#once I've got the sketch down everything else comes quicker

[kikker-oma]

how hard was it to choose fics to draw for Fan Joy July?

Honestly, the choosing which fic I would draw for wasn't that hard, it was reading all of them!!

I had already had a number of fics I knew I wanted to draw for and sooo many people reccd their favorite fic or authors to me which made choosing MUCH easier!

It honestly was just the act of reading through the stories that was SO time consuming. Im a pretty fast reader too haha

Of course that being said, picking and choosing was still difficult because I'm restricted to a certain number of days and there are so many fics and authors to draw for! I did have to use some discernment in choosing which ones I would draw for. Some fics were wonderful but maybe I didn't have a clear mental image of what I would draw, or maybe it's well done but just not my cup of tea, y'know?

Overall though, the process was really fun, I discovered some FANTASTIC authors in the process! 80% of the fics I drew for I had never read before❤️

[crash-bump-bring-the-whump]

Whumpril 2023 - Day 7

Another one I've been kicking around for a bit!

TWs: fainting, (accidental) disordered eating, also hallucination mention

Numbness | Unsteady | “You look pale.”

"I just...wanted to talk to you." Mariano said, setting his phone down as he typed at the ancient computer. The video of Bastian on their couch, sketching away on his tablet, was clear and quiet. Calming. "Kept hearing footsteps."

Bastian snorted. "No one else is coming to rob that place." He paused, brow creasing as he tapped the screen a few times with his stylus before continuing to draw. "Not after you got the place in the news. People still think you're the owner."

Mariano laughed, shaking his head. "I know, I know. But you'd hear the front door bell too." The phone that Bastian had bought him was certainly good enough for the microphone to pick it up. He started printing off the reports for the night before standing and picking up his phone.

His head started spinning as he took his first steps toward the front. Mariano staggered, bracing a hand against the bookshelf that held their safe. Silver eyes flickered to the screen before narrowing.

"You good?" Bastian asked, slowly setting his stylus down. "You look wobbly."

"I'm alright, treasure." Mariano soothed as he continued walking, passing through the store room to the front. "I just need to finish locking up and shutting everything down, then I'll come home."

Mariano set his phone down by the register. He turned and knelt to turn off the ice machine, flicking the switch off. When he stood back up, he was barely able to turn back around before the world faded into a grey roar.

When the fuzz in his vision faded, Mariano realized that his head ached. He was on the floor, elbows and knees barely keeping his forehead a few inches from the tile. Distantly, he could hear Bastian.

"-iano, Mariano answer me." Bastian demanded. His voice was tense, bordering on a growl. "Dammit, you idiot, you'd better start talking to me or--"

Mariano groaned. He felt beyond nauseous. Only taking his glasses off and pressing his eyes into the darkness of his arm helped. The rest of him followed in a slow, controlled fall. The cool tile against his side felt nice. He swallowed hard. One deep breath in. Then out.

He'd fainted.

"Mariano, I heard that. Can you make another noise if you can understand me?"

"Mmmyeah." Mariano said, muffled. As he breathed, the nausea started to fade. "Yeah I...I'm okay." It felt like he was trying to talk while being multiple shots into some tequila.

Why had he fainted? He started running through the reasons, while Bastian said something else. He'd gotten enough sleep, he hadn't had trouble breathing, he ate lunch at noon, it was only midnight so he wasn't up too late--

All at once, embarrassment flared hot in his face. He hadn't eaten in twelve hours. His doctor had said something about this before. About recovery periods, and how continuous stress makes a body more fragile.

"Mariano? Hello?" Bastian's voice filled the front of the coffee shop along with the jingle of his keys. He heard the rustle of Bastian shoving his arms into his jacket, the soft growl as he struggled to get his shoes on quicker. "Hey, listen to me. If you can hear me just stay where you are. I'm coming to get you."

Mariano just hummed again, hoping that this one was loud enough for Bastian to hear. He heard the clatter of Bastian getting into his van and starting the engine, the purr soothing Mariano's thrumming, upside-down nerves. He just needed a few minutes, then he could sit up and crawl to the office to get the unopened soda he'd left there the day before.

Just a few more minutes, he thought, to lay on the steady, blessedly cold floor.