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dwobbitfromtheshire · 9 months

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Eddie never got to band practice on time, but he did it for the first time today. He pulled into the driveway of Gareth's driveway and politely knocked on the front door. He exchanged pleasantries with Gareth's mom, someone he always got along with, and bounded up the stairs to Gareth's room. He knocked obnoxiously on the door.

"Oh, Gareth the great, Eddie the Banished has arrived on time for once to seek audience with your greatness," Eddie said.

He tilted his head to hear what was going on inside. There was the sound of scrambling like there was more than one person in there, then the closing of a door.

"You may enter, Eddie the Banished!" Gareth exclaimed.

When Eddie came in, Gareth was relaxing casually on the bed, reading a comic book upside down. Eddie chose to ignore it and pulled up his desk chair close to the bed. He stared at his best friend for a while, and Gareth sighed as he tossed the comic aside.

"What's up?" Gareth asked.

"Did you always know you've liked guys?" Eddie asked.

"Yes," Gareth replied.

"So, there were never any doubts about it? Maybe you liked girls at first?" Eddie asked.

"Uh, no," Gareth said. "I've always been strictly into dick."

"Oh," Eddie said softly.

"Is this about Steve?" Gareth asked.

"What? No!" Eddie scoffed and then paused. "How'd you know?"

"Man, I've seen the way you look at him. I wasn't sure if you knew or not, and if you did, then you would come to me when you were ready," Gareth said. "Which is why I went to Indie for some zines. I figured I should probably study up on any questions you might have. Do you still like girls?"

"Yeah, definitely," Eddie said.

"You ever look at guys the same way you look at girls?" Gareth asked.

"Yeah. I didn't really think about it much at the time," Eddie said.

"I think the results are in. Keep in mind that you don't have to label yourself. But you might just be bisexual," Gareth told him.

"Bisexual. Bi-sex-ual. Bisexual. Bisexual? Bisexual! BISEXUAL!" Eddie yelped. "Hey, isn't Bowie bisexual?"

"Yeah, Eddie, he is," Gareth laughed.

Eddie grinned. Yeah, that definitely felt like him. His grin dropped.

"Now what?" Eddie asked.

"Now, you go get your man. If you're ready for that, I'll let the others know that practice is canceled," he told Eddie.

"Okay, but what if he doesn't like guys?" Eddie asked.

"You've got to ask yourself if he's worth the risk, man," Gareth told him. "Is he worth the risk?"

"Yeah, he definitely is," Eddie grinned.

"Okay, then. . . Eddie, I love you and I'm happy for you, but please get the fuck out now," he said.

Eddie cackled and started to leave but paused at the door.

"Hey, Baby Byers?" Eddie called out.

There was some startled movement from inside of Gareth's closet.

"Yeah?" Will called out meekly.

"You don't tell anyone what I said here, and I promise that I won't tell anyone that you hid in Gare-bear's closet. Okay?" Eddie asked, not unkindly.

"Okay!"

Eddie winked at Gareth before leaving. He saluted Gareth's mother before skipping out of the house. As he drove off, he started to get nervous. Maybe he should give himself more time to think about this? Nah, he didn't need any more time. He knew without a doubt now that this was who he was, and he knew what he wanted. Eddie pulled into Steve’s driveway and stumbled out of the van. Without even knocking or bothering to check to see if Steve was actually home, Eddie stormed into the house. He followed the sound of the TV and found Steve sprawled out on the couch watching TV.

"Eddie?!" Steve exclaimed and turned off the television. "Is something wrong? Did something happen?"

"Nothing bad, I swear. I know who I am now! Isn't that great?" Eddie asked.

"Oh God, at what point did you get temporary amnesia?" Steve asked, and Eddie laughed, plopping down next to him.

"No, silly, that's not what I meant," Eddie laughed. "I know for a fact that I'm bisexual. I like men and women. Isn't that fucking fantastic?"

"Yeah, Eddie, that's great! Thanks for telling me," Steve said with a pause. "Is there something or anyone that might have made you realize this?"

"Well, I came to this realization because I was starting to develop feelings for a certain someone," Eddie said.

"Oh, yeah, tell me a little bit about this someone," Steve said. "If you can."

"Well, he's got a great personality, great hair, and he looks devilishly handsome in my vest," Eddie said coyly.

"Didn't know you were so narcissistic, Eddie," Steve smirked.

"I was talking about you, big boy," Eddie laughed.

"I was hoping you'd say that," Steve said.

Steve cupped the back of Eddie's neck and pulled him in for a kiss. Eddie kissed back eagerly and crawled into Steve’s lap. His lips were as soft as Eddie had been imagining, something he no longer had to fight to ignore. He slid his fingers into Steve’s hair, curling gently into it. God, his hair was softer than he thought it would be. Steve smiled against his lips, his fingers moving to slide under the hem of his shirt. Eddie suppressed a shiver as Steve’s skin made contact with his. Eddie pressed his tongue against Steve’s lips. Steve’s mouth opened, allowing Eddie's tongue to slither in.

"I told you he likes you!" A voice yelled out.

Steve and Eddie broke apart rather quickly. Eddie would have fallen off the couch had Steve not gripped his hips tightly. Robin was sitting on the couch next to them, munching on popcorn.

"Popcorn is done. Are you finished making out with your boyfriend?" Robin asked. "Can we watch the movie now?"

"Boyfriend?" Eddie asked.

"Yes," Steve replied.

Eddie moved to sit between him and Robin, grabbing a fistful of popcorn.

"Hey! I was here first!" Robin exclaimed.

"What movie are we watching?" Eddie asked.

"I don't know, Robin picked it out," Steve replied.

"I'll let you join just this once because you just got together with Steve, but you should know that Saturday evenings are reserved for me and Steve," Robin said and then paused, making her voice soft. "I'm glad you figured things out."

"Me too," Eddie replied.

He settled into Steve’s arms. Yes, he was quite glad he had it all figured out.

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omgzineplease · 1 year

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New Release Date: June 5th

Hey y'all. We indeed bring tidings of the dreaded delay.

When we started OMG Zine Please, we knew going in that this was gonna be a pretty ambitious project. With a hefty final submission count from our amazing contributors, our inaugural issue is going to pack quite the punch! And we wouldn't have it any other way!

Seeing this community come together and express all the love we all share for this special webcomic has been wonderful. Still, as this is our first ever release, we are finding that even through the many checks behind the scenes, the team we've put together, and keeping realistic goals in sight, not every play can be accounted for! There's bound to be a bump in the road here and there.

So let's start with the good news: as we've stated, we got our submissions in and they look excellent! Seriously, we've been inundated with excellent prose and artwork, and all contributors deserve multiple pats on the back. We thank them so much for their hard work!

Now the less good news here is that while we are now at the proofing, compiling, and formatting stage for each submission to be presentable for public consumption instead of looking like a more-last-minute-than-usual powerpoint that has its white-background-and-default-font slides in the wrong order.... we're taking a bit longer than was estimated. We sincerely apologize for the delay.

We'd like to give you a look at our current process for full transparency as we want you to be aware of the status of your hard work.

Currently, we are:

Going through the submissions to ensure each piece is within guidelines.

Analyzing which pieces fit best in which order so as to compliment each other aesthetically, tonally, and with good pacing for the entire release overall.

Ensuring our final layout will smoothly transition fics from doc form to pdf and balance the different dimensions of each art piece.

Adding professional touches to the zine itself (not the contributions) to ensure a cohesive and professional finish is achieved so that all contributors and zine-enjoyers can feel as though they're holding a real and true zine that honors the source material.

All of that to explain the reality check: such things are clearly gonna take a slightly longer time than we hoped for, especially since we found out that May tends to be a fairly hectic month!

Now another dose of good news: the new release date isn't far away! In fact it's less than a month's time. We expect to get all this set up and ready to go before June 5th, which is our new release date!

Thanks so much for your patience and for sticking with us through this new endeavor.

We plan on making it worth your while.

Please reach out for any questions or concerns. As always, we're here for y'all!

-Admins FFR & Tea

#omg zine please #omgzp announcements #omgcp #omg check please #check please #omgzp update

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chenziee · 6 months

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Hopeless

No I don't keep forgetting to post these, whatever do you mean?

This is the first of the five pieces I did for @truffyfest! This one is for @nimudae's adorable prompt #164:

Law tells Onigiri all about his crush on Luffy and Onigiri decides he's going to be the best wingdog a pet can be and get them together

Don't forget to check out the full free Truffy fest zine!

[ Read on AO3 | Ko-Fi ]

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It wouldn't be an overstatement to say Onigiri knew everything about Law. He knew what time Law woke up, so he knew exactly when to start stepping impatiently next to his bed, begging for his walk. He knew what time he came back from school, so he knew when to start barking at his food bowl, asking for lunch. Not only was Onigiri observant and a great listener, patiently letting Law rant and ramble on and on about his day, school, music, his friends, and his annoying uncle Doffy… he was also neither blind nor stupid.

And so when Law had sat him down one evening, looking all nervous and jittery as he started explaining how he recently realised his feelings for one of his classmates might not be as platonic as he thought, Onigiri wasn’t surprised.

Instead, it left him flabbergasted that it took Law until now to figure that out.

After all, Law was nothing if not completely obvious when it came to Monkey D. Luffy—or Straw Hat-ya. Honestly, what did Law think the cute nicknames were about? Why did he think he ended up blushing whenever Luffy would tell him how cool his outfit for the day was? Why he kept texting him until the wee hours of the morning after promising Cora-san he’d go to sleep early this time every single day? Or why he made Onigiri’s walks longer than necessary every time just so they could pass by the convenience store where Luffy was part-timing? Or—

Onigiri might not have been stupid but sometimes… Sometimes, he had to wonder whether his master was.

As Law babbled on and on about how pointless things like love were (they were not), how senseless falling for ‘that absolute idiot of all people’ was (look who’s talking), and how there was no way Straw Hat-ya even felt the same way (he didn’t even have words for that one), Onigiri came to a decision.

Seeing how completely hopeless Law was, someone else was going to have to take charge.

Onigiri didn’t have any matchmaking experience—if you didn’t count those two cats he purposely chased onto the same tree last month—but he’d be damned if he had to listen to this love-sick mess of a word-vomit more than once.

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Onigiri got to work the very same day. It wasn’t hard dragging Law to Luffy’s neighbourhood since Law always gravitated there without seemingly even thinking about it; the hard part was getting this idiot to actually meet Luffy while there, not just steal glances while he led Onigiri around the grocery store three times. But Onigiri was nothing if not resourceful.

And by that he meant he sat by the door to the store and barked until Luffy noticed them.

“What are you doing?” Law hissed quietly, sounding nearly panicked when Luffy looked their way.

Onigiri simply barked again. Just because he could.

Immediately, the other boy perked up, his usual bright grin spreading on his lips easily as he jumped away from the register, completely abandoning the place—as well as the customer he was in the middle of ringing up—to skip over to them.

“Onigiri! Torao! You’re walking here again? Isn’t it kinda far from your place? Hey, Onigiri, how are you?” Luffy fired one question after the other as he crouched down to scratch Onigiri’s chin.

“Shouldn’t you be working?” Law asked, keeping his voice level while he raised his eyebrow, scolding Luffy. Acting all cool while his gay little heart was undoubtedly racing his chest with happiness. Onigiri almost rolled his eyes at him.

But, Luffy laughed, seemingly finding Law’s fake confidence hilarious. “Eh, it’s fine~” he drew out, looking up at Law with a carefree smile. “I’ve been working for hours, I can take a break once in a while!”

“And how many breaks have you taken so far?” Law asked, unimpressed, before pausing and adding, “And how many snacks have you eaten without paying for them?”

“Hey! I do pay for them!” Luffy protested, a pout finding its way to his lips.

“With your treasure tab?” There was an undeniable hint of laughter in Law’s voice now. “You do know that’s gonna go straight from your paycheck, right?”

“It’s my money anyway,” Luffy grumbled, turning back to Onigiri. He cupped his face in both hands, his pout getting even bigger. “Onigiri, daddy’s being mean to me, tell him something.”

Onigiri blinked. He wasn’t sure if he was glad or upset he couldn’t laugh because if he could… he would be rolling on the floor right then. Luffy said that. Luffy really said that. He really called Law ‘daddy’ without thinking twice about it and that was the best thing that had happened in Onigiri’s life since Cora brought him those turkey treats on Tuesday.

“Daddy?” Law repeated in a broken voice so quiet and so mortified that it made Onigiri want to laugh all over again—he didn’t even have to look at him to know Law was beet red.

“Yeah? You’re Onigiri’s dad, after all.” Luffy tilted his head to the side as he spoke slowly, obviously completely clueless as to why Law reacted like that.

Onigiri really loved this idiot.

Jumping up a little, Onigiri quickly licked Luffy’s face to show his appreciation of his adorable naivety. Or well, he wasn’t naive; Luffy absolutely knew what ‘daddy’ meant in context… but seeing as he never bothered to think before opening his mouth and even then not really thinking about what just came out of it and thus completely missing his own accidental innuendos…

And poor Law was usually on the receiving end of these too.

On second thought, was it really completely on accident or just subconscious flirting?

Who knew? What Onigiri did know was that these two needed to kiss already.

“Hey, kid! Can you actually do your job here?!” the completely forgotten customer called from inside the store, understandably completely annoyed. Somehow, it was a wonder he wasn’t yelling and demanding to see a manager…

But there were more important things happening here, okay?

Still, Onigiri took a step back from Luffy, barking once as he returned to Law’s side while the two humans said their own goodbyes, the both of them lingering for a few moments too long to be considered normal and Onigiri shook his little head.

Hopeless idiots, the both of them.

It might have been Friday afternoon… but they would hold hands by the week’s end if Onigiri had anything to say about it.

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The next order of business was to actually get them together. That was considerably harder than simply forcing them to meet but Onigiri did have a plan.

Like every Saturday, Law took Onigiri to the large park to play. And like every Saturday, they passed by the cinema right next to it. Onigiri couldn’t exactly read but he knew that whatever posters were hanging in the front, those movies were still playing. Quickly scanning the pictures one by one, Onigiri huffed in satisfaction when he found the one he was looking for. It was still up. Good. That concluded stage one of his plan.

Stage two—make sure Luffy was where he was supposed to be.

It was a warm, sunny day and Luffy hated staying indoors to begin with so Onigiri was pretty sure he would be hanging out at the park as well. He usually did on days like this; it was the most nature in the city and Luffy loved the place about as much as Onigiri and Law did, so unless he forgot he had a family trip planned—wouldn’t be the first time—chances were high he would be there somewhere. But the problem was actually finding him without making Law suspicious.

Being a dog came in handy in situations like this, however. Asking to play fetch as an excuse to wander, using his sensitive nose to sniff out the distinctive smell of meat mixed with the sun and Luffy’s own scent. Onigiri had no idea how Luffy managed to smell that way all the time, but he wasn’t exactly complaining—not when after minutes of searching, he finally caught the trail of said distinctive scent.

Onigiri grabbed the ball and took off—fetching it… but not for Law. Instead, he ran in the opposite direction, letting his nose guide him until Luffy came to view. He was sitting on a picnic blanket, waving his hands around animatedly as he talked to his friends, a ginger-haired girl and a green-haired boy. Onigiri was pretty sure their names were Namu and Zori but Law hardly spoke about anyone outside his own friend circle aside from Luffy so he wasn’t entirely positive.

But this wasn’t about them.

Onigiri ran up to Luffy, barking happily around the ball in his mouth to catch his attention.

“Onigiri!” Luffy called when he noticed him, a wide grin appearing on his face as he reached out with one hand to gesture for the small dog to come closer.

Onigiri easily complied—after all, that was the whole point of him coming—before he dropped the ball into Luffy’s lap.

“Where’s Torao?” Luffy asked then. He was turning every which way, searching the park for Onigiri’s owner like an idiot with a crush. Which was exactly what he was.

“Aw, this is Torao’s dog? How cute!” the girl cooed, her voice full of excitement and adoration. As it should be; Onigiri was adorable and he knew it, thank you very much.

“Yeah!” Luffy said proudly. “Nami, Zoro, this is Onigiri. Say hi, Onigiri!”

Ah. So those were their names. Close enough.

Barking in greeting, Onigiri sniffed the both of them, remembering their scents—sweat and steel for Zoro and for Nami, tangerines and… money? Why did everyone in Luffy’s group smell so weird? It was a mystery.

No point dwelling on it, Onigiri thought. It was time to proceed to stage three of the Grand Plan.

Onigiri turned back to Luffy, nudging the ball in his lap with nose, wagging his tail and barking excitedly to manipula— prompt Luffy into tossing it for him.

Luffy laughed, rubbing Onigiri’s head. “You want me to toss it for you, do you?” he asked teasingly, waving the ball in front of Onigiri’s face.

The dog barked again, getting impatient; what was Luffy playing at? It was only a matter of time before Law found them, there wasn’t time.

“Okay okay!” Luffy finally stood up, tossing the ball in his hand a few times as an evil smile appeared on his lips and he took a stance, getting ready to throw the ball as far as he could.

Just as well, Onigiri thought. The further the better.

The moment the ball left Luffy’s hand, Onigiri took off, chasing after it… but the ball wasn’t his goal. Instead, he sprinted right past it, running at full speed with purpose. Soon, he passed through the park’s gate and crossed the street—only after the light turned green, of course—rushing to his destination; he ignored the startled cries of the people he passed, not slowing down until he reached the cinema. He quickly grabbed what he came for before turning around and sprinting back the way he came.

He was completely out of breath when he finally made it back to where Luffy and his friends were sitting. He wasn’t surprised to see Law already there, looking close to a mental breakdown at having lost sight of his beloved dog while Luffy tried his best to comfort and reassure him—at least that was what it looked like but it was hard to tell when Law was just looking more and more frustrated while on the other hand, Luffy seemed to be struggling to hold back carefree laughter.

“Onigiri! You little shit, where did you go?!” Law asked angrily when he noticed the dog running over.

Ignoring his master for now, Onigiri went straight to Luffy, dropping the item he had brought in front of him before flopping to the ground with exhaustion, panting loudly. Man, why was he so tired? The cinema was so close… He supposed it was the adrenalin of racing with time, trying to get back before Law found them…

“Hm? What’s this?” Luffy asked with confusion, picking up the cinema’s programme pamphlet.

Stage three—complete.

Onigiri sighed deeply. It was going well… so far. The rest really mostly depended on at least one of them not being a complete idiot.

Which was, admittedly, a difficult hurdle to overcome.

“This movie… Where did I see this?” Luffy wondered out loud, his face scrunched up into a deep frown as he studied the picture of an animated superhero, his robot side-kick, and pet seagull. Onigiri was honestly surprised there wasn’t steam rising from his head with how hard he was thinking.

What did he say about someone needing to not be stupid?

Maybe he should just give up if they were both going to be like this…

“Hey, isn’t that the seagull that Torao wears on his bag?” Nami asked, pointing at the bird in the corner and in that moment, she looked like a goddess in Onigiri’s eyes.

Luffy’s eyes lit up in recognition at her words. “Oh! This is ‘Sora, Warrior of the Sea’?! You never showed me what it looked like but Toaro, isn’t this your favourite manga?! Have you seen this movie yet?!” he asked, turning to look at Law with something akin to stars in his eyes.

Oh, thank god.

Onigiri barely finished the thought when a tell-tale click came from behind him. Did he really—

Whipping his head around, Onigiri glared at Law. He was kneeling behind him with Onigiri’s leash in hand as if to incriminate himself of his crime and Onigiri bared his teeth at him.

“Don’t you growl at me, you brat. I’m not the one who ran off to fuck knows where!” Law snapped, tugging at the leash for good measure to remind the dog his movements were now severely limited. As if he were a dumb hamster who couldn’t find his way back once he left his cage.

Rude.

And here Onigiri was, working his ass off and doing Law’s damn job for him.

“Torao!” Luffy called impatiently.

“What?” Law hissed, tearing his eyes away from Onigiri to shoot a dirty look at Luffy. Onigiri almost felt bad for causing Luffy to take collateral damage…

Luffy didn’t seem phased, however, only showing Law the pamphlet where his favourite hero of all time stood proudly, pointing at it eagerly. “Have you seen this movie?!”

Law was quiet for a too-long moment, seemingly weighing his options before he opened his mouth to slowly reply, “I haven’t.”

If Onigiri could, he would have raised his eyebrows at Law because really? Did he not want to admit he had seen the movie four times already so he didn’t seem like the complete nerd he was? How ridiculous—as if Luffy didn’t know he was a hopeless Sora fanboy already.

But actually… this played right into Onigiri’s paws.

“Oh! Wanna go see it?” Luffy asked, blinking up at Law with his big, innocent eyes.

Onigiri was pretty sure the strangled squeak he heard was Law going through some kind of gay panic at the sight. “Why would I want to—”

“Ehh?” Luffy drew out, a small pout on his lips as he tilted his head to the side to stare up at Law—only worsening the trembles in Law’s little heart. “But you like this! Come see it with me, come on!”

“Don’t go saying stupid shit, you sound like you’re asking me on a—”

“On a… what?” Luffy asked with a confused frown when Law didn’t finish his sentence.

Idiots…

“Idiots,” Nami sighed as she face palmed, perfectly mirroring Onigiri’s thoughts. A kindred soul, sharing Onigiri’s suffering.

“They’re both completely hopeless,” Zoro added.

Before either Law or Luffy could say anything, Nami punched his shoulder instead. “You have no right to talk,” she hissed. “Do you know how hard me and Robin worked to force you and Sanji to stop dancing around each other like a couple of morons?”

“Shut up! Who asked you to do that anyway?!” Zoro protested as he slapped her hand away.

“It was painful to watch!”

As the two continued to bicker, Luffy simply shrugged and shook his head, seemingly used to it, before he turned back to Law. “So about the movie…”

“What about it?” Law asked quietly, defensively, as his eyes turned away. Probably unable to keep looking at Luffy’s face without agreeing to anything that came out of his mouth.

Onigiri sighed. That was it for stage four, he supposed. Time for stage four-point-five.

Before Law could react and pull on his leash to stop him, Onigiri jumped to his feet and took off; he circled around Luffy sitting on the blanket, then back around Law, only to then dash forward at full speed, tugging on his leash until he heard the surprised yelps and fumbling as Law stumbled forward and towards Luffy from where the leash tangled around his knees.

“What the fuck is this, 101 Dalmatians?!” Law groaned, sounding torn between angry and painfully embarrassed while Luffy just laughed, catching Law to make sure he didn’t trip over him and break his neck.

Onigiri barked once, looking Law straight in the eyes when he slowly walked back to the two of them, sitting right in front of the cinema pamphlet that fell out of Luffy’s hand in their tumbling.

“I think the dog is trying to tell you two something,” Zoro said with a raised eyebrow, his fight with Nami forgotten.

“You fucking think?” Law asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

“Just go see the stupid movie, what’s the harm?” Nami joined in, sounding about as tired of their shit as Onigiri felt.

“It’s not stupid, it’s great!” Law snapped immediately.

“Oh, so you have seen it,” the girl said, an evil smirk on her lips as she teased Law without mercy.

Onigiri barked in a canine version of a laugh; he really liked this girl.

“I guess it’s decided then!” Luffy announced with a happy grin. “The programme said there’s a showing in an hour, let’s go!”

Law visibly froze, looking between Onigiri and Luffy like a deer in headlights as he tried to process what was happening. “Are you actually serious?”

“Yes.”

“Bark!”

“Are you stupid? I can’t go anywhere, I have Onigiri with me—”

“We’ll watch him, just go have fun,” Nami interrupted him and, as if to prove her point, she got up on her knees, carefully picking Onigiri up and unhooking his leash to free the two boys of its hold. Once done, she pried it out of Law’s hands before clasping it back to Onigiri’s collar. Finally, she sat back down on the picnic blanket, placing Onigiri in her lap and scratching him behind the ears.

Onigiri didn’t fight the temptation to lean into her touch, her slightly longer, perfectly manicured nails feeling like heaven in his fur.

“See? We’re all good,” she said happily… but Onigiri couldn’t help but feel like there was a hint of a threat in her voice.

“How much are you going to charge me for this?” Law asked, even though he sounded resigned to his fate at this point.

Nami smiled in response… and even Onigiri felt a chill run down his spine.

“Oh, I won’t charge anything. As long as you have fun. Got it?”

“Yessir!” Luffy cried, completely terrified. As if he could imagine exactly what would happen to him if he didn’t listen to her.

And just like that, both Law and Luffy were basically chased away, leaving Onigiri behind with Nami and Zoro, and thus ending stage four-point-five.

Now… with stage five commencing…

They could only hope for the best.

“You have it hard, man,” Zoro said once the two of them were completely out of sight, throwing Onigiri a sympathetic look.

Nami hummed in agreement. “If they don’t come out of the cinema holding hands, I swear I’m charging them by the minute of that stupid movie. And then we’re locking them in Mihawk’s hearse until they figure it out.”

“Hey!” Zoro cried. “Use your sister’s goddamned truck, you want me to get killed?!”

“Oh please, the worst Mihawk would do to you is refuse to drive you anywhere,” Nami noted with a roll of her eyes.

“Yeah, and then I would have to ask Perona to drive me and that is a death sentence!”

“Don’t be a baby,” Nami said flatly. “If you could walk in a straight line without getting lost, you wouldn’t have to rely on your family or Sanji to chaperone you everywhere. And also—” she paused, her eyes narrowing dangerously— “you still owe me money for the restaurant reservations for yours and Sanji’s date last month so don’t try to get out of this.”

“I paid you back, you witch!” Zoro cried.

Nami huffed, waving her hand dismissively, “Ever heard of interest?”

“You’re impossible. Why do I suffer you?” the boy groaned, rubbing at his forehead.

Nami huffed as she tossed her hair behind her shoulder. “Because I’m so cute!”

“Compared to what, a trash can?”

Somehow, Onigiri wasn’t even surprised when Nami’s fist flew forward to punch Zoro full force in the shoulder, her teeth bared as wrath radiated off of her.

Ah.

Now Onigiri could see why Luffy jumped to attention the very second he felt the slightest hint of hostility from her. This girl was terrifying.

“Aw, I’m sorry, Onigiri. Did the stupid swordsman scare you?” Nami cooed at him, when she noticed how he crouched and huddled into her lap to protect himself.

“Pretty sure he’s scared of you,” Zoro muttered quietly.

Nami took a deep breath, only shooting Zoro a dirty look to which the man simply raised his arms in surrender. Apparently satisfied, Nami turned back to Onigiri. “Don’t worry, no matter what happens, I am forcing Torao and Luffy to buy you as many tasty treats as you want for doing their damn job for them.”

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As Onigiri laid on his bed at home a week later, chewing on a fresh, tasty bone that Luffy had brought him when he came over to see his boyfriend— much to Cora’s delight and Doffy’s amusement—he couldn’t help but thank Nami in his mind for keeping her word. He didn’t remember ever getting this many treats, not even from Cora when Law wasn’t looking.

He supposed with this…

He could declare stage five concluded, and his Grand Plan a raging success.

Whatever would these hopeless humans do without him?

21 notes · View notes

molsno · 9 months

Note

hey, sorry if this is out of line, but I'm a "theyfab" (pre-everything guy, waiting for top approval, rly sensitive to hormones so worried about t) dating a transfemme. I want her to feel loved and seen by me - she's also early in transition and I want her to know that me loving her as she is DOESNT mean I won't continue to love her as she grows and changes. She's pretty shy and her only trans girl friends are online. Anyway, I want to learn how to NOT be like the tme people you've interacted with. U can ignore this, but if u do have advice I'd love to hear it!

Also, I'm really sorry about the abuse you've endured. It's not fair. It's not acceptable.

hi, I honestly appreciate you asking for advice! that to me shows that you do really care about her and want to be good to her

I think the most important thing is to keep in mind that she's in an incredibly vulnerable and precarious position. it sounds to me like she doesn't have a big support network. it can be very hard to build something like that as a trans woman (especially early in transition) but it's something that's absolutely vital. a big problem that I think a lot of us face is becoming overly dependent on a tme person (or a few of them) which can be completely devastating if that person leaves. I think the best thing you can do to help her is to encourage her to make more friends of her own. ideally, they should NOT just be your friends that you're introducing her to. she needs to have friends and allies completely separate from you. you cannot do everything for her, nor should you be expecting/expected to - that's a fast way to make sure your relationship falls apart. above all - and this is key - is to understand that you don't own her. she's an independent person, and she deserves to have her own life and make her own choices about it

I feel I should also warn you that this is going to be a very tumultuous time for her. she is literally starting to undergo a second puberty, and it will be just as distressing, hormonal, and emotional as the first one. cut her some slack if she seems irritable or upset for seemingly no reason. for me and a lot of other trans women I know, this was one of the most dysphoria-inducing periods of our lives. it very well might be for her too. it's easy to be upset that the hormones aren't working, or that changes aren't happening fast enough, or that you'll be ugly or not feminine enough, etc. she may express doubts like this. offer her reassurance! it will take time for her to see the changes she wants to see, but they'll come. in the mean time, let her know whenever you notice changes in her. maybe you'll notice her skin is softer, or her hair looks more lush, or her face is rounding out, or her hips are getting wider. let her know that you see these things and compliment her. early transition can very well be a source of joy, if she's able to take pleasure in the little changes, and you can absolutely be a part of that process!

I don't know if your relationship involves sex, and I don't want to make any assumptions about how you two engage in it if so. however, this is a common experience I hear about, so I feel like I should tell you this. don't expect her to have sex with you like a cis man. not only can it be dysphoria-inducing to always have to top, her body will possibly not even be capable of that soon due to the effects of estrogen. if that's how you've been having sex up until now, you'll have to really reorient how you two do things. I haven't read it myself, but I've heard the zine "fucking trans women" by mira bellwether contains a lot of good information on this topic. you may find it useful! I think you can read it at this link, but I'm not sure. if any of my followers have a better link, go ahead and put it in the replies!

finally, and this is honestly just a good tip for relationships in general, listen to her. if she's upset about something, take her seriously and don't pass judgment on her. don't immediately jump on the defensive if she's upset about something you've done in particular. try to put yourself in her shoes and see things from her perspective. show her that she can talk to you about anything and you'll be receptive, and you'll be able to have open, honest communication much more often, which will lead to a much stronger and healthier relationship

thank you for sending this, and thank you for your reassurance about my own trauma as well. it really means a lot to me! it really helps me feel more optimistic to know that there are tme people who are willing to listen to us and be better allies to us. I think your girlfriend is very lucky to have you, and I hope you can both be happy together!

before I go, I know I'm not that knowledgeable about your personal situation, but I would say that if you think testosterone would make you happier, you should pursue it! if you can obtain it, there's nothing wrong with taking it for a week or two, seeing how it makes you feel, and then deciding whether or not to keep taking it based on that. either way, I wish you the best!

#ask #Anonymous

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spacecolonie · 1 year

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Hello! Do you have any advice with painting? Every time I start I end up just doing lineart with colours underneath, and when I do kindles art it looks kind of like plastic. Am I supposed to merge the two layers and then start shading? What would you recommend?

Hey anon!! I actually do have some advice for that!! I'll shove it under a cut because it got way longer than I thought it would, sorry for the infodump everyone _(:3 」∠)_

quick tl;dr: painting process should consider both personal taste & the desired aesthetic of a painting, & to avoid plastic-y colours, make sure your hues vary within your values (and layer modes are ur friend) ♥

there's a million ways to start paintings & its all down to personal preference -- the end goal for the illustration can often influence the approach you take; a crisp digital painting might call for meticulous layering & sharp edged flats, but if you want something to look like an oil painting, you should try and mimic that process as close as you can! here's some examples:

this is the sketch for my FYR zine piece from last year; i intentionally approached it in a way that looks like traditional underpaintings so that when I worked directly on top, those orange tones would peek through like this:

after doing that undersketch, i manually painted everything -- no fancy layer modes, just me, one layer, and screaming ಥ_ಥ it was hard but it worked for the vibe i wanted!!

now v.s something like this:

simple shapes, roughly blocked in shading that just gets merged and painted over, as well as lots of layer modes on top for those colour changes! this is by far the easier one & the one i'd probably recommend, solely because it lets you keep more control. i go more in depth here on that -- but to quickly answer, i personally block everything (including shading) in before I merge & render!

for the other thing you mentioned, a lot of the times that 'plastic' feeling can come from either a lack of transitional shades or only using white/black for your value tones. this tweet thread (direct image links 1, 2 & 3) by frozensoba demonstrates it incredibly well -- by adding certain colour shifts in your values, it can create extra depth which is what makes stuff look more alive!! don't be afraid to really push it and get wacky

an easy way to add it while you're learning is using gradient maps to add richness in your midtones. It's not perfect since different surfaces & materials diffuse light differently, but adding one at the end of a drawing can help tie everything together. If you can do both at once though it always looks best; here's some very quick 2 minute orbs as an example:

ok I'm almost done (and im so sorry for how long this got... special interest moment TM) -- one last thing is to try varying your brush strokes & adding textures if you want. using only an airbrush or heavily relying on blurring brushes can make things look plastic too; sometimes you want that, but for the times you don't, adding some texture & leaving brush marks in can do a lot!!

lastly, since this is just me rambling, here are some artists that are incredibly talented & i highly recommend looking at for their advice & processes because it will be much more coherent than this:

Marco Bucci -- amazing educational content. if you check out any of these artists, he's the one to look at first imo. his 10 minutes to better painting series is a great place to start

Sinix Design has some amazing tutorials on anatomy & the mechanics of painting! This video & the intermediate part 2 are super

Dao Trong Le -- a veritable goldmine of speedpaints

Bo Chen & any of the riot splash artists. If that's the vibe you're after, you can't go wrong with the LoL splashes as reference

i hope that helps!!!

#tutorial #any time i have the opportunity to barf out art talk i will do it #tysm for the question too ♥#not art #asks

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snailythefan · 10 months

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posting art that isn't dr sometimes makes me anxious bcus u know, i know most people only follow me for that but i said it on twt so I'll say it here too: it's always Snaily Variety Hour!! I'm just some guy making art of things I love!! it has always been that way and it'll always stay that way!!

and i say this just to remind myself that even though I'm genuinely happy my art is finally being acknowledged after years of posting to the void, i don't do art to get more followers (i tried it for a while and it made me sad actually!).

I just do art because I like it, and I like to participate in fandoms even if from far away!!! I just love the process!!!

Ehem, anyway. I wanted to talk a bit more about it in length so there you go.

It's a bit stressful to be an artist in the modern landscape because I feel like you're treated like a brand nowadays? But I'm not. I'm some guy. And i might never get to make a living out of art but it's the one thing I can't seem to give up on.

I love drawing, and i love making silly comics, and i love learning new ways in which to make my art better. It's a slow process for me, but hey we do our best.

I do still have um Art Dreams? Art Goals?

- I wanna sell art at a convention!! That would be super cool!! Mostly I wanna hang out with other artists at cons haha

- I want to collab on a comic with someone else (something original or not! It's just about sharing the creative process with a friend)

- I want to get into more zines!! (this one is eternal i guess, i just adore being part of larger projects with other extremely talented people)

And yeah. Yeah.

Being some guy posting art on the internet is a bit stressful sometimes, makes you overthink these things as if you needed a PR team? You gotta Market To Your Audience or whatever. But i cant seem to do that because i don't want to and also it makes me feel fake. And truly I'm just some neurodivergent guy trying to show off my cute art. U know what I'm saying? Lol.

Sigh! This turned into a rant! Anyway! That's all!!

#snaily talks #enough vulnerability for One day

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doomandgloomfromthetomb · 7 months

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Damon & Naomi - Best Video Film & Cultural Center, Hamden, Connecticut, May 12, 2023

Following up Powers / Rolin, we're keeping it duo-y this week with a fabulous tape of Damon & Naomi in the "almost pretty" state of Connecticut earlier this year. D&N were playing Best Video Film & Cultural Center, a nonprofit venue/community gathering space that honestly seems like one of the coolest places in the entire Nutmeg State. "I don't know why we haven't played a video store before," Damon marvels, later noting the unexpectedly excellent acoustics that a wall of VHS tapes provides.

And yeah, he and Naomi are wonderful as always, playing several tunes from their latest/greatest A Sky Record along with some welcome dips into their rich back catalog, which now stretches back over 30 years. I especially enjoy the songs in which Naomi picks up her bass — such a unique and absorbing sound. In the first issue of the highly recommended new zine Head Voice (more on that soon), Ben Chasny and Elisa Ambrogio go deep with Yang about that sound. "[I]f you play really low all the time, the club starts to vibrate and everything falls off the shelves. It's like a seismic sound, all those super low notes. But I think I really started playing higher up because I always write the bass lines by singing them, so that is where my voice is. I also just thought it sounded pretty and it cut through."

The laid-back setting also encourages banter, so we get to hear about D&N's newly adopted cat, misadventures on the Merritt Parkway and Tim Buckley's appearance on The Monkees. And hey, there's even a majestic rendition of the old Galaxie 500 chestnut "Another Day" ... though I'm also going to suggest you check out the radical version of this song from around the same time with Meg Baird and Charlie Saufley. (Oh and then maybe you can dig the quartet's radical Popol Vuh cover???)

In case you haven't guessed yet, this recording is another dig into the Alex Butterfield Archives, which have given us untold treasures over the past several years. Go dig through the tapes! Thank you, Alex!

#damon and naomi #alex butterfield archives #meg baird

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foibles-fables · 1 year

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Hey! I saw your tweet earlier. I’m sorry you (and many others here) seem to keep receiving so much hate. I’m writing this to send you some love because you deserve it! Thank you for always being a beacon of light in the Horizon fandom. The stuff you write and post always bring a smile to my face. Loved all your comments about Call of the Mountain.

I feel bad about the current state of this fandom. I knew we had some bad apples, but I guess I underestimated them. I know we will eventually bounce back, once the homophobes shut up for good and some of the weirdos calm down a bit. We’ll have our peaceful little corner of the internet again.

And that will only happen thanks to people like you, meg-noel-art, and many others who, somehow, always manage to keep things light and fun. As they should be.

PS: This the first ask I send you and I’m sorry for never commenting or saying much. English is not my first (or even second) language, and I am a little shy. I’m more of a lurker, I guess. Also, seeing all the recent attacks might have made me crawl further into my little comfort safety zone lol.

PPS: Full disclosure: my main horizon ship is Ereloy. However, I absolutely love everything you and meg-noel-art post about Talanoy. I try to like and reblog everything I see. Though I always low-key shipped them, since ZD, I guess I’m almost completely converted now because of you. I, too, miss Talanah lol Also, for some reason, the DLC only made me ship them harder. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Sorry for the long message and thank you, again! Cant' wait for the focus network fanzine!

Oh my goodness--thank you SO MUCH for this kind ask. Seriously, this made me smile so much after a ridiculous day, and I appreciate it more than you can even know! Totally flattered you've enjoyed being around and have liked all the silliness I've put out--seriously, my heart is so full <3 <3 <3

The fandom is definitely going through A Moment. And honestly, the gross mainstream homophobia and the shipping gatekeeping/discourse alike are starting to get pretty exhausting. But I'm definitely trying my best to do as you said--to be a beacon for the fandom--until things calm down! Because they absolutely will. We've carved out a nice space, and when everything settles, the peace will return.

Again, I'm so grateful that you decided to reach out! Keep on enjoying your fave ships, and I truly hope you love the zine! Lots of great stuff coming up :) have THE BEST day and please take care!!!

#my heart is so full nonny thank you #i'm so glad you're here #kindness counts!!!

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marsoid · 1 year

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bulk answering asks

bc i let them pile up OOPS

@booblampoo asked:

You, your comics, your characters and story, have helped me accept a lot of who I am which wasn’t able to do before. Thx for doin what you do and for as long you it enriches you please keep doin it.

💞💞💞💞💞💞💞 thank YOU for the support!!

@lethesbeastie asked:

Just wanted to say that your art and comic work is a huge inspiration for me, and that I always love seeing your work!! I hope you have a wonderful day!!

wah thank you, you too!!

@gribochekzhenka asked:

Hi. I really love your comic "long exposure"! I love Mitch, we are very similar in character and behavior. And I love Jonathan, he's very cute! You are the best artist I know! My girlfriend and I really like to read your work. I'm sorry, I don't speak English well... But I really want to say that you and your comics are fucking awesome!💗

hehe jonathan THANK YOU i appreciate it!

@kingdom-falls asked:

I just received my package for the Long Exposure hardcover+goodies, and I just wanted to say how awesome they all are!!! I especially love the pin since it rotates perfectly! The hardcover is DEFINITELY getting the spot of honor on my bookshelf!

aw YAY i’m so glad they got to you safely!!!!

@sharkface-daydreams asked:

i just got my copy of Long Exposure in the mail and I'm so excited!!! I love having a copy of this lovely comic to hold in my hands it means a lot to me 🥺💜

NICE I’M GLAD!!! 💕💕

@nightsistcrs asked:

hey there! i just binge-read all of long exposure and i really love it! in one of the chapters i saw an ad for a nsfw zine, but i can’t actually find the link anywhere. is it still on sale? thanks!

the NSFW LE zine Dong Exposure was a kickstarter add-on and no longer available, sorry abt that!! if it does come back i’ll say somethin tho

@spooky-stockmarkets asked:

Will your gay wrath and the choke shirts ever go back on sale? I was looking to buy some merch off your store, but they mostly seem to be out of stock. :(((

(Love ur work btw)

agh yea i have a lot of stuff that’s out of stock rn. working to get more things added soon tho! sorry for the inconvenience!!

@lea-fy asked:

your bowser is so (animal noises) and im just wondering if u would ever draw him again. not to save humanity or anything but yeah somethign like that

HA maybe i will........ if my will to draw ever comes back from the war.........

@spookylostboy asked:

I know the physical copies of Long Exposure were from your kickstarter, and I wanted to ask if they’d be available to buy? Or were they solely a kickstarter bonus? No pressure to answer! Twas just curious :]

they’ll be up in my shop hopefully this summer!!

@fou-and-foue asked:

how does it feel to have your comic out and about as a physical product that people read and buy and own and love <333

pretty dang coollllll

@algernonsbouqet asked:

HI I JUST WANTED TO SAY I LOVE YOUR COMICS AND STYLE THEYVE GOT SO MUCH LIFE AND PERSONALITY IN THEM 💞💞💞 YOURE AWESOME HAVE A GOOD DAY

HEY THANK YOU!!!! 💞💞

#booblampoo #lethesbeastie #gribochekzhenka #kingdom-falls #sharkface-daydreams #nightsistcrs #spooky-stockmarkets #lea-fy #spookylostboy #fou-and-foue #algernonsbouqet

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kimikoyukiart · 10 months

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Hey! Idk if you remember, I'd talked to you about making your aymeric x estinien housing art into ffxiv housing. Ever since then, I have really fallen in love with your art style! I am also a noob artist and opened comms recently, but I haven't gotten any yet haha do you have any advice and tips for me to help gain an audience and commissioners? Thank you and goodluck with your shop!

Hello again! Yes, I remember gosh thank you so much for enjoying my art! Also I'm always super happy to answer art stuff since I'm in love with it, but I will open with a disclaimer specifically for the growing audience bit cause for a long time I've primarily been an OC / original art artist and it wasn't till I became cripplingly obsessed with estimeric that I grew some semblance of a following so I'm a pretty small artist by most standards ;;; With that said, here are my tips and advice which I'll separate into 2 parts

Putting this under a read more cause it's LONG

Commissions (mostly about expectations, best practices, and organisation to make it easy on clients)

Have some kind of commission page (here's mine for example) to make it easy for your clients to be able to reference something and for you to direct new inquiries to. This can be anything from a website/carrd to even just a google doc/tumblr pg. Will there be clients who never read this? Absolutely. BUT it's also great for clients who are shy and/or who like coming prepared

Have a Terms of Service section!! In our current day and age of tech bros and assholes trying to exploit and scam creatives I cannot express enough how just having a TOS will deter these ppl! It shows you're serious and that you know what you're about, making you less of a target!

MOST IMPORTANT! Be kind to yourself!!! Opening commissions is exciting due to the prospect of making money from something you love and it can be very disappointing and demoralising when you don't get any! It's also a very "feast or famine" type of roller coaster, so don't feel bad if you don't get any, even super large artists struggle!

Building a following (from someone who's doesn't actually prioritise this so take it as you will!)

You've probably heard this before but fanart is definitely better at drawing a crowd than original art so I feel obligated to mention it. (I'm a pretty classic case study of this imo lol) And the reason for this is that there's already an established audience out there that loves the content you're making unlike original art where you're starting from ground zero. Does that mean you should give up making original art if you want followers? ABSOLUTELY NOT! And honestly most of my advise will be from the perspective of growing an audience via original art because you can apply the same principles to fanart so here we go!

Consistency is key. Being a constant presence on your existing followers' feed means having consistent chances for them to share/engage with a piece of your artwork, which means more chances for new eyes to see them which means more chances for followers etc etc. But what's the pace? Well that depends on how brutal you're interested in being with yourself unfortunately....if you die hard want to grow as fast as possible then once a day (i've seen some artist do more;;;) but it's something I would NOT recommend for all sorts of risks. (you can mitigate the risk ofc but that's like a whole thing in itself) I'd advice you to figure out a pace that works for you so that you maintain a healthy relationship with your art

Join events/zines/bandwagons. Whether it's things like drawtober, ffxiv art parties, or zines, engaging with community/communal activities (especially those with hashtags/promos) can help you engage with people who might not have found you otherwise. If you're a social person it's a great chance for you to make friends who have similar interests too! Making art related to a piece of media that just came out is also great way of engagement since people are probably looking for it (for example spidersonas or dressing OCs in outfits to watch the barbie movie)

Make it easy to find your art when someone visits your page. It doesn't necessarily have to be a full portfolio, but giving viewers a place to see only your art posts is crucial imo. Tumblr is great since it's tagging system is fantastic making this part easy but places like Twitter for example only have a single media tab; so making a thread for art post or keeping your media tab clean is ideal. (you've no idea have many artists i've chosen not to follow cause their media tab is 1 awesome piece of art then just 500 cursed memes/reaction images lol)

HARDEST BUT MOST IMPORTANT POINT! Make compelling art. I follow artists who post a piece of art maybe once every....I dunno 3 months if even that, but when they do they get thousands of notes, why? Because it is a compelling piece of art. Something that touches the heart or makes you gasp in awe or swoon from it's vision or die laughing. And this is the hardest point because what that looks like is completely unique to you. Basically it is your answer to the question of "Why do I make art?" which artists everywhere all around the world, regardless of genre or industry, are trying to answer themselves. The one thing you MUST REMEMBER while you try to figure this point out is that it must involve Love. That means loving the journey; the grueling failures, steep learning curves, and all, because if even you don't love what you're trying to create other won't either. And that's not to say you have to be happy about a piece of art not turning out right (I still cry from frustration myself all the time) but it does mean be kind to yourself when you fall so you can pick yourself up easier when you stand again

THAT WAS SUPER LONG WOW! With all that said tho those 1st 2 points for growing an audience is what I would recommend focusing on! The internet is all about engagement and you can't have that if there's nothing to engage with! Also because it just bears mentioning that sometimes it is just a skill thing and you just have to get better at drawing BUT that is not to say skillful=complex! Nonono take a look at webtoons like "My Giant Nerd Boyfriend" by fishball or "Sarah's Scribbles" by Sarah Andersen. Or illustrator's like loonpflug or mmeiccaa. It's not complex but it's some FKIN GOOD ART!

Ok I will stop my ranting here GOOD LUCK AND DON'T FORGET TO BE KIND TO YOURSELF!! You are more than how many numbers you make on the internet and I hope that you always remember that 💖

#asks #oh as a footnote i guess #pretty promo posts for ur comms will prob help #if you see comm promo posts that look pretty u can save them as refs for urself #just make sure they're clear #also luck #so much LUCK #so don't feel bad if it takes awhile #just keep at it #AND HAVE FUN!!!#also also the risk mitigation for consistent posting rlly is it's own post #so feel free to ask again if u'd like to knw more #or wanna knw anything in general lol

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abelunwilling · 11 months

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Fanwork creators self rec! When you get this, reply with your five favorite fics/art/podfics/etc. that you've made, then pass on to others. Let’s spread the self-love 🌼

From @anstarwar :}

Aw! Hey, thanks! I'll do my best to answer! \o/ <3

Long Ride Home (Star Wars, Echo/Crosshair) Though I struggled for a while and stopped writing around the time my dad passed away, I really think this will be some of my best work once it's finished. I've had the basic plot planned out in a loose sense for more than a year, and it really feels like I'm finally getting there! All my favourite ingredients are here: slow burn, healing from trauma, enemies to friends to lovers... just trust me, OK? When discussing this story with a friend recently, I said: "CrossEcho is less my ship and more my oceangate submarine that I keep insisting is fine guys, really, just try it, moments before it reduces me to paste". Maybe that will convince fence-sitters to read it out of morbid curiosity!

this small, but stubborn fire (Digimon Survive, Shuuji/Ryo) This story has been on the back burner for a while (sorry!) but once Long Ride Home is done, it's my first priority. After writing so much sci-fi it feels kind of nice to get back to a more grounded, human story... I say that, but it is Digimon, so take it with a grain of salt, haha. It's also nice to write something with younger characters for a change, and play with using social media within the story.

baby (Mass Effect: Andromeda, Avitus/Macen) I've always been super fascinated by the topics of AI and robotics, and the moment I got the idea for this story it just kinda possessed me. Obviously this story is about a romantic relationship, but it also carries a lot of my own feelings about caring for a loved one with a disability. Written for a gift exchange, so hopefully my giftee liked it as much as I liked making it for them!

not our first rodeo (Star Wars, gen - Bad Batch) So this one time, I paired up with this super amazing artist for a mini bang event... ;D But really! I love writing comedy shenanigans and unreliable narrator stuff, and this story let me visit so many fun genres that have influenced my overall tastes and style in some way. It was a blast and I had so much fun bouncing ideas off of you. <3

what's in a name? (Star Wars, gen - 99 & Bad Batch) I wrote this a while back for the Vode An zine and, honestly, I stand by it. I really enjoyed writing 99's POV and I'll definitely have to do it again someday! I tend to ramble, so one of the challenges of writing a zine piece was sticking to the word count... but I worked with an absolutely amazing beta reader who did an awesome job helping me condense things and be super judicious about what needed to be kept or cut. I would say the whole process really helped me grow as a writer!

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cloudmancy · 9 months

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Hey ! Just wanted to send some support, bc you and your friends' art was always so cool and was a key part of me getting through the pandemic alongside acoc and acoc fan theories ! Sorry for all the unwarranted hate you've been receiving from randos and critrole fans, it must be so disheartening to see these people considering the hard work you guys made as "unserious" and "wishful thinking"... because if anything all the fanon I've seen around acoc shows how it's for many people the best season of d20, and it's a shame some idiots see you guys being sad about fanlore being contradicted as entitlement.. Anyways sorry for the long message but I wanted to show support after the twitter debacle, take care ! ❤

thank you, I appreciate it :) what people on twitter will never understand is that what 'fanlore' means to ME are the countless zines I've participated in. it's a a nonprofit cookbook project based on the world of A Crown of Candy that raised over $7000 for charity. it's Dropout.tv sending us specifically a second, official calroy cruller minifigure as a thank you and acknowledgement of the joy and power of fandom. genuinely it's people like you who love and support each other genuinely who keep the wheels turning

#asks #epsilonchi #<3

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taruchinator · 1 month

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🐺 General Audiences

🐺 2k Words

🐺 Written for the @fnafchibizine!

‘Happy Birthday, Cassie!’

The lopsided cursive writing made of icing dripped from one side of the chocolate cake, making it appear soggy and unappetizing from any and all angles. Its candles having burnt out hours ago didn't help the case either, but that was okay.

It wasn't like Cassie felt like eating a whole cake on her own.

“Man, did I get the wrong memo? Didn't know we were doing a funeral today.”

FNAF? In MY account? More likely than you'd think! 🤭 Hey everyone! Alice here! Today I come with another special piece written for a zine: The FNAF Chibi Zine, to be precise! 💖

I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to do for a cutesy project like this one in writing form, but then it hit me that I could get away with adorable goofiness and kids getting to be kids (the calm before the storm ig lol)

Something I've wanted to do was explore Cassie and Gregory's relationship, so that's exactly what I decided to go with! This can be seen as either platonic or romantic, tbh. I just love me these babies (even if Greg is possibly an evil psychopath 🙃).

You can also download it for free so consider checking the official account!

Cassie had never been particularly interested in video games.

At school, it was one of the things that separated her from the rest of her classmates in the social hierarchy, with everyone always showing off their newest consoles or big hit releases. As if she didn't need more help in sticking out like a sore thumb.

Despite owning a pretty decent handful of games, she was never the competitive type, so she didn't pay much attention to them—but that all changed one day when her father got a new job in the city as an engineer for the animatronics at Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex.

The man would pick her up after last period, and together they'd head over to the massive hall attraction, where Cassie was free to roam around wherever she pleased while the adults got to work. A few of the other employees’ children would be there too. She tried to befriend them at first, but eventually stopped once she realized they would laugh and talk behind her back.

That's when the Arcade Cabinets came into play.

With the restaurant’s powerful 80’s aesthetic, it was no surprise to see an area dedicated to these gaming devices from an older time. Once she'd explored every inch of the building and none of the animatronics were available to spend time with her, Cassie figured she'd give these guys a shot.

To say she enjoyed them would be an understatement.

Before she knew it, the brunette would find herself wandering into the gaming area more and more frequently, going from one cabinet to the next to try and figure out which one she liked best. It was surprisingly ‘Balloon World’, despite her complaints of not finding a single Roxy themed arcade cabinet.

And even though she was having so much fun, there was something that slightly piqued her interest.

At first she didn't even notice it, but after constant playthroughs of the same games, Cassie saw a pattern in all of them—they all had the same acronym as the top score player. Curious to know if this was a factory defect, she went looking into other games, even ones she didn't normally play, only to keep finding the same name over and over.

“GGY…” She mumbled the three letters as she placed her palm against the joystick of Princess Quest. For someone to have the high score in not just one, but all the games in the arcade, they'd have to have been playing here for a very long time. And yet, Cassie was never with more than a few kids at a time in this area, and rarely did she see them again unless it was weeks afterwards.

So now, only one question plagued her mind every time she walked into the building—who was this mysterious ‘GGY’?

Two hours.

That's how long Cassie had been waiting to play Midnight Motorist.

When she arrived at the Pizzaplex earlier that day, she'd planned on trying to beat her previous record, only to find a boy she'd never seen before already there. Usually she wouldn't mind this, after all it was a public place and many kids spent their time here too. It wasn't the first time someone was playing in a cabinet before her.

For them to take two hours playing in said cabinet however, was a different story.

“Um, excuse me?” Cassie dared to take a chance, gently tapping the boy's shoulder in order to get his attention. “Are you almost done?”

“Ugh! Wait your turn, will you?” The boy immediately flinched away from her touch, and was almost startled out of the track in-game yet was quick to steer himself back in the right direction. Never once did he take his eyes off the screen to acknowledge her.

This annoyed her slightly. “I have been waiting. You've been playing for hours! And I should know; I went to go see Roxy's performance as soon as I got here and you're still here!”

The boy seemed to share her annoyance, but something told her it wasn't for the same reason. “Who cares? I was here first, so don't get in the- wait no, no, no! Dang it!”

Undoubtedly thanks to her meddling, the car on screen crashed against one of the obstacles, causing an instant ‘Game Over’ to appear. Yet despite that, Cassie couldn't help but notice that the boy still managed to beat the previous high score, which only made her wonder how much longer he would've lasted here if she hadn't said anything.

In reluctant grumbles, the boy started writing his initials on the scoreboard. Cassie didn't even bother listening to what he was saying once she saw the familiar letters that were scattered all over the arcade.

“Ya know? You're lucky I don't have any more tokens on me, cause I'd definitely keep playing if I did! I was about to get to the secret level before you—” The boy's rambles were quickly cut short by the brunette's gasp.

Her expression quickly morphed into that of awe as she invaded the boy's personal bubble, causing him to back up again the cabinet with a look of confusion on his face. “You're ‘GGY’?! Oh my God, I've been dying to meet you, I'm a huge fan! I'm Cassie!”

The mystery of GGY was something that started eating at her for a while now, so getting to meet the face behind the name was incredibly exciting, even if said face belonged to a boy who was somewhat rude at first meeting.

It was only now that they were face to face that Cassie got to have a good look at him—He had shaggy brown hair, a blue striped shirt, and khaki shorts that exposed legs covered in bandages. He also appeared to be around her age, yet still, he was completely unfamiliar to her.

Sure, Cassie didn't know every kid that frequented the Pizzaplex, but she had a fair idea of the usual guests considering this was the place she spent most of her time at, perhaps even more than her own home. Maybe he just moved into town?

“It would explain his terrible social skills…” The girl mused to herself, still waiting on the other's reply.

He seemed to be stuck between being mad and confused, cornered like a wild animal not knowing how to respond to the interaction. Honestly she couldn't blame him—her dad always said she gave off a strong aura, which some people might find too invasive.

The mystery boy didn't seem to think so though, as he finally decided to snap back into reality and started pondering her question. He rubbed at the back of his neck and avoided eye contact, but Cassie didn't mind at all.

A faint blush spread across his cheeks as the boy averted his gaze in what was unmistakably fake annoyance. “I-I'm… Gregory.”

Cassie couldn't help but smile. She had a feeling this boy was going to be interesting to hang out with. “Nice to meet you, Gregory!”

‘Happy Birthday, Cassie!’

Party decorations were plastered all over the walls of the empty room, with everything from balloons to streamers to confetti, and yet none of it made the sight seem any less depressing.

After all, what could be sadder than a little girl celebrating her birthday all alone?

Roxy had been there with her the first few hours, giving her hope that her classmates were probably just running late or maybe got distracted by the ball pit and arcade games on the way. “They'll be here any minute!” Roxy had said.

But when the minutes turned into hours, there was nothing left in the brunette’s heart other than pain. As the tears rolled down her cheeks, messing up the awesome make-up Roxy had done for her earlier that day, Cassie couldn't contain the soft hiccups escaping her lips, no matter how hard she tried.

“Man, did I get the wrong memo? Didn't know we were doing a funeral today.”

That voice was one Cassie had grown accustomed to when coming to the Pizzaplex. It would usually bring both joy and annoyance with it, yet this time she felt nothing but shame as she buried her face deeper into the cocoon of her smeared sweater. “Why are you here, Greg?”

Cassie could hear Gregory's footsteps as he made his way around the food table and towards her. The sound of rustling paper and shuffling could be heard before she felt a tap on her shoulder. Tentatively lifting her gaze, she was surprised to be greeted by both a napkin and a flustered looking Gregory.

The boy coughed into his empty hand as he motioned the napkin in her direction. “What do you mean? You think I'd miss my friend's birthday party? Sorry I'm late. Had to get your present ready…”

That's when she saw it—a small paper gift bag resting on the table in front of them. It had a tag attached to it with Gregory's name on it, albeit rather clumsily written.

Cassie didn't have time to react before her friend decided to take initiative and start wiping the streaks of mascara running down her cheeks. He gently dabbed her eyelids too, trying to get rid of as many tears as possible as he kept talking. “I wouldn't get my hopes up though. I won it at the prize counter a few weeks ago cause it reminded me of you, and your birthday just happened to be coming up so… yeah. Sorry if it's kinda lame.”

Finally getting a hold of the napkin Gregory was using, Cassie blew her nose into the piece of paper as she felt more tears starting to build in the back of her eyes.

She knew he was an orphan, and didn't have any money to his name, so of course getting her something from the Pizzaplex would be the best solution. But just the idea of him playing games and spending all of his tickets just to get her this gift, was more than enough to warm her heart even if he didn't think it was worth getting worked up over.

Which was why she was quick to grab the bag and open it up right then and there despite Gregory's protests.

Inside, nestled between some stray pieces of confetti, was an adorable Roxy-Talkie. She'd been eyeing it on the prize counter for a while now, so maybe she wasn't so subtle about it and the boy was quick to notice her interest.

A soft beep broke her out of her thoughts, causing her to turn and find a smug looking Gregory holding a Freddy-Talkie. His voice echoed on both her right ear and the Roxy-Talkie's speaker. “This is Captain Gregory speaking. Lieutenant Cassandra, do you copy? Over.”

Rolling her eyes at the use of her full name, she pressed the button to reply in feign annoyance. “I copy Captain Doofus, over and out.”

“Hey! Is that any way to treat someone who didn't just get you a present, but also went out of their way to get a matching one for themselves?” Gregory's voice rose in pitch and all Cassie could do was giggle in reply.

“I mean, let's be real. You got one just to annoy me.”

“So what if I did? That's proof that I care, Lieutenant.”

“Oh, finally! A guest!” Roxy walked into the room at the perfect time, looking at the duo of children with a delighted smile gracing her robotic muzzle. She turned to address Gregory. “Welcome to the coolest, most badass birthday party of your life! Not just because I'm here, but you also get to hang out with my best friend Cassie!”

The boy simply stared with a pointed look. “Are all these robots such suck ups?”

“Hey! That's Roxanne Wolf you're talking to! Plus she's right—it's my birthday! So if anyone gets to be a Captain, it's me.” Cassie smirked in the boy's direction, trying her best to look as cool as possible despite all of the crying she'd done mere minutes ago.

Gregory chuckled, but didn't protest. Instead he returned the grin as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. “As long as I get free cake, you can do whatever you want, dweeb.”

He ran away before the brunette could even react, already by the sweets table with Roxy close behind him. Still, she couldn't contain the smile from spreading across her face as she watched his excited form.

Maybe no one else showed up, but the person who truly mattered did.

And that was more than enough in her book.

✦𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐌𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐝 𝐓𝐨 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐌𝐲 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬!✦

#my stories #five nights at freddy's #fnaf #fnaf fanfic #fnaf gregory #fnaf cassie #fnaf security breach #fnaf ruin

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