#struggled with this a bit but it's a sketch so oh well had to finish it sometime

[pancharts]

[bimbowrites]

Loser Yan Smut

since the poll got 94% for yes to loser yan smut imma do it ^^

Losers do smth to me istg 😩

anywho— fem reader! reader implied to have slight muscle mass. (For all the strong girlies out there)

Warnings: Story build up, pegging, face sitting, sub character, dom reader, slight biting kink???, teasing, slight bondage, cowgirl (yan riding reader), slight feminization, masc fem reader, reader has a pussy, and cumming on stomach in pt 2

NSFW STORY BUILD UP BELOW CUT

You and Ozzie, didn’t know each-other- Well you didn’t know Ozzie. Ozzie knew everything of you from your favorite color to your date of birth. He was really just a loser that rambled about anything and the legend of Zelda any chance he got. Meanwhile you were the schools star female football player. Ozzie had drooled over rival football players getting tackled, wishing that it was him.

It was a regular high-school day, you were walking towards your algebra class and you see in the corner of your eye, a slim, pale, boy staring at you in awe. He quickly looked away and blushed, you smirk and find this amusing, maybe you’ll entertain this little big crush of this mysterious boy. You sit in your usual seat and start your assignment, solving the problems with slight trouble, you wonder and ask your seat mate next to you and he says he doesn’t understand either. So you ask the boy who was staring at you earlier for a bit of help.

“hey- do you know the answer to number 5 and 6?”

“Oh— uhm, it’s -27.96 and for number 6 it’s 2684.29..”

The poor boy struggled with the simple sentence and was a blushing mess. You smiled and thanked him, before writing the answers down on the paper. Ozzie then finished the assignment with ease and watched as reader, you, struggled a bit. He was about to offer up help, but didn’t want to be a burden for you. Ozzie then sighed and pulled out his sketch book and doodled your beautiful toned figure and your beautiful face off of memory, it was almost identical to you. Near the end of class, Ozzie quickly collected his stuff and walked out of the classroom, trying to speed to his next class and not get targeted by assholes. Alas, luck was not on his side and he got slammed into the locker by two boys and their girlfriends giggling as their boyfriends target the poor boy. You then walk by the group of people and head over to them, noticing one of them was your teammate on the football team. Then seeing the bloody nose loser on the floor panting, and teary eyes. “Hey- back off Elijah! Leave him alone!”

“do you know this freak, [name]?”

You roll your eyes and push the guy out of the way and help the guy on the floor up and walk away from the now, annoyed group. The boy now looking at you with a blush and bloody nose from being slammed into a locker. You glance at the scrawny looking man and smile. The boy looks away from your glance, his face turning a deep red hue.

“th-thank you for helping me from those guys..”

“oh? Those ass holes, don’t mind them, they’re just insecure jerks”

You shrug and walk the mysterious guy to the nurse, walking awkwardly beside him, his slight heavy breathing and eyes darting towards you every few seconds. You two soon approach the nurses office and get Ozzie’s nose cleaned up. You then awkwardly say goodbye and get to your next class with a tardy pass.

———

1 week later

———

It was another late Friday afternoon; game day. Where you had its final game against your biggest competition! You put on your shoulder pads and cleats, making sure your jersey was on correctly. You then hear the coach call for your team, you smile proudly and jog up to the bench on the sidelines, watching teammates look at each-other with fierce eyes and snarling faces.

Half way into the game, and it was your turn to shine, you get into position. Another male teammate teases you before they blow the whistle and everyone scrambled to get the ball. As you caught the ball you threw it to your teammate, the teammate fumbles the ball and falls, tearing the muscle in his knee. Ozzie watches as the game stops, envying the teammate getting your attention, seeing both teams get on their knee as they check the players knee, they then take the player out of the game, tending to him. Ozzie watches as you get back into position and sigh, seemingly stressed.

Ozzie watches until the end of the game, his eyes observing both your beauty and brawn like perfection. He thinks for a bit before walking over to you, ‘accidentally’ bumping into your chest. You look at the boy who fell on the ground and smirk. Your ego getting the best of you.

“Hey baby, what are you doing here, Ozzie, right?”

Ozzie almost creamed his pants at the nickname, but he let out a shaky breath. His face red and heated, as he looked up to your beautiful face. “Sorry.. I wasn’t looking where I was going (reader)” Ozzie says in a quiet and elated tone. Ozzie then was taken aback when you pulled him in by his waist, your tits pressing against his collar bone.

“I think that you’re lying to me, pretty girl.”

You said in a flirtatious manner, your hands still on his waist. Ozzie could blissfully live like this but his body started to react. His dick began to harden, he quickly realized and tried to hide his erection. You notice and chuckle, your breath against his face. You pull away and let go of his waist, slipping a piece of paper into his hoodie pocket.

As you walked away, he starts to read what’s on it. It reading your house address and a little message stating; ‘wanna have a good time pretty boy?”

He shutters and smiles sickeningly sweet, his dick straining against his pants as he already knew what you had in mind. He hopes that you don’t mind that he already knows where you live, and that he knows your parents are on vacation for the next two weeks.

As he walked to his house happily, when he opened his door, his maid greeted him and took Ozzie’s bag off of his back and calmly put his bag away before bowing and turning to finish cleaning. Ozzie then walked out to his room and started to prepare for his punishment for being a perverted loser, so he locked his door and walked to his closet and opened a hidden, locked, drawer. Filled to the brim with toys, one being your old vibrator and another being your dildo you’ve lost recently.

Ozzie then grabs lube and your underwear and pulls down his pants and underwear before pouring the the cold lube on his man pussy whilst grabbing your vibrator and dildo and sets the vibrator on medium, while he gently fingers his hole to loosen it up before plunging the dildo in his hole.

Ozzie lets out whines and moans as he accidentally brushes against his prostate in a rushed lust filled vision.

Pt 2??

[the-s1lly-corner]

hello! Im one(1) of the anons that requested the jane doe reader and i thought of a funny scenario

So the character of jane doe was basically decapitaded so, imagine if reader's head isnt atached to their body, and can take their head off .

The tadc cast react to the reader taking off their head and then putting It back on like nothing. Tyy!!!

( remember to rest and drink wáter) :)

TADC cast x a reader with a detachable head!

oh hoho this one is going to be fun because my TADC oc can do the same thing, can take their limbs and head off at will and as needed; so i may or may not let my excitement show in this post and use my oc as a placeholder.. i definitely will.. which reminds me, i have a sketch of my ocs human design as well as a messy ref of their digital body... i have got to draw them more.. maybe ill finish the human sketch sometime today after this post... speaking of this post! this is the last request in my inbox ! after this im gonna take a break for a bit then reopen requests! do not send in requests at this time, please! (this goes for everyone regardless of fandom </3)

CAINE:

technically i think you could consider him with a detachable head... because i dont... think he has a neck... so technically.. not phased at all, he has seen things from various different circus members.. but lets say you came before zooble, and you were also the first circus member who could do that... i think he would be really into it and be amused. probably flies right up to you chattering about that little trick of yours

POMNI:

uncomfy by it, i think it would take her a while to get used to it... i think she would be the same with zooble thanks to the "these are people" thing, with the only reason she didnt freak out at zoobles dismemberment in the pilot being because she was preoccupied with her panic and confusion of this new setting

RAGATHA:

mildly uncomfortable anytime it happens but no where near as uncomfortable as pomni, since she has had her time to get used to a bunch of weird stuff in the circus; both from the circus itself as well as the people in it.. will guide your body to your head if theres ever a scenario where the two get separated.. hand holding... smiles

JAX:

probably tries to convince you to leave your head in someones room or in a box and have some poor unsuspecting person open it.. i think that would scare anyone, even if they were used to your headless activities... probably laughs at your body wandering aimlessly trying to find your head if theres an occasion where it was forcefully knocked off.. probably nudges your head away... this only really works if your body has to blindly fumble and you having to telepathically guide it towards you instead of it just going into autopilot and knowing where you are automatically and has zero struggle beelining for the head... but fumbling... funny

KINGER:

owoo!! jumpscare!/ref

honestly i think sometimes he just rolls with it and other times hes bothered by it; really depends on how hes feeling that day... but i think the majority is that hes used to it thanks to zooble... has probably run off with your head on accident when he meant to run off with you as a whole, usually in the face of danger during an IHA...

ZOOBLE:

completely unphased by it since they can pretty much do the same thing! there isnt really much to be said since zooble neither feels this way or that in regards to your little decapitation trick... if they couldnt mess with their own parts though i think they would find your thing cool, though

GANGLE:

depending on what your digital body is themed around i think this would determine how gangle would feel about it... like zooble is mismatched and is seen taking out their antennae as well as their limbs being snagged off by jax... with zooble, is makes sense, they look like a mismatched mess of different parts.. so if you were something that could reasonably do the same thing i think she can overlook it... now the first time would still be a shock, no doubt about it, regardless of theme.. very careful whenever theres a reason they need to get close to your head, she does not wanna knock it off and potentially upset you

[crescencestudio]

๋࣭⭑ Devlog #39 | 3.27.24 ๋࣭⭑

Happy March!!

This devlog is going to be a bit shorter, but...... it's for Exciting Reasons that I will share later in the post. heh.....heh.....HEH.....

Let's jump in ^^

This month, writing was mostly dedicated to Etza's route! We have officially entered the Developmental Editing part of Etza's route, which is super exciting!!!

There were parts of Etza's route I wasn't completely satisfied with, so I spent a lot of this month tinkering, adding, fleshing out, editing, etc. for their route. I'm happier with it now compared to where it was when we entered this month, and especially with Wudgey's help, I'm excited for Etza to get the love they deserve!

I had a small, optional goal for myself to start Kuna'a's route, but honestly, I felt like between work with the Enhanced Demo, Etza's edits, and just generally feeling a bit tired after being Super Productive in January and February, I decided to give myself a break. That being said, I'm relatively confident I'll be getting started with Kuna'a's route next month, and I'm excited to dive into their route (and the Fae routes in general, teehee!).

Vui is on the very last of the BGs I need from him..... So I am in mourning.......

Kidding but not kidding. Vui has done an amazing job of putting the backgrounds for Alaris together! They're absolutely stunning, and by the time we get to the next devlog, he will have finished ALL of the BGs for Alaris! It's been about a year and a half in the making, which is kinda crazy to think we have been together for this long (and working on the full game for this long), but it's definitely A Moment.

In celebration of him reaching this milestone, I wanted to highlight some of the BGs he's made for the game! The theme is early morning; some of these BGs are in the demo, and some are in the full game hehe. You'll have to guess the context of the mysterious full game BGs :')

Sneak Peek: BG Showcase, morning strolls around the world of Alaris

I also thought it's been a while since I showcased a CG here. While I don't play on showcasing many of the full game CGs on public devlogs (I do show them on my Patreon!), I wanted to show a little snippet of this specific CG.

Why, you ask? Well, for the OGs, you might remember I showed a sketch of the CG during the Alaris Kickstarter---whenever the hell THAT THING happened.

I finished rendering it now that I got the BG for it, so I wanted to show a peek of that sketch that I showed oh-so-many-years ago.

Sneak Peek: Kayn Full Route CG I want to lick him

Generally for art progress, I've been working on CGs as well as some promotional materials, which I'll be getting to in the next section \o/

Now for the Exciting News!!!!

I have two bits of exciting news. The first is...

Sneak Peek: Selection Screen for Alpha/Beta Access (OUUUUGGGGGHHHHH)

I STARTED CODING KAYN'S ROUTE!!!! The first act is already "done" and ready for beta access. And I'm hoping to finish the other two acts within the next couple of weeks. It is crazy to finally be able to code some of the full game routes. Even if they're not at the "final version" or early access stage, it is Extremely Rewarding to finally experience the scripts I've been writing in the game!!! With the CGs.... Extended Screens..... Just seeing the script with visual assets and not just a Google Doc is SOOOOO FSEIKLFJSEILE

Sneak Peek: Chapter Character Cards (AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA)

The second piece of Exciting News is that I have a release date for the Enhanced Demo. YEEEEAAAAAA. It's finally happening!!! Please stay tuned over the next couple of days...... An Exciting Announcement is on its way...................................

I didn't do much market research this month. If I'm being honest, I actually struggled a little bit this month with like...... burnout and workaholism guilt. I wanted to take a break after getting the demo ready for public release, but I just couldn't bring myself to fully rest. It felt like there was so much to do (not just with Alaris, but also with real world/work obligations) and all these looming deadlines was starting to get to me.

I'm hoping next month because I'll actually be Releasing the demo (oops, sneak peek of general release date teehee!), I'll be able to feel like I can take a break. But it also sucks a bit that I feel like I have to Earn It. I think with Alaris being a Kickstarter project, I want to get the game in your hands as soon as possible, but of course it's not to anyone's benefit if I burn myself out in the process and end up with either a worser project or taking even longer to finish it.

I did...... start Stardew Valley again since it is the ultimate dissociation/break game for me. So far it's been working! But we'll see how it continues <3

LOOK AT MY FARM!!!

Should I marry Sebastian or Elliot.

Anyways, hope you all have a great rest of your month, and I'll talk to you Very Soon with an Exciting Announcement! <3

[soaps-mohawk]

hey hey hey!! apologies for my disappearance, horses have been difficult since it's suddenly gotten so hot in england ☹️

i am RABID. oh my god, oh my god, i was giggling and kicking my feet and rolling around for that whole chapter.

i could've jumped for joy at reader calling john daddy. i actually rejoiced, felt that need deep in my damn soul. and johnny? the sketching?? i was holding on for dear life. i am definitely not getting this chapter out of my brain!!!

it was so good, i'm foaming at the mouth, and literally have no words. i ate it all up immediately. and the way i could've SCREAMED when johnny dropped the L BOMB!!!! urrrrghh my sweet baby 🙏 and this chapter was (aside from the mild panic) so wholesome!! all the tickles and teasing and everything made me so happy. i love each and every well thought out relationship between reader and the boys. you are a literal genius!! i also did giggle at the ending, that was super good.

anyways pookster, how've you been?? i've missed being on tumblr!! i hope all is well and that your weekly breaks are doing you good 💞

- 🪐

Don't apologize!!! People have their lives and get busy. I completely understand. (I also understand your horses because I also get difficult when it's hot out 😭)

Mhm feral energy continues. I did say it would 🤭

Y'all got me thinking about daddy kinks and then it just slipped out and I had to go with it 😂 Johnny sketching while getting a blow job was original to this chapter lol. I knew I wanted it to happen soon and it was the right time. The daddy kink was not but I was influenced lol.

I originally was going to have the reader drop the L bomb on Johnny but then I was like...nah he'd so say it first lol.

Aww thank you!!!! I just love this story and these characters so much 🥺 they're so fun to play with and explore.

I've been alright. Struggling a bit with my meds, but what's new 🤷‍♀️ the weekly breaks are helping. Gives me time to chill out and (usually) work on finishing the chapter without the distractions on tumblr.

[most-normal-eccles-cake-ignorer]

Darkness Lane by Joan Hassall [ x ] - the piece that most inspired my recent woodcut-style piece.

When I found out I was drawing for @gorgeousundertow's regency AU fic, Half Agony, Half Hope, as part of the @ineffableidiotsbigbang, I started looking up Jane Austen novel illustrations for inspiration and ended up finding some really cool art and websites! I'm posting about some of the images and resources I found because I think it may be interesting to others too (and even if it isn't, I'll have gotten the infodump out of my system haha).

Illustrations from Mansfield Park by Joan Hassall [ x ]

The link above points to a gallery on pemberley.com which has deliciously old-school DIY website HTML and a wealth of Jane Austen illustrations, as well as references for regency clothing. This was where I discovered Joan Hassall's work and decided I wanted to do a woodcut style piece (and then subsequently regretted it many times during the process of making it because I had no idea what I was doing). The detail, visual texture and dramatic lighting in her work is so cool and I just got more obsessed the more I saw.

See more Joan Hassall on tumblr via @uwmspeccoll (a very cool account!) here, here, and here.

The gallery on pemberley.com also had a bunch of Charles Edmund Brock illustrations, which I could not get enough of and so returned to the searchpage and found Molland's Circulating-Library. SO COOL! Jane Austen fans have bought illustrated editions of her novels and uploaded scans of them and oh my gosh they are all so beautiful.

Northanger Abbey watercolour illustrations by C.E. Brock [ x ]

Side note about Henry Tilney (Catherines' love interest in NA), I also came across this old fan page for him from a mostly-broken-links-now site called THE CULT OF DA MAN and um it's great haha, check it out. (reviews of artists representations of him, more delicious HTML, and pixel art (!) of da aforementioned man)

There's also an article on Molland's about Charles and Henry Brock and their Jane Austen works that I found interesting. Charles is better known and did far more JA illustrations, but I do really enjoy Henry's tinted line pieces! (the article also dunks on some bad reproductions of them haha)

Pride & Prejudice tinted line illustrations by H.M. Brock [ x ]

C.E. Brock also did really cool title pages and when I found out that fic banners were a thing I knew what I wanted to do! (with the help of the symmetry tool and undo haha, so much respect for traditional art)

Title pages illustrated by C.E. Brock [ x ] and my banner - the banner design uses elements of both of the Brock images.

So, research in hand/bookmarks folder and banner completed, I decided on a scene from Chapter 10 where our beloveds are standing beside the Thames in the moonlight after walking around London for hours together and talking (CUTE). I wasn't sure what buildings to include in the background, so @gorgeousundertow gave me a few suggestions: Old Southwark Bridge, London Bridge, Southwark Cathedral, and Clink Prison. I realized after a bit of sketching that bridges would be hard to show with the straight-on view I wanted to do, so I decided on the Cathedral, partially because I had also considered drawing a scene that takes place in Salisbury Cathedral in Ch. 7.

OK BUT HOW? I struggled finding reference images for a while until I realized this was LONDON and would be very Google Earth-able. Big ups to Frank Cosgrove, whoever they are, for uploading this haha. This was also where I found out that all the suggestions were from a very small area!

View of Borough High Street, London, 1830, by George Scharf [ x ]

The building in front of the cathedral looked too new, so I went searching for an older image and found the second image. It's a completely different angle but it was enough to get me past the 'oh no idk what do'.

the much brighter concept vs the much darker finished product, featuring a barely-visible Southwark Cathedral

While looking for images of the Thames pre-Google Earth, I also found this website called Dictionary Of Victorian London which has a whole bunch of old images and excerpts from newspapers, etc on a variety of topics. One of the categories, Sex > 'unnatural offences', had this excerpt from The Times (1863), which reads:

Thomas Lane, a coffeehouse keeper, No.9, Love-lane, Eastcheap, city, and James Mortimer, a seaman, were charged with unlawfully meeting each other to commit an unnatural offence. ... The Magistrate committed both prisoners for trial.

Ugh. I hate that so much. Some sexy stuff happens right after the moment I'd chosen, and reading that reminded me that such things would be much more comfortable and safe in darkness (or if ppl just stopped being homophobic, but barring that). I wanted them to feel alone, like the whole world was asleep and it was just them, outside of time.

With that in mind, the iconic Thames Walk Lamp had to go bye bye, and when rendering the background I tried to minimize any light - it's just the suggestion of buildings. I also added tree cover! I tried to imitate how Joan Hassall does trees in some of her artwork, but when she rendered trees like this they were usually farther away/smaller, so my version looks more stylized with how prominent they are.

The ribbon border and book quote presentation is of course more Brock, but by making it black and having the interior image use it as a border instead of a fade-out inside it, I made it a bit of a reference to the very cool foliage edges you see in the very first Hassall image at the top.

I used the procreate brushes from this post on the Procreate Folio forums if anyone wants to try them!

Also fun fact! The font for the quote is called Chanson D'Amour <3 (I initially downloaded it when making the banner before changing the banner font to one called Dark & Black)

------

That's all I have to say about the process for the piece, but here's a comic from Dictionary Of Victorian London, Thames > Sanitary condition that I thought was cute (and gross ig? but also cute):

a Punch comic from 1850, I can't link the page due to how the website URL system works but it's from the Thames > Sanitary condition page

[crappyyuki]

Bryan with lava eyes :DDD

It’s been a while since I fully colored smth :,)

Here’s the Sketch and the one with a background!

I attempted to make lava. I’m not sure if it went well lmao.

I also don’t know how to draw or render muscles but BUFF BRYAN SUPREMACY!

HE IS SLIGHTLY TONED BUT HE CAN FLATTEN A STONE FUCKING COUNTER THATS CANON FIGHT ME

Honestly, I’m not sure if I can write this AU. With confidence I mean. I already got like a 15k word outline going on and it’s still going and it’s been like that for the past 3 years. Yeah. Pretty crazy. But if I can’t write this then I might resort into posting a bulleted list on what I should’ve written in the betterment of those 3 years instead of making a long ass outline to get it out into the world.

I love this AU, you have no idea, but it is so hard to write. So bear with me. I’ll give a bit of insight into it.

• This is a canon divergence of the canon timeline where instead of Bryan taking the hit, it’s Molten taking the hit. (My guy is not having a great time. Both of them.)

• This AU is canon defiant to the actual lore in Bryan’s series. A lot actually. This is a bit more canon compliant to the Fnaf storyline. Focusing more on spirits and souls than portals and portal magic. Soul juice produced from murdered children. All that good stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I love the series but I wish it focused on the souls of the kids and their stories if only a little.

• Let’s say there are a lot of hidden secrets in the old pizzeria that Bryan would carry to his grave. Most of them is guilt. The other is shame borderlining to self loathing.

• “No one would ever believe you.” :)

• This AU’s pov is also on the animatronics side. Mostly Freddy, Helpy (the old one), and maybe probably Foxy (the Rockstar one) I miss them, okay?

• Pat is around too. Watching over the animatronics while getting deathly afraid of them for a definite period of time before making friends with them because wow, those robots aren’t actually gonna force them into a Freddy Fazbear suit. Why did they listen to a pre-recorded message anyway?

• Jon is the one that stumbles onto the secret. But its not complete. He wonders where he should find the other pieces.

• You know OG Freddy? How he was repaired? Yeah. That part wasn’t the only thing that brought him back to life.

• And the monitor Lefty stole from the pizzeria? Maybe Egg Baby? Wonder whats that for?

• The book that Bryan gave to Twisted Bonnie also changed. Still has the blueprints of the animatronics but of different animatronics.

• “Hmmmm, I wonder what I can do for Baby’s birthday? How can I make it her happiest day of her shortlived li—wait, can I even say that?????”

• Also, does anyone know what happened to Twisted Freddy? Did he just become the wind or what? We’ll see.

• Since Lefty didn’t die, let’s say Shadow Freddy had other places to be. And Twisted Wolf? Honestly forgot about that guy hahaha I’ll think of something.

• Oh! EB (Evil Bryan) is there too! Like actually.

• It’s quite funny to have two short humans going on offense while literal monsters go on support and defense lmao. What a bunch of losers.

• “See you on the flipside!”

• Hey. What’s up with Bryan’s eyes?

That’s all for now. Maybe I’ll post another one or work on a chapter? Who knows…

I can’t promise anything. I can only promise that the next will take a whileeeeeeee, a post or a chapter.

I still have not named this AU and marked it as INSERT TITLE HERE.

And to those that recognize that title, I am so sorry. I literally redid the first 5 chapters, finished 4, then dropped it off at chapter 7-8. Chapter 1-4 are finished but 5-8 is a land mine. I don’t know how to keep it going lmao. No really, it’s a struggle writing this dang thing and I want it out of my head too. I can’t promise any chapters or that I’m working on it because I’m so busy but I did not forget it if thats what you’re thinking. It’s just hard to write. Like really hard. That’s why I focused a bit on oneshots.

One things for sure though. It’s either chapter 5, 6, or 7 BUT—

Minigames. Plus Springtrap.

ITH!Bryan: Oh joy.

Feel free to ask questions about this AU! I’d be happy to answer! (Most of them anyway. Can’t reveal everything.)

[pbandjesse]

I am absolutely shattered today. More exhausted then I have been in a while. I am super glad my workshop tomorrow is not happening anymore because I don't think I could handle it. I am just. So tired.

I didn't sleep amazing again. My ears hurt again. I have had go take out all of my piercing. Which seems to have helped a little bit. But I also absolutely slept through my alarm because I was asleep on top of my phone. Thankfully James woke me up at 715.

I was in a horrible mood though. And I was very snippy. I was in my head telling myself to knock it off but I was having a bad time. I was to hot. I would be okay but it did not start well.

James left for work before me. And I took a few extra minutes to sit and watch my new fish because I read that it can help your blood pressure and I do think it helped a little bit. I was out the door by 755.

I got over to creative alliance and loaded up my wagon. As I walked from the corner where I parked t Creative Alliance Parker pulled up and I was like. Oh hi! And I really tried to put on all my energy. But I was for sure more low energy then normal. I tried but I was struggling.

The classroom was 72 degrees. Which was wild. Parker would realize and fix it pretty quick but it did not help how warm I already was. But it would be okay.

I started setting up my program and slowly the kids started coming in. Including some I knew! One from the nursery I subbed at before and one form puhtok. And everyone was really great.

James had given me a bunch of flattened cardboard boxes from soap being sold at the gift shop. So as the kids came in, some went to draw, and some came to help me assemble the boxes. And it was fun. A nice little way to get to know each other and jump right into making stuff.

They were all really excited about the Rubbermaid tubs of stuff I brought. And I gave them plastic bins to start putting things to the side in case they might want to use them for their dioramas. But we would be breaking into two groups later on so it was no rush.

The kids were really funny. And by the end of the day they had developed their own religion, with one of the older boys, Andrew, becoming the cult leader. It was all around an egg that did not shatter with the others. And then at lunch they went to the park and saw a dead bird and I think there is a chicken and the egg conversation to be had but they just kept chanting. And making art about the egg. Children are so wonderfully weird.

Parker took the kids on a tour of the two buildings first. Which gave me a few minutes to eat my breakfast. But soon they were back and we jumped right in.

We started with taking about what a dioramas was. I wrote things in the board and we discussed what it is, what it's made of, why someone might make one. And they had really great answers. Next we filled out the worksheet I made up with information for thinking about how your diorama will function. Who's in it? What's the environment? What are the materials? We then sketched it and then we made paper models of the ideas. Not everyone did all of these steps, and they really didn't have to. But it was good to work through the ideas.

We had approximately 2 and a half hours for each group. And I found that about half of each group spent the entire time making, while the other half finished in about an hour. So I had to push for adding things. And I would find some books and Legos to entertain the littler ones. But overall I think we did great.

I did struggle when I realized I forgot my hot glue sticks at home. So the first group only had 5 sticks. But they really made it work. Like it wasn't perfect but it was still good. Even if I was stressed. And I would cut my finger in my pocket knife when I was helping cut windows out of boxes. Ouch. It was bleeding pretty bad and I was mad at myself.

But the kids did great. Only a few little finger burns on the hot glue guns. No one seriously injured. And they all worked really hard. It was nice to see.

They had a snack break half way through the morning. I would have my little lunch then since I was planning on quickly driving home to get the hot glue during their lunch half hour.

After their snack some of them finished quickly. Some took the rest of the hour. Other started drawing. I had music going. It was a little tough for me to find music without cursing so we ended up listening to Mitski and Julien Baker all day. Which I enjoyed and I think kept the space calm.

We finished the morning session and Parker collected the other class and my class and I headed to the car.

I quickly drove home. Washed my face and tried to shake off the tired feeling. My feet hurt and it would only get worse. But it was okay. I grabbed the hot glue. Pet Sweetp. And quickly drove back. Got the same parking space even!

They were still at the park for lunch so I enjoyed sitting on the stairs outside. I was out there for like ten minutes when I heard the entire group of children chanting "all hail the dead bird!" Over and over. Children are hilarious.

I did have to ban chanting though because half of my second group was getting very frustrated by the boys repeating and being loud about eggs and I was getting frustrated too. You may worship the egg quietly in your head. I just don't want to hear it anymore.

The afternoon felt long. But I know it was mostly because I was very tired. I still had fun. And really enjoyed seeing what everyone was making. Some of the kids really were great at this project and I was so proud of them. This is for sure a 3rd/4th grade project. But what else it new, that's the age I work best with.

Around 330 we started cleaning up. Some were still working. Some were done. I was slowly cleaning up around them. Teaching some how to properly wash paint brushes. Giving others the job of sweeping. And soon parents were showing up.

As they were getting picked up I thanked them all for coming. One of the kids showed me a magic trick. I got to meet the other teachers who were teaching the kids to do magic tricks which was very neat. And after packing my wagon I was ready to go.

I checked in with Parker before I left. And he just said how awesome he thinks I am and how he loves how I know so many things. To be fair I know a little about a lot of things, and it's hurt me in the past. I remember when I applied for Penland to try and get a residency after college and they said I had to many directions in my portfolio. That I needed to focus. But that was never going to be me I guess. I think I like it better that way.

I held it together until I got home. But I was exhausted. My feet hurt so much. I desperately wanted to lay down.

And that's just what I did. I got home and took my shoes off and got on the couch. And that's where James found me not long after. I was very upset and very tired.

I just kept closing my eyes. But James asked me what I wanted for dinner and I wanted brass tap. It took me a while to get to that answer but I did get there. And it was hard to get up. But James pulled me off the couch and we headed to Towson.

James took us a fun back roads way. And I talked to them about some frustrations I am having and that helped me feel a little better.

We parked in the parking garage at the mall and went to the restaurant. And it wasn't amazing and I felt horrible. But I was happy to be with my James. Even if it was to loud. Ah well.

I still appreciated James trying to make me feel better. The food was fine and I saved the salad for tomorrow. We walked through the mall to go to the car because it had started to rain. And it was nice window shopping but I was very much ready to go home.

When we got back here I got changed and got in the couch. James did some painting for the stairwell. And me and Sweetp have just been resting.

And I am very very much ready for bed now. Thankfully the only plans I have this weekend is to have brunch with Callie tomorrow. She's coming to get me in the morning and we have reservations so I'm hoping it's pretty low stress. And I'm just really looking forward to seeing her. Hopefully I will sleep good and be able to feel amazing tomorrow.

I hope you all feel amazing too. I love you all very much. Goodnight everyone.

[tamelee]

Hi hi 👋 I hope you're well.

I love that you draw in different styles, it's like getting different fanarts from different artists but they're all at the same level of talent, if that makes any sense. 😅

Not just talent but you must of poured an insane amount of hardwork to get to the level you're at 💪. Not just that, but you also post on twitter ( I think its because some of your arts get flagged on here?), as well as posting on here AND you are working on your own story.

You're one of my favourite people.

Hiii~! I am fine, no actually, I feel genuinely happy after reading your message ;-;💕 This is now one of my favorites. If it wasn't creepy I would totally print it and hang it on my wall >< seriously, bless your soul Nonee <3

Thankyou so so much for this!!! 🫶🥰

Hope you are also well!

Aaahh I'm glad you love the different styles because it worries me everyday 😩. I don't know how people learn something new but then are able to keep the same style while implementing 'the new'- how do they do it!!? O.o

Unless you mean sketches, manga-style, painting etc- I do post more art on twt because Tumblr also flags sfw art for whatever reason -.- Maybe because they flagged me a few times, all art that I post here gets screened first- or idk! Sometimes it doesn't even show up at all except on my own account xD It's kinda frustrating but oh well.

Yes!! The script of the story I want to draw is a.... little stagnant at the moment because I wanted to change something and it impacts more than I thought it would >< I even need an entire extra character- meh, short setback. But uhm, I kinda always had two idea's. One for drawing which script is almost finished (blank period) and the other in writing (Adult SNS, I wish I could draw both tbh.. but that's impossible) and I already wrote so much for that one too. I'm struggling a bit with English though so I'm not sure if I'll ever release that one... I have so much respect for fanfic authors ;-;<3

[jase-is-ace]

Back into the Pit

Chapter 30: Hunger

The next few weeks revolved around Audrey leaving the toons at home while she was at work. She let Twist know that she was in charge while the animator was out. Twist saluted her and signed that she would try to keep the house in one piece.

Audrey gave a thumbs up, high fiving Bendy before locking the front door and heading towards her car. She messaged Henry the previous night again. They had been talking about different options on how to help Twist out.

So far Audrey had successfully made the ink realm a little less unorganized and hellish, according to Henry.

He would report progress and would let Allison occasionally message her as well. The animator had drawn out rough sketches of new and better living places for all the inhabitants, putting them all in the Illusion of Living book. It seemed anything she put in the book would find itself a home within the ink realm.

The lost ones and searchers now all had a place full of warmth and food.

That was a great sign, but her work wasn’t over just yet. There was still the glaring issue of experiments that Wilson had done. Those horrible spider mutants were still attacking the normal inhabitants, which could not keep happening as far as Audrey was concerned.

Allison and Tom were working to exterminate as much as they could, but it wouldn’t be enough. And then there was the problem of the remaining keepers. Without Wilson for guidance, the heinous experiments found shelter in the depths of the studio.

Luckily, they haven’t caused any major problems yet. Audrey and Henry feared they would stir up something later though.

The young animator was having a hard time keeping her mind solely on her work that day. So many ideas and possible solutions buzzed around in her brain that she couldn’t shut out.

Would Twist eventually revert back to her original form in the real world?

Would that affect her hunger?

What about the Ink Demon?

That thought sent an uncomfortable shiver down Audrey’s spine. She didn’t want to think about that.

Audrey tried to finish as many frames as she could. She met the bare minimum, which was very much below her usual standard. Management didn’t make a big deal out of it, but she knew they were also surprised by the sudden shortcoming. Especially after they so graciously allowed her to have that well deserved break.

The animator sighed as she walked back through the door of her home. A bit of a struggle since she was holding the groceries she so desperately needed.

The moment she locked the door, she heard a loud crash coming from the bathroom, and then a whistle.

She dropped everything onto the floor and bolted towards the sound. Audrey practically burst the door open and was greeted by the sight of Twist, in her monster form. She was currently on the ground trying to regain her composure. Scratch marks littered the wall. Audrey spotted Bendy huddled in the corner with wide eyes, unsure of what to do.

The demoness was huffing, gripping her stomach.

Oh no.

“Twisty? Are you…alright?” Audrey was slow to approach, gesturing for Bendy to come to her.

The toon managed to maneuver around the demoness without riling her up. Bendy quickly ducked behind Audrey, hiding by her leg.

Audrey wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to provoke Twist. She was clawing at the ground, leaving deep marks in the hard tile.

Shampoo and conditioner bottles were knocked down from the shelf near the bathtub.

“Bendy, why don’t you go to your room and wait there for a bit?” Audrey whispered to the toon. He looked up at her with heavy concern. Audrey gave a smile and pushed him back towards the door.

Bendy gave a large frown, he didn’t want to disobey Audrey. But he also didn’t feel comfortable with leaving her to deal with this on her own.

Reluctantly, the toon left the scene, leaving Audrey alone with the feral demon.

“Okay, Twisty. I’m gonna get you something to placate your hunger, alright?” The animator reassured.

Her response was a low growl and more scraping.

The animator pressed her lips into a thin line.

Have I really neglected her for so long?

Guilt over came Audrey as she rethought all those weeks she was focused on fixing the ink realm, forgetting to help the person she promised to fix.

Audrey booked it towards the front door, grabbing the fast food she had gotten along with the groceries. She grabbed the hamburger and fries and ran back to the bathroom.

Twist was now facing the wall, back turned towards the entrance. Audrey gulped, setting down the meal for the demon.

“Here you go. I’ll just leave you to that. Um, let me know if it helps.”

Another growl, a much more aggressive one. A warning to leave.

Audrey shut the door behind her. Half her mind begged her to lock the door, she shook her head. No. Twist wouldn’t hurt them.

The sound of muffled paper tearing came from behind the door, Twist was devouring the hamburger. Audrey sighed, sliding down the only barrier standing between her and a starving predator.

Bendy came into her peripheral vision.

“Bendy! I thought I told you to go to your room.” Audrey said sternly.

“Twist was very upset these past few days.” He signed somberly. The animator gave a quizzical look.

“What do you mean?”

“The hunger was hurting her. Didn’t know what to do.” Bendy explained.

“She said not to tell you. Even when she started whining from the pain.”

Audrey stared at the toon while her thoughts ran wild. Why didn’t Twist tell her? The whole point of her being in the real world was so they could fix it together.

Bendy slowly approached the door, placing his hand on the door as the sound of snarling became more apparent.

“My fault.”

“What? What do you mean ‘your fault’ Bendy?” Audrey furrowed her brows at the devil.

“Attacked her, hurt her badly, spent all her energy. Now she is starving because of me.” He signed; tears started to prick at the corners of his pie cut eyes.

“Oh, Bendy.” Audrey whispered. She held her arms out; the toon hesitated before climbing into her lap.

They sat there for a few minutes, waiting for Twist to settle down.

The scratching at the door never stopped; however, it calmed down a bit. Audrey picked Bendy up as she stood at her feet. She opened the door partially, just enough to illuminate the dark bathroom but not enough to aggravate the demoness.

Twist was nowhere in sight, Audrey peaked into the room. Nothing.

Suddenly Twist’s face was right in front of her. Upside down, to be more specific. Audrey let out a yelp and took a step back. The door swung open fully. Twist landed to the floor on all fours. She had her teeth bared. Hunched over, ready to pounce.

“Twist- “Audrey barely sputtered out before the demoness lunged forward.

The toon in Audrey’s arms whistled loudly as she ducked out of the way. Audrey bolted up the stairs, locking herself and Bendy in her bedroom.

This was not the most ideal situation.

Twist did not pursue them, oddly enough. Audrey could hear pans clattering downstairs in the kitchen. A few doors flying open. More growling. Bendy tugged at Audrey’s sleeve, pointing at the floor. The animator placed the toon on the floor.

“Let me out. I will fix.” Bendy hurriedly signed.

“No! I am not risking your life!” Audrey said sternly. The toon shot her a look before diving into his own ink puddle.

“What the-Bendy!” The animator unlocked her door and bolted down the stairs.

When she reached the kitchen, she spotted Twist on all fours staring at Bendy who was signing…something.

He was moving too fast for Audrey to keep up.

Twist scraped at the floor with her sharp claws. Contemplating.

The demoness seemed to agree with whatever the toon had just asked.

Audrey refrained from snatching Bendy away as he walked over to the drooling demon. The toon stopped right in front of her, holding out his arm, looking away.

The animator watched with bated breath as Twist leaned in. She grabbed Bendy’s hand rather harshly.

Without a second thought, she bit into his little arm. The toon winced, squinting.

Audrey audibly gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. Neither of the ink beings moved for a few moments. Twist pulled away, inky blood trailing down her mouth.

Bendy held his arm, smiling at his friend.

He helped her!

He actually helped her out for once.

She picked him up without warning, the demoness carried him and simply walked past Audrey as if nothing weird had just occurred.

Audrey whipped her head around, dumbfounded. Twist went back into the bathroom, toon in her arms.

When the animator peaked inside, she spotted Bendy sitting on the sink counter.

Twist was patching him up, it seemed.

“Um, Twist? What was that?” Audrey asked. The demon exhaled, hot steam swerving around her teeth. Bendy squinted his eyes as her breath hit his face.

“Hunger. Bendy helped.” She signed, momentarily taking her hands away from treating the little toon.

“You BIT him.” Audrey said, exasperated.

“Needed to consume. No other option.”

The animator furrowed her eyebrows in contemplation. She really needed to find an alternative. This could not happen again.

Suddenly, Audrey’s eyes widened, having an idea that might work out for all of them.

“Twist, what if I found a way to let you transition between your forms more fluently!” She stepped into the bathroom, stepping over the endless claw marks that littered the floor.

The demoness finished wrapping the toon’s arm. Turning to the artist, she cocked her head quizzically.

“That way, if you feel your hunger pangs, you can just switch!”

“Wont work. Hunger affects me either way.” Twist quickly refuted.

“Well, we may as well just start there, right? It would be nice to not rely on those awful signal towers to transform you. Maybe I could fix you up the same way I did Bendy.” Audrey thought more to herself.

“You want to lock my true form away?” Twist signed.

“Huh? No, it’s to help you transform at will.” The animator quickly corrected her wording. Twist seemed to relax.

“Sound goo to you?” Audrey asked, holding her hand out.

Twist contemplated. Bendy looked between the two ladies, expecting.

The demoness nodded, albeit reluctantly.

The two shook hands.

It could work.

It was a start, and that is definitely better than nothing.

Chapter 29 / Chapter 31

Freaking finally! This took way too long. I really burnt myself out with that shipahoy Dudley chapter💀

[jellystarsdrops]

― Spider and the Moon // Chapter 1 ₊✩｡🕷˚🕸⋆｡

currently playing: gone, gone / thank you by tyler, the creator

synopsis: Miles wasn’t up to spending the summer with a cousin he didn’t know until now, especially someone who was half his age. This was going to be the lamest summer ever! Yet Miles would soon learn that he and Lunella are a lot more similar than they thought they were.

word count: 2093 words

ao3 link: 🌔🕷

a/n: this took me a whole ass month to write this so hopefully you guys enjoy!! I'm surprised there isn't a lot of fics of the two interacting

Miles didn’t think he was going to spend his summer like this. He should be at home playing video games or working on some sketches in peace. But instead here he was, trapped inside a hot car in New York when the traffic was really bad. 

To make things worse it was only supposed to be a twenty-minute drive, how did it become almost forty minutes? It didn’t make any sense. Miles groaned as he looked out the window, only seeing all the cars beside them, and double the already terrible time he was having, the loud honking sounds were about to give him a headache and even adding the terrible road rage his father had, this was gonna be a minute before they actually get to where they are supposed to be. Miles was about to go insane.

As Miles started to turn his music up, he thought back on how he even got into this situation. They were all at the dinner table, having casual talk like usual, he was telling his parents how he was glad the school year was over and that he passed all his classes. Miles was so ready to do absolutely nothing this summer.

“You know,” Jefferson, Miles’s dad, would begin as he finished his bite of food and looked up at his son, “I was talking to my brother the other day and he suggested planning a family reunion this summer, you remember Uncle James right?”

Miles hummed, trying to paint a picture of what his relative could look like, but nothing was coming up. “Doesn’t ring a bell.”

“Miles was only a toddler when he last saw James so he has no idea who you’re talking about, Mi Vida.” Rio, Miles’s mom, hummed softly as she ate.

“Oh yeah, you right-” Jefferson says with a chuckle, shaking his head. “But yeah, your Uncle James was suggesting that we all come to stay with them in the Lower East Side of Manhattan for the summer to help plan this big reunion. And with him, he’s going to struggle.”

Miles had to pause, looking at his father with an almost agitated expression but he had to keep a neutral expression so he wouldn’t come off as disrespectful. 

“So you’re telling me… That I’m spending my whole summer with people I don’t even know?” He flat-out said, almost in disbelief.

Jefferson gave Miles a look, frowning at his son. “Well it's not people that you don’t know, this is family, plus this would give you a chance to meet all your uncles, aunts, everyone! Plus it's not like you’re gonna be there by yourself, James’s daughter Lunella will be there too! That would give you a chance to know each other!”

So he would have to spend his summer with basically a stranger? Greeeeeaaaaatttttttt.

“How old is she anyway?” Miles asked his dad, praying that she would be around at least the same age as him.

“Last time I heard from him, I thinnnkkk she might be nine or ten,” Jefferson confirmed with Miles, doing a little shrug.

“Dad, I’m not spending my summer break with a little kid!! That’s basically babysitting at that point!” He said frustratedly, raising his voice a bit.

Jefferson was about to say something before Rio stepped in, giving Miles a stern look that made him shrink down in his seat.

“Don’t talk to your father like that,” She would start off, making sure that would stick into his head, “ Secondly, you should take advantage of this baby. You get to meet another side of your family and they get to see you too! They only heard stories of how smart you are and all the accomplishments you achieved. Not to mention family is the most important thing in this world, we have to stick together… You understand baby?”

Miles would sit in silence, listening to his mom as he thinks. She made a good point. Family is important and after what happened to Uncle Aaron in that alley, he couldn’t lose anymore. He sighs quietly, looking up at the both of them. “You’re right, sorry…. I’ll tryyyyy to make the most of it.” He guessed with a smile on his face. He wasn’t going to enjoy it at all but he wasn’t up for an argument right now. 

The both of them would smile, having a relaxed expression. “That’s the spirit kiddo! Now we leave out in two weeks so make sure you pack everything you need.” Jefferson begins to list off all the things that they have to do. 

As Miles would nod with a smile, in the back of his head, he was dreading the day of the trip. This was going to be one long summer…

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

After the almost atrocious hour-long drive, they finally made it to the apartment complex that his uncle stayed in. Speaking of his uncle, as soon as they parked up on the side of the road, he came to greet them with a big smile and hug. 

“Jeff my man! You made it! At first, I thought you got lost, you know how bad your eyes are.” James teased Jefferson, the two pulling each other into a hug before fake wrestling a bit. “Oh har har, you think you’re sooo funny!” Jefferson laughs with him before stopping. “It’s good to see you too man…”

Three more people would come out of the building. James’s wife Adria would come out to help them get their stuff out of the car, along with Mimi and Pops who were technically Miles’s grandparents. 

“Look at you! Boy, I remember when you could hardly hold up your head!” Pops exclaimed, hugging Miles. “Now look at you! Almost as tall as me!” He says as he ruffles Miles’s hair a bit.

Miles smiles, hugging him back as he looks at Pops. “It has been a while. It’s good to see you guys again!” He hummed, fixing his hair.

Mimi chuckles as she walks over to Miles, giving him one of her big hugs and looking up at him while holding his face. “This must be the famous Miles Morales that I hear so much of! Getting into one of the most prestigious schools in Brooklyn!” She praised him with a big smile on her face. “How’s it going over there? I just know you’re making your parents proud!”

Miles bashfully smiles, rubbing the back of his head. “It’s going good, Spanish was kicking my butt but I managed!” 

“That’s good sugar, I know your momma is making sure you pass.” Mimi laughed and Rio chuckled a little as well. Mimi would then take Miles’s bookbag off his shoulders. “Now let's get you inside so I can start dinner, has my son not been feeding you? You look like a walking paper bag!”

“I heard it's supposed to get windy later tonight, don’t want you to fly away and we have to chase you!” Pops laughed, patting him hard on the back before helping with Rio’s bags and carrying them inside. Miles chuckles softly, rubbing where Pops had hit him in the back as he enters the apartment. It was a cozy little apartment but it was big enough room for all of them to stay in. Mimi showed them where they would be sleeping, now getting situated and comfortable. As Miles looked around the guest room that he would be staying in, he sighed softly with a little smile, marking the start of his summer as he saw that this wasn’t so bad. And on the bright side, this could be a good break from all the Spider-man stuff he’s been dealing with recently. He deserved it.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Later that night, they would be all talking during dinner, reminiscing on the past, and overall having a good time. Mimi had cooked them all dinner which was the most delicious meal he had ever had, besides his mom’s of course. Miles had to admit, he was having a good time. The room was filled with laughter and a comforting aura in the house. It was really nice. His uncle was a bit of an oddball like his dad said but he found it really amusing. Pops and Mimi were funny too, plus he found that his Aunt Adria is a DJ at a Rollerink that they owned which was very cool. Even though it’s like them meeting for the first time, Miles feels like he has known them all his life. 

As his dad and uncle continued to discuss the whole plan for the reunion, Rio turned to Adria with a hum. “So where’s Lunella? I haven’t seen or heard from her all day.” She asked her. 

Oh yeah, he completely forgot about her. Come to think of it, Miles didn’t even know if she came out to see them when they first arrived here.

“Honestly I’m not sure, that girl has a mind of her own I swear. This morning she was in such a rush that she didn’t sit down for breakfast!” Adria explained to Rio, ranting a little about her daughter. 

“Well, you know our Lunella, she has a mind of her own!” Mimi chuckled softly, sipping on her cup of coffee. “She’s probably out with her friend Casey or something.”

“But it’s almost 10:30! I understand that it’s summer but it’s too late for her to be out late.” Adria huffed sternly, looking at the time on her phone and about to dial her number.

As if it was almost on cue, the front door opened and there was the person they were just talking about. Lunella had entered into the kitchen, winded as she was out if breath from running all the way there. When she finally caught her breath, she cleared her throat and fixed her clothes. “Sorry I got here late! I uh- Case and I weren’t paying attention to the time!” She explained herself. Lunella would then notice the people in her home, flushing softly in embarrassment. She completely forgot that family was supposed to come over this summer.

“Well next time please pay attention next time baby, you’re too young to be out in the streets this late.” Adria sighed, going over to Lunella to fix some hair that was in her face.

“Mooomm I’ll be fine! I’m not a baby anymore!” Lunella whined, brushing her mom’s hand away as she scoffed.

Adria chuckled at her anger, fixing Lunella’s glasses on her face. “You may not be a baby anymore but you are ten, so don’t make me repeat myself Lunella Lafayette.” She scolded her a bit but in a playful tone. Adria wasn’t really mad at her, just worried. “Now don’t be rude and say hello to your relatives! You remember your Uncle Jeff and Aunt Rio? Don’t forget your cousin Miles too!”

Lunella would say her hellos to the both of them with a bright smile, making slight conversation with her uncle and aunt. As she would talk to them, Miles sat in silence before it was his turn. Lunella was… really short and nerdy. He could just tell by looking at her and the way that she spoke, she was a nerd. Not in a bad way of course! Miles was a nerd in many different things so hopefully they could get along.

When Lunella got done talking to his parents, Miles smiled brightly and waved to her. “It’s nice to meet you Lu! I know you probably don’t know me but I hope we could get along!” He exclaimed, wanting to make a good impression. 

The look on Lunella’s face was almost lethal. It was the most uninterested and annoyed look that Miles would ever see on a person. It was giving him flashbacks from the first time he might Miguel, which wasn’t how he thought meeting the leader of a Spider Society was going to go. She was giving him such death glares that he thought his head was going to explode. They stared at each other in an uncomfortable silence that Miles swore felt like forever before she would flash him a smile. 

“Same! I can’t wait to spend the summer with you!” Lunella says in a cheerful tone but it was clear that both the smile and tone are fake. She would drop the cheerful act before fixing herself a plate of food, everyone else still carrying on with their own conversations while Miles was left speechless in his seat.

‘What the hell was her problem??’

[a-heart-like-a-sparrow]

February 5th, 2024 - Swings

────────────────────────────── Woke up at 2-3 PM ... I finished these ugly sketches ──────────────────────────────

•••┊┊🌙┊┊•••┊┊🌙┊┊•••┊┊🌙┊┊•••┊┊🌙┊┊•••

I didn't start well again. But let's not talk about that.

I finished these little sketches. Side profile, front, and something in between. The feet don't fit in the picture, but they're basically triangles. I struggled a lot with that.

Yes, I know. All of them even look to different directions. We should focus on the rest of the body tho. Remember that this was made without any references. In my humble opinion, it looks pretty good, since I rarely draw like this.

Anyway, the journey through Kate Bush's discography has begun. I calculated the songs, which are 102, and I decided that I'll listen to 6 songs every day until February 21st. Today I listened to...

Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) - from Hounds of Love, 1985

Babooshka - from Never for Ever, 1980

Wuthering Heights - from The Kick Inside, 1978

Pull Out the Pin - from The Dreaming, 1982

Joanni - from Aerial, 2005

Lily - from The Red Shoes, 1993

My favourite one was Babooshka. I'm obsessed.

Hey, I could write down all the songs I listen to everyday! I know nobody cares, but meh, let's do it.

I'm planning to finish a chapter of the book I was reading and calculate how many chapters I can read every day. To finish it before classes begin. Yeah, everything needs to be calculated for me.

Oh, and I finished the first season of Steven Universe. It turns out that math wasn't mathing and I had 15 episodes left, not 10... I watched all of them in one night. Now, the idea is watching 4 episodes from Monday to Thursday, and watch the other 6 on Friday, so I can finish the second season in one week.

I'm loving it! It brings so much memories...

I consider this day a good one. I drew a bit and I'll go back to reading and do those things I used to do. I'm better than this.

I hope so.

So anyway, rest well. I'll try to.

•••┊┊🌙┊┊•••┊┊🌙┊┊•••┊┊🌙┊┊•••┊┊🌙┊┊•••

[starsoforionwrites]

So, I'm finally back to writing Nature of Purity after.... fuck me, 7 months without an update. And I thought I'd take a moment to talk a little bit about why I stopped updating it.

The Setup

When I started posting NoP it was, I thought, mostly done. I'd originally intended it to be about 20k words. I had a sketch for the the overall plan, and I'd written what at the time felt like about 75% of it. In fact, I'd been sitting on those chapters for a few months already, working on them here and there as the whim took me.

One of the reasons I started posting it on AO3 was to try and push myself to complete it. I'd never finished a fic before. NoP was actually the first thing I'd written in years.

So I jumped in and started posting, knowing that if I stuck to a weekly update schedule I had a twelve week buffer to finish it off. That's ages! So much time! And I only had a few more chapters to write really!

Things went fine for a while, although I was still really struggling to stick to a schedule. I mostly managed though. I know some of you sit down and write in huge swathes, working steadily for hours and churning out 20k words at a time. That ain't me. I flit in and out of my fics, working for 20 minutes here, adding 150 words there. I'll get tired of the section I'm writing and move down a few pages, adding a section title with a couple of bulletpoints of things that will happen.

If I work at it, I can hit 1500 words in an hour-ish. I'm quite lucky in that once I start writing, I don't get stuck. Staring at an empty page means sometimes I never start, but if I put words to paper then I can keep going, flow of consciousness, pretty easily.

But usually, 2 hours is about my absolute maximum for a session, and I pretty much max out at 2 sessions a week.

Anyway, around June of '21, THINGS started to happen in my life. Here's a fun list.

I got a promotion at work

My mortgage came up for renewal

I ended up buying a new house instead

I had to buy a new car

I had a trivial argument with some close friends that got blown out of all proportion

This literally all took place in a period of about two months, which is right about the time I stopped writing. I kept posting chapters, but I couldn't bring myself to write any more. I ran out of chapters to post in August '22 (although I had been checked out mentally for a long time beforehand), and then I fucked off into the darkness never to be seen again.

So yes this is obviously a mental health post

I've always really struggled with depression. It's been a constant in my life ever since I can remember. I was sent home from school several times when I was around 10-12 because I was inconsolable over nothing. Or had been laughing hysterically for hours. Or I'd been staring at a wall for hours.

Eventually they sent me to counselling, which I did not handle well either.

Things got really bad for me around 16-20, and then slowly I started to level out a bit. Eventually I mostly got a handle on it as I learned to live with myself.

That said, I still find it really, really easy to fall into depression. Days when I wake up and just think "no" and go back to bed are still not uncommon.

This is all a precursor to say that, that bullet-point list above? Yeah, I didn't handle it too well.

The promotion at work came with huge amounts of new stress. I was now a client-facing, team-leading, systems-architecting badass, and my workload roughly quadrupled.

Buying a new house is also, it turns out, ridiculously stressful. This is the second time I've been through the process, although the first time round I had a partner to do it with. This time, it was just me, and on top of that I was having to deal with the transfer of assets due to my prior mortgage being in both our names, along with a wildly fluctuating market value of property. I'm aware this is not a particularly relatable thing to bitch about (oh no, poor me, my hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of material assets), but at several points in the process it genuinely looked like it would all fall through and I would be left homeless in one way or another.

The new car was a fucking ridiculous situation. I previously had a company car, as a perk because they didn't want to give me a raise. This meant I could sell my car and was very cool! Then covid. The company decided to cancel the car policy, and I no longer had one at all. Then the chip shortage! Remember that? The price of second hand cars skyrocketed. Again, very stressful.

And then the nail in the cake, my friends situation. I'm not gonna go into it, but it was ridiculous. Like, a genuinely stupid argument over absolutely nothing important. These are people I've known IRL for fifteen years. But the upshot was, I didn't feel welcome around them anymore, so I just stopped showing up on discord.

I haven't spoken to any of them since.

Sooooo, all this shit combined together to leave me a barely functioning person. I just about held things together enough to get moved in. I unpacked. And then I more or less fell apart.

Don't call it a comeback

Eventually I crawled my way back out of my pit.

This is, genuinely, in no small part thanks to the wonderful comments I received while still posting NoP. I have saved many of these comments. The fact that people were engaging with the stuff I was writing brought me so much happiness, I actually don't know how to describe it.

Reading the comments from you guys, who are out there reading my work, literally makes me cry almost every time. I get weepy over it. I have to go and have a little sit down. I can't stop smiling. It uplifts me, even if the comment is something small and throw-away for you. And Christ, some of you write such beautiful things. My God. Are you for real? I want to hug you so fucking badly.

But I was left in a bit of a pickle. I couldn't face going back to NoP. I'd sit in front of it, and I just couldn't find the voice anymore. The exact state of mind I'd been in when I was writing Hermione and Draco bitching away at each other in the library was eluding me. I'd sit staring at an empty chapter, which just had headers in it like "Talking to Luna" and "Nott a problem" and I was like who the fuck wrote this what does it mean??

But I wanted to write again.

And I had so many WIPs. Like no lie I have about thirty, that range from one-sentence descriptions of a vibe, to heres-a-complete-first-chapter-and-nothing-else-lol-figure-it-out.

And one of those WIP's was actually fun, and breezy, and easy to write. Epistolaries are so fucking easy my guy. Like they're so easy. You don't have to worry about any of that other shit! You don't need a plot, or to set the scene! You don't need to force yourself to describe what people are doing as they talk. They aren't doing anything! They're just writing letters! So easy!

For reference, I find dialogue absolutely trivial to write. It's everything else that fucks me up. So heck yeah epistolaries.

And it was a LOT of fun. Especially those first few easy-breezy chapters. Especially when you can leverage the fact that everyone reading knows EXACTLY what's happening in the background, so you can just drop allusions to it here and there in dialogue.

So I began posting The Penpal Program. And, because it was mostly canon-compliant, it got heavier and darker towards the end, but still stayed pretty light and fluffy. I had a few hiccups here and there where I (as I am wont to do) did no writing at all for three weeks and then had to have a massive catch-up session in the 11th hour, BUT I completed it.

And again, the comments throughout the whole process kept me going. It's actually crazy how much it makes my day to read a comment.

And, throughout all of this, I've been conscious of not updating NoP. I've had a couple of comments here and there asking for updates, and they've made me feel guilty. I've looked back at one specific comment made on the last chapter I wrote, letting me know they had faith in my storytelling. That they couldn't wait to see what happened.

And I feel like I let them down personally. Like I've just been the most useless, selfish, worthless asshole for seven fucking months. And I know that's crazy and depression and etc. etc. (I do know that), but still. I want to finish the fic. For them. And for the rest of you, who have commented, or not. Who hit the kudos or the like button or the bookmark or who didn't do any of these things and just kept the tab open and refresh it once every month or so. And also, for me. So it's done. Because it's not the longest fic ever written, or the fluffiest, or the darkest or the most realistic. But it's mine, and I'm proud of it. I've loved writing it. I love reading it back, because I'm a slut for reading my own stories. I love the way I feel every time I see someone else like it. I love sharing it with you guys.

And so, I'm writing it again. And I'm going to finish it. As I write this I have two chapters left to go and then it will be complete. I'm going to complete it before I start posting it again. I don't want to throw a single chapter up and then lose control again and disappear.

I said there would be four chapters to go, but there will actually be five. Three of them are written.

I also have a couple of "scenes from the cutting room floor", which I think I'll just chuck on here for you pack of reprobates to read. Or maybe I'll put them on AO3 as part of a series, loosely affiliated.

Either way, The Nature of Purity will be complete, and should be updating on AO3 within the next few weeks.

Sorry for wasting almost 10k words (fuck me) on this explanation of why I've not been writing, but I figured fuck it, you might wanna know.

Anyway as a little treat for reading so far have a little snippet form the next chapter of NoP.

"Merlin Hermione," George said, interrupting her. "I don't give a shit about your exams! Tell me about Draco dearest. I mean, when he stormed in here at Christmas and read Harry the riot act... Honestly, he got me all hot and bothered!"

"George!"

"Oh come on babe, I'm only human! Besides, I was only looking at him."

"Well keep your bloody eyes to yourself you git!" she snarled, as George and Ginny both giggled and exchanged significant looks.

"Relax love, he's not really my type you know? He was just all... I dunno. Commanding!"

"Oooh yeah," Ginny cut in. "I know what you mean. He's a bit... angular for me really, but he looked very.... stern didn't he Georgie?"

Hermione resumed drinking her tea, tuning out the background of Weasleys singing the praises of her betrothed. For Merlin's sake, Draco was right. They had no bloody decorum.

[iceprincess129official]

Art Block and Never Completes

Hi everyone, I finally got over being stuck on an artwork and thought I'd share how it went. I had posted the sketch of this one drawing awhile back to show my art process, but as soon as I posted that sketch. I wasn’t happy with the hands and just couldn’t fix them at the time. SO I put that art on the back burner and it fell into the abyss of incomplete art projects and drawings that every artist has I am sure. I loved the pose and the body that I was able to do and I didn’t want to throw it away or never finish it.

In order to move forward I had to overcome my anxiety about everything needing to be perfect. I will admit that hands are very hard for me and they never look right, I will try, give up and move onto another drawing that doesn’t have them in frame. But in order to improve as an artist I have to overcome this. It took quite awhile for me to think over how I should move forward with this project. And after like what? 2 months ish? I just decided to use the incomplete second sketch as my line art and use this as an opportunity to mess with colors and shading and new brushes I never touch. This slowly became a “Fuck around and find out” kind of process.

I always color the line art to match the colors inside the lines, so I still did that, I then went around and tried different brushes and filters for the background layers. I wish I had saved what those looked like during the process but oh well.

I then added the purple colors from the bottom of the frame to the colors inside the lines and shaded the line art to match a bit. I thought I was done with my experimenting but then I got a the idea of making my own FX brush effect and I experimented with making a glass look. Using different brushes and a lot of Alpha Locking layers I got it to look a little like glass.

Again, all of this was just to experiment. I always see finished works or the beginning parts to other artists works and honestly, I wish I saw more works being posted where they weren’t all perfect and see the artist having fun with the process and testing new things out more. I think the reason why I and a lot of other artists struggle and give up on most projects is because we compare ourselves to others far to often and because we only see the beginning and end, we falsely assume nothing went wrong and they draw their art without any issues. That’s not true mind you, but it can seem that way by mistake on our parts I think.

I hope by sharing this forgotten project and the experiments I did, help others break out of the pressure of being perfect all the time. It’s okay to be messy on the internet and in real life.

[quilveor]

And now for the

✨bonus content~!✨

Before I finished the full proper art, I had a lot of simpler sketches, working out the visual design. Working out how would an iceless Kyurem even look to begin with was actually pretty fun. He'd clearly have some horns on his head, since both Zekrom and Reshiram have that going on for them in SOME way. But I figured his own head would be pretty uneventful, simple. He's the remnant, he doesn't get anything "fun" under that ice. In fused forms, Kyurem always has a frozen 'copy' of whatever he recovered, instead of just going with what he normally has. But if he had just a smooth head, ice wouldn't make sense to form spikes at all.

The vest came second, canonically it's a gift from his patrons, and he cherishes it dearly. It gives him a sense of being "civilized", part of the society that he once was so terrified of. [The hat was a joke by a friend. Let's say canonically he's been given it as well, but he only wears it for that single person.

The logo, like his name, is inspired by chinese symbolism. 5 visible rays refer to him being an individual [since it means "me"], 9 total rays refer to his status as Heroes' advisor [since it's associated with the emperor] It being a dawning sun is not chinese symbolism, it's just reflecting him "coming out of the darkness".

The bracers are a bit saucy. They're symbol of self-imprisonment, making Wu remember that he once kept himself isolated, bound by his own depression. But that isolation, that feeling of being trapped, bound, he grew to find actual comfort in it. He wears them not to reminder himself of worse times, but because they give him genuine peace. Bondage is his comfort fetish. It's definitely a big part of his personality, but he still tries to pass it off as something else, since, well, he's not going to discuss that with everyone.

Wu does, absolutely, refreeze in his sleep. His room is kept fairly cold for his own health, which means that every time he wakes up he has to deal with ice on him, and having it melt away soon enough. At first it was a struggle, but after some time he just accepted it as part of his routine. "Like a human shaving a beard in the morning."

I really like the sketches of him with people. Some random heliolisk patron, his "gracious host" that I shan't describe, and his "other halves" - Reshiram and Zeke. I really like the small progression, even if it's kinda backwards-placed. He's first alone, surrounded by darkness, then joined by Zeke who tries his best, occupies him, but he can't do much alone, and then joined by Reshiram as well, finally being able to smile and feel relaxed.

He wouldn't fuse with them even if he could, he values the two of them far too much to do that. They're their own individuals, vastly different, and it would be tantamount to murder in his opinion. Besides, he's got someone to talk to.

Zeke is a memer, his "ideal" is the internet and culture in there. Massive zoomer vibes, being nigh incomprehensible if he wants to. He used to agree with any ideals, but outgrew that, being embarrassed by that far too hard.

Reshiram instead devoted himself to understanding why some give their all for things that they know are obviously untrue. By which he means acting. Movies especially blew his mind.

Being able to talk to his counterparts freely, on good terms, it definitely healed Wu's wounded soul. There are days in which he shrinks, hides, as depression overtakes his mind... but as he is right now, he's not allowed to do that for too long. There's so many people watching out for him... he is truly a happy kyurem.

Oh, and, since he's still a bit frosty, especially around his wings, any bottles he grabs will be nicely chilled. That's a hit with patrons.

Wu of Dawn's Boundary

Unfrozen, reintegrating. Ancestral trauma dug deep, yet there is always warmth awaiting at the Dawn's Boundary.

"My name is Wu, sir. How may I help you tonight?"

Wu's been a character I was working on for last, oh, year. More than that, actually. A Kyurem that abandoned the icy visage, that tries to be proper. The dragon. Past cannot be abandoned or ignored, yet perhaps the future can still hold some pride.

I have three kyurem characters, and they're all dealing with ancestral trauma of the original Kyurem [who split apart, and was the cause of a major civil war] in their own ways. Wicked gave in fully to it, being miserable in a cave. Raic, who was around here before, tries to ignore it and find his own meaning in life, separate to the trauma. And finally Wu, who has truly made peace with his past, and found pride in who he has always been.

I really like Wu as a character. He's wise, he's helpful, he truly desires someone to be there for him. If he can be around people, he prospers and overcomes his issues; leave him alone for too long and he's visibly withering away. And so, he found a job in a very people-focused place, he has his own bar so he's forced to interact with strangers day by day. He's forced to thaw the chains of misery.

He's not really doing this on his own, either. He had someone, a particularly powerful creature who made a pokemon-friendly city, kick his ass out of solitude twice. Maybe I'll get more into detail on the city, and its unusual owner... but not in this post.

His bar is an unusual place. It opens only at night, and biggest part of it is a giant basking spot with caves. Wu intends the place to be for those pokemon who need a bit of warmth to get through cold nights. Constantly high temperature of the place caused him to lose his own ice [but only temporarily! Wu does refreeze if it gets too cold!] but he's more than okay with that. He needs not to be punished further.

So there's that. Wu. The iceless Kyurem. And straight up one of my favourite OCs I have ever made. He's a joyful fella.

Here at the end of this ramble I would like to thank, like, ALL of my friends I have been bothering over last few weeks asking for opinions, corrections, or just being a sneaky gremlin not saying what I was actually planning. You're all fantastic, and you all helped me get through doing this. Love y'all.

Hahraan~!

[luveline]

you know, I'm coming right back [Fred Weasley x Reader]

summary: you're a lonely artist and Fred is your adoring model

word count: 2.4k

tags: reader insert, lonely reader, artist reader, seventh year, kids in love, first kiss, getting together, pining, fluff, friends-to-lovers

It was easy for you, usually, to act fine. To feel fine. Any loneliness that clouded your life was pushed firmly into the depths of your thoughts. You tried to focus on the things that mattered, essays and charms and your art.

You loved to draw. You had sketchbooks filled to the brim with sketches, some half finished, others coloured and lined. You drew everything, though you struggled to bring anything from your memory. Everything you drew had to be done right there, right then, with unsuspecting models. You sketched students eating their dinner, scribbled side profiles when you managed a spare minute in class. But you're most impressive artwork was done in the library, where nothing moved. Everyone was silent. You had pages and pages of bored, tired looking students. When exams approached, you hurriedly copied down the expressions of people on the edge of depression and panic.

You had friends, ish. You knew people. You'd had intense friendships that somehow always ended in awkward drifting aparts. Well, you thought. There must be something wrong with me. They liked me before they didn't, so the fault must've been mine.

You huffed out a sigh, pressing your face deep into the textured page of your sketch book, breathing in the smell of charcoal. You were sketching the illusive Fred Weasley, who you'd never truly drawn before. Maybe you had scraps from your second or third year when you'd still attempted to draw moving objects before getting comfortable and accepting that still life was your forte.

He was maddeningly good lucking when his eyebrows puckered in concentration. He seemed to actually be studying for once, sat at a table with his brother, George, and housemates Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet.

You were sat by yourself, and couldn't help listening to his lilting voice as he bantered with his friends. They were talking about Umbridge (the current victim of the Hogwarts' student body hate train), and quidditch, and their recent ban from quidditch. You'd never played.

"Watch out, dolly fell asleep," said one of the girls.

You bit your lip. You'd been nicknamed dolly by the girls in your dorm because of your porcelain doll you'd had since childhood. Even though this year was your last, you still hadn't felt the need to hide her away. She made you feel much less anxious and alone.

The whole school knew, naturally.

"Don't get any funny ideas," said Angelina,  to the twins.

"Come on Angie, you think so little of us?" said George.

"Yesterday I watched you trick a group of forth years into taking puking pastilles." Angelina said.

"It was hardly a trick. We told them they were multi-faceted," said George.

You could hear your heartbeat if you focused. It was in your ears. It bump, bump, bumped.

Bump bump. You flinched, a hand settled on your shoulder quickly moved.

"Wake up, dolly. Library's closing."

You squinted up into Fred's face, head halo'd by candlelight. Lifting your head from the wooden table, you stretched your neck to the left. It clicked.

"Uh..."

"Hmm?" You prompted him, smoothing your hair behind your ears.

"You have - dirt. On your face. Here-" He said, reaching forward. You closed your eyes as he gently wiped the skin above your eyebrow.

"It's charcoal."

"What?"

"It's not dirt," you said, peaking at him through your eyelashes. "It's charcoal."

He looked mildly surprised. You shifted, hoping to cover your sketch before he caught sight of it.

It didn't matter.

"It's me. My gorgeous dolly, you've created quite the masterpiece right there, haven't you? I look vexingly handsome, of course. Thought if that's a consequence of your skill or my handsomeness is anyones guess."

You were lost for words. "Uh, quite."

"Yes, yes, quite. Say, could I keep it?"

"... You want the drawing?"

"I'd love it, if that's okay."

"I," you quickly dug your thumbnail into the paper, tearing carefully at the centre. The paper came away a little ragged and smudged. "Of course. It's yours."

He handled it with care.

The librarian jingled her little bell again.

"Thank you. So, see you?"

"Yep," you agreed.

He nodded his head and bowed out with his friends. You tried not to feel paranoid at their laughter.

-

You were curled up in a hidden alcove, though it was hardly hidden. Most students knew where to seek privacy in the castle. You just so happened to get there first that evening.

You were trying to sketch Fred again. It felt weird to be missing a page from your book, and weirder still that you couldn't remember his face when he wasn't right in front of you. You tried, but it kept going wrong.

When you finally managed one you liked well enough, you had accidentally ruined it with a heavy hand and the wrong shade of brown.

He looked much too brunette.

You carefully rolled your coloured pencils back up, securing the leather ties tightly so as to keep every pencil confined.

Sighing morosely, you flipped to a new page. Things got so complicated sometimes, it made you agitated. You doodled a little sad face in the corner of your page. When the one thing that you enjoyed in life started to go wrong, it set off your whole mood.

Your birthday was coming up. It had been on your mind a lot lately. You'd spend it alone. That's what you figured. Nobody would know it was your birthday, or if they did, you weren't friends now, so...

You began with an arching circle, bisecting the lines appropriately. Feeling out the familiar lines of your own face came easy, the slight upper tilt of your brows, your hair and your pursed mouth. You always looked sad in the mirror, and it showed, dotted here and there when the only thing to draw was your own face.

The rudimentary outline of a birthday cake took form. The candles were unlit.

In a fit of unhappiness, you scratched out your mouth. It was never smiling.

"What did that piece of paper ever do to you?" said a voice.

You jumped. Fred was peering down at you curiously, wringing his hands. You put your pencil between the soft cover and smashed it flat, closed.

"Hi, dolly."

"Weasley."

"Oh, not even a first name?"

"You neglected mine first," you reasoned, rolling the words. He smiled at your joking tone.

"How rude of me. Hi, Y/N," he corrected himself.

"Hi, Weasley."

He smirked.

"Anymore of me in that blessed vessel?"

"Nah. You never stand still."

"If I pose for it?" He asked. You patted the ground in front of you.

He was a lovely model. He stayed infinitely still, more still than you imagined possible for him. He sat at a 3/4ths angle, chin up but not too far, mouth tilted and eyes open.

His eyes were the one thing he couldn't keep still. You tried not to flame in the cheeks everything you'd catch his gaze on you.

You sketched fast, choosing to hatch rather than render, big swooping lines to give the illusion of a depth that wasn't really there. You would've loved to do a full render, maybe even a colour portrait, but he was beginning to look a little antsy.

You set the book on the floor to face him and pushed it into his eyesight softlt. He turned. He looked nice like that, face bent, hair falling into his eyes.

After a moment, he began scrounging through his robe pockets. He set down a box, a lighter, a pair of gloves.

Finally, he set a galleon onto the floor close to your crossed legs.

"For you," he said, smiling at your inquisitive look. "For the drawing."

"Oh, I can't accept that. And I'd like to keep this one, if it's alright."

Fred thought for a moment. "Alright, you keep it. And the galleon, too, for the one you gave me the other day."

You bit back a smile. "I can't take your money, Fred."

"I can't keep having you draw me for free. It's as valuable a service as anything else. Plus, I'm not sure if you know, but I run a lucrative business these days."

You picked up the coin, rubbing your thumb against the engravings thoughtfully. "It's hardly a service."

"A talent, then. A skill. You're very good."

You're neck almost snapped as you looked into his face, wanting to assess his expression for genuineness. He looked earnest, and kind. You blinked away the gathering heat behind your eyes.

"Thank you."

He waved a hand at you. "Think nothing of it."

"Really-" you cleared your throat, "-you're doing me a favour. I'm not good at drawing things that move."

"I'm sure you're better than you think," he said.

You shook your head, smiling smiling smiling.

"What's in the box?"

"Oh, this old thing?" Fred weighed the box in his hands. It was soft at the corners, like a simple jewelry box that you had in your trunk. He offered it to you. You opened it carefully, the lid sliding free with a shhhhh sound. Inside was an evil looking fruit pastille, a match stick and a dried up flower petal.

It felt like a very private thing to see, suddenly. Such an eclectic collection of items couldn't be random.

"The first puking pastille George and I made. Or rather, the second - the first was forcibly fed to Lee Jordan in our third year. The match stick is from my Uncle's matchbox. I never met him. And the flower was from Ginny, when she was 9." He sounded nervous.

"It's a memory box."

"I- yes. It is. Things are sometimes so miserable now, with Umbridge and you-know-who. Scary, even. I look at them when I feel like it won't ever end."

You took them in for a little while longer and then placed the lid onto the box with nimble fingers. You scratched the lid with a fingernail.

"It's nice. You're right. Things are so awful right now, it's good to have reminders of why we keep going."

"Exaclty. Dolly, can I interest you in a fruit pastille?"

"Not on your life."

"They're perfectly edible!"

"Sure, Fred."

-

The honest conversation you'd shared with Fred was a catalyst between you. He often came to find you, each time whining and nagging you to just sit in the library like most people do.

"What, so your housemates can throw paper balls at me?"

"They thought you were sleeping!"

A likely story, you thought. He sometimes asked you to draw him, posing with the elegance of a natural born model. It was great for you personally, you felt that you were really getting a feel for his face. Eventually, you were able to draw his face from memory, the details of his nose coming to your fingers as easily as a first year spell.

It became about capturing emotion. You could capture his likeness now without a second thought, but his emotions were much more complicated. How would you show his veiled frustration the day Umbridge kicked him off the quidditch team? Through the clenching of his jaw? The shy veins in his forehead? How did you showcase the fear when he'd come back to Hogwarts after Christmas break, through his eyes, downturned and squinting just a little?

Today, it was poorly hidden elation. "How come you're so happy?" You asked, pencil between your teeth. He grinned. You measured his face with your thumb in the air, forming an L.

"Is it a prank?"

"You're thinking too small."

"A new product?"

"Still need to go bigger!"

"Hmmm," you hummed. Measure twice, cut once. Or in your case, sketch once.

"George and I, we're gonna open a shop."

"A section at Zonko's isn't enough for you?" You asked, casually, though you were very very happy for him.

"It's going to be amazing. We're going to run it, just the two of us, and you won't catch me in these scrappy long sleeves anymore. The next time you see me, I'll be in a full suit and tie."

"The next time? Is that not tomorrow?"

Fred closed his mouth, realising his mistake. He had revealed something he hadn't intended to. "We're leaving," he confessed. "We were going to wait for our NEWTs but... Well, we won't need them. This is going to work."

"So. You're leaving today?" You asked, crestfallen.

"Hey," Fred said, rubbing a placating hand over the curve of your shoulder. "Tomorrow. During the DADA OWL. We have a plan."

"This is goodbye?"

"No! No. Not if you don't want it to be. Actually, I've been meaning to ask you something, and maybe now isn't the best time, I had this whole letter planned and I didn't want to distract you from your exams and-"

"What do you want to ask me?"

Fred straightened. "I wanted to ask - will you go out with me? Not, you don't have to be my girlfriend if it's too soon, I'd love to take you for food someplace, I was going to ask you to Hogsmeade, but when the shop officially became ours, the plans changed so fast and I didn't know if you'd still want-" you cut off his rambling.

"I'll be your girlfriend," you said.

"You will?"

"Sure, if you'll be my boyfriend," you murmured.

Fred moved the arm that had been on your shoulder to the nape of your neck. "That's a dealbreaker," he said, leaning in.

He kissed you chastely on the lips first and then pulled back to look into your face. You chased him, a moment of bravery, and opened your mouth to taste him. He was sweet, like sugar. Your sketch pad crinkled beneath you both as he pressed forward. Your chests touched, heaving.

"You're not gonna be my boyfriend?" You asked against his mouth, breathing hard.

"I'm gonna be much more than that, dolly," he said heatedly.

Your mouth was tingling. "Kiss me again?"

You gasped at the force of him, laughing. He laughed too against your lips, and the sound tickled. He gave you a multitude of short and sweet kisses before pulling away again.

He wiped the wetness from your lip with his pinky finger. "Godric, you're cute. Look how flushed you are! You're insane."

Something churned in your stomach. The butterflies had acquired a trampoline. You felt happier than you had in a very long time. "You're not half-bad yourself, Weasley."