#this was supposed to be a sketch why did i put so much effort into this-

[katlyntheartist]

Speaking of Inside out, what would the inside of Marlyn’s head look like?

Everyone is Ennui

[eldritch-alicedoll]

Diasomnia Boy gift s/o an evening gown to attend the NRC & RSA ball tgt Headcanon

Following from my dress sketch design if you haven’t seen it here . They are base from Glorious Masquerade & Playful land events. Basically a sequence I imagine while drawing the dresses XD I also want to mention that when it’s finish 🥺 you can draw it on your oc and even tweak a bit detail to fit your Yuu or OC. It’s meant to be share with everyone, not just my Yuu.

⚠️ Bad English……. I have no idea what is grammar . 😂

╭══• ೋ•✧๑♡๑✧•ೋ •══╮

Imagine a ball between NRC and RSA happening maybe sometime after chapter 7. All students are invited but you are troubling since you have no dress to wear. And for the love of the great seven. Your beloved head master, Crowley just allowed you to join in your NRC uniform……….. great! So much for your kindness!!

Guess who will be the photographer and a background character on this event…..hahaha………

Well maybe you whine too much in front of the wishing well. Someone comes up with a plan. A plan that would make you believe in a fairytale once again!

╰══• ೋ•✧๑♡๑✧•ೋ •══╯

𝔐𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔲𝔰 🐉

You had to be blind to not suspect anything……

Lately Mal is a bit touchy. Not that he isn’t normally but this is different. Sometimes he holds your wrist while mumbles something while going on a night stroll. Sometimes he stares at you and gets lost in his thoughts. He even stands just in front of you and tries to lift you up once.

You are so confused and a bit embarrassed when he asks about your height so you call for support. The Diasomnia’s family counselor aka. Lilia Vanrouge. You went all the way to Diasomnia dorm without telling anyone and sneak in to see Lilia.

But

…….

…..

…………

Is he………….

Is he dancing with a dress just now??

Surprisingly you just witness your dragon boyfriend practicing a dance with a beautiful dress. He hummed ‘that song’ while spinning with the dress. What a beautiful princess gown with dark green silk. It looks so shiny and smooth, something that would delicately touch her skin while being held in that big palm. Imagine how soft that hand craft lace feels when on your chest. He did not spare any piece of jewellery from his procession. He keep bring in dazzling earrings and necklaces to test it with the gown. He would have use the heart of his collection to craft a piece of accessories for you if he doesn’t want to save it for something later in the year. You can see a magical golden thread and needle weaving delicate patterns on the skirt as he continues the dance. Every angle……Every turn………..Malleus is creating a masterpiece. He did it………..for you…….for his princess.

Your face is burning from the love of this dragon fae. Why does he have to put so much effort into it.

Oh no………now you a mess

You open the Pandora box too early and now you have to live with it while pretending not to know a thing until the day. You bit your lip as Mal smoothly tug a strain of hair behind your ears. You can now understand what he mumbles about……rose gold? Sunshine gold? May be one of his grandma’s jewellery set?? (Oh god no…….that’s tooo far for the first gown Mal lol)

Your heart beat so fast until the evening of the event. Malleus play cool by teasing you and being a nice partner who prepare a gift for you.

Boom! You are now in a matching dress. So those Raven feathers on the hip are supposed to match his shoulder then ah………..you are about to take off the veil since it looks like a bride. Before Malleus could turn grumpy…..Sebek yell and lecturing you about how talented Wakasama are! You human dare to question his sense of fashion? Outrageous! Just because he love you doesn’t mean you can ruin his days of afford to perfect this dress

Woops………tongue slip

Well it’s not like you never know anyway. Just pretend to be surprise so Sebek won’t get a lightning strike okay?

Bonus : she doesn’t want to point out that when she accidentally saw Malleus weaving that dress……. his tail wagging. It’s a secret she gonna take to her grave though

Bonus 2 : Lilia does notice that and brag about how adorable Malleus is. How Malleus has grown to fit in the society in front of the other dorm leader………..Oopsie

Bonus 3 : Malleus learn the hard way not to miss the meeting

𝕷𝖎𝖑𝖎𝖆 🦇

Have you heard of the story of the fairy godmother in Cinderella? Well he won’t just roll out and sing bib bi di bub bi di bo and bang! A nice new dress for you. The old man planned while cuddling you in bed……in sofa…..in the gaming chair(?)

He pretends to be busy with something and hasn't listened to you. Even play dumb and say you look cute in the school uniform. Well it’s not totally a lie since he thinks it’s adorable. Why would he poke on your cheek and nibble your neck while you are in your uniform if it’s not because you are so cute to him.

The truth is, this old bat is as excited as you. He lived through the war time and never got a chance to enjoy a leisure party before. Well it’s just a joint event of 2 schools. It can't compare with how grand the royal ball of the Briar valley held a ball but this is the first time he is going to have his lover join him. He doesn’t have to be alert from enemies. Doesn’t have to command his subordinates to search all the parties involved in this event. Just lay back enjoy the day with you.

He had been trying to recreate that dress in his memories just for you. It was around……..hundred? Two hundred?? Year ago??? He walked past this girl on the street and was stunned by her attire. It’s an elegant dress with black velvet and green emerald. Soft flare neckline covered the black corset. Enough skin to show your radiant but not too much.

Well, He was allowed to give you some hickeys before the day of the ball. It got enough fabric to cover all his naughtiness. Wink*

However he was troubled with the skirt since he only remembered just part of it flowing past him. He argued if it’s short or long skirt. He was going back and forth and even tried to summon multiple dresses to compare them…….Then before the final day. He just uses his sense of style to bring it together. Of cause ! Who do you think he is, if not the cutest boy in NRC ? (Self proclaimed……)

He smiles so proudly with your flushed cheek as he teases you. As you put on a golden belt with a bat and thorn on. This is the perfect dress for you. His baby bat. He should had prepare a ring for this big day but well…….there are plenty time for that

Bonus : He pick a perfume for you today and as you dance with him on the floor. It’s totally Lilia’s scent///

This is very long………..more than I expected

I’ll continue Silver & Sebek in part 2 then 😂 sorry I’m so into it with my oshi! I’ll try pack in other dorm in one post! Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoy!!

[dvrtrblhr]

omg hiii your Dimiclaudes are gorgeous and I adore the snippets of writing you add to the pieces 💛💙

aaa thanks a lot! i love drawing them forever, so i'm happy others also enjoy it lol

anyway, i searched my folders for a sketch i hadn't posted and i found this one:

and the scene that comes with it below:

As if to prove that point, while they followed the locals through the tunnels that would lead them to Abyss, Claude noticed that Dimitri was throwing glances at him and looking sulky.

“What is it?” Claude asked in a whisper. Dimitri glanced at him and sulked some more. It was starting to get annoying.

“You don’t think I can take him,” he answered finally. Claude couldn’t help the way his mouth fell open in disbelief. Out of all things, that was what bothered him. It was that kind of moment that made Claude very aware of how different they really were. “Honestly, he’s not even that big. He’s shorter than Dedue, I think.”

“Dedue, who is probably the tallest, biggest person in the whole monastery,” Claude rebutted mostly because Dimitri’s remark was so absurd. “Anyway, did I say that you couldn’t take him? I don’t think so.” They walked in silence for a while longer before Claude continued, “I don’t see why you would want to risk getting hurt because of something so silly. It’s not even your specialty. Or did you forget that you excel in sparring with a lance? That long pole with a sharp tip that keeps the enemy at a safe distance, remember?”

“Why are you so sure I’m going to lose though?” Dimitri asked, still looking offended.

“I’m not! In this stupid thing called fist fighting even the winner gets hurt. Now, if brawling is what you want, then go ahead! Just don’t expect me to cheer for you or kiss your bruises better, all right?” he replied, equally perplexed and irritated, then noticed what he had just said and looked around to see that they had, fortunately or not, fell behind the rest of their group so he continued, “What were you expecting, Dimitri? Did you think I would swoon at your manliness? I’m sorry, but that… doesn’t really impress me. Now, you want to know what impresses me? Your kindness, passion and sincerity.”

It was Dimitri’s turn to be speechless, it seemed. Claude immediately thought he had said too much and felt his face flush at his own corniness. Then Dimitri's hands were caressing his cheeks softly, tilting his head upwards so he could kiss his lips gently. It was the kind of touch that made Claude forget why doing that at such time and place was a really bad idea.

“You are right, I’m sorry,” Dimitri said quietly, still cradling his face in his hands, “There’s one thing, though. You are too kind, Claude. Kinder than I could ever hope to be. And kinder than I deserve.”

Claude wanted to protest about such a useless comparison and about Dimitri’s supposed unworthiness. It was something that had crept into their conversations from time to time, how Dimitri seemed to think he was somehow a bad person. It made no sense considering the effort he put into being as good and helpful as he could, sometimes to the point of exhaustion. He didn’t say anything, though, it was such a pleasant moment… He really didn’t want to ruin it with an argument, not even an important one he had been procrastinating for a while. And Dimitri was kissing him again, his lips, his cheeks, his neck. He might really turn to mush if that continued.

Then they heard the sound of footsteps and they were quickly pulling away from each other. Edelgard appeared by the corner looking sour.

"What are you two doing?" she asked irritably.

Golden Dawn, Chapter 20, Wind - Underground

[thefaiao]

Do you remember what hooked you on the LISA series? It's a decently impactful set of games so I'm curious as to why you've created so many drawings from it

A great question. I don't think I can answer this with absolute precision, but I'll try. I'll begin explaining how exactly I first got into drawing LISA, and we'll work from there to the reason I believe I am still compelled to draw more of it.

I first played and finished LISA at the end of 2016. I was decently active at that point, but hadn't garnered much attention to my drawings. I had made a Hotline Miami post that had gotten decently popular, and a few Yogscast(1)(2)(3) drawings that also did decently well, but overall nothing super noteworthy. Most Yog fans at the time weren't into what I liked mainly, which was Shadow of Israphel.

I was immature at the time, so had a hard time connecting with people in fandoms. Not to mention, I was a Brasilian in a sea of Americans and Europeans. You'd be surprised how hard it was to relate with people in that setting, but I tried here and there.

I felt pretty strongly about the HM post though, since it felt like a great personal achievement. I felt a drawing I had a clear vision for had achieved what I set out to do with it. Seeing how much people liked it, it was pretty magical when you've never had a post "do well".

Anyway, people were hopping out of tumblr and onto twitter, and I did as well. Twitter, despite everything, sort of puts you way closer to other people. Your reply to someone important is very visible and hard to ignore. It was a type of equalizer. There I had gotten to get my drawings actually seen and shared by Austin, the guy who made the LISA games.

Having had my drawings shared and recognized that way had a strong impact on me, and I even got to talk with an artist I really looked up to at the time, Maren, who had also gotten into LISA. She had done art for SBFP and TF2, so it felt surreal to me to be acknowledged by someone like that. Up to that point I really felt like more of a passive observer to everything.

In 2014 I finished high-school, and 2015 I spent the whole year learning how to draw better. I tried so hard that I ended up dissociating, a very scary emotion, that I didn't even know was a thing at the time. It felt like all that time and effort was starting to pay off, and that there was a way forward here.

First I posted sketches, and the passion I had for the game and motivation from the recognition led me to put a lot more effort than usual into my drawings. I ended up making these, which got really popular, it was very validating.

So because of all that I kept drawing. I'll be honest, a lot of the time I just wanted to get even more of the attention of these weird new cool popular friends that were paying attention to me for some reason. I was very lonely at the time. I think I stayed lonely for a long time after too.

But eventually people move on, as is normal with fandoms. I didn't really feel my passion for drawing and LISA die out though. I had started a massive LISA art project at the time, that took me 5 long years, and also was more focused in college, where I did Game Design.

Drawing wise, eventually I branched out to other RPGmaker games, but LISA was very easy to draw. It was sort of a home-base for me. Something I could come back to when I was uncertain.

I think Urasawa put it quite well, with Billy Bat:

Drawing the same characters over and over is extremely rewarding, and a great way to reflect on your progress so far. I suppose it's meditative, but that's not quite the right word. It's very fun and constructive, and people can also keep track of your progress through that. I did the same with OFF characters, a game I had drawn way before all this.

Of course, I had a lot of issues because of how things developed. I related a lot of my self-worth with the validation I received from people online, and I still do, to an extent...

When I started taking the game I'm making, Meanderer, more seriously, and started living alone, posting anything felt awful. I didn't have the energy for bombastic posts, or the time spent developing the way I draw the characters like I did for LISA, that is, with ease and style. It felt very humiliating, but I understand it was a warped view of things.

It was a long and depressing time in my life, but it taught me a few important lessons, and made me sort of re-evaluate how I engage with "online" overall. But I still liked drawing LISA throughout all of this, I almost felt ashamed of it to a certain point.

All of this isn't to say I didn't love the game itself. It wasn't all just context. I really, really love LISA. It drove me to sobbing tears, which I don't think another game has gotten out of me. It's a fantastic game, that really showed what fresh things you could do with the medium. When I played it I'm not sure I fully understood how much I loved games.

I just grew up with the characters of LISA. Maybe not in my adolescence, but definitely in my adulthood, and with my art. These characters help me orient myself, understand my limits. And it's damn fun to get better at drawing them. Even just a character on an empty blank canvas, with only black and white lines. It's the most fun in the whole world.

To finish it off, I have a general philosophy of not republishing drawings. So whenever I want to do a LISA post I have to draw a LISA post. Just keep drawing and drawing. Don't get hung up on one drawing or idolize one thing you did. Keep making things. It doesn't have to make sense. Just keep drawing.

(There was a power outage while writing this and I had to retype this whole damn post by the way. Appreciate it!)

[the-100-days-of-junkan]

THE 100 DAYS OF JUNKAN

Hello everybody! I’m Carbonated-Jem! 

I sincerely hope you’re having a good day as this post finds you.

You’re probably wondering what this is. Well this my good compatriot is the result of a very ill advised task I put upon myself at the beginning of this year. There’ll be a TL;DR at the bottom for those who don’t want my full ramblings (sorry about that btw, not very good at this), but I do appreciate anyone who’ll give a silly person like me the time of day.

You see, I am a fan of Danganronpa, and as a result I like to read a lot of gay fanfic (and if I’m feeling daring I’ll even look at fan art, shocking). This series for all its ups and downs is quite important to me and becoming who I am today. Tokomaru especially helped me through a period of a lot of stress and depression, among other things. 

But as you can tell by the name this isn’t a Blog Dedicated to Tokomaru, it’s a blog dedicated to Junkan. Which might be very surprising to anyone who I haven’t divulged this info to personally. 

I try to make it a habit to not delve too deep into fandoms for the sake of my mental health, I look up fanart, read some appreciation posts on tumblr, read fics, and depending on the series make art for others to enjoy. However one thing I tend to become vaguely aware of regardless of whether I want to or not is what ships are and are not controversial. So I am very aware of the fact that saying I ship Junko and Mikan is bare minimum getting some weird looks from a lot of the people reading this.

Before I give a reason why I’m doing this let me just make clear what this is in the first place.

This is the 100 Days of Junkan, a project I undertook (Kind of as a joke) at the beginning of the year. I have made 100 Pieces to post across the next 100 Days. Some are finished art, some are sketches, some are sketches I added color to later, some are multiple images grouped into one day, comics, and far more. I’ve learned a lot through this project artistically, and some of the surprises I have in store will hopefully be worth the effort. I don’t know 100% for sure what day this post will be on, however the event itself will begin October 1st, and if I did the math right will continue all the way till January 9th. 

Why would I put this much time and energy into this ship, knowing that there are a lot of people who downright hate it? Simple, I just like the ship a lot, and wanted to make more art for it.

And I should further note, there are plenty of fans of this ship as well, however they may be disappointed to hear that unless you’re very much like me, you probably won’t enjoy what I’ve made with these two. In canon (much to my chagrin, because I’m not partial to the direction it took in DR3) this is a very abusive relationship. This is not really my thing, anyone who has seen the ship art I’ve done on my main page will know that I much prefer to draw soft, fluffy shipping art. I try to make art which will leave a positive vibe on people for the most part.

That said I understand why there are people who like this ship for how it is represented in canon. Shipping Junkan has taught me to stop being judgy of people for what they ship (I used to really hate Togami x Toko for example, and while it’s still not my thing I can totally understand why people are into it now). Everyone has their own reasons for shipping something, whether it’s an interesting dynamic, they just like seeing the characters kiss, as a coping mechanism, and plenty of other reasons. I have my boundaries of course, but at this point I try to be open minded towards peoples proclivities.

So if I’m not drawing a Canon Compliant Depiction of this ship, what am I actually doing here?

Well I’ve decided that I’m going to draw niche art for an already very niche ship. I like Junkan on the softer side, where regardless of where it's supposed to be in canon or an AU they just actually love eachother, I've seen and have been inspired by a decent amount of Fanfics depicting this exact thing. It's the dynamic that I find the most interesting personally, as I like the directions you can take it with the characters.

So that’s the deal, for 100 Days starting from October 1st you can expect this blog to post a constant flow of soft Junko x Mikan art. If that’s your thing, I sincerely hope you like all this! It’s been my number one goal to give some art to the people who share a similar desire for softer depictions of this Ship, along with all the people who have already made amazing pieces of writing and artwork depicting the same. If this isn’t your thing, I hope you’ll at least stick around to give it a chance, and if I can’t sell you on it like I have with some of my friends, I hope you can at least walk away from this with a shrug.

Apologizing in advance to all those who peruse the Mikan and Junko tag, because this is gonna be flooding those for awhile I imagine. I fully understand if you wanna block me for this, hope you have a lovely day after that! 

Now dear viewer, please watch this long road unwind and behold such sights as: Me slowly memorizing these two to the point that I can draw them almost entirely without reference at this point, inconsistent colors schemes,  inconsistent heights, so much goddamn blushing, AU’s galore, and the unspeakable things I learned how to do for this project! (And by unspeakable I mean I don’t wanna spoil the surprise!) 

Oh! And as an extra bonus to all this, go check out my AO3 account. I have a singular Junkan Fic on there right now, however as a little bonus for this event (and sure, thematic for Halloween) I’m going to be posting a Vampire AU Junkan Fic periodically throughout October. Partially inspired by the fact that Day 30 depicts a scene I came up with way before the actual fic, and I really want to have it written out and available to read before that post comes out.

The other reason is that if I say i’m going to post it here, that means I am required to actually do it by the law of my brain. Which will likely outweigh my complete lack of self confidence in my ability to write anything making me too paranoid to actually let it go public~

Here’s the link!

And if you stumbled upon this post through the Junkan Tag and not my main account, here’s a link to it!

You’ll find plenty of other Danganronpa Art, including Junko and Mikan on their own. I do other stuff but I imagine that’d be the most immediately interesting, but hey you never know. So hopefully if this blog doesn’t provide anything you’d be into, my normal works will catch your attention! 

I’ve also opened an Ask Box for this blog, why? I dunno. I’ll be real it just seemed like the thing to do. But feel free to ask questions and I'll try to respond best I can!

And finally here is the TL,DR for those who didn't wanna read through my mind numbing rambling.

I like Danganronpa, I like drawing Soft Junkan art for a lot of reasons. I’m posting 100 Pieces for 100 Days of this ship, and hopefully ya’ll will enjoy it. If not, that’s okay! I hope you have a great day! 

Reblogs Appreciated!~ Stay hydrated Everyone!~

[yes-these-obsessions-are-healthy]

I don’t know, I can’t swallow the arguments posed by some amateur ‘class conscious’ and marxist critics of shows like Arcane have where “the villain made good points and the writers were too cowardly to put their all in revolution so they wrote in some stuff that made him evil to show that revolution is bad.’

Like what moment did you think that Silco was a good guy, and what point did you think that the revolution was being portrayed as bad? Ekko is RIGHT there not disagreeing with the need for change but very much disagreeing with how Silco is literally poisoning Zaun in his efforts to make weapons and scary super soldiers. Silco reluctantly and cynically understands that ‘base violence’, or the threat of it, is necessary to force change but where Silco gets it wrong is that he’s willing to sacrifice the well-being of his own people to achieve it. You can have a militant revolution and not poison your people. You can have a violent uprising and not force children to work in dangerous toxic factories, but for Silco, such exploitation is all he knows, because that exploitation is what got Piltover their prosperity and results, so in Silco’s mind the same exploitation is alright because it will be for Zaun’s benefit.

The writers of Arcane didn’t just randomly tack on some evil moments to Silco’s character to undermine his cause. The man’s final form is from the ground up a complex character sketch of how the violence of poverty can turn you down several different paths. You become a Silco, a Vander, an Ekko, a Powder, a Vi.

Do you think that gangs in real life are some knights in shining serving their communities? No, they’re terrorizing it same as the police. They’re poisoning their neighborhoods with drugs and weapons and intimidating shops and luring kids with no future prospects into violent lives. The only difference between them and Silco is that Silco is a Thomas Shelby/Don Corleone type, an echo of the early 20th century organized crime boss who has the business acumen and political savoire faire to match and mirror any of their ‘legitimate’ oligarch counterparts.

Silco is not a political leader who happens to do ‘counterproductive criminal things’ that are then supposed to be intended by the writers as ‘see? Revolution bad’. He was an aggrieved socioeconomically marginalized man who threw himself into the gray-black world of unregulated drug and weapon manufacturing because those avenues granted a modicum of power and money back to the community (see the tweet about Vander and Silco setting up the Lanes with smuggling. That was to take back some economic power denied to them by Piltover). Silco distinguished himself by wanting to go further. He wanted to use what resources Zaun had to fight for its independence. Of course he was a criminal and did criminal things. Being poor in Zaun is a crime and a punishment in the eyes of Piltover. When fighting for the right to exist is a crime, when basic luxuries and staples of decent living are inaccessible except through illegal channels, do you honestly not expect or understand why men like Silco might want to push the envelope further? Why the exploitation and violence (inherent to scarcely fettered capitalism) inflicted upon them might not then be internalized and reflected back onto the world in retaliation? Do you not expect men like Silco to be moulded from these circumstances, to be a bit wayward and skewed in their morals and values? Like what the hell are we even doing here.

[luminouslune]

Happily Ever After

Pairing: K x reader

Genre: fluff, romance, humor

A/N: I have two more exams to go y'all😭

Summary: Everyone you knew have already had their happily ever after, or are already living it, but what about you? When's your happily ever after? It comes soon after a boy you drew in your ordinary sketchbook mysteriously came to life.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being here<3"

I was finishing up college exams this week. It was my last year at the University, and I was absolutely ready to leave that school. 11:48. It was starting to get late. The moonlight creeping through my curtains. The only source of light besides my desk lamp. I was already staying up longer than I had intended.

I've been studying for this math exam since this evening and I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere. I sighed to myself, feeling hopeless. "I can't do this." I whispered to myself. I closed the heavy math book I had been studying with and pushed it away.

Highlighters, pens, and sticky notes littered my desk. I decided to take small breather and pulled my sketch book out of my drawer. Drawing had always been my favorite thing to do. I didn't start doing it on my own though, before I had no interest in it.

The reason I had started to draw or even do art in general was because of my older brother. As a kid I looked up to him so much that I wanted to do whatever he did. I sighed, sketching out a body. I wasn't quite sure who I was drawing exactly, but I just went with it.

Eventually I was too lost in my thoughts to even fully realize what I had drawn. A boy, no one I knew but I suppose just a character I designed. I named him K. I wrote an entire backstory for him, decided his age, personality, his motives.

I sketched on his final details, in his hair and outfit. Holding the sketchbook in front of me, I smiled. I was genuinely proud of myself for stepping outside my comfort zone with my art. Signed, Y/n. 12/14/23.

I leaned back on my chair, feeling a lot more calm than I had been previously when studying. The soft breeze outside could be heard from my room, making me realize how silent it was.

I stared up at my ceiling silently, feeling myself slip out of consciousness, eventually dozing off..

CRASH.

I quickly sat up from chair and looked around. Spotting slight movement from the floor near my bed, I stood up and made my way towards the door, ready to dart down the hall. "Ouch.." I heard a deep yet gentle voice speak. "H-hello..?" I saw him stand up, towering over everything in my room. He's tall. Really tall.

"Who are you? What're you doing in my room?" I said, grabbing a pen and pointing it towards him. Yeah, like that was gonna do anything. "Put the pen down before you hurt yourself princess." He said, unamused, taking the pen from my hand with no effort. "Princess?" I questioned him, unimpressed and quite frankly disgusted by the name.

He smirked and shrugged. "Names K, by the way, and I have no clue how I ended up here, I swear I was just in my room.." He said, rubbing his neck sheepishly. "K..? As in like..." I cut myself off and quickly went to my sketchbook, flipping through the pages. It's gone. The picture I drew of him was gone.

I looked back up at the boy, still a bit confused and shooken up. "What? How? When? Why?" I asked myself, not knowing what was happening. "Just chill, I'm sure there's a logical explanation for this." He said, casually sitting on my bed. "Oh god, I think I'm a witch or something. Or am I just going insane? I could be dreaming.."

I said, trying to think of all of the reasons that this could be happening. "I can assure you that you're not dreaming." He said, looking at me with a straight face. "Punch me." I said, walking up to him. "Excuse me?" He said, looking at me like I was insane. "You heard me, I need you to prove that I'm not dreaming or going insane." I said.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not gonna punch you." He said, crossing his arms over his chest. I sighed and sat down next to him on the bed. "What the hell am I supposed to say to people who have never seen you before?" I asked. "Just say that I'm your boyfriend!" He said, rather too unbothered by the words that came out of his mouth.

I looked at him, my eyes widened and pink staining my cheeks. "What..?" I asked in shock. "Uhm, okay, K, not to be that girl or anything but, there is no way that people are gonna believe that I was able to pull a guy like you." I said looking at him, shaking my head.

"The hell's a guy like me? And why not? You're gorgeous." He said, smirking over at me. I felt myself grow warm at the comment and looked away for a second. "You're going to university with me tomorrow." I said, going out the hall to take some clothes from my brothers room and gave it to K.

"You're wearing that tomorrow okay?" I said, looking up at him. He smirked and nodded. "Anything for you Angel." He said with a flirty tone. I rolled my eyes but I couldn't stop myself from smiling a bit. He went into my closet to change and then he walked back out.

"You have good fashion taste, I should have you as my stylist." He said. "Stylist...? Oh yeah-i forgot I kinda wrote you as an idol.. " I said, whispering the last part. He went back into my closet, looking through my clothes. "If you're about to be my girlfriend, I'm gonna need you to match outfits with me." He said with a grin.

I laughed a little. "Fine." I replied, giving in to his request. K changed into some PJ's and I set both of our outfits out, ready for tomorrow. "You can sleep on my bed if you want, I don't mind sleeping on the couch." I said. "No, I don't mind sharing the bed. Plus I'm not about to let you sleep on a couch." He said with a soft grin.

We both layed down silently. I stared into the darkness feeling myself start to smile a bit, I didn't realize how warm it could be with someone else in the bed with me, and I loved the company to tell the truth.. I felt K pull my against him, his face against my neck. I felt myself grow flustered but in the best way possible, I fell asleep with a small smile on my face.

Happily ever after?

©luminouslune

[hydn-jpg]

just follow my lead

ik the anatomy is kinda off but at this point i'm just glad i managed to finish this drawing bc it's been sitting in my wips for a while haha. but yeah!! this was one of my fav moments in crimes so i just had to draw it!! can't wait to see these fools again in book two!! (☆▽☆)

timelapse below the cut bc i feel like sharing + rambly artist commentary(?):

idk if it's obvious from the timelapse but the bg and other dancers were last-minute additions lol. initially it was supposed to be just trystan and noel (which is why i did the lineart right after sketching them) and a simple painted bg but just as i was about to colour it kinda struck me as a bit,, bland? so i quickly sketched out the bg they used in the scene (as close as i could anyway, i wasn't about to make it that detailed when i'm gonna gaussian blur it after anyway lmao)

the dancers were the same, i made them faceless and bland so they don't stand out too much (e.g. me changing the blond guy's suit from cream to grey) i did put a little more effort into the dress of the redhead in the far back bc she's supposed to be olivia nevrakis,, i wanted to add her in since she was a pretty integral part of the chapter without making her too pronounced hsdjlkk i drew the red flower and lace details on her dress and everything, it's a shame all of that isn't really visible in the final product but again— gaussian blur'd (also very tiny). in hindsight maybe i should've drawn her closer to the screen or smth but this is about trystan and noel so!!! whatever lol

there are a lot of things i'd change if i ever redraw this (or maybe just the bg) but that's a problem for future me to decide to do or not do (×_×)

[thoselethalarts]

𝓚𝓪𝔃𝓾𝓸 𝓖𝓾𝓮𝓻𝓻𝓮𝓻𝓸 - 𝓟𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓵 𝓢𝓽𝓸𝓻𝔂

(SR) Lab Coats (Part 1): "I Can’t Really Turn Back Now."

(NRC: Botanical Garden – Subtropical Zone)

Kazuo: Okaaay... So out of this list of ingredients I’m supposed to collect something called… “Frogdoss Mushroom Caps”. Kazuo: Let’s see… Frogdoss, frogdoss… what does frogdoss look like, exactly…? That’s not exactly a normal plant name… Kazuo: What do my notes say… “A mushroom named for its large, shiny caps, which grow in such a shape that its body resembles a squatting frog or toad. Usually a shade of green, brown, gold.” Kazuo: “Can often be found sprouting on or near rotting logs or in piles of dead leaves and foliage.” Kazuo: That sounds like it should be obvious, so… where is it…? Kazuo: Maybe under this tree…? It’s kinda damp under here, so maybe… Hey, that looks it right there! Kazuo: Lucky me, I found it right away! I’ll take some field sketches first before I go harvesting any, since they’ll be great for my notes~

(Jade approaches Kazuo from behind)

Jade: Good afternoon, Kazuo.

Kazuo: Oh, hey Jade! Sorry, am I in the way?

Jade: A little. I just need to move past you for a moment. I’m cultivating a specimen here under this tree.

Kazuo: A specimen…? Wait, is the frogdoss under here yours?

Jade: Indeed it is! Jade: Magnificent, isn’t it? It took me quite some time to get it grown to this state. Jade: Frogdoss is notoriously finicky to grow in captivity, so this is quite an achievement for me as a budding mycologist.

Jade: I was able to find some substrate that was perfect to create a starter for its mycelium to take root, and filled this log with it so it had plenty of room to grow. Jade: And now here it is. These large, luscious caps are proof of all my hard work and efforts.

Kazuo: It looks great! You did a really good job. Kazuo: Hey, uh, out of curiosity, do you know if there’s any more of it growing here in the botanical gardens?

Jade: Sadly, no. Most mushrooms grown here in the botanical gardens that I’ve been able to find have grown entirely by accident, and they’re usually removed before they can spread into a healthy cluster. Jade: It’s a shame, really. I’d like to advocate for more mushroom cultivation here in the gardens, but as far as I know the only ones we have are the ones I’ve been growing.

Kazuo: Oh, that’s… that kinda sucks, actually. Kazuo: Uh… This might seem kinda rude to ask, but I don’t suppose you’d be willing to part with some of your frogdoss, would you?

Jade: What do you mean?

Kazuo: Well, uh… how do I put this… Kazuo: See, I’m taking this advanced alchemical transmutation class, and we’re doing a group project that requires us to do some field work before our next lab assignment. Kazuo: Each group member is supposed to collect a different kind of ingredient, so we can make potions out of them next week. Kazuo: Our ingredients were silver hogweed, thorny whitefruit, and frogdoss caps. Frogdoss is the one that I picked.

Jade: I see… so you want to harvest some to bring back to your class.

Kazuo: Yeah, exactly!

Jade: Then I’m afraid I must decline.

Kazuo: Eh- Why not? I mean, there’s so much you’ve grown I figured maybe just a little…?

Jade: Perhaps so, but you see it’s more difficult than that. Jade: This is a very sensitive mushroom, and if I were to remove even one of the layers of the caps forming its distinctive shape... Jade: The removal process would likely damage the remaining caps, become infected, and then rot. Jade: I’m actually quite proud of my work in developing this fungus. It took me several months to cultivate, and then several weeks for its caps to grow to such an impressive size. Jade: Parting with such a treasure would be like separating me from my own child… I don’t think I’d very much have the heart to simply give it away on a whim.

Kazuo: O-Oh! No, that’s okay! I totally understand. Kazuo: I wouldn’t wanna ask something of you if it means that much to you… that’d be really mean. Kazuo: Though… I told my group that I’d find that specific ingredient, so I can’t really turn back now, it’d throw the whole plan into disorder… Kazuo: I’ll have to find some other way to get it, but… I don’t even know if it grows in here. What am I gonna do…?

Jade: Hm… what if we made an exchange?

Kazuo: Huh? What kind of exchange?

Jade: Parting with such a magnificent fungus is quite heartbreaking for me… but perhaps I’d be willing to part with at least one of its caps if you’d be willing to find me something worth its weight in exchange.

Kazuo: Oh, sure thing! That makes sense to me. What do you need me to get?

Jade: There’s a site just outside of campus where a very rare mushroom is said to grow, but its growth site is also very difficult to get to. Jade: If you could perhaps help me with collecting some of it, then I’d be more than willing to part with some of my beloved frogdoss caps.

Kazuo: Really?! Sure thing! I’d love to help with that! Tell me about it, what does it look like?

Jade: It’s called a “Velvet-Cap Agaricus”. It’s a small mushroom, with a dark purple cap, and its stalk and gills are a pale blue. Jade: It's a parasitic fungus that grows in very high locations, like the tops of trees and on the sides of cliffs, and it can only grow in areas with very high magical density, like our school campus. Jade: I’ve been trying to locate some for a very long time, but as of now I’ve had no luck at all. Purchasing one is out of the question, too, as they’re very expensive due to being so rare.

Kazuo: Huh… and you’re sure there’s some outside of campus?

Jade: I know there must be, we're one of the few locations with prime growth conditions. It’s simply a matter of locating it and collecting it before somebody else does. Jade: If you manage to locate and harvest some of this precious mushroom, I’ll be happy to relinquish my ownership of my beloved frogdoss to you.

Kazuo: Well, I can’t really turn back now, since there’s not going to be any more here in the botanical gardens… I’ll see what I can do!

Jade: Excellent! It’s a deal then. I’ll be looking forward to seeing the fruits of your hard work, heheheh~ Jade: In the meantime, I should probably move my sprout here as soon as possible. Jade: If what you say about your class is true, then this is no longer a safe place to nurture it. Anyone could come by and steal it away without any care for its well-being.

(Jade picks up the log with the mushroom and walks away)

Kazuo: This definitely won’t be easy if even Jade doesn’t know where this mushroom is yet… but I have a week to figure out where this thing might be. Kazuo: I’m not exactly a mycologist, and I’m not all that good at finding things on hikes, but I’m gonna have to try. My good grade depends on it!

/ To be Continued…

[oqs-art-corner]

ARC-V Month Day 30: Curtains Down

@arcvmonth​

and thus the final day is here! honestly a bit disappointed in myself for not getting some prompts i really wanted to do, but hey, gotta do with what you can do

i think the only day that i did that came out alright was #13 since i actually pit more effort there (but if you enjoyed the others i did (including my “funny” ones), then i don’t blame you)

anyways, have this thing i did since this was an attempt at doing a different art style (so awkwardness/uncanniness is pretty obvious as i’ve never done this style before)

(putting a read more under this if you wanna hear more of my rambling bout why i even attempted this art style and rough sketches of their full bodies)

the art style i attempted to do is from a very obscure rhythm game (Cool Cool Toon) and i took heavy reference from this page cuz i can’t do poses

not a huge fan on the eye shape, but it’s understandable that it’s supposed to be a cartoon world

also here are the full body sketches in said attempted art style just so you can tell how much i struggled with poses

(honestly the only one that came out alright was Rin imo)

[reef-shork]

Self-acceptance isn't always easy or straightforward.

For me, this is how it came to be.

Like my previous big text post, this was supposed to just be narration for a short comic, but it ended up as much more than that.

The inner story of how I accepted myself, and how I got my shork.

------

I always had trouble falling asleep.

Always took more than 40 minutes.

Sometimes it took hours.

So I needed to find some way to fill that time.

Maybe to silence anxiety sometimes.

Tried forming a Mind Palace at some point.

Didn't really help my memory, but it was something to do. To slowly imagine and carve out some rooms, some decoration, retrace old sections.

A low effort thing to tire the mind.

But eventually they started moving in.

Little characters that I had drawn. They already lived rent-free in my head, so this seemed like a good place to put them.

Give them their own rooms, their own routines, their own interactions.

A good thought exercise to fall asleep and flesh out characters.

Even interacting with them sometimes. Vent, approach problems from different perspectives.

Even though I kind of always felt like an intruder in the little mind-space I had carved out form them. I didn't even have a room there.

But at some point I slipped.

She started out as a drunk-fueled little post-it note sketch.

And slowly, before I knew it, I had put too much of myself on a character. I didn't even notice right away.

But I started to want to be her. Why shouldn't I? It's my mind-place after all.

Could I even be her?

Could I even be her?

I would sometimes traverse the place as her.

But it felt weird. Like I was committing some taboo.

Was replacing her with myself wrong?

So I made another little room. A small simple one. With a wall just simply being a mirror.

I would talk to her, as her.

I couldn't face her as myself.

Slowly throughout the weeks and months , I started accepting myself more as her. After all, I had put too much of myself into her. I was her.

Replacing her was never the problem.

It was admitting that I was her. A her.

And so, the me beyond the mirror did the only think she could.

She broke it.

She reached past it.

I reached past it.

To comfort myself.

To hug myself.

And, in a shower of mirror shards, crying, both in my bed and in a small room in an imaginary corner of my mind, hugging myself as hard as I could,

I finally accepted myself.

[xiakha]

FFXIVWrite 2024 Prompt #20 - Duel

Seto, a dark haired and tan complexioned Seeker Miqo’te spat out his drink in sudden realization, lightly misting his surroundings with his liquor.

“Oh gods, I know where I know her from, she’s the bloody Warrior of Light.”

An I-clan Miqo’te with black hair with white highlights and pale skin next to him raised an eyebrow as he wiped the side of his face, “Huh. Really? What’s the Warrior of Light doing in the Wolves’ Den?”

A gray haired and dusky skinned Keeper of the Moon Miqo’te across from him speared her layered coffee soaked ladyfinger cream cake, “...If she’s the Warrior of Light, why is she so shite at fighting?”

A Raen Au Ra, only known as the Laughing One, chuckled, as was his wont.

A strawberry blonde Lalafell put down her tea, “Oh. Her. She’s actually associated with one of the sister free companies to mine own. Does a bit of work anonymously there too, or rather, it would seem she avoids making it known that she’s some realm or Star saving whatever. Most of the folks there don’t know, and quite frankly, probably don’t care.” She picked her tea up to sip again, “Save, I hear that her crafting skills are substandard.”

An A-tribe Miqo'te grumbled into her beer, “Not the only skills of hers that are substandard.” She gestured with her tankard, “Seto. You go get her to piss off.”

Seto made a face, “Me? Why me?”

“You’re her biggest fan here. It’s not like anyone else recognized her, so you’ll be the most courteous.”

The I-clan Miqo’te scratched his chin, “To be fair she’s usually depicted with a hulking blade as long as she is tall. It’s not like a Miqo’te would stand out otherwise.” He gestured at the people at the table. 

The Laughing One threw his head back and tapped the table repeatedly. 

The Lalafell, the only other non-Miqo’te, shrugged, “...I suppose, ‘tis true I’ve only seen her sketched in a dress. The pantaloons, coat, and hat cut quite the masculine air to her.”

The Keeper of the Moon rolled her eyes, “Polite way of saying she’d be mistaken for a man from the back and the front. Look, Seto, if you’re not up for telling her to leave completely, at least tell her to leave the fighting to people who actually understand small scale skirmishes and not… Godslaying or what have you.” 

The old question of “How does getting rid of Primals save Eorzea from more than just the Beast Tribes” returning to the fore. Oh sure, the Warrior of Light did fight off the Garleans as well, but most people would reckon that was a group effort spearheaded by the Grand Companies and the armies that overran the Castrums. And, not to discount the effort expended, but it had been years since Eorzea had really seen any action, what with the cure for tempering and Garleans cleared from Ala Mhigo. 

Perhaps that was why the Warrior of Light found herself in the Wolves’ Den to begin with. Even with rumors of going to the Moon and all, she had as much of a need to keep her skills honed as everyone else. But then why switch combat styles completely?

Seto grumbled, “I’ll do it, but it better not be my funeral.”

The A-tribe Miqo’te waved a dismissive hand at him, “If she tried, she’d probably miss and hit a hapless bystander.”

Seto approached the Warrior of Light with all of the deference she deserved. 

“Heyyy, Xiao, was it?”

She looked up from where she was nursing a drink and repairing her arcane focus, pushing it aside to float on its own. It had developed a wobble from the last fight after she had been tossed into the air by a Tatami Twist.

“Hullo, Seto, right?”

Seto nodded. He would never admit it openly, but there was a part of him that was pleased that he could drag to victory as unwilling a teammate as she was. He had pumped so much healing into her that he could sense his own handiwork lingering like an aura around her still after the last fight, “Just filling my own curiosity… What’s the Warrior of Light doing in the Wolves’ Den?”

Xiao’s eyes opened wide and she blinked several times. She then sheepishly looked away, “Ah, didn’t expect t’be recognized.”

“You had us all guessing in your—” Disguise? It wasn’t really a disguise, “New outfit.”

“‘Tis garb befitting a Red Mage, a dueling style I picked up in Ala Mhigo.”

Seto gave Xiao’s entirely scarlet outfit a once over, “You don’t say.” He thought a bit about his A-tribe friend, who also used the duelist style but didn’t wear a scrap of red, “So you’re here to… practice your dueling style?”

Xiao looked into the distance, “Had a fight… at the end of everything, one on one. Was… something else, y’know? Freeing. Felt alive fer the first time, aware of every breath, every muscle, could feel the aether coursing through my body, crackling like lightning.”

“...Oh?” These were certainly things that a perfectly normal and sane person would say.

“Won the fight, nearly died. Been on the mend e’er since, but it ain’t the same. ‘Tis hard knowing what’s possible and returning t’normalcy.”

Seto steepled his hands and then put them on his chin and lower lip, “So you’re in the Wolves’ Den… chasing the feeling that nearly killed you?”

She put a hand on her cheek, “Well, the feeling before that one, a pleasure sought for its own sake, and no other reason. But when ye put it that way, ‘tis a bit concerning, yes.”

“Would nowhere else be as fitting? An adventurer such as yourself surely has no end of places to go… seek death. Not that you should seek death.” It probably was some kind of violation of a healer’s ethics to recommend such a thing, even only implicitly, but these were queer circumstances.

“The thrill just isn’t the same, but duelin’ and fightin’ in these parts, ‘tis a close approximation.”

Seto sighed, “As a healer, I cannot recommend that you continue to seek self destruction in such a manner, but as a duelist and appreciator of small scale tactics and skirmish management, I understand. There is something intensely satisfying about skillfully outplaying your opponents in otherwise evenly matched combat.”

Xiao nodded, “You get it! Fending off two opponents so that yer teammates can win the crystal fight, catching an opponent unawares because they thought yer back was turned, baiting attacks to exhaust aether while shielding, ‘tis the interplay of risk an’ reward.”

Seto held his tongue. These were not things that Xiao did competently. Attempted, sure, but it was… generous to say any more than that. 

In truth as well, these were not things that adventurers would encounter while braving dungeons or fighting Primals. No wonder she was so taken by these skirmishes.

But also it meant that there was no bleeding way they could make her stop coming to the Wolves’ Den. It wasn’t even that she wasn’t a competent fighter, she had the aether to outmuscle much of the incompetent fighters. It was that her lack of experience and willingness to put herself in dire situations for some self-perceived-or-deluded team gain made her often simple work to brush aside, a constant weakness in team cohesion. The few and far between blowouts in which her risks taken were rewarded did not make up for her self-inflicted defeats. The difficulty of coordinating and shouting orders in the chaos and din of combat also meant there was little anyone who would care to direct the skirmish could do when Xiao went off… Save to have her learn through lumps and hard knocks, something that the experienced fighters who had been skirmishing since before the Feast disbanded had little patience for, especially as the Warrior of Light tanked their Crystalline Combat Ratings to do so.

Seto grit his teeth and forced a smile, “Well, it’s certainly… interesting to have someone as… esteemed as yourself join our ranks. Please feel free to come and go as you’d like, surely there’ll be world ending scenarios that force your hand. You can attend to them as you need, and the Wolves’ Den will still be here.”

Xiao tipped her hat in acknowledgement, “Appreciate the welcome. Probably be off for a bit with exploring the Void in a few moons.”

“Ah, yes, that sounds quite pressing. Surely there’s preparations to be had?”

“Y’shtola won’t let me muddle with her research.”

Seto wrinkled his nose, aware of Sharlayan politics as he was, “Master Matoya’s apprentice? You do keep such interesting company.”

“...Should perhaps go see how things are going on her end.” Xiao picked up her things and finished off her drink. She tapped the brim of her hat in a farewell and then turned in place to teleport away.

The Sun Seeker Miqo’te sighed and let his body slump. Well, he might have bought the crew a few days of peace at least. 

Relative peace, considering all the skirmishing.

[lastforme]

You told me I was cruel but you never cared to understand me.

You told me I acted like brat who thought she could get away with acting however she wanted, but failed to understand the part you played in my behaviors and actions.

It started with your sketch behavior with your phone when we were on the couch and I playfully grabbed it - you freaked out. We got into spat over it, you offered zero reassurance and wanted me to brush it under the rug, so I did.

The night I played ping pong with Z, you ignored me and were cold the entire day. Yes, I acted out because I didn’t understand why you acting the way you were and I wanted to get your attention. I was so distraught because I didn’t understand what I did to warrant your inattentiveness. Albeit childish, I didn’t go over to exact revenge and sleep with him, I just went to distract myself because you weren’t speaking with me and wanted to see if you noticed me. You projected your past behavior onto me and accused me of cheating and lying. I didn’t initially offer up details because I was waiting to see if you’d tell me that you put a tracker on my car. That’s the reality of it, but you warped it into your own version and began devaluing me from that point on.

I endured you barely speaking to me during your fishing trip. You started treating me differently. Yet I was supposed to ignore it and feel secure enough to uproot my life?

The day before Christmas you were asking me to move in with you - your mood suddenly shifted an hour later and you brought up that you considered going to your “little sister’s” graduation damn well knowing your ex would be there. When I showed upset over that, you again were callous and didn’t take how I felt into consideration and then left for close to two weeks. You wanted me to move in after that?

While at a wedding, where you were drinking, you couldn’t even bother to say goodnight, let me know you got back to your hotel, or update me at any point as if I didn’t even exist. You took zero accountability for that. I was supposed to blindly trust you were just with the boys.

I broke up with you so often because you made feel insecure, yet couldn’t offer reassurance. You made me feel difficult to love and manipulative every time I tried to argue my point, yet you wanted me to start a life with you? I couldn’t even cry without you telling me I was faking it and being manipulative. And that would’ve been my future?

You wanted me to act a very specific way and held little room for grace, but rarely owned up to your shortcomings. Your anger outbursts, your yelling, your hot and cold nature, your neglect, refusal to validate my feelings and emotions, the endless pressure you put on me to do things you knew physically and emotionally hurt me - and used this “thing” as leverage every time I did something “wrong.”

You literally violated me and caused me physical harm. You sexually coerced me into doing something I wasn’t ready for. Did I hold it over you? Did I draw out your penance for that? How quickly did I forgive you? You even joked about it practically being sexual assault while lying in bed and I brushed it off. But I’m cruel? Really.

I came across a letter to your ex shortly after that - apologizing for all of the ways you wronged her and thanking her for her acceptance of you which was just a huge slap in the fucking face. But that wasn’t my business, right? Reading that you thought about her and the breakup every damn day and I was just expected to get over it! But GOD FORBID the shoe was on the other foot.

There is so, SO MUCH wrong with all of it. Yet I tried. I tried to show up at your place and talk WAY TOO OFTEN when you were at fault. I made efforts beyond texts. I tried to be better for you and what you needed. I tried but nothing was ever good enough or perfect enough for you and it was never going to be.

[lordofwaffless]

6. Cafe

Stu was exhausted. Not only had he been yelled at by pretty much everyone, he’d been made fun of by his aunt, then mocked by his teacher, and then insulted in the cafeteria by not only a stupid wizard, but also an angry witch. He was almost tempted to call Ezra and ask her to

take him home. Knowing Ezra, though, she had almost certainly made plans in town once he had told her that he had plans in town. Most days, she was done with work and all of her errands by four or five and they could go home, but since he would be in town until six, she’d probably made plans until eight. Ezra was fun that way. 

He was currently in his last class of the day, gnawing on his pencil and waiting for the bell to ring. He was supposed to be designing a sculpture of a living saint, but hadn’t really made it much farther than a sketch of his aunt Ezra twerking before he’d gotten distracted by his plans for the evening. Sure, it wasn’t really a date, but he was still going to be spending an entire three hours with Wesley, if you included the walk. He’d never really made plans with anyone before, so even making plans to study with someone was kind of a massive deal for him. The fact that he’d made plans to study with the person who was easily the most popular junior in the school (and who he’d had a crush on for two years) did not help. 

“Hey, Stu, how’s the sketch going?” asked his art teacher. She was friendly enough, he supposed, but he really just wanted to be left alone to worry himself sick. “It’s fine. I finished it.” 

She looked over his shoulder and shook her head, smiling. Although the satyr tended to chew her pencils more than draw with them, when he did bother to put in some effort, she was always pleased with the results, no matter how impertinent the subject matter (although if that impertinence had been directed towards any of the other saints, she would probably have been obligated to say something). “That’s quite nice, Stu. Have you thought about what medium you’d like to work in?” 

He blinked, startled away from his increasingly anxious reflections by her question. “Well, marble or stone is what people usually use for statues of saints, but I’d like to try welding something with moveable parts, like a drinking bird. But with my aunt’s behind.” 

She laughed, just as the bell started to ring. “Good work today! I’ll see you tomorrow, Stu. Keep working on that design, ok?” 

He nodded as he began haphazardly shoving his papers into his leather rucksack. It wasn’t a particularly comfortable bag to be so constantly shoving one’s face onto, but it carried all of his things and looked quite nice, unlike the more comfortable bags he could have carried. Stu had had some initial scruples about using a leather bag, but the leather had come from a cow that had died of natural causes (Ezra’s hunger being perfectly natural, in her opinion), and, as Ezra pointed out, his only other alternative was Ezra’s tattered old messenger bag from her days at the East Everin School for Saints. (It was black with orange straps and covered in pins and buttons for bands he’d never heard of, as most of Ezra’s things tended to be.) 

Stu looked up as someone knocked on the door frame. 

“Hey, Professor Clare,” greeted Wesley with his usual mischievous grin on his face.

“Wesley Clarke,” she began, trying not to smile, “you’re one of the best painters I’ve taught in twenty-three years. Why are you no longer in my class?” 

“No room in my schedule, unfortunately. Anyway, you really shouldn’t say things like that, I’ll get even more conceited and none of my hats will fit on my head,” he said with a laugh.

He turned his attention to the blushing satyr attempting to cram six books in his bag. “Stu, you ready?” 

Stu mumbled something vague in reply. He had really not been expecting this. Professor Clare surveyed the two boys before her with a knowing look in her old grey eyes. “Are you two going somewhere?” 

“Just downtown to the cafe,” Wesley replied. “I’m tutoring him in maths.” “I’m terrible at maths,” mourned Stu, finally achieving his improbable task and heaving his overfilled bag onto his tiny shoulders. Wesley hurried over. 

“Here, let me,” he offered, setting his own bag down before attempting to grab Stu’s. “I’m fine, I’m used to it, and you’ve already got yours,” Stu rambled as he tried to shift away. 

“Your bag weighs almost as much as you do, I can’t just-” 

“It does not, and I’m used to it, anyway, so-” 

“Stu, just let me-” 

“It’s fine, you don’t have to-” 

“Stewart, just let the boy carry your bag,” chuckled the art teacher. The satyr paused his scooting just long enough for Wesley to manoeuvre the bag off of his shoulders and onto his own.

He turned around and stared at the taller boy, surprise and concern etched onto his face.

“Hey, it’s fine,” Wesley smiled, throwing his own bag on top of Stu’s. 

“If you say so,” muttered Stu, clearly unconvinced. 

“I do say so.”

Stu shook his head, brown curls bouncing around with the movement of his skull. He startled, suddenly, as Wesley slid his hand into his. “C’mon, let’s start walking,” Wesley murmured, choosing, for once, not to smirk at Stu. 

“You’re an ass,” Stu declared. 

“You know, I’m inclined to agree,” replied Wesley, chuckling again. “If you’re referring to the bag debacle of approximately seventy-eight seconds ago, though, I’m sure you’re completely capable of carrying your giant, eighty-pound bag by yourself. However, I am also capable of carrying your giant, eighty-pound bag as well as my own with a lot less effort. It’s the logical thing to do, Stewart.” 

Stu just shook his head again and bounced along down the hall, wondering why, precisely, he didn’t really seem to care that Wesley was kind of an entitled prick; and more importantly, why, precisely, Wesley was holding his hand as they walked from the art room down to the entrance of the school. Under ordinary circumstances, Stu probably would have allowed himself to get lost in his wonderings and lose focus of his surroundings entirely, but today, he felt, was not quite an ordinary day. Today was a weird day, with too many things to tire him and too many things to wonder about. 

Wesley wasn’t wondering about much of anything. (Well, that’s not precisely true. He was wondering why in the world he’d never attempted to hold the satyr’s hand before, and he was wondering whether or not Stu would pull away. He was also wondering how someone who fell asleep in most of his classes had the energy to skip down a hallway at the end of school, but he supposed that that was what all the napping was for). He was doing a lot of thinking, though and especially about what his friend Fiona had been rambling about in PE as they’d been duelling: “It was ridiculous!” she’d shouted, waving her wand around and haphazardly shooting off offensive spell after offensive spell while he ducked like a madman. “He just sat there pouting at me, his tongue stuck in a pot of gelatin as he mumbled some nonsense about not wanting me to defend him. Who doesn’t want a witch defending them?!” 

Wesley had declined to answer. At least, he would have if he’d been physically capable of answering; all of the ducking had left him too out of breath to utter a single word. (He’d never been great at defensive spells, and Fiona had been casting too furiously for him to even hope of getting a jinx in edgewise; their PE teacher had given him an “A” for exercise and a “D” for likelihood of survival.) He was also thinking about the algebra II test they were taking in a few

days, and Stu’s high likelihood of failure. There really wasn’t any avoiding the failure; there was just cushioning the blow a bit with frantic studying so that he failed a bit less badly. He was mostly thinking about how much he wished he didn’t have to tutor Stu, and how much he wished they could just sit and talk. 

They were walking down the hill to the boundary of the school property now. St. Basilton Preparatory was built in the centre of forty-three acres of wooded park, surrounded by lush gardens and wood sprites who only sort of wanted to eat the students (not that a faery three inches tall could have managed to do so). The school itself was a stately baroque building, large enough to be considered a castle, but not quite so large that students couldn’t make it from one side to the other before the bell rang. (Older students had the opportunity to board at the school for a minimal increase in tuition, which was part of why it was so large, but Ezra preferred to have her nephew as close to her as possible.) Ezra and Stu both thought it was beautiful and utterly ridiculous; it was one of the few things they managed to agree on. 

While there were a number of secluded spots on the grounds or within the school itself that would have served for studying purposes, Stu and Wesley had agreed that eight hours on school property was more than enough; and besides, everyone knew that Cecelia’s Cafe and Bakery was the only place to get a decent cup of coffee in the entire town. The town, like the school, was named after St. Basilton the Archer, one of the few male casters to have ever made it through the Goddess’s trials; they were nearly insurmountable even with an affinity for one of the elements, and that was something that belonged to witches and witches alone. 

The cafe was situated in downtown Basilton, between an artist supply store and a bookstore that specialized in antique spell books and faery tales. It was one of the larger businesses in the area, as it catered to pretty much everyone in town who enjoyed beverages that had flavour and were a temperature (which was, naturally, almost everyone in town). The owner, Cecelia Clarke, was a cousin of Wesley’s father, a Professor Fiero Clarke, who taught botany to middle schoolers (it was an incredibly thankless job). 

Wesley was thinking about that, too, when he realised that the satyr skipping merrily along next to him had paused. “What?” he asked, confused at both the sudden stop and the way Stu was staring at him. 

“You’re holding my hand,” said Stu, as if that explained everything.

Wesley cocked an eyebrow. “Well, yeah. I’ve been holding your hand for a good four and a half minutes now.” 

“Why?” 

Wesley laughed. “Well, initially, it was probably more to get your attention than anything else, but because I want to, I think?” 

“You think?” questioned the satyr. 

“I mean, I know I want to be holding your hand. I meant that I think that’s the answer to your question.” 

“Oh,” responded Stu. He started skipping again, albeit more slowly and less merrily than he’d been skipping along before. He paused again after a moment or two and turned back to Wesley. “Why?” 

Wesley sighed. “Are you asking me why that’s the answer to your question?” Stu shook his head. “No. Why do you want to hold my hand?” 

Wesley tugged him along as he answered. “Why do you eat so much jelly?” “Because I like jelly. Jelly is good. Jelly is-” he paused again. “Oh.” He tugged his hand back from Wesley and started walking at an accelerated pace. 

“I- Stu, wait,” Wesley called. This was not a conversation he’d expected to be having today, not by any stretch of the imagination. This was not a conversation he’d expected to be having ever, if he were being honest with himself. He sort of figured he’d just keep teasing Stu forever without actually getting around to admitting that he had feelings for him. “Stu, slow down, please,” he requested as he attempted to catch up. For someone with such short legs, Stu was remarkably fast. 

Stu’s face was burning, both from the sting of the wind whipping his face, and from the knowledge that the guy he liked also, apparently, liked him (and not just in a teasing way). He supposed he should probably thank Ezra for the t-shirt. 

“Stewart, please,” panted Wesley, who was beginning to be quite out of breath. “Please slow down.” 

He did, and turned around to face Wesley once more. “I-” he began, before biting his lip and contemplating what he actually wanted to say. 

“Hey,” Wesley said gently, having finally caught up to him. “It’s fine. You don’t have to say anything. Let’s just go sit down, ok?”

They’d reached the cafe at that point. Stu nodded in response, and opened the door. It had only been a ten-minute walk (less, really, with Stu travelling so quickly), but it had felt a fair bit longer, and both boys were relieved to get inside and slide into a booth in one corner of the cafe. It was a warm, cosy space, vibrantly decorated in autumnal shades of orange and violet. Both of them found themselves thinking about Fiona, who existed in the same range of colours as the cushions on the armchairs by the fire and the garlands of leaves that hung from the ceiling. While Wesley’s thoughts were more specifically focused on her, as she’d been in most of his classes since she’d started at the school two weeks ago and he’d known her for years, Stu only thought of her as the angry witch from earlier that day. 

“I heard about what happened earlier,” Wesley began. “Are you ok?” 

Stu looked up from where he’d been taking his books back out of his bag. “What do you mean?” 

“Fiona told me about the fight earlier. Are you alright?” 

“Shouldn’t you be asking her that? I wasn’t really involved,” responded Stu, frowning down at the bottle of strawberry syrup he’d unearthed in his bag. 

“I’m not even going to ask why that’s in your bag.” Wesley shook his head, before continuing, “They were fighting about you, so you sort of were involved, Stu. Besides, she told me about the shit those guys have been saying to you.” 

Stu pouted. “I’m fine. I didn’t ask her to start a fight.” 

Wesley looked at him, considering. Stu was still as rosy-cheeked as he’d been that morning, and was seemingly determined to look in any direction that didn’t include Wesley. Wesley decided, after a moment, that it wasn’t really a topic worth pursuing, and instead started taking his arithmetic textbook and notebook out of his bag. Once he’d set his things down on the table, he stood up. “I’m going to go buy a latte. What do you want?” 

“Hot chocolate with whipped cream and caramel, please,” Stu replied, looking down at the table. 

“What, not a strawberry hot chocolate?” Wesley teased. 

Stu glanced up, surprised, before looking back down. His ears were burning. “No thank you. Caramel.” 

“Okay,” muttered Wesley, shaking his head.

He came back a few minutes later with two scones, some sandwiches, and their drinks, and sat down next to Stu. “Shouldn’t you sit on the other side?” questioned the satyr, who was still staring in the opposite direction. 

“Not if you actually want me to walk you through these problems. Or if you want sandwiches, for that matter. The other side of the booth is too far away.” 

Stu definitely wanted both of those things. He wanted Wesley to sit next to him even without those two things; he just wasn’t sure what to say. Wesley noticed (it was impossible not to), and figured he should probably attempt to clear the air if they were actually going to accomplish anything. 

“Hey,” he began, brushing a few stray curls behind Stu’s ear. “Are you sure you’re ok? You’ve been acting weirder than usual today,” he murmured, concern written across his face. Stu finally turned around, nibbling on his lip as he once again contemplated his response. “I don’t know. I- you said- well,” he paused, unsure, before whispering, “you make my cheeks rosy. I think I might be dying. I think I might be tomato-coloured for the rest of my life.” 

Wesley burst out laughing at Stu’s fairly absurd response. “I don’t think I’m physically capable of blushing, but if I could, I’d probably be tomato-coloured around you too,” he replied, smirking at him once more. Stu couldn’t help but smile as he glanced back down at his textbook.

“We should probably start working,” he mumbled. Wesley sighed, wishing again that Stu was just a bit better with numbers, so they could spend the time they had together in a more enjoyable manner. He supposed he really would have to invite him over soon.

 “Right.” He opened up the largest textbook in front of him and scooted a bit closer to Stu, letting his hand rest lightly on the smaller boy’s back. Wesley glanced at him to make sure he wasn’t freaking out, and noted with some relief that while the satyr was blushing even more furiously, he seemed perfectly content to lean into Wesley and pretend to focus on what they were studying. They’d been reviewing quadratic equations in class towards the end of last week, and had a test on the material that Wednesday. 

“This sucks,” mumbled Stu. 

“Agreed.” 

He pouted. “Why does this suck for you? You like maths.” 

“Stewart, you cannot honestly believe that trying to get you to understand quadratics is really all that enjoyable.”

Stu stared at him, eyes wide. “But I’m so pretty,” he whispered. “And you get to sit so close.” Wesley wasn’t entirely sure whether the satyr was teasing him or not. He stared at him, full lips parted, his handsome brows scrunched together in wonder at the surprisingly confident nonsense that had just exited the satyr’s lips. Finally he shook his head, grabbed one of Stu’s pink, strawberry-scented gel pens, and started writing out a problem. 

“Do you have any concept of how this works?” 

Stu shook his head and leaned in closer. Wesley exhaled melodramatically and started to walk him through it, slowly going over each step. He realised, as they went from problem to problem, that Stu had a point; he was exceedingly pretty, and was sitting extremely close. In fact, he seemed to gravitate closer with each problem they worked through, glancing up at Wesley every few seconds through his absurdly long lashes as he attempted to comprehend the information being presented to him for the thousandth time. As nice as it was, it wasn’t quite enough to distract from the frustration of explaining the quadratic formula for the sixth time in three minutes. However, it did increase his patience somewhat; and Wesley, as a general rule, was not very patient. 

He paused his explanations for a moment to eat the last of the sandwiches, running the hand that had been resting on Stu’s back gently up and down the satyr’s spine. Stu peered up at him, his sepia-toned eyes boring into his skull. 

“Do you want a bite of my sandwich, Stewart, or are you just staring at me for fun?” Stu blinked. “Both.” 

…which was true, but neither of those reasons had been why he’d looked up. Wesley held the sandwich out to him. He leaned over and took a fairly large bite from the corner nearest to his lips. Wesley (who’d honestly expected him to grab the sandwich) barely breathed as he watched him consume it, noting everything from the way his jaw moved when he chewed, to the bob of his adam’s apple as he swallowed it down. 

“You have jelly on your mouth,” he whispered. 

The satyr ran his tongue over his lips, completely unaware of the way his friend was dissecting his every move. 

Wesley could have kissed him. He was seriously considering leaning over and kissing him, putting off the Goddess-forsaken mathematics lesson and simply letting himself enjoy the feeling of Stu’s strawberry-flavoured lips against his own. He was, luckily, spared from the possibility of actually acting on those urges (and probably confusing Stu immensely, he thought) by the arrival of an unreasonably tall, violet-eyed witch.

[tsukasageorge]

8 10 12 14 16 18 artist ask

nico is carrying my entire inbox

1. what is your favorite color to work with?

pink and purple my beloved. red is cool too

2. who is your favorite character to draw?

(shoves mound of alluka drawings under the table) i do not have a favorite ahaha maybe aubrey because she has long hair 😊😊😊😊😊😊

3. what song(s) do you listen to when you do art?

a lot

4. how often do you draw?

at least every few days. it's pretty rare for me to go more than a week without drawing nowadays but i used to draw much less regularly and improved so much slower

5. digital or traditional?

digital! traditional is nice in small doses. i think im done with normal pencils i prefer either painting or like. charcoal as i recently discovered

6. tag your favorite artists/inspirations!

UH. UH. YOU DO I TAG YOUR ART BLOG OR MAIN. @shitbox-drawn my friend who's not on tumblr but she was my first art mutal ever i love her her names kyoki um. ngl i dont know anyone's name. tiucotheus (i dont wanna tag them i feel like id bother them) & yuumei art. hyperpop type art has been a pretty big inspiration for me recently i love colors

7. do you prefer sketching, outlining, or coloring?

sketching <3 lineart is to me what coloring is to normal people. it's relaxing sometimes but i need 1 million stabilzer. you already know how i feel about coloring

8. show us at least 2-3 drawings from 1-2 years ago.

this is the iconic sibling moment i was talking about. its roughly a year old now, and looks pretty stiff, but it was like. kinda insanely good for my skill at the time. pretty big point in my art history

here's one from 2021, its one of the oldest drawings i have on my computer. gilda was supposed to be there but i couldnt draw her so i gave up

9. what drawing program do you use? (if the artist does digital art)

clip studio paint my beloved

10. are you right or left handed?

right

11. warm or cool colors?

why are we pitting two bad bitches against each other..... personally i like ourple

12. draw one of your favorite characters in 15 seconds.

unlluka

14. what was something that you used to draw a lot that you don’t draw as much anymore?

um. bows i guess? butterfly wings, i really liked drawing those for a bit (i drew like 2 ever)

15. when was the last time you did art?

1 minutes ago if u count unlluka. i did draw earlier today though

16. what kind of tablet do you use? v v 

the wacom one its like. flat. no screen

17. (alternative for traditional art ) ^ ^  do you work with pencils or pens more often?

pencils my beloved

18. how long have you been drawing/ when did you officially “declare” yourself as an artist?

i considered myself an artist when i actually drew something and didn't just shade a picture. i've been drawing for probably like... 4 years now??? that's insane i swear it was 3 yesterday

19. do you like drawing short hair or longer hair more?

LONG HAIR ESPECIALLY THE KIND THAT IS SLIGHTLY WAVY

20. how often do you get art block?

not in my art block era but if i dont have an idea then yeah

21. draw one of your original characters.

not gonna lie i actually dont really like my ocs but anyways this one is nyx they're chaotic silly. remember that royal who randomly disappeared 3 years ago yeah thats them they were hanging out w some dragons this whol time

22. do you use a mac or pc to do (digital) art?

pc

23. draw your fav as a vampire

i will do this as not an ask bc i want to put actual effort into it

24. how many followers do you have? (on your art blog)

like 23 iirc but lets say 24 so it matches with the question number

25. where in your house do you usually do art?

exclusively on my bed but i drew nyx on nicos bed

26. draw urself! (it doesn’t have to be detailed)

same as 23 ive been meaning to make a meet the artist for a while

[northwestgirl]

"That's nice, I'm sure that's what's suitable." - Peter

@captainpeter

The sketches for her fashion classes took so much time and effort on Pacifica's part, to hear such a bland response on her drawings felt like an attack. "Why did I even bother asking someone who doesn't understand high fashion? The design on this dress is so lost on you," she rolled her eyes and drew back her sketchpad from the other. "I bet when a girl puts on a pretty dress all you say is 'looks good', huh?" Suddenly, the suggestion to be nicer and more patience rang in her ears like a morning alarm, annoying but needed. "The cutouts on the dress are supposed to draw your eyes closers to the waist and create this hourglass figure, the sequins bring in texture and will shine so much that the model is gonna look like the Eiffel Tower at night."