#wow that's a surprise

[artstelle]

Not Mine To Keep

The first time Arthur came to Merlin's shop, he looked so out of place, unsure of what to do. Merlin guessed he was either too "manly" to be seen buying flowers, or a rich prat who never had to buy his gifts himself. Neither were exactly wrong guesses. He felt bad for the woman the man was buying the flowers for.

They had a rather unpleasant encounter that day and Merlin was sure the man would never, ever come anywhere near the shop again, and would probably tell everyone he knew not to buy from there either. So it was a surprise when he saw the other man again. He said that while the employees were rude, the place unfortunately had the best flowers around. Of course, that would be a better excuse if the man actually bought any flowers that time.

After that, it became a regular thing, Arthur visiting once a week. At first, he asked questions about flowers, then it turned into them chatting, insulting each other sometimes and joking, laughing.

Merlin knew he shouldn't, but he was sad and depressed when the man – Arthur, he learnt – stopped coming. He was worried when Arthur didn't show up for two weeks in a row, but weeks turned into months and he accepted that the other man had probably just grown bored of their little conversations.

And then, he just showed up. Merlin welcomed him as he would any other customer, tried not to stare or ask demand an explanation as to why he just vanished. But he knew he had no right to, they were two strangers having casual conversation, that was all. If Merlin had feelings for that gorgeus blond man who turned out to be actually funny and charming, then it was his problem alone.

Arthur stayed silent for some time, and he seemed nervous, god knows why. He looked at his hands, the flowers, the walls and anywhere other than at Merlin. Just as the silence started to be too much and Merlin thought maybe he should say something, Arthur opened his mouth.

"I had things to deal with. Things to arrange. Both personal and business issues." Merlin wanted to say there was no need for explanation, but was too shocked by Arthur's next words to say anything. "I am sorry."

Arthur Pendragon did not apologize. He would show that he was sorry, but never put it into words.

But Merlin had to talk, because the man was looking at him, obviously waiting for an answer. "Oh, um... O-ok." What he wanted to say was: why do you look like a kicked puppy? "It's fine, life gets busy sometimes." That seemed to ease Arthur's mind, if the smile that formed on his lips was any proof. His beautiful lips, how nice it would be to kiss them. Oh for god's sake! Merlin had to get rid of those thoughts.

"Well, is there anything you want? If you aren't going to buy anything, I can get you a chair, but you're blocking the way. Though I don't think I can talk much, there's a big order I need to prepare." He didn't mean to sound harsh, didn't want Arthur to leave, but it was hard to go back to how they used to be. Maybe in a week, he would stop wondering what the personal matters he had to arrange were.

"Actually... I want to. I'm here for a bouquet."

Oh... Ok then. That was unexpected. Merlin remined himself that there was nothing for him to be sad about.

"Ok, which one?" He showed the bouquets that were prepared for customers to choose from. It helped them to see how the thing would look before purchasing, it and was faster to have some made up already when it was busy. And if they didn't sell, Merlin took them to the local hospital to give someone a little smile. "Or do you want a custom made one?"

"A custom one. But I was hoping you could help me choose the flowers." Arthur twisted the end of the ribbon on the counter around his finger.

"Sure, it is my job." Stop being so nervous, Merlin told himself firmly. "What kind of bouquet do you want?" He didn't want to know but he had to ask.

"To show... Something that says 'You are important to me' and 'I think of you all the time.'"

Merlin's heart hurt so much he was afraid he wouldn't be able to hide it. It was no surprise the bouquet was for Arthur's lover, but he would never have expected Arthur could say such things. He must really love her. "And 'I wish to spend more time with you.'" Arthur looked at Merlin for the first time since he had entered the shop that day. Merlin wished he wouldn't. "And..." Please, enough, go tell those things to her yourself. I don't want to hear them! "'I love you.'"

Merlin turned his back, knowing he should be happy that Arthur had found someone he loved. Arthur often talked about the girls his father threw his way and how he never had any feelings at all, at least most of the time. Whenever that happened, Merlin thought about Arthur's first visit to his shop, the bouquet he'd bought, but he couldn't bring himself to ask who it had been for.

"I'll make something." He bit his lip while choosing the flowers. Merlin stared at the bright lamp to prevent the tears from falling down his cheeks. He didn't want to make a fast and simple bouquet just to get away from the situation. It was important to Arthur, and if Merlin couldn't be happy for him, at least he could do his job right.

After who knew how long, he had the flowers ready. "Here, I hope she likes them."

But Arthur did not reach out to take them.

"I hope he does," he said instead. "Keep them, please. They're for you."

_____________________________________________________________

Look… I drew that in November. Then when I was posting, I realized I forget to add the bouquet and since then it is waiting to be posted in my wip folder. Not even wip! I put that in completed folder cause like, it was mostly done. I wanted to pick flowers with correct meanings. I gave up and just drew a pretty bouqute cause it is better than never finishing it. Please pretend they have suitable meanings to what Arthur wanted to say.

I wasn't planning to write something that long! Wow.

Edit: I posted it to ao3 too. Here is the link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48305071

Flowershop AU for @merlinbingo

art by @artstelle

#my art #did I just write a fanfiction #it counts as one #right? #wow that's a surprise #I wanted to write a paragraph about the backstory #that was all #bbc merlin #merthur #digital art #merlin bingo #merlin #arthur pendragon

[moonavem]

#my art #legend of zelda #tears of the kingdom #totk link #light dragon #yunobo #tulin #was gonna draw ganon for bottom left but thought that one scene with tulin perched on yunobo was cute #also wow surprised i was able to complete a drawing finally

[nova-rpv]

like when ur both so gay u float and dance in the air

dont forget your daily clicks!!

#wow more sonadow!! how surprising!¡¡!! #ive been to tired of life to draw anything thats not shadow or sonadow related which. um its something for sure #sth #sonic fanart #sonic #sonic the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog #sonadow #nov.aart

[chemicalarospec]

Idk who needs to hear this, but there's nothing wrong with wanting a purely platonic-sexual relationship with no romance. Yes, even if the person who wants it is a straight man.

edit: reblogs are off because radblr/TERFs/excursionists are passing around a pathetic retort like it's gold. [okay it's been a bit they're back on. all aspec people are queer <2]

#i said this #still bothereed by a post i saw a week ago #aro #aromantic #men #relationships #wow surprised and happy with the response to this post #omg it's probably one of my top posts now

[egophiliac]

still absolutely losing my mind over Lilia

#art #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland spoilers #twisted wonderland episode 7 spoilers #twisted wonderland book 7 spoilers #sebek: wow we're so lucky to see lilia-sama at his fighting prime. so commanding! so powerful! #lilia: (straight up stuffs a frog in his mouth without breaking eye contact) #seriously though i did not think it was possible for me to enjoy lilia even more. and yet. #'dragon eggs need love in order to hatch' #ten year old me: gasp. i knew it. #the IMPLICATIONS though! #forget true love's kiss we have true love's baby dragon over here #also twst. twst please. i do feel i need to call you out a little bit on malleus' age #i don't really have a problem with it i was just. surprised. #i mean i GUESS the description of dragon ages was vague enough that malleus being under 200 doesn't inherently contradict it #it could've been clearer okay :( #that said it is true that the younger malleus is the more hilarious his whole world-weary immortal schtick is #'ah...you are all as infants in comparison to me. ' - malleus (age 19) #also lilia being a foundling does explain him not knowing his real birthday. so i will forgive (1) birth-related shenanigan. #auuuugh the parallels between lilia and silver #brb i need to go roll around on the ground and mutter to myself for a while

[coldbycrossfade]

MAN THAT REALLY COLORS THIS RESPONSE IN THIS CONVERSATION SO DIFFERENTLY FOR ME

#bg3 #like here my silly ass that doesn't know shit was thinking 'wow i'm actually surprised he's pretty chill with this' #JOKES ON ME I'M BOOBOO THE FOOL #IT'S P R O B A B L Y MORE LIKELY THAT HE JUST ASSUMES IT WON'T LAST AND HE HAS NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT #WOW............DAMN............GOT ME #CAUGHT ME SLIPPIN CAUSE I AM A LORE NOVICE HERE.................................... #like SURE you could ASSUME that astarion would be flippant about having multiple partners like why wouldn't the flirty one be that way righ #but no no no there's much to think about here i'm unpacking the fucking layers i can feel my mind peeling like an onion #woag mama #i'm not articulate today b/c brain fog but i hope that made any sense #and hey maybe I'M even making assumptions but calling it a 'harmless affair' just.....that hits different #astarion

[courtmartialme]

woag .. otp

#fma #royai #riza hawkeye #roy mustang #talking to user chrysopoeias reminded me of this doodle i posted on twitter ages ago #im too dumb to make analysis textposts with my opinions so you get (checks notes) royai experiencing post nut clarity #about how funny i think it is that riza bases all her self value into how useful she is or isn't being #while roy is like wow.. i love riza can't believe she still by my side after all i've done .. #in the hospital scene after the lust fight where roy is scolding her there's a part he says he's going to keep trusting her with his back #and she looks genuinely surprised as if she really expected him to just throw her out because she failed and lost her utility #when he's mostly angry because riza gave up on life so easily and he doesn't want her to die. he can't live in a world without her #riza babe ur so mentally ill <3

[bestsouleatercharacter]

names correspond To gif Order (crona First, maka Second)

#OUGH... ITS OVER............. i Cant say im Surprised but... Wow.. #maka vs Crona... #im a Very biased crona Sweeper for this #gl Voting!!! #tumblr bracket #sesd2023 #finale #maka albarn #maka soul eater #crona gorgon #crona soul eater #soul eater #posting this NOW!!! hehe

[asaethiel]

horror movie twins/gansey's magicians/etc

#the raven cycle #trc #pynch #adam parrish #ronan lynch #jun23 #actual art #fanart #digital #showed roomie my bluesey last month and she was like wow i'm surprised u drew them first and not pynch! #and i had to be like. well u see thinking abt pynch makes my heart feel flayed open like a fish so bluesey was easier #anyway tho heres: them ! #i looooooove when they start going off together to do fucked up magic shit. and how they each get to know the other's powers better than #the rest of the gangsey. like. united in the willingness to commit crimes against god and man for gansey's sake 🙏 #&how they work so well as a team once they have that knowledge of each other?? adam scrying from the front seat while ronan drives?? romanc

[abisalli]

More Damian doodles but with Wiggles the Dragon please? Everyone always forgets the little guy has a dragon

of course he has a pet dragon

#bad doodles #Damian wayne #robin #dc comics #batman #my art #digital art #didn't know Damian had a dragon at one point but I'm honestly not surprised #but wow that's one big dragon #edit: forgot that Goliath is also a dragon. in my mind he’s always just some bat monster

[elvyn]

She.

#she is soooo pretty #And she seems like a really well-written character? #I can't wait to see her banner #Arlecchino #the knave #and wow it's surprising that genshin finally made a female character with beautiful long pants #and without revealing every possible bit of skin xD #I like a lot of female characters in genshin but uh sometimes the designs bring me down xD #my art #genshin impact #genshin

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

ive had this in my brain for like. two weeks. What If....

#what if he had a lil heart patch on his chest huh... what then... #smh howdy is Struggling #his internal dialogue is 100% 'be normal be normal be normal be fucking normal-' #he is Restraining Himself from reachin out and touching the patch #howdy - in a high pitched voice: wow thats uhhh thats real neat barn so neat incredible neat-o #scribble salad #laughingstock #barnaby x howdy #howdy x barnaby #AGH THEY MAKE ME SO #*slams head into a wall* ok im normal again sorry #HAHA PSYCH THEY MAKE ME FUCKING INSANE #literally one of my first thoughts when seeing barnaby #was 'what spots are under the vest? Ohhh Is There A Heart Over His Heart???' #surprised ive never scribbled it before now! idk! the power of laughingstock!

[theruxpinator]

#wow ive been enticed by a game with silly characters #how surprising #regretevator #party noob #pest regretevator #poob regretevator #unpleasant gradient #im so excited to draw all these sillies hehehe #sorry my mac desaturates screenshots when i upload them no matter what i do :( #illis art tag

[aimfall]

kim kitsuragi the character ever <3

+ alt ver because I like it as well

#disco elysium #kim kitsuragi #aimfall art #him!!!! #anyway wow look at me! posting art! #surprising I know

[tyciel]

yay redheads. more to come im sure

#naruto #naruto shippuden #uzumaki kushina #kushina #kushina uzumaki #nagato uzumaki #uzumaki nagato #nagato #gaara #sabaku no gaara #gaara of the sand #ermmm yes #i tried to get closeups but for some reason the screenshots always got blurry so i just gave up #take this #throws this at you #surprise to my jjk audience i actually mostly care about naruto #but jjk is probably still what youll see more of #because naruto ended in 2017 #and wow doesnt that make me feel old #anyway yeah more warmups. got a few work pieces done recently. feels good #i drew gaara first with no reference because i used to draw him a lot #and then i used references for kushina and nagato. and i think it shows. their hair #okay thats enough outta me bye #my art #artists on tumblr #illustration #fanart #anime art

[coolnonsenseworld]

We are halfway through the calendar👀👀👀 you can pre-order it and help reach stretch goals like a print and a notepad only by the end of September!! linktr.ee/mezzy

Also something for Polish folks: teraz można kupić kalendarz i przypinkę samurai&ninja w polskiej walucie, ta opcja będzie dostępna tylko na czas przedsprzedaży i można ją znaleźć w linkach na linktr.ee/mezzy . Nie jest to w pełni osobny sklep, bardziej proxy żeby nie trzeba było myśleć o przewalutowaniu jeśli w plny komuś wygodniej. Dajcie znać jakby ktoś miał pytania lub napotkał problemy 🥰

#klance #voltron legendary defender #first message from my current girlfriend (yes she met me through ig) #was “i love your art!” #and the second “wow nie wiedziałam ze jesteś z polski :O” (surprised im from poland) #and after 3 years together instead i love you i like saying 'im a big fan.... where are you from again?' #also i want to say it took 2 weeks but im starting to feel overloaded with being active on socials again lolol nevertheless when i need #the power to keep posting i open all the notes and comments i got so far so we good #“do it for them” meme and its about me posting my own art for 5 people who still like klance