancy words used to hide the fact that they were just doing bullshit to make people who didn't have ghosts (or demons or whatever it was)

Maybe it was a mix of all five of these. Maybe it's because the middle schooler's calm demeanor reminds her of Saiki. Maybe it's cause the dudes causal reaction to her beauty (something that made lesser men faint) was some of the closest that she's had to being treated like a human being by a dude older than her. Maybe it's because Makoto last check that he sent for bills came last night with the note 'Love you, my dear kokomi <3' and she couldn't stop herself from burning it.

But when the blond, sweaty, and over-the-top scam artist owner who hasn't ONCE blushed when looking at her asks her what she's here for-

-she says the only thing that comes to mind and asks for a job.

It takes everyone in the room off guard, but she liked to think that she was hiding it decently enough. But after filling out some paperwork and answering some surprisingly short questions, she's hired and expected to start working next Monday after school.

Her mind kinda goes blank after that. 

But can she really be blamed? She’s had a long week this is the first time in ages that someone (Other than Saiki) didn’t fawn over her.

It isn't until much later, when she's been working there for a few weeks that she begins to loosen up and not be the 'perfect pretty girl' all the time during work hours. 

Mob helps.

Reigen punching her brother in the face helps a lot more.

[minty-mumbles]

Linked Universe Survey 2023

The long awaited results of the survey. Sorry it took me forever, making graphs is hard.

There were 452 responses to the survey as a whole, which is almost double what we got last year, so thank you to everyone who participated!

If you want to see the raw data, you can find that here. I had thoughts about the data, but compiling that into another post would be too much of a hassle. Feel free to send me asks about it though!

The rest of the post will be under a read more as it it large

Demographics

Other: Demigirl (4), Transmasc (3), Grey genderfluid, Unlabeled, Demiboy, Demiagender

Other: Omnisexual (4), Poly (2), Trixic, Abroromantic or Bellusromantic, Demisexual

General Questions

Other: Quotev, Discord, their own google docs

Other: Discord, Variations of "I haven't posted yet, but I pan to" and "I haven't posted my fics in ages",

Other: Wattpad, Deviantart, Discord

Other: Crochet dolls, Custom dolls, Roleplay blogs (2), Fan translations, Headcanons (2), Piano music

The purple section in the “Warriors vs Warrior” chart is supposed to read “Warrior.” I made a typo.

Favorites and Least Favorites

Selected Free Response Answers

im sorry warriors i just can't play your game (it is very very hard. i am stuck very early on in the game)

I love cats meow meow meow

was extremely tempted to put twilight for least favorite. unfortunately he is my favorite to write from the perspective of (he has taken over most of my wips. help) and that probably counts for something. WILD on the other hand. hooo boy how the hell do i characterize this gargoyle. why is he Like That. least favorite it is

Twiddy

very good fandom to be in :) everybody is very nice

It's a straight up crime that Wars lost the aesthetics poll so quickly. He has such a peak Link design with the best colors. Ugh I'm getting wistful.

FROGS. FROGS. FROGS. ALSO HAPPY PRIDE MONTH. FROGS. FROGS. FROGS. FROGS. FROGS.

I will fight Hylia herself and the next person who implies Twi can't handle spice. If we're going to lean into him being southern/Midwestern, which is an alright stero type for our rancher, please keep in mind the culture you're basing him off. The south and midwest can handle their spice, I assure you. Have you ever had authentic Louisiana gumbo? It will melt you tongue off. Or some good old fashion spicy fried chicken? I promise the real stuff has quite a kick. (In all seriousness, though. It's more important that you're having fun. And even I can admit the idea of Twi being an Ordonian who can't handle his spice is more than a little funny.)

I am an OoT Link edgelord and have been since early 2017. So, in September of that year, when an artist by the name of jojo56830 puts out a lineup of nine different Links and the Hero of Time is there – the oldest, no eye, Hero’s Shade armor? I saw that one sketch and just thought “oh this is gonna be bad.” Yeah of course he has the coolest design. By the way, it’s only a matter of time until Fierce Deity shows up in the comic and I have reason to believe it could be this current Dawn arc. Dawn … Dawn of a New Day … and who brought about the Dawn of a New Day? Fierce Deity. Twilight is recovering but still injured and what will happen if he falls again? Fierce Deity is coming and we need to be prepared. In this essay I will—

Remember that time when someone put the whole script of the bee movie in here? I’m not that dedicated, and I don’t have that time, but let us remember and hope someone else does it again this time. Cause someone is bound too. We’re all crazy enough to do it. Alright, love you and stay hydrated pls!

Hi! I joined this fandom really recent but i’ve always seen LU stuff on pinterest and elsewhere. Only recently have i actually took the time to understand the fandom and get back into LOZ stuff and i adore the characters and story! The more and more fanart, fanfics, and comics i see about the different Links the more i love them all. It’s such a pain to pick just one i like or one i don’t like because they’re all so unique. I love this fandom and hope to get more involved!! Have a wonderful rest of your day :]

Epona is an underrated queen

your mom

I really don't get why Zelda is called Artemis. Athena makes more sense???? It perplexes me

Anyone seeing this should check out Breanna’s E!Wild AU

Something something queer every Link into oblivion!

[melanieph321]

Ruben Dias - The Award (Prologue)

Part 1 Part 2

I'm so excited for this journey y'all! Let's goooo! 🥳

Kiera Reed, upcoming superstar, the new it girl, multi Grammy Award winner…or so she wants to be. Realizing that the music industry has little to do with talent and a lot to do with status, Kiera is willing to do it all to give her music the recognition it deserves. Even if that means fake dating the stubborn, inconsiderate and undeniably arrogant football player, Ruben Dias. It is through lies, schemes and hurt that the "couple" comes to know each other. But through passion, love and sacrifice Kiera and Ruben go through lengths to help each other achieve their dreams.

Enjoy!

And the award goes to.....

"Please say Kiera, please say Kiera..."

"Please, please, please, by Sabrina Carpenter!!!"

"Oh, for fuck sakes." 

Kiera should have known not to resort to something as stupid and conspiratorial as crossing her fingers. It had brought her no luck thus far, the EMA's snubbing her of yet another category that she was nominated in. All that was left was the award for the best new artist and that couldn't possibly be Kiera, after she was ironically asked to present the award tonight. Handing it out to herself would simply look stupid.

"Are you ready?" A voice spoke from behind. Odell, Kiera's lover and partner in crime in this blasphemous music industry, had returned backstage to check on her.

"Yeah, I'm alright." She said, a microphone resting in her hands.

"Hey?" The bitterness in her voice had not gone unnoticed. "You'll get them next time." He assured, placing a hand on the hollowed back of Kiera's dress, his fingertips caressing her skin. "With this new record we got coming out next year, you'll be topping every fucking chart in the world. Everyone is gonna want a piece of Kiera Reed."

"You really think so?"

"Trust me baby, I'll make sure of it."

She smiled with the kiss that was pressed to her cheek. Odell then disappeared through the dark curtains, leaving Kiera to do what was asked of her.

The crowd was buzzing out there, tempting her to sneak a peek through the closed blinds. The biggest artists were of course seated up front, some of them having snubbed Kiera of her awards. They probably had no idea who she was, and tonight they would only come to know her as the pretty face that presented the award for Best New Artist. 

She looked around the stage area, where several producers with black headsets were running around like hens on a farm, ensuring that the production of the show was running smoothly. They seemed so agitated, Kiera thought. Not at all helping her calm her own rising nerves. And yes, despite not having to actually perform, Kiera was still nervous about going on stage and having all of those googling eyes staring up at her. Not to mention the bright lights, pointing directly at her face, highlighting every possible flaw in her dark features.

"Hey, I'm Ruben."

She flinched as a tall figure appeared beside her.

"Sorry, did I scare you?" He chuckled. A man, broad in the shoulders yet slim at the waist. He wore a dark suit, complementary to his other dark features, like his eyes and his hair. Kiera didn't see much of it though, his hair, since their height differences had him peering down at her like a parent does a child.

"I see that they've already given you a microphone. They didn't give me one so I assume that means we're sharing?"

"I don't—"

"Ruben?" A woman with a headset appeared, shifting her head between Kiera and the stranger. "Great, you've already gotten to know each other. I suggest that the two of you walk out together. On my que, of course. Ruben, you then prepare the envelope, while....while...."

"Kiera." She frowned.

"Of course." The lady smiled, a visible drop of sweat running down her temple. "Kiera, you make sure that the microphone is in place when you approach the pedestal. Ruben is gonna prepare the envelope containing the best new artist. Got it?" The lady was rapid, taking the man, Ruben's nod, as a notion from them both.

"I—." Kiera tried to speak. To protest, since she was obviously freaking out. However, the stage lady put her hand up, giving Kiera and Ruben the cue to take to the stage. Although her feet hesitated to move as the curtains drew open, the hand putting pressure on Kiera's lower back ensured that she did. Met with courteous applause from the well dressed crowd, she and Ruben took to the stage. 

By the time they reached the presenter's pedestal, the applause had died out, the crowd obscured behind the blinding lights. Kiera was undoubtedly struck by it all, the applause, the lights and the front row of artists whose polite demeanor seemed to be mocking her. She found herself frozen with terror. Unable to move a muscle. While the voice in her head did nothing to console her, another voice, a man's, appeared like a soft breeze behind her ear. "The microphone." He said, without pleading.

"I can't." Kiera's body trembled, shivers sent all over. "I can't do it—."

"Shh. It's okay, I got you."

Her shoulders fell. Not with relief, but with surprise as someone moved to stand behind her. 

Ruben? 

His arm, a well defined bicep, swept around her body, unhanding Kiera the microphone, attaching it to the stand on top of the pedestal. Pressure was then subdued upon her head, something firm, resting on top of it. As if awaking a lucid dream, Kiera took notice of her surroundings. A mumbling crowd, followed by a few flattering wolf howls and snapping applause. Kiera realized that Ruben was resting his chin on top of her head, his front pushing against her trembling back. However, the trembles quickly seized with the heat that was generated between them.

"Ladies and gentleman...." Ruben's rich baritone voice echoed above Kiera's head, his stubbled chin stirring her silk-pressed hair. "The award for Best New Artist goes to..." A golden envelope unfolded before her eyes, Ruben's large hands retrieving the paper within as his arms shielded around her. The crowd once again expressed their excitement for the gesture with snapping applause and taunting shouts. Although Kiera flushed with embarrassment, not to mention concern for how she and Ruben might appear to the crowd and the people watching at home, her previous trembles had gone away, completely vanishing with the bizarre nature of her situation.

"Benson Boone!!!"

Despite not winning Best New Artist, Kiera felt momentarily at ease. Her stumbles and falls in life having no matter. She would always be cooed and protected in the arms of the man whose heart beat gently against her own. The man that whispered endearments against her hair and slid his hands to rest on her hips.

"You did good, Kiera. You did good."

"I did?"

"Very good."

Part 1 Part 2

[riceys]

Could you write for schlatt?

I'm thinking an English/German girl who is his graphic design (does like his thumbnails and like website) and after late night and long discord calls he slowly realises he doesn't just see her as an employee or friend but something more? I saw this sort of idea some where recently and it's giving me brain rot. Plus the banter between an English/german person would be unhinged.

YESSS OMG ACTUALLY LOVE THIS ive thought about this so much recently and i know german soo

gonna do hcs for this :)

also im very bad at formatting so sorry about that (ill probably rewrite stuff after i figure out how the fuck to do it)

Jschlatt x german/graphic designer!reader hcs

warnings-some nsfw at the veryyyy end

Wilbur introduced you two after schlatt said something about needing an artist for his channel

'find graphic designer !!!' schlatt mumbled while writing on the dull yellow paper. He was in a call with some friends, not really paying attention to what they were doing as he was busy making a sort of to-do list

"schlatt are you there?" the thick accented voice brought schlatt out of his daze

"hm yea sorry whatd you say willbur"

"i said my mate is a graphic designer, i can send you her info if you want." wilbur repeated with a laugh

"oh shit yeah thatd be great man thanks"

definitely left the call to go talk to you after that

very caught of gaurd by your accent, wilbur had failed to mention the slight language barrier as you were used to doing work in german

"so its a little ram with a sweater" his voice suprised you, wilbur didnt say anything about him being american.

"a what?" you laughed at the foreign word nervously. He sounded intimidating and it was kinda hot???

"a uhh," he laughed pulling out his phone, "einen bock? i think." Any sense of intimidation melted away as he stuttered out the poorly pronounced german.

absolutely melts when you giggle at this ^^

he LOVES your laugh!!! specifically that he can hear the accent come through in it

once you start working for him finds a way to sneak your art into everything he does and pays you way more than he should be

"Schlatt this is like triple my rates, you really dont need to pay me this much"

"consider it a tip, toots"

flies you out to every single event he goes to. merch photoshoots? you're in every photo. creator clash? he bought you the best seats in the house. says its a "business thing". (its not)

gets to the point where you're spending every other month in Austin with him before you move out there.

when chuckle sandwich starts he begs you to do all the art for it too (not that you would've said no)

Also begs ted to have you on as a guest

guest turns into member after the first chuckle week, where schlatt insisted that you be there cause you made the art

finally asks you out the week after the 1st chuckle week where they stay for the week to decompress

took you to boa then going stargazing

asks you out in german

"Sehr Schön" you breath out as you look up at the stars. Schlatt next you is freaking out trying to get the courage to ask you out.

"Du bist Sehr Schön" He misspronounces, still managing to make you blush. He only knew what that meant because he had been studying how to ask you out in german all week.

He puts a finger under your chin to shift your focus to him before speaking, "y/n, Ich mag dich wirklich, wirst du mit mir ausgehen?"

It was obvious he had used google translate and taught himself how to say it as he mispronounced many words and had a slight stutter, but it meant the world to you

Pulling him in for a kiss you paused to look at him, "Du bist dumm, Jschlatt"

asks you to speak to him in German

teases you so much (lovingly obviously)

also (nsfw time)

learns how to call you a slut in german

when he fucks you so good and you start babbling in german

sorry if this wasnt great i kinda got carried away and its my 1st writing thingy

[lorynna]

German hip hop/rap artist "Ikkimel" (real name: Melina) , aged around the beginning of her 20s, is polarising all around social media due to her explicit songtexts, containing descriptions surrounding the usage of different drugs, while also trivializing them at the same time, like concaine, weed, alcohol and others, talking about kinky sex while sexualising herself at her own free will and intention and overall breaking many social taboos within the grounds of her music. (I will include translated english texts at the end for your reference).

Liberal feminists have called her sex-positive, a confident & cheeky, feministic icon, a bad bitch and a breath of fresh air as a woman in a male dominated field such as rap. She has been criticised before and called too "obscene" and it's also been said that she is publicly degrading herself, both of which I personally agree with. My personal belief is that Ikkimel, who is apparently branding herself as a feminist, is very purposefully surrounding herself with controversy because it gets her a lot of attention & clout, which seems to be her goal above anything else.

It is worth mentioning that she has studied german linguistics during her time at university, which is also often used to defend her music saying that everything "has a deeper meaning" and needs to be "properly analysed in order to be completely understood". Due to her being a woman criticizing her often results in her fans telling you that "you are only criticizing her because she is a woman in an otherwise male dominated field, why don't you come for the male artists first? they rap just about the same things she does!"

Her texts are distasteful and her "music" causes pain for both of my ears. What she writes about could not have anything less to do with feminism or female empowerment for that matter.

I will just now translate the arguments of a female fan which I have spoken about this topic today, asking her what makes Ikkimel's texts feminist in her own opinion:

(Her response to my asking why her texts are feminist:)

"She does just the same as male rappers, only that she sexualizes herself, instead of letting others sexualize her. She studied linguistics and you can interpret a lot into her songtexts."

(Her response to me saying that simply because you sexualize yourself before a man can does not make something feminist, asking her if she sees that differently.:)

"She stands for feminism, that's just her concept but differently interpreted."

"There's more behind her texts but I don't know the lyrics by heart so if you really want to understand, please google, they can really be interpreted greatly."

"She really stands for feminism, she even said so herself."

"You don't have to like her texts, each to their own, but a few professors analysed it and liked it, so you can see the value behind her words if you only tried."

Including some text cut-out, full English translated versions in the links below:

PLEASE TELL ME - CAN YOU SEE SHE STUDIED LINGUISTICS? IS SHE A SECRET GENIUS AND I AM ONLY OVERSEEING IT BY BEING SO BLIND, NOT RECOGNIZING THAT WHAT SHE RAPS ABOUT IS ACTUALLY HYPER FEMINIST, DID I MISS IT ALL THE TIME????

WHEN CAN LIBERAL FEMINISTS FINALLY STOP CALLING SHITTY SONGS THAT MAKE EVERYONE'S EARS BLEED A GENIUS, FEMINIST MASTERPIECE THAT WASN'T ANALYSED LONG ENOUGH?

Sometimes the most obvious thing really is the answer and it doesn't nees more digging. The truth is right here.

Title: Deutschland (Germany)

Ski Aggu feat. Ikkimel

[Verse 2: Ikkimel]

Aggu sprinkled a line of coke on my ass (Mm-mm)

Thanks, Aggu, that really pleased me

Unfortunately, the little line did hurt a bit (Ouch, ouch)

Then I had to comfort him 'cause his eye was watering

That made him horny and he took off his mask (Uh, uh)

With me, there's no contraception, they always pull it out (Mmm)

And if he's nice, he can smack my ass

I like blue bruises, except on the voting map

ASZENDENT BITCH

by Ikkimel

Part 1

Pretty and arrogant and never traveling alone

I'm like a Subway sandwich, I'm always fresh (Ah, ah )

By default I do Pussy Terror – is that Ikkimel?

I come to the club with pussies and a hot ride

Pre-Hook

Face like an angel, mom doesn't get any grandchildren

Long nails, long legs, long hair , short skirts

Hook

Fotzenstyle is always hot

Now the club is getting fucked up

Thanks Admiral, the bass fucks extremely anally

My star sign is Cunt and my ascendant bitch

Thanks Admiral, the bass fucks extremely anally

Part 2

I always have fun at the gynecologist

And with Satan, the bastard

You say , I should go to a women's prison

My friend, then you'll have to pay attention now

I don't have a conscience, but I have great tits

If I say: "I'll find you funny", I don't mean because of your jokes

KETA UND KRAWALL

by Ikkimel

Keta and riot, my nose is sore

tits are bulging and my ass is round

the best horse in the stable and I'm making a fool of myself

we're like Captain Morgan 'cause we make out (Uh, uh)

Part 1: Ikkimel

I'm in Friedrichshain and I'm drinking a beer

Pussy power in the jogger, Ikkimel the vacuum cleaner

Next stop: ladies' toilet, fat guy, what are you staring at so?

I'll lay it out too long, I'll stand for it with my name

As it echoes into the forest, it echoes out again (Wouh)

I may be conceited, but see good looking

I'm the complete package, simply a dream woman

Talk to me once and I'll make you my Wauwau (Ah, ah)

[lintwriting]

Something kinda funny about Pinterest girlies is that the vast majority of them are vaguely anti-Chinese but have stumbled across MXTX novels as the exception, so anytime they see a Weibo artist drawing of a character wearing anything vaguely ancient Chinese, they go “I think this is Wei Wuxian.”

This piece is by an artist called 陆山河 on Weibo. They’re known for drawing OC historical drawings, so this character wouldn’t be Wei Wuxian nor even from a novel at all. Here are the comments:

HUH? Since when does Wei Wuxian wear green??? Yeah he’s Asian with long hair and surrounded by Lotuses, but that’s like insanely common for traditional/historical style pieces, as lotuses are considered symbols of Chinese culture (fun fact: Tsinghua University, the university that is a homophone for Shang Qinghua, has a lotus garden called Shui Mu Qing Hua garden, which was known to have inspired the poet Zhu Ziqing).

They have like no clue that there are other famous danmei characters or authors, and they don’t realize that Chinese weibo artists have developed their own techniques into a distinctive art style you can pretty consistently recognize like Anime and Manhwa artists have, nor that Weibo is closed off from the world outside of China so it’s hard to research the artist using google.

The result is that when someone inevitably asks “character?“ or “artist?” They say “Wei Wuxian” and then some random anime artist who is totally wrong, and that I can TELL is wrong because the Weibo handle is in the corner 😭😭.

This was by @种花法则 on Weibo. If you zoom in on the right, you’ll see that that’s a match for the little white handle in the corner. Their twitter is @7DJzdye5FZ2W3A3. The character is Shen Zechuan from Qiang Jin Jiu. This was a sketch of this fully painted piece that they made, which you can find proof of from this artist spotlight from them. And here are the Pinterest comments:

No.

No.

First off, Panonono had a more anime/jelly art style look to their drawings at the time that person posted their comment. Second, the BiliBili artist mentioned did the Weibo equivalent of a retweet of 种花法则’s work, and 嗒喵帝’s art style doesn’t otherwise match the 种花法则’s style either. Their handle is clearly different from the one in the sketch.

But that sign can’t stop them because they can’t read Chinese lol. (Neither can I, at least not very advanced characters, but I can use Google Translate. )

I’ll probably expand on why this happens and how I avoid making this mistake later, but OH these comments have been pissing me off for a while now.