#i might get silly with it and take some prints

[starberry-cupcake]

Here I am again, hoping this silly recap brightens your day a little bit, I'm giving you a gentle hug and a mug of your favorite warm beverage ☕

previously, in harrowcita del 9:

this happened

I somehow predicted @lady-harrowhark's tshirt in the one before that also, it was very funny, in case you missed it

CHAPTER 48

we're doing just one chapter again because this one was Eventful, fam

last we knew, abby pent was trying to lorraine warren the ghost out of harrowcita's bubble

my running theory was that the ghost was commander wake aka allegedly gideon's mom (none of that is in any way confirmed yet)

and ortus was about to say something

I said it might be poetry and, guess what?

I WAS RIGHT

you go, ortus, you recite that poetry

abby apparently takes that as a cue to do something and thinks ortus has too much faith in her

but ortus trusts her, there's a lot of polycule moments in this one

the sleeper/waker/slasher allegedly gideon's mom unconfirmed absolutely does not give a fuck about any of this, she's slaying them all with her "baggy orange suit and gun collection"

I need the suit to look like this so bad

harrow starts making constructs but killer bae starts turning them into ash in seconds

I mean, I know we need harrow to live and this woman is not supporting that idea but damn, she looks cool af

if you fought the emperor at any given point, amanda (I'm calling her amanda for now, I'll elaborate later) how did you lose?????

ortus is harmed, so harrow has to continue with the recitation in his place

so harrow continues to recite the nonius poetry, while abby chants in the background and everyone else waits while bleeding

it's a very involved artistic performance that we've got going on over here in canaan au river bubble

sleeper/waker/slasher/alleged commander wake alleged gideon's mom aka amanda (according to me) shoots harrowcita

but then abby is lifted in blue flames and seems to be holding an invisible book and everything gets all vib-ey

these are the exact vibes I'm picturing

(not because I have a print of that in my room)

so harrowcita is saved from getting shot in the head by a man with the Ninth uniform and a very stellar use of the blade

AND YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE WHO IT IS

IT'S ORTUS'S BLORBO FROM HIS SHOWS!!!!!!!!

matthias nonius is a short king who is surprised to be speaking in meter but is very happy to be here to defend the Reverend Daughter and fight like an expert killing machine

WHERE WAS ALL THIS FIGHTING POWER WHEN IT CAME TO KILLING THE EMPEROR

but not only is matthias nonius 10/10 at fighting (as advertised), the shrine ortus has in his head for him is helping to even the playing field with the waker/sleeper/alleged commander

she can't shoot anymore

"I killed wizard's filth like you all my life. I killed them with guns, and bombs, and knives, and gas, and when I didn't have any of those I just got in real close and put my thumbs through their fucking eyes. You can flick that little skewer around all you like, boy. I'll choke you with it"

SHE'S INTENSE, we can be certain that the Harrow Only Notes were hers

"I certainly hope you're a fighter. God knows you're not a debater"

you guys I'm a certified mati nonius fan right now

ortus is drawing little hearts in his poetry book and writing Ortus Nonius in it

"If all of her cavaliers were this excited for death, she was definitely the problem"

they just love you too much, harrowcita

so mati nonius and waker/sleeper/alleged commander have the most intense and entertaining fight ever

because lyctor fights are weak and boring

but this, this is cinema

harrow thinks that, if gideon had been there, she would have loved the fight but also she'd be terrible at running commentary of it

I disagree, gideon's running commentary is one of the things that keep us together as a society

"In life she must have had few, if any, equals. Her people—whoever they had been—must have cherished her as their finest champion."

gideon got some great fighting genes from all around, if my theories prove right

I mean, if her people are the people I'm thinking, they still have posters of her, so she must have been a big deal before she crashed in the ninth

SAD SHE DIDN'T KILL DR REVEREND EMPEROR JOHN THOUGH

BUT THERE'S STILL TIME FOR THAT

LIKE AN HOUR

harrow says mati nonius is "a poem" which is very nice of her to say

you go, short king

there's a lot of blood happening, also, which could be encouraging, since before this, the waker/sleeper/alleged commander wasn't bleeding at all

the room changes to become a ninth chamber and alleged commander changes clothes from the star trek orange suit to a different yet still orange getup and a golden mask

ortus's shrine in his head built for mati nonius is rewriting the possession

because nothing can pull you from the depths of despair as fast as your favorite blorbo

"My master in life was revenge, my mission is one of—Goddamn it, I'm not going to start talking like this"

more points for the gideon's mom theory

protozoa and ortus are now communicating telepathically, they are starting to put aside their rivalry and finding out they have a lot in common

enemies to friends to lovers speedrun

mati nonius loses his sword and goes feral

protozoa throws his cunty seventh rapier towards him, mati nonius catches it and ends the waker/sleeper/alleged commander

it all looked incredibly cool

once the enemy is partially defeated (let's remember she's supposedly tethered to an object that I think is gideon's sword), the body horror starts falling from the walls

it's described as "sausages flung from a height" which is...quite the thing

like, I get what that sounds like, but also, maybe I didn't wanna know

harrow looks at the face of the waker/sleeper/alleged commander and says it's the woman from the poster of the shuttle

YASSSS GETTING CLOSER TO MY THEORY

like, I still don't know if the woman from the poster is commander wake or if she is indeed gideon's mom, but I'm going all in on this theory

now we have a little intermission in which everyone is waxing poetic about everyone else

this is the canaan house we always wanted to see

protozoa is giving heart eyes to mati nonius, mati is giving respects to harrow, ortus is saying he wants to write a poem about abby, magnus is telling ortus not to flirt with his wife as a joke but ortus looks mortified

and abby says ortus did most of the job but she also points out she corrected some of his spelling

which might have been the biggest mistake in magnus's and abby's lives because they just destroyed their polycule

you can't treat the ninth like that, fifth, they take it personally

but ortus is vindicated because his oshi, his favorite blorbo, his biggest hero, tells him nice things

harrowcita goes to check on the ghost corpse of the waker/sleeper/alleged commander and finds some tags

one of which says AWAKE

I THINK THAT'S MAYBE A. WAKE

AS IN COMMANDER WAKE

and I'm naming her amanda, as previously established

it would go well with the ancient tumblr meme

the prophecy

sure hope this isn't the famous alecto everyone keeps mentioning because it'd ruin my prophecy

abby tells harrow the only way to get rid of her for good is to destroy the object to which she's tethered to

which I suspect might be gideon's sword, so fuck all this

we're meant to lose gideon and her sword??? absolutely not

let the woman kill the emperor instead

ALSO

surprise! mati nonius is besties with gideon the first

now, for someone who was sold out to be super serious and not an extrovert, gideon the first knows EVERYONE

he knows mati nonius, he probably also knows, to some degree of intimacy yet undetermined, the commander, he might be somewhat related to our gideon

the man is everywhere

basically, mati nonius and gideon the first had the same speedrun friendship that gideon had with camilla

they fought each other once and one of them thought "you're friend-shaped :) "

so, mati nonius is willing to go help gideon the first with the beast

because, as we have previously seen, no other lyctor is currently doing what they were supposed to

so, ortus says he'll go with mati to help gideon the first

abby and magnus want him to go with them to be forever happy in their polycule, but it's too late

abby has insulted his spelling and magnus has made him feel uncomfy with his joke about the flirting

HOWEVER protozoa has told him he actually likes him AND has quoted poetry HE WROTE HIMSELF

enemies to friends to lovers to soulmates

martita, who was there the whole time, ties her sword to her broken hand and says she'll go with them

martita is actually cool for a second house person

judith, you didn't deserve her

NOW THERE'S A PROBLEM

A BIG ONE

if harrow doesn't go back to her body, she'll get lost and lose her mind in the river

if she does, though, she's gonna kill gideon for good

harrowcita has a crisis and a breakdown

(and also stops for just a second to remember gideon rolling up her sleeves)

magnus compares the situation to a breakup he had with abby one time, which I don't think really encompasses the gravity of this situation, but ok magnus, it sure is similar

I mean, the breaking up part maybe but the level of gravity of the situation? idk man

I'm sure breaking up with abby felt this dramatic to you but...it's a little different

abby and magnus leave, telling harrowcita that jeanne said to tell gideon "hi" if harrow sees her first

which is super cute of the kid tbh

so, that leaves us with real!dulcinea

who is still here because

1) much like her lyctor counterpart, is very resistant to dying for good

2) she's determined to get vanished into nothingness and disappear into the very essence of existence, which I think sounds pretty cool

"The Seventh says nothingness is the only truly beautiful thing anyway, so nyah"

3) also: "Actually, I've got something to tell you"

I SURE HOPE IT IS A WAY TO SAVE BOTH GIDEON'S AND HARROW'S LIVES

FINGERS CROSSED

and that's it for this chapter!!!! next time, I'm expecting more gideon and yandere twin antics!!!

[byelacey]

do u like vampires? do u live in or around toronto? do u live in or around toronto and like vampires and comic books???  TCAF is a free to attend comic festival april 29-30th and i’ll be there! come say hi! i’ll be on the second floor selling books, zines, pins, stickers, tote bags, keychains, and more :) 

[bi-writes]

Could you do one of Simon forgetting to bring his lunch and so his wife brings it except she turns up in a cute sundress??

mail-order bride (18+)

"simon...simon riley?" you ask.

the officer raises a brow, looking down at your ID and then back at your face. he frowns a little, scratching the back of his neck.

"he's a lieutenant," you add, biting your lip. "uhm...and he works with...with john."

"john?"

you suck in a shaky breath, biting your lip nervously.

"captain john price?"

the officer just glares at you a little before picking up his radio.

"yes, ma'am. wait here."

he turns his back to you, walking a little ways away, and you hear him speak into the radio lowly.

"...got a civilian here asking for lieutenant riley..."

"...negative, sir..."

"...oh. affirmative, sir. right away."

the officer comes back, giving you your ID back. he looks sheepish now all of the sudden, and he smiles at you, which unnerves you almost.

"u-uh, so sorry ma'am. you can park near the main office, right that way," he points to a building far to the left, "i'll have someone come meet you there to take you inside. again, apologies...we're going to put you on a list, mrs. riley."

you frown a little, shrugging. you're not upset. it's a miltiary base, for christ's sake, and you've never been here; of course they would be apprehensive about letting you in. but the private looks terrified out of his mind, so you just smile a little and make your way towards the parking spot he pointed out.

when you get out of the car, you push the door closed with your hip, picking up the bag in the passenger seat. there's a woman standing by the door, smiling and waving at you. she looks very smart, in a nice pantsuit. you smooth your dress down, smiling back at her, and you swing your purse over your shoulder before making your way to her.

"hello, mrs. riley. the lieutenant's wife, i hear?" she asks. you nod and shake her hand.

"y-yes...he...he said he was just doing administrative stuff today, but he forgot some things so...i just wanted to do something nice--"

"right!" she nods her head towards the door. "i can escort you to his office. uhm...i believe he's debriefing with captain price this afternoon, but i'm sure he can make some time." she winks at you when she says that, and you bite back a shy smile.

she takes a seat at her desk, picking up the phone. she yaps for a few minutes, and you take a seat in an empty chair, smoothing your skirt out. your wearing one of simon's favorites, the cherry-printed mini dress he loves so much, but you realize maybe he might not be the only one. there's a myriad of privates and soldiers that walk past you, and you hear some whistles by some of the bolder ones. you suddenly feel very self conscious, tucking your legs underneath yourself. you're wearing white strapped wedges, your hair styled nicely with a bow to match the dress, but now you feel silly, stupid.

why would you go to a military base dressed like a fucking pin-up girl?

"wot are you doin' 'ere?" a rough voice demands.

mmm. that's why.

you look up from your chair, smiling wide when you see him. simon stands with his arms crossed over his tact vest, tilting his head to the side as he glares at you from under his skull mask. you've never seen him strapped before, though. he's got a gun tucked into his thigh holster.

"h-hi," you pick up the basket next to you, standing up, and when you come close, simon is rough, wrapping an arm around your waist and tugging you near him with a short growl.

"oi," he snaps, but you just flutter your lashes at his harsh voice, smiling bigger. "can't fuckin' come 'ere lookin' so pretty."

you giggle, and even though you're wearing heels, you still find yourself standing on your toes as you try to get close to him.

"you forgot what i packed for you, simon. how could you forget?" you pout a little. he sighs deeply, smoothing his gloved hand down your back before nodding his head.

"c'mon. can't 'ave ya out here. fuckin' muppets starin' at my wife."

he turns and immediately starts walking. he's entirely too fast, and you skip in your wedges practically to try and keep up with him. when he notices, he slows his pace, and you grip the basket better in your hand before reaching for his with the other.

your hands intertwine, and you look around as you walk, reading the plaques on the wall, the shiny medals, waving at johnny when you see him holding a bag of crisps upside over his open mouth.

when simon shuts the door behind you in a dark office, you set the basket down on the desk, pushing back the kitchen towel fabric.

"okay, so i brought those muffins you like from that little shop. they had blueberry this morning, oh my gosh, simon, they also started putting out these little scones that--oh!" you gasp as he grabs you from the fat of your hips, a big flat palm over the base of your spine as he pushes you flat onto your stomach onto the desk. "simon!"

simon sucks on his teeth as he flips up your skirt, letting out a low whistle as he palms your ass, spreading the fat of it so he peek at the seam of the white lace you're wearing. you lay your palms against the desk and whimper, not used to simon being so rough, so upfront, so bold.

"can't just come here all dressed up, baby," simon grunts, shaking his head. "and not expect me to take wot i need...been surrounded by nothing but wankers all fuckin' day..."

you relax a little, giggling.

"simon," you sigh, your eyes closing as you push your hips back into his hands. "i missed you so much..."

"tha' why y'came down 'ere, luvvie?" he asks, smirking under the mask. "ya missed me? missed y'r husband? what'd ya miss, baby? tell me."

you arch your back a little, bowing it, and you laugh when he gives your ass a firm grab before picking you up and spinning you around, caging you against the desk. you smile up at him, dazed, a little dizzy, and he winks at you, eye-black dark and deadly around those killer brown eyes. he's so big, so hot, and you're suddenly very aware of how big simon looks in all his gear.

"i don't know," you say softly. "it's so cold in bed at night..."

simon snorts, "tha' right? 's cold? the lil' shits don't keep ya warm?"

"our girls like to sleep on your pillow, i think they miss you, too."

"fuckin' lil' bastards," simon chuckles, and you sigh, sliding your hands up his vest and tugging him just a little closer. your spread your knees to let him between them, and he reaches down and grips your thighs, hiking them up around his hips as he sits you onto the edge of the desk. "fuck, you're so fucking pretty..."

you tilt your head back for him.

"i miss eating with you. it's so quiet when you're not around."

"mmm. i bet, luv."

"and i miss you when i'm alone," you whisper. "i miss you when it's just me..."

simon narrow his eyes, "tell me, swee'eart."

you reach up and wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him down towards you. you kiss him over the mask, tasting sand and ash, licking over his lips through the cotton. it's lewd, disgusting, but he groans under the fabric.

"when, simon? when?" you ask, and he hums lowly.

"when? 'ow about right now?"

"no way, you're so gross, simon," you giggle. "our first time is not going to be on a desk in some dingy office where you work--"

you seize when he cups you between the thighs, big gloved hand palming your cunt through your lace panties. you arch your back and gasp, gripping his biceps tight as you lean into his touch.

"don't need t'make it our first time," simon tilts his head to the side. "can still make it real fuckin' nice, baby."

"oh, now you wanna touch me?" you suck in a shaky breath. "just because some of your men wanna look up my skirt?"

"oh, for tha', i'll make ya scream my bloody name, for oll of them ta hear," he growls, and you smile wide up at him.

"guess they need to learn i'm a lieutenant's wife," you giggle, and simon whistles low, tugging your panties to the side, and you whimper when you he prods at your entrance with two big gloved fingers.

"ahhhh..." simon hisses. "ya like tha' title, tha' it, baby? yeah...yeah you like tha'..."

"i like it," you whine, and when he meets your watery eyes, he plunges those big fingers deep, thumbing at your clit. your mouth falls open, your nails digging into his sleeves, and you suddenly wish you had asked him to take you to get your nails done so you could really claw it. "i like it..."

"could make these boys lick the fuckin' ground ya walk on," he mutters, and you whine when a particular rough thrust of his hand squelches between your thighs. "they'd do anythin' to please me, baby...even johnny would chew your bloody food for ya if i asked him to--"

you reach down and grip his wrist, your thighs shaking as you jolt. it feels so good, your entire body is on fire. his fingers are petting a nice little spot inside of you, stroking it as he pumps his hand nice and steady inside of you. his thumb is working you in gooey circles, flicking at your clit and putting taut the little string in your lower belly. your whole brain feels like it's fizzling, your blood rushing, and you stick out your tongue, licking over his masked jaw as you start to feel like you're gonna pass out from the wet slick, slick, slick sounding from your wet cunt.

"simon--simon--" you pant, and he groans, nodding his head.

"so pretty, baby," simon breathes. "so fuckin' tight, gonna 'ave to work ya open before i give ya my cock, lovey..."

"it's so big," you mumble, and simon coos, nodding his head.

"i know, baby, i know, 's big, real big...but you can take it, remember?" he laughs. "you can take it woteva i give you..."

you nod.

"i can take it--i can take it--!"

your vision blurs. there's tears coming down your face, sweat lining your forehead, your back, but you can't wipe the giggly, lazy smile off your face. simon cups the back of your head with his free hand, sitting you up, and when he pulls his fingers out from between your legs, his gloves are stuck to his hand practically, completely soaked through.

"y'r so pretty when y'cum," he murmurs, and you stick out your tongue for him. he gets the message, shoving his mask up just enough, and he bends to kiss you warm and wet.

"well then," you meet his eyes, all languid, all relaxed, a devious little grin on your sweet face. "why don't you give me another then?"

simon grins, all teeth.

"woteva ya want."

[luveline]

omg jade for a miguel x spider girl what if they’re spending the night together and she’s sleep talking and miguel is like ???? i sleep talk and it’s silly sometimes 😆

Miguel latches the door lock gently. Your snores echo in the silence of his apartment, huffing things that tell him you're laying on your back before he sees you. You've kicked the sheets down to the bottom of the bed, and your pyjama shorts are falling off of one hip and tucked too high on one leg, exposing the expanse of your thigh. Alarm clock light shines champagne on your skin and the graphic printed on your shirt, the super powered puppy dog you love so much barking one of his catchphrases: Chāojí wāngwāng!

He scrubs at his face. Things are rough lately. He hoped you'd be awake still to talk to, even if it was about nothing at all. He just wanted to hear your voice. 

My own fault, he thinks, walking quietly to the dresser to change into his own pyjamas. They match yours. If anyone ever saw them he's not sure how he'd feel, but they were a necessary purchase at the time. You'd been morose about something, and matching made you happy.

Miguel changes and combs his hair haphazardly. He sprays some deodorant in want of a shower he's too tired for before he crosses back to the end of the bed, taking the blanket into his hands. He shakes it out over you, covering you once again. Then he rounds the bed and climbs in next to you, hooking his arm around you to drag you firmly into his side. 

“Couldn't wait up for me?” he whispers, shifting to get comfortable in the mess of pillows you insisted on. You lift your head like you might kiss him, and for a selfish second he hopes you're awake, but then you breathe out another snore. 

You're heavy when you sleep. He makes sure you're not about to suffocate on his chest and encourages your arm into a more comfortable position. Your chest half on his chest and side, your face in his neck, you look like a rom-com couple from one of your under the desk movies, but Miguel's far less comfortable. He'd wanted to be close to you, but he's wondering if he should've just spooned you. 

“Miguel,” you say, your voice a croak in the dark.

He chuckles in surprise. “What?” he whispers. 

You mumble. He brushes a hand up your face to draw your head back, thumb on your cheek. Your eyes stay closed. 

What the… 

“Hello?” he whispers. 

You don't answer. Perhaps you'd woken for a split second and sensed him, or perhaps you're having a dream. You love to tell him about your dreams in the mornings, occasionally shaking him awake to tell him before you forget. He's always pissed to begin with, endeared by the end, pissed again when he sees the time. 

He closes his eyes and decides he'll miss you by himself for a bit. 

Your voice comes in a muffled squishing atop his chest, “It's his car.” 

He blinks. “That so?” 

“For the commute.” Your whispering turns intense, “He has to drive there, Miguel.” 

Well, in whatever dream you're having, you're talking to him. He quite likes knowing that. “Where's he going, cariño?” he asks, picking the spot on your forehead a moment before he kisses it fondly. 

You make this sound that he only ever hears when you're tired and he's touching you in ticklish places, a gurgle of a laugh as you nuzzle into his chest. “Stop…” you say playfully. 

This is ridiculous. 

Miguel's getting jealous of dream Miguel. Who does that guy think he is? You laugh, say something completely unintelligible, and jolt up hard enough to startle him. 

“Ah!” you say, eyes finally opening, blinking down at him with a slowness that almost looks painful. “...Miguel?” 

“What is wrong with you?” 

“We were… uh…” You blink at him some more, your arm shaking with fatigue where you anchor yourself on the mattress. He slides a hand under your armpit to hold you up. “I think I was dreaming.” 

“You were talking to me.” 

“I was?” You lean down into your hand, rubbing your eyes. 

“Are you okay?” he asks.

“Yeah, I'm just… that was so weird…” You seem strangely unsettled. Miguel helps you onto your back but keeps an arm behind you so he can hold you. You're content to be held, pushing one leg over the other, speaking into his chest. “You were tickling me.” 

“Sorry,” he finds himself saying, giving you a pat. “I won't do it anymore, cariño. You can go back to sleep.” 

“Thanks, Miguel,” you mumble. 

He waits for you to doze off, but your heart seems to be beating too quickly. Maybe dream Miguel drove you both off a cliff. “You want me to kiss you?” he asks. 

“Yeah,” you mumble, tipping your head up. 

He kisses your forehead. A long, slow press of the lips with no end in sight. Invigorated by your contended sigh, he kisses you again, again, these lazy gentle mouthings that barely count as kisses at all as he tugs the blanket up to cover your collar. You make a sound like a hiccup caught in your throat and before he knows it, you're sleeping again. You sleep soundly for the rest of the night, or he thinks so. He falls asleep not long after you with his lips still pressed to your forehead, so there's no way to know for sure. 

[jisooupssss]

Plot: you being the best girlfriend ^^

Warnings: None

Pairing: OT13 x Reader

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AN: I’m so glad I finally came up with an idea I was about to be gone for like ten days😭😭

———————————————————————

Seungcheol: Kissing his dimples. It just became an habit one day, one day you were laying down together you told him to smile and kissed his dimple. So now when he smiles he expects an kiss on his cheek it gets him all shy and giggly it’s so cute

Jeonghan: Teasing him back. It makes him freeze up and stand/sit there in shock with his mouth half open. Tries to tease you again only for you to make another comeback. Turns away so you can’t see his cheeks turn pink only for you to plant an kiss on them

Joshua: Being an gentleman/women to him. like you would tell him to stay in the car and run to the other side and open the door for him. He would be caught off guard but laughs it off as if you don’t notice the heat rising to his cheeks smiling to yourself

Jun: Letting him ramble. Like he will be so focused on his topic then he starts paying attention to you. Seeing how your eyes lightly lit up looking like you have small stars on your eyes, and that soft smile he loves on your face. He then apologize for talking to much but you reassure him that it’s okay he gets all giggle and buries his head in your neck getting shy

Hoshi: Being apart of his Horanghae gang. Like you were apart of it when y’all first started dating you had no choice. But just knowing you accept his for his tiger-I’m sorry my mind was in a goofy mood

Buying him tiger print things. Knowing how much he love tigers you need to buy him tiger related things. It gets him all warm and cozy and any positive thing you can think of inside

Wonwoo: Reading with him. It brings him so much comfort and being with you in comfortable silence makes him warm inside. He loves the feel of being with you at those type of moments any moment’s really but those moments and very special to him

Woozi: Being in his studio with him. It gives him so much more motivation and puts him to harder work. He also loves when you tell him things like he’s doing great or the beat hi made so sound awesome and amazing and that good stuff. Your what keeps him going

DK: Being weird and silly with him. He loves that you don’t think of him differently when he starts randomly doing the most outrageous things instead you join him. He loves when you start doing silly stuff out of nowhere it makes him pull you close to him and just give you as many kisses he desires while giggling

Minghao: Complimenting his paintings. It gives him a little confidence boost. He asks if you won’t to learn how to paint some day and when that day came it didn’t go so well but hey…at least you tried. Giving you a long passionate kiss and thanking you for the compliment OMG I LOVE THIS MAN BRO

Mingyu: Not getting mad at him for his clumsyness. He has officially earned the nickname ‘clumsy’ from you(like the guy from Smurfs) not just because he’s clumsy but you find it cute. But he break something that he know would make you mad, would you tell right away but you can’t get mad not with how his eyes are starting to look like puddles of rain so you just kiss his nose and hug him and tell him it’s ok

Seungkwan: Gossiping with him. Like when you comeback from work you already you both have some boiling hot tea that’s ready to spill. Sometimes set up snacks and drinks because of how long it takes for you both to be done. Sometimes fall asleep talking without realizing you guys might talk in your sleep

Vernon: You randomly saying anything. Like you can be like “what if the sun just exploded right now” he would be like “we die” because he’s just so used you blurting anything out is the most randomness times. Sometimes it catches him very off guard he can’t think so you have to tap him a few times to make him come back to earth

Dino: letting him hold you in his arms. It makes him feel like he’s protecting you from anything out there even just thin air. He holds you so tight like he’s afraid if he let go you’ll just turn into dust and get blown away but the cool breeze. Loves to hold to hold you when y’all first wake up gives you little forehead kiss as time goes by

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

AN: THANK YOU GUY FOR ALL THE LIKES ON MY MINGYU POST ILYYYYYSM😘😘😘🥰🥰🥰

[novaandmali]

🚨24 HOURS LEFT🚨

Our book - A Hitchhiker's Guide to Art History - will be printed only if we cross that finish line. Check it out and share with any and all friends who might like this amazing, inclusive, and wildly fun take on art history. If you love any and all sci-fi, you'll find something in this book for you!

This piece is from @deirdres_art ❤️

I’ve also included some new add-ons for your pledge:

A bundle of 6 digital books - Classics 103, CMQ, Monsters, and Paw Prints

MORE physical copies of our previous books INCLUDING a bundle package!

Mystery Merch Bundle - $25 for at least 3 items and 2 postcards from all our previous projects! Could be keychains, pins, magnets, prints, you name it!

Custom silly cat doodles from Mali - these are limited to only 20 so act quickly if you have a might need for silly silly cat content.

There is also a new wholesale bundle tier for anyone who might be interested in selling our books, or you want to get a BUNCH for potential gifting!

Thank you all so much for being here and I hope we get to share this book with you. For those of you asking, we’re not sure what the plan is if this campaign fails. We’re still trying to be hopeful, but we’ll figure something out if it falls through.

But, I want this book printed! Let’s do this!!

tinyurl.com/AHGTAH

[aliesbienish]

A study of wolves: chapter three

chapter one ✩ chapter two

Paul Lahote x Reader

- The previous day -

“Why did we even agree to this study, clearly she is going to notice signs that the wolves around here aren’t always of the typical gray variety?” Paul questioned the tribal council, pacing at the foot of the meeting table.

“Son we didn’t have a choice, the majority of the land you boys protect falls out of the reservation. It was going ahead anyway, so it made sense to at least have someone from the council always there to steer clear of anything suspicious,” Billy placated, hands up in surrender to the clearly riled man.

“Billy’s right Paul,” Sam chimed in “there wasn’t an option. Plus this way we get income from the cabin and a guide. You know we need this to complete the maintenance on the school.”

“So you are okay with us becoming a study? Because we all know between the cameras and her field observation training we’re fucked. There is no way we can always play it safe with these cold ones lurking around, a mistake is inevitable.”

“Son,” Billy continued “it’s not even like it’s an issue anymore. You’ve imprinted on her, so she is one of us now. It’s well within reason to tell her what is going on.”

“No” Paul growled. “That is my choice and it’s absolutely not happening. Some silly idea that she’s my soulmate doesn’t change the fact she is a complete stranger. We don’t how she’ll react, there is no way I’m risking it,”

“You might not have a choice if she catches sight of something she’s not supposed to.”

“This is my only choice, and I’m not letting anyone taking it from me. Not even you.”

Billy sighed, resting his head in his hands. The chief was well aware what Paul’s reservations were really about. “Son, I know you didn’t want this. But please understand this is a blessing from the spirits, fighting this will only hurt you,”

“I refuse to let my choice be taken away, and I refuse to let hers. I will help to keep our secret safe but once this project is over she will leave and life will continue. And I don’t want anyone to try to do anything to change that.”

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

The sky was clear but the southerly winds whipped ferociously along the cliff face where Paul parked up. The great blue expanse of ocean was mesmerising, stretching out as far as the eye could see. It was in moments like this you felt solace, out of the noise and bustle of large cities. Just the sounds of birds, waves crashing and winds whistling amongst the trees. After taking the moment to ground yourself you made your way over to the truck bed to grab your gear, Paul doing the same with his own bag.

“What’s the plan?”

“Well the most recent report says the last sighting was off this trail here,” you said pointing across the gravel road and to the unsigned trail head. “It happened in a clearing about four miles in so I think we head out there keeping an eye out on the way.”

“Sure thing boss. Anything you want me to keep an eye out for?”

“If you wouldn’t mind looking for prints, the ground should be pretty muddy under the vegetation cover so anything that’s been here since the previous rainfall last week should have left a mark. I don’t think we’ll actually come across a wolf since they’re nocturnal. But hopefully we can find a good spot for at least one of the cameras,”

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

For the past hour you had been hiking in relative silence. Paul lead the way, keeping a steady but maintainable pace. The trail itself was muddy but relatively flat, and wide enough you didn’t have to squeeze past any bushes. So far you hadn’t spotted anything apart from a wild rabbit that darted across the path in front of you.

Seeing a fallen trunk parallel to the path up ahead you decided now was as good a time as any to have a break.

“You keen for some morning tea?” You called to your companion, who gave you a nod and slowed down.

Perching on the thankfully stable trunk you pulled out the first of the sandwich haul.

“What’s your poison; PB & J or ham and cheese?”

“Whatever one you don’t want,”

“Na-ah, that wasn’t my question now was it. What kind of boss would I be if I just gave my worker scraps?”

“A standard one,” Paul smirked. Before grabbing the ham and cheese sandwich from the lunchbox. “Thanks”

“So Paul,” you began after a few bites of food, “what do you usually do besides leading clueless city girls around the forest ?”

“Thanks for making me sound like a serial killer. Plus I wouldn’t call you clueless,”

“I mean in the serial killer equation I think I’d rather be clueless. Would be worse if I willingly followed a killer into the middle of nowhere. Now answer the question idiot,” you laughed affectionately.

“Whatever the council needs really. Usually some form of construction or land maintenance,”

“Do you enjoy it? I imagine it’s nice to be working with your hands and doing something different every day?”

“I do. It’s not what I had anticipated doing, but it keeps me busy. I don’t think I could ever work in an office.”

“What did you think you’ll be doing?” You paused a second, and realised you may be getting too intrusive with someone you didn’t know. Something about Paul just made you want to dig into what made him…well him. “Sorry you don’t have to answer that. I’ll just shut up,”

“Don’t worry [y/n], it’s fine. But you have to swear you won’t tell anyone,”

“I solemnly swear,” you declared grabbing his left pinkie with your right.

“Child,” Pull laughed, before wrapping his pinkie around your own. “I also thought by now I’d be travelling the country. Maybe working with animals on my way, at a ranch or something like that,”

“Nothing wrong with that at all. In fact it’s smart, animals are obviously much better than people,”

“Obviously,” he snorted.

“May I asked what changed?”

“Ah just council things really, it’s my duty to the tribe.”

You could tell he was skirting around the answer, but you knew it would be beyond rude to pry any further.

“Well there’s still plenty of time to try something new,” you declared as you swung your backpack on. “Shall we continue future cowboy?”

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

Hope you all enjoyed xx

Next chapter

[nicoliharu]

Okay, I'm weird for being +20 and liking a compilation of pixels created by a Japanese woman who is working with two huge companies that only care about money.

I committed crimes by drawing and shipping my Oc with Ruggie Bucchi and answering an ask in which the ship has fankids... I didn't know that doing that was something like me committing crimes? More ironic are people saying this when they are minors?

And some of them even liking characters +18? Or saying that they want to touch breasts and even rt art of a character with their organs exposed and naked?? Am I really weird? Honestly, who am I in the fandom of such relevance? What does a minor want to tell me by saying that I should have draw Leona's nipples exposed instead of Jack's taking into account that I interpreted the image as a meme, if according to them I am sexualizing the character? Why this minors doing seeing this kind of thing to say that Leona should be there to be sexualized if you're minors? what are you doing????

There's nothing wrong with think a person's attitudes strange due to their concepts, but print the person's blog, posting on your personal account to generate rage isn't right... And I wonder where these people get the courage and morals to demand certain behavior from a person if they don't even possess it themselves. A minor consuming adult content and talking openly about it but insinuating that I'm an adult and somehow weird for having made fankids? Taking advantage of the opportunity to use your favorite character to study anatomy, doodles or silly ship things? Serious? Please just mature and grow up.

I don't need to publish accounts of the people I'd like to mention cause i know do this it's wrong, my post won't change their minds, but I'm completely sure today, after everything I've encountered that I'm definitely not the weird one.

I would like to say that anyone who might go through this, of having a group of people do bad things to you behind your back, don't give up on what you do. This is your account, decent people talk with respect, politeness and can even silence you, put some censorship or block to avoid seeing your content. So don't be intimidated.

[txttletale]

thoughts on duskmourn so far

i like it :) it's not as good as bloomburrow but also i'm not sure anything is. i think duskmourn suffers from the fact that imo it is quite mechanically unclear and murky -- the problem with leaning so heavily into flavouring abilities and putting such a big focus on their fiction 'e.g. unlocking rooms' is that when something doesn't match it's really noticeable. manifest dread plays okay but the name is really clunky and awkward when 'cloak' was three sets ago, the rooms feel stretched to breaking point--some of their effects just seem so detached from their flavour and speaking of the flavour there's a lot of very dubious rooms. what the fuck is a 'weight room' or a 'mirror room'.

also and this is a comparatively minor thing but it's been driving me crazy: the 'fear of' creatures are really bad because similar to rooms i think they ran out of real fears. some of them are like 'fear of falling' 'fear of isolation' 'fear of the dark' and it's like okay. those are real fears. 'fear of missing out' makes me cringeand is also stupid, despite the word 'fear' being in FOMO it's obviously not a fear in the horror movie sense! what the fuck is a FOMO elemental going to do, go out with your friends on a night you're busy? silly. but the one that gets me the most is 'fear of burning alive'. that's not a fucking fear guys. or like it is but it's not a distinct and personal fear like 'abduction' or 'infinity' or even 'losing teeth' -- everyone's fuckling afraid of burning alive, that's normal! 'fear of fire' would have made sense but 'fear of burning alive' might as well be 'fear of being killed to death horribly'.

that said i do love the aesthetics i love the beasties and overlords especially they are all killer designs. i like introducing modern technology levels and aesthetics to mtg i think it's badass i would take a million more ostentatiously 80s themed sets over seeing one more Fucking elf on a card ever again. i am mixed on the overt references which are sometimes very fun and cute and sometimes just feel too 'rejected player one theme song' but i really love the stupid tropey stuff that plays with the tropes and aesthetics without just being a specific movie, lke 'meathook massacre 2'. i like the level of commitment and the number of cards that feel like cheesy stupid horror movie monsters. i l;ove the card art gimmick where some printings have a Scary Getter. like it just commits hard enough to the dumb genre shit to sell it to me

anyway overall it's a good set and leaps ahead of the fucking awful OTJ and MKM but it's still a step down from bloomburrow. oh bloomburrow my beloved

[hansslut]

valentine's day with the yjs ୧ 💌 ୨

cw: pretty much just fluff !!! may have swear words included tho ??

a/n: made this for me and everyone else who's single on valentine's day too :l hope this make you all feel a lil better and ily mwah mwah, happy ( early ) valentine's day babes <3

NATALIE SCATORCCIO

- pretends she hates valentines day and everything that has to do it but deep down she adores it

- will stand awkwardly looking at the different kind of chocolates and sweets and being like "uhmmmm.....reeses are never a bad option i guess?" ALSO I FEEL LIKE she'd ask other people buying stuff for their partners what they're gonna get them cuz she's so confused 😭

- we all know she's a sucker for kisses, cuddles, holding hands, AAAANYTHING that has to do with physical touch but hates showing it so i think she'd use valentine's day as an excuse to be publicly affectionate a bit

- ok that's all i might add more later on

JACKIE TAYLOR

- she's OBSESSED with holidays and celebrations, whether it's valentine's day, christmas, anything

- waking you up at like 7am and being like "hi hi valentine hey you're my valentine it's time to wake up my valentine" while shaking you and smooching you all over

- she's never letting go of you on vday. always clinging by your side, holding your other hand while you're brushing your teeth, talking to you from outside of the door while you're on the toilet, hugging you by the waist when you're cooking

- wearing ridiculous matching outfits with her in PUBLIC. i feel like she'd have those shirts that say "their queen" AND YOU "her king/queen/monarch(☠️)" OR GETTING YOU THOSE SILLY LIL HEADBANDS THINGIES WITH THE JIGGLY HEARTS..

- knows exactly what to buy you and she's already gotten everything prepared😭 it's adorable cause she'll give you a gift of something you forgot you wanted and you're just sitting there standing like :O

SHAUNA SHIPMAN

- ditches you for jackie. end.

- JK. i think she'd just treat it like a regular day honestly

- gets you a chocolate and calls it a day but not in a bad way??? LIKE she already loves you and does a lot of things to show it so she doesn't really think valentine's day is necessary

LOTTIE MATTHEWS

- she's suuuuuuuuch a softie for showing you off and getting to shower you with gifts :(

- she wouldn't wanna go out too much, she'd probably have everything set out already. your gifts hiding in the closet, your sweets hidden in the fridge, everything prepared and on point

- i feel like since some of the yjs were mean to her and telling her to just stop talking and stuff, she'd be kinda closed off at the start and she'd be scared to show you how much she loves and adores you, but then when she sees that you accept and give her the same love back and even more she's SOOOO hyper

- writes you cheesy letters that you keep in your drawer forever and probably even little drawings of your favourite things or you and her 😭

VAN PALMER

- THE SILLY!!!!!MAI SILLY!!!DE SILLY!!!:DD

- arcade dates w them on valentine's day or going like on an amusement park☝️☝️

- they'd go print out some silly t-shirts for y'all... like "i love my van" with a picture of a van LMAOO and they'd make you wear it all the time

- if you want to do smth on that day, you BET you will. they'll never let you down i SWEAR they're the sweetest pookiest babiest to ever exist :(((((((((

TAISSA TURNER

- hates valentine's day more than anything... "what the fuck im NOT wearing that" when you ask her to match outfits with you but does it anyway

- she's miserable doing anything on valentine's day cause she thinks it's cringe but warms up to it when she sees how happy it makes you

- she's the girl that said "happy wife happy life" btw so she'll do anything u ask her to no matter how much she despises it which is.. a lot probably

- gets you a chocolate and takes 2 hours to decide if she should write you a corny letter with it and she scribbles down some ideas but then just puts :)

LAURA LEE

- as a christian we shouldn't be celebrating vday but im not really that religious so????

- but laura lee is so anyways she would be all like "im not going to sin, i don't want to disappoint my lord" 😭😭😭

- she'd still go on a date w you, well more like flower picking and stuff and she'd probably pull out the the bible and start reading to you but you love her too much to say no so you just listen

- ok yeah that's it end of post mwah mwah

[it-came-from-an-orchard]

Wonderland! Bunnydoll

It's secret to nobody that @endomentendo Wonderland AU has been spreading the same way an invasive root does in a garden (Don't tell Queenie) What some might NOT know, is that the Bunnydollers have successfully bullied them with love and pretty art to make the ship part of their canon Heck, Ragatha's mood allignement change! I call that a major victory!

So to commemorate the change and because @kookies2000 has infected half of the burrow with the WonderBug, I present thee with a small little something.

Its not very good but I had fun. And I think that all Wonderland its about

Leaves fall, birds chirp.

Twigs snap, Branches shake.

The grass crumples, dirt and sand raises in the air. 

The sounds of idle laughter chimes in, carried by the hollow whistle of the wind. Empty steps mark the ground.

The sensible response is to shake your head, turn around, and go back from wherever you came from. 

The sensible and logical thought that pricks at the mind and tells you ‘There’s nobody there’. 

So stupid and wrong. 

Out of all the creatures in the forest to find, those that find you first are probably some of the worst, and by the very nature of their bodies, this one is the most dangerous of all, as they dont get found out if they don't wish to be. 

The laughter echoes around, and if you were to close your eyes— Well, you would be really stupid, because nobody should do that in a forest. Who knows where you could trip going around blind like that? 

But if despite better judgment, you still close your eyes, or at least, the one working eye, it's almost like if windchimes were all around the forest.

Such a pretty laugh.

How can people say Chesires are bad when they laugh like that? 

“Jax! I’m not supposed to wonder this deep in, you know that!” Little Pretty Red Locks and a smile, you are not angry or mad, yet you try “At least tell me what are we looking for!”

The empty, dusty steps wave off the dirt path, leaving purple prints instead as they go up the trunk of a mighty tree

“Seriously? I have to climb? In this dress?” Only mad people talk to themselves, so this really isn’t that weird of a sight, that is, if there was anyone else with Pretty Red Locks and a smile. “Mother is gonna be upset at me if I return to the party with tears on my dress…!” 

She could have chosen not to climb, stay down on the ground, but then the enchanting laughter knew she wouldn’t. Too many a year had passed, at least he thought so, since they first started to play this game. A Cat and a Mouse. 

Why would a little mouse be in pursuit of a cat, you ask? Probably to ask for some milk, or to share a cookie. 

But there is no cat or a mouse in sight, just Pretty Red Locks and a smile. 

Climbing trees is easy, it barely takes a breeze, yet the doll struggles getting around the branches, silly girl, your dress is on the way, Why did you ever think that was appropriate clothing to go tree climbing? Mad idea, indeed. 

Leaves fall, branches creak, and the laughter is no more. A low hum bouncing around the canopies of the trees. A nameless tune that has no lyrics, and even when it does, their meaning is meaningless. Still, Pretty Red Locks tries to sing it, no matter how many times she gets it wrong. What a crazy thing to try

“Are we there yet?” She huffs and puffs the lack of air in her lungs, settling in a big sturdy branch. Yeah, they were there. That’s as good as it could get “I know I’m not a kid anymore, but you could try and give me a hand still!”

“Now, why would I do that?” The voice of nobody speaks, much mirth and much mischief in the way they sound. Just like the laughter from before “You got yourself up here without my help! If you couldn’t, why try?” 

“You told me to follow you, then disappeared and got me here!” Still airless, still amused. Are you not afraid of being this high up? 

“If I disappeared, you got yourself here” Fight a disembodied voice about semantics, if you weren’t mad before, you will be after.

“Well, We’re here-- Or *I* am here now. So what's the surprise?” 

“What surprise?” 

“I’m not going to start that with you”

“Start what?” 

Laughter again, but it's not the voice of the nobody, Pretty Red Locks laughs. 

It’s a pretty laugh.

“The view is nice from up here” Again talking to herself, because there was no other voice to answer her “You always like to be somewhere high, don’t you?” Talking to oneself means nobody answers you, but Pretty Red Locks and a smile didn’t seem to be bothered by that, her lips splayed in a wide smile for the empty space right beside her on the branch “I guess it's part of your nature”

The hollow wind carries the small hum of a melody. Down below littles colorful dots dance around unhearable music. It wouldn’t be long now until they realized the missing person among them.

“Having fun on your regular birthday?” The voice of nobody spoke, though it was lacking a bit of that usual charm. Wonder where it had gone

“What other types of birthdays are there?” The doll only got silence as a response, right, she was answering a question with another question “Yes, it’s very fun. I’m glad you came by”

“Wouldn’t have missed it for the end of the world~!” 

Swinging her legs over the void of the fall, the doll swallowed the rest of the questions she wanted to ask, her conversation partner wasn’t in a responsive mood and talking to herself wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, even if she did it more often than most

“I’m gonna give you your gift now” The disembodied voice spoke and the doll felt her insides tickle as if full of loose flower petals

“Does that mean I can see you n-” Ragatha wanted to say something dumb, because she was about to answer a statement with a question. A dumb and also rude thing to do

Thankfully, she was saved from the embarrassment by a pressure over her mouth. Her lips. It felt… Warm. slightly moist, a bit fuzzy. 

Such an odd feeling

Not only was her mouth covered by something, Ragatha blinked once and she was sure something was holding the sides of her arms. It was firm yet kind, the way she always felt when dancing atop the roof of the castle, or balancing over the railing of the balconies or now, over at the top of the trees. 

She pursed her lips and that pressure moved. Ragatha realized now that she couldn’t quite breath with this strange block against her mouth, but just before she could start to worry about running out of air, the pressure left her mouth. The one around her arms remained.

Blinking once, twice. Ragatha notices her eyesight worsening. Just a second ago she could see the party below with perfect clarity, now everything seems to be warped and fuzzy. Like trying to see through an empty glass.

Something invisible in between. 

“Jax?” She called to the nothing around her. “Did you do something just now?” 

Pretty Red Locks got no answer from the empty air around her. She blinked again, the fuzziness went away, and so did the hold around her. 

She missed it already. 

The familiar humming of a distant tune came back, and while the sound bounced around, Ragatha’s gaze stood firmly ahead. The emptiness in front of her slowly filling up from the bottom up, stripes of purple and dark blue hues swirling, tangling and knotting among themselves. Forming limbs, a torso, a tail, ears and finally. 

Two big yellow eyes and a smile. 

“Happy regular birthday, Ragatha” The voice of nobody came from the mouth of this funny looking guy, but Ragatha already knew that. She have known this funny looking man for a long time now

“Happy not-birthday, Jax” She returned the gesture, smiling, not as widely but almost so as the man floating over nothing in front of her. 

“Oh! You remembered! How thoughtful!” The colourful man squinted his eyes slightly as his smile broadened even more, making most of his face “Anyway, Ready to go back?” He extended an open, gloved palm to the pretty doll with red locks and a smile, he was, admittedly, a bit surprised that she didn’t immediately take it.

“Jax, My aunt will freak out if she sees me ‘Floating’ down back to the party!” “Not let anyone see you, got ya!” Jax reached out and claimed Ragatha by the arm to himself, pulling her with him into the nothing void. 

Most people would freak out, scream, cry. To be so carelessly thrown into no ground at all, especially at such a height. 

Ragatha just giggled, barely holding on to Jax as they took step after step, moving slowly, closer to the ground. 

“Aren’t ya afraid to fall?” Jax held got tighter to her and she let go even more, slightly annoying. She should be holding onto him as if her life depended on it. What, was she mad or something?

“Are you going to let me fall?” Pretty Red Locks and the gall you had, trusting your life to a cheshire. 

“Not unless it’s funny” 

They eventually made it back to the ground and Jax lost himself in a puff of color. But Ragatha knew him to be close by. Call it a ‘Womanly intuition’. She just had a gift for this sort of thing. 

In truth, watching the scenery from up high and float back down with Jax was something she was really used to, she could quite understand what about that was supposed to be her gift. 

That feeling she got around her lips though…

She hoped she could ask Jax about it the next time they got to meet for tea. 

She enjoyed it very much

If only a feeling such as that one had a name.

[doodle-zine]

Doodle Zine!

Hi! I'm Stars ( @ilovedthestars ) and I like making zines.

I would like to invite anyone who is interested to participate in a fun and low-stakes collaborative zine project! We can't quite get the scissors-glue-and-photocopier vibe of a classic zine on Tumblr, but I'm hoping to make something that's as close as we can get over the internet.

There's something so fun and personal about doodles. They mostly exist on paper, and are rarely shown off to other people, but they can be so unique and individual. I always loved swapping doodles in friends' notebooks and having a little something from them in the corner of my homework. That's a vibe I'd like to bring to my little corner of the internet.

So! If you're interested, I would love for you to draw some doodles, take a photo, and send them to me via this form! I will compile the submissions into both a digital zine and a printable version (5.5x4.25" pamphlet format), and share them here on Tumblr when they're finished.

(The form requires a gmail sign-in, but I will not be able to see the email you use. If you don't have a gmail account to use, you can DM me on tumblr or discord to submit)

There is no selection process--I will be including every submission that I feasibly can. I would like to emphasize that this is not an art zine, it's a doodle zine! Here are some examples of what I'm talking about when I say "doodles." The point is to have fun together, and I will not be holding you to any sort of artistic standard, so please don't hold yourself to one.

This form will be accepting submissions for at least two weeks (until July 16th).

I will leave the form open longer if submissions come in slowly. If I get too many submissions for one zine, I will simply make more zines and turn it into a series. If I am absolutely overwhelmed with submissions, we'll see how far I get through them, but I will work approximately in order of submission until I run out of energy. I have no solid timeline beyond that--this is a fun summer project for me, and I'm trying not to turn it into homework. But I'm very excited about making this happen!

The (loose) guidelines for submissions are listed in the form, as well as below the cut, for your convenience. Feel free to follow this tumblr for updates, or send in questions via the askbox. Happy doodling!

Guidelines:

Doodle anything, as messy, scribbly, abstract, or silly as you want! This zine is about little moments of connection, not about artistic quality. Treat your page like the margins of your notebook during a long lecture (or doodle in the margins of your notebook during a long lecture and submit it!)

Your page of doodles will be 4.25 inches wide by 5.5 inches tall, or 1/4 of a sheet of letter-sized paper. Either work at this size or be okay with me cropping to fit the dimensions!

Use whatever drawing tools you like, but know that light pencil might not show up well.

Lined paper is fine. So is paper with stuff printed or written on it that you have doodled over/around (as long as there are no identifying/sensitive details, like the name of a school or workplace).

Sign your page somewhere with whatever name or username you're comfortable with! Or indicate below that you chose to submit anonymously.

Take a photo! It doesn't have to be a great photo, but a decent photo will make it easier for me to edit. Try to have brightish light, no direct shadows on the paper, and a mostly straight-on angle. Leave the edges of the paper within the photo, no need to crop. I'll take care of the rest!

If there are any issues with your submission (like a photo I can't use) I will contact you and give you the chance to resubmit, so no worries.

Most importantly, have fun :)

[lawva-girl]

Portrait Photography headcanons

Characters: Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Law, Kid, Nami, Perona

total wc: 1600(ish)

Mainly fem reader, Its gender neutral in reality buuut i dislike the idea of men reading this.... (photography opinions let me know if you want to hear me yap about it)

Luffy:

•as soon as he finds out ur a photographer he begs to see your work, if it’s printed he’ll prob ask for a copy (i just see him as a collector!)

• won’t ask you to take pics of him but one day he’s messing around on the deck of the sunny and ussop brings out water balloons

• seeing him slightly wet, and running around with no shirt on… motivated you.

• you take a couple shots and look, immediately realizing you need to print some!

• the photos show off his physique, not too big but definitely toned. His hair is wet and sticks to his head a little, plus he has a small sunburn coming on, giving him a natural blush. He’s sporting a cocky smile that only comes on when he’s being competitive, and he looks handsome enough to kill.

• zoro is interested in the print (i know what you are zoro) buuut luffy wants nothing to do with pictures of himself.

Zoro:

•HATES being on camera

• he will always be sleeping in any shots you get of him. Unfortunate but it is what it is

• he thinks you look great while taking photos though, and will watch you watch others.

• he admires the focus you have, but also loves to test it. Calling your name when he sees you take your final action before the shot, scaring you when you are looking through your viewfinder, covering the lens of your camera… he’ll mess with you endlessly

• everytime you catch him, you of course get mad and he just laughs (bring back zoro laughing) and walks away from you.

• but to get back at him, you snap a few photos of his back as he walks away..

• and wow does that man have a back, the muscles are so toned and big that you can see each one clearly through his shirt, dabs of sweat rest on his neck, where his tanned skin looks like it is glowing. Thankfully you used the right exposure to capture the details in his arms as well, with tiny scars dotting his skin like freckles. He’s looking to the side, with a beer bottle in hand. It’s just enough that you can see his profile, but not his entire face. The bottle is straight up in the sky as liquid is held in place (in the photo) against his lips… it’s definitely a picture you would keep just for you.

• zoro discovers a print and slices it 20 ways before discarding it into the sea. He doesn’t realize that you have more copies, and digital back ups :)

Sanji:

•he would def object to you taking any photo of him, arguing that you should be photographed instead

• silly boy abt seeing his pics

• ofc would love and support you

• would ask to be taught how to take pictures good so he could take them of you instead

• but he wouldn’t mind seeing like action shots of himself cooking

• hed prob be like “this is how you see me Cherie?” Jaw dropped maybe

• I think he might get an ego about it if zoro was in the room….

• once again they would be action shots of him cooking, closeups on his hands cutting things or seasoning meat perchance..

• he’d always look focused and his cigarette smoke would reaaaally set the mood of the collection I think

• the final photo (of like the session of collection of them) would HAVE to be the final plating of the dish.

• side note sanji would absolutely relate to you, creating things is human nature and (if you were a photographer) he would relate to that soooo much, taking things that exist already and making them more beautiful or enhanced and possibly an experience is something he understands I think….

Law:

•BIGGEST HATER

•he would blush and shy away from the camera

• prob get angry as well

• he would always be behind you when the camera is out, like DEtermined to not be in any shots

• I think it comes from, perchance, a fear of being perceived? Like he feels like he doesn’t deserve to be around so he tries to avoid any proof of it maybe (pls kill me if you disagree)

• he would compliment your work very technically, for instance “you picked the perfect exposure for this shot” and whatnot

• I think he’d try to be objective about it all

• the vibe of photography for documentation rather than photography purely as an art form

• but I think he would show you the photos in his medical books, of like diseases and cells and bodies, and ask you what you thought

•kinda a means of learning about why you like photography, but also because it’s actually changing the way he thinks about even the most basic of pictures he sees

• obvi eventually you would sneak a couple of photos of him, while he would clean his figures or coins, whenever he was distracted pretty much

• the first time, you told him right away and asked if he wanted them to be deleted. But when he saw the faces you had captured his brain like clicked in place

• hed look focused, with a slight smile and soft ish eyes, his hair fell in the perfect way somehow and you truly thought he was the most handsome guy on the planet

• the photos would have an air of “crazy man surrounded by silly things” (pls ignore this if it sound crazy I have such a specific vision in my head)

• I think he wouldn’t react, at first, but later he’d look at them again and slowly understand how you saw him, and how it wasn’t a crime to just exist with the things and ppl he liked

Kid:

•he would force you to take pictures of him.

• like genuinely force… he would touch up his own makeup, pick out a wardrobe, give you notes on the vibe and lighting he wanted, it would be a full week of work

• I just know he isn’t shy in any way and would keep copies hanging on the wall, they came out great so you would keep a smaller version in your wallet (hehe)

• he would Not let you take all of the credit (def would tell people it was all his idea)

• I think he’d try to sell them somewhere, but the price would be too high and no one would buy them

• at the end of the day he cherished them so much bc it was an excuse to hang out with you and flirt and stuff, not that he would need an excuse to do it

• he also would love to see you working the camera and any lighting apparatus, reminding him of you drooling over him while he would work on his stuff

• now he gets to drool over you :D

Nami:

•the camera LOVES her

• in this fake world you took her bounty picture, and you and her made them into cards to sell (like you would for an idol or whatnot)

• she loves having intimate moments with you though, and those photos would NEVER see the outside of her room.

• they are kept under lock and key so none of the gross boys will see them, it’s just for you and Nami to love and appreciate eachother

• I think she would force you to let her take shots of you, with her being so beautiful it was easy for you to self deprecate, and she wanted to hear no more of it

• she would prove to you how beautiful you were, getting all the right angles and lighting

• seeing the pics she would take of you def would change ur mind about yourself, if Nami, BEAUTIFUL Nami could see you in that way how could you not?

• I think beyond that the two of you would take pics of the guys on the ship doing stupid stuff, like luffy hitting zoro on accident or something

• you two would share in those moments, glances, touches, laughter, you and Nami were meant to last

Perona:

•she would love taking pics of you, with you, and you taking pics of her? She would love every bit of it

• she would get annoyed if you invited anyone else to the two of y’all’s sessions, even if she knew it was just friendly

• I think she would get jealous if you took pictures of other people, turning into her whiny mode if you did

• she would strive to be your muse, wearing creative outfits and doing her hair and makeup in fun and pretty ways to catch your attention

• ofc it would work everytime, and you would go running to her

• Perona always looked amazing in pictures (and she would LOVE when you include her ghosts) so you always wanted to take pics of her

• I think the relationship between you two would grow a bit like artist obsessed and muse… I feel like she’s kinda crazy and would like lowkey manipulate you into it? But I mean I believe reader is smart enough to be aware of it but choose to play into it

• she would show off to zoro and mihawk, something something “I have a relationship and you two aren’t even close to getting one” followed by her cute ass laugh

(THANK YOU SO MUCH @head-empty-just-ace YOU SAVED ME)

[alicenpai]

hi! ive been a big fan of your work for a while now, and i was just wondering if you have any tips or anything for selling merch online? :>

hi anon! so you want to be a con artist huh 👁👁 ...

^ a real con artist..

i’m not sure if you wanted online specific tips or general merch tips, but i compiled a bit of both! (also not sure if you're a beginner to art in general, there's a difference between a more experienced artist doing merch for the first time + beginner artists trying merch for the first time bc the risks involved are different)

i wrote more on the subject but i cut some out because it seemed too long.. and i tend to ramble ^__T it's hard to answer questions like these because they're so generalized, but if you had any more specific questions feel free to send another ask!

^ random image for visual interest

general tips for beginners(?)

merch can be fun, and it is! but in the end always remind yourself you're running a business, and it's real money you're going to be spending. it's good to take risks (on things like, new product types if you think your art is ready for it, or less popular series/more experimental designs, etc.) as you learn a lot from them, but always think over financial decisions carefully at the same time.

what helped me grow a lot as both a merch artist (and as a general artist) over 10 years is - a lot of reflection. and i mean a LOT of it. in terms of art in general i don't personally do a lot of studies (which is probably my downfall and i need to get back to it) but i think im pretty observant and introspective which helps me improve a lot. i often write my silly little blog posts on tumblr, I'll write notes on my phone if i have a train of thought i need to get down quickly.

i also often discuss merch things with friends and it really helps to get varying perspectives. (though i admit i should really share wips more, i used to but not as much anymore. blame the working life haha, not as many people have time to discuss non-work art anymore ;_;). all of these things keep me on my toes and weigh my strengths and weaknesses. if anyone is interested i could write more on the specific topics i reflect on after every con/shop opening.

stick to the tried and true 5-10 copies per design for beginners! this range sounds too little, but don't forget the big picture as well... you'll likely also have multiple different designs, across different product types.

e.g. 5 copies x 4 characters/designs, and let's say you do this for every product type (e.g. postcards, stickers, charms), 5 x 4 x 3 = 60 individual pieces of merch. that's a pretty solid number for a first timer!

i also personally print 5-10 copies of designs im doing for a test print run, or for characters that don't seem particularly popular.

15 is the average amount for me for a short run product (1 con season)

i certainly reprint often + go higher sometimes if i dont mind the product being in my catalogue for years.

15 is not too many in case the design is unpopular and doesn't sell, and it's also not too little that it won't be enough sales to break even.

promo images & taking photos (online specific)

i'm not a professional photographer and these photos might be absolute ass to some people. i will accept that, and honestly id agree with you. this is just my advice for straightforward, simple photos.

good quality and clear photos are best. it's great fun to use props in photos, and they can certainly turn your photos from plain to impressive. but it's easy to get carried away with props and fancy scrapbook paper imo, and i prefer to let the artwork speak for itself. honestly keeping it simple can be the best option sometimes. i used to take a lot more photos back in 2022 when i had less new products, but nowadays i find that i have too many products to take photos of, so i prefer to just keep my photos simple with a white piece of paper as my backdrop. i just. shrimply cannot be bothered taking out all of the props anymore...

above: the backdrop in this photo is bad, it's distracting and takes away from the artwork. (fe charms from 2016)

this are photos taken on a sunny day.

if you don't have a good phone camera (mine is ~5 years old), ive found that taking photos on a sunny day, either inside or outside, work great for me, as it shows off the natural colour of your product best. i either take it to the garden or i like to find a patch of sunlight filtering through the window. be wary of glare or too much light reflecting on your merch in photos though, because it can be distracting and take away from visibility on the product. but i can understand if a bit of glare ends up on one's finalized merch photos.

this is an example of utilizing light at a certain angle to show off the holographic film on this charm.

sunny photo vs cloudy photo.

taking photos inside on a cloudy day during daylight hours is also a popular option, especially if you live in an area where there isn't much direct sunlight/cloudy season, but for me personally i find cloudy day photos come out a bit dull and do take a bit of colour correcting. all of my cloudy day photos are tweaked and i find the colours to be a bit off from the original products, but that's just how it is with taking photos i guess.

because i don't have a great phone camera, my personal alternative is to make graphics! i just think of it as a collage to use fun textures and PNGs! im obviously not a professional, and these probably look very bad in a professional's eye. but i think it's fun. i like to incorporate the aesthetic or visual style of the series into the graphic if i do make em. ^_^

store platform

each one has their pros and cons. many store platforms have trial periods/free plans for people to try out.

bigcartel is what i use and i'm familiar with, and i would honestly recommend it. (i'm too lazy to move or try another platform right now...) for big store openings ill pay for a month or two of the basic $15 plan. ill use the free gold plan on bigcartel if im only planning to open my store for a limited time and don't want to commit to a full monthly plan.

storenvy: i've used storenvy from about 2014-16. i moved from storenvy for issues such as charging customers fees for purchasing from storenvy's marketplace page (and not from your actual personalized storefront) and urging me to use stripe even though it wasn't supported in canada at that time. im not sure if theyve fixed these issues but they were pervasive issues at the time that honestly forced me to quit. it also has a kind of outdated UI (e.g. can't zoom into pics on mobile?).

i think storenvy is a very easy to use platform for beginners because it's very basic! but i wouldn't recommend it if you have a great number of products, or if you're looking for more advanced features.

tictail isn't available anymore, i couldn't recommend it for that reason. i used it from around 2016-18.

i don't have any experience on shopify or etsy. shopify i heard is great because of all of the neat features you can implement, which you can use to really make your store yours. etsy has a huge marketplace which helps discoverability, but i have also heard there are many fees, so a lot of artists unfortunately make their prices a bit higher on etsy.

ecwid is also one that i've heard pop up. some also host shops on weebly or squarespace.

shipping

if you don't already have a kitchen scale, it's a good idea to get one if you think you'll be using it a lot to weigh packages! a postage scale is probably better. i just have a kitchen scale because it's cheap. as long as the measurements are precise (don't use a bathroom scale with a dial like me when i started out lmao).

thermal labels are also a good investment if you think youll need em!! i actually don't personally use them, because i have way too much hand-me-down stacks of paper in my home, so i don't see the need to make an extra investment. the downside to printing shipping labels on paper is taking the time to cut and stick them on packages.

i'm from canada (surprising the amount of people who think im from the US T__T) so these tips will be canadian specific, but you can hopefully get the gist.

when i was starting out, i used canada post (usps is the american equivalent) to send out store orders. however shipping labels from your govt post office can be pricey. which is why it's a good option to join their small business program if they have one, where you'll receive discounts on shipping labels. i don't use canada post shipping anymore, but i will use them for countries that my shipping agent doesn't ship to.

also take advantage of their free shipping tuesdays for domestic packages in october!! i believe you can receive 2 free labels per tuesday, up to 4 or 5 tuesdays for the entire month = 8-10 free labels in october.

next step is shipping agents!! if you live close to a chitchats or stallion express facility, they're great, and they usually provide tracking on shipping by default. in my opinion, tracking on orders is a MUST, so customers can have peace of mind! (minus like sticker-only shipping because that could be sent with postage stamps)

they also do home pickup if you have a bunch of packages in bulk/can't get to a facility. i believe americans have pirate ship.

you print and stick on your shipping labels at home, then you just travel to the shipping facility and throw your packages in the right bins (e.g. domestic, US, international). that's it! easy as pie!

i personally use chitchats because that is closer to me. i had heard stallion provides better rates for international shipping, which i'll have to look at at a later date.

most of my orders come from the US and canada. (funnily enough it is unfortunately cheaper to send packages from canada to USA, than it is for me to send packages within canada.) international orders are a bit of a pain, and you will need to know tariff codes for your product types (e.g. prints have a diff code than buttons) while writing the customs form. people in some countries will get taxed on all imported packages (e.g. packages marked as "sold goods" and not "gifts"). an alternative to this is to use etsy, so that customers can pre-pay for the tariffs before the order is processed. this is something i'll also look into for the future.

posting

wow now you're now done organizing your shop and promo images and you're ready to post! a good strategy is to post across multiple platforms to see what sticks. it takes effort and time but it can have a solid turnout! (i forget sometimes, don't be like me)

i don't know if this is true, but a lot of keywords words such as "shop", "store", "link" and etc. are apparently suppressed on social media (particularly twitter). don't take my word for it however.

shop posts don't generally do as well as regular art posts for most artists. but disregarding censored words for a second, it can also be attributed to psychological reasons, generally people don't like to be advertised to. (e.g. tumblr doesn't have an algorithm and shop posts usually dont do as well here either. tumblr users are just not receptive to clicking on links apparently).

personally, writing alternate terms like "sh0p" just isn't for me, but no shade though, bc i do understand workarounds are hard and everyone needs to make a living somehow. ill instead use words like, "leftovers are in" or "new items are up!" something more vague, but with the accompaniment of merch images, will still be clear to people that it's a shop update.

sharing your shop promo posts in artist alley discord servers also help a lot, especially if you don't know too many artists when starting out. they're a great resource and community full of passionate individuals who will boost your art. if you're not familiar with them, you can find some public ones on google or maybe even artist communities on reddit. a big one is Artist Alley Network International.

if there are some topics you think i've missed, feel free to send em over to my inbox!! ill also think more about this in the coming days and edit this post as i see fit 🫡

[cheezeybread]

Hello! May i have a request with Jade and the reader who is experienced on hiking and camping.

When reader found out that there is something relate with camping or mountain expedition club (the Mountain Appreciation Club) they immediately wanna join the club.

Jade might surprise (or amused) on how well prepared they were and reader explaining that they were one of the member hikers as a 'Gadget Hiker' and ever went to Appalachian Mountain that is one of a dangerous mountain when at night.

I hope you like the idea and have a good day! 💞

Fun Fact! .....mmm, Jade go brr.

He's such an interesting character to me because he plays his cards so close to his chest. Like, we get why Azul is the way he is because we know his backstory. Floyd is pretty much an open book. But Jade? He's just a silly guy who keeps his thoughts to himself. But is still just as terrifying as his twin!

So fun!

Anyway, I love the request, and I hope I do it justice here!

I got a lil carried away :/

╔═*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*═╗

Being bored was something you never thought would happen in this world. There was far too much for you to do, after all! You had to survive, for one thing. You had to help Crowley with his work! You had to clean on campus and fix up Ramshackle the best you could! You had to study for classes that you couldn't even take exams for half the time due to your lack of magic! You had to make sure Grim didn't fail his classes, because if he failed, you would, too! You had to help other students with their emotional issues! You had to-

But after some time, the distress and anxiety it all caused you to think about became...rather mundane. The worry of what might happen and what tomorrow might bring didn't seem so terrifying to think of. It had become your norm, after a while. You weren't too sure if it was a necessarily good or bad thing, but at least you weren't constantly burnt-out and an anxious mess!

With this newfound inner peace, however, came the inevitable "boredom". Or something like it. The craving for something new.

Or something reminiscent.

Walking out of Alchemy class after a particularly rough day, you hoisted Grim up onto your shoulders- as became the norm, since his stubby legs couldn't keep up with your gait- and began the trek back to Ramshackle.

But something caught your eye as you passed by the main corridor of the building. A cork-board with many different posters and papers on it that you couldn't even see the board underneath it anymore. Some of the papers were pinned with the same tack, some were stacked up so tightly that they fell to the ground in a cluster of assorted papers.

There were a variety of things to catch your eye on there- job advertisements, offerings for contracts, odd jobs to do around school, study tips, tutoring help, library hours, all sorts of things that would pertain to students at NRC.

But the one that caught your eye most was a club poster. It wasn't very good, by any means. A plain white background with basic pictures of mushrooms, trees, and fauna placed carefully around the print in the center of the page.

"Mountain Lover's Club

Meets at 5'oclock every Wednesday, Room 2-B"

There were no names signed on the paper to show who owned the club, nor the other members in it, but the word "mountain" was enough to send a delighted chill up your spine.

The intense memories of your old world, of the birds in the trees, the sound of wind rushing through bushes and water running nearby, of the feeling of rocks underneath your feet and rough tree bark scraping across your hands flew through your mind, and you stared at the paper for a minute longer than you should have.

"Oi, Hench-human!" Grim yowled, smacking his paw across your face (gently, of course, and without his claws out) to get your attention "What're you staring at that for? I'm hungry!"

"Hm?" Jolted out of your thoughts, you glanced to Grim with an absentminded smile "Oh, yeah, sorry about that. Let's get back home," as an afterthought, you glanced at the paper one last time, memorizing the time and room number before continuing on your trek "And if you ever hit me again, Grim, you're going to have to sleep on the floor."

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

"Room 2-B, 2-B, 2-B," You repeated under your breath like a mantra, walking through the halls of the main building an hour after dropping off Grim at the dorm. It felt odd to be in here after class, you thought to yourself. It didn't seem like the same place without a horde of students rushing to their next classes, or idly standing in the hallway taking up space.

Of course, there were other clubs meeting in this building, and occasionally one or two students would pass by you, or you would walk by a room with several students quietly chatting inside, but even so. It still felt empty.

You crossed your arms together, peering at every room's door, looking for the right number combination. Eventually, you stumbled onto lucky Room 2-B! The wooden door was open slightly ajar, so you knocked quietly on it before pushing it open the rest of the way, stepping inside.

It was a classroom you've never been in before, but looked to be something relating to math, given the half-erased equations up on the chalkboard. Chairs and desks were pushed neatly to the walls of the room to allow for more floor space, and there were a stack of textbooks underneath one of the desks. Something that wasn't part of the classroom, you could guess, was the folding table set up in the middle of the room. Set on top of it was a cage, of sorts, made up of glass.

"Hello?" You called out, wincing at how loud your voice sounded in the empty room. Huh. No one was here. But this was the right room, you were sure of it. Maybe the group went out to get something and would be back soon? Either way, you could afford to spare a few minutes waiting on them.

So you curiously stepped forward, towards the table, leaning down a bit to properly look at the cage. A terrarium, you knew by looking more closely at it. Inside was a pile of loose, fluffy dirt, and on the table beside it, laying on a towel, were small containers. Some were filled with more of the dirt, one had different colored moss, one had what looked to be seeds in it, and one (with the lid tightly firm on it) held a mess of squiggling insects that looked similar to the ones on your world, but too different to be exact.

The sound of footsteps, light on the floor, could just be faintly heard before someone entered the room. Before you could turn around, you heard them ask "Can I help you?"

To say you were frightened after turning to face the person would be an understatement. To say you almost had a heart attack would also be an understatement.

You turned, and for a moment, you got a flash of when you had last met this man. Sharp teeth, sharp claws, a predatory look in his eyes as he twirled around your group like a cat playing with his food.

He stared at you, baring his teeth in a sadistic grin, his brother beside him mimicking the same expression.

"Now, now, it wouldn't do for you to accomplish your task so easily now, would it~?"

You let out a breath, taking an instinctive step back. Which, unfortunately for you, was right smack into the table behind you.

Jade's eyes grew wide as the polite, forced smile left his lips, and he moved far too quickly for someone of his size, darting not towards you, but for the objects behind you. He wedged himself between you and the table, grabbing onto the table itself with one hand, and steadying the terrarium and containers with his other arm; while propping you up so you wouldn't stumble any more.

"Careful!" He hissed, as you practically shoved yourself off of him and moved closer to the door.

You tried to catch your breath- it all happened within a few seconds of him coming into the room, and frankly, you didn't have the mental fortitude to process it all as fast as it occurred. Lifting up a hand to signal for him to give you a minute (not that it mattered much anyway, since his back was still to you and his attention on the table), you steadied yourself and took the opportunity to examine the situation.

Jade Leech, one of the twins working with Azul, hunched his long figure over the table, his hands darting between containers to check their contents. The last time you saw him was not just when he and his brother were stopping you from reaching the museum during your contract, but when Azul had overblotted. Both of the times you saw them were more than enough to leave a lasting impression on you.

They were formidable in every sense of the word, and in any form they took. In the sea, they were creatures who could squeeze you so tight you'd burst. Fast and deadly, predatory instincts ran rampant through their blood. On land, they were still just as intimidating, with powerful capabilities in magic and physical strength. Together, the twins were an unstoppable force. Even separate, they were immovable objects. With Azul and Floyd, after the incident was said and done with, you knew where you stood with them. Floyd was an open book- he had no qualms with sharing how he really felt, and although he did occasionally have ulterior motives, you knew that he was pretty straight-forward. Azul was standoffish after everything, most likely ashamed and insecure about his show of grand weakness and "cringe", as Floyd put it. Azul left you alone as long as you left him alone.

But Jade? Whoo, boy, that man was an enigma! He was silent, deadly, and just as cunning as Azul was. He was a man of few words, in most situations, and the thought of getting on his bad side was enough to make your stomach queasy.

Oh, well, best to try and get on his good side now, at least.

"I'm sorry- you just- scared the crap out of me," You began, finally able to regain the use of your voice.

Jade straightened himself up, deciding that the objects on his table were no longer in harm's way, and turned to you, a curious look in his eyes "I apologize, as well, I should have known better," He said softly, that same polite smile plastered on his face again.

Oh. You hadn't expected him to apologize. How....strange.

"Ahem, well, I guess we can put it behind us, then," You continued "Is this the room that the Mountain Lover's club meets in?" Please say no, please say I'm in the wrong room, please say no, please say no-

"Indeed it is," He responded with a gentle nod, his smile widening a bit "Do you have interest in mountains, by any chance, Prefect?"

Say no, say no! "I do," You idiot! "I was wondering what all this club does- are the rest of the members coming soon, or...?"

"Oh, no," Jade chuckled, crossing to the other side of the table and taking a seat busying his hands with building the terrarium, packing the soil down on the bottom "I'm afraid it's just myself at the moment. But as for what we- or shall I say, I- do...I hike in the mountains just off-campus and gather specimens I find interesting. Leaves, plants....seeds," He smiled and held up the container that had some small black seeds in it to demonstrate his point. As he sprinkled some of them into the soil, he continued "I also gather different species of wild fungi to experiment with, both in dishes and otherwise, as well as to grow in the Botanical Gardens on campus."

Glancing back up at you with a look that sent goosebumps crawling up your arms, he asked "If you're interested in joining, or, say...wish to understand the 'club' a bit more, then might I suggest joining me for an excursion tomorrow? I'll be spending all of the late afternoon and night looking for nocturnal flora- plants that you can only find during the nightly hours."

You wanted to say no. As much as you loved the mountains, and nature, and missed your home, you wanted to say no.

But the feeling of a cool breeze on your skin, the scent of the trees and flowers, even the itching feeling of unwanted bugs on your skin forced you to open your mouth and say:

"I'd love to."

Jade's teeth clacked together as he chuckled, the sharp things looking as if they might be ready to tear into your skin at any moment. "Wonderful. I'll meet you at the campus' exit tomorrow at...shall we say 5 o'clock? Most classes will be done by then, and it gives you a chance to get homework done." How thoughtful. As a hindsight, he added "And I do hope all of that contract nonsense is water under the bridge, to quote a land-dweller's saying, right?"

You swallowed thickly and forced a smile, flashing him a thumbs-up "Yup! Water under the bridge- I'll see you at 5 tomorrow, bye-" And with that less-than-graceful statement, you ran out of the room as quickly as you could and back to the safety of your own dorm.

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

At 4:45 in the afternoon the next day, you set out of your dorm, giving a tearful Grim a goodbye hug and pat. Grim was convinced you wouldn't come back alive. While you hoped otherwise, you couldn't say that you didn't think the same thing. As soon as you told Ace, Deuce, and Grim what you were planning on doing, the entire trio began yelling at you for being such an idiot...and then started mourning for your future demise at the hands of Jade Leech.

"All night, alone! In the secluded mountains! With HIM!" Ace yelled, practically tearing his hair out. As with Grim, you shared Ace's pain. But you needed some sort of connection to your homeworld, and if Jade could show you those mountains and help you establish that connection, then by Sevens, you would go up in the mountains with him!

After the boys finished their pre-funeral for you, you got to work on packing. It was fairly difficult, since you didn't have the privilege of having your old belongings here with you, but skipping out on a class and borrowing some money from Trey (with the promise of working at Sam's shop to pay him back) gave you the opportunity to buy some of the items you would need for the excursion. Bug spray, hiking boots, good pants, a jacket, hat, water, food supplies, sleeping bag (just in case), emergency supply kit, medicine....everything that you packed in your old bag back at home, you bought and packed then and there. Good thing you were used to the heavy backpack, or else you would most definitely be struggling to walk right now! As soon as you tugged that backpack on, all of the old muscles in your back that had been honed to hiking perfection perked right up, almost seeming overjoyed at being used again.

Already at the exit to the school's campus was none other than your new hiking buddy and potential murderer. When he saw you approaching, he made a show of checking the time on his watch "Prefect! You're five minutes earlier than the set time."

"So are you," You pointed out with a small smile.

Jade raised a brow, considering your point "Fair enough. Being early means being on time- being on time is considered being late for some."

"Very wise, Shakespeare." You nodded sarcastically.

"Who?"

"I, uh-" Shoot, new world, they didn't have Shakespeare here! "Nothing. Lead the way, Mister Leech."

Brushing aside your awkward blunder, Jade began to walk off of campus, his own backpack eerily similar to yours, you noticed "Now, during this trip, I will not be sharing any of my supplies unless it is under an extreme circumstance. You had time to prepare ahead, and I expect-"

"I know, I'm good," You interrupted him, holding up a hand as you jogged to walk next to him. You felt better already, more at home, as the two of you made your way to the nearest treeline. The rising slope of the mountain was enough to send an exhilarating rush through your veins.

"Oh, you are, are you?" Jade smirked "We shall see, Prefect, we shall see."

And see he did. The two of you began the trek up the mountain, taking the time to admire every bit and piece that nature had to offer on the way. When an unknown creature came into view, Jade was prepared to pull you back to safety, but was surprised to see you keep your distance, despite curiosity about the animal. When there was a pond, Jade expected you to immediately dunk your water bottle into the water to fill it back up, but was shocked to see you pull out a water purifying device to cleanse it of bacteria before filling up your bottle and offering him the use of the device, as well. Bug spray? You had some already. Bandaid to cover up that nasty-looking scrape from a rock? You had one already out of your bag. When it got dark? You pulled out a lantern of your own instead of mooching off of Jade's light.

"Prefect," He started after a few hours of hiking, his breath heavy from walking so long, but filled with a delighted energy nonetheless "Tell me, how did you know to bring all that you did? I expected to be covering for you left and right, but each time, you leave me in a state of utter confusion."

You laughed at this, pausing to look at an interesting bug perched on top of a branch eye-level to you "Ooh, well, I said that I liked mountains," You explained, catching back up with him "Back on my world, I was pretty into all this nature stuff. Hiking like this was enough of a thrill for me. I know what to pack like the back of my hand, and your world is similar enough to mine that my list of things to pack is still good."

As Jade stopped suddenly and squatted down to dig a peculiar-looking blue mushroom- one of the "nocturnal flora" that he was hoping to find, apparently- you leaned up against a tree.

"I even hiked up on the Appalachian trail way back when."

"The what now?" He asked, pulling out an empty container and gently placing the mushroom inside before locking it and stuffing it back into his bag. He stood up and began to walk again, with you alongside him.

"It's this mountain range back at home. It's considered suuuper dangerous if you don't know what you're doing." You smiled at the memory "There's a lot of things that can go wrong up there. You could get lost, trip and break a leg without getting found for a few days, tons of predators, venomous animals, you name it!" You sighed, closing your eyes for a second as you recalled the feeling you had of traveling that path "Oh, but it was so beautiful..."

Jade was quiet for a moment, and you glanced back over to him to see what if he had wandered off or something. But he was still next to you, as silent as ever. But he was just watching you with a small smile on his face. Not the same smile that gave you the willies, that reminded you of a killer ready to eat his next meal. But one that was a little softer around the edges, one more...genuine.

"What are you looking at?" You asked with a snort, lightly hitting his arm. Imagine if Ace were here to see you hit Jade Leech! He would die on the spot!

"Ooh, nothing, Y/N," He answered quickly, quickening his pace to walk ahead of you "Hurry up, we're nearing the top!"

You just rolled your eyes and tried to match his pace. It was a few minutes before you realized that that moment was the first time he called you by your own name instead of 'Prefect'.

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

The top of the mountain was truly a sight to behold. There was a small clearing, and a pond that held even smaller fish inside of it. And alongside all of that, there were a multitude of flowers sprouting up everywhere, despite the colder temperature. They had white buds with a pink dash of color on the outer ridges, and a purple antenna-looking thing stood in the middle of the flower.

"Those are commonly called Dead Lillies," Jade explained once you remarked on their odd looks. He was currently unpacking some of his stuff, since the two of you decided to rest a bit before heading back down "They bloom in colder temperatures, and the stalks contain a sappy liquid that can be used as glue- it's popular amongst hikers, mainly because said sap can close up a wound without introducing toxins to the bloodstream, and because the petals taste of honey."

"Huh," You remarked, tugging off your backpack and sitting beside Jade. He offered you one of the nutrition bars he had brought along for the trip, despite claiming at the beginning that he wouldn't give you anything. Despite you having plenty of snacks, you accepted it with a smile "Pretty cool...you sure do know a lot about land for a mer-thing, don't you?"

"Mer-thing?" Jade gave you a sardonic look "I believe the correct term is mer-man, although what would I know, I'm just a mer-thing!"

"Shut up, you know what I meant!" You reached a hand out and shoved him lightly.

"Fufu, I suppose I do know quite a lot about land for a sea-dweller," He nodded "I find the difference in our plants and nature to be...well, rather fascinating! Under the sea, where my brother and I were raised, at least, it's quite dark. Not much grows under there, and what little does isn't quite as pretty as the flora up here. When we first came to live up here, I was taken aback by the stark differences and felt compelled to look into them more."

"Cool," You agreed, laying down in the grass to look up at the night sky.

This trip certainly was quite a...well, trip. You started out uneasy about it all, to say the least. But as the time dragged on, you noticed a difference in how Jade acted. As soon as he was in nature, not surrounded by students, he was...more calm. Relaxed. He smiled genuinely. He laughed.

And, most importantly, he didn't scare the crap out of you. Unless he wanted to- but even then, you could tell that he was just pulling a prank, and didn't want to genuinely upset or hurt you.

"I quite like the stars," Jade admitted once he settled down into the grass as well, using his jacket as a pillow to rest his head on as he stared up at the sky. His expression was one of utter delight, like a child looking at something wonderful for the very first time.

"Oh?" You questioned, propping your head up with a hand as you glanced at him "Are you interested in Astrology, too? Land and sky?"

The eel-mer waved a hand at you flippantly, not bothering to look at you "No, no, nothing like that. I just...like the way they look." With his mouth slightly ajar, the tips of his bottom teeth barely visible, and the shine of the star's lights in his eyes, he looked...oddly at peace. He finally looked his age. He wasn't the terrifying, intimidating figure that sent most of the students at NRC running away like cowards. Right here, he was...just a teenager. A teenager far, far away from his home that somehow managed to make a new home on land, in the solitude of nature.

You quite liked this teenager, you realized.

Maybe you would join the club, after all.

╚═*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*═╝

[neathyingenue]

What’s been going on with Silvia?

An update ft. sticky note doodles

After hearing that her dear friend the Six-Finger’d Scrimshander was living somewhere that wasn’t a house, Silvia has installed it in the guest room of her Side-Streets flat, where they’ve been getting along swimmingly.

Her professional life is going great! Ever since she and Lord Oswald J. Emerson struck a bargain—he writes silly plays, Silvia writes silly reviews, they create public beef that sells tickets and papers—the Prodigal Plebian has practically been printing itself.

Silvia’s also made a new friend, one Youthful Naturalist! She’s been lending him a hand where she can—trying to convince him to move out of his rookery, and keeping her kitchen stocked with jellied eels should he come over, and taking him wherever he wants to go in her zee-clipper.

In the meantime, she’s been growing frustrated with her lack of progress regarding her research on the Third City. If you’ve been with Silvia for a while, you’ll recall that she has been learning Yucatec Maya and chasing leads to discover if there are any pockets of Third City inhabitants untouched by colonialism where she could convince her remaining dad to move with her. (Hm? Inherently contradictory logic? What inherently contradictory logic?)

Enter the Sixth Coil and the freed captives. Several of them are from the original Third City. Silvia follows them to Venderbight, uses her broken Yucatec Maya to explain what she’s after—

They tell her: There’s no such place as you’re describing. We hang around in Venderbight, but even now, there’s nowhere untouched by the Masters, by London.

Silvia presses them—No, there has to be, maybe you just don’t want me there? Why not? Why won’t you let me in?? I promise I’m trustworthy, I won’t tell—

And she finally realizes that she sounds like a fucking conquistador.

Welp! No better cure for a crumbling belief system and self-perception than to zail as far away from your problems as possible! She and the Youthful Naturalist fuck off for a while and that’s when the Delight gets wind of them.

Speaking of wind. The Wax-Wind catches up with Silvia’s ship. Silvia gets a bad burn across the right side of her neck and shoulders.

Not to just rehash everything that happens ever in Evolution, but, uh, shit hits the fan, Silvia gets pretty traumatized. But secretly she’d glad that she’s helping the Youthful Naturalist, proud of both of them. Her search for precolonial Atlantis failed. But here’s another basket to put some eggs in. If they crack the secret to life and death, well, no one else will have to die like Silvia’s other dad, they can have all the time in the world to create their own utopia.

And the other basket of eggs is the Marvellous. She’s been so busy she’s scarcely had time to think of it [I’ve been on the lodging grind for 3+ months ;_;]. But can’t she just win and make the Masters let go of everything, set everyone free, end imperialism, or whatever? That’s how it works, right?

Oh, by the way, no one knows she’s been doing this shit. Not her father-ish figures, not her flatmate, not her partner, not her best friend, not her newspaper employees. Just her crew, and they are pretty pissed at her right now, so she’s been avoiding them.

Around this time, Silvia gets a letter from Shaw (one such father-ish figure) explaining about Nemesis and saying he might not make it back from his final revenge quest.

ALSO around this time (or maybe right after) Silvia gets what really sounds like a last will and testament from Jones (other father-ish figure).

And ALSO also around this time, Brett (Silvia’s best friend) is recovering from learning of the death of his partner.

Then Silvia forgets to be careful, and Caoimhe (her partner) sees her burns and asks what’s going on. She doesn’t buy Silvia’s story about a cooking accident she forgot to tell Caoimhe about (Silvia never cooks), and she really doesn’t appreciate that Silvia tried to lie. Caoimhe gives Silvia the chance to come clean.

So it all comes out. The Marvellous. The scientific voyages. The experimental surgeries. The multiple supernatural enemies. Caoimhe is appalled that Silvia would be taking all these risks without saying a single word—she thought the most dangerous shit Silvia was involved with was printing ill-advised articles about powerful people. Caoimhe’s extraordinarily patient and supportive, but Silvia didn’t even tell her!

The breach of trust frays at their relationship and drags Silvia further into guilt and despair, especially because Silvia’s support network is spread rather thin at the moment!

So… here we are. Silvia’s standing in the crumbling ruins of her relationships and ideals. She needs to help this 20-year-old cheat death, and then she needs to beat a bat at cards, and she’s so, so sad about everything.

This is it folks! We've hit rock bottom! Even I'm not sure how she's getting out of this one :) :) If you made it this far, thanks for reading <3

[The Six-Finger'd Scrimshander - @T6FS; Lord Oswald J. Emerson - @lord-emerson; August Shaw - @zeebreezin; Robin Jones - @viric-dreams; Brett Heroux - @thedandy-detective; Caoimhe Coledoc - @the-insouciant-scientist]