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moonflms · 3 years

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➷｡˚wishes —nct/superm mark lee

requested by anon! note, use of media (twice only dw)

next request: jaehyun

PROLOGUE ༄ — mark takes you out on a friendly date to watch the total lunar eclipse by the park! but oh how we wished the date was real.

PAIRING ༄ - non-idol! mark x fem! reader

GENREs ༄ - fluff, semi-onesided love, stars, eclipse, moongazing, under the night sky, semi-socmed, ed sheeran

W. COUNT ༄ - around 1.5k+

NETWORKS༄ - @multifandomnet

TAGS ༄ - @cupfullofjeno (maddie imy :( ) @jungwon-luv-bot-pt3 (if you wanna be tagged in my stories then feel free to reach out to me ! <3)

➷｡min's letter ༄ - i honestly feel like this one sucked bc i honestly didn't know how to write a cute prompt anon sent kdfhjkdf

do not repost. copyright belongs to @moonflms 2021. reblogs and likes are deeply appreciated! originally posted on my wattpad (@johnsparrot) . enjoy reading!

masterlist

"i get it that you're into astronomy and the likes but mark, it's past six." you reasoned out from the front seat as you talk to your best friend who was by the trunk arranging whatever he packed. "first, i'm not that deep into the study unlike professionals and astrophiles but you already agreed so shut up!" mark looks at you from the back as he smiles at you who was slightly annoyed.

"a pillow or moomin?" mark walked to your side, barricading you to your seat as he slightly leans towards you, a hand on the door keeping the car wide open as the other rested near the headrest. "moomin please" you pushed mark slightly away as you watched him dash into the house for the soft plushie. you chuckled at how he treats you like a kid— what he always does when you're having those rough weeks. you watched him lock the house and come back with the white plush in hand.

he gets settled in the driver's seat as he starts buckles up, royally handing the toy over to you "one moomin m'lady" he slightly bows down while handing it over, another episode of him being goofy. you played along and smiled before mark fully started the drive towards the park.

the drive was not silent as mark kept the atmosphere busy with a few of ed sheeran's songs playing through his stereo. with the songs playing mark felt vague; he felt butterflies yet he felt his chest gradually getting heavier. photograph, thinking out loud and eventually to happier. playing those songs he realized, no, he knew very well that they had something in common.

that they all reminded him of you.

his gallery and even actual photographs always had you beside him, complete attendance from his adorable childhood to his questionable high school era. thinking out loud because he sees you much more as his confidant, his best friend. all the 'i love you's he showered you with from time to time meant much more than how you saught it as. he feels at peace by seeing you smile and his heart never fails to flutter when he feels your head cozied up by his chest.

and to happier as he knows that you were least likely to become his. he hesitated to confess despite all his others friends convinced you felt the same way. he wouldn't want to go through the pain of rejection and turn the years of friendship all awkward of a sudden.

it has been going on for a great while and the only thing mark could do was to show signs without making it obvious, like how he queued the songs in that order.

you had a rough week and it only seems to get rougher. what hurt you hurt mark as well, so he always goes berserk just to make you lighten up from your burdening feelings.

you and mark always had a bucket list of stuff you both wanted to do. and mark felt it was a perfect time to cross one out; a date under the night sky.

a friendly date despite how mark wanted it to be an actual one.

mark felt lucky knowing that same night had a lunar eclipse (and surprisingly a super moon) was supposed to show and he just had to seize the opportunity. he made sure to bring binoculars, comfy blankets to rest on and of course, the requested moomin plush renjun gifted him for christmas.

the park was nearby and mark felt giddy. focused on humming and driving mark overheard a few shutters and felt the gut feeling of a camera pointing at him. "i better look hot in those" he joked as he glanced at you through the mirror. "i was taking pictures of the cherry blossom, dumbass" you chuckled as you proceeded to snap a few pictures of mark. you then moved over to your instagram to spam about the sudden trip. "one last, look" you scooted closer to mark's side to take a pic with him, just before the traffic light switched to green. both of you looking sweet, you smiled to yourself.

you were finally settling down on the blanket sprawled over the grass, the view of the waters from the distance and the moon above continuing its eclipse. mark who was sitting up, set aside the binoculars, and laid beside you. he turned to his side as he watched you. "so, a check on the bucket list?" mark smiled hoping you'd say yes.

"well, my best friend is much better than other than an invisible boyfriend." mark smiled through the stinging pain. 'yeah, best friend' he thought to himself.

"don't you get tired of being by my side?" you looked up to the sky, feeling a bit doubtful.

"and why would you think so?"

"it's more or less two decades of us constantly by each other's side. and the things you'd do just to get me out of my—"

"y/n, if you're hurt, i get hurt too. i'm always here for you, no matter how stupid and annoying you could be at times. if i went through my whole life with you by my side, why would i suddenly stray away?" mark softly patted your cheek, drying off the few tears that rolled down. you came closer to mark and hugged him, nuzzling by his chest and scent. "and you know how much i love you right?" you nodded as you continued to nest under him.

mark would've been jumping in joy. but tracing back a few words, there he reminded himself of the word 'best friend'.

mark hugged you back as he secretly logged into his instagram as well, he distracted himself by viewing a few of the stories. your story came in after a few taps and there showed a picture of him driving, captioned with a black heart. "sure, keep on hoping minhyung." he thought to himself once again.

he finally decided to create his own with the picture he secretly took of you earlier. he thought of the caption for a while until he ended up with "wished you we're mine." he posts storied like these on the daily, he just made sure to set it into the close friends setting to avoid you from seeing it. he quickly tapped the post option as he felt you move and sat up.

"look! it's red!" you pointed at the moon, smiling as you were amazed by the phenomenon. you pulled mark up from his position and continued to look at the dark sky. it indeed was beautiful. mark inserted his phone back into his pocket as he cupped your shoulder, watching you admire the heavenly bodies above.

feeling done, you glanced at mark who was still looking up. you watched your best friend enjoy his own time as you felt a small vibrate off your phone. you quickly checked the notification as it came from... mark?

" [y/nmais_vu] : @onyourm__mark posted a new story ! "

checking it, you wondered when mark was able to snap a quick photo of you, but you wondered more about the caption. you felt your heartbeats go rapid and your stomach starts to churn. "y/n?" mark called as you quickly locked your phone. "you alright?"

"yeah... nothing much, just story notifs." you smiled and sat closer to mark. he hums as he proceeds to wrap his free arm around your shoulders, continuing to watch over the distance. "did you make a wish?" you asked mark who was finally looking back at you with an unsure expression. "we're supposed to wish! go on, " you nudged mark as he spaced out for a moment, staring at a star. "starlight, star bright, the first star i see tonight!" you both burst into laughs "what are we? pre-school?" mark smiled as he continued to stay silent.

"you made me wish on a star now tell me what you asked for," mark turns facing you. you stayed silent for a while as you looked up to the ending eclipse above. "i actually had two wishes" you pulled out a few blades of grass, avoiding his eyes. "first, was for your wish to come true," you fully faced mark as you took the plush into your hands, fiddling with it.

"second, ... i also wished for you to be mine" you smiled at mark whose face was indecipherable. "wait, what?" you noticed how his cheeks were lightly brushed with blush. "it was your notif, mark."

right there, mark realized that he failed to upload the story to the selected option. "i... well, you did suddenly moved and made me panic." mark chuckled as he continues to study your eyes that were glistening under the soft lights of the surroundings. "your turn. what did you wish for?"

mark came closer to you as he tucks some hair behind your ear, "it just came true." he whispered as he quickly diverted his vision towards the tree nearby. you softly held mark's chin as you got him to face you, your body suddenly heating up inside the white crewneck sweatshirt you were wearing. you both felt euphoric as the sudden confession still felt unreal. you both felt rewarded after keeping in the hopes and feelings for one another.

unconsciously, you both started to close in while the background started to seem blurry, and the only things that were clear to your visions were each other. "can i?" granting him permission mark closed the gap in between both of you, feeling his own soft set above yours. you returned the favor as you cautiously mimicked what mark did, creating a slow rhythm for the both of you.

lasting a good few seconds, you both broke away with heated cheeks and pleased hearts. mark pulled you closer as he now has you in between in him, hugging you from behind. he laid you back into his chest and placed one more kiss, smiling afterward. you locked your phone once again after posting another story. (check below) you both were glad that the wishes of becoming each other's pair were finally granted. mark continued to sway you in his arm, looking up at the succeeding eclipse. "hey y/n,"

"the moon is beautiful, isn't it?"

———

(for those who doesn't know it actually means 'i love you' !)

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flowerbloom-arts · 3 years

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Joxter for the Character thingy

Ah, the fandom's darling cat dad, the man, the mumrik, the moomin Onceler, the jokester and the jockster. A catman who inexplicably got as popular as the main characters.

How I feel about this character: Joxter is... He's cool, I like this guy, actually kinda fun to play around with! I joined the fandom after Joxter stopped being HUGE so I don't have the same mixed feelings as older fans seem to have about him, but I still have mixed feelings about alot of fandom interpretations of this guy, maybe I just see something else completely different in Joxter but I think he's alot more wholesome than alot of people think of him as, and I don't mean just Snufkin and Mymble. Joxter is neat, but I'm not super duper interested in him as a "mystery", he's a catperson, he has about the same amount of mystery as a regular cat to me. Kinda weird but ultimately harmless, a bastard but also rather affectionate at times (to a select few, he can and will screw around with the people he doesn't like or think very highly of). I think he has some insecurities and issues bubbling under that cool and lazy surface but it's nothing... Too edgy (by my standards).

All the people I ship romantically with this character: MUDDLER- oh and Mymble, I suppose. Like, shipping him with Mymble is a default at this point, I like them, they're adorable and chaotic, but there's something about Joxter and Muddler that speaks to me on a more personal level, they just... Make me soft in a way I can't describe properly without sounding absolutely deranged so I'll just say, there are alot aspects of myself I see in Joxter and Muddler and seeing them being happy together makes me feel less worthless, you know?

My non-romantic OTP for this character: His family and Oshun Oxtra crew, of course. His dynamic with the Oshun Oxtra in particular is what interests me the most out of the two, you already know about him and Muddler but Joxter with Hodgkins and Moomin(pappa) is something I always chuckle at a little because he's a little bastard to those two in particular and suffers a severe case of favoritism from Muddler and vice versa. Hodgkins to him is just a means to a peaceful living and Hodgkins thinks of him as a leech at times but they still care about eachother beyond those surface level things, it's more of a "I don't act like I like this guy but I'll beat you up if you're mean to him" kinda relationship. Actually come to think of it Joxter is eternally just a stoner teenager when it comes to Hodgkins.

My unpopular opinion about this character: Joxter's not that edgy (neither in literal appearence and personality/backstory) and like... I get the appeal but I never simped for him. Also I don't like Joxpappa as a romantic ship. That's all I'm gonna say on that.

I just... I don't know how people saw this little round cat person and thought "Mm yes triangle face." Like I don't hate it, it's fun to look at but yeah. I never saw him as super mysterious or spooky either, he's quite literally named "the Joke-ster" (as in the intended pronounciation), his mystification strikes me as odd now that I think about it right now. Again, I don't hate it, it's just odd to me.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: Of course I want more Joxter content in general but one thing I kind of wish happened in the franchise in general is just, any kind of acknowledgment of Joxter outside of memoirs, and that goes for Hodgkins aswell, Muddler has quite a bit of content and mentions in Tove's other works (the live action series and the comics aswell as some illustrations of him). It just seems a little sad since Snufkin made such a big deal over his mere existence.

And that's it!

OG ask post

#moomins #moominvalley #joxter #moomin joxter #the joxter #fb answers

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project-paranoia · 3 years

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Live Watch: Guardian Episode One, Part One

It's Guardian! The show that got me interested in this genre! I love spooky things and I love mysteries and fantasy! I simply adore it so much! When I can't sleep I just put on a playlist of Guardian in the background. I was aware of censorship before - every country has some version of it, but to some degree this was my first deep dive into how it might effect a piece of media. Guardian is exceptionally acted and incredibly written, as well as suffering from obvious dubs where the dubbing voice actor sounds nothing like the previous actor and odd cuts that are disrupted. In some ways it's the little drama that could fighting its way past their studio going bankrupt while they were filming, reshoots, and being taken down and altered several times.

In some ways Guardian's struggle fits the spirit and aesthetic of the show. Worn in like an old pair of jeans but still making an effort. Putting emphasis where things count and hoping the kindness of the universe will make allowances for the rest. Attention to detail where the story really matters. It has the charm of a community production put on out of love with actors and crew who would not be anywhere else in the world for any amount of money. That feeling of love comes through, and whether or not I'm barely literate I have so many words to share.

Part of why I love it as well is it has that feeling of 80s and 90s fantasy, like Moomin, Xena or Condor Heroes. Everything feels lived in, nothing's been spit shined except for Shen Wei's suits. It's an old city street of a show, it has history and character built in.

*After all that I don't know that I have a tonne to say about the intro. It's very good but it's also full of spoilers. I think having the intro song be in English does make a difference in making it appealing to English speaking audiences as well as standing out as different and interesting, which the show is. Speaking of Spoilers! Spoilers below!

* The obligatory beginning narration is beautifully animated, I have another post that will be done some time before the heat-death of the universe talking about the fascinating world building options. Unlike some Make It SciFi plots, this one has legs and implications.

* Remakes rarely are able to meet the original on equal ground - and I struggle to believe the actors would Fit as well - but part of me really wants to have a chance to have the Dixingren worldbuilding really leaned into. The writing is good enough we get implication but no real follow through. I want fifty episodes of how Dixing functions, give me more pseudo-science behind the mutations, what are the biological differences. I'm hungry for more!

* I love the cameos of later characters, and the way there was some effort to be discrete with spoilers.

* It's Ya Boy! I love Shen Wei. With that music cue and that sinister turn around they really set him up as dubious. I wish they went with something a little different with the intro so his character wasn't spoiled. The writing, directing, and acting was so good and spoiling who Shen Wei is kind of took the teeth out of that.

* Also cheers to the costume designer who outfitted Zhu Yilong so well and made him look jacked with the fit of those clothes.

* Also you can tell this is a real university because the staff has to sit in tiny student chairs. I'm not joking, please be warned if you're going into academia. Unless you have tenure life is An Adventure - and even then.

* Also shout out to Shen Wei's Prized Cabbage and the Queen of our hearts, Li Qian. Why is this actress not in more things? She has such an expressive and lovely face and she really goes all the way in with her acting. I respect an artist that acts from their chest. Also that windbreaker, white skirt combo is chic and fun all at once, it draws the eye and makes her melt into the background all at once - perfect for the character. I love her so much.

* Here's another one of Shen Wei's coats, it's a lovely color for him but it also is so thin that it looks like it crinkled up just from being worn.

* I'm being distracted by details and missing plot stuff.

* Story of my life.

* I love Li Qian hovering along behind Shen Wei like a duckling following their mother. A) Mood and B) it quietly informs their dynamic. Shen Wei has like one person he can trust but no one he can really confide in and it's the same for Li Qian. A ship will find a port in a storm and Shen Wei has Big Da-ge Energy. My fanfic heart hopes they found comfort in the pseudo familial relationship with each other while it lasted.

* Even in episode one we receive foreshadowing, we love and respect some excellent writing. For those of you who missed it - Professor Ouyang is talking about Lin Jing who I love partially because he's so outrageous large but has the total opposite of intimidating energy.

* What did they feed you Lin Jing? He is so tall and wide, but they do a lot with camera work to try to make him not quite as big. Side note, I would really love to see the actor who plays Lin Jing (Liu Minting) both in more dramas but more specifically in a role where he was like a minister or scholar - someone intellectual. I think the combination of being such a big gentleman and also someone who like plots or plans would be really dynamic if it was written well.

* Also I like the exchange where without a word Professor Ouyang indicates he has one last thing to say, it's private and that he would like Shen Wei to ask Li Qian to leave. That's What You Can Do With Good Actors!

* Li Qian is just so pretty and the actress emotes so well!

* Shen Wei totally understanding what's going on with this shady research immediately and wanting to stay as far away as possible. We see one of the first examples of him being aggressively polite to remove himself from a situation.

* "i'M jUST aN oRDINARY sCHOLAR." No one buys it Shen Wei.

* Angy Thinking Face

* One thing the show is really good at is using establishing shots really well so you always know where everything is and everything is going

* Guo Changcheng, all around good boy and angel. We stan a nervous legend

* Zhou Yunlan Arriving. Why is everyone on this show an Absolute Legend

* Guo Changcheng protecting himself with his certificate is too cute. This young man is trying his best and I support him.

* Also that coat is Young, Pure, Stylish; I love it

* Zhao Yunlan, what's wrong with you? You are amazing!

* His irreverent style and disregard of usual policy makes him fit in really well with his band of misfits and special cases

* Guo Changcheng's OO face is too good, elastic face

* Da Qing my love!

* Jin Ling, I think he has an all seeing eye on his hoodie thing. Illuminati Confirmed.

* Also they filmed the shots so well, so you always know where everyone is in relation to everyone else

* Our Prized Cabbage! I love her!

* Great handheld work: shaky and unhinged, but not migraine inducing

* Foreshadowing in the form of a shadow and reaching for the necklace

* Da Qing's cat behaviours. I really want behind the scenes of the actor discussing how cat was he going to cat

* We get our first real example of how Zhao Yunlan doesn't feel safe emoting negatively and so he uses a super sunny mask to hide his feelings, except with Da Qing who he lets his anger show with because he trusts him.

* I'm not even halfway through and I've written so much, peace and blessings to the readers of this.

* Zhao Yunlan's swagger, after his childhood having a little power must feel comforting and good

* I love how Da Qing is talking as a cat less than a meter from the medical examiner. Does the examiner not care or does he know? Is he deaf?

* Harassing Guo Changcheng is the new team sport

* Zhao Yunlan Realises Something Music

* Also, Lollipop Measurement

* It's nice to see Zhao Yunlan just being himself with Da Qing, he's able to really be honest and genuine with him

* Slow Look Moment

* This moment is so fascinating! Shen Wei doesn't know what's going on yet. He just sees an old friend who winces when he sees him and disappears. We mostly see things from Zhao Yunlan's point of view, but from Shen Wei's perspective this is a first part of just some Odd and Confusing Happenings

* This cat though! I love him!

* The delicate way they’re both feeling each other out. This must be so confusing and startling for Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan is trying to figure out if this teacher is going to bust him or what.

* He forgot to let go, way to set off Zhao Yunlan’s suspicions

* “Mark Stewart” Is he though? Who picked out that English name?

* Li Qian! I love her and I love that striped blouse. Fashion. Got to look good when you’re resisting a mental break. *Also she hears a meow and looks around at eye level, I love that for her.

* Zhao Yunlan! You can’t take pictures of young ladies without their permission. What is wrong with you!

* I love Da Qing’s very cat attitude of I Will Have Vengeance for These Wrongs

* Two for one! Shen Wei meets two faces from his past.

* Also, I get a little frustrated about people making a big deal about the 10,000 years versus 1,000 years age thing with Da Qing. a) He has amnesia and b) the thousand years refers to the amount of time needed to cultivate to a certain stage in Chinese mythology - usually by absorbing energy from the sun, moon, or depending on the animal other sources.

* I feel so bad for Shen Wei, who knows what he thinks. Were his friends brainwashed? Did they forget? Can they not say for some reason? What is happening?

This review is getting a little long, so join in tomorrow for Part Two~~!

#Guardian #watchthrough

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princeasimdiya12 · 3 years

Photo

Random Screencaps of Wonder Egg Priority Episode 1 with thoughts for each of those scenes.

When I first saw this scene, I couldn’t help but remember the escalator scene from Us 2019 which also delved into psychological trauma.

Ai’s openly discussing on the various things she could do with her egg reminded me of the Student Council speech from Revolutionary Girl Utena. The theme of the speech being about how kids/teens like them are trapped in their eggs and if they don’t break their shell or overcome their problems, then they risk dying within the egg and being unable to accomplish anything with their lives. In Ai’s case, the series is focusing more on her past traumas and how they’re inhibiting her ability to enjoy life at it’s fullest. She even questions if she should even break the egg to begin with. But as it stands, if she cannot break free from her trauma and grow past them, she could emotionally “die” as a result.

The way Kurumi knows so much about how the Seeno Evils and how they won’t bother Ai makes me wonder how many times she’s been through this survival mission. How many times was she hatched from an egg and partnered up with a designated Dream Warrior? You figure that with how each egg has it’s own code mixed with their being thousands of potential girls in Japan alone who suffer from different types of trauma, that Kurumi would have only one egg and this experience would be new to her. But considering how gacha machines can dispense the same toy or prize, would that mean that Kurumi’s egg was duplicated? Meaning that she can never truly find peace even after her Wonder Killer is defeated since she’ll be hatched once more by a new Dream Warrior?

I’m also concerned about Kurumi stating that Ai will be okay as long as her eyes and heart are okay. Why are those body parts considered the most crucial? I take it there’s symbolism regarding what types of things or truth the eyes can see and how the heart can be your guiding key. So it would be dangerous if either of those were threatened during a mission. But that does bring the question: how many Dream Warriors did Kurumi know who were killed after having their eyes and hearts wounded? And do they simply die as a consequence or is there a fate worse than death?

I’m also curious as to whether Ai was always depressed and miserable. In later episodes, she’s shown to be upbeat, cheerful and quite playful. A far contrast from her miserable personality at school. Was this because of the opportunity of seeing Koito again gave her hope and instilled new happiness in her? Maybe during her elementary years, she was always so happy and fun. But everything changed when she entered middle school and she was bullied by her new classmates. Middle school can be hell for everyone.

The way Koito presents herself to Ai after class feels pretty unusual. She maintains a calm presence as she makes blunt but soft-hearted questions to Ai. She prods the blue haired girl about her game in the hopes of getting to know her and form some type of relation with her. She does have goodness in her heart but her manner of asking feels somewhat invasive. Especially when she brings up Ai’s heterochromia. I suppose it may be because we’re seeing this from Ai’s perspective and how she wanted to be left alone. To her, Koito’s presence made her uncomfortable at the time given how closed off she wanted to be.

I wanted that shot so we can have a reference for what Captured Maiden sculptures look like and because this shot looks gorgeous. It’s also interesting with how Koito is posed as if she’s walking somewhere while her eyes are covered. Is this to show how she’s trapped in the Dream World and made to wander blindly like Kurumi? Waiting to be rescued?

The final minutes confirm that Kurumi is also a Captured Maiden and that her soul/spirit is still a sculpture. Acca stating that she’ll stay a sculpture if her friends or someone close to her doesn’t come to the DW to rescue her. This could imply that it’s possible for Captured Maidens to be saved which is enough motivation for Ai to continue her missions. But as another tumblr user pointed out, it’s practically impossible to bring a Captured Maiden back to life and how it’s more important for Ai and the other Dream Warriors to work through their personal issues and traumas. Additionally, I can’t help but wonder if other Dream Warriors have gotten Koito’s egg(s) and have gone on survival missions with her. How many times did her egg hatch before Ai became involved in all of this?

Also that last shot radiates Moomin energy and I love it!

And those are my thoughts for the first episode. What do you guys think of all this? If you agree or disagree with anything I’ve written, please feel free to reblog this with your thoughts.

#wonder egg priority #wep #wep spoilers #ai ohto #kurumi saijo #koito nagase #acca #eddy's screencaps #anime #long post

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1lymark · 5 years

Text

yellow paint blues || renjun

→ summary: a few hours before renjun needs to submit his art project, he realizes that he’s run out of yellow paint. luckily, you’re there to help (or not.) → genre: fluff, humor, college!au → words: 3.2K → a/n: dedicated to mary, my lovely patron. as always, this got way out of hand and got longer than i anticipated. i hope you enjoy!

Renjun had thought that the art course would be an easy A. He hadn’t needed the easy A to begin with anyway––his grades in every other course were beyond stellar, so most people would probably assume that he was doing it to pass time or to gain extra credits. Or so, that was what he wanted people to assume.

In reality, he had signed up for the course because you had wanted to. It wasn’t like you asked him to accompany him; he recalled you mentioning the course in passing a week before registration and somehow, that little comment had wormed its way to the forefront of his mind as he clicked “ADD COURSE” to his already packed schedule.

“Should be easy enough,” he assured himself, patting his own shoulder in untimely congratulations as he thought of the extra three hours in a week that he would get to hang out with you. After all, Renjun’s art skills weren’t shabby, so surely this could not go wrong in any way possible.

He forgot, in his hubris, about the tantalizing taste that procrastination had to offer. The sweet nectar that he had yet to conquer in all his years of education had once again enticed him like a fly to a fire. It was inevitable, and yet… how could he have been so blind?

So there he was, in his room at one in the morning, with more paint on his fingers than he had on his canvas. The blank surface taunted him in his mind, laughing hysterically at the cruel fate he had assigned to himself in the name of love.

The project should have been simple enough: it was a self-expression piece, wherein the objective was to present what makes them happiest. His professor was lenient to the point of negligent, allowing her students to use any medium they pleased for this first assignment. Macaroni and glue, string and popsicle sticks, scrap paper with a drunken doodle… She was open-minded to anything under the sun. However, the thing about Renjun was that he was an overachiever to a fault, so even though he could’ve theoretically slapped a Spotify playlist together on a CD and called it a day, he simply was not spiritually able to hand in anything less than perfect.

So of course Renjun chose to paint for his first project. Painting wasn’t even his strongest suit, but he wanted to challenge himself, or so he said when he had loudly announced that to you almost a week ago.

A week ago. He had an entire week to finish, with no other pressing assignments or tests in between, and yet he still found himself in this predicament. Thus was the fate of unending suffering that every university student must face.

You had texted him a few hours ago, asking to see a picture of his work. Despite your excitement to take this course, you had always been a bit self-conscious about your art pieces, though you have never expressed this to anyone. Renjun could see it in the way that you would close in on yourself when people ask to see your work, quickly redirecting the conversation elsewhere once people have their eyes off of you.

Not him though––you always showed each other your works. It made Renjun’s heart race just a little bit every time you exposed this side of yourself, and so he made a promise to always give you any sort of reassurance you might need.

Unfortunately for this time, he was a bit too busy trying not to drown in his own irresponsibility to answer you properly when you had texted.

to: renjunnie from: y/n-chi

hey!! how’s your project holding up? can i see yours? i finished mine just now and idk if i’m happy with it tbh…

to: y/n-chi from: renjunnie

not… going well… send reinforcements… T_T i think i’m gonna rot now…

to: renjunnie from: y/n-chi

eh??? the infallible huang renjun is suffering??? from a first year art assignment??? someone call the catholics, because i think the rapture is coming

to: y/n-chi from: renjunnie

y/n don’t be mean >:( this is srs!! i think i have inhaled enough paint fumes to fail a drug test by now

to: renjunnie from: y/n-chi

tsk. that’s what you get for procrastinating, babe. sending my thoughts and prayers!! txt me updates so i know you don’t die from paint ingestion ^^

If you weren’t so god damn cute, he would have smothered you (with his love) by now. Even if you didn’t know it, your texts had given him enough motivation to get something on the canvas, even though none of his drafts seemed to be good enough at the moment.

What was it that made Renjun happy, anyway? He liked listening to music, but that was as generic as it gets… Who didn’t like music? He also liked reading and travelling, though those don’t seem to be too appealing to paint either. Some of his friends had joked that he should just paint a bunch of Moomin, so that he wouldn’t really need to paint because it would mostly be white anyway.

Those things just seemed too shallow for him. While they were things that he enjoyed, he wouldn’t want to be that guy who showed up to class with a half-assed doodle and some stupid explanation like “happiness is what you make of it.” No, he would be better than that.

There was something quite obvious that he could use for his project, or rather, someone. It would be too embarrassing though––not that he was embarrassed of you, by any means. He just wasn’t brave enough to do it, not yet at least. Someday, he’ll have the heart to tell you his feelings, but for now… he was stuck with a blank canvas and an emptier mind.

The clock read 3:30AM when Renjun had decided to throw all his morals to the wind and just paint a field of sunflowers out of desperation. He thought that if all else failed, maybe he would submit that and say something about how he remembered going to a place like that in his childhood. It would be a complete lie, since his family hardly went out to nature spots like that, but at least you would like the painting. Sunflowers were your favorite, after all.

Halfway through his painting however, he realized that his tube of yellow paint was looking awfully empty. He squeezed it as much as he could, scrapping it out as much of the remaining paint as physically possible.

“Crap,” he moans out, looking at his half-colored canvas forlornly. There were still at least six sunflowers to be painted, though he had already painted most of the background. This couldn’t do; he had no time to start over. The art supply shop didn’t open until at least 9AM, but his classes start shortly after that. There was no way he could pull this off at this rate. Unless…

He reached for his phone from his table, almost tripping over his easel in his haste to grab it. He knew you were an early riser, though he doubted you’d be awake even at this ungodly hour. He just hoped to whatever entity up in the clouds that you would pick up your phone and not start cussing him out for ruining your sleep. Though it was hard to imagine you getting mad at him for anything, as he knew you always had a bit of a soft spot for him.

To his relief, you answered on the fifth ring.

“Hello?” You murmured quietly, voice still sounding rough with sleep. Renjun could hear you smacking your lips sleepily, the mental image of it all eliciting a grin on his face. He wanted to know how you looked right now, with your impossibly cute bedhead and droopy eyes.

“Y/N? You awake?”

You yawned, the sound of rustling sheets accompanying your reply. “I am now, I guess. It’s… 4AM? What gives? You don’t normally wake this early. Unless…”

“Yup,” Renjun sighed, head hanging in defeat. “Kinda haven’t slept all night. The project isn’t coming along too well.”

“Aww,” you cooed. Renjun perked up a little at your tone.

Then, “Tough shit.”

Renjun flinched at that, staring wide-eyed at his phone before returning it to his ear. “Excuse me?”

“Well, if you hadn’t been goofing off the entire week before, you wouldn’t be in this mess, would you? Now excuse me… I have another two hours of sleep before my alarm is supposed to go off, so I’ll see you later! Peace,” was all you said before promptly hanging up.

The room was silent as Renjun stood in the middle of his room, shocked beyond all belief. Was that really you that he had just spoken to? Where was the kind, empathetic friend he had come to know and love? Perhaps lack of sleep really does change a person for the worse.

Undeterred by your rejection, Renjun decided to head over to your house anyway. Was he probably going to get his ass handed to him for disturbing you even more? Probably. Was he willing to face the consequences of your fiery wrath? Absolutely. Was he going to enjoy getting berated by you as he stared, lovestruck, at your cute pajamas and angry, puffy eyes? Undoubtedly.

Luckily, your house was only a few blocks away, although Renjun still ran all the way because he was (maybe, slightly, on a little bit) afraid of the dark. So what if he screamed a little when a cat jumped out of some trashcans? No one saw, and that was all that mattered.

He arrived at your place in record time, the dark window panes indicating that you were still, in fact, asleep. He tried opening the door to no avail, not being able to find the spare key you used to place under the mat. With no other option in sight, there was one last thing he could do…

Tap. Tap. Tap.

There was something tapping incessantly against your window for a couple minutes now. At first, you had ignored the sound completely, assuming that it was the first drops of rain before a storm. After a while, you began to realize that rain did not sound like that, and it reminded you more like a finger tapping or knocking. That was impossible though, because you lived on the second floor of a shared house. Surely, it wasn’t what you thought it was––

Before you could contemplate further, you phone started to ring for the second time that night, and the pieces of the puzzle immediately fall into place. It was him, that fucking bastard. Grumbling loudly, you grasped your phone against your ear, a chain of swears tumbling out of your lips quicker than any seasoned rapper out there.

“Wait, Y/N! Lemme explain—“

“Renjun, I swear if I go downstairs right now and find you throwing pebbles at my window to disrupt my sleep even further, you better believe I’m calling the cops on you, friend or not!”

“I just need yellow paint!” He cried out, loud enough that you can hear him from outside. You hiss at him to keep quiet, worried that his noise would also wake up your roommates.

“No, Renjun! You have to learn to be more responsible! You can’t always expect things to go your way without proper preparation! 4.0 GPA or not, I’m not letting you keep doing this––hold on,” you paused, stopping mid-sentence. There had been loud thunk just outside your bedroom wall. There was a suspicious lack of response on Renjun’s end, though you can hear his heavy breathing through the speakers. You slipped out of your covers, padding your way to the window. You peered over, squinting blearily at the darkness of the night.

“Renjun? What are you––“ You gasped before finishing, slamming open the windows and letting the cool breeze gently brush your face. The sight before you was not as great as the wind, though. “Are you fucking crazy? Stop climbing before you get hurt!”

“Almost there,” Renjun grunted, his hands grasping tightly on your ledge. You watched in stunned silence as the gangly boy hoisted himself over and into your bedroom with the ease of someone who had done that at least a few times before. It took you a while before you could find your bearings as you stood, mouth agape, at the beaming boy now standing before you with neon green paint on his cheek.

“Hey,” he greets, smiling.

It took all the energy in your body to keep your hand from meeting his cheek (either to caress him or to slap him? No one was for certain.) “You could’ve fucking died.”

Renjun lifted both his arms into the air and shook his legs around. He shot you a cheeky look, faking contemplativeness. “I feel pretty alive, I would say. All limbs in working order, as far as I know.”

Oh my god. You were friends with a maniac!

“This is so unlike you,” you said. “You’re never this relentlessly annoying.”

“Well, you wouldn’t let me finish my urgent plea on the phone, so of course I had to take drastic measures! I’m gonna fail this GPA booster course, and then I’ll die, and then it’ll be your fault!” He said in one breath, grin never faltering. As his gaze flitted around the room, he noticed your finished project, sitting on your desk and covered in plastic to hide its contents from the world. “Ooh, is that your submission? can I see?”

You rushed over to it, hiding it behind your back with a huff. “Absolutely not! You lost all privileges from me the moment you called me up at 4AM! Now get out of my house before I really call the cops.”

He pouted, deflating visibly. “Okay, look… I know I’m being a prick right now, but you really gotta help me! I ran out of yellow paint and you’re the only person who can help me!”

You were not sure why, but hearing that reason coming from Renjun of all people was making your blood boil in anger. He went all this way to your house, throwing pebbles out your window like some cliché romcom protagonist, even climbing up a building, just to ask for fucking yellow paint?!

“Are you hearing yourself, Huang Renjun? I’m going to kill you!” You grabbed a few of the still open paint tubes by your desk, squeezing its contents all over his clothes in a fit of rage. He gasped, crying out in anguish as globs of blue and red marred the cute little Moomins on his shirt.

“You did not just do that!” He yelled, slapping the paint out of your hands. You were pretty shocked yourself, though you can’t help but giggle a little at how flabbergasted he looked.

“That’s what you get for being ridiculous, you stupid shit––hey, stop! Put down that cup of paint water now before I––NO!”

Murky black water splashes down your left cheek and onto your pajamas, the gross, cold sensation making you splutter out indignantly at the smirking boy. “Oh my god, you absolute bastard!”

It did not take long for the argument to dissolve into a full-blown paint fight as the two of you sprayed each other with every bit of available art supply in your room. Paint, brushes, pens, and markers were launched into the air, both of you screaming in both anger and delight as you hit the other with every type of projectile imagineable.

Renjun jumped across the bed, searching your bedside table for more ammo once you managed to hoard most of them on your side. It didn’t take long for him to find one of your unopened bottles of yellow paint, and he hooted in victory as he held it up in the air like a trophy.

“Yes, I found it! Ceasefire, Y/N! I got what I wanted!”

“And you think I’m supposed to stop just because you’re happy?” You screeched back, readying a large amount of black paint on one of your paintbrushes like a makeshift catapult. “Drop that paint bottle if you wanna live, Renjun!”

It was in that moment when one of your roommates suddenly barged in to the scene, her entire being blazing with heat as she furiously accessed the room. There you were, paint dripping from every inch of your body, with a similarly painted boy on the other side of your bed with a little 50mL bottle of yellow paint in his open fist. No one made a sound for a moment, afraid to explain what the hell you both were doing, until––

“I’m not even going to ask. Just shut up before I get you evicted,” Yeri growled, slamming the door with the frame rattling in her wake.

“Oh god, she’s going to kill me tomorrow,” you moaned, dropping the paintbrush and dropping your head against your newly painted bed. Not looking at him, you pointed your finger in his general direction, forcing him to stop as he tried to covertly escape through the window. “Don’t you dare move another muscle. You are helping me clean my room before class, or so help me I’ll paint angry eyebrows on all your Moomin plushies.”

That got him moving to help you quickly, at least. With the two of you working together instead of fighting, you managed to get all your bedsheets into the washer and most of the paint splatters removed from your walls and floor in record time. Thankfully there wasn’t much damage on your room, as you and Renjun were the main casualties of the paint war.

While the two of you finished up, you hadn’t realized that the sun had already begun its approach into the sky, meaning that it was time to get ready for class.

“Shit, I won’t be able to shower in time,” you whined, fruitlessly picking at the paint clumping your hair together. You gave Renjun the evil eye, who had the decency to look sheepish at least.

“Wait, hold that thought,” he said, grasping your hand in his as he appraised you with an odd look. His brows were furrowed, thinking deeply as he traced the strokes of yellow and blue on your cheeks, all the way to your neck. His proximity made the blood rush to your face, and you hoped that the paint was doing a good job covering your flush.

It was an odd sensation, feeling so aware of your friend’s presence. You never noticed how cute he looked until that moment, when he was so focused and thoughtful like this. He had always looked handsome to you, but for whatever reason, the dash of red on the corner of his lip never looked more enticing than it did then.

After a bit more staring, he smiled softly at you, tucking a bit of your hair behind your ear with the sort of gentleness that you have come to associate with him. Your stupid, funny, smart, lovable Renjun. The only boy that you could never stay mad at.

“I think I have my submission for my art project right here,” he said, simply and honestly.

You giggled a bit, not quite understanding. “Well, you got the yellow paint, right? Shouldn’t you head home and try to finish your painting before class starts? You got a bit of time, I think.”

He shook his head, cupping your face like something to be held. Like something to be admired. There was something blooming inside your chest; a field of sunflowers, all of them reaching towards the light right in front of you.

The sun grinned at you, and the sunflowers rejoiced. “Nah. I think I’m good. More than good.”

#nct scenarios #nct dream scenarios #nct imagines #nct dream imagines #nct x reader #renjun x reader #renjun imagines #renjun scenarios #nct scenario #nct #nct dream #renjun #huang renjun #renjun fluff #nct fluff

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taizi · 5 years

Text

a life in your shape

the moomins pairing: moomin/snufkin word count: 2290 read on ao3

“Oh, my,” Moominmamma says, pressing a hand to her mouth. It doesn’t quite manage to hide her smile. “Someone looks comfortable.”

“Shh, don’t wake him!” Moomin whispers. He can feel his face warming at everyone’s attention but he scowls around at them anyway. Hunching his shoulders and hovering protectively, Moomin insists, “He’ll be embarrassed.”

“He should be,” My says immediately. But there’s no heat to it, and she nudges Sniff with her boot none too gently when it looks like he’s about to say something else. “Let’s start a new game. I’ll be the dealer.”

Moominmamma sets a folded blanket within reach of the sofa before she moves back toward the kitchen. Snorkmaiden is grinning, bright and full of mischief, but she reaches over to take Moomin’s playing cards without making fun.

The moment Moomin’s hands are freed, they gravitate automatically to the mumrik on his lap.

Snufkin makes a noise in his sleep that is entirely contented and rolls over so that his face is smushed against Moomin’s stomach. Oblivious to the muffled giggles from the other side of the table, thank goodness, and dreaming deeply.

He gets this way sometimes, when it’s warm and sunny and the air is sweet. Moomin can’t count how many times he’s nearly stumbled over Snufkin having a nap in the middle of the garden or the flowering meadow. Typically, Moomin is quick to crawl in and join him. It isn’t strange at all!

But he’s never done it here before. On the sofa in the drawing room, with all their friends around, right before lunch. Snufkin nodded off with his cards still in his hand, slumping over onto Moomin’s shoulder.

“Oh, Snuf, you’ll ache all over if you sleep like that,” Moomin had said right away, thinking little of it. To be fair, there was a patch of sunlight pouring right over them from the window, which made their seat the perfect spot for an afternoon nap. “Lay down properly, I don’t mind.”

Half-gone already, Snufkin promptly did as he was told. He took off his hat, scooted far enough away that he could lay down with his head on Moomin’s leg, and was out like a light. That was nearly twenty minutes ago, and Moomin has lost every single game he’s played since. To say he’s distracted is, perhaps, an understatement.

It’s just-- Snufkin is very soft when he’s asleep. He’s solid but not heavy, and warm like a hot water bottle. Every other breath he takes catches on a faint purr, so quiet Moomin is probably the only one in the room close enough to hear. Snufkin’s arms are curled up by his chest, the sleeves of his weathered smock riding up, and his dappled wrists are like velvet where the dark fur of his paws meets his much paler forearms.

Moomin smooths his fingers over one of Snufkin’s wrists with unending care, marveling at the texture. He’s very different from a fluffy moomin or a snork. Even his half-sisters don’t have paws or a tail or eyes that shine like lamps in the dark. He’s a creature all his own, as far as Moomin knows. Even if there were others just like him out there somewhere in the big world he so loves to travel, Moomin can’t imagine they’d hold a candle to his Snufkin. No one ever could.

“He’s really tired,” Sniff says through a mouthful of one of the cinnamon rolls leftover from breakfast. When did he filch those from the kitchen? Moomin didn’t even see him get up. “Winter must have been hard on him last year, huh?”

Moomin’s mouth is already open to scold Sniff for hogging all the leftover sweets, but that draws him up short. He blinks, and says, “I dunno. He didn’t tell me anything about it being hard.”

“He wouldn’t, would he?” My says impatiently, glowering at what must be a losing hand of cards. “You’d worry, and he would feel bad, and then he’d have to make it up to you somehow. He saves himself a lot of hassle by only telling you about the good stuff.”

Stricken, Moomin blurts, “I make him feel bad?”

“That’s not what she meant, Moomintroll,” Snorkmaiden jumps in. She looks like she’d like to pat his arm, but doesn’t want to reach over the sleeping Snufkin to do it. She settles for an affectionate smile. “She just means he’s considerate of your feelings. He would be really sorry if he hurt you, so he’s careful not to, that’s all.”

Little My says, “That’s not what I meant, you’re putting words in my mouth,” and Sniff loses interest in the conversation in favor of another roll, but Moomin thinks about it. He can’t stop thinking about it. He turns it over and over in his head, even as he goes on carefully petting one of Snufkin’s wrists.

Truly, the only things he knows about the world and Snufkin’s journeys are the things Snufkin tells him. Snufkin has sometimes told him about little things that have gone wrong, the days he only had mushrooms and berries to eat because the fish wouldn’t bite, the nights his tent leaked or let mosquitoes in. But surely he must get tired sometimes. Surely it storms, surely he gets lost, maybe he even gets hurt.

Moomin can feel his stomach turning at the idea, and realizes My has a point. If Snufkin ever told him something terrible had happened to him when he was away and all alone, Moomin would probably be sick with worry every time he left from then on, and it would turn every autumn sour.

But-- he isn’t a little child anymore. He knows better. After all these years, he knows that the three quarters of the year Snufkin stays in the valley is more of a compromise than Moomin had any right to ask for or expect. It’s blatantly going against his nature, to stay so long and return every year, but here he is for yet another summer. Here he is, deeply asleep while his friends talk and play around him, closer to them than he’s ever let himself get before, a companionship he had to learn.

Moomin thinks of how little he’s given in return and bites down on an unhappy noise before it slips out.

“Lunch is ready, everyone,” Moominmamma says from the kitchen, her voice a bit softer than usual. “We’re eating out in the yard today.”

Papa must have set up the table and chairs already, or Mama probably would have asked Moomin to help. As his friends lay aside their cards and get up to file outside, Moomin says, “Mama, can I eat later?”

“Of course, dear. I’ll put a plate aside for Snufkin, too.”

When the door closes behind her, Moomin and Snufkin are alone in the house. It’s quiet, the mealtime chatter muffled through the walls and removed from this peaceful, sun-filled room. Everything is touched with gold, dust motes winking in an out of the light.

Moomin has never been so happy to sit still. He’s a little hungry, and his leg is starting to itch, but he doesn’t want to move an inch.

“I don’t ever want you to feel bad, Snuf,” Moomin tells his sleeping friend, petting the dandelion puff of Snufkin’s hair into order with his fingers. It takes some work, since Snufkin very rarely wants anything to do with brushes, and Moomin bends all his attention to the task. “You’re always looking after me, but I’d like to look after you, too. Every now and then, at least. You hardly need it, but when you do, I’d like it to be me.”

He doesn’t want there to be a line between them that Snufkin thinks he can’t cross. He doesn’t want there to be things Snufkin can’t tell him.

Moomin will never be happy to see Snufkin leave, and he’ll always miss Snufkin when he’s gone-- but a few weeks out of the year is small change, really. And it’s always such a delight to see him in the spring that it makes the time spent missing him worthwhile. It makes Moomin’s heart race, to hear that harmonica drifting over the hills for the first time in the new year, to run headlong down the hill and crash into Snufkin’s waiting arms, to love until he aches from it.

He doesn’t think he would ever want to give up those moments of meeting again. Yearning desperately for someone isn’t a pleasant feeling, not all the time, but the giddy expectation of seeing them again is sweeter than apricot jam. Moomin is suddenly much closer to understanding part of the reason why Snufkin is so adamant about leaving in the fall.

Most of it has to do with the manner of creature he is, the wanderlust in his heart and the hungry curiosity that drives him from place to place, but perhaps some of it has to do with how nice it is to miss someone you love and be missed by them when you’re away.

“Oh,” Moomin says, very still. “Oh, I see.”

“Hmm,” Snufkin murmurs, barely rousing. “What do you see?”

Moomin shakes his head, pushing the untidy fringe out of Snufkin’s slitted eyes. The touch lingers, because it has no reason not to, his friend a familiar shape beneath his hands. “Just thinking about how clueless I’ve been, that’s all. We can talk more about it when you’re awake.”

Snufkin blinks a few times, giving the words a moment to permeate. Once he’s made sense of them, he agrees, “When I’m awake.” A pause. “You don’t look very comfortable.”

“I’d rather lie down with you than sit up anymore,” Moomin admits.

So they shuffle and maneuver themselves into a different position, a well-practiced ritual from all the stormy nights Snufkin was bullied into sharing Moomin’s bedroom over the years, and Moomin remembers the blanket Mama left for them on the table by the sofa.

The sofa’s not really meant for both a moomin and a mumrik to nap there together, but they manage. Snufkin can sleep in impossible places, and he fits really anywhere he puts his mind to. He’s mostly laying across Moomin to consolidate space, and the weight of him, and the weight of the blanket, and the weight of the sunlight touching down on them from all the windows, makes staying awake for very much longer a Herculean task.

Still, Moomin doesn’t want to sleep yet. He touches Snufkin’s hair, distracted by it, and Snufkin says, “I should cut it.”

“If you want,” Moomin says agreeably. When Snufkin cuts it, he cuts it all the way gone, and his head is left covered in an uneven fuzz not unlike the dappled fur on his wrists. Moomin likes that as much as he likes having this ridiculous mane to mess with. There’s not much about Snufkin that Moomin doesn’t like, really. “Or we could try braiding it. Mymble probably knows how.”

Snufkin makes a noise of interest at that. He’ll hold off cutting it, now. Moomin smiles at knowing him so well, and bumps his nose to the top of Snufkin’s head.

“You’re silly,” he says fondly. “Go back to sleep.”

He would chafe at this, if it were a few years ago. He would want every second of Snufkin’s attention he could have, and he would want to fill those seconds with adventures and games and memories for Snufkin to take with him into the wider world when he left, as if begging don’t forget me.

Moomin is a little embarrassed to have been that child. He was kind and thoughtful without a doubt, because he was raised that way by kind and thoughtful parents, but sometimes he was very greedy, and never more so than with Snufkin.

Snufkin, who would never forget him. Who has seen the whole world and then some and chooses their little valley to return to, year after year. Who wrote Moomin a song of his very own, the happiest song Moomin’s ever heard, and plays it in both greeting and farewell.

One doesn’t have to be present to be here, Moomin thinks. To say Snufkin is truly gone is to say he’s not there in Moomin’s heart, and that is a lie and a falsehood and every horrible thing in between. And it’s okay to miss him, because loving him while he’s away isn’t quite the same as loving him while he’s here to hold, but it’s nothing to be sad about.

In fact, he’s rather lucky.

“Don’t forget, though,” he says, blinking through a wetness in his eyes he can’t explain. “I want to talk to you about something when we wake up.”

“Something important?” comes the mumble, muffled against Moomin’s shoulder.

“Oh, very. I have an apology for you. And an epiphany to share!”

“The apology I don’t need. But any epiphany of yours will be an inspiration.” Snufkin’s tail swings once, lazy, where it’s hanging over the side of the sofa. He stretches like melting rubber, all languid limbs and self-satisfaction. “We’ll write it into a song.”

Absurdly touched, Moomin says, “You don’t even know what it’s about yet.”

“A poem, then. A secret one, for you and me. Can you tell me what the theme will be, or am I meant to wait for the rest of this very important conversation?”

“You’re silly,” Moomin says another time, because it bears repeating. He noses Snufkin’s hair again. “I suppose I can tell you now, since it’s nothing you wouldn’t have guessed. The theme will be love.”

“Ah.” Snufkin sounds pleased, but not surprised. Moomin can feel the shape of a mumrik smile pressed to his fur. “The very best one.”

#the moomins #moominvalley #snufmin #moomintroll #snufkin #moomin #my writing #moomin fic #springdove

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kerlakierloin · 5 years

Text

Days of Pondering. Ch 2 (Snufkin x Moomin Illustrated fic)

Kay-Ray-Kú-Kú-Kó-Kex read part 1 here

"Why does it have no name? This rush of putrid joy."

song link: Múm- Kay-Ray-Kú-Kú-Kó-Kex

AN: Moomin is like 15 and Snufkin 16 in this fic. Also I'm gonna freestyle the hell out of this work :( I've been in my new job for a year now and I just haven't had time to join a fandom properly. With that I mean i haven't had time to read the books. Job and side projects. That's all I've done.

AO3 LINK HERE

Eyes wide and body tense. Was that a- oh god that is a tongue touching his. Snufkin stayed frozen, not knowing what to do. He had dreamt about this moment, but this was against his will! And now it was becoming reality… But against his will!! Snufkin felt his heart swell up and the small moment felt like minutes, even days…

But as soon as it happened, it was gone. The lone wanderer lying on his back left to recollect his scrambled thoughts. He slowly got up to pick up his hat and stared into the distance watching his best friend who had just… kissed him run off. Yes, what he felt were Moomin’s soft lips on him.

He felt his face heat up suddenly. He didn’t recall The Snorkmaiden and Moomin ever displaying such level of affection. So why him? What made him special? Snufkin’s mind and heart were racing high speeds by the second. He was left alone on the beach and confused for some time.

After managing to return his heartbeat to normal somehow Snufkin felt his body move in autopilot. He fixed his hat on his head, grabbed his backpack and started walking. Getting farther from Moominvalley, and farther from his best friend, dear Moomin.

He had just crossed the bridge where they would meet again in the spring when a gust of wind passed by harshly and small flakes of snow started to pepper the ground. Snufkin held on to his hat so it didn’t fly away. Slowly but surely continuing his walk. He could feel winter’s cold breath against his back. He tried to focus as much as he could on walking. He did not feel like thinking right now. He focused on his steps, he counted them for a good part of the walk. He focused on the different materials and textures he came across. Anything no matter how minor to keep him from thinking about what had happened.

Sun rose yet the day remained mostly cloudy, and the wanderer kept on walking until he could no longer keep moving. He saw a nice rock to sit on, so he put his backpack on the floor, realizing he had reached the border of the snowfall. Where the snow ends and its pretty visible... you could say that the sight was also pretty. “This isn’t something you see every day.” He said to himself enjoying the view. Seeing clearly the division of where he was where no snow fell and the lone distance where his back was facing.

“Such a beautiful sight and it's only the first day, I can’t wait to tell Moomin when I go ba-.” He stopped. He warned himself that he was about to enter territory he didn’t want to deal with. He closed his mouth and eyed his backpack. He sighed and finished his small break, getting up and walking to it, beginning to set up camp. After that he started his fire and walked to the small river on his side of the area.

He was glad to see it hadn’t frozen over just yet, so he decided to fish a bit. Once the sun started setting he added more wood to his fire and prepared some soup, using some small veggies Moominmamma had given him the day before. Once he finished he went to wash his plates. He winced one his skin made contact with the water.

Oh yeah, you’re supposed to be careful around water in winter. He proceeded to wash them anyway trying to ignore the pain. His mind was of course still wired and thinking of a certain white cotton ball. Oh how he missed his warmth. But Snufkin was certain something had just changed between them and he was scared.

Once inside his tent Snufkin changed into his more comfortable sleepwear. He lied down and debated whether he should reroute and skip Moominvalley next spring or come back. He felt cruel just considering it. He knew it would break Moomin's heart. He brushed the thought away knowing that if he gave in to guilt he would not be able to sleep. He was just scratching the surface of his thoughts. But he was too tired to keep worrying about those things. So he decided to leave those decision to his future self.

And so Snufkin dreamt. He dreamt that he was on his way back to Moominvalley. To Moomin’s house. To him. His… home as well. He guessed he could call it that. In his dream he saw himself in third person. He was trailing behind himself, seeing the confidence in each step his dream-self took. He looked around, noticing how with each step dream Snufkin took, snow melted, and flowers bloomed under each step he took and after a brief moment he could hear it. His spring song. His dream self was making his presence known by playing the mouth organ. He knew that would get Moomin's attention once they got close enough.

It was as if he was bringing spring to his dear friend to wake him from his deep slumber. A gift for Moomin. They both walked until reaching the all too familiar house. He felt his heartbeat rise. Could it be? Maybe everything is back to normal. Snufkin thought. Although he realized something felt odd… He never went towards Moomin. Moomin always came out to greet him. He never felt the need to do that himself because it's just the way things were. So why?-

The door slammed open and there he was. Moomin stood in the entrance, his tail wagging excitedly behind him Snufkin noticed. He saw his dream-self and the troll hug in a warm embrace. Snufkin couldn’t help but smile at the sight. And then the troll started nuzzling Snufkin’s face gently with his snout. Snufkin felt as if he was encased in ice at the sight.He took a step back apprehensively. Honestly scared of the display of affection the two figures of his wandering imagination were having. Sure, he's held Moomin's hand before, even hugged the troll as well. But now, it almost seemed that there was a different meaning to those gestures. He didn’t want to look, in part because he felt it wasn’t his place to do so. But he was frozen.

Suddenly, he saw chains slither out form inside the house like snakes. Starting to wrap around his dream-figure. It was odd because he could feel the coldness of the chains even though they were not pressing directly against his own skin. The chains came out and kept wrapping themselves around the other Snufkin, meanwhile Moomin was looking at him adoringly and pleading him to stay. ‘Stay with me Snufkin. Forever and ever… Because I love y-‘

Overwhelmed, Snufkin woke up in a cold sweat, gasping for air. He Took a time to collect his surroundings. He gulped trying to keep the tears sprouting from his eyes from falling. Wiping his face with his pijama’s sleeve. Rubbing it all over trying to feel a sense in reality.

The dream had helped him realize. He wasn’t against loving his best friend. Except Moomin already had The Snorkmaiden so why him!? But he also realized that even though he was here, thousands of steps away. He was dreading getting to this conclusion but he realized… even though he was all the way out here, he had left his heart in Moominvalley.

Snufkin looked around inside the tent for his mug and got out as fast as he could, going to the small stream only to noticed it had already frozen up. He knocked on the cold surface with the bottom half of his mug and managed to break the solid but not thick film of ice that had covered the stream. He collected some water and put it near his fire, opting to start his campfire again, for the water was too cold to drink.

After warming it a bit and waiting for it to cool down again, he chugged the liquid down and wiped his mouth once more with his sleeve… He should probably stop doing that. He went back inside to into his normal clothes. He needed to keep walking since the snow would catch up to him in no time.

While he was getting dressed, Snufkin accidentally pulled on his coat a bit too harshly, making a button pop out. His buttons were special, the kind you couldn’t find in town stores anymore.Purchase aside, he was a being of little to no possession. To Snufkin the very clothes he wore helped him remember all the good times spent his friends. He believed the small button contained many happy memories of him in the valley. He didn’t want to carry it around and risk losing it. He stared at it for a while thinking oh how he wished he had asked Moominmamma for a spare roll of thread.

Snufkin packed his things, the button being stored neatly into a small metal case where he kept needles and other useful small things, and bid farewell to the temporary resting spot and started walking. Feeling at peace yet uneasy how he realized he wouldn’t mind kissing Moomin again. But it was his friend’s expectations and desires to stay what made him scared. But deep down he was happy, he knew he was.

Snufkin kept walking absentmindedly until reaching a small glen, devoid of its usual flowers because of the weather and looked up. The sun had been out when he woke up, but it was gray now. At least he didn’t have to worry getting sunburns in the winter he thought trying to justify walking in the now colder atmosphere. He looked out in the distance and could make out something. A small town. Maybe he could find a roll of thread there. As long as he didn’t feel overwhelmed by its residents, everything should be just fine.

Next Chapter: Beyond Moominvalley

#moomin #snufkin x moomin #moomin fanfic #snufkin #ooc #sorry guys

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stingerpicnic · 5 years

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bottle me up (take me everywhere) chapter 1/2

Read on AO3

Rating: General Audiences

Relationship: Mumintrollet | Moomintroll/Snusmumriken | Snufkin

Characters: Mumintrollet | Moomintroll, Snusmumriken | Snufkin

Additional Tags: Fluff, Established Relationship, Cuddling & Snuggling, Feelings, Purring, Gift Giving, y'all they’re so in love it’s ridiculous, Moomintroll continues to be sweetest creature on the planet, flustered snufkin

Summary: There was something that Snufkin had said, after they’d settled in each other’s arms to sleep, relaxed and purring happily but tired from the emotionally draining conversation, that was giving Moomin an idea. A rather good idea at that, if he did say so himself.

A direct sequel to “your smile brings sunshine/your tears bring rain (you’re my whole world)”

Inspired by this post

I should probably tag @willshebemina because it was their post

They’d had their talk.

It had been difficult to get through, not because it was difficult to care for and comfort Snufkin. He loved him, caring for and comforting him was a privilege he cherished, not only because it was granted to so few.

It’s just—it’s so hard seeing him hurting. But they still had to get through it. Not doing so wasn’t an option. They’d been working on healthy communication for a while. He knew that trying to simply ignore a problem until it went away would do nothing but make it worse.

…Not that he knew that from some very personal experience, or anything. He’d never avoided talking about his own issues and insecurities to the point where the emotional stress made him sick, or anything. That had never happened. And even if it had, he knew better now. He would talk about talk about his problems long before they progressed to that point. And he was so much more secure in their relationship now, anyways.

But, still, their talk had been enlightening.

Moomin did feel a little guilty about the hand he had had in Snufkin’s distress, but he pushed the feeling down. There was no use for it right now. He knew how to alter his behavior now, anyways, and it was no hardship to do so for Snufkin.

He just wished Snufkin had told him sooner. He had been trying to make him feel less guilty about leaving by being a little less verbal about how sad it made him as he had been in previous years, not more. He’d always felt guilty himself for making Snufkin’s departure more difficult than it had to be with his pleading for him to stay even after he’d accepted he needed to go years ago. He’d been trying to make it easier on him this year, honestly, especially after Snufkin had confessed he did feel a little bad about leaving him alone each year. But it turns out that he had just accidentally awoken Snufkin’s buried fears of abandonment.

Nevermind that his fear was incomprehensible to Moomin. He’d never, never, even so much as consider replacing Snufkin with someone else. Snufkin was too special, too wonderful, too lovely for anyone to ever come close to taking his place in Moomin’s life. He loved him too much to give him up. Just because he’d grown to accept that he had to let him go every year for the winter didn’t mean he was ever going to do so with the intention of it being permanent.

He’d told him as much, being careful to keep the utter incredulity he was feeling out of his voice. It may have been a shocking revelation to him, but Snufkin didn’t deserve to feel like he was being made fun of. His fears were real to him, however irrational. Moomin knew that better than anyone. He had his own share of fears that had no reasonable possibility of coming true and he often wasn’t the bravest when it came to ones that did, anyway. He knew it hurt to not feel like you were being taken seriously, especially when it was coming from someone you loved.

Moomin is momentarily pulled out of his thoughts when he hears a soft, sleepy sound come from the body pressed against his own, feels paws clutch at his fur a little more insistently than before, and, most notably, both hears and feels a sudden and distinct lack of a second rumbling purr to accompany his own. Pulling Snufkin closer, pressing him into his chest just a little tighter, Moomin maneuvers them so he can press a soft kiss to the crease trying to take over his brow. The wrinkles slowly smooth themselves out and the purring starts up again, a little more relaxed, and Moomin knows Snufkin has returned to the peaceful, happy dreams he deserves.

He lets out a breath, a soft smile making its way onto his face. Honestly, how could he ever even think of giving this up?

They’d talked long into the night about all the things that were bothering Snufkin. Not everything was as surprising as his fears of abandonment, which, honestly, he probably shouldn’t have been so surprised about as it was, Snufkin had been found alone in a box as a small child, of coursehe’d have some sort of abandonment issues, however unfounded they were in this case. But everything else made sense, too.

Things had changed between them when they decided to start a relationship a couple summers ago. Even if it didn’t really feel like anything had changed at all sometimes, it had been a change. It made sense that Snufkin might start feeling worse about leaving for winter now that they were closer than ever. And it was unsurprising that Snufkin was finding he was changing himself, feeling the need for solitude less sharply than before, even if he did still feel it. He just wished it didn’t cause him so much distress, even if he understood why it did.

Still, Moomin thinks that there are things Snufkin didn’t say. But he also gets the feeling that some of those are things he didn’t know to say, because he hadn’t discovered them yet.

That’s fine. Those things will be discovered one day and they would talk about them then. There’s no point in pushing for answers that Snufkin can’t or isn’t ready to give. This wasn’t the first time they had had to have this conversation and he doubted it would be the last. Fears take much more than a single battle to put to rest, and reassuring each other of their place in each other’s lives, reminding each other of the understanding and acceptance they have for what the other needs, could never truly be a hardship when they love each other so much.

Though there was something that Snufkin had said, after they’d settled in each other’s arms to sleep, relaxed and purring happily but tired from the emotionally draining conversation, that was giving Moomin an idea. A rather good idea at that, if he did say so himself. It made him feel warm inside just thinking about it, a broad smile taking over his face. And he wasn’t even the one who would be receiving the gift!

…

“Moomintroll,” Snufkin had whispered into the dark like he was sharing a precious secret, “you’re so warm and kind. I almost wish the world was full of so many yous. It would be better for it.”

Moomin had huffed out a quiet a laugh. “A world full of me? And only one of you? That wouldn’t do. I can’t imagine a world where so many Moomintrolls could be happy without their own Snufkins to come back to them in the spring,” he said, easily giving into the quiet nonsense that came with late night, half asleep conversations. He didn’t tell Snufkin that he couldn’t imagine it because he was his world, he wasn’t trying to keep him up too long by flustering him again so soon after the last time. He didn’t need to say it, anyways. He could tell by the warmth where Snufkin presses his face into his shoulder a little harder that he understood.

It was another long moment before Snufkin spoke again. “I suppose we couldn’t have that. Moomintrolls shouldn’t be unhappy,” he said, like it’s something important, the most important thing.

“And Snufkins should have someone who loves them to return to when they decide they’ve had their fill of being alone,” he agreed, like it was just as important, like it was necessary.

Snufkin remained still and quiet against him for long enough Moomin had begun to think he’d fallen asleep before he spoke again. “Sometimes, when the nights grow cold enough to steal the warmth from my very bones and I haven’t seen another soul for days,” he said, the words halting and hesitant but unwavering, like he was confessing some great sin, sure he would be judged harshly but still determined to finish, “the joy of being alone threatens to sour into painful loneliness and I almost wish I could trap your warmth and kindness and love in a bottle to take with me always.”

Moomin hadn’t known exactly what to say then, so he bundled Snufkin up as close as he could, nuzzled the top of Snufkin’s head, and whispered, “That would be nice, wouldn’t it?,” like it was a promise that he would try.

…

His idea might help Snufkin or it might not, but he was sure his efforts would be appreciated regardless. But those were really thoughts for the morning. He couldn’t really get started until then, anyways.

Moomin falls asleep with a smile on his face, perfectly content, and tangled up in Snufkin’s arms.

#snufmin #snufkin #moomin #my writing

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madd-information · 5 years

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This is long so I submitted it this way instead of sending in like 1,000 asks. Hope that’s okay?

Hi I’m Twoot and idk if I have (have? Is that the right term?) madd but I might and I’m looking into it. I’ve tried to do some research but idk how well it matches up. For as long as I can remember I’ve sort of created my own worlds or pretended that I was part of some that already existed (based off of youtubers, shows, books, etc. When I was younger it was a big mix of me as a person experiencing it and a character as me experiencing it but recently it’s just been me as characters) It’s not *all* of my life but when I sat down to write this all out I realized how much it happens. and I’m an only child living with only my dad so i didn’t have many real ppl to play w growing up and I have a lot of alone time. I spend a lot of my (mostly) alone time (walking to and from school, being home alone, in bed at night (so much plot in the stories/worlds I build happens at night), and even sometimes in social situations,, tho it depends) doing what I have dubbed in the latest years “The Characters Thing” (I’m just going to call it TCT for now bc I’m not %100 sure if it’s madd or not so that’s just what I’m going to refer to it as here)

Usually when I get into something (bc of my adhd when I get into a fandom type thing I hyperfixate and *rly* get into it) my whole world revolves around that thing. I create a sort of au and story in my head and they often times never wrap up before moving on to the next one. While I’m involved in one of my hyperfixations I usually do TCT about them and start a storyline which I continue throughout my day. These can last from one afternoon (tho that’s p uncommon) to months. They change as my hyperfixations change bc once I tire of those the characters/world no longer interest me and my hyperfixations usually last for a couple months. Right now I’m into Moomin so for example I would be Snufkin or the Joxter (it switches who I am A Lot depending on what’s happening in the story/ where I am while I’m doing TCT bc I don’t know if what I’m experiencing is actually madd) and go thru parts of the story I’m making as them. I don’t think of myself as becoming them ig?? Looking back I’m still me,, I’m the body,, the one experiencing things but during TCT the concept of “Twoot” (me) is gone and I perceive things and react to situations (irl or in the story in my head) as the character. It’s never in third person as I am always a certain character and even if I imagine others I do not act as them even tho I sort of control them. Another thing I forgot to add is that I can switch between what character I am. It often varies from world to world and story to story but sometimes I switch characters randomly bc my mood changes and the way I’m acting would better fit another character or my hyperfixation might shift and maybe a different character seems more appealing at that time. It’s like when you’re reading a fic and some of the chapters are in the POV of a different character. Tho for me it’s never third person no matter what. I always see it thru the eyes of the character I am.

There can sometimes be multiple worlds/stories happening at the same time which sometimes stumps me on what one to continue with when I do TCT. The stories never happen at the same time but if there are stories that are super short (last for only an afternoon or so,, but again these are super rare) there might be characters from multiple things in the same place. One recently for me was a world of me walking back from school after a stressful class where two characters (strongly tied to emotions. The three characters here are the only ones that are tied to emotions and pop up when I am feeling a certain emotion. Tho there are exceptions like there’s a character that always pops up when I’m stimming.) Who represent pettiness and anger (Marvin from Falsettos being the main one. (The only time when I act as him is when I am feeling petty or selfish and angry bc falsettos isn’t my hyperfixation anymore and I wasn’t usually him when it was my hyperfixation) Little my from Moomin was the other but unlike Marvin me feeling angry isn’t the only time she pops up bc that’s not all she’s included for and she’s part of my current hyperfixation) where talking to me (At the moment I was snufkin from the Moomins who i use to make my emotions stable bc he is always calm and collected. He’s also the main character I am rn bc he’s my favorite and from my current hyperfixation) even tho Marvin is not from Moomin and little my and snufkin aren’t from falsettos. This kind of world with mixing characters and it being so short (only lasted for half of my walk home) is v v uncommon tho it does happen. It is also an example of one of the kinds of situations that happen when I do TCT.

There are three kinds.

One: Real world. This is where the characters (Sometimes just the character I am and sometimes there are others around me) are responding to things that are happening around me activity. Example: Worrying about a test I have, playing a video game, or doing something activity that is happening irl. This can easily bleed into the second type if I am doing something nonspecific like walking home or eating dinner.

Two: Imaginary situations: This is where I am doing something during TCT that I am not doing in the real world. Example: irl I am in bed but durning TCT I am walking around the forest(little irl movement and acting bc I am lying down and I cannot speak bc I might be heared by my dad) or irl I am just home alone but during TCT I am going shopping with another character (a lot of irl movement. I can talk, run around, grab props to use and use them, etc.)

Three: Including other people: This is why it doesn’t affect my social situations negatively. This is where I am interacting with other people and see myself as one character and those around me as others. This usually follows the rules of the forst kind bc I base things around what is actually happening. If I am around my little cousins sometimes I can play with them and suggest what we play using the world I’m focused on at the time (it’s not that weird bc I’m 14 and we don’t see each other that often but when we do we’re all v close and it’s not as weird or forced as it sounds) and I’m the character I am at that time and might even suggest them to be other characters from it. If not this can actually star a branching work with my cousins ocs as characters that I might or might not use if I continue that branch. If I am around friends we don’t play that often anymore bc were all about 14 so we play less and less but there was a long lasting hyperfixation that rly was great for TCT bc my friends where into it at the same time and often played and/or rped as these characters. So sometimes they might play along but most of the time for type three I only imagine them to be other characters. I assign them a character that matches who they are and hang out with them as I act on the way my character as they and build the story in my head as things happen irl. Examples: irl I’m eating dinner at a restaurant with my dad and grandparents but during TCT I am the character eating dinner with the other characters in the world in my characters dining room, irl I am in the ocean on a beach trip with my friends but during TCT I am a Character that is trapped on an island and swimming to somewhere else with the few other characters for company, or irl I am in a car going to a friends house while it’s late with her mom driving us but during TCT I am the character on a train traveling to to town for the first time to go to an inn while I chat with a character that is a stranger (even if irl she’s my best friend) and the nosy lady in front of us who keeps interrupting our generally peaceful train ride

I am always aware that I am doing TCT and usually (I think? I’ve never tried to specifically shut down any “sessions” of TCT) in control of when it stops/starts and there is no inner world. I am aware of what the body is seeing, hearing, feeling, etc. irl but TCT is happening on top of it(?)

If there are other characters besides just me in a scene (unless I’m with other people and assign them a character that suits them in my head) I see them even tho they’re not there? They are invisible but I can tell what they look like and where they are at any given time. In the “scenes” im never “transported” anywhere. Sort of. I can decide where the room I’m in is in the story (like I say that my room is really the inside of a tent or that the restaurant I’m in is the dining room of my character’s house) but it’s the same as how the characters look. I perceive everything as it is but imagine that things look different. This also happens with real people I assign characters to in my head. My eyes see the people but my brain, ig in my minds eye sees what the character they “are” looks like.

There are multiple different reasons that TCT happens for me. Most of the time it’s because I’m bored (I have adhd-pi (the inattentive type) so this happens quite a lot) but I also use it to deal with situations I want to personally distance myself from.

Like because I have sensory issues it’s Awful for me that I have to go out to eat with my grandparents every week and have to hear them chew food. So I start doing TCT and handle things how my character would handle it. If I end up spiraling and breaking down then TCT is torn away and my mind stops thinking of that as I am too preoccupied with the breakdown (usually dealing with personal things so it’s harder to place a character on it)

I have recently started to use TCT to my advantage during breakdowns and either acting as a more stable character they ig to calm themself down OR be Twoot (me) (this is v uncommon for me this past year or so unless it’s to do what I’m explaining now) and have the characters “there with me” to calm me down. It all depends on the specific experience.

What makes me question if madd is what I’m experiencing or not is bc It doesn’t usually affect my social life; if I’m doing TCT I just have my friends/family be other characters (tho I don’t tell them this ofc) and it’s not like an actual dream. I still experience reality while it’s happening and it’s not too vivid (I have memories of the parts of stories like they really happened but as I explained before things seem sort of transparent so they aren’t too detailed) also it’s not third person. I have to experience it in first person weather I’m acting it out (this is ideal, I do this if I’m home alone or walking somewhere alone. If I can’t speak and move around to act them out I mouth things out and imagine that I am doing the things, but not rly bc I imagine doing things in first person if that makes sense, or if I rly have to it all happens inside my head but that’s only if I’m in a social situation where I can’t move around. If I’m in a social situation with friends I can move around in I move and and act in the ways that the character I am at the moment would/ is in my story and have my friends be the characters while I build the story around what is happening irl)

If there’s anything else I should explain but at this time that is all I can think of to share. I hope this makes sense. If it’s not madd do you have any idea what it could be?

I always thought me doing this was normal then when I realized it wasn’t I thought it was just my adhd but I had kind of realized it might be something else and it made me think after I brought up the fact that I did this to my therapy group as a way to distance Myself from situations that are uncomfortable and deal with stress so I decided to do some digging and madd seemed rly close but I thought I’d ask someone before I go and self diagnose let alone talk to my dad about it.

#maladaptive daydreaming #actuallymadd #.#Oml this was so long im so sorry #it also probably didnt make muchc sense #oof #thank you for running this blog tho its lovy and thank you fir reading my cinfused ramblings!#submission

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fireflysummers · 5 years

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HOI. I’ve noticed a lot of people have been following me of late! It’s nice to meet all of you, so I figured a general introduction is well overdue.

Introduction

Name: FireflySummers (firefly, fire, fly, summers are all acceptable nicknames, but firefly is preferable)

Pronouns: She/Her

Age: 25

Primary Fandoms: Mob Psycho 100, Undertale

Other Fandoms: Studio Ghibli, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Discworld, Good Omens, Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts

Links:

Art blog @waterfallwinters

Twitter (@firefly_summers)

Instagram (@firefly_summers)

AO3 (fireflysummers_ao3)

Upcoming Projects: I have three or four different fanfics on the backburner, all of which are MP100-centered. In addition to that, I’m still working on submissions for Moomin Reanimated, and three fanzines. Hopefully I can work in some doodles between all that.

Other: I do a little bit of everything--fanart, fanfiction, original content. I’m also a biomedical engineer and UX designer; if you have any questions about either of those fields, feel free to drop me a line!

Some additional notes:

You do not need to have a reason to unfollow me. I don’t really keep track of my follower count, other than a cursory glance every once in a while

I am an adult; I try to keep this space relatively safe for all age groups, but there is always the chance of tagged ns/fw

I’m very glad that all of you enjoy this random hole of my personal interests, but just be forewarned that as such, I primarily keep this blog for myself...which means that the interests are subject to change at any time, without warning.

That said, I am generally happy to tag for triggers; if I’ve missed a tag or need to add a new one, just let me know

I generally try to keep this blog drama-free, and while I’m always open for private discussions I will never publicly engage in an argument

If you send me an ask about [x] person I reblogged from being problematic, I will never answer it publicly. I will however, review the content, and decide where to go from there

I have done and said things that others find objectively wrong; if you have an issue that you would like to discuss, I am happy to do so in a private chat. Otherwise, feel free to block me at any time.

Fandom-Specific Notes (under the cut)

Undertale

My only fundamental ship is Soriel. If you ask me about any kind of shipping drama within the fandom, for whatever reason, I will immediately delete your ask.

I’ve not been super active in the Undertale fandom for a while now, and know nothing about Cross Sans or Glitchtale at this point.

Frisk and Chara use they/them pronouns, as far as I’m concerned.

Mob Psycho 100

Yes, I have read ABoT and am friends with both Chrissy and Sandflakedraws. If you have any questions or clarifications about the controversy surrounding that fic, feel free to drop a line; otherwise, I recommend you unfollow me for your own comfort and peace of mind

I ship Terumob, Ritshou, and Serirei

I do not and have not ever shipped rei//mob or rit///mob, or any similar ships

For all intents and purposes, I should’ve been included on that last block list, but was not; I am mildly offended at this, because all my friends got called out and I was excluded.

Anyways, congrats for making it to the end of this list.

As a consolation prize, drop a cute emoji in my askbox, and I’ll tell you something that makes me happy!

#text #about me #long post

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fizzingwizard · 10 months

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rambly, bit warning for mention of death and stuff

I used to be really into action/adventure stories, scifi, fantasy, thrillers... Although I always preferred stories that focused on characters more than plot, a story with an intriguing plot with a satisfying (or satisfyingly unsatisfying) outcome was always the most memorable.

I heard about iyashikei many years ago and remember being flummoxed. It's a story-telling style in Japan which is just about peaceful scenes, comfort, and feeling relaxed. It didn't seem interesting to me at all. I thought of that style as the Thomas Kinkade of literature/movies. I loved Ghibli films, but I never thought they fit that style, or fit it only in part.

My gosh, how I've changed in just the last five years. When I met my boyfriend, we bonded over X-men and Star Trek and recommended adventure novels to each other. Now he's still into all that, but I've moved away. It's not that I don't like those things anymore. I just don't get whatever it was I used to get from them. I don't want to watch new Star Trek shows. I don't want to read new adventures novels. Just the thought is exhausting to me. A fantasy novel hits the bestseller list, and instead of running out to buy it, I go, "Not another dystopia."

And I've totally embraced that iyashikei story. I want to live in it. It's true I still don't like things that are always perfect peace and harmony - but most of the stories I've encountered in this genre aren't. They're just gentler, slower moving, and dedicated to their aesthetic.

Basically my interests have done a 180 and I'm kind of in shock over it. It's really hampered me in some ways, because of course, I always dreamed of being like NK Jemisin and having my own awesome adventure series out one day. In the space of a few short years I lost all interest in doing something like that, although I still want to write. I just want to write things most people wouldn't want to read, lol.

So I'm trying to pinpoint when and why the change. When I started reading the Moomin novels a few years ago, even though I was a full-grown adult, I was completely drawn in. It's tough to explain, something to do with the atmosphere and philosophy. Moomins fits really well in with iyashikei. It's not too cutesy or too sweet to put me off - it's whimsical and fun and adventurous, but also calm and reassuring and wise. Every reread tells me something different. I don't think Tove Jansson and I are very much alike, but she makes me wish "heartful" was a word, because it seems to apply to her stories much better than thoughtful.

But why did I fall in love with Moomins so hard? As much as I'd like to think the stories would have the same effect on anyone, more likely it's because of my headspace when I found them. I was in a new job, just past the point of struggling and starting to find my feet, but still feeling unsure about it. I was in a new relationship. I was having a lot of family issues. And I was really unhappy about the world in general. I think my own head was just so full of stress and helplessness, and I really wanted permission to feel happy. Moomins gave me that. Those books swept in and reminded me how insignificant I am, and how significant that insignificance is. They reminded me what "tolerance" should look like - not the tolerance that made me hate the term, but hospitality and true loving your neighbor. It made me feel okay with being a basketcase yet loving storms (I relate way, way too much to the Fillyjonk in the Disaster story). And I loved the harshness and the great love and the wonder in the story of the little whomper who wishes his baby brother away. Honestly, Tales is such a great book. I was just like Moominpappa in trying to understand the incomprehensible sea. On my first read of November, I thought it was such a sad story. But on each progressive reread, the book becomes full of light. The family which can't connect with each other needs to find what each member needs to feel free in themself before they can fix the connection. And they need to face what they can't have, because it's out of their control.

I'm just rambling about Moomins now lol. The point is that I came across the Moomins right when I needed them, or something just like them. I felt so lost and alone but was determined to tough it out by myself. Although I've always been someone who loves solitude, I didn't really have it in me to be alone and heartbroken. Reading the books gave me some strength. I felt like my childhood had been a lie, and that nobody cared about that but me. And I felt that my life spent biting my tongue and not saying what I think was going to be my future too. And I don't know, Moomins didn't fix anything, I still have all those problems, but I guess I feel less alone with them. Like here are these people just living their lives being judged but not judging back. They don't bite their tongue, but they still don't talk because it's much better to do what you want than waste your breath. And knowing Tove wrote it all while being very human and mercurial herself is all the permission I need to love and believe in the stories despite my own weaknesses.

And I still don't feel like going back to action/adventure stories. That's what's most surprising. I'm going to see the new Spiderman movie this weekend. But aside from now and then stuff like that, I'm just not moved by thrills and high action. Maybe someday that will change - I thought it would - I thought I would have reverted years ago. But it still just sounds exhausting to me. The world is so much, I just want a small corner where no one will bother me. The other day I had a vision of myself lying in a patch of soft clover like I loved doing as a kid, and a stranger came up an stabbed me. My boyfriend ran over and called an ambulance, but I told him that if they said it was a fatal wound, then they should leave me because I'd rather die in the clover than at the hospital. It was very odd to think about, but the thought of dying in the hospital just made me so sad. More than the thought of dying itself.

Although it's morbid, I think that well expresses how I've been feeling these past years. It's not like I'm unhappy. I'm doing pretty well and mostly cheerful. But even when I was a kid I tended to think about sad things in a friendlier way than I think certain other people do. It's natural to end up a loner, because no one really wants to talk about that stuff with you. It's why I always say I'm no good at small talk. And I like thinking about the universe and spirituality and philosophy. I don't like politics or other stupidity. And I've felt my ability to do the former is very threatened by goings on in the latter. And lately my fear is that I'll find peace through resignation: okay, these people are never going to respect me for this or that reason, so I'm just going to let them not respect me and keep my thoughts to myself, because at least they'll still be mine. That's true in a sense but it's not good. It's not good because this is my one and only life, and it's fucking stupid that some people think they should decide for me what I am capable of because I'm a woman. Or any of the other myriad specious "reasons" bigots come up with so that they don't have to feel afraid.

tl;dr I just am so done with the world and want to go frolic with the Moomins, lol.

#fizz's life #long and rambly

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allacortedikamijo · 6 years

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∼Eternal Twilight∼ Saturday September 15th 2018

Tickets sales for Eternal Twilight started at 3:00 pm on April 8th. Long before 3:01, VIP tickets were sold out. I could only manage to buy a Regular ticket. Luckily, in July Mana decided to offer upgrade tickets and I was able to also buy the Meet & Greet. Back in April, I had not yet decided to go to Helsinki. I knew DSVI would be very expensive, but once I learned Mana and KAMIJO would be in Helsinki on the same day, I had no choice. I expected surprises, and I was right.

On September 15th at 9:00 am I walked to Gloria with my friends, who patiently remained in line all day for KAMIJO’s concert. Around noon, I left for Paasitorni Congress Center and the magic started. The location was beautiful: huge, elegant, with big stairs and tall ceilings. VIP were already there and I waited for my turn with my new friend Nami.

Once Regular tickets holders were let in, I noticed the stage, the blue catwalk and the several exhibitors desks. Surprisingly VIP tickets holders had decided to sit in front of the catwalk and not under the stage. I could not believe it. So Nami suggested to immediately take those empty seats. We ended up just in front of the four chairs for the guests.

The room was getting crowded, everybody was wearing incredible outfits. It felt like a movie set or a star wars summit (some Lolitas were rather exotic). The Lolita Tea Party in Milan (2013) and Eternal Twilight in Helsinki (2018) will always remain my best Lolita memories.

Once all the participants had arrived, the presenter walked the stage and the event begun. Mana was invited onstage. He wasn’t backstage, he entered from the back of the room like a God or a Goddess, you choose. He was wearing the new green blouse and very high platform shoes. I could not believe how often I had seen him this year. He walked past us and sat onstage. He was joined by a lady from Hellocon and a lady from Moi Meme Moitié. One chair had remained empty, but even “I” had no idea about what was going to happen. DSVI had let me hopeless about any public interaction between Mana and KAMIJO. The presenter announced the Q&A and she said that, for the occasion, a special Guests would join the stage to be Mana’s voice for the day. She then said KAMIJO’s name. Even then I wasn’t sure I had heard it right. It was only when I noticed his blond hair approaching behind the Lolitas that my brain processed what was really happening. I started screaming, just as the rest of the audience. KAMIJO was warmly welcomed by everyone. I turned towards Mana and bowed to thank him. He was looking my way and he noticed I was on top of the world. I certainly didn’t expect it. I texted my friends at Gloria “He’s here!”.

KAMIJO set next to Mana and they both seemed perfectly at ease. Occasionally speaking in each others ears. The Hellocon lady started making questions to Mana in English, the Moi Meme Moitié lady whisper them to Mana, to which he responded by whispering in KAMIJO’s ear, then KAMIJO would tell the answer in Japanese and the Moi Meme Moitié lady translated it into English. Mana was asked more or less 30 questions and more came in the second Q&A that took place after the Moi Meme Moitié’s fashion show. I only remember 23 of them though. Too much excitement affected my memory. If you are interested, you can find them below. All participants had been asked to submit questions for the Q&A. I was very happy to find out Hellocon had selected 4 of my questions (14, 16, 21!!, 22)

What inspired you to start Moi Meme Moitie? He basically said he had noticed that the Lolita scene in Japan had many different styles except a darker and gothic version, so he came up with the idea of creating Gothic Lolita style. He found great inspiration in Gothic architecture.

Why is blue your favorite color? He said that when he was a child he has a blue snoopy blanked and, as he liked that blanked a lot, blu became his favorite color.

What is your favorite flower? Cherry blossom.

What is your favorite country? He luckily (and wisely) replied Japan. It could be absolutely true though.

Do you prefer rainy weather or sunny weather? Sunny weather because on sunny days it is possible to walk and enjoy nature, take walks in the park…

What is your favorite season? Summer.

Is there a country you would like to visit? He said Greece, because of the beautiful sea landscapes, even though he does not swim.

Do you prefer coffee or tea? Coffee, from expresso machines, as the one he has at home.

What is your favorite type of bird? Planes, though I am scared to fly.

What is your favorite animal? Hattiwatters from Moomins.

If you could have a super power what would it to be? See spirits. I have never seen one and I wish I could.

What is your favorite food? Okonomiyaki (I am not sure of this answer. Can anyone confirm this?)

What is your favorite fruit? Pineapple.

What is your favorite book or what do you like to read? Scientific readings, especially about planes, and cookbooks.

Have you ever had a pet? I am not good in taking care of animals, but I once had fishes and enjoyed watching them.

What is your favorite pastime when you have free time? Go to shrines and wash my hands in the (dragon?) fountains. It makes me feel great.

If you could go back in time in which era would you like to go? My late childhood/early adolescence. He mentioned games, ruffles and candies. He said it was a very happy and peaceful moment in his life and largely misses it.

What is your favorite Lolita item? Crosses necklaces.

Is there any chance for a new picture book such as (I’m sorry I don’t remember that name, could have been Bara No Rondo, Livre Ros’e Blanche, Bara No Higeki, Merveilles or Philosophy)? Maybe.

And now, the spicy moments…

20. You have accomplished a lot with your fashion brand. What could be the next step for Moi Meme Moitié? Mana whispered to KAMIJO’s ear and KAMIJO said “Really?!”, sounding shocked and surprised. It turned out the answer was: “Lingerie”. I applauded enthusiastically and made sure Mana noticed. How could I not want to wear Lingerie designed or approved by Mana?!

21. What’s your favorite place in Japan? Again, Mana whispered to KAMIJO’s ear and he replied in English with a super sexy voice “My bed!”. I thought I would faint. Of course he meant his own bed, but the double meaning implied was powerful (as they had skipped the regular process of waiting for the translator to answer). Some girls in the back giggled. I though it was really nice. A bit of humor and naughty jokes felt good. An informal moment out of the cages of cautious schemes.

22. What is your biggest dream? Moi Dix Mois World Tour (how can this be if he hates flying?)

23. What is your favorite drink? (And here we go with the most shocking reply of the day). I thought he would say Jack Daniels. Instead he replied “Pineapple juice”. Another innocent answer? I wanted to disappear from the face of the Earth.

After the Q&A KAMIJO kneeled in front of Mana and left the venue to reach Gloria. I could not stop but wondering whether Mana would make a surprise appearance during KAMIJO’s concert that night. Unfortunately he didn’t.

However, the two of them looked very close and amused, exactly the opposite of what they looked like at DSVI. I wish I knew why. Is it really so mind bothering to them the idea of playing together? Why? Is this really the last frontier now?

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Moi Meme Moitié fashion show followed. I loved it. I counted at least 30 girls. They walked the stage in couples. The couples were selected in such a way that each girl would have the same height. Some held hands. They all looked like goth sisters, very powerful. The soundtrack included a different Moi Dix Mois song for each couple. I lost contact with reality.

After MmM fashion show, there was a second Q&A to Mana. This time he would not need a voice, because he would draw the answers on a piece of paper. The audience was asked to guess his replies and after that he would show his drawings. I enjoyed a lot this part of the event. It felt informal and funny. Very useful to learn something more about Mana. Concerts are great but they leave short room for surprises nowadays. The double Q&A was pure fun. I am so glad the organizers came up with this idea.

After the second Q&A we could enjoy the second fashion show with many different Lolita brands (I do declare, AliceHolic, Puvithel and probably others I can’t recall now), and I must say I deeply enjoyed this one as well. The outfits were stunning and the soundtrack very inspiring (Cosmic Storm by A. Himitsu).

In between all these incredible moments, we had time to visit the exhibitors desks and buy lolita items. I wish the day would never come to an end, but in a while we would be in line for Mana’s Meet & Greet, just before rushing to Gloria for Kamijo’s Meet & Greet, Concert and Checki. Doesn’t this sound too much for a human being to endure in a single day?

When it was my turn, I entered the room where Mana was waiting. My 3rd Meet & Greet with God. I handed him my present and thanked him for DSVI. I was so grateful: he had invited KAMIJO as vocalist, he had cross-dressed and let his beautiful black hair down, all things I had hoped for. I was relaxed until he shook my hands twice and so firmly, with both hands that I started to panic. He was staring and I could tell he realized I took part to almost each event he had organized this year, even thought they were so far away from home. Or at least, this is the impression I got. But as I said before, these kind of days make you lose contact with reality. So I happily walked away with the red rose he gave me.

The best thing about DSVI and Eternal Twilight is that now (new) KAMIJO’s fans know something very important about him: who his Master is.

Report: bellemoitie for Alla Corte di KAMIJO

Photos in the article: KAMIJO Official Instagram, M_d_M Official Twitter,

[Report] ∼Eternal Twilight∼ ∼Eternal Twilight∼ Saturday September 15th 2018

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chenlays · 7 years

Text

artist!renjun

I hope this is what you wanted :”) ilysm💖 ⭐️ requests are open !! ⭐️ masterlist

can you make a cute artist!au w renjun bc that is probably the cutest and softest au ever :’)

art class is!! really fun

u basically got to do ur own thing on an assigned project and chat n have as much fun as you wanted

and 👀👀

there’s renjun

he’s a rly cute and soft boy who absolutely loves that class

and watching him draw or paint or just mess around was pure joy !!he would space out a lot with the end of his pencil in his mouth,, just thinking about what to do next

and sometimes he would just smile sO bright because of how funny a line or feature looked

a lot of the time he was more quiet and to himself, just sketching away and humming and occasionally looking up

but u never really paid attention to what he was looking at 👀👀

one day when u were going to get ur snuffs

he was smiling really wide to the point where u could see his lil snaggle tooth 🤧🤧 (REST IN PEACE)

he was drawing in a very awkward position so he could cover the paper with his arm

and u were rly wanting to see it,, ofC

so u peeked over his shoulder and saw a really really pretty sketch :”)

but there was hearts and stars and flowers all over the background

nicely blended also

he didn’t realize you were there until you complimented him

then he waS SCREAMING

“OH hello,,, uHm may I help yOU??”

“yEa, wHAT were u drawing 👀👀”

when u ask him he gets all blushy and cute and closes it really fast

avoiding eye contact as much as possible too,, and lots of shaking

he says smth really dumb too

“MY C—ACTUS”

renjun w t f

he had a crush on u and u couldn’t see it smh u eggo

bUt then u just left him alone because he obviously wasn’t comfortable with sharing

and then the day after in art

he found the courage to sit beside you and watch you paint the scenery instead of letting you watch him

and when u weren’t looking, he just smiled so softly and did a cute laugh if u messed up

and then said encouraging words to make you feel better about the wrong stroke or bad blend or failed technique

“messing up just makes your art ten times more beautiful!!!”

after a week of just helping you and keeping you company, he stopped you after class on a Friday probs and gave you a SOFT and nervous smile and it conCERNED u a lot

and he was stuttering quite a bit probably :(

but he ended up asking you about his art

hMmm “could you come by my house sometime so I could get help with a drawing????”

oFC u said yes,, if u said no I would’ve hunted u down ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ

and he wrote his number on ur hand rly fast with his special tracing pen

and zoomed out of the room bc he was so nervous

iT WAS cute though !!! soft shy baby boy

after school tho

he probs texted you right away n made it nice!! And sent lots of hearts n smiley faces

“du trist edderkopp 👺”

he was so cute and awkward n,, u just lov him

even though it was making u anxious n whatnot (pROBABLY I mean,, renjun is so cute how could he not make you nervous

you went over to his house for whatever he needed

I feel like his house would feel reALLY welcoming

nice flowers at the front n a fresh lawn and a lil porch decoration

and then he answers the door in pajamas bc he fORGOT and he was just screeching into his sketchbook or smth and stressing about this very moment

you’re trying not to laugh bc CUTENESS and he’s so embarrassed

it’s awful,, poor bby :(

he’s rUNNING while saying you can come inside and just leaving a trail of tears

but in like 5 minutes he’s back with a presentable outfit and those glasses that make him look so precious :”)

and he still has messy hair which makes him 29389292x cuter so u don’t say anything

but he just sets his sketchbook at a table and pulls out a chair for u 🤧🤧

“hEY do u want anything???”

“UHm 👀👀 can I have water ??”

his smile omg

probably smiles n runs to his kitchen,, ready to make u the best glass of water you’ve ever had

his sketchbook was one of those rly aesthetic ones !!!

the front was a little old and torn at the corners and it had lots of dirty on the edges and papers shoved in between pages

it looked so tempting to open :”)) but u had to rESPECT

he comes running in with some water and a tiny plate of cookies or whatever u prefer

“you mentioned it while you were sketching your background!!”

while ur drinking ur water,,,

“uhh renjun??? why did I come over??”

“oH, I needed help with drawing someone!! you both have similar features and I needed an example!!”

as he was drawing and looking back n forth from u and the paper, you couldn’t help but notice how happy n determined he looked

he started making small talk with you after like five minutes so you wouldn’t be bored and you both learned a lot

and soon, he was done with the sketch and had asked for you to come back another time

it happened to be the following saturday

and throughout the whole week in art, both of you talked the whole time about so much

he was a good friend of yours at that point, and he was so much more interesting

he paid attention to all of your quirks and habits and literally fell in love with them all

if you liked to chew on ur nails or smth

he would laugh a lil and grab your hands and give u a warm smile

or if you liked to ramble a lot and stopped in between to say “sORRY I’ll stop :>”

he would frown n ask you to keep talking so he could work better

he paid attention to it all and remembered every little thing you said

you like flowers?? he’s already painting 20940 different kinds !!

AN YW AYS

when u went over again,, u went in his tiny art room

it was cozy and bright in there with lots of supplies on shelves and art hung up all over

and it was aLL his art !!

he probably had a painting of moomintroll and snorkmaiden tBH and when u asked what it was he snatched

“UH that’s just an old kid thing I liked sry wrong number ://“

“renjun wtf ur literally speaking to me”

but u both just sit and he gets his work done while u rant abt world issues and opinions and he also does too while aggressively cOLORING

and when he does finish

he shows you!!!

it’s yOu though :o

ur screeching bc “omg I thought u wERE USING ME AS AN EXAMPLE THIS IS AMAZIG ILYSM YOU EGG”

ur just showering him in compliments and love and tears and he is so flustered and happy that you like it

but it gets overwhelming so he drops everything and hugs you sOO tight

and then he steps away from you and covers his face,, and u can see marker stains and pencil lines on his hands and he looks sO cute n like he’s conquered his life goal istg

messy hair n messy artist renjun is my aesthetic

wOw he’s so cute,, trying not to look u in the eye and still form words so he can tell u how he feels 🏌️🏌️

“snjdksk I drew you because you’re beautiful and I’ve been trying to draw you since our very first art class but I never could :’)”

and he gives u 2993 moomin stickers he made himself

after that he holds ur hand all the time in class when he can

and draws hearts all over ur stuff YES

and always gets paint on ur clothes so pls

beware

also hums while drawing in class since it calms both of u i’m tearing u p

aNd u need to date thx

the art teacher is assigning a partner project next term for that sole purpose

“date or u get an F”

thank u ilysm

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riisinaakka-draws · 7 years

Photo

Under the cut there are some thoughts on the process and ideas behind the drawing JOURNEY INTO THE DARK if you are interested :)

I thought it would be too big of a burden to mention all of this within the art post. This is also for my own archiving purposes (so I won’t forget what was involved! :D) and it’s always nice to see how things start and develop...

Long post ahead! (contains spoilers for the show)

COMMENTARY:

I continued this work bit by bit over a period of several months (I started this just when s4 started airing) and only finished it recently. A few hours then and then (whenever I felt like it or had time for this), but I can’t really say how much time it took all together. Occasionally there were weeks/months that I just forgot about it and was more focused on other things...

Most of the thoughts here are fleeting ideas during the process (how a thing X lead to thing Y) and some personal fun and not something I actually spend too much time on dwelling or planning (or researching lol). I have probably forgotten some already and some happened by accident and some I am just incabable of putting into understandable words.

None of these are any actual instructions (or limits) of “this is how it’s to be seen”. Art doesn’t have to be or even shouldn’t be explained in some cases, but I just wanted to document the process and open up the symbolism since there were a lot of (random) things involved.

It’s also fun to look back on things and how they evolved and what their connection to other things were.

You are free to have your own interpretations of course and I hope this additional post doesn’t ruin any of those :)

The initial idea and motifs:

Flint decends the steps from light to darkness and Miranda is standing behind him as an accomplice/orderer. Stepping stones get bloodier by every step and gold coins are glimmering on the path (Urca de Lima’s gold). Sword is drawn out for war and slaughter. Black water as in the opening credits + general darkness to represent the abyss. Reflection shows James when he was happy (him returning to Hamiltons) and how much he has changed compared to that (McGraw vs Flint). Sort of stage / antique/ greek tragedy(?) setting with marble columns, red curtains (like a myth, a monology or a story or something).

A white feather shining in the dark to show there’s always hope and another way out. I already explained this in another post, but here it is again:

Short answer: Silver (although some of you may not like it) Long answer: the feather is for “hope and an alternative for war” (the dove of peace..haha). Also remember the trap Flint laid in season 1? The feather and the logbook in his drawer -> leads to Silver’s capture later.

The feather is also a reference to the swan of Tuonela (in Finnish mythology the river of Tuonela separates the world of the living and the dead (compare Styx in Greek mythology I guess). Flint decents to the world of death (also represented here by the pale and dead-looking organic shapes of the opening sequence’s sculpture… thing).

Anyway, the feather is mainly about Silver: both how they end up meeting in the beginning (the trap, and then some new hope along the way and eventually some light in Flint’s miserable life) and what (who) also ends up being “the end of Captain Flint” (a tiny nod to the swan guarding the border between the living and the dead).

Visually I wanted something to shine in the darkness to remind there’s always hope and another way out. At one point it had an additional thin string leading to Thomas’ hand. You know, a connection to the memory (and to the reason of Flint’s revenge and war path and so on) but the idea didn’t work so well and felt too distracting so I left it (the string) out. And then the finale happened (!!!) and the reflection became also the future.. :D

a way out of the darkness… :)

There was also a post going around a long time ago about the empty space (the absence of Thomas) next to James and Miranda in some scenes, so I incorporated that in here, too. Unfortunately I cannot remember who did the post, so I cannot link it right now :| It was something about how some of the New World scenes were framed in a way that it looked like there was something missing (aka the third person of the trio).

Here’s the early drafts again so you don’t have to scroll back:

I didn’t like the first composition that much and continued it into another direction with similar elements and the main ideas.

The stepping stones changed to wooden planks: angrier zigzag lines (rage) and also the idea of “walk the plank” (except that you don’t know when and where the nightmare ends...)

I ditched the gold coin idea. The overal setting became more spacious and gloomier to emphasize the vastness of abyss and the smallness of people. The stage / arch became the staircase seen in Flint’s dreams.

The whole thing is sailing on a similar sculptural thing seen in the opening sequence which for some reason made me think about the floating theatre in the Moomins (when the Moomin valley is flooded in one dangerous midsummer. LMAO):

(*coughs* lots of water, a stage and some drama after a disaster...so..)

(At one point I was also thinking about Howl’s moving castle and how that too is a monstrous looking vessel travelling between worlds (well, opening doors) but how the moving castle itself is also composed of various other things... and how in the drawing Flint would be stepping out of the ride for a moment to do some dark deeds in one of these ‘worlds’ etc.)

Black Sails opening sequence - is there a term for that cool monstrosity?

Some other inspiration and references:

Akseli Gallen-Kallela’s “Lemminkäisen äiti” (Lemminkäinen’s Mother, 1897).

(notice the swan, the black water, blood-covered stones, ‘the mother’ and the red-bearded ‘son’ waiting/asking for a spark for new life after the mother has combed his broken parts out of the river and assembled them back into the shape of a man)

I must admit that I didn’t bother to think any deeper parallels with Lemminkäinen and Flint (or the Mother and Miranda) beside this (more about it later though) and mainly had my thoughts just on this painting and its visuals because it is so well known (and liked) in Finland.

Moving on.

Screencaps from season 2 (source here):

I chose the latter stairs for the reflection (although modified) only because they were in London and there is an arch above them (to mirror the window in the drawing)

Some steps futher when the needed elements are more clear:

At some point I tried things with a lot more light and coldness (below, left pic) to channel some of the the dream sequence in s3 but in the end I chose the darker atmosphere, faces in shadows and I also wanted to preserve the red colour somehow (right pic):

The reflection sketch (at some point), although most of it cannot be seen in the finished work and thus didn’t need too much details. Young lieutenant James McGraw returning to London from his voyage:

Also, (and I am so sorry about this, but it was “fitting” and I decided to keep it..) in the reflection (when flipped and put in its position) the plank (their unfortunate blood-covered war-path and future) accidentally hides Miranda’s face and decapitates her so to speak and she won’t be there anymore ;_;

Thomas, on the other hand, is in the reflection to meet James - both in the past and again in the future - but not in ‘the present’ where Miranda is.

Miranda in Flint’s visions (s3 ep3):

When I first met you, you were so Unformed.

And then I spoke and bade you cast aside your shame, and Captain Flint was born into the world. The part of you that always existed yet never were you willing to allow into the light of day.

I was mistress to you when you needed love. I was wife to you when you needed understanding. But first and before all I was mother. I have known you like no other. So I love you like no other. I will guide you through it, but at its end is where you must leave me. At its end is where you will find the peace that eludes you, and at its end lies the answer you refuse to see.

And then in s3ep5: You can't see it yet, can you? You are not alone.

The end part of it is seen in the fandom as a reference to Silver (and his partnership) and how Flint’s mind is telling himself to see it too. And I agree on that. I don’t think James had any hopes for Thomas being alive (especially in s3). As I mentioned earlier I originally did the reflection to show him (Thomas) only as a memory. Then the finale happened and the reflection got its double meaning :)

And here again Miranda as the mother (there has been better discussions about this topic and speech in the fandom so I won’t go more into that now). In the inspiration painting that I showed earlier the mother had assembled his son back together (for rebirth / reanimation) <--- Miranda being part of the creation (birth) of ‘Captain Flint’.

Aaaaand here’s the feather again and Silver’s words (and sort of motto):

“Take it from me, there's always a way.” (season 1)

“Nothing is inevitable here. I'm showing you a way in which we can survive this.″ (season 3)

Some further fixed details and adjustments. In the end the wall almost disappeared and to me it made this feel a bit like “floating alone without a shelter on your back or a place to return once you leave its premise”... I fixed the perspective of the planks (took me surprisingly long to notice what was wrong) and got the bloody red back on the planks (and not leaking too much on the water).

I wanted the water to be quiet, pitch black and endless and the reflection to seem like a dream. I probably should’ve done everything a bit more detailed or sharper, but in the end it didn’t feel so necessary (and it would have been way too much work, haha).

The final drawing:

The planning and initial idea was done after seeing s3 and just when s4 was beginning so there weren’t any thoughts linked to s4 while making this (other than the surprise connection with Thomas). Most of this I did paint after s4 though, but only to finish what I had already started.

One more thing. I also made “the doors of the warship” -drawing after planning the JOURNEY INTO THE DARK (although I posted the doors pic first, since it was finished earlier).

It has a similar lighting and the theme of James and Miranda facing together ‘the civilization’ although this time they are stepping towards the light again (in hopes of closure and the promise of new life... which doesn’t go well as we already know ;_;).

James and Miranda about to leave the warship and meet Lord Peter Ashe in Charles Town:

So, here we sort of have a beginning and an end for their journey in the dark (together) - believing that there are just the two of them left from the original trio.

Aaaaaand, that’s about it. Sorry about some repetition and messiness.

As I said in the beginning of this post, you are free to have your own interpretations (and I hope this post didn’t ruin any of them). These were just the things and thoughts that went into this work (or were stumbled upon along the way...), but you don’t have to take them to your heart.

Thank you so much for checking out this post and I hope it was worthy of your time! ( ˘ ³˘)♥

#black sails doodle #some interesting and silly meta about my own drawings #long post #for archiving purposes and vacant reading #(although tumblr is not forever but anyway)#I like to have secret meanings or personal easter eggs in my work although many of them are not that secret really #or well thought for that matter #and some probably don't make any sense (except to me)#good thing I made some notes during the process..#feel free to comment if you want #(I was supposed to post this yesterday evening)#(but I got stuck in the kitchen drinking coffee and talking with my flat mate until it was midnight and it felt too late to post)

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