#jeez i feel like i haven't draw in years

[ftcatv]

mandatory nick valentine

[oceans-goddess]

Not Stupid At All

A/N: Sorry I haven't been very active lately, I'm a busy gal at school these days. Hope you like this short fic! I love this boy with my entire heart and I feel absolutely no shame in telling you all that he is my ride or die comfort character<3. Might edit this later because I don't love it, but it'll do for now

Pairing: Eddie Munson x female!reader

Warnings: none I think

______________________________________________________________

Months into the school year, Eddie was still impressed with himself for managing to befriend you that first day of school, when you'd sat all alone at lunch, poking at the grimy "meal" on your lunch tray. His friends had been trying to tell him about a new store that was opening up in town, but he barely heard them.

"And I heard they'll have... Eddie?" Gareth had said, noting Eddie's distraction. "Hello?..."

But Eddie was too busy watching you dig through your bag and pull out a notebook. He'd wished he could stand over you and see what you were writing, get a glimpse of what you were thinking. He felt a swell of affection when he noted the way you tilted your head as you scribbled, the light hitting your hair in a way that made him swoon.

It took a nudge from Dustin to catch Eddie's attention once more; he let out a yelp of pain and mostly surprise.

"Fuck was that for?" he asked, but Gareth cut in then.

"That was for you not listening."

Eddie rolled his eyes and tried to listen, but after a few minutes, it was clear he was completely unfocused again. Jeff waved a hand in front of his face, asking Eddie what his problem was.

"Nothing, man. I'm fine."

"You've been quiet all of lunch," Gareth pointed out, Mike nodding in agreement next to him. Suddenly, every eye at the table was on him, expecting an answer.

"Jeez, guys, I don't fucking know! I'm fine, just..." without knowing how to finish, Eddie slumped forward, messing with his jacket collar.

"Just what?"

"Guys, maybe lay off? He said he was fine," Dustin tried, but no one else was buying it. After a few more unanswered questions, Eddie caved.

"Alright, alright, I'm just kinda, I don't know... I mean, have you seen that girl before?" He said the last part an octave lower, hoping to be discreet, but it didn't matter; every other boy's head swiveled around to look at you sitting at the next table over.

"Way to be subtle, guys, Jesus," he huffed. Gareth was the first to speak.

"Nah, I've never seen her. Probably new."

Obviously, thought Eddie. You had to be new. Eddie would have noticed you if you'd come to this school last year, no question.

"She's cute," Jeff commented.

"Gorgeous," Eddie spat before he could stop himself. Gareth laughed loud enough to draw your attention, and you looked up from your notes, slightly startled. Surely others nearby had done the same, but Eddie didn't care-- he just didn't want to draw your attention.

"Shut the fuck up!" he whisper shouted, reaching across the table to flick his friend in the forehead. When he looked back in your direction, your focus was back on your work.

"Just go say hi," Dustin suggested, earning a snort from Mike. Eddie rolled his eyes. Jeff clapped Eddie on the back, agreeing with the curly-haired freshman.

"No," he said curtly, hoping to end the conversation there, but with this group, it was never that easy. They encouraged him some more, but he denied them once again.

"No, I'd look totally stupid just going up to her."

"No way man," Mike declared. "Not stupid at all. Just be cool. It'll go great."

"Go get 'em, tiger," Jeff growled playfully, "or I'm calling her over." Eddie raised his eyebrows in surprise, his mouth agape.

"No! No, stop. Alright, I'll go say hi. Just shut the fuck up."

______________________________________________________________

It had been months since then, and you'd been kind enough to befriend Eddie. The two of you spent time together almost every day. Every time you looked at him he got lightheaded, and whenever you hugged him goodbye he could barely manage to stand up straight. When you'd asked in your sweet voice if Eddie could be your regular ride home from school, all he could do was nod. He'd probably say yes to anything you asked of him, now that he thought of it.

"What should we do?" you now asked as you sat in Eddie's van in the school parking lot after a DnD session.

"Uh... we could go for a drive? Listen to some music, pick up some snacks, and just drive around for a bit?"

You smiled at that, nodding slightly. The gesture set off the butterflies in his stomach.

"You can choose the music," Eddie allowed, expecting you to choose Wham! or Cyndi Lauper or another artist that he didn't particularly like but had picked up from the store for you to listen to when he drove you home. Instead, you picked out a Metallica album and handed it to Eddie.

"Are you sure? I feel like these songs are kinda intense for a chill night," he asked, completely astonished at your choice. But you were sure, and you told him you wanted to listen to what he liked tonight.

He hadn't thought you could get any sexier, but here you were.

After stopping at the store, the two of you chatted lightly between bites.

"This is nice," you said suddenly. "I mean, the other guys are fun to hang out with and everything, but I feel more relaxed with you."

Eddie could have passed out then and there. You liked spending time with just him? Before he could respond, you spoke again.

"Sorry, I made that sound kind of weird. I just meant that, ugh, I don't know, I mean, you're just... very sweet." From the corner of his eye, Eddie could see that you had your head ducked down and that you wrung your fingers in your lap. Before saying anything, he desperately needed to park the car. He couldn't focus on the road and what you were saying to him at the same time. His mind was racing-- could you actually be trying to tell him what he'd been hoping to hear since the day he met you?

He found an empty parking lot and put the van in park, but it took him a few moments to figure out what he wanted to say back to you. You quickly scrambled for an apology.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to weird you out--"

"No, no you didn't, Y/N." Eddie said quickly, realizing that he needed to come up with something quick.

"I... I like spending time with you too," he said, then internally cringed, realizing how stupid he sounded.

"You do?" you asked. He was surprised that you couldn't tell already. Every moment that he wasn't at band practice, at work, or in class (and even sometimes then), he was with you.

"Yeah," he whispered, and you smiled, shifting to face him in your seat.

"Can I tell you something?" you asked.

"Anything," Eddie breathed. You hesitated for a moment, a blush rising to your cheeks. The anticipation practically killed him.

"I've kind of had feelings for you for a while now," as you spoke, Eddie's world imploded, the car windows shattered, the music blared, the lights in the parking lot flickered wildly-- "and I was wondering if you would ever consider, you know, going out on a date some time."

Eddie didn't know what to say. The girl of his dreams had just asked him on a date, and he was completely speechless. His world had just been turned on its head, and she expected him to give her an answer without blowing up right where he sat? But the longer he sat there staring at you dumbfounded, the more your expression turned from hopeful to embarrassed, and he had to put a stop to that quickly.

"Yes," he choked out, "of course, I'll go on a date with you." You looked over at him with wide eyes.

"Really?"

"Yes, Y/N. I've had feelings for you since the day I met you." You tried to hide your grin by looking down at your lap, making Eddie smile stupidly at your cuteness.

"Why haven't you said anything?" you asked, unaware of Eddie's gaze. He shrugged, then began to speak.

"I guess I didn't want to mess up a good thing, ya know? I mean, you are undeniably the smartest, sweetest, most beautiful girl I know. And I was lucky enough to be your friend. I didn't want to tell you how I felt and make things weird between us if you didn't feel the same." You giggled and shook your head at his assumption.

"No, honestly, I've had a crush on you since we met too. I remember Gareth laughing at something at lunch the first day of school. When I looked over at your table, I saw you sitting across from him. I remember thinking how cool you looked. Your hair, your clothes--" you stopped yourself then, clapping your hand over your mouth to guard yourself from revealing any more. Eddie leaned into you, his eyes begging you to tell him more.

You squeezed your eyes shut and cringed, but Eddie only laughed and pulled your hand away from your mouth. Now that he knew how you felt, he had to know the rest. He was on top of the world tonight, and he wanted to bask in the glory of being admired by you for as long as he possibly could.

"Ugh, um, okay..." you continued, "you looked really stressed initially, but when you came over to talk to me, you were so confident and, I don't know, it was exciting. You wanted to be my friend. I could barely speak. Kinda stupid, I know."

"No way," Eddie laughed. "Not stupid at all. I felt the same way."

When you looked up at Eddie, he was staring at you with the gentlest expression you'd ever seen on him. He was still holding your hand in his, and you intertwined his fingers with yours. He smiled at this and brought his other hand up to cup your cheek. The pads of his fingers were a bit rough from playing his guitar, but you liked the feeling.

Soon, you were lifting your chin, and he was pressing his lips gently to yours. He brushed your cheek with his thumb as he kissed you, and your heart was beating out of your chest. Eddie's kisses were sweet and slow, the exact opposite of what you'd expect from a guy like him.

When you pulled away, the beautiful boy in front of you was smiling. "So," he began, "where will this date be held?"

[undertalebabbleblog]

UTDR 9th Anniversary Newsletter Musings

(Here's a link to the newsletter if you haven't already read it: Autumn 2024.) (It's spring right now where I am...) (Eh, oh well.)

First of all, Tori blowing fire to light the candles, very cool, might have to draw that.

Hmm, that's a lot of a certain number... You know what, I don't even have to go into this, we all know what it's referencing.

An interview with Sans, heck yeah!

As I expected, it's a joke, but... uh... just me, or does it seem like it might be talking about something else? Not entirely sure what, but I'm sure there's already plenty of theories despite it literally only coming out today. In any case, it was very amusing and some classic Undertale humour. Also

Jeez, Tori, it's been years, you've already made your feelings about Asgore's actions clear. Give the poor guy a break. (Link to the full interview if you wanna read it: Sans: What do you think about the number nine?)

...Toby? Toby, what does this mean? TOBY WHY DO YOU MAKE THE MOST INNOCUOUS STATEMENTS THAT HAVE SO MUCH POTENTIAL MEANING BEHIND THEM ...This is... ominous, to say the least, given the Snowgrave route and the fact that Toriel might join us in the Dark World in Chapter 3... ...I'm just overthinking this, right? ..........right???

Toby, this is the Undertale fandom you're talking to. Since when have we ever been responsible with Sans or his AUs? You should know better than to trust us with this skeleton by now. *Proceeds to use cup for strawberry milkshake* ....Dammit, now I want to draw him with a bunch of different-coloured eyes... just because...

Never misses a chance to do this sort of thing, does he? (It has my real name in it, which I don't really want to show, so have some badly edited screenshots instead.) I have made butterscotch cinnamon pie before and it was genuinely delicious. Would love to bake one in that Toriel pie tray. ...I wonder how a fish and chips pie would actually taste, though...?

PERFECTION

I would buy every single item of this kitchen merch if I had the money.

*vibrating intensely with excitement*

Very nice, always cool to see unused stuff and concepts.

. . .

*Well, there is a man here. *He might be happy to see you. *What do you think?

...I overthink these things too much.

And finally, we get a letter.

My best friend's favorite number is nine. It's because there isn't a number that's higher. 9. 99. 999. 9999. If everything gets high enough, You become invincible. Nothing can hurt you anymore. Nothing can hurt anyone anymore. But isn't it scary, to think there's a highest number? That, if you made 99 good memories, you couldn't hold anymore. So I don't like to keep count of the flowers we pick, or the times that they laugh, or how many scary faces they make. I just hope we'll be friends for 999 more years.

(Couldn't screenshot the whole thing because it was too big, so I just copied the text. Here's a link to the original: Letter) On one hand, the spacing is kind of reminiscent of what we assume is Gaster. But on the other hand, it's not in all caps, and the language is different, and from what we know of the mysterious scientist (which is quite frankly very little), it wouldn't make sense. There is, however, someone else that would make a lot more sense.

*I'll go get the flowers. *I should have laughed it off, like you did... *Okay, [Name], are you ready? *Do your creepy face!

And most telling of all, "My best friend"...

It's. It's Asriel. IT'S GOTTA BE AZZY OKAY COME ON, THERE'S THE MENTION OF THE SCARY FACES AND EVERYTHING

...Ahem.

My hypothesis is that it's Asriel Dreemurr.

Aaaaannnddd... that's it for this newsletter! I needed somewhere to dump my thoughts on it, and that's kinda what this blog is for, so yeah.

A very happy birthday to my favourite game of all time.

If you have any theories or observations about the newsletter, I'd love to see them!

See ya next time, Pup

[xxvalkyriesxx]

Answer and then tag three or more creators to keep the game going!

Thank you @popjunkie42 @jsmelodies @whyisaravenlike-awritingdesk @moodymelanist @witch-and-her-witcher for tagging me <3 <3 Love you all <3

1. How many words did you publish on AO3 in 2024?

81,805 😳😊

2. How many fics did you complete this year?

So far only 6 one-shots! The rest of my multi-chapter fics are still ongoing.

3. How many in progress or ongoing fics did you start this year?

This is my first year writing ACOTAR fics so I started 4 ongoing fics!

4. What was your favorite thing you wrote?

This is like picking a favorite kid haha, but Flying Changes has definitely change my life for the better. It just started off from a simple idea I posted and the reaction I got was explosive in the best way possible.

I rode for eight years when I was younger before I had to give it up for a lot of reasons. One day I would love to return to it, but for right now I'm reconnecting to it through my favorite couple <3

5. What piece was your most experimental or different from your usual style?

So two pieces I think best fit this question which is The Joker and the Queen and Labyrinth of the Night.

The Joker and the Queen is a fluff rom-com piece for the Acotar Gift Exchange and it's different my usual smut and or angsty fics, but in the best ways! It's such a fun piece to write and make Nessian be idiots in love.

I also chose Labyrinth of the Night as it's my only feysand fic (for now 👀). I'm a Nessian writer so writing outside my main ship is always a bit hard. I haven't always been a fan of feysand but I've read a few feysand fics that I just loved that I wanted to take a swing.

6. Did any fics surprise you - either while writing or their reception?

Honestly, The Blood on your Hands. I was mad about HOFAS once again, so I wrote a small fic of Cassian beating the brakes off Rhys for his reaction to Nesta (don't worry, Rhys is fine. Maybe I'll write a sequel where Feyre plays doctor xD).

I wrote this fic getting out my feelings and before I knew it the reception was huge. It's my most popular one-shot to date.

7. Do you have a fic you wrote and loved that went under the radar? (This is your sign to reblog/repost it!)

Probably Keeping the Summer Nights Away. It's a small fluff piece for Nessian week, and it's just very simple, but I honestly just loved writing Nessian doing a self-care night together haha.

8. Who is an artist that inspired you?

Oh jeez so many but to name a few - @dustjacketdraws madschofield (instagram), llibiarts (instagram), @jmoonjones, @janearts, @vivictory-draws.

These artists amazing at what they do and their art always makes my jaw drop!

9. Who is an author that inspired you?

Oh my goodness, again a lot of people but to name the ones who really convinced me (literally just by their writing alone) to jump head first back into writing fanfcition - @c-e-d-dreamer @kale-theteaqueen @separatist-apologist @moodymelanist to name a few.

I read ACOTAR back in 2020 so a little a before it really blew up, and eventually I ended up on Tumblr again seeking actoar content when Twitter got too toxic for me.

I was fanfic reader for the longest time. I did write for other fandoms when I was younger, but I either deleted or orphaned my works as I grew out of said fandoms. So for about four years, I just read fanfiction from the ACOTAR fandom. It was too the point that I tried to read whatever new Nessian fic was uploaded daily haha.

I wanna shout out one of the first Nessian fics I read, A Favor. It was the first fanfic that really spoke to me that I wasn't alone in how I felt about Nesta and her treatment with Cassian/the IC and vise versa. Come to find out years later, it's a classic for a lot of Nessian stans.

10. Who is a new author you discovered?

Ahhh you gotta check them out - @jsmelodies @littedidyouknow @beesays @wishcamper @whyisaravenlike-awritingdesk @unhealthyfanobsession @foundress0fnothing

11. Did you do any collaborations? How did it start?

Not at the moment

12. What accomplishments are you proudest of?

Taking a chance at writing again <3

13. What did you learn about writing or creating this year?

That I should be kinder to myself, and it's probably best to start off small. I started a fic back in March/April of this year with Eris/OC and I think the concept was good, but there was so much thought I was putting into, that I just ended up bored. It was going to be a heavy plot story about Rhysand's daughter that he had with Amarantha that featured dragons and a ton of OCs, but it just honestly back fired lol.

It was way too complicated and I didn't have the spoons for it. And you know, it happens lol. I have since deleted the fic because I don't plan to work on it.

14. What is your advice?

It's the most basic writing advice, but write what you know. If you go too far out of your comfort zone, it may be more damning for you in the long run.

Also if you can, use a text-to-speech service to help hear your story before you post it. I use the immersive reader on Outlook (I don't send my fics anywhere lol, but immersive reader is available for drafts). It's not perfect, but it helps give me a second pair eyes when I'm tired of visually editing.

15. What are your creative goals for 2025?

Finish at least two if not three of my ongoing fics! Participate in more character and ship weeks/weekends. Maybe finally get enough money to get a commission done for one of my fics.

No pressure but @foundress0fnothing @beesays, @velarisdusk. If you've already done this, no worries <3

[gr33nmushy]

GUYS! MY LOVELY THREE PPL THAT CARE, WHATEVER YOU PREFER BEING CALLED!

LIFE UPDATE: IM NOT DEAD!

As I said in one of my last posts I had to move out from my apartment, I still haven't but I found a new one! In my head it's on the end of the world but that's so over exaggerated. I feel like it gonna be the end of the world but it's actually fine. Just changing neighbourhoods. Worst thing is I won't be able to go home by foot at 3am for under and hour and that's it. That's the problem and it's not even a big a deal. I just got spoiled by myself for the past years. The place is nice. I have two weekends to bring my stuff there. I have better access to work from there. I have a subway station, dear god, I have one. I haven't lived close to a subway station in 5 years. Jeez.

And that's all. I'm not dead. I'm learning Japanese seriously again. I haven't been drawing much but I've been reading a lot.

I hope I have more time around Christmas so I can post lots again.

So, here you go now. I got really bored at work and I'm sick, so my eyes are fucked and I can't read. 😃 You get Draco, I get attention from the kids.

[wifiwuxians]

20 questions writer meme.

tagged by @heyholmesletsgo THANK YOUUU

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

not counting things i'd rather remained anonymous, 21!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

513,621 lol

3. What fandoms do you write for?

mdzs, vaguely tgcf, hotline miami (though mostly past tense) and we'll see about the future

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Wei Wuxian's Super Special Super Secret Book Club still reigns supreme with 1229 kudos, and will most likely be my legacy despite it being the second fic i ever wrote for the fandom (i think?)

If You're Reading This, It's Too Late with 513, one would think i'd still be messing around with this AU but i'm happy to leave it where it is and just keep messing around with the crackship

Dawn Chorus, my most precious baby, at 251 by some miracle despite being oc/canon. you guys spoiled me with the love for this one tbh. none of my other xue yang centric works got anywhere near this close and i'm at peace with that because he's bonking my oc in this one and they have a kid.

The Book Club Extras at 232, which is hilarious when compared to the original but at least new readers will see there's more and maybe in the year 2055 i will publish them for fun

Frozen Pond with 156 at the end of the list, written for my friend @petitjams and taking place in a silly AU we made together (wen chao stays winning on here which is very funny)

i'm attributing the popularity of the first two to mostly being centered around super popular characters, because my later stuff is naturally better yet struggling haha

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

always unless they're like just emoji, because i like conversation! though i may also reply with a little heart hehe

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

i wouldn't call it angstiest ending, it's bittersweet, but the threads that bind us is my top pick. and it also needs more readers so go read it. your hands and mine has a bit of an 'angsty' ending but only for song lan. xue yang had it coming :p 💖

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

excluding the two above, so far they all have a happy ending, or at least neutral??? i'd say Book Club, though, because that's the massive 'everybody lives!!' silly fixit fic

8. Do you get hate on fics?

nope. i hope i didn't just jinx it. i get hate on art and through anon though! woo! (not anymore on here tho thank god)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

i do and i feel like it sucks so i almost always end up fading to black LMAO my actual explicit stuff remains private... it's like too embarrassing for me. i got judged for it as an 18 year old and 10 years later haven't gotten over it. i like bondage and bdsm though and that seems to crop up in private 😏

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

i do on occasion! i love roleplaying them, but the only one i have out there is The Way To His Heart Is Through His Stomach (Oh God Please Don't Eat Me), which mixes mdzs and tgcf characters in a unique setting :3

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not to my knowledge, but i've had art stolen plenty so i wouldn't even be surprised

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

yes, a few have been translated into russian!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

NOT YET BUT IT'S IN THE CARDS

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

all time? jeez. somebody tell me why i always freeze up and go blank when asked these simple questions? it's like i forget who the fuck i am. i feel like i should also say songxiao? but they're relatively new so it doesn't seem correct. fuck it. my all time favorite ship is [DATA MISSING OR CORRUPTED-- PLEASE PROCEED TO NEXT QUESTION]

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

haha... (looks at my abandoned hlm fic with the seventh chapter halfway written) haha...

16. What are your writing strengths?

i'd definitely say dialog. it makes sense, since the stuff i'm most used to doing is drawing silly comics. i also like to ping-pong emotions around and feel like i'm pretty good at that too

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

using the same words over and over and feeling like i never write Enough, like everything is always light and never in depth. i don't like making scenes too heavy with padding but i also feel like i need to find a balance

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

i'll do it only if it's a language i speak!!! this doesn't apply to peppering words like gege and stuff just for funsies. i think the best way to go about it is to just tell the audience what language they're speaking in that moment

19. First fandom you wrote for?

we're gonna have to go back to when i was 10 years old here lol... i think it was tokyo mew mew in terms of stuff i put online (oh god)

20. Favorite fic you've written?

it's hard to pick favorites, but i once again must say the threads that bind us in terms of work i'm most proud of.

i tag whoever sees it, plus @sugarapplebaby because ily

[outeremissary]

9 People You Want to Know Better

Tagged by @arendaes, thanks :)

Three Ships

I feel like I always list the same stuff on this section, haha. Same time, I can't really seem to think of anything better right now when I'm trying. Maybe it's just my energy tonight. Uh, I can just list what I consider my main pairs in the last three games with romances I've played...? I guess?

Balthazar + Tristian. Or also with Vio. Doodling them a lot lately... I miss them.

Carmen + Arushalae. There's a Galfrey situation that intersects with this as well but I think living with someone goes a long way towards winning a love triangle. Whatever the hell winning means here. Tbh everyone loses

Asperia/Kasander + unfortunately, that archduke I really do want dead for real. Once wasn't enough.

Last Song

Catch Me If You Can - Jhariah (Spotify). Someone I drew something for on Art Fight had this listed as a character theme, so I've been looping it a lot... it's really good. I really should listen to more of Jhariah's music.

Last Movie

Hm. I.... don't know? I haven't been watching a lot of movies. I wanted to see I Saw the TV Glow, but before I knew it had left theaters. I'd like to watch movies again, I think.

Currently Reading

When I remember that I should be reading, Wuthering Heights. I've actually never read it before. I got bored halfway through Jane Eyre when I was 13 and lost all interest in gothic romances after that. ^^;;

Currently Watching

Akuma-kun! The 2023 one on Netflix. It's the show my friend and I are watching together right now. He insisted I had to watch it because it had an evil angel... we saw the angel today!! I'm happy. Homoerotic, fourteen year old fujoshi Emi would have totally lost it for this.

Currently Eating

Nothing. Getting hungry again though.

Currently Craving

I dunno... something fried? In the abstract, a little more self assurance.

Favorite Color

Blue. Deep blue. I've always been fond of the Copenhagen blue that I've used for Caina's scarf and one of Balthazar's coats, and the indigo I do a lot of my lines with.

Favorite Flavor

Chocolate.

Current Obsession

Anxiously checking the Art Fight website tbh. It's not good for me. I just keep getting worried that I've somehow made art that someone really hates of their character, or that I'm putting a lot into projects that no one will ever see. Haha.

Last Thing I Googled

.... well, now that we're at this point in this, it's Copenhagen blue. Because I wanted to check if it was a real name ^^;;

Favorite Season

Fall. It's got the best temperatures and most consistent weather. I like when the leaves change as well. The dry leaves on the ground are really comforting.... they make good sounds and are nice to lay in.

Skill I'd Like to Learn

Painting. Watercolors, ideally. Or digital art.

Best Advice

Jeez, I don't know a lot of life advice. I guess the best art advice I know is "draw whatever makes you want to keep drawing." Recently an artist I really respect also said something like "when you're starting out, just go ahead and copy whatever you like. Don't trace because you'll learn slower, but if there's something you like, try your best to imitate it." I think that can be good advice too. I guess my personal advice is also "Just do it however you know you can get it done." I used to get really hung up on doing things the "right" way in order to finish them, and because it took so long and I felt so pressured on the later steps I never finished anything. I hardly ever got to what I considered the halfway mark then. It didn't make me feel good about what I was doing. So I started doing things messier and more haphazard, whatever would get to the end I wanted to reach fastest. And I think I grew a lot more like that. I definitely drew a lot more art I was proud of and happy to show other people. I guess that also loops around to advice I've heard somewhere else though ^^;; Just to do the parts of the process that you want to finish. Your sketch can be your final lines if you hate doing line art, who cares. You can learn a way to do it like that.

We've hit the limit of how many times I can tag people on posts in a day without feeling very anxious unfortunately, so if anyone wants to be my guest etc. but I don't have it in me right now ^^;;

[canadiancryptid]

Spy x Family Episodes 13-15: The Dog Saga

So, these ones were sorta one long saga, so I'll be putting my notes in one long post. These episodes removed any doubt in my mind that this was one of my favorite shows I've ever seen.

Hey, new intro! This is so cute, I love it.

But this one shot gives me thoughts. I have so many questions about her past, and I can't stop wondering.

Yor is so bad at cooking, but at least she tries. She's not great at the traditional motherly stuff, but she's still amazing in her own way.

Those pet shop dogs have more abs than I do. I'm not afraid of getting biten by them, I'd be afraid of getting punched. Jeez.

Well, okay, maybe not. Those teeth look like buzz saws, so I'm definitely still afraid of getting biten, too.

Anya trying to help her Papa with his spy stuff without him knowing she's trying to help is always amazing.

"I'm not sure if I'm changing or if its just the times, but a kid like this being a terrorist is a hard pill to swallow"

That just says so much about how much his family has changed him. He can't see things the way he used to.

This dog looks like a cross between a fluffly dog, a polar bear and an otter, and he has the voice of an elderly human man. I love him already.

And he can see the future. Fun.

WHY DO WE HAVE MORE BACKSTORY ABOUT THE DOG THAN WE DO ABOUT ANYA?

Also, how to you get future vision from trying to science the dogs to be smarter? How does that work? I would understand if it was based on knowledge, but he's predicting Lloyd's death before he ever met him.

Those dogs ARE smart! If you aren't afraid of an angry Yor, then you're dumb. They no better than to mess with her after she turned the last fuy into a living bouncy ball. Human bodies are not supposed to move like that.

Anya just saved the world by drawing on a wall with ketchup. And nobody knows it was her.

Anya is SMART. She knows how to get her way. She knows the agency will ho along with almost anything to keep her happy and keep operation stryx on track. Because she knows about it in the first place, she knows she can make empty threats to derail the mission as a final trump card. We know she wouldn't, she wants to keep her family the way it is. But they don't know what's going on in her 4-year-old brain.

THEY'RE TOO CUTE I JUST CAN'T!

I'm not okay my heart is a puddle on the floor I love them so much-

So, I feel like there HAS to be some big reveal eventually. There's no way that doesn't end up causing problems. And I refuse to believe the whole "just leave the family behind and go to the next mission" plan was ever ACTUALLY on the table, even if he thought it was.

I think it's gonna end with either Lloyd quiting/retiring from the agency, or with the whole family becoming a part of it. Yor is already well suited for most of that stuff, and Anya has proven she can do the whole mission thing... well, as well as a kid her age can. Still, there's no way the family breaks up. No possible way.

And after getting that little bit of backstory from Handler, I think she'd actually be pretty understanding of either option. Looking forward to seeing how everything plays out.

So far, my only real complaint is how little we've seen of Yor. I mean, we see her as a mother, and she's amazing, but her whole assasin thing is just... there? Like, we know she’s doing that in the background, and she’s done a lot of impressive things, but we almost never see her as an assasin. She's the only one really out of the loop with the whole Operation Stryx thing, and with everything focusing on Lloyd and Anya, she doesn't get nearly as much time to shine. I really like her, but it feels like the show has been doing a lot of telling without much showing. It's not like we haven't seen anything, but it would be nice for her to have a little more time to shine.

[saiyukiitaliaandinternational]

For Saiyuki asks :) 12, 13, 22, 29, 40, 55, 68, 69, 74, 75

Hello^^

12)   Favorite episode in the TV Series

I have many favourite episodes but one I love the most is Where the Gods Are, Gensoumaden Saiyuki ep. 3

I love how Sanzo Ikkou showed the hypocrisy you can find among religious practitioners starting from their reluctant attitude at letting them stay at the temple and the only reason they are allowed is because of Sanzo's title to their absolute unwillingness to defend themselves if their lives are in serious danger. Sanzo's words were so cathartic to hear because they helped the young Yo to realize that only living and fighting to live allows you to move on.

13) Favorite song (sung by a character or in the animated adaptions)

Late Show and Sanbutsushin (I leave here the audio in case you don't remember it), I love the raw power that this song gives me and the really Buddhist-like vibe the second one has. It really seems I am exploring Tushita Heaven or one of four continents I am about to be reborn during the Bardo of Rebirth.

22)   Which character do you think is most like you?

Hakkai is the character has the most traits that characterize me. His intelligent nature and well-mannered attitudes combined with a soft-spoken demeanor are quite relatable to me. He likes to read and learn, and just like me he is full of strange, possibly useless information XD

Unlike him I still can't fully control my rage when it takes over my mind though but just like him my darker side comes out when fueled by a deep feeling of hurt and rage. I am for the most part calm and gentle but if you really pisses me off I can turn into the youkai version of Hakkai.

29)   An alternate universe you’d like to see

I would like to see their roles completely swapped XD so Sanzo Ikkou the main antagonists who try to prevent Kougaiji Ikkou to recover the sutras or alternatively Saiyuki characters in a dystopia.

40) Your favorite character became a mythical beast. What would they be?

Yes XD the Sanzuwu. The draw was made by me with Krita and I love drawing corvids

55) Was there a character you used to love but no longer do?

None because my feeling haven't changed over the years.

68) Who, in your opinion, has the most tragic backstory?

Jeez, this is not an easy question because all main four protagonists had a really heavy past and I find difficult to "rank" suffering of such scale because to me they are all equally heavy. Sanzo risked to be raped by some bastard and disgusting bandits and saw his master and father-like figure dying before his eyes, Goku had his memories erased after losing in a very traumatic way the only people who really cared about him and liked him for who he was, Gojyo lived in an abusive family, constantly hit by his stepmother to see her killed by Dokugakuji to whom he had bonded deeply (I don't want to know how he will react in Saiyuki Reload Blast after he will discover what happened to him). Hakkai's story touches deeply delicate topics that still get me thrills every time I recall it. I don't wish anyone an inch of what they all had to go through...

69) Who would be best at pleasing their lover?

I think Hakkai due to his responsible and caring nature. He would be a really great partner with a healthy mind suitable for family life. I hope Gojyo can develop more mature habits in terms of stable relationships because he has the potential to be a great partner due to his compassionate nature (especially towards children) despite it gets buried by his vain nature sometimes.

74) What is the funniest moment in the series?

I would have loved seeing it animated for Urasai XD (at least that bastard had the decency to not put that abomination on Lirin). Damn, I feel bad for them T_T

Another funny moment I like is from the manga (too bad it didn't got animated but at least we have the audio):

Another funny moment I still remember with joy is the 10th episode of Saiyuki Gensoumaden "False Saviors" when Sanzo Ikkou meet their first cosplayers XD (impostors who pretend to be the real Sanzo Ikkou) XD XD XD I know it's a filler episode but it's still funny to me. There are other funny moments especially in Saiyuki Reload Blast anime but I can't remember them all.

75) Who is your favorite minor character?

the youkai girl that kissed Goku. I loved how their interaction evolved when Goku stayed at that youkai village after others and he departed from Sanzo. In this moment Goku finally faced the complex reality of human-youkai relations and how they were tainted even before the Minus Wave incident. In this moment Goku could mature and grow as person thanks to what he witnessed in the village and interaction with this unfortunate girl who lost everything because of prejudice. I just hope she will be fine.

[l-1-z-a]

Welcome to The Sims 2! Part 42

Saturday, August 28, 2004 - 23:00

Greetings, Sims Fans!

Where, but in The Sims 2, will you find a Social Bunny or an invisible Shrink when the going gets tough? The Sims 2 is, without a doubt, the funniest, quirkiest and most eccentric game that your gaming dollar can buy – a fact we're all extremely proud of. So when it came time to set the game to music, we looked for talent that shared our particularly skewed outlook on life, simulated or otherwise. An unspoken guideline during this process was, if we could find someone with a history of donning flowerpot headgear, our search was over.

Enter Mark Mothersbaugh...

Mark's music career spans more than thirty years, way back to 1972 when he first formed the electro-pop ironist oddity, Devo. The fact that a band as immediately unique and strange as Devo met with some real serious commercial success in the 1980's with hits like "Whip It" draws some obvious parallels to The Sims, which came from out of nowhere and went on to reap a whirlwind of critical and financial accolades, much like the boys of Devo. Of course, when you continually craft gorgeous pop gems, it hardly matters if you dress your band members up as potatoes, which they did for 1982's Oh No! It's Devo! album.

What most people don't know about Mark is that he has been largely eschewing the limelight for the last decade or so to focus instead on a prestigious and lucrative career as a film and television composer. You can hear his handiwork all over the place, popping up in kid-friendly shows like Pee-Wee's Playhouse, or the Nickelodeon hit, The Rugrats. Mark has also crafted some amazing adult-themed scores for indie-film auteur Wes Anderson's films Bottle Rocket and Rushmore, provided the audio accompaniment for Adam Sandler's ode to goofiness, Happy Gilmore, among others.

Mark, thanks for lending us your particular brand of unhinged genius for The Sims 2! We couldn't be happier with the music!

So in anticipation of the impending release of The Sims 2 we'd like you to get yourself in the mood by listening to this track that Mark wrote for the credits of the game over and over and over again, while you daydream about all the endless hours of fun you'll have once The Sims 2 hits store shelves. I like this track as it really captures the quirky, fun feeling of playing The Sims 2.

This track is particularly important for The Sims 2 team, since it's such a happy, bouncy track. It's impossible to hear this piece of music and not be filled with joy, especially when you listen to it playing over the credits. Watching all those names scroll by, it really hits home that the game is complete and that a team of well over 100 extremely talented people worked their tails off ceaselessly to bring it to the screen of your PC. Mark's music really drives home the sense of accomplishment we all feel – not to mention the party atmosphere that has now descended on the office!

Ahh, jeez...I gotta go. I'm getting all misty.

Whip It Good!

Lucy Bradshaw

The Sims 2 Executive Producer

P.S. How many of you have been tracking The Urbz, our upcoming Sims console game? Well, if you haven't seen it yet, head to The Urbz Website ( http://www.theurbz.com ) to get a brief rundown on what happens when the Sims hit the city....and why am I bringing this up, you ask...well since we are on music-related news, I thought it would be cool to note that the hip-hop megastars the Black Eyed Peas are going to be providing music and more to The Urbz: Sims in the City. The Peas are dropping a new album, Monkey Business, in November, which is coincidentally when The Urbz will be hitting stores as well. As part of the deal, new versions of nine of the songs on Monkey Business will be re-recorded in Simlish for the game, and the Peas themselves will appear as characters in the game! How cool is that!!?

The Urbz website:

http://web.archive.org/web/20040920234009/http://urbzsims.ea.com/index_noflash.php

[justmybookthots]

Suddenly a Murder

Have I been eagerly eyeing this book a month before its release date in September? Yes. 

Have I only just read it now?

… Yes.

To be fair, I've had / I have books that have been on my TBR for YEARS. Three months of limbo in retrospect is nothing. So why do I feel chagrined? I don't know. Nonetheless, I'm glad I finished it because I'm craving more diversity in my reads and I haven't read a lot of thrillers this year… or at least it feels like it? I just went to count and I've read roughly 12 thriller books this year.

However, if you're considering that I've read over 50 books in total this year, 12 is a very small fraction of it. I used to read thrillers a LOT more—they're my go-to genre. I've read mind-boggling ones, good ones, average ones, bad ones… and Suddenly a Murder is definitely under "good-to-average". 

Its biggest draw for me is its premise. I love a murder mystery that takes place in an isolated setting (The Guest List is my FAVE example), and when Kassidy—the heroine's BFF—made the rest of the cast surrender their phones to be sent to the mainland, I was rubbing my hands and smacking my lips. Along with a thrown backstory about the manor they were living in, it made for a very juicy premise.

The question is, did it deliver?

Well. Spoilers ahead. 

Things I liked:

Almost everyone was toxic as fuck. I know, I know, why would I like that? But I just love when there's so much drama and toxicity and people are so messy… It was making me smack my lips, though admittedly, I was also simultaneously sickened by all the shit Blaine was doing. That said, I did feel relieved he was the murder victim because him being alive was grossing me out. To Kassidy and Chloe: please have some more self-respect. 😭 But then again, what's the fun if they have any?

The last revelation about the secret Izzy was hiding was pretty satisfying! It's the highlight of the book. Without this, the ending would have felt REALLY milquetoast (though a friend did mention she liked what Kassidy did in the end, which… fair point).

I thought I'd dislike Izzy—I mean, most main characters of thrillers aren't meant to be likeable. I assumed she was one of those, but I actually ended up liking her in the end. Also her friendship with Kassidy was genuine—they weren't frenemies, as is commonly depicted in many thrillers between the "rich girl" and "poor girl" archetypes. 

I liked Kassidy, too. Two female characters I liked? Wow! Unexpected. (To be clear: I DO NOT hate women. I just have a habit of not liking / being neutral about characters in thriller books because cast likeability in this genre is not why I read it.)

I really liked the fashion that kept being mentioned, even if it did feel rather superfluous at times (but I guess that was the point).

This can be a like and a dislike at the same time. But Marlowe, who turned out to be as trustworthy and decent as he appeared to be? That's… hmmm. I guess it was nice (?) to see that. I kept side-eyeing him the whole time because I don't trust ANYONE in thrillers, especially love interests, and now I feel a bit tired expending all that wasted energy. 😅

Things I disliked:

There's a whole backstory going on about Marla Nevercross and Cara Ashwood, who'd acted in a film at this very manor. Other than the ending, I wish that the film's storyline drew a more distinct parallel to the current events of the story. Sure, there's the cheating, the adult sleeping with the minor/much younger person… but there's not a distinct line that connects the roles of the main cast to the film. Or maybe there is, and my brain is farting at the moment. It's just that after a while, I forgot about the film until the end. 

The romance. Did we need it? I frankly could have done without it, but I guess it could be kind of cute for some readers? At the very least, I just wish it was more subtle and less screen time was devoted to it.

Fergus… You're just gonna take Ellison's ass back after he humiliated you like that? Jeez.

I felt that Pilar de León embodied the very tired (to me) trope of a quirky/slightly eccentric/very intelligent detective taking charge and solving the mystery. Maybe I just love Poirot too much and I felt she was a very weak caricature / inspired copy of him. She also reminded me a little bit of Daniel Craig's detective in Knives Out. Don't get me wrong, the quirks are all different for these detectives, but what's common is that they're all a little eccentric/mavericks and smarter than the rest of the cast. This is less a valid complaint and more me being annoying because a weird part of my brain is tired of this trope.

I… wanted a bigger twist. The person who turned out to be the killer was expected because they were the least likely suspect, but their motive was also very predictable once you realise who it was. I guess I just wanted to be more mind-fucked. :) Usually when I'm reading a very good mystery and I stumble upon the reveal, I can feel my body going on pins and needles but I didn't feel this at all. (Or maybe I just need to see a doctor.)

All in all, it's NOT a bad thriller. I had a good time. But it's not among the best thrillers I've read this year, that's for sure. I think that list would definitely include The Only One Left by Riley Sager, The Maid's Diary by Loreth Anne White and The Housemaid by Freida McFadden.

Anyway, my friend did just recommend me some other YA thrillers so I may check those out in the near future. Of course, 'near future' could range from the next three months to the next three years to never.

Who knows? Not me, I'll tell you that.

- 20 Nov 2023

[silkastral911]

1. Like uhhhh idk early this year ig

2. Earth and Fire :3

3. I was watching alterhuman stuff last year but I would say I joined it this year

4. My scales are red and green ig (Christmas vibes low key) I'm not sure of any unique features yet.

5. I feel sad when I see dragons as always the villains of like stories and stuff and how they r evil even though a lot I feel aren't

6. Idk about past memories but I get alot of dreams about it and I sometimes feel scaley wings and snout and horns and things.

7. My shifts I just feel body parts that aren't there. I don't really get any others very often

8. Idk my species diet but I'm guessing like omnivore or something

9. I breathe fire and the earth part I do like earth bending lol like from avatar 😭

10. I change sizes constantly but I would say like a tiny bit larger than toothless on the average

11. I looveeee hoarding, I like hosting buttons, coins, shiny stuff, rocks, sticks, crystals, beads, seeds... I forget what else

12. I'm not sure. I mean I wear dragon/dinosaur mask?? As like a way to express myself sometimes.

13. All the time. I want to be a dragon and my in the blue sky :3

14. My habitat is a tall forest of some kind. .? I think I'm not sure I haven't thought about it

15. I'm protective of people I care about and the spot where I eat my lunch

16. Well unfortunately when I discovered alterhumans I landed on like the tiktok/youtube side, however I found tumbkr therians and learnt so much more information that's actually correct and so far I love the tumblr alterhuman community

17. I don't use special vocal cause I struggle with vocabulary already 😭 I'm too tired for that

18. Not that I know of yet... other than like clicking sometimes

19. I recently joined a otherkin community on here however I haven't posted on it yet so they probably don't know I'm on there. I should do that... I'm also on a alterhuman pack in animal jam and they r really cool :3

20. In my cave cause otherwise I'm at work or sports. I never usually have time to be in nature unless at the beach in 40km per hour winds to walk my dog.

21. I got to say httyd but I haven't really discovered alot of dragon stuff yet, I've been meaning to read Fourth Wing though. I really wanna play a game where I can be a dragon though that'll be cool.

22. Not face to face but I've met another dragon person over a zoom meeting thing they were a fire dragon.

23. I still need to educate myself on this stuff but I would say spiritual the most... I'm still discorvering and learning sorry

24. Yaaaa rabbit and tiger therian

25. I recently customised a dinosaur mask however it's furless cause I'm too broke for that and idk how. I have a dragon mask I got from Spotlight 😭💅✨️ that came with wings and a tail, in red colour. I think that's it though

26. Speech, eyes (signals ig), sounds/vocals

27. I've been in like 2 different forms 1 is feral like full dragon another is like a draconian so like a humanised dragon?

28. I know what I look like I just can't draw it or find like any art to describe but this is the closest I can get. Idk who the artist is though. If I find out I will say who it is. Oh wait I the corner it says stablediffusionweb.com so I guess I found it from there.

29. I have no body modifications

30. The only dragonkin that has inspired me would be the one I met on that zoom call I mentioned above somewhere

31. Jeeze this took forever lmao, soz for yapping

Also if I got that thing for the artwork wrong pls let me know I will try to find the creator if I can't I will take the image down cause I won't wanna be stealing art or something idk.

dragonkin ask game

hey there! since this year, the year of the dragon, is getting to its end, i decided to come up with some questions for dragonkin and other draconic beings in the alterhuman and plural community. these can be used for personal use in blogs and are free to use for "draconic question of the week" pings on discord, for example. i will explain the reason for those and what i plan to do with them below the questions after the cut. i hope you will have fun with those.

questions under the cut

1. when did you find out you are a dragon?

2. what kind of dragon are you?

3. when did you join the dragonkin/alterhuman community?

4. what are some unique features of your dragon self? can be related to your body, your powers or your behavior.

5. what do you think of the representation of dragons on earth?

6. do you have memories of being a dragon in a past life or concurrent life?

7. what do your shifts look like, if you have any?

8. what does your species' diet?

9. do you have a breath weapon? if yes, which one?

10. do you know your dragon body's size?

11. do you hoard?

12. how does your draconity influence you irl?

13. do you feel species dysphoria sometimes?

14. what did/would your habitat look like?

15. are you territorial? can be a place(s) or other beings.

16. what do you think about the dragonkin/alterhuman community?

17. do you use a special vocabulary related to your draconity?

18. does your species have a special language or alphabet?

19. do you have a pack/clan or are you on your own?

20. where do you spend the most time? outside in nature or in your cave (at home)?

21. what is your favorite dragon media? is it a book series, a show, a video game or something else?

22. have you ever met a dragon like you or similar to you?

23. do you consider your identity spiritual, psychological or something else? do you use these labels at all?

24. do you have any other identities beside being a dragon?

25. do you own any gear (tails, horns, jewelry etc.) related to your draconity?

26. how does your species communicate primarily? do you use speech, sounds/vocals and/or body language?

27. is your dragon self animalistic/feral or sapient?

28. do you have a visual description of yourself or something that looks similar to your dragon body?

29. do you have any body modifications (tattoos, implants etc.)?

30. are there any dragons/other dragonkin who inspire you?

31. free space

the reason i made this ask game is because i will try to answer every one of the questions during the last month of the year of the dragon. this is a sort of "dragonkin ask game/challenge", and you can try it too, if you want.

thank you for taking a look <3

[prijune]

Happy birthday you're a year older congratulations! Your cake this year is a lovely anxieties of the future cake with a dread of failure filling topped with feelings of inadequacy and sprinkles :D

[mokutone]

I just found out about your blog about a minute ago and would very much like to know :

what gram paper you use

what brand and type of paints you use

your art process

and if you have an Instagram

(I am very stunned at your work by the way it's really really gorgeous)

You're lucky! I've been in the middle of formatting a post about my materials for a while, and so I can list them offhandedly at the moment!

1) The main papers I use are:

—Strathmore 400 Series Heavyweight Drawing Pads 100lb/163gsm. [Example] ———> good quality for drawing, buckles under watercolor but absorbs the paint beautifully. —Fabriano Hot Press Watercolor Paper, 140lb/300 gsm [Example] ———> good quality for drawing and painting, smooth surface too. —Vision Cold Press Watercolor Paper, 140lb/300 gsm [Example] ———> my teacher said this was garbage quality. i love it though, it gets a weird grainy texture. and, on occasion when I can afford it: —Arches Watercolor Pad/Block, Hot Press, 140lb/300 gsm [Example] ———> excellent painting, but i recommend you use it for pigment based paints mostly, it can have strange effects with dye-based watercolor paints. lovely surface, both smooth and slightly slightly textured.

2) The main paints I use are within two groups, dye based and pigment based, I'll divide them as such here:

Dye Based:

—Ecoline Watercolor [Liquid] [Example] — Dr. Ph. Martin's Radiant Concentrated Watercolors [Liquid] [Example]

Pigment Based:

—Black Sheep Art Supply's Pans And Half Pans! [Dry Pans] [Example] —Dr. Ph. Martin's Hydrus series [Liquid] [Example] —Holbein Artist' Water Color [Tubes of Paint] [Example]

I have used other kinds of watercolors previously, but these are the ones which I am actively enjoying using!

3) My art process...oh jeeze. I think I would lay it out like this:

— 1. jot down an idea on a piece of paper or my notes app. — 2. sketch out a thumbnail, just getting the feeling of how I want it to look. — 3. draw out the idea with pencils. — 4. Take a photo of the pencil drawing. Tack it onto the answer of an ask at some point. Forget about the drawing for a month. —5. Find the drawing, remember I meant to color it in. — 6. Ink the lines of the drawing, adding flat black spaces if necessary. — 7. Paint the drawing with watercolor, starting from lightest, largest areas of the drawing, and then gradually getting darker and more into the details. — 8. Angst about documenting the drawing correctly, eventually photograph it and post it.

4) I do have an instagram, but I haven't used it in years i think 😅 i like tumblr more.

(Also, thank you!!! that's very sweet of you to say! I'm glad you enjoy my work!)

[lilred8220]

Well, yet another fic no one asked for😃

I wanted to write this because some time go, I was watching the fireworks when this song started to play↓↓↓

And I just thought how romantic it would be if I wasn't forever alone 🙃 so, I build a story around that. I hope you enjoy it!

P.s. This is a F!MC

--

I had been so excited for this day! In the human realm, my hometown this time of year had a huge festival ending with a huge firework show. I had asked to go a week in advance but due to being in the Devildom for the exchange program, I couldn't go. It definitely was a disappointment. However Diavolo, seeing me upset and now curious about the tradition, asked all about it and he thought it sounded fun. Thanks to him always wanting to do anything new, he immediately decided to do the same here in the Devildom.

So through the long week, he asked about everything we would do at the event to make it much more fun and quickly get everything ready to make this last second festival. It somehow all came together and it feels almost exactly like the festival from the human realm. The food, sweets and all! Now it was the time to enjoy the festival!

The brothers couldn't understand why I was so excited for this. Though we all went to festivals and saw fireworks, It was just something that I would always look forward to this time of the year and it's just more special this time around. It kinda feels as if I'm sharing something that I love with everyone I care about in a place where I like to call my new home. Hopefully they'll come to enjoy this as much as I do.

"So, this is called an Elephant ear?“ Beel asked, drooling at the large fried sweet in front of him.

I laugh, as I grab a piece before he can scarf the treat whole, "Yeah, it's just fried dough with powdered sugar on it. They usually sell these at any carnival or festival." I pop the elephant ear in my mouth, savoring the amazing taste.

The brothers each had something to eat as we took a break from all the festival games littered around. We all take two picnic benches for the 8 of us, well, us and Beel's giant pile of food he got. Everyone had won something from the games…well everyone but me and Mammon. Mammon was determined to win a game, yet his luck seemed to be the worse for wear today and all the games we'd gone to all ended up with one of the other brothers winning the game. My luck honestly wasn't any better due to playing the same games that the others had won.

"I'm telling ya! Those games are rigged! The people runnin 'em are just a bunch of con artists!“ Mammon yells, clearly frustrated that he hasn't gotten anything.

"Or maybe you just suck lol" Levi says, holding a Ruri-chan plush to his chest.

"Honestly, you really shouldn't be surprised, you were pretty terrible at all those games since you had no choice but to play fair." Satan adds on, which all the brothers nod in agreement.

Asmo laughs, "Well, what do you expect from a scumbag?"

I start to get annoyed as the brothers all start to bash on Mammon. He seems fine on the surface but I've been around him long enough, with him basically living in my room and all, to see all his little ticks. Like when he's excited, his hand gestures are more dramatic, to emphasize his point or how his eyes light up when something catches his attention, like something to make a quick buck. However, right now, with the way his mouth slightly twitches and his hand shoved into his pockets, he's upset. He really only does this when the brothers throw insult after insult at him, like right now.

I sigh as they continue their assault on him. But an idea comes to mind and it'll be easy enough to pull off.

"Does...that all that stuff apply to me too? Since I didn't win anything either, after all..." I say, putting on my best pouting face and looking down at the ground.

Immediately, the brothers started to panic, trying to reassure me that it wasn't true, successfully drawing their attention away from Mammon. I slightly looked up, passed the frantic brothers to lock eyes with Mammon. He stood there for a moment, a bit confused by my sudden comment. I flash him a quick smirk before looking up at the brothers, accepting their apologies. The brothers seemed to relax and drop the topic after that, returning to the food they have. Mammon, who had seemingly understood what my intentions really were, looked at me, with his face slightly flushed, then stared down at his food.

In Mammon's mind, he honestly doesn't know what force sent Y/N here but, she is honestly the best thing that has ever happened to him. At first, he hated the idea of being her guardian due to all of the extra work he was given. But, as days turned to weeks, her treatment towards him was nothing but sweet and loving. It honestly was a huge adjustment for him, since everyone treated him like scum or useless, having her place so much faith in him, even defending him and doing little gestures like this, it makes his head spin. He honestly couldn't pinpoint when it happened, but, his feelings for her drastically changed, he couldn't deny it now, how he longed for her, wanted her all to himself. How he loved her unconditionally.

I smile, quickly finish eating my food then stand up, "Ok! Time to get back to the games!“ I say, excitedly.

"Y/N, I'm glad you are excited but some of us still need to eat." Lucifer says, glancing at Beel and his mountain of food.

"Awww, come on Lucifer, I wanna try to win something before the fireworks start." I plop down again, putting my chin in my hands.

"Well, I'm sure we'll have plenty of time." Lucifer tries to cheer me up, eating some fries.

Mammon looks up at Y/N, upon seeing her upset. He honestly hated seeing Y/N upset, even if for something so small as to wait for everyone to finish eating. He wanted nothing more than to see her smile everyday, it honestly was one of his favorite parts of the day to see her smile so sweetly. He'll do anything to make her happy. He sits up and scarfs down his food before standing up. "Ok, how 'bout this,' ' Mammon gets up and walks over to me, ' ' since I haven't won anythin', I'm gonna go play some more games and I'll meet ya guys later. Y/N, ya can come if ya want to." Mammon starts to walk away, at a slower pace than he usually would.

"Yeah! Ok!" Before any of the other brothers could protest, I quickly got up and hurried over to Mammon. I can hear the brothers stumbling to get up to follow us.

"Hey! Mammon is stealing Y/N!"

"That's not fair!“

"That scumbag..."

I hear some of the things they're saying as they seem to be trying to catch up.

I grab Mammon's hand and start to make a run for it. "Come on!" I glanced back at Mammon, who seemed shocked. He looks back to see the brothers in hot pursuit of us. Getting the hint, Mammon picks up the pace. We high tail it out of there, laughing like a bunch of kids all the while.

--

Me and Mammon finally stop and I flop on the floor, trying to catch my breath as Mammon puts his hands on his knees.

"I…I think we lost 'em" Mammon pants, out of breath from running around.

"I…I think so…jeez, how…how do you always do this when you get in trouble?“ I wheeze out, my human body not used to running as much as a demon. Especially if that demon is Mammon.

Mammon straightens up, finally catching his breath, "Well, I'm not usually running from ALL of my brothers, just Lucifer mostly."

Mammon reaches his hand to me and after a moment, I let him help me up. He helps me to my feet and when I look up, his face is very close to mine. We stare at each other for a moment before both of our faces turn more flushed than we already were.

His bright blue eyes that have a hint of that golden yellow has me in a trance. When I first met Mammon, it was the first thing that drew my attention, it's honestly something that I always find myself staring at all of the time. They are very beautiful to me and never fail to make me feel relaxed when I see them. But not only that, he is a very handsome man. His rich caramel skin with his pure white hair makes his face stand out even more. He is just so captivating to look at, however his personality is what truly makes him shine. Even if he tries, and fails, to hide his true feelings, he always has his heart on his sleeve, rather if he realizes that or not. He tries so hard to help me or to even make my day brighter when I'm not feeling my best. He even tries to protect his brothers and is always there for them. He honestly is the most caring person I've ever met and I can't help but fall for him because of that.

Mammon looked down at her face, he honestly couldn't help but stare. In his mind, she was more beautiful than anyone he's ever seen. Her beauty not only stopped at her looks but the person she was. She was a true wonder to him, too good to be true yet, here she was, defying all logic. All he wanted to do was look at every detail of her face, her eyes as they shine, her soft skin as the blush covers her face, her parted lips as her breath finally slows down. Mammon was the first to turn away, catching himself now staring at nothing but her lips.

He clears his throat. "W-Well since we're here, let's get to some games!" Mammon says, his fangs flash with his grin.

We made our way to the nearest game booth, both of us looking at the various prizes. The booth in question is a simple ring toss, the bottles are organized by colors which show what size prize you can get. There are the ridiculously large stuffed bears that are taller than me to the very small animal plushies. Scanning all the prizes, one catches my attention, a black plush crow with a yellow tag on it. It was big enough to hold in your arms, it's wings dangled at its sides. It had its beak opened slightly to look like a smile. I glance over at Mammon, who is currently eyeing a plushie of a grimm, that also has a yellow tag hanging off of it. I laugh, thinking of how that plush crow reminded me of him.

Mammon looks at me, slightly confused, "What are ya laughing at?"

"Oh nothing, though I know what prize I want." I smile, looking back at the crow plush.

Mammon follows my eyes over to the plush, he tilts his head at my choice, "Ya sure that's what ya want? There are plenty of things better than that ol' crow."

I nod enthusiastically, "Yeah, I think it's cute, like someone else I know." I playfully push him.

His ears turn a dark red but he laughs, "Well, I know what I want so, let's go and win some prizes!“

We pay the demon running the game and start trying to make the rings reach its mark. However, as in most carnaval games, the rings in question are only slightly bigger than the top of the bottles, making it much harder to win. Not to mention the bottles for the better prizes are further back, making it much harder. As we try a couple times, we don't get much luck and we're running out of grimms to play. However as we reach our last game, even though I end up with nothing, Mammon manages to sink a ring on a yellow bottle.

"We have a winner!“ the demon behind the booth says, walking over to grab the ring.

"Yeah! This was nothin' for the Great Mammon!" Mammon threw his hands in the air, and I cheered with him, "You did it! You won!“

The demon walks back over to us, "Alrighty, you can pick a prize with a yellow tag. Which will it be?"

Mammon's eyes flick to the plush he was eyeing earlier and he goes to speak, but an announcement rings through the speakers all around the festival, "The firework show will be starting in 15 minutes, marking the end of the festival! So hurry and grab a seat to enjoy the show!“ a cheery voice says before the music from before starts to play again. Mammon looks down at me for a moment before a small smile appears on his face.

Mammon looks at the demon and points at the plush crow, "I'll take that one."

I look up at Mammon, "But, I thought you wanted-“ I get cut off by the demon swift return, "Here you go." The demon hands him the crow plush.

Mammon takes the plush from the demon with his usual bright smile and starts walking off, I quickly follow, still confused. Once I catch up, he looks at me with a blush on his face and holds out the crow to me.

"W-well, there wasn't really anythin' I wanted, so I figured I'd get this ol' crow since ya seemed to want it so bad." He says with his usual bravado, yet it was a bit more shy than normal.

"But, you said…" I start to say as I take the plush but, cut my thought short.

Even though I know he wanted something, that much he's been saying all day, he still got me this crow plush. Knowing how he struggles to do these things and becoming a stuttering mess when it's pointed out, I choose to not question him. Yet, I can't help but love him even more, him knowing that I wanted something as well and that he'll be going back home later with nothing. I'll have to repay him later but for now, I'll just enjoy the rest of the festival with him.

I shake my head and give him a smile, one that shows how much I truly appreciate and love him, "Thank you so much, Mammon." I hold the crow close to myself.

Mammon feels all the air in his lungs escape him. Y/N's smile, the sparkle of joy and something more…intimate in her eyes. Honestly, for a split second, he found himself jealous of that crow, seeing Y/N holding it so lovingly. He wanted, no, needed to show her how much he loves her. If not tonight, it'll drive him insane.

--

After looking a bit, me and Mammon found a perfect spot to watch the fireworks. We sat on a hill that was a bit further away from the festival and luckily, we could still hear the music playing from one of the speakers nearby. We sat in a comfortable silence, waiting for the fireworks to begin. Which based on the amount of time it took to find this isolated spot, it should start at any moment.

Mammon is resting his arms on his knees as I sit with my legs crossed, the plush crow close to my chest. I watch all the demons in the distance hurrying to find a spot to watch the show as well. Thankfully, none of them seem to look in this direction. So right now, it's just us, alone.

After a few moments, Mammon looks over at me and shyly starts to speak, "H-hey, Y/N?"

I look back at Mammon, noticing his face slowly forming a blush, "Yes?"

"I…I wanted to tell ya-" Mammon gets cut off by the first firework going off.

We slightly jump, but my eyes widen as the firework show starts, "It's starting!"

I watch as the firework starts to make the usual dark Devildom sky shine bright with many different colors. All the while, a familiar song starts to play on the speakers, making this a moment that I want to treasure always. It was a song from the human realm and it was a song that made this moment feel more intimate. I honestly couldn't ask for a better day, I got to go to the festival with all my favorite people and I even had, dare I say it, a wonderful date with Mammon. The thought of going on a date with Mammon makes my cheeks burn but I truly wish that this day would never end.

Mammon's heart starts to pound in his chest, his gaze never leaving Y/N. He watches as her eyes glow with wonder, watching the fireworks as if it were the first time. She never looked more beautiful, more perfect than right now. If he was ever gonna make his move, it had to be now. Mammon opened his mouth to speak but he couldn't find it in himself to break her trance. However, his greed for her attention, her voice, her touch, for nothing but her, was growing. So, he closes his mouth and takes a deep breath. He leans closer to her as his shaky hand gently touches her cheek to turn her face towards him.

When I suddenly feel a light touch on my face, I snap back to reality. Before I can react, I feel my face being turned and suddenly, Mammon leans in, his eyes close and gently presses his lips on mine, like he's afraid that I'll break. My eyes widen, taking a moment to realize what is happening. Mammon, feeling me not move, starts to move away, most likely worried he did something wrong. But, not wanting to lose the moment, I quickly filled in the space he left, pressing my lips a bit harder than he did. Mammon tenses at my sudden movement but quickly melts into the kiss, holding my face with his hands. I place the plush to the side, momentarily forgotten, I place my hands on his chest for support.

The air stills, the world around us starts to disappear. The only thing to keep us from forgetting the world completely is the sound of fireworks and the song playing so sweetly.

I snake my arms around Mammon's neck, then he takes the chance to pull me in closer by my waist, closing the gap between us. Even though he was nervous at first, he seems to have relaxed, even nips at my bottom lip, causing me to gasp. He swiftly slips his tongue in my mouth, tangling it with mine, deepening the kiss. We held each other close, like we were afraid that the other would vanish.

Needing to breathe, we lean away slightly. I'm not sure when it happened, but I managed to end up on Mammon's lap. Mammon seems to also realize the position we're in and his breath hitches.

His hand comes up and holds my face, "I love ya, Y/N."

My heart flutters and I lean into his touch, "I love you too, Mammon. I…I always have."

"Y/N, I care about ya so much and I…I don't want anyone else trying to steal my most precious treasure from me. The thought of it kills me, because I'm yer first man." Mammon stops, becoming more shy, "I w-want ya to be mine and…I'll be yers…if ya want me."

I feel as though all of the butterflies in my stomach would explode out of me. I can't stop the big smile that appears on my face, "Mammon," I hold his face in my hands, "no one could ever take me away. And not only that but…" I bite my lip, feeling a bit bashful, "You already have me. Now and forever."

If Mammon could, his eyes would have hearts in them. He looked at me with such lovestruck eyes, his face is probably the most peaceful expression I've ever seen. I look back at him in awe, honestly have never seen him so happy, like he's on cloud nine.

A smile is plastered on his face, "I promise that I will be with ya till the end of time. I gotta be the luckiest demon in the whole festival, no, the Devildom. But, I guess I did win something at the festival after all." His smile suddenly turns into a smirk, "What do ya say we go somewhere more private and we can continue…this?"

My face turns red, but I nod. We stand up, I grab my plushie so that we can leave when I suddenly hear someone, or rather, some people, running this way.

"MAMMON!"

We spin around, both of us knowing too well who that voice belongs to. Lucifer and the rest of the brothers are running at full sprint in our direction.

"Oh shit!" Mammon yells out, quickly sweeping me off my feet, making a run for it.

Startled, I grabbed on to Mammon's jacket, making sure to not drop my crow plush, "Ah! M-Mammon!“

He looks down at me, " Well, I might get strung up later, but I'm yer man now. I want ya all to myself and I don't know about ya, but I'm not ready for tonight to end." He flashes his signature smile.

I can't help but laugh, as we make yet another escape from the brothers. This is truly the best day I could have asked for.

[ygreczed-3]

HEY!! so i still have your notifications on (hehe still a supporter) and while i haven't checked out much recently i decided to do so now and DAMN kitty, you have improved/changed a lot and that is absolutely amazing to see! Pandora's box really was something i still absolutely cherish and now i really have to check out all the new stuff you've been creating, it's absolutely amazing to see! also i've seen you're a nurse now, congrats on that too! I am proud of you! Seeing people improve and change is really something I quite enjoy to see, so I am happy you're still around :)

HHHHH LEO ?!

Yep, I guess I'm still stuck in the same fandom (but I love it) 😂 But jeez, I'm so glad to see you around ! I hope you passed your exams too ?? And how are you ??

Pandora's box wow, it sounds like the good old days ahah... It feels like an eternity, and I'm so happy that you saw all my progress too ! I've worked on my drawing skills a lot during the school year, it was a good way to release the pressure from school.

Also YES little lion, I finally have my certificate ! Next step, I'm moving out 👀 I'm ssssssooooooo happy to hear from you again ! ❤️