#this one is a bit heavier

[bridgyrose]

Ruby is told by her doctor she has genetic deppression, and it was inherited from Summer.

(That isnt how depression works, but.... I think this still gets the point across)

“You certainly seem to have depression, Miss Rose,” the therapist said as he looked through his charts. “Do you know if anyone in your family has depression as well?” 

Ruby tapped her foot as she tried to think back, her fingers fumbled with her wristbands that covered cut marks on her wrist. “I… I dont think so. I mean dad had a point when we were younger that he wasnt around much after mom died, but… No.” 

“What about your sister? Or your mother?” 

Ruby shook her head. “Yang doesnt. But mom… I dont know but I dont think so.” 

The therapist nodded and flipped through a few pages on his clipboard. “The type of depression you have is usually hereditary. Not necessarily a surety that you will have it, but makes it more likely. If your father didnt have depression-” 

“I’m not depressed.” Ruby pulled the sleeve of her shirt down to cover her cut marks as she stood up. “I’m here because of my anxiety, nothing else.” 

“Your family is worried about you.” 

“And now you can tell them I’m fine.” 

The therapist sighed and sat his clipboard down. “And your sister made it clear that you havent been yourself lately. You’ve been pulling yourself away from everyone who cares about you, coming back with injuries you cant explain, and I’ve been doing this long enough to know when someone is trying to hide what they’ve been doing to themselves.” 

Ruby looked away and started to make her way to the door, pausing when she took hold of the doorknob. “I want to end our session here.” 

“You still have another forty minutes-” 

“And I want to end our session here.” Ruby opened the door and took a deep breath. “I’ll see you next week, but only if we talk about my anxiety.” 

“Then I’ll see you here next week, same time.” 

Ruby shut the door behind her as she walked out of the therapist’s office, more upset than when she had come in. Every week she looked forward to the appointments she had to help with her anxiety, ready for anything that could help her get over her issues with leading her team. 

“Depression,” Ruby scoffed to herself. “He doesnt know what he’s talking about.” 

She made her way out of the building and walked down the streets of Vale, hands in her pockets as she felt the cool fall breeze across her face. A quiet sigh left her lips as she quietly made her way back to her apartment, her thoughts already starting to spiral again as she started to think about her last mission. She had failed to keep the village she was hired to protect safe, Weiss was missing, she could barely lead her own team… everything had gone so wrong so quick and there wasnt anything she could’ve done.

“You really think you’re still cut out to be a huntress, dont you?” 

Ruby stopped in her tracks as she turned to face Roman. “What do you want? I will arrest you-” 

“No need for the threats, Red,” Roman said as he put his hands in the air, keeping hold of his cane. “I heard about your recent… failure, and wanted to offer my condolences. And maybe something to help take the edge off.” 

“And what makes you think I need anything from you?” 

“Because I’ve been watching you from the shadows, Red. You’re lost, just a shell of yourself, lost a friend that you might never find again. All *I* want to do, is help. After all, you have kept me and Neo around for information.” 

Ruby froze as she watched Roman hand over a small bottle of pills, her hand shaking as she took it from him to look it over. “I dont need pills, I need information. If you cant help me find Weiss-” 

“Red, have I ever let you down?” Roman smirked and leaned against his cane. “I’ll find information on your precious teammate. But until then, use those to dull the pain you feel.” 

Ruby rolled her eyes and pocketed the pills as she walked off, her heart pounding as she thought about Weiss. Breathing started to get harder as she felt her chest tighten, she gripped her right wrist with her left hand, digging her nails into herself as she tried to force her mind away from dwelling on Weiss being tortured by Tyrian. 

Blake put a hand on Ruby’s shoulder and gently squeezed. “Ruby? Everything okay?” 

“I’m fine!” Ruby pulled away from Blake and let go of her own wrist, hiding the blood that dripped down her arm. “I’m… fine. Rough day. What are you doing here? I thought you’d be with Yang.” 

“I was, and then she asked me to come find you.” 

Ruby frowned and rolled her eyes. “I can make it home without her babying me. We’re graduated huntresses and she still treats me like a kid.” 

“You know she cares about you,” Blake said as she moved closer to Ruby, gently taking her hand. “But I’m not here because of her. I was hoping that you would come to dinner with me.” 

“I… I dont know..” 

“You’ve been avoiding us for a week, just one night where we can catch up.” 

“One night.” Ruby sighed and gave a fake smile to Blake. “And then I need to be left alone for a bit.” 

Blake nodded and pulled Ruby close. “One night to relax.”

#rwby #ruby rose #rwby ruby rose #blake belladonna #drabbles #roman torchwick #depression #cutting #scars #this one is a bit heavier #angsty drabbles

[crow-cap]

#idk. thinking about zoro being Hatted and what circumstances would need to arise before that could happen #this isn’t finished it’s not that polished I just threw some filters at it and now I’m running away #but the CONCEPT. man I will probably draw more like this #so many ideas. so little time #started reading one piece a month (??) ago and I’ve barely made a dent in it #SO LITTLE TIME #I will become so powerful this summer after exams are over #zolu #(?) #op #one piece #monkey d luffy #crowcraft #zoro #roronoa zoro #luffy #the colours on this one are a bit dark but it was more experimental than anything #I tried out some screen tone brushes and a heavier ink one that I used to use #and the colours aren’t as weird as I usually go for #it was an experiment! these guys are rapidly becoming my new test subjects for drawing ideas #I don’t have a caption for this. I might just leave it blank #does zoro ever get the hat put on him?? I don’t think so but I also know jack diddly about later one piece lore #REGARDLESS #ok bye bye

[redhotarsenic]

@nowfallc PICTURE!! FOR YOU!! PLEASE TAKE IT!! <3

#agh I’m so so nervous but I’m big and strong and you all agree with me <3 #plus it’s nearly 6 in the morning and I pulled an all nighter to finish this. which I’m sure is not helping my stress levels At All! #ALSO! #I’m gonna do another one! #you will NEVER know which picture so get fuckin ready HELLLLLLLLL yeah!!! #<- as for those of you who were Present when I said which picture I was gonna do. ummmmm. shut up! say nothing!! #ALSO…..2!! #wanted to share how I did the scuff marks cuz I felt like it. and also I said I was gonna do it. anyway! #what you wanna do is get a real textured brush. ideally something pencil adjacent #and a mid grey color #and with LIGHT pressure you follow the edges of whatever metal bit you’re rendering #you can go a little heavier on the corners if you desire #from the corners you take a smudge tool and gently blend in the opposite direction of the corner if that makes sense #and then take an eraser (IDEALLY one that’s the same as your rendering brush) #and gently erase back towards the corner. but with a much smaller brush size #add little scratches and pick marks as you please #and that’s it #you know maybe this would make more sense with an actual diagram I’m so so bad at explaining stuff agh #I’m gonna shut the hell up now 🙏 #trigun #nicholas d. wolfwood #trigun stampede #trigun fanart

[diesfortunae]

ooh my goosh i love your art so much!! i especially love the fact you made tab plus sized :3 i bet he has stretch marks 🔥🎉💞🔥🔥💞🎉💞

if its not too much to ask, i think you should draw more mack and tab ^_^ because i have a chronic addiction to them

(ty for the compliment <333)

#asksfordays #i also headcanon cratz and kurt to be on the heavier side #and kaski's a bit curvy #no idea bout the other ones #incredibox #orin ayo #breakthrough #tragibox #ruben's art pile

[purpleleafsyt]

"Swing, Pendulum of Souls! Draw an arc across the ether!"

Merry Zarcmas, Arc V fandom!

Palette Challenge can be found here!!

#purplearts #yugioh #ygo #yugioh arc v #ygo arc v #arc v #yuya sakaki #sakaki yuya #went a bit heavier on the layer modes for this one #its fiiiiine #this is another date adjusted post #this was supposed to post yesterday but I figured it would be more fitting to post on Christmas day #for the fandom inside joke :relieved:

[silver-ink-iron-words]

“Are you happy, in this relationship?”

The protagonist’s entire body stilled. “Of course.”

“Really? Because I’m not.”

The two of them were in the most romantic setting the protagonist could think of – a little boat winding lazily down a gentle river, shaded by lush forest on both sides. It was bathed in the soft golds and pinks of early evening.

“I can be better,” the protagonist said.

But their soulmate only smiled. “That’s impossible, dear. You’re already perfect.”

The protagonist’s chest tightened as though boulders were piling atop it.

“You’re smart,” the soulmate went on. “You’re kind. You get my sense of humour. And you have this way of viewing everything . . . [Protagonist], it’s breathtaking to see the world from your eyes.”

“Then why are we having this conversation?”

“You’re my perfect puzzle piece. The matching shoe . . . all that dumb stuff they said about soulmates. But this . . .” They gestured to the romantic scenery. “I wasn’t meant for this.”

The protagonist stared at the slow churning water. “Are you breaking up with me?”

The soulmate gave an infuriating shrug. “I don’t know.”

“Well, alright then.” The protagonist laughed, tight and bitter. “Just tell me when you decide whether or not you’re going to ruin my life.”

“See, this is what I hate about having a soulmate. About being a soulmate. Why do I have to be this wonderful, amazing thing for someone else? The thing you need to live, apparently. Why can’t I just be a person?”

“I never asked you to stop being a person.”

“I’m not making myself clear.” The soulmate sighed. “Just, doesn’t it strike you as odd that they never presented this soulmate thing to us as a choice? Like, of course we were destined to find each other. Of course we’d want to be together forever.”

“Well yeah. That’s what a soulmate is.”

“You’re never just . . . absolutely furious that no one ever told us there were other ways to be happy? That we didn’t have to do this?”

“You’re still not making sense. What could be better than a soulmate?”

“I don’t know. Dinner parties. Family road trips. A bunch of friends sitting around a campfire, getting high together ’til the sun comes up.”

“Those are all things the two of us can do together.”

“But they’re also things we can do with everyone else. Fuck, [Protagonist]. Give me one reason why I have to value one person over literally everybody else in my life. Why do people always insist that I need a soulmate?” Their eyes glistened, and their voice was hitched. Almost pleading. “Sometimes I feel like I’m getting fucking brainwashed.”

“Right. Because loving your own soulmate is brainwashing.”

The soulmate leveled a stare at them. “Do you even love me?”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re good at hiding it. And you never take it out on me. Which, in my own way, I love you for. But I’ll see the dark circles under your eyes. And the moments when you go really quiet. And the mornings where we wake up together, and I can tell that it actually hurts you to talk to me.”

“[Soulmate] . . .”

“Tell me right now that you’re happy, and I’ll believe you.” Their eyes bore into the protagonist. “I’ll never question you on it again.”

The protagonist paused. They had what they wanted, right?

The soulmate seemed to imagine an alternative life for themself full of people and community. But in the protagonist’s darkest hours of the night, they imagined . . .

The mud soft beneath their boots, the invigorating rain splashing their face. The smell of rich, dark soil. The sound of wind in the treeline. Of twittering, of rustling, of life. The budding spring branches, reaching like children’s hands up into the infinite sky.

The protagonist, alone. Just them and the wide-open world. It wasn’t lonely, never lonely. It was a freedom, the likes of which they’d never actually known.

But still.

The protagonist peered steadily at the person they’d always been fated for.

I can’t be the fuckup who couldn’t make it work even with my own soulmate. 

“I’m happy,” the protagonist lied.  

----

Loosely inspired by this post by @aromantic-spinda

A-spec stories taglist:

@feline17ff , @piept , @doublericenobeans , @vioqueenofmushrooms , @pigeonwhumps , @thelazywitchphotographer 

#aro #aromantic #amatonormativity #aspec #a-spec #aromantic spectrum #aromanticism #writing snippet #writeblr #snippet #aroace #aroallo #queer #lgbtqia #queer writing #sorry that this one was a bit heavier than my typical aro/ace stories #but sometimes i really just want to vent the negative #this has actually been sitting in my drafts folder for a LONG time #longer than most of you have been here #i really wanted to make sure that i was expressing my ideas in a way that made sense to people #hopefully i succeeded #not a prompt

[arsenicflame]

ran out of time to finish my full feelings write up before s2 but i wanted to put something out there before we start getting content so this might be a bit incomplete

ive been thinking about what i really want to see in s2, and in general im happy to trust the crew with whatever they do but there is one thing id like to see

id like to see izzy not forgive ed

ive already talked about how serious i find the act of severing his toe & surrounding details in general and i think, given we KNOW its going to get worse (at some point izzy loses his leg, so) i dont think the amputation can be brushed off as just a pinky.

what i want to see is their relationship worsen and worsen and get to a breaking point and just. when everything starts to goes back to how it was before, ed tries to treat izzy like he used to (not during the kraken era, but before that, before the revenge, back when they knew each other, when they were friends) and izzy doesn't take it. he flinches, or walks away, or does anything to brush ed off. ed hasn't apologised yet, of course, its izzy, its his izzy, they understand each other! or he thought they did but now hes realising that mayyyyybe he should give him a proper apology.

so he does. and:

"i dont forgive you"

and if course. ed doesn't know what to do with this izzy always forgives him, has since they were kids! why not now?

from izzys perspective, he simply cant take it any more. he will take the consequences of his actions, but he cant lie anymore and pretend he wasn't destroyed by what ed did. and maybe hes learning its not just ed and izzy against the world anymore. there are people who will stand beside him- they might not always like him, he might spit and hiss at calling them his friends, but he knows, deep down, he is not alone anymore. and that its time to take a stand. to put himself first for once.

he cant forgive him, not for this

its at this point ed realises that he might have fucked up. really fucked up. its not that he doesn't care about how the crew feels, hadnt already realised what he had done but. again, its izzy. there was a time he thought there was nothing he could do that izzy wouldn't forgive.

the way i see it this is the point that ed starts to properly rebuild. oh he thought he was doing it before but it was more masks and layers, but now he has to truly confront his actions and the consequences they have on his relationships and that maybe. he is like his dad. but at the same time, he has the space to learn that even if he is, thats not all he can be. he can be better, choose to do better, and it's hard and doesn't always work but he has to try, has to keep trying because if he fails? he has no one to fall back on any more

so izzy doesn't forgive ed.

and ed learns to forgive himself, in time. and maybe he will apologise again, and izzy still doesn't forgive him. and maybe ed learns to be ok with that. and maybe in the wreckage of decades of blackbeard and first mate hands, they can build something new. it won't be the same, and maybe there will always be a distance between them, but in time, with work, they can be friends again.

#id started on this thread before the e1 clip but that really solidified how i was feeling #caveat that there is obviously forgiveness both ways im not ignoring that im just speaking specifically about izzy to ed here #got fed up of trying to make this a proper post (see top note) so this is kinda just. run on. train of thought #get it out my head before it eats me #originally this was gonna be heavier on WHY i wanna see it but its a bit more narrative now idk #i don't control my brain #if this is a hot mess i am sorry i Did Not reread it once #and my handle on words is spotty at best on a good day #nyxtalks #ofmd #ofmd s2 spoilers #vaguely #izzy hands #israel hands #blackhands #edizzy #i need the izzy hands intervention squad to show him he has people who will back him on this 100% #hes not alone anymore hes safe and he doesn't need to take it #idk i just think. the loss of izzy would be the final straw for ed (izzy stays. thats the one truth. izzy stays) and it would destroy him #but maybe in a way he needs to be destroyed #idk what weve seen so far is very hot and cold and up and down and A Mess and jst. idk im pushing him over the edge #they consume me i want to lock them in a small room together i want to get them both 500m restraining orders #i did not include the 'Izzy leaves the boat' tangent on this but the door is open. to me. (sam. sam is there. To Me.)

[artistic-scribbles]

to all the freakz and weirdoz out there:

never change. never succumb to the whispers of the wind that threaten to kill, because they *will* kill if you're not careful. don't get weird and distant, and don't stop being yourself.

most of all, don't leave this world just because you feel as though you don't have a place in it.

i promise you, there's as much love out there as there are stars in the sky, and perhaps even more so.

you have a life to live.

you have to live it.

#a bit of a heavier one #sorry about that :/ #moss's thoughts

[heleizition]

sketch page commission for my friend james <3

#commission #celestial #digital art #eddy's art #friends #juniper #they are 40€ on kofi and would usually include 3 to 4 sketches ! this one is a bit heavier bc it was for a friend :]

[daily-xb]

day 67: hes gonna shoot ya!

#daily xb doodles #hermitcraft #xbcrafted #not much to say today #very sleeby so relied a bit heavier on reference today #and by that i mean this pose is a direct amalgamation of 2 really cool drawings by Karina from drawfee #her tumblr is Dilfosaur check her out shes really cool and i look up to her art a lot #one of the references was Flygon so yknow...might be a couple inaccuracies with the anatomy djfsdg #anyway enjoy

[dominimoonbeam]

The Truth In Your Skin - 4

The Tattoo Shop AU! If you want to read it from the beginning it’s on ao3. The fourth chapter is below. The whole fic is heavy angst and hurt/comfort with some serious past domestic violence issues (Quinn. It’s Quinn. It’s always Quinn.)

Darlin/David. Sweetheart/Milo. Asher/?

tags: hurt/comfort, angst, learning to trust, scars, found family, past domestic violence, trauma, slow burn, tattoos, piercings

The Truth In Your Skin - 4

Darlin felt better than they had in a year. Longer even. It felt good to work, to be back in a shop surrounded by the hum of machines and music. The crew wasn’t bad, and no one touched their station.

No one asked them any questions they didn’t want to answer, either. They could have looked them up, could have found out on their own, but Darlin didn’t think they had. David knew what city they’d lived in before—where they’d worked. Would it be hard to find records of what had happened? Maybe. It wasn’t exactly newsworthy when someone like them got the shit kicked out of them, let alone by their partner. Ugly but not surprising. Right? That was what they’d been told. What did they expect?

They flicked their tongue against the inside of their lip, looking for the metal that wasn’t there.

Whether the others knew or not, they didn’t ask. Not even the guy that did the piercings, Milo. He’d taken one long look at Darlin’s lip scar before meeting their gaze again that first day and then pretended he didn’t know how that happened.

Darlin was grateful. The more time that passed, things settled into a new normal. It actually felt like they could move forward. They’d gone to that holiday party and it was nice.

Their station was across from David’s near the back of the main room. They caught him watching them work sometimes. Fair. It was his shop, after all. He’d have to make sure they weren’t doing a shit job.

Asher had the spot near the door. He was loud but never in a bad way. He only stopped talking when someone else did. His clients seemed to get a whole experience out of sitting in his chair, most loath to leave even when the work was done. And when his chair was empty, he’d come over and start talking up Darlin’s or David’s clients.

Through the archway, there were two more stations. Milo did the piercings and Sweetheart specialized in new school tattoos. They were still pretending not to be a couple.

The day was slow and well past lunch.

Asher flopped down in Darlin’s chair and stretched out until his tank top hiked up his stomach. “You busy?” he asked, hands under his mess of hair.

Darlin raised an eyebrow. They’d just cleaned their station. He knew it, because he had been in the same room all day. “Super busy,” they lied. They didn’t have anyone else lined up today. He knew that too because he handled the schedules in the mornings.

Asher had two thin rings in the side of his eyebrow, a bridge between his eyes, a stud under his bottom lip and another in his tongue. Somehow, he still pouted like a puppy. “I’m bored. Tattoo me?”

David snorted in the space across from them. He had a client laid out on their chest, shirt off and arms pillowed under their cheek. Their headphones were so loud they could almost hear the music over the beat of the shop speakers.

Darlin blinked at Asher. “Are you serious?”

Asher lit up. “Yeah!” He sat up and pulled his shirt off. He tossed it vaguely in the direction of his own chair, landing on the floor in the middle of the room instead. “Front or back?” He started searching himself for a spot.

Darlin pressed back a smile. “What do you want?”

Asher was still considering real estate. “Doesn’t matter. Anything that’s yours.”

Darlin might have doubted that and pressed for him to make a choice but looking at the assortment of random work on his body, they realized he meant it. He was a collector. They shrugged and started setting up.

“You don’t have to,” David reminded in a grumble.

Darlin nodded but put on the black gloves. “You sure you can sit still?” they asked Asher.

Asher laughed and stretched one arm up, hooking it under his head and offering them a patch of untattooed skin just under his ribs.

“Want to pick a color?” Darlin asked.

Asher settled in, his new position allowing him to watch David. “Nope. You pick.”

Darlin huffed but got to work, already forming an idea.

Asher didn’t squirm at all when the needle finally hit skin. He didn’t even miss a beat in conversation with David. Milo walked a client out and then came over to see what was going on. He turned his head to get a better look at the developing tattoo just as Darlin swiped away inky and blood. Milo smiled when he saw the round little bird in black lines that Darlin was currently adding a splash of neon yellow to. It would come out looking like watercolor stroked over a sketch.

The bell on the front door in the lobby chimed. “Got it,” Milo said, nodding and stepping back. He slid his hands into his pockets and walked to the reception.

“Almost done,” Darlin said.

Asher hadn’t looked yet. “You’re coming out with us after work, right?”

The shop was closed Sundays and Mondays and Asher liked to get everyone together on Saturday nights after locking up. Darlin had said no all the times before that holiday party and they’d bounced back and forth in their head since about what to do the next time. Go or don’t go? “Yeah. Sure.”

Asher beamed.

Darlin was just finishing up when the voices from the front room carried in, Milo leading a couple of people back with him. They were talking about a piercing. One of the two was taking the plunge and getting another one on impulse.

Darlin’s heart beat faster but they weren’t sure why at first—not until one of those voices pitched over the other to shout, “Holy shit! I remember you! From—”

Darlin had just put the needle down when the words struck them. The woman was talking to them. She remembered them. Her steps sounded impossibly loud as she came closer.

“Misfit!” she shouted the name she remembered.

Darlin winced. That wasn’t their name. It was just how he’d introduced them to people and it had stuck. “You’re not a Darlin. Anyone can see that.”

“Hell, I haven’t seen you in years!” She leaned against the back of the chair Asher was in.

Darlin’s brain felt like it was on overload, sounds and colors and light all coming in too fast and too hard.

“How have you been? What are you doing out here? Is Quinn here?” His name sounded like the thud of their forehead against the floor, a headache slicing through their temple. The woman looked around like he might be there in the shop, her smile huge and her teeth bright. Quinn’s teeth had been bright too, slick with red.

Darlin’s chest hurt and they fought the impulse to look around too, for one blinding second terrified that he might be there.

 -

 David had finished up with his client and started cleaning up his space. He had been sneaking peeks at Darlin’s work on Asher, not quite ready to process the pang of jealousy he felt. Maybe he just really wanted a tattoo from them too?

And then Milo returned with a couple of clients and everything changed. All of the ease that had built in Darlin vanished in a flash, their body went tight and their chin dropped to their chest. David was close enough and at an angle to see the way their eyes blanked out, like they’d fucking left their body.

“Back up,” Asher said, voice suddenly far from the light, humorous notes that usually filled the shop. He had sat up in his seat, physically putting himself between Darlin and the stranger.

The stranger jumped back, surprised. Offense warred with anger on her expression, gaze flicking between Asher and Darlin and then back to her friend standing with Milo.

Milo was quick to smooth things over, herding the two clients toward his station in the other room.

The woman went but spoke louder to make up for the distance.

“What the fuck is their problem? Do you think they broke up? It would explain what they’re doing here, but why be so dramatic about it?”

“Did you see their lip though? You don’t think Quinn did that do you?”

“No way. He’s so fucking hot. Why was he even with them? They probably just broke up.”

“Riley said Quinn was in jail…”

“Oh my god!”

Asher flicked his gaze between David and Darlin, asking without words what to do. Darlin was shaking, breaths tight like they were trying not to hyperventilate by taking in as little air as possible. They pushed themselves through the motions of putting away their equipment and taking out the gel and plastic wrap to finish Asher’s tattoo. Both men finally snapped, surging forward. Asher took the antibiotic gel and plastic wrap out of their hands and David gently caught their elbow, pulling them to their feet.

“I’ll clean up and close the shop when they’re done,” Asher said.

David steered Darlin toward the back door, grabbing their jackets off the wall on the way. They didn’t fight him at all and that was somehow just as worrying as the look on their face had been. He had never put hands on Darlin before, not in all the weeks they’d been working there. Darlin wasn’t touchy and he hadn’t missed how they always seemed to keep themselves out of arms reach if possible.

They almost tripped over their own boots when he guided them through the heavy door and out onto the sidewalk along the back of the building. He caught their side to keep them up and they jerked at that contact, like they were injured. It seemed to jar them back to life though, their breath deeper and their gaze flicking around the snow dusted parking lot. “Fuck,” they exhaled.

David handed them their jacket.

They looked at it, wincing before nodding and taking it. “I’ll come back for my shit on Tuesday…” They barely got the words out, voice raw.

“What?” David hadn’t known what to expect from them, but this was definitely not on his list.

Darlin pulled their jacket on, backpedaling a wobbly step away from him. Their head was still down, chin to their chest and hair in their face.

“You’re not fired,” David ground out, pulling his jacket on too but not taking his eyes off them in case their legs gave out. “You looked like you were about to have a panic attack.”

“Sorry,” Darlin muttered, swallowing hard.

David shook his head. He didn’t want an apology. They hadn’t done anything wrong. “You’re okay.”

They looked up at him, surprise so clear across their face. They straightened slowly, seeming to finally fully remember themselves again. “I’m sorry about that… I don’t know why I… It was unprofessional and—”

“Fuck that. And fuck them.”

Darlin blinked, shoulders easing down.

“You’re great at your art and you’re easy to work with. I’d have to be an idiot to fire you even if you’d told them where to shove their questions. You don’t owe them shit and you don’t owe us anything more than exactly what you give.”

Darlin stared, breath finally coming out in a long, easy exhale.

“You’re okay,” he said again. He wanted them to believe it, because fuck he wanted to make it true.

Darlin nodded slowly, like they were trying to.

They stood there together for a while on the cold sidewalk before David finally huffed a thin laugh. “You got me out of closing.”

Darlin smirked. “You’re welcome.”

David flicked his lip ring thoughtfully before asking. “Do you want to come up? We’ve got beer and we can order pizza when the rest of them are off.”

Darlin watched him, their gaze cutting toward the entrance to the apartments that were over the shops.

He’d invited them every weekend to whatever they were doing but Darlin had never taken this long to consider it. He hoped they didn’t think they were obligated. He’d meant it when he said they didn’t owe him anything but the good work they did.

Darlin nodded, hands in their pockets. “Yeah. Sounds good.”

David didn’t make a big deal of it, just nodded and led the way to the door. He’d text Asher when they were upstairs to let him know they were staying in tonight—so he could tell Milo and Sweetheart too.

 -

 It was the longest piercing of Milo’s life.

They were on their phones, looking up Darlin and this guy, Quinn. They exchanged an endless stream of information as they gathered it, pausing on occasion to turn big eyes to him and ask if he knew.

He hadn’t.

He had seen that scar on their lip and known something, but he hadn’t looked them up. None of them had. It wasn’t something they’d discussed or anything, it just hadn’t seemed right. If Darlin wanted to tell them what had happened, maybe they would someday.

But now he knew.

The details were spotty, a domestic violence charge. And then they’d talked to a friend of a friend who had more information…and photos. They groaned at the images and Milo tried not to see them. “They’re saying he actually pulled the ring out! Oh my god, look at those stitches! Why is their face swollen like that?”

Milo saw the photo. He didn’t mean to. Didn’t want to. Their face was swollen like that because someone had beat the shit out of them. There were stitches in their hairline too, and their cheek where another scar now lived.

If he hadn’t already done the piercing by that point, he would have kicked them out. He shouldn’t have brought them back at all after the way Darlin had looked. Was it a betrayal?

“I just can’t believe it. There are always two sides to a story. It’s not like Misfit is a sweetheart. It was probably complicated. Quinn was just so much fun. There’s no way.” His hands shook. He felt Sweetheart watching the whole time from their station across from him. They hadn’t said a word—hadn’t moved—but he felt their eyes on him all the time. It was grounding and comforting, but at the same time added to the mounting unrest.

He was relieved when he walked them back to the lobby and Darlin was gone. Asher was cleaning up their station—uncharacteristically quiet. Had he heard everything? How could he not?

Milo took payment and tip in a haze. He didn’t care if they underpaid. He didn’t care if they paid at all. He wanted them out.

As soon as the door closed, he rounded the counter and threw the lock, slapping the light switch for the front of the shop.

“Babe?” Asher asked, voice low with worry. “You okay?”

Milo wanted to laugh. Of course, he was okay. He wasn’t the one who had someone put them in the hospital. He dragged his hands through his hair and used one of the ties on his wrist to knot it. He nodded, jaw tight.

Asher looked like he understood, nodding back. “David took them outside. We’ll close up.” Asher’s phone plinged in his pocket and he reached down and pulled it out. He was still shirtless, his side shiny where he’d slicked it with gel and stretched plastic wrap over it. His expression lightened with surprised. “They’re upstairs.”

“What?”

“We’re doing beers and pizza at our place. Darlin’s hanging out too.”

Milo’s stomach twisted, thinking of that photo and the flood of gossip mixed with news.

“Want me to say you can’t come? I can make up a reason—” Asher offered.

“No,” Milo said just as quickly, shaking his head. “Fuck no.” He’d been hoping they could get Darlin out of their shell and hanging out with them. Did knowing change that? Absolutely not. And if he bailed, they might think it was with intent. He was already worried he’d crossed some line by working on that person.

He walked through the quiet studio, back to the room with his station. Sweetheart was still standing there, tattooed arms folded tightly against their chest and eyes on him—always on him. That stare was softer now, as soft as Sweetheart could get anyway. “Milo…”

He set his jaw and shook his head. He was fine. He had no right not to be fine. Nothing had fucking happened to him. He went to his station to clean up but then their hand was on his arm. He stopped.

“You’re not him,” they said, a whisper just between them.

Milo cringed. Who did they mean? The newly mentioned Quinn? Or his dad? Because right now he really wanted to hit someone. His hands were curled so tightly that his knuckles ached.

Their fingers hooked around the back of his neck, pulling until his head met theirs. He felt their eyes on him, intense as ever. “Wanting to protect people is different than wanting to hurt people.”

He wasn’t sure right then. He really wanted to hurt someone. Someone he’d never even met. He closed his eyes but it only made that picture of Darlin all fucked up and dazed from that stranger’s phone clearer in his memory.

Sweetheart scratched the back of his neck gently, trying to distract him. “Stop it.”

He dragged a breath and let it out, nodding. Whatever that was, what he’d heard them talking about, that was in the past. There was nothing to do about it now but keep an eye out for Darlin in the future. He winced again. How much of that shit had they overheard? Would they close off even more now that the rest of them knew something about their past? No. They’d finally agreed to hang out with the group tonight.

That was good. That was really good.

“Thanks, Sweetheart,” he said, wrapping both arms around them and hugging them tightly. He pushed his face into their neck and breathed them in. “If anyone ever hit you…” he mumbled, hating even the words.

Sweetheart laughed darkly, giving his hair a little tug. “I’d bury ‘em before you even got the chance.”

He sighed. They said that because they didn’t know what it was like to have someone you loved turn on you like that. He was glad for it. It was fierce and beautiful and he hoped they’d never lose that. As long as he was there, they wouldn’t.

“Are you two cleaning or fucking?” Asher called from the front room. “Because I’m about done out here…”

Sweetheart unraveled from Milo and turned toward the doorway. They started making loud sex sounds.

Milo bit back a laugh and finished cleaning his station while Sweetheart gyrated, calling out Asher’s name in a mock orgasm.

Asher came to lean in the doorway, one pierced eyebrow raised at the scene. “Nice, Sweets…” he said, tone flat with sarcasm but a little smirk pulling at his lip. “At least now I know what you’d sound like if I ever fucked you.”

Sweetheart put their hands on their hips, staring back at him. “And?”

He shrugged.

Sweetheart faked offense, hand flying to their heart. “What? What else could you want, Ash? I’m fucking amazing!”

He shrugged again, smirk back, and walked away to start shutting off the lights.

#TATTOO SHOP AU #redacted asmr #redactedverse #darlin/david #sweetheart/milo #asher/? #angst #hurt/comfort #found family #past domestic violence #heavy on the violence #seriously you don't have to read this just because we're friends #but you do have to look out for yourself if we're friends #all my darlin fics are heavy but this one feels....heavier? #maybe that's just me #how many hashtags can i leave on this? #this fandom is amazing and you are all so nice #thanks for reading this bit #<3 #love your face #dominimoonbeam

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads // twitter thread

Zombabe

paranormal YA set in a small town in 2003 where weird things happen that mostly get ignored

a boy is resurrected by his best friend after dying just before graduation. but he’s maybe a zombie now and if he ignores his hunger for flesh an ancient evil might start causing bigger problems

thankfully one of his friends’ aunt is a cop who has no problem helping get rid of some of the local nazis

queer teen friend group, m/m

#zombabe #aroaessidhe 2023 reads #i.s. belle #lgbtq books #i loved this!!!!!! #the like. 3rd person omniscient (i think) in a modern (ish) setting works really well actually? #and its one of those books that has little snippets of various side characters yknow what i mean. #it’s kinda slow building up until the end when it happens very fast #i have no idea where the next books will go???? #I also really liked that like. while obv there's homophobia in the world (& the aforementioned nazis very much bully them up for being gay) #there's not any internalised homophobia or anything like that. and like even tho the nazis like threaten to kill them I guess- #you never feel like the actual threat and danger of it from the narrative. you know the bigots are just gonna die lol #is my intense fixation on wanting to bite my best friend a zombie thing or is it just the gay yearning i’ve been trying to ignore #I already made a post about this but tentatively comping to in the flesh.....zombies....slightly anachronistic small town people who #turn a blind eye to stuff..dark with a bit of humor...kind hearted quiet blonde gay boy MC.... #I will say that ITF is a lot heavier re: mental health and like systemic oppression and stuff #(.....because I just rewatched it again. prompted by reading this book) #I will also note that; while I don’t think this is reskinned fanfic; the author used to write a lot of It movie fic #so if ur into that you might like this apparently it has similar vibes #nz author

[meirimerens]

i hate that you always have to act defensive whenever you have to explain the personal reasons for not doing something the anons here suggest you...

if you hate that i'm "act[ing] defensive" you're misreading me and it's not my problem. always assume stubbornness instead of defensiveness because i'm an aries and that is what it is 95% of the time. if you hate that i "always have to act defensive whenever [...]", implying both a recurrence in being suggested and in being defensive, you're misreading something like 4 or 5 different people (i am very rarely suggested stuff, i am even more rarely anything that can be read as defensive about the suggestion, and the anon who brought up funger to my blog earlier this month didn't suggest anything, they had assumed i either played the game already or had plans to play it) and it's not my problem. and if you hate that i have to explain personal reasons*/believe i shouldn't have to it's not your problem and as i don't care about it don't you worry about it and rest your cutiepie head back on your pillow as well as disregard both options above.

also and potentially unrelated to you the more anyone gives me grief about either not playing it Or talking about not playing it when people keep bringing it up it the more i will start to dislike what i still like of it [namely the character designs + lore + magic system]. everybody out of my inbox with this‼️ but if you see me reblogging d'arce or enki art mind your business

*a relatively shallow preference that most people not into horror and many who are have, that says very little about me and as such does not feel particularly intimate to reveal

#i cannot read you well in there so. you get multiple answers in one. a choose your own adventure game. #the one thing i can reckon was a bit defensive was the “do not put words into my mouth [about the dev]” part which i'd consider fair cos #as far as anyone knows that's an innocent person and making weird art does not a weirdo make. #but the rest. always assume stubbornness. it is that. #you can try to lead a mule to water. but you can't make it not tear your hand off trying to pull on the rope cos it's 400kg heavier than yo #if my heels are dug into the ground my heels are dug into the ground. good luck picking me up #ring ring (answers) #anonymous

[apollo-cackling]

off my tags on the previous post: I propose a new genre/setting of "alt world low fantasy (/none or close to none magic) genre fic with a focus on politicking" containing baru cormorant and she who became the sun, with the grace of kings, the farseer trilogy, and captive prince as auxiliary entries. now, if I can only come up with a snappy name for it

#my rambles #books #she who became the sun #baru cormorant #dandelion dynasty #captive prince being auxiliary bc of tone #farseer being auxiliary bc it's a fair bit more magic than the other ones + I hear RotE get even more magic #and grace of kings being a mixture of both. tonally it's heavier than captive prince and it's less magic than RotE #but yk. both #captive prince being the one that's the most on the ice bc it's mainly a romance #and there's fun intrigue but it's ultimately to the end of the romance #also bc if I let it on here I may have to let q j j on here and I don't want to /j

[wikagirl]

I finished the less important side characters. Just wanted to draw them so I had a visual ref for when I write them.

From left to right we have:

Nicolle, Gabriellas aunt and thus her fathers younger sister. She's the middle child and as you might be able to tell from her outfit, a professional ice skater. The glitter on her dress is supposed to represent a rising phoenix, a metaphor for being "reborn" after having to drop out of skating for a while due to overexhaustion and burn out and coming back better than ever. Her career is her life, she will not talk about anything else ever. Her sister does her hair for her.

In the middle we have Alexandra, the youngest sister to Nicolle and Gabriellas father. She does heavy wheight lifting, owns a sports clothing brand and organizes sports programms to teach people that sport can be fun without needing to be competitive or for wheightloss purposes. Also graphic eyeliner is a must and her outfit is inspired by 4-time olympic gold winner Serena Williams' adorable poofy tennis outfits. Sports wear can be cute and practical. For her physique I references Emily Campbell, britains first ever medal winning womens olympic wheightlifting candidate

And last we have Waylen. Waylen is an adrenaline junkie and a member of the Hale pharma private military. He has a whole arsenal of prosthetics for different pruposes and yes those are mantis blades from cyberpunk and the prosthetic legs are inspired by that one lady from the first kingsman. He went through so many body modificatiosn that the constant switching out of parts, medications post surgeries and his overall very low self preservation instincts took a bit of a toll on his body so now he has to permanently wear the bottom part of his airfilter mask or else he will literally suffocate. All the foods he consumes must be liquid and snorkeled in through a straw and a little hatch at the front of his mask. Thanks to the previously mentioned issues he has a almost non existant feeling of hunger, meaning that he often only realizes he should eat when it's allready to late and he tips over sideways. Depending on how much coffee he has in his system he can be a representaion of every song in the misery/cpr/reeses puffs mix. The only reason for why he hasn't been kicked out of the military and sent to early retirement yet is because he's good for the morale and knows what he's doing as long as he's in a team, on his own he suddenly looses all those braincells and turns into a "stealth is optional? nice *explosions*" type bingus.

#myart #ocs #I used to hate sports growing up because in school everything was competitive #and outside of school everything seemed to be with the sole purpose of loosing wheight #in fact you can be quite active in sports and still not loose a pound simply because muscle is heavier than fat #and also because diet plays more into wheightloss than training #so to everyone who keeps calling people who don't look “normal” (notice the “”) lazy and unhealthy: plz shut the fuck up and die <3 #you know absolutely nothing about the people you're looking at. their body their choice and now do me the favour and fall off a cliff #I'm really sick and tired of people trying to police other peoples bodies AND FEELINGS ABOUT THEIR BODIES under the guise of care #as you might be able to tell I didn't put as much work into these as the others since they are only side characters #that will only pop up once or twice #also since gigi is as ashy and pasty as the rind of a parmesan cheese and her aunties are significantly darker you can probably guess #she is mixed with her mom being what would be asian on planet earth and her dad is mixed black and something secret #and with something secret I mean this is still a work in progress #he'll be the bestest of best dads none of that toxic father figure bs in my house #he is inspired by christopher judge who was literally one of my childhood heroes in his role as teal'c in stargate btw #visually and personality wise I mean #a strong but still kind and caring for those he holds dear. maybe a bit odd to outsiders :3 #tw eating issues #tw ed #kinda #bc of waylens digestive situation? #side characters

[cryptidtumbleweed]

I wrote another fanfic! Yei!

Please enjoy Kissaphobic - special thanks to @creative-chaos-apparently​ for not only introducing me to this song but for also inspiring me with writing this <3

And of course, some art for it UwU

#jedtavius #night at the museum #natm #natm jedtavius #jedtavius fanfic #jedtavius fanfiction #jedtavius fanart #natm jedediah #natm octavius #jedediah smith #gaius octavius #natm lancelot #this fic is a bit heavier than my usual one shots