#find one you vibe with (most will already have templates but if the one you're looking for isn't there you can probably find it on the

[acanvasofabillionsuns]

also as someone who loves to slap together memes whenever an idea pops into my head, can confirm that authors love when you make memes for their fics 👍

okay we need to have an intervention.

i've noticed that people don't leave the same kind of unhinged compliments under fanfics that visual artists usually receive (eg, "i want to eat your art"), so i've come up with a list that you need to start employing when your friends send you their WIPs and when your favorites update on ao3 but you're having a hard time commenting something that sounds intelligent and you still want to support them

"you're like if [famos author] (eg, Victor Hugo if the fic is angst) was into [fandom]"

"well THIS has been added to my pre-sleep daydream schedule"

"this fic invaded my mind and consumed my brain like a spore"

"I'M LOSING SLEEP OVER THIS ONE, FOLKS"

"yOu'Ve AlReAdY lEfT kUdOs HeRe"

"this fic has me scratching at my yellow wallpaper, it's so good"

"this fic has me checking under my floorboards for the heart of a kind man i murdered, it's so good"

"i'm making my parents read this"

"i know only one chapter is out so far, but i'm going to print this out, staple it together, and put it on my bookshelf next to the canon material"

"this fic gave me another mental illness"

(you can only do this one once) "i made an ao3 account specifically to bookmark this"

"i'm going to print this out so i can eat the words on the paper"

and a couple that are just nice (without the feral nature):

"i made a custom playlist to listen to while i read this fic"

"this fic reminds me of [song]"

"i really liked the part where [x], it really stuck with me"

"i really liked this line, [quote the line,] it was so well-written!"

artists: draw fanart of the fic!! it doesn't matter if you think your art skills are good and it doesnt matter if it's just a sketch!! let the author see it!!

make a moodboard!! for the fic!! let the author see it!!

[mischievouslittlecreature]

Hi there! I noticed you're away for the week, so no worries if you can't answer right now.

I just wanted to say I love your mood boards; they're so perfect!

Most of the time, you don't even include pictures of the main characters, but the mood is so clear that you can easily envision them.

Do you have any advice for a newbie like me who wants to start creating mood boards? What's your process?

Oh, anon, thank you! 🖤 That is so sweet of you to say, and I am so touched that you've enjoyed my moodboards! Putting this under a read more because it got a little long!

For making moodboards (and pretty much any of my designs like my fic banners) I use Canva. They have some great free templates available where you basically just have to drop the pictures into the spaces and it's already formatted and everything!

As far as finding images go, I usually will use either the images provided by Canva, or ones from Pinterest, since I have boards for all of my series. As of right now, like for my aesthetic boards, I may start with searching "Character Name Aesthetic" into Pinterest and see what pops up. Sometimes, I have specific images in mind, like with Tommy I knew I wanted horses and cigarettes to be featured somewhere. If I need to, I'll adjust the brightness/other aspects of a photo after uploading it into Canva in order to make it fit with all the images in the moodboard, and if I need to I'll also crop things to fit better.

When it comes to formatting moodboards, I have a bit of a rough template I try to follow for the different types of boards I've made, specifically aesthetic, OC appearance, OC x Canon, and Fics.

For aesthetic boards, I try to find images I highly associate with the character or OC, and sometimes if a character has a specific color scheme, like red for my Peaky Blinders OC Lucy or blue for my Inception OC Alice, I'll try to search for images focusing on those colors, and use 4 of those and 4 more neutral colored images so that the color really pops. Then I'll put a quote that fits the character as the center image of the board. I mostly use 9 image (3x3) moodboard templates. Typically I try to keep these faceless, just because I like the challenge of trying to find at minimum 8 images to fit a character that don't involve their actual physical appearance, but you can 100% use these too if you want!

For OC appearance boards, I try to find 4 photos of clothing that they would wear which go in each corner of the 3x3 moodboard, 2 of their hair (faceless) which goes on the two middle spaces of the right and left columns, 1 of their eye color to go in the center, and 2 of their faceclaim to go in the top middle and bottom middle rows. Basically what I want to do is give as good of a general consensus as I can of what my OC looks like. Because I can't draw, this is sort of how I can convey to anyone interested how I personally picture my OCs.

For OC x Canon, I use a similar method as I do for OC appearance. I find 4 aesthetic images that either I can relate to their relationship or that just fit the "vibe" of them as a couple. For example, in my Alice x Robert moodboard, I have an image of the ocean there because the ocean is a big motif in their series. These go in the 4 corners of the 3x3. I also find a quote that fits them as a couple to go in the center, and an image of the OC faceclaim and the canon character to go in the middle spaces of the right and left columns. For the top middle and bottom middle rows, I find two faceless "couple" pictures. Something like two people holding hands, cuddling, kissing, etc.

Finally, for fic-specific moodboards, I take basically the same approach as I do for OC x Canon, except the quote in the center and the aesthetic images in the corners should relate to the topic of the fic, and not necessarily just the OC x Canon relationship.

Obviously this is just how I prefer to do things, as I like having clear systems and templates in place that I can easily follow, and you can make your moodboards however you chose! My main tips would be to try to ensure you have a clear theme, whether that's just a specific color or a topic, character, or story motif. That'll help your moodboard feel more cohesive. And just play around with it! Try out different images, try them out in different spots, adjust the image settings like the brightness or contrast, try out filters (I use the black and white ones a lot) and just have fun!

Let me know if you have any other questions or any other comments related to this! I am by no means an expert, but I'm always happy to help! 🖤

[janedoewrites]

I want to publish a book someday, but I'm not sure where to start. What was your experience like publishing The Heart of the World? How did you format it for printing? Did you have to hire someone? How did you find a cover artist? Was it expensive?

I bought the hardcover as soon as I could. I love the story, and I loved the story in its fanfic form, too.

I hope one day to be as good of a writer as you.

(P.s. Have you considered selling signed copies?)

The Heart of the World by me (@janedoewrites)

Thank you, anon! Glad you like the book and the original fic! I always love to hear from people who've a) read it b) enjoyed it. Always nice to know it's not just me.

And I'm sure you'll get there if you're not there already. I didn't start out nearly as good as I am today, it just takes time and practice.

As for the publishing stuff most of this is discussed here.

Publishing, Was it Expensive, How You Do?

Self-publishing was very simple, stupid simple really. Hardest part is writing and editing and then, if you're trying to make decent money/a living, marketing which is the hardest of all.

Now for your questions.

There are word document templates you can use that have the specifications required for print books (both hard and soft). This is what I used for the print versions. For the electronic version I used software to render it as an e-pub and make sure the chapter titles and sections were all correct. This software is freely available and is easy to use/has tutorials.

I had friends help edit the book through various drafts and didn't have to hire anyone for editing. However, hiring a professional is absolutely something you could do, but I have no experience in how much that would cost.

I was lucky for cover artists in that @sunnyfish0-0, who is amazing and a great artist, volunteered because they were a fan of the fic series and were very excited about the story. They also wanted a chance to add something like this to their portfolio. They were very kind in that, so long as they retained copyright of the image (this is very normal/should be the case, as you as the author are then granted use of the image but don't own it) and were able to use it in their portfolio, I was not charged. I'm still so happy about it, because it turned out absolutely fantastic and really captured the vibe of the story.

If it hadn't been for that, I probably would have drawn the cover myself (and it wouldn't have been nearly as good and would likely have been quite different). To create the cover, there are specifications of the exact dimensions the cover requires based on the number of pages in the book/the paper being used/the size of the page. For Amazon, what I went through for hard printing, these dimensions and templates were provided to me.

There are also tools that can help you generate covers from stock images for free as well.

If you want to hire an artist, there are artists all around on tumblr who will do so for commission. See if they're accepting commissions, see what their pricing is, look at their style and see if it matches what you're looking for, then talk to them about the project. I've seen artists saying that sometimes they get manuscripts, sometimes they don't and are just told "vibes of the story/main trends/themes and things that are important to portray". Prices will vary based on the experience of the artist, the complication of the scene you're asking for, the size of the cover, cost of materials/software, and really depends on who you're looking for and what you're doing.

Might also be worth reaching out to friends and such/people excited in the project and see who is willing to help out with what and for what if any price.

So, for me, it was extremely inexpensive, the only thing publishing cost me was my free time (which I was spending writing anyway). Because I chose a route where printing is on demand, printing and shipping is slow but does get there eventually and it means I don't pay out of pocket to have 50 books I may or may not sell on hand. I also don't have to ship them myself which helps a lot.

Now, all this changes if you're getting published by a publishing company, in which they will likely handle the cover art and editing for you, but that's not something I have familiarity with.

Signed Copies

Alas, one of the downsides of not having print copies on hand is I don't have print copies on hand. I can get authors copies for the price of printing and then there comes the problem of shipping.

Shipping, especially for readers who span across the globe, is expensive even for something as relatively light as a small paperback/hardcover book.

And since it's not something I really want to offer to some versus others, and don't want to cut off at a few lucky people who get a signed copy, it's pretty much a "if you know who I am in the real world and can meet me in person with a book". I also don't want to offer signed copies only for exorbitant prices of "make up printing and shipping plz".

Maybe that will change someday, but for now, I sign only in spirit.

If it's any consolation, my handwriting's garbage.

[quinloki]

Writers - Where You Gonna Post?

Hey all, so the TL;DR of this is that I post on Wattpad, Tumblr and Ao3 - All have their pros and cons, and this post is going to get into those (with a neat little summary at the end).

Note this is not an endorsement or criticism of any of them. Just my personal understandings of each, the pros and cons I've noted, and a chance to put it all in one place.

We're going to touch on - Ease of Posting, Visibility, Tagging, Searching, Cost, Security & Visibility, Functionality, and less objectively - Vibe.

word count: 1,874

-:- Ease of Posting -:-

Wattpad: 7.5/10 Tumblr: 9/10 Ao3: 4/10

Wattpad and Tumblr have direct-from-source formatting, meaning your paragraphs, italics, bolds, etc. stay in place when you copy from Word, google docs, or - I assume, Scrivener.

Tumblr has more options for font size, color, and links within the body of the text, and so scores higher than Wattpad's more limited capacity (Wattpad does allow for centering, justified, etc. positioning of paragraphs.)

Ao3 has far more CAPACITY than both, but the ease isn't there. You have to know your HTML markups, and for so people that can be a pain. There's a very useful Google Doc markup template that can do a lot of the heavy lifting for you, but hyper linking, image inserting, and other functions that are available have to be done manually.

This is great, in terms of options, but lowers Ao3 on the whole "ease of use".

-:- Visibility -:-

Wattpad: 4/10 Tumblr: 3 or 9/10 Ao3: 9/10

Wattpad has an algorithm and their tagging system - compared to Tumblr and Ao3 is pathetic. I realize I said I was going to be objective, but that is being objective. It's a spaceless tagging system, so you get really awesome tags like roronoazoroxblacklegsanjixreader and... yeah. There's also a limit on the number of tags, so if you're doing a collection of one-shots it's hard to get everyone in there.

On the upside, their search function doesn't just search by tags (would that it did though.) So having information in your summary will help your visibility. What really gets your stuff visible are reader interactions - knowing someone established on Wattpad and having them give you some shoutouts when you start is your best bet for being seen.

Tumblr's visibility - tagging, searching, etc rely HEAVILY on what kind of writer you are. SFW items are far easier to search than NSFW ones, and the Mature label hides you from people who have opted in to see Mature content, which still boggles me. The in-site search function leaves a bit to be desired, but google searches in better enough to off-set that a bit. Tagging is far more robust on tumblr, but it's also a little hit or miss, especially with new users. (I had no clue how to "tag" properly when I started, believe you me).

There's a solid foundation of readers here, so that makes it a good place to get your feet under you without being on TikTo-- I mean Wattpad.

I'm not going to say much here, because let's be fair, Ao3 was BUILT for visibility. There's no algorithm and the tagging system is robust and customizable. Searching is easy - as long as writers are decent with their tagging, and it's not too hard to find what you want, fluffy or otherwise.

-:- Tagging -:-

Wattpad: 4/10 Tumblr: 7/10 Ao3: 9/10

I've touched on this already in the other sections. Wattpad has a lot of restrictions on its tagging system, and aside from using it to "rank" stories, I'm not entirely sure what else it does. I really don't think it comes into play with searching - key words pull from titles, user names, and summaries at the minimum.

Tumblr tagging is a bless - for the most part. The site deems some words "problematic" and doesn't let you search them, which is poor practice because it doesn't differentiate smut from sex ed. (Personally, not that I want it to block anything on my behalf. If I type it Tumblr, I mean to look for it.) Fortunately, as stated, you can use external search engines to get around this.

Ao3 has probably the most robust, and most customizable tagging system of all three. This is great, as long as you know what you're doing, and terribly confusing if you don't. There's primers out there for tagging in Ao3 and other general "good to know" type things, but it's not intuitive. You really do need the primers.

And Ao3 limits neither content nor tags, so take care when searching, and use the omission functionality if you need to - Ao3 won't hold back unless you tell it.

-:- Searching -:-

Wattpad: 6/10 Tumblr: 6/10 Ao3: 10/10

Smash visibility and tagging together and you get search ratings. Wattpad can be hit or miss because of the Tikto- er - algorithm, my best advice is don't be afraid of the results on page 2 and beyond. As much as it tries to "rate" works, rating is just too subjective. You're going to have to dig, just like you do on Tumblr and Ao3.

Having fan fic reader connections is really your best bet when searching, but slugging through the proverbial trenches yields gems too - and one man's quartz is another man's diamond, so I'm not putting any writing down when I say this - what we're looking for varies, and what's out there is multitudinous and variable.

Ao3 is your best place place for good hunting - it's literally built around it. The only hangups are the limitations of what an author puts in for tags vs what you think to search. Differences in how we perceive some words regionally can limit what bounces back - and sometimes a writer might not think of the word in the first place to add it.

-:- Cost -:-

Wattpad: 3 or 9/10 Tumblr: 10/10 Ao3: 10/10

Wattpad has ads - on the mobile app. You can pay for some stuff on the desktop too, but it's not in your face there like it tends to be on the mobile app. Still, you can use it for free.

Tumblr and Ao3 both request money and offer stuff in exchange for money. Sites need money to run, so it makes sense. Neither locks functionality behind cost (neither does Wattpad, not even on the mobile app), but it's easier to ignore ads on Tumblr than Wattpad's app (and no ads on desktop at all for Wattpad >.> just fyi).

-:- Security & Visibility -:-

Wattpad: ??? Tumblr: ??? Ao3: ???

What's important about security and visibility changes from person to person and I'm not really sure how to rate them numerically.

Tumblr and Ao3 let you make your works private - member or password access only, so there's a layer of visibility control with these platforms that does NOT exist on Wattpad.

Ao3 let's people download works to read offline. Technically you can copy/paste with Tumblr and do this as well. Wattpad does not allow this - you cannot download or copy/paste a work from Wattpad (you can copy/paste when in edit mode on things you own on WP, but readers cannot).

You don't need an account to interact with Ao3 and Tumblr - I *think* you do for Wattpad, but all three are free sign ups - Ao3 is just by invitation (when did that start, btw? I signed up years ago and missed that change).

Which is best, is up to you.

-:- Functionality -:-

Wattpad: 8/10 Tumblr: 7/10 Ao3: 10/10

Let me start by saying that Tumblr's functionality for Short Form Fiction is easily 10/10 - the search limitations notwithstanding. Tumblr's functionality for LONG Form Fiction can be a real pain in the ass, hence the 7/10 overall. Linking posts is a manual nightmare, and sometimes breaks between mobile and desktop for no reason.

Wattpad's limitations on some styles of formatting and linking aside, it does have an easy to use update process, and if there's a limit to how many words can be in a chapter, I haven't seen it, or heard of it.

Wattpad's mature settings are also more functional than Tumblr's, leaving the onus of if the reader is old enough on the reader by the words of their own ToS (I still block minors, personally, since you can see who votes and comments.) They do have stricter limitations, regarding "dark" content, and there is by no means any threat to be levied against minors allowed. Shonen levels of violence, sure, but you're not posting Juno the novel on the site without some issues.

All three sites - Wattpad most recently - have blocking functionality. Wattpad's recent changes allow for deleting comments as well as blocking users, which can be a cathartic ability to have.

One thing Wattpad and Tumblr have that I'd LOVE to see on Ao3 (and if it has it I've missed it) is the ability to schedule your posts and updates. Wattpad added this recently - it's only functional on the desktop, but it works.

For those of us who can write 10k words one day, and none the next two days, it's useful for spreading out your posts. Plus there's just something nice about being able to create a backlog of content, especially if you post on a schedule.

-:- Vibe -:-

No rankings, we die like blorbos.

One of the best things - to me - about Wattpad is a paragraph-by-paragraph ability to comment. Wattpad's readers have a similar vibe as Tumblr's readers - and I mean this affectionately.

You're all GREMLINS.

It gives me life and I love it.

Assholes exist everywhere, but my general vibe of who has the most goes: Wattpad Tumblr Ao3

Maybe some of you aren't assholes, you just don't think about how your comments can be taken before you post.

Ao3 gives me the most Long Form Comments I get out of anywhere else, and I love them. Please, PLEASE, gush to me about what you loved. Feel free to toss in what you didn't vibe with - as long as you're not cruel about it, I can take it. I can't possibly write something everyone perceives flawlessly.

I post to all three, because I like the combined experience I get from them. Ao3 feeds me in ways Wattpad and Tumblr can't, and honestly you can exchange all three of those entirely.

Ao3 feels like I'm walking down the street perusing sex toy shops and someone stops me and goes "Oh I read your story and really liked it, please keep up the good work!" (sometimes maybe they throw a drink in my face.)

Tumblr feels like I'm at a rave with 500 other people and there's 50 blorbos people are doing body shots off of and we're all having fun - and occasionally some asshole comes in, but they're handled pretty quick.

Wattpad's like... being at a Barnes and Noble having coffee in the cafe that's inside the store, and there's a BDSM class being taught in the manga section that's upstairs, and sometimes people take the escalator up and right back down again cause oops.

That's my breakdown - I hope it's helped you, or at least made you laugh a little. Good luck out there, where ever, however, and whenever you post, I hope you find the words you're looking for.

(I do want to add that Wattpad does, as mentioned, have a bit of a TikTok vibe. If you don't vibe TikTok you're not gonna vibe Wattpad, flaws and all).

[inklore]

Hey dear! How long since I wrote to you, I don't know if I can ask but could you give me some advice on how to edit/theme/customize your blog in an aesthetic way?

Idk, even basic tips are fine, I really love seeing your blog and I think you have really good taste in aesthetics ❤️

hey lovey! it would be my pleasure to try and help you <3. i say try because my explaining skills are the absolute worst but i will do my best lmao. gonna do this in bullet points ok:

have an idea / inpisration / a crumb of what you want your blog to look like! you can find inspo literally anywhere, a friends blog even (but please remember to always ask and don't take it harshly if said person declines you doing so). pinterest is also amazing for this, looking up graphics, different aesthetics, templates, i literally have a board on my pinterest i've had for years now where i get graphic inspo or where i go when i just need to feed my creative juices to put me in the mood to create something. canva is also great, i literally go on there and look up headers, moodboards, etc and just star them for later. keywords are everything as well, so like 'aesthetic here + color, vibe, look, graphic, template' helps sites like canva and pin lead you in the right direction. same with just typing things like 'green, grunge, lovecore, etc'.

edit on desktop! now i know not everyone has a laptop or ipad or the ability to do this but i highly rec it over editing on the janky mobile app where sometimes things save and sometimes they don't. plus i always use one of the random saved user blogs i have to make a test layout / theme so if i don't like it everything on my main blog is fine, didn't change, and i didn't waste all that time on a theme i don't even want to look at lmao. so making a side blog where you do that is also great cause you can just copy and paste your nav post over, you can take the graphics you've already made and upload them onto your main without second guessing if they look good because you've already seen what it all looks like!

start small! by that i mean start with a simple theme or idea and build up from that. don't just start with seven graphics and ideas and overwhelm yourself. sometimes i just think of a color and be like yeah i'm make something with this color or wrapped around that color and i create something great.

ask a friend for help! i can't tell you how many times i've asked friends if this theme looked good or to send me inspo pics or what theme they think i should do, or even asked them to help me find resources. utilize your besties and mutuals.

not everyones aesthetic is the same! some people like messy themes, some like overdone, some like super simple. don't compare yourself to anyone!!!! everyone creates differently, everyone sees colors and aesthetics amd themes differently. no matter what you decide to go with is all your own and great and special.

etc: putting all your most important links in your nav is always a good rule of thumb (anything you really want to highlight as well), if you use pngs they're all over tumblr and pinterest 'transparent' + 'png' at the end or beginning of what you're looking for will always lead you in the right direction, and when it comes to pngs i highly rec adding them to a white background or transparent one and make the size of the background 500px and move the png halfway / towards the bottom (centered) of the background so tumblr doesn't make your header all the way at the top and ugly, don't make your nav post too long, take colors from your images / aesthetics to incorporate throughout the whole theme so everything meshes well together, don't use flashy dividers because it's not good on a lot of users eyes and unless you state a tw in the tags it's just not as cool as some people think lol.

that's all i can think of but if you have any more questions bby my pms are open!!

[archivistgamemaster]

How to Find & Vet Players for Your Tabletop Roleplaying Games

Hey so we all know running a tabletop roleplaying game (TTRPG) can be one of the most rewarding experiences you could imagine other then I guess a cat choosing you to pet them.

Well I'm writing this Blog post to help you Gain experience in finding and vetting players because this is a crucial step to a successful campaign, finding and vetting the right players is crucial. Also as a bonus I'm provide a vetting questionnaire template that you can use to help you Figure out if someone fits in your group or vibes with it well. Just remember running a game is like chemistry and each player is a different chemical concoction you just have to make sure that they don't explode when they come together or at least explode in a bad way.

Where to Find Players for Your TTRPG

Finding players can seem challenging at first, but several online communities exist for this purpose. Here are five websites and five Discord servers where you can post to find players for your game.

Websites to Find TTRPG Players:

Reddit r/lfg One of the most popular subreddits for finding players and GMs. With posts going up daily, it’s a great place to find players quickly.

Facebook TTRPG One-Shots A highly active Facebook group where you can post for one-shots or long-term campaigns and easily connect with players.

Roll20 LFG Forums Roll20's built-in LFG (Looking For Group) forum is a go-to for many players and GMs. It's highly active, and you can filter by game systems, time zones, and player preferences.

Hero Games Player Finder While this forum is primarily for Hero System players, you can also find people interested in other systems and open to learning new ones.

Fantasy Grounds LFG Forums A great place to find groups, whether you're a GM looking for players or a player looking for a game across various systems.

Discord Servers to Find TTRPG Players:

Tableside Gaming A friendly and active community for all types of TTRPG players, with channels dedicated to LFG.

Discord Tabletop One of the larger Discord communities focused on a wide range of tabletop games.

Discord LFG A go-to server for anyone looking to jump into a campaign or one-shot session.

Tabletop Gaming This community offers a dedicated LFG section and channels for different systems and genres.

FoundryVTT Discord A popular Discord server for Foundry VTT users with LFG sections, where you can find groups using various systems on the platform.

How to Vet Your Players

Finding players is only half the battle. To ensure your game runs smoothly, you need to vet your players and make sure they're a good fit for your style, game, and the rest of the group. One of the best ways to do this is by creating a player questionnaire.

This questionnaire will give you insight into their preferences, experience level, boundaries, and expectations. It's an easy way to identify red flags early and ensure that the players align with your vision for the campaign.

Sample Player Questionnaire (System Agnostic)

Below is a sample questionnaire template you can use to vet your players. This template covers essential details like player preferences, limits, character ideas, and what they're looking for in a TTRPG experience. It is system-agnostic and can be used for any TTRPG.

---

TTRPG Player Questionnaire

Player Information

Name:

Age:

Email:

Preferred Pronouns:

Experience and Game Preferences

How long have you been playing TTRPGs?

What TTRPG systems are you most familiar with?

What type of gameplay do you enjoy the most?

Combat

Roleplaying

Exploration

Puzzle-solving

World-building

Other: [Please specify]

Game Limits and Expectations

Do you have any hard limits or topics you prefer to avoid?

(Examples: gore, body horror, sexual content, PvP combat, etc.)

What are your expectations for session length and frequency?

What is your ideal group size for a TTRPG session?

Character Preferences

Do you already have a character concept in mind?

If yes, please briefly describe your character's background and motivations.

What kind of character roles do you prefer?

Leader

Support

Tank

DPS (Damage dealer)

Healer

Other: [Please specify]

Other Information

What are you looking to get out of this campaign?

How do you handle in-game conflict (with other players or the GM)?

Are there any accessibility concerns or accommodations we should be aware of?

Do you have any scheduling restrictions we need to consider?

Anything else you'd like to share?

Now Go Out There Finds Players For Your Game

[barsformars]

Fireworks

//

g - fluff

p - mingi × reader

w.c - 1.1k

t.w - none

c - starting the day off as friends and ending it as more, amusement park, night walks, laughter, artsy stuff, and fireworks.

a.n - happy birthday our cutest lil giant mingi 💖 this one's close to my heart because it's written based off a day i would want to return back to, except my day had no romance involved sjjsjs (p.s i took those pictures that day)

also i recommend listening to fever by ateez while you read this, the lyrics don't fit but i think the vibe of the song fits this well.

//

This moment you're sharing with your friend, you're sure you wouldn't be able to remember it clearly down the road because it barely feels real even right now. You and Mingi walk side by side, each holding a slushie from the convenience store outside the theme park. Every few minutes either one of you would lose strength in your legs from laughing so hardly, stumbling away to the side as the other grips onto their wrist to reel them back in. It's a blur what exactly the both of you were laughing at.

Maybe you had just reminded Mingi how scared he looked on the rollercoaster, his eyes and mouth wide open in the picture taken. You wished you had bought a copy of it, but it was too overpriced. It's okay though, you appreciate it a little more when you don't have it anyways. Or maybe he had just teased you because your voice had cracked while you were screaming during a drop in one of the many rides you took today. Either way, you're glad that most people opted to take the train back to the nearby mall instead of walking back. The both of you didn't have to suppress your laughter or worry about disturbing someone else's supposed calm night.

"Hey," Mingi barely manages to say, breath still heavy as his cheeks start to relax. He points to the store on the right and asks, "can we do that?" Mingi sips on his drink as he waits earnestly for your reply, staring at you as you squint to see what it was about. It was one of those peelable glass deco painting stores (was that even what it's called?) with the mini pastel coloured stools and tables shorter than your knees when you sit. It was obviously meant for children, but whatever, right?

"Oh my god, yes!" You replied, slapping Mingi's arm repeatedly out of excitement, already running towards the store before he could even process your answer. He shakes his head in amusement as he watched you swing the glass door open, a chuckle falling from his lips. You turn back to wave at him to hurry up and he half jogs towards you, a grin on his face.

"Let's do the butterfly," Mingi suggests and you nod your head without hesitation. The lady running the store had told you that she was closing up soon and you didn't want to be a hassle since it was only the two of you there. You didn't mind any of the designs anyways. He reaches out to take the template and pays for it as you go to sit yourself at the ridiculously tiny tables, organising all the little tubes of colours in front of you.

"You take the left side," you said, your tongue peeking out slightly from between your teeth as you picked out the colours for your side of the butterfly wings.

"Yes, boss," Mingi teased as he pulled the stool far out from the table so that he could have sufficient leg space. It was quite endearing to see a six foot tall grown man trying to use furniture meant for young children almost half his size. Mingi thought you looked adorable too.

You never expected the both of you to sit down and focus on making the butterfly look pretty, you had seen this coming — Mingi purposely dripping different colours into your butterfly wings and calling it an accident with you nudging his arm to get him to stop colouring out of line. There was so much playful bickering and snickers that you almost missed the sound of fireworks going off in the distance.

"Wait, do you hear that?"

Mingi stops another attempt to ruin your side of the butterfly, trying to listen out for what you had heard. When he hears the familiar booms and crackles, he looks at you with widened eyes, "fireworks!" The both of you snap your heads towards the window, hearts racing. From your angle, you could barely see anything, only catching sight of the sparks fading out in the night sky. You've never seen Mingi get up so fast, his hands already extended to help you up, and you take it. "Sorry! We'll be back soon!" Mingi shouts out as the both of you ran out of the store hand in hand.

"Mingi, let's go up!" You tugged his hand, gesturing to the lighted stairs. Not wasting another second, you and Mingi ran up the stairs with all your energy left for the day. By the time you reached the second floor, the last firework had just gone off. It was still pretty though. "Aw man….this is still... kind of….romantic though," you pant, gripping tightly onto Mingi's arm for support.

Mingi hums in agreement as he tries to catch his breath too, his eyes turning to look at you as the firework finished fading out. He almost gasped out loud from how breathtaking you looked right at that moment. He has always found you to be beautiful but there was something about the way the lights on the floor gave your face a warm glow, the way your eyes twinkled as you watched the sky. He thinks you're prettier than the fireworks.

"If only we could come here with our lovers," you sighed softly before turning to look at Mingi, finding that he had been staring at you all this while. You just smile at him, not reading too much into it. If only you knew how much your smile affected him.

If only Mingi knew how hard it was for you to maintain this eye contact right now. Your heart was beating so hard you were afraid he could hear it in this silence.

"Can I be yours then?" Mingi asked softly, his eyes shaking ever so lightly as he awaited your response. You feel his muscles tensing up under your grip, his lips still slightly parted, though you were pretty sure he was holding onto his breath. But so were you.

There were so many things you wanted to tell Mingi right now, but the words were stuck in your throat, the tightness holding it back. Afraid that Mingi was going to think that his feelings weren't reciprocated, you quickly went in for a hug, knocking Mingi back a little in the process. You nodded your head repeatedly as you hid your flushed face from him, too flustered to do anything else.

You don't see it but Mingi burst into a smile, his eyes crinkling up as his teeth were on full display, relieved and on cloud nine. "Then, let's go back to our amazing artwork," Mingi reminded, sarcastically emphasising on the 'amazing' before he says the next few words that made your knees go weak.

"My little butterfly."