#but im not sure if i'll ever have enough of a platform to do what i want with it
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knifeslidez · 9 months ago
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seriously wondering if my art is actually gonna go anywhere or if im gonna be forced to give it up because im not good enough to make enough money to make ends meet
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sunlit-mess · 6 months ago
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you are criminally underrated. *holds out hands like a sad victorian child* any tips for a young artist? :)
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im a very. tired. artist.
To aspiring artists, I'm not sure what 'tips' or advice I can give that were not already said by another. However, I'll remind you anyway.
"There's no secret to art... just begin and keep going. That's all we can do."
Always set your pace, and take your time learning. Art is something that isn't rushed, rather it grows through experience. Think of it like exp points or something, the more you gain, the more you know and skills acquired. It doesn't mean you HAVE to abide by the principles or rules either, though it's best to know them. Knowledge comes in different ways and your method is yours to explore.
As for motivation, it's something you'd find attached to, a mission and values thing per se. Find your dedication, how will you strive, how much are you willing to pursue. What keeps you going? What WILL keep you determined?
We take criticism critically: Don't get your ego attached to every work, everyone has their own perspective. What I mean to say is to understand errors and find improvement. Be HONEST with yourself and your work. Nothing is ever wrong in art, hell- even the most fucked-up ones can look so beautiful and meaningful.
In social media or sharing artworks, it's cool to show them to your friends or relevant platforms your craft would be in, just gotta learn the long process of algorithm somehow... It's a pain, but never lose confidence! Believe in yourself. Even the tiniest of work, effort is counted as special. Because it's from you!
Lastly, enjoy what you do! Have fun once in a while, and best that you find fun all the time in your crafts! You create for a cause and not just to please. Art shouldn't be a cause to break you, rather it builds you.
I hope this message is enough? ::)
I've been drawing since I was young, now as an adult- my art is meh compared to other artists out there, but I still try my best to keep my mark around.
So much has happened in my life and I'm still VERY lost, especially in a path as an 'Artist'. Though, I fell off in art, burned out, and relapsed more than I can count,
nothing or no one can kill the part of me that just wants the world to see that I can still... Create.
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bonesandthebees · 9 months ago
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Okay fuck it. I think scrolling for hours today is enough DJFKGKFK I'll just log back out. I wanna focus my energy on more positive things
Im so gonna log back in the minute my friend sends me another tweet but HDKGKGKD no. I will do my best. He's not worth our time man.
Okay one more tiny rant about him and then I promise I'll stop I just OOOHHMYGODHFJGKG HE JUST. I had so much hope. That. He would reply and it wouldn't fix things, I wouldn't go back to watching him or anything but at the very least I could get closure that like? Maybe his closer friends would be able to heal and move on? Idk if that's parasocial or whatever but he was such a big role model for me the past few years I really had hope that at least some parts of it were real, you know? And instead we just find out that he not only did these shitty things but didn't fucking learn and did it to other people too and??? It's really really upsetting that he created this safe space, this community of people who were all so lovely while just being. Fake. The whole time. And he doesn't even have the gull to properly apologise and I just??#?# idk what to do with my emotions LMFAO I'd finally started to feel better and like move on but now today I'm just angry again grgrgfhfjdkdk and I totally get that like him being a complete dickhead is easier in a lot of ways bc there's no. Doubting it. Or anything. Like there's no redeeming him. And we can get closure from that. But fuckkk it hurts so badly and the tl is a mess of ppl being like "well this person would never do me wrong" and then ppl being like "fuck every YouTuber ever actually. We can't ever be sure we know them" and LIKE!$?_?$?
Dude I am so conflicted on so many levels rn I feel like my entire world has just been yeeted into the sun LMFAODKFKFKFK
Anyways. Anyways. Thank you bee. Ur tumblr is the only account w a brain rn fr lmfaodjfkfkfks
I get it, I'm fucking furious at him. he had a chance to at least own up to what he did. I wouldn't have gone back to consuming his content, but I could be somewhat at peace knowing he was taking steps towards being better.
I don't want to think it was all a lie, because abusers aren't all completely evil people. the thing is, wilbur is human. a very shitty human, but human nonetheless. and we can't know for sure how healthy or unhealthy every relationship in his life has ever been and I think overanalyzing that or trying to figure out what was fake and what was real isn't really our business or worth our time. wilbur is a guy who has hurt a lot of people, but also refuses to recognize the hurt he's caused. that's it.
I do hate the dichotomy I'm seeing between people trying to prop up their own favorite white boys on a pedestal because apparently people never learn, but also going out and saying every content creator is inherently evil and we shouldn't trust any of them. these people are human. they're all going to fuck up at some point, some worse than others. and sometimes they'll fuck up in a way that they can move past and we can forgive them for, and other times they'll fuck up in a way that shows they shouldn't have the platform they have. they're not all terrible, and they're not all perfect. that's what we should be keeping in mind for the future.
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hyvnam · 1 year ago
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HEARTLESS — CH2
Miguel O'hara x Reader
I think I'll be posting more on Wattpad instead of Tumblr since using this platform is kinda complicated for me,,, just search up Heartless by hash1ori on Wattpad ^^
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Gwen and Hobie were taking Miles around Babylon Towers for a tour and arrived at the Dormitories. You came out of your room, overhearing their chatter and laughter filling the empty hallway.
“Another spider variant?” Miles tilted his head,, then noticed you had no watch,
“Nah mate she isn't a spider person,,,” Hobie waved at you, you smiled back at him.
“Miles this is Dr. L/n, she's from this Earth and the one who handles the infirmary.”
“Dr. L/n, I'm sure you know Miles.”
You offered your hand after Gwen's small introduction and he returned the gesture by shaking it,,
“I heard a lot about you from Peter, Miles.”
“You know Peter??” you nod, “We're good friends.”
The three invited you to walk with them and you happily agreed. You were planning to go to the lab but it doesn't hurt to get some time to take a little detour.
Miles kept asking questions, he was so curious about this whole secret union.
“So you've been here for a long time?”
“I went to school with Miguel, I've been here since the beginning of this guild.”
“What...?? So he isn't that old?”
You laughed,, “Surprisingly, we're the same age." then shrugged jokingly.
“Did Miguel ever have a like relationship,” you paused, not expecting that kind of question.
“Who would ever date Miguel?” Gwen scoffed then crossed her arms, the others started to think about it and subtly agreed.
Miles and Gwen reminded you of each other,, once upon a time. It made you smile, Hobie beside you, noticing your gaze softened so much.
On the top floor, Miguel and Peter were talking.
"I've hurt her so much before, I've been a jerk but I have been trying to make it up for the mistakes I did when we were young.”
He usually ranted his problems to Peter, who listened carefully. Usually the topic of their conversations was you, maybe that's why you've been feeling the sniffles lately.
“When I had Gabriella,, I didn't think anything mattered anymore and I pushed her away. It was all a mistake,, and I don't know how to fix this.”
Miguel sighed deeply, pushing his brown locks back with his hands. He sat on his office chair, his foot tapping on the floor. Then when the weight of the multiverse was placed on him, you just stood there. Watching it all play out.
“Maybe cause you've been a workaholic, plus cheater your whole life that you don't really deserve her...” Peter sighed, then realizes what he said and started to panic as Miguel covered his face in defeats.
“What am I ever going to do?”
“It worked out for me and MJ,” he rests his hand on Miguel's shoulder, giving a reassuring smile, “Im sure it'll work out for you too.”
Infirmary, Babylon Towers.
Your POV
Maybe I would have some spiders come and go after a little bruise or light concussion and get a well deserved rest after the grand chase, or at least that's what I thought,, but before my break, Miguel came into the infirmary.
He said he needed some Rapture. But usually,, he was the one who injected it himself.
Even if something off was going on, I told him to sit and started to prepare. The nano tech on his suit disappeared and made space enough for the needle to enter. I put on my gloves and started to infuse the serum. He winced when I took it out and his eyes started to tighten. I started to check him, to see if anything was wrong.
So nothing was up with him him physically, just mentally cause I noticed
that he looked like he wanted to say something,,
It became more obvious that he did since felt his eyes on me while cleaning and sanitizing, at this point it felt like it was burning my back.
“Do you want a lollipop or what?” we both laughed,, I crossed my arms and turned to face him, “What's wrong, Miggy? You're being strange today.”
“You noticed?”
He grabbed me by the waist and pulled me close,
“Oh please,,, I've known you for most of my life.”
I tried to stay as good friends with him, and we did do some stuff that was kind of a stress relief. It benefited us. Maybe that's why we were friends with benefits.
“Do you ever just wonder if we weren't here?”
I raised an eyebrow at his question,, “If you didn't create this,,?” I raised my arms to try and describe the whole big thing that's going on,, he laughed. God his laugh was so hot.
“Like, if I never tried to quit Alchemax and we stayed together.”
My lips pressed together, my face became filled with false confusion. I knew what he was trying to say,, but so suddenly?
I gulped and push him away, making there be distance between us. I hugged myself, feeling overwhelmed.
“No matter how much you reject me, I always find myself seeking you.”
Miguel stood up, explaining how much he yearned for me like it was some thesis defense,,
“I need you like how I need air to breath,,,”
He cupped my face,, I shook my head, the hope in his eyes started to drain.
“You didn't think that when you cheated on me,,” I looked up at him and said sadly, brushing him away.
He stood there, like a hopeless child that got lost. My face became serious. What did he want? Encouragement like some dog one last time? If I give him the same attention I did when I came back then I'd be wrapped around his hold once again,, and I promised myself to never do that.
But why do I feel little hope that he could do something (babe), say something (babe), risk it all and not lose me. I don't know what I'm supposed to do, haunted by those “What ifs”. Like what if we worked out?
Miguel left after I scanned his body. Everything was stable and he left. Our conversation was short lived after the awkward confession he made, he was so corny.
I looked around the infirmary,, it was quiet, no one was there, and I decided to go to the canteen. Thinking that we were lucky that it wasn't a busy day. Unbeknownst to us,, someone was resting on one of the beds, covered by the curtains.
Tbc.
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starbunii · 4 months ago
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HIII HELLO can I request non-despair HPA Rantaro x Reader? I am such a sucker for high school romance it’s sooo so cute… and maybe I am a liiittle biased towards this idea LOL but 😇 I figured I’d ask!! Thank you sm!!
. kiss, kiss fall in love 𓂃 ♥︎
𝜗𝜚 ┈ rantaro amami x reader ! 。
notes: THIS REQUEST WAS SO CUTE AWAWWAWA IM ALSO A SUCKER FOR HIGH SCHOOL ROMANCES, SO TYSM FOR REQUESTING WAHHHH <33 also!! the reader here is kind of based off of coco's yume!! please go check out their account, bc yamabuki is so cute and their art is amazing!
oneshot ノ fluff ノfem! reader ノnon-despair hpa au!
second person pov !! please enjoy! ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶
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He was so...interesting to you. The moment he walked into the classroom, he immediately caught your eye.
Now, you knew love at first sight was hard to come by; it was rare, and would only strike when the universe deemed fit. But god damn, there was just something about him.. Those eyes that were reminiscent of precious gems, the slight tan of his skin combined with the freckles littering his body, his piercings; a mark of a life well lived.
At lunch, you couldn't help but stare. There was just something about the way he tilted his head back slightly when he laughed, slender fingers covering his mouth. He was wearing so many rings..so many bracelets, yet somehow, it didn't clash with his uniform.
You had never seen a guy seem so fashionable, sweet, and daring all in one package...yet here he was. What was there to do? Should you say something?
Yeah...yeah, you should say something...
You awkwardly shuffled your way over to his table, lunch tray in hand. He was in the middle of a conversation. Once you thought he had finished, you nodded slightly.
"Um...hi.." you smiled politely. "I just...I noticed that you and your friends are having a lot of fun...I don't mean to impose, but is it ok if I join you?"
"Yeah, of course you can...we don't mind a bit.." he smiled back. god, who knew he had a voice so deep?! why was everything about this guy so...perfect?!
You fought back a small blush and sat between a boy with dark blue hair, and the guy you were developing a crush on in question. It was so, so hard not to stare at him, his perfect teeth sparkling whenever he smiled at his friends, combined with the shine of his eyebrow piercing and stud in his nose? he was too bright, you were doomed!!
From time to time, you'd join in on the conversation, finally learning that your mysterious prince's name was Rantaro, before lunch eventually ended. Class came and went, and soon enough, it was time to head back to the dorms.
To your understanding, the library was open until 10. You checked your clock: 8. Perfect.
You quietly crept into the large room full of elaborate staircases and towering bookshelves, settling yourself down on an ever so comfortable leather loveseat, curled up with a book.
You stayed there peacefully for about an hour, before looking up upon hearing a small creak from the other cushion beside you. Sure enough, it was him.
"Amami..." You bit your lip, suppressing a giggle as you set your book back down.
"Hey.." He smiled up at you. "So...Anna Karenina, huh?" he pointed at your book. You had only just started it, but it had caught your attention so far. You simply nodded.
"You know, I haven't got the chance to read it yet?" He chuckled. "Well...I have. But Tolstoy's work is so long, I think I'd rather just read a summary..."
Your hands shook a bit at his closeness; at his eye contact. He was talking to you so sweetly, as though you two had been friends for a long time. It made you feel...overjoyed..yet...scared..
"...M-Maybe I'll write you a summary..someday..."
"If it's from you; I'd be happy to read it."
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starbunii 2024 — all rights reserved. do not redistribute or translate to any other platforms
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so2uv · 11 months ago
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@ so2uv's sappy time.
end of the year. ive survived and that's scary but you know what? it'll be fine. we'll all be fine and im promising that; whether it be this year, the next, or far in the future, we'll be ok :)) it's stupid how this platform, one that my friends teased me for using, left such an impact on me as a person.
AKA. MY END OF YEAR MUTUAL APPRECIATION POST. (warning: these got long and sort emotional for me to write. well, as emotional as i can get fjkdhgkjfd. sorry if my coherence gets lost later on. forgive me if you weren't mentioned specifically for something; i have more mutuals that expected. it's genuinely surprising.)
if you weren't mentioned specifically, there's still a note for you at the bottom. sorry for making you scroll for long to find it :'DD
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𖣂 ┈ ⟡ ˒ @tiredsleep . . . the mutual who has stuck through it all. oh tired. tired, tired, tired. i think im a little stupid for how happy i get when you like a post or send an ask or keyboard smash in my reblogs. a lot of what i said in my long ask to you a while back is what im trying to convey now. the way we met wasn't through much special; i followed you and eventually you followed back. it was slow going in the ways we interacted but the nicest things take time and im so glad we're the way we are now. we're strangers, two little guys on the internet, and i think it's beautiful how we have this. you're an amazing writer, an all around amazing creator of the worlds you build and the characters you create. i don't think you realized how envious i used to be of you; you made it seem like it was easy enough for you to connect with others, your writing was something id never achieve with mine, it was flat out jealousy. it was my fault we were distant to begin with. i soon figured out that praise was correct: you are among the most wonderful people ive had the pleasure of knowing and talking to you, even if it's just through a screen. there's so much more for me to say that i constantly struggle to put into the correct words to get the point across. just know that you have great things out there for you. have a great new year, tired. we'll make it. im so proud of you.
𖣂 ┈ ⟡ ˒ @aelatus . . . the last standing mutual of all my og (close) mutuals. hello atlas! im not sure if you'll ever see this on tumblr since i know you don't log on much but you've been my mutual through three blog changes now; was there for my xstar-kidx era and kozmiixs stage. we've been through shit together, had banter about grammarly together, lost certain mutuals together, have changed blogs, changed themes, switched fandoms, fell out of love with fandoms. it's been a wild couple of years, huh? im so thankful we've met and got close in the ways that we did and that we're able to call each others close. your birthday is soon so in the case that i forget to say this on discord: happy birthday, the xiao to my albedo. live a life of freedom and joy, my love /p.
𖣂 ┈ ⟡ ˒ @izukxnnie . . . hara :((( i don't think you'll ever come to read this message but that's alright; maybe it's for the better kdfgh. i know i sent you that long winded ask on your blog already but i miss talking and interacting with you, even with all my awkwardness. im still so regretful of that one time i sent a request to join your world but then you were busy and i didn't read your messages until later that day as in hours later bc i was at school and idk if i ever responded to them in the end. maybe i'll send you a message on discord later. maybe i won't bc i'll be too sentimental. i really hope you're doing more than well, that you're happy doing what you do.
𖣂 ┈ ⟡ ˒ @ay-asterisms . . . the mutual who introduced me to so many others. i really have you to thank for what i have now, ay. truly. you brought me deeper into the hq fandom and introduced me to jennie, atlas, and others. we don't talk much but i'll say what ive mentioned before, you remind me so much of the sun. but not as the bringer of life and the ball we see every morning; a sun in the sense that you're a star closer to earth but still a star, still out there where there are multiple. the difference is that you just happen to bring a warmth that others can't provide for ones nearby.
𖣂 ┈ ⟡ ˒ @cryo-locket / @lo-cinno . . . you. im not even sure how we became mutuals, and my memory is pretty good. we just spawned in each other's zones one day and went yeah, alright. honestly, ive never said this to anyone, but you were one of the reasons i decided to focus more heavily on chinese. our interactions reminded me of why i wanted to relearn the language for myself: for the social connections. i genuinely love talking to you and always find myself laughing at our conversations. mainly because our timezone dif is so odd so it's always late in the evening when im on. your ebg was so fun and with all the pain it brought / hj, im so happy to have been part of it. thank you for putting up with my 2 am rambles and crack, hope you found laugh or two with them.
𖣂 ┈ ⟡ ˒ @pr3tty-jennie . . . you intimidated me when we first met. i still remember it actually: you had that kamninari theme and the most recent post on your blog was about how you couldn't remember the word for chandelier in english but knew it in french. you've been through so much, endured so much, and i respect you so much. always have, always will. your life story and the past don't define who you show as a person and im so amazed by that part of you. have a good day, good week, good rest of your life pretty girl :DD
𖣂 ┈ ⟡ ˒ @june-again . . . it's crazy, you know? crazy how far we've both drifted off from the original fandom that brought us together? but that's character development. speaking of that, ive gotten the absolute pleasure of seeing you grow as a person and go through the motions of life. it's always chill talking to you, jokes come easy hah! you're an amazing musician, june. amazing person, amazing at writing, amazing at music; you're outstanding so in the words of Freddy fazbear from security break, way to go superstar! i knew you could do it and i know you still can.
𖣂 ┈ ⟡ ˒ @junjiie . . . the seungmin to my minho, the other half of 2min, the self proclaimed jeno to my renjun (have yet to be a dreamzen my b :(() and the no. 1 solieber. i was serious when i said you're the reason my other blog exists; you've been the biggest hype person when it came down to me going out of my comfort zone and writing. i was so nervous going up to talk to you at first kjfdhgkj but now, you're just another silly guy in my phone screen :DD thank you for sending all your updates about life and putting up with mine even though they never get answered- seungmin to not only my minho, but hyunjin too, let's keep being #Silly, yeah?? it's already the actual new years day when you're receiving this so i hope the year is off to a good start.
𖣂 ┈ ⟡ ˒ @sohyuki . . . MINT im hoarding the ask that you sent me on christmas day. im always so happy when you've shown up on dash and while im sad about how you've let tumblr mainly behind, i know it's for the better since well, interactions have been shit and probably will never get back up to the standard we held them to, even with all the effort put in. you are such an amazing all around person and like i said in my christmas note to you, keep writing. hoard it, feed into it, you have something wonderful going on with it.
𖣂 ┈ ⟡ ˒ @kamiyatos . . . user kamiyatos!!! lee!!! HELLO!!! it's always such a pleasure to talk to you and i hope you know that i keep your ramble about malleus' character and your plot idea for him in the back of my mind constantly, even though that ask has been lost to my actions of deactivation on my old blog. you're the biggest ayato fan i know who supports my works about him vocally AND you understand my vision on his personality... it's truly touching, y'know? thank you for being there, even when we don't talk as much as we should. i hope this year has been kind on you and the next one is even kinder.
𖣂 ┈ ⟡ ˒ @yinyinggie . . . yingyingyingyingerkjshkjfdg ok this may come as a shock, or maybe you already knew and were just playing along, but we used to be mutuals before the summer of last year. secret identity revealed ig?? eh im sure if you dig far enough into my dark past™️ you'll find smth about it so im not going to say anything about it :P but! one thing has stayed the same for sure: you are so easy and so fun to talk to and make conversation with. you know that ramble i left on the astro twerk form about feedback for the server? yeah. im 100% truthful. you've made something so inclusive and positive, have done to much to get tumblr active, please know that your efforts aren't wasted. im sure they feel like it at times but i appreciate it so much. and im sure others have the same sentiment.
𖣂 ┈ ⟡ ˒ @mhiieee . . . MHIEEEEEEEE MY SCARA FAN !!!! i love and adore your works so much and not to mention your characterization of scaramouche is top tier. ive got a lot to learn from you, mhie; i don't think you realize how much there is to admire when it comes to you as a person. you find such meaning and connection in the words and the world, the sincerity that comes with it,,,,, it makes me want to sob and roll around while also simultaneously wanting to take your brain apart neuron by neuron and psychoanalyze you. not in the freudian way though. ive had the greatest honor of being able to interact with you on not just one, but two!!! servers!!! i think it's a little silly how much i smile when you reply to smth dumb ive said on disc. have a great new year :))
𖣂 ┈ ⟡ ˒ @ryuryuryuyurboat . . . RYUUUUUU literally the most stunning person to walk the planet ever like. hello??? our first interactions came from that ebg funny enough. does a little ★🪽 anon ring a bell? i only ever got around to sending you one sabo during that time but i hope you did enjoy what i came up with on the spot, i never was very good when it came down to kaeya's character. you are so intelligent and such an amazing individual, please always remember that.
𖣂 ┈ ⟡ ˒ @snobwaffles / @2nobwaffles . . . SNOB SNOB SNOB i always think of the pokemon when your name comes up. in my head, you will always be snom, the bug-ice type pokemon <33 IT'S SO FUN TALKING TO YOU and we haven't been mutuals for long either. im always thinking of the advice you left me when it came down to my rant about an irls party and there's something about the way you're able to appreciate and take note and find beauty int he smallest of things that get brought up. i wish you the complete best that 2024 has to off you. keep calm and snob on :DD
𖣂 ┈ ⟡ ˒ @itaerae & @mins-fins . . . im putting the two of you together because well, i met you both at the same time through the server. while i can't consider it and, ive never really had such an inviting time in a server, much less a network, as ive had in zumblr. really, it's you two that i owe thanks to. our silly little convos are so fun and im forever thankful that ive found people to talk to on a server for once.
𖣂 ┈ ⟡ ˒ @https-furina . . . the best server mother fr!!! omg it's so nice talking to you :((( i love the warmth of your words and how your emotions shine through text. it feels like i can practically envision the fond eyeball or the warm smile that you may or may not have on your face when messaging. i’ve had such a great time in the network and your pet names fjfbdjdbjdb have a great 2024 heh :DD
𖣂 ┈ ⟡ ˒ @lethwal & @astrinityy . . . i don't think you guys realize how fun it was when we were all "debating" and accusing me of being a furry. honestly, i haven't had to stifle laughter like that in the middle of the night as hard as i did for a small while. not too long but long enough. it was a breath of fresh air and it was genuinely amazing to just be able to put the present on the back burner and play around like that. even though it was kind of late for me when that was happening- ignore that. it's always late for me when im online atp. i hope we can get past those baseless accusations you have both placed on me tehe. have a happy new years, you two. ALSO YIXIN!! GA-MING PROTECTION SQUAD RISEEEEE
𖣂 ┈ ⟡ ˒ @/zumblr . . . there's so many of you and i can't find the proper words to express the welcome i felt when added to the server. it was nerve wracking, ive never really gotten around to talking to that many people or being that open on the internet before. it's funny how one summer can bring you out of your shell a little, eh? and all bc of some guys on screen lmao. thank you for the support and im happy to have met such wonderful people. thank you, again. @urielphix I AM. DETERMINED TO READ ADAD JUST YOU WAIT
𖣂 ┈ ⟡ ˒ @ everyone else, all my mutuals as of now and past, who weren't mentioned or mutuals who want to read something again . . . hello!! im sorry to disappoint by not adding you properly and for not giving a personalized thanks; it wasn't anything against it you at all. reason 1) i probably forgot as um. goldfish brain or 2) we just became mutuals pretty recently and haven't had the chance to really talk much / have been sort of long term but haven't talked much.
either way though, thanks for sticking around! im not the most. literate person. sometimes LMAO and im far from being a proud person of skill when it comes to the right words to say to people but im always happy when people find something worth it in my silly words. i hope we get to interact more in the future, as long as you can put up with my inconsistent (to say the least) replies and brain boggling posts that come from the depths of the midnight zone, that is. get ready for the ride that is this. clusterfuck of a blog place. LMAO,,,, if you haven't already scrolled through my stuff. if you have then um ready for more??? fkdjhgkjlghf
if you've made it to the end, thank you. and why?? im not that interesting or cool as everyone makes me out to be. if you had told 2019 me on tumblr that 4 years later, id be posting my works for everyone to see and also be proud of my own poetry, i would have laughed and called you absolutely insane. some of you have sat through me going through different gender and pronoun crises on dash back in 2020, and some of you ive only met this month.
whatever our situation is, i wish all the best for everyone . i’ll support you guys until the end of the earth and then some. have the happiest of happy new years, may your futures always be brighter than you say they are, and i’ll see you later 💛
sincerely — sol / jun
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mistfulcake · 11 months ago
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Platforms Of Fate (Often considered the 1st in the series.)
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Chapter XX, im just writing moments and then threading them together to form a story :P
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"Will you die at the hands of god or the strings of fate in which he has made a trap out of.
The spider or the web?!"
Theo yelled out. His throat threatening to crack and croak with every emotion that he could feel in his voice. He could feel his breath rasping, his pained expression almost begging for some hope in the others eyes.
"Because I'm not dying to either. I'm sick of being treated as if I'm someone that needs help..." He stopped yelling and mulled over his words. An uncomfortable silence took over the tense atmosphere. Theo sighed and glanced away from the group.
"Maybe I do need it. But that's not the point, are we really going to let some... Sick bastard that plays dolls with us, make us lose that hope? That same hope that we might escape this hell? Because I sure as hell am not."
He turned back to the broken hourglass, glaring at its taunting glow. The same one that would soon start the Events as if nothing ever happened.
Everything he suffered through, every bad thought, every single ideation back then.. was nothing compared to The Platforms. His eyes that hid under a visor could see this unfairness. No one needed to be forced to heal with more trauma.
He clenched his hand and ran across his shrinking platform. Running, but not from his problems. Not this time.
No longer being afraid to jump.
Platform to Platform.
With only three feet of space left, he prepared his body in case he fell down the void. Ran up to the bigger platform and-
Jumped.
Theo soon landed on the big grey platform with a thud, and glanced at the group. Smacking the dust off his pants, he realized he was shaking. His heart felt too fast, and his mind spun.
But it wasn't enough to deter him.
Caleb looked at Theo as Hash was still treating his injuries. "Hundreds of people.. maybe even millions have been trapped here. Do you even think we have a chance?" Caleb winced as he silently gave Hash a stare, Hash getting the message and shrugging nonchalantly.
"He's right. We don't even have our powers.. that some of us had before we came here. Strategically, we are making the wrong choice." Hash added on, they finished cleaning the wound and helped Caleb stand up.
Theo tapped his foot, glancing at the duo, Mar, and finally Neptune. His gaze drifted away to the void down below.. "I'm getting out of this hell, and if we have to defeat some omnipotent being than so be it. Because I won't give up, not if we all aren't guaranteed freedom. Let's try. At the very least." He sighed.
The rustling of the temporary tree next to them helped the silence that followed after.
Hash stayed quiet until they nodded, "I might be making a mistake. But I'm willing to trust you, Theo.. I think we all are learning to."
"..if Hash says it's good to go.. I'll try as well." Caleb muttered as he gave a thumbs up at Theo.
"I trust you too then. Not because I'm feelin' peer pressured or anything..." She coughed and turned her gaze towards him. "Okay maybe a little..." Neptune crossed her arms as she chuckled. "But something tells me we can do this."
"Theo, what's trust?" Mar looked up at the rest of the group, slightly confused about the sudden mood. Her usual hat was by the pile of leaves.
Theo looked at Mar and smiled, unsure about how to explain it to a kid. "Trust.. remember when we looked at the stars when it was night time, and you said that they would help you find your family?" The kid nodded and focused on Theo, tilting their head.
"The stars loved you enough to lead you to me. You knew you could rely on the stars. That's trust." He softly explained as he kneeled down to put their hat back on them. Mar laughed and peeped at him from behind it.
"So trust is like the stars?"
"As long as you believe in it." Theo replied back.
----
(KAHDKDHD OC BRAIN ROT RN.!!! I THINK THIS IS THE CHAPTER BEFORE MISTIC!! [Mistic's name is undecided as of now but I will try and see if it's great!])
(Also I love Theos adoptive brother role in the narrative, it really shows he has a soft spot just like he did with his old siblings
I decided to end it here because I needed some fluff and esp sleep since it's two am. That's why the writing is a bit... Meh.. at the end :')
See y'all!!)
Also no beta or revision for this so it's kind of dookie :'P
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angeltails · 2 years ago
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i need you more than i should ever say
okayyy <3 thank u @snowflakeicicles for doing basically all the work in plotting this out <33 basically Ziggy jerks off 2 his bestie, there's a part 2 where i actually write smth but im not gonna lie i got lazy doing part one LOL i dont edit bc i dont believe in doing labour ever <3 so gl! idk how well formatted this is gonna b bc im writing on a tablet w a keyboard. if it doesn't mmm i'll fix it later!! before i do part 2 i might do smth self indulgent for miles or 4 mike
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    “Personally I think you’re putting too much effort in for a jerkoff like him,” Ziggy knew he wasn’t being subtle as he watched his ‘best friend’ flick through their closet, the dull morning light danced on their floor and Ziggy stared blankly at the tiny corner of his screen that showed it as he tried to politely avert his eyes. Some mild attempt to preserve their modesty that was immediately undone when they pulled off their dress and his eyes immediately flicked upwards. Realizing a little too late what he had done Ziggy tilted his screen towards his ceiling, face burning painfully hot. He was pretty sure he was one wrong move from actually setting his bed on fire. 
    “That’s not the point, Zigs, you just gotta tell me what looks good-” they cut off and Ziggy felt safe to look, only to throw his phone nearly across the room when he found them peering into the camera, “are you paying attention to me? You better not be fucking streaming or something.”
    Ziggy’s heart felt like it was going to beat out of his goddamn chest as he rushed to pick up his phone, sliding the lock on his door. He didn’t relish the idea of his mom rushing in on him staring at his naked friend on facetime. The last thing Ziggy needed was some bullshit lecture on respecting others (he totally did respect the hell out of them, enough to give them completely unbiased fashion advice for a date he was totally not pissy about). His hands were shaking and Ziggy was pretty sure he had a pretty strong resemblance to a tomato at that moment, but mercifully when he looked back at his phone they were fully dressed. 
    “Jesus Christ, I wouldn’t be “fucking streaming” when you keep getting undressed! I’m not some kind of… like... pig!” Maybe he came on a little too strong with that defense, but he was totally right. Ziggy knew he wasn’t the type of guy to do that, he wasn’t so sure about the annoying boyfriend (who Ziggy did not wish death on on a weekly basis, it was biweekly now), “I mean, like, does your boyfriend do that shit? Because if so he’s an asshole-”
    “You know just because you have some kind of grudge against him doesn’t mean you can accuse him of actual crimes, Zig. That’s a little fucking rude.” Their voice was muffled as they rummaged around the bottom of their closet and emerged with a pair of platforms.
    “I’m not accusing anyone, I’m just saying if you’re shithead boyfriend was streaming you that’d be totall\
 fucked up?” Somewhere between Ziggy’s totally legitimate criticisms of said boyfriend (who should definitely drop dead right this instant so he couldn’t see the outfit they were wearing) they had wiggled into a miniskirt and crop top combo that made Ziggy feel a little bit lightheaded. He was pretty sure that he was starting to deserve a lecture about respecting people, he was also pretty sure that when this was over he was going to have to use jumper cables to restart his pulse.
    Sliding a hand down out of view of his phone camera Ziggy squeezed himself through his jeans, trying to relieve the pressure just a little bit. Carefully he watched them as they bent over to find something in their drawer. He swallowed hard, slowly unbuttoning the top of his jeans and tugging the zipper down as quietly as possible. It wasn’t gross. Ziggy was just kinda sure that if he kept his pants all the way on they were gonna get uncomfortable really fuckin’ fast.
    They turned around so quickly that Ziggy nearly dropped his phone, terrified that they heard him, his hand flew back up to his phone and his heart thudded so hard he was pretty sure he was going to pass out. After a long silence and an awkward amount of staring each other down they turned back around and started talking again.
    “I mean, he’s pretty nice most of the time I guess-” 
    “What the fuck do you mean I gues? I told you he was a fucking asshole- No, don’t tell me! He’s fucking cheating on you? I told you- I mean you saw the way he was eyeing the waitress that one time-”
    “...Ziggy, what the hell?” They cut him off relatively fast, not letting him continue his usual anti boyfriend propaganda and they politely ignored the way Ziggy opened his mouth to stick his foot in again as they barreled forward, “I was going to say before you so rudely interrupted me, that he doesn’t compliment my lingerie.”
    Ziggy had the decency to look sheepish for a moment, opening his mouth to apologize before he fully registered what they had said. He paused for a moment and then his face somehow seemed to flush even more. Ziggy stared at the screen, gaping like a fish and looking somewhere between delighteed and vaguely sick when they wiggled out of their crop top.
    “...What?” Was all Ziggy managed to get out, sounding kind of strangled as he adjusted in his seat, his hips wiggling uncomfortably. A hand crept back down and Ziggy wrapped his fingers loosely around his dick. He could feel his heart in his throat as they laughed at him and almost unconsciously Ziggy slid his thumb over the head. His eyes half shut and he watched as they rummaged through the discarded pile of clothes on the bed. The room suddenly felt too hot and the air felt too still and so Ziggy kicked his pants the rest of the way of.
“What the fuck are you doing over there?” The glint in their eyes made something in Ziggy’s stomach jump and he opened his mouth to defend himself when they continued, “Whatever, anyway, I need you to help me choose the entire outfit, that includes lingerie. Frankly, if he doesn’t compliment me after I got you to help me pick it out, I think he’s a lost cause and I should leave him.”
Ziggy was about to ask what the hell they meant by that but he didn’t even get the chance to open his mouth before they undid their bra and dropped it to the floor.
He was pretty sure he was dead, actually, and had been a good enough person to go to heaven. That was really the only explanation for why he got to see this and it wasn’t really his fault if he jerked off to a sight like this. Ziggy was also pretty sure they’d never know it, so he felt a little less bad when he tightened his grip and started stroking.
“Do you like this one…?” They did a little twirl and Ziggy felt it like an electric shock to the brain, all he could do was nod, huffing out some random sound that was probably a yes. The sight of them striking poses for him made Ziggy squeeze himself a little harder, he was pretty sure he wouldn’t get this opportunity again anytime soon.
They squinted at their phone a second and Ziggy was sure he was caught, but then they smiled (a little too smugly for him to trust) and went back to rummaging through the pile. Ziggy paused his hand, hips jerking and twitching as he tried to remember how to breathe, ending up with a sort of wheeze that made him glad they weren’t wearing headphones. His tongue felt heavy in his mouth and sweat prickled at his skin as he watched them slide out of their panties and he swore to God they struck another little pose before starting to get dressed again.
“think… the first one’s better,” Ziggy said, he was also thinking that if he had to deal with much more of this he was going to actually die. His finger hovered over the end call button and Ziggy tried to catch his breath, his eyes fluttering closed and mouth falling ever so slightly open as he tried to focus. His breathing came out in ragged pants and he set the phone down on his chest, facing the ceiling for a moment before picking it back up to look into the camera, “ ���m gonna go, I gotta get off-”
“I mean you didn’t need to tell me that.”
    Under any other circumstance Ziggy was sure he’d have been freaking out and trying to apologize, but he didn’t think he had it in him. Hurriedly he tapped the end call button, ignoring the look of shock and offense on their face as he dropped his phone beside him. Ziggy finally let himself relax, letting out a hiss as he squeezed himself again, only to be interrupted when his phone vibrated and lit up a message.
    ‘c u soon, coming over <3’
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madfantasy · 2 years ago
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Thank u precious num nums on ko-fi :'cccc
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boosting my total to pay the net -god I hate transfering fees- and I'm here for another month <3
My bill is still the same even after moving, cuz I'm still in the rural areas with horrid services, their best and one all the fam use is around 130$ including PayPal transaction fees and whatever. i have not been getting enough commissions lately & idk what to do to a point of losing it. Super happy I made this month, tho
It brought me ease, cuz I can't stand disconnecting.. this was literally for me,, hehe
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Alsooo Tumblr is bringing back the allowing-ness again??
I hope this really good nd not a way of shunning, either way it'll make me feel so happy to share things again. Don't forget to edit your preferences on those from the options menu
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And OF COURSE the gift-tipping feature is not for my side of the world, but they're sure accepting tipping from it, But im not sure it's for them or for the creators-- problem for them 🙃
I'm feeling super inspired already, I missed using Tumblr it's my fav platformer ever and the source of all the dears I treasure :'cc
I'll be back to painting, got me some intensified bromance nd fashion to draw cx
Wish u warm and fuzzy feelings 🍀
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Text
You called it a station.
I've heard that somewhere before, haven't I?
I'm sure I have.
But a station.
We see different stations,I think.
But the station changes so much,
So perhaps I've been at your station.
Maybe we all have different stations,
And there are those of us like living trains.
The ones who wake 
Breathing the same are we do,
Living similar mundane
Or extraordinary lives, perhaps,
But when we let out eyes close 
We are here.
Another station,
Or perhaps just a different stop.
We lie in what until we wake again,
Somehow lost on all these wrong platforms, where we certainly shouldn't be alone, but here we are.
Or maybe it's not like that at all.
It would be a little foolish to think that way.
A little self centered to think I could ever share a stage with you. 
Or perhaps wishful thinking?
It doesn't matter.
Maybe the station changes a lot.
You knew that trains ran down your worn track ,
Dull amber lights buzzing in a station that seemed to stretch into an endless void in each direction that seemed to randomly produce an old rumbling train.
I never knew trains that ran down these tracks,
No matter how it looks.
The wear and new scratches on these tracks suggest history,
But they merely feel like an aesthetic choice. 
I can taste the metal as I run my fingers over it,
Taking time to memorize the feeling of each million scratches.
I usually see plants when I draw it. 
But most of the time I see an empty platform, bathed in inky darkness.
There should probably be a light source here,
Some sort of lamps or moonlight, or something,
The dull amber and blue white hues suggest lamps and low hung light fixtures, both new and old, but I can't see them.
I see no other faces here,
No trains,
There is noise occasionally,
I know there must be trains that pass through,
Perhaps when i wake,
Because I feel the gust of winds that mark their wake,
And I can see the fragments of light dancing over my glasses and I know across my face, suggesting the idea of zooming windows, 
I know what it must look like,
But I'm not sure if that's just my overactive mind or the actual truth of the situation.
It's cold on my platform, 
The ideas of winter driving through the air,
Forcing each breath to burn through your lungs, like a glass of water after chewing mint gum and brushing your teeth.
I think I have a coat,
But that can only help so much.
I can see my breath,
A low cloud that must blur my face to any passerbys,
If there were any.
But in my art, when I recall outside of dreams,
I find a broken down station,
Sunlight streaming from the broken roof,
Vines climbing across each surface they can,
I am in a train car when im there, 
Sat in a ripped leather seat,
Its not as quiet there,
I can imagine the far off birds,
But it is actually still silent,
But instead of a fear of the loneliness, and darkness,
I see the sun and hop from my little car, set on adventure.
I humm and sing,
I kick stones.
But it's still lonely,
And so so still.
It's always still.
I'm always still.
I am stuck on a platform,
I am stuck in an empty station.
What if you're more right than you know?
Maybe this will be our limbo?
Maybe our hell?
Or maybe I mean it'll just be mine.
A breathing ghost wandering grand halls, with no company other than itself.
It'll humm
And sing
And maybe scream 
And cry a little.
Maybe that's okay.
Maybe I'm already a living ghost,
A tired heart that lies weak in my chest.
I wonder how I got here,
But the question still makes my head hurt.
I'll sit near the edge of these tracks,
And try to catch my breath.
I don't know if i'll keep walking tonight,
Or if i'll just try to get some rest,
Or if i'll ever be on my own platform tonight,
But maybe I'll remember that,
Despite it hurting,
I can still breathe.
Maybe that's enough to continue distinguishing me from a ghost.
Whether that's a good thing,
Or maybe a bad thing,
I don't know.
But maybe that's enough.
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larkace · 3 years ago
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Robber Claws
hi guys! i've read a bunch of your fics and got inspired so i wrote a thing! enjoy ;) also, it's pretty long so...buckle up! love yall <3
The criminals lurk in the mist, invisible, but Sofiya Pavlichenkov knows they’re there.
She’s perched in the Lookout’s nest of her Warship in Fourth Harbour, pretending to read the documents her first mate, Kastor, has just handed to her. But her blue coat is flapping in the wind and her papers keep jostling and she’s being watched, all of which is rather uncomfortable.
Idly, Sofiya wonders what the criminals might want. A smuggling, perhaps? Out and away from stinking, crawling, loathsome Ketterdam?
Sofiya hates this city. His city. She misses Ravka, her homeland- the Little Palace.
I miss my bloody Kefta, Sofiya thinks darkly as another bought of wind spirals harshly through the Harbour. The blue coat she wears is a subtle nod to her Tidemaker status, but it’s a sad, thin piece of cloth compared to the grandeur of the Fabrikator-made Keftas. But Sofiya can’t wear her Kefta, not if she wants to blend in in Kerch- a lesson she learned long ago…
Old enemies, Sofiya. Old enemies, but not withered grudges.
Huffing out a sigh that would make Zoya Nazyalensky proud, Sofiya rises gracefully to her feet.
They’re coming. She can feel it; they’re making their way towards the ship. They don’t have to be rowdy to intimidate, that’s for sure - or to make a crowd of Merchants and Thieves part like the sea almost immediately.
Sofiya reaches up behind her head and loops her hand around a piece of knotted rope; takes a deep, steadying breath.
And she steps off the platform into the open air.
For a moment, she catches on the air as if a Squaller has caught her on a buffering breeze, but sure enough, gravity kicks in.
Sofiya welcomes the feeling of her stomach in her throat as the fall takes hold, zipping her past the sails. It's good preparation, anyway, for the three dark figures moving up the docks towards her.
As they near and Sofiya lands lightly on the deck, she confirms what she already knew: these were criminals. Her criminals.
The trio stops in front of her. They're all wearing black and gold - not a uniform exactly, but it’s a solid way to show your allegiance. None of their hands were visible, but if they were, Sofiya would find the Robber Claws emblem branded cleanly onto the backs of their knuckles. Their hoods are drawn up over their faces, but Sofiya can tell from their posture who she’s dealing with.
"Ah, Iseut," Sofiya says serenely, "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
The girl in the middle pulls down her hood, revealing shining blond hair, dark eyes, full lips. She doesn’t smile.
"Where have you been, Sofiya?" Iseut asks coolly.
"The Wandering Isle," Sofiya answers immediately, "I stopped at Os Kervo on my return to pick up some supplies. I'm only three days late, Is. Cut me some slack."
Iseut sighs, and suddenly looks less the badass, fake-waitress man-killer, and more the tired mother of a delinquent child. Sofiya feels a flicker of guilt.
She had stopped at Os Kervo for more than one reason. The "supplies" were crates upon crates of commandeered Fjerdan weapons and traps, intercepted by the First Army on their way to the Front Line. Sofiya had paid nothing to take them off the hands of the Ravkan soldiers, who honestly had no clue where to send them. What good were jerky Fjerdan guns to a sophisticated, well-oiled Second Army legion?
Sofiya could picture Zoya's face at the sight of the sad little weapons. Disgust and disdain, unshakable beauty - and perhaps just a little bit of pride that her friend had been the one to collect the Fjerdan cargo. Sofiya would work on selling it all later. She'd dump the Grisha traps in the ocean, though. Drown them like they deserved to be drowned.
"I am sorry, Iseut," Sofiya says, and her words aren’t mistruths.
"Don't apologise to me," Iseut says dismissively, "It’s your friends that were barely able to sleep the past few nights. You should talk to -"
"Destry," Sofiya's words mist the air like a fine rain, "I know."
One of the tall figures stood behind Iseut lowers her own hood. Lyra. Ly.
It made sense that the Robber Claws would send their best Bruisers to Fourth Harbour. Sofiya knew by the other Robber's posture that beneath the hood, she would find the face of Winter. But Winter wouldn't lower her hood in front of so many people, so Sofiya was content with what she could get.
"You really had Destry worried, Sof," Ly says, chastising.
"Destry can handle me being gone for weeks on end," Sofiya crosses her arms. She will not be guilt-tripped, "This job was half a week, and I was only a few days off schedule. I did tell Cherry that I'd be late." The words come out as a question.
None of them say anything.
Another flash of worry courses through Sofiya. Cherry Vlasova is a Heartrender, and one of Sofiya's closest friends. The message that Sofiya had forwarded was simple and concise: I'll be a few days late. Stopping at Os Kervo. Don't worry, no Fjerdans. Tell Destry -S.P
Had something happened to Cherry? She was an avid gossiper; her post box was always full of tip-offs (a useful source of information for the Robber Claws) but Sofiya was reliably informed that her letters were always placed on the top of the pile. Marked "URGENT."
"What happened? Is Cherry alright?" Sofiya demands.
Iseut holds up her palms, and they are callused and grease-marked. Sometimes Iseut is so well put together that Sofiya forgets she's a barmaid.
"Cherry is fine. But all our Grisha are shaken. Whilst you were away, there was an attack on the East Stave."
Sofiya's heart stops and restarts and stops again.
An attack. On the Grisha. And she wasn’t there to - to help, to defend-
"Destry," Sofiya breathes, "And Cherry - and Adali, Roza, Linnea, Yan, Anya- oh, Saints, was it the Fjerdans?"
There are many Grisha members of the Robber Claws. It was one of the reasons that Sofiya wanted to join them in the first place. If the Fjerdans had attacked -
"Everybody is fine," Ly says lowly, "We had Freya and May fixing people up as soon as we heard- and Lita, of course, but behind the scenes."
Freya and May- and even Lita, whose powers most of the gang didn't even know of. Grisha Healers. So people had been hurt.
"What. Happened." Sofiya growls, and Ly glares at her challengingly, fists clenching. The water beneath the decking froths and bubbles as Sofiya brings her own fists together, power surging pleasantly up her arms. If Ly wants a fight, she can have one.
"Calm down, both of you," Winter's smooth voice projects from under her hood. Despite the heavy fabric, her voice is clear and commanding. Sofiya takes a breath to compose herself.
"To answer your previous question: no. It wasn't the Fjerdans." Iseut says, "We don’t know what they were."
Sofiya's brow creases at the chime of fear in Iseut's voice. She's never seen the golden-haired barmaid afraid before.
It begins to rain softly, the pattering of droplets quiet against the wooden decking of the docks.
"We should go back to the Queen’s Head, Iseut," Ly suggests, referencing Iseut’s place of work. Iseut nods once, swiftly, and glances over Sofiya's shoulder at her warship.
"Do you need to...?"
"Yes."
"Go on, then."
"KASTOR! IM GOING FOR A ROUND OF DAY-DRINKING!" Sofiya yells over the shoulder of her rain-splattered coat. She hears Ly chuckle as Kastor's scruffy head pokes out from a window.
He nods at Sofiya when he spots her, and she waves, assenting. Kastor would keep everything safe whilst she was gone. It was their unspoken agreement, unchanging and unwavering since the day they'd become crewmates.
Sofiya turns back to Iseut, Ly and Winter.
"Let's be on our way," she says, and lets her fellow criminals lead the way along the Harbour, her warship disappearing into the mist behind her.
~~~~
The mid-day slump of customers meant that the Robber Claws had the Queen’s Head pub all to themselves.
Iseut- who did not own the pub, but had put more work into it than the real owners ever did- had immediately trekked behind the bar and poured herself a whisky.
"Want anything?" She asks, directing the question directly at Sofiya despite the equal presence of Ly- and Winter (who had lowered her hood slightly now that she was back on familiar ground, with familiar faces.) Bruisers didn’t drink on the job. It slowed reflexes.
"The story," says Sofiya firmly, "It a joke about the day-drinking. What happened?"
Iseut pours herself another whiskey and the quartet take a seat at a shady little circular table in a quiet corner. The murmurs of other Robber Claws members is enough to shelter their conversation from the group- despite Sofiya being sure she was the only one unaware of what had transpired the days she’d been gone.
As Iseut begins her story, with Winter and Ly regularly interjecting with additions, Sofiya feels horror and fear clamp down on her heart like a Fjerdan Grisha trap.
Iseut’s alluring voice weaves a tale of Komedie Brute actors in bloody masks, rose-painted rubble from an impossible explosion, and worst of all: Grisha. Dead Grisha, killed by creatures with screeching metal wings.
“Only a few of our Grisha were hurt,” Iseut sips her drink solemnly, “We took your advice of keeping them anonymous and undercover. We have Erin and our other spies out searching for answers at the embassies. I’m sure you’re just as eager to find out about the winged creatures as we are.”
Sofiya nods, “I am. Thank you for filling me in, Is, really. And to you, Ly, Winter. I know you don’t like going to far from the West Stave.”
The last comment was directed purely at Winter. It’s not a lie. Winter runs a dojo for training Kerch’s women to protect themselves from Barrel bosses and scum alike; she didn’t want her clients finding out about her… Robber side. Being a criminal wasn’t the most unintimidating, friendly persona to have when speaking with vulnerable women.
Sofiya respected Winter and her clean profession. It was hard to be so kind in the Barrel. And men were rarely kind to women at all.
Sofiya knew that first hand.
Shoving away the memories- blue eyes, dark hair, gorgeous smile, charming words and sharper wounds- Sofiya stands in one fluid movement.
“I’m going to find Destry,” she says. Iseut stands, Ly and Winter falling back to flank her again, and smiles. She’s beautiful, that is undoubtful, but the attacks- the sleazy men at the Queen’s Head, the strain of the city- it’s all gotten to her. Sofiya can see it.
This city is poison, thinks Sofiya as Iseut takes her hand and shakes it. Poison and rot.
“Destry will be in her rooms,” Ly supplies, and Sofiya nods at her once.
Sofiya grins brightly, hoping it covers her own weariness, and recites, “Fair winds.”
“Bright stars,” chorus her friends. Sofiya waves over her shoulder as she slips out of the bar and down an alley. Above her, a storm brews in the clouds.
Perhaps the stars would be out that night. It didn’t matter. Nobody in Kerch saw the stars anymore.
~~~~
On her way to Destry’s apartments, Sofiya ran into more members of the Robber Claws.
Malcolm and Firefly, who lived together in shared housing in the Anvil, were shopping for new blacksmiths’ equipment. They each provided invaluable services to the Robber Claws, crafting flawless weapons second only to that of Fabrikators. They greeted her with a wink each. Sofiya moved on swiftly after trading them a Wandering Isle-crafted staff for twenty Kruge.
She picked up some baked goods on the way. She would need them. Destry- who had been her closest friend since she arrived in Kerch- was an Inferni. Fire-bringer; with an even fierier temperament. Rumour had it- and Sofiya knew the rumours were true- that Destry had been attending the University of Ketterdam when she’d heard a boy make a lude comment during an exam and lit the paper on fire with her mind. And that paper had been thrown. At the boy’s face. Ouch.
Sofiya had been nursing a whiskey in a tavern when she’d first heard the story recounted. She’d leapt up from her seat, slithered into an alley and held the recounter at knifepoint until he’d told her Destry’s name.
They’d become fast friends upon meeting. Sofiya had been in awe of someone so rebellious, so brave as to set fire to an exam paper, and Destry- well. Destry had laughed for hours when Sofiya had told her how she’d first come across her name.
But now, staring up at the ornate windows of Destry’s apartment, Sofiya feels unsure. She didn’t mean to worry her friend. Iseut had explained that her letter must have gotten lost during the riots. Sofiya cursed the post offices. So there was a deadly storm- your motto is still “We always deliver.”
Despite her trepidation, Sofiya’s feet were swift on the stairs. She had a key to the apartment, and didn’t hesitate to unlock the door and slip inside without a sound, content to watch Destry whilst she worked; even if only for a moment.
Leaning against the wall, Sofiya’s brow creases as she surveys her friend. Destry’s hair is plaited carefully into two loops at the nape of her neck, hazel strands freeing themselves gently against her light brown skin. She’s stood facing away from Sofiya, arms circled in rings of fire. The shirt she wears is Fabrikator-made; the flames don’t take to the papery material.
Sofiya takes a step forward, and pointedly drops her bag of confectionary on the floor. It lands with an audible thump.
Destry whirls, the fire at her wrists whirling into an inferno ready to strike- until Destry sees who is at her door.
“Shouldn’t have hesitated, Des,” Sofiya said weakly, “I could have put a knife in your back.”
The shock on Destry’s face dissolves. Her face splinters down the middle. Licks of fire at her fingertips wilt into ash in a pile at her boot-clad feet.
“You would have put out the flames with your water, I’m sure,” Destry says, and then flies across the room towards Sofiya, wrapping her in a tight, smoke-smelling embrace.
Sofiya would normally pull back. “Don’t be too open with your heart, Des,” she’d say, “People use your loves against you here.” But Sofiya couldn’t bring herself to say those things. The weight of the week comes crashing down on her head like a tsunami.
Fjerdan traps on my boat, attacks on my gang, tensions in Ravka boiling over… where’s safe anymore, except here?
Destry pulls back slightly to scan Sofiya’s face. She has a smear of oil on her cheek. Destry’s eyes are filled with fire, burning like an ember beneath onyx waters.
“Where. Have. You. Been.”
“Destry-”
“Don’t you make excuses with me, Pavlichenkov,” Destry snarls, “You didn’t warn us you were late! I couldn’t sleep- neither could Cherry!”
“I-”
“We thought you’d been caught, Sofi,” Destry cries, “We thought the Fjerdans had got you! I thought you died.”
The word is ugly and big in the room, choking Sofiya’s response. Death. Dying. Dead. And by Fjerdan hands. It wasn’t so rare for travelling Grisha to be caught and sent to the pyres.
“I’m sorry,” Sofiya says, because it’s the only thing there is, “I wrote- I really did, don’t look at me like that- according to Lyra, there was a storm in the True Sea. The letter sunk with the ship.”
“You’re a Tidemaker,” Destry huffs.
“Yes, which means I manipulate water,” Sofiya says, “Not stop it from overturning ships with important letters on them. Destry, I’m sorry. I brought waffles.” She offers the last sentence like a defendant on trial with the Stadwatch; one final piece of evidence to prove her innocence.
Destry brightens immediately, “Well, in that case.”
The pair of them set to work, shoulders just brushing in the cramped kitchenette. Sofiya’s array of pasties are laid out over two plates, which they lay on their laps. Destry’s job for the Robber Claws is, in few words, that of the logician. Papers are scattered all over her apartment, covered in detailed blueprints and scale drawings of buildings all over Ketterdam, Fjerda and even- rarely- Shu Han. There were no drawings of Ravka.
If Iseut had ever commissioned a robbery in Ravka, Sofiya didn’t know about it. It would be…unwise to hit out at the Ravkans, with so many Grisha in the gang.
But Destry’s job was essential, so Sofiya couldn’t complain about the lack of trays to put their plates on. Such things were useless for such an incredible mind as Destry’s.
“So,” says Destry conversationally as she lights the fireplace with a casual flick of her wrist, “How were the Wandering Isles?”
Sofiya says nothing, massaging her temples lightly. Destry manages a laugh.
“Your silence is telling, Sofi,” she warns.
Sighing quietly, suddenly feeling very tired, Sofiya says, “It was crawling with our Fjerdan friends from the North. ‘Peaceful’ Fjerdans.”
Destry spins, and she is outlined with the fire. We’re opposites, Sofiya thinks. Fire and Water.
“You didn’t-” Destry begins, horrified.
Silently, solemnly, Sofiya raised her palms to face the ceiling. Destry reaches out.
Her gentle fingers trace the scars there. Deep and painful and barely healed, the scars run red against Sofiya’s pale flesh.
“Sofiya…” Destry breathes.
“It was the only way to push my power down,” Sofiya whispers. She’s rarely so emotive, but Destry is someone she trusts with everything. It was a weakness, some would say, but they were each powerful Grisha. They were Gods in a world of men. And they would not kneel “If I hadn’t, I would’ve been caught. It was a price to pay.”
Grisha shone like lighthouses around people. In Kerch, in Ketterdam, it was safer for them- especially ones loyal to a gang, as Destry and Sofiya were. But in the Wandering Isles; where Fjerdans passed through on their way to Novyi Zem, where gang affiliations mattered less than the colour of your eyes… Sofiya tells herself she had no choice.
“Sofiya, you’ve opened up old wounds here,” Destry says, tracing the marred skin of her palms again, “You need a healer. Freya, Lita, May-”
“Wouldn’t understand,” Sofiya finished, pulling her hands out of Destry’s and placing them carefully in her lap, obscuring them with her coat, “They’re healers, Des, not warriors- they’d go to Iseut.”
Iseut. Their unofficial leader, the founder, the lighthouse in raging seas. All of the Robber Claws seemed to be caught in her gravity. She was their sun. And Sofiya… well, Sofiya was the moon. Iseut would send her to a healer, one who would stop her travels. One who would commandeer her Warship, and Kastor… health of the mind was important to Iseut.
But Sofiya was not damaged, as they would tell her. She was not broken. Her mind was sound.
I did what I had to do, to survive.
But Destry can see through it all. Through the mask, through her eyes, right to her bones. Through to her lying, treacherous heart. We’re all broken in the end.
But.
Oh, Destry, Destry, please…
“I won’t tell her,” Destry promises, “But I’d like you to know that I think you should. Tell her, that is- Iseut. She might help.”
“She might ship me back to Ravka,” Sofiya grumbles, biting into a toasty croissant.
“Oh, she wouldn’t.”
“You never know.”
“She’ll want you to heal, that’s all.”
“Yes,” Sofiya rolls her eyes, “But these wounds are of the flesh. The scars on my heart will never heal, not in this life Perhaps there will be mercy in the next, even for my rotten soul.”
“You sound like you’re auditioning for the Komedie Brute,” Destry laughs.
“Mother, Father, pay the rent!” Sofiya crows.
“I can’t my dear, the money’s spent,” Destry choruses instinctively.
Sofiya wipes away an invisible tear, “Gorgeous! We’ll make an actress out of you, yet, Destry Clements.”
“Oh, you most certainly will not,” Destry huffs.
Their laughter fills the air, and Sofiya thinks that maybe there is hope for her rotten soul, after all.
~~~~
The man returns late from the pub wearing only one shoe.
A bottle drained halfway of mauve liquid dangles limply from his pale fingers. The veins in his foot are blue in the half-moon’s light.
He slurs a broken melody. She catches a few words as he passes below her on the street.
“Hmm… perish… light… air… fire… hell… hmmm…”
The man’s name is Danyl Harrop. And he is going to die tonight.
“Hmm… shadow… devil… rot… earth… sun… burn… lose….”
Harrop continues down the road, heedless of the mud on his bare foot. He'd be blackout drunk in the morning if he survived.
He wouldn’t.
Silent as a breeze, steps as soft as downy feathers, she leaps from the streetlight where she was perched.
She strikes.
She is ash and shadow. She is a storm of fire. She is vengeance.
She is death.
Harrop yelps as she pins him against the tree. His face is as white as the moon, with eyes like black craters.
“What’re you doi-” he slurs dazedly, but she silences him with a wave of her hand. He blubbers like a fish on land as he tries to shout for help.
“For King and Country,” says the girl. Stepping away from Harrop, she lets her power hold him against the tree, keeping his muscles upright. She surveys him like an artist would their unfinished masterpiece.
The girl whispers, “Sleep tight, Danyl.”
Flicking her wrist, she snaps his neck. He’s still alive, barely, so she latches on to what little of his mind there is left and strips it like an onion. For a man who is out so late, so drunk, on what the girl remembers as a work-day, he knows too much.
Secrets. They feed this girl, nourish her. There is a skip in her step as she turns away from Harrop; without her supporting his muscles, he collapses against the tree. She leaves his mind just as it goes dark.
There is no need to hide in the treetops upon her return to the city. It gleams just half a mile away, most of which is roiling seawater. As the girl wanders along the road back to Ketterdam, she finds Danyl Harrop’s shoe in a puddle of mud. The girl laughs at the sky. She flips a coin into the shoe, whispers a heartless prayer to her Saints, and moves on.
Back to Ketterdam. Back home.
~~~~
Ok, so that's that! I left it on a bit of a cliffhanger... I may have created a whole plot... so there might be some more coming soon!
all these excellent characters (save Sofiya, Danyl, Kastor and the girl at the end who kills Danyl- who has no name... yet *wink*) belong to the following:
Iseut is @littlegirldorothea's
Destry is @finnick-annie's (I may have made them besties👀👀)
Cherry is @brekkercookie's (they are ALSO besties👀👀 we have a trio omg)
Winter is @cressjacquine's
Lyra is @no-mourners-at-my-funeral's
Malcom is @blackpheonix’s
Firefly is @ask-shadowbon’s
Erin is @lightningboytytonjesper’s
Adali is @apple-bottom-jeansx’s
Roza is @vampire-rights’s
Linnea is @alonlyfangirl's
Yan is @lucentcorrigan’s
Anya is @queenlilith43’s
Freya is @smol-evil-gremlin’s
Lita is @the-whispers-of-moonlight’s
May is @saltyfortunes
and the "Fair winds, bright stars" motto as created by @spicy-tomato-sauce's
oh and the whole Grishaverse is the wonderful @lbardugo's <3
if I missed anyone or you want to tag anyone go ahead!
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syubub · 4 years ago
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Yoongi birthday reading/energy check!!
It's sweet sweet tangerine bois birthday!!
I wanted to do a cute little energy check up to see what's up and ask some fun little questions!!
I'm excited so let's just do this shit!!
Disclaimer: this is for entertainment purposes and not to be taken as fact!!
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I want to apologize for the absolute shit pictures but what's new lol
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So, let's start with the platform. First thing I noticed was the blue was brighter but the platform was darker? It was like someone cranked up the contrast to 100. Ngl it looked pretty cool. Yoongis platform doesn't typically have a barrier like some of the others do so I just kinda walked in and did the whole, "happy birthday, I have questions" His energy seemed a lot more... vibrant? And playful I guess? It was really nice. Now. The actual connection was intresting because the cord was blue again and like, real thick. (I don't think my perceived thickness of the cord has and real correlation with how strong the connection is. It was just thicc) this time though, the cord was connected at the chest instead of the third eye. So i was like, ??? But my guide didn't give my any sort of helpful input (my guide likes to watch me suffer in my confusion. I'm sure of it)
Anyway, cord like that and then yoobi gave me a headbutt to connect at the third eye. Idk why he gotta be like that :( istg next time he's gonna flick my forehead or something.
I was like "cool cool cool. I want to do the reading now pls" and idk how to explain the energy other than sassy. You know? Blah blah blah I'm thinking, "I don't remember him being so cheeky but maybe I've been gone long enough for him to level up into his final sass monster form"
Anywho, this was intresting because after the little strings were connected and stuff, we plopped down on the floor. And it was like everything I was doing irl was being mimicked infront of yoons energy? So we were sitting facing eachother and I was putting the cards down between us?? Usually that doesn't happen but it was kinda fun!!
Moving right along. I first asked if there was anything he wanted to say or needed to get across and it was 11. Now, 11 has come up before and I'm still not to sure what it's in reference to? My best guess is possibly he's been seeing 11:11 or that it's 2? Idk let me know if you have any clues lol. Other stuff was just kinda banter and stuff.
So so so.
The reading. First thing I asked was how he was doing. And I shuffled his preticular way (when I ask a question I always ask for the energy to tell me how much to shuffle or when to stop. For yoongi it's always 2-2-2. So 2 bridge shuffles, 2 hand shuffles and then split the pile in 2. That's why I think 11 might be 2 to him?)
The cards we got are ace of swords rev, justice,the heirophant rev, the empress.
So based off this I was like okay. I want to pull clarity cards for the two rev cards to get a better picture so I pulled the emperor rev for ace or swords rev and strength rev and wheel of fortune rev for the heirophant rev.
Starting with the ace of swords rev, and the emperor reverse. It seems like yoongi has been re thinking his relationship to control in his life. That's he's possibly noticing any unhealthy needs to control his life and the situation around him. It could also refer to his judgment being clouded by a rigid approach.
With the justice card it makes me think that he's possibly considering a big choice in his life or that he's really doing some deconstructing of his own views. This second idea fits in well with him getting clarity on some possibly unhealthy control issues in his life.
Now. The heirophant rev, strength rev and wheel of fortune reverse. This was intresting to me bc they are all major arcana. The heirophant rev can really talk about no longer needing outside approval and making your own way in your own time bc you are your own teacher. Strength in rev I kinda read as self doubt and feeling down in this case. Like a lack of confidence in himself and his abilities. And the wheel of fortune in reverse I took to mean as his breaking cycles. All together these cards kinda paint a picture about wanting and trying to break a cycle of self doubt and self limiting beliefs and learning more about himself and why he think what he does about himself and searching through everything for truth. It's really good!! In short he's doing some nice soul searching and trusting himself to guide his own way through this self discovery!
The empress! This card seems to pop up for yoobi a lot and I think it really speaks to the abundance that surrounds him! Not just money but the abundance of creativity, love, friends ect.
Now now now. I asked him if there was anything that he wanted to tell us about himself or bts or what's happening in the near future. For that I got 2 of cups, king of wands and 3 of coins.
So the 2 of cups is partnership. Usually romantic. Could be pertaining to the may 13th thing that is ever present lol but I'll get to that later. With the 3 of coins talking about teamwork, this could definitely hint at collaborations coming up!! That's the vibe I get. No one crush my dreams. And for the king of wands it could be talking about taking the reigns on a new project and starting to get it done. Like a new opportunity. This could be a new bts project like starting a new campaign or new venture or maybe personal like the a mixtape or doing more songs for other groups ect.
I had to ask him how he was feeling about the grammys. I had to. Had to. The cards were ace of wands, 2 of wands and death reverse. When these came flying out I could help but smile. Yoongis energy was almost giddy too!
Witht he ace of wands
It's that spark of creativity and inspiration. It's that feeling when you get super excited over some new thing. I think this is the perfect example for feeling reinvigorated. The 2 of wands takes that spark from the ace and tries to funnel that excitement and newness into something directional. Using that burst of creativity to start planning for future progress!! Its so nice to see that! If they don't win (IF) you bet we're gonna get some bangers about a corrupt system. If (WHEN) they do win we'll get bangers about how thankful they are to have gotten where they are in spite of a corrupt system. I just want to hear an uncensored version of yoongi being like, "HOLY FUCKING SHIT, WE DID IT BITCHES. FUCK ALL YOU BASTARDS THAT SAID WE COULDN'T."
I can dream....
What a nice dream.
Now I asked if there was anything yoobi wanted to say to us as in advice or comfort or anything like that and I got, Clearing negativity, make time for self care, when I'm tuned into the energy of abundance I become abundant. when I'm in a state of appreciation im in vibrational alignment with my true love nature. The world rev, 2 of swords rev and that project, that person, that idea is waiting.
Awe. Take care of yourselves!! Make sure to take time to enjoy what you like and try not to let any negativity get in the way of you enjoying your days. The world rev to me seems to be talking about seeking closure on the things in your life that have been impacting you. Tie up those loose ends so you can move foward without triping over yourself and 2 of swords rev I think talks about information overload and being kinda indecisive bc of that. Take a sep back to evaluate the situation at hand because sometimes it's so close you can't see what you're looking for. Those of you who are studying and getting frustrated because you just can't seem to get it, try taking a step back and doing something to take care of yourself and come back to it so you can approach with a clearer mind. Try not to get stuck or paralyzed by choice but if you do get stuck, take some time to detach yourself from the situation and come back later!
A fair few people wanted an update on yoobis soulmate as well. If you need a refresher here's the run down. Yoongis soulmate is impossible for me to read, yoongi is a smug ass and I'm nosy and probably a little dumb.
Now that that's cleared up
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I asked, "am I missing something?" (As to why I can't connect and why yoongi won't give me answers.)
I got queen of cups, magician and the high priestess. I read this as him being like, "yeah dude, you aren't woke enough"
YOONGI just give me answers pls. The high priestess is intuition and sacred knowledge, the magician is manifestation and the queen of cups is also intuition.
At this point I was like, okay you little shit, can you at least tell me how your soulmate is doing? Can you do that for me?
2 of cups, 2 of pentacles, 9 of wands and knight of wands. 2 of cups is partnership usually romantic, 2 of pentacles is priorities and managing them, 9 of wands persistence, knight of wands motivation for a new thing. His soulmate last time was in the process of going through some shit and figuring it out and it seems like now they've got a better clue of how to move foward and are currently heading towards good things/ important things in their life (possibly like working towards dream career or had an idea for a business the want to start or field they want to go in.)
I was thinking about the next question when this popped into my head, "if you know about your akashic book, do you know about your soulmates? Have you read it?" I used my pendulum. No movement at all. What so ever. "Are you listening to me?" Yes. "So answer my question please" No. "Do you like to watch me suffer?" Maybe. "Do you know the answer to the question" yes.
YOONGI WHY
This cheeky son of a bitch.
Now I was like, fuck it. Imma ask him the big boi question.
"Is your soulmate present when I do these readings?" Yes.
WHY THE FUCK CAN I NIT PICK UP ON IT???
I had to take a deep breath dude. Yoobi is testing my nerves.
"Are they hiding their energy?" No.
I was actually gonna combust. This makes no sense.
I asked yoongi if he would tell me what I'm not getting. Silence. So i ask my guide.
"lol ur dumb"
Watch me Google "how to fire your spirit guide"
Istg this feels like some dumb prank. Maybe I'm just genuinely oblivious to his soulmates energy or maybe I'm just doing something.
What do you want to bet that his soulmate is just hiding under the platform and I'm too stupid to notice or some dumb thing like that.
yoobi, sir, why must you do this?
I decided to continue.
"What message or thing have you learned from your soulmate recently that could be valuable to us?" I got healthy communication in relationships and deep replenishment.
Good to know you can have a nice communicative relationship with your soulmate bc I CAN'T.
I'm petty about it, sue me.
The message does stand though. Good communication and taking proper rest to replenish yourself.
Now I had to ask yoongi directly what he thought of may 13th.
I got the lovers, 7 of swords, the magician and judgement. The seven of swords was intresting and it makes me think there's some extra stuff at play here too. 7 of swords is about getting away with something and deceit. The clarifier was the magician.... this could mean a lot honestly. It could be that maybe yoongi will have his relationship exposed or possibly that maybe him and his soulmate meet but yoongi is disguised? Idk how that would work at all but I'm stumped. There's a lot of variations that this could be. The magician is about manifesting and having everything you need to create what you want. This could possibly mean that maybe he gets a sudden idea that's like, "oh I have to go here right now. Its super important" eventhough he has practice scheduled. So that would let down his team but he would be following his path and it might lead to him meeting his soulmate? Maybe vice versa? Idk let me know what you think??
With the judgement its about inner calling and kinda like the peak. Like shit has been leading up to this moment. With the lovers too it does seem like a union?
I asked him, "but like what's gonna happen on the 13th thought and I got the 10 of cups. Divine love, bliss, alignment, happy mushy gushy shit. This is why I'm so inclined to think that they'll meet on the 13th or things will get serious or their paths finally cross. The cards seem to heavily suggest that.
My dude. Yoongi is really sappy, pass it on.
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For the last question I asked yoomgi if there was messages/ advice he had given to his soulmate that we might benefit from.
First step, open your third eye, open your heart, sign from heaven, open your arms to receiving.
A lot of opening lol.
It's good advice though learning to be open and receptive and taking that first step in tackling life or any situation.
Oki. Now for the disconnecting. It was not nearly as strange as it has been in the past. I was just like thanks dude. Again, happy birthday blah blah and I got up to leave. I noticed it looked like we were in sitting in one of those old plastic hoola hoops? Like the pink and yellow ones lol. As I was looking at and and like??? Off to the side the numbers 13, 28, 54. Obvi 54 isn't a date and then I the last yoongi check up there was book pages and I feel like 54 and 28 were the pages?? I'm not actually sure as I'm writing this so I'm gonna check.
Yep I checked. They are the page #s.
So that's intresting.
Other than that though I just kinda left and he was like, "bye" and that's all.
Not as cool as other yoongi adventures but equally as frustrating.
TLDR
Yoongis doing pretty okay and he's a cheeky little shit. My guide like to watch me suffer and yoobi is mushy gushy squishy.
Happy day of birth Syub!!
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musedblues · 4 years ago
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A Taste Of Honey (Part 2)
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summary: A 1920's Deacy au! In which the reader, who comes from a family heavily involved in the American temperance movement, meets John, a bootlegger from overseas.
a/n: Well here it is. I'm fully aware interest may be completely lost in this fic but I'm very proud to have finished it. Im not sure where my writing journey will go from here. All I know is that this has been a very long time comin'... enjoy if you dare!
part 1 - 2
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
"If anything happens, Deacy, I'll have your head!"
Ivan shook his fist from the front porch, illuminated by the light flooding from the opened front door. 
"I'll be fine!" You dismissed, skipping toward the car, still getting used to the sway of the heavy golden dress you borrowed from Alice. 
"I'm talking about my car!" Ivan shouted, correcting you. John let out a laugh at the remark, and gave your brother a nod, while he opened the passenger door, nudging you toward it.
Your brother and his wife had loaned the essentials to send you and John away for the party a man you never met was throwing. It was a small thrill, the prospect of such fun to be had, in comparison to the sickening exhilaration that coursed through you at the thought of spending any kind of evening at John's side. And the fact he'd asked you to. 
The ride was quiet and short, but dragged on with each new glance you dared to steal at the man driving. Both of John's hands relaxed on the wheel. A hint of that deadly smile on his lips. 
By the time you got to where you were going, you'd been so preoccupied with thoughts of the man by your side, that you'd nearly forgotten your plans for the evening.
If you had any expectations, they were blown clear away. Before you was an estate made up of too many windows to count, draped in vines and hanging lights. 
Even the crunch of the gravel that decorated the winding path you entered into sounded oddly elegant.
Inside was a fever dream of all the things you'd imagined on your short journey into the threshold. Across a giant winding staircase and below the shimmering chandelier were people from all walks of life, crammed together to have one grand time. Different music came from different corners and wild laughter filled the gaps, if there were any. 
And before you, John led the way. You couldn't recall the moment your hand found the bend of his arm, or if he cared that you'd reached out to him as he weaved through the crowd. But the grin on his face when he turned back to catch your eye had to be a good sign; despite the way your heart nearly burst at his look. 
John led you past hoards of people and trays of half full glasses. There was only one way to go, further inside the home, but John seemed to move as if he had an idea of where he was headed. Sure enough when the pair of you met the landing of the staircase, the host of the party was there to greet you. 
The host's initial booming hello was focused mostly on John. And without more than a glance your way, the party thrower shuffled John away from your side, insistent on sharing a chat with him on the top landing of the stairs.
You were left to linger, stalling at the base of the stairs and studying the crowd around you. Girls in beaded skirts and men with slicked back hair passed you by flashing well meaning but entirely distracted smiles. 
You'd felt mesmerized enough by the scene to slowly start to drift into it yourself. Reaching to brush your finger across meticulously carved bookcases and daring to take a glass from the extended hand of the first person to smile directly at you. 
You reached for the stem of the blue stained flute, and managed to make your talk small enough for the interested lad to wander far off. But offers kept coming. Glasses of this and that shoved in your face. You accepted the offers more out of respectful politeness than any eagerness to lose your wits. 
By the time you lost track of everyone's kind gestures, and a man was leading you closer to a table decorated with cards and chips, another hand intervened.
John was back, letting his fingers curl around your shoulder and nudging you in another direction of his choosing. Thrilling as it was for you, to have been handled just so by him, you were a little taken aback. 
Funny how after the sips of this and that, you felt steady as ever. But one look from John and your knees threatened to give out and all your cares too.
In the middle of the packed house, with John looking at you that way, you felt like the only person alive. And somehow this all added up to equal your new found courage to speak a little bolder than usual.
"Are you on strict orders from Ivan to steer me clear of any strange attention or do you maybe fancy me a little, John?" You dared wonder. You almost didn't care of the answer. So long as he kept guiding you through this evening with a strong steady hand.
"Both." John seemed to decide, continuing to guide you along. The pair of you had reached the patio doors by now, and the cool night breeze rushed through in perfect time to ease the heat that had rushed to your cheeks at John's response. 
"Let's go see the gardens!" You decided at first glance of the sprawling greenery that surrounded the estate. 
John let you tug him along, darting between couples and groups who'd come to ruin the fresh air with all their smoke.
He followed along, a very good sport, smiling as you pointed out flowers and trees you didn't realize could bloom in this part of the country. As you turned from marveling over a certain rose's colour, John seemed almost enraptured. Maybe not by your subject but certainly by some part of you. His gaze was fixed, and he seemed to bite back a wider grin. And your already lightened spirits seemed all the more weightless as your eye's met his. 
"If you keep looking at me like that, John, I'm going to have to kiss you." You let a small laugh escape, as the foreigners' expressions remained steadfast. 
He'd kissed you only the night before, on your brother's staircase. It was the only reason you felt free of regret enough to lean in and brush your lips against his again. John reciprocated fondly, letting one of his hands creep around the bend of your waist. You never realized it was possible to feel so happy. 
"Did you do that because you've been drinking? Or do you perhaps fancy me a little?"  John mocked your earlier statement, when the kiss died and your eyes locked. 
"Both." You smiled, charmed enough to try it a second time. But this kiss was broken much sooner than you reckoned any kiss ought to be.
"You know I'll be leaving soon. Just a week's more time." John killed the mood with a few words. You glanced to your feet and muttered understanding, noticing his hand still clutched your waist. 
"I just don't want to see you disappointed." John spoke up after a beat of heavy silence, and the words seemed hard for him to piece together, but he spoke them all the while. 
"Then don't disappoint me." You shrugged, glancing back up to the perfectly handsome man, who's smile seemed sad now.
"Come on, then." John said, moving his hand to find your own. "Not even I get to enjoy parties like this too often."
And you let him guide you back inside. You let the sun set on all the pretty flowers. And you let yourself feel grateful for the rest of the evening at John's side. 
///
He rode the train home with you the next day, sitting across the bench from you, and not saying very much. 
You felt the need to chatter at the pass of every few minutes. You got John to ramble a little about the other places he was due to visit in the states. The guy only one more stop at some.fancy hotel after your town, in the big city, next week. Then he'd head home. 
After explaining as much, the man went quiet again. But you couldn't let the silence last. It was as if you didn't work to hold his attention, it would be lost the next time you looked up. Maybe that wasn't true. But you couldn't risk letting John slip away so easily. Not when your heart practically lept from your chest each time his eyes met yours. If it wasn't meant to be, then so be it. But you were going to fight for the chance that you had, while it was still within reach. 
So when the train pulled into your neighborhood, and John stepped onto the platform, you stopped him waving goodbye. 
"Will you be back? To our shop, I mean?" 
John took a step closer toward you with a very serious expression that softened just before he spoke. 
"I wouldn't dare leave before telling you goodbye." He promised, in a low, sweet manner. 
John pressed his lips to your temple for one brief heavenly moment. And then he turned away to hail a cab. 
At least now, in your terrible mix of emotions, something very bright and warm burned within you. And you got to believe, for a moment, that the same reigned true for John.
///
But all was not well at home. How could it ever be? 
Your mother was horrified that you'd up and left for the night without so much as a word about it to her, and to your brother's home no less. 
Her disdain for her first born left you sick to your stomach more and more each day. 
But this was nothing new. You knew to give the woman a showy apology and to stay silent as she confined you to the kitchen table as she lectured about morality. Tomorrow things would be back to her regular sort of unhappiness. 
What really stopped you cold in your tracks that night, though, was the sight of your father stood in the doorway of your room with his arms crossed.
To bring a frown to his face was your greatest fear. For he'd loved you and shown it. And you dreamed of doing good by him every chance you got. As you stalled in the hall and waited for him to speak his mind, you hoped this would only be a reprimand for causing your mother unnecessary grief, for her madness made you all ten fold more miserable. 
"I know you've been with your brother..." Your father nodded with understanding, not looking right at you as he spoke calmly. "But that also means you've been with John. And I don't like that."
Oh. Ivan had warned you this might be your fathers mood. But you'd ignored his warning in hopes it wouldn't have been true. 
"You know John!" You countered, "You work with him! You're telling me you get to work with a man you don't like but I can't see him?"
"He's a fine man. But all wrong for you." 
"You're supposed to be the one who lets me find these things out on my own." You reminded. Your mother did plenty of directing you from day to day. Your father knew of what you spoke and nodded reluctantly, uncrossing his arms and looking you square in the eye. 
"Well not this time. Stay away from John, you hear me? He'll be gone before you know it anyhow." 
Your father rested a hand on your shoulder, giving you a reassuring squeeze as if to ease the blow of his demands. But as he walked back down the hall, the uncertainty that had stormed within you since John left you at the train station, raged wilder than before. 
What a jam... 
///
There was nothing stopping you from returning back to the depths of the coffee shop, the next time Ivan started up his business. 
Your mother was sound asleep, and your father was already there, serving the last of the coffee up top. Once you arrived you knew he'd be cross but unable to march you away. 
So you slipped on your finest dress and twirled down the rickety staircase that led to the party your brother charged for. 
There were already a good deal of friends jam packed into the small basement; dancing to swells coming from the gramophone and lining up to grab a glass from Ivan's makeshift bar. Your brother flashed a grin when he saw you sauntering in, but his smile turned somewhat more into a worried grimace when he saw you march up the man near the end of those overturned book shelves.
So was everyone concerned over your connection with John? Even the man who'd held your interest sort of frowned at the sight of you demanding his attention. 
John had his fingers curled around a glass. You took it from his grasp and the action made the bootlegger grin oh so slightly. But his frown returned after you slammed back the swallow of liquor in his glass- unsure yourself by what had come over you.
"Hey, come on, don't be that girl." Ivan called to you from behind the bar. You couldn't be sure if he was commenting on the way you'd claimed Deacy's drink for your own, or on the way you seemed too eager to get the stuff in your system. 
Before you could snap back at your brother's comment, though, John spoke up.
"Don't worry about it," He insisted in the charming draw of his. "Just pour me another." And as the man who you adored stepped past you to hold your brothers attention, John sort of let his hand brush across your waist. And he left his fingers to linger along your sides as Ivan, disgruntled, poured another for John. 
"Is that all you cut in line for?" Ivan sighed, nodding toward the few people, impatiently waiting to fill their glasses, stood in a row behind John. 
And you hadn't really considered this before your brothers prompting. But at his asking, you were moved to pull out a twenty dollar bill from your coin purse, and demand he give you your money's worth.
Ivan was reluctant, going on for a bit how once your father spotted you here, like this, that he'd surely be disappointed. And you didn't want that, did you? But little did Ivan know, you'd already disappointed your father. And you were determined to get something you wanted tonight, one way or another.
So with a sigh, Ivan poured you a tall drink and informed you were good to come back for a few more, to match your payment. 
So began your evening of ignoring John's worried remarks about slowing down. And as you kept the drinks coming you weren't even sure why. Perhaps it was to test your very own limits. To somehow prove you were more in control of your path than all the others who seemed to have something to say about the direction of your life. 
And damn John, for the way he kept his eyes locked on yours between the distance he silently kept insisting upon. And damn him for helping you find your balance, despite the steps he kept taking away from you. For letting his hands stay secure around your waist, long after you'd straightened up from stumbling.
And damn your father. He had to have been behind John's change in attitude. From the moment you'd met, John had been a flirt. And steadily, his quips kept getting bolder, until the last party you attended. Ivan's rambling about your fathers dislike of your fondness of John had to be what caused him to step back.
And damn your father, for finding you all dizzy in John's well meaning clutch, now. Your dad pointed to the door and demanded you find your way out of this scene. 
"I know you're not taking her back to your hole in the wall you've been staying at, in the state she's in." You father grumbled in a low curse, his eyes searing into John's. You tightened your hold on the fellow, shooting your father a glare all the same. He couldn't tell you where to go or with who. 
"Take her upstairs if ya like. But don't step foot past the alley. I'll be up in a minute."
After a shared look, John moved, pulling you alongside him. You moved,  happily leaning into him, disgruntled by the course of the evening all the while. Even Ivan seemed to shoot you a sorry grin when he noticed you being marched away, from across the room.
The alley was a little cold. But John's figure was warm. And as you followed his lead pausing just beyond the backdoor, you could feel this chance waiting to slip away. 
"You like me, don't you?" You wondered, turning to face the man you'd been so taken with since the moment he showed up at your door.
"Of course." John nodded, and answered so softly and with such care truly felt as though it were melting. 
"Then kiss me, John." 
"You're drunk."
"But we may never get the chance again. One or both of us are about to be beheaded. Either way, that'll make kissing hard to do from now on." You implored, letting your head fall to rest precariously on his shoulder as you finished your plea. You heard John let out a somber little chuckle as he dared to tighten his arm around you. 
And then you heard a shuffle beyond the backdoor, and let out a sigh at the timing of your father coming to ruin everything. 
But instead, the door bursts open to reveal Rita in a fluster. Her usually perfect makeup streaking down her cheeks. At the sight of the girl you'd always admired, a pang shot through your chest. But not immediately for her upset, whatever it was, but because you realized you'd failed to see your friend here all night, until now.
Before you could apologize, or ask what the matter was, Rita sucked in a breath and let out a string of words for you. 
"He was a snitch. He-he told my parents everything." She stammered, wild eye'd. 
"Who?" You begged to know, having turned away from John, but not having totally turned your attention away from his hand still rested on the small of your back. 
"The pastor's son. Cole. He- he said he was alright with this whole thing. But he... He told your mother. She's on her way here, she's-" 
Sound of a car roared closer, and the engine died away, drowning out the last of Rita's warning. For a second, you thought of making a break for it. But then the click of heels on the pavement seemed to count down your fate.
And then she stood there before you. Your mother, dressed to the nines, complete with her usual scowl.
You couldn't let go of John. Your nails seemed to dig into his side on their own accord. The pair of you stared ahead to the woman who gave you life, and kept you from living it all the same. She stood and stared too, almost like she was giving you a chance. And that was the scariest bit of it all. 
As time seemed to pause, John let your name escape him in a nervous breath, like a warning. Trying to alert you that your hanging off him wouldn't help. But there was no way you were gonna let him go now. 
It was then your mother decidedly sauntered up to the two of you, letting her eyes search your from the top of your head to the tips of your toes and back up again. 
When she let out a scof, you realized you'd been holding your own breath. And when you opened your mouth, willing oxygen in, or words of mitigation out, your mother decided what was next. 
Before you could blink, one of her strong hands was digging into your arm, and she was tearing you away from John's gentle hold.
And despite his caution earlier, you could feel John's hand still trying to keep hold of you, as you were yanked away. The sensation of being taken from the man's clutch was horrid, but what was more painful was the feeling of his fingers trying and failing to keep hold.
So when your mother tossed you aside, toward the brick of the coffee house wall, you were hardly affected; not like you'd only just been.
And when you looked up, after steadying yourself and dusting your stone imprinted hands of dust, John was stepping closer toward your mother. He shouted something at her, about how she didn't have the right to treat you just so. But before he could finish defending you, he was shut down.
Your mothers hand flew across his cheek, and the sound of the slap and John's shocked hiss echoed through the alley and caused something vile to rise in your gut. 
You pushed yourself from the wall then, indifferent to the dizziness you felt, desperate to reach out to the man you'd been so fond of; calling his name.
But your mother was there, more sober and more angry. And she halted your mission to make it to your man, digging her nails into your sides and forcing you in the other direction. 
"John I'm sorry, John..." You called past the lump in your throat. That was when Ivan came upon the scene. He darted from the doorway and did his damnedest to block your mothers storming off. 
"You're a monster. Let her go!" Your brother fummed, as your mother managed to storm around her first born, pushing you along. 
"I'm her mother. And I'll do as I see fit to keep my child out of harm's way." Your mother stated, almost calmly.
"You're no mother. You're a walking nightmare. She's not your plaything-"
"Word's won't fix this, Ivan." You said, reminding him that his defying of the woman only ever made her ten times more evil.
"I'll pray for your children, son." Your mother nodded, opening the passenger door of her car, and flinging you toward the bench. "They're going to need it."
You didn't look to Ivan, as your mother drove off. You didn't dare look to John. You only hung your head and cried silent tears while your mother peeled down the road. And the whole way home, she spat vile things about you and Ivan. Her own children. About your father, her beloved husband. And aout John, a man who, since his arrival, had only tried to help out.
You let your tears dry when the car pulled up to the house you'd never really felt at home in. And went willingly from the ride to the door, knowing you would get very far in the countryside if you dashed away now. You'd need a wiser plan. Still, your mother dug her claws into your arm and marched you up the staircase to your room, like you were a girl no oler to know better. 
"Stay here." She demanded after pushing your further into your bedroom, her fist around the doorknob, establishing total control. 
You expected to be banished here. What you didn't expect, however, was the return of your mother with boards to nail against your windows. You might've laughed if you weren't the one being all locked up. Wasn't this sort of thing only supposed to happen in twisted fairy tales? You're life was twisted enough, you supposed.
She left you there, trapped in the space that was meant to be your own, meant to be safe. As you sulked in silence, the memory of your mothers assault on John haunted you. The horrid sound her action resulted in. His gut wrenching reaction, the small hiss, his stalling in the place she put him in. 
And the way he watched you being dragged off, helpless and sorry for you. It was pathetic, the situation you found yourself in. So you let your tears bubble up again and you cried and cried; until exhaustion set in. Tomorrow was a new day....
///
There was a pounding at your door, loud enough to jolt you from slumber.
"Open up!" The sound of your father calling from beyond the hall stirred you fully conscious. In one swift dash you were stood before your door, jiggling the handle, feeling silly for hoping that would work. 
"She's locked it." You groaned. "Do you have a key?" Your wonder was nearly frantic, and so were you- trying still to twist the knob. At the sound of your fathers grumbled cursing, you began to bustle about for some hair pins, but quickly realized you wouldn'tve had a clue to how to finess the tools into working like another. 
Then you heard your mother. She  shouted down the hall, telling your father to get out of her sight, to leave you be. Shouting that you were better off confined. That you'd be locked away until she found the right reformatory to ship you off to. You knew she meant it. You knew she'd send you away without a care of your consent. 
"She's not a child anymore. You can't just treat her like a bad pet who needs training."
"I'm her mother. And I'll be damned if I don't do what's best for my child. I failed the first time. God knows you never cared about either of them like I care." Your mother spat, breaking your heart and your fathers too no doubt. 
Their bickering lasted a while longer, and you spun away from listening in to force yourself to think. There had to be a way out of here, out of this life. There had to be a way to a better world. 
And the best you could do was wait.  Until dinner. Wait until your mother brought you a tray of soup and bread, trading a few put downs before she twirled from your room. And then you checked the time, and counted down the hours to her always predictable nightly routine.
And you waited still, until your bedside clock ticked well passed after midnight.
And then you used a lamp to pry the nails away from windows. You could tell her bedroom light was out by leaning against the sill.
With no time to spare, you tossed a change of clothes in your purse, and the envelope stashed with tips you'd been saving for over a year. 
It wasn't a very long way down. With the help of a lattice panel and the dark of night, you found grassy freedom in no time. Your heart beat heavy as you crept toward the road. It wouldn't be safe, not until the city lights were in view. But your shoes were flat and your hopes were high.
Miraculously, no one stopped you. Not the truck who zoomed by somewhere still deep along the dark country road. Not the school kids on the edge of town, tossing bottles off the bridge. And not the sleepy clerk at the desk of the hotel you raced into. 
"Be here, be here, be here..." You prayed under your breath, hurrying to the room you remembered John booking. And right as you rounded the hall, the door of the room you'd been in search of opened. 
But the squeak of wheels gave away the presence of a maid, pushing her cart of cleaning supplies out into the hall.
"He's gone?" You sighed, stopping at the end of the hall, your feet aching after moving so ceaselessly through the night. 
"Whoever was here left a while ago." The maid stopped for a moment, looking to you with a sorry expression. "Around dinner time."
"Right. Is there a phone at the desk?" 
The maid nodded and wished you luck, and you thanked her for it. You'd need as much as you could get. 
The clerk who was still kicked back, sleeping, startled at your ringing the bell on the desk. And though they didn't seem pleased at your begging to use the phone, they let you.
It only rang twice. 
"Hello?" Your fathers voice was a pleasant surprise. Of course he'd gone to stay with Ivan, in the midst of all this chaos. 
"Dad, Im-"
"Where are you? Does she know you've gone? I'll come fetch you."
"No." You implored, holding up a hand as if he could have seen your insistence.  "No I've phoned to let you know I'm taking the train to the city. I've got to find John before he leaves. And I'm sure of where he is. I've got to try." 
John had told you where he was headed next, on your last train ride together. And you'd felt silly for keeping the details at the front of your memory... until now.
The other line went quiet for a beat. And you'd fully prepared yourself for your fathers disapproval. But then he just said,
"Okay." Your father seemed to realize the weight of your feelings, you thought, by his tone of voice. "I knew you'd get out of there, eventually." And once more, you could tell by his tone he wasn't just referring to the room you'd been locked in for the last couple nights. "Phone us again, when you're safe and sound. I know you will be."
At his blessing, tears sprung in your eyes. You were going to go no matter what. But to have your father on your side made you even more determined to fly out of this hotel, and to the next one you knew John was meant to be staying at. 
///
Booking a train ticket was nearly impossible. And if you had spent much longer pleading with the station, you would have missed the bus pulling up down the block, offering rides in the right direction. 
The couple hour journey was maddening, and thrilling, and terrifying all at once. You were on your way to change your life. No matter what John said, or how he greeted you; no matter if he fell into your embrace or left you in the hotel lobby, you'd never go back the way you'd come from. 
And luckily, you managed to find the hotel John had briefly spoken of, without much trouble. It was the grandest of the business booming on this side of the city. Folks flooded in and out of the revolving doors, as you considered the past set of days that had led you to standing before here with such an erratic heartbeat.
But you only stayed paused for a moment. Your feet were darting inside before your mind caught up with how close you were to the mission at hand. 
The lobby was just as full of people as the revolving doors had been, lines forming near the desk, groups fighting to fit their luggage into golden elevators. 
And though you hated to be the person you'd decided to be, you dashed to the end of the front desk, hoping the clerk would spare you a minute at most. 
"I just need to know if someone's booked a room." You begged to know, shooting sorry looks to the people you'd cut in front of. The clerk seemed to have no patients for you, but miraculously, another set of hands swooped in to help. Some nice older woman flipped through the bookings to find John's name, after you gave it, and came up short.
"What about Deacy?" You hoped all of a sudden, quickly beginning to lose your ambition the longer she shook her head.
You'd done what you could, rudely so. And scurried away so your unwelcome presence would no longer be in the way of things.
And as you sauntered away, giving one last pathetic glance about the crowded lobby, you reminded yourself that it was all alright. You might not have found John. But you were finally free.
And then you pushed through the revolving door. And past your ghostly reflection, you spotted a familiar set of grey eyes. 
John seemed to wait until your gaze registered his own, before spinning around to make it indoors. You ignored the chilly night air and pushed on until you were right back where you'd just started to leave from. 
There he was, before you as real and sure as the sun and moon.
"You never gave me a proper goodbye." You reprimanded through a growing smile. He'd promised to give you a farewell, once. 
"How about a rain check? I've got lot's more important things to tell you, as a matter of fact." The man you'd come to adore smiled then, and offered his arm. You held on without hesitation and managed to follow his lead through the crowd, to the room he'd been staying in.
It was a humble little space, his suitcase opened on the coffee table and a yellow lamp left on by the window. John shut the door behind you with a soft click, loosening the pale blue tie round his neck, as you glanced about the room.
"I came by. Your place, I mean." John admitted, leaning against the closed door, as you turned from admiring the wall art to face him.
"You did?"
And then John said your father had dragged the Brit along, that night he'd knocked at your door. John was outside with high hopes. But your mother had caught your father before you'd even known there was a plan. 
"So you did try to come and tell me goodbye." You laughed a little, kind of glad he wasn't able to. This reality where you'd run to him was much more befitting to the situation, you thought. 
"Well, no." John pointed, not laughing along with you. "I never really wanted to say goodbye."
You stood there, taking in the sight of him. Watching John's brows oh so slightly furrow upward, hope pouring from his expression. You considered the gleam in his eye and the way he slowly seemed to shift his posture a little closer to you. 
"So we haven't got to part ways in a hurry then?" You wondered. Asking more than if you could linger a while longer in his rented room.
John seemed to know what you were asking. He seemed relieved, too. His shoulders loosened as the man crossed the space between you, in no big hurry. It seemed the two of you had all the time in the world at your disposal, now. John took his time, reaching out to tuck away some loose hairs near your ear. And his smile grew steadily too. By the time the guy pressed a kiss to your lips, you'd been wondering if the dawn would be breaking any time soon.
But the longer John went on kissing you, the less you thought of the sunrise. As John enclosed you in his arms, all your thoughts were of the man you'd come to adore. 
And as laid next to him and closed your eyes to the rising sun, you couldn't recall ever having experienced such a bright morning. 
"So you're not too eager to head back home, yeah?" John asked, once you'd both stirred from a restful slumber.
"I think I found a much more suitable place to be." You smiled, referring to the spot you'd settled under John's arm. 
And it didn't take much convincing on his end for you to agree on catching the next boat across the pond. 
///
The other line rang so long you'd almost decided to hang up. Then your brother answered. 
"Helllooooo!" He sang in a chipper timbre, making you wonder if he'd been expecting you at exactly this time, or if he answered everyone that way.
"Well I was going to ask how you were but it seems you're so well I don't have to wonder." You laughed into the receiver. 
The morning was early, and a breeze blew back a sheer curtain, obscuring your view of the grey English morning. 
Ivan spent the next few minutes yaking about how glad he was to hear from you. And you were glad to listen. On your rather spontaneous journey overseas, you were bogged down for a brief moment, at the thought of being so far from your dear brother. But as he rambled in your ear now, you'd never felt closer to him.
Ivan asked how things were. He asked after John, and that mattered so much more to you than his concerns for your well being. And when you had had your fill of the attention being on you, you begged your brother to give you all the details of what happened after you ditched home.
He said your mother was as furious as expected. Said she tried to blame your brother and her husband for your running off. Said she tried to get the police to shut down the coffee house for hosting such an undignified business after hours.
"You should'a seen her face when she found out officer Willard was our most loyal customer." Ivan chuckled. 
"We did have to pay a fine, in the end, so she'd quit her raving. It was almost everything we'd saved away for the baby." 
Your brother sighed. And you cooed his name in commiseration. 
"But my friend who owns that estate, the one who threw that party John took you to," Ivan explained. "He was good enough to loan us a bit of cash to stash away." Your brother said the man tried to give the money away outright, as a thank you to Ivan for helping start up his own speakeasy of sorts. But Ivan was dead set on paying him back, one day.
"Now we can't decide to name the babe after him, or John." Ivan chuckled. 
"And what if it's a girl?" You mused. 
"That'll just have to be a surprise." Ivan said, and just then the line went dead. You called your brother's name with a little hope he'd come back to tell you more. 
But you didn't worry when the line went on buzzing. You'd see him and his darling wife and his child to be, one day. You'd see your father too, if he was still hiding out at your brothers place. Hell, maybe they'd all come over here. 
Maybe you'd build a life with John, in his humble little English flat. You certain felt at home, watching the guy of your fancy stay dreaming as the sun rose. 
John had been kind to you. He'd been your friend when he didn't have to be. He'd let you lean into him, and he laughed at your jokes. He invited you into his world and smiled wide the closer your ship rolled toward London. 
And he'd treated your shoes as if they'd always been stored in the middle of the welcome mat. John opened his space up to you, and asked every night for the first few weeks, if you were happy, if you needed anything more. Your answers were always yes and no. 
And he didn't need to ask for honey in his coffee anymore. You just knew to add a little in the warm cup you'd have ready near the place he liked to sit in the morning. 
It was familiar and it was sweet, and so was John. Maybe he liked honey in his tea, too. And dear God, how you prayed every year from here on out; got to be spent guessing at life alongside the man who'd thrilled you by wondering all your answers all along.
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honeytrappaz · 5 years ago
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call out post for @ratsofftoya
TW: GROOMING/PEDOPHILIA AND SUICIDE MENTIONS
recently @i-am-a-fish got suicidal baited off tumblr for the most bullshitted accusation post I've seen so far.
apparently I-am-fish is a pedophile/ potential child groomer, as said by @ratsofftoya
All because he made a joke on twitter about moving to pornhub, and follows artists that draw lolicon/aged-up smut of fictional underaged characters.
but there are some major fallacies in @ratsofftoya 's accusations (as if it wasn't obvious enough).
moral appeal:
ratsofftoya's commentary on goldie's pornhub and sex toy posts were very moralistic despite the posts clearly being a joke.
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Humor is subjective so it's okay if you didn't laugh at this post, but that isn't an excuse to take away its humor to demean someone by making hasty generalizations about his fanbase. We can't confirm his fanbase is mostly kids, but because this claim is based on a hasty generalization, it is an inappropriate appeal to emotion. Trying to imply that goldie willingly exposes kids to child porn, classic "but think of the kids!" argument.
• There is no data we have on I-am-fish 's audience age demographic.
• there is no proof that majority of the fanbase are minors. that's just a hasty generalization.
• I-am-a-fish does not claim to be a blog for kids, not including "18+" in your bio does not make you a blog for kids.
I can't believe i have to point this shit out, but tumblr and twitter are not for kids. Nobody on these two platforms should have to put "18+" in their bios because nobody below that should even be on these two platforms. I-am-a-fish is an adult making adult jokes on an adult platform, to imply he could be a child groomer because he makes sex jokes that minors see is unfair because thats beyond his control. Tumblr and Twitter are adult spaces and yet we are not responsible for kids being in a space where they don't belong, that responsibility goes to the parents. All we can do about minors in online adult spaces is REPORT them.
2. cherry picking:
ratsofftoya specifically picked TWO sexually suggestive artworks by japanese Twitter artist Krskii. problem is ratsofftoya uses these two posts to portay this artist as a highly lewd/fetish account, when that isn't the case. In actuality, krskii's twitter page is a fanart page for a duo from IDOL MASTER: cinderella girls starlight stage anzu fubata(the blonde loli) and kirari moroboshi. it's a fanart page for other IMCGSS characters as well. i use to play game, its alot of fun but its japanese exclusive so i couldn't play much due to language barriers. the fanart page is almost all SFW, but ratsofftoya pick TWO out of dozens of sfw pics to solidify her claim.
you can go on Krskii's twitter and see for yourself:
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and my personal favorite:
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(ooh lawd this is cute i might have it as a PFP with credit!)
anyway, ratsofftoya ignored these possibilities:
• There is no proof goldie liked the two photos, or any engagement at all.
• there is no proof that he had seen it, especially out of dozens sfw art.
• just because he follows this artist does not automatically confim he has a sexual attraction for lolis or kids. especially due to how the page is mostly sfw.
• goldie could just be a fan of IMCGSS.
this isn't a creepy pedo twitter page, just an idol fan page. but what really is illogical is the commentary ratsofftoya has in regards to loli drawings. Now with using two pics racy pics, ratsofftoya came to the conclusion that Goldie is sexually attracted to children. But lolicon isn't real children, it's not real CP and it's not even a realistic depiction of humans children, so what rataofftoya did was simply pass off her opinion of lolis as fact. I'm not trying to debate on whether lolicon is okay or not and im not gonna share my opinion, because the real point isn't the subject of lolicon but the wrongful accusation. the real fact is that lolicon is still legal, but social opinion of lolicon is very mixed, our opinions on such a complicated subject is not enough to convict someone as a pedophile. you're opinions do not hold that kind of power, especially without sufficient evidence. let's actually move on to ratsofftoya's evidenced and how insufficient it is.
3. False attribution of discord chats
the screenshots provided from the discord chats do not add up to ratsofftoya's claims, making the screencaps irrelevant more than anything.
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she provided this screenshot of a mod stating their opinion on aged up fanart, and claims that this opinions makes ALL MODS in that discord MAPS and Pedo apologists. problem is that there is no real sympathy for any pedo/maps in both ratsofftoya and nestbian's screenshots. if anything, it's just some bad jokes, and Goldie doesn't even say one himself.
rattsofftoya commits the same fallacy like with the loli argument; the concept of aged up characters is complicated subject, its not illegal but there is alot of debate surrounding it. Ratsofftoya makes her opinion clear that aged up artwork of characters is wrong. she uses small and insufficient screenshots to to help make her OPINION seem like a fact, and accuse the mods of being MAP sympathizers. she's convicted these mods based on a biased opinion, the concept of aged up characters is not legally pedophilic so whether you think the subject is right or wrong, is still not enough to convinct others with opposing opinions as MAP enablers.
Another issue is how she claims minors are talking inappropriately with adults on discord, but there are no such screenshots, the screenshots provided give no evidence of such accusation. With her convictions based on biased opinions, that accusations is not going to be getting any credibility anytime soon. Many of us know how discord works, it's not unusual for adults and minors to be in the same server, it's not a pedophilic thing. But one thing that discord mods do is have NSFW chats specifically for adults, while minors are exluded and stay in the SFW chats. ratsofftoya has no screenshots on minors in a nsfw chat, you'd figure that nestbian would take screenshots of that if it was actually true.
Lastly, ratsofftoya uses these discord screenshots to further solidfy her statement that I-am-a-fish is exposing sexual content to children. But you don't see goldie or any inappropriate/sexual content in the screenshots, just problematic opinions at best.
4. Bad intentions:
from what i've said in this post above, I can conclude ratsofftoya's post overrall was very manipulative and biased. I think the most manipulative part of the post was the last paragraph:
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Using the idea of child exploitation and sexual abuse to pull on people's emotions, a huge inappropriate call for emotion. yet, ratsofftoya has not proven or shown any child exploitation or pedophilia at all. we have yet to see any evidence of abuse! How can I believe ratsofftoya has good intentions when I can easily break the accusations apart and see lies?
As a real victim of child grooming, i won't speak for all victims, but as a victim I really don't like my trauma being used to witch hunt innocent people. My trauma is not for woke points, it's not a badge and it's not for your ego to exploit. It's pretty clear that ratsofftoya did NOT make this post for the well being of children and grooming victims, but the post was made for her moralistic ego. If anything, to use sexual child abuse to lie about others, is exploitive.
5. consequenses:
I commented on ratsofftoya's post, mentioning that there are serious consequences to false accusations. Of course the response was immature af so not sure if she'll ever learn, but I'll say it for those who'll hopefully listen to my advice.
Call out post with false accusations can destroy lives, and put you, the poster, in serious legal trouble.
Slander and defamation on its own can get you a lawsuit, you never know who on this platform has money for a lawyer. If this person you publicly slander is to self harm, commit suicide, or lose their job, you can be legally held accountable for it even if it wasn't what you intended to happen, disclaimers cat save you from that. Just because ratofftoya says the suicide baiting is wrong, doesn't mean that she isn't legally responsible for it, I-am-a-fish can legally use it against her. Even with the legal consequences, lying in its own has social consequences and it will be brought to light.
Remember this, you broke ass college students, no amount of woke points is worth the lawsuit. If you GENUINELY see a real predator, report it!
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zwei-rhunen · 2 years ago
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- goes into duty finder
- clicks around, reads description for "duty roulette 60/70/80"
Me: sounds neat, but I don't want to do that lmao
-clicks on Prae, get into queue
-does job quest while waiting
-getting impatient, looks down at quest list
"Duty Roulette: 60/70/80"
Me like '???? But I clicked on Prae? maybe that's just how post level 50 dungeon ques are named now?'
/doubt, but cba to change it, I'm sure it'll be fine
-continue with job quest get my level 45 straight-line AOE skill lmao
-duty pops, click accept without reading what dungeon bc I forgot about earlier confusion
-1 dps backs out, back into the que (I should have treated this as a sign from the gods)
-wait another 10 secs, duty pops again, clicks accept without reading AGAIN
-realizes 'oh shit, if this really IS the duty roulette then ALL the new dungeons that I unlocked last night are probably game
-which were all the hard versions
-oh no
>mfw not-Prae cutscene shows up
Me looking at it and forgetting again it said 60+ roulette and not just, like, idk a normal roulette like "this does not look familiar? Maybe it's a dungeon I did a long time ago..."
> mfw Ampador Keep shows up, smth I unlocked last night in a haze of sleep deprivation bc I wanted to get all the dungeons open
So anyway. I learned that mimics exist now 😭 I resigned to not collecting loot ever again and but another party member was nice enough to pick up the loot
It went like:
PM1: he fell for the chest meme
Me: crying I just wanted loot lmaoo
PM1: ;-;
PM2: first Rule of this dungeon - never touch the chests
PM3(sprout icon): wasn't me
PM2: esp big triple D ones
Me: rip got it
Me: that's so cruel loooool xD
PM1: welcome to arr postgame
.....
Then we get to Diablos
I'll be honest, I had no fucking idea what was going on the entire time
It was just a lot of purple on my screen
Someone said they'd handle the doors, and everyone else ty'd them
So apparently we were supposed to go into the gate the first time which I absolutely did not do lmao, but somehow I got into the gate, I think? The screen just started panning over and im like '???? Did i die? Am i glitching?? Am i falling off the platform or what????' And then we got thrown out of another gate
PM: CLOSE
Me with no idea wtf is happening" ..alright I guess I'll go target the boss again
Second time I noticed everyone was grouped up by a gate so I thought an AOE was about to happen, which is the only reason I ran over there lmao
Then they started interacting with it so I got the hint there
PM1: fucked it
PM2: holy shit
Boss was on final legs, killed it, everyone exchanged gjs
Me: did we almost die??
PM: YEs
PM: Lol
Me: ah
Then they explain the door thing and how it insta-drops us to 10% hp+debuff if we don't get in it
And im like oh, shit
Lmao
Anyway. Roulette. No ty (for now)
8/10 chaotic experience was great,dungeon looked pretty during the few moments I got a chance to look around. Plus i died only once bc party wipe at the beginning
2/10 I was very lost for most of the experience lmao (but this is on me bc im running things mostly blind)
My mental re-imagining of the boss fight is hilarious to me bc like, picture everyone who knows what's going on, and is fully aware of how close we were to dying, maybe collectively going 'ohshitohshitohshit'
Meanwhile me just blissfully unaware, 'doodoo-do, doododoo, wow this battle is so ✨purple✨, wait where did everyone g-WHERE AM I? WHERE AM I GOING??"
lmfao
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clumsyclifford · 3 years ago
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hello!! i am back and on desktop this time. the blog is just as pretty. alex + yellow = v v attractive jfc. this is a long one so buckle in.
to begin: i hope you have the most fun on your day road trip and sing your heart out to atl and taylor swift. i love driving long distances and idk just driving in general is fun. have the absolute best time MWAH
my birthday is in november!! november 23 to be specific. i share it with miley cyrus which is something i always found to be very cool when i was growing up and watching hannah montana. it also means i am a sagittarius and funny little fact i realized is that my best friend is a gemini. alex and jack are also a sagittarius and a gemini. from being 13 i know that tyler and josh from twenty one pilots are also a sagittarius and a gemini. something about sagittarius and gemini besties idk.
also yeah!! ao3 year in review!! it's a bit complicated to figure out at first and if you read a lot the finding pages thing can be pretty tedious, but it's def worth it once you figure it out. it gives you a lot of different stats about everything you read and it's pretty cool. now i am going to go look at your fics to remember my favs. you deserve the praise so i am willing to offer it. jeez you write a lot i respect the motivation sm. you write quite a bit of angst and i won't lie i try to stay away from angst so i haven't read your fics that seem super angst-y based on the tags. BUT there are still so many i recall reading and loving nonetheless. on a quick scroll-through: i usually don't read high school AUs but "paint me in trust (i'll be your best friend)" was super adorable and lovely. "thank god i'm yours" is one of my favs iirc. also i love love love "it's not always easy (but i'm here forever)" like yes please romanticize alex gaskarth i love it sm. "i won't be silent (and i won't let go)" and "i fell asleep in a city that doesn't" are both super fluffy and romantic and are favs of mine. in case you haven't picked up on it i adore very fluffy and romantic fics lmao. alright i am continuing to scroll and there are so many more i could list that i love but this section is getting quite long. just know if it's about a kitchen or hotel rooms being for lovers i probably read it and adored it and that pov is so valid.
waterparks!! will not lie i only really started listening to them about 6 months ago having been distantly aware of their existence for several years by being a fan of bands in the same genre. listen as long as you let yourself be vaguely annoyed by awsten is prevents you from being in love with him. follow him on any social media platform for like a day and you'll be sick of him typing in nothing but all caps within hours. simply do not romanticize him and you can keep yourself from falling!! so this is coming from a slightly fake parx fan, but some of my favs by them have been peach (lobotomy), crave, numb, fuzzy, violet!, you'd be paranoid too, and lowkey as hell. that is a very songs-from-their-most-recent-album-heavy rec, but whatever. i did give the disclaimer about being a fake parx fan.
yeah hayley does have 2 solo albums now!! petals for armor and flowers for vases / descansos. pfa is the one i didn't really like upon first listen but has grown on me. i haven't even listened to the second one in its entirety oops but we won't mention it. dead horse is good but simmer (pretty sure that was the other single??) just ain't it for me. the album has some lovely songs but it's just a hit or miss album all the way through. some favs of mine on it include pure love, taken, crystal clear, watch me while i bloom, and why we ever. it's sorta a storyline album about healing if that adds anything to it?? but anyways. i started listening to paramore around the time after laughter dropped and it grew to be one of my fav albums in existence. idle worship is probably one of my fav songs like ever. i def understand being slightly put off by bands with songs that make religious references (me with twenty one pilots' earlier music that makes a lot more religious references considering i'm not religious whatsoever) but i think i am blinded by being in love with hayley williams and just ignore it. idk that she's like super religious?? she's addressed believing in god and stuff a few times but she's def not the "rub it in your face" type and if she's making refs in music more recently then they're subtle enough i'm not noticing them. ik albums like brand new eyes had a lot more because it was shortly after that the band split and the songwriting process was essentially her and ex-bandmate co-songwriter arguing about their religious beliefs (turns out he ended up being super homophobic and transphobic all based on his religion so do with that what u will and thank the clown for leaving). i feel u on the "i meant to start listening to them" because that's essentially how i started listening to them. i told myself i was going to and then finally forced myself to do it. fuck falling for awsten knight what's more risky is falling in love with hayley </3
also yeah!! you've articulated my feelings towards tde. every song is so vastly different that it's hard to like it all. #1 fan is pretty decent though, and that's not just my bias about finding both ross and his gf hot and a cute couple and getting to see them together and ross half naked in a mirror in the video nope not at all. he's my fav himbo!! he has no personality!! no thoughts head empty!! i still love him and his strawberry-growing saga on twitter tho <3 the hazard of being in love with ross lynch since i was 12. girlfriend better be a fucking banger and there's quite a few already released singles in the tracklist so i have hope. i believe my show is in chicago on november 19 which is a thursday. kinda sucks since i intentionally bought the chicago tix nearly two years ago (the show was originally supposed to be april 25 2020. lol.) because the show was on a saturday and i have to drive 3 hours to get there. obviously i can't speak for them as tde but r5 shows always fucking slapped and i can vouch for them (realized i haven't seem them live since 2016?? 5 YEARS?? wtf) so if u genuinely like them. would recommend going to see them.
anyways. i have not listened to luke's solo album yet. i plan on it. this has gotten so long but i tried to respond in all areas and even organized it in different paragraphs this time (thanks being on desktop!!). hope you are well. hope you have a lovely day. hmm what's a little "going on in my life" fact. i got new glasses a few days ago and my eyes essentially said fuck off because adjusting to the new prescription has left me with eyes that hurt and occasionally slightly nauseous. here is to hoping my eyes get their shit together. mwah LOVE YOU TOO - the other bella/cubs anon/idk
okay hi hello. i have put this off because holy hell it's long but let's do it. i am putting a cut because this whole thing is long even without my answer
first: the road trip was super fun thank you!!! i am intrigued by this information regarding sags and geminis, we should do some scientific inquiry. enquiry. i don't know if there's a difference between those words.
aha! well i tried the ao3 year in review thing and i would say it had about 55% accuracy but still i agree it's fun to look back at that kind of stuff. and i feel you on the angst thing i go through phases of writing angst-heavy stuff and then writing very fluffy stuff and it is entirely based on my mental state buuuut i have lots of fluff and i'm glad you found it all and that you liked it yay <333 KITCHENS ARE FOR LOVERS i will die on that fuckin hill. hotel rooms as well but primarily kitchens.
dfgjhgdlfkhgdfmj honestly i dont use twitter enough that i would see his tweets enough that that would bother me also the fact that he tweets in all caps means that i just picture him yelling everything he tweets which i find absolutely hysterical so i don't think that would help. i have added these parx songs to my listen asap playlist and will get to them when i get a chance thank you i am excited also i already know lowkey as hell and it slaps super hard so im very much lookin forward to the rest of these. merci merci
YEAH simmer was the one i didnt vibe with. and honestly i feel zero compulsion to get into hayley williams as a solo artist. i just don't vibe enough to want to do that so i doubt i'll be listening to her anytime soon but maybe if i hear the songs in passing or get super bored one night, idk who can really say. but yeah christianity typically puts me off of music (speaking as a very jewish bitch) although there are notable exceptions in the cases of thomas rhett and the driver era. i'm just not attached to hayley enough to be like ehhh this doesnt matter. does that make sense
FAVORITE HIMBO PLEASE HGSDFGDFGKLFGJ i dont follow him on twitter but i have seen some interviews of ross and rocky and tbh they're great i love the way ross speaks like i like his speech mannerisms and i like his FACE and HAIR and. yeah. i think hes pretty. and i think he and 5sos SHOULD collab i think that would be sexy as hell. can you imagine that. oh my god can you imagine a ross lynch/luke hemmings collab. i'm not even really talking to you anymore bella because i know you haven't listened to luke yet and don't have a stake in it but if anyone else is reading this long ass answer. ross & luke collab. okay im going to move on and not think about that now. but i probably won't see tde unless i get a job this semester because i'm trying to stop spending so much money on big indulgent things like concerts likeee i was in a really good habit of not spending that much and then suddenly i got paid for one summer and i was just goin Crazy and i need to dial it back. plus i wanna see ajr and noah kahan equally bad so like. i have to make some calls about priorities here. it's Much to think about
good luck to your eyes i'm sure your new glasses are hella cute tho!!! LOVE YOUUUUUUU
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