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mochinek0 · 4 months

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Love Ballads-Ch.2

START

"Hello, Adrien!" chimed Lila, placing the call on speaker, "Are you as excited for today's date as much as I am?"

"Hello, Lila." Adrien acted, "Yes. I'm excited, as well."

Lila smile grew as she looked in the mirror. She had chosen the perfect dress to make him fall for her.

"I can't wait to see all our friends again." Adrien smiled, knowingly spoiling her plans.

"What?" she asked, dropping her mocha lipstick.

"Yeah, it's already been approved by Father." the model continued, "Every Saturday is couples night with our friends from College."

"Really?" asked Lila, as she started to bite on her thumbnail.

"Yep." Adrien smirked, "Nino suggested it."

"Who else is going?" she asked, staring at her tangerine dress.

"I don't know really, just that it's mostly couples." he stated, "Anyways, I just texted you the address. I'll meet you there."

"Oh?" she whined, "You're not picking me up? Boyfriends really should-"

"No, I have to leave early. I have a shoot at dawn, but you're welcome to catch up with everyone. I can't wait! " Adrien replied, before hanging up on his supposed girlfriend.

'How could he just ruin my plans like this? He was suppose to be a good boy and pick me up for our date! He was suppose to take me to dinner so I could show all of Paris he's mine! I can't even dress up, but I can't go casual either. Time to make Agreste Jr see what he's missing out on.'

"Casual yet flirty." she smiles, putting together her new outfit.

"Adrien, Bro!" Nino cried as he pulled his best friend into a hug.

"It's good to see you too, Nino!" replied Adrien with a hug.

"So where's Lila?" Nino asked, breaking the hug.

"She's on her way. I got a shoot at dawn so I thought it was better to come separate. I didn't want her reunion with you guys to be cut short on my account." the model smiled.

"Hey, Sunshine!" called Alya, enveloping him into a hug as well.

Soon everyone was pulling him into a hug until only Marinette was left.

"Hey, Marinette." Adrien smiled.

"Hey, Adrien." she smiled in return, "It's good to see you again."

'No stutter? When did that happen?'

Suddenly, he was enveloped by the scent of lilies and rain as she hugged him.

"You too." he smiled, faintly recalling his mother, "What have you been up to?"

"Um, university." She mumbled, "I'm in the fashion program."

"I knew your sketches were amazing!" Adrien grinned, "Are you here alone?"

"Oh! Um, no. I-I came with Nathaniel." Marinette answered.

"Oh. Um, that's nice." murmured the young model, only to receive a nod, "How long?"

"Four months?" she questioned.

"So, it's still new?" he asked.

"Yeah, thought I'd give it a shot." Mari shrugged, receiving a curt nod in return.

"Alright; it's time for the duet!" cried out Alya.

Everyone groaned in response.

"Oh, stop it! We do this every week. So, who's starting?" she asked, looking around the room, "Sunshine, you're up."

"I don't have-" he began.

"Mari, join him." interrupted Alya.

Marinette groaned, but still got up from her seat. Adrien and Marinette took the stage and grabbed a mic.

"Babe!" hissed Nino.

She shushed him. Alya ignored the looks thrown her way from everyone else. Yes, she knew that Marinette was technically seeing Nathaniel, but she also knew her girl wasn't in love with him. Maybe, a tiny part of her hoped, now that they were older, Adrien would finally see how amazing Marinette was.

"So, how do we do this?" Adrien questioned.

"Hit the random button and we sing whatever comes up." Marinette answered.

"Okay." he replied.

'That's simple enough.'

They watched as the song list shuffled rapidly before settling on 'Why Don't You Love Me'.

Adrien noticed the petite designer freeze up and the room became silent.

"Um, is-is this okay?" the model asked, confused by the air in the room.

"Uh, ye-yeah." she replied, taking a deep breath. Marinette turned and smiled at him.

"Ready?" Mari asked.

"Yep." he smiled.

Adrien closed his eyes and gulped. It was his first time singing in front of his friends.

'I can do this.'

youtube

See , I can't wake up

I'm living a nightmare,

That keeps playing over again

Locked in a room so hung up on you and you're cool with just being friends,

Left on the side lines,

Stuck at a red light,

Waiting for my time and I can't see

When the duet began, Adrien turned his head towards his partner and smiled as Marinette sang beautifully along with him. She belted out the melody, perfectly.

Why don't you love me,

Touch me,

Tell me I'm your everything

'Wow. Marinette's just as amazing as always.'

The air you breathe,

And why don't you love me,

Baby,

Open up your heart tonight,

'cause I could be all that you need,

Oh,

Why don't you love me?

As Marinette began to sing her part, Adrien found he couldn't look away from her.

See I'm just to scared to tell you the truth,

'cause my heart, it can't take anymore.

Adrien took a step back, as she suddenly turned and looked at him as she sang. Suddenly, it was like she was only singing for him. It was hard to fight the blush that was trying to take over his face.

Broken and bruised,

Longing for you and I don't know,

What I'm waiting for.

Left on the side lines,

Stuck at the red light,

Waiting for my time,

Taking a deep breath, Adrien returned the melody with as much passion as she did.

So just tell me,

Why don't you love me.

Adrien couldn't help but smile, as a blush overtook her face when he sang back to her.

Touch me,

This time her eyes were on him.

Tell me I'm your everything

The air you breathe,

And why don't you love me,

Baby,

Open up your heart tonight

'cause I could be all that you need

Why don't you give me a reason?

Give me a reason

Please tell me the truth

You know, that I keep believing

I keep believing

'til I'm with you

Adrien slowly reached out and grasped Marinette's hand.

Why don't you love me?

Startled, Marinette quickly looked at their hands, before returning her gaze back at him. Only when she looked up, she found he had closed the gap, bringing their hands to his chest.

Kiss me

She couldn't help but look away.

'Why does it feel like I'm begging for a kiss?' she wondered.

I can feel your heart tonight

It's killing me (killing me)

So why don't you love me?

Touch me

Tell me I'm your everything

The air you breathe

And why don't you love me?

Baby?

Open up your heart tonight

'cause I could be all that you need

Why don't you love me?

As the song ended, Marinette quickly set down the microphone and hurried to her seat. She took a deep breath as she calmed her traitorous heart.

'It wasn't a confession; I have Nathaniel! I can't fall for Adrien again! This is suppose to be my time to get over him!'

Confused, Adrien sets down his mic on the stand. As he went to his seat, he noticed Alya looking at her phone.

'Was I that bad?'

"Congrats, Man! You killed it with that song!" Nino claimed, clapping him on the back.

"You both harmonized beautifully." stated Luka.

Mari blushed in response and took a sip of her drink. Luka had never said that about her and Nathaniel. She decided it was best to ignore him, missing Alix elbowing him in the ribs.

"Hey, I found someone." called Nathaniel as he entered the room.

"Adrien!" Lila cried, throwing her arms arounf him.

"Lila?" he questioned.

"I tried calling you when I got here, but-" she sniffed.

'I completely forgot she was coming. I was having fun, too.'

"She was a little lost and once she mentioned Nino, I figured she was with us." intervened Nathaniel, while Lila buried herself in Adrien's shirt.

"Thanks, Nathaniel. Sorry, I had the first song so none of us heard my phone go off." Adrien winced.

Lila took a look around the room. It really was people from their college days, including Marinette. Lila smiled in Mari's direction, as she hugged Adrien tighter. Marinette rolled her eyes in response to Lila's childishness. Adrien sighed at the girl's actions towards each other.

'Right, they never got along. Marinette was the only other person who figured out Lila's a scheming manipulator.'

"It's so nice to see everyone again!" greeted Lila.

Adrien ignored the excitement in the room, as Nathaniel went over to Marinette and took the seat next to her.

Five more songs were sung before the alarm on his phone went off.

"Sorry, everyone." Adrien stated as he stood up, "I have to head out. I have a shoot at dawn."

"Yeah, better get your beauty sleep, Model Boy." teased Alya.

Everyone quickly pulled their old friend into a hug.

"Do you still play?" asked Luka, as he patted him on the back.

"Yeah." the model answered.

"We should try and jam on one of your off days." Luka insisted.

"Right, cause those exist." Adiren chuckled, "Maybe one of these Wednesdays, whenever we hit your place."

"Sounds great!" replied Luka, "Mind if I get your number?"

"Oh, me too!" cried Alya.

"Same!" shouted Ivan.

Soon everyone was inputting their number into his phone. Lila latched onto his arm as everyone played 'Pass the Potato' with his phone.

"Oh, I forgot the best part!" Adrien interjected, before she could try and talk her way out of it, "Lila is staying! She told me how much she was excited to see everyone again. Right?"

"Of course!" she smiled.

'Again! How does he keep ruining everything? It wouldn't have taken much to walk out to the car with him for some privacy and leave these losers here. At least I have a toy to play with. Time to go for the kill.'

"So, Marinette." Lila prodded, knowing that being with Adrien must be killing the so-called designer, "How long have you and Nathaniel been together?"

Marinette giggled, "Four months."

"What's so funny about your dating life?" she asked, catching Nathaniel attention.

"I can see why you and Adrien are going out." Mari answered, "You're so much alike."

"What do you mean?" Lila questioned.

"Adrien also asked about my dating life." Mari smiled, as Lila simmered in her anger.

'This is not how this was suppose to go!'

"Adrien asked about us?" asked Nathaniel.

"Yeah, well, you were in the restroom and he asked if I was here by myself. Once I told him I was here with you, he asked 'how long' as well." Marinette said, before clapping as Alya took the stage.

'Why would Adrien want to know about if Marinette was here by herself? He's dating Lila; a model! At least she didn't deny it, right?'

"Did you ask about us?" asked Lila, interrupting his thoughts.

"Nope. In fact I had no clue he had a date til you arrived. We sang the duet, at Alya's insistence. He sang since it was his first night and Nathaniel wasn't here." replied Marinette, as she looked at the drink menu.

Lila simmered throughout the night as her scheme crumbled. Marinette didn't seem remotely jealous of her relationship with Adrien Agreste. She was too busy dating the redhead. It made her sick to see them so affectionate with each other.

Marinette on the other hand was eager to get home. Nathaniel was acting weird. She wasn't one for PDA. They had held hands and she's kissed him on the cheek before rushing off to class, but for him to drape his arm around her...it was too much. Mari smiled and lowered his arm off her, before excusing herself to go to the bathroom.

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#adrien agreste #fake dating #lila rossi #planning ruined #karaoke night #class reunion #nino lahiffe #alya cesaire #marinette dupain cheng #duet song #why dont you love me #nathaniel kurtzberg #luka couffaine #low self confidence #Youtube

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silversweetpea · 2 years

Text

Stitched Up

Word Count: 4422

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Reader

Summary: The Devil get cold too sometimes, and it seems a shame to toss out perfectly good fabric...

Warnings: Offscreen violence heavily implied, Reader has a panic attack at one point in the story but Matt talks them through it.

Author’s Note: Hello, welcome back to Petal being self indulgent with their writing again lmao. I’m a sucker for five and one stories and that’s pretty evident from the structure of this guy (although technically it’d be better called three and one but semantics). I also have no idea how fashion college degrees work so please excuse that I just wanted an excuse to write about giving our guy a gift.

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“I’m not afraid of you,” Your voice doesn’t shake, which is the part that scares you more than the man in front of you.

“You should be,” The devil of hells kitchen responds.

He’s beaten and bloody and bruised beneath the suit. you can see cuts in the fabric from whatever the beginning of the night held for him. Still, despite his presentation. you know him as much as any other resident does. There's a reason the man who had tried to corner you had dropped his gun and ran when the horned shadow stretched over the alleyway and there's a reason you stayed besides the shock.

Daredevil doesn’t hold back against criminals, but you’re just a civilian on their way home from your friend’s house.

“Thank you," Your hands tremble but you try to convince yourself its from the biting autumn wind. The Devil barely nodded before moving to leave. There’s an interesting dichotomy in your head as the part of you that remembers your test in the morning and stranger danger rules screams at the top of its lungs to hurry home where you can hide under the blankets and call your friends. It had been a while since you caught up with each other’s lives, hadn’t it? Wouldn’t a friendly voice be good to hear right now?

“You can thank me by getting off the street,” it’s a gruff response but not particularly unkind and it only fuels the whispering voice that urges you after him.

You can’t help but blame that whisper for the fleeting idea that he has a nice voice as well as the way that your feet follow him. Your eyes drifted to the red suit and the nasty gashes in the fabric as he walked along the sidewalk. You wondered for just a second what the pair of you must look like, you laden with bags of fabric and shoes to repair and the devil of hell's kitchen desperately trying to speed walk away from you.

“Do you have someone who can stitch up your suit?” The vigilante didn’t stop but he did visibly roll his shoulders in frustration at your continued presence. You couldn’t be sure why he didn’t just scale another building like the one that he had dropped down from, but if you were a gambler you would put money on the gashes along his back and arms.

“What?”

“Your suit. It doesn’t look like it’s made of the best material,” Words spill out like an unmanned faucet left to run, nerves had always made you more chatty. “I mean it looks good on you don’t get me wrong but I was just going to say that I could stitch it up for you, if you wanted.”

Your face feels warm when he finally does stop and the gruffness has more bite this time.

“Go home.”

Your feet feel rooted to the cement as you watch him go. It only takes a minute or two for him to disppear down an alley way but it feels longer given how much time you spend standing in the dim lighting of the street lamps.

The shock of the night lingers long enough to make it hard to remember how you got home, and you blame the paranoia you experience the rest of the night on being shaken up as well. You had no reason to believe that there were eyes on your back the whole way home, after all.

And the next morning, finding yourself on the couch surrounded by sketches of hypothetical potential winter appropriate superhero suits for hypothetical heroes and your favorite show on the telelvision where you had left the reruns the night before, you tried to put it out of your mind. You had known the risks of living alone in Hell’s Kitchen, and it had been just another day hadn’t it?

The whisper doesn’t agree. Your classes push forward but your free time is spent prototyping jackets. Fashion had always meant to be fun, it was your passion and your way of expression, so focusing on practicality was a bit harder than you were expecting. The Devil is still active, you hear the reports in the morning on the news just as loudly as the rumors on the street. Your friends ask if you want to move in with them and you think of a man’s back covered in gashes and rips when you say no.

Early fall grows late by the time you see him next. Leaves that had just barely been dusted with color now dripped with it in piles on the ground beneath the empty trees. One of which was where you had caught sight of him, perched in the bare branches like a strange bird native only to the kitchen. His black suit had been swapped out for a simpler black you recognized from blurry photos online. It’s not as flashing and the material looks worse for the wear but you know its him nonetheless.

Not only because of the wrappings on his hands or the way he held so eerily still, but because you knew by now that no other hero was brave enough to stick their nose into his territory.

Your backpack feels heavier than it had when you left this morning as you stood there. You had packed it for a reason, just like you had spent all that time on prototypes for a reason, but the thought of handing over your work to someone never became less daunting.

“Go home,” You jump nearly a foot in the air at the words. The night had been so quiet - or at least as quiet as Hells Kitchen ever was - that the sudden noise felt deafening. In between your thundering heartbeat though you can hear that his voice is thick with annoyance, but thicker still with exhaustion.

“You said that last time too,” Daredevil sighs but doesn’t leave when you take your bag off and begin to root through it. “Why did you switch your suit?”

“Do you expect me to answer that?”

“I was kinda hoping you would, yeah.” The man doesn't respond verbally this time, just drops from the tree with a solid thud and begins walking off. It takes all of two seconds before you’re able to swallow your nerves and chase after but the distance between the two of you feels like it’s been way longer than that. “Wait, wait I’m sorry. I’m not good small talk.”

“If I wanted small talk I’d head to queens.” The lights of the neon signs and smoke make him look like someone out of a comic book. You wonder what you look like to him but you can’t focus too much on that train of thought without loosing your nerve completely.

“Right, sorry. I just,” There’s bile rising at the back of your throat from the way that he’s looking at you. Or you assumed he was at least, his eyes were still just as covered as they were in his usual suit. “well I have something for you.”

He finally stops and you nearly run into him given that you’re so focused on trying to catch up. The jacket in your hands suddenly feels littered with mistakes and there’s a distinct screaming to try and shove it back in the bag and tell him it was all a lie. Daredevil doesn’t move from his spot but he does turn around and even in the dark and the limitations of his suit you can read his confusion clearly.

“Its getting cold out and I don’t know how thick the fabric of your suit is so I made you a coat. There’s no tracking or anything in it if you’re worried about that, I’m not good enough with tech for that sort of thing.” It had occurred to you as you were working on it that he may have said no to you repairing his suit because he was worried about his secret identity. Your hand shakes thinking that he may not accept this offering due to similar reasons.

“You made me a coat.” The Devil’s voice isn’t as harsh as it has been, almost like you’d surprised him enough to break his version of a customer service voice. It fills you with just enough warmth to take another step forward and force the jacket into his hand before you can back out and run home.

“Yeah. It’s not the most fashionable but it’s pretty streamline because that seemed kind of important to being able to fight and there’s lots of pockets because those seemed handy. I don’t know how well you can see in there but it’s just black with red detailing. I didn’t want to get the wrong shade of red and have it clash too much and-” You hadn’t realized that you were speaking as fast as you were until you had to stop to take a breath. His posture is just as stiff but his hands are gently exploring the feel of the fabric in a way that makes you feel like you did something right. “I’m sorry. You don’t really need to know all that it’s just that, uhm, well I talk when I’m nervous.”

Daredevil doesn’t comment on why you would be nervous and that alone makes you think that he has more mercy than many would consider. The silence lingers for a moment or two longer before he clears his throat and speaks again.

“Thank you.” For the first time he sounds kind, his lips don’t quite reach a smile but there isn’t the harsh set to them that there was at the beginning of your conversation.

“No problem.” The words sound breathless because they are. Your lungs suddenly can’t quite fill all the way up with the smoke heavy air and when he slowly slips into the jacket they loose all their air completely. “It looks good on you.”

That one gets a smile and it’s brighter than any of the signs around you.

“It’s late. You should get going.” He’s still smiling, still wearing a jacket with your label on the inside collar, even as he ushers you off into the night again. The weeks of sewing and scrapped patterns and pricked finger tips suddenly doesn’t seem like that bad of a price to pay to burn the image of his mouth into your brain.

“Yeah, Goodnight.”

You leave first this time, giddy in a way you hadn’t felt in a long time. The walk is shorter than it’s ever been and you all but fall into your bed when you reach you apartment.

When you check twitter the next morning there’s a single, dark photo of him mid jump from someone trying to ask about his ‘new costume’ and you’re quick to save it to your phone.

It’s still there the next time you see him. It’s later than you’d like but three run ins with the devil of hells kitchen is three more than most people would get.

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” His hand is on your arm but you can barely feel it. Everything around you is spinning, your fist clenched tightly around the taser that you had sworn you would never need to use. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

You can hear him, you know you can, but it’s hard to focus on what he’s actually saying.

“Of course,” the words are as solid as any other you could have said but the grip on your arm tightens just barely. You’re not looking at him though, eyes still locked on the brick wall across the alley from you. You hadn’t picked this alley to hide in while Daredevil took care of the would be assaulters, whatever that had meant when he left you here to catch your breath. If you had, you’re not sure if you would have picked one that had a graffiti work of an angel and a devil looming over you.

“You should sit down, you’re in shock.” There’s a pull, not hard enough that you can’t pull away from it yourself, but enough that you know the Devil is trying to get you to sit. Your eyes still don’t leave the mural on the bricks, you know the ground is wet though with this morning’s rain.

“I’d rather not. New pants. Dirty alley way.” Was it normal to feel guilty for self preservation? You didn’t know what would have happened had you not lashed out to protect yourself, you could say that with certainty, but the way the man had dropped to the ground-

“I’ll pay the dry cleaning bill, sit down.” When he pulls you this time, you allow yourself to sit. There’s cars in the distance that you can hear honking from and somewhere nearby there’s the sound of music. Daredevil is crouched next to you, arm still in his grasp, when you realize that he’s in the same position of the winged being behind him. His colors are different and the angel doesn’t have horns, but the hold and the concern in the way they both lean towards their companion are identical.

“Did the coat work?” You ask after a minute. Anything to stop the line of thought in your head.

“Yeah, it’s great. My friends keep asking me where I got it so they can get one.” Your smile feels watery and weak but its there and he must see it through his mask given the way that his hold loosens on your arm before finally dropping. As if he’s no longer afraid that you’re going to drift away without something to ground you.

“I’m really glad. I hadn’t seen photos of you wearing it in a while so I just kinda assumed it wasn’t warm enough.” The mention of photos should make you embarrassed, and surely when you think back on the situation tomorrow you’re sure it will. Right now though you’re just focused on the way that he smiles again, almost laughs, like the thought of you looking for paparazzi photos of him is funny to him.

“I was in a bit of a rush to get to work one day and grabbed it without thinking. Figured it might raise too many eyebrows if I kept wearing it on patrol after that.” It’s more information than he’d ever given you before and for good reason. Still, having that sliver of information feels like finding your favorite hoodie fresh from the wash. It’s something to clutch to your chest and carry with you.

“Oh. I’m sorry.” This time he does laugh, a short sound but one that you think would make a wonderful ringtone for your phone. It makes you finally understand why artists sample their loved ones’ voices in songs, you want the whole world to hear Daredevil’s laugh and know that he’s not all that bad.

“You’re a bit odd,” It’s not wrong exactly but something about the way he says it makes you want to bury your head in your hands and scream out laughing at the same time. You settle for something in between and rest your head on your arms which rest on top of your knees. Face not quite hidden yet but only a moment away from doing so if the need arises.

“You’re the one in a costume.” Daredevil doesn’t laugh again but his smile is still so bright it makes your eyes water.

“You’ve got me there.” His voice is quiet, soothing. Your pants are wet from the pavement and you can feel the chill seeping in through the fabric but you can’t quit bare the thought of getting up yet.

“Thank you for staying.” If you asked to hold his hand would he laugh at you? Would that be crossing a line?

“Yeah, well, I figured if I left you’d make me another coat.” It’s nice to be teased, taser heavy in your pocket but not your hand. It’s nice to have someone talk with you as if you hadn’t just hurt someone else for the first time.

“You’re right and now I’m gong to have to make you two new coats.” It’s nice to tease him back as if he’s just another friend and not a vigilante. It’s nice to pretend that you’re arguing over how many christmas presents to get each other this year.

“How about just a hat, hard to find ones with holes for the horns.” You’re pretty sure he’s trying to make you laugh again but you’re too focused thinking on how silly that must look.

“Two hats and a scarf?” He could make christmas cards out of the papparazi photos, especially if you went with a green color scheme.

“One hat and a set of mittens.” The devil holds out his hand and you hum for just a moment, letting it stand before taking his hand in yours again. It’s warm and you try not to think about how well the two of you fit together.

“Deal.” Even after a gentle shake you don’t let go and your friend, you think at least, pulls you to your feet.

“Come on, let’s get you home.”

That’s the last time you see him for a while. Your fault, you know, you don’t walk much after dark anymore and Daredevil never seems to be active during the day. Weeks go by and finals begin to loom just as snow begins to fall. The approved hat and mittens and unapproved scarf you decided to make with the leftover fabric sit untouched in tissue paper in your bag.

You think, most days, that perhaps that would be the last of it. That you had had your three times to befriend him or learn more about him and you had blown it with panic attacks and nervous rambling. And then one of your friends asked you to deliver a package for her on a day off.

The building was small and definitely had seen some better days, but at least it was shelter from the bitterly cold wind. All you wanted was to drop the suit off, call Jasmine to remind her to bring the doughnuts you liked from the campus bakery when she finished classes for the day, and curl up with a silly feel good movie and your phone.

In fact you’re so busy mentally picking out what pajamas you’re going to change into when you get home that you almost miss it completely when you walk in.

“Hi I’m looking fo-” your voice catches in your throat when you see it. There’s a woman at the desk, probably the one you’ve been sent to find, but there’s also a man standing next to her.

It’s not his neat shirt and pants that catch your attention or his dark hair and indoor sunglasses. It’s not the white cane he’s leaning on or the familiar tilt of his lips as he talks to the woman next to him. It’s the fact that he’s wearing the jacket you stitched together.

“Hello?” It takes far too long to realize the greeting is directed towards you and when you do you can feel the warmth that gathers in your face as you clear your throat.

“Hi, sorry, uhm, I have a package for Ms. Page? It’s from Jasmine if that helps jog your memory at all.”

“Oh! I wasn’t expecting you until later! Thank you!” Her smile is warm and friendly, and you feel bad that you don’t want to look at it. Not when the man is suddenly standing stock still and the smile has slipped from his lips.

“It’s no problem, really. She wanted me to let you know that if there’s any issue with the inseam to just give her a call she couldn’t remember whether you two had decided to round up or down on the decimal.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, thank you. I’m Karen,”

“(Y/n),” she blinked and looked at the man behind her briefly before shaking her head with a polite laugh.

“You wouldn’t happen to make jackets would you?”

“I’m back and I bring coffee!”

“I should go, I have a couple other things to drop off before I can head home and that cold is killer.” You don’t linger long enough to even introduce yourself to new man in the doorway or say goodbye to Karen, too afraid of tipping your hand too much.

You weren’t lying about one thing at least, the cold is killer especially as you sit on a bench half a block away trying to adjust to the potential bombshell you just had dropped in your lap.

“You never sent me your dry cleaning bill.” You know who it is before you turn around. Your heartrate doubles, the organ working overtime at the thought that you had messed up somehow.

He's smiling when you turn around. It's the same one he gave you in the alley and yet it feels brand new. There's snow landing in his hair and spotting his coat, your coat.

“You didn’t need to follow me I’m not going to tell anyone.” It takes longer than you would have liked to answer and for the first time when talking to Daredevil you sound afraid. You are though, not of him, never of him, but of the embaressment of being scared of the dark? Or the potential questioning of how you found him? Hell even the idea of having slipped up and spilled too many clues somehow and Karen had been able to grill him for information afterwards was a nightmare.

The man's brow furrows just a touch, head tilted ever so slightly as the smile slips into something more confused.

“That’s-” He cuts himself off with a small clearing of his throat. Daredevil's posture shifts slightly and you notice the cane in his hands again. It looks startlingly similar to the cane you had seen people with visual imparements use. “Good to know.”

“Really. I couldn’t tell people if I wanted to, I don’t know if you’re Nelson or Murdock or just some random client that walked in looking for counsel.” The smile is gone completely now, even as he nods. Still he raises a hand to gesture to the bench you're on.

“Can I?”

“Oh, yeah, of course!" It's almost a certainty that you sound incompetent as you shuffle sideways on the bench. You almost wished he was in costume again, at least that way while you would be nervous you wouldn't have to know he was cute while you embaressed yourself.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” His voice is soft around the edges, a verbal olive branch woven into a basket in which you can put as much trust as you'd like.

Unfortunately you'd already placed all your trust in the pockets of the jacket he wore, had it sewn into the lining.

“What?” Daredevil sighs, his fingers tapping on the cane in front of him.

“I can tell you're nervous," The man's voice is still carefully slow. Each word sounds purposeful and careful as it leaves his lips.

"Yeah, I'm nervous but not because i think you'll hurt me! I would never think that!" He seems unconvinced, but more so there's a sense of uncertainty. It sounds silly, everyone feared the Devil even other heroes. When you thought of him there should be a shiver down your spine and a quicker beat to your steps. You can't bring yourself to be afraid though, at least not more so than you are of any other hero. In fact if you had to choose between talking with him and talking with any of the other locals you'd choose Daredevil in an instant. None of the others had helped you or your loved ones in the dark corner of the city they pretended didnt exist. None of them had laughed with you or walked you home when you were scared. "Really, I'm just nervous because I didn't want you to think I was stalking you or anything."

It's true enough for some of the tension to leave his posture though and that feels like a victory worth celebrating regardless of the unspoken parts of your confession. The pair of you sit in quiet for a moment and you try not to stare at him too hard.

You're pretty sure you're failing though. It's too hard to look away when his expressions are so emotive. You didn't think that seeing his cheeks or forehead would influence how easy it is to read him but it's like looking at a whole new person.

“It’s Murdock.” There's a pretty good chance you jump when he speaks, especially since the smile comes back to him so fast.

“I'm sorry?"

“You said you didn’t know if I was Nelson or Murdock. I’m Murdock. Most people call me Matt though.” Matt. It fits him nicely. “Nelson was the guy with coffee you brushed past who is, by the way, now convinced you’re an ex I never told him about.”

The nervous laughter comes before you can stop it, but when you bury your face in your hands you can hear him give a small laugh of his own.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” the laughter doesn't stop when you look at him, face burning with heat you're trying desperately to hide despite being equally as desperate to see him and know what he's thinking about the matter.

“Admitting guilt isn’t usually something people do with lawyers.” The tease is enough to force your gaze back into your fingers. It was strange how open he was without the suit, how much kinder he was. "You should probably be heading home.”

“You’re always trying to get rid of me, aren’t you?” it's hard to tease Matt back when you're still flustered yourself but it's worth the effort to see the boyish grin.

“It’s cold out," There's a pause and in it you can hear an almost laugh slip out again. "And now that you know where to find me maybe you’ll come back with my mittens.”

Your heart skips at the proposition.

“Would you be okay with that?” it's hard to talk around the frog in your throat, almost convinced he's just joking still.

“Well, it might be easier to convince Foggy that you’re not my ex if you’re also there.” Matt hasn't turned towards you but you still feel like the center of the world when he tips his head in your direction. “Maybe not though.”

#matt murdock x you #matt murdock x reader #daredevil x you #daredevil x reader #matt murdock x gender neutral reader #daredevil x gender neutral reader #matt murdock imagine #matt murdock headcanon

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halfdead-halfskeleton · 11 months

Text

Notes:

Lilia x You. Reader knows how to sew clothing(while author does not)

Based off Suitors suit vignette. Technically it's a continuation of the story, so make sure to read the vignette before this fic

A lot of background characters, but I'm not tagging all of them

A bit non-linear storytelling?

The suit was made of magic, meaning it will disappear after a certain amount of time. The fact that such a beautiful sight is not going to stay here for long made your heart ache. And yet, you continued to smile and tried your best to memorize every tiny detail of the tuxedo. You had a plan, after all.

"Feast your eyes while you still can!" said Lilia. The tuxedo Malleus created for him was just marvelous! You and Sebek competed in who's going to complement Lilia more while his face was shining with a smile. Your face did too, it even hurt a bit to smile so much.

The next couple of months casually went by in your room, as you hunched over your secret project. If only your school life wasn't so busy and sometimes downright chaotic, you might have finished it sooner... And if the cruel thing that is perfectionism wouldn't criticize your every move.

After a few not-so-successful, to put it lightly, attempts, you finally finished recreation the suit Malleus made for Lilia back when ghosts that invaded the school for a marriage ceremony left.

Your first attempt failed because you were so obsessed with the idea of recreating the outfit you forgot to take Lilia's measurements. While the final product turned out to be quite nice, it wouldn't fit Lilia at all. Also you didn't have some accessories the original outfit had, which you noticed only at the end.

And so, you began anew, but now without the fabric you intended to use. The end result turned out too different from the tuxedo you remembered. The shade of green? Too vibrant. The pattern on the ribbon? Wrong. The pants? Actually quite nice, but that's the only part of the outfit you liked. And after your sewing machine unexpectedly broke you lost all the crumbs of motivation there were left...

Thankfully, you became a good friends with some students at NRC. While you were earning money for a new sewing machine, Vil and Kalim searched for the fabric and accessories that matched Lilia's suitor suit. Vil didn't get to witness the tuxedo, so you and Kalim had to explain how it looked like. You even showed him all the sketches you made and the first attempt suit as an example.

"Wow, your skill is really shinning here!" Kalim carefully examined the suit from all angles together with Vil. "It's really unfortunate your sewing machine broke... Are you sure you don't want me to get you a new one? It's going to be way faster than working in Mostro Lounge for a whole month."

"That's right, but I'm already asking you for help, you know. It won't be so fair if you do everything for me!" you answered and looked at Vil, who's also visibly impressed by your skills.

"The stitching is quite nice, you clearly took your time to make it the best suit it could be. I'm glad to see you actually listened to the advice I gave you during previous projects. Alright, I'll lend you a hand as well. Just remember that my schedule is tight, so it will take a while to find everything you need."

"Thank you both so, so much!" As you said that, Kalim came closer to give you a big hug. He was super excited to see how it will turn out!

After mountains and mountains of work, you left out a sign. Not out of exhaustion or frustration, but out of relief. You did it. You DID it! Finally, even when it seemed like the whole universe itself didn't want you to complete the suit, you did it!

"Good job." A sudden pat on your back woke you up from all the thoughts. It was Vil who just entered the room. After a minute or so, Kalim came here too.

"Sorry for making you wait!" He panted and leaned on the closest wall. "Oh, I got so scared when I couldn't find the Albert chain I had to call Jamil and a couple of other Scarabia students for help. We found it! It's the same one I gave Lilia that night."

"Wait, if that's the same one... Is it really okay for me to take it? You could get something similar, but..."

"But? I thought you wanted to make 1:1 recreation. Why are you backing up now?" Vil asked with a frown on the face. You pulled him closer and whispered:

"Because it costs 10 million thaumarks!" Such shocking information left Vil speechless for a minute.

"Well, I thought the original one would suit him better! So here it is." As Kalim said that, he placed the Albert chain with a bat on the outfit. You looked at your creation, the exact copy of the tuxedo Malleus has created with magic. Even though some tears appeared on your eyes, your face radiated joy. You finally did it.

It was an after-school evening when you decide to gift Lilia the suit you've been working so hard on. As you roamed around Diasomnia dorm, something poked your back. Strangely, when you looked back there was nothing and no-one. So you turned your head forward and immediately got spooked by upside-down Lilia!

"Ehehe." He smiled mischievously, yet still helped you to get back up. "It's rare to see non-Diasomnia students here at such time. Could it be that you're looking for someone?" Lilia's eyes were set on the box you carried, it was wrapped nicely, like a birthday present.

When your heartbeat calmed down, you remembered the words you prepared in your head. "Yes, there is... But I'm not sure if they'll actually like the present I made. Could you take a look?"

"Oh? A skilled dressmaker like you wishes to hear my opinion? I would be more than glad to assist you." Your heart skipped a beat. Did someone tell him about your secret project? Who could that- oh, probably Kalim, since they're in the same club. And even if Kalim didn't tell it exactly to him, but Cater instead, Lilia would still find out. But maybe Lilia doesn't actually know and said it just because?.. You're kind of known for your great sewing skills. Or... "Let's do it in my room, I was right on my way there." You brushed off the haunting thoughts away and headed to Lilia's room, trying to calm down.

His face beamed with happiness when you let him unwrap the present. Although at first he wondered if it was really okay. "It would be rather troublesome to wrap it back up when you're going to gift it to that person."

"Don't worry, I won't have to do it." A surprised gasp echoed in the room. Lilia carefully picked up the tuxedo, examining every detail. He couldn't believe his eyes. "So, what do you think?"

After a minute of silence, he smiled. "I still remember this tuxedo. I'm really proud of Malleus for coming up with such an elaborate design. And I'm really proud of you for recreating it up to every single detail." As Lilia said that, his eyes began to tear up a bit. "That night I wore a tuxedo for the first time in my life. It's hard to believe I can re-experience that moment again."

"Do you wish to wear it right now?" While you did take Lilia's and some other students'(to make it less suspicious) measurements long time ago, anxiety kept telling you you might have made a mistake at some point.

"I'm eager to wear it!" You smiled unknowingly when Lilia's gentle laugh reached your ears. In a couple of minutes you re-entered the room to see him happily dancing in the suit you made. The moment he saw you he reached for your hand. "Would you mind to dance with me for a moment? Such a delightful gift deserves a special thank-you!"

Blush painted your cheeks red, and heart began to beat faster with joy and excitement. You happily accepted Lilia's offer, taking his hand in yours. And so, you danced around the room. At one point Lilia began to hum a sweet melody. You joined him, and you both hummed in unison while dancing across the room.

You knew this moment, no matter how joyous and bright, would end eventually. So you made sure to enjoy every last bit of it, engraving it in your memory for eternity. And so did he.

#twisted wonderland #disney twisted wonderland #twst wonderland #disney twst #twst fanfic #twst fanfiction #vil schoenheit #kalim al asim #lilia vanrouge #lilia twst #twst lilia #lilia x you #lilia x reader #twst ghost marriage #twst ghost bride #hdhs writing

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poppy-purpura · 9 months

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The Tin of Your Sight (TToYS) It was just a city with laboratories and experimental facilities. Tin was not the first of the purpose organisms with the ability to think; technically, he was the sixth. They were not yet called iterators and they did not have large bodies (and obviously they had some specific tasks and established identities). But it was precisely during the time of Tin that everything began to change. He was chosen to grow into something more, to have more opportunities (and jobs). But his construction turned out to be quite a long process and the House (Cult of Drinking Liquid Metals), which sponsored it, decided to first invest in the construction of another iterator - AoS, the construction of which led to easier access to the Void. Therefore, Tin was not the first, but I prefer to generally consider him to be zero. Anyway due to the fact that this city was mostly engaged in development, the whole structure looked more like an anthill. In addition, besides Tin, there were other “non-iterators” in the structure. Later, Tin had to take care of them (many of their processes were under his control). Tin was quite attached to the Ancients, especially to those who directly worked with him, who changed spare parts for his puppet. Although he knew about the religious intentions of the Ancients, he was still not ready to let them go. And he did everything his way, forcing at least some of them to stay.

This is just a sketch for the development of the structure. I usually call this structure an anthill. This is quite rough, because I don’t have a very good idea of the development process of such organisms. Maybe... Someday I'll draw it better.

Here are notes on what the Tin puppet looked like. It even had a slightly different way of interacting with the panels. You can also see here what previous versions of Tin look like. They don't have names, but they probably made them up. Not all of them have puppets, they're more like just AI. They can communicate, their bodies need to be maintained.

The final design of Tin and it is also shown here that it was the Ancient who led the TToYS project who gave him the headband.

It should be made clear that since Tin's superstructure was constantly being expanded and modernized, he had incredibly more freedom than an iterator could have. When he found that he did not want to let Ancients go, he changed their diet by adding certain plants. Yeah, he got them hooked on drugs to control their minds (for obvious reasons he could not perform a lobotomy directly) or something until they were the only ones left. Their religion has undergone a change, so that Tin now enjoys the status of God.

He is not very interested in his local group because he has always been involved in the affairs of the Ancients + he has his "family". He hides his actions from the group and is forced to defend his territory from overseers. Other iterators sometimes try to know about him but he speaks only to the point and simply ignores inconvenient questions. well AoS knows about TToYS's shenanigans with Ancients anyway. But this group has much problems so AoS just pretend he dont know anything

Swits are just... birds who can run and chase creatures. They are not really good at flying, but still they able to do it Overseers are slightly modernized in order to exclude other overseers

He is not very kind to his eldest. They depend on him, but they have their own consciousness and their own small tasks. In essence, they are really just calculators with their own opinions Only two of them has own puppets, other three are just text and some big boxes with em... brain staff (the 4th had puppet but it broken now)

Also he is a spoiled child tehee

#rain world #sol local group #iterator oc #The Tin of Your Sight

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archiveoftara · 3 months

Text

London Boy

Part 1

"Welcome to my humble home."

With the click of the door, I was greeted by a light lavender & peppermint smell. The room was small (one bedroom flat), an open kitchen to one side and a bed on the other. A small candle was lit on the kitchen table.

Y/n instantly took off her shoes and slowly sat on her bed. I hung my jacket on the chair and looked around the cozy environment. "Your home is nice."

"hmm" she lets out a small whimper when I find her head low, trying her best to stay awake. Her flat looks exactly the way she is, mysterious. The flat is pretty clean, you can't find anything to know more about the person residing except a pile of papers on the kitchen table.

"I know but it's getting late, you should head home." She coughed. I rolled my eyes and put my palm against her forehead.

"I can't leave you like this." She gives me a confused look with those dazed eyes.

"You're burning. Where do you keep your medicines?"

"I'm fi-

"If you say 'fine' one more time, I will fire you."

"Technically Lockwood can fire me." She said with a cheeky smile. Not the smile, angel .

"You can find a box on that top shelf." She points at the kitchen. I silently thank her and start doing my work. I quickly checked her temperature which made me curse, when I felt her hand on mine. Aww she fell asleep. It's past 10 PM and the poor girl haven't had dinner yet. The least I can do is cook her a meal.

After 20 minutes or so, dinner is ready. I made some soup with all the ingredients I could find. Her fridge is empty unlike ours. Maybe she didn't got the chance to shop or maybe she eats take-out? I was lost in thoughts that I almost missed her voice.

"You're still here? Okay you're doing that thing with your eyes again. It's scary."

I chuckled and help her with the dinner. We silently had our meal and she had her medicines. I found myself on the foot of the bed. We were enjoying each other's company when she broke the silence.

"I thought you didn't like me."

Oh my god, was I that bad? I masked the hurt with a casual tone "What makes you think that?"

"I don't know..the way you make sarcastic comments when I make a mistake or maybe the way you just don't leave a chance to scold me. I know you love your job and want everything to be perfect but it hurts sometimes." She mumbles. Her eyes still dazed.

After a moment of silence, I sighed "I have a hard time with people at first but I never meant to hurt you. I'm sorry for being a dickhead, it's just. Honestly, it's just I don't know how to act when you're near me. I feel so nervous--"

I was interrupted with light snores. I chuckled to myself and wrapped a blanket over the angel.

I slowly began to clean up when my eyes fell on the familiar piles of paper. I didn't want to intrude in her privacy but curiosity got the best of me. I picked up the papers carefully. It looked like bills and sketches. What is this?

*Y/n's POV*

Warm light peeked through the curtains. I groaned and snuggled deeper inside the blanket. I had the most random dream, I saw George made dinner for me and tucked me like a child. That's when I realise someone is cooking. I threw my blanket aside, froze to see him in front of my eyes.

"Good morning." His voice felt like honey dripping from his lips.

"G-Good morning." It wasn't a dream.

"How are you feeling?" He sat beside me while handing me tea.

"Much better. You- How was your sleep?"

"Not my usual kind but I managed." The sun made his honey brown eyes sparkle. stop being so pretty.

"Why didn't you go home?" I argue.

"I told you I can't leave you like this." He argued back. When did he become this bold? I tried to hide the blush. "Well..thank you."

I walk past him to cool down a bit. My flat looks so clean. Everything looks organised, no mess, no scattered papers on the table...WHERE ARE THE PAPERS???? I frantically look around when George calls me.

"Are you looking for these?" He held those sketches. The moment I dreaded the most came sooner than expected.

"I didn't know you could draw so well." He smiled.

"I'm sorry." I look down in shame. George looked perplexed.

"I came to London six months ago, escaped my toxic family. My dream was to open my own jewelry brand but it was easier said than done. I didn't have the money and you saw those bills. I needed a job to survive."

I couldn't read his face. He was standing there for like whole 5 minutes, not saying a word, deep in his thoughts. I sighed "I'm sorry George. I didn't had a choice. It was not my intention to hurt you or Lockwood or Lucy."

He still didn't say anything, zoned out. I felt my eyes sting. This is it. This is the end. "I'll submit my resignation this evening. Thank you everything George." I turn to leave the room, to hide in some corner, away from this world.

Just when I was about to step out, I felt an arm around me. I was met with those honey brown eyes which sparkled under the light.

"You're not going anywhere." He pulled me closer "We knew something was wrong. Your eyes gave in the moment I opened the door"

"I'm sorry " I whispered.

"No. I can understand.. I've been there."

"I kind of escaped my family because of certain circumstances. I'll leave that for another day. Y/n stop doubting yourself, you're the best of us."

I rolled my eyes "I'm not half as good as you George."

"Like I told you, stop doubting yourself. I'm here for you."

I think my heart skipped a beat. I can't believe I'm in his arms, The George Karim who I thought hates me.

"You're crazy."

"Normal is boring anyway." He takes my hand and leads me to the table "Besides, I'm here to help you achieve your dream. Your sketches are beautiful, we can totally nail this."

I grin at his enthusiasm. This ship is ready to sail and I have George by my side. What else do I need?

Hello readers, I'm back with a new chapter. I honestly don't know what to say about it. Not my best work, would love to hear from your side.

#lockwood and co #fandom #george karim #fanfic #george cubbins #george karim x reader #locknation

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brickcentral · 3 months

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🤩 ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: zekezachzoom Hello everyone! It's time to direct the spotlight toward our community members, and today we will get to know better zekezachzoom!

"My name is Sunny but you might know me better as zekezachzoom on social media. I am a freelance graphic designer and have been a toy photographer for 10 years.

I came up with this profile name after my sons’. Zeke is my second son and Zach my first. I imagined them running away after calling their names, hence Zoom. I live in Singapore where we have two seasons, Rain and Shine. It’s a tiny island and getting around is pretty fast and easy. I have a few favourite spots around the island for toy photography. I will be more than happy to explore these places with any of my overseas friends if they pop by this part of the world! Though sometimes I wish we have mountains, rivers and maybe desert for more outdoor choices. On the plus side, being a small island makes organizing an outing with fellow toy photographers very easy, even if it is a last minute thing.

I started toy photography after posting an image of Spiderman squatting on the window ledge overlooking the neighborhood on Instagram…and then discovering the community. Everyone was and still is very encouraging and I think this helped in me trying to better myself with each photograph. Though Instagram is not what is used to be, but that is a discussion for another day.

 Talking about process, if there is a brief for the photo (commissioned work, photo contest), I will usually follow up with some research work on the topic. At the same time, I will park the topic for the photo at the back on my mind and let it simmer unconsciously.

However, for personal work, I usually do not actively chase for ideas, forcing them out. I find that most ideas come to me randomly. This usually happens in a variety of ways, like watching videos on any subject, going about my daily life, observing and listening to things around me. I think being curious about everything and anything certainly helps in generating ideas.

Once I have a photo idea, I then let it sit and simmer further in my mind’s eye. This can help take the concept to more interesting directions in terms of story, setup, composition, lighting, etc. More ideas can be built upon this initial concept base on even more things you see and observe. It also allows time to think about how to setup the shot.

I will always sketch my ideas on my notebook, which is always by my side. At present time, I have more ideas than time to shoot!

When it comes to the shoot itself, I usually start with the mobile phone, quickly checking the angles and then locking my camera to a tripod. I always use a tripod to gather multiple shots of the same angle with different lighting, atmospheric effect so that I can then composite them in post if need be. Then I will shoot couple of shots for final composition without the lighting and atmospheric effect. I enjoy the post production work, especially the color grading part. Sometimes, the word PHOTOSHOP give rise to arguments within the photographic community. To me, it’s just a tool to bring the picture to its maximum potential.

I think people I know in the community know me for my punny, silly and light-hearted stuff. So much so that friends recommend me toys they think that might fit this style. However, recently I find myself going all over the place in terms of themes. I just enjoy the process of experimenting different approaches, be it the storytelling or the technical bits of photography. When I am shooting indoor, I usually set up for low key images. It gives me a chance to experiment with indoor lighting. If there is one thing I would tell my younger self when I started, it’s to pay attention to lighting. It can elevate a nice photo to a great photo. Also, I like to build simple sets with everyday object that end up looking like something else when viewed through the camera. I do this mostly because I am lazy and don’t have the patience to build dioramas. I am usually with a group of friends when I shoot outdoors, because we have a monthly gathering among us. During these outings, I am constantly looking out for areas with awesome lighting. I try to reserve my action shots (ie scenes with flying debris) outdoors, mostly because there is no need to clean up after the mess! Also, outdoor light is beautiful…but fast changing lighting condition is another story all together.

When I first started, it was all about the Star Wars figures. I had stopped collecting figures since the 1980s , but it was the Star Wars Black Series that got me collecting again with all its glorious articulation. Once I discovered the community, I realized that there were other characters to be bought! I sometimes wonder if that is a good thing, from my wallet’s point of view.  I find myself gravitating towards nostalgia when it comes to the figures I buy. So, my collection and images usually reflect that, with movie/TV characters from the 80s. Stuff like Aliens, Indiana Jones, Predator and Back to the Future, etc. However, whether they are LEGO minifigures, statues, 6 inch figures, I will shoot any figures as long as they serve the stories. Each type of figures has its own pros and cons and challenges. But I would not have it any other way.

This is my basic equipment list: • Nikon Zfc with kit lens (16mm to 50mm) • Lensbaby Sweet 35 lens • Helios 44-2 58mm lens • Extension tubes for close ups • 2 speed lights • Couple of LED cube lights • Manfrotto tripod

Why toy photography? I love pop culture and telling quirky weird stories with characters I love. I can never produce awesome looking illustration of these images I have in mind and photography seems like the next best thing. Hence toy photography! When I first started, I was always coming up with ideas in the middle of the night and sketching them down and made it my mission to spread this hobby. I recall vividly telling a friend how much I enjoy this hobby and was going to just keep throwing out toy photos into the internet and see what comes back. And a lot has indeed happen since then: • I started a local Facebook group to organize more toy photography outings and share photos. • Managed to get featured on national newspaper and television, because they came across my work online. • Made friends on social media and participated in podcast by some of these friends. • Conducted workshops. • Shot for some toy companies. • Collaboration with toy designers and model/diorama makers. • Nikon Ambassador.

I have enjoyed the journey so far and look forward to improving myself. Something I always remind myself: your best photo is the one you have not taken yet."

Thank you for accepting our invitation and let the community knows you better!

If you want some insights on the exclusive picture and for a better view of the others, head to our blog at https://brickentral.net/.

- @theaphol, Community Outreach Manager

#lego #lego photography #brickcentral #toy photography #afol #legophotography #toyphotography #minifigures #brickcentral member #brickcentral artist spotlight #lego art #artist spotlight #interview #artist profile

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sunflowercider · 4 months

Note

speaking of the white cavalry i know sir blanc said he'll give his loyalty to lloyd in a roundabout way but lloyd said to be careful with his words during the dead matsodons attack...

which brings me who do you think they sided with during the fourth ending spoiler where the queen waged war when she bace a bit crazy/paranoid

DELICIOUS ASK ANON, SO FUCKING DELICIOUS.

Damn. Damn. If I wanted to waste a few hours or days, I would sketch out entirely what I think happened politically and geographically in the fourth spoiler. While that future ends incredibly horribly, the lead up to it? Im so sorry, destiny writes some good stories (´-ω-`)

Anyways. Specifically about the white cavalry. After the dead mastadons attack kills 6 of the cavalry, Lloyd feels terrible. He feels it's only right to treat their remains with incredible care and respect, send a letter to the queen telling their tales as flowery as possible to help their loved ones get cared for in their absence, and build a memorial stone for them. Lloyd takes their lives (and the loss of them) gravely seriously. And Sir Blanc is moved nearly to tears.

This is a man who has been quite literally treated like a chess piece in others' wars. And here's some random noble who simply had an unpredictable skirmish with monsters, not even a proper battle, and treats their lives like precious gold. Sir Blanc, in his heart, wants to follow Lloyd (and I imagine the others in his group feel the same).

Lloyd may have roundaboutly turned him down but. The cavalry is still here you know.

When the queen loses her mind, there's first a civil war between those who support and those who oppose her. The Fronteras technically pick the side supporting her, but remain neutral otherwise. This is the most uncertain part for the cavalry. They could get called by the queen during this time, but my hunch is that the Fronteras' status quo is kept, as they are still technically an area of growth for the Cremona region, as well as a stronghold with the apartment fortresses. Leaving the cavalry with the County would make sense; theyre an important military group, but only a part of the queens forces. However, if the cavalry gets called at that moment, they will follow her. They are still loyal to the queen, they just also want to follow Lloyd... and hey, he's technically supporting her.

Now. If the cavalry stay at the Fronteras until the queen makes the error of attacking a peaceful foreign country and Lloyd opposes the decision? Oh ho hoooo thats a whole different ballgame.

The first civil war actually ended before that. Once the queen wins that, she attacks the Benetto Kingdom as a way to consolidate her nobles. (You know, similar to what the Sultan wanted to do?) Lloyd opposes when he hears - he built the route to Benetto for trade, not military. Then the next civil war begins.

HOW does the White Cavalry respond here?? What a pickle, what a pickle. There's no more pretending the queen and Lloyd stand aligned. There's a choice to be made. They're originally loyal to the queen but... she recently killed many nobles (and their armies) for reasons that were never justified properly, and then attacked and took control of a peaceful kingdom. You know, the cavalry helped build the mountain pass too. They have some pride.

In the face of all this, despite the fierce loyalty of a knight to their ruler... I think the White Cavalry would have to cave and join the Fronteras. I think they'd have a fierce internal fight about it, and they wouldn't be very happy about the choice either way. But Lloyd has shown his good nature many times over, while the queen has failed spectacularly. They know who is right.

But even if the White Cavalry did join the queen again due to knightly loyalty reasons, i think they would take the scenic route home. After all. Lloyd won the fight within 10 days. They can afford an unusually long walk back to the capital.

#sat here chewing on this for a legit hour #TEN DAYS #it only took him ten days to win a war against a kingdom that was world power until recently #anyways. the loyalty of knights is tricky. bc i dont think theres anything quite the same in the modern era?#at least in the western world? (like where i am)#loyalty is still a thing but KNIGHTLY loyalty is a whoooole kettle of fish #i need to emphasize- javier refusing the queen to be with the Fronteras is both exemplary of impeccable loyalty and also highly insane #loyalty in the face of even powerful people? perfect loyalty. loyalty to the minor nobles when the queen they serve asks for loyalty? insane #anyways #im off track #holy shit im sorry this was so long #tged #long post #_:(´ཀ`」 ∠):

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antisociallilbrat · 1 year

Note

Been a while since I invaded your inbox with the intention to feed your brain worms lol- ANYWAYS-

I'm not exactly sure if this will be entertainig enough to answer but I've been thinking of this concept for a while now and since I consume your takes on a daily basis, here I am presenting it to you. This involves both The Party and The Losers Club.

So I've been in love with MrHalloween's AU where Mike Wheeler has Pennywise's power and another artist or writer ( I cannot remember who they are and I am ashamed )'s AU where The Losers Club are all adopted by Pennywise for a very long time now and I really REALLY like those kinds of AUs. Now that got me thinking...

What power of Pennywise do you think suit each Party members? And why?

Like we- as in, the IT fandom- knows that Pennywise can do a lot of things. Expected since he's basically an eldritch horror. He can shapeshift, know your fear, control a whole ass town, can probably go toe to toe with Maturin, and he has the deadlights. So similar to Vecna's curse without the bones breaking and immediate death if not countered ASAP. Pennywise has a wide range of abilities that suits him and I am really curious of what you think each of the Party members would have if Pennywise gives them a portion of his abilities.

This ask is mildly inspired by the Mike fanart that I am currently sketching where he is surrounded by the deadlights and by the AU thay I shared to you back then where the Losers are Numbers and their abilities are their Neibolt selves.

Allen I am so sorry it took me so long to respond to this 😭 I fell down the sims rabbit hole and didn't know how to crawl my way out of it

I want to answer your question simply but we all know me and we know I am not capable of that. Also plz someone send me the link to the post where it talks about Mike having Pennywise's power- I wish to dissect ⛏️

So to answer this question it depends on how you're coming at It- literally. Like we know It is an alien but what's the classification of It beyond that? Humans tend to point at creatures that are below our 'intelligence' and call the creature an 'animal' but what do we call something that is obviously beyond our intelligence and even our understanding but it's not humanoid? This was not part of your question at all I'm sorry but this in itself is worth a conversation, I just love talking about the Dead Lights.

Because I believe It acts with animal characteristics, It only fights to ensure It's survival and It hunts 'weaker' prey- children. Yes I know it's bc their fear tastes better blah blah you know what I mean.

Back to your question at hand- for real this time:

To put it simply I don't think It could just give one specific power to each Party member if It turned them all into little Its, little deadlights so I'm going to have to give you a nonanswer.

Unless It was making Neilbolt versions of them but even then I don't think the Neilbolt versions get It's 'power' per say because technically they are still part of It as a whole.

I'll raise you this though Allen: the Party members having a handful It's power, becoming little deadlights. The reason why It did that is up to you, I'm speaking of all of this in a hypothetical.

So the Party members become little deadlights, maybe they favor certain aspects of the powers that come with that. Like I can see Mike really enjoying augmenting reality and manifesting anything at his whim. Lucas would enjoy the physical transformation aspect and Dustin would enjoy being able to get into people's heads in his quest for knowledge. Will would love having the ability to protect himself now (especially if this in an au where the UD is still a thing) and Max would love the ability to subtly control people. She could make sure no one like Billy could ever hurt someone again.

And El? This goes back to the 'is this au set in one where the UD is still a thing'. If Henry is a thing, El would make a deal with It to get It's power, albeit only a little of it, to take him down. She would make a deal with the devil. In fact- I think all of the Party would in a quest to protect the ones they love and there's you're motivation right there for the Party. Just need to decide what It gets out of this deal.

But here's the thing, if the Party essentially became little deadlights...would they need to feed on fear now? Feed on humans? Do they know about that before they make the deal?

I'll let you decide that ;)

#im sorry this probably isnt the answer you were looking for aaaa #anyways I hope you still enjoyed #thanks for the ask Allen!#sam answers asks #the deadlights #pennywise #it 2017 #it 2019 #stranger things #stranger things 4 #henry creel #vecna #lucas sinclair #dustin henderson #max mayfield #eleven hopper #el hopper #will byers #mike wheeler

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tellthemeerkatsitsfine · 4 months

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So, I’m a big fan of the regular stand-up format: funny stories for varying lengths of time that average out to an hour, callbacks, building up a theme, tying threads together, serious and/or sad bit at the end, try getting overly personal or overly political if you think you have the chops to handle it (because it’s fantastic if done well and really hard to watch if done badly), preferably some meta commentary, up to four traditional punchline-driven jokes if there’s enough time. It’s an excellent formula.

I don’t completely object to experimentation. Nick Helm and Rhys James made me realize that spoken word poetry is probably the artsiest thing I really like in a stand-up show. And I often like people who add music in there. Sometimes I even don’t mind a prop or a costume.

What I find it less easy to get into is sketch comedy, and/or character comedy, something with a narrative that’s entirely fictional. Physical comedy. Anything that can be described with the word “clowning”. I think this is why I don’t mind that a lot of the comedy recordings I have are audio only. The visual side isn’t a big part of what I enjoy in most comedy.

Basically, I'm a big fan of stuff that was called alternative comedy twenty or more years ago, when the thing to which it was an alternative was just a misogynist going setup-punchline for 30 minutes straight. Whereas stuff that's called alternative now can be literally anything, and some of it I like, and some of it makes my chest feel weirdly tight in an uncanny valley sort of way. I don't like puppets. I'm glad everyone else is having a good time but I don't like the puppets.

I’ve posted about this before, and usually add that every once in a while I’ll watch something like that to try to expand my horizons. Here’s how that’s gone.

Shows that have made me think – yep, I was right to believe this isn’t for me, I mean I’m really glad everyone’s having a good time and I wish them the best and I can appreciate that this might be technically very well made, but not for me:

- The Delightful Sausage – Nowt But Sea

- Mr. Swallow – Houdini

- Phil Ellis - Excellent Comedy Show

- Anything with that little purple Feltface puppet

- I watched this show called Siblings that was streamed from the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe because it was a variety show and I wanted to know what that was like, there was someone who spun hula hoops and removed her clothes and someone else who juggled fire and various sketches and a drag queen and one guy who just slipped on banana skins as his whole act, I was very impressed with some of the technical skills on display but it also felt weird and uncomfortable and the only part where I had any idea what was going on was when Tom Ballard came on to tell jokes about his sex life and made me say “Oh thank God for something I recognize”

- Anna Man – A Sketch Show For Depressives

- Elf Lyons – Swan (to be fair, this is probably a lot funnier if you’re familiar with how ballet works)

- Christopher Bliss – Writing Wrongs (this barely belongs on the list because it’s very accessible, but technically it counts because the whole thing was in character, and the character seemed to pretty much have one joke, and that one joke was quite funny but not for a whole hour)

A lot of it made me laugh but it still gave me this strong sense of "this isn't really my thing":

- Lorna Rose Treen – Skin Pigeon

- Joseph Morpurgo – Hammerhead

Shows that have made me think – actually, I could be cultured and understand outside-the-box comedy, I am enjoying this a lot:

- The Delightful Sausage – Ginster’s Paradise (I don’t think this was actually more accessible than Nowt But Sea, I think it just watched it second and enjoyed it more once I’d figured out what to expect from them)

- John-Luke Roberts in general

- Zoe Coombs Marr in general

- Lazy Susan – Forgive Me, Mother!

- Crizards – Cowboys

- Does Jordan Brookes count? I went into his stuff thinking it might be too experimental for me, but then it ended up being much more accessible than I’d expected, I did really like it though.

Shows that I can definitely tell are very good, and they made me laugh and think at the right places, but also made me really uncomfortable while watching them and I don’t know if I could call the experience enjoyable, but it was still good in some other way I think, I mean I recently mentioned in a post that I find John Robins “pussy line” routine mildly uncomfortable just because I’m a bit squeamish about hearing someone say the word “pussy” that many times in a few minutes and this sure did have a challenge for that side of me, also I find puppets difficult to look at, but seriously, they were really good, they made me feel a lot of things in the way I believe art is supposed to, I mean they made me feel a bit anxious in a squeamish way but also I think made me feel some proper art things alongside that, and they were funny, overall I’d probably pay good money to see her live but only if I’m allowed to close my eyes at some parts, it’s at times like this that I remember I am a jock/athlete that migrated to this level of art appreciation in my thirties, I do not have the type of theatre kid background that may be necessary to be unbothered by all the weird shit going on in this, but still, really really good and I highly recommend them though with the caveat of trigger warning for like everything:

Natalie Palamides – Laid

Natalie Palamides – Nate

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mugiwara-no-toshokan · 10 months

Text

Thrice Prophesized

CisFem Reader x Roronoa Zoro

CW: In-Universe levels of violence, amnesia, romance, reader gets some good bad-ass moments, but shouldn't feel Overpowered if I did my job well, surprisingly no smut in this one loves, but it's book 1 of 2.

Still 18+

Chapter 8: Routine

You and Brook returned to the Sunny, and you spent the rest of the day working on your Haki until Luffy and his group returned. You zoned out through most of the conversation during dinner, since they were talking about what they had found regarding the One Piece, but part of the conversation caught your attention.

“There was a lady that turned into snow!” Luffy exclaims. “The cold was making me sleepy, but Robin and Usopp drove her away.”

Drove her away and right into me, you muse to yourself.

“That was Monet,” Brook says. “We ran into her on Punk Hazard when we were assisting Sir Law.”

“Oooh! That’s right – she froze the gas guy before she flew away!” Luffy says nodding. “I remember.”

“When you drove her off we ran into her,” Brook says and you feel yourself flinch a little.

“What? Hey, sorry about that (Y/N), we didn’t realize anyone else had left the ship.” Usopp says, turning away from Brook and looking at you apologetically.

“No, it was fine. She got away from us as well, but it wasn’t too much trouble. Neither Brook nor I can really feel the cold.” You assure him. “Besides, Brook was kind enough to assist only when I needed it, so it was good practice. I got to correct some of the things I did wrong when dealing with Smoker.”

You take a bite of food and a drink of tea before you remembered something important. “She recognized me.”

“She’s an assistant to one of the Warlords in the Grandline Metro,” Robin says. “Their information network is impressive, so it’s not surprising she was aware of your wanted poster.”

“Warlord?”

“I wasn’t going to get into it until we got back to the Metro,” Nami explains. “I’ll show you a map later and get into better detail, but the short version is that there are three powers in the Metro. The World Government, the Emperors, and the Warlords. They kind of… well, keep one another in check.”

“They’re all technically appointed by the Government,” Usopp says as Nami takes a break to eat more. “But while the Warlords are chosen by the Government, the Emperors earn their territories and title by sheer strength and capacity. The Government,” he waves his hand, “reluctantly names them Emperors, but they’re the biggest forces going against one another.”

“But a Warlord has power enough to be in that struggle, and the snow lady works for one of them?” You ask, and Nami and Usopp nod.

“Hm.” You grunt, making a face as you take a drink of something stronger than tea.

“Eh?”

“The snow lady said her boss – wait, she called him young master – that he’d have an interest in me.” You explain. “The wanted poster was bad enough, I don’t think the additional attention will be welcome.”

“Donquixote Doflamingo,” Jinbei says. “This crew has run afoul of him a couple times. I used to be a Warlord alongside him. He’s a crafty one.”

“I’ll draw you pictures of the warlords that I know,” Usopp says. “And we have posters of the Emperors as well.”

“Are there pictures of some of the marines? That Smoker was not an easy fight, but he seems unique among most marines. It would be useful to be aware of them as well.”

“I’ll help you with sketches.” Robin offers as Usopp starts to look a little nervous.

“Oh, it’s a lot to draw, it seems.” You say apologetically. “We’re setting sail tomorrow, right? You should have a couple days at least, don’t rush.”

“A week, more like.” Nami says, “there’s some nasty currents where we’re going, and since we can’t burst past all of them it’ll take a little meandering.”

. . . . . . .

You held onto the side of the railing, trying to keep your lunch in your stomach as the ship lurched with the combination “nasty current” and “sudden squall”. You didn’t have the sea legs for this, and it was embarrassing. After things calmed down though, you were going to have to ask the cook how it was that he pushed himself around in the air. It was like he was walking on the wind, and it seemed a useful skill to have.

Especially during a time like this, where getting up the rigging and securing the sails faster was important.

You had been concerned before that there weren’t enough people on this crew for the size of the ship, but their efficiency and capacity was almost terrifying. Nami and Jinbei were in perfect sync, and Franky knew every inch of the ship in order to keep it together. Robin’s devil fruit was ideal for assisting Zoro, Sanji and Usopp as they did most of the heavy lifting, with some light assistance from Brook. You and the small doctor were the only ones without much to do, but Chopper could at least make himself bigger to help anchor things.

All you could do right now was try and keep your barfing from landing on the deck of the ship, with Luffy checking on you every few seconds as he bounced around helping where ever he could. The young man’s energy was impressive on its own, but added with the elastic capacity of his body there wasn’t much he couldn’t do – except swim. You peered over the rail again and wondered if you’d be less sick in the water, not that it was a viable option, the current was shifting before your eyes.

The sudden squall ended just as abruptly as it had started, and you laid out on the grass for a second before you got to your feet. The current was still rough, but since the two ordeals weren’t overlapping everyone else was taking a moment to catch their breath along with you.

“This is normal?” You ask doing your best to walk around the deck so you could try and get your sea legs.

“For this world, yes.” Robin replies with a kind smile. Her hands sprout from your body and help steady you before you topple over. “Are the seas in your world calm?”

“I was not a sailor, but my experience was quite calm.” You admit as you find your feet again. “Ships could be lost at sea, but it was more likely they were raided, and not tormented by the seas themselves.”

The harsh current ended so swiftly you nearly toppled over from that. A single finger on your forehead helped balance you as Zoro walked by.

“Ah, thanks.” You mutter, rubbing your forehead idly. “Oh, hey Sanji – how’d you do that thing earlier?”

“Thing?” Sanji tilts his head as he turns toward you.

“You walked on the air.” You clarify, pointing along a path in the air up the sail. “I would’ve thought such was impossible, if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. Can you teach me?”

“Eh? Eh?! S-Sure!” Sanji’s face lights up. “It would be my pleasure to assist a lovely lady.”

Sanji wasn’t as good a teacher as Jinbei, but he did try his best. The two of you spent several hours going over the technique of his geppo, you even ended up helping him out in the kitchen to keep the flow of the conversation going. You had just enough time to help hand out snacks to the crew before another rough current grabbed the ship.

You braced against a railing by the helm, as Nami and Jinbei went back to work. You weren’t going to be able to practice much of anything while the ship was traveling like this, but you did pulse your haki when you felt like you could risk it. Having your feet leave the deck when the ship could be whisked right out from under you seemed like a bad idea, so you weren’t going to get any practical training in after all the theory crafting from earlier.

The second wave of rough currents didn’t have anything else accompany it, and so you did make use of the time to stumble around the deck and try to climb the rigging as the ship lurched so you would be more useful later. You could sense someone keeping an eye on you while you worked, but you couldn’t sort out who it was. Franky, Brook, Robin, Luffy and Zoro were all out on the deck, and no one seemed to be watching you directly.

It could be all of them, you realized as you reached the midway point of the rigging and started back down. The crew had amazing awareness, even those that didn’t seem to have any capacity for controlling haki had strong perception. Even though they didn’t overtly act as such, they all watched out for one another. If you ended up stranded in this world there would be far worse people to be stranded with.

Something about that thought warmed your heart, and for the first time since the portal closed you felt at peace. It wasn’t just acceptance of what had happened, but actual peace.

You still wanted to go home, but maybe you weren’t going to be okay with going home as a corpse. You didn’t want to just be buried back home, you wanted to be able to tell everyone the wild ride that this world was. You smile thinking about how your fellow knights would react to hearing about honorable pirates.

“Feeling better?” Zoro asks. He’s leaned against the stairs by the rigging, hands behind his head. He looked like he was grabbing a quick nap despite the turbulent current.

Your skeleton nearly leaps out of your skin, but you manage to restrain yourself to a small flinch. You hadn’t even noticed that he’d settled nearby you were so lost in your own thoughts.

“I… yeah.” You step around and squat down nearby. “Are you sure you’re not at least part demon?”

You can see the vein on his forehead twitch. “Why do you keep asking that?” He growls, looking at you.

“Demons in my world are very strong and can read your thoughts and emotions. You seem to do the same.” You admit bluntly.

Zoro clicks his tongue and looks away. You almost think he isn’t going to say anything else when he finally grumbles at you. “I’m going to be the strongest swordsman in the world, that’s why I’m strong.” He explains. His scowl deepens as he continues. “And… that was a real smile.”

Something about the scowl and the words catches you off guard and when the ship lurches you nearly tumble backward before over correcting and leaning forward. You reach out to steady yourself and feel your hand smack into Zoro’s chest. After you steady yourself you pat his chest a couple times before you snatch you hand back when you come to your senses.

“What was that about?!” He barks at you as you stand up and take a step away.

“Sorry, it was just – it was like – are you sure you’re not-.”

“I’M NOT A DEMON!” He bellows.

You tuck your lip into your mouth and bite down on it to keep from pointing out how much more demonic he looks bellowing like that. Your attempt to spare his feelings was completely shattered by the crew members that were nearby.

“Half of your moves have the word demon in them,” Franky points out as he walks by.

“Koby said you were a demon in the body of a man,” Luffy offers up with a smile.

“You sounded very demonic a moment ago,” Robin teases, not looking up from her book.

“Demonic brute.” Sanji scoffs, coming out of the kitchen.

You nearly choke on a laugh and fail miserably at holding it back. The delighted sound floats through the air for a second before you get your hands over your mouth. You take a few steps back before you’re laughing again, trying to apologize while gasping for air.

Zoro clicks his tongue and closes his eye with a grumbled, “Whatever.” You keep your apology and take a few steps back, trying your best not to continue laughing.

“Ah, (Y/N), come here, I have some drawings done.” Usopp says some moments later as the currents start to even out. Making your way over to where he had been tinkering, he pulls a small stack of papers out of his bag and hands them over. The first four are official wanted posters.

“Kaido, Big Mom – what a name,” you murmur looking through the posters. “Blackbeard, eaugh, that’s a face that makes my soul shudder. Shanks, oh.” You look at the poster for a long time, sitting down beside Usopp. “Do you have more posters of this man?”

“Eh? Maybe? Luffy knows him – oi, Luffy do you have any old wanted posters for Shanks?”

“Nope!” Luffy answers cheerfully.

You tilt your head. Something about the man seems familiar. You’re not entirely sure that you’ve ever actually seen him before, but there’s something that tickles at the back of your mind. You shake it off and move past that to the drawings Usopp and Robin had finished.

“This is Donquixote Doflamingo?” You ask and Usopp nods. “He’s a Warlord? He looks like a peacock.”

“Don’t let that fool you, the Warlords aren’t to be taken lightly.” Usopp warns. “No matter how odd they look.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” You mutter as you flip through and take note of the faces of Kuma, Mihawk, Moira, Boa, Crocodile, Buggy. “I know you said what you said, Usopp, but… Is this man a clown? Or does this world not have jesters? Do clowns often become pirates?” You ask, pointing to Buggy’s drawing.

“Buggy is Buggy.” Usopp says with a shrug. “Clowns are a thing here. He’s known as Buggy the Clown.”

“Well.” You shake your head as you flip the page. “Akainu? He doesn’t look like a pirate.”

“He’s a big-name marine,” Usopp explains. “The biggest name one, actually. I haven’t drawn any others yet, but if you see him or hear the name, you need to just run as fast as you can. Another name I’ve heard for him is Sakazuki.”

“It’s a hard face to forget.” You admit, tucking the page behind the stack and seeing the start of the stack. “Thank you Usopp, this is a lot of help.”

He hands you one more page, but this is nothing but a list of names. “I’ll draw them when I can, but if you hear any of these names, they’re bad news too.”

“Borsalino, Issho, Aokiji– ah, he’s not a marine anymore according to your note, but he’s still troublesome it seems. Monkey D. Garp. Eh? Eh, isn’t that-?” You’re already looking for Luffy when the reply cuts your question short.

“He’s Luffy’s granddad.” Usopp admits. “He was hot on your tail when we first rescued you.”

“Oh… Oh, I know his face. He got closer than I would’ve liked. If the squall hadn’t nearly toppled his ship, I wouldn’t have gotten away.” You admit. “What a fearsome man. You said he’s Luffy’s granddad, is Luffy’s father another of these marines?”

“Ah, heh, no. Luffy’s dad is the leader of the Revolutionary Army.” He says sheepishly.

“Rev-…” You pause for a moment to consider the last few bits of information. “A marine, a pirate, and a revolutionary. Quite the family.” Your eyebrows raise in surprise before you add the name list to the stack of drawing. “I imagine family reunions are rather tense.”

“Yes and no.” Usopp says with a laugh. “We’ve had an amicable conversation with Luffy’s granddad before. I mean, he hurled cannonballs at us the next day, but that’s kind of how it goes. We haven’t really dealt with the Revolutionary Army, but one of Luffy’s brothers is an officer, and he keeps in touch. Luffy’s other brother – and none of them are blood relatives – has been traveling with the remnants of the Whitebeard pirates, who are trying to rebuild after their captain was killed. Whitebeard was one of the four Emperors before all hell broke loose last year.”

“And here I thought noble family relationships could get complicated.” You smile as you jot down notes on the empty space on the page of names. “What’re their names? I don’t want to mistake them for a threat if I run into them by myself.”

“His dad is Dragon, and the brothers are Ace and Sabo.”

“Dragon? Does this world have dragons?”

“… Technically.”

You close your eyes and shake your head. “No, no, don’t clarify that right now. I have enough in my head. I’m going to put these away for now and train. Thank you Usopp, I really appreciate it.”

“Aww, you’re welcome, I’m glad I could help.”

After you secure the posters, you train your haki, deal with the currents and random weather conditions, and that’s how the week goes. Eat, sleep, panic, train. By the end of the week, you’re really good at moving around the ship when it’s unstable, and you even managed to get both your feet off the deck practicing the geppo Sanji tried to teach you. Your haki was improving as well, and you were training it further by keeping it active for longer and longer. You doubted that you’d ever get to the point of being able to have it on constantly, but you wanted to be as adept at it as possible, in case you were separated from the crew again.

The only natural phenomenon that you experienced, the second to last day of your travels before reaching the island, that you absolutely hated was called a Knock-up Stream. Your only comfort was that Nami was amazingly adept at predicting them, and avoiding them, and Franky explained all the other options they had if they did get hit by one. It made it a little less terrifying, but before you had seen the event, you had assumed that whirlpools were the worst things in the sea.

Soon, the seas would be the least of worries. Knock-up streams or not.

#x reader #reader insert #one piece fanfiction #roronoa zoro x reader #zoro x reader #Thrice Prophesized #grandline metro au

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transientpetersen · 3 months

Text

There's a lot going on here. A lot. Certainly the most provocative segment is the long quotation from elsewhere called Connor Goes Deep [and Weird] so at the risk of missing the point, I'm going to complain to the sky and exorcise the mental poison through the keyboard.

I do not understand the appeal of using metaphor when you know it creates an unnecessary translation barrier between yourself and your audience. The section is loaded with jargon and references but there's nothing deep about those references that demand their use. And the constant invocations of "length of a tweet" - so why be confined in the format? But then I was never a believer in the usefulness of that platform so maybe I'm the wrong person to answer.

A modern adaption.

You've grown up in a small town in a dying part of your country. Dying because both agriculture and industry have moved off and find no use for your people. So what do you do? You leave. You go where there's density enough to host industry, find the places where "everyone agrees" the "people who are worth associating with" live.

You meet new people. You learn new skills. You change perspectives many times.

What are some of the outcomes listed in the original (suitably translated)?

1. Go home shortly after leaving. You don't like the city or you cannot hack it or someone back home needs you. Life goes back to normal with shades of regret and might-have-been. 2. Stay in the city indefinitely. You like it there, you grow used to it, you disavow who you were (you've outgrown them). 3. Stay in the city awhile and return home with some flash and some fashion and charm the kids back home with your new manners and your aura of cool. You feel better about yourself but is your life truly that different in substance? 4. Stay in the city awhile and return home with skills and knowledge that lets you bring some jobs. You start a local business. You stave off the decay for a while. The churches still close around you, one by one, but you don't feel that as a loss anymore. 5. You stay in the city. You travel to your home town. You return to the city. You decide that the difference between the two is less than its made out to be - it's all just people. People who don't much like those different from them. Not that that shuts you out because you can code switch. You build people up wherever you go because you're not carrying the anxiety of place around anymore.

So Connor is saying, "You moved to the city. You couldn't cope with the full range of human expression there so you carved out a little space that you felt safe within and let it cradle you until you forgot your home and forgot the scary and you're telling people the truth when you encourage them to find a sanctuary in the city but that's not what you came here for. You've lost your way."

No jargon; no fuss. Just a story.

I believe that agency is cultivated and power is a skill and responsibility means building both of those competencies. Useless anxiety is definitionally both a distortion of agency and a misapplication of skill and I wouldn't encourage anyone to cultivate it. On the other side, you do not understand how to use power if you do not use power - it's not something you rehearse in your head to prepare for the perfect application, that's so incredibly far from how it works.

I don't believe that the five scenarios I sketched out above are ranked. People fall into each bucket as circumstances push and pull - or they were never in the buckets to begin with. Judging where they landed or talking about which bucket they should be aiming for is a category error. Decide your aim, pick your vows, and do your best to make the world better around you.

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jenuinedog · 2 years

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Hi! Anon from before who asked about fluidity and such, I have another question: How do you learn to angle heads / do different perspectives?

Did you take classes, use 3D models, or something else?

So sorry for all the questions, I really want to get better at angles and posing and such - facial expressions are a breeze for me, but I just can't keep proportions, anatomy, or poses right in my head.

TL,dr, how did you learn about all this stuff?

Don't be sorry! Asking questions is how u learn! Lil disclaimer that i'm sorry in advance if this answer seems kinda vapid and lackadaisical :")

I've never taken art classes of any kind in my life. A lot of what I know is from observing how other artists draw and tweaking their processes to something that'll suit my workflow and style better. I admittedly don't use 3D models as often as I should, but they speed up the process IMMENSELY. Sometimes i'll load up a model posing program and use it for just the hands/fingers LOL. It's actually helped me be more aware of how to segment parts of the body so I can "memorize" them a bit better. I actually cannot picture most things in my head properly, so I struggle with keeping tabs on proportions and angles of shapes and poses mentally too 😭

A fun lil trick I do to help with head angles tho that might help is i'll draw a "sheet" of paper over my main head form:

For some reason, i've found that this helps me visualize where the face goes and where it fits within a 3D space. As long as i know the general direction the oc is facing, I can bend and stretch stuff to fit as need be. IDK it's a simple way for me to keep track while drawing, and pretty effective too! 👇🏽

ok these are sloppy n off model a bit, but hopefully you can see what i'm getting at ghjsdfg. I've found making the "sheet" bigger/smaller to suit whatever you're drawing can help narrow down the angle better if you're struggling. Thinking of the construction of shapes and how they sit in a 3D space is helpful too. Most art programs have perspective rulers that you can use to keep a kind of guide of where your drawing is sitting on a perspective plane/grid. I use them when trying to do more dynamic postures!

Other than that, I literally just google/youtube whatever it is i'm trying to work on and click through as many resources as I can. Make notes of what works for me, what doesnt, what I can pick apart and reconstruct. I got my start in art by tracing other people's art onto printer paper when i was younger (never shared 'em, obvs) before learning people posted step-by-step processes of how they draw on dA (it's how I learned what "guidelines" where and how to use them in sketching) and using those. I spent a lot of my more formative years just mimicking other people's drawing habits and quirks until I found a set that worked for me, and expanded on that with just messing around in my spare time. Sometimes the only thing that helps is working through it until I get a result I like.

If you are looking for a more technical approach and wouldn't mind some critique on your stuff, I recommend a site called Drawabox.com ! I've never personally used it, but I have artist friends who have, and while it does cost a fee to access some of the video lessons, there are still a bit of free resources you can take a peek on that might help!!

SORRY FOR THIS LAME ANSWER HFGSHDF I have a very flippant approach to my art. Work smart, not hard as I always say 👌🏽👏🏽

Good luck!!

#asks #tutorials #i literally just fuck around n find out im sorry 😭

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ariel-seagull-wings · 1 year

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TOP 10 CHARACTERS FROM MUPPETS TONIGHT

@softlytowardthesun @goodanswerfoxmonster @thealmightyemprex @amalthea9 @princesssarisa @the-blue-fairie @themousefromfantasyland @moonbeamelf @angelixgutz

If you're a human being, take a break from the race Take a load off your feet, wipe the load off your face Got a lot to do and we do it for you Everybody take your place Muppets tonight! You're gonna see something better Tonight's the night! You're gonna live with the memories We got a show for you Guaranteed brand new Here come the muppets tonight! [whistling] We got a show for you Guaranteed brand-new Here come the muppets Here come the muppets Here come the muppets tonight!! This was the opening theme of Muppets Tonight, a TV series featuring The Muppets that originally ran from 1996 to 1998, initially as part of ABC's TGIF (A two-hour friday night block of family sitcoms hosted by the various stars of the shows, often supplemented with animation, running skits, and short gags) that would later hop to Disney Channel. An update of the premise of The Muppet Show, changing the setting from a theater to television studio, it featured the Muppets producing a television variety show with the help of the episode's guest star.

It wasn’t popular as its predecessour show, and the view of its overall quality remains divisive among Muppet fans.

Personally, after finishing its twenty two episodes, I can see that it was a flawed series, with references that are so specific to the nineties that quickly become dated, and some poorly aged sexist and fatphobic jokes that are cringe inducing.

But I also appreciate the charm and genuine hearth putted into the episodes, specially when it camed to writing the characters, some who camed from previous Muppet movies and specials, others who were created specifically for the show and would even appear in later Muppet movies, specials, comics and shows.

And today, I shall present the ranking of my favorite characters from this underrated part of the franchise.

10º Andy and Randy Pig

First introduced performing alongside Miss Piggy in the Three Little Pigs segment of the direct to VHS film Muppet Classic Theater, these two brothers were retconed as Miss Piggy’s nephews who she called to work on the studio. Originally nobody would dare asking anything from them, because of how dumb they are, but slowly they become accepted as part of the group, going between trying to work (and failing) in the technical department to even writing and performing in sketches.

They often tried their best, until they would admit that “This job is too hard”, but were always there to keep providing mistakes that could give the audience a good chunk of laugh.

Both WITH them, and AT their expense.

09º Dr. Phil Van Neuter

This mad scientist was written as a shoutout to horror anthology hosts, presenting, alongside his hunchbacked creature servant and brother-in-law Mulch, the sketch series “Tales from the Vet”, wich were short horror comedy stories staring animals.

A few episodes later, his segments were last limited to the horror comedy stories, and he had moments like telling how he fell in love with his wife Composta Heap while singing “She Blinded me with Science”, having a videotape of himself getting drunk with eggnog to the audience by Mulch, and paying homage to Dr Frankenstein (whom he says is his great uncle) by trying to ressurect an apparently dead Arsenio Hall.

He is one of the Muppets who leans the most on his dark side, while also knowing how to be a fun performer, wich makes this energetic maniac specially fun to watch.

08º Johnny Fiama

An italian american lounge singer and restaurateur who tries to be a hit with young women, but only gets popular with the old ladies (specially his mom), Johnny Fiama, while overall calm and rarely the starter of a fight, is still a bit of a diva, arrogant and oblivious to how he can be a botter to other people around him.

But he is not really a villain (unless you fear the fact that his surname, besides meaning “Flame”, is also an anagram for “Mafia”), and is clear that he is still an artist who enjoys what he does and can even have some moments of human vulnerability, like when he gets nervous about seeing his idol Tony Bennet.

This moments of vulnerability of the diva mixed with obliviousness are what make him a very interesting character.

07º Sal Minella

The loud chimpanzee who serves as Johnny Fiama’s bodyguard and assistant. Originally, his puppet was the naked chimpanzee who sanged one verse of the Muppet Treasure Island movie opening song “Shiver my Timbers” (The devil himself would have to call them scum). One day, when the puppeteers were working on designing the characters for Muppets Tonight, Bill Barreta was rehearsing singing with the Johnny Fiama puppet, while the other puppeteers were still talking between themselves, not paying attention. So Brian Henson tooked the naked chimpanzee and screamed to everybody to shup and listen to Johnny Fiama, and so Sal Minella was born, receiving a redesign that included a yellow suit by Jane Gootnick. Whereas Johnny Fiama is oblivious and has a laydown attitude to life, Sal Minella is more perceptive of his surroundings and more proactive to solve problems, most of the time agressively, but others with gentleness, like when he takes correspondence courses to become an osteophath and acupuncturist to help treat the physical problems of other characters (with mixed resulcts).

Often Sal Minella will be on the receiving end of a beating or a lightining. But he will stop at nothing to land a hand to help other people. Specially Johnny Fiama.

06º Big Mean Carl

A voracious monsters who cares for nothing else than eathing wathever is in front of him (be it actual cooked food, a sapient living being, or a machine), Big Mean Carl lands several roles troughout the series, be it playing a Big Mean Bunny who eats cute rabbits and pups when the contestant gets an answer wrong at the game show Swift Wits, a psychic who predicts he will eat you, making bubbles come out of his head after eating Bill the Bubble Guy, smashing talking pumpkins, or eating the tape machine, all the while treating what he did as a big performance that he would always finish with a big “Thank you” to the audiences.

Was he good, or was he bad? He probably would say that he didn’t care.

The only thing that mattered to Carl was that he was always hungry.

05º Seymour the Elephant

The character with the big behind. Seymour started working operating the studio’s elevator, before becoming a cook in the Commissary. His biggest dream was to become part of the performers.

Alongside his partner Pepe, he would come up with numbers like telling jokes, a stunt of whipping up a cigar and a cooking show.

And no matter how many times those numbers failed, Seymour would still persist with the dreams of stardom.

He had an innocence and sweetness that never felt forced or manipulative, wich was a nice contrast to other characters who were more cunning or violent.

04º Pepe the King Prawn

Nowadays a part of the main cast alongside the classic characters who originated in The Muppet Show, few people know that Pepe started in Muppets Tonight.

Like Seymour, Pepe also started working operating the studio elevator and ended as a cook in the Commissary, while dreaming to become an actual performer in the show.

At first they tried a vaudeville number with variations of the same song:

I'm Seymour... 'I'm Pepe... 'We're two of a kind. 'I'm a little bit forward, 'And I've got a big behind.

And telling pun related jokes, before dropping that completely to get counsel with the guest stars about what numbers they could come up with.

To contrast with Seymour’s innocence, Pepe was more of a cunning rogue who acted as the brain in their plans. Whereas he could get angry and condescending at the staff or the audience when the numbers failed, he was always patient with Seymour, never venting his frustrations at him, clearly extablishing that the two had a genuine relationship based on trust, loyalty and friendship, and it was nice to see that in these early days, Pepe was dreaming of stardom not only for himself and based only in being rich and famous, but that it was also a dream that he wanted to make real for a friend and out of love for the stage, wich is one of the excential characteristics of a Muppet.

03º Clifford

Originally a bass player for the Muppet bands Solid Foam and The Electric Mayhem, Clifford received from Kermit (performer and producer) the duty of hosting the show since no one else wanted the job.

His first reaction was fainting while still holding the phone. But rather than run away, he accepted the challenge.

When Clifford became the host of the show, his attitude changed greatly. Whereas in his previous appearances, he was cool and laid-back, being the host made him uptight and irritable, essentially putting him in Kermit's shoes.To be fair, when you're the host of a series filled with crazy characters and situations that would drive anyone up a wall, how else would you feel doing your job?

In the seventeenth episode where the guest was Dennis Quaid, Clifford experienced a whole ark of feeling insecure and tought of giving up on being the host to search another job, before his friends reassured that he had value for them and was needed to help things get on their feet.

And so, the catfish continued his work, bringing with him a great sense of resilience that was to be admired.

02º Rizzo the Rat

I may be cheating since Rizzo first appeared with the classic cast of characters in the 1984 film The Muppets Take Manhattan, but he was reinvented enough to be a part of the main cast in Muppets Tonight and besides, when hasn’t anyone cheated on top ten lists?

Anyway, when he first appeared in the movies and specials, Rizzo was more the character who rided along for the free food while ocasionally providing fun snarky commentary. Then he was promoted to performer and co-host in the direct to VHS movie Muppet Classic Theater, and them he received the important role of Production assistant, who assisted the gang of Muppets Tonight in search of giving a good time to the guest stars and keeping good ratings for the show, besides getting in despair alongside Clifford when they had to deal with a backstage crisis.

He becamed a more proactive and helpfull team member, all the while keeping his snarky and street smart personality and also trolling his friends with some pranks.

That is a great example of a subtle character ark that doesn’t need to be on focus, while the core excense of the personality is intact.

And my number one character from Muppets Tonight is...

01º Bobo the Bear

A more fotorealistic looking Muppet bear, recicling a puppet from The Muppets Take Manhattan, Bobo started as the bumbling security guard who tooked orders too literary, before being developed into a complex character who, while bumbling in some situations, could be very competent in others, sometimes doing small scams to take food from Rizzo, other times making sarcastic jokes with Clifford, impressing Sam the Eagle when articulating an opinion about economy and politics in the “Eagle’s Nest” sketch and specially showing a great sense of empathy and kind hearth when seeing Clifford facing his emotional crisis, leading the gang to ask him to stay.

Besides working as the security guard, Bobo would also perform in the sketches “Fairyland P.D”, wich was a police procedural parody in the scenario of fairy tales and nursery rhymes that he stared alongside Clifford, and “The Real World: Muppets”, a parody of the reality show “The Real World” where he was confined in a house with Clifford, Rizzo the Rat, Bill the Bubble Guy and the goth lady Darci.

His best moment was in the episode guest staring the model Cindy Crawford. There, Bobo falls in love with Cindy after literary being hit by Cupid’s arrow. Unsure of what to say, he first tries to get help from Rizzo. After this fails, Bobo decides to follow his instincts, jumps into a musical number that Cindy was doing with Kermit, and howls the bear mating sound, wich makes Cindy give a chance to a romance with the bear.

A sweet romantic dreamer, emotionally inteligent, cunning, wild and bumbling, Bobo started as a simple one note joke, but, slowly and unexpectedly, becamed a charming tridimensional character.

And that is why he is my favorite character in Muppets Tonight.

#muppets tonight #muppets #one of my favorite franchises #fandom musings #my rankings #wallpapers

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olet-lucernam · 8 months

Text

A Hollow Promise [5] chapter i, part v

{_[on AO3]_}

main tags : loki x original character, post-avengers 2012, canon divergence - post-thor: the dark world, canon-typical violence, mentions of torture

summary: In the aftermath of the Battle of New York, the Avengers need a few days to build a transport device for the Tesseract. With the Helicarrier damaged and surveillance offline, SHIELD sends an asset to guard Loki in the interim: a young woman who sees the truth in all things, and cannot lie.

Even long presumed dead, her memories lost to her, Loki would know her anywhere.

And this changes things.

Some things last beyond infinity. And the universe is in love with chaos.

(Loki was never looking for redemption. It came as an unexpected side-effect.)

chapter summary : awaiting his return to asgard after the battle of new york, loki unexpectedly encounters a familiar face.

recommended listening : can't help falling in love (light), tommee profitt feat. brooke

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"Darling."

"Mn."

"Darling, you need to sleep."

Her lashes fluttered, stubbornly unshuttering the glazed hazel of her irises.

"Not yet," she managed, visibly staving off a jaw-cracking yawn, smothered under her palm.

Loki sighed, watching her struggle to remain in the realm of waking. She had already startled herself out of a doze once, when her book slipped out of her lap, striking the mesh walkway like a gong.

"You're obviously exhausted," he coaxed, soft as shredded cotton. "You should rest."

"I've survived on less sleep for longer," she muttered churlishly, sounding almost offended- although it was difficult to tell with her hand still clamped over her mouth, leaning into her palm as a prop, wilting.

"I'm sure you have," Loki agreed, internally rolling his eyes, "but there is no need. I assure you, I won't disturb you."

"Not the point."

Loki was almost certain that she was pouting.

"I haven't handed off the guard yet. They'll be waiting for confirmation that I'm still alive in here."

"And then you will consent to end your duties for the night?"

"Mm, I'll still be on guard. Technically. Just- allowed to sleep. Just like pulling a twenty-something, thirty-hour shift at the hospital," she rambled, waving a hand vaguely, eyes sliding shut. "Call rooms. Still on call, but unless you're paged, you can catch a few hours."

Loki hadn't the slightest idea what she was talking about, but assumed it had some meaning to her.

She almost leapt out of her skin when her earpiece lit up.

"Alethia, this is Gamma Team, in position for shift change. Do you copy?"

Straightening, shoulders pulling back, she touched the pad of her middle finger to the earpiece. "This is Alethia. I copy," she said, abruptly sounding sharp and perfectly awake, posture shifting into a frame of Neoclassical grace.

"Sitrep?"

"Status is green. We're clear for changeover."

"Copy that. You're back on full duties at oh-six-hundred hours."

"Copy. Wilco."

The channel closed with an unceremonious spit of static.

Her professional demeanour creased and fell away, like a bolt of rumpled silk. She stretched herself out like a cat, arms twining overhead, a close-mouthed groan singing behind her sternum.

The corner of Loki's mouth ticked up.

"Relieved of your duties?"

Her hands dropped back into her lap with a satisfied sigh. "Mm-hm, close enough."

Reaching up behind her, she extracted the fistful of long steel pins holding her hair in place, the meticulous coil already beginning to loosen over the hours, like the fine construction lines of a base sketch showing through oil paint. Her braid unravelled, and she plucked out the elastic binding it, pulling it apart with a few hooks of her finger.

Ruffling her tresses at the roots, sending her loose curls scattering against the small of her back, she stood and moved to where she had stashed the trundle of waxed canvas. Unbuckling the straps, she unfurled the bedroll in front of the cell with a snap, letting it settle on the floor.

Loki eyed the envelope of waterproof fabric dubiously.

"You're not sleeping on that, are you?"

She paused, looking up, raking back the fall of her hair with one hand.

"Of course not," she said blankly, "I just took it out for dramatic effect. In a moment, I'll be hauling down a swansdown mattress from a few levels above. The silk pillows and Egyptian cotton sheets will require a second trip, obviously."

"I thought you were incapable of lying."

"Sarcasm isn't lying. It's an alternate method of conveying a truth."

Loki huffed out a smile, then raised his chin at the bedroll.

"You are not sleeping on that." He informed her. "Step back, darling."

Her eyebrows twitched- but curiosity swiftly won out.

Taking several strides backwards, she leaned her hip against the edge of the control panel, one ankle crossed over the other.

Loki lifted a hand, fingers extended in a slight flare, and focused.

His magic surged to answer his will so effortlessly that it knocked the breath out of him, the rush of exhilaration and power leaving him almost lightheaded.

His captors were no great magi. They seemed not to grasp that his magic was not an appendage that could be amputated, or a mantle to be stripped- regardless of how it was depleted, his mana would regenerate, replenishing at his core like bone marrow restoring blood loss. Even then, with his innate power at its lowest ebb, long years of study had given him the knowledge and skill to tap into external sources.

They had, however, found a way to suppress his abilities, strangling its flow like a tourniquet, until only the faintest traces seeped through. It had been enough- Loki was a master of magic, which meant that he knew how to do a great deal with very little- but given that most of it had been channelled into mending the damage to his body and shielding his mind, while simultaneously making it seem as though he wasn’t, there was little to spare.

Regaining what was his was intoxicating, like the pain of an atrophied limb bound too long being abruptly unshackled and allowed to stretch.

Before his thoughts could spiral, Loki recentred himself.

Rotating his wrist- distilling his intent, conjuring his mana, reaching out and persuading the fabric of the universe to comply- he lifted his palm, with an almost flippant flick.

With a shimmer of green and gold, rinsing over the waxed canvas like the waterline of surf breaking upon shore, the bedroll demolished and reconstructed itself, frothing out and upwards.

It transformed, blosooming into a deep, plush mattress that engulfed the breadth of the walkway. Facing the glass cage, the bed was heaped with a thick duvet and a crown of pillows, appointed with ivory linens and blush-pink silks, marbled with a mother-of-pearl sheen.

Loki didn't hide his satisfaction at her shock.

"It's not swansdown," he admitted, "but you mentioned Egyptian cotton and silk, correct?"

Her eyes darted up to his.

"Prince Loki."

"Yes?"

"I was being facetious."

"I am aware of that."

"You- really didn't have to-"

"I am also aware of that."

She subsided into a surrendering laugh, folding her arms in across herself.

"Thank you."

Her voice was made ethereal by the echoing quiet, a sincere smile stealing away the tension of her surprise.

The moment held, soft and beautiful, a fragile bubble of perfection.

For a desperate, longing moment, Loki considered transmuting the thick glass of the cell into water, sending it crashing aside, and-

And what? His mind prompted, acerbic and scornful. And do what, exactly?

Loki glanced down at his hands, shuttering himself against her penetrating gaze, pressing his thumbnail into the crease of his palm.

With a nudge of her hip, she pushed herself off the edge of the terminal, reaching for her duffel bag.

"I'm going to get changed."

"And I am going to look at the ceiling," Loki said, fixing his eyes near the circumference of the sunken disk-light above the centre of the cell, tracing out the seams in the internal cladding.

She giggled, the sound echoing out through the chamber. "Then thank you again, my prince."

The possessive pronoun rattled something in loose in him, like cherry blossoms shattering, collapsing in a silken flurry.

He could hear the high rasp of zips, her footsteps, the shuffle of fabric, the quiet hiss of her breath as she peeled the moulded jumpsuit from her skin.

Loki swallowed, staring resolutely at the ceiling. The glare of the lights burned into the borders of his vision. Where the slight shadows were cast, the plating looked closer to shade of dust-blue or marine shallows than a near-white tone of grey.

Perhaps that was just his mind attempting to simulate nightfall, imagining colour on the empty canvas.

If it does not exist, make it.

"Alright, I'm done."

Loki blinked the phosphenes out of his vision, and settled his eyes level again.

She was stood by the head of the mattress, like a Canova sculpture. The mass of her champagne curls was pulled over one shoulder as she combed the snarls out, redressed in cotton shorts and a camisole and an aura of serene ease that split and rived away the last remnants of the SHIELD-applied lacquer.

She smiled as she caught his eye, winding her tresses up loosely.

"Will you be sleeping?" She asked, deftly securing her hair with a sturdy band of elastic, pinning it off the nape of her neck.

Loki conjured an appropriately loftily, indulgent expression.

"Unlike mortals, a full eight hours of sleep would be more of a luxury than an anatomical necessity."

"Is that a no?"

"It's not a yes."

Flicking her eyes up, she swivelled, activating the screen of the security control panel. "If you're going to talk in circles, Prince Loki, I will find a way to square it."

She pulled up a digital panel of slider controls, catching one tab and lowering it, the overhead lights dimming to a twilight ebb.

"Is that enough light to read by?"

Loki glanced at the ceiling, eyebrows hitching in mild surprise.

"Plenty. Thank you."

She locked the screen, returning it to an inert pane of electric glass.

"You might consider it repayment," she gestured towards the opulent bed, "a kindness for a kindness."

"If we were tally the debts, I believe I am still in arrears." Loki tapped the weathered paper cover of Hogfather, having completed it several hours earlier.

"Ah, well- my kindness isn't wholly altruistic," she admitted, padding closer to the glass cage and pulling back the covers in a swathe of white and pink. "So I'm not sure it counts."

"And you thought I was being wholly altruistic?" Loki purred through a wicked smirk.

She stepped over the pillows and onto the mattress, lips parted into a wry smile.

"Prince Loki, it's almost like you're trying to be indebted to me. I just gave you an out."

"Ah, but where's the fun in easy?" Loki asked, grinning.

Her eyes gleamed warmly in reply, confessing her agreement, as she turned to slip between the sheets.

The clean overhead light caught in the scars on her back.

Exposed by the low back of her shirt and her bound-up tresses, they extended below the cotton of her camisole, the mottled warped flesh like vitrified satin, bright as a knife against the gold of her skin and carving through the penumbra- two deep, ragged, crescent-shaped gouges on either side of her spine, the depressions echoing the wings of her scapula.

Loki couldn't breathe.

An uncanny resemblance could be excused as coincidence. A rare, innate ability could be written off as chance.

But those scars-

Loki knew those scars. He had watched them heal, tender open wounds glistening with metallic gold, sealing over with bloodless white. He had traced the corded tissue with trailing fingertips, trying to find a way to overwrite the horror. He had seen them flex and flutter when she finally threw her shoulders back, refusing to hide them, terrible and beautiful.

Loki knew those scars.

She slipped beneath the covers and collapsed into the bed with a satisfied sigh, the tension in her limbs deflating on her exhale.

"You said this wasn't swansdown?" She murmured, sinking into the pillows with an appreciative noise, gathering the duvet around herself.

Loki huffed a half-laugh. "Goosedown. A little easier to manufacture for the spell, otherwise I would have obliged you."

"Mm, you really didn't have to," she fought out through a yawn, tucking an arm under the pillows, settling. "Sweet of you, though."

He swallowed down the flutter in his chest. "Sleep, darling. You're already drifting on me."

She made a vague noise of acquiescence.

"Mn. Goodnight, then…"

Loki breathed out quietly. "Good night, good night," he quoted. "Parting is such sweet sorrow…"

"That I shall say good night 'til it be morrow," she answered dreamily.

There was a moment of stillness, before she spoke again.

"By the way, you can stop flirting with me now. I don't have the door code for the cell, so I couldn't let you out even if I wanted to."

"I guessed as much," Loki said mildly. "Do you have any objections to me continuing?"

She turned her face into the pillow, but Loki could hear her smile, see it written in the way she curled under the covers.

"Do as you please."

"Oh, I intend to."

Her short laugh filtered out into a steady, even tide of her breathing. Loki returned to his book, the rasp of paper echoing out into the dark.

For the first time in two years, the quiet of the night passed in peace.

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