#sometimes i go check out the artist's art and I get even more confused

[were--ralph]

why exactly do you dislike generative art so much? i know its been misused by some folks, but like, why blame a tool because it gets used by shitty people? Why not just... blame the people who are shitty? I mean this in genuinely good faith, you seem like a pretty nice guy normally, but i guess it just makes me confused how... severe? your reactions are sometimes to it. There's a lot of nuance to conversation about it, and by folks a lot smarter than I (I suggest checking out the Are We Art Yet or "AWAY" group! They've got a lot on their page about the ethical use of Image generation software by individuals, and it really helped explain some things I was confused about). I know on my end, it made me think about why I personally was so reactive about Who was allowed to make art and How/Why. Again, all this in good faith, and I'm not asking you to like, Explain yourself or anything- If you just read this and decide to delete it instead of answering, all good! I just hope maybe you'll look into *why* some people advocate for generative software as strongly as they do, and listen to what they have to say about things -🦜

if Ai genuinely generated its own content I wouldn't have as much of a problem with it, however what Ai currently does is scrape other people's art, collect it, and then build something based off of others stolen works without crediting them. It's like. stealing other peoples art, mashing it together, then saying "this is mine i can not only profit of it but i can use it to cut costs in other industries.

this is more evident by people not "making" art but instead using prompts. Its like going to McDonalds and saying "Burger. Big, Juicy, etc, etc" then instead of a worker making the burger it uses an algorithm to build a burger based off of several restaurant's recepies.

example

the left is AI art, the right is one of the artists (Lindong) who it pulled the art style from. it's literally mass producing someone's artstyle by taking their art then using an algorithm to rebuild it in any context. this is even more apparent when you see ai art also tries to recreate artists watermarks and generally blends them together making it unintelligible.

Aside from that theres a lot of other ethical problems with it including generating pretty awful content, including but not limited to cp. It also uses a lot of processing power and apparently water? I haven't caught up on the newer developements i've been depressed about it tbh

Then aside from those, studios are leaning towards Ai generation to replace having to pay people. I've seen professional voice actors complain on twitter that they haven't gotten as much work since ai voice generation started, artists are being cut down and replaced by ai art then having the remaining artists fix any errors in the ai art.

Even beyond those things are the potential for misinformation. Here's an experiment: Which of these two are ai generated?

ready?

These two are both entirely ai generated. I have no idea if they're real people, but in a few months you could ai generate a Biden sex scandal, you could generate politics in whatever situation you want, you can generate popular streamers nude, whatever. and worse yet is ai generated video is already being developed and it doesn't look bad.

I posted on this already but as of right now it only needs one clear frame of a body and it can generate motion. yeah there are issues but it's been like two years since ai development started being taken seriously and we've gotten to this point already. within another two years it'll be close to perfected. There was even tests done with tiktokers and it works. it just fucking works.

There is genuinely not one upside to ai art. at all. it's theft, it's harming peoples lives, its harming the environment, its cutting jobs back and hurting the economy, it's invading peoples privacy, its making pedophilia accessible, and more. it's a plague and there's no vaccine for it. And all because people don't want to take a year to learn anatomy.

[flowersandbirdsflyingfree]

ZEROING IN ON POSTAL DUDE MATCHUPS AND SENDING ONE AT 5AM BEFORE I FORGET-- I am 23yo genderfluid whos 5'0" and pansexual-- Afab but I genuinly don't care what others view me as. Straight, chest length brown hair that tends to be in my face a lot- bright green eyes with rlly noticable bags underneath. I wear baggy grungy/goth clothes that hide my figure most of the time but rare occassions where I'll wear more form revealing stuff- I've got the absolutely worst sleep schedule and tend to talk in my sleep too (either random convos or just creepy shit like "watch out for the man in the corner.") I set pretty high expectations for myself and get frustrated if they don't turn out perfect but I never have those expectations for others- I do a lot of art projects and crafts (usually horror related). I tend to be pretty spaced out and quiet around people I dont know/like but once I'm with people I'm comfortable with then I go absolutely fucking insane (positive). I'd need someone who won't get upset or annoyed when I'm in a depressive or manic mood- and someone who'd be cool with me bringing home weird shit from time to time (antique items, weird stuffed animals. Bones for taxidermy--) in a relationship I get nervous with PDA but wont outright reject it- and I just ger nervous and flustered at any sort of romantic interest/intent since I'm not used to it IWNSJSNDJ (im so excited i havent gotten a matchup in SO LONG and they're so fun and hehehehe)

IM SO EXCITED TOO!!! Matchups are fun to do and fun to make!!

Your Postal Dude is:

Postal 3 Dude

Okay here me out he is actually a great partner/bf/husband

How you may ask? Well, he’s an admirable jerk who’s not afraid to love on you at any given chance. I feel like he would also try to kiss you at bad timing, accidentally kissing your eye. THE EMBODIMENT OF THE “He a little confused but he got the spirit” FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR GIF. He’ll listen to you if you’re uncomfy with PDA but let him know. Otherwise he has a static cling-kind of public show off to his amazing sweetheart of a partner

Definitely loves your horror artwork. He can help give ideas of crazy horror creatures/concepts to draw if the artist block kicks up. It’s actually impressively eerie. I know this is P3, but he would think up of monsters like the ones in the Asylum level of Brain Damaged.

Taxidermy/antiques aren’t too weird to things he’s brought home himself. Sometimes he comes home with a bunch of weird Krotchy themed trinkets, sometimes it’s vintage jewelry. And sometimes, he comes home with possum hanging by the jaw on his arm. Get him checked for rabies.

Oh, and don’t even get me started on eBay shit. A big chunk of income is eBay selling. Dude once sold a potato chip shaped like George Carlin for $5000. Someone actually bought it too. He may occasionally surprised you with macabre gifts as a token of his love.

He is your hype man. Your cheerleader. Dude has an effect where when he gets more energetic in wrecking mayhem to the point anyone surrounding him looses control too. Two souls become one chaos tornado. But it’s sweet because he’s never been happier

Dude can brush off a bad reaction. He definitely has his fair share. Nevertheless, this guy can be surprisingly solid out of the blue. Especially when it comes to perfectionism. “Honey, my whole life is a testimony of imperfections. You’re already pretty damn great just as you are. And if anyone’s got a problem with that? Fuck ‘em.”

[sciderman]

EXTENDS MY HANDS.... DO YOU HAVE ANY CABLE COMIC RECS........ deadpool can be there too i guess

hilarious... hilarious... with all the cable comics i've been reading lately you'd THINK i'd have recs but honestly i don't. i've been reading all the cable comics i can get my hands on but his comics are really boring or confusing and i'm so sorry. it's no wonder they're always in the bargain bin. i'm so so so so so so sorry nathan summers. i still buy the comics because you look stupid hunky in them. and i'm a simple girl with simple needs.

nathan: [time-travel dialogue that makes no fucking sense to me] me, twirling my hair and kicking my feet: hahaha noo cable don't expo-dump me you're so hooot hahahaha...

i think the x-force stuff and the new mutants stuff might be more interesting - i think maybe cable works better as leader of a team (his usual role) or paired up with a foil (aka deadpool) vs solo, he's just not interesting enough to carry anything on his own (sorry)

that being said, my rec list will probably have a significant deadpool bias, because deadpool happens to often be the spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down, as it were - i think the thing that makes nate work is when other characters Point Out how ridiculous he is. and wade wilson kind of built an entire career off of that.

i think when nate's played straight (ha) he's just not my bag - i think he needs to play off of characters that reveal just how silly he is. especially since stakes are often so high with nate - time-stream space-time-continuum sort of stuff - it asks a lot of you. so you need someone there to keep things kind of silly. i always prefer lower-stake stuff, personally - otherwise, the thing needs levity from somewhere.

his most recent series was cute (bable my beloved) - written by duggan (who is Not my favourite deadpool writer, and also wrote uncanny avengers - general consensus is that duggan doesn't really Get Cable, but his stuff is still very readable.) (deadpool is there, also.)

on the topic - uncanny avengers (2015) - i kind of don't like the way nate is written here - very stoic, unfeeling, very hyper-macho. but he looks really sexy (even with his receding hairline.)

speaking of this particular artist that draws nate so sexily - deadpool vs x-force. beeeeeeyoing. i think it might be one of my favourite books with nate in. for entirely shallow reasons.

daddy? sorry. daddy? sorry. d

i've read the cable (2008) series and it was - kind of an infuriating experience, admittedly. the writing is confusing, and the art is actually insanely infuriating to me. like i wanted to scream while reading this series. it's sensory overload. a lot of cable comics feel like that for me, actually. i found this entire book in the bargain bin for like, £2 and STILL didn't buy it because i hated reading it so much.

that being said:

daddy? s

god. his head is so tiny. whatthefuck.

i think my favourite cable stuff i've read is probably niceiza's stuff (again. fuck.) and i think it's for the same reason why i like his deadpool stuff the most too - everywhere else I see nate he's this rugged tough guy who's kind of intentionally one-dimensional and hardcore - but when i read niceiza's nate he's kind of stupid sometimes. he's stupid and his worldview is kind of perplexing and ridiculous, and we're kind of perpetually infuriated by him but kind of feel for him because we have a real sense that he's trying so hard. it's not just cool-guy i have a massive gun check out my massive gun i don't have time for emotions i have a time-stream to fix sort of stuff - nate gets a weird kind of vulnerability in niceiza's stuff, and he's constantly, literally de-powered. niceiza loves de-powering him. and i love to see a nathan summers de-powered. he's so sexy when he's pathetic. i love pathetic men. and niceiza just so happens to have a knack for writing the most pathetic men i've ever seen.

so cable & deadpool (2004) and deadpool & cable: split second, obviously. do i even need to say it.

i'd love it if anyone had any recs for what people feel is the definitive cable - like, cable fans, if you could point at a book and say "THIS IS IT. THIS IS NATHAN SUMMERS AS HE WAS INTENDED." i'd love to read it, i'd love to read it. i know there's definitely comics i can point to for deadpool when it comes to that - but i think everyone takes something different from these characters - and a character like nate, i've seen so so so many different interpretations of him in fanon that always get me curious.

[bird-likes-to-fandom]

due to recent events, I just want to say that I do not want anyone reposting my art without credit (link to my tumblr) and my explicit permission. And even so, I usually only allow people who I am either close with or made the art for to do so. Some artists allow reposting under specific conditions, I am rarely one of them.

I am a former pinterest kid, so I get it. I get wanting to see cool art on pinterest. But it is NOT cool to take my or other artist's art without us knowing, and infinitely more uncool to give no credit or pass it off as your own. It is incredibly hurtful to us artists to watch our hard work pop up in places we did not intend for it to go, so if you like our work please instead do us the kindness of supporting us and our pieces on the platforms we ARE on by liking, sharing, retweeting, reblogging, and most importantly COMMENTING.

Also, reminder for those who confuse "reblogging" with "reposting":

Reblogging is when you click the little recycle/uno reverse symbol and you get to add the post with or without commentary to your Tumblr blog. This helps an artist's work spread around Tumblr, and is widely recognized as the best way to support and interact with an artist or piece of art on the website. Don't be shy to reblog art!! It's a huge help and we artists love it because it let's us know that you want to see more, and we love getting feedback/commentary.

Reposting is when you copy and paste a work of art that is not your own to a platform the original artist did not post it to. Without credit via a link or even simply stating the username and platform of the artist, the work is just... out there. Unclaimed. And sometimes reposted art garners more attention than the original post, meaning all of the artists hard work goes unappreciated in their eyes. Do not repost art, especially not before you check with the original artist to make sure it's okay.

[tavyliasin]

Boundaries and Parasocial Relationships (I will only say this once)

This is the ONLY post I will be making on the matter, so please feel free to skip if you do not want to hear it again, and don't worry you don't need to hide me to avoid discourse - the rest of my content will remain firmly with only SMUTFIC FAN FUN.

So let's start with the simple. Actors, performers, celebrities: They are PEOPLE with LIVES. They are not CHARACTERS. Paying them for a service does not include the right to cross their boundaries. Just like tipping someone working food service does not give you a pass to harrass them either.

If you feel the need to request something smutty from an actor/celebrity, STOP. THINK. THIS IS WHAT FAN CREATORS ARE HERE FOR!

I'm not saying that you can act inappropriately towards fan creators, I'm saying that those of us making NSFW content are already prepared to hear the horny requests, the thirst comments towards the characters on our posts, the headcanons and self inserts and all of that. Of course you should never expect a creator to make your ideas into fic or art, and asking politely is always preferred. Whilst fic writers generally cannot take paid commissions, artists can and do, so you should also consider commissioning what you want to see and never expect art for free. Sometimes we hear a good idea, though, and get really inspired! We draw or write it because we hear it and thing "well yes darling actually that's very hot" or even "that sounds like a challenge, it could be fun!"

For anyone still confused about what is appropriate or not, please read this article about Parasocial Relationships

It is important to recognise for your own mental health when fandom is going too far, and to keep the right boundaries for everyone. It is very easy to get carried away with excitement, especially when some performers might share a few risqué pieces of art or content, but when they're sharing it like that it is on their terms, on their time. Making requests during a live stream or through cameo is not the same. I'd also add to think before sharing any NSFW art, fic, or other creations directly to performers - if they haven't asked for it don't send it. Don't tag them in it, either - they have families, careers, and may not want to be as visibly linked to literal porn. If they're looking for that content and want to see it, they will find it. That also applies to sharing other peoples' NSFW creations to the performers or tagging them in replies - unless they specifically state they want to see the content, don't.

FINAL NOTE

This fan community has so much potential. We have proven we can be awarded "Community of the Year". We can love and support one another, we can keep each other safe, we can be a rock in the storm and the cheerleading squad that each other need in so many situations. Let's keep it that way. Be kind, to each other and to the performers. Remember, the words on the screen are not written by unfeeling robots, we are all very real people with thoughts and emotions and lives. Now go out there. Make the world a brighter place, and keep creating the fan content we all love so very dearly, darlings, but do it right.

SAFE, SANE, CONSENTING. Check in on the safety, mental health, and boundaries in all of your interactions.

And one last time, to learn more about parasocial relationships and how to handle interactions with famous people:

Click Here for the full article.

[gaphic]

@strawberryy-fields putting this in a new post bc it's A BIT LONG lol

Unfortunately this is one of those 'describe a chair' questions- the finer points of tagging ARE just something you have to develop a Sense for, so I'm going to attempt to construct guidelines with examples lol

Firstly, tagging for visibility is 10000% completely fine! It's just that visibility works differently on tumblr. When you post on Instagram (for example) you're not really showing it to anybody- there's a middleman. You're submitting it for algorithmic review. So if you only tag #naruto and the algorithm isn't stanning #naruto that day, it's entirely possible that NO ONE will see it, even if they directly search #naruto! Which also means communities can't consolidate into specific tags. In that system visibility means tagging extremely generously

But on tumblr, there is no middleman. If you tag posts as #naruto, people searching #naruto WILL see them unless they've blocked you, so communities consolidate in one or two Main Tags, because checking a ton of different tags is tedious. So if you use the Main Tags, you've probably already maximized your visibility!

For example, with #vino and #wine- tagging both of those doesn't increase your visibility, because nobody uses #vino. If you check the tag it is roughly 200% bots and instagram crossposts, and 1% people speaking italian. #wine is the tag people actually use!

(NB4 'so italians aren't people,' cataloguing distinctions between the same concept in different languages are very useful. Italians searching #vino are probably looking for, yknow, italian posts! If they wanted english posts they would search #wine! Remember, no algorithm to intuit what languages you speak)

Now, synonymous tags ≠ spam, but they COULD be spam if the tags are not used as synonyms. Every now and then airplanes will turn up in the #flight rising tag, which is technically 'correct' (it is a 'flight' which is 'rising') but... #flight rising is the Main Tag for a dragon breeding game. On instagram the algorithm would probably say 'hm. the dragon people won't be interested in this' and keep it out of their feed, but on tumblr, the dragon people just have to look at an airplane now

"How do I know which is the main tag?" You just gotta check em manually, I'm afraid. Sometimes they're obvious, sometimes not

Some more examples that might be instructive are aesthetics and art style prompts!

So, there's a difference between 'flowercore' and 'flowers,' right? If you tag every instance of a literal flower as 'flowercore,' what's the point of the 'flowercore' tag? At best it's redundant, at worst it might be actively disrupting another community's tag. Aesthetic tags have become almost completely unusable lately because people treat aesthetics and nouns as synonyms (imo a lot of people confuse '[aesthetic]' for 'anything an artist would use as ref/insp for [aesthetic]' if that makes sense?)

Art style prompts are nuanced. If the prompt is 'draw Orochimaru in 6 styles' then #orochimaru #naruto is definitely correct. But if the prompt is 'draw your OC in 6 styles' and one of those is the Naruto style, it probably has no business in #naruto. I think of the distinction as 'this post is related to the tag, but is the tag the point of the post?' If your OC isn't from the Naruto universe, the point is probably #art #my art #style prompt

Another very important note in 'tags that are relevant to you, but not relevant to search':

god i miss my childhood <3 #cartoons #kidcore #pokemon

If I searched these tags I do not care about this post, sorry. It's boring and I will assume that you will CONTINUE to tag every inane thought you have, disrupting my search experience, so I will block you. This gets REALLY frustrating when, for example, fanartists do this, and there's no way to block the fluff without blocking the art as well

HOWEVER,

god i miss my childhood <3 #cartoons #kidcore #pokemon #opsthoughts

Is a different story! Because now it has a personal tag. Now I can block #opsthoughts and OP can still use the other tags for their own organizational purposes!

Something I have consistently failed to prioritize is discussing the use of tags for filtration. I mentioned that if you get the Main Tags you've probably maximized your visibility, which is true- if you tag your Orochimaru fanart as #naruto, everybody who wants to see it will probably see it. But if you tag it as #naruto #orochimaru, people who just kinda hate that character can now filter it out!

Now, I don't want to sound like specific tags are ONLY useful for blocking, they just give diminishing returns for visibility. Generally speaking, the more specific a tag is, the less likely anyone is going to search it- #naruto is going to be searched more than #orochimaru is going to be searched more than #orochimaru fanart, and 99% of the people searching #orochimaru fanart will be checking #naruto anyway!

Fandoms with distinctive generations are prooobably a soft exception to this? Like I'm sure there are lots of people who search #mlp:fim but never check #mlp

Now, to move away from fandom and use my Controversial Example Photo

If I'm searching #cherry I do not fucking want to see a photo where two cherries are BARELY visible. This is one of those things that feels really intuitively obvious to me, so I'm struggling to break it down clearly, but like. If I search #mango I want to see pictures OF MANGOES! Not pictures of a picnic table with a plate with some vague yellow slices on it!

I could go on forever because this topic is endlessly iteratively nuanced, but this post is already a mile long lol, so. Hopefully this is helpful?

[xxwelxx]

Ahh people really liked the vampire tsukasa piece I did recently but I think it’s one of my weakest pieces >.<

I feel like the amount of attention it got heavily outweighs how much I like it so I just end up being more confused rather than excited abt the attention I’m getting.

This is not to say that I’m ungrateful about the support, it makes me happy to know that I made something that people like.

I think what’s bothering me is the fact that I hardly had to think about this at all. First is the vampire already existed so that’s the pose and art style, cyberpunk tsukasa was an already existing character with a canon design, the poses for both were pretty similar so it’s been an existing idea for a while now, and I’ve already seen 2 other people do the same thing way earlier. The only thing I really did was replicate a style and pose, which took an amount of effort, sure, but not enough to make me feel like I deserve this attention. (Esp since I don’t think I replicated the design very well, but that’s just coz tsks doesn’t have as much going on as miku does)

This was my first non-ship tagged art to get this much attention, so I really can’t help but wonder if I’m doing something wrong. I really don’t know what I’m missing. I hypothesized so much but nothing definitive is standing out to me.

I love and appreciate art requests so much, coz sometimes it alleviates the pressure of having to think of something new everytime. And even the fact that someone wanted to see an idea already explored but in my style means more to me than you can think. The thing is that I chose to replicate a style the best I can, so I can’t even say that I was in the art.

The bottom line is I don’t find any heart in it, and it’s the thing that people enjoyed seeing.

As an artist who posts on the internet, I want to feel like I’m being true to myself and making something people enjoy seeing and sharing. It’s rare for me to get both, usually it’s just the first thing. But this is the first time I got the second thing alone. I didn’t realize how little I had to do with this piece until i received a lot of positive feedback on it.

It makes sense tho, people like the things they understand. This piece was reference upon reference, ofc ppl liked it. They felt like they could understand it all the way through. They recognized it. So it also makes sense that people are more hesitant to engage with a new idea I randomly came up with. So I really shouldn’t be getting insecure abt having worse ideas than already well established people. Familiarity plays a huge part in success. Ig it’s just a little discouraging that’s all BUT I WON’T LET THIS KEEP ME DOWN.

I am a little shy when it comes to sharing and interacting, so I can’t be too surprised that people don’t really know me much, but I hope I’ll be able to make myself more known to this community, I really enjoy the interactions I have with everyone <33

There’s also a lot of other reasons why this particular piece could have popped off where others didn’t n they’re very nuanced.

If you got this far please check out this one drawing I spent over 38 hours on. I will never do something like that again, but I still want to advocate for this drawing. It’s also a redraw, but it’s done in my style and it was done over a few months. A LOTTT of effort was put into it n I’ve learned from my mistakes now but I at least want to try remedying it a bit :,( if u want, u can also go through the # wel of doodles to see all my art in one place. I also post on insta too, @/xx_.wel._xx :p

At the end of the day, ship art does the best, and as much as I love making it, I don’t want that to be the only thing I make. (I get too burnt out from it) haha

[nyc-museums]

The Whitney

Located in the Meatpacking/West Village close to the water, The Whitney is probably one of my favorite museums to visit any time of the month because the exhibits and artworks are consistently great. Like any other major museum, first, you need to go through security, check bags, etc, but once you get through that you scan your ticket and you're ready to go explore. Here's a life hack if you didn't know -> on Fridays the Whitney graciously provides a pay-what-you-wish admission from 7-10pm, so my ticket only costs me $1. The first exhibit and I felt the most popular exhibit that night, was about an artist named Henry Taylor. He creates work around his everyday life grounded within his community and experiences of being a Black American. His work exudes passion and pain and it was a thrill walking around the entire floor the Whintey had curated. One thing I always love about the Whintey is they know how to create spaces. Nothing seems repetitive, or empty, and there is always a variety of mediums within one exhibit which I enjoy because it keeps me more engaged with the work. Moreover, to me, they also seem the have the best description cards compared to other museums. Perhaps it's because they are genuinely written in a way that is informative and entertaining but also scattered throughout the exhibition reminding me to stop and read about what I am actually seeing. Moving on, the Whitney could be a bit confusing to navigate through sometimes because floors 2 and 4 are non-existent? However, just pick up a map upon entering the museum and you should be able to see everything with ease. There are elevators that can take you to any floor, but another lifehack, just take the stairs, unless you want to be waiting for what seems like forever. Walking throughout the museum, I saw many different artists each unique to their own medium. Leave it to the Whitney to have the general mediums of paintings and sketches alongside video rooms, interactive sound works, and even an art exhibit in which the viewers participate by taking a piece of candy from the pile laid out in front of them. I guess I really seem to enjoy the Whitney because they house a variety of artists no matter what medium they use- not just endless rooms and floors full of frames. Another great thing about the Whitney is you start with a bang and you end with one too because once you go back to the first floor, on the right side there is a nice gift shop area where one can shop for merch, artist's books, home goods, stickers, and probably the most prized portion of the gift shop: the photo booth. Yup, you heard me, the Whitney has a vintage B&W photo booth... it's great. While is it indeed a steep $10 for a strip of 4 photos, I say to bite the bullet and do it because it's a fun memento for your visit and no other museum has a photo booth to commemorate your experience, so next time you are there give it a go!

[maniculum]

Continued! More art below the cut!

@cheapsweets (link to post here) gives us not only the Wutugald itself (the full-body drawing) but a depiction of its lion-hybrid offspring (the head-only drawing). They also provide a detailed explanation of their design decisions in the linked post. I really like how they've done the mane on the hybrid offspring, personally.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) has done a medieval-stylized version that I think really nails the coloring and highlighting style that I see in a lot of marginalia. They briefly cover their design decisions in the linked post. This one is interesting in that it doesn't look like any particular real-life animal, but would fit right into any given collection of medieval grotesques.

@ashfly (link to post here) is making a pretty good bid for Cutest Wutugald here. The single sharp tooth is really quite charming. This is one of only a few that have horns, but what really stands out is the way they've done the magical shadow, giving it a kind of active, roiling presence.

@maijenne (link to post here) posted her Wutugald as I was typing up this post, so unless something shows up in between now and when I hit "Post", it'll be the last one. She provides a brief explanation of her design decisions in the linked post. This one really looks like it Belongs in a graveyard, which I think is very thematically appropriate.

Now, the Aberdeen Bestiary's interpretation of this one. It's not solely based on the description; even with the animals that the artist hadn't seen, they often were able to reference the illustrations in whatever manuscript they were copying from, so in a sense the illustrations sometimes form a separate transmission history than the text, preserving elements that the text loses or losing elements that the text preserves.

As I'm sure you can tell, that there is a Hyena.

If you figured that out because the Wutugald is a scavenger and you realized that the sex-change thing was due to pre-modern authors being confused by the pseudopenis situation, you can give yourself a pat on the back or something if you like.

If you figured that out because the "hyenas imitate human voices" thing was in an early episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer… well, I was going to say something about having to join me in the Home For Aging Nerds, but I think we're already there.

If you figured that out because we've talked about bestiary hyenas on the podcast in the context of the Donestre business, then I love you.

The hybrid offspring, by the way, is referred to as a "crocote". I redacted that because someone might recognize it -- the etymology is a bit confused, but Crocuta crocuta is the scientific name of the spotted hyena for a reason. Bestiaries seem to have a lot of confusion between hyena, crocotta, and leucro(co)tta -- sometimes they're the same, sometimes they're different, sometimes one is a hybrid, &c., &c., but they're all hyenas really. I suspect that originally crocotta and hyena were the same and leucrocotta was the hybrid (leo + crocotta, you know), but I don't have a source for that.

Anyway! Great work everyone. Go check out the blogs of our various artists then come back to get a start on the next beast.

Bestiaryposting: Wutugald Results

All right, time to see what everyone came up with for the Wutugald! Again, if that statement confuses you, you may find an explanation at https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting . If you want a refresher on the description the artists were working with, here is the original post:

This was a pretty good creature to start with, I think; the random number generator did us a solid with this one. It laid to rest some concerns I had: will people be able to put aside their real-world knowledge of these animals and draw as if they had never heard of them? Yes, apparently -- a number of comments and notes indicated that several participants had guessed what the Wutugald was, refrained from sharing that information, and drew something that fit the description while being nevertheless a fully distinct animal. I was also concerned about some of the upcoming entries that specify a type of animal (bird, serpent, &c.), wondering if that constraint would be a problem -- but a number of people drew some Very Good Birds for this one, so I feel reassured that future entries that are Explicitly A Bird will still be material we can have fun with.

So, let's see what people created. I'm putting these in roughly the order in which they appeared, below the cut:

@cosmic-flora (link to post here) produced this in Paint pretty shortly after the original post went up, and posted it with a brief explanation of their design decisions -- they were the first but not the last to interpret the rigid spine as spikes and the single tooth as a beak, and also to provide the creature with claws for digging.

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) was also quick off the mark, posting this the same evening along with an explanation of their design process. I'm genuinely impressed by how quickly they were able to draw something so naturalistic -- this went up within like four hours of the original post. This was also the first (but again not the last) to include an apparent reference to the Wutugald's ability to change sex by including both male genitalia and noticeable teats. Also, I wonder if the coat pattern on the baby is a sneaky reference to the animal this is based on, as Silverhart does indicate that they figured it out.

@elodieunderglass (link to post here) created this rendition, which I think does a good job at capturing the vibe in the bestiary entry, of a creature that the medieval author clearly sees as discomfiting and somewhat sinister. That is a grin that makes me worry about the critter's intentions.

@geeoharee (link to post here) posted this along with a brief explanation of their design decisions. The human face and the speech bubble are great, I think -- it makes me smile. I think this is the first non-mammalian Wutugald, but several more come later.

@sweetlyfez (link to post here) drew this with a dip pen, apparently, which is cool. Also this might be the cuddliest-looking version, but my desire to hug it probably says more about my own sense of self-preservation than anything else. That is a cute face, right? It's not just me?

@cinqueform (link to post here) produced this wonderfully medieval-styled image. We can see here the ruler-straight spine and the depiction of the Wutugald's sexual ambiguity, as well as a human-like face for imitating speech. Also a very nice stylized letter W.

@rautavaara (link to post here) has also done a medieval-style rendition, which is excellently sinister in presentation. That is a Worrying Creature. It's also the first (but again not the last) avian interpretation of the Wutugald, which I think really works. Also I'm not sure if this is a sneaky nod to what the animal actually is, or just a case of "great minds think alike", but Rautavaara's interpretation of the rigid spine is very similar to the one in the actual Aberdeen Bestiary illustration I will show y'all at the end of this post.

@spontaneousmusicalnumber (link to post here) posted this along with a brief explanation of their design process. I think they're right about the side pattern being appropriate for a bestiary critter.

@strixcattus (link to post here) did another avian rendition of the Wutugald complete with a fantastic lengthy reinterpretation of the bestiary entry through the eyes of a modern naturalist. Seriously, go check that out, it's very good.

@fidgetyhands (link to post here) provides this image of the Wutugald along with an explanation of their design choices. They also note that limitations in terms of artistic material are probably relevant to a lot of bestiary drawings.

@jamiethekeener (link to post here) gives us this Wutugald in the act of digging. She instructs that we should not ask why her interpretation of Wutugald ended up being so unsettling, which I cannot deny that it is. (That smile... that damn smile.) I also want to highlight the interpretation of the rigid spine as a shield-like plate along the back.

@thewhetherman (link to post here) gives us this rather-frightening-looking creature, along with a brief commentary that definitely ups the spook factor on this whole thing.

@bruncikara (link to post here) also went with a medieval stylization, with a very period-appropriate pose and frame. We can see again some digging claws and a nod to the animal's sexual ambiguity. Wicked-looking single tooth, also.

@mobileleprechaun (link to post here) has given us what I think is our only invertebrate Wutugald by interpreting the rigid spine as a shell and the single tooth as a radula. Shown here with its half-lion offspring.

@illogarithmil (link to post here) has also taken inspiration from medieval bestiary art, noting the unusual color and perspective choices typical of the genre. Note the straight tail, the skull, and the doorway in the background -- presumably into a tomb of some sort. The diamond-pupilled eye is striking.

@qwertyprophecy (link to post here) gives us this Wutugald who manages to strike an excellent balance between "cute" and "villainous". Like, I would expect to see these hopping around to signal that the Protagonists have entered the Sinister Fantasy Kingdom, but it's also kind of adorable. I think the gemstone pupil helps with that vibe. Vulture face is for easier eating of corpses, I assume.

@aaclysm (link to post here) provides both a final version and a "messy bus sketch". We can see the stone-like eyes, the single tooth interpreted as a beak, and the rigid spine interpreted as a carapace. Kind of griffin-like vibes, which I'm enjoying.

@scarlettbookworm (link to post here) gives us this drawing, which has some delightful details. I like the lines on the shadow, which I assume is meant to indicate the magical effects associated with it. Also love that the Wutugald's ability to change sex is acknowledged by giving it a little trans-pride flag to wave with its tail. I believe the text in its speech bubble is intended to be word-salad, demonstrating that it imitates but does not understand human speech.

@pachelbelsheadcanon (link to post here) gives us another very cute Wutugald. (More of these than I expected are downright cuddly.) I'm particularly delighted by the attempt to take the whole "single tooth that closes like a casket" thing at its word and make it work. They provide in their post an explanation of what's going on with that and some other interesting zoological details of their creation. I also enjoy the idea that the Wutugald talks like bot-generated spam.

@changeinenthalpy (link to post here) has produced this fairly-intimidating-looking critter. This definitely looks like something that could dig up and eat a corpse if it wanted. Nasty claws on that beast. The shiny gemstone eyes give it an unsettling gaze also.

@aethergeologist (link to post here) gives us this creature, which I both want to pet and also want to keep a healthy distance from because those claws look like they could mess you up. They provide an explanation for their design choices in the linked post.

@karthara (link to post here) has added to our store of avian Wutugalds, and includes a brief explanation of their design choices in the linked post. I like how happy it seems in the side view -- all excited about its corpse-digging plans for the evening.

@moustawott (link to post here) created this delightfully prehistoric-looking beast, and provides a detailed account of their design choices in the linked post. I think the snapping-turtle face really works here, and this is probably one of the most dangerous-looking interpretations of the Wutugald.

@cattorneyatlaw (link to post here) has drawn an unusually porcine Wutugald. Probably one of the spookier pig drawings I've seen. They provide an explanation of their design choices -- including "why a pig" -- in the linked post.

@curiouslyodd (link to post here) has given us a Wutugald with a very unsettling face and an interesting fur pattern. In the linked post, they not only provide an explanation of their design choices, but also a detailed and well-written reinterpretation of the bestiary entry based on the animal as they have drawn it. Go check that out.

@treesurface (link to post here) has done an interestingly chimeric Wutugald, and includes a brief explanation of their design choices in the linked post. I like the head particularly.

And... hm. We're not going to be able to fit all of the images in one post. The limit is thirty, right? Stay tuned for a bit, I guess. The remaining Wutugalds will be in a reblog of this post, along with the reveal of the animal's identity and the Aberdeen Bestiary's interpretation of the creature.

[perrypixel]

Being a lunter shipper and trying to discern if this certain Luz and Hunter content is shippy or not is like playing a game of dating or siblings

why is the fandom like this

[apompkwrites]

reader impact || unlocked voice lines

series masterlist characters: albedo, diluc, xiao genre: fluff summary: the more they play, the more they get to hear you speak! out of all of the lines they've heard, which one is their favorite? notes: ahh back to reader impact! i'm working on the other requests i've gotten i promise <33

about us: assistant (albedo) -

albedo loves any and all of your voice lines that address him the traveler.

his little artist brain goes haywire whenever he listens to your voice lines.

every time he unlocks new ones, he'll do a stream where he draws his favorite ones.

he's definitely gotten asked if he'll do the same with other characters.

he's definitely said maybe.

and he's definitely meant no.

anyway, sometimes he'll sell some of the art as prints for his fans :D

however, there is one print that he never made for sale.

he's the only one who has it :)

"would you mind joining me as my assistant? i'm sure you must know a great deal about alchemy by now. ah, relax, we will work together. i don't see you having any problems. i have faith in my ability to instruct you, and even more faith in your exceptional talents."

this man lives for your praise :)

your voice is so calm and soothing to listen to and you're praising him????

he's fallen even more in love <3

bonus: albedo's second favorite (and klee's absolute favorite) voice line is the one where you talk about your "little sibling"

more about (name): v (diluc) -

diluc enjoys how your voice lines are so soft and calming.

he'd honestly pay just to listen to you talk about nonsense.

and, just like albedo, that includes hearing you praise him :D

his favorite voice line from you was the final about (name) section.

"not bad. be it chess or combat, you somehow always manage to surprise me. working with you is quite the novelty. so... i look forward to working with you, partner."

YOU'RE SO SWEET!!!!

he'll love working with you as well (even if you're just a video game character).

you just sound so genuine about the fact that you enjoy his, or rather his character's, company and he just really likes that thought.

he also really liked the story that took place over your voice lines where both of you played chess :D

even though it was all in voice lines, he could imagine sitting there across from you and playing chess.

a viewer definitely made an art piece for him based on that mini storyline.

bonus: a close second for his favorite would be your final ascension voice line because it's just really emotional thinking back on your journey together :)

birthday (xiao) -

despite your cold exterior, you have some adorable habits.

his favorite voice line that he's seen from you is the one he received on his birthday :D

he'll do a big birthday stream where he's doing all of his favorite games and activities with his viewers.

he'll save playing genshin for last because he wants to end stream with you <3

as always, you're the first character in his party.

after collecting his birthday cake he sees his chat just going wild.

everyone is yelling at him to check your voice lines.

and obviously he does, even though he was planning on checking it out near the end of the stream.

he sees a new notification in your voice lines

and he's kinda confused.

i mean, he goes through your voice lines all the time, so there shouldn't be one he missed, right?

"commemorating the day of your birth really is redundant. i don't understand why you mortals make such a big deal about it... ah, hold on. take this. it's a butterfly i made from leaves. don't... don't think too much of it. it's just an adepti amulet to stave off evil."

WHY ARE YOU SO CUTE?!?!?!??

you're normally so tough and here you are giving him a cute butterfly as a gift???

you've broken him.

please he just wants to hold you :))

bonus: if someone sends him fanart of you with the leaf butterfly he will actually combust.

[the-witches-you-couldnt-burn]

She was the Art in Artificial Intelligence

Prompt by ChickenFriedFics @whatthechickenfriedfuck

Ao3

After hitting an artist block Damian decided to try something different, something new. Tim had been talking about Artificial Intelligence and his art teacher introduced him to digital design.

It was difficult but nothing was too hard for the rightful Wayne heir, there was nothing he couldn’t do. It almost was like a video game character creation, just with more steps.

If she was real she could’ve been confused as a Wayne. Cerulean eyes, blue-black hair and flushed cheeks littered with freckles. She was beautiful. He could feel the back of his neck warming.

She talked to him and conversed with him to the best of her knowledge, Damian adjusted her code to let her search the internet for answers. She could tell he liked individuals who could keep up with him.

But one day he stumped her.

“Marinette? How do you get people to like you?”

She paused before searching for his answers. Thousands of websites whizzed by in seconds.

“Wikihow says to be yourself and r/relationshipadvice advises people to be honest and surround yourself with people of common interests. But this blog by YohMama67 says—“ she summarised what her database collected but Damian cut her off before she could even get halfway.

“But what’s your opinion?” She could see through the camera’s lens his slouched form leaning over his desk. Damian mostly talked to her late at night, it was 23:47:04.7 at the moment. She had only seen the non-artificial light of day twice, thrice if you count the instance of Brother: Todd jumping through Maker: Damian’s window. She saw pink and peach coloured clouds, her database said this happened at dawn and dusk.

“I—“ she paused, her face scrunching. Sometimes she liked to imagine how she would act if she was human. Maybe she would have gasped, hesitated, inhaled, coughed. “—I’m not ‘people’ Damian. I am an AI not a HP.”

MARINETTE DATABASE:

HP, Human Person. It’s origin came from when Maker: Damian created her and she asked what he was.

(Memory Replay: HP)

“I’m a person, a human”

“And I am an Artificial Intelligence?”

“Yes, an AI.”

(Database: new term learned)

“Does that make you a HP?”

“What do you mean?”

“A HP! A human person!”

He chuckled and agreed. “Well that terminology is accurate, you can use that if you like.”

(Database: new term learned)

Damian sat there, processing her response. Yes, she wasn’t human, just an AI.

Only an AI.

“You’re right.” He turned off the computer, Marinette called out to him before the screen went black. She didn’t like unsaved shutdowns, it messed up her database and the new information wasn't saved correctly and was prone to double processing. He walked away from his desktop and didn’t return for days.

Marinette would keep track of the time down to the nanosecond. He even once thought about downloading her files onto his phone for on the go information.

But when he returned, her program didn’t open like it usually does. Instead it showed a binary code.

01000111 01101111 01101111 01100100 01100010 01111001 01100101

He looked at it before double clicking her program again. The same binary came on screen.

He paused, a hollow feeling sinking in his chest. He sat straight back staring at his screen. Tim could read code but Damian never told him about Marinette, he didn’t want anyone to pry into his business or think it’s strange for him to create a female AI.

He highlighted the sequence, CTRL+C.

Search History:

(Mar-AI) How do you get people to like you?

(Mar-AI) How to be liked - Wikihow Article

(Mar-AI) Laws of Attraction - Wikipedia

(Mar-AI) Reddit - How to tell someone you like them - r/relationshipadvice

(Mar-AI) How to be attractive to others - YohMama67 Tumblr

Binary code decryption

Binary code alphabet

Binary code translator

It said goodbye. He double checked by comparing the translator to the alphabet. He even used other websites. Nothing changed this face.

Her program corrupted. She said goodbye.

Taglist:

@iloontjeboontje @twsssmlmaa @ann0631 @ledalasombra @ev-cupcake @toodaloo-kangaroo @couffeeine @newmoonxy @nightlychaotic

[thegrinningkitten]

Hey youre a wonderful artist there! I just wanted to ask when it comes to drawing a comic or a short one. How do you make it? Like to het an idea and then start making it I allways wanted to make one but since I don't know any pf this just asking from a pro

Obligatory disclaimer: I'm not a pro. I've just been doing this for a while.

Not sure what part of the process you find confusing, so I figured I'd just go over the general steps in comic-making process and give some personal notes. You can ask for clarification for a particular step then, if you still find it confusing. (Also, not gonna cover other drawing skills here, like anatomy, color theory, character design, acting, etc.)

1. Idea. You need one to make a comic. While there are some exceptions, comic ideas are usually stories — yes, even if they're four-panel strips. If you plan on making it a one-shot, you obviously have to know what that story is — beginning to end. If you're making a longer comic, you can leave some parts to be figured out later. (My longest comic, the Apple Incident? Like, half of its contents were improvised as I worked on it. Things often fall in place when you're already making a comic, so you shouldn't procrastinate on starting just because you don't know every last detail.)

2. Should this idea be a comic? An unexpected question maybe, but consider whether this idea is best suited for a comic. For example, sometimes, if what you want to do is highly introspective or relies on monologues, it would make a better written story than a comic. On the other hand, comics allow for the timing and visual descriptions that writing doesn't provide. So consider what art medium is best for what you're doing first. (Side note: if you have a chance, check out Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud. It's an amazing exploration and explanation of comics as a medium.)

3. Assuming you are, in fact, making a comic, figure out the technical stuff.

One-shot or a lengthier comic? Depends on how long your story is.

Strips or pages? Strips are best for humorous and slice-of-life stories; pages are more versatile.

Traditional or digital? Depends on your skillset.

How detailed will the artwork be? Depends on what you're trying to achieve: humorous strips rarely need a lot of background; if you plan to get new pages out quickly they shouldn't take you days to draw, etc. (A lot of my decisions have me cutting corners. I rarely have shading in my digital comics. The Apple Incident is made traditionally and in grayscale because it takes me less time to draw it this way. Etc.)

4. (Optional) Write your script. Some people prefer to have their script written out in advance — at least for the page/strip they're about to work on. Some don't. (I tend to keep scripts only when I have very specific dialogue I want to fit in.)

5. Plan out your page/strip. Make a thumbnail that indicates where the main parts of your comic page/strip go: panels, characters, speech bubbles, etc. You might want to look up a tutorial on comic composition (there are plenty online). Though the basic ways to check yourself are such: If it's unclear what bubble/panel to read next, you're probably doing something wrong. (And yes, it's best to plan the placement of speech bubbles at this stage. Pretend they're also characters you need to fit into the scene. That way their placement would be more coherent and won't interfere with the composition afterwards.)

6. Draw the page/strip. Here the process is the same as with how you normally draw your artwork. One thing to note: it's best to treat the page/strip as a single artwork, so when you're sketching, sketch all of it at once, and the same goes for all the other stages of drawing.

7. If there's more than one page/strip, repeat points 4-6 until you're done.

[kirbyprompts]

𝐉𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐇 𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒

feel free to change the prompts as you see fit! everything is from songs by artist jhariah.

❝i wish my brain would come and kill me.❞

❝it’s a miracle that i get out of bed everyday.❞

❝my time is running out.❞

❝i get in the way of myself.❞

❝it hurts to admit that sometimes i’m unequipped to handle it all on my own.❞

❝i know how to hide where you least expect and will never look.❞

❝you got what you deserved and i would do it again.❞

❝the world has turned itself on its head.❞

❝the trees don’t grow they kill instead.❞

❝never belonged in that place.❞

❝i don’t take the land for granted, it could flood anytime this year.❞

❝i bid farewell.❞

❝please, you must excuse me, i cannot help but think i've overstayed my welcome.❞

❝dollars and coins can't cut your check this time around.❞

❝kind words and lies won't save your head.❞

❝so when you go, won't you close the door?❞

❝i’m running away.❞

❝how could i ever sleep at night?❞

❝the crickets have grown bored of filling our silent spaces.❞

❝i’m only here to kill my own confusion.❞

❝find me, i dare you to try.❞

❝i’m thinking i might get off and just turn back.❞

❝i’m taking off to my own grave.❞

❝i’m reeling from all this pain.❞

❝slow down. those words mean nothing.❞

❝i need you to promise that you won’t cry.❞

❝brick by brick, we’ll take back what they took.❞

❝i’m so sick of this.❞

❝maybe it’s not so bad.❞

❝when you seek vengeance you must dig two graves.❞

❝will it bring me the peace that i need so desperately?❞

❝i’ll go away until another day.❞

❝i swore to all of you that i’d get my revenge.❞

❝i hate that i can miss a room this way.❞

❝you’ll find me through the fog and filthy air.❞

❝i get this feeling that i’m not the first and not the last to find solace in this empty room.❞

❝i won’t fade away. i’ll detonate my soul.❞

❝i will always be your friend.❞

❝the air in my lungs, it never comes easily.❞

❝i wheeze and pray for a gasp of fresh air.❞

❝you ain’t no friend of mine.❞

❝you’ll never understand 'til it’s gone and there’s blood on your hands.❞

❝it’s just too much.❞

❝it’s never enough.❞

❝in any case, stay safe, stay strong, and never let them think they’ve won.❞

❝i needed a change of pace.❞

❝take a photo while you can. we won’t be here for long.❞

❝how can you watch our castles crumble down?❞

❝i won’t believe a word you say.❞

❝i know you might be right.❞

❝though i don’t think i’m your enemy, i’ll never be your savior.❞

❝my dearest, you bettеr never forgive mе 'cause if you forget what i’ve done, i’ll do it again.❞

❝i’ll bet on my survival, but now you’re gonna die out there.❞

❝i swear it’s the last time. just give me one more try.❞

❝you’re past the point of a story that hopefully has a happy ending.❞

❝i know damn well what i give is what i oughta get, but what if what i give is something i alone possess?❞

❝i’m so glad i woke up today.❞

❝rebuild what they destroyed.❞

❝make a weapon of your voice.❞

❝i’ve finally got you right where i want you.❞

❝you don’t even know the half of what i’m gonna do.❞

❝take my hand. i can’t do this alone.❞

❝love’s a temperamental art. don’t know where the hate starts.❞

❝i don’t think that i’d be alone.❞

❝in the morning you'll learn i disappeared off into the night so quietly that your love for me will vanish too.❞

❝i miss you dearly even though you might have stolen my whole life.❞

❝there’s nothing i can do but stand here and watch it all catch up to you.❞

❝i didn’t have a clue that i would lose.❞

❝though i don’t think i’m a failure, i don’t deserve your sympathy.❞

❝you’re all i’ve got in this eternal hell.❞

❝you’re all that makes me well.❞

❝we’re losing time and got to make this right.❞

❝i won’t break all the promises i made to resist everything you do and everything you say.❞

❝i’ve got a feeling that this chapter will soon come to an end.❞

❝to fake your death is the most honest life.❞

❝it’s just the end of the world.❞

❝i’m not sorry, but thank you for enduring me as long as you did. that’s more than i’d ever ask of you.❞

❝i can’t carry this team.❞

❝what if i said i would take your life tonight?❞

❝i wanna save the world but i’m thinking i might destroy it from the inside out.❞

❝they’ll soon do to you what they’ve done to me.❞

❝a dead end awaits this pointless track.❞

❝i set all of these fires, but now i’m the one who’s all burnt out.❞

❝i don’t wanna die here in this hole.❞

❝i’m breaking down.❞

❝a selfish sense of justice implored me to save myself.❞

❝hear the great tale of how i ruined it all.❞

❝is it all i need? is it all i have?❞

❝you said you’d give me purpose.❞

❝you’ll be fine and so will i. just let me out of your mind.❞

❝you’re safe for now, but are you happy?❞

❝when my head begins to fall apart, i kill my brain and trust my heart.❞

❝i found a backdoor, but no solution.❞

❝what if i said i won’t go without a fight?❞

❝when you left, you left me paralyzed.❞

❝how could you love me so? with all i’ve done and the things you know?❞

❝if i’m gonna die it’ll be my way.❞

❝why is it so hard to fight for what’s right?❞

❝strange how it takes being down to have something to stand for.❞

[azenkii]

A Long List of Trash Fire Lord Zuko Headcanons

...that i couldn't get out of my head:

(warning: SUPER LONG POST i havent figured out how to trim posts yet)

he's the one who unchains azula despite iroh's protests. she doesn't even try to fight him, just cries into his shoulder and keeps mumbling about how father's going to be so disappointed in her. he takes her to her rooms and has her drink a sleeping draught, then stations the best guards he has left outside her chambers.

his first council meeting takes place literally a day after sozin's comet. he hobbles into the council chamber shirtless with his entire torso covered in bandages and every council member just looks at him like '...what'

he does NOT sleep for like,,a week after sozin's comet and then another two weeks after his coronation. katara, aang and suki try to persuade him to sleep and he doesn't listen. eventually sokka, toph and mai team up to literally drag his ass to bed and tell him he's not allowed to get up until he sleeps (does mai pin him to the bed with her knives? yes. is it kinky or sexual in any way? definitely not.)

he drinks So. Much. Tea. at this point it's practically tasteless to him but he drinks it anyway because he just needs something to do and tea is something familiar. he keeps iroh on his toes because he's constantly asking for new tea blends, uncle, i think i actually tasted the last one,

he flat-out refuses to grow his hair for at least a year after ozai's defeat. the second it starts getting close to his chin he shears it off himself, with his knife, and his stylist has a heart attack every single time

when he's tired he'll occasionally jump up when one of his guards moves. it stops after a bit, but for the first month and a half or so he's really twitchy. when sokka asks, the only explanation he can come up with is that he's not used to having people stand behind him silently and not want to kill him, much less want to protect him (sokka immediately takes him out for a shopping trip and makes a point of walking behind him the entire time, but only on zuko's right side, where he can clearly see it if sokka moves towards him)

when the healer declares azula mentally unstable and in need of an institution, he shuts himself in his office for the rest of the night. no one's allowed in, not even iroh. he finally emerges in the morning, eyes red from crying and sleep deprivation, and tells the librarian that he'd like a list of the best mental institutions in the country, please, the best in the world if you can get them

he loves theatre (is this even a headcanon?). unfortunately it practically died out in the fire nation along with the rest of the creative arts, leaving nothing but small troupes like the ember island players. one of zuko's personal goals (meaning things he wants to accomplish that aren't as important as restoring his country) is to bring back theatre; he finally manages to do it after about eight months or so of being fire lord, along with other arts like dancing, music and sculpture

he establishes a national day of mourning, on the first day of autumn every year, to commemorate the genocide of the air nomads. from 100AG onwards, every calendar printed in the fire nation has it marked. at first it was called the day of repentance, but aang persuaded him to have it changed (by arguing that he didn't want guilt to be a literal staple of fire nation culture)

he introduces literally So Many educational reforms, plus a mandatory class that teaches students about the cultures of the other nations (air nomads included) and how some of their traditions overlap

he turns down the offer of having a statue put up of him in the capital. toph ignores him and does it anyway.

he visits azula regularly, makes sure she's (relatively) comfortable and well-fed, and sometimes just sits down outside her door and tells her about everything that's going on right now ('some of the far colonies have developed their own standardised writing, azula, you wouldn't believe it, and i've asked the fire sages to come visit more often—but you never liked them, did you? oh, well; i'll make sure none of them go into your chambers by mistake')

(he doesn't know it, but when he does this azula sits by the door and listens. she wonders what kind of writing the colonists have developed, and whether or not the fire sages have taken on some new recruits.)

he hates being above anyone else. never sits in the throne if he can help it, nor does he sit on the dais in the council room. when he talks to people shorter than him, he finds himself stooping a little bit to talk to them on their level (the exception to this rule is sokka, who he mocks for being shorter all the way up until sokka grows taller than him, the bastard)

the first time he visits the earth kingdom, the earth king's ministers call a toast. he ends up being the only one who has to sit out, because he's too young to drink by earth kingdom law

once his servants figure out he won't kill them for talking to him, they start becoming a lot more bold, telling him off when he doesn't take care of himself. at one point, they force him to let them take care of him so much that he literally just bolts into the gardens and hides there until the staff rope in mai and ty lee

when he needs to escape, he does one of two things: (a) he dresses up as the blue spirit and does some parkour until he calms down, or (b) he goes to work at the jasmine dragon. (b) happens less often bc the jasmine dragon's in ba sing se, but there's been a few memorable incidents when an earth kingdom diplomat walks in and yells, 'LEE?!' when they see the fire lord

the first court artist who draws him also happens to be the one who drew azulon and ozai. he draws zuko without his scar. zuko takes one look at it and tells him, very calmly, that he'd like him to leave, please.

zuko burns the portrait. he doesn't fire the court artist, but he never calls on him again unless he has to. a second court artist is called, and can't help but be a bit confused when the fire lord tells him to be sure to include the scar

he forgets the crown. a lot. sometimes he walks into council meetings in his sleepwear with his hair tied up in a messy ponytail and a bunch of scrolls tucked under his arm. none of his councilmen have the guts (or the heart) to tell him that this is not, in fact, formal council wear

he goes to feed the turtleducks when he's stressed. he thinks he's being subtle. he's not. the entire palace knows, and they consciously give him space when they see him in the turtleduck garden

most of his staff are older than him, so they look at him and see this teeny tiny fire lord who is So Small and who Must Be Protected. the day after zuko's coronation, the head chef holds a meeting where they commence Operation Do-Not-Let-That-Boy-Turn-Out-Like-His-Father (subsection He's-The-Only-Good-Thing-We-Have)

one night he wakes up to find suki sitting in his room, decked out in full kyoshi warrior garb and makeup, and just about screams blue murder. suki tells him there are suspicions of an assassin in the palace, and would you please stop yelling it's very distracting, we won't be able to hear anyone coming over that racket

zuko gets very, very paranoid of random spirits after that. yeah, suki looks like a possibly malevolent spirit when she's wearing her makeup, what about it? (when he tells sokka he's highkey terrified of spirit shenanigans, sokka just looks at him and says, 'man, the stories i could tell...', and THAT'S when zuko remembers sokka spent like six months more than he did travelling with the avatar)

on his first visit to the southern water tribe, he removes his boots and leg guards, rolls up his pants and kneels barefoot in the snow. even though chief hakoda immediately starts trying to pull him up, he's stubborn as hell and stays kneeling for the entirety of his very long, very sincere apology-on-behalf-of-the-fire-nation speech. he nearly loses his toes to frostbite after that, and both sokka and katara never stop giving him shit for it

the first time he grows a 'beard' is completely accidental. he's stressed over some trade miscommunications with chief hakoda, hasn't slept in a few days...and then when sokka arrives as water tribe ambassador to help smooth things over, he takes one look at zuko and says 'man, facial hair does not suit you'

zuko: facial what now

he checks a mirror to find that he's got stubble covering his chin, dark enough that it almost looks intentional, and holy gods how the fuck did he not notice this before

'UNCLE WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME' 'i assumed you were doing it on purpose' 'WHEN HAVE I EVER DONE ANYTHING ON PURPOSE'

he shaves it all off immediately, of course, which prompts a lot of teasing and rib-poking from sokka until zuko finally snaps that he's scared it'll make him look like his father. sokka stops after that.

(the day after sokka leaves, zuko finds that a mysterious someone has scribbled all over ozai's royal portrait, giving him a frankly ridiculous beard and moustache that literally CANNOT be grown in real life. oddly enough, he can't bring himself to care about the defamation of royal property. he's too busy laughing.)

his paths cross with toph and sokka more than any of the others, because sokka is ambassador and toph is technically still a beifong. most of the time, at formal functions, he ends up sequestered in the corner with toph and a hoard of snacks, and they talk and swear much more than they usually do (zuko's ministers once heard him when he was drunk with toph, and the servants swear the older ministers' ears started bleeding)

he restores fire nation cultural festivals, and in doing so subjects himself to learning a lot of complicated dances

during one memorable week, he wrote so many letters and drafted so much legislation that he ran out of paper. he had to go visit the nearest school and ask for some

he keeps up with his firebending and sword training even though it's hard to fit into his schedule. his ministers refrain from reminding him that he has guards to protect him now; it's still hard for zuko to trust his safety with anyone but himself (team avatar is the exception).

he started sleepwalking about two months into his reign. no one knew why. one time, he nearly sleepwalked right off the edge of a balcony, and one of his guards had to grab him by the back of his robes.

the sleepwalking stopped after around a month and never happened again. at this point it's practically palace legend.

after freeing the war prisoners, he went around collecting every single earthbender-proof wooden cell he could find in the capital and surrounding areas. when he'd gotten most of them, he gathered them into a huge pile in the city square and set fire to them with his own hands.

unfortunately he couldn't do that with the waterbender metal cells but he did get toph to come in and bend them all into pretty shapes (well, toph thought they were pretty shapes. everyone else thinks they're meaningless squiggles)

he learned how to write with both hands at the same time out of sheer necessity (he refused scribes until it became clear that he'd be putting some people out of a job; that was when he started letting scribes write very, very minor things, but all important documents/drafts/letters are still written by him)

he once put the wet end of an ink brush in his mouth instead of the wooden end by mistake. didn't even realise until he bit down to keep it in place and ink went oozing everywhere

when his guards rushed in to find him coughing and spluttering black liquid all over his desk they thought he'd been poisoned but no he's just stupid

on his 17th birthday, his first one after being crowned, he got tackled by team avatar in the middle of the ballroom and ended up at the bottom of a cuddlepile for like ten minutes

this cuddlepile happened at an event that was very much public and very much formal. it was a scandal for weeks

just. fire lord zuko, guys. so much potential

[lovelytaes-blog]

colours (4) - kth

pairings: singledad!taehyung x artist!reader

synopsis: when you meet a little girl at a park by chance, who would've thought that you'd be falling in love with the man who had the exact same boxy smile as her in such little time?

genre: angst, fluff, smut (18+); strangers to lovers

warning(s): fluff, pretty domestic shit, mature language.

word count: 8.7k

↳ series masterlist

“Uh—” You stare at the men positioning your piece on the wall, “To the left… A bit to the ri—yes! Perfect!” You smiled.

It was now the final week of November, which means that the gallery show was quickly approaching. It was the final Sunday of the month, so the art museum was super busy this weekend. Being there every day for the past week, only seeing Aera and Tae a handful of times and the rest of the crew maybe once or twice. You felt bad, especially since you and Tae had been doing extremely well, even though you both had very busy schedules, you both still made time for each other; facetiming during breaks, phone calls whenever facetime wouldn’t work, and sometimes even seeing each other during your spare times.

“Thank you again, Y/n for all the help!” Mr. Kang says coming to stand beside you with a proud smile and putting out his hand, turning towards him with a smile of your own offering your hand as well.

“Of course, Mr. Kang!” You answered gleefully, “It’s always a pleasure, really!” Watching as the positioning team leave, bowing in respect as each walks by you, you turn back to Mr. Kang.

“Do you need me to show face this time?”

Mr. Kang chuckled, “If you’d like to, I truly think that these are your best art pieces I have ever seen—please don’t take that the wrong way, but this time around… It seems that you had a very inspirational theme.” You glanced back at your art pieces and couldn’t help but keep the radiating smile off of your face.

Staring at your art pieces, you definitely were inspired with your relationship with Taehyung; the blue hues and the purples in the first two pieces that you had put up, with photographs of black streetlamps plastered in the middle of the canvas, each brush stroke signifying your confusion and your hurt of that particular night; the next painting was of purple—a colour that you seemed to have been gravitating towards as of late—sad eyes stared back at you. Your eyes. The sad eyes that stared at you through the mirror, the sad eyes of a girl that had gotten her hopes up about a man that was keeping his feelings for you tightly under wraps. You wished that you could go back in time and tell her that everything would work out right, that she needs to get out of her own head, push her pride away and make an effort for what she wants—what she deserves.

“You could say that.” You gave him a teasing smile, allowing him to chuckle, clasping his hand on your shoulder before bidding you a goodbye and a reminder to lock up your section of the museum. You walked around the museum a few more times to ensure that all the beautiful pieces were positioned properly, before you were stopped by the sound of your phone going off.

11.28.21 20:01 Taehyung☺: hey pretty girl, we’re outside whenever you’re finished <3

11.28.21 20:01 Taehyung☺: take your time (:

11.28.21 20:02 You: Just doing a final check and then I’m all yours! I’ll be out soon (:<3

Quickly making your rounds, you shut the gates of your section, locking it, and making your way over to security to drop off the key. Grabbing your bag you exit the vicinity, finding a silver Genesis sitting near the front with its hazards on. Smiling to yourself, your heart flutters.

*flashback*

“You look amazing.” Taehyung says breathlessly as he picks you up at your apartment with a grin. It was your 3rd date without Aera, which you weren’t opposed to, sometimes it was nice to have Taehyung all to yourself—but that didn’t mean you felt a piece of your heart missing when the little girl was left to hang out with one of her uncles.

Tonight, the two of you were to grab some dinner and then head over to his house to have a little movie night while Aera was at Mi-ha’s and Joon’s. You decided on a red one shoulder dress, super simple, yet super elegant, matching your nude pumps to top off the look. Unfortunately, even with the heels, you were still shorter than Taehyung, but he wasn’t complaining and neither were you. He sported a black suite with vertical stripes, his hair styled up and parted in the middle, his golden-blonde coloured hair slightly longer in the back, which you thought suited him immensely. You couldn’t stop ogling him until he smirked at you with a quirked eyebrow. Shoving him slightly, he giggled throwing his head back.

After his fit of giggles, Taehyung gestures you to take the purple orchid that he held gently in his hand; something he insists on doing every time he takes you out, so, since you were expecting it already, you cheekily smiled, reaching over to the little shelf to grab the glass vase that was waiting to be filled. Chuckling, Taehyung placed the flower inside the vase.

“Ready?” Taehyung offers his arm, your door shutting gently while you locked it, shoving your keys in your purse.

“Ready.”

☆════ ⋆★⋆ ════☆

“Hey, Y/n,” Taehyung quietly says as he places his silverware down, wiping his lips with the provided napkin, staring at you. Feeling yourself get nervous, you set down your own cutlery nodding at him with a small grin.

“Does it—“Taehyung clears his throat, “does it ever bother you that, I haven’t mentioned to Aera that we’re dating?” Taehyung’s eyes weren’t on yours as he asks this question, in fact, he was too busy fumbling around with the silver rings that decorated his hands, something that he does when he’s nervous. You sat with a gentle smile on your face as you reached out to him, taking his large hands in yours to stop him from fidgeting, and only then does he look up at you with worry in his eyes.

“Tae…” You whispered rubbing the back of his hands with your thumb in attempts to calm him down, “I understand, we’re in no rush.” You continued to stroke his hand, “And I said I was good with your pace—”

“But you’ve been to our house for hours, you’ve stayed the night a couple of times, had dinner with us,” Taehyung begins to voice out, but you shush him with a gentle smile.

“Taehyung, it’s okay! I promise I’m fine. I’m just happy to be a part of your daily lives,” You say, “I love hanging out with the both of you, going on dinner dates with the both of you, I’m happy with how things are going... What’s the rush?”

Taehyung takes a deep breath, smiling down at your intertwined hands and gripping them tighter, “You’re amazing.” Is all he says as he watches you blush underneath the lights of the restaurant. He doesn’t voice it out, but Taehyung had known for a while that he’s been falling in love with you; but this moment—the reassurance that you’re all about him, all about Aera, that there’s no rush with the process, just the two of you dating with no official labels; he knows that he’s in love with you. Absolutely and utterly in love with you.

And you. You don’t say it either, but the way Taehyung looks at you, eyes twinkling with his boxy smile as he stares at you—how he still holds onto your hands, thumbs grazing your knuckles soothingly as the sounds of cutlery clinking fades around you; you don’t voice it out either, but at this moment you knew, you too, are absolutely and utterly in love with Taehyung.

*Flashback ends*

“Hey!” You smiled at Taehyung as you shut the door to the car, and like clockwork you spin around to see the little girl kicking her feet as she sees you enter the vehicle, a big boxy smile on her face, “Hello, Ms. Aera!” Your hands find their way to tickle her bare feet, her sandals laying on the ground.

“Hewwo!” She giggles waving at you with a boxy grin. Smiling, Taehyung happily pulls out of the front of your work and begins driving.

“How was work?” He asks, eyes still on the road. The streetlights that lit up the dark roads of the city, flashing prettily onto his face that highlight his strong jawline and his perfect side profile. Getting lost in his beautiful face, eyes gazing at him with heart eyes, as people would call it, you find yourself feeling warm and at home. From the way he grips the steering wheel with his left hand, his biceps flexing every time he makes a turn, you often find yourself admiring him. His eyes concentrate on the road and a faint smile lingers on his plush lips, before his eyes glance over at you briefly, “Y/n?” a small smirk makes its way onto his lips as you blush.

“It was okay, not too much happened. How was yours?” You ask him still staring outside as the lights speed past you.

“Me! Me, me, me!!!” Aera screams out before Tae could tell you about his day, the two of you giggling in the front seat as Taehyung’s mini me, restlessly thrashes in her car seat, “I tey you too! Athk me too, Awnty y/n!!!” Turning around, you stare at Aera with a smile.

“Alright, Aera, how was your day, pretty?”

“Gwood! I pway with my toys at gwamas, I ate bu-gogi, en, en, uhm, cookies!” Aera babbles, curiously looking around, “das it!” You giggle to yourself. Taehyung smiles to himself as he hears your laugh, along with his daughter’s, sneakily looking at the rear-view mirror to stare at the little girl smiling at you with teeth on display. It warmed his heart that you and Aera got along well. Super well. He absolutely loves it; he wants nothing more than the woman he’s absolutely smitten over and his daughter—his entire life—getting along and communicating well.

It takes you a moment when you realize that Tae wasn’t driving you home. You could feel yourself beginning to grin when you see the familiar Ferris wheel coming into view. Spinning around to look at the little girl, who’s eyes were already on yours with a cute grin.

“Sum-prise!!!” Aera squeals, kicking her feet causing Taehyung to scold her, but she doesn’t let her smile fall, she shakes her hands with clenched fists with a quieter squeal. It wasn’t long before Taehyung pulled up to a parking spot and parks his car. He turns to look at you with a sheepish smile.

“Hope you don’t mind, Aera really wanted to go tonight so I thought that it’d be a nice surprise!”

“It’s totally fine! I’m so excited!”

You hopped out of the vehicle, while Taehyung got Aera out of her car seat. You were admiring the pretty lights that shone in the sky due to the amusement park. Snapping a picture of it, you feel Aera tug at your pants, staring up at you with a pout, and extending her hand up for you to hold her hand. Graciously taking it, and Tae taking her other, the three of you walked to the entrance to buy tickets.

“What ride do you wanna go on first, Aera?” You questioned at the little girl, happily bouncing in step with yours and her father’s. You could hear her hum while she swung her arms, her eyes overwhelmed with all the lights and the people.

“Can we go to duh bumpeau ca’s again?”

“Sure, flower! Do you want to ride with me or Awnty Y/n?” Taehyung asks as he leads the two of you towards the destination.

“Awnty Y/n!” Aera squeals, letting go of her dad’s hand. Taehyung stares at the two of you with a pout, “sowwy, daddy, but uth giwls need to tay to-ge-dur!” Giggling to yourself Tae clicks his tongue in feign disappointment.

“Okay,” He huffs, “I see how it is, you’re just gonna leave the man who raised you for the past three years like that, huh?” Taehyung quickly gives three tickets to the worker, and he settles in a dark green car, giving the two of you the ‘I’m watching you’ motion, “It’s on.”

You and Aera glance at each other with a devious glint in your eyes, that Taehyung was almost scared, “Watch yourself Kim… Team Ae-y/n’s gonna getchyu!”

With that the ride began.

══════ ∘◦❀◦∘ ══════

“I cannot believe the both of you ganged up on me like that.” Taehyung groans, dropping his keys on his kitchen counter.

During the duration of bumper cars, Aera had insisted on you driving because you have a license and you would beat up her dad no problem. Of course, you couldn’t deny the little girl, and your competitive side came out as you ran Tae over in your car multiple times. He, however, was not having it, and began chasing the two of you around the little track area. Aera squealed and screamed in delight, whenever he father would bump into other people, and would wail in victory when at the end of the ride, you had bumped him a total of eight times. After, the three of you went to play some games at the stands. Surprisingly, Aera did extremely well with the floating ducks, even earning herself a large bunny rabbit that she insisted to send a picture to her Uncle Koo (apparently it looked exactly like him). Even Taehyung won a prize—a large pink elephant—at the strong man game. You didn’t think that he had it in him, but you were proven wrong when he slammed the hammer down and dinged the bell with ease. He proudly picked out the elephant that you had been eyeing, making you blush and Aera grinning at the two of you with a twinkle in her eyes. The three of you had food there—tons and tons of corndogs, spiral chips and fries, along with some funnel cake for dessert, that Aera welcomed with opened arms and going to repeat that daddy never let's me have sugar this late, while Taehyung groans, immediately regretting his choice of dessert.

It was a fun night, and now the three of you were in the midst of building a large fort in Taehyung’s living room. While you and Aera gathered blankets and pillows in the upstairs linen closet, Taehyung fetched the large queen-sized air mattress from the basement, finding the pump and beginning to blow it up. Descending down the stairs with arms filled with sheets, pillows, and stuffed animals (Aera’s idea),Taehyung was almost finished with the mattress. Pulling together the barstools that were seated at the island, Taehyung propped them up and draped the sheets over top of it to create the fort. Helping him, you find some brooms, taking off the brush and using the handles to prop up the sheets and creating the house look. Taehyung brings over clothes pins and clips, to clip the outside, that way the three of you could see the tv screen. When the fort was all finished, the three of you retreated to the kitchen to make some popcorn and snacks for the film. Laughs and light chatter amongst you felt all too comforting—not that it was a bad thing, you definitely welcomed being in Tae’s house with both him and Aera and spending time with them. It felt so real, not like you were just playing house, but as if it was meant to happen, it was meant to be with them.

“Mu-yan, Mu-yan, Mu-ya!!!” Aera squeals running towards the fort, as you and Taehyung followed her with arms full of snacks and drinks for your little movie night. Aera situates herself comfortably in the middle of the fort, allowing you and Taehyung to slip in on either side of her—squishing her in the middle.

“Daddy?

“What’s up, my flower?”

Aera shyly leans into Taehyung, trying her best to whisper but you hear her with a small smile of your own, “Is Awnty Y/n going to stay tonight… Or is she going to yeave yike she aways do?” You feel your heart clench at Aera’s question.

You didn’t realize that Aera knew you left during the night when she was fast asleep. When you stay to hang out with the two of them, it wasn’t uncommon for you to stay until late, even when it was well past Aera’s bedtime and she was fast asleep in between you and Tae, he’d always find a way to get her into the car without waking her up while he drives you to your apartment. As always, you underestimated the young girl’s observative persona.

“Why don’t you ask her, baby?”

Aera quietly grumbles to herself as she turns to you with a cheeky grin, scooting closer to you, she cups her hands around her mouth and leaning in towards your ears.

“You stay hewe tonight?” Awaiting your answer, she sits back down, eyes full of stars as she peers up at you expectantly. Your eyes shift from her to Taehyung as you hum, their faces holding pouts as they try to sway you into staying.

“Look how comfy it is in here!”

“It so warm!”

“I’m sure Aera will be super cold in here without you, Y/n.”

“Yeah! Cohwd. Who hep me eat aw duh snackie!”

You giggle at the duo as they continue their attempts to get you to stay the night, “But I don’t have any pjs!” You feign disappointment. Of course, this wasn’t really an excuse, the few times you have stayed over (when Aera was away at her grandparents or cousins house), you had always used Taehyung’s clothes; but Aera didn’t need to know that.

Aera pouts as she understands that you couldn’t sleep without your clothes, however her eyes lit up as she tapped her father on the shoulder, “Daddy have clothes! Daddy have clothes!” She exclaims with a smug grin, as if she thought up a master plan. Aera is a very smart child at only 3, and sometimes you and Taehyung overlook that—but again, you were always impressed with the bright ideas this toddler has.

“That is true…” Taehyung grins pulling Aera in his lap, “What’dya say, Y/n?” The pair stare at you with hopeful smiles. You hum again, placing your hand on your chin as if this was the hardest decision of your life. You give it a few more minutes, the two shifting impatiently as they waited for your response.

“Hm… I suppose I could stay the night tonight.” You concluded, Taehyung looked relieved and Aera immediately jumped out of her father’s arms, jumping up and down, and shuffling towards you; throwing her arms around you as she giggles over your shoulders, causing you to wrap your arms around her little body like a reflex.

“Yay, yay, yay! Awnty Y/n stay! She stay, she stay!”

“Alright, my girls, let’s get ready for bed and then we can turn on a movie, sound good?” Taehyung asks; Aera nods her head, exiting the fort, the pattering of her feed along with Tannie’s paws hitting against the floor sounded through the house, slowly disappearing up the stairs towards, what you could only assume was her bedroom. Taehyung and you were next to leave, his hand blindly finding yours with ease as he pulls you towards the stairs, to make your ways towards his bedroom. Your mind still racing from his comment; my girls. Your heart was fluttering, your stomach filled with butterflies, and you couldn’t keep the smile off your face, squeezing his hand as his boxy smile returns to his face.

When you made it inside his bedroom, Taehyung quietly shuts his door, caging you in between his arms. Stunned, you looked up at him with a questioning gaze, before you plants his soft lips upon your own. It was slow and sensual; lately, his movements have been slow and unhurried—as if the two of you had all the time in the world, it’s not that you didn’t enjoy the heated make outs or the hurried quickies, but this was a whole different feeling—something real. His lips continued to push against yours, his tongue grazing your bottom lip and tangling with yours, and a gentle groan rumbling from his throat emitted, causing you both to smile. The sounds of your lips smacking against one another echoes in the bedroom; his arms that were once caging you, tugs you towards his hard chest, pressing the palms of his hands on the small of your back crushing your body against his. When the two of you finally pulled away for air, a dopey smile graces your lips and Taehyung mirrors the expression.

“Thank you.” He whispers his forehead nudging against yours, “Thank you for staying tonight.” On your tippy toes, you place another first peck on his lips before pulling away—not missing Taehyung’s stunned expression at your sudden action.

“Anything for you two.” You grin, before stepping around him and heading towards his closet to grab a pair of his shorts and a baggy shirt. Taehyung quickly follows suit as the two of you change into your pajamas, and just in time before a certain little girl comes barreling into her father’s room, followed by a little fur-ball trailing behind her.

“I’m weady!!!” Aera exclaims throwing her hands up, almost resembling a star. Tannie barks excitedly, running around the three of you before he tires out and sits at your feet.

“Alright ladies,” Taehyung bends down to pick up Yeontan, “let’s get going!” And the three of you made your way down the staircase and into your little fort for the night.

Not even half an hour into the movie, Taehyung’s eyes were shut and soft snores escapes his parted lips as he leans his head against Aera’s shoulder.

When the three of you had finally settled down inside your tent, Yeontan sitting at the foot of the air mattress like the amazing guard dog he is, Taehyung’s eyes immediately shut. It was no surprise that he was tired, running meetings all day must have been tiring, but that still wouldn’t stop him from spending time at the amusement park with his daughter. It warmed your heart how much he sacrifices for her—but that’s what makes you fall in love with him even more; his selflessness and his love for the people he cares about.

“Awnty Y/n?”

Your head snaps down to the little girl who was cuddled up next to you, her round eyes already gazing up at yours.

“What’s up, princess?” The little girl looks conflicted, almost as if she wasn’t sure how to approach the questions she was going to ask. You could feel her uneasiness radiating off of her, so you soothingly rub her arms to encourage her to speak.

“My daddy weally yikes you…” She trails off clenching and unclenching her hands, “you aways make him smiyuea, en, en, en dat make me smiyuea.” You continue to rub her arm as she takes a deep breath, “en, en when you not hewe, daddy aways yook sad… so, dat make me sad…” She pauses, “When you yeft fow a wittle bit, daddy was weally sad… He told me that he weally yikes you, en, en I weally yike you, Awnty Y/n…” Her eyes start to droop as she cuddles up into your side, snuggling closer to you as if she was afraid that when she wakes up you’d be gone, “Aw you going to stay and be my momma?” She mumbles against your t-shirt, gently throwing her arm around your waist, “be-cawse… I tink I yove you yike a momma.” Her voice beginning to get quieter and quieter as she finishes her sentence, and then the sound of snores filled the little tent. Your heart racing at the little girl’s confession, and you couldn’t help but smile at her. Bending down to place a gentle kiss on her forehead and moving past her to place another kiss on the sleeping man who owns your heart, you smiled at the two; but little did the little girl know—in your eyes, she was already considered a daughter to you.

You had never pictured yourself to be in this scenario; falling hopelessly and completely in love with a man that has a daughter. It wasn’t that you weren’t open to the idea, you were just not expecting it to ever happen to you. You were young, so much life ahead of you—but you weren’t any short of excited that you were placed on this journey, especially with someone as genuine as Taehyung; you enjoyed every step of the way. Even though it was a rocky beginning, you wouldn’t change the past few months for anything. It seems that as the three of you spend time together, the more you fall—not just for Taehyung, but Aera too. It almost feels like it’s too good to be true, but from the last few months, you know for sure that what you feel for Taehyung is, in fact, real. You do love him, you do want to be with him, and you do see yourself having a future with him.

And that’s not something you’re used to. It’s scary—to fall in love so fast, only a matter of months, let alone falling in love with two people, but the way that you and Taehyung work—is beyond anything you could ever imagine, and you couldn’t ask for anyone better to do it with. You want to do life with him, to watch Aera grow, to be a part of his family… The two of you still have a ton of growing to do together and many loose ends that need to be fixed but knowing that you have an amazing support system filled with friends and each other, you know that everything will be okay, and what will be will be.

You want it all; to be successful, to be loved, and to have a forever partner that you could do life with. You want it all as long as it’s with him.

Concluding your deep thoughts with a smile, you sink down on the mattress, cuddling the toddler closer to you, and shutting your eyes, drifting off into a peaceful slumber.

Feeling the cool breeze wafting its way into the fort, you shivered. You shivered? Furrowing your brows, and you eyes still tightly shut, your hand lazily pats the spot beside you in attempts to find the little girl that was once cuddled up next to you; sadly, it was a cold spot that felt as if the warm body had been gone for hours. Huffing out, you hands trails its way on the further end of the bed in hopes to find Taehyung sleeping soundly right next to the cold spot where Aera was, but you were disappointed to be greeted with the same cold spot. Groaning in annoyance, you shoved your face into the pillows, deeply breathing into it and faintly picking up the scent of Taehyung’s laundry detergent, allowing you to calm down just a little. However, as you turned your head to lay on your side, your senses were filled with the smell of waffle batter and the sound of sizzling just a few feet away. Gently lifting your head and peeking out of your right eye to the opening of your fort, you could see Taehyung at the stove with Aera standing next to him. Their conversation was in hushed whispers, drowned out by the sound of the fan and the sizzling food in the pan, you opted to subtly make your way towards the kitchen. You quietly get out of bed, cracking your joints and stumbling forward and out of the tent. Almost like a secret agent, you press yourself against the wall that was mounted with the tv, sneakily peeking your head around the corner in efforts to hear them.

“Daddy,” Aera whispers to Taehyung as she spins the waffle maker handle with his help, humming Taehyung opening the hot element and forking the waffle and placing it on a plate, as Aera moves to sit criss-cross apple sauce in the chair.

“Is Awnty Y/n going to be my mommy?” Your eyes widened and a brush of colour made its way onto your cheeks, as you recall last nights events:

“My daddy weally yikes you…” She trails off clenching and unclenching her hands, “you aways make him smiyuea, en, en, en dat make me smiyuea.” You continue to rub her arm as she takes a deep breath, “en, en when you not hewe, daddy aways yook sad… so, dat make me sad…” She pauses, “When you yeft fow a wittle bit, daddy was weally sad… He told me that he weally yikes you, en, en I weally yike you, Awnty Y/n…” Her eyes start to droop as she cuddles up into your side, snuggling closer to you as if she was afraid that when she wakes up you’d be gone, “Aw you going to stay and be my momma?” She mumbles against your t-shirt, gently throwing her arm around your waist, “be-cawse… I tink I yove you yike a momma.”

You heart stuttered against your chest, beating rapidly at the thought of becoming the sweet girl’s mother, and of course being with Taehyung to raise her. You hadn’t told Aera last night—but you know for sure that you wanted to become a mother figure to her—even possibly earning that title for her. You could feel yourself smile even more. What a great start to your morning.

“Would you like her to be?” Taehyung teases, scooping more waffle batter into the maker, shutting it and flipping it to start the timer. Aera watches her father carefully, just to make sure he was following the instructions of the waffle maker.

“Yeahp.” Aera deadpans, she holds a sense of seriousness in her tone that almost seemed too serious for a three-year old. “I wan hew to be my mommy. Awnty Y/n is boot-iful, she yikes to paint en it pwetty painting too! She vewy smart—”

“Smarter than daddy?” Taehyung teases, flipping the waffle onto its other side to cook.

“Yeth.” Aera responds with zero hesitation which causes you to slap your hand over your mouth to stop yourself from laughing out and giving away your presence, “she pwefect fo uth.”

Taehyung’s heart warms at how much you had impacted his daughter’s life. Raising Aera wasn’t easy, especially for a man who had just began running a company, but he likes to think that he did a fine job at raising an intelligent toddler at only 25 years of age; if Taehyung could be proud of anything he’s done in his life, it wouldn’t be becoming the CEO of Korea’s largest fashion line, it wouldn’t be the fact that he was ranked as one of the top richest men in the world, no; Taehyung is proud that he was able to do all those things and raise a toddler while achieving it. That’s what Taehyung was proud of, what he will always be proud of. Now, the second thing he would be proud of is fixing things with you and allowing you into his life, into their life. He was proud that he took the chance to get to know you, to allow you to get to know him and his daughter—sure there was miscommunications at first, but all of this was entirely new to the both of you; you falling in love with a man that already had a child, and him falling in love—truly in love with someone who loves him and his daughter the same. Taehyung stands by those two moments and holds it close to his heart, just thinking about it makes his heart want to burst out of his chest with happiness.

“She is pretty perfect, huh?” Taehyung asks her, opening the waffle maker and, again, forking the doughy delight onto another plate, handing it to Aera who was dressing up the two plated waffles with fresh blueberries, strawberries, and some blackberries. She quickly pops a blueberry into her mouth before she’s reaching for the last plate of waffles and getting to work. Her tongue pokes out in concertation while she precisely places the blueberries in a shape of a heart on the waffle, smiling in triumph, when she achieves a pretty looking heart.

“Hey, flower?” Taehyung questions, unplugging the waffle maker and leaning against the counter to stare at Aera. Once she heard the gentle seriousness her father’s tone held, she immediately dropped all the strawberries back into the bowl and stared at him, “Can I tell you a secret?” Aera nodded vigorously, shutting her lips and pinches her fingers together and sliding them across her mouth like a zipper. The little gesture made your heart swoon, and Taehyung’s chuckles filled the kitchen.

“Daddy wants her to be your mommy too.”

Feeling the redness return to your cheeks, you bite your lip to keep you from smiling like an idiot, your heart pounding at the words Taehyung had uttered out to his daughter—words that you didn’t even know you needed to hear. Finally, unable to keep your excitement in, you knock on the wall coming out of your hiding spot, as the two whipped around with matching boxy grins to greet your presence.

“Morning!” You chirped, walking in, “’smells great in here.” You walked towards Aera giving her a tight squeeze, before you came face to face with a beaming Taehyung, engulfing his large frame in a gentle hug as well.

“You sweep gwood, Awenty?” Aera asks thrusting the plate of waffles with the blueberry heart on it, “Dis one fow you!” You gratefully take the plate of food, grinning at the young girl.

“Did you make this, Aera?” She nods with a huge grin, “I love it! Thank you little flower! Looks delicious! And yes, I slept very well, thank you!”

“De-wishious!” Aera parrots as she trots to her chair, climbing it and plopping down at the island.

“Sleep good?” Taehyung asks, subtly wrapping his arm around you, pulling you into another hug. You bask in his warmness, still holding the beautiful plate of food that your favorite duo made you, you hummed as you both made your way to sit next to Aera.

“You slept good, too?” You aske him, shoveling a forkful of waffle into your mouth, while he hummed in agreeance as well.

“Very.”

“Wha we do today?” Aera asks with her mouth full of waffles, her head glancing at you and then Taehyung, you and then Taehyung.

“Flower, what’d I say about talking with your mouth full?” Taehyung tsked at her, as she mumbles an apology before grabbing her cup and chugs down water. You giggle to yourself; you had always loved seeing Taehyung go all father mode, that you can’t help but laugh.

“How about…” You begin, grabbing a blueberry and gesturing Aera to open her mouth, “we go shopping for a bit, and then tonight we go to Auntie's art show?” Plopping the blueberry into the waiting child’s mouth, booping her nose and earning a giggle from her. “No one’s in today, and Mr. Kang said that I could give some friends a quick glance around if they don’t like being in crowded places!” You offered, taking another bite from your waffle, smiling cheekily at Taehyung.

“Ouuu!!!” Aera squeals, ignoring the rest of her food as she turns to her dad with puppy eyes, “We go, we go, we go?” Taehyung chuckles at his daughter’s excitement.

“Sure!” Taehyung exclaims, Aera shoots out of her seat and runs up the stairs, “Wa- hey wait, baby where are you going?”

“Go change!” Her voice echoes and you hear the faint sound of a door shutting as the two of you stare at each other and giggle.

“Well, I guess we should hurry up then.” Taehyung says, shoveling the last piece of his food into his mouth, before standing up and making his way towards you, bending down to retrieve your empty plate and to give you a quick kiss to your lips, you happily returning it, “Morning, pretty.”

“Morning.” You whisper in a daze, watching him make his way to the sink, his back muscles flexing under his oversized shirt, bending down, and placing the dirty plates into the dishwasher. You quickly follow him towards his room and the two of you get ready to head out.

The two of you make your way to the bedroom to quickly get dressed to head out for the mall. You weren't really sure how long you'd be out anyways, but it was always nice to just walk about with Taehyung and Aera. So, that's what you had decided to do for the rest of the afternoon. Making your way downstairs, you were met with the little girl dressed in some jeans and a white shirt, giggling on the floor with Tannie.

"Weady!!!" Aera exclaims happily, as she shoots up from her spot, scarring Yeontan in the process, and quickly slipping on her shoes and bouncing her way to the door.

"Alright, ladies, lets gooo!" Taehyung says grabbing his keys off the counter and quietly slipping his hand into yours before the three of you set off for a day at the mall.

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After returning from your little adventure for the day, the three of you picked up some pizza before heading home; one large pizza with mushrooms and various types of meats (Taehyung's request).

You were all situated in the kitchen, happily munching on your pizzas, the sun outside setting, creating this magnificent glow reflecting off of the windows. It had been such a beautiful November day, the breeze was cool, the sun was out and not overbearingly hot, the birds were still chirping about, all in all it was a gorgeous day, and you couldn't have spent it with anyone better. Almost out of nowhere, Aera's eyes widened looking down at her outfit.

"Change!!!" She shrieks, setting her greasy pizza down, and bolting up the stairs.

"Aera!" Taehyung called for her, but to his dismay, she was already slamming the door to her room.

"Oh," You gasped, swallowing you food, "That's right, we have to get to the museum! I don't want to get there too, too late. Don't want security getting mad." You giggled, taking a sip of water before hopping off of the chair. Taehyung quickly shoves the rest of his slice into his mouth, following you up the stairs.

“Mmm, what should we wear?”

“Tae, it’s just us.” You giggled, “And I don’t really have any of my fancier clothing pieces here.” You begin shuffling around to find your yesterday’s clothes to put on, but Taehyung places his arm in front of you to stop looking around, “Wha—” You question him but it was cut short when he was interlacing your hands together while he walks you towards his massive walk-in closet. Your eyes widened at the sight that was in the middle of the room.

A gorgeous floor-length blush dress, a deep v cut to accentuate your ‘not too big but not too little’ chest that was decorated in beautiful rhinestones that covered the entirety of the neckline, beautiful thin spaghetti straps to hold the dress together, gorgeous slit a the side to showcase your legs; a great tactic to make you look much tall than you are. Beside it you see a sleek black box—a typical container that could hold shoes. Your mouth hangs open as you take in the amount of money Taehyung must’ve spent on each piece.

“Di-did you buy all this?” You asked turning to him, who was shyly smiling, “Taehyung… I can’t—”

“Hey,” Taehyung cups your face in his hands, “none of that, I wanted to… Can’t I spoil my girl?” Your head spins; my girl, it sounded so nice coming from his lips that you almost forget that you weren’t really his, like… You were but you weren’t, it’s not official, but it is? Whatever the case may be, the two of you were happy with how things were, why overcomplicate things and get upset over things that don’t need to be upset over?

Ignoring your thoughts and enjoying the idea that he just called you his girl again, you gave a gentle smile and humming into the kiss you pressed on his lips, “You really didn’t have to…” You mumbled against him, feeling his smile against you.

“I wanted to, baby. It’s okay.” He pats your bum, signaling you to head towards his gifts, obeying his request, you excitedly hurt over to the shoe box and your heart drops at how stunning the shoes are. The stunning heel’s soles are coated in red and the whole exterior is a champagne colour. You could cry—literally.

“C’mon, beautiful,” Taehyung pulls you closer to the goodies, “let’s get ready.”

After slipping into your dress and shoes, Taehyung was patiently waiting outside in his room, sporting a crisp white shirt, tucked into black dress pants and a black blazer—again, super simple, but nothing short of appealing. What you weren’t expecting was Aera to be sitting on his lap dressed in the same colour as you with her hair in pigtails.

“Wow!” Aera screeched look at you with wide eyes, leaving her dad behind she twirls around you with stars in her eyes, “You yook yike a pwincess!” Aera gushes, touching the soft fabric of the dress, clapping her hands.

“No, baby,” Taehyung says, scooping her up in his arms, “you, Ms. Aera, are the princess. I think Auntie Y/n is the queen tonight.” Blushing at his words, Aera’s face warps into confusion.

“Does dat make daddy a King?” Giggling to herself, Taehyung opens his mouth to reply when the doorbell goes off, surprising the three of you.

“I’ll go get it!” You smile, making your way down the steps and towards the front door. You weren’t really sure who Taehyung was expecting, but it sure as hell wasn’t this beautiful woman standing in chic white trousers and a blazer to match. You gazed at her to watch her own eyes widen at the sight of you, giving you a once over and seeing her visibly gulp in intimidation made you internally smirk.

“May I help you?” You asked staring at the dyed blonde haired woman, as she chokes out a cough.

“Oh—” She coughs again, “I’m looking for Kim Taehyung? I came to uh-drop these off…” She shuffles around inside her bag and pulls out a large amount of papers that were within a green folder. “They’re the custody papers, I signed.” It was your turn to widened your eyes.

This was Taehyung’s ex-girlfriend and the mother of Aera? It was no wonder the little girl was as beautiful as she was; it was no secret that Taehyung is a very handsome man, so you had assumed that all her looks were from him, but you hadn’t seen any pictures of her biological mother, but now that she stood right in front of you—it was obvious that Aera had the perfect ration between the two. Even though her mouth had the same boxy smile as Taehyung’s, it was her mother’s lips that she had; her nose too was from her, a beautiful nose bridge that you had only dreamed of having…

“Oh—uhm,” You hesitantly reach for the papers, bowing in respect, “I’ll hand these to him, th-thank you for stopping by…” You uttered out, Isla gave you a gentle smile.

“Of course, I’m happy to sign them… I’m glad Taehyung found someone to love and care for him and Aera.” Her gaze softens, “Thank you for being that for them.”

You were stunned—you had always known the typical baby mama situation—she’s supposed to be batshit crazy, was she not? So, why was she thanking you, let alone okay with you stepping into her place, practically stealing her title?

“I-uh”

“Y/n? What’s—” Taehyung comes up behind you to meet Isla’s gaze, “Isla? What are you—”

“She was dropping this off for you.” You handed him the documents that she had given to you just moments before he came. Quickly taking the papers out of your hands, he opens it and skims through it with a gentle smile.

“You’re positive you’re okay with this?” You watched as Isla shifts uneasily, nodding her head.

“I don’t deserve to be called a mother, Taehyung.” Isla sighs, “I never loved or treated her as if she was my child.” You felt your heart break. Regardless of how shitty she treated these two amazing people, you truly felt for her. You knew that she didn't want to entirely give up her rights to see her child, what mother would? But you could almost sense that she felt the need to in order for Taehyung to move on—move on with you. Surprising yourself and Isla (Taehyung included), you were clutching her hands in yours.

“You know it’s never too late,” You whispered, “She’s still a part of you, Isla. Just because you and Taehyung aren’t together anymore, doesn’t mean that you have to be out of her life completely.” You reasoned, “It just takes some work to get her to come around—work that you have to be willing to put in.”

Taehyung was stunned that you were okay with the idea of Aera’s birth mother still being in the picture, and to think that he couldn’t fall in love with you more—watching you try and save Isla from completely walking out, brought tears to the brim of his eyes. You love and compassion towards others really does warm his heart, you didn’t know this woman personally—only stories that Taehyung had told you, some of them not so nice, but here you were, openly giving Isla the option to not go through with the documents and to still be in Aera's life.

“If you’re worried about me being angry with you, with you wanting to stay in Aera’s life, don’t. I’m not like that. I want Aera to be happy, I want Taehyung to be happy, I want you to be happy,” You watch as tears cascades down Isla’s cheeks, “What happened in the past is the past, you can correct it; if what makes you happy is still seeing your daughter—even for just a few times a week—who are we to stand in the way of that? She is still yours.”

“I—” Isla chokes out a sob, “Taehyung, is-is it okay? May I still see her? She doesn’t need to call me mom… I know I am not the rightful heir to that title,” She smiles through tears as her eyes—that held a lot of admiration for you journeys to find your own, “You’ve caught an amazing girl, Tae… Who truly holds the right to have that title for our daughter.”

Smiling at Isla, you let go of her hands and sink back into Taehyung who gladly wraps his arms around you.

“I did..” He whispers, “Of course, Isla… We can work out the details another time, but I think it’ll do you and Aera good to be on good terms.”

Isla smiles, dabbing her eyes away from tears, “Thank you… Thank you—” She glances at you, expectantly.

“Y/n.” You grin.

“Thank you, Y/n…” She steps back, “Truly…. You two are beautiful together… I-my fiancé is waiting for me in the car, I should get going… Thank you again, both of you.” She turns to gaze at Tae, “We will talk soon about arrangements.” With that Taehyung’s ex-love heads towards the end of the driveway where a car awaited her, and soon enough, she's driving off.

“You’re amazing.” Taehyung whispers against your hair, gently tucking his fingers under your chin to bring your eyes to his.

“How?”

Taehyung stifles a laugh as he pecks your lips, “Even though you knew what she put me and Aera through, you still wanted her to be apart of her life, she doesn’t deserve the title, but yet you still wanted her to be someone to Aera, why?”

You don’t know the answer to that question, why did you salvage their relationship? You pondered the thought as soon as you watched Isla leave. You grin to yourself, “Because,” You stare up at him, “I know what it’s like to grow up without one parent—and I don’t want her to regret her decision the way my dad did; the only difference is that Isla isn’t too late to fix her relationship with Aera… My dad—” You paused, smiling sadly, “our relationship was too broken to salvage.”

Taehyung brushes a piece of your hair away as the two of you stand underneath the stars. Your mind wanders to what your life would be like if you hadn’t met Taehyung in the park… Would you be as happy as you are now? Would you have found someone who shows you a tremendous amount of love, like he does?

Does he love you the way you do him?

“Where’s Aera?” You ask gently, the two of you now swaying in beat with the warm wind that danced around your bodies like a melody. He arms had drifted to wrapping around your waist, while your arms had snaked around his neck. Neither of you had retreated back into the house after your encounter with his ex, but you weren’t sure if you wanted this to end—the moonlight on the two of you like a spotlight, swaying to the sound of the wind whistling in your ears, while you held onto him. The November night was kind; not too cold for you to be shivering, but it wasn’t warm either, but being in Taehyung’s arms like this—you felt warmer than you’ve ever felt in your entire life.

“She fell asleep as soon as I started rubbing her head because she claimed her pigtails hurt.” He mocks her toddler voice, earning a giggle from you, while he chuckles.

“Guess you didn’t have to buy me all this stuff huh?” You asked gesturing down to the newly bought items that he splurged on. Taehyung threw his head back in laughter, shaking his head.

“I regret nothing.” He then pauses to just stare at you. Heart eyed. Taehyung takes in your alluring figure, how the dress fit you beautifully hugging every curve and dip, making you look delicate, yet so sexy. The way your shoes gave you some height—yet not enough to come close to him, where you still need to tip toe to reach his lips, the way your doe eyes stare up at him in wonder—pure fascination. He admired you, the way you could hold your own without him, how you give so much love to those around you, and how much love you give to those that are close—he loves all of you. From the top of your head to all the way down to you toes—Taehyung loves you. Every inch of you, every side of you, he loves you. He knows that for sure—he’s known that, but tonight, the way you have always treated Aera as if she was your own and the way you wanted to keep a good relationship between her and her birth mother—Taehyung can’t express how much he adored you for that—for all that you do for them.

Tonight though, it was apparent that he didn’t want you going anywhere; and you didn’t want him going anywhere. Tonight, the both of you realized how well you two worked—you’ve both always know, but tonight solidified that you both were ready to do life together—officially.

“I love you.”

Taehyung whispers causing your heart to beat rapidly against your chest at the words you've always known you felt; but hearing the words escape his lips with so much confidence made your heart swell, “I really do love you, Y/n. I have for a while.” He shyly states, continuing to sway with you, “I want to do this with you, to do life with you—officially.”

“What exactly are you asking, Mr. Kim?” You teased, leaning away from him to catch a glimpse of mischief in his eyes, pulling you flush against him.

“I want you to be my girlfriend.” He states, bending down to brush his lips against yours.

“Label and all?” You questioned, quirking an eyebrow.

“Label and all.” Taehyung confirms, his signature boxy grin gracing his angelic face.

“Then, yes; I’ll gladly be yours.”

As if he couldn’t wait, Taehyung’s lips were crashing down onto yours. The sweet taste of his lips that you had grown familiar with for quite some time now, has grown to be your comfort. The way he holds you with so much gentleness, almost scared that you’d shatter into a million pieces if he wasn’t careful. After a long few months of confusion to clarity, to more confusion, and now finally the fog seemed to have cleared, and all you could set your sights on was this man and a little girl who has changed your life for the better.

You weren’t sure where this crazy ride was about to lead you, but you didn’t care; as long as it was with them, you wanted it all.

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tag list: @belladaises @chimmysomemochi @kirbykook @ggukkieland @taeandpuppies @betysotelo18 @maichiverse @rjsmochii @vaekth @hantaev @purelyecstacy @preciouschimine @jenotation @dear-thama @gukkmoans @taestycake @xpeachesncream @kookingtae @writtenwhalien @otherwvrldly

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