#but some post-finale art would b really nice!

[mikeymyonelove]

Ok, now that COTC has officially come to an end...can we get crew art of the Elders kissing post-finale?

[hometoursandotherstuff]

Well, after looking at hundreds of restored homes so boring in white &/or gray, I finally came across an original. This is the Dolon House, built in 1888 in Jim Thorpe, PA. It's currently a B&B, 7bds, 7ba, $1.9M.

It's a center hall Queen Anne.

Beautiful wood work- look at the newel post and railing.

She's a grand Queen Anne, decorated to capacity. And, guess what? It can all be yours b/c this property/business is truly “turn-key.” It includes art, collections, and antique furnishings.

There's a professional stove with a remnant of the old brick fireplace.

Kitchen's large and cute, but set up for a business.

Sweet.

The dining room is set up for breakfast.

You get all the dishes, etc.

I guess the liquor is there in case someone wants a drink for breakfast.

This is really nice.

Lovely vintage bath. Beautiful pedestal sink.

Nice fireplace in this bedroom. I would probably sell half of this stuff. It's too much. It may some guests nervous.

The baths have been redone.

This is gorgeous. There's too much stuff around to appreciate the beauty of this millwork.

There's a beautiful piece.

Here's another lovely suite.

It has a simple, renovated bath.

Here's a cool room, it has a little sitting area in the tower. Look at the base molding.

Lovely sitting room.

Beautiful area in the tower.

They have little school benches & a table on the porch.

It's located on a lovely street with a view of the mountains.

[honeyhotteoks]

this night together - chapter eleven (j.yh + s.mg)

chapter eleven: a new love song

chapter summary: time, and a well worded letter, heals all wounds. finally, it's time to let go.

warnings: nothing really, social drinking, etc.

notes: reminder that if you're reading this on or around 12.3.23 when it's posted, i'm uploading three chapters at once! if you haven't read chapter ten, go do that before you skip ahead!!

pairings: alpha!yunho x alpha!mingi x omega!reader

genre: smut, a/b/o/omegaverse, angst, fluff, romance, polyamory

word count: 5.2k

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The party is bright, bursting with light and color and art. You can feel Hongjoong’s presence everywhere from the moment you step through the doors and you almost feel underdressed. You selected your outfit for him, something a little bolder than you’d normally do, but something that truly suits the occasion and the honored guest. You adjust the top of your black trousers and glance down to ensure the cream white blouse that is parted open is still firmly secured with the hidden tape you painstakingly applied.  You hope your lipstick is staying put. 

The listening party for New World’s new mini album is in full swing, but the night is about more than just that. Their tour has ended, everyone back on Korean soil, and it will be the first time anyone will hear the album from start to finish and the first time you’ll be face to face with them again.

Three months of nothing, no contact except the letter. The letter you’ve read about a hundred times. 

You texted Wooyoung, San, and Seonghwa of course, and they mentioned Yunho and Mingi occasionally, but always in the broader context of what they were doing on tour. You saw them in pictures, travel shots on Instagram or Snapchat stories of their nights out, but otherwise nothing. For three months you let it marinate, and your feelings haven’t changed in the slightest. All you have to do now is find them in this crowd and clear the air. 

It’s no surprise you’re as late as you are, your stomach was in knots getting ready and leaving your apartment had you practically coming apart at the seams. The idea of talking to them is simple, but you’ve rehearsed what you want to say over and over and you can’t imagine how they’ll respond. You take a glass of sparkling wine from one of the caterers and realize there are far more people here than you thought there would be. When you pictured a listening party you expected an intimate crowd, but the gallery space KQ rented is full of faces, some you know and some you don’t. You’re pretty sure you’ve missed the album playthrough at this point, you just hope no one’s noticed your absence. 

“You look so good!” A voice from behind you makes you turn, and you smile when you see Dahan in her sparkly wrap dress. 

“So do you,” You give her a quick, friendly hug. 

“This is your first one, right?” She asks, looking past you to find a drink tray. 

“Listening party?” You clarify, “Yeah,” 

“This is definitely the nicest one so far,” She all but whispers to you, “New World is pulling in that tour money now,” 

“Ah,” You nod. 

“Usually it’s at a nice restaurant or something, not quite so many people,” She explains, snagging a drink, “not that I’m complaining, dressing up is fun,” 

“Do you see Hongjoong at all?” You crane your neck and look through some of the bodies, but you can’t really see anyone else you know closely. 

“Mm,” She joins you, “no, but Yujin and some of the others are over there,” 

You follow her gaze, “Perfect,” 

She starts weaving through and you follow, keeping close to her and protecting your drink as you side step around and behind people. 

When you make it to the little circle of BB Trippin dancers, you slot right in alongside Dahan and give everyone a smile, “Hey,” 

Everyone greets you warmly, but you wonder absently where your little pocket of close friends are hiding. Yujin draws your attention though when she says, “Jaemin’s here,” 

“He is?” Your eyes widen. You barely ever see him, but it does make sense that he would attend an opportunity to bump elbows with people in the industry. 

“Mhm,” She nods, “I saw him talking to Yunho earlier.” 

Butterflies curl in your stomach, “Yunho’s here?” 

“Mhm,” She takes a sip of her drink, “somewhere,” 

“You look really nice,” Minseok interrupts, stepping a little closer so you can hear him better, “I like the whole, you know,” he gestures up and down to indicate he means your outfit and you nod. 

“Thanks,” You nod, “you clean up nice too,” 

“Oh yeah?” He shrugs, “Thanks,” 

You start to turn back to Yujin who looks like she has something more to say, but Minseok keeps going, “Have you met Hongjoong?” 

“Oh,” You start. 

“He’s a nice guy,” He continues, “you’d like his vibe, or at least, I think you would,” 

“Actually,” 

“I’m not sure if you know this or not, but it’s his voice that’s on a lot of the initial guide tracks we get,”

You do know that, but you nod and take a long sip of your drink, ice slipping down and connecting with your lip as you tip it back a little further. 

“He’s a bit eccentric,” Minseok continues. 

“Who’s a bit eccentric?” Seonghwa cuts in, stepping into the circle and cutting smoothly between you and Minseok, another drink for you ready in his hands. 

Minseok’s lips close. 

“Hi, Hwa,” You smile, “that for me?” 

“Of course,” He trades your nearly empty glass for the full one and leans in to press a fast kiss on your cheek, “you look beautiful,” 

“Stop,” You resist the urge to actually nudge him in front of too many people and give off the wrong idea about how close the two of you are, but you give him the best withering look you can. 

He ignores you though, “Who’s eccentric?” 

“Oh,” You do your best to keep the smile off your lips, “Minseok was just telling me about Hongjoong,” 

“Mm,” Seonghwa glances to the side at him, “is he?” 

“Artistic might be the right word,” Minseok corrects himself. 

“Well, that’s true,” You nod. 

“Oh,” Minseok blinks, “so you know him?” 

“Well, yes, I,” You start to say but Seonghwa cuts you off. 

“Speak of the devil,” He nods and when you turn you catch sight of Hongjoong heading right for you both. He’s dressed in the most decadent dark blue velvet suit you’ve ever seen, and the combination of that and his freshly dyed blue hair makes him look like more of an idol, not a producer. 

“My ears were burning,” Hongjoong says wryly, and then his eyes flick over you, “I love this,” 

“I thought you might,” You grin, moving forwards to greet him with a hug, “congratulations, Hongjoong, this is all beautiful,” 

“Thank you so much for coming,” He gives you a squeeze, “we keep missing each other for dinner,” 

“I know, I’ve been so busy lately,” You tell him, “but let’s plan something soon,” 

He nods and smiles and then turns his attention to the group, “Thank you all so much for coming,” he says. 

Minseok looks a little put out next to Seonghwa, and you hope you didn’t embarrass him, but he and everyone else greets Hongjoong and they loop through the congratulations on the finished album. Once pleasantries are done, he focuses his attention back on you, “I have someone I want you to meet,” he says. 

“Oh?” 

“Mhm,” His hand settles on your back as he turns to the group, “can I steal these two for a bit?” He nods his head towards you and Seonghwa. 

He doesn’t really wait for permission, he’s just being polite, and he steers you out of the circle and starts walking you back through the crowd closer to the stage area. 

“When did you get in?” Hongjoong asks Seonghwa as you walk. 

“This morning,” He says, “we were supposed to land last night but our flight was so delayed leaving LA,” 

“Thank you for coming anyways,” Hongjoong smiles, “I’m sure you’re exhausted,” 

“It’s fine,” He shrugs it off, “we’ll get back on timezone soon, I’m sure,” 

“Flight was okay otherwise?” You ask, but Seonghwa catches your eye and gives you a knowing smile. 

“Mhm,” He nods, “We’re all home safe and sound, I’m sure everyone else is here somewhere,” 

“Good,” Your throat feels tight, the idea that around one of these corners you’ll find Yunho and Mingi, “that’s good,” 

After three months without any contact, you’re going to have to physically restrain yourself from blurting out how you feel the second you see them. The last time they saw you was awkward at best, and considering the way you left things after the fight, the quickest way to confuse them would be to tell them you want them back with no apology, no preamble. But either way the words still form on your tongue in your imagination, and you’re mid internal monologue when Hongjoong stops walking and brings you back to reality. 

“y/n,” He says, gesturing to the couple across from you, “Seonghwa, I’d like you to meet Choi Jongho and his fiance Kim Eunji,” 

“Oh!” You can’t help the surprised sound that leaves you, “You’re the vocalist Hongjoong has told me so much about!”

Choi Jongho smiles politely, eyes flicking to Hongjoong, but then he nods, “That’s me,” 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” You dip your head in quick acknowledgement. 

“So, you’re y/n?” Eunji says before Jongho can finish out the polite greetings and confusion runs through you. 

She’s looking at you with warmth and kindness, and it’s not often that omegas meeting each other for the first time are quite so positive and open. You’re used to a little hesitation, especially when alphas are around, everyone becoming a little territorial in mixed company, but Eunji seems unphased. 

“I am,” You nod as your brain starts to catch up. 

“Hongjoong mentioned you,” She explains at your confused expression, “I was hoping I’d get a chance to say hello,” 

“He did?” 

“Sorry, let me explain,” She smiles, “my little sister is debuting with your company soon,” 

“Oh!” Your brows shoot up and you run through the girls you’ve worked with to realize the common surname, “you’re Jiwoo’s sister?” 

“Yes!” She nods excitedly, “We’re very proud of her,” 

“That’s so nice,” You smile, relaxed now that you understand her abrupt familiarity, “she’s a very good dancer,” 

Eunji beams. 

“She’ll be debuting as main dancer,” Seonghwa nods, “for good reason,” 

Jongho smiles, his hand sweeping a warm line up and down his wife’s back, “Jiwoo says you and the others have been very kind during their preparations,” 

“Well,” You nod, “they’re working very hard, and I’m sure debut must be scary enough, there’s no need to add extra pressure,” 

“It is,” Jongho hums knowingly, and you recall Hongjoong mentioning he was from another idol group that had disbanded. You wonder idly in the back of your mind how difficult it really was for him judging by the brief expression on his face. 

“Exactly,” Hongjoong offers, “I thought you’d all like to meet considering the mutual acquaintance,” 

“Absolutely,” You say, “it’s been lovely,” 

Eunji is about to say something more, but Seonghwa’s hand brushes your upper arm and he leans into your ear, “At the bar,” 

“What?” You glance up at him and he nods past Jongho and Eunji. Your eyes follow his.  

The air leaves your lungs, but you feel Seonghwa’s thumb brush a comforting line over your skin, “Go,” 

“Hwa,”

“If you’ll excuse us,” Seonghwa interrupts you and gives a dazzling smile to your party, “her partners just arrived and it’s been a few months with the tour,” 

You’ll have to have a word with him about his word choice later, you notice the way Hongjoong’s eyes widen, but Jongho and Eunji just nod with understanding. The bond between alphas and their omega isn’t something to be taken lightly, and they take a step back to clear your path. 

You recover just enough to leave with normal pleasantries, “Thank you, sorry to run,” 

“No, no, of course,” Jongho nods, “it was nice to meet you.” 

“If I ever drop by the studio to see Jiwoo,” Eunji adds, “I’ll make sure to say hello,” 

“That would be nice, I look forward to it,” Your body is all but screaming at you to move now. 

“Well,” Seonghwa pushes you forwards, “I’m sure we’ll see each other later on in the evening,” 

Hongjoong says something more but you don’t quite hear it, and suddenly you’re being propelled forwards. Seonghwa dips his head towards you ear, “Good luck, be braver than I would be,” 

And then you’re alone, surrounded by bodies but alone nevertheless. 

You’re not exactly prepared for how you’re going to feel when you see them again. It’s been months, and the first thought that strikes you is how much they’ve changed in such a short time. Mingi looks broader somehow, but his face looks a little thinner and more angular, like he’s lost weight from all the performances and training and travel. Yunho’s hair is a little longer, the back a shaggier against his neck, but intentionally so, and the cut of his jacket makes his shoulders look wider. You want to barrel into their chests and tug them as close to you as you can, but instead you take a steadying breath and just give yourself a second to drink them in. 

You can’t stop yourself from smiling at the way they stand side by side as they wait for their drinks at the bar, and butterflies ripple through you, but despite everything you felt while they were gone there’s no fear. You just missed them, really and truly missed them. 

You’re moving before you consciously think it through and you watch their eyes widen when they see you coming, but it only spurns you on faster until you’re all but crashing into their sides at the bar. 

“Hey,” You’re just so happy to see them you can’t get the grin off your face, “you’re back,” 

“We’re back,” Mingi nods, and you can see the hesitation in his face. 

“I’m,” A million words run through your mind, but you settle on the truth, “so happy to see you,” 

“You are?” Yunho’s brows go high. 

“Yeah,” You step a little closer, letting the words you’ve been holding finally roll off your tongue, “this isn’t the place to talk, but yes, I’m happy to see you, I missed you both.”

Mingi exhales heavily and his lips quirk up. 

Lowering your voice a little more, you hold Mingi’s gaze, “I got your letter,” 

Yunho’s head twists to the side, confusion all over his face as he looks to Mingi for clarity. 

“We should talk,” You want to reach out so badly, but you hold it back for now, “but I wanted you both to know I’m sorry too, and I’m really glad you’re home now,” 

“Me too,” Mingi nods. 

“Good,” You sigh, “that’s good,”

“Are we okay?” Mingi glances between both of you. 

“Yes,” You nod, “I still think we should talk, we left things badly before, but I thought a lot about everything and I don’t want things to be uncomfortable anymore.” 

In the background you hear the speakers cut off the ambient music, and someone taps on a microphone to check that it’s connected. You glance towards the stage and see someone preparing to introduce Hongjoong. 

“Should we go somewhere?” Yunho asks, “Now?” 

The man on stage clears his throat into the microphone. 

You shake your head, “Not tonight, I want to be here for Hongjoong,” 

“Of course,” He backtracks. 

You reach for him this time, resting your hand on his forearm, “But maybe later this week when you’re settled we can just clear the air. I have some things I want to tell you,” 

He swallows tightly, and you can feel that he’s a little nervous but he nods, “Sure,” 

“I just,” You step back and look between them both, “I didn’t want you to stress about coming back to the studio,” 

The relief is palpable between all three of you as Hongjoong takes the stage, and Mingi says, “For a second I was worried you weren’t going to be here,” 

“No, I was just running so late,” You admit. 

“You’ve been okay?” He asks. 

“I am,” You nod, “you both are?”

“Good,” Mingi says. 

“Tired,” Yunho shrugs, and you suppose you can see a little of that in his eyes. 

“Seonghwa said your flights were delayed,” 

“Something like ten hours,” He sighs. 

“Are you sure you’re okay to come back tomorrow already?” You press them, “You’ll be jet lagged,” 

“We’ll be fine,” Yunho smiles a little at your concern, “don’t worry,” 

There’s a pause, a bubbling lull between you, but you can’t keep yourself from saying it, “I really am so glad to see you,” 

“Me too,” Yunho says. 

Mingi nods, but then his eyes flick up and he gestures behind you, “Someone’s looking for you,” 

You check over your shoulder and see Wooyoung lingering nearby and when he catches your eyes he points to his glass and then to you, checking to see if you need another and giving you a smooth out if you need one. You shake your head and turn back to Yunho and Mingi, “I should go,” 

“Okay,” Mingi says. 

You think suddenly if you walk away without making a plan you’ll think of nothing else all night until you can’t sleep, “Saturday,” you blurt out, “are you free?” 

“Yeah,” Yunho says and Mingi nods. 

“Let’s get dinner,” You say it before you can panic and take it back, “you can tell me about tour and I can… I have things I want to tell you,” 

“Just say when and where,” Mingi says, “we’re there.” 

“Okay,” You sigh, “good, perfect,”

You can practically feel Wooyoung hovering at your back and you take a deep breath as you step away, but part of you wishes you could just take Yunho up on his offer to get out of here. 

“y/n,” Yunho smiles a little, stopping you in your tracks, “you look happy,” 

“I am happy,” You tell him honestly. 

“That’s good,” He breathes. 

“Saturday,” You nod, “I’ll catch you both up on Saturday,” 

You see a flicker of something in Mingi’s expression, but then he smiles, “Wouldn’t miss it,” 

You turn before you lose your nerve and run straight into Wooyoung carrying two full glasses of champagne. 

“Everything okay?” He asks, pushing a glass into your hands, some of the bubbling liquid spilling over the sides and over your fingers. 

“Good,” You assure him, tugging him away from the bar and towards the back wall where you can talk to him unobserved. 

“I wasn’t sure if you needed rescuing,” 

“I didn’t,” You tell him, “I was doing fine,” 

“Shit,” He grimaces, “did I fuck up your moment?” 

“No, no,” You shake your head, “we’re meeting on Saturday, I’m going to talk to them then,” 

Something’s a little hurried in his face though, his eyes glancing past you again and again, and you can feel that he’s not exactly present. 

“Woo,” You start but he locks his eyes with yours and cuts you off. 

“I think I just met the love of my life,” He stammers, “I might fucking faint,” 

“What?” You hush him, pressing him back into the wall behind you, “Are you serious?” 

“I’m not going to faint for real,” He swats your hands away, “but I don’t know, y/n, I can’t breathe. My fucking chest is tight,” 

“Holy shit,” You manage. 

“I know,” He nods, “I know,” 

“You’re not close to your heat are you?” You probe him, wondering if you need to make a break for San and Seonghwa. 

“No,” He shakes his head, laying a cool hand on his flushed cheeks, “it’s nothing like that,” 

You nod relieved, “Well, then what happened?” 

“Okay,” He takes a long steadying breath, “you see that guy on stage? The one to the left of Hongjoong?” 

“Choi Jongho?” Your voice spikes up and he shushes you frantically. 

“No, oh my god,” He waves his hand to get your volume down, “he’s engaged, y/n, no, the other one,” 

You look to the left of Jongho and take in the third man on stage. He’s the one who introduced Hongjoong, his voice low and velvety soft. He has long blonde hair that brushes his collar bones, the top half gathered into a messy but chic bun. You can tell from here he’s handsome, devastatingly so, with a cool expression and his lips parted just enough to make you wonder how he kisses. 

“Oh,” You nod, “got it,” 

“Exactly,” He runs a panicked hand through his own hair. 

“He’s an alpha?” You surmise, “Did you catch his scent or,” 

Wooyoung’s shaking his head frantically before he can finish his words, “He’s a beta,” 

You can’t control the surprise in your expression, Wooyoung’s only ever really gone for alphas. It makes sense, most omegas do, considering the hindbrain of it all, but Wooyoung’s looking about as wrecked as you’ve ever seen someone. 

On stage, Hongjoong gestures towards the two men on his left and you switch your focus from Wooyoung’s whining panic to the man addressing the crowd, “I have one more announcement to make tonight,” he says, “something that would not have been possible to announce without Choi Jongho. I don’t think I need to tell you what a talent he is and how lucky we are at KQ to have brought him on. We have a preview of something we’d like to share, once again, something I felt very creatively supported in by Kang Yeosang,”

“That’s him,” Wooyoung hisses next to your ear and you refocus, “Kang Yeosang,” 

“Shh!” You hush him, but by the time you can hear Hongjoong again, he’s moved on to announcing that he’s going to preview Jongho’s new single, and you roll your eyes to refocus on Wooyoung, “So who’s this guy?” 

“Creative director,” He explains quickly, “album art, concepts, the works.” 

“Damn,” You manage. 

“He’s so fucking smart, y/n, you have no idea,” He breathes. 

“So you actually talked to him?”

“Talked to him?” He laughs, “I had his cock down my throat like thirty minutes ago,” 

“Jesus Christ, Wooyoung, that’s too much information,” You smack his arm. 

He rolls his eyes and continues, “We bumped into each other in the hall, like physically bumped into each other. I spilled my drink all down his nice white shirt,” 

The shirt Yeosang is wearing is still crisp white, so you assume there’s more to this story before he even keeps going. 

“I felt like an idiot,” He admits, “pulled him into the bathroom and told him I could fix it right up with a little club soda,” 

“Okay,” 

“He barely said anything at first,” Wooyoung continues, “I was just rinsing his shirt out while he stood there half naked looking like Michalangelo or something,” 

“I don’t think Michaelangelo was very cut,” You smirk. 

“The statute,” He swats you, “you know the one, don’t fuck with me,” 

“Okay, fine, go on,” 

“Anyway,” He sighs, “I was just talking, keeping the conversation going, fucking babbling while I washed out his shirt and then before I knew it he had me pressed up against the mirror with his tongue down my throat,” 

“Wow,” 

“One thing led to another,” He blushes again, “and then we just talked while I finished drying his button down,” 

“Wow, again,” You breathe. 

“I know,” He breathes, “I’ve never felt like this,” 

“Okay,” You squeeze his hand, “but, Woo, this is a good thing,” 

“I know, but I’m kind of fucking terrified,” He admits, “is this how you felt?”

“Pretty much,” 

“It’s awful,” He admits. 

“Tell me about it,” 

The crowd around you starts clapping, the speeches are over, and the men on stage start to head down the side steps to rejoin the crowd as the single begins to play. Everyone in the room is listening attentively to the music except you and Wooyoung. 

“What are you going to do?” You ask him, your voice low. 

“Go home with him,” Wooyoung checks his watch and then presses his untouched glass of champagne into your hands, “I’ve got to go,”

“Whoa,” You shake your head, “are you sure that’s a good idea?” 

“I’m a big boy,” He rolls his eyes again. 

“Text me his number, and his address,” You insist, “and check in with me tomorrow. If you don’t, I’m calling Seonghwa and San.” 

“Oh my god, please don’t do that.” He grimaces, texting you Yeosang’s contact information anyways. 

“Don’t make me,” You tell him. 

“Fine,” 

“Have fun, please be safe,” You’d take his hand, but yours are full of champagne. You hope the genuineness of your expression gets your point across to him. 

“I will,” he promises, “and I’ll call you. We’ll talk all about Saturday too, I just,” 

“I get it,” You nod, “honestly, I do,” 

“Thank you,” His eyes soften, “and please, don’t tell San and Seonghwa. Not yet,” 

“I won’t,” You assure him, “just go, be happy,” 

“You too, okay?” He smiles, “Whatever it is, you do it. You deserve it after all this,” 

Your stomach warms at that, and you know he’s right, you just want to do this the right way for once. Over Wooyoung’s shoulder you see the blonde man in question smoothly cutting his way through the crowd, and you nod towards him, “Get out of here, I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” 

He’s gone without another word, just a rushed smile as he weaves his way towards Yeosang, a bright and beaming grin now on his face. He’s a goner, you can see it clear as day. A brief flickering question passes through your mind of how this might affect his dynamic with Seonghwa and San, but given the way your best friend is lit up from the inside it doesn’t even matter. If you deserve to be happy like that, so does he, however it happens. 

With Wooyoung gone, you take a moment to survey the room, but you can’t find your group anymore. You see people from KQ you recognize, but your normal BB Trippin group is nowhere in sight and Yunho and Mingi are no longer towering over everyone at the end of the bar. You listen to the rest of the new single, something soulful and rooted in R&B just like Hongjoong had described to you all those months ago. 

As you listen to the crooning love song, your mind loops through the encounter with Yunho and Mingi, of every microexpression and you get lost in your plans for Saturday yet again. How you’ll tell them you’re sorry, how you’re ready to move on and to be honest with one another. How much you still want them, that you might love them. 

You don’t know how long you’re standing there by the back wall, thoughts tumbling over what-ifs when you’re brought back to reality. 

“Tough night?” A voice makes you jump, a little more champagne dipping out of your glasses as you turn to the side. 

“Hey, Minseok,” You laugh a little, “you scared me,” 

“Sorry,” He smiles, begging off, “I just meant the two drinks, and you know, hiding in the corner,” 

“Oh,” You shake your head, “no, Wooyoung ran off and stuck me with his glass. Do you want?” You offer it to him. 

“Sure,” He nods, smoothly taking the glass from your hands. 

You take a quick sip from yours and clear your throat softly, “So, enjoying the party?” 

He nods, “It’s nice, but honestly I was just about to get out of here and call it a night,” 

“Me too,” You nod. You’d try to say goodbye to Hongjoong, but he’s been tied up all evening mingling, and without any of your friends in sight it seems as good a time as any to slip out. 

“Let me walk you out,” He offers, plucking the champagne from your fingertips and placing both glasses on one of the nearby side service tables. 

You probably would have finished it, and a flicker of annoyance passes through you, but you let it pass and nod, “Sure,” 

You’re not far from the door, and he organizes grabbing both of your checked jackets as he makes small talk, “Are you taking the train or,” 

“I’ll probably order a car,” You usually do when it’s late like this and you’ve had a few drinks despite the extra cost. 

“Me too,” He nods, passing your jacket over. 

You shrug it on and search for something to say, but Minseok isn’t as forthcoming and chatty as some of the other dancers, “Do you live closeby?” 

“More towards Itaewon,” He zips his jacket and gestures towards the exit doors that will lead you out onto the street. 

“Mm,” You nod, pushing through the doors. 

“You know, we could,” Minseok starts to say, but the minute you step aside you finally see some familiar faces. 

“There you are!” You smile, and your familiar group of dancers turns at your voice. 

Minseok says something else, but you don’t quite catch it and you spin to apologize quickly over your shoulder before rejoining your friends. 

“I thought you left,” San ushers you over to their group. 

“Good timing,” Seonghwa adds, “my car’s not far, you want a ride?” 

“Sure,” You nod, you’ll never turn down a less expensive rideshare. 

Yunho and Mingi are talking with Jaemin at the edge of the group, but you catch Mingi’s glancing eye and give him a smile. It’s impossible to just smooth over your last real conversation with them, but you’re trying to signal in every little way that you want to move past it, that his letter meant something. You’ll lay out the rest for them as soon as you get them alone. 

He smiles back, quickly catching that you’re about to leave and you can see that he wants to step away from the conversation he’s having about some missteps from the tour. 

“Have you seen Wooyoung?” San asks, bringing your attention back. 

“For a second,” You nod, but look away from quickly as you try to tell a vague white lie, “I think he already split,” 

He hums, but then Seonghwa gently taps your back, “Car,” 

“Oh, perfect,” You step with him and turn to the group, “goodnight everyone, see you in the morning!” 

Dahan and San both give quick, small waves. 

“Goodnight,” Mingi says, his conversation stuttering to a pause so he can address you, “see you,” 

“See you tomorrow,” Yunho adds, nodding. 

Your stomach feels like it might flutter right out of your body. 

“I’ll have him drop you first,” Seonghwa says as he helps you into the car, jogging to the opposite side to get in himself. 

As the car pulls away you feel lighter than you have in months, and seeing them again makes everything feel so much more sure. They’re real, they’re back, and they want to see you too. Everything else falls to the side, for once the path forwards is crystal clear. 

[karleksmumskladdkaka]

DIABOLIK LOVERS MORE, BLOOD Prize B-2 Drama CD (Mukami Ver.)

Original Title: DIABOLIK LOVERS MORE, BLOOD B-2賞 ドラマCD(無神Ver.)

Translation: Here! Huge thanks to @otomehonyaku for her hard work ♡ヽ(*´∀｀*)ﾉ

Audio: Here (CD owned by me). Please do not reupload anywhere.

Starring: Ruki Mukami (CV: Takahiro Sakurai), Kou Mukami (CV: Ryōhei Kimura), Yuma Mukami (CV: Tatsuhisa Suzuki), Azusa Mukami (CV: Daisuke Kishio)

Plot: It's Halloween, and Kou wants to have a party! Since costumes are a must for a proper Halloween celebration, he has brought a few home from work, insisting that his brothers wear them for the occasion. While Azusa is happy to go along with Kou's idea, Ruki, and especially Yuma, are less enthusiastic but relent in the face of their brother's stubbornness—something the latter quickly comes to regret.

My Thoughts: As someone who loves both Halloween and the dynamic between the Mukamis, I (unlike Yuma and Yui) enjoyed this one a lot! The CD does a great job showcasing the chaotic and unhinged energy of the younger brothers, while Ruki briefly displays a surprisingly brutal side to his usual snarky remarks. I'll admit that it did make me laugh, which I feel slightly bad for. Poor Yuma, man.

I'm sure that some of you have seen the official art of the brothers in Halloween costumes, but I for one never knew that it was connected to a Drama CD! Much less this particular one, since the costumes the boys are wearing on the disc initially led me to believe that the story would be Alice in Wonderland-related. Like an AU, or a play, or a fever dream of Yui's. But no. The costumes on the art of the disc have no relevance at all to what happens in the story. Ruki is really cute with the rabbit ears and tail though, so I'm not complaining lol.

On a final note, I decided to add the aforementioned Halloween art below the cut, since I figured it'd be a nice inclusion to the post ^^

I hope you all enjoy ( ＾ω＾ )♡

[wololo-01]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MRS. WATER!!!!

Yayyyy!!!! It finally here!! It my girl birthday!!! I'm so happy to finally celebrate Mrs. Water birthday <3

But actually that's not all I really want to celebrate and say.....

Oh boi ok long LOOOONG texts above ( there is Also some swearing so be warned too :'b) ↓

(also sorry for interrupting any of you guys!! For the people I tag, you all can just read the part I mentioned you and then skip all the rest!! <3)

*sigh* ok, I'm not going to lie here, since the last 3 years here in this community, it never crossed my mind that I would meet people as incredible, funny, creative and majestic as everyone here,And I'll tell you the truth, this fandom changed me a lot, I didn't imagine this would happen but look, this actually happened hahaha!! XD

To be honest, I had a lot of problems last year and this year too, a lot of shit happened to me and that really discouraged me in a lot of things,I had problems with my self-esteem again and wanted to give up trying anything and life as well I felt useless on several days but you guys, you all cheered me up so much!! I never had the courage to tell you this but if it weren't because of you all I really don't know what I would do :') everything was like: "No one will ever like my style" - BANG! Them find my style cool. "I made this drawing but I don't really think someone will-” BANG! People actually like it a lot “i made this fanart for them but what if then-” BANG! them like it a lot! I'm so happy! :'D

sorry, sorry kakskaak buuut also, There is actually some special people who I want to thank a lot, they are people who of all inspired me to continue and made me so happy:

@bluetorchsky & @androidcharles

YOU TWO.

Since the first time when I moved in to tumblr again to post my thsc art in a old account, I was scared to death that maybe there was no person who knew this game here and my style back then...jesus Christ"; _;, I was really about to gave up until BOOM!! suddenly you both show up in my notifications and I saw the reblog and read the nice tags you guys leave it AND- *slam table* AHHHHHHHHH/p YOU TWO LITERALLY ARE SOOO FREAKING NICE AND AMAZING!!!! Not only that but your both have such extraordinary creative and talent!! You two deserve so much happiness and love!! I was too shy to say this but now damn you both deserve to hear this!!! >:}

Blue your artwork is pretty!! Pretty like the moon and stars shining high in the sky!, your writing is extremely beautiful, like music on a violin or a piano at night or the ones pretty poems Written with so much passion, your writing is extraordinary! You dedicate yourself so much and manage to make a story seem like a book that you are lucky enough to know and read!! And not only that but your ocs, violin and accordion DANG I love how well written they are so much!! They designs are so great yet sooo fabulous and they storys is very veeeery good and greats!!!. I really hope that you continue with those Masterpieces that you write and draw!!, But not only that, but you are such a kind, spectacular and divine person, I really appreciate soooooo muuuch all the things you do here, your writing is done with so much passion and your art is so unique, Don't feel sad or anything just because you can't write or draw at some point, it's totally fine and you deserve all the time but also ALLL THE LOVE AND APPRECIATION in the world! ^^)

Katiee!!! First of all WHERE DID GET SO FREAKING AMAZING IDEAS AND CREATIVE?!?!!???? I SWEAR YOU ARE AMAZING AND FUNNY!!, sometimes I envy you a little, but I also consider you one of my inspirations!!!! Your art is beautiful, beautiful like a painting of flowers or like a clean and calm river, your style is so cuteeeee Those stick people really look like marshmallows!! I so eat your art!! >:3 (kakak sorry), but seriously you are a talented person too, many people here also like you and blue!! You are neat and I glad to be able meet you and your artwork!! (Also I saw that you also writing and it one about your au, I still need to Taste this new delicious write of you 🍽️) when you did the Toppat clan week YIPPEE I GOT SO EXCITED!!! I was scary to not be able to participate but I managed!! I have so much fun drawing all those stuff!!! The prompt You put it was really good also extremely interesting!!!, and talking about something I love so much your ocs!!! Especially Amelia! She such a cuteee cinnamon roll and a adorable blueberry cake!! I love her personality and the design Ohh ESPECIALLY the hair!! Its like a fluffy blue cotton candy!! You super cool, I really appreciate all the work you do, I hope I can see more, you are a talented, funny and absolutely magnificent person!!! Don't forget this!!! >:]

@capturecharlesau & @crown-of-roses-thsc

YOU BOTH ARE MY TWO FAVORITE AU BLOG HAHSHSHAK SUCH CREATIVE, SWEET AND AMAZING PERSON YOU GUY ARE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Minnie!!, you super cool! Like really you such a cool and amazing person!! You also so sweet and kind!!! You like one of those cool kid in the school who I look like at and said "I wanna be like she!! She so awesome!! Yep, she deserves this popularity, she deserves nothing but the best for all things" In the last year, I was really down by some things that happened, but then I saw some one of the chapter you post it and BOOOM!!! Your au is what brings me back the joy!!! AAAAAA I was so hyped about your au!!! Jesus it just so DAMN WELL writing, I love the ideas you have and the characters?? NAHAHAHA THEM ALSO ARE SOOO FREAKING GREAT you manage to combine the words anguish, violence and comfort in such an incredible way! (And snicker you too do!!) Some of your chapters were thrown out at times when I really needed something to distract me, seriously you are a divinely talented person!! And other things I love about your au is Terrence, I'm still a hater of this piece of crap but I want to praise you so much about how you wrote it!! He really was such a good and badass villain/antagonist!!! God, I've even had some nightmares involving him, he really gave me the chills, The way you wrote it from start to finish was AMAZING, I swear I still love rereading it all again, to me it's like a frollo like the hunchback of Notre Dame with a bit of the personality of Clayton from Tarzan or Ursula from the little mermaid!! (Sorry they all are one of my favorite villains), Another thing I love so much are your ocs! Not only Danny but I can also say allwork and Benz!! AHHH THEM ALL ARE SUCH COOL OCS!!! I also need to say you are amazing when it comes to writing about Characters!! I really wanna know so much more about them all!!, Danny is still my favorite (he so lovely and sweet, he and you deserve the world) but either way, I thankful for you get in this fandom :') you deserve so much loveee and appreciation!! You made wanna go back in training more cartoon styles and expression because of your artstyle who is perfect!!!! I and everyone here will love to see your next works and arts!!! DON'T FORGET WHO FREAKING NICE AND AMAZING YOU ARE!!!!

Snicker!!!! (Hope it okay to call you that)) *sigh*.....

I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE A MEDAL FOR THE BEST AU THAT IS BEING WRITTEN.

Wow, God, how can I put into words in English how good she is??? I won't even be able to describe it in Portuguese CUZ GODDAMN YOU HAVE SUCH A POWER TO WRITE SOMETHING SO GOOOOOD😭😭 think I can say you and have the absolutely talens of god and the creative of a Talented artist who deserves much more appreciation and great recognition!!! When you showed up I was having a few bad days but YOUR AU SUDDENLY FELL FROM THE SKY AND WAS IMMEDIATELY BLESSED TO READ SUCH THE MAGNIFICENT MASTERPIECE!!! I love sooo much the idea of ​​Ellie being Terrence daughter It such a cool and think I can say, a really original ideas (I mean about ellie being Terence daughter, not Terrence having a child "^^) I also adore so much all the personalities of each, RHM is one of my favorites, I'm also curious about his story and the others, I can't forget to talk about the villain!, AAAAAA YOUR TERRENCE IT'S SO NEAT!!! I also still his hater but you done such a good job with him gave the big vibe of two-face villain or the cocky anger issues one (idk what it the name for this one XD) but seriously? Meeen I wish I could could puch him just like rogue from jewel au from @smoresthehalloweenqueen ((Smore you also another of my inspiration and favorite artist!! >:3)) and CC!terrence, for me rogue, CC!Terrence and CoRTerrence are pretty good villains but make Blood boils so much just by seeing them but hey hey! This why I love villains you like them very much but wish them all just die soon (cc!Terrence was one Only these two are missing and I can't wait to see them all in hell ahahaha >:D) you really are spectacular, take the time you need to do the chapters, but I wanna to said that you are also my new Big inspiration!!

@00lari00

LARIIIII FINALMENTE EU TENHO UMA AMIGA BR NESSE FANDOM!!! DEUS É BOM DE DEMAAAAAAAAIS PORRA 🙌🙌

Akaskska sorry XDD but I serious!! I so happy to be the only brazillian person here in the fandom on tumblr!! It sucks sometimes not having someone who speaks the same language as you to talk :'''b but suddenly A SMOKE ARISED AND SUDDENLY FROM BEHIND, WIZARD LARI FINALLY ARRIVED!!! HOORAY!!!! Lari we can not talk to much since you busy with your school and I am a shy idiot but I need to said, HOLY SHIT YOU ARE THE MOST FUCKING COOL PERSON I HAVE HAD THE PLEASURE OF KNOWING, YOUR ART AND CREATIVITY ARE LIKE MAGIC COMING TRUTH!!! And this au you are creating??? É MUITO FODAAAAAA 😩😭🤌🤌🤌 CARALHO VEI TU TA FAZENDO UMA OBRA PRIMA ESPERO QUE VC NÃO PARE!!! É MUITO INCRÍVEL TUDO QUE VC TA FAZENDO!!! (Sorry back to English KAJSKS) I can't lie to you, I sometimes envy you, you are such a special, kind and incredible person. It's like I'm talking like the coolest maid ever and I think 'god they're so cool why they are even talking to me?, but I also see you as one of my big inspirations!! I know I will reach the same level as you in talent and art but I at least want to have some of your courage to talk to people and be good at drawing just like YOUU!!I also want you to remember that you are so wonderful and a very magnificent and awesome person!! Anyone who talk shit about you and one it's a hater because them never gonna be in the same way as you are!!! Also take all the time you need it for draw, study is also important I am here to let you know that I'm rooting for you every day!! I can see you Gonna have a bright and wonderful future, thank you for being my friend and also so being my inspiration

And now a really special one...a person who I am very very grateful...

@doodlethings

Bunnu?, omg I think I will cry (I already am since I'm writing all this) YOU. HOLY SHIT BUNNU I SWEAR HOW DARE YOU BE THE COOLEST, AMAZING, SENSATIONAL, WONDERFUL, KIND, AMAZING PERSON??? WHAT THE FUCK, I WISH I COULD GIVE YOU THE FUCKING WORLD, GIVE YOU EVERYTHING YOU DESEVE IT AND MORE THAN THE WORLD CAN OFFER TO YOU, In fact, how long have we been glued to each other? Type 4?? 5?? Or 6 years?? Oof time passed so quickly I lost count ;_; but well fuck it! The most important thing I want want to said is, YOU ARE SUCH DIVINE ARTIST AND WRITER!!! YOUR ART IS AS WONDERFUL AS A LIVING PAINTING A MUSE PAINTING, And this art deserves to be featured, every detail of it is so impeccable and incredible, and your writing? They are like a special, treasured book that deserves to be read, even if no one does, I will, I will appreciate your art and I will read your stories for the rest of my life, again and again and again, You are like a sunshine or flowers in the snow, you are my bestie, my favorite person in the world!! And you are my biggest inspiration to continue drawing, you have cheered me up all these years and continue to this day, you have the best sense of humor and music of all, your gave so wanna tips and help me a lot to deal with live and learn to love and appreciate more the things!! If wasn't because of you? Geez I really don't know but this doesn't matter, you are the best, intelligence and great yet sweetly and maravilinda person in this WHOOOOOLE WORLD!!! I LOVE YOU!! THANK YOU FOR BEING MY BEST FRIEND AND BE AND TALK WITH ME TO THIS DAY, I'm sorry about my horrible sense of humor, my delulu theories, lack of brain cells and Also because they heard the stupidest story I tell it ksskskajk you got a bored dumb friend :'b but I happy to be on your side until now and I can't wait to see you shine more <'3

Oh and for the people I didn't tag and said here

I'm sorry I can't tag all of you 😭😭 if tag more people here this post will be post only a few weeks later akajsj BUT DON'T THINK JUST BECAUSE I DIDN'T TAG YOU GUYS IT MEAN I FINDA ANY OF YOU SO NEAT AND AMAZING!!! YOU GUYS SUPPORT AND LOVE THAT YOU ALL GAVE ME HAVE A SPECIAL PLACE IN MY HEART!!! A LOT (almost everyone) OF YOU ARE ALSO MY INSPIRATIONS!!! YOU LOVE EVER BLOG, DRAW, THEORY, WRITINGS AND AUS THAT YOU ALL DO!!! KEEP SHINING AND GOING EVERYONE CUZ YOU GUYS ARE FABULOUS 💞💞💞 💅 I WANNA SUPPORT AND LOVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!!! YOU GUYS DESERVE A LOOOOOOOOOOOT OF MORE THAN I CAN OFFER AND SAID DO NEVER FORGET WHO COOL AND BEAUTIFUUUUUUL YOU ALL ARE!!!! 🗣️📢

You knows? Today also is my birthday and there is It's a tradition in Brazil where, when someone has a birthday, after congratulations and lighting the candles, the person gives the first piece of cake to someone important, but all of you are important to me soooo...Since this is the internet not real life, I wanna pass several first pieces to each of you all!!!! SO GRAB ONE GUYS!!! NYEHEHEHEHEHE 🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰 >:DDD

Well this all I can actually said, happy birthday again Mrs. Water and Happy birthday to me!!

Also have I got this stupid idea her ajakskdkk xb

[lrlamauthor]

Hey there, I really liked Dragonfall and I've seen you tell people on here that the best way to help support the book is to leave a review! I'm really new to giving book reviews and was wondering if there were specific places to review that would help the most. I have recommended it to my friends, but I don't really have any social media reach. Dragonfall made a setting that made it feel like somewhere I could actually belong and I love the slow gradual pace of it and all the little details I give. But yes, best places to give a book review for Dragonfall?

Hello, thanks for asking. Helpful places: - Retailer websites like Amazon, B&N, Waterstones, Bookshop.org, Audible, places like that. - Review websites like Goodreads, Fable, or Storygraph, romance.io Obviously, posting all those places would be a lot, so the top 3 most helpful are probably Amazon, Goodreads, and Storygraph.

In its initial release, I kept pitching it as 'sexy dragons' and certain retailers also sometimes positioned it as a fast-paced, spicy romantasy. But I don't think it aligns enough with romantasy subgenre expectations, in retrospect. I've since tried flagging that it's more epic fantasy with romance, experimental narrative positions, etc, but it's still hard to know how to best help it find its readers. It's a fundamentally weird thing, to release a piece of art, which is such a vulnerable act, and have it graded on a 5 star scale. To feel like the average rating is somehow its final grade, even though that's not how art works, especially in our current culture war, and negative reviews can still convince readers to pick up a book, too. But I've always written to connect, and I struggled with feeling misunderstood for most of 2023 and a good chunk of 2024. I know an author's personal social media doesn't really move the needle, per se, but it is also getting harder to get the word out about my books directly. And as soon as you put in the work to establish a platform and wrangle with the whims of algorithms, it gets banned (TikTok) or becomes unsafe (Twitter, Meta, and even here on Tumblr). I don't look at reviews directly anymore, but sometimes a friend goes in and sends me some anonymised nice quotes. It's a gift when I get a reader message. It bolsters me because I know there are those out there who get what I'm trying to do without me having to compromise my voice or the way I like to tell stories. People can be so very loud with their hatred, it sometimes risks drowning out the love.

I'm feeling a lot better here in 2025, which is why I'm sharing this. There's so much to be grateful for and to look forward to, both for the Dragon Scales series and re-releasing my debut series later in the year. And I am really happy (and relieved) that so far, those who liked Dragonfall seem to love Emberclaw, too.

TLDR: Word of mouth, online or offline, is magic. Readers have the power to keep series alive.

I'll leave you with the dedication I put at the start of Emberclaw (out March 4th or 6th): "To the readers who told me Dragonfall and The Lumet did feel like home. It meant and means the world to me." -Lx

[andromeddog]

Hi! Thank you for responding to my previous ask about helmets during wwi. I was also just wondering if u have any tips for drawing hair? this is for working on art in general and not a project. i have tried to use references and sketches a bunch, have practiced a ton, but it is still difficult. i was just wondering if u have any tips for drawing hair, esp male hair? thank you!!

oh wow anon hi again, coming in hot w an interesting question bc i genuinely don’t think ive ever consciously considered or examined the way to draw hair/the way i draw hair…. (apologies in advance this got really long)

ig first of all when u mention “male hair” u mean short hair? given the men i draw r p much all historical military dudes they tend to have short short hair so im going to assume u mean that (bc i know men w very luscious locks.) drawing it is something that took me a while to get used to…… when i was into golden kamuy my fave had a buzzcut and i was struggling to find someway to showcase that without it looking like a helmet (i started to figure it out towards the end) i think the big balance there is trying to manage level of detail. w some styles u rly dont need much (buzzcut is mostly about hairline and shape of the head, i break up the smooth silhouette by adding a few lines to suggest that it’s fuzzy or spikey) and others require way more attention (wavy/curly hair comes in a variety of shapes so figuring out the specific curl pattern ur going for is crucial, fine line between showing that accurately and just making a bunch of visual noise)

(also also this is just a fact of the media im into and to b completely honest w myself and you - we’re talking mostly white dudes here in this specific post, this is not a catch all for any hair type but esp more curly/coiled hair textures. i would recommend seeking out artists of color who have more experience w that bc i do b drawing a lot of white guys! and they are not the only type of guy!)

genuinely hair can feel like more of an obstacle for me, slowing down the process for what i would rather be drawing (uniforms) so im always stoked when i can just draw a helmet (sometimes, as previously established helmets r also my mortal enemy). often times ill start with the face but skip everything above the forehead until the very end of the line art, which leaves behind a very silly looking half decapitated soldier (there’s no tip here, just a weird quirk in how i go through a piece lolll) hair on its own is usually delicate and ive never once in my life been able to render something delicately, so thank god for gross war dudes who’s hair is messy enough for my style to finally make sense

IN GENERAL…..watch out when doing the lines, you don’t need to include EVERY single hair or EVERY single lock, blank space can imply they’re there and trying to capture every single centimeter of hair can be too much in the finished product. this is something i suffer from and have talked a bit about BUT it especially rears its head (lol) when drawing hair. i just get too lost in details and then i zoom out and have an insanely dense area of detail right on top of the head that distracts from everything else below it (aka basically all the stuff i WANT to showcase). the eye will automatically b drawn to that spot and no matter how nice the rest of the drawing is ppl will b more focused on whatever the fuck i did w the hair… being frivolous w lines in general can look good when zoomed in but when zoomed out can just make the whole piece…… busy

idk if i have “tips” so much as kind of a reference for how i would go about drawing hair…. here r some examples of hair i’ve drawn that i think dont suck complete ass with a wee bit of analysis. u can tell my absolute fav thing to do is put a lot of detail right where the hair meets the forehead- idk why i just think it makes that intersection more visually appealing.

when im beginning to draw hair i start w the head shape and where approximately the hairline is. then i kind of block off the general shape of the hair on top of that- getting an accurate idea of the boundaries and being able to fill in the details within that space. i try to identify the big “chunks” of hair, the major shapes/flow within the entire shape itself. longer/thicker lines segment those, and then i can fill in that space w shorter/lighter lines to show more detail (if im using a brush w line weight, if im doing mono line i feel my style skews more simple to make up for the lack of line weight)

the next step is a slightly more cleaned up version, getting a better idea of the silhouette and general hair direction. then its lines! and i spend 3 million years destroying my wrist and trying to make sense of earlier sketches…. esp w curly hair oh my god. truthfully i’m still trying to find a balance between “too much” and “not enough” when it comes to curls. again, i have a tendency to go overboard with detail!

also this is a personal plea, but if that hairline is receding, PLEASE for the love of god make sure to include that hairline receding. the hairline is one of those little things that can really help capture likeness; getting it wrong will result in a certain “off-ness” that can make u confused or frustrated as to why this guy doesn’t look quite right. u can also get one of those weird style conflicts where ppl who usually draw younger “””attractive””” men try to draw an older one and it’s very clear they r unwilling to do anything to make the older man look another other than like, 25. (or, from their perspective, unattractive) (i could get up on my soapbox about ppl’s unwillingness to even consider drawing features that aren’t like iphone face hot but that’s my hot take and no one asked) one thing i personally strive for in my work is an accurate depiction, or as close as i can manage w my skills being where they are, so i push that hairline back and i do it will all the love in my heart

ALL OF THIS TO SAY…… idk. this is just my general process, what i’ve been doing and what works for me. maybe it doesn’t make sense or won’t work for you. i will b the first to admit hair is not my strongest skill! i will also b the first to admit my work in general is far from perfect, i have a lot to learn in p much any and all conceivable ways!! but i hope this small novel helped even a little???? anyway have a great day anon mwah mwah mwah 💕✨🦆

[squawk-chatterbox]

Hello hello!

I’m Squawk, I can draw, look at this art! I’m struggling to figure out what exactly to say here, hah, but super cool to be here.

First post on Tumblr wahoo!

Alright, not really, because I had an account before this with a grand total of four-ish posts and a couple reblogs which I started…last year? Not sure, I didn’t exactly scrutinize the thing before I drove a wrecking ball through it. I’d like to tell you that I forgot about my first blog because life happened and my muse was shattered or some other soulful reason, and that would make for such a nice narrative, but alas that’s not the case.

The truth is more like “I was too lazy to log in and post stuff and apparently tumblr just got an update or something and everyone says it’s more confusing and OF COURSE I could install the app to make posting things more convenient but then I’d have to open my phone, click on the app store, type the individual letters T-U-M-B-L-E-R, realize it’s wrong, backtrack, install the app, log into the app, and ughhhhh so much work!”

And THEN my muse was shattered and I forgot about it.

But finally, after what was probably approximately a year, I have done it! I’ve installed tumbler I- I mean, tumblr. I pat myself on the back and hope this one also doesn’t die because I do actually want to make myself a little corner of the internet online outside of instagram (Because I don’t really like instagram much anyhow).

I have a blog now!

Probably just going to drop art here, for the most part.

I did learn the workings of this platform a while ago, but my memory is about as solid as air and most of my knowledge has evaporated, so it’s time to ride the learning curve again!

[a-halo-for-you]

Grishaverse Tribute

I'm pissed. I'm vengeful. I'm going to march on Netflix.

The cancellation is uncalled for, now all we will see in return for the snubbing of one of the best series on Netflix, with one of the best fandoms, cast and creators another stupid documentary glorifying a serial killer, another shitty teen show with no plot but plenty of sex (because sexualizing children will be something they always get away with), and another over-marketed pointless action film with some former boxer or wrestler leading it who can't really act more than one type of nice-buff guy.

In my mournful and restless vengeful spirit, I have come up with another playlist dedicated to the Grishaverse, the fans, the cast and Leigh Bardugo. This breaks their hearts so much because we know how excited and passionate they were about telling this story, and to think now so many won't be able to go on and live their beloved characters through to the end. I can't stand it.

"None of this had been fated; none of it foretold. There had been no prophecies of a demon king or a dragon queen, a one-eyed Tailor, Heartrender twins. They were just the people who had shown up and managed to survive. But maybe that was the trick of it: to survive, to dare to stay alive, to forge your own hope when all hope had run out. For the survivors then, Zoya whispered to herself as the people before her knelt and chanted her name. And for the lost." - Leigh Bardugo, Rule of Wolves

I got to dream through them, Shadow and Bone saved my Covid years, when I was alone in a dorm learning online, unable to be with anyone else, with no friends and no family. I had little to no confidence and was stuck in a place that scared me. But then I had Shadow and Bone, I had these amazing characters and when I dove into the books, I found so much more. (A found family is my favourite literary trope for a reason.)

“Kaz leaned back. "What's the easiest way to steal a man's wallet?" "Knife to the throat?" asked Inej. "Gun to the back?" said Jesper. "Poison in his cup?" suggested Nina. "You're all horrible," said Matthias." - Leigh Barugo, Six of Crows

This is a playlist for all of us who are mourning and for all of us willing to fight on. I've seen petitions already posted on change.org, lets sign them all, share them all and try our best to change this while we can. Warrior Nun got their season 3. Who says we can't? Who says we shouldn't? Brick by Brick we will build our season 3, or we'll go down trying.

“Have any of you wondered what I did with all the cash Pekka Rollins gave us?" "Guns?" asked Jesper. "Ships?" queried Inej. "Bombs?" suggested Wylan. "Political bribes?" offered Nina. They all looked at Matthias. "This is where you tell us how awful we are," she whispered.” - Leigh Bardugo, Crooked Kingdom

Pardon the ecclectic taste of this long playlist, but there are so many types of song that I feel fit the plot, the charcaters and themes as well as their relationships to each other. This has sparked inspiration in me to create more playlists catering to the Grishaverse and I'll do that alongside my usual playlist posts.

I would also like to say that this playlist isn't just mine, it's for everyone and I would love for any fans of the show or books to let me know if they have any songs that they love to be added to the playlist and I will do so.

There are over 60 songs on this playlist, so I'm not going to write them all here for obvious reasons, I hope none of you mind that.

For our founding mother Leigh Bardugo. For the Six of Crows; Kaz Brekker, Inej Ghafa, Jesper Fahey, Wylan Van Eck, Nina Zenik, Matthias Helvar. For our S+B crew; Alina Starkov, Malyen Oretsev, The Darkling, Baghra Morotzova, Nikolai Lantsov, Zoya Nazyalensky, Genya Safin, David Kostyk, Tolya Yul-Bataar, Tamar Kir- Bataar, Nadia and Adrik Zhabin.

Let the revival of Season 3 be our final grand mission.

Lets stream the show, post more art, more fanfics, more posts, more petitions. Let's fight for what we can.

No Mourners, No Funerals.

'Yuyey sesh'

'Ni weh sesh'

[salchat]

Do you have an Ao3 account? I love your art, and you mentioned you were working on a fic in one of your posts and I would love to read some!!

Yes, I do! I'm easy to find because I'm Salchat there too! But here's a link...

The fic I'm working on at the moment is based (roughly) on Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, and my gosh, I'm having so much fun with it! It's my first venture into the omegaverse because I really wanted that dynamic and I'm loving it!

It's also the first time I've rough-drafted and written scenes out of order - I usually hone and refine as I go. But this is sprawling in all directions. There's a lot written - maybe 70,000 words? - but still a lot to write. I can’t post any yet because details keep changing. Although, I could give you a snippet, couldn’t I?

Here's part of chapter 1. I've hijacked Mrs Butters and had to make her rather unpleasant. Dean is her hired omega companion (not in a sexy way) and they're staying at a hotel vaguely in the South of France.

A gust of warm, savoury air and a swell of noise at his back announced the opening of the kitchen door. Dean hunched forward so he didn’t get a tray dumped on his head. But the waiter was one of the more agile. He swerved around Dean, hung a right and brought the tray down in a sweeping arc, perfectly timed to present its load to the occupant of the next table - who looked up at his meal and smiled.

And okay, yeah, it was a nice-looking hamburger. Normally it would have had Dean transfixed, salivating with envy. But it wasn’t the juicy patties and shiny, domed bun that brought Dean’s mind, his heart, his every-fucking-thing to a juddering halt.

Dean hadn’t seen the ocean until he was fifteen. Before that it had been one dusty town after another, Dad dragging him and Sammy around like unwanted baggage. But when a job had finally taken them to the coast, it’d been like all the heat and grime was washed away by that fresh, salty air. And the colours in that huge ocean had taken his breath away.

It was the same now. The drab, grey despair that made up Dean’s life was suddenly gone, and his world was full of ocean blue depths in the eyes of this strange alpha – strange but gorgeous, from his eyes to the soft bow of his lips to the commanding strength of his nose.

Dean was heartily glad of his over-powdered cheeks. Fuck, what was he thinking, blushing over some rich alpha who wouldn’t look at Dean once, let alone twice? He really needed to get a hold of himself.

But the way that guy was looking at the burger was like he hadn’t eaten in years. The shadows beneath his cheek bones looked sharper than they should, and beneath his eyes too - little round ridges of dark cast by the bright chandeliers above them. This alpha needed burgers and plenty of them. Dean’s skin itched with the need to cook and cosset and caress, and Jesus fucking Christ, he was really losing it here, wasn’t he? Really giving into his inner lapdog who just needed an alpha to boss him around to be happy.

The waiter flickered across Dean’s vision again and Mr Novak was left alone to enjoy his hamburger. He picked up his knife and fork and raised them. Which was a thing you did, Dean supposed, in a high-class dining room. You ate a burger with a knife and fork. But then the alpha's forehead crinkled into the suggestion of a frown. He shook his head. His rounded lips flattened into a tiny smile. He put down his silverware. And he picked up the burger in both hands.

“Close your mouth, Dean.” Mrs B’s spoon scraped her bowl, chink, chink, chink, even though there was hardly any of the creamy sauce left.

Dean closed his mouth. Then his eyes returned to the table over her shoulder. Mr Novak hadn’t taken a bite. He was still holding his hamburger in two hands, staring at it like he’d found the Holy Grail.

Then his eyes flicked up and fastened onto Dean’s. Dean should look down. He should drop his eyes like the shitty little omega-nothing that he was. Instead he stared into the ocean.

And Mr Castiel Novak smiled at him. Just a little smile. Barely there before it was gone, and then he was chowing down on his meal, all his attention on his food, his eyes closing as he chewed his first mouthful, then opening again to get a load of the burger cross-section he’d created. Did it have pickle, Dean wondered? Mayo, cheese, the works? Would he bite down through the whole lot, getting all the flavours in at once, in between those perfect pink lips? And was Dean salivating over the man or the burger?

He was looking at Dean again. Looking and smiling and nodding as if they were having an actual conversation about how great hamburgers were in general and this one in particular.

“Dean!”

A sharp pain on his knuckles brought Dean’s attention snapping back to his employer.

“Dean! Bridge! The Spanish drawing room!”

“Yes, ma’am. Sorry, ma’am.” Bridge. Of course it was time for bridge. His world closed in with an almost audible snap. Bridge was played at eight o’clock sharp every night and Dean and Mrs B were there, every single night; she to play and gossip and drink sherry, he to sit in a corner and try not to exist too loudly until he was needed.

He pushed his chair back, clumsily, and was sworn at by a passing waiter.

“Dean!”

Jeez. He wasn’t the one who’d sworn, was he?

“Yes, ma’am.” He rounded the table and pulled out his employer’s chair and collected up her purse and her wrap. And he didn’t even glance over his shoulder to the most perfect alpha he’d ever seen, as he followed her to another evening of excruciating dullness in his excruciatingly dull life.

[viperwhispered]

Funny fic idea:

Some RSA prince has a crush on the reader/MC. Being a princeTM, he automatically assumes its a damsel in distress situation. He notices they spend a lot of time at Scarabia and once again assumes that his beloved must be dating that horrible villain Kalim. After all, if he's at NRC he must be evil no matter how good his hospitality skills are. Cue him going to confront Kalim in a contest for the reader's hand in marriage.

Cut to Kalim, post-chapter 4, and no longer as oblivious. He's confused at the open hostility but quickly puts it together. Kalim is about to explain that the so-called damsel is dating Jamil but he stops himself. If he corrects him, then he's just gonna go harass Jamil and he can't have that. So Kalim jokingly accepts the challenge, neither confirming nor denying his relationship with the reader. He sends Jamil off with a list of errands to keep him out of Scarabia (said "errands" include hug your beloved, kiss your dearest, cuddle them, etc).

To combat this threat, Kalim connects with his inner Scarabia student and unlocks his full powers as a professional nuiscence. You see, all NRC students have to pick up certain skills to survive in their respective dorms. Ever since the overblot, Kalim has been perfecting the Scarabian art of fire starting and then acting surprised when shit blows up.

Cue Kalim dragging the RSA prince in a wild goose chase all over NRC while constantly bombarding him with a much more aggressive form of Scarabian hospitality and dialing his energy levels from 10 to 20.

The rest of the dorm and even the school is joining in because 1.Fuck RSA 2.It's the only time the teachers would let them get away with it. Also for Scarabia, their port-CH4 motto is "Happy Jamil, happy Scarabia" (just because their dorm mates doesn't mean they're spared from a good roasting).

Meanwhile, Jamil spends a nice time with his beloved and silently thanking Kalim for the day off. Grim is being babysat by ADeuce, so maybe they finally got enough time for netflix and chill, who knows?

I'm starting to feel like I really should spend more time thinking about Kalim's personality and reading his stories so I could give some proper thoughts to these - I'm really not so confident when it comes to my understanding of him (another reason why Kalim is more of a background character in my fics so far).

Like yes he's the sweet sunshine boy but all these characters are too multidimensional for just the surface reading to be all there is.

I do absolutely love this idea, tho. I don't even know how deliberate Kalim would need to be about this. Like, I could also see him going in with good intentions and not much else, yet his earnestness and enthusiasm being enough to carry him through in the end. 

Plus I can totally see Kalim throwing himself in harm's way for Jamil. How appreciated that would be… well, that’s another thing altogether, isn’t it? And like, whether Jamil would be able to actually chill, knowing all this is going on… Well, that'd require a lot of unlearning of old habits for him, I wouldn't hold my breath. But hey, I'm sure we can help him relax a bit. 

I do also wonder how Jamil would feel about being pushed aside in this situation. Would he feel glad not having to deal with it? I suppose, since it's Kalim doing it, Jamil wouldn't at least take it as so much of a slight for Jamil's ability to handle the situation. Like, say what you will about these two, but I'm sure Jamil knows just how highly Kalim regards Jamil's abilities.

It would be such chaos, tho, and the whole NRC would absolutely be all over it. Some to help you out, some for Jamil or Kalim’s sake, most just for the chance to stick it up for this pompous RSA prince.

And in the end RSA prince comes to the conclusion that Kalim is actually as sweet as he looks and actually maybe Kalim is the one who needs to be saved from NRC (and might be a most eligible match, too). 

Cue Jamil's mixed feelings of a) possibility of respite from Kalim but b) not being able to just let him get “kidnapped” without consequences.

Also that line of “Scarabian art of fire starting and then acting surprised when shit blows up”... If that ain’t Jamil in book 4 to a T. Wonderfully put.

[titleknown]

PD MONTH CHARACTER: KAMMI AMALTHEA

Uh... hi. Is this thing on? I'm not much for words. It was Misshroom's idea to do this, I'm sorry if I'm not good at this.

I think I'll begin with... where I started. I was born in a lab. My mother was... well, she was a unicorn. Four legs, hooves, more hair than me. I know, it sounds strange, sorry.

My first memory is trying to hug her and her just... recoiling away. I remember that happening a lot. I... it's hard to not remember it clearly. I was fed and clothed in the lab. Sometimes there were people there who were nice to me, a few of them taught me stuff. Most of them weren't. There were lots of tests, some of them had knives, acid, poison, fire, a lot of other stuff. Some of them were at the same time. They couldn't really sedate me so I... well, I don't really want to talk about it. If that's okay.

I remember other people... like me, sorta, there. They didn't seem to have it much better. That poor phoenix girl. I think it was her who started the fire that got us out. I hope she's doing well, wherever she is. I almost didn't make it, but... mom, saved me. She'd never let me hug her, never wanted me to get close to her. But even after it all, she saved me. But she didn't make it...

After that... it's a blur. I picked up the mask a little after I think. People in the lab always said my face was bad, so it was nice to have something like that. I mostly lived on my own. I think I scared people. Some of the folks on the team found me, and... I think they liked me enough.

I can do some... neat things. I can heal, really, really good. I got real strong because of that. Real real strong. I can heal other people, make them stronger, do things more. They like that. I can help people now. People like me. People who're hurt, afraid, trapped. I can save them.

And... it's nice. People like me now. They think I'm neat. I'm happy, I think.

-----------------------------------------------------------

So, I am finally getting to work on the PD month character profiles! There's 4 more in the pipe, along with a couple surprises unrelated to that heroine group (Who I'm calling the Freak Legionnaires) that I think you'll appreciate.

To add a bit of context to her story, I imagine the program creating her as being a part of a broader "family" of programs that are this setting's equivalent to Weapon Plus from Marvel or the Cadmus Project from DC, known as Project Alphabet, usually themed after a letter; albeit one that often takes on double meanings or expanded/extra ones later.

The one she's from is Project M, which means both Magic and Moreau, meant to create hybrids of magical creatures/magical objects and humans under governmental control. Another character of mine, Boss McGlade (Who's under CC-BY and badly needs new art), was under Project Q (for Quickening), meant to create whole armies (Which tracks if you know about her powers)

One of McGlade's back fetuses was what was shoved into that unicorn to grow Kammi, which would be... awkward if they ever met. 

Also, fun fact, the first project of Project M was that they captured an angel, chained it up and imprisoned it in a government bunker, and then started taking its blood and injecting it into monkeys. And apes

And yes, this is how a lot of the Silver Age-y goofy monkey characters in this setting would've originated. This includes a chimpanzee that pilots a giant robot by riding into the head on what looks like a big stupid circus penny-farthing bicycle.The robot is called Big Top.

Also, I did a sketch of her face under that mask, which I put on because... well, I couldn't get DAZ to make her unmasked face not look deep in the uncanny valley. That's always kind of a problem with that software. 

But her face isn't that bad, she just has low self-esteem:

And yes, I post all this information, design, ect under a CC0 Public Domain License! Have fun and don't touch that dial, because there's more coming!

:EDIT: Bonus fun fact, also PD, she was given her name by Misshroom (She never had one in the lab) and it's a mix of both Kamen Rider and Cammy from Street Fighter for the first part (Because thematic similarities) and Amalthea from The Last Unicorn (Because Misshroom loves movies)

[avopumpkin]

Ask exchange yay <3

Which characters are your favorite to draw/write about? Or maybe which character would you like to draw/write about in the future? :3

I like this question <33

I will mention some of my OCs here as well, but unfortunately I won't be able to provide with good pics with them because I have a new phones and I have only weird screenshots on my SD card. Hope it'll be fine <33

1. My pony OC Sue! (Full name Susanne Zoe)

I really love her. She's with me for over 10 years now. A few years ago she also finally got some lore, so I love her even more. <3 She got a younger sister Zoe, but I'm still working on her design, but it's not about her now.

I have an image of her from one fantasy challenge, and unfortunately it's just a screenshot, not a full art. Maybe some day I'll post some of her art I made! (Though I mostly draw for other people except myself, so I don't have much art of my OCs that I made :< )

2. My second favourite to draw is my OC Felicja! I love her so much!!! <33

I'm still working on her lore, but she got a beautiful girlfriend and works at Carrefour and occasionally as a maid. B)

Felicja (on the left) with @goldyluna 's OC Raven (on the right) made with some help of the base. <3

(People usually ignore it, but she got a red eyeliner and a little bit lighter red eyeshadow)

3. I want to finally finish my Naruto OC Hikari. I already got base colours but got no motivation. 😩 And I'd love to write her backstory, but it'll take a long time. But I hope that some day everything will be finished, so I can draw her more. <3

I spent a lot of time on a fullbody, but I'll share her headshot for now. <3

There's still a possibility that I will change some colours and maybe add some things, but I'm showing her anyway. <3

4. Shin Tsukimi!!! Maybe I don't like to draw his beanie and the dots on his scarf, but I actually like to draw his hair. His hair is soooo nice to draw. I don't know how to explain it, I just like how I move my hand while drawing him.

5. I want to draw Iris from The Witcher III: Hearts of Stone DLC. She's a very pretty woman and her story is so sad. :( I was crying a lot while progressing this DLC.

Characters I want/like to write about:

1. I want to write about Naruto.

I have an idea for an AU where Naruto joins ANBU. And I know other people wrote about it already, but I have my own idea and Goldy said it's a nice thing, so I want to try in the future because I think no one has ever written a story like this before. But I'll leave more details to myself, so nobody accidentally takes the idea from me. <3

2. I like to write Stardew Valley things, even though I only wrote about Sebastian and now I'm trying to finish my One-Shot about Leo. So let's say I want to write about Leo. I hope this part will motivate me to finish it.

3. I want to write more about Sebastian from Stardew Valley. I like his character.

4. I want to write about YTTD Sara. I have a really nice idea for an AU but I still have a lot to prepare. But I already love how the story might go, so I'm excited to work on it!! <3

[junjunjunko]

Hai haven't been on tumblr much lately but I finally managed to catch up woth everything I think ( ´∀｀ )b

Are you ok? D: I saw you've been sick for seemingly some time and there were some anon comments with just.. a lot of hate?? It was so weird seeing something like that. Your art is definitely not just "fetishization", your art DOES have variation, and a lot of it. If some people can't see or notice that, they're obviously just not focusing on the art itself, and moreso the bigger picture.

Your designs are peak too D: your designs are some of my favorite ones along dol community, I'm much interested in dol anymore but checking up on your art or seeing it appear on my timeline still managed to make me happy, that's just how much I enjoy it 🫶

But really, I hope you're doing well recovering! Both from some ignorant people and a sickness (if you're not already healed SOB)!!

And a kind of blurry picture of one of my kitties since you seem to like them too:3

It's really nice and sweet of you to ask! Also, welcome back!

Personally I don't see much variation in my own art which is a struggle but I appreciate it, I still however want to improve further.

I have gotten better, thankfully, although I cannot say the same about my mental health as college has taken a great toll on my whole year and, I hope I can switch college. It's really difficult although I already prepared the papers to leave it for another one. ( I would rather not talk about my mother's thoughts on it, but I must say they did really have impact on how I'm currently feeling too. )

Other than that, I'm neutral - the only reason why I haven't been posting is because of the classes and, of course, commissions. Hopefully I can finish them soon to give myself an actual proper break.

Once again, thank you for your concern. ヾ(•ω•`)o Oh and, I love ur cat btw it looks very polite.

[darkstarofchaos]

A Year in Review

Just watched a video about recontextualizing productivity by looking at what you've done over a long period instead of day to day, and you know what? I spend a lot of time feeling like I'm wasting time instead of doing things. So sure, let's look back over the last year and see what actually got done. No particular order, just accomplishments.

After two years of struggling with a computer science degree, I switched majors to art and design and went from struggling to pass my classes to my first ever term of all A's and B's. Among the classes I took last year were an improv class, which I enjoyed so much more than I'd expected to, and a 2D game design class, which. Well, I technically had a playable character, an item to collect, and an enemy to avoid at the end of it, but I hesitate to call it a game. It was a good learning experience, though.

I joined a few fandom events and projects. Among them was the TF Reverse Mini Bang, which... Led into a long-term project that has consumed my fic life since May, and I have gone back and forth between having so much fun and regretting my choices because my ADHD hates focusing on one project and ignoring all the others for so long, but I also ended up posting fic regularly for a few months because of it, so blegh. That's a whole thing and it's complicated and I badly need to figure out a balance between things I need to do and things I want to do, because taking breaks from the "should"s is important.

Oh yeah, and I got diagnosed with ADHD. And autism along with it. That was a big accomplishment that dominoed into getting set up with a primary care provider for the first time in my life. Also discovered that you can have Seasonal Affective Disorder in the summer, which might explain why summer is consistently my least productive season for writing, and why I just have no energy or motivation. Probably made worse by the autism, because summer comes with so many unpleasant sensory experiences, and I'd much rather bundle up under a weighted blanket and listen to the rain. All of which sounds pretty negative for an accomplishments rundown, but now that I know it might be a problem, I can try to accommodate it. So that's good.

I took an audiobook class in the spring and learned that kind of helped me push through my discomfort with talking to myself. More importantly, I learned a few things about taking care of my voice and using it in a healthy way, which means I've finally broken out of head voice/falsetto while singing. Which is great because singing is a stim I've been trying to indulge more, and it's more enjoyable without the strain and feeling like I've swallowed cotton afterward.

Now I just need to figure out how to strengthen my speaking voice so people can stop blaming my masks for their inability to hear me. Which ironically means unmasking, because I'm pretty sure the default social voice is an autism masking thing. I'd hoped wearing earplugs more often would naturally lead to that because I'd be trying to hear myself, but nah.

On the other hand, the earplugs probably help. Got a nice pair with holes in the center so I can still hear people while muffling background noise. I didn't think I had a problem with general noise outside of classes where I'm trying to think, but dang do I notice it when I'm not wearing them now.

Oh yeah, and I learned that tedious reading is easier for me when it's in audio form. It's not foolproof because some speakers are terrible to listen to, but if I can get a schoolbook in audio form, I'll take that over reading it myself any day.

My various classes mean that I've begun to learn some Adobe programs. Which is eh because Adobe sucks, but they're good skills for employability. So sure, I'll count that as an accomplishment.

I rigged my first model in Blender. Sort of. It has the deform rig, but I never got around to adding the control rig. Really need to go back and finish that.

Honestly, it's been more a year for self-discovery and learning than actually making things. Which isn't a bad thing at all, because that's information I can apply moving forward. Especially now that I've changed degrees to something that I'm actually enjoying.

Now I just need to get the darn executive disfunction out of my way.

[softguarnere]

The Devil's In The Details

Anyways, another week, another unsolicited Chiara fic that no one asked for, but that I was all too ready and willing to provide. And I actually remembered to post it here and on AO3, since apparently Christmas miracles do exist Below the cut, if anyone wants it :)

In Chiara’s defense, she’s unfamiliar with Hell’s Kitchen because she only just moved to the city and hasn’t exactly had the time to go exploring outside of Queens. Not with track practice, this whole hero sidegig, and now being recruited for the academic decathlon team since Peter has flaked on the trip to nationals. She’s busy, but hey – two of those three after school activities are going to look really good on her transcript in a few years. 

If she lives that long, that is. 

Because she’s just been kicked in the stomach and sent crashing through a skylight into an abandoned warehouse. Looking up at the night sky above her, her lungs refuse to expand as she wheezes and gasps, the wind knocked firmly out of her. What an introduction to this part of the city. 

A figure jumps down through the shattered skylight, and glass crunches as it lands next to her on the cold, hard ground. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” a gruff voice demands. 

If she could breathe, Chiara would probably crack some joke asking if that pun was intended or not. As it is, though, she uses what little strength she has to push herself onto her side, coming face to face with – 

The devil. 

Thank God Chiara’s new suit covers her hands, because the broken glass on the ground can’t cut her palms as she attempts to scramble backwards, her breaths now coming in short gasps for a different reason. 

This is basically her worst nightmare. This is everything the nuns at her old school warned her about when she would get lectured for playing pranks, for talking back, for any little sign of blasphemy or sacrilege. And all that plays through Chiara’s head again and again on a constant loop is the last straw: stealing that Communion wine with the older kids and drinking it behind the school, returning later, drunk as skunks; her mom having to come get her because the nuns politely requested that Chiara not be re-enrolled next year, and, if possible, they would like to stop dealing with her now; the lecture on the car ride home, with the devastating ‘Right now, you look just like your father’ line, which felt devastating, considering that it was the first and last time her mom had ever given her any clue as to who that might be – 

“Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee,” Chiara gasps on instinct.

The devil stops stalking forward, but his shadow looms over her. He turns his head so that his ear is cocked towards her, as if to hear her better. “What?”

“B-blessed art thou among w-women,” Chiara continues, her voice wobbling. If she weren’t so scared and if she could catch her breath, she could probably use her powers to escape. But she’s so focused on trying to correctly recite the prayer that she hasn’t said in months that the thought doesn’t even occur to her. “And – and blessed is the –”

“Ah, a burglar with Catholic guilt,” the devil interrupts, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “That’s new.”

“ – fruit of thy –” Chiara’s words sputter to a stop. “Burglar?”

Silence hangs between them, neither of them sure of the other’s meaning.

Chiara’s brain finally clears enough that the words hit her, and she huffs out a sigh. “Jesus Christ. Why does everyone always think I’m the bad guy? My new suit was supposed to fix that –”

“I’m sure the suit is fine,” the devil interrupts. Which, as far as being the King of Hell goes, is a pretty nice thing for him to say to someone who he’s come to collect. “But hanging around on top of rooftops in the middle of the night doesn’t really help your case.” 

Lots of things haven’t really helped Chiara’s case. She got kicked out of Catholic school, and rightfully so. Still, she didn’t expect following a lead on Roxxon to be the thing that triggered Satan himself from coming to snatch her right out of the world. 

“To be fair,” she says, trying to sound braver than she feels. “You also would have had to be on the rooftop in order to know that.” She gives the devil a onceover and does the thing she’s best at – she makes a sarcastic comment to save face. “Like some sort of overgrown gargoyle.” All the accusations sort of remind her of that play that she’s having to read for English – I saw Goody Proctor with the Devil! But how would Abigail have known that if she hadn’t also been at the Devil’s Sacrament?

To her surprise, he laughs. The fallen angel actually laughs at her joke. “Not everyone is a fan of this getup. But it keeps people intimidated.” 

Getup? That almost makes it sound like – 

“Huh?” 

The devil tilts his head. “My suit. It scares a lot of people. Keeps them in line.” 

Chiara gawks at him, her brows furrowed in confusion. “Suit? So you’re . . .” She’s not sure what he is, exactly. “Like me?”

“Enhanced?” the devil clarifies. “I would guess so, based on –” He makes a vague gesture, as if that explains it all. “ – everything.”  

Okay. So this is someone like Chiara, running around in a suit trying to stop crime. Not Satan. Good to know. (Although, if she’s being honest, she feels a little goofy now for the way that she freaked out.)

“So who are you, exactly?” the guy in the devil costume asks. “Haven’t noticed you around here before.” 

“Eclipse,” Chiara replies smoothly. “I operate over in Queens.” 

The devil guy lets out a low whistle. “You’re out of your jurisdiction.” 

“Yeah. And I won’t be making that mistake again.” From beneath her domino mask, she raises an eyebrow. With the hood that Mr. Stark has added to her new suit – “To hide that hair, since the purple is going to give you away” – she doubts that the devil guy can see her do it, with her face all cast in shadow. “This is clearly your turf. But who are you?”

“My turf?” The word choice makes a smile tug at the edge of his lips. “Who says that?”

“Me.” 

“You’re not from here,” the guy guesses, tilting his head. “You live in Queens but you’re from . . . Somewhere upstate, probably. Near the Canadian border?”

Chiara tilts her own head in question. This guy might not be Satan, but he knows entirely too much about her. “Is your thing mindreading, or something?”

Devil guy chuckles. “No. I’m just observant. And your accent and word choice don’t exactly hide anything.” 

Instead of getting offended or confirming the guy’s theory, Chiara repeats her earlier question. “Who are you?”

A pause. For dramatic effect, maybe. And then: “Daredevil.” 

“Ah. Well, that explains the costume.” She shrugs. “You’ve got a whole aesthetic going on. I can respect that.” 

She kind of expects him to make a comment about her suit, but he doesn’t. And, if she’s being honest, Chiara is a little disappointed by that. She’s only had it for a few days, but it’s a big step up from the homemade one that she was running around in when she started this whole thing. 

“Anyways –” Chiara sighs at the same time that Daredevil asks, “What are you doing in Hell’s Kitchen?” Maybe it’s Chiara’s imagination, but it sounds like there’s a hint of a smile in the guy’s voice when he adds, “Since you’re not a burglar, that is.” 

Now that it’s clear that Daredevil isn’t the literal devil and that he’s not going to crack open the ground and drag her down to the depths of Hell, Chiara abandons her position on the ground amid the broken glass in order to stand, facing him hero to hero. (Even if she does have to look up at him because he’s taller, but that’s not the point.)

“Following a lead,” she answers. Then, after a pause, “On Roxxon.” 

“Roxxon?” Daredevil’s cowl may hide his face, but the eyebrow raise punctuating his question is obvious. “But you’re only . . . What? Thirteen?”

“I’m fifteen.”

Daredevil shakes his head. “Okay, well you’re still young. Which means that you have no business going after Roxxon. It’s too dangerous.”

Chiara scoffs, crossing her arms. “I have all the business going after Roxxon. They’re an environmental threat.” 

“How are you going to stop them?”

Great question. One that Chiara would also love the answer to. Unfortunately, she hasn’t exactly figured that part out yet. She just knows that she needs proof that it’s Roxxon that’s causing weird things to happen to the animals living in the back lot of the gas station, and she knows that she needs answers about how they might be behind it. 

“Take my advice, kid,” Daredevil says. “Enjoy being a kid. Don’t go getting mixed up in stuff like this that you don’t understand and accidentally end your time early.” 

Chaira rolls her eyes. “There won’t be much for me to enjoy if companies like Roxxon poison and destroy the earth before then.” 

Or if the people with those glowing weapons that Peter encountered take over the world, or burn it to the ground, she doesn’t add. There are a lot of ways that the world could come crashing down, and those are just the threats of the week. 

Daredevil draws in a deep breath before pushing a hard sigh through his nose. He seems like he’s trying to hold back from raising his voice at her, saying something he might regret. Considering that this conversation started with him kicking Chiara through a skylight and scaring the crap out of her, it’s pretty thoughtful of him, all things considered. 

“Whoever you were following is now in my territory,” he points out, his voice firm but not angry. “They’re my problem now.”

“But that’s not –”

A red covered hand is held up to stop her. “Leave this to the grownups.” Then, almost as an afterthought he adds, “Because if I hear that you’re back in Hell’s Kitchen chasing down threats you don’t understand, I’ll haul you back to Queens myself.”

Chiara pouts. “You aren’t the boss of me.”

“You’re fifteen,” Daredevil deadpans. Probably because of Chiara’s word choice, which isn’t really helping her case. “You’ve got better things to do. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you.” 

“What are you, my guidance counselor?”

“Watch it,” the other hero warns. He plants his hands on his hips, looking like a disappointed father. “I’m trying to help you out, kid. You don’t need to go getting mixed up with Roxxon. Trust me on that one.” 

A protest dies on Chiara’s lips. If she keeps arguing, she’ll probably be stuck here all night feeling like she’s talking to a brick wall. She might as well get off the hook while she can, let this guy think he’s won. Besides, if this guy operates in Hell’s Kitchen, he’ll have no clue what Chiara is up to over in Queens. She’ll just have to stay away from his turf, operate on the downlow.  

“Fine,” she sighs. “But when bioluminescent raccoons take over the world, don’t come crying to me.” 

There’s a slightly baffled pause, like Daredevil is trying to figure out if she’s being serious or not. He must decide that he doesn’t want to follow that line of questioning, because he only nods. 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he says. 

“Good.” Chiara sniffs. “Well . . . Bye now.” 

Before Daredevil can protest, she sinks into the shadows, disappearing as she takes her leave, trying to flee the scene before she has to deal with any more lectures. As she navigates her way out of Hell’s Kitchen and back towards Queens, she has only one thought on her mind – she won’t be coming back here any time soon. Not if she can help it, anyway.