#wanted to have a lil green pop lol

[starrysharks]

fart doodie and a cocky pee

[mamawasatesttube]

ok i put a longer post abt tim's Emotional State in drafts for when my brain is less melted but re: tim and going to college im just gonna get a lil silly with it. hear me out.

i have this whole vague story in my mind for tim's college days moonlighting as red robin as he tries and figures out what he wants out of life. (it's a while after rr leaves off and all because he's like. Super Depressed for a hot minute and then has to drag himself through actually bothering to get his GED and applying to college, etc., but eventually lucius is like hey. you're great with gadgets, and you clearly love tinkering. i'd hire you for r&d in a heartbeat but you need at the least a bachelor's of engineering. i know you have a lot of the technical skills, but you need a degree. so tim goes ugh fine i'll get a goddamn engineering degree how hard can it possibly be.)

anyways. i think it's a universal experience that if you go to college and you hang with the STEM crowd, you will unfortunately get to know at least one Fucking Guy. it's like brentwood arc; tim does make friends, but there is just this One Fucking Guy he cannot stand and will never stand. this Fucking Guy is in the common room playing his guitar at midnight. he's drunk and yelling and laughing really loud when people have exams coming up. he's convinced everyone adores him. there's also a detective/supernatural plot going on. the subplot is just that tim hates This Fucking Guy.

at some point, there's a story beat where he as red robin has to rescue That Fucking Guy from a real dicey situation, and That Fucking Guy is really shaken and grateful to him, and he's like okay. maybe. maybe we are making progress. but then the next time he encounters This Fucking Guy as tim drake, the guy is just like. "ohhhh hey drake you missed it last night, it was AWESOME!!! i had to save red robin from a KILLER ROBOT. he's pretty cool though i guess. i bet you wish you could be more like him huh??" and tim is just. I Will Not Grind My Teeth About This. I Will Not. his life is a fucking joke. he dismantles the toaster oven in the common room kitchen to cope. it's definitely to cope and not just so that That Fucking Guy won't be able to heat up his pop tarts in the morning.

at another point, This Fucking Guy looks at street mode, lowkey, unremarkable Normal Car-looking redbird and goes, aw, dude, i thought your dad is loaded?? he only got you a generic-ass sedan?? that sucks lol, if you want we can take my car down to the game instead. and tim is just Say One More Fucking Word About My Baby I Dare You I Fucking Dare You One More Fucking Word.

(also i like to toy with the idea of this being a university in metropolis - he's out of gotham, but not too far. keeps him from getting antsy about what if he's needed because he can get right back over there. and in the meantime, he can hang out with kon and kara a lot, and occasionally enable and be enabled by lois lane and her snooping habits. there's another subplot in which tim and lois get up to shenanigans. at least once.)

it's sort of an introspective thing of him trying to come to terms with the way he no longer wants a fully normal life the way he always used to assume he would - he has the option to walk away from the cape now, like he always thought he would one day, but he just can't give it up anymore. he's fallen into the same black hole he watched dick and bruce dive headlong into. it's also about him finding joy in tinkering and working with his hands and getting to spend more time as tim drake first and foremost. and it's about him venting to kon about That Fucking Guy while they have a lil picnic on the green while kon loses his absolute shit laughing. all against the backdrop of a little mystery or something. <3

OH and also, most importantly. zoanne wilkins is there and laughing at him for assuming college would be easy. and kon gets her into wendy the werewolf stalker. My City Now.

[togrowoldinv]

At a Coffee Shop

Natasha Romanoff x Reader

Natasha always comes into your coffee shop and orders the same thing. One day you ask her if she wants to try something new

Note: Very soft lil fic based on this request. I haven’t had as much time to write this week, but trust more fics will pop out of me randomly lol. Enjoy this one!

Natasha Romanoff Masterlist 1, Natasha Romanoff Masterlist 2, Main Masterlist

Working as a barista and owning a small town coffee shop, there are always customers that you dread seeing every day. But then there are those customers that you love seeing.

Some of them are older ladies, or working mothers that you always make your best for knowing that they’ll need it to get through the day.

But your favorite customer recently has been a very attractive redheaded woman. She’s a bit mysterious. Often she wears sunglasses inside or a hat, but it doesn’t hide her beauty. You see it in her smile.

When you return to the register now after a meeting, she’s the first one in line. Today she wears a hat, but her face is not covered in any way.

“Good morning,” you say. “What can I get you?”

She always orders black coffee and a blueberry muffin. Today is no different.

“Thanks,” she says after you accept her order.

You pour her coffee and get her muffin out of the display. She watches.

“Oh, hey we’ve got a new blueberry treat if you’re interested,” you tell her. She raises her brow just a bit and you explain. “I’ve noticed you always get a blueberry muffin, so I thought you’d like to try the new one.”

“Oh, maybe,” the woman says. “Tomorrow?”

It’s the first time she’s acknowledged she comes every day.

“Tomorrow it is,” you say. “Have a good day!”

“You too,” she says.

You hand her the coffee and muffin. She chuckles softly when your hands touch and a light blush is on her cheek.

When she’s left the shop, you turn to your colleague.

“I need you to take over register. I have to come up with a new blueberry treat by tomorrow,” you say.

“I knew you didn’t have anything new,” they tease you. “You think she’s pretty.”

“Maybe,” you admit. “I’ve been wanting to try a new recipe anyways.”

They laugh at you and take over so you can work on the kitchen. You try your best and finally by the end of the day you’ve got a perfected blueberry breakfast for the girl.

She walks in the next morning with a smile on her face. Not even a hat or sunglasses on. The full sight of her red hair and piercing green eyes is enough to make your heart skip.

“Good morning,” you say as per usual. “How are you today?” You add.

“I’m excited for a blueberry treat,” she quips.

“I have the perfect one for you,” you reply. “But I do require a review of my product.”

“I can do that,” she says.

You make her coffee and plate the treat for her.

“Here you are,” you say. “I’m y/n, by the way.”

You hold out your hand for her to shake. She takes it.

“Natasha,” she says.

“Beautiful name for a beautiful woman,” you can’t help but say. A blush fills her cheeks. “Let me know how you like it.”

“I will, y/n,” she says. You love the way your name sounds coming off her lips.

She goes to a table in the corner as you move on to the next guest. You steal glances her way, noticing how she is enjoying the treat. Natasha stays until the morning rush has calmed down.

“So?” You direct the question in her direction once it’s just the two of you in the front of the shop.

“You’ve outdone yourself,” Natasha says.

You grin at her. In your head, you even do a happy dance.

“Thank you,” you reply. “That means a lot. I can add it to the menu now.”

“I was the first person to try it?” Natasha asks.

“Yes ma’am. First and only opinion I wanted,” you explain.

“I’d like to have it every day, so please do add it to the menu,” Nat says.

“I will, but it’s always going to be on the house for you,” you tell her.

Natasha smiles at that. She stands up from the table and walks to the counter.

“Do you know who I am?” She asks the question softly. Like she’s worried about your answer.

“You’re Natasha. The woman who comes in here and buys a black coffee, a muffin, and now maybe a blueberry treat every day.”

Your words take her by surprise. Of course you know she’s the Black Widow. You suspected it before but now with no disguise on you know for sure.

“And maybe the woman who could take you out on a date?” Natasha asks. “I mean- only if you’d want to and-“

“Yes,” you interrupt her nervous rambling. “I’d love to go on a date with you, Nat.”

She smiles the brightest smile you’ve ever seen. You hand her your phone and she puts her number in.

“I’ll call you,” Nat says. “And I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“I’ll be here. Have a good day, Natasha.”

“You too, y/n.”

With that, Natasha walks out of the shop. You swear you see her do a tiny celebration dance before she walks normally down the street.

Now you really have to keep making more blueberry treats for her. And for everyone else. But mostly for Natasha.

[aizawas-dryeye]

➭nanami kento headcanons

content: headcanons duh, fluff, drugs mentioned like once, smutty (cunnilingus, ass eating, spanking, TINY bit face slapping, nipple stuff

words: 484

ko-fi

this will include sfw and nsfw headcanons so do with that what you will

• • •

SFW

nanami definitely used to have gauges and maybe even a labret and he tries to hide the piercing scars as much as possible

probably raised by his grandparents OR raised by his mom and his grandma

i feel like he had some sort of bad hobby when he was younger like smoking or something that only really went away when he found his love of baking

day drinking with him is SO fun like if y'all go out to brunch and get mimosas and he gets a lil tipsy???? he turns into SUCH a gossip

this man wants children so bad but he refuses to while he's still a sorcerer

bisexual lmao 30/70 split u decide which is which (JKKKKKK its jus funni)

his cheeks get so pink and cute when he's drunk

he LOVES cats and wants one so bad but he’s sooooo allergic

first time he smoked weed, he lowkey greened out but literally nobody could tell because he has decorum

he can play all types of instruments because he was totally in a lil band in his teen years, but he’s best at bass guitar and the drums ! he doesn’t play now tho

NSFW (minors go away)

this man will eat pussy AND ass he dont give a FUCK ! certified fucking munch bro he will put it down hairy, shaved, sweaty, clean, from the back, upside down, in the shower, sitting on his face, 69 it truly does not matter please just smother him

definitely into spanking, like pulling you over his knee and slapping your ass jus for funzies (i also think he’d be into face slapping but only if requested and he’s very VERY hesitant at first, but i’m just biased bc i want nanami to shlap me across the face !)

he would never have sex in his office building bc hello, but if he had a home office he’d cockwarm you at his desk while he goes over stupid boring paperwork

likes doggy the most because he knows it’s the best way to get deep in your guts

he’s truly open to trying anything once, and lets you know if he’s uncomfortable

his neck is SENSITIIIIIIVE especially the nape bitch. if your scratch at his undercut he’ll like cum in his pants lol

the first time he had sex he had to fake his own orgasm

he’ll let you do all that weird shit where you like hold it while he pisses and stack donuts on it n shit

his thrusts are almost calculated to be torturous like it’s too good it overwhelms you. he reads your body language like it’s the fuckin holy bible, babyyyyy

lowkey likes when you play with his nipples EVEN THO he chastises you when you bite them. one time you accidentally bruised them and for like a week, every time his shirt brushed against his nipples he’d pop a boner

[13thdoodle]

[ ECTOBERHAUNT 2023 BANNER ]

I'm doing the banner for this year's @ectoberhaunt event~ The theme is Science vs Magic

I had so much fun making this~ Sam get the fantasy AU fit while Tucker gets Cyber/futuristic style

Sketch Progress

I like the idea of Sam being a druid bc nature connection tm

And Tucker would vibe very well with fancy future stuffs. i was gonna draw him with a bigger puffer but I couldn't figured it out. I like the one we got here too so yay

Okay so I was a bit pressed on time while working on this so I couldn't do as much research and references as I should.

On Sam's part, the somewhat floating book was inspired on how genshin impact's catalysts have their books/weapon just floats and it looks fancy n magical n Sam deserve that honestly

Her glowing tattoo are highkey inspired of this beautiful Sam with tattoos art by @the-stove-is-on-fire Mine is nowhere close to that but that's my main inspiration for this

I was gonna give Tucker his usual orange sweater but I noticed a lot of neon or cyberpunk outfit relies on dark backdrop to pop.

And since the background color is gonna be bright yellow, I gotta put the dark color somewhere else. And his sweater would be the perfect spot to balance out all the brightness with a bit of darkness

And it matches with Sam too so it works out great uwu

The magic circles on their back were mostly there to balance out the composition bc it looks too empty as is, gotta spice it up a lil bit uwu But a direct halo would look.. too out there? I mean I can but like.. Sam is magic/fantasy based, why not lean on that n go for magic circles :D

Tucker's random bits on the background took the most out of me bc like.. its hard qwq I literally try to look up aesthetic bg to figure out how to work with his?? Eventually I just settle on less is more and added shadow under the bits to make em pops out against the orange

source

And for the color choices, I wanted the two of them to have purple, yellow, and green on them. The green color on to symbolize Danny bc I'm an Everlasting Trio shipper lmao

I wanted Sam to have some yellow and green on her magic, which kinda.. got covered with the whites honestly. But the greens stays with the vines so we'll go with that Tucker was harder to figure out, so I settle with him with blue and greens instead of purple qwq

In the end, only the green end up staying lmao It ends up unifying both sides so hell yea it all works out lol

[jeonqkooks]

our beloved summer | jjk (06)

You made a vow to hate Jeon Jungkook ever since he packed up and left you without a single explanation, but when he shows up at your door after years of radio silence, it turns out that maybe your resolve isn’t as strong as you thought.

pairing: producer!jungkook x songwriter!reader

genre/warnings: exes au, fluff, angst, eventual smut, swearing, kissing (omg k1ss1ng omg WHO IS IT ??? 😦), tbh this is the only warning i wanted u guys to read cuz 6 chapters in and we finally get sum action i feel like that's a win lmaooooo, jimin being Real as fook, unbeta'd cuz uhm i'm a godless menace who should be conked on the head, once again we are severely lacking jk in his own fic lol i'm owning up to this 🤗 BUT! this is probably the last chapter where jk feels like a side character lol apologies my dudes

rating: PG-13

word count: 8.1k (honestly i wrote obs6 just so i could get to obs7 lmao that's why it's a lil bit shorter)

note: my apologies if this sucks. you are legally allowed to stone me if you hate it. but i hope you don't hate it. but if you do hate it don't tell me just stone me lol 🤐 why am i so unhinged with this update

series masterpost / playlist ; moodboards ; taglist

— as always, i’d appreciate any thoughts or comments you may have, and please drop a like and/or reblog if you enjoy reading ♡

I can see you starin', honey Like he's just your understudy Like you'd get your knuckles bloody for me

Exile - Taylor Swift (ft. Bon Iver)

The picture is fucking terrible.

“Jimin, what the fuck,” you grumble, staring at the huge framed photo on the wall, taken on the day of the opening party. You, Taehyung and Jimin are gathered on the floor of the dance studio, with boxes of takeout neatly sitting between the three of you. “I look like ass.”

Jimin barely glances at the wall, just continues to stuff his face with the dumplings that you ordered. “You look fine,” he says absentmindedly, mouth full, continuing to munch on the food despite your little dilemma.

“Bitch, I have my eyes closed.”

“It’s not that bad.”

“I look like I’m in the middle of a sneeze.” You cross your arms in front of your chest, squinting at your photographed self again. The more you look at it, the more irritated you become.

Realistically, you know nobody would pay enough attention to notice the immortalized visual of your fluttering eyes, and you yourself wouldn’t care about it that much. Maybe you would even laugh in good spirits and poke fun at yourself as you often do. Make a meme of it for the group chat.

“What’s the big deal?” Jimin asks.

You shrug petulantly. “I told you. I look like ass.”

Yeah, true, but it’s also more than that.

It’s the fact that the person standing next to you looks so good that you must voice your grievances. It’s the fact that he looks so much more than just good. 

The guys stop eating to look at you. You wonder just how much of what you’re feeling is written all over your face. Regardless, they don’t comment on it. 

One of them clears his throat, shaking the whole thing off.

“Did you tell Yoongi anything yet?” Jimin asks.

You poke at a lone dumpling with your chopsticks, popping the ‘p’ when you say, “Nope.”

“Damn, Y/N,” Jimin scolds you. “It’s been three weeks. He doesn’t want to push you for an answer but the man has got to be suffering.”

You flick a piece of spring onion garnish at him. It lands on his hair, a single bit of green sitting among golden locks. “I don’t know what to tell him!”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Jimin shakes the onion piece from his head and chucks it back at you. “Obviously you say yes!”

You exhale through your nose, then take a bite of your dumpling. You nibble on the fried dough, stretching out the silence, delaying your response.

It hasn’t even started, and it might not even start. But you’re already thinking about all the things that could go wrong. Yoong is your friend, first and foremost. He’s a good friend, and you would be crushed if you lose that relationship. 

What if he hurts you, or you hurt him?

Sometimes, people are meant to hurt each other even if they don’t mean to.

Yoongi hasn’t seen your pieces in all of their jagged glory, how they’re only meant to reflect the light but never be healed by it. He’s still blissfully unaware of the ugly thoughts that have a home inside your head, and you’re afraid if you let him in, he’d realize it’s a place he doesn’t want to be. It’s hard to love a broken thing. You wouldn’t want to love you either.

Maybe this is the real reason that’s been holding you back all this time. Maybe it isn’t Jungkook - though he certainly isn’t absolved - but it’s you, and how you just don’t know if you’re someone who deserves to love and be loved. You’ve felt inadequate more times than you can count. You’ve been left before. Who’s to say it isn’t going to happen again?

You’re well aware that this is a bad way to look at things, but can anyone really blame you? You still have a heart, and despite how fragmented it is, you still want to protect it.

“I know that look,” Taehyung says, parting your fog and pulling you back to him. “You’re overthinking again.”

You roll your eyes. He knows you so well, but does he have to call you out every time?

“I’m not overthinking. I’m regular thinking.”

“Right. And to normal people, that’s overthinking.”

“It’s just…” you wonder out loud, gaze on the floor. “What if I go all in, and Yoongi sees me for who I am and thinks that I’m just an utterly sad person who can’t be loved? That I’m too much work when he’s got literally thousands of people throwing themselves at him left and right?”

Taehyung stares at the side of your face as he bites the inside of his cheek. His tongue soothes the spot, his jaw clenching once. “He’s not going to think that.”

“You don’t know that,” you say, the corners of your mouth tugging down.

“You’re not unlovable just because one person didn’t love you right. So stop it with that bullshit, because I love you,” he says, voice serious. Even Jimin stays silent as he listens to his friend, his eyes flickering between you and Taehyung. “And Jimin loves you. Hobi loves you.”

You merely blink, because you hate it when he’s right. In all fairness, you understand. This is the same thing you would tell him if the situation were reversed.

You deflect anyway. That’s what you do best.

“You don’t count,” you tell him with an unserious scoff, your tone starkly contrasting his. “You’re my family.”

You taste something bitter as soon as the words leave your mouth. You should know better than anyone, that just because someone’s your family, doesn’t mean they have to love you.

Taehyung reenacts the blinking guy meme before chuckling, holding a hand over his chest like you’ve just wounded him. “Ouch.”

“You two are getting nowhere,” Jimin interjects. “Just call Yoongi.”

“And say what?” you ask.

“I told you. Say yes. God, you’re so dense sometimes.”

You reach over to jab a finger into his side, making him hiss and shuffle away from you.

“That wasn’t nice,” you grumble.

“Well, somebody’s gotta say it.” He gives you a look, eyebrows raised for a few seconds before he lowers them and grows more stern. “Come on, Y/N. You know you don’t want to say no, or else you would’ve turned him down already. You said you wanted to start dating again. Yoongi is practically on his knees offering himself to you. What are you waiting for?”

There’s a voice in the back of your head - tiny, barely audible - that whispers, Who are you waiting for?

“Fuck it, I’ll say it,” Jimin continues. “It sucks balls that Jungkook hurt you, but you can’t let that affect you for the rest of your life. Not everyone is going to hurt you. You’re not even giving Yoongi a chance just because someone else did you dirty. If you keep always thinking about the worst possible outcome and banking on it to happen, then you’re never going to get anywhere. I love you, dude, but y’know.”

You stare at Jimin with your mouth slightly open, stunned into silence. When you glance at Taehyung, he’s surprised too, though probably not as much as you.

After a couple of minutes, you say, “Wow.”

“Tough love. I have my moments.” Jimin shrugs casually, like he didn’t just drop a truth bomb on your head. “But also…” He picks his phone up and types something in. Your phone instantly buzzes with a notification.

“Open the link I just sent you,” he says.

“You are literally sitting across from me.”

“Just open it! I made you a playlist.”

“Aw, Jimin, that’s so cute,” you coo softly, reaching over to pinch his cheek before he swats your hand away. You unlock your phone to see what Jimin made you, because that is some friendship hall of fame stuff right there. However, when the link redirects you to your music app, your smile immediately drops.

Aaand he’s back.

You stare at the screen for a good ten seconds to try and find your bearings, flabbergasted at something that is quite honestly very on-brand for Jimin if you think about it. “You made me a playlist called Dick Appointment with an eggplant emoji and the tongue out emoji and it’s mostly just Yoongi’s songs. Even the playlist cover is from his Valentino shoot.”

“So you can get it on while Agust D plays in the background!” Jimin grins, and you could just smack it right off his face.

“Park Jimin, who raised you? You are vile.”

“Validate me,” he demands. Oh, you would smack him. You really would. “I spent hours making that playlist.”

“It’s literally just Yoongi’s songs.”

“Yeah, but I had to curate an experience. I can’t just dump every song into a playlist and call it a day. I gotta make sure they fit the vibe.”

“I literally just heard the most profound shit from you not even two minutes ago.” Then, you turn to Taehyung with an exasperated look on your face. “Why would you let him do this?”

He just waves a dismissive hand in the air, like Jimin isn’t even there. “I’m not responsible for the stupid shit he does.”

Jimin crosses his arms in front of his chest, both eyebrows raised dramatically as he gapes at you. “You both suck. From now on, you can make your own sexytime playlists.”

“Nobody even asked you to do that!” you cry.

“Yeah! Which makes me an even more considerate friend,” he says. “Ugh. Whatever. Go call Yoongi.”

“You want me to do it now?”

“Yes. Because I know you’ll wuss out when you’re alone. You can stay and put him on speakers for us to hear or you can go out into the hallway. Come on, chop chop.”

“No, I have to text him first,” you protest. “What if he’s busy?”

Jimin narrows his eyes at you suspiciously, but allows you this after a moment. “Fine.”

You take out your phone from your bag that’s lying carelessly on the floor to draft a quick message to Yoongi. 

[12:59] You: got a minute?

The three of you go back to the food, abandoning the previous topic of conversation in favor of something lighter and meaningless or else you would go crazy waiting for Yoongi’s reply. After you’re finished, you and Taehyung are in the middle of putting away all the empty containers and soda cans when your phone buzzes again. 

You go to grab it to look at the notification, hands already starting to sweat.

[13:17] Yoongi: for you? always :)

You turn back to the guys to find them already looking at you. Jimin wiggles his eyebrows suggestively while Taehyung just stares at you.

“Time to get your whore on,” Jimin says in an exaggeratedly sultry voice.

You turn to Taehyung for help. “He’s bullying me.”

“Ignore him,” your best friend tells you gently. “Go call Yoongi.”

When you take your phone out into the hallway, you make sure to go to the far end of it, near the main entrance so the two dorks can’t eavesdrop. You’ll tell them everything once you come back anyway, but you don’t want them within earshot while you’re in the middle of it.

Yoongi picks up your call on the third ring. In the background, your ear picks up on some chatter.

“Hey, princess,” he greets you. Then he holds the phone away from his ear to tell someone that he’d be back in a bit.

“Hey,” you say. “Where are you?”

“Just at a fitting. I have an ad campaign to film next week,” he answers. “Did you call just to get my whereabouts?”

“No, I… If you’re busy, we can talk later.”

“We’re still in the middle of lunch break anyway. What did you want to talk about?”

You briefly regret not taking a minute to psych yourself up before. You suck in a deep breath, which eases your nerves for just a second, long enough for you to say, “Yes.”

You’re met with brief silence from the other end of the line, which only makes your palms more clammy than they already are.

“Yes?” he echoes confusedly. “Yes what?”

“Yes,” you say again. “To…”

The silence commences once more, and lasts longer than you think you can handle. Then, you hear him stop in the middle of a breath.

“Oh.” A subsequent chuckle in response to the lightbulb that must’ve been switched on. “To that?”

“...Yes.”

“Yes?”

“Yes.”

It feels like you two have invented a secret language that nobody else could understand. A single syllable, bouncing off the metaphorical walls of your conversation. Two idiots sharing the same brain cell.

“Yes?” he continues to prod, but at this point, you know he’s just teasing you.

“Yes! God, stop making me say it again. We sound so stupid.”

He graces you with a hearty laugh that makes you fight back a sheepish smile, even though there isn’t a single soul in sight to witness it. Yoongi makes you so fucking shy for some reason. Your nerves dissolve momentarily as you lean against the wall, your index finger running along a crack in the paint.

“Hmm, I wish you would’ve told me this in person,” he says, his voice soft.

“I can’t handle you in person. You’d tease me so much.”

“Because you’re adorable when you’re flustered, that’s why.” He waits a second before adding, “You’re blushing right now, aren’t you?”

“You’re being overly confident, Min.”

“Maybe,” he responds easily. “But am I right, though?”

“Shut up.”

When Yoongi said he would cook for you, you almost gasped.

“You can cook?” you had asked. It wasn’t an earth-shattering revelation or anything, but you suppose you’d never given much thought to the hidden sides of him. 

“Y/N,” he laughed then. “I’m a great cook. I could probably make a pretty decent career out of being a chef.”

“I didn’t know that,” you told him sheepishly.

“There’s a lot of things you still need to know about me.” It sounded like a promise. Like I’m willing to show you me. Like I’m willing to take the first step if you’d be in this with me too. “Does that sound like a good idea? You, me, dinner at your place?”

“My place?”

“Yeah, so you’ll be more comfortable. I’ll come over.”

This one simple gesture shouldn’t affect you that much, but it does. You appreciate that he’s considerate even when it comes to the littlest things. You swell with gratitude for the thought he puts into this, into putting your comfort first. It made you feel a bit better about yourself, calmed your stormy sea of thoughts enough to rationally accept the fact that he genuinely cares.

Regardless, it doesn’t stop you from spending most of the day obsessively cleaning your apartment. Even - and especially - your bedroom, although you’re sure that is not where the night will end. Every surface is spotless, not a single speck of dust to be found. It’s like the goddamn Pope is coming over for a house inspection. 

You haven’t had a first date in… fuck, how long has it been now? Nine years? It’s almost been a fucking decade already? You honestly can’t tell if that’s embarrassing or not.

But you remember the last time.

College, freshman year, with Jungkook. His yellow piece of sticky note that he slipped inside your favorite book. His adorably flustered expression when he timidly stood in front of you in the campus library. The way he was trying so hard to be confident and charming throughout your first dinner together. How he ran back to you after saying goodnight.

No.

You shut your eyes and shake your head, warding off any Jungkook-related thoughts before they could send you spiraling. You can’t reminisce about your ex while waiting for someone else to show. Yoongi deserves better, and that’s what you’re trying to be.

You’re not exactly sure how nice you should dress tonight. Yoongi told you that you could be clad in sweats for all he cares. If the dinner didn’t hold any connotation other than platonic, maybe you would’ve really donned your loungewear like you were merely having Taehyung and Jimin over for pizza.

You’d completely forgotten all the things people worry about in the early stages of dating, when you want to impress the other person but don’t want them to think that you’re trying too hard. 

Calm down. It’s just Yoongi. He’s seen you ugly crying with mascara running down your face, for fuck’s sake.

In the end, you opt for a sweater and a comfortable skirt. Casual. 

Yoongi rings your doorbell about ten minutes later than when he said he’d be there, holding a bag full of groceries. The visual alone makes you bite back a giggle and subsequently fail. You believe this is what people would call husband material.

You take his coat and guide him into your home. “Welcome to my humble abode,” you say shyly, gesturing around as you lead him into the kitchen to show him where everything is. Why are you acting like this? This isn’t you. If Taehyung or Jimin could see you right now, they would probably laugh. Hoseok would straight up be rolling on the floor.

You barely breathe as you watch Yoongi take in his surroundings. It’s intimidating, even though you know it’s just Yoongi. 

“I actually don’t know what I expected, but I like it. It’s very you,” he comments, smiling.

“What does that mean?”

“It means that it’s cute,” he says, throwing you a wink as he leans against your kitchen counter.

You avert your gaze immediately. “Oh… Thanks,” you reply, fiddling with the hem of your sweater. “So, uhm, what are you making? How can I help?”

“Just sit down. I got this.”

“Yoongi,” you say his name in protest. “I want to h-”

“I’m trying to romance you here. Let me do that,” Yoongi says, his smile turning lopsided as he starts emptying the contents of his grocery bags. Even though his tone is light, the gentle reminder of tonight being a date shuts you right up.

You take a seat at your dining table, though you can’t really sit still. As Yoongi starts working, you absentmindedly talk to each other about your day, about his campaign, about Seokjin’s album. At one point, you get up to creep over to his side when the smell of whatever he’s making becomes more prominent. You try to peek at the pot, curious, but he just shoos you away by bumping his hip against yours.

When you give him a small pout, you pretend not to notice the way his eyes dart to your mouth. You retract yourself from his personal space, choosing a spot on the other side of your kitchen island, staring at his back as he works.

You watch him expertly navigate your kitchen like he’s been here before. When he’s finished, he makes you sit down, not even letting you help bring the food to the table.

“What is it?” you ask once he’s settled in his seat, everything plated in front of you.

“Kimchi jjigae,” he says, a proud look on his face. “My mom’s recipe.”

It’s endearing, and it makes you smile.

For the most part, Yoongi lets you eat in peace, though there’s still a couple of flirtatious comments here and there. Every time it comes, you bite down on your bottom lip to try and snap out of that daze before you cough, as if that would help tone down the colors adorning your face. There’s no verbal response from you, and it seems like Yoongi doesn’t expect one either, because he just chuckles. You think he must notice the palpable nervousness that radiates off of you, but it’s not like you’re doing a very good job at hiding it.

You’re taking baby steps and he knows it. The fact that you even agreed to this at all is already major progress.

When you’re done eating, he clears the table while he asks you to open the expensive bottle of wine that he brought over. It does wonders for your nerves.

Three glasses in and you’re visibly more relaxed as you both sit on the couch in the living room, facing each other. There’s a small smile on your face that you can’t help, maybe it’s some of your inhibitions wearing off as a side effect of the alcohol. 

You glance around the room, and you take in the sight of Yoongi sitting here, this close to you. He feels bigger than your small world can handle.

“You know,” you start. If the wine didn’t make you more mellow, you probably wouldn’t be saying this. “There are thousands of people thirsting over you every day.”

Yoongi tilts his head, swirling the wine in his glass. “Really?”

“Don’t you look at the internet? I personally know two girls from college who are on the Yoongi Marry Me train,” you say matter-of-factly, like you aren’t borderline tipsy in front of him.

You aren’t an avid Twitter user, but every time you check the damn bird app, Yoongi is almost always trending. In every single one of his posts on social media, there is always an influx of comments asking him to marry them. Not only that, when word first got out about you collaborating with Agust D back then, people you knew - both old friends and acquaintances - practically bombarded your messages to see if it was true, and to ask if you could get them an autograph.

Yoongi stretches out his legs until they brush against yours. Your stomach flips even though it’s only your legs that are barely touching.

“The what train?”

“You seriously don’t know about the Yoongi Marry Me movement? Look it up. It’s a whole thing. People would do anything to, I don’t know, hold your hand or something.”

With an amused look on his face, he holds your gaze. “Would you?”

“What?”

“Would you do all of that just to hold my hand? Because you don’t have to, y’know.” He brings the wine glass to his lips, partially hiding his face from you, and you don’t know whether he’s doing it for your sake or his in preparation for the words he speaks next. “But I would do it to hold yours.”

You’re sure that your cheeks are burning bright, your stomach twisted in knots. It’s the wine, but it’s definitely the effect of his words too. You stare at Yoongi in surprise; no matter how many times he openly flirts with you, he’d still elicit the same reaction from you. It’ll be hard to get used to it. He just always seems to know what to say to make you blush like a schoolgirl, which you resent but you can’t deny the sparks of excitement that make your fingertips tingle.

Yoongi is smooth, and it’s even worse - or is it better? You haven’t decided yet - that you know he means every word he says. It makes you feel… wanted. It’s good to know that he’s being genuine, and to know that Yoongi isn’t the type of person who would ever pull the rug out from under you.

Yoongi is… stable.

You suppose, after everything you’ve been through, that stability is what you need. It’s good for you.

You try to swerve around the thoughts, to avoid them at all costs, but deep down you know now that they’re glaringly true.

That love is stored in two bags of groceries, so filled to the brim that some onions almost fall out. Love is stored in every flick of his wrist holding a knife, slicing the sharp blade across your cutboard. Clean cuts, yet he’s never this way when it comes to you.

Love is stored in a fond smile and adoring eyes when he sees how you cradle your expensive dishware like it’s a newborn baby before you set it carefully on the table.

Love is stored in a Yoongi-shaped silhouette, dancing over your countertops with practiced precision in every movement, filling in the cracks of your home. The love in him is reserved because you, like the moon when it crescents, still have a ways to go.

When he stands at your door an hour later with his coat in hand, you wait for him to speak first.

“Performance review?” he asks. “How did I do?”

“I… liked it. It was nice,” you say honestly. But you still feel the wine in your system, and it makes you bold enough to tease him for a change. “But it was my first date in a while, so it’s hard to tell if that opinion is objective.”

He rolls his eyes fondly. “Do I qualify for a second date then?”

You hum in thought, making him wait on purpose. “Yeah, I guess,” you say, feigning nonchalance, which earns you a hearty laugh.

“What are you doing tomorrow night?” he asks, hopeful.

“Don’t know yet,” you answer, though you’ll probably end up going home and catching up on a kdrama. “Are you coming in tomorrow?”

“Just in the morning. I have a shoot in the afternoon.” He shifts to lean his weight on his other leg, tipping his body closer to you. “But I can pick you up after.”

“Yeah? And where would we go?”

Yoongi shrugs in earnest. “Just drive around? Grab a bite?” he thinks out loud, tilting his head slightly to one side for emphasis. “I could take you to that popup store you mentioned.”

You quirk an eyebrow. “You would stand in line with me to buy a novelty mug?”

“Pretty sure we wouldn’t have to stand in line if I gave them a call,” he says, grinning. “One of the perks of the job, y’know.”

“Must be nice,” you laugh, then shift to lean just a tad closer to him. You look at him for a brief moment before you agree, “Yeah, okay.”

You and Yoongi stand there at the door, each of you on either side of the threshold. This would be an appropriate moment for a kiss, you think. That explosive first kiss, if this were a movie. Exhilaration courses through your veins. You feel it from your head to the tips of your fingers to your toes. The feeling is rendering you a mere teenager again. 

It’s exciting because it’s new. You have the entire book ahead of you, waiting to be written. At this point, anything could happen. You’re a blank canvas waiting to be drawn, a blank page hoping to be written. 

Wait.

Back up.

A kiss?

A kiss?!

With Yoongi?

You’re thinking about kissing Yoongi?!

Fuck.

Fuck?!

It’s the wine.

Your thoughts knock against each other like bumper cars, echoing loudly in your brain that it almost gives you a headache.

You stay still as Yoongi leans down, your heart racing while your brain just keyboard-smashes. You can’t tell if you want him to kiss you or not, but when he only presses his lips against your cheek, you feel two emotions at once.

The first is disappointment, the second is relief. They press down on you with almost equal force, and you’re not really sure which one weighs heavier.

Baby steps.

You blink when he pulls away, and he just smiles fondly at you as if he can read your mind.

“Goodnight, princess.”

You watch him until he’s in the elevator, until the doors close and the lift descends. Even when you know that he must be on his way to his car and that someone else is making their way up, you stand there, with your hand loosely wrapped around the door handle, your breathing slightly erratic as you process what just happened. 

Déjà vu? 

It’s oddly reminiscent.

You’ve been here before.

Part of you thinks he’ll burst through the elevator doors, or rush up the stairs if the lift is occupied, and come back to grab your face and kiss you senseless.

He doesn’t.

Jungkook knows you’re probably waiting for Yoongi.

He’s seen Yoongi pick you up after work almost daily over the past couple of weeks, and it’s driving him insane. Even on the days that Yoongi comes to the studio during the day, the guy is all over you, so much so that he doesn’t even bother being a nuisance to Jungkook anymore, which just makes him a thousand times more insufferable.

Something is happening.

He can’t weasel shit out of Jimin anymore because Jimin has been especially tight-lipped after accidentally spilling Yoongi’s confession to you.

Because that should be him in Yoongi’s place. Or should he say his place, and Yoongi is just a placeholder. An imposter.

Because it used to be him that you smiled shyly at.

Jimin’s words have been plaguing his every waking hour since he was forced to hear them. If she wants to choose Yoongi, let her do that too. It feels like he’s rewinding all of your memories, retracing them with cautious fingers only to find that his every footstep is being erased to make room for someone else.

An abandoned dirt road, while you walk down a flower-filled path holding someone else’s hand.

Like you’re stamping him out.

Like he was never there at all.

Not only are you denying him a chance, you’re giving it to someone else. When he tries to move at someone else’s pace, all he gets is left behind.

It’s not about Yoongi; or at least, it’s not just about him. Yoongi doesn’t even really matter to Jungkook in this equation. It’s about what Yoongi represents. An idea of a person that Jungkook can never be.

A bigger life. A stable present and an even brighter future. Yoongi is everything better than him.

And that’s his own problem to deal with, not anyone else’s. At the end of the day, no one has to live with his insecurities but himself.

But still, he can’t help it. Whenever he sees you with Yoongi, his eyes burn. Please don’t let him take my place, he wishes every time, you’re the only good thing about me.

It’s jealousy, sure, of course it’s there. 

But what if you realize what everyone else already knows? That Yoongi is better in every single way. That Yoongi is the person who really deserves you.

What if you start to see Jungkook the way he sees himself?

You hating him - despising him with every cell in your body - is a thousand times better than you deeming him unworthy.

“I talked to Jihyo,” he speaks up suddenly, when it’s only the two of you.

“Okay,” you answer, never taking your eyes off the page in front of you. You must have circled the words daisy a thousand times already, wracking your brain for anything that rhymes. “I don’t know why you’re telling me this, but good for you.”

At this point, you wonder if you should just avoid the studio for the time being. It’s empty here again. You resent Seokjin for drowning in concept photos. You resent Namjoon for leaving Jungkook here to fend for himself, but it’s only fair, because Namjoon was only supposed to give him a helping hand, not take over the whole thing. You even resent Yoongi a bit, for not being here right this second.

“I talked to her,” Jungkook says again, ignoring your sass. “She won’t give you a hard time anymore.”

This makes you look at him. You never asked him to do this. You never asked him to do anything. In fact, you have only ever implored him to sit still and leave things alone.

“She never gave me a hard time,” you say. Sure, you don’t appreciate being given the death glare first thing in the morning, but it’s not something that you can’t ignore. It doesn’t actively affect you, and the only reason Jihyo does it is because of Jungkook.

Because he broke things off with her?

Because he gives you more attention?

Ugh. Attention?

This is the stupidest and most childish thing you have had to think about in ages.

“You said she acts differently toward you.”

“And aren’t you the reason why?” you counter. “Because you two were fucking?”

Jungkook visibly winces at your words, like he did when you mentioned it the first time in the break room. You don’t mean to be snarky; you’re just stating the facts. They were hooking up. 

You don’t harbor any ill will toward any of his past lovers, and that includes Jihyo. You know she doesn’t have anything against you either, at least not on a personal level because you don’t know each other well enough to do so. She’s just someone you pass by every day on your way to the elevator.

“So why did things end?” you ask just for the sake of it, since he was the one who brought it up. But you’d be lying if you said you weren’t curious.

He hesitates for a moment. “She wanted something more and it wasn’t the same for me.”

It’s stupid that the tiny voice in the back of your head resurfaces, hoping that you were the reason why he couldn’t pursue things with another woman.

Jihyo isn’t you, that much is clear. You never asked for anything more from him, not once from start to finish. He was always the first one to pour love into you. It’s arguable which one of you loved the other more - maybe you loved each other equally, just in different ways - but it was a fact that Jungkook always took the initiative. He made the first move so you wouldn’t have to. He gave you the option to match his affection, and never have to worry about being left out to dry.

He took initiative, right until the very end.

You bite your bottom lip, then give him a curt response, “Okay.”

Your phone vibrates with a text from Yoongi but you don’t open it just yet. You look at Jungkook, who only looks back at you. His lips part slightly as he searches for the right words, or any word at all. It’s like you’re asking him to navigate a minefield when all he has to do is be honest. Even if he told you that he fell out of love with you, it wouldn’t be that bad. You would be hurt, yes, but you wouldn’t blame him. You would understand. It would be a reason.

Silence fills the room, save for the continuous tapping of your pen on paper.

He says your name, pleading. “I’m trying here.”

At Jimin’s party, Jungkook said you were someone important to him. You don’t doubt that he meant it, and that’s what infuriates you the most. You’re important, but he keeps running circles around you and making your head spin. You’re important, but everything he’s done makes you think that you’re the opposite. You’re important, just not important enough to get an explanation.

You know he’s genuine about everything he says, but that’s not enough. You can’t sustain yourself on just his words alone.

It’s another cycle of the same conversation, running over and over and over again. He’s reaching out but he’s holding back. You’re still getting nowhere. You don’t know how many times he has to make you ask this, only to not give you any clarity at all.

If there is a trait of Jungkook’s that you both love and hate at the same time, it is that he doesn’t know when to quit.

He texts you every day even when you don’t reply - one for good morning, and one for goodnight. He gets you a chai latte every day, which doesn’t do shit for your concentration because there’s not enough caffeine in it. He gets the door for you whenever you go into the same room together. He hounds your every waking moment. He makes sure that he’s the first thing you see when you wake up, and the last thought that crosses your mind before you go to sleep.

I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.

You suppose this is him, showing up again. In a lot of ways, it’s selfish. But it’s an effort too. Now your phone is full of meaningless messages that remain unread.

You barely glance at him. It’s routine at this point. He tries in ways that you don’t bother acknowledging anymore, because you figured that the best course of action is to let him wear himself out.  When he has had enough of it, when he deems his efforts to be enough to absolve his guilt, he’ll stop. He has to.

But at what point does it stop?

At what point will you stop wanting to give in to him? Your mind rages wars with itself every time you feel his eyes on you, and you have to kill the urge to not turn your head and look at him too. At what point will you stop wanting to go to him and let him in again? At what point will you stop unconsciously making him a priority?

All of this, you supposed, is to say: Do you still love him?

You know that if you sit down and get to the root of it, you’ll find an answer you don’t like. Even in this moment, you want him to tell you just a fraction of the truth, because that would probably be enough to reel you back in.

Your own heart claws at your chest but this is how it has to be for a while. All you can do is take it one day at a time, gently nudge your heart in one direction like a child that needs to be goaded, until he doesn’t live on the forefront of your mind anymore.

Until someone else does.

“No, you’re not.” You stand up then, closing your notebook with more force than necessary. “If you’re really trying, then I wouldn’t still be wondering why I wasn’t enough to make you stay.”

Even then, you’re still hoping that he’d say something else. But when you’re only met with silence, the anticipated disappointment in you bubbles, boiling. His reluctance to clue you in makes it easier for you to decide.

There's someone else who's willing to give you things that you don't even need to ask for.

In your mind, it's clear who you should choose.

Jungkook clenches his teeth, holding his breath as he watches you shove your things into your bag. “Are you going home?” he asks after a minute.

You could say yes and let the conversation die a swift and simple death. But for some reason, you choose to kill it violently. You bite the inside of your cheek before you tell him, “I don’t know. Yoongi’s picking me up.”

The chagrinned look that takes over his features for a split second is one that you immediately catch. Maybe it’s because he wants to make sure you know how he feels about this, or maybe you still have a way of reading him somehow. Regardless of what his face tells you, he doesn’t prod any further.

Your phone vibrates on the table, the sound ten times more thunderous amidst the silence that’s befallen the both of you. You don’t need to check the screen to know who’s calling, and neither does he. When you leave, the sound of your fading footsteps ricochets off the walls. It shoots right through him.

He hears every word of that conversation ringing in his ears then. He recalls that afternoon’s sunset; it was the most beautiful sunset he saw that year, despite the sun overhead mocking him with every magnificent glint of light. He sees the look on your face when his words finally register in your mind, the Oh moment when you understood what he was saying, when the smile you wore sunk helplessly to the floor because even though you knew that love had an expiration date, you hoped your love would be the exception. 

That memory fades, only to be replaced by something much worse. He sits there with Jimin’s words, echoing in his mind, reverberating around the room.

Technically, you and Yoongi haven’t been on a second date. You think.

You’ve seen him almost every night since the dinner, when he picks you up at the studio. Sometimes, you two just drive around. Sometimes, you sit by the river in the cold, eating hot ramen cups and giggling over nothing. Sometimes, he just takes you straight to your home if he has a packed schedule the next day.

These days, you see Yoongi even more than you see Taehyung. Even though he hasn’t explicitly implied that any of these outings is a date, you know you aren’t hanging out as just friends anymore.

It feels good to be wanted. The feeling is reinforced tenfold because it’s been so long that it’s like you’re experiencing it for the first time in a new body, as a different person.

But even after all of that, you two can still go back to being friends like nothing ever happened. Because in a way, maybe nothing did happen. Maybe things have always been like this between you, the only difference is now you’re noticing the meaning behind his words and glances.

You two can still go back, because technically, no line has been crossed.

But tonight, something feels different. It’s colder, but Yoongi keeps you warm with all the looks he’s been giving you all night.

It feels like you’re both toeing that line right now. 

You know that once you cross it, things can’t revert back to the way they were anymore.

You know that it will happen eventually, because Yoongi isn’t doing this just to half-ass it. He won’t back out, and he has made it crystal clear from the start. 

Usually, this is the part where he tells you goodnight and you have to pretend not to freak out when he kisses you on the cheek in goodbye.

He takes a step closer, you take no step back. 

“You know what I’m about to do, right?”

You do. You could say you’re even hopeful.

“I might have an idea…”

“Okay,” he says easily. He takes your waist in his hands and brings you closer. The way the corner of his mouth tugs upward tells you that he’s pleased, that you know what’s about to come and you’re letting it happen. Still, he asks, “Can I?”

You nod. That glowing sensation washes over you in waves.

“Words, princess,” he reminds you. 

Your hands land on the lapel of his coat. “Yes, you can.”

He chuckles, and squeezes you a little tighter. 

Then it happens.

The line you clumsily drew in the sand has been erased.

Yoongi is kissing you.

You’re kissing him back. 

He’s soft and warm and he holds you like you’re delicate. His sincerity, you can feel it in his kiss, and it’s only a fraction of it. Regardless, there is still life that blooms this winter. Inside of you, small and fragile, but it’s there.

You sigh into his mouth, feeling completely limbless if not for him holding your body upright. One of his arms wounds itself tighter around your middle while his other hand tucks your hair behind your ear so he could cup your cheek more easily. Yoongi tilts his head further to one side to deepen the kiss. You feel something in his kiss that you have never heard in his words, something soft and pleading. Wanting but still contained. Out of fear that you might run away, perhaps? You can’t blame him though. You are a bit of a flight risk.

The wind dances past like a nosy bystander, pressing you further into him like it wants you to be more sure in the way you move, in how much of yourself you’re willing to give to him. Instead, the cold just makes you shiver.

When you break away, his hand on your face moves to hold the back of your head. Yoongi doesn’t look half as flushed as you think you do, though his cheeks are slightly rosy.

Through a thin veil of clouds, the moon still shines down on his profile. 

The chill in the air, the mesmerizing view of moonlight dancing across his features, and most of all, the way you’re still lost in the kiss, in the feeling of being wanted.

“C’mon, I’ll walk you up,” he says, after you stay silent for a beat too long, hooded eyes basking in the warmth of a heart chasing your own. You want to want him. You do want him, but there’s still something missing. It doesn’t feel entirely right, but for now, you try not to dwell on it too much. Just let it be. Maybe in time, that void will inevitably fill.

Yoongi holds your hand through the lobby and on the whole way up even if neither of you says anything, just shy glances in the elevator and bashful half-hidden smiles. You don’t invite him in once you get to your door - because an invite now insinuates something that you just aren’t ready for - but he does kiss you again. If the kiss you shared downstairs is a proper goodnight kiss, then this one means see you later and doesn’t last half as long, but it makes you tingle just the same.

He pulls back, only to dive in again, and again, and again, until one chaste kiss turns into five and you have to push him away with a giggle so you can breathe.

“Sorry,” he mumbles, eyes still set on your mouth. “Couldn’t help myself.”

“Yoongi,” you say, a little breathily, like oxygen hasn’t sufficiently made its way into your lungs since downstairs.

He rests his forehead against yours. “You’ve never said my name like that before,” he sighs.

“Like what?”

“Like you want me to kiss you again.”

You tug your bottom lip between your teeth and pretend to consider this even though you know you would like to be kissed again. “Maybe I do,” you say after a beat, bravely. “Just one more.”

He gives you your final kiss of the night then, one that lasts a second longer than the others, like he’s trying to memorize how you taste.

You head in once Yoongi is out of sight. You lean your body against the door the second you snap the lock shut. You touch your lips lightly, reliving those moments again even though they happened mere seconds ago. You’re buzzing with excitement like a schoolgirl, every feeling coursing through your body all at once. 

You’re familiar with this. It’s the stage right before every love song you listen to suddenly reminds you of that one person.

You go through your regular evening routine with a pep in your step, thanks to a certain person tonight. You take off your carefully applied makeup and take a nice, hot shower. You think the heat would help melt away the high that you’re riding - like you’ve had too much coffee to drink and now your senses are beyond heightened - but it doesn’t. Once you’re fresh and comfortable in your PJs, you still feel that jittery feeling seeping through your pores, keeping you awake. There’s a message from Yoongi that tells you he has made it home safely.

It’s still early, and you’re far too restless to go to bed. You decided to brew yourself a mug of chamomile tea, even though you don’t even like chamomile and you can’t remember why you even have it, but they say that apparently chamomile is good for sleep. You decide to take the mug into the living room to sort through your mini mountain of mail that should’ve been dealt with days ago.

Sitting underneath that pile of junk mail and letters addressed to the previous tenant even though you’ve lived here for nearly two years, is a cream-colored card addressed to you. The material feels smooth under your fingertips, like velvet if that’s even possible. Inside, there are two names - one you recognize and another you don’t - typed out in a fancy calligraphy font and encircled by pretty flowers, all pinks and whites and romantic.

The saccharine sensation associated with the thought of Yoongi dissipates instantly. Instead, your mind blanks, only to buzz to life again momentarily with a newfound sinking feeling dragging you down.

You suddenly realize that Jungkook hasn’t crossed your mind once tonight. Not until now. That crestfallen look in his eyes from the other night appears in your mind again, clear as day.

You are, quite literally, holding someone’s declaration of love and yet, it’s not joy that you feel, having been asked to join them on their special day. 

You never thought you would see Jungkook’s family again - even though you always adored his parents and you felt that they loved you too - let alone receive an invitation to his brother’s wedding.

remember when y'all said u wanted a wedding?? well u didn't say whose wedding 😌

— all rights reserved © jeonqkooks. reposting, translating and/or modifying is not permitted by any means. [posted march 27, 2023]

[sunthyme]

LAST PART!!! WE'RE IN THE HOME STRETCH, BOIS! Thank y'all so much, I know I keep saying it but I really appreciate y'all sm. The next post I do will feature my Yuusona or Prefect design and some headcanons featuring it. After that, I'll give y'all some options to see whatcha'll want. Now for...

🌹Diasomnia🌹

The disclaimer from Ignihyde is still in effect here, most of my headcanons are either because it looked cool or sounded cool lmao.

First up is...

🐉Malleus Draconia🐉

(he/she/they/it any basically) Agender - Panromantic Asexual

*giggles, kicks feet, twirls hair* Mal... Anyways! Some of y'all probably been waiting for this one! My silly fae prince, whose identity may or may not be based on my own. Sue me, this bitch is hella relatable.

- So, onto the headcanons, I felt like Mal wasn't all that intimidating when he first popped up outside our house. Idk, I see a cat-type personality and all my self preservation is thrown out the nearest window. She's just a big meow. But I wanted them to actually look rather intimidating, making his bangs cover his eyes a bit more, darker makeup, whatnot.

- I know Mal is canonically taller than the rest of the cast but Imma make her even taller. Its 6'6" without the horns and like 6'11 or 7' with them. I want them to be a cryptid!! Also the height difference with Lilia bout to be crazy.

- I like the idea that my prefect made her some lil Howl's Moving Castle earrings, even though it obvious doesn't exist in their world. Or maybe it does??? Who knows.

- *scientist voice* The autism is this subject is astronomical. *cough* Yeah, it's also not up for debate. The gargoyles, the general demeanour. Yuu is their favoured person.

- Malleus and my prefect would probably interact a little differently than Yuu does canonically, as we're both silly little autistic people, but I'll save that for my Yuusona post lol.

- Really tempted to throw in that it has a forked tongue. Does have fangs but Mal and Jamil probably both have forked tongues, j st for funsies.

- Loves to read sappy romance novels, is giggling and kicking her feet at soulmate stuff in particular. Has a whole list of little date ideas in a notebook (totally not saying this because /I/ have one or anything)...

Not mush else to say give I've only canonically interacted with her like three times but now for everyone's favourite grandpa!

🦇Lilia Vanrouge🦇

(he/she) - Bisexual

- Teehee! So I saw someone headcanons Lilia as Indian and I was SO here for it, though I think he's be half Indian, half Mexican or smth.

- Gave this girl SO many piercing. I feel like she got them 'cause she was bored. Idk, 500 years is pretty old, ya gotta spice things up some how.

- Some scars from 'ye old days'(tm) and I made his hair a bit wavy and added a green gradient to the ends, just to mimick Malleus' hair. Also, this bitch stands a proud 5'3" on a good day (aka with heels).

- He's the kind of dad that makes his kids wear matching pjs during the winter holidays and while he knows his kids like the back of his hand, chooses to give them silly gifts most of the time. Also, he spoils Mal and Silver rotten.

- Absolutely tries to get Malleus to properly flirt with MC but it never works out like he plans. Silver just watches with mild amusement.

Speaking of Silver,

🗡️Silver Vanrouge🗡️

(he/they) Demiboy - Achillic Asexual

- Yes, I was mad he doesn't canonically have a last name. I figured that Lilia would have officially adopted him at some point or another and typically you need a last name for a lot of things so I just gave them Lilia's.

- I think that Silver's gray hair is natural and once it gets to be a certain length, it just becomes gray. Additionally, Lilia's a cool dad so Silver got dyed ends and piercings too.

- I actually headcanon that Silver's blind and has narcolepsy (though that's pretty much canon). It was likely from birth or manifested early on and as a result, Malleus is a bit protective of Silver (and Sebek is too but he'd never admit it lol). He has a service dog, which is probably a cute golden retriever named Aurora, and records lectures to listen back to. He, Kalim, and Ruggie have little study groups as second years. Also, Silver's autistic. Lilia really out here collecting autistic children lmaooo.

- He really likes to knit. Don't ask why but I think he'd enjoy the rhythym of it. (He's made Ruggie and Kalim scarves and both treasure them a ton) He likes to make blankets for Malleus and Lilia as well as himself. He loves to work with the chunkier and softer yarns, especially because it makes keeping track of the stitches easier.

- Owes SO MANY plushies. His bed is half dedicated to them, most probably give to him by Lilia for birthdays and holidays. He loves soft things so all the plushies are like squishmellows and stuff.

Ah, I love Silver. Onto our last canon character,

🐊Sebek Zigvolt🐊

(he/him) - Achillic

Oh boy, this design was such a pain. I literally had to redo it because I didn't like it. Though, in the end, I think it turned out pretty neat.

- On with the physical stuff, I fucked around with his skin tone a bit because it did not look right with his hair in my og design which had a more lime, yellowy green instead of the mint. I made it warmer and ditched the yellow green for the original design's mint, just darker. Finally, I thought I needed a kick of something so I gave him some violet streaks and eyes and BOOM! A Sebek!

- I gave him a bit of a rounder face, I feel like he wouldn't have outgrown his baby chub yet, and a single dimple. I thought it'd be super cute, sue me. Cute lil freckles, the works.

- One thing I am super proud of was his Lichtenburg scar (I believe that's what it's called, I've only really heard in in TMA oops). While I certainly didn't do it justice here, I'll be fleshing it out at some point. I think it's a cool addition to the character based on lighting, maybe his magic accidentally hit him or damaged him at some point idk.

- He is, wait for it... also autistic. Shocker, pun intended. He's actually AuDHD to me and has issues with volume regulation, which is real idk. Would actually also be sensitive to loud noise, as backwards as that sounds. Has noise-cancelling headphones courtesy of Idia. Malleus is his favoured person and he looks up to him a lot.

- Grew up loving dragons and thinking they were like the coolest fcuking things then met Mal and was in awe. Was a totally nerd about dragons as a kid and still has figures and posters and whatnot.

God, I love the Diasomnia characters sm omgggg. It's time for my ocs!

🪡Thumbelina Souster🪡

Third Year - (they/she) Genderqueer - Pansexual

She looks like Zelda. I know... but she's pretty!

- Thumbelina is 'twisted' from the loom in the story of Sleeping Beauty. IF EPEL IS LITERALLY AN APPLE, she can be a loom. Anyhow, I made her a fae as well, likely one of the craft fairies, just taking on a more human-sized form. She takes a ton of inspo from the og story of Thumbelina, as a tiny little fae she got separated from her kin and raised by human parents. That's why she doesn't have the 'ick' about humans that most fae have.

- When she got accepted to NRC, Crowley gave her access to a potion that changes her size so she'd be able to attend school easier. Her parents were tailors and so she grew up around sewing but could never do it because of how tiny she was. When she changed sizes, she immediately wanted to try her hand at sewing, official joining (or maybe founding) the sewing club.

- After intially joining Diasomnia and seeing Lilia's piercings, they piqued her curiosity and she got some.

- As a fae, she loves to be outdoors and tends to a garden outside of the dorm. She also rather oblivious when some expresses interest in her as she's not familiar with human courting. Lilia adopts yet another autistic child lmao.

For another character based on something mildly abstract...

🥀Munkh Sarnai🥀

Second Year - (they/he/she) Genderfluid - Asexual Aromantic

- Munkh is my character for the thorns that encircled Aurora's castle. Minorly abstract but hey, cool ass character design.

- They're Mongolian and I wanted the spikey aspect to really shine through, giving them liberty spikes thanks to my friend's suggestion! Wanted to go really punk especially because I haven't really done so in a character design before and I LOVE IT!

- She was originally going to have a Maleficent colour palette for the spikes but it was getting too close to some of the other designs so I made it black and red to emulate roses.

- He's a part of the music club as well, likely a vocalist or drummer. He loves the energy and the people are really cool, plus obviously his vice housewarden's there.

- They're also on the athletic side and enjoy various sports, namely Spelldrive. Also, she does own her own blastcycle and immediately bonds with Deuce over a shared love of them. Deuce and Munkh like this 🤞.

Last but not least...

⏰Kyra Delano⏰

First Year - (she/her) - Sapphic

Pspsps... TMA fandom... pspsps Delano...

- Kyra's my oc twisted from Tick Tock, the alligator(?) from Peter Pan. I gave her the yellow-green from my original Sebek design and it looks way better here.

- I think as a reference to the clock and like 'ticking', she'd have Tourette's. It sometimes flares up more than others so she has an agreement with the teachers about class times where it's acting up.

- I think she'd have like mild beef with Josephina because they met on a wrong foot during orientation but it's not a huge deal. Probably sleep-deprived Josephina said something insulting Diasomnia and Kyra was like, "What the hell?". They have a friendly competition going on now, every gym class.

- She's a part of the track and field club and is one of the fastest on the team. That being said, she's not a huge fan of physical activity and prefer to read in the library or study.

Head's up, I lied. This isn't the last post. I have to do the staff and extra character like Neige, Che'nya, and Cheka. Plus Grim. I tricked you >:). Mayhaps it'll be up tomorrow... love y'all!🩷🩷🩷

[silentium-symphony]

Work of Art Modern AU (Link x Reader) II

(a/n) hooray i'm finally done w the second chapter! thank you for being patient <3 i'm hoping to wrap up this lil series in the next chapter, so please stay tuned! i also left the hair/makeup/clothes rather vague so you can imagine what you usually wear :)

i do plan to open up requests soon, but i want to finish some other fics beforehand! i need a lil break from this series, so i'll post a few one-shots before picking it up again, okay? i have a general idea of where i wanna go, but i need time to sit on it some more. hope you understand :)

as always, i hope you enjoy!!!

read the first chapter here!

cw: fluff, some swearing, afab!photographer!reader, kinda made groose a villain sorry, also link and zelda went to jail lmao (specific crime not mentioned), may/may not have proofread this half asleep so there might be some typos lol

wc: 3.2k

♤♢ ~~ ♡♧

The aggravating, strangling chorus of cars sounding the start of their day blended oddly with the melodious, persistent whispers of the few songbirds residing in your city's park. You groaned, splitting your eyes open to meet the beam of sun pouring through your windows and stretching across your ceiling. You sat up with a huff, staring blankly at the wall in front of you as your half-slumbering senses slowly began loading in your surroundings. The familiar parchedness of arousal pecked and prodded at your throat and you blindly grabbed for the water bottle by your nightstand, relishing the clarity the aqua elixir breathed into you.

After setting down your water bottle, you reached for your phone to check the time only to be greeted with the silhouette of an empty battery cell. You groaned, ducking under your nightstand and glaring at the charger that had popped out of your socket (which you shoved right back in). As you sat right-side up, a rather... noxious smell pervaded your nostrils and you grimaced, eyes flashing to the trashcan brimming with old leftover containers and scraps of food skins that have darkened past recognition. You swung yourself out of bed, waddled to the bathroom, and came out shortly after brushing your teeth and doing your business. You silenced your retching thoughts as you neared your trashcan, swiftly tying the biohazardous thing and hauling ass to your door.

As your hand wrapped around the doorknob, the yellow-creme of a folded note tucked almost inconspicuously by your doormat harkened for your attention. Brows knitting, you stooped over and scooped the thing into your palm, inspecting it briefly; you placed it on your countertop and picked up the trash bag. Whatever it was, it could wait.

Fortunately (and unfortunately sometimes), you lived right by the garbage room, so disposing of your trash took literally seconds. You bid adieu to the squishy bag as it tumbled into the deep, dark abyss of the garbage chute and headed back inside, beelining for your sink before turning your eyes to the folded note. Your eyes bore into the tiny thing as you dried your hands, not picking up anything that could be considered threatening. If it wasn't your landlord making passive-aggressive comments about your ability to pay rent, what could it be? You unfolded the note, mentally bracing yourself.

Good morning! Wanna grab some coffee?

— Link, your neighbor :)

Oh...

You could physically feel your heart swoon (was that normal?) and it took quite a bit of effort to not start maniacally giggling in the center of your room. Your body was not made to process so much energy first thing in the morning, so your feet began pacing in circles as you read the note over and over.

Okay... Calm down, (F/N). It's not as if it's a love letter or anything. Just a... friend. Who wants to grab coffee with you... Wait a minute, what time was it?

Your head whipped to the digital clock carved into your stove, the numbers '11:45' blinking in dull, green flashes. Your head swiveled back to the note and clock, your zeal transfiguring to horror. A screech of sorts ripped out of your throat and you tumbled towards the bathroom, slipping on your apartment's waxed wooden floors and flumping into a drawer with a clattery thud. You hissed, rubbing the part of your arm that collided with the wood and hobbled to the bathroom, wary of its slick tiles.

When in the world did you wake up?! Gods, by the time you’re done preparing it won’t even be morning! You did your best to channel your anxious energy into something productive as you styled your hair how you liked it and popped some color on your lips.

You tumbled out the bathroom and skidded to your wardrobe, throwing some tried and true outfits onto your bed and pressing others flush against your frame. You heard the gentle ding of your phone coming to life and you dove for it, fingers gliding across the smooth screen and opening the weather app.

It was… a bit chilly, but nothing you couldn’t handle. You filed through your top contenders, and ultimately decided on one of your favorite outfits! You twirled around in front of your mirror, pressing one hand to your chest and smoothing out the wrinkles with the other. After adjusting your hair for the final time, you threw a peace sign and puckered your lips before speed walking to the door, slipping your essentials into a purse and forcing on your shoes.

You zoomed out your apartment, turning on your heels in a dime and rasping a few quick knocks against his door. A couple seconds ticked by before you heard the metal ka-chink! of the lock; out peered Link, who hid half his trembling?? reddened?? face behind his palm. Your half-baked (but still very genuine) apology lodged in your throat as a million and one thoughts raced through your brain.

“… W-What?” You carded your fingers through your hair and fiddled with the edge of your clothes. “Is there something on me?”

“You made…” He cleared his throat, rubbing his chest. “Quite the noise earlier.”

… Noi—?

Oh.

Oh.

You had forgotten just how thin your walls are.

“Oh gods, you heard that...?!” Mortification enfeebled your voice into a wavery cry. You buried your face in your palms, your skin melting from shame.

“It’s okay! I-It was funny, I swear!”

Panic wrought your frame into a quiver and Link hurriedly changed the subject.

“So, uh, d-do you still wanna get coffee?"

"Y-Yeah!" You piped, distress vaporizing into bashfulness. "Sorry for waking up so late."

"Not at all," he smiled, slipping past his door, "it's Saturday after all."

♤♢ ~~ ♡♧

The bright, ringing ting of the bell hanging by the door preluded the cozy murmurs of a slow, cozy Saturday afternoon and the grinding, hissing machinery of coffee grinders and milk frothers. The robust, earthy notes of coffee streaked with airy hints of creme and vanilla wrapped you in a sense of warm nostalgia only coffee shops seemed to hold.

Hints of faded brick peeked out from bouquets of hanging dried flowers and the junction where wall met floor was littered with legions of potted plants, many of which you had never seen before. The look of awe on your face filled Link's heart with enthusiastic amusement; the chatter of the next stream of patrons sounded in his ears and he quietly beckoned you a little ways past the counter with a graze on your arm.

"I've tried pretty much everything on the menu, so let me know if you need any recommendations." He breathed close to your ear, wedging his body between you and the newly formed crowd congregating behind you. Your heart lurched to the base of your throat, his baritone voice rumbling in your ear; a shuddering, imperceptible breath left your lips.

"What do you usually get?" You hummed, turning your head to look back at him and almost teasing the tip of your nose along his cheek. A flit of blue met your (E/C)s; you got front-row seats to his color-changing cheeks.

"S-Sorry... It's a bit crowded here, so..."

"No worries." You beamed, hoping to laugh off some of the tension. You wrought your fingers into tight balls and turned your gaze towards the menu.

"I usually get black coffee." He mumbled, his voice dropping a little ways past a whisper. "Wakes me right up."

"Damn, really?" You choked out, scowling at him as if he had three heads.

"Yes! Gods, it's really not that bad once you get used to it." He bellowed heartily, a toothy grin splitting his lips.

After some more mental deliberation, you both slipped into line. The barista greeted you with a smile as warm as her coffee.

"Hey there, it's nice to see you again. The usual?" She motioned to Link, who just nodded with a smile of his own. Her hands flew across her screen, logging in his order before turning to you. "And what can I get you, hun?"

You relayed your order, but not without raising your voice past the prepubescent squeals of the rowdy teenage boys circusing behind you. As she confirmed your order, your digits sifted through your wallet to pull out your card, and during the second you spent looking at your hands you heard the card reader beep a confirmation. Your head whipped up just in time to see the waxy receipt churn out of the printer before being handed over to Link.

"Oh Link, I could have paid!" You exclaimed, watching him crease the receipt into a neat rectangle and shoving it in his pocket. He waved you off and stepped to the side, allowing the couple behind you to order.

"Don't worry, I got it."

"Thank you..." (E/C) eyes cast downward and honed in on the way your shoes scuttled the wood. A faint, rosy blush powdered your cheeks and warm, fuzzy timidness hooked your lips just enough to crinkle your nose most softly; Link mentally clutched his chest. You were just too cute!!!

A sudden force jammed between his shoulders knocked the breath out of his lungs. His body blurred towards you; a guttural grunt echoed in your ear before you felt something firm tighten about your waist. Link's frantic corrections caught you both just before you fell. He snapped his head at his aggressor.

The snickering simpers of those obnoxious boys peeked past his shoulders, crestfalling at the young man's deathly glower. His heart rumbled in your ears as his arms tensed you further into him. The idle, leisurely air fractured into something cold, calculated fury licking past the cracks of the broken peace. Everyone's attention was lasered in on you and the boys.

One of the boys at the back of the pack tapped the larger boys' elbows and, with a stammer of an apology, scrambled out of the cafe. Link watched their fleeing figures in total silence until the last of them disappeared past a street corner. Everyone creaked back to their own conversations, hushed whispers about what happened leaking into your ears. Link slowly glimpsed down at you, eyes softening.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah..." You murmured, your heart palpitating to the faint smell of pine and amber wafting to your nose. "Thanks for catching us."

He nodded and slowly unhooked his arm from your waist, taking a few steps back with a lovely red tinting his pearly skin. Before he could say anything, the velvety purr of the barista buttered the air.

"Order for Link!"

He met your gaze with a small smile before taking a few steps back and collecting your drinks. With a confident crook on her lips, she slipped a thin paper bag along with your drinks. Link eyed it, head tilting and brows crinkling.

"My treat. As thanks for taking care of those goons for me."

Link's eyes brightened, slipping a gleeful 'thank you' before nabbing the drinks and free snacks. He handed you your drink and turned to his friend, bowing his head in thanks.

"Come again, Mr. Hero. You too, (F/N)."

Was the last thing you heard before the door-mounted chime silenced the idyllic cafe setting. You stared at the string of cars that jived down the road; the whole city was teeming with the bit-back enthusiasm that awaited release the moment the sun dipped past the hills. It was Saturday, you supposed.

"... sorry..."

"Huh?"

"Sorry our da— hang out didn't go quite as expected..." He breathed out, just barely louder than the passing cars.

"What? Don't apologize!" You turned to him fully. "What happened back there wasn't your fault. To be honest, I think you handled it pretty well."

"Really...?"

"Yeah! I could tell those boys were getting on everyone's nerves. You made everyone's day just a little bit better, Link."

"Ah..." His eyes caught the sun rays that flickered off the nearby buildings. "Thanks..."

"And plus, the day is hardly over. We can still hang out iif you'd like!"

"Yeah," a stiff chuckle, "I was hoping we could chat in the cafe, but I wasn't very comfortable staying there any longer than necessary after what happened... Sorry about that."

"Not at all." You slotted his arm between your fingers and gave it a squeeze. "Let's just find a nice park or something, yeah?"

He eyed your hand almost long enough to regret your decision to touch him, but his gentle disposition and even softer voice answered,

"Let's go to the one by the apartment."

♤♢ ~~ ♡♧

"Holy shit, and then what?!" You wheezed, smacking a hand on his knee as you fought for your next breath. Link's hearty laughs ruffled through the trees, the setting sun and falling leaves traipsing through scattered branches.

"Zel and I got caught, of course. Imagine how furious my dad was when he got called into the station—on his day off—to see his son and his best friend sitting in jail."

"Christ, I can't believe you pulled that shit." You sputtered, thumbing a tear from the corner of your eye.

"I was... a wild child, for sure." He abashed, a hand rubbing the back of his neck with boyish glee. "Totally worth it though. Groose was giving Zelda a hard time after she rejected him, so of course we had to do something about it."

"Gods..." You exhaled, giggles fringing your breath. "Is your dad a cop?"

"Yeah. I guess that's what inspired me to do what I'm doing now, y'know?"

"For sure," you thumbed your cup, fingers slicked with thick condensation, "what does your mom do?"

"She was a civil servant." His lips crooked up, tilted in a manner that tugged at your heart. "She cared about the city and our family deeply."

A breeze blew through the two of you, one that bordered refreshing and chilling. You turned your head up and filled your lungs with air that crisped your lungs.

"She..." You began, eyes focused on the insignificant happenings that usually caught one's attention during such moments. "Sounds like a wonderful person."

"Yeah," he chuckled, "she was."

A serene, reflective somberness filled the air; for a moment you both relished in the silence. A family of robins twittered softly overhead, the mother singing hushed whistles to her rowdy chicks and soothing the ringing in your ears caused by constant traffic.

"What about you?" He turned. "What do you do?"

"I'm a photographer." You met his gaze with a grin that thinly veiled the excitement you had when talking about your livelihood.

"That's so cool!" Link's lips widened into a broad smile. "Do you work for a company or...?"

"Nope! I'm a freelancer. It can be tough finding gigs at times, but there's always something happening in the city."

"Yeah, I can imagine. What events do you do?"

"Anything really--concerts, weddings, corporate events... But weddings are pretty popular. Actually, I got a wedding gig tomorrow!"

"Nice! So what got you into photography?" He leaned in, his blue pools reflecting the nearby streetlights. The way his eyes sparkled as he listened to you talk about your passions made your heart melt.

"Well, back in middle and high school I competed in a bunch of school competitions and realized that not only did I love taking pictures, but I was pretty good at it too! There's just something so... intimate about capturing small, seemingly insignificant passages in time, y'know? I think sometimes we get so caught up waiting for our lives to begin when really, life happens in the small, fleeting moments of our existence. Or... something like that."

You mumbled through the last bit, heat rising in your cheeks. Darkened sapphires stared back at you, storming with thoughts you couldn't quite decipher; panic started settling in your gut and you opened your mouth to apolo—

"You're absolutely right." His head cocked slightly, eyes crinkling lovingly slowly. "I never thought about it that way."

You mentally breathed a sigh of relief for not ruining this moment with your innermost thoughts.

"Do you enjoy your job at the art museum?"

"I mean, it's a pretty easy job, so no complaints there." His laugh failed to reach his chest. "But... It isn't why I became an officer. Don't get me wrong, I love helping Zelda, and seeing her succeed in her dreams makes me really happy, but... I became a cop so I could help people. And sometimes, I don't really feel like I'm doing that by standing guard over a painting all day."

"That's valid," you kicked the space under the park bench to abate the prickly feeling in your lower half, "what would you rather do?"

Link kicked the pebble he had been dribbling between his shoes, the little stone skittering away, forgotten, after a long kick; his eyes rested on an arbitrary crack in the path.

"Honestly?" He began, "I wanna become a detective."

"A detective?"

"Yeah. Bringing peace to a family who lost a loved one, who never got the closure they needed to heal... Spending hours solving a cold case, one that everyone has given up on... That's what I wanna do."

"It's sweet of you to think of the family first," you smiled softly, "I think most people would be focused on locking up criminals, and justice served to the families is just a bonus."

"Yeah... We can't forget the families. Their lives have been turned into a living nightmare and they're just expected to continue living as if nothing had happened. It's cruel."

"Oh, absolutely. I think--"

You felt your phone buzz in your lap and your eyes habitually met the lit screen, scanning the text your bridal client had sent. Your internal, guttural groan came out as a curt huff, eyeing the word 'early?' with a tired bitterness.

"Everything okay?"

"Oh yeah, uh..." You shuffled your phone back into your pocket and met his concerned gaze. "Sorry. My client wants me to come in earlier than I expected and it's getting late so..."

"No worries! We can head back if you want. Grab some takeout on the way." He popped right up, tossing his empty cup in the trash and swinging his arms above his head, a satisfied groan lapsing out of him wow that was kinda hot.

"I'd love that." You followed his previous actions and stretched too, feeling... well, feeling return to your sore butt and limbs.

"Wanna head back to that Gerudo restaurant?"

"Yeah!" You joined him in wide strides, barely keeping yourself from booking it to your now-favorite restaurant. Your babbling self hardly noticed the slowing male until a gentle voice pulled you out of your culinary rambles.

"(F/N)?" He called a few steps behind you.

"Mm?"

"Thanks for today... It was a lot of fun." His gloved hand scratched the side of his scarved neck, unintentionally bunching the fabric into little fistfuls. The flickering park light tricked your brain into thinking his cheeks were... pinker than usual. His gaze shifted from the ground to the bush to the tree and back--anywhere but you, really. That fluttery, buttery feeling in your gut alighted your cheeks a similar color and your eyes undertook a similar trip of avoidance.

"Of course. Thanks for inviting me... I had a lot of fun today."

His tight, slightly flustered expression loosened, his lips turning up into a gentle curve. In a few short steps he was by your side again, commencing your journey to 3rd Street.

"Let's grab some poultry pilaf."

[yonpote]

Dan and Phil Appreciation Week Part 2: Electric Boogaloo

aka i forgot to participate in DNPAW again but also now my arm is fucked up so im just gonna type my responses instead of drawing them YAYYY shout out as always to @dpgdaily for creating this lil week event :3

Day 1: Favourite baking video

honestly probably slime and sadness cinnamon rolls, but monster pops has such a special place in my heart for being the sorta the tipping point of dnp's descent into truly unfiltered horniness, conjoined baking and pumpkin carving if that counts are also great (i just like halloween lmao)

Day 2: Favourite DanAndPhilCRAFTS video

EASILY slime. like cmon it blew every other dapc out of the water, while at the same time fully connecting them all so it's like you HAVE to watch them all together to grasp at the final picture presented. god im obsessed with it come join the crafts theory server

Day 3: Favourite What Dan and Phil Text Each Other

wdapteo 2 forever, but 4 is super super close. yon? pote. sent at 4:32 am! WHAT IS WRONG WITH US??

Day 4: Favourite Day in the Life

oof probably ditl manchester... the vibes are so so special... australia is really good too very comfy!!! (im actually a tiny bit of a ditl hater lmao mainly just the parts that are strong on the weeb / weird about asian stuff energy but like the vibes are still nice fhdhdh)

Day 5: favourite Phil is not on fire

pinof 9!!!! its special to me as the first one i watched while being like. In The Phandom, at least somewhat. and also it being dnp's fav really made me realize why i liked it so much like i KNEW it wasnt just cuz it was my first as a Full On Phannie, it had an energy to it that was so authentically chaotic and fun and just goofing off with each other and giggling like moreso than the previous like 5 pinofs, it had pinof 1 energy but with 8 more years worth of love in it

Day 6: Favourite Dan vs Phil

prob the first golf with friends LOL i love the shitty grass turf hats, i love the stupid golf bants and the creepy golf ball print they used for the board, dan's curls were in peak form, phil's bluey green shirt made his eyes even bluer, phil squishy dan's face >w<~~~~~

Day 7: Your overall favourite Dan and Phil Series

HMMMM. undertale is my go-to when im particularly sad, the sims s1 is always good to put on in the background, but i think dapwepinof... the pinof reaction mini-series they did in gamingmas is prob my top fav right now. it's everything i love, it's nostalgic, it has some behind the scenes reveals, openly gay dan and phil reacting to closet dan and phil being extremely gay, and REFLECTION!!!! and like, the fact that in the silliest lil annual video series in the world there ended up being a lot of thought and care put into it in wanting to keep it as a sacred tradition for ten whole years, it went from whimsical by nature to whimsical with Purpose and finally whimsical with Love and that means so much to me, as a proponent of queer joy above all else.

[earthyaries]

(@cursedbyastro) here from my main blog lol

hi! i saw your style readings were avaliable and i really need help curating my own unique style. I love the ones that you have already done so I wanted to get one so. Love your work.

I am a lightskinned African-American female who is willing to dye her hair but I want to grow it out, with 3b/3c type hair and a hourglass figure who is 5'4 in height. I'm comfortable with both masculine and feminine clothing. again thank you

@divinerin came back for an updated style reading & I’m so in love w it 🩶 Tysm for booking w me again , I hope u love this one even more than the last !

1H - Leo ASC + Leo moon & Jupiter: Gold, (imitation) ivory, + metals. Big, long hair. Highlighted skin; glossy lips. Feminine but not “girly”. Try to obtain both oversized unisex items as well as more femme, figure-flattering pieces to show off ur curves. Muted greens & off-whites. Simple , natural makeup looks for everyday; add a bolder eye or lip when ur wanting to do a lil extra. Wear lashes &/ or eyeliner to make your eyes POP. Classic sundresses & shoulder bags.

2H - Virgo/Libra: The 2H is all about self esteem, so incorporating the 2H into the way we style ourselves will give us more self confidence. You'll feel your best while sticking to an uncomplicated beauty & maintenance regime (ex. monthly mani pedis, a simple but effective skincare routine, hair trims when needed, etc.) as well as when mixing feminine & masculine styles. Virgo appreciates attention to detail + simplicity; for this reason u should try to wear mostly solid colors & monochromatic looks. If that seems too unvaried for you, use texture to make ur outfits more visually interesting! Libra is the masculine sign of Venus, which focuses on beauty, but also in equality. Wearing both feminine & masculine silhouettes + styles, especially if paired together tastefully, will be most flattering on you.

Sun in Capricorn (5H): The sun rules over self expression; we can use our sun signs as a tool for fashion, & doing so will bring forth more confidence, as well as make us feel more in tune w our charts. Your sun is in Capricorn in the 5H; you are greatly concerned w your self expression & the way u present urself in the world. Wear ur sun sign’s colors (cool browns + shades of black & gray) for a boost of self-confidence; in the house of Leo, this also applies to GOLD. Your daily wear should be influenced by + work well w your lifestyle - & once you find what feels the most true to you, stick to it; Capricorn gets better over time.

Venus in Scorpio (4H): Venus rules over personal aesthetics & all things "beauty". Your Venus is in Scorpio, which means you are drawn to the erotic; however, Scorpio ruling things "hidden", you may prefer to cover up at times- especially having Venus in your 4H, the house of comfort. Opt for suggestive & sensual styles, rather than risqué ones. Dark tones + metal accents. Heeled boots & booties. Romantic yet mysterious. N*pple or back dimple piercings 👀

<3

[snailvalley]

The bachelors and bachelorettes go-to Starbucks orders!

Enjoy! Maybe if someone wants I’ll do the other non-marriageable villagers? 🤞

First, the bachelors!

🛹Sam-a caramel frappuccino and a cake pop lol. He loves sugar.

🚬Sebastian-probably a cold brew or a shaken espresso. Loves a good cold coffee and a cigarette haha. (Drinks PSLs when they’re in season even though he constantly bags on them)

✍️Elliot- a London fog, two tea bags, extra hot. He’s very particular about it.

🏈Alex- a refresher or something. Doesn’t like coffee. He’d probably get a breakfast sandwich on the side for some extra protein!

🩺Harvey-probably a black coffee with a couple packets of sugar and cream. But he’d get one of the special brews. He wants to enjoy all the lil flavor notes!

🐥Shane- would be mad they don’t have Joja Cola. Goes to the 7-11 next door instead lol.

Bachelorettes!

📓Penny- an iced chai tea! Maybe with some cold foam on top if she’s feeling adventurous.

💎Abigail- a dragonfruit refresher. She loves the color of it!

🍃Leah- I think Leah would get a green tea lemonade or something like that! Maybe a matcha latte?

📷Haley- she is a pink drink girly hands down. You cannot convince me otherwise.

🧬Maru- I think she’d go for a caramel macchiato! And maybe a chocolate croissant on the side.

🦜Emily - Emily is definitely a matcha latte enjoyer.

[albonoooo]

got tagged by @wanderingblindly, thank you my beloved <3

what colour are your eyes?: a mixture of blue, green and grey that looks puddle-coloured most of the time.

tell me about your pets/your dream pet: after 15 wonderful years, our family dog paul (i named him that when i was five lol) unfortunately passed away in august 2023, i loved that dog more than most people. (there were some pictures of him here, but i got nervous that someone i know might see this so i removed them lmao). i'd love to get a dog or a cat at some point later in my life, but not now or any time soon.

share some interesting fact about yourself: i'm genuinely incredibly boring, so much so that i had to ask for help to find an answer here. the council decided on the fact that i know how to ride and own a motorcycle and am also a member in an mf in my hometown.

what was the first fandom you were a part of?: i guess the first time i was properly involved with fandom in any capacity was during my teen wolf days.

do you have any phobias?: i don't know if it's bad enough to be considered a phobia, but i'm terrified of heights. there have been several instances of me breaking down crying despite trying to keep it together while being in very high places (usually while having to climb dodgy stairs in very high buildings, among other things).

are you a picky eater? if so, what food can't you stand?: YES! and i hate it because it's so so limiting and annoying. i am incredibly sensitive regarding taste and texture and i have to physically force myself to hold back visceral reactions to foods i don't like. it'd probably be easier to list the foods i can eat tbh.

do you eat the burger and fries at the same time or one after another?: first some fries, then burger, fries, burger, fries, finish the burger, finish the fries. anything else is weird (what the fuck do you mean you eat them completely separately, liquid???)

winter or summer: winter all the way. i sweat easily, my body generally doesn't cope well with heat and i prefer bundling up and being a little cold over feeling too warm.

favourite fanfiction tropes: i LOVE a good au, any au really, but especially the cute ones. i'll read almost anything at least once and so there's just too many things i have read and enjoyed to list here. also, anything with an enemies to lovers situation. i am a sucker for that.

are you studying or working? what do you study/is your job?: both! i'm a full-time student (english major, history minor) and i am one of the student assistants in the english department's student office. i've also had other, less fun part-time jobs in the past.

what is the last country you visited: the netherlands and belgium during a day trip (by motorcycle) in june or july last year, i think.

what country would you want to move to after retiring?: i've haven't ever even considered living that long. i've always had a fascination with ireland and scotland, so based on looks and vibes alone i'd go there. or somewhere with solid winters, like a scandinavian country or finland.

who was your first crush?: hannes (played by nick romeo reimann) in the vorstadtkrokodile movies. i was ready for marriage, dreaming up a life together and everything. it also lasted until i was like 12 years old, so about six years in total. he really had me in a chokehold.

how did you get into f1 fandom?: after my interest was peaked by f1 edits that randomly popped up all over my social media one day (thank you algorithms), i did what i always do when something like that happens and opened tumblr to see what's up. and then i got stuck lol.

i have no clue who has or hasn't been tagged already, so feel free to ignore this!! @hrhgeorgerussell @bright-and-burning @borntogayz @lil-italian-disappointment @liamlawsonlesbian @piastrisms

[digitalsnail]

hey!! just wanted to say I really really enjoy seeing your art on my dash especially how shade and the color schemes you use are amazing! if i can ask how do you usually go about picking such good combos and also how do you always manage to always get your art to look so soft and comfortable?

thank you so much for your words!!! ;; sorry this is so late... truthfully, i'm really bad at explaining things, especially with something i have trouble with!

coloring is the thing i spend the longest on while drawing. i usually revise the colors a good 3 or 4 times, and sometimes even post it not totally satisfied, especially they're just doodles. but i think when you have a solid mood you want to achieve with your drawings, it'll come a bit easier.

with more solemn or easygoing pieces i draw on light backgrounds and pile on the dark colors, with unsaturated and colors leaning towards the left side of the pallet. with more energetic or offputting pieces, try with a darker background with more saturated and top left colors.

another thing that i've really wished i paid more attention to earlier is that coloring is hard because it really does play with your mind. looking at the miku pic - you'll find the mud in the red pigment, the teal snakes are actually more green leaning, and her skin and dress actually pretty similar in tone. i made sure to surround her skin with the snakes and her dress with the rock to really make them distinct, and in the places they do meet, making sure the dress is shaded so the flesh stands out. again with the finn picture, the greens are actually more orange and the purples moreso red -- it's just the *surrounding* colors that trick your eye. when you color and paint, you should try experimenting with the other colors surrounding it! opposing colors, such as shading blue on yellow tones, really help your colors pop too.

with doodles i feel like overlays and multiply layers help as a lil cheat to make colors look pretty. it's a double edged sword as they don't exist in real life, but hey, it's a tool given to you digitally so you may as well use it. i've really liked playing around with mspaint recently, as i don't have layers for a crutch, so i have to rely on the coloring tips i've learned.

...i feel like i've talked a lot but said nothing LOL i'm sorry. ;; i hope i've helped, just a little bit! at the end of the day, coloring with experience is the true key. and don't forget to study artists, both the classicals and even your peers. we rely on each other!

[dreagine]

So how DID you learn how to draw grass and leaves? I am curious!

References and sort of just winging it!! Lmao :]

For the grass, I couldn’t find any really good references/tutorials that fit the vision I had, so I don’t think I used many references(though my memory sucks, and I may have looked at other artist’s work for help!) I did know the sort of texture that I wanted and played around with brushes until I found a good one :]

I used watercolor and airbrush tools to texture the grass, and then added extra blades on top, as well as the flowers! So all of that is really just one to two brushes on a low opacity!(over the greens I already had down)

As for the leaves, just looked up some stuff on google lol!!

I used my first attempt so I still don’t know how to draw them well,,but looking at a few images helped me figure out where to put the shadows somewhat!

Noticed that shading the leaves at the bottom like I wanted to didn’t make it look as “realistic” as I wanted, but rather chunks of leaves would stand out and those under would be much darker, and that would be scattered around the tree(if that makes sense?)

(Drew a lil thing)

Originally I was just going to shade the leaves at the bottom with the darkest colors, but found the large bright area to look weird? Looking at a few pictures helped realize that leaves typically have shadows scattered around, even in the brightest areas(it helps them pop more so I guess that makes sense lol)

Phew! Hope that helps :] I’m still not the best at drawing either of those things, so I do recommend possibly doing studies or using references to help!!<3

[steeklover]

South Park Music Headcanons

I am trying to figure out what kind of music everyone in SP would listen to for something so I wanted to get everyone’s opinions on it.

These are mine:

Stan- I’m going to be basic here and say he likes indie/alternative music and probably rock. I know that’s what a lot of people say but I feel like it’s true because it fits his personality. I think he listens to stuff like My Chemical Romance, Weathers (it’s a less common band but I swear they don’t have a SINGLE bad song and all their songs really fit Stan), Two Feet, Green Day, Sub Urban, Palaye Royale (definitely their earlier albums, I FREAKING LOVE THIS BAND), Arctic Monkeys, Mitski, Waterparks, FIDLAR, Younger Hunger (also a great lesser known band), BoyWithUke, Weezer, The Neighborhood, The Strokes. I have a lot of songs for Stan but I want to know if people agree.

Kyle- All I really have for him is Green Day and even then I'm not sure. I don’t know if he would like the songs Stan listens to or if he would hate them.

Kenny- He listens to pop songs like from The Weekend, Ariana Grande, Harry Styles and Maroon 5. Probably also bands like Panic! At The Disco, Imagine Dragons and Fall Out Boy. Maybe The Wrecks?? Maybe Queen?? OOH ADAM LAMBERT!! Also Maneskin. 

Cartman- He also listens to pop songs like Britney Spears and Lady Gaga (CANON!) but he also listens to rap songs (ALSO CANON!). I don’t like rap music that much but when I think of Cartman, I think of XXXTENTACION and Juice WRLD. Also Post Malone.

Craig - I have no idea. He probably also likes indie/alternative music but maybe not the same ones that Stan likes.

Tweek - Same thing, I have no idea. I like to think of him as a headbanger but then I think that loud rock music would make him anxious. But soft music doesn’t really fit him in my opinion. I have songs that I think match his personality but I’m not sure if he would actually like them or not.

Clyde - Clyde is the same as Kenny. He likes Ariana Grande, The Weekend, Harry Styles, Lil Nas X, … Also probably Olivia Rodrigo. He probably really likes boy bands like One Direction and The Backstreet Boys, also probably Justin Bieber. He probably wanted to be in a boyband with Craig, Token and Jimmy but they all said no lol

Token - I have no idea.

Jimmy - No idea. He probably likes Bo Burnham.

Butters - He likes soft music. He probably likes Cavetown. 

Wendy - I don’t know if she would like her but Penelope Scott??

Bebe - She’s the same as Kenny and Clyde. She likes pop music and boy bands. Maybe also country music. I don’t know much about country music but maybe Taylor Swift?? 

Other Bands/Artists That I Like

-Grandson

-Melanie Martinez

-AJR

-5SOS

-Set It Off

-Nothing But Thieves

-MARINA

-Sir Chloe

-Cage The Elephant

Please reblog or send in asks with your opinions on what you think of this and then maybe some of your own :)

[glitterdustcyclops]

while i'm thinking about pens, here's a lil "what's in my pencil case" post cuz it's been a minute since i've done one. can you tell my favorite color? lmao.

detail shots, writing sample & notes about everything under the cut

first we have our basic, "staple" pens and such, in order from the top left down and to the right:

+Zebra bLen FM2 Ballpoint Pen 0.5 mm - this particular version was a limited edition but JetPens sells other colors/models. to be honest i mostly got this because of the aesthetics of it, but the gimmick is that it's supposed to not "rattle" or shake as much as other pens, making it a smoother "stress-free" writing experience and i suppose that would be true if the ink didn't skip so ding dang much. i give it a 4.5/10

+Zebra Sarasa Push Clip Gel Pen 0.5 mm Black - ohhh now we're talkin. my first true stationery crush. i own these in every color they come in. you're never gonna go wrong with a zebra sarasa. as a lefty i'm wary of smudges and these puppies dry fast and don't skip. i would marry this pen if i could.

+Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen Hard Tip - my preferred choice for doing brush pen lettering. i like the fude touch sign pens from pentel too but their ink tends to be too juicy for me as a lefty & it's a smudge hazard, but tombows are perfect.

+ Sakura Pigma Micron 10 (0.6 mm) - this is actually a new thing, i was messing around with different headers a few weeks ago and after i was done i was too lazy to stick this back where it goes with its family, so i put it in my pencase. but you never know when you need a nice thick black marker to do headers and stuff in your bullet journal, you know?

+Sakura Gelly Roll White 10 & Glitter - these two are almost impossible to swatch but very useful for doing fun ~effects~ on ur headers. the white is about as opaque as i've found in a gel pen, and the glitter is transparent so it goes over pretty much everything and just adds a hint of bling.

+Zebra DelGuard Mechanical Pencil 0.5 mm Hello Kitty & eraser - no joke the best mechanical pencil i've ever tried, i will never use another. it's one of them fancy japanese over-engineered sorts of things, and it's got all sorts of mechanics in it to keep lead from breaking, and it WORKS. as someone who prefers a fine lead in my pencils, having your pencil constantly shatter is frustrating as hell but i have literally never had that problem with these. the eraser is, i think, from sun star, idk. i got it cuz it was cute but it's really nothing special.

+Midori Multi Ruler 30 cm - this thing is super helpful for getting straight lines when doing bullet journal headers. the hinge helps it fold up compact & also lets it work as a compass but i typically don't worry about that.

next up, our ~fun colors~ starting with our minty greens

+Pentel Energel Clena w/ Turquoise Blue refill 0.5 mm - this originally came with a black ink refill but i wanted it to match so i bought a turquoise one separately and i think it's super cute. in case it isn't obvious mint green/teal are my favorite colors and so i love carrying around multiple options to give my notes a lil pop of my fav shade.

+Pentel Fude Touch Sign Pen Emerald Green - another new addition to the pen case, i honestly just stuck it in here because i didn't have enough room in the green section of my brush pen/marker organizer lol. but you know, it's my go-to fav color, it's helpful to keep around. like i mentioned up above i sometimes struggle with the pentel brush pens cuz of how juicy the ink is, so i don't use them as often, but the color is really pretty and they write very nicely.

+Zebra Mildliner Highlighter Mid Blue-Green - of course i am a basic bitch who loves mildliners. i own literally every color & this one is only here because it's a duplicate, and so i just stuck it in the pencil case to match everything else. but you know, every situation can be improved with a mildliner i think. (also stationery confession- am i the only one who likes the brush pens better than the regular highlighters? cuz i do. they're fun!!)

+Sakura Gelly Roll Moonlight 1.0 mm Pastel Green - another pen i am only keeping in here because it doesn't fit with the rest of my gel pens (i may or may not have a problem) but again, it matches.

finally, we have the Zebra Sara Push Clip Gel Pens 0.5 mm in Vintage Colors. did you think i was kidding when i said this was my favorite pen & i own every color? i meant every. color.

i really like these vintage ones because they're more readable than some of the bright/pastel shades of the regular pens. very sophisticated. also that green black matches so beautifully with all my favorite minty green shades.

so there you have it, everything i keep in my everyday pen case. if you're wondering this is a Sun Star Delde pencil case, this colorway doesn't exist anymore but i love these slide kind of pencil cases that turn into standing pen cups. very convenient to keep out on your desk. and, of course, it matches everything else. :D