#if anyone has any advice on how to get back into drawing or anything similar PLEASE let me know

[nefariouslystupid]

Oooof, things have not been fun lately

I don’t know if this is even art block anymore I feel like I physically can’t draw anything atm! I try to go and draw something out in my short burst of inspiration and all I can get out is a circle

This is pain

[factual-fantasy]

28 asks! :DD Thank you as always!! 💖💖

@astaherussy

My FNAF AU has been sorted out. In the sense that the timeline has been re-written enough that I can go back to drawing it..

Now the next comic in the AU is a re-write/re-draw of my old FNAF comic, Moon Malfunction. A few months ago though there were several time sensitive projects that came up and I needed to shelf Moon Malfunction 2.0 until they were done. Well now they're all done.. but Moon Malfunction is gonna take me some time to get around to..

For the past few months I've been in a really bad spot mentally and physically. And taking on my FNAF Recap/Repair project is just not something I feel I have the mental energy to do at the moment.. All it feels like is a one big pile of work. And all I wanna do I just draw what ever comes easily to me and focus on recovering..

Soooo for the time being,, my main FNAF AU might not see any updates for a bit.. Though I haven't forgotten about it and I do want to get back to it at some point soon. But for now I want to cut any work out of my relaxing/drawing time and just draw what ever I want. Which atm is pirate cookies-- <XDD

They're also great for grabbing something across the room while I stay in bed 😎😎

Why haven't I drawn anything like that yet- what--

I might just have to at some point! :00

@ardent-38

AWWW THANK YOU SO MUCH!! THATS SO SWEET!! BUT ALSO LSKNAKJ XDDD

I never thought of it like that! Anyone who gets into the game through my characters is like a lactose intolerant person recommending an ice-cream joint- and they're very persuasive! XDD

But fr, thank you! And hey, even if my characters aren't in the game, they'll always be here on Tumblr waiting for you XDD

Actually, I wasn't! :00 I haven't seen that episode of the Cuphead show. But I'm assuming its about Cala Maria and Captain Brineybeard, yes? If so I can easily see the relation XD

(Post in question)

AAAA THANK YOU!! The comic was different than what I'm used to. But it was a nice change of pace. I'm glad you liked it! :}}}

@badlyblurry (Post in question)

FRRRRRR THO He's been holding that glow back for a while. Trying not to send the wrong messages to Blue and potentially damage their friendship 💔💔

XDDD ITS OK!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! :DDD 💖💖✨

@mod-bubamon

I have! In this post you can see 3 of them floating behind Melvin! (The anthro donkey)

And in this post, you can see Melvin holding one while it passes away... :((((( Sad day for sure.

Well? What did she taste like? XDD

Oh wait you're dead my bad-

Unfortunately I cant think of any songs that would match each crew members theme.. Rn all my brain can think about is this 👇

@nunyabusiness459 (Comic in question)

🥰🥰THANK YOU!! :DDD

What is primordial dough? :0

@2006-stupid-thatsme

Thank you! :DD Though unfortunately my fwernnd, I am known for being very bad at explaining how I do art things. :(

If I tried to explain my thought/design process it would just be a lot of word spaghetti that boils down to "uhhh... I just drew it.,. aandd if it dont look good.. draw it differently.. until it looks good-"

My advice would be to look on YouTube for character design tutorials or ask some other artists that have artwork similar to mine and see if they can help. :( Again, so sorry! I wish I could articulate my thoughts better 💔💔

@beryl-shade

This actually makes me think- Google says that if you add too much sugar to a cookie they become brittle.

Huh,, makes me think. If one of the cookies was baked with too much sugar.. they'd break real easy.. hmm.. 👀👀

@whereismycupofcoffee

@artistiemi

Thank you so much!! :DD I wish the same for you!! ✨💖✨

@sunnys-bloog

I've thought about drawing them! :0 And I thiiink I drew Franny one time..? The Blue one. Although I don't think I'll be able to find the sketch unfortunately-

NOT THE GUMDROP BUTTONS!!

tbh though I think they'd see him as just a normal guy! :0 Right..?

@beryl-shade

I'm not sure.. considering what I know about the games.. I thiiink they'd be horrified?? <XDD If they understand that they're made of dough, it'd be the equivalent of a human walking into a giant meat factory where they chop up meat and make weird false humans..

Okay yeah, they'd be horrified for sure XDDD

@wdillustration

:DD THANK YOU SO MUCH!! :}}}

@neo-metalscottic (Cookie run post in question)

AAAAA thank you so much!! I'm glad you liked it!! :DD As for the power, I think you're right about it being a rare occasion. And the idea of her gaining better control over it over time? While her love grows as well?? Perfection. But man I'm also tempted to make it so she can change when ever she wants. :( I really like drawing her and Seafoam together like that.. 🥺

As for the Colossal squid episode,, I'd have to go back and re-watch it to decide if I'll keep it for my AU or not..

But thinking about all the stuff you described about a violent altercation and nightmares?? 👀👀 Its giving me ideas! XDD

Now if the crew did face a violent altercation like that, I imagine their #1 goal would to protect the Octopod. That's their home man! They would probably do what ever they could to get the octopod away from the situation. Like the Captain manually piloting it and some of the crew being sent out in gups to distract the squid. Stuff like that :0

@luna-purple454

AAA IT WAS ON THE 10TH BUT THANK YOU!! XDD :DD

@khoiazo

It was on the 10th actually- and hey thanks! Seam could probably use the calories <XD

@unpopularartist14 (referencing this ask post)

<XD oh boy, what a stark contrast between the sides--

@shaziztrazh

I didn't have them in mind while designing them,, though maybe I took some subconscious inspiration? I see the similarities! :0

[ducktracy]

Hi!! I'm a young adult (23) who has been interested in the animation industry for as long as I can remember. Do you have any advice on how to get yourself out there when first starting out? I haven't had a professional storyboard artist job, or have been hired for anything, and I don't feel like I would be good enough/know what I'm doing, given the chance. Sorry if this is a lengthy message, your art is just so inspiring and I'm looking for advice! Thank you so much.

do you have any advice for breaking into the animation industry? your work is really inspiring me to become a storyboard artist but I'm not sure where to start

HI HI!! THANK YOU BOTH (and anyone else who has ever asked me this) FOR REACHING OUT! it’s super kind of you and genuinely flattering to be considered enough of an authority to answer something like this 🥺

i’ve answered this a fewwww times (or at least asks similar), so i’ll link back to this post, which, tangentially, links to another post! i generally stand by what i stand. the short of it is that i didn’t go through a formal hiring process, i was nabbed from social media and it was a series of chain reactions that basically amount to “right place, right time”… BUT! also! i definitely wouldn’t whittle it down to luck and luck alone, i was picked for a reason, etc.

BUT if i had some advice, my main bullet points to reiterate are:

being easy to work with is probably one of the most important priorities. put that ego aside, be willing to learn, willing to make sacrifices, willing to make mistakes. a deadline is a deadline and you can be the most amazing artist that’s ever graced this earth, but there is no room for ego.

reach out! a lot of my animation connections before being in the industry were from me being a pesky fan lol. obviously respect boundaries and understand time and place, but if you like someone’s art? compliment it! say so! engage! share what you like! i’m not saying to bribe your way through (be genuine with your compliments obviously), but i made a lot of friends in the industry this way and that helped get more eyes on me and my work

practice makes perfect! the most trite saying of the century and the one people hate to hear the most is the one that’s the most truthful. a big reason why my storyboards have improved as they have is because i’m always doing them! i’m always drawing! you develop muscle memory, you develop shorthand, the mental blockades slowly go away—you have to be consistent, but it really does work

leading into the above point, study! make mock-up storyboards! board out a scene from a TV or movie you like and analyze it. i did it with Tom Turk and Daffy a few years back and it was such a great learning experience! i thought i knew everything there is to know about that short and yet i noticed so much more by doing that. it’s also a nice way to reduce any formalities or intimidation of storyboarding by doing things you’re comfortable with

…i swore i was just gonna do a few condensed bullets LOL. i’d still recommend going back to the link at the top of the post, as i’m sure i’m missing some things since i’m still covid-brained, BUT! just be ready willing and able to learn, practice practice practice, and keep a positive attitude! YOU’VE GOT THIS!!!!!!!! BOTH OF YA’S!!!! i believe in you!!!!! LET’S GOOOOOOOO!!!

[matrixxsystem]

Terrapin Soup Chapter 1

This is my story on Ao3 ^^ He'd been putting this feeling off as long as possible. He tried everything he could think of to get these sort of thoughts to stop. But a childhood accident in where he tasted the blood of his brother made something in his mind change, like a switch he couldn't turn off despite his best efforts. 

He craved it. 

No matter how much food he ate or drinks he drank it was never enough to make that hunger go away. Eventually. When Leo was 12 he caved to those urges, one episode when everyone had been stressed and just one poorly placed word from snapping, he lashed out during training. The rest of his family knew he was a biter, in a playful manner of course, they all fought dirty when rough housing with each other it's just how brothers are. They'd all been playing, and the oldest Raphael was always one to push his brothers wanting them to push themselves even in a nonconsequential game. But after a week of bad luck Leo couldn't hold back like he'd been these past few years since the hunger started. 

He bit his brother. 

And not just a playful bite either, teeth piercing flesh and a scream of pain that echoed throughout the city.. Of course as soon as he came back to his senses he regretted it, he cried and cried trying to fix his mistake. And his brother easily forgave him, he always did. But the guilt never went away, even in the present when he glanced to his brother and saw the dents in his arm where small teeth had punctured he felt his heart sink.. And yet, when he remembers the taste.. The hunger only gets stronger.

He tried everything to get that feeling to go away, weather it was eating till he threw up, sleeping as long as allowed, hitting himself any time the thoughts came back, training till he ached, eating uncooked meat to imitate the feeling, which of course getting sick from. Eventually he even tried biting himself. And though it hurt like hell it seemed that drawing blood was the only thing able to satiate his hunger, if only for a little while. He couldn't tell his brothers, there was no way to explain this in a way that wouldn't end with him being quarantined somehow or being kept from his brothers and isolated further. But something about tearing flesh from meat filled his head with a sort of high that made everything else fade away.

The first few nights Leo had been going out to try and take him mind off his thoughts, something he started doing more and more often to avoid his brothers asking questions. He found himself online, using his phone to scroll though media sites where people could ask things anonymously and receive advice from others. He didn't want to admit anything with his name tied to it, but this seemed like a good way to test the waters. No one else had posted what he was thinking but there were lots of things similar or equally concerning at least. So he made his account and sent out his one and only post; 

hcr/ Intrusive Thoughts Etc

NotoriouslyPrimary420 Asks;

Do you ever just.. I mean I know this is exactly the place to ask "Do you ever think (insert unthinkable things)" But I still feel weird asking. To be blunt, cannibalism has been on my mind. And yeah I know its bad or whatever, and I wouldn't ever go hurt anyone or anything like that, and I know its not exactly normal either. But like, you ever just.. Want to? I had an incident when I was younger and much more feral then I am now where I kind of snapped for a second when I was play fighting with my siblings. Like some kind of instinct took over that wasn't really me and I bit the absolute shit outta one of them. Now I felt bad of course, and I didn't try to take their arm off or like actively eat em, again, I'm not crazy here. But that kinda feeling that made me wanna bite them hasn't gone away and its been years- 

I love my family, more then anything! They'd never hurt me like that and I'd never willingly hurt them, and it was never held over me that I lost it that one time. They were never mad at me or anything and I knew what I did was wrong so it's not some kind anger towards them, but its not for anyone else. It's just for people like me. Which.. It's really hard to explain what "like me" means in the context but like, I have a very certain trait that defines me, and this feeling I get only really applies to those who are the same in that very specific way, I've never looked at a stranger and wondered how they tasted the way I do with people like me. And I've been trying everything over these past few years to get the feeling gone, I mean I've gotten sick so many times because I tried eating things I shouldn't that I thought might help, like raw stuff and just eating till I couldn't anymore (which I've stopped cause obviously it didn't help) And eventually I got to a point where I was hurting myself because that seemed to be the only thing that made those urges go away. But they still came back!!

Even more recently I found something that helps more, but its.. Unethical? To say the least, its not something I'm exactly proud of but its not hard drugs and no one has to know. My family has no clue cause I think they'd be scared if they knew I had these feelings, and it's not like they could help me. If anything they'd only start keeping their distance probably afraid I might snap and do something.. And honestly, I'm scared of that possibility too. But I can't do anything about it! Again, I'm not gonna go hurt anyone or do anything illegal, I'm not a bad person. I just.. Don't know why I'm like this. Any advice that doesn't revolve around "seeing a doctor" would seriously help.

It wasn't till the next night he brought himself to check what kind of responses he might've gotten. And to his surprise it was a lot of kindness towards his situation, no one seemed upset with him but rather reassured him that as long as he didn't act on those urges it was fine to have them. That people of all kinds struggled with things like that. He had a few messages too, but he was still surprised to see that no one had decided to reprimand him for his honestly. There was one however the caught his eye.. Someone who seemed to share his thoughts. That spoke of a troubledchildhood being taken in by just someone they called their "teacher" and his methods of training were well.. Drastic. They didn't go into detail but from how it sounded Leo could tell he'd done things he wasn't proud of either..

As those days turned to months then soon years the wraps on his limbs, that he demanded stay on at all times, got longer and longer until they stretched from his wrists to his shoulders to cover the self awarded marks. One particular night, he left the lair, sitting on a roof far off towards the other end of the city. Just so he was out of range from his brothers internet tracking tech so he could find something, anything, to help him get rid of these pangs. And he did, finally, it was his last hope to save face, and more importantly his sanity. A noodle bar not far in Chinatown that served what could be considered.. Unappetizing to others. And just his luck, they were open late. He quickly gathered his disguise and went on his way. Praying this would be enough. He touched down in an ally not long after, now in the center of Chinatown. The friend he'd met online still talked to him, usually when he went out to clear his head, which was nearly every night now, he found himself talking about his day and listening to his friend about theirs. And over time slowly opened up to each other about their thoughts and feelings, the ones they felt couldn't be shared with others.

He glanced to his phone and hesitantly stepped out. As he thought, no one paid attention to him. He made his way to the ramen shop as his phone directed him, lifting the hanging fabric to go in and take a seat at the counter. No one else was sitting there which he was thankful for. An older man behind the counter looked at him for a moment before shrugging and handing him a menu. "You're out late aren't you? Most young men your age should be in bed for school tomorrow!" He chuckled and turned back to continue his clean up, hoping to have a friendly chat. Leo tapped the counter getting his attention, and pointed to his choice. The man raised an eyebrow leaning over to read what he picked. "Not much of a talker eh? That's alright, I've enough words for the both of us haha. Ohh terrapin soup eh? That's a good one! I use my family's recipe for it you know? It's an acquired taste for sure but once you try it you'll always come back for more!" Leo tapped the counter again, placing money down after, enough for the meal and a small tip. The man made another face but just nodded and took the money. "Alright alright, why the stoic silence hm? You act like you're trying to hide from someone, like in one of those old Yip Man movies haha" He turned his back to Leo and within a few minutes turned back with a full bowl. Leo hesitated for a moment as he watched the smoke rise, was he really about to do this..? He couldn't just bite himself forever.. Or risk snapping again and hurting one of his brothers... 

He had to. 

He took a breath as he raised the spoon to his mouth, trying to quiet the voice inside his head screaming that this was wrong, and took the bite. At first it just sat there, nearly burning the roof of his mouth, but he wasn't about to waste it. He finally managed to suppress all the muscles fighting back and bit down. 

Something clicked in his mind as he felt the first bite hit his stomach, like the warmth of your parents making you hot chocolate on a freezing winter day and feeling that spreading to the end of every nerve, to the tips of your limbs and sending a familiar rush of calm straight to your head almost like a high. Like going all day without water then taking that first sip that brings you back to life, it was finally being able to breathe after being out of breath your whole life. Or finally seeing the colors after years of a world in grey.

For the first time in years, he felt normal, no immense weight in his chest or anxiety vibrating in his hands begging him to do something he knew he couldn't. Just peace and quiet. It didn't take long for him to down the rest of his meal, and when he did he tapped the counter again for attention and signed a 'thank you' to the man. He didn't want to speak and have his voice be something to recognize. He took a pen from its holder and wrote "I'll be back this time next month." and slid it to him with another small tip. The man just smiled and nodded taking the paper and pocketing the money. "Of course, I'll see you then" It was pretty common knowledge that turtle meat wasn't exactly legal in the US, it was a moral grey area and sure buying and selling it weren't allowed but who's to say he knew what he was getting? And who's to say what that tip was for? No one, that's who. He got home using his portal swords, having told his brothers he was going for a walk, and would be back sometime later that night. He made some excuse for himself, along the lines of, "I made a friend the other day, in the.. Mystic hidden city, and we're gonna hang out tonight so don't wait up for me!" He seemed a bit.. On edge before leaving, Mikey of course told the other brothers as they were sitting around that he thought Leo was on a date. What else could make him so nervous? The others at first didn't agree but once Mikey explained how he'd been seeing Leo act more and more strange, that his mind had clearly been elsewhere lately.. It was very possible he met someone. 

After that night when he came home, it was the happiest his family had seen him in months! And once a month, like clockwork Leo would sneak out, stay out for most of the night. Then come home the next morning like nothing happened. His brothers decided not to mention it, but after a full year of his nightly escapades they couldn't just ignore it anymore, if he was seeing someone they wanted to know! And wanted to meet whoever it was. They never thought to follow him, since he always portal-ed away not long after heading out, but the next time Leo went out Donnie had an idea. It wasn't right to snoop, but they waited for Leo to bring it up for months! And he hadn't said a single word about it other then he was gonna go see his 'friend' but only left it at that! No one just goes to see a nameless faceless 'friend' once a month for the whole night for over a year! They tried asking him about it too but he wouldn't say anything, or tell them what him and his friend did that night. But none of their friends around had seen him either, he wasn't going to get pizza or talking to April about it, even when they asked the Hidden City's Police to keep an eye out for him they never reported back, it was as if he just vanished for a night, and as excited as they were for Leo to be happy, it worried them that they had no idea what was really going on.. Part 2

TS Master Post

[bihansthot]

Oh look! More late night writing! I didn’t get around to drawing ship stuff but I did find a poly one so I will work on that tomorrow but in the meantime have some Tomas x Hallvard head canons! I know no one really cares about my OC but I did promise y’all I would write these anyway so I did! Questions are from ask games, please feel free to ask me any you might have about well anything MK! Especially anything Lin Kuei! It’s my favorite thing to write about well them and Syzoth 🥺

Describe their first date.

Hallvard and Tomas’ first date was a very simple lunch date. It really wasn’t much of a first date as they didn’t go anywhere and do anything but they did sneak off away from Bi-Han and Kuai Liang to have lunch alone. Hallvard was the one who asked Tomas out after confiding in his closest ally, Bi-Han, and asking his advice on what to do. Bi-Han had suggested lunch together as they were all still quite young and not yet allowed in the village at the base of the temple. At first Tomas had no idea why Hallvard wanted to have lunch alone with him but after the younger boy confesses his feelings Tomas pieces things together. He doesn’t return Hallvard’s feelings right away though, Tomas doesn’t know how he feels about men, women or anyone for that matter but he was flattered his friend was so interested. He continues to have lunch with Hallvard and he too goes to Bi-Han for help sorting out his feelings, it’s rough being the oldest and most experienced of the bunch; and gradually realizes while he likes men and women but he also likes Hallvard as more than a friend.

How often do they say “I love you”?

Hallvard is more lovey dovey and more affectionate in general than Tomas is and he often tells Tomas he loves him. For Tomas it’s usually reserved for leaving on a dangerous mission and coming home from one. It’s not that Tomas doesn’t love Hallvard he’s just not as talkative as Hallvard is, Hallvard is quite boisterous and an open book so there’s no hiding anything for him. Hallvard is totally a Golden Retriever boyfriend and showers Tomas in words of affection and attention to the point it gets embarrassing for Tomas. Especially when Bi-Han parrots Hallvard in order to tease Tomas, Bi-Han might be a good older brother and might be supportive of their relationship but that doesn’t mean he’s not going to tease both of them mercilessly.

How do they keep in contact when they’re apart? Do they write letters, talk on the phone, or simply wait out the time?

Technology is not huge for the Lin Kuei in this timeline (or at least it doesn’t appear to be) so they communicate by carrier pigeons and other birds. Hallvard often sends frivolous birds with sweet little messages like “miss you”, “love you”, “thinking of you” while Tomas sends practical messages like “here are my coordinates”, “target sighted” and “target terminated”. Every so often though on long missions Tomas will give into Hallvard’s affectionate messages and send him similar ones in return. Tomas definitely does better with separation than Hallvard does.

How do they care for each other when one of them is wounded/sick?

Being professional thieves and assassins both men spend a lot of time injured and both have a very good knowledge of how to treat said injuries. Due to the nature of his powers being based largely on self inflicted wounds and being injured in general Hallvard is almost always in most need of care. Tomas has spent many a night not so happily stitching his boyfriend back up, he understands that Hallvard has to be injured to tap into his power but that doesn’t mean Tomas has to like it. He’s very tender and soft during these moments and is very meticulous when tending to Hallvard. Likewise Hallvard is just as attentive treating Tomas’ injuries but luckily Tomas doesn’t get injured very often. When Tomas got his nasty scar over his eye however he was so scared and terrified trying to treat it. He was so worried that his eye was permanently damaged and there was so much blood. Hallvard might have struggled pretty hard to hold back his panicked tears as he cleaned and dressed it and may have cries in the bathroom afterwards. He can be quite emotional for a big scary assassin.

Is their relationship a secret? If so, why?

Yes. Bi-Han and Kuai Liang know about their relationship but the rest of the Lin Kuei have no clue. People definitely have their suspicions but no one is stupid enough to start anything with the Grandmaster’s younger brother. Their relationship is primarily a secret because while homosexuality isn’t forbidden in the Lin Kuei it’s also not the normal. Tomas is also a relatively private person and would rather not announce to the world he and Hallvard are together, the people who are important to him know and that’s good enough for him. Hallvard on the other hand finds it hard not to let things slip and has almost called Tomas pet names in public hundreds of times. When he does screw up he plays it off and being a “foreign thing” he’s usually reasonably convincing but he has definitely gotten strange looks.

[kirazdaha]

HAHAHAHA Every Turk Family has one of those names and unironically mine does too 🫡 Tell your mother thank you she is a very lovely lady

I know all of the artists you listed below because my dad blasts them on the radio everytime we go out... I call it old people music but hey I never said it was bad, they're awesome and I might have memorised some of the artist's songs from how much I listen to them... Barış Manço is a classic without a doubt! Fun fact my parents were able to go to his concert and got a signed picture with him I will always envy how lucky they were 😭 I love how women in the industry made the most iconic songs I hear them often in weddings too! Or clubs, even though I only went to one once I'm not very fond of them...

My questions were do you have any tips or inspiration with how you draw! I love your art and artstyle and it's honestly what I've been trying to achieve for a while, I can't believe I'm learning how to draw men because of a silly lawyer show it's a disease...

(We are just having a conversation at this point) (I feel like those people who speak out loud in public) (I hope you and anyone who's reading this is having a good day :) be kind to yourself and others everyone)

OH MY GOD i envy them too😭😭 also omg that sounds like heaven to me. the other day i went out partying and i felt sooo out of place because i only knew like 3 songs. omg it was so so bad.

hmmm tips and inspiration…. my number 1 tip would definitely be to look at a lot of other artists you like and analyze what exactly you like. and then try to emulate that in your own work. i try to look for inspiration everywhere - artists online, traditional artists, old masters, 3d artists, even theatre and poetry, etc. - doesnt mean that i am equally inspired by them all (because all these things at once sound so scary and big but they really arent!) but rather, i try to be open for anything and that helps me find inspiration :) 

ill try to explain my thoughts more under the cut because this got long:

for me for example, so far i only posted some art i made that was lined (which, i would say makes up maybe half of the art i draw - i mostly sketch and recently have been building up the courage to paint more) and one of my inspirations is meltow. i think if you go over and check out their art youll definitely see it lol. but also i love the clean look some comics have and my friends tell me my art looks like it belongs in a comic which, i guess yeah :) when it comes to colors and composition i LOVE this artists works. i still have a lot to learn and just looking at their works inspires me so much!!!

i will say i have ALWAYS struggled with lineart. its probably the worst thing in the world to me because it never feels right!!! i like lining on paper with harsh inks and stiff ink nibs that allow for like. very little variety in line weight, but i havent done that in over 3 years (i hope i can get back to that). but yes, something about lineart makes me feel so icky when i use any brush that reacts to the pressure you put on your tablet LOL i just hate it. ugh. i havent been able to work it out.

it was only in 2020 i think that i decided to try it out with a thick brush with some texture and no pen pressure. that probably was the first time i got actual lineart that (at the time) i liked done. and then later on, discovering that other artists are able to achieve beautiful drawings with similar brushes AND that lining with a very simple brush can feel so satisfying helped me evolve a lot! until 2022, i actually wasnt able to give my art the kind of finished look that i wanted. so what people consider my style is really just born out of my limits and working with them. that obviously doesnt mean that i dont try to challenge myself as much as i can. i do and i think everyone should! thats what makes art so fun

if theres any good advice i can give to a beginner itd probaaaaably be. okay this is difficult and i feel like im not really qualified for this. as a hobbyist much less so because a lot of the knowledge and skills i acquired was through an intuitive process (i could never stick with habits such as regular studies or warmups or whatever is meant to be good for you) which definitely isnt the most “productive” way but i mean it doesnt have to be. its just a hobby! you dont have to perfect art. but yes, i would definitely say dont stop drawing. youll always be your harshest critic and at the beginning, and especially if you begin at an older age because youve been training your eye your whole life but your drawing skills for only a relatively short time you will notice a lot of mistakes. and youll think you wont achieve the image you have in your head. and maybe you wont (because youll always strive for more and youll never really be satisfied as an artist bla bla) for a while. but you have to keep drawing! try out different strategies, find out how other artists draw, watch speedpaints, try out different papers and pencils, try everything that makes it more fun and keep going! it will all pay off!! 

in my eyes theres also no point in saying “i should wait till im better to draw this idea i have” because if inspiration strikes you you should use that. even though i still sometimes catch myself thinking like that. you can always redraw things later on!! if theres anything that will keep you drawing you should use that! like getting into shows and games that make me want to draw helps a ton LOL people are not joking when they say getting obsessed with one character is the quickest way to improve. i 100% agree!!! if you saw my first nachos you wouldnt even recognize him. not kidding wow this got long. thank you for the questions though!! i hope some of my rambling can help you. feel free to talk to me whenever!

[lesbianofguidance]

hey, I'm starting high-school this year and I'm really nervous. I was out last year as bisexual and trans. I really liked it. I want to be out this year too, but I'm scared. I keep get a lot of contradictory and seemingly bad advice. like my brother and mom just told me to straight up not be myself. ( I dress pretty alternative and wear a lot of pride stuff) but my mom also told me a day later to be myself, but a 'diluted version of myself'???

I don't know what to do. my heart says I should be who I am, fully. but everyone keeps telling me to hide myself.

btw: my area does have quite a few bigots, but I'm not worried about being beaten up. they mostly say slurs because they think it's edgy or whatever and make snide comments. but it can really add up. I'm just not sure if being myself is worth dealing with that. they might do it anyway. Idk :(

please help me!

That’s a tough situation, I would say do what makes you comfortable? It doesn’t have to be a 100% out or 100% closeted situation. I would advise you to just be you but don’t draw attention to it, if that makes any sense. When I was in Highschool I was out but not really Out. Plenty of people knew and I was open about it if asked, but I didn’t like, introduce myself as a lesbian. I didn’t make any real effort to hide it either. Also dressing in a way that is comfortable to you / reflects who you are can actually help you to find people with similar interests. I get how scary wearing pride stuff can be especially in less supportive environments. If you want to, go for it! But remember there’s no shame in being more discreet for the sake of your mental wellbeing. I almost guarantee you that you will find at least one other likeminded person if you dress the way you want even without the pride stuff, likely more than that depending on your school. It is sadly also likely that you might get some flak for it. However, at least in my experience, bigots are also cowards, so it’ll likely just be snide or backhanded remarks. Teens can be a bit more brash, and I cannot guarantee that you won’t be called any slurs, but typically if you handle their bigotry calmly (or as calmly as you can) they’ll back off. My best friend’s (a very gender non-conforming person) typical and favorite response has always been, “yeah, so what if I am” and that normally throws bigots off their rhythm since they expect people to freak out about it instead of own it.

Having said that: Never, NEVER, put yourself in a dangerous or possibly dangerous situation to prove a point. Avoid being alone with anyone you don’t trust, especially if they’ve been hostile (even just verbally) towards LGBTQIA+ folks. Use your best judgment and that’s all you can do.

If any of this doesn’t make sense to you or if you have any questions about anything please let me know!

[taivansupremacy]

written on my heart

Summary: Starting when you turn 12, anything that your soulmate draws on their skin will show up on yours. Robin has waited years to see what her soulmate will draw.

Word count: 2,345

A/N: ahh im so excited about this fic!! thank you to @thruheavenandhighwater for all her help/beta reading. i tried something new towards the end and wrote the reader in 3rd person since this is from robin's pov. as usual, likes, reblogs, and feedback is always appreciated!

CW: questioning sexuality, brief implication of homophobia

1980: 12 years old

On the morning of her twelfth birthday, Robin leapt out of bed and immediately ran to her bathroom to stare at her body in the mirror, searching for any sign of words or doodles sprawled across her skin. She rolled up both of her sleeves and put her foot on the bathroom counter to get a closer look at her legs. When it was clear that nothing was there, she huffed in disappointment, rolled down her sleeves and made her way downstairs for breakfast with a small frown. 

Her mom was in the kitchen flipping her yearly birthday pancakes when Robin sunk into a seat at the kitchen table, only slightly sulking. Mrs. Buckley placed a plate stacked high with pancakes and topped with whipped cream and birthday sprinkles in front of her with a kiss on top of her sandy blonde head and a whispered happy birthday. 

“What’s got you so down?” Mrs. Buckley asked upon noticing her daughter’s dejected nature, “It’s your twelfth birthday! You’re supposed to be excited.” 

“Not when your soulmate hasn’t written anything on your skin yet,” She grumbled as she shoveled a bite of pancake into her mouth, “I thought it was supposed to show up when you turned twelve!” 

Mrs. Buckley chuckled as she sat down beside Robin with her own plate, “Be patient. I’m sure he’ll draw something soon.” She reassured with a smile, “Don’t worry too much about the soulmate stuff. It’ll come when it comes.” 

Robin tried to follow her mother’s advice, but she found herself checking the back of her hands, glancing down at her legs, and rolling up her sleeves at school all day, getting more and more disappointed when she found bare skin. By the end of the school day, she was starting to think that she didn’t have a soulmate, but she still checked for drawings anyway. 

By the time her mother called her for dinner, she had given up on looking. When she went to wash her hands in the kitchen sink, she spotted a little heart drawn in purple ink on the back of her left palm. She squealed excitedly and turned the water off to examine it. She softly traced the shape with her index finger, relieved that she had a soulmate after all. 

She couldn’t help but think that it was weird that her soulmate drew a heart on himself. None of the boys that she knew from school would be caught dead with a tiny purple heart adorning their skin, but she decided not to think too much about it. Maybe her soulmate wasn’t from Hawkins or maybe he was just sweeter than the boys she knew at school.

She thought about showing her purple heart to her parents, but she decided to keep it to herself for a little while longer. Instead, she grabbed a black pen from a drawer in the kitchen and doodled a heart similar in size right beside the one her soulmate drew, just to let him know she was there. 

****

1982: 14 years old 

Robin awoke with a start when the sound of her alarm clock rang in her ears. It was her first day of high school, the day she’d been dreading for the entire two months of summer. Robin knew that she’d be spending the majority of her first day Hawkins High School alone due to her lack of friends in middle school that would follow her to high school. She was afraid that she’d get made fun of for sitting alone at lunch or not having anyone to partner with for the beginning of the year project sign ups. She was nervous that the teachers would be as mean as her 8th grade teachers said they’d be and scared of the upperclassmen and how they usually treated freshmen. 

She sat up in bed, her stomach already upset due to the anxiety that’s been looming over her for two weeks. She knew her mother would never let her get out of her first day of high school, but she thought of bringing up her stomachache anyway, in hopes that maybe she would take pity on her. She felt queasy as she crossed the room and threw open her closet to choose an outfit for the day. Just as she raised her hand to grab her lucky jacket, she saw words scrawled on the back of her hand. She froze for a minute to read them. 

The words “good luck today!” with smiley faces and hearts decorating the skin around the phrase could be seen on the back of Robin’s hand. It was a simple gesture, but one that made warmth rise to Robin’s chest, nonetheless. She often woke up to little doodles that made her laugh or encouraging words neatly written in different colors from her soulmate. Robin often wrote back with her own drawings or words of affirmation. The notes on her skin made her feel like she had someone in her corner, although she didn’t have any friends at school. 

She always tried to picture what her soulmate looked like and tried to catch a glimpse of the hands of all of the boys in school as she walked by them in the hall or sat beside them in class, just to see if they had doodles that matched her’s on the back of their hands. Every time she looked, though, she silently prayed that she didn’t find a match. She didn’t have a reason for not wanting any of the boys from school to be her soulmate. It’s just that when she imagined dating them, it felt wrong. 

She thought it was nice to have a break from searching for her soulmate and thinking about why it made her queasy to imagine herself with any of her male classmates. She’d be faced with those feelings again today when she saw her peers. 

“Robin!” Mrs. Buckley’s voice startled Robin from her thoughts, “I hope you’re dressed! You’re going to be late!” 

Sighing, Robin fondly glanced at the back of her hand one more time before turning back to her closet and getting ready for the day. She was still nervous for the day ahead of her, but her soulmate’s note on her hand, her good luck charm, put her a little more ease. 

****

1984: 16 years old 

Robin stared down at her hand, giggling lightly as she watched the little doodles and drawings appear on her skin. She still got that warm feeling every time she got a note from her soulmate, but so much had changed since she first saw that little purple heart on the back of her hand. She stopped looking at the boys in the hallway when she realized that she had a crush on Tammy Thompson from her history class. She finally understood why she could would silently hope that none of the boys at Hawkins High would have matching doodles on the back of their hands. She wanted her soulmate to be a girl and that terrified her. Partly because she knew how the people of Hawkins, Indiana treated people who were different, but also because she had no idea if her soulmate was a boy or a girl. 

She had become close to her English teacher, Mr. Hauser, and regularly ate lunch in his classroom to avoid the prying eyes of her peers when she ate in the library alone, but also because Mr. Hauser was like her. She came out to him not long ago, during one of their daily lunches. She knew he would keep her secret and that he could relate to her and maybe even help her through her worries. 

“What’s she saying today?” Hauser asked, amused. 

Robin scoffed and rolled her eyes, tearing her gaze away from her doodle-covered hand, “We don’t even know if my soulmate’s a girl.” Just saying those words  made a knot form in her stomach. 

Hauser tutted, “Of course she is.” 

“Why, because I’m a lesbian?” She shook her head, “The universe doesn’t exactly work that way. The universe gets it wrong sometimes, you know.” 

“That doesn’t happen often, Robin.” 

“Yeah, but I would be the one in a million that has it happen to her.” 

Mr. Hauser didn’t believe that for a second. He saw the way Robin smiled when she looked down at her hand on the desk and how she giggled when a new doodle would pop up on her skin. He knew the universe hadn’t gotten it wrong, but how could he prove it to her? Better yet, how could her soulmate prove it to her?

“You should draw something back,” He suggested with a shrug, “Maybe a little doodle of yourself.” 

Robin gave him a look, one that told him that she knew what he was trying to do. She had to admit, the idea of it intrigued her, so she relented, grabbing a pen from inside her backpack. She drew a quick, sloppy sketch of herself (it was more of a stick figure, if she was honest with herself), complete with her short hair and bangs and an arrow pointing to it with the word “me!” written at the end of it with a smiley face. 

Her heart pounded against her ribcage as she waited for her soulmate to respond, hopefully with a picture of themself. She chewed on her lip as she looked away from her hand and shifted her gaze to her teacher. 

“What do I do if it’s a boy?” She asked, panicked, “You know what, I don’t even think that I want to know anymore! I could just not look for the rest of the day, right?” Her hands flew in the air as she spoke, as they usually did when she rambled, “I could just wait until the pen washes off of their hand o-or wear gloves for the rest of the day and-” 

“Robin!” Mr. Hauser interrupted when he caught a glimpse of a new drawing on her hand, “You got a response.” 

She squeezed her eyes shut as she turned her hand over so she could see the new drawing that marked her skin. When she gained the courage to open them, she saw a stick figure, similar to the one she drew, drawn in blue ink. The stick person had long hair, wore a triangle dress, and joined one hand with the hand on Robin’s stick person. A swirly arrow pointed to the newly drawn figure and the word “Me” with a heart drawn beside it sat above it. 

Robin was taken aback. Her soulmate was a girl! This knowledge made her fall even more in love with the person that the person that was on the other end of the doodles and encouraging notes. Wordlessly, she turned her hand toward her teacher so he could examine the drawing. A proud smile crept on to his face upon seeing the stick figure. 

“Told you,” Was all he said and it made Robin giggle. 

She was even more excited to meet her soulmate now than she was when she was twelve and she saw that little purple heart. 

****

1986: 18 years old 

“No, you dingus, the rom-coms are in alphabetical order by title, not the name of the director!” Robin groaned, “When have we ever organized movies by directors’ names?” 

“Well Kieth said-” Steve started, but was interrupted by the bell over the door in the front, signalling a customer’s arrival. 

“You fix these and put them in the right order,” She huffed, “I’ll deal with whoever this is.”

Robin hated dealing with customers, but she was even less fond of fixing Steve’s shelving mistakes. 

She made her way over to the counter and  stood behind it, ready to type a name into the computer, “Hi, welcome to Family Video! Can I help you fi-”     

She faltered when she got a glimpse of the customer in front of her. She was beautiful, breathtakingly so. Robin’s mouth went dry at the sight of her and she forgot how to speak for a second. She willed herself to finish her sentence, but to no avail. 

The girl stepped forward and leaned on the counter in front of her, “Hi!” She chirped, “I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of The Breakfast Club?” She asked sweetly with a bubbly smile. 

“Y-yeah,” Robin stuttered, walking towards the rom-com section without warning and hoping the girl would know to follow her. 

The movie started with the second letter in the alphabet, so Steve had already put it in it’s correct space. She stopped in front of the rom com shelf and scanned it for a split second before finding it. Robin reached up to get it, her jacket sleeve slipping down to expose the hand and wrist that was marked up with doodles of hearts, stars, flowers, and stick figures. 

“Wait!” The girl yelled, making Robin jump out of her skin. 

Robin froze, lowering her hand and turning to face the girl behind her. 

“Sorry, I just- Can I see your hand for a second?” 

The blonde nodded, holding her marked up hand out to the girl. She examined the drawings and pushed Robin’s sleeve up so she could get a good look at the flower that was drawn on her wrist. 

“It’s you,” She whispered, dropping her hand to show Robin her own. The same hearts, stars, flowers and stick figures were peppered on the back of her hand in the exact same places and an identical flower appeared on her wrist. Robin stepped forward and held her wrist in her hands, gingerly running her thumb over the flower that she drew there only hours prior. 

“It’s you,” The blonde repeated, beaming at her soulmate in front of her, “Do you know how long I’ve been waiting to meet you?” 

“Since that first purple heart,” The girl chuckled, stepping impossibly closer and pulling Robin flush against her by her hideous green Family Video vest, swiftly connecting their lips in one fluid motion. 

[imaeraser]

Can I request platonic Akazaya nine headcannons

(Takes place before 20-year time jump)

Kin’emon

He’s goofy

He isn’t even trying, it’s just that he’s a little slow on the uptake

And by that, I mean very

You can be making a joke, and he’ll take it seriously. Then five minutes later start laughing hysterically

Which makes you laugh at how ridiculous he is— and that just leads to you two rolling on the ground. No longer sure about what was funny, but each time the other person laughs, you can’t help but do the same

He’s a perv, so you catch him leering at girls

So of course you tell the rest of the 9, and you guys endlessly tease him

Then he starts yelling about how he’s the leader, and how he can punish you guys

But no one takes him seriously

Even Oden joins in on the fun. That’s when Kin’emon give up trying to save his pride (he ends up making fun of himself)

He tries to act like a big brother, which most of the time doesn’t work. But when it does you wonder where all the wisdom came from

10/10 Expect nothing less from Kin’emon

Denjiro

He’s serious

But in a funny ironic way. Unlike Kin’emon he will get the joke, but not laugh and scold you for not taking work seriously

When he loosens up (aka, when Oden tells him to relax) then he might laugh at your corny jokes, but until then you can expect him to act like a mom

He may not have much of a sense of humor, but he is probably the best when it comes to advice

Tell him your woes, and he’ll have an eight-step plan to fix them

If you do something amazing on accident, he’ll have a newly gained respect for you

That’s because he’s kinda naive

So if you pull an Usopp on him, and start telling grand lies. He’ll believe you

Be careful though, that may mean he’ll give you way more than you can chew when fighting enemies

He will fanboy to you about something cool Oden did

If you don’t get as excited as he does, he will scold you

7/10 too much of a mom

Kikunojo

They are like an older sister figure

Pretty calm

Until you do something stupid, then they’re giving you the worst side-eye. They don’t even have to speak for you to understand what they’re saying

They like to dress you up in clothes that are as feminine as possible

If that’s not your style, deal with it. If it is, then you two can choose outfits for each other

You low-key get creeped out when they put on the Oni mask

Their entire vibe changes, and it’s intimidating

They wouldn’t protect you in a fight, since they trust that you can handle yourself

But if anyone picks on you outside a fight, expect hands to be thrown

I can see you two making food for the others

When Oden isn’t making oden… which is all the time

9/10 the only downside is the shade that is (occasionally) thrown

Kanjuro

You two mess around together

You guys can act out several plays and have tons of fun making the characters as outlandish as possible

He’ll draw something cute for you, and you two get to play with it for a while

If you’re extra hungry, he’ll draw out some lettuce. But when that gives you a stomach ache, he’ll just rub your back

I can see him trying to be a good wingman, but failing (I think the only good wingmen would be Kawamatsu, and Denjiro. But Denjiro would never do it)

He’ll just stick to doing your Kabuki makeup

I think he would be a good hype man

I can also see you two just drinking tea, while the rest of the group is running around, trying to find where Momonosuke ran off to

I can see you two taking a pottery class together (and probably failing)

Anything art related you and Kanjuro like to do together

I can also see you two having dance parties, and (most) of the group joins in

10/10 very fun times

Raizo

Similar to Kin’emon

But the difference is that he tries to impress you with his ninja skills

If you compliment him, he’ll act humble

But he’s beaming with pride

He uses his ninja skills to prank you

This leads to a prank war that no one is safe from

Even Oden wants to join in on the fun. Which ends up with him crushing everyone

Not very good when it comes to emotions, he ends up getting awkward

Unless you’re getting emotion about Oden because he’ll start crying too

He’ll ask you to help him pick up girls

It never works. It ends up with the girl running and screams, and you two bolting and having to explain to Oden why he got a complaint

9/10 it’s all fun and games until Oden joins in

Ashura Doji

Acts kinda like an uncle/older brother

He acts seriously a lot of the time, but when he does let loose he is fun to be around

Why can’t he be like that all the time?

He may not always have the most fun, but he is always reliable

If you have any problems, you can go to talk to him and he’ll listen. And if you ask for advice, then he’ll give the best words of wisdom

And if he thinks it’s appropriate for him to step in, he will

He smells like alcohol though, so if that bothers you he’ll just laugh

I can see him teaching you how to use a sword/fight, or give extra practice

Ashura also treats you like an errand runner

He’ll give you a few coins and ask you to buy him sake, or a snack

If you say no, he’ll get salty

8/10 stop sending people on errands

Inuarashi

Him, Neokmamushi, and Kawamatsu are the best trio

Add you in, and the castle is in shambles

In the best and most fun way, but it is still chaos

It doesn't help when Oden joins in. It only makes things crazier (see the trend?)

Then the rest of the 9 has two stop you four, and Toki scolds Oden

I can see him also giving really good advice

He’s loyal to a fault, like dude calm down. All that person did was look at you, he does not need to whip out his sword

I can also see him following you around (like a dog)

He likes to act as he hates it when you pet him, but he secretly loves it

I think that he would like to read books with you and drinking tea

Can be annoying though, since he’s clingy

9/10 not too much to complain about

Nekomamushi

I think it would take a while for him to warm up to you

Him being a cat, that makes sense

I think that when he does warm up though, you will never be able to get him off of you

You can be laying down, digesting food, and he’ll just start kneading you

If you tell him to stop, he’ll get salty, and leave you for an hour, and then come back and try to sit on your lap

Like stop, you’re way too big to be doing that

He’ll also start to randomly rub your faces together

Like Inuarashi, he will follow you everywhere

That leads to those two into fights (sometimes), but if you pet both of them they’ll shut up

He’d be good at killing bugs. So if you are disgusted/scared of them, then he is the perfect partner in (bug) homicide

If anyone is bothering you, he’ll team up with Inuarashi to beat them up

9/10 there is a lot of similarities between him and Inuarashi

Kawamatsu

He is so cute

If you give him food he will love you forever

Especially eggs, he loves the texture

So if you give him an egg, he’ll thank you and do anything you say for a day

This can be useful if you don’t want to do something yourself

I can see him getting you two matching hats and clothes

Unlike the cat and dog duo, he doesn’t feel the need to be around you all the time. Instead, he lets you come to him

He’s also really good at giving advice and learning an ear

And as I mentioned before, he is one of the best wingmen. If you have your eyes on someone, he will go up to them and start talking about all of your accomplishments. How you saved fifty kids in one day (or something)

With him as a wingman, you are guaranteed at least one date. If you screw it up, that's on you

I also can see him as a very honest person, so when you ask him if you’re idea is dumb (and it is), he’ll tell you— in the kindest way possible

10/10 I need a Kawamatsu in my life

Bonus

Oden

He’s kinda a bully, but in the nicest way possible

He just likes messing with you. I can see him beating you and the rest of the crew up at a board game when you guys were little kids

Like dude, chill

Don’t worry though, if you think he’s being an unintentional bully (since he kinda acts immature), you can just tell his wife, and he’ll stop real quick

But when it comes down to it, you guys are what means the most to him

Aka: If he sees someone or something bothering you, he will demolish it

Unless it's another one of the nine, then he’ll make a family circle to talk it out

He likes it when he sees you and the rest of the group take care of his kids. It’s like seeing his kids, take care of his kids

Then his eyes start stinging and welling up with tears

But if you ask him, he’ll tell you that he is not crying

He’s kinda like a dad, but also like a little brother too

10/10 just stop beating everyone at uno

[the-cult-of-russo]

headcanon for when billy realizes he’s in love with reader? i’m such a sucker for romantic and soft billy😫

I love this. I'm going to go a little beyond just when he first realises too. You'll see. It's turned into more of a 'when Billy's in love with you' headcanon.

I'll break it down into sections once again. It's just easier that way 😌

-

When he first realises he loves you:

Oh man. Billy doesn't realise he's in love until he's so far gone he's drowning in it lmao

He has no idea why he gets crazy ass butterflies in his stomach every time he just thinks about you. No idea why his heart beats all funny when he looks at you or why his chest feels all warm. He doesn't know why everytime he's away from you his chest hurts and it feels like someone's punched a gaping hole right through it. The boy has no clue.

But then one day, he's out drinking with Frank, having a good time. And Frank's been going on and on about Maria, absolutely gushing about her. Billy being the good best friend he is, teases him of course. Sends him an offhand remark with a smirk. And Frank replies with...

"Yeah well. That's what happens when you're in love."

The words feel like a smack to the face. Suddenly, Billy feels like he's free falling, plummeting at record speed towards the concrete from a 50 story building. Because he relates. All the sickening gushing Frank had been doing, Billy got it. He does it himself about you. And Frank's words make everything click into place, Billy's world is suddenly tilting on its axis. Because what if you don't feel the same? Why would you when own his mother couldn't muster up any love for him?

He freaks out. His mind is going to dark places as his heart feels ready to give out. Frank sees him looking a second away from collapsing in a heap on the floor and takes him outside. After some brotherly advice and tough love, he feels a little better.

He still won't tell you though. Of course not, that's just fucking stupid. The fear of rejection runs far too deep in Billy to admit such a thing and he doesn't know how he'd cope if you broke his heart. If he lost the only person he's ever been in love with. So he resolves to keep it to himself. Its kind of nice though, to finally know just what it is that he's been feeling. It was obvious really. People write love songs about this bullshit. The same songs Billy's been listening to like a love sick fool because he gets it. He relates to the words.

-

How he tells you:

Billy won't outright tell you he loves you first. At least not on purpose. There are three likely scenarios that happen.

The first is you telling him you love him first. This is his best case scenario. He blinks warily at you for a moment, dark eyes rapidly scanning your face as he tries to find even the slightest hint of deception. It's not that he doesn't trust you, but he finds it almost impossible to believe anyone would ever be in love with him.

But when he realises you're telling the truth, he's dumbstruck. He's stunned but overwhelmingly happy and he tells you he loves you too. It feels like a weights been lifted, to finally tell you, to know you haven't turned him away. That you actually love him too.

The second way it might happen is him blurting it out randomly. This might happen during or after some amazing sex. Maybe you're both snuggled on the sofa and laughing about something stupid. He just looks at your wide and radiant smile and it strikes him how absolutely hopelessly in love with you he is. How lucky he is to be with you. And his mouth takes on a life of its own. The words tumble from his lips without his consent and he panics.

Total blind fear claws at his chest when he realises what he's said. He fears the worst. That you'll say you don't feel the same, maybe even laugh at him. Yet you don't do those things. You tell him you love him too. He reacts the same as the other scenario. Wary at first until he sees you mean it. And then he's overjoyed and shocked and confused but ridiculously happy.

The last scenario is similar to the other one in that it gets blurted out. Only this time it's during a heated discussion or argument. I made a whole headcanon post about arguing with Billy and another on the kind of things you might argue about.

This isn't a huge fight but most likely caused by something you did that he saw as reckless. Something like you walking home from work in the dark instead of getting a cab or calling him. Is he being overdramatic? Definitely. He knows this. But he's so terrified something might happen to you and it frustrates him that you don't see that. That you have no idea how much it would kill him if you got hurt. And in the middle of all the anger and the blind fear and intensity in the moment, after a biting remark from you, the words get ripped from his chest.

"Because I fuckin' love you, alright?! I'd die if somethin' happened to you! So you don't get to stand there and tell me it's no big deal!"

He's full of barely restrained rage at the mere thought of someone hurting you and he's sad and upset that you don't seem to care much about your own wellbeing.

But now it's a tense silence because he just blurted those words and worst of all, he yelled them at you. It was all going wrong and he hates it. But his panic was kept at bay by his anger, his only outwards reactions being the clenched jaw, the narrowed eyes and the roll of his shoulder. He's steeling himself for the inevitable. The searing pain of rejection.

But then you're yelling right back that you love him too and calling him an asshole and he's never been happier in his damn life. And with emotions still running high from the fight, he tosses you over his shoulder and takes you to the bedroom so he can show you just how much he loves you.

-

Ways he shows you he loves you:

Any of these that don't involve the words 'I love you' he's already been doing a while. But he continues to do so after that hurdle of first telling you passes and he gets comfortable with telling you verbally at every chance he gets.

He loves taking care of you. If he's off work he loves making you breakfast in bed. He loves cooking for you, he's actually quite good at it. He draws you relaxing baths, sometimes joining you and not even for sex. If you've had a hard day at work, he'll put your feet in his lap as you sit on the sofa with him and rub your sore feet.

He often buys you your favorite flowers, always accompanied by a sweet note. When you're both at work, he stops by your work for lunch because he can't stand a whole day away from you.

Since he wakes before you, he often just lays there and watches you. With the sun rising and bathing you in its glow, he watches in awe of how he managed to get someone as amazing as you. He doesn't dwell on these moments for too long though. His treacherous brain has a habit of poisoning anything good. If he lays there too long, his thoughts turn sour as the voice in the back of his head tells him he's not good enough for you. He doesn't deserve you, deserve your love. You'll leave him one day, realise you deserve way better than someone like him. He was an unloved and unwanted child, and that little boy is still there inside of him, hiding behind his bravado and his fancy ass suits. It's a downward spiral he finds it hard to come back from and he learned his lesson long ago. So instead, he allows himself a moment to admire you, appreciate you, and then he gets up for the day.

He doesn't wake you, you look so sweet and peaceful and he doesn't have the heart to. You don't need to get up as early as he does. Sometimes, if he's feeling particularly sappy, he leaves a note for you on his pillow. Letting you know how much he loves you and that he'll miss you while at work.

Gifts are abundant with Billy. It doesn't matter what it is, if you want it then it's yours. If it's expensive, it's yours. Cheap, it's yours. Weird and rare and very hard to get, he finds a way and it's yours. He's also a sucker for sentimental gifts. Jewellery that means something, maybe the date you met engraved on it. Some kind of photo gift with a picture of the two of you.

Billy has a lot of affection to give you. I've talked about this in other posts but he's a tactile person. He always needs to be touching you, reassuring himself you're real, you're safe and you're there with him. He often puts his hand on your neck, slender fingers feeling your pulse under them. It soothes him to do so. There's plenty of kisses on your head, temples, shoulders, neck, cheeks. He can't help it. He also loves stroking your hair. His hand are always attached to you like there's a gravitational pull towards you he can't resist. There's at least one hand on you at all times if you're near.

-

Billy doesn't fall for people easily. It's never happened before you. But when he falls, he falls hard. It's an all consuming kind of love that takes over his whole being.

[hannigramficrecs]

Hey, do you have any "long" (30k up only) hannigram fics, with hannibal's pov (preference, but not absolutely necessary) of AUs, like the best long fic AUs you can think of, like time-travel, different meetings, abo, etc.

No vampire, mermaids or werewolves au tho.

If you can, of course. Thank you alredy 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

I’m not sure if these are all Hannibal’s POV, but here are a list of all my favorite long AU’s (sorry if I included too many LOL). Also if anyone’s interested here are links to the mermaid and werewolf fics

Palace of Dreams by MaiTai1327 [words: 41,986]

A lonely boy at a Lithuanian orphanage creates a memory palace for him to hide away from his despicable circumstances and the nightmares haunting him. In his dreams, his palace becomes reality. And one day, he finds another boy hiding in one of its rooms.

Our Stars are the Same by beforethedawn, ConstructFairytales, Destinyawakened [words: 42,578]

Someone’s moved into the old creepy, supposedly haunted, mansion down the way from Will Graham and his family. Will never expects to befriend the new family’s son.

Vena Amoris by PaperPlaneChemTrails [words: 55,596]

Will Graham is a producer on a Bachelor knock off reality TV show. Against his protests and better judgement, Dr. Hannibal Lecter is cast as the primary love interest on the show. Despite his many initial misgivings, Hannibal is a hit, and Will finds himself as drawn into the story Hannibal is creating as everyone watching at home. Everything is going well until Will becomes suspicious that he is the real object of Hannibal’s affections, and all of a sudden contestants start to turn up murdered.

Little Arts of Vice by drinkbloodlikewine, whiskeyandspite [words: 44,991]

Cruel Intentions AU. “Tedium draws me to observation,” he murmurs. “Contemplation.” “Manipulation,” Mischa adds calmly, tilts her head when Hannibal narrows his eyes at her. “You wouldn’t deny it, Hannibal, you’re proud of that one. And in truth you do it well.” “There is little to manipulate when watching a dog chase a bird.” It starts with a bet.

A Past of Plank and Nail by gleamingandwholeanddeadly (something_safe), printersdeadly, printersdevils (tuesdaysgone) [words: 87,821]

Hannibal needs a kitchen remodel, and his colleague and friend Alana knows just the guy to help him with his rundown new home. Enter Will Graham, carpenter and contractor extraordinaire, and devastating addition to Hannibal’s daily life. When he starts running out of new projects to keep Will around, Hannibal fast realizes his infatuation is more than simple attraction - and that getting Will to agree to dinner is only the first hurdle.

Redemption by houseofcannibals [words: 132,427]

After very publicly losing his mind and murdering three young women in an unconscious state, FBI consultant Will Graham is sentenced to serve three consecutive life sentences in the notorious Shawshank State Prison. Upon arrival, he is unsettled to find himself in a cell neighboring that of infamous serial killer Dr Hannibal Lecter.

Carnivore, Won’t You Come Digest Me? by HigherMagic [words: 64,019]

Role Reversal AU: Following the execution of Garrett Jacob Hobbs, Hannibal is forced to see Doctor Will Graham for a psychiatric evaluation before he can return to the field. Once cleared, Jack insists that Will shadow Hannibal in the hopes of catching the Shrike’s copycat. Hannibal has become a master of making sure the FBI stays blind to his extracurricular activities, but Will is a man who sees far too much, and won’t be so easily overcome.

Page Six by ThisBeautifulDrowning [words: 66,839]

Crime reporter Will Graham’s column on page six of the Baltimore Sun garners him the attention of many: fans, hobby detectives, the FBI…and others. Hannibal cut off a piece of meat with surgical precision. “I find your company rather engaging.” “Maybe I don’t find you all that engaging.” Silence. Hannibal grinned. “I see that it will take more than one dinner to earn your forgiveness. Challenge accepted.”

Falls the Shadow by littlesystems [words: 72,455]

AU where Bedelia is Will’s psychiatrist instead of Hannibal, Will makes a series of increasingly questionable life choices, and no one should ever take Bedelia’s advice. Ever.

Rescues by drinkbloodlikewine and whiskeyandspite [words: 99,552]

Mischa is living with PTSD, and Hannibal seeks out a service animal to help her. He meets Will, trainer of therapy dogs - cue puppies, adorable interactions and lots of dogs. And smut. Of course.

Where the Albatross Crash-Lands by HigherMagic [words: 40,220]

Everyone has two marks on their arm: one is the name of their soulmate, the other is the name of their mortal enemy. There’s no way of knowing which is which. This same trick of fate makes it so that your Marks are the only two voices you will ever hear when you go deaf at sixteen. Hannibal has a nice voice. Will hopes he’s his mate. He hopes he never hears the voice of the Chesapeake Ripper.

Provenance by drinkbloodlikewine, whiskeyandspite [words: 62,735]

A delightful AU about a rare book dealer, an owner of a high-end coffee shop, and murder. This does involve Hannibal Lecter, after all.

A Fortunate Wound by starkaryen [words: 83,312]

Will Graham, a police officer in Baltimore, is shot while he’s on duty. The surgeon on call in the ER is Hannibal Lecter.

Until I Met You by Dormchi [words: 33,990]

Detective Will Graham needs an expert and Fire Lieutenant Hannibal Lecter happens to be available. Basically this is just arson, murder, coffee, and fluff.

Canvases by thatviciousvixen [words: 36,660]

When Hannibal meets a handsome artist with a keen interest in death he knows he’s finally met a kindred spirit. All Will needs is a little push.

In Sickness and in Health by BonesAndScales [words: 67,450]

Everyone knows that Will and Hannibal are married. Not everyone knows that they are married to each other.

The Escapists by whiskeyandspite [words: 35,368]

Will’s cellmate said nothing, and Will didn’t venture. He had been prickly enough as a lecturer, where human interaction was mandatory, and prison was not the sort of place one made friends. One either made allies or enemies, or stayed quiet enough to avoid both. Will doubted he’d be that lucky; far too easy to rile up especially when stupidity was the catalyst. Prison, Will thought absently, was similar to college.

Sweeter Bitter by wormsin [words: 89,503]

Will is an awkward student and Hannibal an intrigued mentor.

Before You And After You by ache_for_him, Breakmybones (CarterReid), CarterReid [words: 33,734]

Hannibal and Will had a past: a dirty, bloody, violent past. Will was sure he’d never see his own personal monster again - then he walked into Jack Crawford’s office.

Ethics & Aesthetics by fragile-teacup [words: 106,330]

Pride and Prejudice omegaverse AU

Look, Mother! The Sheep Have Devoured the Wolves! by HigherMagic [words: 102,934]

Hannibal and Bedelia are married, but unable to have children. At Margot’s insistence, Hannibal agrees to meet the Omega that was a surrogate for her and Alana. Will is rough-edged, unrefined, and everything Hannibal shouldn’t desire. This arrangement promises to be clean, and simple. Of course, nothing concerning Will Graham is ever simple.

Wings of Wax and Feather by BelladonnaWyck and raiast [words: 55,947]

“Did you just smell me?” "Difficult to avoid. My apologies, I didn’t realize there were any Omegas in this section of the prison.” “Most get sent to the Omega Holding Facility two counties over. But then, most don’t get done in for rippin’ out an Alpha’s throat in the middle of the street.” or Hannibal Lecter had always known the winding road of fate may one day lead him straight to a prison cell. He’d never imagined he’d find his true mate there.

Truly, Madly, Deeply by slashyrogue [words: 52,811]

They meet by chance at a Christmas Party and share a kiss that seals their fate.

Purity by PixieDust291 [words: 130,528]

Will is cast aside by his alpha and sacrificed to the Wendigo that hunts in the forest. However, after confronting the creature Will then finds himself in the home of Hannibal. The alpha lives alone and seems to have taken it upon himself to nurture Will back to health. Over time Will grows comfortable with Hannibal and slowly reveals the reasons for his abandonment. Hannibal, being a pure bred alpha of the highest caliber, is well aware of just how rare and valuable Will is and decides to take the wounded omega for himself.

Quatervois by stratumgermanitivum, whiskeyandspite [words: 33,226]

Will is an Omega who desires independence and freedom. Hannibal is an Alpha who finds his mind curious. They make a deal: if Will can convince Hannibal that he is worth more than breeding stock, and can go through his heat without begging for his Alpha, Hannibal will not mate him, but make him a ward instead; Will could go to college, get a job, do anything he wanted. If not, then he will be Hannibal’s mate, bear pups, and accept his role. But is it really as simple as that?

[nctrice]

Professor Jaehyun x Female Reader

Rating: 18+🛑

Word count: 2K

Content: smut, unprotected sex, fingering, dominant Jaehyun, praising, teacherxstudent, dilf Jaehyun, slight public intercourse

Disclaimer: I do not own Jung Jaehyun nor claim him in any sort of way. This Fanfiction is made up out of pure imagination and is strictly just fiction.

A/N: this is my first time writing for this tumblr platform and please give strict constructive advice if needed! Thanks!

___________________________

"Gosh he's hot!" I whispered under my breath gazing upon the dilf himself, Mr.Jung or in other words my calculus professor.

He stood tall and confident in front of the oddly huge white board, broad shoulders facing the class until he eventually turns around to ask a random student to answer the question that I had yet to even realize what it was. He swiftly scans the multiple rows of seats depicting who had been paying attention and who hasn't. I slowly began to sink in my seat avoiding be called on at any cost.

"Ah, y/n! I see you there! Come up here and answer this question for the class." He demands in a polite manner.

I had no problem with it of course, until he said to come forth. This is a first he's ever asked anyone to write the actual answer. My heart pounds within my chest, praying I don't make a fool of myself walking down or back up these unnecessarily wide stairs.

Mr.Jung steps aside and greets me with his well known charming smile. The amount of times this man alone has made me want scream to knock all the built up nerves out of my body. He made me feel more than just butterflies, I couldn't quite put a finger on it.

"Need help?" Mr.Jung folds his arms stepping closer.

"N-no thank you, I'm sure I got it."

My hands fumbled to reach for the dry erase marker he held out for me. It was a bit warm considering he's been holding it for more than half the class. I took a quick glance at the question, immediately regretting what I said. I did indeed need help, and I don't got it. I'm sure he could tell I was hesitating as my finger sits comfortably above my top lip.

'here goes nothing.' I thought before writing what I thought was the right answer. Mr.Jung examined the question, "close but not quite. The answer was -9, you forgot to subtract this which why you got -2. Try another easy one similar to this."

Bullshit. This question didn't look no where as easy. If I mess up again oh well, it's not like he'd pop out with another question to further embarrass me. As I thought long and hard about the problem, it began to feel like it was just us two. Him applying an uncomfortable amount of pressure with just the distance between us and me panicking underneath his anticipated stare.

"Not quite right neither, it'd be best for you to stay after class you seem to be having a lot of troubles."

Mr.Jung wiped the whiteboard free of any writing once I answered the last question and moved on with his lessons. I barely made it to the first step before he had wrote the next problem to briefly go over thanks to me. His words far more stern and exaggerated in attempt to sub me. Out of my entire time being in his class this had been the most I've ever seen this man share eye contact. Yet, it wasn't sweet and kind, more like curiosity had taken over and he couldn't get why I answered both questions incorrectly.

That exact thought had been on his mind throughout the rest of the class. A part of him felt anxious to know what it was that made me fumble at the problem that he knew I could solve perfectly fine on my own.

______________________

"Alright you all have a great rest of your afternoon and please do study for this upcoming test. It'll be more than 40% of your grade!" Mr.Jung announced as the classroom flooded out the doors, All except one person.

"Ms.l/n,"

He heaved a deep sigh, shoving his hands into his almost too tight dress pants pocket. He paced around his desk before sitting directly on the rounded edge. He looked dramatically intimidating, like he wanted to degrade you the moment he could.

"Is everything okay? You're normally really good with math. It hurt me to see you troubled with such an easy question."

My hands couldn't help but fiddle with the zipper sewed into my bag. How was I supposed to tell my teacher that he was the problem. Not in any sort of bad way, and not in any good way neither.

"Yeah I'm fine, just had a rough week." I lied.

"You seem kind of tense. Am I making you uncomfortable?" He innocently spoke while his eyes examined my body for some type of body language.

My knees buckled, hands folding anything to keep me calm, and not mentioning my blushed face. I was 100% sure that my face was completely flushed a crimson red. There was no denying it.

He didn't wait for an answer, and simply lowered his curtain covering the window then locked the door. I was unsure of what his intentions were but my mind was far off somewhere it shouldn't be regarding the fact that I'm just his student. The thought of him shoving all of his folders and papers off his desk and pinning me clouded my mind. My dying fantasy to have the slightest interaction that no other girl has ever had with him.

"I'm all ears. That's if you're comfortable with telling me of course." He knocked me into reality as I began to feel guilty for thinking negatively of his intentions.

"I'm not sure I can be completely honest." I mumbled beneath my breath breaking eye contact.

"And why is that?"

Mr.Jung held his arm out for me to grab. With little to no hesitation at all, I placed my hand in his. His thumb grazes over my knuckles a fee times until his eyes darted up towards mine.

"Cause I'm in no sort of position to have such thoughts."

I simply remove my hand from his grip feeling the tense sensation overwhelm me once again building up the need to put an end to this. He sensed it immediately.

"Turn around."

"Huh?"

"I'm not gonna say it again." His voice had more depth and demand stringing to it.

I did exactly what he said, no questions asked. His hands set firmly on my shoulders guiding me closer towards him until I felt the warmth radiating off of his body and onto mine. His thumb running deep circles into my shoulder blades releasing the tension that remained.

"Now tell me what position you feel you need to be in."

His hands made its way to my spine tracing all the way down to my waist before kneading my lower back.

"Missionary?"

"That can work too but I meant regarding to what you said. What position do you need to be in to have such dirty thoughts?"

By now, you were inches away from in between his legs, as much as I wished to be in this dearest situation, my first instinct was to freeze up. Was this really happening?

"I'm just your student. The things I want to do will ruin your career." I admitted.

He hummed at my answer willingly holding my waist and pulling me directly into his lap. I felt the slightest bulge poking me through my thin leggings. His head rested onto my right shoulder sending shivers down my back.

"There's nothing wrong with the student getting a little extra lesson with chemistry." He bluntly stated right beneath my ear.

I began to feel throbbing and anticipation between my legs.  Or maybe I had just noticed it now. His hands ventured from my waist toward the hem of my leggings, thumb pushing past my leggings and rubbing the outline of my panties. My stomach bursted with butterflies under his touch. He bit his lips as he felt the smooth lace of my underwear.

"Good choice Ms.l/n," he huskily whispered.

"Tell me about how you fantasize about me in explicit detail if you would."

My chapped lips parted realizing a deep breath I held in since he began to touch me in the ways I haven't yet imagined. His fingers trailed down to palm my womanhood gently creating the knot in my stomach.

"You had me alone like now, desperately removing everything off the desk to pin me down. Ripping my shirt in half as you cupped my boobs. One hand busy playing with my nipples, the other rubbing rough circles on my clit as you told me come."

He chuckled in response as he removed his hand from me and remained silent. As much as I wanted to turn around a catch a glimpse of his face, I was already too embarrassed sharing my intimate dreams with him.

He bit his lips dauntingly, "can I?"

"What?"

"Can I make that dream a reality?"

He slightly nibbled onto my ear, heat fuming from my dripping core soaking my panties by the second. I silently nodded afraid to speak at all. "I want to hear you say it, can I touch you?"

"Yes, Mr.Jung."

"Good girl, just for this I'll allow you to call me Jaehyun okay baby?"

I nodded once again holding back the whimpers threatening to leave my lips. His hands rubbed my ass gently getting rough within seconds, groping me every chance he got. The bulge teasingly poked at my core as he undid his pants lowering his draws enough to let his member spring free; slowly stroking himself onto my ass. Jaehyun grunted as the friction increased. His fingers tugged the the hem of my leggings sliding them down to my knees locking them in place.

"Damn you're sexy." He moaned taking in the sight of my now exposed ass. He stroked himself aggressively before tracing my spine with his fingers and bending me over. His other hand pushing my panties to the side as he inserted double digits into my soaked core curling his fingers and his thumb circled my clit. My breath became unstable panting like there was no tomorrow.  My walls clenched amongst his digits fighting the urge to come.  "Mhmm I-I can't hold it." I moaned balling my fists up against my knees for support. He took his digits out sucking every ounce making sure I heard the slurping noise before he lined himself at my entrance.

I inhaled a sharp breath as he entered his tip inside me. I had no clue how big he was but felt my walls adjusting to the girth of him. I bit my lip, holding back from the moans. His hands firmly placed on my hips as he shoved the rest of his large length inside me. I let out a small gasp followed with hitched breaths as his length reached what felt like my cervix. "Shh, you don't want no one to hear you don't you?" He whispered stopping in his tracks for a split second. He pulled almost all the way out coated with your juices only just to shove his length in back in reaching spots he may have missed.

"Oh fuck." Jaehyun groaned thrusting sluggishly. My walls clenched around him causing his grip to tighten on my waist. Tears streaming down my face in pleasure. He picked up the pace being careful enough to refrain from making any clapping noises. As much as he want to rail me until my eyes rolled back and seen stars he couldn't, not in this environment. Yet it was still enough to satisfy the both of our needs. Soft whimpers were the only thing he'd allow out of my mouth, anything louder than that he'd immediately pull out as a sign of punishment. His hand left my waist grabbing fistfuls of my hair and yanking it to see my fucked out facial expressions.

"Jaehyun." I breathed out as he rammed into me.

"Ms.l/n, you dirty little slut of mine, Ms.l/n you feel so good taking all my length in your wet pussy." He groaned aggressively in my ear pounded into me completely forgetting the fact that we were in his classroom. ~

"Ms.l/n! Please stop zoning out in my class!" Mr.Jung semi-shouts jolting me out of my day dream.  I immediately fixed my posture examining the dozens of eyes all drawn towards me including Mr.Jeong. He cocked an eyebrow at me before running his tongue on the inside of his cheek.

"See me after class." He demanded and continued on with his lesson. And just like that, I added on to my series of fantasies with my Calculus professor.

.

[bittydragon]

The Ant King

Note: Huge thanks to Bittydragon for inspiring me to write this. I’ll be honest, this is the first fic I've ever actually written, as well as the only piece of creative fiction I've written in like two years so… fingers crossed it goes well hahaha.

TW: tight spaces, darkness, uh,,, bugs i guess. Near death experience

  There are things you have to know about ants when you get an ant farm. Basic fundamentals. What to feed them, how to keep them alive, what type of ants you have, etcetera. Even if your intentions were… torturous. After all, you need to know what makes something tick in order to make it stop.

One of the more common facts about ants is that every colony has a queen. She orders her ants to keep her alive so she can make more ants. Simple biology, the continuation of a species. Every nest has a queen, or it dies.

Apparently, this colony didn’t get the memo.

These thoughts buzzed in grumpy circles around Wilbur's’ head as he followed his ant companion, Tommy, deeper into the ant-farm. They had been wandering these tunnels for what felt like days now, in the center of the farm so there were no glass barriers to show the outside world. They were deep too. Almost at the bottom of the compound. Wilbur was not one to show fear, but even he was beginning to get claustrophobic.

Tommy, who up until now had been jabbering like a toddler the whole trip through the ant-farm had also gone uncharacteristically silent. The whole trip Wilbur had wanted nothing more than a few seconds of quiet from him, but now he missed the carefree noise.

They were on their way to see the ant King. A type of ant that, as far as Wilbur knew, didn’t exist. So either they were on a wild goose chase, or Will was way out of his depth.

The further they went, the more he was convinced it was the latter.

“Tommy do you-” Wilbur paused, his echoing voice in the tunnel almost felt like a taboo. An affront to the maddening silence that stalked them. He lowered his voice.

“Do you think… Will I ever get back to normal? Will the ant king change me back?” He hated that little quiver in his voice. He hated the uncertainty. The waiting.

Tommy continued to march forward silently, pondering the question.

“I dunno big man, I think you’ve changed heaps since you got here.” He turned his head to flash Wilbur a grin “Then you’ll be out there and all nice n shit. It’ll be poggers.”

The tunnel was dark, but not dark enough to hide the flash of uncertainty in Tommy’s eyes.

Wilbur's heart sank. “Thanks mate.” He mumbled, and they trekked on, once more in silence.

  By the time they saw light, it felt like they had been walking for days. Wilbur was almost glad he was about to meet possibly one of the most powerful ants in this colony. They rounded one last bend, and they were there.

Before them stood a huge double door set in the wall. Two vines with some kind of glowing fruit framed the door, shedding light on the small space. In front of the door, leaning on a spear made from a twig was another ant with a pair of large white rimmed goggles. 

“Well… This is it I guess.” Wilbur muttered. He cleared his throat “Hey, um. I-i’m here to have an audience with the King? If that's alright.”

The guard ant didn’t respond, continuing to stare at them with no discernible expression.

“H-hello?” Wilbur glanced at Tommy, who shrugged.

“Excuse me? Anyone home?” Wilbur snapped his fingers in front of the ant's face.

He seemed to startle slightly, before slumping down a bit and letting out a loud snore.

“What the fuck” Tommy said.

Before anyone could do much of anything, one of the massive double doors creaked open and a voice came through.

“George, I swear if you fell asleep again, I'm going to rip off your antenna and use them as- oh.”

Another ant entered the room, this one also carried a twig-spear and had a strip of white cloth tied around his forehead.  As soon as his gaze landed on Wilbur, his expression soured.

If looks could kill… Wilbur thought nervously

“It’s you” The new ant spat “Took your sweet time getting here Soot. Earthquake slow you down? Didja get a taste of your own medicine from your big pals out there?”

Wilbur pursed his lips, and the ant snorted. “Yeah. Thought so.” He walked forward and gave George a hard shove, sending the other ant sprawling with a startled yelp.

“Sapnap what the hell?!” He snapped, before spotting Wilbur and Tommy. “Oh hey. That guy is here.”

“Yeah he’s here, idiot.” Sapnap smacked George over the head with his spear “And we would have known a lot sooner if you hadn't fallen asleep on duty again!”

“OW! Sapnap stop! Get off me!”

Wilbur cleared his throat, drawing their attention “Sorry to interrupt, but me and my friend have been walking for a long, long time, so could we please have an audience with the King?”

Subpoena glared “Yeah. He’s waiting for you. Against my advice, he wants to see you.”

Oh. That… didn’t sound great.

Wilbur tried not to think about the implications of that statement as he approached the double doors. Tommy moved to follow, but was stopped by the guards.

“Hey!” He groused “Let me through dickheads!”

“I'm afraid the King only wants an audience with the great and powerful Wilbur Soot” Sapnap said with a smirk.

“But I want to go too! Let me in! You stupid ugly bitch ill fight you! You may have a fancy stick but just wait until I pull out my knife-gun!”

“Tommy its fine.” Wilbur interrupted “I’ll be fine mate, promise. Just wait here. I wont leave without saying goodbye.”

The last thing he saw was Tommy’s antenna drooping sadly, before the doors swung closed behind him.

  If Wilbur thought the tunnel was dark before, that was nothing compared to the room he was in now. The darkness was so thick, so absolute, that it made no difference if his eyes were open or closed.

“Hello?” Wilbur called “Uh… your majesty? I was told that you wanted to see me.”

His voice echoed slightly in the huge space, but there was no reply.

Wait. What was that? Something rasped ever so slowly across the opposite wall. Something big. As it moved, the moss where it had been standing glowed a dull green.

Bio-luminescence Wilbur reasoned. Trying to distract himself from the fear creeping up his spine. Touch activated, it seems.

He swallowed dryly “L-look, just tell me what you want. I’m not here to cause trouble”

The thing moved again, its raspy scuttle reverberated through the chamber.

“Wilbur Soot, not here to cause any trouble” A thoughtful voice hummed from the dark “Now that’s a first.”

The bio-luminescent moss was lighting up more of the room. If he squinted, Wilbur could make out a... leg. Probably.

Wilbur inches slowly to the side, the moss lighting up his own path. “Okay, I get it, I've done morally questionable things in the past, but I've learned a lot from my time here. I’m sorry.”

“For now” The voice replied. The thing was moving on the other side, matching him step for step. “What's to say you aren't faking remorse to get out of here? And maybe you really are sorry. How can I be sure you wont change your mind the second you're back to normal? It's too much of a risk.”

Wilbur continued to back away nervously “Your majesty-”

“Please, call me Dream. Everyone else does.”

“Right… Dream. I can say with 100% certainty that won't happen. I've seen people die in front of me. That’s enough to change anyone's stance on something.”

“And yet I'm still not convinced.” It was moving faster now, scuttling across the floor, walls and even across the ceiling. Wilbur's head spun with the motion. “And since we’re talking in hypotheticals, riddle me this: Whoever said I was going to let you out anyway? What if I just like to play with my food?”

Dream stopped suddenly, rearing over Wilbur, and with all of the lit up moss, he got his first proper look.

This ant was huge. Twice- no, at least three times the size of Wilbur himself. He looked a bit like a centaur, with a human torso connected to a pure white and thorax and abdomen.He also wore a strange white mask with a blank eyed smiley face drawn on.

Two huge claw arms- similar to those of a praying mantis- extended from Dreams waist and slammed into the dirt either side of Wilbur, startling him enough that he fell onto his ass. The king leaned forward with that lifeless grin, and Will closed his eyes, preparing for the end.

“But…” Dream said thoughtfully “A proper experiment should account and test for all variables, shouldn't it?”

“Y-yeah generally” Wilbur stuttered

“Oh good.” Dream hoisted him roughly to his feet. “I’m glad I asked you. After all, you know all about experiments, don’t you?”

Wilbur chose not to answer, glowering at Dream as the eyes on his mask briefly glowed a dull green.

A moment later, Sapnap and George marched in, dragging a cussing and struggling Tommy behind them.

“YOU STUPID MOTHEFUCKERS!!! Let me go or ill get married in rage!! Fuck you and-! Oh. wow that is a big fella.” Tommy stopped and stared in awe at Dream

“Sapnap, give Wilbur your spear.” Dream ordered.

A flicker of doubt crossed Sapnaps face but he obediently shoved the spear into Wilbur's hands.

“I’ll make you a deal, Wilbur Soot.” Dream purred, circling him. “I will let you go to your old life. You can do whatever you like; kill us, torment us, throw us away… it doesn't matter. All you have to do is kill one ant.” He gestured to Tommy.

“What?” Wilbur whispered.

“WHAT?!” Tommy roared “fuck you! I'm not your dumb-ass pawn, I'm going to kill you! Rrrrrrrrrrr!” he writhed, attempting to bite George who did a surprisingly good job of holding him still.

“Go on.” Dream cooed “It's just one insignificant ant standing between you and freedom. You've killed hundreds. What's one more?”

Spear in hand, Wilbur took a hesitant step forward.

Tommy's gaze snapped up “Wilby?” He asked, his struggling pausing for a moment.

Their eyes met, fear clashing with sorrow. Tommy seemed to see something in Wilbur's expression and hung his head in defeat. As if he had expected Wilbur to betray him.

Oh hell no. Fuck that. Wilbur angrily tossed the spear aside.

“No. I won't.”

“What?” Dream spat

Wilbur rounded on him “No! I won't kill him! Keep me here, kill me, hunt me for sport, whatever! Just leave him out of this! Tommy has been nothing but nice to me since I met him, even though it don't deserve it!” He rubbed his arm. “God knows I don't deserve it.”

“Hmm…” Dream hummed “Are you sure, even if it costs you your life?” One of Dream's massive claw arms grazed his side, a subtle threat.

Wilbur looked over at Tommy, who had a look of hope on his face.

“Yeah.” Will smiled, “I'm sure.”

I probably could have written more, but i wont. I hope you like this fic bitty! Thanks for reading :)

Edit: Fortune, this is amazing! Like, I hadn't really thought about this encounter in a lot of detail, but I honestly like this a lot! And Dream being a big boy since he's the king ant. Just yes. Thank you so much for this.

[alkalinefrog]

hey, so, I had an art related question... if all of this is too much, feel free to ignore it.

the backstory is that I've had the same laptop since early high school but recently I had a birthday (I'm 28 now). my parents got me an HP laptop, and my friend got me a tablet, which she bought off of an online friend for $30. the problem is that I haven't had new technology like... ever? none that was actually mine anyway, and certainly nothing that could handle me using it for art.

and this is especially a problem when it comes to the tablet. my friend helped me get firealpaca onto the laptop, and get the tablet set up with the right drivers, aaaaand... I cannot make one line that looks good using it. I've been using pen and paper for so long and I have a really light touch, and it feels like I have to jam the pen down to get it to register, at which point I might as well have not set the pen sensitivity to anything at all because the thickest line is the only kind I can make?? any lighter and it won't show up on the screen at all. like I can ctrl+z and it doesn't even go back a step, the line didn't get drawn. there's like a 20% chance that any line I try to put down won't actually register. and tbh this isn't really what I had wanted... it's a huion tablet, which is the brand I wanted, but I was gonna buy myself one where you can see what you're drawing on the screen of the tablet itself. not just due to coordination issues, I think I could get used to that part, but because I feel like I wouldn't be having this specific problem with getting things to register. every single line I make looks like crap with this tablet, it makes me feel like I might as well be drawing with my feet, and I've been fidgeting with settings, and it doesn't seem like anything helps. I also still don't have a mouse for the laptop yet, so I can't click and drag anything very well because it has a trackpad, so messing with sliders is already aggravating.

I feel so lost and overwhelmed, and like if I buy anything else, I'm just going to end up with more unusable stuff because *I'm* probably the problem. I just don't know anything, and trying is mentally fatiguing me so quickly... my brain knows what I want my art to look like, and my hands can do it with a real pen. I just have absolutely no clue how to make this machine produce anything.

so I guess my questions are stuff like, what equipment do you use? are there tablets that will register a light touch or am I really going to have to be this heavy handed in order to work with one? what resolution/canvas size do you usually work on? any recommendations for what program to use?

overall, I'd really like to get myself something that feels more intuitive than the tablet... honestly, I was finding some success drawing with just my finger on the touch screen of my phone at one point. there were still a lot of problems with that, but the nail in the coffin was that my phone's memory space filled up and I had to get rid of the drawing app to make it functional again (it's an iphone, which is why). maybe I should just get an ipad or something...? though, one more thing on the mountain of potential options is the last thing my crumbling ADHD brain needs. I've been taking a break from art in general because I've still maintained my 40-hours-a-week work schedule through the whole pandemic... I do 10 hour shifts and work overnight, so I technically have free time since I only work 4 days a week, but the type of work I do leaves me with no energy at all. so I've been in an art slump and I've been wanting to get out of it, but this is just making art feel impossible, even though the whole reason why I've always wished I could draw digitally is so that I can color digitally. I had been drawing things in pen and scanning them to color in photoshop, but cleanup takes so long that I literally can't produce finished work anymore. I'm out of options that aren't prohibitively labor intensive and frustrating.

this was probably way too much information, but if you have any advice I'd be really grateful.

Huh, well first off HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUDE!! Congrats on the sweet new tech (even if it's been a bit frustrating) and well-deserved celebration!

From the sounds of it I think the main issue is probably your tablet (this is pure speculation on my end though, so you know, grain of salt and all). You're right in that you shouldn't have to fight against your equipment. I have a really light touch too and I've never had the same issue. I personally don't have any experience with huion tablets, but if you're having trouble getting your lines to register then it might have been worn down by the previous user. It's not so much about buying a monitor (the screen one) vs. tablet so much as getting working equipment.

An iPad is a great alternative!! I've played around with the apple pencil and procreate and it's a super intuitive program with (obviously) super easy set up! You get the drawing on the screen AND really nice pen pressure. I'm really happy seeing it opening up new doors for more people to get into digital art!

In terms of your current laptop/tablet situation:

My set up rn is pretty pricey ngl; I have a PC desktop computer with a 16 inch Wacom Cintiq. Getting started in digital art doesn't mean you have to drop a bag on a ton of equipment right from the get go though! If you're looking for a safe small investment, I'd recommend getting a Wacom Bamboo pen tablet!

This lil' baby right here is what I started with!! I think cost-wise it floats around 70ish bucks, but that's exponentially more affordable than buying a huge monitor. One of my friends who's also a pro artist uses a similar small tablet because it works great! That's an alternative that might be worth looking into.

You can also get free trials on other drawing programs (clip studio paint is a great one!) To test and see if it's a software issue with firealpaca.

You could also try checking online forums to see if anyone else is running into similar issues, or watch some YouTube videos of people reviewing different tablets. I know this might be even more overwhelming, so I'd try and narrow the scope to focus on one thing at a time.

My best advice right now would actually be to get a mouse, or any other accessories you need. I've also been in your shoes where I was completely overwhelmed, and I can say that checking off all the small easy things makes a HUGE difference! It makes you feel more in control of the situation, and even if you're still having trouble with digital art you can at least get more comfortable using your laptop in the mean time.

You got this dude!! I believe in you!!

EDIT:

Thanks @wooliebirds!

[wolfstarlibrarian]

Welcome to the fifth installment of Beyond The Shelves!

This month’s creator spotlight is on the truly unique and amazing @mlim8. Mel has brought new life into fandom with her stunning art and comics that can make you laugh and cry. She's also the artist behind the Padfoot you can pet on the Librarian's home page (desktop) and the Moony gif on the Help Desk page. Now let's get to know this incredible artist!

Name: Mel is fine :D (she/her)

Where can people find your art?/Support you?

I'm only on Tumblr! @mlim8 (I tried getting a Twitter but I got confused so it's an account in limbo~). My Wolfstar/HP Masterlist is here (links only work on mobile)

What's your favorite thing about Remus & Sirius?

I'm a biggggg sucker for the 'childhood friends' trope. As well as pairings that scream mutual pining, but on the other hand, can be pure fluff. I like pairings where the couple can play off each other, can support each other, who might not always see eye-to-eye but have also been with the other for so long now, they know what they’re doing to make sure they still work, because in the end, they LOVE EACH OTHER. Somehow, Remus and Sirius can tick off all these different boxes and I love them for it uwu And then, there’s also just so much mystery about them in the books and therefore, so much freedom to interpret them, given how little we actually have to go on - it’s so cool to see them in an assortment of AUs, tropes, canon, non-canon fics and see them fall in love over and over and over again… So ultimately? I guess my favourite thing is that it’s so damn obvious how in love they are with one another that the Wolfstar fandom is as big as it is :)

What do you think your signature style is?

I think I’m known for fanfic comics, cute fluff, and my chibi style. You will also see a blush on my characters’ cheeks like 98.9% of the time. I can’t help it… it belongs there lol

What inspires you?

Fanfics, usually. I actually came back to drawing on tumblr because of some beautiful fanfics that I couldn’t get out of my head and needed to draw them. Afterward, it would be songs, videos, memes, conversations with friends, posts from friends, etc - it’s not difficult to take something and go “Do it again, but as Wolfstar.”

What advice would you give new artists?

I guess some obvious ones would be to practice, practice, practice. Use references and 3D models, they help so damn much. Video tutorials and other art tutorials are there to help you make things easier, there really is an endless pit of things to learn and techniques to master. Some other things that people might forget: drink water, do stretches for your wrists and neck, get up once in a while to get blood flow in your legs. But most importantly, even if you want to practice a lot, don’t forget to TAKE. BREAKS. Your body and mind will thank you.

You also don’t need anything super fancy to draw: traditional art is just as valid as any digital art (more so because you don’t have a CTRL+Z function and it drives me insane, so power to you!!). Cheaper $50 art tablets can do what you need them to, as long as you know how to use it. With art programs, there are tons of free ones that you can get your feet wet before committing to any expensive programs (I’ve used Paint Tool SAI for years in the past and I know artists that use FireAlpaca and GIMP with amazing results as well :D)

Lastly, and this is gonna be a hard one: Don’t compare yourself (or your progress) to other artists. People take years (decades??) to make art that they love and develop a style/technique that they’re proud of and it’s not worth the stress. You’re only in a competition with yourself and that’s challenging enough already!

What do you use to create your art?

I use a Wacom Bamboo Fun Pen & Touch - it was a birthday gift from waaaay back that I’ve had for a decade now :’)

For art programs, I’ve been using Clip Studio Paint for about 8 months now and I use Photoshop for stitching larger GIFs together uwu

What's a favorite piece you made and why?

Oh my God, how to decide… there’s been a ton that I’ve been proud of but my favourite (spelling with a u because I’m Canadian, eh) would be the recent Candy Heart Post I did a couple weeks back now. Just a lot of love and effort went into it, not just the art itself but trimming the song, all the editing and timing of each frame. I wanted so hard to tell a story and I think it came out the way I wanted it to :)

Pick one of your own pieces/AUs and give readers a little note about it. What inspired it? Why is it a favorite?

Okay, so this is probably an obvious one for those that have been on my blog for the last few months - but I have an AU called ‘Rembus and Hunter AU’ that is about an incubus demon, Remus, and a Demon Hunter, Sirius. The demon, affectionately called Rembus, is surprisingly sweet and adorable. In short: HE IS BABY. And when Hunter comes to the Village of Gryffindor to get rid of him, he learns that there’s more to demons than he’s known through the church and his family.

It’s just a really stupidly cute AU, despite the premise, and I’m so excited to share their story with everyone (one day, haha I’m a slow artist -)! Here’s Part 0 (the info card), if anyone is interested :)

It was created when I came upon an outfit ( similar to what Rembus wears) and thought “Okay, but Incubus!Remus.” - and that’s it. That’s usually how my AUs come about. The smallest inspiration and I spiral out of control with a backstory. This AU was fleshed out a lot with the help of Whippy, who was great to bounce all these ridiculous ideas off of lol

Make sure to check back later today for a list of works and recs from Mel herself!

[morganaspendragonss]

holly's august extravaganza day 4: a friend in me

📍 anon - I don't know but I feel like Carlos and Nancy can have such an awesome best friend dynamic. Maybe something sad/scary regarding Nancy happens where she has to make a report at the precinct and Carlos doesn't tell anyone as she made him promise so he starts to just check on Nancy and they just develop this caring, supportive, beautiful, fun, full of banter friendship to the amusement of TK and the 126.

kept this separate from your original ask because i want to keep those other prompts you sent alongside this one for later 😊

ao3 | 2k | hurt/comfort, brief references to gun violence, mostly just carlos and nancy being besties

Carlos has never seen Nancy look so small.

She’s sitting hunched over in one of the interrogation rooms, shock blanket around her shoulders, hands seemingly moving of their own volition to tear the empty styrofoam cup in front of her to shreds. As soon as Carlos had seen her being escorted into the precinct, shaking like a leaf and clutching her coat like a lifeline, he’d persuaded the officer with her to let him take over the case. His association with the 126 is well known so the officer had been reluctant, but Carlos had managed to wear him down, saying that he doesn’t really know Nancy that well.

And it’s—it’s not exactly a full lie. Through their hangs and TK’s stories, he’s coming to see Nancy as a force of nature, a woman who will let nothing and no-one stand in her way, whether that’s out on the field or during a game of Monopoly. But of her personal life, Carlos knows next to nothing; she mentioned a sister a few weeks ago, and TK delights in teasing her about her growing crush on Marjan, but that’s about it.

He needs to make more of an effort, he decides. When they’re anywhere else but a police station.

Carlos knocks lightly on the door to announce his presence before entering the room, sending her what he hopes is a reassuring smile. Nancy visibly relaxes at the sight of him and she drops the remains of her cup, though Carlos doesn’t miss the continuing tremble to her hands.

“Hey Nancy,” he says, sliding into the seat opposite her. “How are you doing?”

Nancy’s lips twitch, the corners barely curving into the beginnings of a wry smile. She breathes out shakily, meeting Carlos’s eyes for the briefest second before staring back down at the table. “I’m not great,” she answers, and for her to admit to that… Well, Carlos suspects it’s not a regular occurrence.

He nods, reluctantly pulling out his notebook and pen, hesitating before flipping to the next blank page. Nancy tracks his movements, resignation clearly etched all over her features. Carlos glances at the two-way mirror—not that it does him any good—then reaches across the table to take Nancy’s hand.

“We don’t have to do this right now,” he murmurs. “If you need more time, just say the word and I’ll leave. Or if you’d prefer to talk to someone you don’t know, we can do that too. Anything you need.”

The sudden tightness of Nancy’s grip is unexpected, as is the flash of panic in her eyes.

“Please, don’t go,” she whispers. “I don’t—” She cuts herself off, shutting her eyes and breathing slowly for a few seconds. Slowly, her hold on Carlos begins to loosen until her hand is slack in his, then she draws both hands into her lap and straightens in her chair. When her eyes reopen, she seems more like the Nancy Carlos knows—strong, confident, assertive—though there’s still clearly an undercurrent of fear underneath it all.

“I’m fine. Let’s do this.”

Carlos bites back an are you sure and settles for clicking his pen, his smile unwavering. “Can you run me through what happened, exactly?” he asks. “Take your time.”

A second or two passes, then Nancy nods, her voice steady when she speaks. “I was restocking the bus at the end of shift. I was alone; Captain Vega was in her office and TK was with the others in the showers—he did try to help but he’d had to go into a fire on our last call to help a patient and the smell of smoke was giving me a headache, so I told him to go.”

Carlos pauses in his note-taking, mentally filing that last piece of information away for follow-up as soon as he sees his boyfriend again. Judging by the amused quirk to Nancy’s eyebrow, she’s fully aware of where his mind has gone, so Carlos clears his throat and motions for her to continue, forcing his thoughts back to the present.

“Like I said, I was alone. I didn’t mind it; it was kind of relaxing, you know? Then this guy appeared from nowhere and pointed a gun at me, saying if I called out or turned on the siren or anything, he’d shoot. I thought—” She inhales sharply, her knuckles going white on the tabletop and her jaw clenching tightly. Her voice sounds different when she next speaks, more controlled, as though forcing each word out. “I thought it was happening again. I thought he was going to take me somewhere, make me his personal pet paramedic, something like that.

“Turns out, he just wanted drugs. I gave him what we had on the rig and he seemed satisfied, so I figured he’d shoot me anyway ‘cause I’d seen his face, right? He didn’t—obviously—but it looked like he was considering it.” Nancy pauses and flicks her gaze up at Carlos, biting her lip. “I think he might have done it,” she admits quietly, “but he got spooked by one of the guys making noise so he just bolted. I’m not sure how long it was between that and TK coming back and finding me. I’m sorry.”

Carlos shakes his head. “It’s okay. We can check the cameras at the station. With luck, that should get us an ID, maybe a license plate if he drove. I think that’s almost everything; just one more question, if that’s okay. Can you tell me what you gave him exactly?”

Nancy nods. “Morphine, Ativan, tramadol… I’d have to check stocks for the exact amounts.”

“We’ll do that, don’t worry about it.” Carlos taps his pen on the pages before flipping his notebook shut and leaning across the table again. “Are you okay?” he asks softly. “Speaking as a friend and not a cop, if there’s anything you need, anything I can help with, let me know.”

She smiles wanly. “I’m okay. I just want to go home and forget all this ever happened.”

“Fair enough. I’ll walk you out to your car.”

Carlos half-expects her to brush him off, but she just nods and allows him to escort her back through the precinct and out to her car. He dithers awkwardly, shuffling his feet as Nancy turns to him, one hand on the door handle.

“Thank you, Carlos. For real. I have the feeling it wasn't a coincidence that you were the one in that room with me.”

The tips of Carlos’s ears go pink as he finds himself caught out. “That, uh… That would not be inaccurate.”

“Well, thanks.” She pulls open the car door and Carlos takes a step back, wanting to wait until she’s safely away to go back inside. Nancy ducks as if to get in, then pauses and straightens again, biting her lip as she looks back at him.

“Hey, Carlos?” she says. “Can you do me a favour and not tell the others? Not even TK. They— They know vaguely what happened, but I’d prefer it if the details and, uh, some of the other stuff I told you could be kept between us.”

He agrees immediately, just grateful that she trusts him enough to handle this for her. “No-one will know any more than they need to,” he promises, which seems to relieve her. She thanks him again, then gets in the car and drives away, Carlos watching after her with one hand raised in farewell.

*

It grows from there.

It’s not intentional exactly, but one text to check up on her soon turns into a steady stream of messages, stories and jokes and even the occasional meme passing back and forth between them. Carlos especially appreciated Nancy's carefully curated collection of dirt on TK, which, as a concerned boyfriend, it is his duty to know. Many a conversation has been spent griping about TK's accident prone ways or sighing over his latest mishap.

Lovingly, of course.

Nancy, 15.48: you’ll never guess what happened this time

Carlos, 16.22: ?

In answer, he receives a picture of a dejected-looking TK sprawled on the floor with Buttercup’s front paws squarely resting on his chest. Buttercup’s tongue is lolling out, a wide grin on his face, and in the background stand the rest of the crew. All of them also seem to have their phones pointed towards TK—probably the reason TK looks so down, as Carlos knows his boyfriend couldn’t be upset with Buttercup to save his life.

Nancy, 16.26: he thought he’d try to teach buttercup some tricks. turns out, dog trainers exist for a reason

Carlos has to stifle a laugh—technically, he is supposed to be working—but his attempt at being subtle is thwarted when his phone repeatedly pings with similar texts and photos from Paul, Marjan, and Mateo. He screenshots the sudden influx of notifications and sends it to Nancy before saving every single photo.

Nancy responds with a laughing emoji and a promise to keep him updated.

*

Not all of their conversations are about TK, naturally.

Carlos, 19.10: I don’t understand why you don’t just talk to her

Nancy, 19.12: i do talk to her. every shift, actually

Carlos, 19.13: Nancy

Nancy, 19.13: carlos

Nancy, 19.14: i don’t even know if she’s into women, alright? it’s not like i can just march up and ask, that’s like waving a banner saying ‘hey, i’m in love with you’ in her face

Carlos, 19.16: Oh, we’re talking about love now, are we?

Nancy, 19.17: can it, reyes

Carlos, 19.20: Noted. Look, take it from someone who’s been navigating gay relationships in Texas his whole life. Sometimes you just have to go for it. Ask her for coffee, test the waters, see where it leads. You never know, it might work out. I mean, look at me

Nancy, 19.24: wow, way to rub your happiness in my face 😑

(Carlos doesn’t find out if she follows his advice, but he does notice her and Marjan showing up to their hangs together)

(Nancy does not appreciate his smugness)

*

Without even realising, they become a formidable team. This fact is highlighted one game night about three months after the incident, when Nancy and Marjan blow into his and TK’s house, a determined glint in both their eyes.

“We’re switching up the teams,” Marjan declares, much to TK’s outrage.

“What? Why?”

“Because,” Nancy continues, “we’re tired of losing to you guys. You’re like, freakishly good at board games and it’s not fair. Plus, we have to watch you both being all lovey all the time when you’re on the same team and it’s exhausting. We want to see you being competitive for once.”

TK pouts, but Carlos just shrugs when he looks to him for backup. “It’ll be fun,” he says, smiling at Nancy and Marjan. TK still looks put out, so he leans in close and half-murmurs, “C’mon babe. How about a prize for the winner?”

TK perks up considerably at the suggestion, and, going by the twin looks of despair on Nancy and Marjan’s faces, they caught both the comment and the innuendo. Marjan groans and Nancy raises her eyes skyward, as if pleading for divine intervention.

“This was a great idea, actually,” TK says, grinning. He quirks an eyebrow at Nancy. “You and me, Nance?”

That seems to shake Nancy out of her silent prayers for strength. “Uh, no. I’m with Carlos.” To emphasise the point, she strides forward and grabs Carlos’s arm, dragging him to the couch. He nudges her gently when they sit, smirking at the disgruntled way she digs into the snack bowl.

“You did say you wanted to see us being competitive.”

“Shut up.”

*

In the end, TK ends up paired with Mateo, and Marjan with Paul. It’s clear from the outset who’s going to win—Nancy and Carlos dominate the board, and not even Paul’s master strategy is enough to catch up with them.

They win by a comfortable margin, fist-bumping in celebration. There’s a general air of bemusement in the room, and when Carlos looks round at the others, he finds four pairs of eyes fixed on them.

“What?”

“Since when have you two been such a good team?” Paul asks, leaning back in his chair and raising an eyebrow.

Carlos shrugs, sharing a smile with Nancy. “Guess we just are.”