#this one was really fun to do ! could experiment with colours and with another line brush

[bvidzsoo]

Through your colours

Author: bvidzsoo

Pairing: artist!Kim Hongjoong x barista!reader

੭ Warning: recreational drug use (weed), alcohol consumption, swearing ੭ Word count: 11k ੭ Rating: nc-17 ੭ Genre: fluff, angst-ish, slice of life, strangers to lovers, a hint of simp Joong? post university setting ੭ Summary: A broke barista and a broke artist meet in a student infested dingy pub, what do they have in common? The desire to make something great of themselves, to live a fulfilled life. But first impressions can go wrong, deterring people from each other. You're probably lucky that's not how your story with Hongjoong goes, though.

A/N: Hello, hello, my lovelies! I present you another story that was supposed to be a drabble but instead turned into...a smaller oneshot?? I consider anything that's below 15k a drabble because my oneshots just go over 20k all the time, save me! This idea came on a random whim while my pinterest suggested three photos lol, and it took me some time to write it, but it's here at last. Your feedback is greatly appreciated, let me know what you thought of this little story, and I hope you enjoy it! divider

            Gustav Klimt had once, sometime during the nineteenth century, stated that, “Art is a line around your thoughts”. This could be interpreted many ways, of course, but for an artist it was just as plain and simple as Mr Klimt had said. Whatever was on your mind, you could give it life by putting it on a piece of paper by the brush of ink and feather against the parchment, or by the swift twist of one’s wrist as their brush coloured their canvas. Art comes in many forms, many thoughts, and many interpretations. After all, everyone relates to it based by their own experiences, based on the emotions they feel and have felt before…and overall, their capacity of seeing beyond what’s shoved in front of their eyes. Maybe that’s why Hongjoong would stare at a painting or picture for hours on end without growing tired. He liked to see everything, he wanted to understand every stroke of brush, or why the lightning fell in that specific way on the item in the picture. Hongjoong wanted to feel the same emotions the author of the creation had felt while creating their piece. It helped him draw inspiration, expand his horizons towards new possibilities. Hongjoong liked new challenges as long as they were about his art. In life, he preferred the steady and sure lifestyle, the one that was predictable enough that it wouldn’t send him into an existential crisis over the smallest inconvenience.

Hongjoong needed order in his life since his art was all over the place, judged by many and often misunderstood. He didn’t paint just for the fun of it, sure, there were passion projects he started on a whim without much of a goal in mind, and usually those were well received by his professors, by his colleagues. But whenever Hongjoong wanted to say something through his art, he’d get scrutinized for it. He yet had to find that one person that saw beyond what others called a mess. He’s never thrived for attention or validation, but it had gotten lonely after a while when he realised nobody really understood him. He felt like he was the odd one even in a crowd full of odd people. He’d always been different, more open-minded and receptive to the changes in the world, and he’d always been judged for it. Here, instead of being frowned upon due to his character, he was sometimes ignored because his art was either dull or not good enough. Nobody seemed to understand that art is relative and subjective, that whatever lay on the canvas made by Hongjoong was his and would always be. That he had dipped his brush into a touch of colour from his soul, displaying it for the world to see on the once blank canvas. He became vulnerable for them and yet nobody had appreciated it yet. And so, Hongjoong got used to not being seen for his art, but for who he was.

Quirky with questionable fashion taste to many, bold because he wasn’t afraid to try out new styles—much like with his paintings—and intimidating because no matter how many times he tried out something new, he’d instantly make it his, owning whatever concept he had in mind. Hongjoong knew not everyone was against him out there, but it was easy to fall hostage to such thoughts when he was alone. It would make sense for an artist to have a mind clouded by questions and rarely answers, a mind that worked too fast and yet never good enough. Doubts and fears pulling one down, Hongjoong loved expressing it through his paintings, his hand nothing but a guide to the brush clutched tightly between his fingers, calling out to him even when he chose to step away. Hongjoong was in it for life, and he wondered whether the weeping willow tree by the river bank in his framed painting was a premonition for how his life would look like.

            The bar was busy like every other night in this student-infested town. It wasn’t even a surprise anymore, you should have known better than to wear your boots with high heels. There were no seconds to waste and even less time for breaks between preparing drinks, cleaning the bar, and running around the room to clean the tables too. Nobody wanted their hands sticky because someone had previously spilt their drink, and you were more than ready to clock out for the night. The only problem was, however, that you still had three hours left of your shift. You sighed as you averted your eyes from the clock, realising you hadn’t started preparing the drink the drunk college student had asked for on the other side of the bar. His eyes were glossy and he was swaying in his spot, you debated filling his cup with water rather than Vodka, but you couldn’t risk getting a complaint since your boss was a stinky little fucker. Your hands worked fast, and years spent doing this kind of work were showing as you did a few tricks, hoping you’d get a nice tip. You doubted the college guy would leave a huge tip, if anything at all, but at least you tried. It was all about trying in places like this one. Trying to stay calm when a customer was rude, trying to remain sane when night after night the DJ played the same playlist for the drunken students, trying to smile and hide the fact that you hated when these frat boys flirted with you. And also try and hide the fact that you were fed up with people, and needed at least a month away from civilisation.

But if one wanted to achieve something in life, one had to work for it to happen since it wouldn’t fall from the sky. Going abroad and starting a new life over there wasn’t for free, and it especially wouldn’t happen overnight. You were well aware of that, that’s why you were working day and night, taking up shifts that were probably too long to be healthy. But the dream you had in mind demanded such sacrifices, and if it meant working hard right now for a comfortable life in the future, you were willing to spend your nights sleepless and surrounded by annoying college students. You had been like them once, after all, but that was a few years ago, and since then, the harsh reality has awoken you. What was the purpose of a degree you couldn’t do anything with? Yeah, you could’ve laughed at yourself, but then it would soon turn into hysterical crying and you weren’t strong enough to deal with such emotions. You’ve cried enough, it was time you took action now. You sighed as another rush of bodies crowded the bar, asking for shots and long cocktails. You weren’t a fancy place by any means, but you served the usual sweet cocktails that could be found in every other place. Your hands worked fast as you catered to everyone’s likes, your coworker, Hanni, was somewhere lost between the students as she had gone to clean up the tables. And even in your rush, it seemed like you couldn’t satisfy everyone. It shouldn’t have phased you, but you’ve had a rough day today.

“Hey, babe, think you could work those hands faster, maybe?” You ignored the question and smiled as a group of girls paid for their pink cocktails, leaving a bigger tip than most men would. You felt grateful and felt your smile turn genuine when the tallest in the group winked at you before they became part of the rowdy crowd again. Then, you could face your impatient customer. He didn’t look like a student, way too old to be in a crowd filled with students, but who were you to judge? Some people go to college at a later age, maybe he wanted to get the full student experience. Although, you doubted a thirty-year-old had anything in common with young adults on the brink of maturing, if they managed to mature during their upper-level study days.

“What can I get for you?” Your voice was raised since the music was booming, and unfortunately, you also had to lean over the counter to hear the man better. For some reason, that made the man smirk as he leaned forward as well, eyeing you up as if you were a piece of meat. You ignored it as your teeth ground together, you’ve seen men like him before, he wasn’t the first to act like this and you knew he wouldn’t be the last one either.

“How about…you, sugar?” Your expression didn’t budge as his smirk became shit eating as if he had accomplished anything by saying that. You waited, without blinking or reacting to what he’s said, hoping he’d catch on that he wasn’t hilarious nor flirty.

“Don’t we all wish to have a piece of the pretty barista?” That managed to throw you off as your head whipped to the side, eyebrows furrowing as you just now noticed the newcomer. He was…well, something else for sure. He wore no casual or ordinary clothes, nothing you could compare to the annoying frat boys or just the other dudes with a regular fashion sense. His hair was dark but it looked a little fried, as if it had been bleached already one too many times before. His white blouse was loose and tucked in at the waist, his black pants wide and reaching below his ankles. A thick belt was secured around the guy’s petit waist, and if you looked harder, you swore you could see a dark blue bow tied to it. His brown vest seemed to elevate the outfit even more, the pleated brown choker sitting at the base of his throat with a few other silver chains, a ruby pendant hitting his pecks as he was leaning against the counter lazily. His hip was jutted out and his painted nails tapped against the side of his head, cat-like eyes blinking slowly as he watched you. The hat he wore looked something like you’ve only seen in Peaky Blinders, and for a second, you almost chuckled. He looked peculiar but not in a negative sense, it’s just that you haven’t seen someone like him stumble inside the pub before. He didn’t seem to belong with the crowd and that would’ve been something you’d appreciate on any other day than today.

“I don’t think we were talking to you, no?” The cocky man in front of you raised a mocking eyebrow at the other guy, and you rolled your eyes for a second. But before you could answer, the other guy did for you.

“You threatened my game is better than yours?” The artsy-looking guy asked with a chuckle, his tone was more on the higher side, and you found yourself not irked by it too much. But you weren’t here to have men measure their cocks by who can get the barista’s phone number faster, so you interrupted them before they could piss you off even more.

“Listen, fellas, I don’t have all night. What do you want?” Your tone was sharp, straight to the point, and shut down all attempts at flirting as the man in front of you scoffed, shooting a dirty look at the peculiar-looking one. You tilted your head as the older man finally faced you, trying to downplay his irritation as he plastered on a charming smile again. It made your jaw tick again, but you said nothing more.

“Do you have whiskey?” You were already reaching for the bottle of Whiskey before the man was finished talking, your other hand grabbing a glass as Hanni finally returned to the bar, her tray filled with dirty glasses.

“I’ll just wash these and come help.” She said as she passed by you and you nodded, filling the man’s glass with ice and whiskey, not too much but not too little either. Who even drinks Whiskey in a place like this one? But you didn’t care as long as he’d be out of your hair, so you placed the glass on the counter, but before you could tell the guy how much it was, he had already slid a bill on the counter, sauntering away. You grabbed it and pushed it into your fanny pack, taking a step back to take a deep breath. You could do this, Hanni was back and maybe you could ask her to cover for you for five minutes. A bathroom break was allowed at any time, after all. Your small moment, however, was interrupted by a scoff. You blinked your eyes open and looked towards where the sound came from, eyes narrowing when you realised the other guy was still lingering around.

“What a pig, he didn’t even tip you.” You had to agree with his slurred words but instead walked over with an impassive expression. You weren’t here to be nice or to make friends, and you never failed to make it clear to your customers. These entitled dudes thought they could get your number and get in your pants with just a few—fake—nice words, you could confidently say you hated them all and that they made you wish you never again encountered their species. But alas, that wouldn’t happen tonight, so you headed over to the pompous guy, raising an eyebrow. He was intriguing, you couldn’t deny that, but you also knew not to mingle with guys who frequented the pub. So, even if one sparked your interest, at the end of the day, you’d still walk home alone and relish in the quiet of your room.

“What can I get for you?” You tried to keep your tone level as your hip pressed into the counter, feet aching now even more. You were ready to chuck your damn boots at the wall and call it a night, but as Hanni flashed you her typical sweet smile, you knew you couldn’t leave her alone in the wolf's den. She was too sweet and too naïve, smiling and laughing along to the shitty jokes of the frat boys who were eyeing her up with little regard for the fact that she was visibly uncomfortable.

“Something sweet like you.” You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, telling yourself to keep your cool. He wasn’t saying anything offensive, unlike many other men, he just kept calling you sweet and pretty. That could be considered even nice, but not tonight.

“The menu is literally behind me, you can choose anything from it.” You pointed a finger behind yourself, where you knew the menu was hung high on the wall so that everyone could see it. The peculiar guy just gave you a look of confusion before looking past you, blinking his eyes lazily once again. You tapped your fingers against the counter, waiting for his choice, glad that you could take a breather now that nobody was crowding to get their drinks refilled. Hanni whizzed past you when she noticed a smaller group of girls approaching, her smile reaching her ears and already talking to them, beckoning them closer. Hanni was an excellent barista, she kept her customers entertained and always engaged with them…unlike you, but that’s why your duo worked so well. You were the stoic one and she was the sunshine, but you were both quick on your feet so your boss couldn’t complain.

“Uh, I’ll take a Cosmopolitan.” The guy finally decided and you quirked an eyebrow, grabbing the shaker.

“That’s not sweet.” It was unlike you to make conversation, but the words were on the tip of your tongue so you couldn’t ignore them. The guy chuckled, letting his elbows rest on the counter as he placed his chin in his palms. Your eyes raised for a second to look at him, and you were taken aback by how cute he looked. But as he blinked slowly again, a small smile spreading onto his lips as he watched you, you quickly focused your attention on his Cosmo.

“I know, I was just trying to make you feel better.” He sighed, tracing a manicured finger against the dirty counter. You had to clean that too. As you grabbed some olive to stash on a toothpick, you followed his finger with your eyes and noticed the two silver and shiny rings on his finger, his nail done a neon yellow with a black smiley face painted on top of it.

“What do you even know…” You scoffed to yourself, placing the martini glass on the counter for the guy to take. He was still looking at you, his eyes hazy, and you allowed yourself to take in his features. He had a petite and sharp nose, pretty and well-fitting with his sharp jawline and otherwise intimidating eyes if it wasn’t for the smile in them. His lips were more plump than thin with a pretty Cupid’s bow, slightly pouty as he gave you a small frown.

“Well, I bet you don’t plan on wasting your life away here.” The way he spoke had an airy feel to it, as if he wasn’t really thinking before speaking, “And by the looks of it, it seems as if your degree didn’t take you too far as of now, which is not a big deal, people change their minds all the time.”

Your eyebrows furrowed as the guy reached for his Cosmo, your fingers brushing together since you hadn’t retracted your hand yet. You ignored how warm his fingers felt, the softness of them as they lightly brushed against yours, “It’s just sad to see talented people waste their lives away in places like this one, you know? I mean, we all go to college to make something of ourselves, but then we end up in a dimly lit and smelly bar, selling alcohol to entitled pricks, forced to listen to their attempts at flirting, or them berating us for ‘not’ doing our job. Sure, it’s honest work, but at the end of the day, when you walk home after an ungodly long shift, you still hate yourself, so…”

Something in you broke at his last sentence, making you gulp hard. You still hate yourself, the guy had said with the most easy-going expression on his face, a slight smile pulling at his lips as he continued to blink lazily at you. What did he even know when he was clearly wearing designer clothes to a pub where alcohol could be spilt on you, among many other things? Who was he to assume you couldn’t do anything with your degree, rubbing it in your face that he knew people ended up like this when he clearly came from a rich background with all those accessories on him, his tone airy and almost mocking. Your jaw clenched again as you realised you had tears in your eyes, and your hand came down harshly on the counter as the guy slipped a bill towards you, way over the price of his damn Cosmopolitan.

“Go fuck yourself.” You snapped as you threw the change back at him, watching his expression fall, his eyebrows raising comically high. You didn’t sit around to listen to him trying to get your attention again, you brushed past Hanni and leaned down to tell her that you needed five minutes. She gave you a worried look before nodding, letting you head to the bathroom as a few tears spilt down your cheeks. Today was complete shit, you couldn’t wait to get home and ignore all the responsibilities and problems you had. You were doing this for a better future, this was just a small fragment of your life, and it wouldn’t last forever. At least you really hoped so.

            You released a long sigh as the cool air hit your face, eyes stinging from the sudden coldness as the red backdoor slammed shut behind you. Hanni and you kept telling your boss to change the hinges, but he had more important things to take care of, of course. Stepping aside so that the door wouldn’t slam into your back if any staff member decided to come outside at this moment, you leaned against the cold wall, pushing your hands into your pockets. You didn’t bother grabbing your jacket, although you should have given the fact that your skin was now covered in goosebumps, teeth slightly chattering. It was always a whiplash coming outside from that parched pub, having to forcefully push through the bodies too busy to notice your approaching form. It was another busy night, the weekend was approaching so the students were coming in waves that the pub could barely house. You’ve been telling your boss that you should put a capacity limit, but he wouldn’t make as much money like that as he was making now, so of course, he said no. He was a greedy monster and he didn’t even try to hide it.

Just as you closed your eyes, you heard a loud tsk followed by a hiss, and your head jerked to the side, your eyes widening. You hadn’t realised there was someone else here with you, too taken by your own thoughts of wondering what you’d cook for dinner��if you make it home at a decent hour, which was looking less and less likely to be. With your eyes narrowed and head turned, you tried to find the source where the sound had come from, eyebrows furrowing when you noticed someone crouched down right by the door, their head lowered over their knees. It wasn’t your business what anyone was doing, really, but if a client was feeling unwell and would need assistance, you’d feel guilty if you just walked away without a word. So, sighing to yourself, you pushed off the wall and took a few steps to approach the person, eyes taking in the black messy curls on the top of his head. The person had a baby mullet growing out, framing his pale nape. You cleared your throat and reached down, gently poking at the guy’s shoulder.

“Hey, you good?” You asked unsure, eyebrows furrowing when the guy grunted only. Tilting your head, you realised he was shielding his left hand, his right thumb trying to roll the sparkwheel of his lighter, but to no avail.

“Yeah, this bloody thing won’t work.” The guy groaned, shaking his lighter as he tilted his head back, a hand-rolled cigarette hanging between his lips. Your eyes widened as you realised the face was familiar, having seen him just yesterday. The guy’s eyes looked innocent as they rounded, recognition flashing in his too. You gulped and straightened up, your expression slightly hardening as the guy’s harsh words from yesterday rang through your ears. He seemed pretty fine to you, but before you could step aside and go back inside, he spoke up.

“Hi there, pretty barista.” He then grinned, a lazy pull of his cherry-red lips, his tone easy. You didn’t expect him to be so easy-going after what you had said to him, but it almost looked like the guy wasn’t bothered by you cursing him out…maybe he really wasn’t, “You on a break?”

You crossed your arms in front of your chest, watching as he struggled to get his lighter to work. You had one in your pocket, but you found a bit of satisfaction in watching him struggle. Maybe if he asked whether you had one, you’d let him use yours. But people who didn’t ask wouldn’t get help, that’s what your father taught you, at least.

“Obviously.” You muttered matter of fact as the guy hummed, grinning wickedly when the lighter finally sparked to life, allowing him to light his cigarette. You watched as the flame danced in front of his face, making his dark eyes appear amber-like, sharper from this angle. You realised, alarmed, that you were appreciating his looks so you quickly stopped, looking away as the guy puffed out a whiff of smoke.

“You want some?” The guy asked, reaching his hand toward you as you eyed the cigarette, its smell hitting you. It was too herbal to be a normal cigarette, you belatedly realised as you watched the guy take another hit of his joint.

“What’s in it?” You decided to ask, just to make sure. If you were wrong and it was a regular cigarette, maybe you’d accept a smoke. You didn’t usually smoke but you were still tired from yesterday’s shift, and something that could loosen your nerves would be highly appreciated.

“Good stuff.” The guy grinned, giggling even a little, and the sound almost put a smile on your lips, but you caught yourself in time and instead shook your head, pushing your hands into your pockets again.

“I’m working, so, no.” The guy just hummed as he looked up at you again, taking a drag of his joint as you gulped and everted your eyes. It felt like he was gazing right through you and into your soul as your eyes had met, and given the fact that you were still butt-hurt over what he had said to you yesterday, you refused to look at him too long…you’d only admire his beauty, either way. He wore a fuzzy yellow and pink sweater today, his brown dress pants looking way too thin for this weather, but the guy didn’t seem to mind. His nails stood out with their unique design, and he wore fewer rings today but more earrings than yesterday.

“Hey, yesterday…what I said at the bar, I didn’t mean to berate you.” The guy gulped, his eyebrows furrowing as you looked back at him, slightly taken aback to see such sincerity on his face. You’ve never met someone so easily readable before, “My intention wasn’t to hurt you, I was smoked out too so I was just running my mouth, I do that when I’m high, sorry…”

A beat of silence passed as the two of you shared an apprehensive look, making you bite your bottom lip. You cleared your throat and at last averted your eyes, kicking a few pebbles towards the guy without meaning to, “Right, I shouldn’t have cursed you out either…I’m sorry too, I guess.”

The guy hummed, a smile slowly appearing on his lips before he took another drag of his cigarette, his eyes boring into yours again, “I’m glad the pretty barista doesn’t hate my guts anymore.”

You have no idea what took over you, but your cheeks were suddenly flushing as if you had been noticed by your crush for the first time, your skin prickling. You weren’t one to care about the compliments your clients gave since most of them were only trying to get in your pants, but this guy seemed to be genuine. He didn’t try to hit on you, he was just calling you pretty, and it was getting to you. You hummed and turned towards the door, hand reaching out for the knob when suddenly the guy spoke again, “Humans are easily susceptible, you know? We judge without knowing first, and we rarely apologise and recognise our mistakes. I hate people like that, rude people for no reason too. I don’t stand for all that bullshit, so I’m glad you told me to fuck myself instead of smiling at me like you do with all the other assholes. I appreciate your hard work, we all have to make due somehow and you aren’t less for working in this pub, pretty barista.”

There he was again, making your chest feel heavy as you huffed, a sarcastic smile pulling at your lips. Once again, what did he know about you? Maybe you loved this damned job, maybe being a barista in a shitty pub has been your lifelong dream. You almost scoffed at yourself, eyes narrowing as the guy took more drags of his joint, seemingly waiting for an answer that you didn’t exactly want to give. But you didn’t want him to have the last word, much like yesterday, so you plastered on a sarcastic smirk, “There you go again, blabbering your mouth when you’re smoked out.”

You didn’t expect the guy to start laughing loudly, his head falling back as it landed against the wall, his eyes crinkling at the corners. You didn’t mean to gape, but he was beautiful and painfully honest, it was refreshing in a world full of fakeness. He was an intriguing person, and you would’ve allowed yourself to become interested in him if only you had met in a different setting. With a hum and lingering eyes, you pushed the door open as the guy nodded at you in goodbye once he realised you were leaving for good. And with a faster beating heart, you willed yourself to focus on the few hours that you still had of your shift.

            It’s been quite a while since you had the chance to wake up at the crack of dawn without feeling tired, or without having to rush in for an early shift. Through hard work, you had earned these two days of break, and while you wished you had been given a full week, you made sure to utilise these two days wisely. You had always been an early bird, wishing to wake with the sun, opening your windows to hear the song of the birds, but it was too cold for them to hunker down in front of your window today. You didn’t mind, you’d take a stroll after your breakfast and check out the new art store that’s opened not too far from your apartment. You’ve heard great things about it, the prices seemed to be reasonable, and it had an adjoint bookstore and a coffee shop as well. A quick check on the internet showed you just how cozy it was, so you thought you could buy a book from your to read list and settle down in the coffee shop. It sounded like a great plan to destress and forget for a bit about work and all the idiots that kept you up at night, quite literally.

Your scarf was thick as you buried your nose into it, trying to keep it warm from the cold chill of the early morning. The city was awake with you, orange sun rising on the horizon and blinding you as you were walking towards it, you couldn’t help but smile. It warmed your cheeks and body, feeling the sun on your skin during cold season always felt like a blessing, you would always relish in it as much as you could because you knew it wouldn’t last for long. You exhaled as your eyes remained squinted, watching the people around you as you walked towards your destination. Kids were rushing to school, parents by their sides guiding them, and traffic was as crazy as ever, impatient drivers honking and disturbing the little peace everyone had. You paid it no mind and felt thankful that you were able to wake up so early instead of just going to bed, all tired and wishing for your boss to fire you. But if he did fire you, you would be in trouble, so you didn’t actually wish for that to happen. And suddenly as you turned the corner, the guy’s words from the bar managed to ring through your ears once again. Working at the pub was just as much of an honest job as it would’ve been working anywhere else.

You sighed, realising you were thinking about him again. You’ve been doing this a lot lately, letting your mind wander to his peculiar fashion sense and even more peculiar way of thinking. He seemed almost raw with his words and thoughts, unafraid to say them to your face. It was refreshing and intriguing, but you couldn’t let yourself be sidetracked right now. You had a purpose, and that was working until you had enough money to move away. If somehow a guy came into the picture right now, you felt like that would mess up all your plans and vision of the future. Under no circumstance would you stay here, but you knew your heart would betray you and try to keep you here for longer, with your lover. You didn’t even want to think of the guy as a potential love interest, you didn’t even know each other, so you shoved these thoughts to the back of your mind as you reached the art store, eyes widening at its exterior.

You haven’t seen anything quite like it before, the windows reached from ceiling to floor, a clear view of what was going on inside. There was a spiral staircase that led to the higher level which was littered with bookcases and low hanging retro chandeliers, bean bags spaced out on the floor as people sat around with books in their hands. To the right was the coffee shop with a separate entrance if you were only here for coffee, but you could also enter through the art store. And the art store was gorgeous as you made your way inside, the double doors opening easily. A sweet scent hit your nostrils as you walked further inside, your eyes wide as you took in the whole place. Paintings were hung on the walls, blank canvas placed underneath as many shelves housed all kinds of art supplies. The clerks were all smiley and they welcomed you warmly once they noticed your arrival. Maybe you could find a nicer workplace, something like this one. The workload seemed less strenuous and the people that came here to shop were less rowdy and rude. As much as you loved admiring the fine arts, you didn’t have the talent for drawing or painting, you could mess up even something as simple as a cloud. It was embarrassing, but arts have never been your forte, so you headed for the staircase to look for the book you had on your mind.

Navigating around the many shelves seemed a bit intimidating at first, but then you noticed they were sectioned on different genres, the tags hanging low from the ceiling with an arrow pointing towards the section to help you out. You smiled to yourself as you unrolled your scarf from around your neck, the warmth of the store helping your frozen fingers as you turned down a corner, two tall bookshelves on your sides. At the end of the row sat a younger girl with a manga in her hand, another one pressed to her lips as she seemed to be giggling. You felt yourself smile as you came near her, looking at the titles of the books. Asking for a clerk to help you find the book you were looking for would’ve helped enormously, but you found yourself wanting to stroll around in the warmth, fingers grazing the spines of the books. The girl giggled just a bit louder and blushed when you glanced her way. This wasn’t a library, so she wasn’t disturbing anyone, but she was still mindful of those around her. You turned the corner once again, finding the High Fantasy section, having made your research beforehand, you knew you were in the right place. It took a bit more cruising down the row to finally find the book you were looking for, and you grinned when you found it, taking it off the shelf.

You thought about strolling around the store more just to discover it further, maybe they had cheap trinkets you could buy. You even thought about paying a visit the coffee shop as well, maybe they had one of your favourite patisserie delicacies. You wouldn’t turn down something sweet right now, you didn’t have a sweet tooth necessarily, but there were days when your cravings got the better of you. With that in mind, you headed back the way you had come, sneaking another glance at the younger girl as she gasped, manga now clutched tightly in both of her hands. You chuckled before you rounded the corner, now back on the main aisle that led to the spiral staircase. You noticed that most people who were inside the store looked to be college students, their outfits mismatched colours and patterns, hair coloured something vibrant as most of them had piercings you never even thought possible before. You really liked their style and found yourself staring at them, blushing when a girl caught you and raised an eyebrow before she smiled. You nodded your head and hurried down the stairs, flustered and a little embarrassed. They oddly reminded you of the guy from the bar, you thought he’d somehow fit right in with the people inside the store. It looked something he’d enjoy, not that you knew anything about him besides that he smoked weed, wasn’t afraid to speak his mind, and had a nice sense of fashion.

You were looking at the hard cover of your book as you got to the base of the staircase, taken by the pretty illustration and completely unaware that someone was headed straight towards you, just as taken by items in his hands as you were by your book. The collision could’ve been avoided if you both had been paying attention to where you were going, but alas, you gasped loudly as you felt a hard body collide into yours, items spilling loudly onto the floor. Your head shoot up, eyes wide as you looked at the equally startled man and—wait, it was the same guy from the bar! You gulped, suddenly feeling nervous as your cheeks burned, but the guy hadn’t noticed you yet as he had crouched down to collect his items off the floor. You felt bad and hoped the expensive palette on the ground hadn’t been broken, so you crouched down too and reached for it to inspect it. The guy still hadn’t quite noticed that it was you out of all people, but as you reached for the same brush, his head raised sharply. Your smile was apologetic as the guy’s eyes widened, recognition flashing on his face. This was the third time you met this week, the sheer coincidence of meeting outside the pub was a bit jarring…especially since you’ve been just thinking about him.

“Pretty barista from the pub!” He motioned towards you then chuckled, letting you pick up the brush. Your book was placed on the ground next to you so your hands were free to help.

“Hi,” Your voice came out a lot shier than you had intended it to be, and you chewed on your bottom lip awkwardly, “Sorry about this, I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

“Don’t worry,” The guy chuckled, scooping up the small canvases, “I wasn’t either. If it makes you feel better, it was both of our faults.”

You hummed and grabbed the last item off the floor, standing at the same time as the guy. His arms were filled with his items, and you wondered if you handed over the four in your hands how he’d be able to carry everything. Despite the cold weather outside, he was underdressed. He wore a simple turtleneck with a brown knitted vest over it, long flowy plants and mismatched tennis shoes. As you both stepped aside from the staircase to make way for others, you cleared your throat and averted your eyes once you realised you were staring again. But you hadn’t seen him wearing glasses before, and with the curly strands falling over his forehead, he didn’t only look handsome but cute as well.

“What brings you here?” The guy made conversation as you tried to figure out how to hand him his items without making him drop them all again, “I say this without meaning to be rude, but you seem like the last person who’d be interested in art.”

You huffed, not bothered by his honesty, “While that statement is incorrect, I’m not here due to the art section of the store. I was looking for a book.”

“Right!” He exclaimed, glancing down at his own chest, “Oh, sorry, you can hand me those, I can carry them!”

“Are you sure?” You asked as he nodded enthusiastically, so you complied. You stepped closer to place the other four items in his arms, watching as he clinched the smaller canvas underneath his chin to keep it from falling. You would’ve laughed and offered to help until he got himself a bag or something, but the guy looked pretty content like this. Like it wasn’t his first time doing this…

“Are you collecting them?” The guy’s incomplete question left you raising a confused eyebrow at him, “Sorry, I saw you’re buying The Hobbit. It’s a pretty famous reprint, the covers are gorgeous, my best friend is collecting them so I assumed you are too.”

You glanced down at the book in your hand and bit your bottom lip, trying to brush off your embarrassment. Why were you feeling like this all of a sudden? It made no sense, but you didn’t want to leave a bad impression on the guy…even though his perception of you might already be fucked since this wasn’t your first time meeting.

“I’ve, uh, so, uhm, I have a to read list for books I’ve never read while growing up, so now I have a little tradition that I buy a book from the list each month and read it.” You spoke quickly, avoiding eye contact as the guy listened to your ramble. His intake of breath was sharp and you chanced a glance at his face, finding his eyes wide and his mouth rounded.

“Wait. Are you saying you haven’t read The Hobbit before?!” He sounded incredulous and alarmed, and your cheeks grew hot once again, actually managing to sour your mood a bit. Not having read the book didn’t make you less by any means, but you had a feeling this guy was well-versed in literature, so it felt like a jab and even a subtle scrutinising.

“Yeah, not everyone likes reading while growing up…” Your tone grew cold and voice snappish as you continued to avoid eye contact, looking towards the front desk so that maybe the guy would get the hint that you were done with this conversation. But it didn’t actually surprise you that he continued speaking without noticing you didn’t want to keep conversing anymore.

“That’s totally cool, my brother hated comic books growing up and now he’s obsessed with them.” The guy chuckled, expression innocent and tone genuinely excited, “I think you’ll love the book, it’s filled with adventure and otherworldly creatures. It’s a nice step back from our grim reality, I feel like you need that right now.”

Okay, there he was assuming again that he could just…psychoanalyse you or whatever, “Can you stop doing that? I’m not a painting you can interpret to your liking.”

The guy blinked, face going blank before his cheeks flushed, his gaze averted now from yours, “I…have I been doing it all this time?”

“Ever since we’ve met.” Your answer was sharp and quick and the guy blushed even more.

“Oh, sorry, I just…I’ll stop doing that,” Then he smiled awkwardly and held eye contact with you, “I’m Hongjoong, by the way, I don’t remember introducing myself.”

Because he hadn’t. You repeated his name in your head, finding yourself liking the sound of it, it seemed like a fitting name for him. You hummed, extending your hand.

“I’m Y/N.” But you and Hongjoong glanced down at your extended hand and then his occupied ones at the same time, chuckles leaving your mouths as he seemed flustered.

“I’m shake your hand the next time we see other.”

“If there will be a next time.”

“I quite like the pub you work at, pretty barista.” You cleared your throat and avoided looking at him because as corny as it was, it kind of made your heart flutter. What was happening? The chiming of the doorbell reminded you that it was time you left and took care of other errands you had in your schedule, but before you could say goodbye to Hongjoong, he asked a question that took you off guard, “Wanna grab a cup of coffee with me?”

Then he turned sideways, nodding towards the adjoined café, and you hesitated for a second. You could actually slip in a little time to have coffee with him, but you felt reluctant. You had met him at the pub, after all, and you still couldn’t decide what type of person he was. Of course, he was handsome, and so far, has showed a good character, but there were little moments when he somehow managed to ruin everything with his words. And he was still a complete stranger, so, listening to your rational mind, you slowly shook your head.

“I don’t like coffee, but thanks!” Your smile was easy, Hongjoong’s face morphed into something knowing as he hummed with a nod.

“Sure, I’m glad I caught you here.” Then, as you were about to take off, he added, “The pretty barista now has a name, I can say my morning was successful.”

You tried to huff and look irked, but the blush betrayed you. You just shook your head before heading for the front desk, “Goodbye, Hongjoong.”

“See ya!” His smile was radiant as he turned around and headed for the café instead, and you realised he was underdressed because he had come from the coffee shop, his things already there. And with Hongjoong on your mind, you followed his distinctive walk as he sauntered over to his table with an elegancy yet swagger you hadn’t seen before.

            Now, a week ago you probably would have said no to a preposition that involved you following home a complete stranger whose name you had known for a maximum of four days, but tonight had been literal shit and you were on the verge of tears when Hongjoong had sauntered over to the bar, his Chesire like smile blinding. You had one more hour left of your shift and you’d be clocking out, not even staying behind to help Hani clean up. Your cramps were terrible and a guy who hit on you for the whole night had spilt his drink on your favourite blouse, calling you a bitch as well for shunning him away, so, when you saw Hongjoong approach the bar with mischief in his eyes, you were ready to scream at him and tell him to get lost. Except that you didn’t do all that because his question completely threw you off guard.

“Y/N, do you like art?” He had a rolled-up joint resting at his ear, his hair pulled to the side and clipped back with colourful hair clips. Your laugh that bubbled past your lips sounded incredulous and tired, but you nodded.

“I do, do you want something to drink?” Hongjoong shook his head, leaning across the bar despite it being wet from spilt alcohol.

“When does your shift end?”

“In an hour.”

“Wanna see some of my art?” Then Hongjoong grinned, looking proud of himself, “I’m a painter.”

Something came over you and didn’t even let you ponder over your decision, “Do you have weed?”

The answer was obvious as you glanced at the joint and Hongjoong laughed, tilting his head in a way that sharpened his features under the neon lights of the pub.

“Obviously, got some on me right now. Want some?” Not while you were working, afterwards, however, you were free to do whatever.

“After my shift, yeah.”

“Cool, I’ll meet you in the back. See ya.”

And that’s how you ended up at Hongjoong’s apartment, not even ten minutes away from the pub. Your feet ached and your cramps were so bad you felt like doubling over and emptying your already empty stomach, but you tried to hold yourself together in front of Hongjoong. There was a nervous flutter in your chest as you had followed him up the steel staircase, the building old and dodgy. However, the second you walked inside his studio apartment, it felt like you had entered a different realm. He was the true definition of an artist, you came to realise, with canvas strewn around the apartment, most finished but some blank, oil paint tainting the wooden floor and even the walls. The colours were neutral, beige with a slip of sage green here and there, the curtains sheer and pulled to the side as Hongjoong hurried over to the windows to push them open. There was an earthy smell in the air mixed with something sweet like vanilla, and you couldn’t help but marvel at the cosiness of Hongjoong’s studio. You recognised a few prints on the walls, they were the paintings of well-known painters who no longer lived, and the décor Hongjoong had used was rather vintage than modern. His huge wardrobe was open, and he pushed the door closed with little care as he picked up a hoodie off the floor. You were surprised he even owned one of those.

You flinched when it collided against your head, confused as to why he had thrown it at you. Hongjoong chuckled as he shrugged his coat off, trying to tidy his messy bed but quickly giving up when he realised you didn’t look like you cared. Truthfully, your apartment wasn’t in a better shape, the dishes in the sink had been there for three days and your bathroom was in dire need of a deep clean.

“We can’t smoke weed with closed windows, so it’ll get colder.” Hongjoong suddenly explained, shrugging on a cardigan that looked very soft, “Wear my hoodie, it’ll keep you warm.”

You hummed, glancing down at it before you stepped out of your shoes, shrugging your jacket off and wearing the hoodie. Its scent was sweet but potent with something musky, and you blushed as your nose buried into its fabric, drinking in its soft material.

“Make yourself feel at home!” Hongjoong grinned, walking over to the small kitchen section to grab two cups, “Do you want tea?”

You shook your head as you walked towards the small bean bag, pushing it with your leg to try and get it more gathered together. And then, just as you were about to sink into the chair, you heard a faint sound come from the kitchen. You turned your head and were met with a small black creature blinking at you in wonder.

“You have a cat?” You asked in surprise, staring back at the little pet. Hongjoong chuckled, looking down at his pet as the electric kettle started whistling.

“Is it so surprising? I found him near a dumpster a few years ago, he’s been by my side ever since.” You couldn’t help but gaze at Hongjoong with admiration as he spoke, pouring hot water into his cup for the tea, “His name is Woo ‘cuz he reminds me of my friend. They are both rascals and really loud.”

As if on cue, the cat meowed loudly and you chuckled, finally easing yourself into the bean bag. Your lower back protested and your spine cracked as you allowed yourself to lean back, arching your back. You could’ve cried at the relief, thankful to finally be off your feet. You couldn’t wait for the weed, it would dull your cramps and help you ease up after the day you’ve had. You were probably in dire need of a shower since you smelled like alcohol, but you didn’t feel comfortable showering at a guy’s place you barely knew. Which, now that you thought more about it, realisation started setting in. You weren’t too smart for following Hongjoong home, but he had never creeped you out, so you decided to give him the benefit of the doubt tonight. You stared at the cat as Hongjoong mixed honey into his berry-flavoured tea, the warm mist hogging up his glasses. The cat, still at Hongjoong’s side, stared back at you and then slowly walked towards you, its head tilted in wonder. You smiled at it and let it smell your fingers, taking you off guard when it unceremoniously climbed into your lap, starting to make biscuits against your lower abdomen.

“Ah, of course, you’re already in the lap of the pretty barista.” Hongjoong mused with an amused smile on his lips, “You take after Wooyoung more than one would think.”

You had no idea who this Wooyoung guy was, but it sounded like he was a flirt if Hongjoong wasn’t bluffing.

“I like your apartment,” You blurted out as you started petting the cat, smiling down at it when it started purring, “It’s got character, much like you.”

“That’s the first time you said something completely honest to me.” Your eyebrows furrowed as you looked up at Hongjoong, the joint from his ear now gone as he grabbed some matches to light it up. You didn’t think that was true, but you didn’t say anything as Hongjoong came nearer, sitting down on the floor across from you. You looked at him as he took a long whiff of his joint, then extended his arm for you to take the weed. It’s been quite a while since you smoked any, you knew it would hit you faster, but you hoped it wasn’t too strong or you’d become sick. You took a careful drag of it as Woo settled into a slumber in your lap, and the earthy taste of it made you grimace. But you kept the smoke in your lungs for a bit before exhaling, taking another drag as Hongjoong watched you with a lazy smile. He looked so…handsome. You’ve had a few days to yourself to think about Hongjoong after your encounter in the art store, and you realised you were attracted to him. It was mostly physical since you liked his looks, but his brutally honest character also had you intrigued even if you’d get offended at times by what he was saying.

“I find it hilarious that you decided to come home with me after you declined to have coffee.” Your eyes met Hongjoong’s quickly just as you were about to hand over the joint, “Do you really don’t drink coffee? Or did you just want to get rid of me that day?”

“I…” You licked your lips as Hongjoong took the joint from you, grinning as he took a long drag once again, “Both, actually. I just…I don’t know you well enough and we’ve also met at the pub, I don’t like meddling with clients. Those frat boys are horny and only want to sleep with me.”

“Good thing I’m not a frat boy then, right, Woo?” Hongjoong grinned and ruffled the slumbering cat’s fur, looking back at you with an understanding look, “I’ll be done with my master’s degree in just a few months.”

You hummed, picking at the sleeve of Hongjoong’s hoodie before you saw the joint handed to you again, “And after that? What do you plan on doing?”

Suddenly, Hongjoong had a pensive look on his face as he leaned back on his arms, staring up at the ceiling. You took shorter drags of the joint now but kept the smoke in your lungs until it started burning.

“I want to travel the world, visit art galleries and drink a lot of expensive wine.” That didn’t sound bad at all, Hongjoong continued before you could tell him, “It’s hard breaking into the industry as a painter even though some realtors have already approached me to buy my paintings and put them on display.”

“And? What did you say to them?” You felt genuinely curious, the cat sighed loudly in your lap and Hongjoong looked at you two, reaching out for the joint. Your fingertips brushed together and Hongjoong’s hands felt too cold, but you didn’t comment on it.

“I turned them down,” Hongjoong smiled, but it looked almost sad before he shrugged, taking a drag, “I don’t want just anyone owning my creations. I want someone who understands what’s on that canvas to contact me, I want someone who genuinely loves art and isn’t just doing it for the money. It’s hard to find people like that nowadays, but I’m willing to wait as long as it takes…even if that makes me broke.”

Hongjoong scoffed out a chuckle, sounding bitter by the end of his sentence. For someone who was so good at reading others and commenting on their lives, Hongjoong seemed to be having his own demons he had to fight. You hummed, closing your eyes for a second as you felt your muscles ease up, your cramps less torturous. You were glad the weed was slowly kicking in, your cramps would’ve had you crying if not.

“So how do you plan on travelling if you have no money?” Maybe the question was insensitive, but you were curious. Hongjoong didn’t take offence as he smiled, looking at you with sparkling eyes.

“There are art courses all around the world, I might sign up for one and leave, never look back…”

“Do you hate it here?” The question tumbled past your lips before you could stop yourself, “Because I don’t.”

Hongjoong didn’t look surprised as he nodded, handing back the joint so you could finish it. Three drags and it would be gone, so you took your time savouring it.

“It’s not the worst, but I don’t see much of a future for myself here.” So, Hongjoong was just like you then, “When are you leaving?”

“How did you know?” You sounded shocked as Hongjoong shrugged, averting his eyes.

“You and I are rather similar, you just fail to see it, Y/N.” Well, maybe he was right, maybe he wasn’t. You couldn’t read Hongjoong as well as he could read you, you needed more time to feel out his character.

“Six months and I’m out of here, never to come back if life’s kind to me.” Your voice was quiet as you didn’t look at Hongjoong, smoke wafting through your lips as you finished the joint. Hongjoong hummed, a low and warm sound, as he reached for the stud to take it from you. Your fingers brushed together once again, and you looked at Hongjoong when he held your wrist.

“You’re stronger than you think, you’ll make it big out there, Y/N, have more faith in yourself.” You found yourself smiling now, head a little hazy as you nodded, finding it easier to believe whatever Hongjoong told you.

“You’re the artist between the two of us, you’re the one supposed to make it big.” Hongjoong chuckled and stood, headed for the kitchen.

“Can’t we both make it big?” He raised an eyebrow as he threw the stud away, turning around to face you. You hummed, not entirely agreeing with him, but you decided to nod. Then, Hongjoong turned towards where his bed was and grinned, “You’re here to see some art, no?”

“Right, I almost forgot about that.” Hongjoong chuckled, then beckoned you over. You grabbed the cat in your lap and pressed a kiss against its small head, placing it on the bean bag in your spot. Your feet felt light as you headed towards Hongjoong, who had sauntered over to the desk pressed up against the wall underneath the open windows. He turned the small lamp on, and suddenly you were looking at small canvases filled with colour and abstract shapes. Somehow they looked like an organised mess, even in the overflowing swirl of colours, you managed to find a pattern that seemed to never end like a loop. You turned your head to look at Hongjoong, and suddenly you realised his art was a perfect reflection of who he was.

“I can tell you made these.” Perhaps phrasing it like that was offensive, but Hongjoong only looked curious. He hummed, raising an eyebrow.

“How come?” His voice was quiet, curious.

“I can see you in these.” You pointed at the canvas with orange and yellow as the more prominent colours, circling a deep blue that looked almost black, “The blue is you at your core, dark and perhaps scared of the world. And then all that orange and yellow? I think that’s how you see the world, how you wish it treated you, hoping it would lighten all that darkness that looms over you all the time. And this one? I wonder if it was a coincidence you hid so many infinity symbols in the background, this burgundy is gorgeous, by the way. I think everyone is afraid of disappearing without leaving a trace of themselves in this fucked up world, and I actually…I admire you for being so honest and straightforward, very few people are like you.”

Hongjoong’s eyebrows were furrowed the longer you spoke, but he remained silent as you smiled, looking down at the white canvas, unfinished but with light blue swirls creating the illusion of a clear sky, “I wonder what this will turn into. So far, it reminds me of serenity, of the calm before a storm. Life’s like that too, don’t you think? It’s quiet and gentle, and then it turns into a scary thing that can destroy us if we let it.”

Hongjoong just gulped, his eyes clouded but his heart racing. He was positive no one had been able to interpret his art for what it was before, and he wondered how much of him you could see through his eyes if you could read so well what the trail of his brush had left on a blank canvas. It made him feel seen like never before, not even his biggest supporter, Wooyoung, could see beyond Hongjoong’s intentions when he sat down to paint, to tell the world his pain and rage, yearning for someone to just finally see him.

“You’re…” Hongjoong gulped, his throat feeling dry as you smiled at him, curious if you’d been right, “You are a person I should cherish more from now on.”

Your eyebrows raised in surprise, your heart skipping a beat once again. What did he mean by saying that? You wanted to ask, but Hongjoong stepped closer, his tone breathy as he spoke up again, “‘Whoever wants to know something about me – as an artist which alone is significant – they should look attentively at my pictures and there seek to recognize what I am and what I want’…that’s what Gustav Klimt once said. And so far, you are the only person who’s managed to do that.”

Your mouth gaped open, and you both heard Woo stretch and meow loudly, his soft footsteps loud as he walked towards Hongjoong’s bed, jumping up and finding a new spot to sleep. You didn’t know what to say back to that, but you felt your heart race as your cheeks flushed, shy all of a sudden. Hongjoong was looking at you with a softness no man has looked at you with, it was a bit hard to take it all in without freaking yourself out that this wasn’t real, that it was just the weed, or that maybe Hongjoong wasn’t as genuine as his expression showed.

“Y/N,” You didn’t flinch when his hand wrapped around your wrist, his tone still soft, “I think you already know that I find you pretty, and I…I might have gone to that dingy pub for so long just to see you, actually.”

Those words had your heart racing even wilder as you looked up, finding Hongjoong’s face closer to yours as his eyes now bore into yours, “I should’ve been more specific when I asked you to have coffee with me. I meant to ask you out on a date, but I panicked because I knew I had slightly upset you, but…”

He gulped nervously and you felt so curious to hear what more he had to say, perhaps a smile would encourage him, so that’s what you did, offered him a small friendly smile. He released a breath and cleared his throat, his hand slipping from your wrist to your hand, “Can I kiss you?”

If this was anyone else but Hongjoong, your answer would have been an instant no. But the longer you looked into his eyes, the more excited and giddy you felt, so you just nodded your head and licked your lips, trying to ignore the deep flush of your cheeks. Hongjoong chuckled, suddenly looking shy, but he started leaning in, his eyes fluttering closed just as your lips met. It was careful, it was sweet and it made your heart roar as you stepped just a bit closer, your noses brushing together as your lips moved slowly and carefully, mostly just testing out the waters. Hongjoong’s lips were soft and sweet, and surprisingly didn’t taste like weed but like peaches. You wondered if he used any sort of lip balm to have them taste like that. His hand settled on your cheek and he gently caressed your cheekbone with his thumb, making your heart roar once again. It’s been long since someone had treated you with such gentleness, and you told yourself to remain level-headed, but it would be just so easy to fall in love with Hongjoong. You couldn’t help but smile as you two pulled apart, Hongjoong tried to hide his own grin as he sucked his lips together, but his eyes gave him away. You chuckled and he giggled, and suddenly you felt the urge to pull him into a hug.

“So,” He cleared his throat as he let his arms rest around your torso loosely, “If you don’t like coffee, what do you like?”

“Delicious cakes.” You didn’t hesitate to answer and Hongjoong chuckled, patting your head.

“Well then, would you like to go on a delicious cake-hunting date with me?” You closed your eyes to contain your excitement, but the weed had not only eased your muscles but your always worrying mind as well.

“Yes!” You didn’t mean to squeal, but it was hard not to when Hongjoong startled giggling sweetly once again, nodding his head.

“Good, I’ll make sure we find the best spots in the city then.”

And perhaps not just in the city, but also in foreign countries while you attended Hongjoong’s art expositions, an expensive bottle of wine waiting for the two of you back at the hotel.

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[storiesfromafan]

My Girl - Benny Cross x Reader

A/N: I know this is a slow series, but hopefully it's not too bad 😅

(Also, posting this from my phone, might have to fix this up later 😅😅)

Previous: Part One, Part Two, Part Three

I’ve got sunshine, on a cloudy day

When it’s cold outside, I’ve got the month of May (ooh)

I guess you’d say

What can make me feel this way?

My girl, my girl, my girl

Talkin’ ‘bout my girl, my girl

- My Girl by The Temptations

It had been a week since Benny spoke to you. And it was all he could think about. Sure, he’d seen you around the town, mostly at the grocery shop or the diner, in passing. But it wasn’t enough. He’d gotten a taste of your sweet voice. Seeing you up close; the colour of your eyes, which had specs of (colour) to them. How your hair was (colour) but when the light hits it, it looked (colour). How your cheeks go a rosy colour when you were shy or embarrassed. Benny wanted to experience it all so much more.

Cal waved his hand in front of Benny's face, snapping the young Vandal from his thoughts of you. That’s right, he was currently playing a game of pool with the man laughing at him. While waiting for his shot, it looks like Benny had zoned out again. Holding the cue against his body, Benny shot Cal and those around him an embarrassed smile. Which only made them laugh.

“Sorry" he muttered, moving with his cue to the pool table and looking over his options. Before finally lining up his shot and taking it, sinking the four ball.

Johnny was sitting near by on a stool, nursing his beer. “Ya alright kid? Ain’t like ya to be off with the fairies".

Before Benny could say a word, Cal beat him to the punch. “Yeah, he’s alright. Just found himself a girl".

Johnny raised his eyebrows in surprise, this was the first time he’d heard about there being a girl. “Is that right, huh?”

Another man – one from the diner incidents – laughed before speaking up, “yeah! She’s a shy, little thing. Some of the guys were makin' fun of her, but Benny stepped in and told them to ‘knock it off’”.

Johnny nodded, listening to the man’s words. Benny stood back from the pool table – his turnover – as he listened to them, embarrassed by the retelling of the diner. But it was true. He stepped in and defended you. And he would do it again for you if needed him too.

Sliding off his stool, Johnny down the rest of his beer before walking past Benny. He chuckled, patting him on the back. “Well, ya'll have to bring her around sometime. Would be nice to meet the girl that’s got ya by the balls".

Johnny then walked off to speak with a few other guys. Cal and the guys around Benny laughed at their leaders' words. They even jostled Benny and shared their own comments, which he wasn’t too fond of. But Benny knew he’d have to bring you to the bar. It would be a shock for you, but he knew you could handle it. Plus he’d be there with you, making sure nothing happened to you.

“Alright, spill!” Fran demanded, as she and Sandra sat across from you in a booth at the diner where this all began.

“Yeah! I had to hear it from my neighbour, who heard from her hair dresser, who got the gossip from Mrs Martin about Benny coming into the grocery store! And talking to you!?” Added Sandra.

You sat on your side of the booth, wishing it would swallow you up from their intense gazes. Once more, they asked you about Benny. And to be honest, you didn’t know what it meant. He’d come in for gum, and you shared a small conversation.

Taking a sip from the milkshake before you, you sat back and cleared your throat. “Well...there’s not much to say-" you started before being interrupted.

“Oh bull!” Huffed Fran. “From what we’ve heard, it was pretty intense between you too!”

“Yeah, so don’t down play it!” Added Sandra.

You sighed. “Really! It wasn’t like that, it wasn’t that big a deal!” You took a moment to gather your thoughts. “It went like this; I was just working and stupidly singing when I was surprised to see Benny. And I was a complete bumbling idiot! He wanted to buy gum-"

“Gum?” Both women questioned.

You nodded. “Yes, gum. He then apologised for the Vandals comments" you recalled that moment a week ago. “Benny then asked for my name, which I gave him, and he said it was pretty, that it suits me...then Mrs Martin showed up, and yeah, she wasn’t pleasant to him at all".

Both women stared at you, as you went back to your milkshake. “Bull" Sandra said, leaning over the table. “That’s not the story, right?”

“Yeah, its too...clean?” Fran said confused.

You wanted to laugh at their faces, but held back. “It’s the truth".

Both women sat back against the booth, utterly confused. As they began to tell you, the way they heard it was some big drama. That Benny was harassing you when Mrs Martin stepped in. Not to mention one retelling told that you were shamelessly flirting with Benny, practically in his hands, one palm on each cheek, and not that of your face. You blushed at the notion.

“If this is what we've heard, just imagine what your parents might hear" Fran's words sobered you up.

You hadn’t even thought about your parents, and God only knows what they’ll say, or do, if they hear the gossip of Benny and you. But it being after a week and only now had your friends heard about it. So, there could be a small chance they might not hear it. So long as you stayed clear of any further gossip, you might be in the clear.

Unfortunately for you, the other half of the gossip mill didn’t know your plan. You heard the bell above the diner door jingle and heavy feet. You were talking to your friends, not even caring about your surroundings. It was only when you glanced up to look at Sandra and Fran, discussing a coming movie to your local theatre, were you confused to see their shocked faces. They looked stunned, mouths slightly agape and eyes wide. Before you could questioned them the silence at your table was disturbed by an all too familiar gruff voice.

“Hey (Y/N)”

You turned only to find Benny. Who looked just as good as the last time you’d seen him. Only this time he was wearing dirty white jeans, black t-shirt and his denim vest that sported the Vandal colours. The way he looked at you with those baby blues of his, warm and twinkling. The way his full lips turned up in a shy, slightly toothy smile.

You felt one of your friends kick your foot, snapping you from your observation of him. “H-hi Benny...”

Hearing his name from your lips, in that honeyed voice of yours, had Benny's heart skipping a beat. His smile brightened, and he slowly began to relax. Finally, he noticed your companions, which he smiled at – but not as brightly as he had you. Benny even shot them a hey. You’d have laughed at their reaction to being acknowledged by the gorgeous Vandal. But you were busy trying to wrap your head around him being here in the first place. And even then, that voice in the back of your head was telling you to be careful, you don’t need more gossip getting around town.

“Mind if I join ya?” Benny asked, looking at you, yet not even waiting for your reply before slipping in into the booth next to you, boxing you in without an escape.

All you could do was look at Benny, not doubt like a deer in headlights, while he just continued to look at you. That charming smile on his lips. Both Fran and Sandra shared a look before turning back to you and Benny. One of the women cleared their throat, which got your attention. Turning from Benny, breaking the connection between you both. From there, they made small talk, which was mostly directed at Benny. Who only gave vague or one word answers.

You found it amusing how he didn’t seem to care for their attention. Yet when you spoke, he listened attentively and spoke to you. Slowly, you relaxed and were able to drink the rest of your milkshake, all while those baby blues watched you. Fran and Sandra eventually left, as they weren’t getting any of Benny's attention. So they slinked away with their tails between their legs.

“Finally, just us" Benny sighed, placing his arm on the back of the booth. His fingers brushing your clothed back.

A small, pleasant shiver ran down your spine. Your breath catching for a moment. You imagined what it would be like if you had been wearing a sun dress. How warm he would be, how rough those pads would be against your skin.

“You alright, sweetheart?” Benny's rough voice said into your ear, his breath fanning over you from how close he was to you.

When you turned to look at him, you were surprised to see how close Benny was. Being so close, you could see how blue his eyes were, with small specs of a darker blue. They were beautiful and captivating. You could easily get lost in those blues.

“A-ah, yeah...I'm fine" you squeaked out, making Benny chuckle.

He moved back a little, a warm smile crossing his lips at your words. “Good. I wanna know, do you wanna come to a meetin’ when I get back in town?”

You blinked. “You’re leaving?”

“Just for a few days, sweetheart," he replied, drumming his hands on the booth.

“Oh...” you muttered.

Then you took a moment to think over his offer. You knew you should keep your distance, stop any chance of gossip coming back to bite you. And yet, this was the second time he’d sought you out. Coming to talk to you. You should be running away from Benny Cross, and yet you wanted to move closer to him. Maybe you could be a girl he could want.

‘You sure?’ That voice asked. Yet you did your best to ignore it.

Pushing away your thoughts and insecurities, forgetting the repercussions that could come from talking and being seen with Benny. You couldn’t deny how you liked having his attention. So, you made your bed and planned to lie in it.

“Sure Benny" you smiled.

[skylinesnsunshines]

jude bellingham reading: personality

hi everyone! this is my first non-kpop reading!! i am so nervous but excited bc ive been wanting to expand my horizons for a while. i have another footballer lined up for a reading but feel free to request others if you are curious. please remember this is just for fun and i am just a girl w cards <3 ok thank you! hope u enjoy

personal readings

DISCLAIMER: this is all speculative and for entertainment purposes only, so take it with a grain of salt :)

(italicised is the card on the bottom of the tarot deck which is meant to represent the subconscious/blind spot of the situation + rx means reversed)

9 of pentacles, 9 of cups, 3 of cups, 9 of wands | athlete | house seven: profound relationships, intimacy, and romantic partnerships | snake

firstly i just wanna say wow with three 9 cards. from a numerology perspective with multiple 9 cards, individuals with this energy achieve success early on in their lives as 9 signifies completion, so although jude has many admirers, he unfortunately has people waiting for his downfall due to envy. this energy tells me that jude is a very lucky and well-rounded individual, i sense a feeling of nonchalant-ness as his talent and work ethic come so natural to him. the 9 of pentacles tell me that jude is someone who thoroughly enjoys the fruits of his labour, he could be someone who loves indulging in luxury wether that'd be food, travel, experiences, etc. i also get the feeling that he loves spoiling those around him. he could be someone who loves presenting himself as someone diplomatic, tactful and well-mannered. with the 9 of cups, i see jude as someone who is emotionally fulfilled and can be idealistic. this card indicates someone positive, optimistic, content and fulfilled, however i do feel that jude could be someone who wears rose coloured glasses and has a sense of naivety. i just pick up on very youthful energy with jude, sheltered to an extent as well. i envision him as someone who sees the good in people and prefers to focus on the positives than the negatives. now i literally laughed when i pulled the 3 of cups, as that tells me that jude could have a tendency to be very dependent in his relationship, whether that would be familial, friendship or even romantic. i sense that he is someone who is easily influenced when in groups and is more of a "go with the flow" type of person. he might struggle with doing stuff himself or trusting his intuition, as I feel he relies heavily on the opinions and perspectives of those around him to encourage him. this card also tells me that jude's a social butterfly, he could be the type to enjoy going out to parties, socialising and meeting new people. there's this energy of lightheartedness as I feel that he's a really compassionate and collaborative individual, he gives me the type to love doing group projects hahaha. he's someone who's very in tune with others' needs and can read a room very well. i think one of his biggest fears could be coming across as rude or insincere to others, which could be due to his upbringing. gives me the energy that he can be quite the hedonistic individual and approach life with a "glass half full" mindset. the 9 of wands as the hidden energy could indicate that jude is someone who is still unsure about himself. it makes sense since he's only 20, but I think sometimes when he thinks about his life/position too much he can get easily overwhelmed. it's obvious that he has lots of pressure, but I feel that most of the pressure is self-inflicted. he could also be overly cautious or paranoid, so any decision he makes he will always have multiple backup plans and avoid taking risks (he's a dream for his pr team lmao). i also get a feeling of restlessness with this card, and that this is the side of himself when he is vulnerable and that he rarely shows. i get the feeling that he is still figuring himself out and enjoying the lighthearted aspects of life currently. as he gets older I feel he will obviously mature, and understand himself more. but right now, he just seems very lighthearted and youthful (just like most boys his age rn) and that the "real deep stuff" will come to his realisation later in life.

the athlete card for the athlete!! what a surprise LMAO. this card describes an individual who is dedicated to transcending physical limits and develops personal willpower and strength of spirit. another thing I picked up is that jude could love feeling like the "people's champion" and he feels a large sense of fulfilment if he knows he has inspired people or influenced them. i also pick up on the energy that he loves working towards something physical, in this case, it could be towards his physical body as he feels satisfaction with tangible things. i see that he enjoys the competitiveness of his job, as well as "performing", but the feeling of him enjoying being people's role model is what motivates him more. again, the 7th house card which reiterates the 3 of cups points earlier, he really prioritises harmony and puts a lot of his worth in his connections with others. he could also be a libra rising cause he does give me that vibe. although this card does indicate romance and its importance, with jude currently I feel like he is prioritising his business partnerships with others and ways to elevate himself in that realm. the snake card tells me that jude is a charismatic and creative individual, he could have an untapped creative side. he could also be someone who jumps from one project or another, like start and stop multiple projects cause he has a lot of ideas.

so that's it for the reading! let me know if you have any feedback, questions or requests! my askbox is always open for a chat as well <3 sending you love and light always :) hope you enjoyed!

[kawarikisaki]

So a while back I made a post that speculated that to someone (specifically Hakuba in the post, but I do feel that it could apply to regular people as well) unfamiliar with the Detective Boys they may assume that they're all like Conan, and that if they also saw Haibara in her element they might come to the conclusion that each of the kids is a specialist of some kind.

At the time I didn't really think much further on it about what each kid would specialize in, but I've found myself thinking about it again.

As a detective team, they don't have to all have similar knowledge sets, and in fact will actually benefit from having different perspectives that can be brought to the table.

That said... this isn't so much me trying to say they're currently like this, but thinking about what I would want to see as a dynamic if they continued to be interested in being detectives years down the line. (Also just acting with the assuption that Conan and Haibara stay part of the team. So something like an OVA 9 AU, not something I expect to really happen.)

Conan is the team's generalist. He's skilled, but he spreads his knowledge base out so he can maximize his understanding of everything. If anything, his speacilties are flexible thinking and understanding the interactions between people and objects. He's a skill monkey and the defacto leader handling all coordination and planning.

Haibara is of course the medical specialist. If something has to do with medicine or chemistry she's going to know more than anyone else. First aid and forensics are her job. Conan can check the cause and time of death, but its more accurate when she does it.

Also it's definitely secondary, but she also has a pretty solid knowledge of fashion and brand name items.

Now for the more speculative ones:

Mitsuhiko is the outdoorsman. Specializing in orienteering, insects, disaster and outdoor survival. If that seems like its coming out of left feild we've already had a few where Mitsuhiko shows some wilderness experience: Mushrooms Bears and the Detective Boys, Mitsuhiko's Mystifying Forest just to names some early examples but there are plenty of others. And while a fair bit of it is stuff directly stated to have been learned from Conan, he still often ends up being the one taking the lead in survival situations when the children don't have Conan or Haibara around. So I think that could be a fun direction for him to develop into.

As for Genta... I'm sure he has plenty of potential in different directions, but just looking at the current Genta the only specialization that I think he would willingly go into is food. Which isn't super useful, but in certain circumstances it could be really helpful. The case is hinging on the alibi of a head chef that claims he was in the kitchen preparing the main dish for the last 2 hours- Genta can tell by smell and colour that that soup is canned soup from his favorite brand. A case where someone had an allergic reaction in a restaurant Genta can tell that the 'red snapper' is actually Tilapia that's been dyed.

Also could potentially be good for him to get into wrestling or something that would let him put his bulk to use to be the teams defender when they inevitably fall under threat.

Though in an ideal world I would prefer that defender role go to Ayumi- she has plenty of strong women in her life that could encourage her to take up a martial art for self defense. I think it would be nice for her to learn from them and go being a precious protected princess to the cheerful knight that keeps the team safe.

More realistically Ayumi's specialization would probably be something on the more traditionally feminine end of things, but this post is also just for me to have fun.

And I think another direction that would be fun for her to take would be if she could ends up specializing in spirituality and myths. Leaning back into all those times that the Detective Boys have gone to investigate supposedly haunted locations. Knowing all the local legends so when they run into supernatural cases she could be the one to point out that something doesn't match up with the stories. She could learn from Kazuha how to make protective charms, or on the more extreme end she could encounter Akako and learn fortune telling or basic magics.

I just think that would be fun.

[letterex-fyofm]

probably the worst idea i've ever had (ft. hq rarepair that i've never seen anyone discuss before)

So, I have I think more than thirty tskym fics in my docs (none of them are fully complete) and recently I've been working on one that was supposed to be a one-shot yet it escalated and it's growing to be its full monster.

Without sharing much, it revolves around Tadashi and Kei's relationship, with it tempting to cross the lines from really-close-friends to something more - yet without ever making the real jump. I also projected my experience with comphet and realising I was bisexual and the internalized homophobia I first faced - and since my favourite character of all Haikyuu is Tadashi, well, I used him as my guinea pig.

The thing is, I wanted to include a Tsukki pair that was not TsukkiYama, KuroTsuki, TsukiKage or TsukiHina, since they wouldn't really fit in the story. I was scrolling on twitter and boom.

Hear me out: TeruTsuki - don't click off yet.

Listen, does it make sense? Absolutely not. I think Tsukki would be annoyed as hell with Terushima - yet I actually am starting to like the idea of them as a messy fwb situation, where there are no strings attached and they just vibe.

So, I think Teruyama is a pretty popular ship and although I have no problems (because why would I have) if someone ships it, I never could get totally behind it. Like, I guess it's fun, yet I also think Tadashi would never like someone like Terushima. And I think people like it more because it gives the chance to write about Punk!Yamaguchi, which I think it's a funny concept yet I'm not a fan of because I always find myself missing the actual/canon Tadashi.

Yet...Terutsuki? That could be funny and almost even plausible without changing their personalities - too much.

I feel so stupid - this is all this user's fault.

And this one too

TELL ME YOU CAN'T SEE IT? There's something cooking here.

And just imagine the amount of drama it would cause. For context, when I write jealousy I usually write Tsukki kind of depressed and with self-esteem issues (because, same) - which is great for angst and character/relationship study! Yet, I've realised that writing jealousy with Tadashi has so much potential to be funny AS FUCK.

He was two seconds from barking at Koganegawa just because he called Kei "Tsukki". Just imagine how funny it would be if Tsukki was suddenly going out with freaking Terushima.

I imagine him just being like "What the fuck, Tsukki. Since when do you like punks? He has a tongue piercing for fucks sake! Who cares if he is on the top of his class - his hair is piss coloured!"

And I think it would be even funnier if Kei and Terushima didn't actually have any sort of feelings for the other. Like, I'm not saying as in they are fake-dating, but like more as friends that occasionally make out because one, it's fun. Two, Terushima is figuring things out. Three, Kei wants to move on from whatever the hell happened between Yamaguchi and him and he is going to do it - in one way or another.

They are both using the other for something, yet it is not unhealthy since they are pretty open about it.

So, what if Tsukki wants to make Tadashi a bit jealous? Terushima doesn't mind - he is enjoying it even.

I have no words to express how disappointed I am of myself.

[lctibule]

some si-u & byan thoughts bc it's about time i expand on their dynamic:

ㅤthey've known each other since byan was 10 and si-u was 8, meeting in the group home that they'd both always somehow find themselves back in between foster families.

ㅤbyan was unintentionally pretty ableist at first due to ignorance and not having any prior experience with someone who's blind, but they slowly got better as they learned more. and they were curious!! they wanted to know more about what si-u's experience must be like and to this day they think that all the accommodation tools he uses to maneuver his way through life are really cool.

ㅤsi-u's favourite thing about byan is that they've never treated him like something fragile, as a lot of other people who've been in and out of his life often have. they've always treated him the same way they treat any other kid who's younger than them which, admittedly, is a lot more kindly than they do most other people, but still— they've never dialed their behaviour back around him, roughhousing with him and teasing him like an older sibling would.

ㅤand on that note, the two are basically siblings at this point, though i'm not sure either would openly admit to it. they've basically grown up together, even if they have spent chunks of time apart while living in separate foster homes, and have always looked out for one another — byan has always protected si-u from other kids, has sought revenge on foster parents who would mistreat him, and has sat with him through meltdowns and shutdowns, trying to support him in whichever manner he might need; meanwhile si-u has stood up for and defended byan to parents and teachers on many occasions, has sat with them quietly or provided distraction for them in their darker moments, and in general has been one consistent source of gentle kindness in their otherwise tumultuous life.

ㅤmuch as he likes having their shared room more to himself when byan starts spending less time there to instead crash on lena's couch or in sol's bedroom most nights, he does find that he misses having them around quite a bit. infuriating as they can be as a roommate, there's never a dull moment when they're around and a lot of the times where he's had the most fun have been in that room with them.

ㅤthen, after byan moves in with sol, i like to think he goes over to visit a lot (and crashes on their couch sometimes just to get some distance from the group home and how loud it can be). and they both just!!! stay close!!! they are siblings!!!! byan even convinces si-u to let them give him a tattoo eventually, one that they spend a lot of time designing for him that incorporates all of his favourite plants and, while he can't see it, they present the design to him prior to tattooing it as a unique little craft where they raised all the lines and textured all the coloured areas so he could feel it out and it might actually be the kindest thing anyone has ever done for him?? like, he was floored that they went to so much effort just for him. ...he might've cried a little. they might've punched him in the shoulder for it. despite it not being something he ever planned to get, the tattoo ends up being very near and dear to his heart.

i'm losing all my trains of thought but!!! them!!! they're siblings!!!

[safyresky]

I love her so much. She's so silly. So MEMEABLE.

Based on these classics:

Heheheh okay okay, I was gonna post them like this initially, but I really wanted to do the second one separate for the joke lmao.

SURPRISE! MORE WINTERS! These were so fun to do! As you can see, the Winter memes were REAL this week. then I remembered I am cultivating the ART talent so HERE U GO, LOL.

I went on a COLOURING ADVENTURE with THESE LET ME TELL YOU. Here's why and HOW

used my fast inking marker. big mistake. it smudges. which is why there's black in all of the colours.

the lines HELLA SMUDGED when I ERASED THEM bc I DIDN'T GIVE IT ENOUGH TIME TO DRY

SO THEN. I START COLOURING. Decided to experiment with Winter's thawed hair since it's not usually elementally charged anywho

Used a watercolour based marker that was dark blue on the second one, then went in it with the white

THE WHITE GOT ALL BLUE. FUCK.

I doddled it out, went to colour in the whites of the eyes and her teeth

SURPRISE. THE BLUE DIDN'T COME OUT

no amount of white edits could fix it. FUCK

WENT ON A RESEARCH DEEP DIVE. DISCOVERED POSCA MARKERS. FOUND A WHITE ONE AT MICHAEL'S TODAY. BOUGHT IT. WAS ABLE TO REPAIR THE EYES

YEAH BABY!

And then, with the power of white paint based marker! I WAS ABLE TO DO PLAIN OL' BLACK AND WHITE FOR THE MARIAH MEME

FUCK YEAH BUD!!

So hair experiments went GREAT. I'm v happy with the colour set now! AND a fun fact for you all: the Crystal Springs gossip network is called Babbling Springs, often shorthanded to BS. Yes, I did this on purpose. The microphone was going to say that but the white smudged lmao, so I figured I'd share it here! :)

The Winter memes are not yet over. I've got another good one up my sleeve courtesy of Ana >:)

But for now! I post THIS! and go play HADES 2 and also eat dinner. Enjoy!

[godsgamefreak]

After 1354 saves and just over 60 hours, I finally finished my Dragon Age II re-play, the first of its kind since the game came out 13 years ago. I toyed with it for a bit longer, I know I bought the Mark of the Assassin DLC and I think I even finished it, but I barely remembered it. But not a single proper playthrough in 13 years.

In that time DA2 of course got ripped apart by the media for the glaring issues of developing a massive RPG in 16-18 months, like the re-used assets (particularly in dungeons) but I had remembered enjoying it well enough as I played. Though, I also had issues with a lot of the Companions at the time too.

After being quite soured in my playthrough of Inquisition a few years later, I had fully dropped the series, with little to no interest in anything it was doing (granted it wasn't a lot, with Veilguard only just recently being properly announced) outside of the animated series on Netflix which was neat. But with Veilguard around the corner, and over 10 years of life under my belt, I thought... why not give it another try, see what's different?

Turns out both not much and also a fair bit. The not much was how much I enjoyed it - while certain mechanics don't work the way I'd like or aren't communicated as well (I'm very sad I couldn't truly be a proper tank, since enemy threat was constantly all over the place) I still had FUN with it. Since I remembered being meh on a lot of the Companions, I made sure to keep a particular eye on them this time around and I came to realize I understood them all a lot more this time around.

Merrill held a conviction, though a dangerous one, and while commendable to hold to it despite understanding the dangers... was completely blind to so much more. A great comparison to Anders, who was so much WORSE than I remembered, finally coming to a head if you question him during his Act 3 companion quest. I literally had to get up out of my chair in anger when he tries to threaten your friendship over his cause ("trust me even though I lied to you" like fuck off man).

Fenris was still overly grumpy about so much, but the reasoning is still solid, and it was nice to see him loosen up a little here and there. Agreeing to drop the mage freedom topic with Isabela and deflecting with a game of "guess my undergarments colour" was wonderful. Speaking of Isabela, I'm definitely older and care less about her darker side than I did as a "young and pure paladin" of 20 years old. I even romanced her, due in part to a similarity to one of my wife's OC's. Her romance story ends so sweet too, and her story is quite interesting. I wish the game had more time to expand on both Fenris and Isabela's stories and personal growth.

Varric and Aveline are still great, I love how they individually check in on Hawke through the game. They feel like the closest friends you have, in that they check on you just as much as you check on them, with no other major goals taking up their time and attention. Though the Aveline vs Isabela lines feel like they get a little too catty, there was one scene of them laughing over a drink once that made me happy to see they could get along.

My biggest regret is that Bethany is so absent from Act 2 and most of Act 3, not even making an on-screen appearance over your mother's death - the quest of which still hits pretty hard, though I didn't fully realize it until afterwards.

All in all, it was wonderful to re-play it, re-experience it, and play it in its complete form start-to-finish, and did exactly what I hoped: re-ignited my desire to care about this dark fantasy world, and make me excited to play Inquisition again. This time with less faffing about, more paying attention, and spending more time with Companions (and other major characters). I barely remember what happened in the game, so it's almost like finishing a re-play of DA2 before the big new game comes out. I hope I really find something I missed in my first DAI playthrough that makes me love it after hating it for 10 years.

[artemisbarnowl]

What is life like in Melbourne? I’m looking into moving there from the UK and would love some insights and whatever else from people who live and work there 💕

I've only visited the UK briefly as a tourist so I'm not sure how to compare them in a way that's going to give you useful info. But I'll give you info at least. Please sit comfortably and we'll begin.

Melbourne has 5 million people in it, but is also quite a large sprawling urban area, so it doesn't feel really packed and busy. It sits on a bay, so it doesn't get freezing but does have the '4 seasons in one day' jokes which are true. I never really got in the habit of checking the weather in the morn before I left for work until I moved away from melb where the forecast was such that I could dress appropriately without surprise.

When I talk about what I love about Melbourne I mean inner suburbs and CBD (which is a beautiful grid and shining example of urban planning for the now that is weighed down by no plans for the future). Public transport connectivity is decent (comparable to London imo) but wait times, delays, and travel times on trams and buses might be relatively crap depending on your experience. It's no Moscow metro (my beloved), but you can probably get to where you're going somehow. Also e scooters have popped off. Further out there's no trams and there's more big gaps between train stations (the train lines are arranged like spokes of a wheel around a central city circle. There will be another city loop slightly overlapping the current one in service next year). This is what I despairingly call The Suburbs. Where you probably need a car to get around and it's like at least 20 mins drive to Anywhere for dinner, groceries or fun activities. Mostly Melbourne is not overly hilly so bikes are an option but infrastructure such as bike lanes is really hit or miss depending on area. Especially good in the inner north. Melb inner suburbs are very walkable and I love love love that. I lived in the inner north and could walk into the CBD to do whatever.

In terms of culture things I think Melbourne is the most international of Aus's capitals in that it has a lot of different people but also that there's a lot open late. Sydney probably can and will make the same claim. But that's it. The rest of Aus is a country town. Major shops will probably close 5.30 or six mon to wed but there's plenty of stuff that's open later. You can always find a bar* or 8. There's plenty of different cuisines in gourmet or fast food dining. There's a cafe in the CBD that's open 24 hours where I can sit outside and have a pot of green tea WHENEVER I WANT. Bookstores open til 10pm. There are lots of events throughout the year and lots of cultural institutions to visit on a whim for free! Some are paid also obvi but I find it difficult to be bored when I can go to the museum to see taxidermy or the NGV for art for free whenever. I am a zoo member which means I get to hang out in a beautiful park/garden which creatures for free whenever I want. Again as you go out further this becomes less true. Fringe cities at the ends of train lines are likely to have what you need to live but less fun activities less often. Not nothing though!

Melbournians really do love wearing black. Especially in winter. They also love strategic Grey. I thought people were exaggerating until I left. A head to toe black outfit is uncommon enough to be remarkable where I live now. Even in a regular boring office where people wear very muted colours I'm the only one who does it. There is no functional difference between the a mourning outfit and one of a Melbournian. it's common wear sneakers with a lot of seemingly formal or corporate outfits, but not thongs with jeans. That's some weird Sydney nonsense.

Being around the bay there's plenty of places to swim in summer! Most of the bay is bordered by beach, most famous and reachable from the city is St Kilda beach. Which is excellent and beyond reproach if you're not Australian and 'fine' if you are. Traveling down towards Mornington Peninsula they get better. 5km makes a difference to the grain of the sand. Some are more fine, can get more coarse and shelly as well. Never stony. Only a little bit of seaweed here and there.

There are parks in the heart of the city (nothing huge like Hyde though) and little wildlife corridors or reserves in most suburbs but it's not an especially Nature city. It's only one hour by train and bus or by car to the Dandenongs (a low mountain range, not to be confused with hugely underated immigrant suburb of Dandenong in melb) though which have cool temperate rainforest national park, lots of gardens (huuuuuge rhododendron garden up there), little b&bs, english style cafes (miss Marples in Olinda is the most famous) and lots of walking and biking. I say one hour but Melbourne as an area reaches right to the base of the range, which is why you can get a bus from the shops. There are national parks that are native woodland or grasslands closer to the heart of the city but these are less special to me because that's the standard nature I see every day of my life. There's a pink lake in south melb which is fun. But I love tree ferns and fresh damp dirt and the tallest flowering trees in the world!!

If you have more specific Q's feel free to ask. I am a city gal at heart but did live rurally originally and frequently do short stays (2 weeks to a month) in rural or remote areas so I am used to comparing amenities and connectivity.

*Melbourne has regular bars but also is very big on rooftop bars. Sydney has some, but other cities hear rooftop bar and think 'bar inside but with views or on top floor of building. Probably formal'. Melbourne roof top bars are on the roof. In the open air (maybe some shade sail) and it's very much a casual thing. Jugs of beer or sangria, chips, feels like a good barbeque rather than a refined cocktail bar. Those are often in basements.

[chaoscolacentral]

Sonic Racing CrossWorlds - Chaos, Uncontrolled

Last weekend I got to take part in the Network Test for Sonic Racing CrossWorlds. Spoiler - it’s good! It’s arcadey! It’s a clusterfuck! It’s NOT Sonic and Sega All Star Racing Transformed!

I think that’s the big thing you really have to reconcile. Sega made the best kart racer of all time - All Star Racing Transformed is in a league of its own, and if you’ve never played it, that might be surprising to hear. Immaculate drifting and handling, weapons with skill expression, gorgeous tracks with presentation reverent enough to overwhelm the Skies of Arcadia creators with emotion. Only Crash Team Racing comes close to it for me.

This isn’t Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing Transformed, and it took me at least half my playtime to accept that. The handling is good, but different. Air tricks can’t be failed, meaning you can spam them on every jump for a boost - the risk/reward is gone. Boats and planes return, but their new gameplay feels neutered - truly a side attraction to driving, rather than a companion piece.

ARST wasn’t the biggest commercial success, though. It was really technical and demanding, its challenge mode was NAILS hard, and its online was filled with devils who lived and breathed it, so I have to concede that copying the formula wouldn’t necessarily be the best idea. I do think that CrossWorlds hits a similar arcade-y vibe to ASRT, but whereas the former serves up an experience where every replay gives you a chance to perfect your skills, the latter is a chaotic, scrappy fight to the finish where you never know what you’re going to get.

The biggest gimmick this time are the Warp Rings. Every second lap gives player 1 the opportunity to select where the race will go. Lap 1 might be a glitzy cyber stadium, but Lap 2 could see you on a giant roulette wheel, thrust back in time to dodge rampaging dinosaurs, or flying through a lava-filled asteroid! After that, you’re back to your first track for a final lap, but the layout is different. New shortcuts open, new hazards are revealed, and I swear you get even more of the hard-hitting items. There’s even a chance for the levels to randomly change gimmick. Frenzy Mode saw 10x more speed boosters litter the track like candy, and your drift boosts charged up nigh instantly. It all makes for one frenetic time, and I can’t wait to see what else is on offer when the game releases.

If you won the last match, you get to wear a little crown for the next match. Well, for Cream, Cheese gets to wear it instead. Adorable.

Speaking of tracks, I really liked the stage choices! There’s a bunch of different paths and mini-shortcuts even outside of the lap change mechanics. Metal Harbour from SA2 has rampaging GUN robots and a giant ramp that appears after a rocket launches. It’s very thematic of the level it’s referencing. E-Stadium is a fun take on Green Hill Zone - replicating its assets in a holographic voxel format as decoration for a giant stadium, lined with cheering Chao.

The breakout star for me was Wonder Museum. Rather than be an explicit callback to another Sonic game, it serves as an in-universe museum lined with lots of mini callbacks. The cynic in me could have easily seen this be a prop reuse track, but its all new assets! It has Tail’s biplane and ancient rocks that resemble something from Frontiers, yes, but it also has old-timey cars, skeletal dinosaurs, and some SA2-styled archaeologist ghosts flying around - the whole thing doesn’t seem like a desperate callback so much as a piece of contextualised world-building. Yes, this is totally what a museum in the Sonic universe would look like!

Some surprising choices for the first 9 characters! I mean, Tails? Who even is that?! (Also I made a C.C coloured car :D)

Anyway, back to the gameplay. This lil preview is a rattle off of my thoughts ad-hoc, and that means it’s a scattered and scrambled and all over the place and - hey! What’s that on the horizon?! OH GOD IT’S AN ANALOGY!!

I can’t understate it - CrossWorlds is a fucking warzone. I’ve never seen a kart racer where the group was so densely packed. This feels like Mario Kart Wii on crack. Often times, a well-timed boost item could see me rocket from 11th to 1st - and a weapon from my opponent could easily send me back. Racers are constantly scraping paint against one another. There was no situation in which I felt a player could dominate - every one of us was always seconds away from victory or disaster. Somehow, getting hit doesn’t feel awful - you’ll slow, but never to a full stop, and you’re usually back at full speed in a matter of seconds. The expectation is that you’re going to be a hit, a lot, and I do think it works, but you really have to be in the mood for it.

Gadgets only add to the mayhem. You can add passive abilities to your cars, and they mix things up quite substantially. One lets you time your boost for more gains a la Crash Team Racing, one makes your air tricks faster. Some can even start you with a certain item! My build consisted of carrying more rings (which correlate to your speed), and gaining rings every time I slammed my car into someone. In my dinky little Handling-type car, I felt a bit like a parasite, sucking on the teat of the big mean predators for their sweet, sweet rings. I do wonder if there will be a dominant meta build that will win out, but I guess time while tell! For now, there feels like there’s enough customisation that everyone will find something to match their playstyle.

On the subject of cars, you can make your own! There’s Speed, Acceleration, Power, and Handling, and they each have different stats. You can buy and unlock parts, change the colours, and even add stickers! It’s delightful. Some of the cars are clearly based on characters, like Sonic and Shadow, and some are really cool callbacks. You can make Eggman’s drill car from Sonic 2, or ride in a Motobug-inspired nippy thing. Anyone can ride any car, so you can put Cream the Rabbit in a giant killdozer. I can’t wait to see how Extreme Gear, the airboards from Sonic Riders, play like, plus what other car options they’ll have at launch! Collecting and building your own might give CrossWorlds some real staying power.

Speaking of presentation, it’s full of nice touches. There’s an emote wheel unique to each character, each with little chibi renditions that match the Sonic the Sketchog series Sega put out a few years back. Characters take part in banter, but it’s so rare as not to overstay its welcome. Cream cheerfully exclaiming that she hit Shadow and Omega, while the two earnestly express how proud they are of her warms my heart like nobody’s business.

There were a lot of Shadows - why would you pick him when you could put Cream in a killdozer though?!

I only have two big criticisms. It took a little bit too long to get into a race for my liking. There’s match making, then 30 seconds of lobby antics where you vote for a track (you can emote and honk your horn which is pretty silly though), then loading in…then racing! It probably adds up to like 2 or 3 minutes per race in total. It’s not the end of the world, but reducing that would definitely help. The other issue is the sound design - it’s mixed in a very muddy way. Characters yell every time you span the air tricks, which you’re doing all the time, items blare and bleep and it all washes out the music. I don’t think I like the music much, either. It’s serviceable, until the 3rd lap, where a choral rendition of the track’s theme will play. It kind of gives Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, but in execution it’s a bit anaemic. Only the jazzy lounge stylings of Wonder Museum made an impact with me. It’s super weird, they made levels like Water Palace from Sonic Rush then didn’t put a remix of Back 2 Back in? Ocean View, from Sonic Heroes, gets a jingle of Sonic R’s theme, and then You Can Do Anything from Sonic CD?? I understand the reasoning, because Ocean View did the same thing in both All Stars Racing & Transformed, but that was a game representing multiple franchises! This is Sonic! Use the good music!!

Ultimately, I think your enjoyment of CrossWorlds will depend on what you want out of a kart racer - you cannot drive your way to victory alone, and items will absolutely ruin your day, but you can give as good as you get. Personally I think there’s a balance between skill and luck, and this might be skirting just a bit too far on the randomness side. That being said, I’m also gutted the weekend is over and I can’t play it anymore, so that speaks for itself really! I'm very keen to see the full cast of characters, hoping for challenge mode to rival ASRT’s and a story mode to beat Team Sonic Racing’s - so I guess time will tell!

Also, King Boom Boo is the blue shell equivalent. He wears sunglasses because he’s weak to sunlight in SA2. Delightful.

[pluppsauthor]

OC Interview Tag

Thank you to @phoenixradiant for the tag!

Rules: answer the following questions in the perspective of one of your OCs!

Last time I did Jesse and Reven. Continuing down the line of Forsaken characters (they won't leave my head), let's do my favourite (and currently only) blind boy, Zenith!

Are you named after anyone?

"...No..? I don't think so. It's not worth going back to my family just to ask them that. The dead gods know I already can't stand them as is."

When was the last time you cried?

"I don't think I could say the last... time... I've cried. But as much near-death experiences and hell we go through, I think I've always handled it the worst. Maybe because I can't see the threat, I hold this higher sense of danger, and it just sort of... eats away at me from time to time. So I cry from being overwhelmed sometimes."

Do you have kids?

"Eh, no. I don't think I plan too either, not as of now."

Do you use sarcasm a lot?

"Sometimes. Dusk and Dawn are always so serious. A strategist and a commander? If I don't crack a joke or use some sarcasm, they're gonna become heartless. Maybe not, but you know what I mean."

What’s the first thing you notice about people?

"Their voice. What did you expect me to say? 'Their eyes'? No, but really, I pay attention to people's voices a lot, tells me a lot about their character."

What’s your eye colour?

*5 straight minutes of laughter* "Oh, that's a good one... Oh, you're serious? I don't even know what colours look like! I've been told they're purple, and that purple is unnatural eye colour. But I don't know what purple is! Or what a normal eye colour is!"

Scary movies or happy endings?

*Another minute of laughter* "You must not have written these with the thought of asking a blind person, did you? While technically I can watch movies, it isn't really the same. But as for scary stories and happy endings... scary stories are way more fun."

Any special talents?

"Well, I'm blind--That's not the talent by the way--see, despite being blind I can kind of... I can sense gravity. It's hard to explain, but think of it like this: Dusk can make light, Dawn can... do whatever it is she does with shadows, I... can sense gravity. Along with a few other things of course. I guess I also a have good balance and hearing. But I don't know if its better than the average person."

Where were you born?

"North City. Okay... well... I wasn't born in my family home. Okay, so my family's house was very close to the Titan Family's main building (in north city at least). Because of this, there was a tunnel connecting them for medical emergencies. My mother went into labour and... didn't make it. So, technically, I was born in an underground tunnel between my home and the Titan Family's main building."

Do you have any pets?

"My family was on the border of being considered rich. So we did have a cat, a real cat, while I was growing up. I don't know how those things still exist today seeing how many other animals went extinct."

What sort of sports do you play?

"I didn't really play any sports."

How tall are you?

"I don't know, can't really check. I've only been told, but last that I remember... 180 centimetres? Somewhere around there if that's not it."

What was your favourite subject in school?

"Ooo... art. No, I'm joking, I'm joking. Uh... probably music. Oh, maybe history, but only when they talked about myths and legends and stuff like that. Mostly music. I can play a few instruments, should I have said that in the talents section? I probably should have."

What is your dream job?

"Dream job... hmmm... I'm not sure. Out of the main trio, between me, Dusk, and Dawn... I'm the odd one out. Both of them both want revenge and to take down the families, and I don't really. I just want to help people, but as for a dream job... ... ...I guess, if it can be anything, some kind of artist. Preferably also with the ability to see what I'm painting or sculpting, or whatever it is I would do."

A lot tamer, considering... last time... Anyway! Tags! @tildeathiwillwrite, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @mk-writes-stuff, and open tag! ❤

Here are the questions!

Are you named after anyone? When was the last time you cried? Do you have kids? Do you use sarcasm a lot? What’s the first thing you notice about people? What’s your eye colour? Scary movies or happy endings? Any special talents? Where were you born? Do you have any pets? What sort of sports do you play? How tall are you? What was your favourite subject in school? What is your dream job?

[bismuthburnsblue]

Lady Stede Part 2: The Stays

So as i mentioned last night, ive decided to start the stays before finishing the shift so i can set the neckline using them as a guide, so lets talk stays!

im working with redthreaded's 1750's stays for this, as its a pattern i already owned, and another thing i already had planned as a project prior to this! its been really good to double up on planned ideas in these early stages :)

alongside the pattern, ive referenced a couple of youtube videos specifically for the fitting for this- ive never made stays before, and since theres a specific silhouette theyre made to achieve, it was super important to me i looked to people with more experience for guidance.

Usually when i make corsets, i would use coutil for my strength layer, but historically they wouldnt have used that, andddd i dont have enough in my stash, so instead, ill be using a couple of different things that i do have. Ive got a heavyweight cotton, a slightly thinner twill weave, and a heavy linen too. im not if ill use all three, but im going to use at least 2 different kinds for the best structure (different weaves will behave differently, even on the exact same grain) and ill see how its feeling then.

Ive also got a fashion fabric that im going to use for the outside! its this printed cotton i picked up in a sale for £4 for 8.5m of the stuff (so im sure eventually, youll see it again!) i want to use it like those blue & white porcelain fashion stays, fussy cutting the design to make the print flow across the panels. this fabric is super thin & flimsy, so is really bringing nothing to the structure, but it adds interest, at least. (the flimsiness is why im considering an extra layer of strength- im thinking of flat lining this fabric with one of them from the start, so i might want an extra layer of play)

the fabric is sort of an awkward one for colours, and im realising as i write this i have nothing thatll look good as the binding, sooo im gonna have to sort that out sometime soon (the background colour is solidly cream, so any of my whites & off whites will be far too stark against it) so i may have a... fun time with the rest of my undergarments (esp pocket hoops) in picking fabrics that match but! it was something i wanted to make & it feels reasonably stede-y so im doing it anyway

The pattern calls for steel boning, but im not sure i have enough of this either, so i may mix in some plastic boning between them to stretch it out. i could technically do the entire thing with synthetic whalebone (plastic) but ive personally found that its prone to bending around the waist on me & id rather have steel.

i think thats all i have to say before i start! im real excited to chew through this one, i love making structured garments like corsets & stays!!

[thisliminalspacedaydreams]

2 and 8 for the fic ask game (and for 2 is you wanna pls give your fav line from your first and your most recent fic)

Hello YESSS.

8. Is there a story idea you have that you would love if it could appear fully realized but that you do not think you’ll ever write yourself?

Yes. I had the idea of writing an AI Regulus 2.0.

And then the story spiraled last summer when I saw green and we brainstormed it, and he and I are writing it now. But we’ll only ever post it if we finish it. So since it might be months or years, I can speak about it a bit :D

Essentially… Regulus the human dies (brain dead), and his brother brings him back as an AI experiment. All of Regulus’ AI personality is based on Sirius’ memories of his estranged dead brother.

There’s Jegulus, and baby Harry, and Remus as a mad scientist, and it’s angsty and weird and the writing has to be very clunky from Regulus’ POV so it’s a real exercise for green and I who are very… metaphor-me-this and metpahor-me-that writers.

It’s all I’ve ever wanted to write. It’s my passion project. I think if we ever finish it, it would become my favorite thing I would have ever written. But the odds are kinda low.

2. What is your favorite paragraph from (and for 2 is you wanna pls give your fav line from your first and your most recent fic)? Is there a reason it’s your favorite?

So from my first fic it would technically be in french from a Naruto fanfic I wrote when I was 13, but that shit is buried and I shan’t try to find it again. 

The first Harry Potter fanfic I wrote was a Dramione, and I gave my answer here. But if it’s from the Marauders, then it would be Goldeneye, and my fav line from there would be…

They sort Beans.

I think it was one of the first time where I wrote a sentence and felt like there were a thousand other tiny sentences hiding in between the words. Because even though you read “they sort Beans”, really what you read is, “they’re putting aside their differences”, “they’re learning to be close to each other”, “they don’t make fun of each other’s quirks” and so on. It’s kind of lovely.

“What are you doing?” “Bit of an obvious question, isn’t it?” It’s the first sentence Regulus has spoken directly to him in days. James has to force himself not to react, not to let his feature slack, his eyes close in relief. It’s not a fuck off. It’s not a go ahead, either, but James is here now. He pulls out a chair and takes a seat. Starts sorting Beans with Regulus. It takes a while. In fact, it’s an infinite game, because Regulus has charmed the candy to duplicate itself upon impact. “Are we eating this at some point?” James asks. It’s a methodical game. Once a bowl of colour is full, Regulus will Vanish it and start another. It truly is mindless. “I don’t like the taste.” They don’t speak for the rest of the night. But there are moments, James thinks, where their hands start dancing around one another. He tries not to think about it too much. They sort Beans.

Damn I just really like this.

Thank you for asking! <3

[localratwithcowboyhat]

what magnus archives entity/fear do you most align with and why (please info dump i want an essay)

OKOKOK

So this is kind of an hard question because I think there is a pretty thin line between being take by an entity and serving one, I think i would probably be taken by the dark or the spiral because there just is this very deep connection, because my fear of the Darkness leads back to my early child hood.

Another reason I think its hart to awnser that question, is because alott off the fears go hand in hand for example the stranger and spiral,, “ I always think it helps to imagine them like colours. The edges bleed together, and you can talk about little differences: "Oh, that's indigo, that's more lilac", but they're both purple.” The spiral is the fear of going mad not being able to trust yourself, now if i think off the stranger and of the statements that encountered a “not them” they often go down that same path of paranoia and feeling like they’re going mad…

I think you have to have something REALY deep connecting to that entety to be serving one. I think I`d probably be taken by the dark because, though im not particularly scared of it Anny more, that deep conquered fear from when i was little is still in here. I`d also say that I would be a candidate to be taken by the vast, because i do have an intense fear of deep bodied of water and the vastness of the ocean, but again not enough to be serving as an avatar.

Now the Spiral I’m considering,, but again there is just this thin line between serving and being taken. So im quiet unsure about this one.

But in regards of identifying with one of the entities, as I said I do have a deep connection to the spiral and would also say I aling with that one to a certain point. But then there is also the buried wich. I have to say might just be the autism, BUT I do have a certain connection to the longing of wanting to rest deep deep down, having all that weight ontop of me. And I do absolutely love MAG 152-a gravedigger´s envy, i do really relate to the experiences of Hezekiah Wakeley.

But to sum it up,

I think I’m most likely to be taken by the vast, dark or buried.

And i would probably be serving the spiral (or/and stranger because i feel the line between those two is especially thin)

Again i think I could go into much more detail but its just kind of hard typing it all out and finding words.

This was a Lott of fun and made me very happy so THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ASKING

[ablogmadebyjose]

SUPREME GEOMETRY | THE NINE ARCH BRIDGE

Topics of interest

Shadow Play | Contrast, balance, duality

Very familiar in terms of colours, theming, and potential narrative. Could have been a fun experiment to attempt at but my only fear is that it may end up looking familiar compared to my darker tones weekly explorations.

Scan Lines | Digital age, consumption, analog

Not entirely similar to the style I've been attempting for the past 7 weekly explorations yet it leans more towards a digital narrative that my past work haven't quite touched yet (aside from weekly exploration number five).

Supreme Geometry | Boundaries, abstract, simple supremacy

This was the topic I was "recommended" to attempt. As seeing that I want my final three to be strictly illustration based this would be another perfect opportunity to use perspective as I haven't used much of that in my batch of work.

CHOSEN TOPIC -> SUPREME GEOMETRY

The second final illo of the semester! This week I was tasked to attempt supreme geometry. I immediately knew that I had to attempt perspective for this one, not only would it ensure that it would look visually different but it would challenge me to attempt something new that I have never done often enough. This also marks the first weekly exploration that I can call it a proper illustration, one of the first that I actually feel satisfied with illustrating.

Creative Concept

From the start I wanted this to be really different in terms of colour and composition. Inspired by supreme geometry I played with shapes and even some more complex forms to create a sunset bridge setting inspired by the recent sunset that have been occurring lately. Despite working with what are mostly 2D shapes I added shading to create depth as I believe simple shapes can be so much more than just 2D flat objects.

Description

As mentioned before, I want to ensure that these three last illos are fully illustrative and this and this definitely suits that guideline, exceedingly too! This illo is somewhat different than my usual art style which I think helps it to differentiate it from the other 8 weekly explorations. I experimented with colours that I don't use that much such as purples and greens. Yellow and orange seemed like good highlight colours for shading and the suns in the composition.

For this one illustration I didn't use my usual overlay texture technique and instead used photoshop's grain and texture to fulfill that air spray-like texture that's seen on this week's exploration. It really helped tie in the shading and shapes as without it, it looked to artificial and lacked the retro futuristic feel I wanted to emulate.

This turned out to be one of my favourite illos in this semester's batch and I loved the process behind it. I've been wanting to attempt this sort of style ever since semester one's batch of illos but I never got around to it. This illo is inspired by the end of the semester and the weird bliss I get during the final two weeks of school. Sad that school is over and I'll have to say goodbye to my friends and not having a consistent workflow of design work that I love doing, yet happy as I get to go back home and see all my old friends once again and the usual summer activities that occur during that time.

Final illo is next week, I think I've got something good coming up!

KEYWORDS FOR INSPIRATION

Retro

Perspective

Neon

Radiate

Growth

Futuristic

ROUGH -> PROCREATE

FINAL -> PHOTOSHOP

Text version:

[k00294140]

Photoshop?

I had unfortunately missed the introduction to photoshoo due to my CCS and Tutorial so I was quite clueless. I had a bit of previous experience but nothing meaningful. U really just wanted to mess around and try to understand what this program is and what I could do. I discovered you can draw and actually doing quite a little excited I wasn't expecting. I really like the drawing and colouring capabilities of photoshop and wanted to use that mainly for this piece.

I an using my previous thumbnails that I had created on Tuesday in the workshop. We created a other mind map to expand and pin point exactly on how we are exploring our ideas through.. I chose "Flow" (as in creative flow and movement), stuck and unpredictable. I had loads of of fun creating different thumbnail ideas for this project. I made a lot so here they are.....

Mind map.

Thumbnail sketches...

In the end we made the people around us vote for which we should do and then we had to expand on this and make it bigger! Here's my bigger version / final version of what I wanted it to look like :)))

While in photoshop I didn't actually draw the cat as I was already struggling just drawing with a mouse so I decided to use the picture that had originally given me the inspiration to draw this!

I used rough and scratch lines in places to make it appear as if it was drawn. The process of cutting out the background was nightmarish. I tried using the automatic way the program does for you but it cut it out so terribly so I ended up doing it myself. I zoomed in a lot and cut it out bit by bit. Some places were still a big choppy so I used a blur tool to smoothen it out so it looked a lot better. I was really satisfied with how easy it was so draw on photoshop. The mouse using part wasn't but it had everything you would need and a great varaity if colour. I enjoyed myself throughout. I ended up using my previous colour pallets which I have posted before hand :))

There was a lot a lot if different styles of brushes I could use which added to the fun!. The stars and swirlys came from my inspiration of the Baebadoobee posters I have posted earlier. I love how cute yet chaotic thy look and wanted to embody that.

Here it is! I ended up not doing the tail but I kind of regret it do I might add it tomorrow when I get the chance

I started to try work on my original idea if making a rock star poster but I ran into a lot of difficulties. The pictures I have are too small and poorly taken so when I move them to photoshop they pixilate very badly and you can barely see what they even are. I attempted to fix this by looking up solutions but I myself couldn't fix it. I also struggled on how to move one picture to another picture instead of creating their different documents... It was really confusing...

But today u was wandering in EASONS when I came across the magazine section. I remembered how I enjoyed creating those magazine art and sonic began searching through them. I ended up finding this great one filled to the brim of fashion models strutting and posing to very interesting backgrounds. I thought it would be really funny to instead of making a rock star poster to creating a poster for a cats fashion show/ Runway (A meoway)

I thought I could use some of these pictures (I will post separately) to create the runway advertisement and to use the singular models to be the "headliners" at the runway. I'm thinking about using gouache and paining the to be cats instead of humans and changing their names into cat puns etc. Im debating on using Ms paint to digitally add stars and other sparkles because I like how weird and cubic the Ms paint brush is.