#OKAY IM STARTING CLEANUP AND

[ardeidae-e]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

#AAAAAAAAAAAAAA #OKAY IM STARTING CLEANUP AND #AND THEN I FINISH THE BG #AND THEN ITS DONE #ITS LITERALY DUE TOMORROW #8AM #AAAAAAAA #bsd #chuuya nakahara #bsd dazai #bsd chuuya #dazai osamu #skk #soukoku #soukoku fanart #bsd fanart #bungou stray dogs #my art #animation #wip

[ultra-raging-ghost]

I reached post limit so im gonna write this and save it for midnight to post later 🥰

-10:30 EST

Richas made a reference/mentioned outliving forever and bad started screaming and sobbing for a solid 2 minutes and then started talking about how no no forevers probably fine cucuruchos probably taking care of him, richas asked if thats what bad tells himself to sleep at night, if he just lies to himself and bad said yes! if all else fails, simply lie to yourself and push your true feelings down to make it through this meaningless existence :D and richas said "so if we said the sky is pink at all times a day and just lie to ourselves its ok?" and bad said yes, we already lie to ourselves all the time we just need to think about how much lying we accept :3

richas thinks dappers colorblind

bad said his chats british 😭

time to read books!

-10:40 EST

bad is making fun of us for being sad because of angst(/lh/j) and sang a brief song about us being sad and mentioned "the sun is gone" just to torment us over forever being gone. He also went f5 said something like “if you think it’s sad now… anyway..... spoilers!!" implying it will get even sadder!! (terrified)

oh theres a letter for bbh and forever :((( this might be sad now that forevers. in his place. chats crying

-10:50 EST

Bad is screaming and crying because forever will never be able to read his letter, hes literally head in hands screaming and crying and hes letting the TTS read it out

one of the qsmp purgatory programmers wrote bad a letter saying he was supposed to die more and bad said hes a bug tester at heart and richas is bullying bad because of how many bugs he found and exploited LMAO bad said he'll fudging do it again

-11:00 EST

bad found ANOTHER wall bug to glitch thru, hes insane

-11:10 EST

someone said the word forever and bad is reduced to shambles on the floor, hes crying and whining forevers name in tears and agony and he made the dying "bleh" sound like 4 times

also bad mentioned that as soon as its confirmed to the characters like in-character that max is dead theyre having a funeral for him, like bad as the grim reaper knows but he hasnt told anyone, nobodys aware of him being gone, >>>>also he was ominous and said he needed to shoot max a message oorp and refused to elaborate. what the fuck was that about badboyhalo? <<<<<

-11:30 EST

Bad and richas and pomme wanna make an elevator death trap and then call foolish over to trap/murder him <3 chat is advocating for this idea. chat also wants to see the museum, bad said yes!!! Museum time!

before that, bad is being ominously silent again and is texting off screen. that max comment earlier + this makes me worried. MOVING ON THO BC HES SINGING HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO RICHAS AND POMME GOT HIM A PRESENT FOR HIS BDAY!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY RICHAS!!!!! (in brazil time) The present is Honey cookies! because richas got covered in honey and used as bait while they were away LMAO

Bad was talking about the 1k snow golems prank and was wondering if the cleanup team would be upset or love that, and richas said "lets say im part of that tio" and bad is now saying richas will take 100% accountability for that and will clean all of it up by himself LMAOOOO richas placed down signs saying "NO TIO I NEVER SAID THAT!! I DIDNT" and bad read them out loud as "Yes tio i agree i did say that ill do it!"

oh god bads spamming richas signs everywhere this is gonna fucking lag everything LMAOOOO richas crashed and bad kept placing until he got bored and said "yessssss richas will get in so much trouble hahaha! messing with the server!!!! bad then said "Richas always comes back" in the FNAF voice, didnt need to know you were an even bigger nerd BBH but okay /aff

-11:40 EST

Pomme is dragging bbh around on a lasso and is trapping him somewhere <3333 theyre climbing up the big ben and bad is taking SO MUCH DAMAGE he has his auto eat on

he accidentally said the word "forever" again and started crying again, his chat is in shambles.

MUSEUM TIME!!!!!!

HELP THE FUCKING ADMINS INCLUDED A DRAWING OF BAD LITERALLY STUCK IN A PADDED ROOM BASED ON HIS TIME IN JAIL, RICHAS SAID "natural habitat"

>>>>>>bad's crying again, and being horny because of how "cute" forever looks in the fanart, but mostly crying<<<<<

pomme started bullying bad because he called forever cute LMAO

tinas on!!!!!

-11:50 EST

Bad's crying again over art of him and forever in the pool he made in forevers base, the admins want to hurt him specifically/j

"treasure the wholesome moments chat, for they are just dust in the wind" -BBH 2023

bad took his totems out of his offhand again :)

Bad's crying again over another image of him and forever!!

#liveblogging #qsmp

[galaxywarp]

Small tip that has been helping me SO much with this cleanup: get a decent sized box and designate it for “stuff that is going to eventually go somewhere else”

I frequently get overwhelmed looking at the pile of stuff in front of me. Breaking it down into gradually smaller and smaller piles is the only way I stop myself from just shuffling the same clutter around in circles trying to decide where to put it.

So when im focused on just one area, i get a box that is literally just for “other stuff”. Add that in with a basket for dirty clothes and some trash bags, and now the process is much more straightforward:

Pick up an item. Is it trash, dirty clothes, or something else? Now I only have 3 choices. Put it in one of those. Move on to the next item. Repeat.

Then once the laundry is in the washer and the trash is all bagged, now I can look at the box of stuff and break it down even more. Okay, this is a charger. Let’s put all wires and chargers over here. This goes in the bathroom. Here’s my bathroom pile. Etc.

And if im tired for the day, i can put my box of “other stuff” to the side and start again tomorrow. But all of the stuff is now out of my way and i can see my floor again.

#I had to force myself to stick to this system cuz I noticed myself just. keep picking stuff up and putting it back down somewhere else #like Oh well this needs to go in the bathroom but first I need to clean the bathroom #no. box it. leave it for later. just put it in the box #it sat on your floor for six months. you’ll be fine if it’s in a box for two days

[partyhorn]

Have u ever posted your comic or animation workflow anywhere? Im super curious on how you tackle the process, especially not using a drawing tablet. I know you have a very simple (and adorable) style so that probably helps in terms of workflow -- Im just curious about the steps you take.

Thank you! With both comics and animation my key thing is to not spend too much time on any particular thing, just draw loose and fast. Honestly the only downside to drawing with a mouse is that I can tell my arm has extremely specific muscle memory regarding it- if my mouse breaks and I get a new one I have to spend a good month or so just letting my hand get used to it again lol. Same with if my setup gets readjusted too much- right now my setup is my mouse on one of those padded mousepads, on top of 2 books, with my elbow resting on my 3DS case (I'll get an actual pillow or something for it eventually lol). But luckily thanks to this I suffer very minimal wrist pain 👍

(...Okay I started to go really in depth in my process here, so sorry if this is way more than what you were asking. Putting it under a readmore just to save space lol)

With MFM in particular, I start by writing out the entire script for the next story arc, which really is just all of the dialogue and vague notes about any important actions. Then I do the paneling with very loose stick-figure like sketches of where the characters are and what they're doing. I prefer having very little planning when it comes to character poses and panel shapes, coming up with those on the fly makes things much more exciting and faster to make. But it's the opposite with dialogue... it needs to be 100% FINAL before I draw a single line lol.

That's part of my script for my most recent chapter, as well as what my extremely loose goofy thumbnail sketching is like. I write the script as one big thing and don't separate it into pages until I actually start drawing- then I go and color change it just to keep track of what dialogue goes on each page

After that, I go back and do the ACTUAL sketch, as well as the lettering (I don't believe this is how it's done professionally. I used to do lettering as the very last step in the process... but then found it hard to cram speech bubbles in the right places lmao.) After that is lineart, coloring, background flat colors, then shading/rendering for all of it. I do each step in batches, as in I sketch out ALL pages of a chapter before moving to lineart, I line ALL pages before starting coloring, etc. I find it way easier to be productive when it's broken up like that, though when I first started the comic I used to draw each page to completion before starting the next (but also, the comic's style was DRASTICALLY simpler back then haha)

(Unfortunately I merged some of the shading to the background flat colors so it's not entirely accurate... oops) FireAlpaca has a sand texture feature that I only found out about last year- adding that to the backgrounds makes them look 10x better with WAY less effort.

With animation, it depends on the project. For simple 5-10 second animation I make for fun, there's very little planning lol. I skip some steps in the process- I'll sketch out the keyframes (and maybe any difficult inbetweens if necessary), line those, then go straight into making linework inbetweens. I'm not a cleanup artist and have no experience in that, so I always find trying to line my rough animation makes everything jittery and wobbly. If I do it with a clean line from the start then I can avoid that and save a lot of time 👍

For my bigger projects (such as the Parvey cartoon and the MFM Kickstarter trailer), I do the whole animatic with final audio first and foremost, with the animatic being almost like the keyframes. I split them up into individual shots, .mp4 files anywhere between 1-30 seconds usually, and animate those one at a time. I'm a huge fan of free to use programs and try to use them as much as I possibly can, here's a list of the ones I use:

FireAlpaca- for the actual drawing part itself (storyboarding/animating/etc). FireAlpaca has a feature that lets you export every frame as it's own drawing, as well as an onion skin mode

Windows Movie Maker- for compiling all of those frames into video format, creating individual shots. If you upload all of your frames and set them to around 0.08 seconds, it equals about 12fps (I usually animate at 0.10 seconds/10fps, its a bit slower but looks nice)

Onlinesequencer.net- for making music. It's the place I've made all of my songs on, like the timeloop song, hyperworkaholic, and the background music for the MFM Kickstarter trailer.

Audacity- for editing audio/music. Also great for recording things directly from your desktop

DaVinci Resolve- for editing and putting together all of the shots into one big video. Can get kind of intensive on the computer during rendering, so watch out.

YouCut (app)- also for editing and compiling shots, I used this one a lot a couple years back but I'm not sure how well it holds up. Doesn't need much phone storage to download but needs a lot to render videos.

MS Paint (yes really)- for typing up text. FireAlpaca has a text option but I don't like it as much as Paint's.

...The only thing I genuinely can't do alone is voice acting. Luckily there's a big voice acting community on Twitter and they're all amazing to work with!

This got... way more in depth than I planned for it to be, so sorry if this is way more than what you were asking lol. But that's my general process when it comes to my art 👍

[6irlpet]

I have a bit of a dillemma...

I fucking love edging and denial. It gets me wet and needy like nothing else (aside from maybe anal) but everytime I edge/do denial I mentally crash so fucking hard a few days later like someone stole every bit of dopamine I had and the only way to get myself out of that pit is to cum four or five times in fairly rapid succession...

You got any tips on how to avoid a crash like that? Or should I just stop with it until I have a partner/Dom(me) who can help me through those bouts?

tbh it sounds a bit like a sub drop!!! which is normal to have with denial, it’s normal to have with any type of kinky stuff and tbh it’s almost more common with denial than an orgasm bc rather than all the sexy hormones getting resolved u work urself up without release 😞 (⬅️is turned on by this but understands how it can turn into a physiologic nightmare)

my tip would be to do some kind of aftercare!!!! after any kind of play whether i came or not i used to always immediately just clean up and go back to whatever i was doing and pretend it hadnt happened. but i’d always feel a lil depressed/weird/ashamed/altered ranging in severity for a period after. i had to finally have a rly bad crash after a piss scene (bc ukno…. more shame lol) to realize u still need to do some self care to ur body and mind after playing even if ur alone!!

what i do now is stay where i am for a few minutes, i dont immediately rush to clean up and move on. i relax and catch my breath and just let myself feel the comedown, and i run/pet my hands along my body like someone else would soothing me, and tell myself (or imagine someone saying) in stern soothing authority voice like: “Ur okay, u did good, this is normal and fun, this was nice, ur okayyyyyy silly goose. Relax, ur okay” etc. the touching is good for nervous system (u can also look up vagus nerve stimulation, there’s a lot of exercises u can do with just ur hands to reset ur nervous system any time ur anxious! not just in kink) + self reassurance rly helps mentally. there’s also like, u can google Aftercare ASMR which is what i do sometimes to listen for a few mins when i feel anxious after play lol, im not rly an asmr person so idk if it has been any more effective for me than the self-talk but some ppl like it so im mentioning it!!!!

moving on from that initial check-in, i start slowly moving (move around legs first, like testing movement, then i stretch) and i drink lots of water, breathe deep for a bit, keep stretching for whatever position u were in. only then do i start cleaning up. i also try to reward myself after cleanup, like snuggling under soft blankets with a good book or mindless feelgood show (mine is like………….. Animal Information videos. clickbait shit like The Top Ten Dinosaurs Ranked lmao) and a nice snack!!!!

that is my lil routine and it has rly helped me with the shame/crash/bad feelings i used to have after both edging or cumming!! modify for whatever helps you, it sounds corny but it rly has made me feel better than i used to (and then im also feeling better again faster to go at myself all over again sooner 😎) it can also help if u have someone to talk to, i have an intermittent fwb who’s kinky so there’s been times it helped me to text and say like Omg im feeling bad😞 bc I did x gross thing 😞😞😞 and get reassurance lol

i hope this helps, drop/crash sucks!! best of luck 💕

#ask #denial

[fantrollology]

do u wanan send asks? do u want ppl to send them to? okay well

i had a busy day yesterday and another busy day today and have another busy day tomorrow probably so idk if I’ll be able to get to asks (u can send them ill just take a min to get to them) but I would love it if people sent some asks to these guys, cuz i get super shy about sending baity asks and i think all of them are super interesting even if you dont ask them about my guys / the reasons i list here. and then i can read them when i get home or when i take breaks

@sasster Colmea & Myriad — stern mushroom scientist and his psychic daughter who can talk to said mushrooms (my boy Gus works w Colmea) or Mantle or Deimic or Retcon (fleet psionics and their dad handler) OR AELIUM who got stabbed and then died and then didn’t die and is having a crisis about it. or Demuye bc i like him (and knows Gus!)

@contrastparadoxx Contra!! bother her pls. Gus decided not to spore her cuz she’s friends w Demuye and she likes that guy. u can also ask her about her dad

@sunnetrolls Antare I like that guy. hes also quads w Contra & Demuye and works as body cleanup?? hello???

@roetrolls Nymira or Somnia or Veylin my wife Veylin. ask her things that make Roe use the sundress sprite please and thanks. I dont have anything w these guys they just have stuff going on and are my wife. oh yeah u can bother chase sasster about the dream sequence arc too vía Cylion who fuckinf hates me

@asks-n-trolls Mirage................. besties w Rilakk <:)

@quiescent-trolls Arunae!! Fledge and her live on a space station together after ditching the fleet and Fledge recently dropped some previously unknown lore (starts on second post) and... Arunae might not know as much about Fledge as she should! you can also talk to Beau (a beautiful beautiful man) about Aether, who is his apprentice. you should also bother him about his history with his cavern & what drew him to what he does now <:)

@lordtonic recently made a silly guy Dgen who works w Colmea, u can bother him. u can also bother Sid in general & id love that. he has a moirail now <3

@damistrolls has Hisset, who worked with Colmea in the past... Petasi and Spyke recently became moirails, Petasi is also helping Aelium while he is super depressed. u could also bother nihoko about Cee and echnir

@byrdstrolls bother FAERIAAAAA about all her business! shes developing some kind of weapon.. thing... see i know but yall dont so bother her PLEASE and also u can bother her maybe about Alaska. i also really love The Architects new sprites so u should ask her stuff... uhhh i love Diante and would love to see more w him...

uhh thats everyone i think of right now i might add more later or tomorrow but im gonna go lay down cuz im sleepy and have. a ton more work to do tomorrow.

#im helping my mom finish renovating this rental so she can get a tenant in it next month #spent the day caulking and sanding #spec speaks

[countercharmd]

okay! so, i've mentioned it a couple of times, but i think sometime this week i will be doing some cleanup here. ( expect this around december 1st. ) this will include my inbox, my drafts, my posts, my likes, and my follower count. i will probably also be changing my url to the new one i have saved then! it's gonna be very fun and nifty.

the short of it is that i will be softblocking ( or hardblocking, if preferred ) folks who have not expressed interest in writing ic or chatting ooc. if you just got here and are panicking for xyz reason? worry not! here is my interest tracker if you're a bit too nervous to reach out ooc. this meme is also good, if you would like me to come up with some ideas! ( i will hopefully get to these in a timely manner ). and of course, if this feels too much like an ultimatum or a stressor for you, then you are genuinely more than welcome to softblock ( or hardblock ) me and continue on with your day. please curate your space! NOTE: neither of these are required if we are already talking or plotting ooc!

the long of it...will be under the cut, because i am ultimately feeling a little bit rambly.

i've been trying to figure out how to approach my larger following of people who have not reached out to me, and i think this is a good start. i've only been in this rpc for two months and so much i feel like has happened already, and one of the best things to come from it is watching this turn into...more of a community if that makes sense. i like seeing what all is going on with my mutuals and stuff on the dash. i'm aware this is a very chronically online take, but in my defense i have been...chronically online since i have been a child, and i don't believe in dismissing online friendships. i like having people to send memes to in discord dms and tumblr ims, i like feeling like i can talk to people. as mentioned in m a n y posts on this blog, i'm a chatty guy! this is why i mention that i won't cut a mutual if we're not writing ic, because i think talking ooc is just as important -- if not more, sometimes.

simultaneously, though, i find myself feeling anxious about being overlooked or forgotten. this is an insecurity i've had for my whole life. while i'm more confident nowadays that i am, in fact, the shit, i still don't want to feel this way in a hobby -- and i don't want any of my mutuals to feel this way, either. i think that if i cut my follower count down and shift my priorities in this way, then it'll help lessen this feeling for both parties.

i also want to stress that this is a hobby, and i do not want anyone to feel like they owe me anything ic or ooc. i work a hectic job, i have chores to do, and i might even be going back to college in january. there will always be real life obligations that are more important than writing blorbos on the internet. i will never intentionally make you feel guilty for not having the spoons to reach out to me. if you still uncomfortable with this post or this change, that is completely okay, and i encourage you to softblock ( or hardblock ) me. i want you to feel comfortable enough to have fun!

#psa. #//i will be prioritizing plotted things more now i think! #//and putting more of an emphasis on said plotted things #//because it is nice knowing where we want something to go #//and......y'all i am genuinely g l a c i a l w things in my inbox

[inlocusmads]

Tag List Cleanup

So yes. This has been a loooong time coming.

Hi there, so if you're reading this, it is likely you agree that I am quite terrible at maintaining a consistent taglist, so I'm going to scratch it off and start all over again. And I'm also terribly disorganised, so yes, but that's a story for another day.

Okay, let's get to the categories! You're welcome to choose one, two or "n" number of categories from this. Perma counts as everything, so you needn't worry about it.

Perma

All fics. I don't do moodboards or HCs, so it is just all fics, series, one-shots, whatnot.

Crimes of Passion only.

It contains all characters and all pairings, though I mostly write for Nora and Trystan and that's pretty much it. I might also dabble in some platonic pairings in the future, so if you're interested in that as well -- look out for them, I suppose?

Open Heart only.

Jane, Ethan, the whole gang. It's OH but everything. All pairings, even though I only ever write Jane and Ethan but I might have some Aurora x OC fics planned (you'll never know).

I honestly don't want to bother with the sub-categories (Ethan x MC, Aurora x OC, etc) so if you want to just be tagged for one specific ship or pairing, you can specify your requests down below.

Wake the Dead only

WTD started off strong and was propelled further with the likes of zombie/apocalypse media that I watched during the time of the book's release (Last of Us, A Quiet Place, etc) but right now, I doubt I'd work on it as vigorously as I would spend writing Crimes fics. If you are interested in this, let me know!

Guinevere only

I haven't like worked on a lot of Guinevere fics, because I actually.. haven't finished Guinevere yet. I know, I know. I'm a terrible person. I still have 4-5 chapters to go and I'm collecting a lot of diamonds to pay for all the scenes, so apologies lmao. I mostly would write for MC x Artura because Artura is the GOAT. I also haven't prepared a masterlist for that, so maybe I'll do that in the coming days. Either way, let me know if you'd like to be tagged for Guinevere!

Onwards to the future works that I've planned!

Blades of Light and Shadow only

Aroace MC, adventure, song, dance - it's got everything and more. I have already planned my character and I can't wait for you to learn more about her. And also it's almost Bolas season, all the more reason to write Blades fics. I haven't started to work on any Blades-specific fics yet, but if you'd like to be tagged for them, let me know!

And that is all for now!

However, I will be putting out this one-off one shots from other books like MoTY, MaH and other books that have interested me. They're just like.. extra stuff, not exactly strictly restricted to a masterlist but sort of there to diversify my book palette so to speak. The problem with selecting books to write fics for is that, I don't know where to even start. Sometimes I'm sort of in a fix and that's just terrible. So if you want me to write a specific pairing from a specific book or if you'd like me to just explore my MC's story in a book that you enjoy, send me some requests, my asks are always open!

I also don't write explicit stuff, mature scenes or anything of that nature (or even kissing scenes for that matter which explains why half of my MCs are aroace or on the ace-spectrum, but I am trying! It's just hard) so if you're sending requests, do keep that in mind.

And that's it!

If you'd like to be tagged or remain in the same place as you were before, please let me know in the reblogs or in the comments below and make sure you restrict it to just this post! I'd be locking the tag list by June 30th 2023. And the new tag list will come into effect by July 1st.

If you do not wish to be tagged, you don't have to respond to this message at all. There'll be no hard feelings, so you wouldn't have to worry about anything.

Cheers!

Mads.

(yes i apologise for the good omens gif, ik it has been like 3 days since the trailer came out and im still in a permanent state of panic)

(current tag list 👇)

Perma:

@quixoticdreamer16 @trappedinfanfiction @writing-not @peonierose @tessa-liam

Crimes:

@aallotarenunelma @cassie-thorne @lilyoffandoms @jerzwriter @ao719 @ofmischiefandmedicine @openheartforeverinmyheart

Open Heart:

@cariantha @jerzwriter @openheartforeverinmyheart @ofmischiefandmedicine

Guinevere:

@lilyoffandoms

Wake the Dead:

@aallotarenunelma @jerzwriter @cariantha

Blades (from this post I put out):

@starlight-starfury

___

I sincerely apologise if you've commented or reblogged anywhere to be tagged and I haven't done that. That's precisely why I even decided to do this cleanup after a while, to sort of reset the whole thing and start afresh. Plus Tumblr for some reason, keeps eating some of my notifications so I have no idea what to make of it at this point.

Thank you so much for your interest! I'll see you soon!

- Mads.

#tag list cleanup #w:inlocusmads

[nabtime]

Our Empty Graves XII

Fandom: Danny Phantom / Batman: Under the Red Hood

Pairings: Danny Fenton/Jason Todd (Dead on Main)

Rating: Mature

Tags: batfamily, hazmat AU, Nobody Knows AU, Mute!Phantom, potential ghost king danny, slow burn?, DC means Disregard Canon, AU means AU nothing is exactly the same, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, more than canon typical violence, danny is a Halfa and also a Fetch, no beta we die like basically everyone

Summary: They say that Red Hood has a loyal mutt. The man rules his territory in Crime Alley with an iron fist and a guard dog at his side. They say that Hood calls him Fetch, sometimes Fetcher. No one's ever heard him speak. Anyone who's ever seen him says he looks like an experiment gone wrong, that Hood picked him up somewhere unspeakable. They say he'll do anything Red Hood asks of him and he'll do it well. That he's strong and fast and probably inhuman. The girls say he's sweet; quiet but charming in his own way. Rival gangs say he's vicious; that he'd sooner rip your throat out than let you go.

Jason just wants to help him.

Chapter 12: with my eyes wide open im dreaming (darling do I deserve such a break?)

Chapter Summary: Recovery, cooking lessons, and an odd dream.

Chapter Notes: title from With My Eyes Wide Open I'm Dreaming by Patti Page Links: AO3 // Chapter 1 // Chapter 11 // Chapter 13 // Spotify

They got back from Doctor Leslie’s clinic after she’d kicked them out in the early hours of the morning. Danny couldn’t really tell you which day or how long they’d been in her clinic, but he could tell you it was early. Too damn early for anything, let alone traversing the back-streets of Gotham and hoping no one tried to jump them while Red’s hands were tied. He carefully directed Danny down the streets and made sure he didn’t get lost as they made their way to one of Red’s safe-houses. From what he was able to tell it looked like the same one he’d first been brought to, the one he was most familiar with. The one that looked the most lived in.

They both collapsed on the couch and didn’t move for a long while, neither of them dropping off to sleep like they should have- just trying to process everything.

Danny chose to stare at the ceiling, the colors of everything around him seemed so bright- no matter how often he’d had his tinted visor off lately, it was still something he wasn’t used to. He’d... existed, for so long, with everything in shadows and bathed in a sheen of darkness. His face felt naked and vulnerable to the world.

He didn’t want to put it back on, though. Which was a new and terrifying feeling.

He chose to ignore it and bask in the silence of the apartment, the only sounds being the hum of the appliances and the distant hustle of the city. There was a surprising lack of screaming and sirens that usually plagued Gotham, probably from the ungodly early hour. Even the terror of Gotham had to sleep sometimes- the rogues and the bats all tucked away all nice in bed while the normies went about their day.

What a wild place he’d landed in.

He hoped that explosion hadn’t hurt anyone else. He’d been far too distracted by making sure Red made it out okay that he didn’t even think to look for any other casualties. Although, he was pretty certain no one else liked to hang around the carnival themed area of the docks so the likelihood of any others getting caught in the blast was low. But not zero. Whatever the case, it was too late now- the cleanup and aftermath having long since passed. Whatever bodies there may or may not have been weren’t something he could help with now. It wasn’t something he particularly want to think about either. (There seemed to be quite a few things that he didn’t want to think about.)

He thought, instead, about what to do with Red’s hands. As a ghost, Danny had some semblance of accelerated healing. So, theoretically, since Hood was also ghost-adjacent, he could have accelerated healing too. Maybe Danny could jump-start the process? Figure out a way to blast his hands with enough regenerative ectoplasm that it fixed them all shiny and new instead of making them radioactive? He also needed to take care of that poison pooling in the other’s chest. He didn’t like it. He’d never encountered ectoplasm that was so rancid before. Usually you could tell the intent of the stuff by the smell or the taste- some instinctual sense ghosts had to tell one type of goo from another. The stuff Hood had felt like nothing but pure malice. It had no other purpose but to hurt.

It was close enough to ectoplasm to bring the other back to life (if that’s even what did it in the first place) and give Red some ghostly attributes (like purring!) so it stood to reason that pure or at least regenerative ecto would fix it. But would flushing his system with it work? Would it eradicate the poisoned ecto or would that have to be removed first for it all to work? Would anything even happen at all? Would any of it help or would trying to do any of that just kill him all the way? Red had been alive with the bad-goo for this long without much consequence, who’s to say it even needed to be removed at all?

Danny didn’t know. Danny didn’t even have the slightest clue. He wasn’t a doctor. He wasn’t an expert. All he had were questions and shoddy speculations. Nothing he could test. Nothing he would dare mention to Red in case it went horribly, horribly wrong.

It would be fine as it was for now. Probably. Hood would just have to deal with his hands healing at a normal human rate, no matter how long and terrible that was.

They sat for a good while longer. Danny in a slowly growing panic and Red nearly dropping off to sleep right there on the couch a few times.

Then the awkwardness began. The first hurdle they’d have to jump while Danny cared for the other during recovery.

Red pulled himself from the couch with a prolonged groan- movement slow and likely agonizing. He didn’t move further, just shuffled from foot to foot in discomfort and looked into the distance with the most despondent look he’d ever seen on the other man’s face. Danny sat up and studied him, waiting for a cue to guess where he could help.

“I have to go,” Red whispered, voice wrecked from his sore throat and the pure helplessness in his tone.

They had a silent stand off. Hood glared at his hands, then Danny, then the bathroom door just down the hall before he circled back to his hands. He didn’t appreciate Danny’s silent huff of laughter at the action.

Danny rolled his eyes and held up a hand, holding up one finger and then two and tilting his head in question.

Red sighed. “One,” he said tersely.

Danny shrugged a bit, hauling himself up from the couch. Then he stepped closer, looking up into Red’s widening baby-blues with a smirk. Gently, he undid the tie to Red’s sweatpants and loosened them, then stepped back. He waved toward the bathroom and then mimed shimmying pants down using his elbows and then sitting, trusting Hood would get the message without him having to spell it out.

Red squinted at him before the light-bulb seemed to go off. “Fucking genius,” he muttered before speed-walking for the bathroom- happy he could do that by himself at least.

(How he got his pants back on without Danny’s help was a bit of a mystery, but none of the bandages had been disturbed so he let it go.)

Red Hood was a stubborn man. Danny already knew this, but trying to take care of him and make sure he didn’t use his hands only made it clearer. Hood was a stubborn bastard dead set on self-sabotaging his recovery.

He refused help wherever he thought he could get away with it and tried to sneak in doing tasks that he knew he couldn’t do on his own anyway. Danny had caught him multiple times trying to do things he shouldn’t- like attempting to get plastic over the wrappings on his hands in order to do dishes when Danny wasn’t looking. Kudos to him for thinking to protect the wrappings from getting wet, but he was still in trouble because he was putting undue pressure on his broken hands. Danny had also caught the man trying to put on his Hood Helmet™ and crawl out the window! He’d had a very stern “talk” with him after that- Danny threatened to take Red’s hands off himself if he tried that again.

It was all incredibly awkward at first. There were quite a few things you couldn’t do on your own if you didn’t have hands- not if you weren’t used to it- not without tools. And Danny had to be there to help him with all of it. He didn’t mind it- not really. It was a little odd with how intimate it felt, but he liked taking care of Red. That protective part of his core hummed with satisfaction at being able to keep Red healthy and safe. He was also perfectly happy to let Red have as much independence he could manage without using his hands- if he could use his elbows or feet or whatever other appendage or makeshift tool for the task then Danny would let him. He was surprisingly resourceful so long as Danny made sure he wasn’t trying to push himself past his limits.

Their second big hurdle came with dinner.

Danny caught him trying to fumble with cooking utensils in the kitchen. He knew his cooking wasn’t that great, but come on! It wasn’t that bad! None of his food reanimated and he took that as a win.

“Ghoul boy,” Hood said after Danny had thrown a tantrum and pushed him into one of the rickety kitchen chairs and glared at him with his hands on his hips on accusation, “I’m tired of take-out. It’s been two weeks. And I don’t trust you to cook on your own after what happened with the bagels last Wednesday.”

Danny silently scoffed and threw a careless hand to the side. So I’d burned a few bagels. So, what?

Red glared. “You destroyed my toaster and nearly set the apartment on fire. The toaster isn’t even supposed to get that hot, let alone burst into flames that can’t be put out by a regular fire extinguisher. We had to toss it out the window and hope for the best! I don’t even know how you did that!”

Okay, so, maybe it was a bit worse than burning the bagels. But still! He could do something simpler! He huffed and threw his hands in the air. I could pour cereal without setting it on fire! Probably!

“You absolutely would find a way to set cereal on fire and you know it, Spooks,” Red retorted, irritated but also vaguely amused.

Danny deflated a bit before flopping into the other rickety old kitchen chair, scratching dejectedly at the sleek dark wood of the itty-bitty table the chairs surrounded. It sat in a small corner of the kitchen and was what counted for a dining room in the small apartment.

The apartment itself was small and cozy- it felt a little lived in- even if it was still pretty barren. The kitchen was well stocked with utensils and appliances (fancy ones that Danny definitely never wanted to touch for fear of either breaking them or them breaking him), if not always stocked well with ingredients. There were extra blankets and pillows for the second-hand couch- all in bland colors and made of cheap material. It screamed of a temporary place, something put together with minimal thought and expense- always meant to be a safe-house instead of a home. Not to mention the cache of weapons and tools that took up the entirety of the guest room. And the industrial strength first-aid kit supplies stocked in with them. He’d only glimpsed the room once, Hood showing him briefly when he’d apologized about not having any extra space. Danny’d shrugged- he slept in a tree most times, he could stand the couch.

Red interrupted his wandering thoughts with a question he didn’t particularly want to think about. “How’d you manage to be so bad at cooking in the first place? You eat, even as a ghost, so have you just been foraging around the forest all this time, like some undead squirrel?”

Danny huffed some semblance of a laugh before sighing. The question had an answer, there was absolutely a reason he was so bad in the kitchen, but did he want to share it? Show such a sad piece of himself to Red Hood? He stared down at the table as he tapped a slow rhythm on the wood. He couldn’t feel it under his fingertips, even without his gloves on. He debated for a bit before pulling the marker and whiteboard from his chest. He hesitated, fiddling with the cap and making no move to write.

There was a soft hum from Red and he looked up to see the other staring at the ceiling with a frown on his face.

“I’ve always liked cooking,” he said, voice soft and distant. “Even when I was bad at it, even when I didn’t know what I was doing, and even when I was only doing it because if I didn’t then I wouldn’t be fed.”

Danny felt his core let loose a small mourning croon before he could stop himself, the sound not unlike a dove’s churr. He quickly slapped his hands over his mouth (like that was even where the sound had come from) and tried hard to fight off a blush.

Red let out a short laugh at him, his eyes focused on Danny now instead of some long-away point in his past. Red’s grin slipped, though, as he continued.

“Growing up in Crime Alley is tough. Even tougher with a shitty dad and a mom that couldn’t control her drug use. She tried her best, but her good moments- where she was coherent and cared- were few and far between,” he said before smiling a bit. “The neighbors would step in, sometimes, if I bugged them enough. If they were friendly enough. Learned a lot of different recipes that way, too. All kinds of folk can end up down here, on the ground floor of Gotham.”

He sighed. “Really had to learn to fend for myself when I was inevitably orphaned.”

Danny didn’t like the way he said that. Like it had only been a matter of time before he was left to the mercy of the streets. Like it was the expected outcome. Like it was an everyday occurrence. Or- like he had deserved it. Like the circumstances had been his fault. He crooned again, lifting up from his chair and reaching out.

He placed a hand over Red’s forearm, wanting desperately to hold his hand instead, but trying to give comfort where he could anyway. Hood laughed softly at his efforts and smiled at him.

“I wasn’t orphaned for long, Spooks,” he said, using his wrist to pat at Danny’s hand to let him know it was okay. “I got picked up eventually.” And then his face twisted into a grimace, a complicated series of emotions flashing across his face before he shook his head to clear it. “B wasn’t ever allowed in the kitchen, but Alfred taught me all kinds of tricks and tips and dishes to make. I miss it sometimes, honestly.”

Danny floated closer, lifting fully out of his chair to lean against Hood’s side, offering silent support. He didn’t ask, not wanting to bring up bad memories and knowing full well how painful it could be to think back on the good times before you died. Most times it was worse than thinking about the bad times; because you knew it would never be the same. That you could never, ever, go back to those times. Death, even temporary as it had been for both of them, was a force of finality. A curtain closing around your life as you knew it. Dying changed you.

Red smiled and leaned down to press his forehead to the top of Danny’s head where the foggy wisps of his hair licked at Hood’s shoulder. Danny just nuzzled him further before pulling back and picking up the board again. He wouldn’t share everything, but he could share a little. Just like Red had. He tapped the board for a bit before deciding on what to write, appreciating the quiet patience of the other beside him as he waited.

My dad was really bad at cooking- unless it was fudge. And my mom wasn’t too bad at it, but she’d get distracted a lot and end up burning things. And then she and dad would hole up in the lab most days anyway. It didn’t help that they would store specimen samples in the fridge next to the food either. My older sister tried her best, but she was too young for most of the big appliances at first and no one was around to teach either of us most of the time.

He decided to leave it at that. He didn’t want to go into the times the food came back to life. Didn’t want to think about how many thanksgivings and holidays had been ruined from the turkey reanimating and besieging the house or the cookies going up in flames and almost burning everything to the ground. Didn’t want to think about all the times Jazz had burned herself trying to keep them fed with something decent or how often she’d had to beat the blender into submission with the Fenton Creep Stick. He couldn’t look at a toaster without shuddering- probably why Red’s had combusted like that, actually- not after one had tried to eat him alive when he was five.

Red nudged Danny’s arm with his elbow, offering a silent comfort just like Danny had done for him. He also didn’t ask further, letting the knowledge sit between the both of them. Red hadn’t had a good childhood and Danny hadn’t had a particularly stellar one either. It’d taken time and perspective for him to come to that conclusion- about how his parents hadn’t been as good as they probably should have been. And that wasn’t even to mention what happened after the accident.

He caught Red looking thoughtfully down at the main jumpsuit of the hazmat he still wore, and heard the soft murmur of, “A lab, huh?” before Red sighed and slumped over the back of his chair. His huge muscley bulk made it creak ominously.

“Alright,” Hood declared, pushing himself up from the table and attempting to put his hands on his hips before thinking better of it. “Cooking lessons it is, then.”

What? Danny stood fully and moved to stand in front of Red while drawing a frantic question mark in the air. How the hell did he expect to do this without hands?!

Red shrugged. “I’m going to tell you what to do and you’re going to do it. Carefully and with strict supervision. And you might want to go ahead and grab the fire-extinguisher.”

Danny stared. This was not going to end well.

Oh well, it wasn’t his kitchen at risk here. He did grab the extinguisher, though.

“Open up the fridge and the cabinets, Jellyfish. I gotta see what we’re working with here.”

Danny did so, floating a little bit in order to reach the top shelves and ignoring Hood’s soft snicker at the action. Damn tall people. He stood back and watched as Hood went around, muttering to himself as he compared different ingredients- what little they had- and only occasionally asking Danny to pick something up and check its expiration date.

“The andouille’s still good, we have rice, and the spices are all in date- even if they’re not fresh,” he heard Red murmur as he paced around the small space in the kitchen, Danny now floating over the table to keep out of his way. “No aromatics, though. Didn’t have a reason to keep fresh produce. Miracle at all that I even had sausage and broth.”

He paced back towards one of the cabinets, lifting a hand before pulling it back when Danny made a move to lunge and stop him. He grumbled before using an elbow to shift the cans around himself.

“Tomatoes,” he said, nudging a can to the front and picking it up between his elbows to place on the counter, “so creole style.”

Danny would forever be impressed with how much Red had learned to improvise in the two weeks without his hands so far. The man had been put out at first but he was quickly learning everything he could and couldn’t do and what he could manage in more- creative ways.

The table was already littered with several ingredients, ready to be put to use once Red was finally done obsessing over having everything they needed. Oil, sausage, a bag of long grain rice, a box of chicken broth, a bottle of hot sauce and another of worcestershire, and several different spices and seasonings. One was labeled Cajun, so he assumed they were cooking something spicy.

“Fetch!” Hood barked, causing Danny to startle out of his floating and almost fall- barely catching himself before he hit the table. He looked up to see Red grinning at him and stuck his tongue out in retaliation.

“Grab my phone for me, would ya?” Hood asked before turning back around and assessing the bare cabinets yet again.

It had become a pretty common thing between them, Hood trusting Danny with his phone to text and help make calls. It was the only way Hood was allowed to still run his criminal empire- from a distance, and in turn Danny was trusted with the passcode and access to everything. Red had a surprising amount of numbers saved in there- always a person for something or another. Just as many numbers for Grannies around the Alley as there were for the gang members in his crew. Danny knew Hood was trying to build a community- trying to make things better in every way, but it was still astounding to see.

He’d called Nadi early on that way too. Yes, Hood had had to do the talking and Nadi had chewed him out real good before busting down the door to the apartment to make sure Danny was okay, but he hadn’t wanted to let her worry. She’d taken Red by the ear and chewed him out some more after fussing over Danny- telling Hood that the only reason she wasn’t tearing him a new asshole was because he’d already done that himself. He’d been surprised that Red had been willing to let her see him without his helmet- he’d still slapped a mask on but still. And even more surprised that he’d let her know the address to the apartment. It spoke a lot of the trust he had in both Danny and Nadi. He was in a particularly vulnerable spot with his injuries- yet he’d let them in.

He grabbed the phone from corner of the living room that had a tiny little table next to an open outlet with a charger plugged in. Hood had multiple phones- most of them burners- but this one was the main one so it got it’s own special little place. He popped it off the charger and skipped back into the kitchen, unlocking it and holding it up for Red to see.

He nodded and said distractedly, “Call Mama Pourciau for me, please? I’m hoping she has some of the ingredients we’re missing.”

Danny did as told, scrolling through the frankly huge list of contacts until he got to Mama Pourciau and clicked the call icon. He put it on speaker and held it close to Hood so he could talk comfortably. He wondered idly what they’d be making.

Well, he wasn’t about to find out through the phone call because Red was not speaking English while talking with Mama Pourciau. If he had to guess, he’d say French- but it also sounded different to any French he’d heard before. He’d have to ask later what language it was.

He zoned out while watching Red talk, his voice nice as it wrapped around words he’d never heard before- the accent of them pleasing in a way Danny never thought he’d have a thing for. And then the call ended on Mama P’s end and Hood was smirking at him over the dial tone.

He shook his head and gave Hood a sheepish look, floating back over to the living room to put the phone away in order to avoid the teasing light in his eyes.

“She’s going to be bringing a few ingredients by, so keep an ear out for the door. She didn’t have everything but it’ll do in a pinch,” he said and then paused and hummed thoughtfully. “Go find those blankets that Mrs. Almeida dropped off the other day, too. Mama Pourciau’s daughter had a baby a few months ago and those should do as payment.”

Danny grinned and gave a jaunty salute before hopping away to hunt down the downy-soft blankets Mrs. Almeida had knitted and brought over for them in thanks for paying her son’s bail last week. Joao had done nothing wrong and Mrs. Almeida had been beside herself when the GCPD had tackled him and taken him in. Danny himself had gone down to the precinct and haunted the shit out of them in retribution.

Most people in the Alley seemed to work within a complex network of barter and trade, working with each other to cover each other’s needs. At least, now that Hood was making sure there weren’t any trouble-makers to disrupt it they were. And he kept the cops away from things that weren’t their business. Before the Alley had seemed to be a free-for-all. An every-man-for-himself type of place full of cruelty and despair. Now, slowly, it was building into a community. Something beautiful.

When Mama Pourciau knocked on the door, Danny answered with a grin and an armful of brightly-colored blankets. The older woman-stout and dark skin lined with age- had cooed and kissed his cheeks and traded burdens with ease. She hadn’t flinched at all at the sight of his fangs when he smiled. Hadn’t even hesitated to hug his colder body, her warm one smelling like coco butter and spices. She just patted him on the cheek and told him he was a sweet boy with her pretty accent and then told him to tell Red Hood that she’d be happy to send him recipes any time.

He nodded, awed at her response to his monstrous nature and waved with his hands full of groceries as she left. He felt dazed as he made his way back into the kitchen.

Red laughed at the look on his face when he came back. “Komik,” he said softly, shaking his head before gesturing for Danny to put the bags on the table to join the other ingredients.

“Cooking one oh one,” he started. “Fancy cooking, at least, starts by making your mise en place.”

Danny stared blankly and waited for Hood to explain what that was. He didn’t know any French, thanks. He’d barely learned any Spanish in high school before he’d had to drop out. Thankfully, Red knew full well he was an idiot already.

“You gather everything you need, measure it all out, and have it handy for when you’re ready to put it all together,” he continued without any judgment in his tone. “So lets see what Mama P was able to scrounge up and put it all together.”

Danny pulled everything out one by one, Hood naming each ingredient as he did so. Onions, green and red bell peppers, celery, garlic, dried oregano and thyme, okra, and even a small amount of shrimp.

“Ooh,” he said when Danny’d pulled out the shrimp. “I’m gonna have to get that woman something more than blankets for that. Didn’t ask her for any shrimp, sneaky minx.”

Danny had spluttered at the phrase, almost dropping the shrimp in the process. Who the hell called a sweet old lady like Mama Pourciau a minx?

Red laughed at Danny’s fumbling but then mumbled, “Don’t tell her I said that.”

Danny rolled his eyes before miming closing a zipper over his mouth.

“Alright,” Hood said, stepping over to the cabinets and drawers and pulling one open with his elbow. “Time to slice, dice, and measure.”

Danny pulled all the tools they would need per Hood’s instructions, making sure to follow along and pay attention. He was determined not to set anything on fire this time. Right now, thankfully, they weren’t working with heat yet, just chopping and putting everything together. Pulling out things like a Dutch oven and setting it aside. Measuring cups of rice and broth and using little spoons for the spices that were then put in little cups. It was fascinating. It was… nice.

Danny didn’t know cooking could be like this. Slow and methodical and soothing. There was no yelling here- no shouting about sentient hot dogs or being careful with the stove that he was too small to use. There was no uncertainty here- no guessing and guessing wrong about the basics and ending up with inedible accidents or stinging burns. Just him, Hood’s low, patient voice, and the food slowly coming together under his hands.

Partway through, Red had them stop and look for the small radio he kept in one of the upper cabinets, wanting to listen to something while they cooked. He had Danny flip though several different stations before landing on one that played music you might be more likely to hear play from a gramophone- soft and brassy and old. He’d wanted to question it, but watching Red’s eyes close in contentment and his hips gently sway made him pause. Maybe another time. He almost nicked himself with the knife watching those hips.

“We’re going to use the stove now, jellyfish,” Hood said softly as he nudged Danny with one of those distracting hips. “You ready for that?”

He shrugged. Maybe another time he’d be nervous, certain something would catch fire, but with Red showing him what to do and how, he felt pretty confident he wouldn’t mess up so badly this time. He bumped his own hip against Red’s and moved all the things they’d be sauteing next to the stove as the other told him to.

He browned the andouille, no problem, and then spooned it out for later. He poured in the onion, bell pepper, and celery, smiling as he stirred and relished in the delicious smell. Cooking had never smelled so good before- not when he was the one at the helm like this. It was something he could get used to if it went this well each time. It felt far more relaxing than he’d ever thought it could. He was used to the kitchen being a war-zone, full of screaming and fighting and chaos. This was nothing like that here now; just the soft sizzle of the food, gentle strains of old slow jazz, and the low murmur of Red’s instructions.

Hood hummed, pressing close behind him- chest to back, and hooked his chin on Danny’s shoulder. He was surprised at just how comfortable it all was. He leaned back into the embrace, just a bit, and felt his core rumble with a contented purr. Hood huffed a small laugh, but Danny could feel the echoing purr from the other’s chest against his back. Red had them both slowly swaying to the music and Danny had never felt so- warm was the only way to describe it- in his life.

“Garlic now,” Red said into his ear, “just for a little bit. Half a minute about. Till you can smell it good.”

Danny shivered and dutifully poured it in. The aroma in the kitchen was already heavenly, but it just continued to get better and better the longer they cooked. He could see why Hood liked this so much now. Eventually all the ingredients aside from the shrimp were added into the pot- Dutch oven- and all that was left was to wait while it simmered for awhile before adding them in.

It was peaceful and beautiful and if he could bottle the moment up he would. Just the smell of spices cooking on the stove and the rocking dance with Red to soft strings and trumpets. He didn’t deserve such a good moment. Something so painfully human and full of life. He didn’t deserve something so dreadfully gentle. But he wouldn’t tear himself away for the world. Maybe it was selfish of him, but he couldn’t bare to let it any of it go.

And in the end, well, they’d managed to make a pretty damn good jambalaya. Even Red said so.

═════ ◈ ═════

It wasn’t often that Danny dreamed. It wasn’t often that he slept in the first place, his ghostly nature allowing him to go for days without rest, and to dream within those handful of moments was rare. Nightmares, yes, they plagued him almost every time he couldn’t avoid dropping off to sleep any longer.

Dreams were different, though. Softer.

It should have been a nightmare, with what he was witnessing, but everything was distant and fuzzy around the edges. Like he was completely detached from the scene (the memory) he’d found himself watching from a completely different point of view. This wasn’t his memory, but it was of him, of something that often came back to haunt him.

He watched, in remote fascination, as his own clawed hand plunged into Pariah Dark’s prone chest and ripped out his core.

He’d been told by the other ghosts right before the battle, and in no uncertain terms, that taking the Tyrant King’s core was the only way to stop him. That without the original Council of Ancients to seal him away, putting him back in the Sarcophagus would do nothing. The only way for him to be defeated was to End him. And they’d all been fairly confident that Danny was the only one capable of doing it.

And hadn’t that been something? Every ghost that had ever kicked his ass had told him that he was the only one. The only one strong enough to defeat an Ancient King that had ruled over the Realms for thousands of years, that had previously only been defeated by being locked away by a group of powerful Ancients.

And he, an eighteen year old half-breed that they’d previously fought to hell and back, was their only hope.

He ran, at first. Scared out of his mind and fully believing that all his enemies were simply trying to get him to fully kill himself and act as canon fodder against Pariah to buy them all more time. Yes, he’d gotten stronger. Exponentially, every year. Especially after he abandoned the last shreds of his humanity and dedicated his full focus to developing his powers and fighting skills. He had no allies. Only four years of getting the snot beat out of him and a worryingly long list of powers that grew by the week. That wasn’t enough to kill a King. Not alone. Not by himself.

They’d found him and pulled him back, telling him his only choices were to either face the menace or be Ended himself. He hadn’t seen much choice there. They’d reluctantly laid out a plan to help him. They knew all their afterlives were at stake should he fail, but yet no one else stepped forward to do the job themselves.

The weight on his shoulders- his duty as a protector- had always been heavy. Especially when he’d just started out, when all he’d been was a scrappy fourteen year old just trying to survive. Just trying to protect the family that continually left him cold. Trying to protect the town that grew to hate him more and more. And when the GIW had invaded, it grew to protect other ghosts as well. It hadn’t been very hard, with the GIW being as incompetent as they were, but he still hadn’t wanted to see what would happen if they caught anyone. And it wasn’t like protecting the ghosts that hurt him had changed the status quo- he was far too used to saving those that would rather kill him than accept his help. But he gave it anyway.

And now they were forcing him. Telling him that despite all the animosity they’d treated him with, he was their only hope for survival. That he had to put what was left of his life at stake for them.

And he’d been so angry at first. Wanting to rage and scream and not being able to emit a single sound from within his suit. Because how dare they? How dare they pin this all on his shoulders? How dare they demand he save them after everything they’d put him through? After every fight, every taunt, every stab in the back.

And then Vlad, the idiot fruitloop that had started it all, had pulled the Fright Knight’s sword from the ground and transported the entirety of Amity Park into the Infinite Realms.

The people at the edges of his parent’s ghost shield had died. Humans couldn’t survive the Realms for long, and they could survive even less without protective measures like the shield. Not to mention however many casualties had happened when the ground itself had been rent apart with the transition.

And then the bastard had had the gall to tell Danny it was all his fault. That it was Danny’s cowardice that had killed them. Danny’s childishness that had caused everything to fall apart. He’d stood there, all smug and demeaning, pointing the sword at Danny’s chest as he placed the blame on someone else- completely disregarding how his own antics of tracking down the Ring of Rage for his own gain had been the reason Pariah was set loose in the first place. The Ring he still boasted on his finger.

It had never been more satisfying than that moment to punch the ass in his fanged blue face- the safety-goggles Vlad’d died in crunching under his fist.

The man liked to lord his superiority over everyone he came across, but especially Danny. Liked to claim that because he was the first of their kind, the first of the Halfas, and because he had years of experience and knowledge over Danny that he was better, and stronger, and smarter in every way and would always be so. That unless Danny gave in and became his student (his son), he would always, always be just a rash and ignorant boy. He liked to pretend, though, that it was also only a matter of time until Danny gave in. He used the fact that they were the same to twist the knife deeper and deeper. Insinuating that Danny’s path to becoming like him was an inevitability (and he refused to think about that).

But he was wrong; they weren’t the same. They were both Halfas, yes, but that wasn’t all they were. Danny was a Fetch, the ghost of a person still living. The true balance between life and death, a being both alive and dead in an even split. Vlad was a Draugr, a vengeful ghost with a corporeal body. There was still a part of Vlad that was living, however small, which classified him as a Halfa and allowed him to age the way a human would. But he was more ghost than human, even clutching to the last dregs of life within him as he was- claiming in vain he was human. Danny, on the other hand, had given up his life, denying that any part of him was still human despite the truth. Vlad was made from spite and slowly rotting flesh; Danny was made from tragedy and pure ectoplasm.

Danny had grabbed the sword from the cursing man and cut the hand that bore the Ring clean off in one vicious swipe. He’d never been so violent, never taken it that far before. And it had both felt exhilarating and terrifying. He’d shut down all feeling after that, grabbing the Ring for himself and leaving Vlad to scream and wallow in his deserved agony. They’d been lucky enough as it was that Pariah hadn’t taken the Ring from Vlad before that. With it, the King might have truly been unstoppable.

It’d been with the help of his enemies taking on the army, the Ring of Rage enhancing his Wail beyond measure, and the Sword of Nightmares slicing anything in his way, that he’d been able to fell the monster. He’d pinned Pariah to the ground with the Sword and used the enhanced strength of the Ring to dig into his chest.

(The Ring refused to leave his finger, stuck there- and forever making it impossible for him to speak without unleashing a world-ending wail. It stayed invisible most times, but he could feel it. Always.)

He watched, now, dispassionately, as a younger version of himself clutched Pariah’s core within his ectoplasm covered claws.

This was a dream, not a nightmare. He knew the difference well.

A figure appeared to his left, shrouded in a purple cloak and dark shadows, nothing of their face to be seen but deep red glow of their eyes- similar to the eye-shine of a predator in the dark. He knew the figure, but he couldn’t quite place from where. It was a memory on the edge of his mind, but he didn’t struggle too hard to grasp it. This was still just a dream.

The figure said nothing for a time, the both of them just continuing to watch the wretched memory play out. They watched Danny crush the core to dust, watched Pariah’s body melt horrifically slowly as he screamed, watched as Danny pulled the Sword from the King’s body and plunged it back into the ground. Watched as he fell to his knees in despair when nothing happened- when Amity remained trapped forever in the Realms.

��Why this?” he asked of the figure, wanting to look away, but unable.

“A warning,” the other said, voice smooth and even with the softest curl of a lisp at the edges. “A reminder.”

“Of what?” he asked, knowing he wasn’t likely to get an answer. Because that’s how all of this bullshit ever worked. Never any answers, never any real help.

“All will be revealed in time,” the other said, pulling a staff from the depths of their cloak and tapping it on the grass beneath their feet.

And then Danny woke up, disoriented and head fuzzy with sleep, the dream slipping from his mind the longer he tried to think of it, until it was nothing but a disquieting echo.

#naps fics #dp x dc #Our Empty Graves #dpxdc

[smallghostcorner]

DustinxEddie (platonic)

Summary: Dustin stays after hellfire to help Eddie cleanup but Eddie was feeling little during their game

"Hey man you got it?" Eddie asks Dustin while handing him a folding chair.

"Yeah im good just focus on getting your minifigs and stuff together"

Eddie hummed at him and turned to the table to pack up his stuff, He took a deep breath to try and stay big.

He had started slipping during the second half of their session.

He knew dustin was a little and that he'd support him but he didn't want to force Dustin into a caregiver role if he wasn't comfortable.

He started grabbing his dice to put back in his dice bag.

When he shoved the small velvet pouch into his backpack his hand brushed his little bag and he felt himself let out a small whine, wanting the comfort of his pacifier.

"You okay dude?" Dustin was standing closer than Eddie realized and heard his whine.

"Yeah just tired" Eddie said trying to convince himself as much as he was Dustin.

----time skip----

Eddie was carrying the box with all his mini figures and the map to the door of the room so they could fold the table up and put it away when Eddie tripped.

Instantly this sent him the rest of the way into littlespace. He started to hiccup as tears pricked his eyes.

Dustin rushed over when he heard Eddie crying.

"Hey what happened?" Dustin tried asking but Eddie was crying too hard to answer, instead he pointed to his knees that took the brunt of the fall.

Dustin could see slight redness through the rips in his jeans.

"Hey little guy can you tell me how old you are?" Dustin asked gently.

Eddie held up four fingers, Dustin nodded in understanding.

Dustin rushed over to Eddies backpack looking for something. Once he found what he was looking for he kneeled next to Eddie again.

He pulled out a pacifier from the small bag he was holding and offered it to Eddie.

With the help of the pacifier his tears were reduced to small sniffles.

Dustin pulled out a small puzzle cube to keep Eddie busy and finished packing up.

Once he was done he carefully lead Eddie through the halls and out to Steves car.

"What took you so long" Steve started to say but stopped when he saw the pacifier in Eddies mouth.

Dustin climbed into the backseat with Eddie and let them lean on him while Steve drove them home

bebbie-munson said dustin would be a great cg and i cant unsee it

#eddie stranger things #age regressor #age dreaming #agere blog #agere little #boy agere #sfw age regressor #eddie munson #cg!dustin #cg!dusting henderson

[bvannn]

Weekly Update October 20, 2023

So unfortunately I didn’t get a whole lot of work done this week due to exhaustion. I’m hoping I can do more this upcoming week, although some personal matters may get in the way.

I have drawn 3 more inktober drawings which are waiting to be bottle inked. I am hoping to get them done tonight but I may go to sleep instead and do them tomorrow. I have also sketched out 2 more goretober and one more cringetober drawings, but I would need to line and color them. I am hoping my workload for this weekend won’t be too bad so that I can actually get those done and more started, but no promises. I could cheat and combine them, since a few are similar, and a few even appear on both the gore and cringe prompt sets, like hanahaki, but ehhhh.

TRGA I am also still behind on but still working hard at. I ended up only getting Jon’s 1-4 animation done right before writing this update, as I had underestimated the length of the shot, and the messiness of the cleanup. Also I completely forgot to animate his hands, and had to struggle with drawing some hand positions, but it is done now. I will begin on Emile tomorrow, hopefully I can keep it up alongside general drawings, since I’ll have to keyframe him for the next few days which should not be as time intensive. I will anticipate faces and cleanup for long shots taking longer in the future, so I can schedule accordingly.

I did a bunch of really good work on music early this week, and should I get time this weekend I may take another crack at bass patterns, which would be the next step. Im really proud of what I have though I really just need to commit to the project, but obviously I have spread myself thin due to my workaholic nature. It’s still okay, as long as I can keep priorities in a row.

This upcoming week I’m going to try to get myself back together physically. I am going to rest, classwork, TRGA, Drawings, and Music in that order of priority, hopefully.

[acurlygirlamy1]

THIS IS AN OLDIE BUT, GOODY! SAW IT AGAIN AND THOUGHT PEOPLE MAY ENJOY. JUST DO NOT WANT ANYONE TO THINK IM TAKE CREDIT FOR SOMETHING THAT IS NOT MINE. The credit of where I got this from are right after you read and enjoy the story.

So, last week, something pretty tragic happened in our household. It's taken me until now to wrap my head around it and find the words to describe the horror. It started off simple enough - something that's probably happened to most of you.

Sometime between midnight and 1:30am, our puppy Evie pooped on our rug in the living room. This is the only time she's done this, so it's probably just because we forgot to let her out before we went to bed that night. Now, if you have a detective's mind, you may be wondering how we know the poop occurred between midnight and 1:30am. We were asleep, so how do I know that time frame?

Why, friends, that's because our Roomba runs at 1:30am every night, while we sleep. And it found the poop. And so begins the Pooptastrophe. The poohpocalypse. The pooppening.

If you have a Roomba, please rid yourself of all distractions and absorb everything I'm about to tell you.

Do not, under any circumstances, let your Roomba run over dog poop. If the unthinkable does happen, and your Roomba runs over dog poop, stop it immediately and do not let it continue the cleaning cycle. Because if that happens, it will spread the dog poop over every conceivable surface within its reach, resulting in a home that closely resembles a Jackson Pollock poop painting.

It will be on your floorboards. It will be on your furniture legs. It will be on your carpets. It will be on your rugs. It will be on your kids' toy boxes. If it's near the floor, it will have poop on it. Those awesome wheels, which have a checkered surface for better traction, left 25-foot poop trails all over the house. Our lovable Roomba, who gets a careful cleaning every night, looked like it had been mudding. Yes, mudding - like what you do with a Jeep on a pipeline road. But in poop.

Then, when your four-year-old gets up at 3am to crawl into your bed, you'll wonder why he smells like dog poop. And you'll walk into the living room. And you'll wonder why the floor feels slightly gritty. And you'll see a brown-encrusted, vaguely Roomba-shaped thing sitting in the middle of the floor with a glowing green light, like everything's okay. Like it's proud of itself. You were still half-asleep until this point, but now you wake up pretty damn quickly.

And then the horror. Oh the horror.

So, first you clean the child. You scrub the poop off his feet and put him back in bed. But you don't bother cleaning your own feet, because you know what's coming. It's inevitable, and it's coming at you like a freight train. Some folks would shrug their shoulders and get back in bed to deal with it in the morning. But you're not one of those people - you can't go to sleep with that war zone of poop in the living room.

So you clean the Roomba. You toss it in the bathtub to let it soak. You pull it apart, piece-by-piece, wondering at what point you became an adult and assumed responsibility for 3:30am-Roomba-disassembly-poop-cleanups. By this point, the poop isn't just on your hands - it's smeared up to your elbows. You already heard the Roomba make that "whirlllllllllllllllll-boop-hisssssssss" noise that sounds like electronics dying, and you realize you forgot to pull the battery before getting it wet. More on that later.

Oh, and you're not just using profanity - you're inventing new types of profanity. You're saying things that would make Satan shudder in revulsion. You hope your kid stayed in bed, because if he hears you talking like this, there's no way he's not ending up in prison.

Then you get out the carpet shampooer. When you push it up to the rug - the rug that started it all - the shampooer just laughs at you. Because that rug is going in the trash, folks. But you shampoo it anyway, because your wife loved that damn rug, and you know she'll ask if you tried to clean it first.

Then you get out the paper towel rolls, idly wondering if you should invest in paper towel stock, and you blow through three or four rolls wiping up poop. Then you get the spray bottle with bleach water and hose down the floor boards to let them soak, because the poop has already dried. Then out comes the steam mop, and you take care of those 25-ft poop trails.

And then, because it's 6am, you go to bed. Let's finish this tomorrow, right?

The next day, you finish taking the Roomba apart, scraping out all the tiny flecks of poop, and after watching a few Youtube instructional videos, you remove the motherboard to wash it with a toothbrush. Then you bake it in the oven to dry. You put it all back together, and of course it doesn't work. Because you heard the "whirlllllllllllllll-boop-hissssssss" noise when it died its poopy death in the bathtub. But you hoped that maybe the Roomba gods would have mercy on you.

But there's a light at the end of the tunnel. After spending a week researching how to fix this damn $400 Roomba without spending $400 again - including refurb units, new motherboards, and new batteries - you finally decide to call the place where you bought it. That place called Hammacher Schlemmer. They have a funny name, but they have an awesome warranty. They claim it's for life, and it's for any reason.

So I called them and told the truth. My Roomba found dog poop and almost precipitated World War III.

And you know what they did? They offered to replace it. Yes, folks. They are replacing the Roomba that ran over dog poop and then died a poopy, watery death in the bathtub - by no fault of their own, of course.

So, mad props to Hammacher Schlemmer. If you're buying anything expensive, and they sell it, I recommend buying it from them. And remember - don't let your Roomba run over dog poop.

-------------------------------------

Edit 1:

I wrote a book! It's called The Becoming, and it's a contemporary fantasy. Give it a try:

Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0716C4HFR

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/thebecomingbook/

The Amazon link is for U.S. readers - international readers should go to their own country's Amazon site, then search for the book.

------------------------------------

Edit 2:

If you want more of this stuff, I have a Facebook page now:

https://www.facebook.com/pooptastrophist/

[timetoppedgamebreaker]

💋 roxsmorch x3(4?) combo

"lol"

"lmao"

"...lol"

TG: ummmm TG: youve been saying that for a while now TG: i mean i get uncomfortable laughter but i aint heard it done w/ lols and rofls before

"i-im sorry lol-- i mean... lmao-- i mean... rolal" Came the other Roxy, who crouched before the cock, resting her arms on the flair and bending it down just far enough to get a view of the more impaled Roxy. Her skirt had become a sticky mess from the constant ooze dribbling down from the tip, but cleanup could wait, "hhhh... wowie wowzers..."

TG: ...... TG: ummm TG: okay i think TG: you might be breathing even heavier than me lol

"ahaaaaa... im just... thinkin... yknow?" She went, breath hot in Roxy's face, though it paled in comparison to the heat of that cock, "wouldnt it be totally messed up if we like... if we BOTH got on that thing?"

TG: .......

"aahaaaaah im just kiddin. i mean.... could you imagine??" She went, pressing her entire upper body against the cockhead, causing it to spurt out in all directions, even nicking a rather large glob right onto Roxy's cheek, yet she barely even noticed as she continued to lean in closer, "i mean..... hah its almost too bad theres not room for THREE huh?"

TG: um TG: what the FUK u talkin about???? TG: im a living onahole here!! TG: are you makin fun of me???

"hahahh... more like ur the one makin fun a me shakin this big fuckstick around" She responded, "you naughty thing you~ gawd i just wanna... just wanna..."

Roxy gagged as she attempted a gasp as the cock suddenly shook, the top of her head hitting the horse's undercarriage as the other Roxy let it spring back, before doing something that caused the entire beast to jump into action, thrusting its hips violently as Roxy felt the constant flow of spooge running through that shaft grow faster. Bigger. Thicker. The other Roxy made a series of gulping, gagging sounds. Her face was right in the horse's cockslit, glurping as much of it down as she could, while teasing the beast into throes of sexual urgency.

TG: o gkjoddddd shtooop!!! TG: ish too much too much!!!!! TG: tjobbfkbgof

Roxy groaned as each extra pulse of cum bloated up the cock as it passed through, before eventually making its way into the other Roxy's mouth, some of it going down her throat, while far more spilled down her chin and pooled atop that ever growing stomach.

"gaaaawddddd... it-itsh SHO bad... glrk-glurk-glorp..." She gasped, yet still she didn't stop, "you... EAT thish shtuff every day??? gawd... heh... hahahaaaa--glrrk!"

Roxy continued to feel everything being rocked as the other Roxy grew more and more impassioned. The horse kept bucking, until it knocked the other Roxy's head against the wall, and yet still she kept going... and going... and go--

"GLLLRRRRRRRRGGGGHHH--KLRK... Blrrrrk... Mwwwmmm...❤️"

Roxy blinked rapidly as she felt the sweet touch of another human being's lips touch against hers... then groaned as those lips were forced against her in an ultimate smoochpocalypse moment, only stopping once the horse's flare popped out on the other side of the new Roxy.

"HHHHHHhhhhh..." She gagged, a vocalization matched by the other Roxy, soon eliciting a conversation of haggardly uttered consonant sounds, before finally the other Roxy grabbed her phone.

TG (other): uhhhhhh TG (other): i think i just got carried away lmao TG (other): lol TG (other): lmao TG: ....... TG: if u dont start kissing me agian.... im going to block u

#non-canon

[a-earthssprout]

🌻🍯 OOC. hello friends ! long time no see, huh ? 😊 I hope you all have been doing well these past few weeks. I apologize for my absence, but surprise ! 🌿 I’m not here to make the ba – jillion – ith post doing so; instead, I come bearing good news ! 🌷 after what seemed like forever, things are starting to look up on my side; the sun feels like it’s shining again & thus, Ari’s little light ( muse for her ) is returning 🍄 I may sound quite like a broken record by this point, but I wanted to thank everyone again for their patience & understanding during my time of inactivity—I do not believe I lost any mutuals during this time, but still, to all who stuck around, I thank you for this 🍃 it’s wonderful to see you again & I truly hope that the days have been kind to you ! 😊

now, I am not going to lie. life is really … unpredictable right now for me 😔 a lot is going on behind the scenes that I’m not exactly comfortable sharing, but please do not worry. I am okay & I am safe, & I currently have a great support system ! 🌼 still, despite the recent improvement, I still have days where my energy is fleeting, especially social energy. because of this, I have made my previous discord inactive & will probably not be sharing out my new one, at least not with many. most roleplay communications, at least for now, will have to be done through tumblr’s im feature. I will be spending time replying to the im’s that have been waiting for a response, too ! 

additionally, I’ll be initiating something I like to call operation organization ( because calling it that is way more fun than a ‘ blog cleanup ’, right ? 😤 ) I will adjusting my rules & organizing my likes ( which is the system I use to collect drafts, but rn it is clogged up with much more than just those c’: ) also, I will be making a post for people to like if they want to stay mutuals, which is separate from this post ! 🐌

I will NOT be dropping any threads, but if you have lost interest in continuing one that we have, please let me know so I do not accidentally reply to it ! no hard feelings here, okay ? 😊 regarding anything in the INBOX, I have deleted a few, specifically ones that were sent from a meme, but most are still there & I intend to answer them. until most / all are answered, the ask box will remain CLOSED 🌼

I cannot say it enough, for I feel the need to express my gratitude for all the understanding & kindness I have received during this time. here’s to better, brighter days ! 🌈 wishing you wellness & happiness, forever & always, & I hope to write with you all soon. much lava ! 🍄

#( ❀ | ooc ) #( ❀ | psa ) #long post cw #( you know I'm back when I'm filling your dash with an emoji - riddled ooc post ;; flkjgkl #hello friends ! I hope all has been well with you ! #I THINK I've shared every current intention ... hopefully I haven't forgotten anything D: )

[munsonmuses]

Decaf Date Night (Dan Avidan x Reader)

This is the second part to Warm Cup of Comfort, it’s proceeding date night between reader and Dan.

The Reader is still gender neutral, that isn’t going to change.

Warnings: Still none, we’re still in that fluffy portion

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

It was days before Dan reached out again, following up on the proposition for a date between the two of you. It being a pretty poor string of texts from Daniel, attempting to reach out.

‘Hey! It’s Dan! Well, obviously it’s me!’

‘I was thinking of that date? How about Saturday at seven? I know your store closes at six, so I’ll pick you up from there? Unless you wanna meet up at the restaurant? Or maybe, we could do a movie?’

It was obvious he was a little dusty in the dating department, but you found it endearing at how he was trying to be so kind, and forward. It was more than most would approach with, so it was already a step in the right direction.

When it slowed down the message popped back into your mind, carefully picking up the phone and tentatively replying to Dan.

‘We can meet here, I think it’ll be easier. Plus carpooling is eco friendly. I know a couple spots for a light dinner?’

You carefully exhaled as you set down the phone in the pocket of your apron, looking up as the bell at the door jingled. Dan entering with his coworker that you’d met a few times. Carefully wracking your brain to remember his name.

“Adrian…right?” You asked as he carefully adjusted to the incorrect name, looking you over as he laughed lightly.

“No im Arin. A-R-I-N.” He clarified as you nodded, before looking up at Dan carefully, who’s eyes were trained on you before looking away when he felt his staring had grown inappropriately long.

“I’m sorry, I’ve only met you like twice. I promise to remember.” You assured before carefully gathering up two reusable to go cups, Arin watching before looking past you into the kitchen, eyebrows up carefully

“So do you have any coworkers? I only see you back there?” He asked as you laughed lightly.

“There’s Cora, she handles inventory in the back. And there’s Michael, they handle the cleanup up front. I make and serve the coffees, teas, pastries or anything else. And then there’s of course our mascot.” You gestured to the fat cat that lazily watched the two men before rolling onto her back as you smiled.

“So can I get you anything specific?” You prompted as he scratched at his neck, scanning the chalkboard menus while you worked on Dan’s coffee, Dan watching closely as you smiled at him carefully, a bit endearing wasn’t it? How willing he was to learn about your process?

Arin stirred you out of your little coffee related contemplation as you carefully took his order. “Just the sandwich Arin?” You asked as he nodded curtly, pulling out his wallet carefully, only to earn a dismissive hand. “Friends and family don’t pay.” You assured as he quirked a brow

“Then how do you make money? If you’re giving food and drinks away? It’s kind of a flawed business practice.” He commented as you slid Dan his coffee.

“I mean. You’re not wrong. But I make enough business daily, and it’s a sandwich a day that’s like, four dollars? That’s not gonna throw a wrench in my work.” You carefully cut the roll in half, slathering it with butter and carefully adding on the toppings, popping it in the oven.

“So uh, I don’t know if you got my test…” Dan started as Arin peered at him from the corner of his eyes as you carefully cleaned up the workspace.

“I got your text Daniel.” You assured as he laughed softly.

“Okay good, cool, perfect-“ the oven squeaking cut off what would’ve been essentially just word vomit from the man. Taking out the sandwich and wrapping it up, stamping on a small sticker and handing it off.

“See you Saturday.” Dan smiled before leaving

And Saturday couldn’t come soon enough

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Carefully adjusting your turtlenecks collar, you scoffed lightly at the way the fabric just wouldn’t sit right. Tucked into long loose pants with a thick belt holding it together as your coworker, Cora gently smacked your shoulder.

‘You look fine, stop futzing or you’re gonna be unhappy all night!’ She signed as you laughed softly.

‘It’s my first date in like six months, I’m gonna be a little nervous.’ You signed back as you carefully adjusted the collar again, nodding in approval at the sight before hearing a soft rapping at the glass door outside. Checking your watch before receiving a text

‘Let me in please? Its me knocking.’ Your watch read as you smiled at the notification, carefully grabbing your jacket and sliding it on.

‘You’re sure you can handle the store while I’m gone? if you need me to reschedule I can!’ You signed as Cora dismissed you with a wave of hee hand as you nodded lightly.

Heading to the door to see Dan in another Rush shirt, covered by a white leather jacket with black stripes, niceish jeans and some high tops as you let him in. Carefully fixing a hair that had made its way into his face.

“Are you ready to go? You also look great.” He commented as you smiled, doing a little spin.

“I know, it’s a great ensemble.” You joked, earning a smile from the man. It was wolf, his his whole face lit up whenever he smiled. How his lips stretched and eyes creased, nose crinkling.

“And yes, I’m ready. Did you pick from the places I sent?” You asked as he nodded carefully.

“I picked Maggie’s. It’s like casual eating and I don’t wanna go too fancy.” He assured as you pat his arm.

“Good pick, let’s head out.” You took his arm, leaving with the bell chiming behind you both. Ringing with newfound opportunity.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

After a long car ride of discussing music, work and hobbies, you arrived at the small restaurant. It was homely, and a small business much like your own, good to know Dan valued a community.

Heading inside and getting seated in a corner table, Dan carefully looked around, aimlessly adjusting his silverware. His eyes clearly showing his stress. He was trying so hard to find the right words. You’d just have to help him a little.

“So, Dan, Daniel? I’m gonna stick with Dan. I want to know more about you than your coffee orders and great music taste.”

His shoulders seemed to relax as he carefully disclosed what he’d wanted you to know. He’d been making music since 2002, he was an older brother, he was from New Jersey, he’d been growing his hair out for so long that cutting it seemed pointless, and more.

And although a mundane conversation, he seemed so genuinely happy to share. You were also so happy to listen, learn about him. It was also apparent he was so eager to talk to someone that didn’t see him as just an Internet personality.

Going to reply, you were cut off by the waitress who smiled down at you both. Taking orders as you smiled back at Dan and handed off your menus.

“I don’t eat red meat, so this was a good choice.” You praised as he lit up. “Neither do I! It just doesn’t agree with my stomach at all.” He explained as you nodded, enjoying listening. Maybe people mostly talked at him, or just heard rather than listening to him, so it was clear he just loved being able to talk about himself. An excitement so visible in his eyes.

“That’s enough about me though, tell me about you more please? Besides what I already know?” He pleaded as you obliged.

The conversation flowed like water over smooth stones, and the food came before you’d even realized how long you’d been talking. Continuing through the meal with idle but eager conversation as people funneled out of the restaurant, after awhile you two being the only two there.

“So let me get this straight…” you laughed through your words, “youre on a video game show, but you don’t play them? You just commentate? And people love that?” You asked as he laughed along, leaning to the side.

“People just love hearing me talk I guess.” He shrugged as you smiled, tentatively brushing his knuckles with your own on the table.

“I can see why, I’ve loved hearing you talk this whole date.” You praised as he sat up straighter, sheepishly rubbing his neck.

Looking around, you’d realized how late you’d both stayed as you both pulled out your walkers, a silent stare down as he slid his card out, eyes on you as you did the same, your waitress walking over as you both held out your cards. The woman a bit startled, but taking yours as you laughed loudly at Dan’s defeated disposition.

“Okay but next time? It’s on me.” He said firmly as your cheeks bloomed pink. There was going to be a next time.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Dropping you off at your car, he carefully shoved his hands in his pockets, biting his lip. “I’ll text you, or call you I guess? But, I’d like to do this again.” He insisted as you nodded eagerly.

“I’ll see you next Saturday, same time.” He insisted as you grinned. “Next Saturday.” You assured as he leaned down, pressing a tentative kiss to your cheek before heading to his car.

Oh Saturday wouldn’t come fast enough.

#dan avidan x reader #daniel avidan #dan Avidan #game grumps fanfics #dan game grumps

[necro-hamster]

do you have any advice for digital artist who is just getting started with digital? i have a cheap tablet (wacom) and i use photoshop. thank you!<3 sorry for bad english

ok first of all your english is really good, dont apologize <3 second of all yeah i can give some advice! keep in mind that i am not a professional by any means, im just a 20 y/o who's mostly self taught. took a couple of classes in high school but honestly they didnt teach me much beyond what i already knew unfortunately. still, self taught is something, and clearly my art is decent enough that people enjoy it and are coming to me for advice, so! here's a list of advice i can think of.

stop using photoshop. this might be a bold one to start out with, but don't use photoshop for drawing, man. i know how to use photoshop REALLY well, i'm like taught in it. and that program is ASS even at editing photos, much less drawing. it's outdated and overpriced and really needs to stop being an industry standard. it's one thing if that's the program you've been using for years and you're comfortable with it, but if you're just starting out? ditch that shit. i personally use both sai2 and clip studio paint, but both of those are paid programs. not that i paid for them, but yknow. if you don't want to pirate or pay, some good free programs include krita and sketchbook pro ! also most programs come with a free trial you can test out.

the deform tool is ABSOLUTELY your friend, especially in the sketching phase. the face looks a little off? adjust it a bit instead of redrawing it. make it look perfect. leg not in the proper place? grab it and move it! just keep in mind that you should generally do this before you line/paint/etc. it's best to make these adjustments to the sketch, because oftentimes deforming something will reduce the quality of it. this depends on both the program and the amount of adjustment being done, but as just a general rule best to get this out of the way early on.

flip your canvas. a lot. this will REALLY help you. say you're drawing a guy standing up straight, and you're like huh, this looks kinda weird, but i can't tell why. it just looks super off for some reason. flip the canvas, and i can promise you that that drawing will be leaning all sorts of ways that will be immediately obvious to you once you're looking at it from that angle. make it look good from that angle too and it'll look WAY better from the normal angle.

on the same note, rotate your canvas! it'll really help you out just like rotating a piece of paper when you're drawing traditionally. a lot of people seem to just... not want to do this for some reason? but it's really a big help.

using references isn't just okay, it's something you should ABSOLUTELY be doing. idk why people online used to constantly cry about how using references is cheating, but it's not. using references is a great aid and will drastically improve your art.

use clipping masks !! say, you want to put some sparkles on your character, but you only want them on the character, not the background. instead of tediously going around the character and erasing the leftover sparkles from your brush, you can just make the layer of sparkles a clipping mask above your character layer, and that's it. no cleanup necessary, it'll only be on your character. this is a HUGE help.

experiment with shit!!!! play with brush settings, layer effects, textures, anything. get to know your program, and use everything you have at your disposal. nothing worse than finding out about a feature and thinking 'awh man i wish i knew about this three year earlier' but you just never found it because you never bothered clicking on that button.

i don't have much else at the moment, but if yall have any specific questions go ahead and hit me with em i guess

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