#its a hard color scheme why did i do this to myself.

[chatonyant]

Action

[glossoholicc]

Gotta regret em' all!

(read bellow for more insight/comments about these!!)

Ouuggghh my GOD the universe did not want me to create these. I started Folly darkrai, then got sick with a nasty cold that I am still recovering from. THEN I get the most painful ear infection ever. The last image was made while I was in physical agony. I cried real tears.

Regardlessss... I really love Pokemon and Regretevator. My brain has been hardwired since the ripe ol' age of 4 to be obsessed with Pokemon. Every fandom I touch I think about trainer AUs or what Pokemon characters would be. So... this was inevitable. Everything I touch becomes Pokemon.

For those only following me for Regretevator, Roblox fandoms yanked me out of my Pokemon branding for everything. Which was good, i think. I used to represent myself with my fave mon, Maractus. Now I am my Roblox avatar. Ripe ol' age of 20 and all I do is roblock. amen.

I wanted to also write an extensive explanation for why EVERY character here is the Pokemon they are. Mostly because I know there will be people disagreeing with me (which is fine), but the goblin in my brain says "nooo people need to understand you 100% all the time". Sooo, here is a horrendously long essay about why I am objectively correct and you should trust me with all Pokemon related content ever (slash silly?). Does a lil' jigggggg.

(Basic Pokemon knowledge may be required to understand these things btw)

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Folly Darkrai

- Obvious reason Folly would be a darkrai is that darkrai represents nightmares. It can cause those its near to have terrible dreams, and its signature move is Dark Void which puts enemies to sleep. Pair this with its ability, Bad Dreams, any opponent on the field that is asleep will take continuous damage.

- Darkrai is also illusive, and feared. It holds a similar energy to Folly. That energy being big bad scary oooo ahh scary.

- Literally the exact same color scheme as Folly. Similar shape language as well (big claws, jagged black bits, big evil eyeball, and a collar)

- Darkrai are interpreted as evil by characters within Pokemon media, but it is canon that they cannot control the nightmare giving aura they have. They can give others nightmares unintentionally, and aren't blood thirsting or villainous by nature. I feel this is a good nod towards Folly being in a similar boat. She can't help the situation she is in, and wasn't born evil.

Design Notes:

- I LOOOVE DARKRAI AND I LOOOVE FOLLY. she needed to be a pokemon I adore.

- The sweater was awkward to add onto her... because darkrai's body is already supposed to be like. a scary cloth. and they are so bulky. but I think I did okay?

- The hat looks awkward but I didn't include it that would have been messed up.

- nothing cool to say about dreamer she is just cutesy and rounder shapes.

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Great One Xerneas

- Xerneas is a legendary Pokemon which represents life. It creates forests with its powers, and it can go into a "dormant" form where it is literally a white tree. Xerneas, and its counterpart, Yveltal, are not represented as inherently "good" or "evil". The whole deal with them is that life and death are a delicate balance that should be respected. I feel this was fitting because Great One is also a god, gave life to Folly, and became corrupt from jealously. Yeah I think that would disturb the natural balance of shit if the god of life got messed up.

- It is literally a big tree deer idk man.

Design Notes:

- I am sooo proud of this design... I think I cooked! Not much to say besides my friend said it looked like a old pokemon creepypasta and that is true.

- Xerneas is so fun to draw but antlers. suck. ewie.

- The drawing on the far right is inspired by that one screenshot.

- Hard to see but on the far right drawing I included the stomach wound. Didn't do it on the other fullbodies though because I forgot oops.

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MR Minior

- Minior is a meteor pokemon which has two forms. In its ability "Shields Down", where it has a rocky, outer shell that protects it until it's HP gets too low. Once it is weakened, it will change into its "Core Form". Which is basically a cute little guy. But MR Minior is trapped in its "Meteor Form". Meteors relate to MR because of the Happy Home Party floor where MR summons meteors yay.

- Minior are very pathetic pokemon, they fall from the stratosphere only to die on earth. I feel this is similar to MR in the way like. MR is dead and pathetic in its currently state. Compared to what it previously was anyways.

- Minior literally descends from the heavens. Something something word play MR dead god blagh blah.

Design Notes:

- Minior already had eye holes on its design, but I used the cracks throughout its body to make the forehead hole and mouth. I think it was done decently well!

- If MR did go into "Core Form" I imagine it would just be whatever Regretevator devs intend MR's living form to be.

- Minior is so cute and round. I think MR is kinda cute in a round plushie squishmallow kind of way.

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Pest Lokix

- Okay this one is purely based off of aesthetic but HEAR ME OUT.

- Lokix is a locust/grasshopper pokemon inspired by Kamen Rider, a japanese superhero franchise. Multiple characters in Kamen Rider have grasshopper/bug motifs. Pest is Japanese and also a bug. Ive connected the dots so good.

- Lokix is the first ever bug/dark type, and Pest would definitely being this typo combo.

- Idk guys just trust me okay

Design Notes:

- LOOOOK I KNOWWW. Pest is a beetle. Heracross is right there. BUT Heracross doesn't give PEST. Heracross is a round little blue guy and Pest is a weird little freak. Heracross doesn't hold the same intimidating aura as Lokix. And the other beetle pokemon, Rellor and Rabsca, are even further off the mark.

- I thought I was so clever having the antennae form mandible shapes.

- I love Lokix so much. Pest gets to be one of my faves as a treat.

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Poob Pikachu

- Pikachu is the mascot for Pokemon, and Poob is the mascot for Regretevator! In a way, Poob is in a lot of promotional regretevator material.

- Very similar color pallet and vibes. The vibes being "little guy".

- Something could be said for pikachu being an electric type. In the pokemon franchise, electric types are typically associated with being "wild" and "fun". Poob is electric! Personality wise. And Poob would totally hook themselves up to shit they shouldn't.

- Social butterfly, Poob gets their energy from parties. Just like how Pikachu is shown to be able to absorb electricity and shit.

- Just cute. Thats it. Cute marketable guy.

Design Notes:

- I really like what I did with the ears on this. I like them being droopy... because of the hat.

- Poob's goofy little face looks natural on a Pikachus face, I think. Awesome sauce.

- I made the tail tip a half star shape because A: Poob genderless B: Party hat has stars. For those who dont know, pikachu have different tail tip shapes based on gender. Poobs gender is party!

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Pilby Caterpie

- Guys do I need to explain this one.

- Caterpie is a caterpillar. A green one! Pilby is also a green caterpillar.

- Pilby and caterpie have eyes meant to cry. That one clip from the anime where caterpie has watery wet eyes is Pilby.

- Caterpie is a small little thing and Pilby is also a small little thang.

Design Notes:

- I made the little horn in the front the color of their hair because I didn't want to add even more clutter to the face.

- Headcanon that happy Pilby sways/wags their tail when happy. So caterpie pilby gets to wiggle their tail in happiness too.

- hungry hungry caterpillar.

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Mach Tinkaton

- Tinktaton is a pokemon that wields a massive hammer, and beats others to death with it. Its hammer weighs over 200 lbs in canon, and Mach would totally be able to lift that weight. If not more.

- Tinkaton is also an exclusively female pokemon. Mach is a woman. Shrugs.

- Not much to say!!!! Big woman big hammer.

Design Notes:

- I think I made her look UGLY. I don't know what I like about my design. I guess the pose on the fullbody is sick af.

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Infected Cubchoo

- I quite literally only did this for the aesthetic of the snot droplet. Thats it.

Design Notes:

- For some reason the regretevator wiki doesn't have a close up of the left side of Infecteds hat, only the right side. This made it difficult for me to draw the blue bunny.

- I contemplated adding hair at all. I decided to do so because Infected is one of the rare few haired characters. You can keep your hair. For now.

- I was contemplating Grafaiai as well, but I decided going the snot droplet route was better. But Grafaiai still works really well for Infected IMO.

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Bive Absol

- Absols can uhmm.. ughh. Predict future events such as Natural disasters with their powers. So I think she would do this but her future predicting shit sucks. And she is paranoid from Absol related intuition.

- That's basically the only reason I thought of, but Bive is a simple character in concept so thats okay.

Design Notes:

- Freak woman Bive I love you.

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That's all ty for reading I'm so tired goodnight

[louloulover]

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ℌ𝔬𝔤𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔱𝔰 𝔇ℜ★

I have changed some things for my own enjoyment, the history is made up. I haven't changed the original story of harry potter. I simply added my own things. ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡���

｡･:*:･ﾟ★〘ℌ𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔬𝔯𝔶 𝔬𝔣 𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔣〙

☘Family Magic - Rune's father has been on the earth for more than a thousand years, back in history Vikings were users of a ancient magic. The real magic of the world, They danced, sang and used magic one with themselves. The magic could only be passed on through blood. But as the Vikings fought and the people slowly decreased in the world. So did their true blood. Leaving Rune's father to be the last true blood user. The magic can be passed on, but memories will be passed on. Memories come from ancestors. The magic used in todays world isn't the same, nothing as powerful.

☘Parents - His father was one of the Heads of the people, he went into hiding once they were all gone. Rune's mother is a Russian hairdresser. They were brought back to Scandinavia so Rune could be with his people and learn magic from his father. But once his father gave Rune all of his power he was gone. Rune and his mother moved back to Russia. His mother is knowing for being the best hairdresser for muggles and wizards. His mother possesses regular magic.

☘Runes magic - Although Rune isn't full blood his father transferred all his magic and being. So Rune is the strongest being, who can shape nature and anything he chooses. He doesn't use a wand, he can but he doesn't have to. He uses his body.

»»───※ ·ℜ𝔲𝔫𝔢·ℌ𝔢/ℌ𝔦𝔪· ※───►

Rune has knowledge of all his ancestors, the magical runes that cover his every inch of his body shows how powerful he is. ₊˚⊹☾

★Important - He can take away his tattoos simply, but the rune his father put on his back stays. It shows the magic has been passed down.

★Features - Rune possess dark black hair, green like the earth eyes. Eyebrows like his father, big bushy and angled down. When he smiles it is a smirk, sharp canines show from his mouth. A piercing on his left ear, a hoop stays there.

★Body - 6'2''. He is fit, and very tall. Not as tall as the twins. He gives off confidence and pride. (Harry Potter Tyler Durden lmaoo)

★Animal - Rune owns a Crow, connected with his ancestors it is his messenger 'owl'. He also owns a dog at school, (my dog from here) instead of other pets.

★Outfits - He wears colors, often crazy color schemes but somehow works? he walks in a robe or just underwear in his shared room. You will never catch him only wearing black.

its hard to find images of crazy guy outfits, so imagine them with weird color combos ⋆⭒˚｡⋆

➶ ｡˚ °》𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝒂𝒎 𝑰 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆? 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒎 𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈?《✧ ˚ 　· 　　

＞Honestly, i just want to have fun. That's why I gave myself such power. I don't want to deal with classes or sticking to a schedule. I want to go here for fun with friends, flying and of course the creatures. I want to see them all, fly with them, feel them.

✦ » 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝑹𝒖𝒏𝒆? « ✦

＞He was asked by Dumbledore (6th movie) to come protect his school, he knew something was going to come up this year. He has been trying to find Rune but it toke him years, and having to talk to the Merlin to even get to me.

(yes Merlin's going to be the Merlin from the show Merlin.)⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

＞He agreed if he has freedom to do what he pleases, so really he is just to hang around the school. Allowed to enter wherever and whenever. You may see him on top of the highest part of Hogwarts watching the stars, napping on furniture in the halls, playing with his dog in the fields, and throwing items at quidditch players while they practice. || He is still keeping the school protected as he does so ||

Oh and of course hanging out with his brother Casimir..

˚୨୧⋆｡This post toke so long omg, I would love to hear of other people's dr's or even link your scripts in the comments if you want! C:

I'm going to make a post of the other characters in Hogwarts, as I've added some characters. The link will be posted below this once its made!

[swhore-diary]

"hello :^) i want to start posting moodboards too and i was wondering if you could give me tips on how to introduce myself into the community, make friends and my account grow. your moodboards are so pretty :^) thank you in advance :^D" - anon

OKAYY ill try to break it down for you in the shortest way possible!!

1. How to introduce yourself

i did not have any already made friends in the kpop moodboard community, but its really not that hard. you just have to start posting moodboards, be kind and try to make mutuals on your own! this may sound scary but trust me the kpop moodboard community is very kind and will welcome you with open arms, no doubt!!!

2. How to make friends?

you shouldnt force somebody to be friends with you as it should happen naturally, just like an irl friendship. but if u just make moots and then try to support them, you will end up making friends.

3. How to grow your account

Okay ill try to break it down in categories as this is gonna end up confusing

1. Find a style

Find a style that you like, *is efficient to do*, and is pretty popular in the community. You dont have to post daily while figuring out your style

2. Post daily

When you figure it out, then post mbs every day, of course dont burn yourself out but thats why you need to do color schemes thats not too hard to do.

3. Find a specific time you will post at

The schedule feature is your best friend, trust me. But you still need to find when you will post. For me it's best to post 18.00 - 23.00 CET , however this can change depending on your timezone, so just see what works best lol

4. Do not compare yourself to others

You may keep flopping in the beginning, but thats normal and everyone flops atleast once. So dont get discouraged by this! (This is necessary because if u compare ur low notes to somebody else's high notes.. you can feel pretty jealous and end up quitting/stop posting altogether/not posting daily

5. Do popular idols/styles/& more

Of course you can do nugu idols but these tend to flop. I'd recommend doing moodboards of idols like giselle, anyone from aespa lowkey, ive.. etc

6. COOK

This might contain spelling errors / wrong grammar/spelling but lowk icba to check it.. its too early for me

Also dont get into any drama willingly because it can go downhill fast

[untoldsoup]

Just wanted to say that I love your Human Bowser comic! I specifically loved the colors chosen for pages 42-47! They’re so nice and satisfying it’s kinda hard to describe! What’s your thought process when choosing the colors for a particular scene if you don’t mind me asking?

I'm not sure if you want the emotional answer or technical so I'll just go with how I know how to answer art questions:

First I have a set color scheme for the flat colors. This doesn't change, but the coloring i do on top of that does. For example: human Bowser has set flat colors that have not changed since page one. But as I learned new techniques I changed the effects/mapping i add on top of it.

I learned a lot of different coloring techniques between pages one and the current pages. At first i was nervous to change how I colored the comic and I had a LOT of new things I wanted to try and was worried people would be upset at the drastic coloring change. But thankfully all the feedback has been positive.

After I do flat colors I then will choose various color gradient overlays that I feel suit the mood of the page/panel. I like to use a lot of dark-to-soft-light overlays to add depth to the base colors. I also sometimes add gradient mapping, which is a art technique where a set gradient is added on top that drastically changes the tones. I usually put this layer at a super low opacity so its just a hint of change.

For lighting I currently love added bursts of light where i can, and then softening the colors of the line layer to make it look like the light bleeds over. Some softer glowing effects also help with this.

A big change i also did since the beginning of the comic is I now soften the line layer and color layers to give it that 'dreamy' look.

For the emotional side of things, when I pick colors my attempt is to think of what color pallet fits the mood/environment. I'm still learning when it comes to coloring (it's a weak point of mine for sure) but everytime i think i learn something new that will help with a scene I'm doing I try it out now.

One of the biggest things I'm doing right now is watching a lot of youtube videos on comic storytelling/layout/coloring to really try my best to get better.

I have a obsessive disorder/condition so I often need to be doing something with my hands. Either gaming, cleaning, or drawing. So I currently draw 3-4 hours a day after work (while listening to music or youtube) to keep myself occupied or I get antsy. It's why I tend to look like i work 'fast'. I'm not really fast at drawing, but I draw every day, and certain scenes/characters are second nature now when drawing.

I still make a lot of mistakes and have a ton of weaknesses but I'm loving drawing this comic a lot so I'm doing my best to fill in my knowledge gaps as I go. Clip Studio also has a ton of amazing assets/tutorials that really help and I highly recommend the program, especially if you struggle with perspective.

I hope this answers your question and wasn't too long winded 😭

[chernobog13]

I watched the first episode of Ultraman Blazar last night.

It was an unusual first episode for an Ultra series, but overall I liked it. Very happy that it is not another "New Generation" series, especially since the last two were re-treads of Tiga and Dyna.

Very much got a Nexus vibe off this episode, but not as dark and gritty as that series. Part of that might be Blazar's mostly grey and silver color scheme, which is evocative of Nexus, who also had red and blue costumes.

You can tell that the production team was also trying to emulate the style of Shin Ultraman (2022) and Shin Kamen Rider (2023), albeit on a much smaller scale.

I like the fact that Blazar's human counterpart, Captain Hiruma Gento, is actually in charge of the kaiju attack squad. That changes things up a bit, as he will have to work extra hard to mask his absences when joining with Blazar from the rest of his crew.

Gento is also an older, more mature protagonist than is usual for an Ultra series, which is a nice call back to the original Showa series. I know this a franchise aimed at kids, but I am sooooooooooo tired of the whiney kids with no idea about personal grooming that we've had a near-steady parade of as stars of the shows.

As for Blazar himself, he's a bit...different than previous Ultras.

For one thing, he WILL. NOT. STOP. GRUNTING! It is non-freakin'-stop. And it's not regular grunting that you hear from other Ultras as they fight kaiju; it's as if the actor is speaking some crazy, made-up language.

This was seriously distracting during the fight with Bazanga, the space kaiju du jour. I certainly hope that it doesn't continue for the rest of the season.

Something even more disconcerting were Blazar's antics during the battle. At one point he was doing rapid high-knee jumps like he was a little kid having a tantrum. That was disconcerting, to say the least.

I do like Blazar's main attack weapon, which is a spear made of energy that he summons. It was a little silly that he tossed it a Bazanga (I have to stop myself from typing Ba-Zinga), but it worked so I guess that's all that matters.

I tried to stay away from most promotional material before watching the episode, as I don't want to know everything about the characters and premise before hand. If the show does its job properly, that information will be conveyed through the story. A show/film shouldn't rely on supplemental material in other media for the audience to understand what's going on.

That said, I did read some articles and posts today that gave me some supplemental info.

On this Earth, humanity has been battling kaiju since 1966, which I think is a nice touch. Apparently, they've succeeded at doing so without the assistance of an Ultraman; at least until now.

Ultraman Blazar is not from M78. He is, instead, from M421, a blazar (Wikipedia: "an active galactic nucleus (AGN) with a relativistic jet (a jet composed of ionized matter traveling at nearly the speed of light) directed very nearly towards an observer. ") far, far away.

And, Blazar is reportedly a "more primitive" type of Ultraman, whatever that means. It might serve to explain his wild antics and why he was grunting/babbling the whole time. I haven't investigated this further because I want to see how this is explained in the show.

So now I guess I'll just wait until next Friday night to see how things progress.

[raw-law]

In response to the other anon asking if you guys look for our identities, frankly i couldnt care less if you know who i am, its fairly easy to figure out. i just like reasons to relate myself to Deer. I did a self portrait once as a deer mount pouring blood. it was quite...something. definitely got a lot of responses to that one.

as for art being subjective vs objective:

i can see where each of you in coming from in that sense. some things ARE blatantly what they are and it would be kind of wild to say otherwise. like who am i to tell Da Vinci that the Mona Lisa is actually an space cat alien, not a woman. but i do still think its possible to get multiple interpretations out of her.

i will also be the first to say im not a fan of the genre of what is technically in the art world called a "ready-made". basically like what you said, taking an object that already exists, fastening it to something, setting up lighting for it, etc. ya know, MINOR changes and calling it art. im not a big fan. its lazy and unoriginal in my blunt opinion. it doesnt create new ideas and thoughts in my brain unless i BS them. like if i see an apple on a pedestal, im taking it at face value, because its simply an apple on a pedestal. it being placed on something doesnt make it any less or more to me. its just an apple. and according to your definition, it would not be art since it does not cause or create new ideas or conversation to flow. it furthers nothing.

unfortunately, in the art community, its hard to have this debate because the widely used definition is the "everything is art" one and some people cannot take criticism to save their life. if you tell suzy sue that her michael jackson x barack obama fanart is not visually compelling and offer her advice, she might cancel you on twitter. we all need to stop being wusses and also stop being rude in the art world. its important to give your fellow artists helpful and meaningful critique and feedback without being harsh or condescending. and it is of equal importance to learn to accept that feedback and use it to better yourself as an artist.

i think another big thing for me and whether something is actually art is the design itself. does it have an interesting composition? does it use an impactful color scheme? does it have a focal point? etc, etc. if these points can be argued for a piece, im more willing to call it art.

realism is also a point of contention because some will ask "whats the point if it just looks like a photo?" the skill, the effort, the time. the unique touch of human hands that gives it a slight charm even in the most hyper realistic pieces. that is the point.

have another piece as a treat. a drawing i did from life for class last semester, its a plant. about as opposite as you can get from the other piece i shared:

https://imgur.com/a/hkcqYKK

-🦌

Light:

Ooh, that's interesting. Why the choice of deer, though, so specifically? Is it for some reason, or just an instinctive decision?

And I agree with your point on what you've referred to as "ready-made". I guess, for art to be meaningful, it has to mean something in the first place, and an apple sure as hell doesn't mean anything to people. Honestly, it seems like lazy artwork to me, even though I'm not an artist. But I'd like to ask you: what exactly would you define as 'ready-made'? Would that mean, then, that photographers' work are technically also 'ready-made', as all they're doing is taking picture of something preexisting and hence not creating, in that sense? What's the boundaries between something that's art, and something that's 'ready-made'? Is it something that you can define at all?

There's this branch of art called 'Dadaism', and there are some works inside that may be considered 'ready-made' in a way. For example, Marcel Duchamp's Fountain and Bicycle Wheel are famous examples of that art movement. And Dadaism was actually made up of artists who wanted to use this nonsensical, crazy form of art to express horror and disgust of the bloodshed that occurred during World War 1. It was commonly known as the 'anti-art' movement, and its main purpose was to create art that would confuse, shock or even aggravate the public.

This ties in to what you'll see Ryuzaki discuss below. Perhaps the occurrences of this 'ready-made' art isn't really the art itself, but it's the thoughts and emotions the artist wanted to express when making the art. And, if this 'ready-made' art exists because of a true effect the artist intended to create on the general public, then it's arguable that it could be considered as art, because isn't art used to express your feelings in the first place? Even though I still don't really consider 'ready-made' pieces as art...it's still interesting food for thought.

And your piece is wonderfully drawn. I love how you rendered the leaves; it looks really beautiful. Kind of reminds me of Chinese bamboo paintings...I'd love to see more of your work, if you'd like to share!

Lastly, thanks for your ask. I love having these kinds of discussions, even though I unfortunately took a long time to get back to you..

L:

wow.. the plant piece is beautiful.. all of the strokes come out so nicely and eloquent. it really makes me want to see this deer self portrait now. that sounds even more intriguing. no pressure though, of course. i just think it's a really fascinating idea.

and as much as i despise "ready-made" pieces too, i honestly have a slight respect for them. i would still consider them art, because i do think it evokes a conversation, but specifically the kind of conversation that makes you question it's existence, if that makes sense.

for example, that duct-taped banana i mentioned in the last ask, that's actually what made me question the whole idea of art in the first place. if something so insignificant can be considered so valuable to people, then who am i to tell them that it's not really art? maybe it is. or maybe the questioning of what it is was the whole point. maybe, the conversation it was actually sparking was more-so like.. a rebellion. a taunt. almost as if it were saying: "you want art? i'll give you art. and you'll be forced to take it." if i remember correctly, there was actually another artist who did that exact thing. his name was richard mutt and he submitted a urinal with a signature of his name as an art piece. it was stupid, and absurd, and that was the point. he submitted it to prove that if he signed his name on it and paid the application fee, the group he submitted it to would've accepted it no matter how thoughtless. he made an art piece that was meant to depict what stupid art looks like, and it worked. so as much as i despise the pieces, i do still think they're art, at least to an extent.

it's things that are made with the intent of gaining either popularity, money, or whatever else there is that i don't consider art. i'd go into more detail about it, but there's already a video out there that depicts it really well, so i'll just link it here. it's by cj the x and he's known for being very chaotic, so it might be a difficult to listen to at first, but i personally really like it. their points always wrap together really nicely as the video continues and the humor is my style, so i swear it's worth a watch, hah.

anyways. i'll stop myself there so i don't annoy you too much, but i do also agree with your points on the design, process, and overall thought that gets put into art pieces. i really like this discussion overall, actually. i apologize if i sounded rude at all, i have no intention to. i enjoy being able to converse about these topics, haha. so thank you for letting me, truly.

[albatross-the-pen-chewer]

Tell us more about your weird dreams plz, they have good inspiration for writers....... like me

Also have a great day/bught/timezone

You are very cool 😎 👌

Well, since you asked 😎

I think one of my favorite weird dreams is probably one I had several years ago, where I was periodically flipping between two different realities with different color schemes.

The Blue reality was peaceful and mundane, while the Orange reality was hellish and torturous.

I remember starting the dream in the Orange, where I was at some form of compound in the desert with a large group of other people. I think I was a prisoner. At some point I try to make my escape with a small group of other people, but we're quickly discovered and shot at. I take a bullet to the leg, and fall into a small body of water.

I wake up in the Blue, rattled but unharmed. It's not unusual for me to have somewhat violent dreams, so I brush it off. I do tell my mom about it though, and my day proceeds as normal until--

I wake up in the Orange, having dragged myself out of the water. I don't see any people around, so I make a break for it. I don't have time to think about the Blue reality as I flee. Occasionally I'll see what appears to be my pursuers, but I keep going, somehow outrunning them. I--

I wake up in the Blue. Apparently I was zoning out. This is getting weird. I tell people, concerned, about what I just experienced, but they wave me off as just being tired. Did I get enough sleep last night? Maybe I need to lie down. I decide to--

I wake up in the Orange. I made it to a city, but something is wrong with me. Or, is it that something is right? My leg healed a while ago. I'm faster than I should be. I'm stronger than I should be. Almost seamlessly, I make my home in the city. It's easy to keep a job when you don't get tired. But, it doesn't seem like I'm the only anomaly here. What was--

I wake up in the Blue. When did I get to the park? I'm starting to freak out, now. Why do I keep losing time? Why do I keep bouncing? I struggle more and more to tell which world is the real one, and no one takes me seriously when I tell them about my dilemma. Of course, why would they? I'm finding it hard to keep--

I wake up in the Orange. There's some kind of monster running around, with five legs and a mouth that spans all the way around its body. It was invulnerable to most weapons, but it had to constantly eat, so the only way to kill it was to starve it. It took hours to seal its mouth shut.

The part I played in defeating the monster earned me a fair bit of reputation amidst the denizens of the city, and I find myself battling far more creatures as time passes. It seems as though years go by in fast forward, and I start to think that I've finally stopped bouncing between realities. For once, I'm comfortable.

I wake up in the Blue.

[visumper]

Endline snippets but its Kaemory and im crying also Pretty Face by PUBLIC is literally the kaemory song ever,,, UE UE UE… also kae pov

I’m holding her hand. Oh. That’s kind of embarrassing. I can feel my face start to heat up when I realize and try to pull my hand away. It’s weird, because I can’t feel anything. My limbs— they’re all numb. When I try to move my hand, I can’t tell if it even moves or not. I try looking around, but all I see is a bunch of stupidly bright red and Em’s pretty face. Ugh. Why can’t I open them more? It feels like my eyes are only half open. Maybe they are. My vision’s blurry too, but I can still see her clearly. She’s the only clear thing I see, as if she’s the only person my eyes focus on.

She’s crying. There’s other people too, I think. I can’t hear them well since my hearing feels all muffled too. I can’t tell who they are, since they’re nothing but colored blobs. Haha. This kind of feels like I got Sporis bombed by Mari. This is a little different though. Ah… I don’t think this is just a mushroom this time.

Where’s Aza? I feel like I’m drunk and high at the same time. I hate Aza’s stupid medicines because they taste like shit like Mari’s cooking, but they work pretty damn well. I force myself to focus, because Em’s definitely crying. I should probably comfort her, right? That’s what girls like, right? In the end I end up asking about Aza. Were he and Rowan still dealing with Aid? I still need to beat Rowan at table tennis. I still need to beat Aza at darts.

It’s hard not to be jealous of those two. Haha. They’re so talented. They remind me a lot of my siblings…

“Wh…” I manage to get out. Em’s grasp on my hand gets tighter. My hand is the only thing I can feel on my body. It’s almost like my brain shut off everything else. Kinda like “hey, make sure to only focus on Em totally holding your hand! You love-drunk hot hunk!”

… why am I thinking about this, anyways? I’m not hot nor a hunk.

“Aza?” I gasp out. Why is it so hard to talk? This is bad. This reminds me of when I couldn’t speak at all. Couldn’t defend myself from being accused of that stupid fucking…

Em starts sobbing even harder. Did I do that? It’s like the cries get louder and louder, as if the other unknown blobby people are crying to. Why? What happened? Did something happen to Aza? Where is he? If the blob people are crying, then they must be from Score, too, right? Rowan maybe… Mari? Lucius? No. Lucius is missing, probably dead. Verdict got to him… Rowan or Mari, then? Are they all here? Where’s Aza?

Em is wailing still, and I don’t know why. Somehow I get my fingers to clasp onto hers a little more. I can’t tell if I’m in pain or not. Everything’s numb and I can’t feel anything, but this situation’s just way too weird. Why can I barely move? Why can’t I talk? I have so many questions. My eyes involuntary start to close even more, and I yell at them in my head because I want to look at Em longer. I want my hand to move, to cup her cheek and my mouth to comfort her. But my body won’t move at all. It’s like my legs are nonexistent, too.

And then I start to think.

Am I dying?

“Em?” I croak. My voice sounds all wrong. It’s all broken up and quiet. Lucius would’ve made fun of me for it. You know, he was a scheming slimy bastard, but I do kind of miss him. Just kind of. Only kind of.

“Lo…ve… you,” I say, without thinking at all. Because what if I really am dying? I don’t even realize I’ve just confessed to the absolute love of my life. This could just be some weird circumstance, right? A minor injury I’m being overdramatic about, right? Even still, everything about this feels wrong.

I’d rather die a hundred Verdict executions before I die before confessing to her. Any execution but the Wall, of course. Because then Em and Mari and Rowan and Aza and Lucius would die too. Also Lucius is probably dead. So maybe he doesn’t count.

When I was accused, I couldn’t speak at all. After that, I became afraid of being quiet. But then I found Mari and Score. And through Score I found Em and the others. So to hell with the accusations, to hell with the rumors. To fucking hell with the life I had before, because this is better.

I like this. I like these people.

I like you. A lot. I love you.

Her pretty eyes widen at around the same time I realize what I’ve said. I laugh like a goofy man, the laugh coming out sounding like a dying run-over hedgehog on drugs and steroids with mega bass boost.

Weird simile, Mari would probably say.

Rowan taught me that one, I’d like to reply.

And then she smiles. Her eyes are still sad and teary, but she’s smiling and her hand is so warm.

I don’t know what’s happening at all, but I really do hope I wake up again. I hope I’m not dying, because I still need to beat the twins at their respective games. I hope I’m not dying, because I mainly want to be able to hug Em and confess again and again.

I can’t see her anymore, but I can hear her.

“I love you, Kae.”

That’s enough for me.

[stevensavage]

Competence, Knowledge, and Intellectual Cosplay

(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, Steve's Tumblr, and Pillowfort.  Find out more at my newsletter, and all my social media at my linktr.ee)

Gods, I miss competence and knowledge. Yeah, this is going to be a rant, but know what? I earned it.

I really miss competence and knowing things as an ideal. The idea of setting a goal, taking measurable steps, and getting there. The competence that did big things like get us to the moon or electrify America. The everyday knowledge that lets doctors save lives and mechanics turn a pile of junk back to a working car. I feel America (and perhaps other cultures) don’t appreciate knowing stuff and doing things.

There’s a joke I’ve seen going around that today’s scientists don’t have time to invent robots or clone sheep because they’re too busy explaining the earth isn’t flat. A nice metaphor, but it’s more like they’re not only explaining the earth isn’t flat, but a Senator wants NASA investigated for concealing the flat earth. Oh, and people are selling Flat Earth Crystals that will protect you from COVID and 5G.

What’s worse is I’m trying to be sarcastic and I feel I haven’t been sarcastic enough.

I don’t get it. I grew up with science and education, in white-collar family from a hard-working and self-educated blue collar family. I knew people who worked their way up with a high school degree - who also had a huge personal library or ended up so knowledgeable they taught college. I grew up with educators and mechanics, people who knew how to get stuff done and were respected for it.

I grew up with people who got their damn vaccinations so they and their kids didn’t die. Yeah, sometimes there was smoking, drinking, and foods that were 50% lard, but that was sort of different - at least that’s what I tell myself. Also a lot of stuff was brown and green, that style where mid-century modern gets depressed, but that’s another story. Anyway we used science despite the lard and bad color scheme.

Of course America has always had an anti-intellectual streak, running through parts of its culture. Despite being very much an intellectual myself, I don’t like intellectualism, I don’t like pretentious putting on of airs and putting on a show of knowledge - because that often becomes a show only. I think that has been an issue in American - and other - history where people use the annoying pretension of some faux-intellectuals as a reason to hate knowing things in general.

It’s Ok to hate pretentious posturing, but people end up hating being intelligent period.

Most anti-intellectual activity I see appears to be resentful. How dare someone tell me what to do! How dare someone be smarter than me. How dare someone hurt my feelings by noting I may be wrong! There’s a weird entitlement in a lot of American anti-intellectual attitudes where people want to be treated as equals to people know something they don’t.

(Of course it seems said anti-intellectuals also hate any idea of treating OTHERS as equal. Bigotry goes hand-in-hand with being anti-intellectual).

What’s funny is that people who are anti-intellectual in America miss the value of hard work - which they usually want to praise otherwise (at lest for others). Being knowledgeable, skilled, and informative takes work. That doctor, that car mechanic, that person that knows something you don’t probably put in the work, so show some respect.

Ultimately I find the American anti-intellectual attitude is lazy and emotionally insecure. It’s an incompetent form of oppositional defiant disorder. It’s “you can’t tell me what to do” mixed with “I don’t wanna do the work.”

Which is why it’s easy to grift people. It’s easy to manipulate people with anti-intellectualism. Hell many anti-intellectual grifters - which are a huge amount of our political and media and Influencer class - are lazy in their own way. They don’t want to do work, they just want to lie and get their way. They’ll work very hard at not actually understanding stuff.

But know what’s weird? Watching anti-intellectuals dress themselves up as intellectual. Dare I say they’re a form of intellectualism, the posturing know-it-all attitude that they supposedly decry. The anti-intellectuals seem pretty damn intellectual sounding.

It’s the pretentious faux-Federalist papers rants by supposed Constitutional experts who read a meme. It’s the “just asking question” anti-vaxxers who throw terms around to sound smart while showing they don’t know anything. It’s the people who try to tweak science to justify flat Earth or whatever. All these people who supposedly hate “the intellectuals” are cosplaying as intellectuals, meaning they’re the intellectualism that supposedly annoy people.

It’s like those conspiracy theorists who decry the mainstream media while quoting from it extensively to justify their stories. Ultimately these kinds of people, the grifter anti-intellectual types, can’t avoid wanting validation. This makes them into what they supposedly hate and they still don’t know anything or if they do they don’t use it.

I’m ultimately an uncomplicated person. I like real learning, real results, and people who get stuff done. I like competence. The modern parade of anti-intellectuals putting on cosplay and decrying what they’re pretending to be is dangerous, exhausting, and unsustainable. I know it’s for political power, but these days I think a lot isn’t going to last.

You can’t outrun the changing climate, disease, and decaying systems. Real intellectuals know this.

Steven Savage

www.StevenSavage.com

www.InformoTron.com

[isolatednights]

he moves without protest, lips drawing back into an amused smile at her grumble ( and hiding the wince the simple motion, the tug at the split skin throbbing ). spreading his legs wide so she can stand between them, the man looks up at her and can tell she's lost somewhere within her own mind. hesitantly silas reaches for her - pinky snagging around her own and giving it a gentle tug. "come back to me," he murmurs, brow furrowing slightly.

"that's fine, rather it hurt a little now than more later." he'd been stupid enough in his youth that this wouldn't be the first time he'd been forced to ache this level of cuts and bruises. but it had been years since his body had been so battered, and those seemed to have stacked up against his favor. "wrists are a bit raw from the ropes and one of them wailed on my ribs." evident by the bloom of color that was beginning to appear there. "otherwise its just some small scraps and bruises. nothing to worry over." dark hues remained latched on her face as eris worked to clean his lip. "then she doesn't. and we grieve and we figure it out from there. but until that time comes, you can't beat yourself up over the what if's." the man could already tell it wouldn't matter. she would worry herself sick over eden until her eyes opened and she started doing better. "pretty sure i told you shortly after we met that you were stuck with me. don't plan on letting anyone or anything stand between me and my plan to make that a reality." moving his leg to nudge her gently, the man tries to flash a reassuring grin, "knew you'd come for me anyways."

following after him, the woman is slow to sit ; the aches and pains of her body making themselves more than evident now that things have seemingly calmed. tired eyes watch him, and if her hands weren't cradled within his own, the woman is certain she'd be running fingers along his jaw and trying to tempt the tightness right away. "hey," leaning toward him in an attempting to catch his eye, a brow arches, "why are you apologizing? i ran off after regina myself. i did that. you have nothing to apologize for. all of this will heal. it's just going to be a little blip in the scheme of things. we're together. that's all that matters, alright? you and me."

a soft hum escapes her at the question. "they're cute kids. you were really good with them." as brief as the interaction had been, it had still left her mind whirling with thought's she'd tried to stop in their tracks. a dangerous path to travel down. "i don't think there was any other call to make but the one you did. we offered them a kindness and an opportunity for something you can't find much of these days. safety. a home. a larger community." freeing one of her hands from his grasp, aiyla reached to tilt his chin up - determined to meet his eyes. "just like rhea and eli, we'll give them a chance, and once that woman's better, if it doesn't work out, we'll ask them to leave. for now we just... wait and see and hope for the best, hm?" dropping her forehead against his, she pushes out a soft breath. "thank you for making the hard decisions for us, and for coming for me."

the revelation startles her, because she never would have assumed such a thing about the man. it's the sort of violence that's personal, and rhea suddenly wants to explore plains of skin, if only to determine if any mark had been left behind by an incident that had happened years before they met. there are more questions than before, but her tongue feels heavy in her mouth. swallowing around it, her head bows. "i - holy hell, eli." shaking the creeping dread that begins to spread through her veins at the thought, the woman straightens. "i'm... is it bad if i say i'm really grateful things happened as they did, for you? that one little thing could've changed all... this," a hand waves around them vaguely.

"lets focus on what we need immediately and get it back to the farm. you and i can come back in the next few days. i'd say maybe cade can join us but did you see him with aiyla?" a snort escapes rhea, "fat chance he's letting her out of his sight anytime soon. i'm sure you and i will keep plenty busy between here, the nearby farms and watching those kids while the others rest up." dark hues take in his approach, and though there is a hope over what is about to happen, somehow both his words and actions are far more satisfying than she'd ever imagined. the smile she flashes up at him is radiant and full of adoration for the man. they were both idiots for missing out on what was right in front of them for so long. "all night? sounds dirty," she teased, drawing away from him in order to head for the antibiotics. "either way, sounds like a date to me. grab the other one of these? think that will be what we need for now."

through the worst of it. they were through the worst of it. were they? because she knew she had to be steel for a little longer, she had to make sure he was okay, to tend his wounds. she'd gone to find warm water, cade had offered her some latex gloves that he had, so at the very least she could help silas without having to wait. plus, he could see it, that the drying blood was bothering her from how she was itching at her hands absent mindedly. it wasn't that blood bothered eris, it never had... it's that it was edens. it's that it was closer to home than it ever had been before.

"silas? come on, your turn. come sit here." followed by a brief grumble on him being too tall. sshe would've been fine, if cade hadn't slammed a door and it .. well she startled, none of them were used to loud noises anymore, but it was like cade said- safe here and eris simply didn't expect it. silas might have been the only person that saw the few seconds that she wasn't in that room, that she was somewhere else, stuck in distant memories that she'd so briefly mentioned to him, things that she'd done and seen that could never be undone.

"it's gonna sting, cleaning this bust lip, where else? and no being brave about it." it was only when she was working, when her hands had something to focus on, that she could really.. speak about eden, or what happened, because she had a job to do and it wouldn't overwhelm her mind. "what if she doesn't wake up si?" she whispered, her eyes glued to his bust lip, and the gentle way she held his face still, her hands might be covered by latex but it didn't change that she was so gentle, almost affectionate in the way she dabbed at his torn skin. "i know- it stings, i'm sorry." then came something she never thought she'd be saying, but he deserved to hear it. "i'm proud of you." what a place to say it, him sat on a kitchen table, her stood there, in the space between his legs, so intent on making sure that her person was okay. "it isn't easy, in a situation like that to.. i just, i know you did your best, i know you were brave and i know you did everything you could, everything i'd talked about before.. i'm proud of you and i'm.." she took in a deep breath, a brief pressing of her lips. her brows had furrowed, but only because she was focusing so intently on his injuries. "i'm just relieved that you are okay."

"aiyla?" cade called, walking down the corridor until he found her and gestured with his head. "c'mon, i want to see to your wrists." he's scrubbed his hands clean, still wore latex gloves just to be safe, he had plenty of things that he'd scavenged in the early days hidden away, he had the vodka at the ready to disinfect and he swore by that method. there was a silence that overtook cade though, when he was sat, crouched before her, holding her hands and turning so he could look over the sore marks on her wrists, where they'd bound them and his jaw physically tightened, clenched, that crease between his brows forming. "i'm sorry, if.." he sighed, and brought her hands up to his mouth, pressing his lips to her knuckles and kissing over the area his thumbs soothed across. "i'm sorry aiyla, that i wasn't quicker or- that this.. it should never have happened." he paused, eyes closing. "not to you."

there was something else, that they had to talk about. "do you think i made the right call? with these just... the kids, you know? they were good, i mean they stuck to their word, they were great backup, couldn't fault that what so ever. if i'd left 'em that woman would be dead, n' i'd be taking a mom away from them two kids and i don't... i don't want to be a bad person, just 'coz it's the end of the world, not like that. what do you think? the right call or?" as always, her opinion mattered heavily to him. it was how it always had been and how it'd remain.

"i was hurt like that once- well, stabbed, not shot." elias revealed, not something he shared easily. actually, he really didn't share a lot from his life before.. he never thought it mattered much, that world was gone and this was what remained. "pissed the wrong people off, it was meant to be a send a message kind of situation but.. similar place, difference was i had to keep the knife in, and we had you know, ambulances, medics with all the equipment. pain relief by the masses when i came around, dread to think how shit that woman is going to feel but i remember feeling cold, when i came round from surgery." he was looking off, remembering. "not just a little chilly either, my entire body was shaking that's the kind of cold, so if that happens at least this would something helpful."

"that's a good idea, for the kids. as for the antibiotics i think they're just through there. we'll take the lot too, any of the medical supplies, worth having at the farm so nobody else can get them, we can always come back for pillows but those are more value than anything else." elias turned, at the three words that created the softer smile on the mans lips. "well, if we're making things crystal clear, just to make it abundantly, immensely obvious." he moved across the room, moving his hand up to cup one side of her face, he had rough hands, hands that'd got used to working on a farm but.. it didn't change that he'd always looked at her the same way, the same adoration. "it was always you, rhea. i loved you before rhea turned up and i love you after too, it never changed." with that he leaned down, his lips findings hers easily, he'd thought about kissing her enough times that it felt.. easy, normal, like they were meant to be. the tip of his nose resting against hers, it was brief, but like she said, they had to get back as soon as they could. "crystal clear?" he whispered, barely parting from her lips. "we can talk about it all night, you can call me an idiot every hour if you like, doesn't change how i feel."

[strawhatsoraya]

Hello, thank you for your writing! Could I request a fluff Law fic with AU December/Winter Love with July prompt Deadlines? Thank you!

Hello! It's been idk 1.5 weeks lmao since you asked for this. I am so sorry for the long wait. I am also sorry to myself because idk why I can't focus more. Such is my life. You asked for a Winter Love Fluffy thing with Deadlines prompt and it made me want to write like an Office Job AU type thing. I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for stopping by to request.

Marigold

LAW X READER | SFW Word Count: 1.2k CONTENT WARNING: none, unless you hate fluff SUMMARY: Y/N has had a crush on Law for as long as she can remember, but he is difficult to approach, Law has a distinct memory of Y/N he refuses to acknowledge or address.

It was snowing on the first day he met you.

A dark cloudy gray sky was above you, as you stood wrapped up in your coat, marigold yellow scarf around your neck. Tender tufts of snow melted into your hair, and kissed your cheeks and nose until they were red; a color similar to a Fuji apple, and probably just as sweet.

You were too preoccupied with the stray cat to notice him, as you debated while on your haunches whether to leave your scarf behind or not. He didn’t see you make your decision as he walked away into the building. Later that same Winter, he saw you several times in front of the office building but never with the same scarf.

A year had gone by, and you rarely crossed his mind. He was diligent, almost to a fault, constantly agreeing to overtime. You had wanted to approach him, coming up with schemes as to take up his time. Should you thank him for his hard work and bring him coffee? Should you ask him to review your report and look for mistakes? All of them fell to the side when you looked at him. He’d look back with a steely expression in his eyes, a thin line drawn between his lips; the line you couldn’t cross.

A year had gone by, and you rarely crossed his mind, but he’d see you look at him every now and then. 

A year had gone by, but sometimes he’d wonder about you, the cat and the scarf.

The line you couldn’t cross seemed to grow thinner, flimsier, sometime at the beginning of December. Your department’s manager had tasked you both to team up for a project on Christmas cakes. You saw it as a win-win situation. You could indulge in cakes, and somehow try to get closer to Trafalgar Law. It was a golden opportunity slipped on your desk inside a manila folder. 

You grasped it with sweaty eager hands. This was your chance to cross the uncrossable line. You just had to do it. You had to.

You met on and off for the next three days, taking over any empty meeting room available to discuss on how to approach the research. You each brought a list of places to visit for tasting. A schedule had been decided as well as a budget. It went as expected. He was strictly business, and you struggled to keep your head from floating above the clouds. In the instances he’d stare at you, and ask you to repeat what he last said, you'd grasp your cup of coffee, its warmth grounding you. It didn’t provide you with the answer to his question. Something he didn’t let you forget, every time, for the remainder of the meeting.

Every day you met, you clocked out of work feeling dejected, shoulders so low it pulled you down to the ground, steps struggling to lift the weight of your regrets. You’d shower, eat mechanically, and go to sleep but you always felt refreshed the next morning.

This was a golden opportunity, after all, you couldn’t just give up.

The day had come for the field expedition. The forecast had predicted snow, so you did your best to dress warmly which was frustrating. You were looking forward to showing your cute side to Law, in hopes of catching his attention long enough outside the subject of work. After forty five minutes of tossing clothes on your bed, to the floor, and only stopping to have a good cry for five minutes, you were ready to meet him outside the office building. 

You ran from the station to the front of the building, keeping an eye on the watch on your wrist. The cold made it harder to run, your knees feeling stiff and frigid. Your breaths came in icy, leaving a sharp ache inside your chest. 

He sees you running towards him, the bangs of your hair splitting to reveal your forehead. He blinks away a snowflake clinging to his dark lashes. As you approach, the lower half of your face is buried behind a marigold yellow muffler. He can’t stop himself from reaching out. He slips an inked finger, between your cheek and scarf to pull it down.

“I thought you gave this away,” he says, forgetting his manners. You are surprised. He usually greeted you very stiffly, very formally, always careful to keep the line drawn between you. Now you had felt the warmth of his finger against your cheek. He was folding your muffler down as you struggled to regulate your breathing. Your breath was warm against his knuckles as he finished one more roll of your muffler. He felt the tips of his ears heating.

“What are you talking about?” you ask him, confusion evident in how your brows knitted together. You tilt your head, trying to see if there was an opening in his head you could slip into. He mirrors you, head tilting as well. 

“The cat, last year,” he said very simply, his frown now matching yours. “I thought you gave it to the cat.”

You have no idea what he is talking about and it is killing you. You desperately want to remember. Here was a moment to have a conversation that did not involve your current project or small chit chat about having slept well or not, and you couldn’t understand what he was talking about. 

“Ohhh, that!” you say, feigning acknowledgement. You had no idea, still, but maybe you could play along. “No, I didn’t.” It was the closest to the truth you could get without truly remembering what he meant. “You remember me from last year?” you ask, with a small smirk, finally gathering your bearings to understand the implications of his question.

He blushes, and you watch him try to sink into his shoulders and his black and white scarf. “Not really,” he mumbled, averting his eyes to the passing salary workers. “I just never saw you wear it again so I assumed.”

You humm, mischief dancing in your eyes. He watched with apprehension, wishing he could take back the words. He shoves his hands deep inside the pockets of his coat. 

“It’s so nice of you to remember all this time!” you chirp, slipping an arm around his. He freezes in his spot. You feel his body stiffen and bite down on your lower lip to keep from laughing.

“I didn’t! I said that already,” he says resolutely, a scowl twisting his mouth. You ignore it, and start dragging him along, snowflakes covering the path you walk on. You change the subject, suddenly very preoccupied with reaching the first bakery. He grunts as a response, letting you continue, as he watches fluffy snowflake after snowflake land on the crown of your head, on your nose and eyelashes, on that marigold yellow muffler.

A year had gone by, and he still wasn’t sure about you, the cat and the marigold yellow muffler.

But maybe, if he didn’t mess up, he could find out more about you soon.

[thefanficmonster]

All The Colors

Corpse Husband x Reader (Gender Neutral)

Warnings: Colorblindness, Swearing

Genre: Fluff, Romance, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: The colors are not always seen but rather felt. Just like Y/N feels the colors through their best friend and boyfriend Corpse. That’s how they realize that what they can’t see is the most beautiful and genuine feeling in the world. The feeling of knowing something and someone so deeply.

Requested by my dear friend Lulu, who you might have known as greenieofshield. Unfortunately she’ll never get to read this fic and I’ll never forgive myself for not putting it out sooner but I’ll also never forgive the universe for being so cruel as to take her away so early. She was one of the best people I’ve ever met, always so full of optimism, always there to brighten up my day and make me smile. Always so strong and brave, never falling victim to the hate she received despite not being deserving of it. The world lost an angel the day she died and I as well as so many other people will forever miss her.

Love you and miss you with my whole soul and hear, Lulu. Hope they’re treating you right in heaven ❤

For what it’s worth, Y/N has never asked people to describe the colors to them. In their eyes that seemed like the equivalent of poorly patching up a wound: they could hear thousands upon thousands of descriptions of each color and still wouldn’t be able to imagine it. The descriptions would only make that worse to them. So to avoid feeling even more like they’re missing out they never asked.

However, that doesn’t mean they haven’t developed their own way to ‘visualize’ and imagine colors throughout the years. They’ve tried loads of different methods, few of which stuck around and not for long either. That is exactly why they frequently used to tell their friends: “You can’t paint me a rainbow with black and white and shades of grey and expect me not to feel like I’m missing out on something. Paint me the gloomy sky on a rainy day and only then we’ll be even cause you’re seeing the same greys I am.”

Little did they know how drastically their logic was about to change in the following years.

Speaking of said following years - they met Corpse who became one of their best friends in practically no time. And within just a few months of that friendship’s blossoming, a romance sparked. A romance their friends would jokingly refer to as ‘romance of a lifetime’. Maybe it was said jokingly but Lord knows they weren’t wrong in saying so because the two were completely head over heels for one another -s till are to this day - and never shied away from showing it.

Y/N and Corpse met through Rae who Y/N was staying with while on a little vacation to Los Angeles. To be even more specific here, the two met through a game of Among Us, the game responsible for many wonderful friendships since its release.

“Guys, guys, guys.“ Y/N said after sparking up a bickering session for falsely accusing ‘blue‘ of faking a task in Navigation during the final round for the day, “Here’s a little rule of thumb for whenever we play together again: don’t trust me if I accuse a color instead of a name.“ It’s safe to say that statement rose a few eyebrows in the Discord call, the confusion serving as amusement to them before they explained themself, “Oh, why that is? Hm, I don’t know, maybe cause I’m colorblind.”

Rae who was in on the scheme the whole time and was struggling to hold in her laughter finally snapped while the rest of the players were left processing the information that had been dropped on them.

“But you practically kicked our ass every single round?!“ Corpse said, amazement and confusion in his tone.

“Expect the unexpected from this schemer, take it from someone who’s known them for a decade now.“ Rae said, winking at her friend from across the room. Not failing to notice the blush on their cheeks while doing so though.

“Corpse, are you calling me a good liar?“ They poked a stick at him teasingly, desperately avoiding Rae’s gaze which widened the second she realized why her friend was so flustered by Corpse’s remark.

“Practically a con artist.“ He replied to them with a laugh, earning one from them in return.

And so they practically conned him into falling in love with them with their quick wit, sarcasm and cuteness. If someone is to ask Corpse if he expected to fall for Y/N, he’d probably say yes.

“They were like a magnet the moment they entered the lobby and started talking.“ He said once on a live stream in response to a question he received in the chat regarding Y/N, “It wasn’t hard at all, falling for them. What took me a while was realizing it. While I was referring to them as ‘best friend’ all my friends were rolling their eyes and going ‘Sure, bud.’ Just took me a bit to realize why.”

Luckily, it didn’t take him too long to grasp what his heart was actually screaming at him. Good thing they came to terms with it so soon too, otherwise they would’ve driven their friends insane.

Anyway, enough about what happened and what could’ve happened under one circumstance or another, what matters is the ‘here and now’ of their relationship. And trust me when I say it has never been better and it keeps getting better every day.

The beauty of what those two have is in the tiny every day things that they do for each other, the good morning texts even though the other person in probably just in the kitchen making breakfast while the other cannot find it in them to get out of bed; or it’s laced within the calls between them when neither of them are home or at least one of them is out and about, busy with a task they’ve probably been putting off for far too long. Don’t get me wrong though, the romantic gestures aren’t rare either. Random gifts are exchanged by them on regular intervals but one consistent and super romantic gesture that repeats a few times every year (of the two years they’ve been dating) is Corpse giving Y/N a bouquet of flowers.

A detail Y/N couldn’t help but take notice of was the fact that the bouquet was always made up of the same flowers with only small changes to the arrangement of them and maybe some tiny ones added too. Unfortunately, they aren’t artificial so they couldn’t have kept them thought they wish they could’ve. That being said, it goes without saying that those flowers mean the world to Y/N, the gesture actually - they know flowers are a common gift to give but anything they receive from Corpse is so special and makes them feel like the only person who’s ever received such a gift.

And so they got curious, they had to ask. They had to ask the question they never thought they’d actively ask considering their view of the topic. But they still did.

“Hey Corpse.“ Y/N spoke up out of the blue, breaking the silence that had fallen over them while they watched the movie they were only partially interested in given how exhausted they both were from devoting themselves to their respective tasks and responsibilities throughout the last few days.

Corpse hummed in response, the arm wrapped around their waist doing a little motion as if encouraging them to continue, his gaze immediately traveling down to his partner.

“What color are the flowers?“ They asked, gazing at the bouquet - a gift they had received from him for their birthday a few days prior - in the vase on the dining table.

They waited a few seconds but when they didn’t hear nor feel any sort of response from him they couldn’t help but look up at him. Upon doing so, they saw his small smile as his eyes too remained on the bouquet. “They’re black and white.“ He replied eventually, “Black roses and white daffodils.“ His gaze wandered away from the vase and down to meet theirs, “I don’t want you to think I’m seeing them in their ‘full beauty’ while you only see them in black and white. You are seeing them in their full beauty and not missing out on anything. They are absolutely beautiful black and white as they are.“

As a response to his answer, Y/N couldn’t suppress the growing smile on their face no matter how hard they tried. So they didn’t try at all, they let the smile lighten up their face before speaking up: “You’re a wonder, Corpse.” They said, pushing themself as upright as they could to be able to kiss his cheek. “However, you’re wrong.” They say when they pull away, smirking up at his confused expression, “My world was black and white until you came into it. You’re all the colors, Corpse. Your love’s red, joy’s yellow, sadness blue, chaos green. Love red. You’re all the colors and out of all the people that have tried to describe to me how they look, you have managed to do that just perfectly without even trying.”

Little did they know that’s exactly what he thinks of them - their world is black and white because all the colors live within them. Because they are all the colors.

And maybe they both are, seeing as how they came into each other’s lives exactly like the rainbow after the pouring rain.

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[tepperz]

sorry it took me a bit to reply, this weekend went by so fast!

So in a way you already do have references organized and at hand! You must remember where certain significant scenes are in a series so you can flip there and find it quickly :3c  It’d be very cool to see an examination of comics from an art perspective since most reviews focus on the story and characters… Ah but yeah, it’s a looot of work making videos! @@

You know, thats true!! 8U

Haha that’s fair, especially regarding Sugisaki’s writing. Plus it drives me up a wall how inconsistent her locations and left/right hand placements are from panel-to-panel! Right beside each other!!! Even so, reading the pages does feel so… smooth. It all flows impressively well. I don’t even know how one begins capturing that. I’ll have to look now and see how infrequently she draws feet and shoes because I do have trouble thinking of more than a couple moments loool

Very true. I've analyzed her panels and she just has such a grasp on page flow that makes things feel so natural and fun to read. A lot of varied panels and artwork that points to the next spot to read. She's also very good at page cliffhangers, which is a thing where there is the question at the end of the page that makes you want to turn it to get an answer. It can be a dialogue stated question or an unsaid question that raises a mystery or intrigue. She might not answer a lot of questions but she sure asks them a lot in her story! But yeah feet and backgrounds are not her favorite thigs. If she can replace her backgrounds with screentones or effects then she will xD Still, it does take a certain mastery in order to put so many screentones and still have them fit so well. She does randomly place characters wherever and mixes up the left and right a lot from panel to panel, but I'd also say that's usually intentional to help with her flow. I wonder who she studied under? Hmmmm. Sorry if this rambeling doesn't make sense, i have a bit of brain fog!

Ey if others’ artworks have unique value then yours do as well~

Pikachu face. I guess thats true, but its hard to see it for yourself!

agree that sharing processes are interesting too~ The “history” adds more depth in a way! (And I’m curious how other artists make their stuff~)

That's true, I'd love to see other processes too. I watch speeddraws and stuff but that's not really the same as knowing about their decision making process!

I wish I had more processes to share. I’ll try to take a screenshot of my references all together while I’m working on my next pieces!

I'd like that! :D Its cool to see inside your brain ooooh 👻

I swear the strong winds are a coincidence in this case because I drew the lines long before I had a color scheme in mind…! They look extra similar though, can’t deny. xD

How interesting!! I wonder if part of the reason you subliminally chose the reference picture is because of that vibrant wind feeling?

It’s pretty hard to get the right colors yeah, so a lot of my pieces turn out lighter than I wanted.

Ohhhh that makes sense. Yeah, that's the rough thing with watercolors... do you ever color correct on the computer after? I end up sometimes make my digital pieces lighter then I intend and end up color correcting myself. I think this is a good example

The left is the before and the right is the after darkening it a bit. It's a subtle thing but it adds something. Luckily I've been getting better at picking what color I want the first time but I'm still happy that I can turn to color corrections if I need to.

Like you showed in your blue gouache below, when I try to do darker washes, there’s a huuuge risk of it looking streaky too (and that’s why I ended up covering one of my paintings in gouache because the dark watercolors just did not work out orz)  But I’ve been trying to incorporate them more anyway. Paper quality definitely affects watercolor’s forgiveness ;;;;  BUT I’ve been going wild with dark pieces digitally and it’s so much fun!

I think that's great! It's cool to hear about the struggles of the medium from someone so experienced with watercolors. Dark colored pieces can be so satisfying, right? Man, paper quality... yeah. What sort of paper do you like to use? Lately Ive just been using canson mixed media sketchbooks because I like that they can take a beating. My third eye opened recently because I realized that I could probably paint the top of my sketchbook if I wanted. Ive never done anything like that before :0

Right right, I feel the same about his videos! It’s like I need to just digest or put that one lesson into practice before I can even think about what he’s going to cover next. I love his passion for the subject. He drew yugioh cards?? Good taste, OP. :3c I honestly didn’t know anything about his career so it’s cool to learn he has all this experience! He’s brilliant anyway but still~

Yes! I wish I could put him on in the background as I draw more but since he speaks japanese I have to really pay attention and watch the subtitles when I enjoy his videos. Did you see his channel take-down a while ago? I feel so bad for him, having to start up his channel all over again. All that lost knowledge, too. ): But I'm so glad he still had a few essential videos of his ready for reupload! And he's still going strong too with creating for his new channel. What a determined guy! And he still tries to be so cheerful for his audience. I look up to him.

Yes, thank you!! I can always use more color theory tutorials. I need to read things worded several different ways before it sticks, apparently orz  Oh dang too bad about the creator… But yeah, that doesn’t change whether the lesson itself is helpful. So that’s what’s in the psd file! I’ll have to open that up ASAP. Kwacy has a gorgeous style so I’ll love seeing it broken down. Phew, I’m glad I added the book after all. And I hope the rest can be useful somehow too! Thanks for sharing even your  paywall materials. ;v; I feel the same about artists lifting each other up. I have Fowkes’ “How to Paint Landscapes Quickly and Beautifully in Watercolor and Gouache” and “Artists’ Master Series: Color and Light”. The first has process shots on his paintings and how he works from and alters his references/plein air views. It’s also a pretty artbook lol. The second was a collaboration with several other artists and is basically a textbook. A heavy, colorful textbook that has lots of light science in it~ I like to flip through it when I feel like I’m missing something but not sure what.

I have gratefully downloaded all of your tutorial files! Thank you so much again for sending them my way, there is SO much good information, and I haven't seen the bulk of it anywhere before! Really great for references. Ohhh those books you have sound amazing. I will have to look into trying to get those myself. An artbook that is also sort of a textbook sounds SUPER useful. And yeah np if i run into any other cool tutorial stuff i will send them my way, let me know if anything was especially useful to you and Ill see if I can find anything similar.

As much as I fight with gouache sometimes I also adore it. Love those flat, solid colors so much. I think the hardest part is getting used to the long “ugly stage” my gouache pieces have because watercolor doesn’t really do that (not that it can’t look ugly too, but it’s so transparent that the plot is never lost along the way, I guess?) Right, I feel you there. And once water’s added to gouache, it can look like it’s going down smooth but when it dries… betrayal. It’s a delicate balance of wet vs. dry orz Ooh your gouache pieces are nice with it watered down like that! Ye, a a single color can look quite different from one end of the gradient to the other. (Love the dancing cat things btw. They have so much personality~)

Yeah, no, i get you with that. Even if watercolor goes down messily or there is a mistake, the texture of watercolor still tends to make something look beautiful, I think. Plus a few dabs of water and you're a lot further on correcting it! Do you always seal your paintings ad sketches when you're done? I don't really do that as much as I should. I think out of all my sketchbooks I've only properly sealed maybe one. Apparently good hairspray can do sealing well too. (!?)

Grandmas have all these hidden talents that they just whip out of nowhere like “okay quick before you go let me just impart 60 years of rug-making secrets onto you”~ But yeah, I enjoyed learning from her. And exactly! Oil’s drying time, the solvents, the smell, the CLEANUP– I absolutely get the appeal because mixing them is something special but I’ll leave that to someone with more patience~ An oil painting of Kirby sounds so fancy! Good use of the medium =v=

Haha so true! The wisdom! The good vibes!! Oh yeah, oils are not only messy, but the cleanup.... oi vey. Yeah. Not to mention getting oils out of brushes just feel like such a chore... I like just being able to run my brush under water and being done!! gap! You like mixing them???? I absolutely do not like that part at all xDDD I feel like it's never mixed properly!! But I love seeing people mix oils, because it can be satisfying to watch. But yeah they take SOOOO long to dry. I will share my kirby once it's dry!!!! In a million years xD Pus not only are oils stink though, and messy, but if you have animals it's a disaster. I have to hide away kirby inside a ice cooler in order for my cats not to walk on him!

Uh oh talking watercolors could make this long message actually endless~ I use a bunch of different brands nowadays but I started out with Sakura Koi and White Nights.

thats ok i really like hearing about your experiences. Oh, I have some sakura koi! I have not tried them yet though. I haven't heard of white nights! ohhh but they look so pretty on amazon.

Still have a lot left from the latter though if I need a new color I usually get M. Graham (honey-based so it’s gentle on my brushes but also messy) and Holbein (super smooth, not much granulation).

HONEY BASED??????? Omg i want some that sounds awesome. (looking them up) They look so VIBRANT. Ohh and ive seen holbein around but i wasn't sure about them! Good to know they have your approval. I know whats going on my christmas wish list xD

Tubes aren’t cheap, very true… they last forever at least!! I pour mine into little pans and let them dry so they’re portable.

that. is. adorable. Handy! Makes sense! But so cute. You can just whip it out!!! Makes sense!

OH one more: from May to August I only used my Meiliang watercolors… They’re a student grade of the Paul Rubens brand so they’re cheap yet very good quality.

ohhhhhhh.... tbh those look exactly up my ally. I don't know what it is about student grade high quality watercolors that makes me wag my tail, but those look great. I will for sure try those once I get a chance. What do you find is the difference between student grade and professional grade when it comes to application, for you?

Do you like Winsor and Newton even if you prefer the ovals? I only have a couple colors from them but they seem like a solid brand. (And props to you for having the patience for the super super cheap paints because they’re another challenge altogether!)

Okay so I was wrong! Apparently what I've been using recently IS the koi! But I also used a bit of winsor newton too. And, you know... I have no idea if what I'm about to say is controversial or not (because my experience with talking to watercolor enthusiasts are limited) but so far the professional grade watercolors seem... lighter? I don't know if its because the little half pans I use for the professional grade, I use less paint because I'm scared of using them up, or....? You know, now that im thinking about it, maybe its because I don't use the tubes? I buy pans and half pans and maybe that has something to do with it. Regardless my prang ovals really do it for me for some reason. Heres what i mean

These are some sketches from the zoo of a monkey. I did tree different watercolors at the bottom, and the bottom is the prang. Reusing them again made me really remember how much i love them. I put about the same amount of time into all of the colors. So weird xD I wonder how you'd find the derpy prang paints!

How did you learn to draw so well? Like was it from classes or a book on fundamentals or just trial and error?

//// thanks for the kind question!

I guarantee you I would have improved faster if I’d taken a class, but I hope some of the materials I’ve used over the years can be of use to you too:

Andrew Loomis’ books - I never made it past the first chapters, but those had some great advice.

Youtube - Proko’s bean method. Figure drawing references will greatly improve anatomy and “drawing what you see”. It’s boring imo, so doing just 5-10 minutes a day can keep one from burning out while still seeing improvement. Speed painting videos are a nice way to relax and study.

Will Terrell’s People Drawing series - He’s a humble man with personal advice for artists. I watch his videos when I feel discouraged or lost.

Art, art, art - Whenever I see an artwork that I like, I figure out exactly what pleases me: line thickness, nose shape, finger positions, composition, the way the hair bends in the wind, etc. Then I try to incorporate that specific characteristic into my own art.

I have growing folders of (I’m a bit embarrassed) almost 8,000 pictures, organized by characteristics, for the sole purpose of studying their prettiness. Sometimes we don’t need a tutorial to spell everything out, just an example can help us envision our own works’ potential. Also, staring at pictures is a relaxing way to study too!

And of course, trial and error~ I don’t post my sad, failed paintings or all the weird sketches I make, but they exist and teach a lot!

[ayamturd]

yourself│awesamdude

summary: love is precious, love is pure; how insecure thoughts and concerns trouble a scared lover, and how to convince one they are deserving of said love

warnings: descriptive insecure + self-deprecating thoughts, slight angst to fluff

pairing: in-game c!awesamdude

a/n: couldn’t stop thinking of this concept, i wouldn’t physically sleep till i wrote it all out lol

pls know you are loved, that you matter and are important. even if it doesn’t feel like, i’ll say now that i do, i love you. i don’t need to know you to know you deserve love, you deserve to know you are amazing for being yourself and for simply trying your best by existing for what it is <3

wc: (2.1k) - m.list

“Why do you love me?”

It was late. Very late. 

The sky was pitch black and the forest held nothing but a ringing silence to screen, the brief sounds of woodland creatures along with lurking monsters occasionally breaking through. While the night was alive by the stir of the wind, the world above was obscured beneath the depths of the newly discovered mineshaft.

You were tired, your body aching and sore from the continuous grind along side your lover for the past few hours now. Unbeknownst to you, the early morn had been replaced with the midnight sky, the twists of the cave’s darkness becoming so lost to your sensitive eyes. 

While you were resting on a large boulder, Sam’s stamina was relentless as he worked to mine into the next cave tunnel. He was beautiful, to say the least. 

The ever so flicker of nearby torches illuminated only the best of his features, his usual mask hanging low around his neck due to the cramped and tight spaces underground. His brows were furrowed, the gentle concentration that pulled onto his face strangely handsome to observe. 

His hair, the dark yet notable green shade, was seemingly drenched with sweat. In spite of how dreadful the thought could come across, it only did him wonders when weighing his locks down to frame his face. It curled around his eyes, the sage emerald-color contrasting his light skin tone while emphasizing the dark glisten of his squinted eyes. 

Through his intent and determined grunts with every swing of his blade against the course stone, his stance was firm and strong, each strike crumbling beneath him from pure strength and integrity. 

Moments like these were random, but reoccurring. Moments where you could stop to stare at him for hours on end, appreciate him for what he was and all that he did, yet question on why he was still here.

Why someone so talented and earnest in his work could even consider you as someone special, someone worth his attention and love to be with. 

You spoke before you could stop to process your words and what possible answer he could imagine. Your curiosity got the better of you, and your insecurity blinded your perception. It didn’t seem like he heard you initially, and as you began to take it as a sign to forget the question entirely, his diligent swings stopped and his heavy panting filled the air. 

He carelessly rested the large tool on top of his shoulders, twisting only his head in your direction while wiping the salty sting of raining sweat from his eyes. 

“Huh?”

“Why do you love me?” you asked again. 

Pushing yourself up, you glanced down while fiddling with your pickaxe, the old wrap around its handle fraying ever so lightly despite its lack of consistent use. You’d need to replace it soon. 

“I just- it’s hard sometimes, you know? To think why you’ve stayed with me for so long or why you even want to stay with me altogether.”

You suddenly lost all courage, and couldn’t dare look him straight in the eye from your admittance. There was an unfounded trust your relationship, no doubt, but trust can only go far when comparing yourself to others. This was a question of worth, of importance when believing one has nothing special to give to someone who deserves the world. 

“Love…”

Shaking your head, you turned away from him to face the arching gem wall, driving your pickaxe into the thick, shimmering stone with a slam before wrapping your arms around yourself. You bit the inner side of your check, loose and anxious thoughts raging wild to come through in the vulnerable space.

Your hands shook in unpredictable expectations, fingers twitching against your pounding chest.

“I know you’re going to dismiss it as some kind of nonsense, ‘insecurity’ thing and honestly, you wouldn’t be wrong. But I can’t help it when you’re you and I’m me.”

The pause that followed was unbearable. Steady breathes pervaded the tense air, and after what felt to be an entirety in harsh, prolonged silence, you heard the shuffles of his feet when cautiously approaching you from behind.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” His tone was serious, yet his voice soft. Like he was cornering a scared and injured animal, he seemed mindful of his volume for your own concern. Another quality to consider: he was too kind than for what you rightfully earned.

There was so much to say, yet so little at the same time. You were at a loss for words on how to explain something so broad and conceptually troubling to see through. How does one explain how little they matter? How meaningless they are in the grand scheme of things to someone that only tries to see the best of them.

Someone that would refuse a truth for the sake of your troubled mentality.

“Well- you know…”

He stood directly behind you now, his radiating warmth encompassing your entire being, leaving you to shudder from the sharp contrast in the freezing underground. Hands hovering your rigid shoulders, he contemplated touching you but decided against it. He dropped his arms to his side with a sigh. 

“No, I don’t. What possible reasoning could you have for me not to love you?”

His pleading whisper was left unanswered, your body frozen to the guilt that consumed you from worrying him over your own problematic assumptions. As if he could read you, he began a different approach to break through to you. 

“Why do you love me?”

His unexpected question immediately caused you to go in defense. Spinning around, you glared up at him with resistant eyes, the response to trade your unsure gaze with ones that screamed in flipped concern for his own good. 

“Don’t do that.”

Sam’s own eyes remained just as hard, the unnatural line from his neutral expression pulling further to create an evident frown. He was just as serious as you.

“I’m serious here. What reasoning do you have to love me? A screw up, that does nothing but hurt others no matter how much I try in opposition to protect.”

Admittedly shaking your head, you unconsciously reached to grab the front of his chest plate, the enchanted armor glowing beneath your bare hands as you forcefully pushed him in disagreement. 

You knew what he was referencing to, and how hard the events became for him. No matter if Tommy would never forgive him, he had yet to forgive himself in any reasonable sense. 

“You know that’s not true. Mistakes are mistakes that can’t always be avoided or your fault.”

Tilting his head, Sam’s nose scrunched aggressively to your argument with a scowl.

“Can’t it?” 

While your face dropped from his jarring snap, he only sighed before bowing his head away, rubbing the back of his head with a tired exhale and dropped shoulders. It was his turn to struggle with his own words as you stared intensely for his explanation. 

His voice were soft again, and wavered slightly in the near beginning. 

“I’m not perfect, far from it actually. No matter how many times you try and reassure me of the fact, I’ll never truly believe anything there is good to say about me. I only see the worst of myself,” he murmured. Although a majority of his speech could have easily been missed from his airy quiet, your ears were strained and focused solely on him. 

As you tried to step closer to comfort him in some way or another, he finished his final thought then, causing you to freeze once more. 

“And when that negatively becomes too much, I look to you as my light.”

Sam sheepishly faced you, his bashful grin completely deviating from the conversation at hand.  An unexpected heat rushed to your face, causing you fall apart by the mere power behind his words. 

He gave an airy chuckle, closing his eyes with a gentle smile and opening to reveal such fragility in all he had to tell, eyes watering from the sight of you. 

“You give me more hope than I think I could ever deserve. From your shining smile to the smallest forms of affection, you give me a love irreplaceable by others and unconceivable to consider.” 

Biting your lip, your eyes also began to tear from the overly tender conceptions. He knew better than to let your thoughts run wild and interrupt him, so he continued before you could open your mouth in protest.

“I love you, for everything you’ve sacrificed and lost. You are my strength that pulls me through, inspires me to continue even on the hardest of days. You teach me to forgive myself and work through my hardships for a greater objective at play.” 

Steadily nearing your emotional state, Sam carefully pulled your hands into his own and caressed your knuckles with his callous thumbs. He squeezed them tightly once, before reaching a singular hand against your cheek, catching the fallen tears that escaped your adoring eyes.

“Even if you unintentionally did, you became that objective to pull me through it all.”

A sob escaped you, and Sam was quick to pull you into his chest. He kissed the top of your head earnestly while resuming to whisper his declaration against your hair.  

“I love you and all that you do. Everything that I said now, everything that I know how to express, it does nothing to how much you truly impact by merely existing as yourself.”

“Sam-” you had tried to interject, stop him from tearing you to complete bits as an over sentimental puddle, but he chose to speak over you instead. 

“I don’t love you simply because you’ve given so much to me, that you’ve went through notions with my sake as priority. I don’t care for any of that in all honesty. I love you, because you do all that you do as yourself.”

Shudder breathes caused you to shake beneath his firm hold, his only response to pull you inhumanely closer if possible. 

“It doesn’t matter why or what pushes you to do what you do, it’s the fact that you exist as yourself, that that beautiful heart of yours goes beyond any and all expectations anyone can conceive of you and never fails to the most of any situation to come.”

“You amaze me, y/n,” he hummed. Pulling you back, he raised a single finger below your chin to lift your face to his. He leaned a near breathes away, with an indescribable admiration that caused more tears to spill. 

“Why do I love you?” he re-asked.

His own tears coursed down his dirt stained skin, and you habitually moved to cup both of his cheeks. 

“Because you’re able to love me, and not even know the adverse effects you cause to those around you.”

Bringing your forehead to his, he kissed your scrunched nose as he released a small whimper, for he had nothing left to express through words. 

“If ever you question yourself again, ask yourself how are you able to love someone like me, and know that that same confounding thought shakes my very core and beats my love-stricken heart for you.”

Bonus:

Pathetic giggles bounced around the gem filled enclosure, the high of work finally wearing you both down into a helpless mess of two exhausted, yet stubborn lovers. 

You leaned heavily into Sam’s hold, his own stance faltering from the unexpected weight you gave in as he groaned from the fast movement. 

“I don’t know about you, but I’m about ready for some rest, wouldn’t you say?” 

Giving out incomprehensible whines smothered into the crook of his arm, you raised a lazy hand to give a subtle thumbs up. Sam laughed loudly, and took your silent gesture as an answer. 

“You ready to climb back to the surface then?”

Mellow wails spoke for themselves, and he shook his head in joking disbelief to how drained you easily became. 

With you still in his arms, he maneuvered around you to grab both of your pickaxes and gathered resources, them too heavy to physically carry for his next course of action. He pulled out his Enderchest and swiftly packed everything away. 

Once everything else was settled, he worked on the actual situation in hand; literally, it being you basically asleep on your feet against his balanced arms. 

“Here,” he spoke. Lifting from your waist, he placed you on top of an overgrown gem stone and steadied your footing before quickly turning. He gripped your thighs, and even in your tired state, you instinctively jumped onto his back. 

He sighed when adjusting you, before making the trek back up the stair incline.

“To think I choose to love you.” 

You yawned loudly, and to his surprise, comprehended his words enough to respond.

“Mmmm, that sounds like a ‘you’ problem.” Head propped between his neck, he glanced down at you with a smirk. 

“Maybe, but a problem I welcome nonetheless.”

[fandomscombine]

It's the Lease I Can Do

Platonic! Weasley Twins x Reader

BG: The Weasley twins are so close to having their joke shop become a reality. They had found the perfect location but they had hit a minor problem that could cause them everything. You want to help, but how can you when they, the birthday boys themselves had given up?

a/n: I had this idea for a almst a year now and waited til ther twins bday to write it. I hope you enjoy.

WC: 2111

>>>MASTERLIST<<<

Fred and George causing a ruckus in the common room is a daily occurrence that everyone is accustomed to. However ever since the start of Year 7, the amount of commotion these two had caused can be counted in one hand.

At first glance, it could be attributed to NEWTS or in this year's case-to a pink toad acting as High Inquisitor. Still, more and more nights the twins had claimed the back corner of the common room.

~

The last remaining batch of students were making their way through Filch's checkpoint (an added security protection which also serves for Umbridge having a list of names on who comes in and out of Hogwarts). You glanced down at your watch- 2:27pm, they’re late. Weird, the twins never pass a chance to go to Hogsmeade.

You hear the castle door open behind you. Thank Merlin, you thought but instead you were greeted with a disheveled Angelina. “I’m coming! Wait!”

“Have you seen Fred and George?” You called as she ran past you.

“I think I saw them in the common room!” Angelina shouted back.

The common room? “What are they up to now?” You sighed. Stomping heavily up the stairs. “Ditching me….”

~

“Oi Weaslebees! I know you’re in here!” You rounded the corner of their secret spot. “AHa!”

You caught them red handed, midway into shoving papers into their “Weasley & Weasley'' Trunk. Though what they were hiding, you weren't exactly sure.

“Y/N!” Fred greeted, grabbing onto your shoulders, effectively covering George and the table. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

Narrowing your eyes at him. “Really?” Hands on hips you blatantly say “2:15 am, courtyard?? Ring any bells?” Fred shook his head.

Meanwhile George’s head shot up. “Oh shit, y/n we’re so sorry!”

Fred turned to his brother, still clueless on what the heck George was talking about.

Abandoning the trunk, George gave his twin a classic smack on the head. “Hogsmeade, you idiot! We were supposed to all go together.”

“OHHHH FU--” Fred knew he was screwed. “I’M SO SORRY! WE’RE SORRY.” Seizing the messy trunk, he strategized. “Right, here’s the plan: I’m gonna quickly drop this off back in the dorm while you two make your way to the gate. If you run, I guess you can make it. I’ll catch up with you two then.”

“Fred….. We’re not gonna make it” you argued.

“Not if we don’t try.”

“It’s almost 3, Filch would be closing the gates by now.” You sat down on Fred’s empty seat. “Besides we can go to Hogsmeade next time, we could just hang out here. I miss having my best lads around.”

“Awww…we’ve been upgraded from annoying pricks to best lads!” Gushed George, pulling you into a side hug.

“Yea, I could help in whatever it was you guys were doing before I came. I don’t mind.”

At that, you could feel George tense up, his arm around you dropping. “Uhhh…” He looked to the older twin, silently conversing.

You gaze between the boys, sometimes they get so caught up in their scheming that they don’t notice that to others, especially those who had known them for years that their non verbal communication is not so sly.

In the end, Fred gave his brother a subtle shake. “No, that’s alright. I’ll just put this back and we could play gobstones or something, anything you like.”

As Fred headed up to his dorm room, you noticed a piece of paper under the table. Picking it up, the header caught your eye. RE: Lease Agreement. Were the twins looking for a new home after graduation? You didn’t mean to pry. You were close friends, they would tell you if they were moving right? This is big news….you decided to brush it off until another line caught your attention. The shop premise located at Number 93 Diagon Alley. Shop? They are trying to set up shop? That’s brilliant! The twins would get to showcase their inventions to the world! You could feel your pride swell. Leasing Agreements would not proceed if tenants, Mr. Fred Weasley and Mr. George Weasley, are unable to provide an endorser by the date of 31st of March.

“Where’d you get that?” George standing across from you, gobstones on one hand and another pointing at the document. There’s no backing out now.

“It was under the table.” You explained. “I didn’t know you were this far along with the shop.”

“Yea, well it’s not happening now is it?”

“What?”

“Cmon y/n. I know you read it.”

“I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s alright. We aren’t getting the place anyway.”

“Wait what? Why?”

“No endorsers.” George stated matter of factly but you sense the pain in his voice.

“How about your parents surely-”

George laughed. “As if mum would suddenly have a change of heart. You knew how she disapproves of our inventions, calling it a waste.”

“Arthur then.”

“Mum won’t let him.”

“Anyone then?” George huffed in defeat. “How about me! I could back you up.”

“You have to be an adult with a proven financial stability.” He stated, effectively shutting you down. “Forget it y/n. The hold ends in 3 days. We’ve tried everything. Just don’t let Fred know that you know. He’s devastated. Promise?”

“I promise.”

“And no pity, sad eyes!” He added as footsteps are heard descending the staircase.

“But I suck at poker faces!”

“Then let’s hope that Freddie is distracted even to not notice.”

~

It’s been 4 days since you had sent the letter to your father.

“Dear papa,

I know that this is a huge favour to ask but I believe it would be worth your while.

So remember back in the summer when you caught Fred Weasley, George Weasley and me snooping around with the Extendable Ears but let us go because you were so enamored?

Well turns out the twins and trying to get a shop up and running! How amazing is that?

The only problem is that they need an endorser to back them up in order to proceed with the lease agreements. The are currently on hold for the Shop Number 93 in Diagon Alley until the 31st.

This is where the huge favour comes in. Could you please be their backer? You did say that you’d love to help in some part in their invention, be an investor of sorts. Please papa. I would love to do it myself but I have to wait a couple more months to qualify. Plus it’s their 18th birthday on April 1st. Imagine their surprise if it were to come through.

I’d love to hear from you soon, regardless of your choice.

Your favourite child

y/n.”

The twin’s 18th birthday was spent with absolute love and madness.

Lee had unloaded his stash of butterbeer and firewhiskey, Fred had slipped Angelina with one of their new prank inventions- which changes the person into a sickly color of vomit green, a perfect way to ditch class or events.

Upon learning that the color would last for a few days and would only fade with the ingestion of an antidote, antidote that George said they still had yet to create. Angelina (understandably) threw cake at them. The Gryffindor chaser with perfect aim, hits its mark. However, Fred using his beater skills, instinctively blocks the incoming cake.

Resulting in a wide splat zone. Fred’s arm was covered in frosting, having sprayed everyone around him in whipped cream during the impact. George wasn’t safe too, despite being across from Fred, the rebounce of the cake had made him the new target.

You had just changed into your pajamas when a tapping sound came from your window.

Your family owl, Lanny, was outside carrying a large yellow envelope.

Quickly letting him in, you gave Lanny a gentle pat and brought out some owl treats for the tired bird.

Unscrolling the note tied to his leg, you begin to read.

“My dearest y/n,

My sincere apologies for the late reply, it’s been quite hectic at work.

In regards to your favour, you need not worry. Everything is taken care of. I had met with the landlord of Number 93 Diagon Alley and had all the documents settled. I had also gone and checked to make sure the two lads aren’t being ripped off. Fred and George had picked a nice prime location.

Greet them a happy birthday for me alright? And tell them that I look forward to witnessing them succeed in their endeavors.

They would undoubtedly be bringing a lot of much needed joy into these darkening times. The people would be thankful for them.

I also had Lanny bring the twins’ copy of the Lease Agreement.

I can’t wait to see you all soon.

Much love,

Papa.”

~

Fred was grateful that their friends had retired into the night, leaving him and George to sulk into the dreadful reality.

“We were this close Georgie, this close!” Fred winced, pinching his fingers close without touching.

“I know but there was nothing else we could have done.” consoled George but even he himself was having a hard time. Number 93 was the perfect location for their joke shop. But now it’s gone.They are back to square one, scouting for locations.

“Fred! George! There you are! I have great news!” You yelled, not caring if you could wake up the other students.

“Oi Y/N! Be careful!.” Even in a bad mood, Fred Weasley couldn’t help being protective.

You banged the envelope on the table. “Surprise! Happy Birthday! From papa and I.”

“Another gift?” wondered George.

“So you don’t want it then?” You challenged, crossing your arms. You tried to look intimidating but the pajamas weren’t doing any good. “Cause I bet a hundred galleons that you’d shit your pants if you were to reject it.”

“That confident eh?” Smirked Fred, taking the contents of the envelope out. “ What do you think is so grand that Georgie and I would---BLOODY HELL! Y/N!” Fred kept looking down at the paper and up to you, unbelieving.

“What is it Freddie?” asked George leaning over to read whatever it was that left his brother speechless.

Re: Lease Agreement

Mr. y/l/n has submitted his endorsement to Mr. Fred Weasley and Mr. George Weasley.

The turnover of the leasing property of Shop Number 93 Diagon Alley would begin on April 1st …..

“Oh My- Y/n? Is this real?” George whispered, afraid that if he were any louder this dream would end.

“Yes, absolutely, 100%.” You affirmed. “The shop is yours! Opff-”

George embraced you tight, catching you off guard. You could feel your right shoulder getting wet. “Heyya big guy, don’t cry.” Running a hand up and down his back.

“But how?” Fred with brows creased was still stuck in a trance, you could see the paper shake in his grasp.

“You left the agreement noticed a couple of days ago. I might have accidentally read it. George said to not let you know cause you might get angry-”

“YOu KNEW?!?”

“George only knew I saw the paper. Nothing else.” You defended. “I thought i might try and help, so I called in a favour with papa. You knew how much he was impressed with the Extendable Ear, so I mentioned if he wanted to back you up. I only got his reply just now, said he’d love to and got onto ironing out the paperwork and viola!” Pointing at the document. “Oh and he also said Happy 18th Birthday, looking forward to your success and the people would be thankful for bringing a lot of much needed joy into these darkening times.”

“Thanks Y/n but this is a lot we can’t possibly-”

You cut Fred off before he could say more. “Oh please, you have done countless things for me. And I know what you’re gonna say- but see you would do the same for me. Besides think of this as your first investors. We want to help. We see your potential, we know you two, Fred, George, are gifted with bringing laughter and joy to people with your inventions."

"Thank you, truly y/n and to your dad too." Fred admitted, opening himself up. "No one's really backed us up with our inventions before, we've been always told off for being childish. It really means a lot."

“Hey, it’s the lease I could do.” You replied, causing the twins to chuckle immediately lightening up the mood.

It's great to see them relax again after weeks of stressing over the shop. Times might be changing but at least tonight, you got your best lads back.

~

Everything Taglist : @gruffle1

HP Taglist: @onlyfreds