#(long form comics like this are not my forte)

[tblsomedoodles]

What's the countdown for im concerned

It's to something Alt Don thinks is important.

I cant say exactly what yet, but I can say that

It's been there a while : )

(Fun fact! I messed up the formatting of the timer in the recent update. It was supposed to say 74 hrs. Instead it says 74 minutes. So I guess we're speed running some events now b/c I can't really go back and change it. (it's fine. I actually like this way better. I'll get to the fun stuff faster, which i'm all for.))

Thank you!

[nekropsii]

ALPHA TROLLS RANKED BY HOW WRONG THE FANDOM AT LARGE IS ABOUT THEM:

This is a personal challenge, based entirely on my own experience and perspective, and also ranked from Most to Least Correct. I was bored, and thought this might be fun.

Putting this under a cut, because it's long as hell.

MEULIN LEIJON

People get her mostly correct, from what I’ve seen… Most of the time, fan content of Meulin is absolutely recognizable as Meulin, but her pride in her deafness + joy of learning new ways to interact with the world through/due to her disability is always removed, and I do not often see people tackle the Toxic Positivity aspect of her character. That seems less like character assassination, though, and more like a combination of people not actually playing through the Openbounds, people not being able to fathom disabled people (especially those who gained a disability later in life rather than being born disabled) being happy, and general fandom distaste for the idea of touching anything uncomfortable, especially when that uncomfortable topic is highly mundane, normalized, and potentially applicable to them or their loved ones. Meulin’s toxic positivity was, of course, commentary on Tumblr’s ecosystem at the time, so… It was much harder to touch back then.

ARANEA SERKET

People tend to get her general, broad strokes personality right, but unfortunately she gets treated pretty roughly for the crime of Being A Serket. People refuse to understand her motivations, and she often gets demonized for what she was doing around/during [S] Game Over, even though that was something she’d gotten pushed to and also was cool as fuck to watch. God forbid a woman do anything.

DAMARA MEGIDO

People are right about the racism, 100%. It is completely despicable, hard to look at, and extremely blatant. She does, however, have character outside of that. No, it isn’t “whore”, it’s more like “angry, dysfunctional abuse victim”, and she’s genuinely a very interesting and tragic character. But, again, people are right about the racism, so she gets to be placed way up here.

MEENAH PEIXES

She is such a chaotic little bastard. I love her. I really do. Please understand that she genuinely does not understand the concept of consequences. This girl didn’t have a Lusus, she didn’t have parents, it was functionally illegal to tell her “No, you can’t do that.” That would fuck up literally anyone’s moral compass. That’s not me hand waving away all the fucked up and bad shit she’s done, we all know what she did, but people tend to forget this aspect of her character and it pains me deeply, because it is a very genuinely interesting concept that I want to see more of. She’s capable of regret, we’ve seen her feel it, I just don’t think foresight is her forte. No one raised her to consider consequences, or help her experience them in a healthy way, because nobody raised her period.

Also, her ass is not butch, she is the girliest girl in the entire comic. She is about hot pink and glitter and kiss marks and unicorns and cute little puns and you will respect that. She is not masculine. Her ass is not masculine nor is she butch. Let her be her hyper-feminine self.

LATULA PYROPE

Please for the love of god there is more to her character than “Gamer Girl” and “Mituna’s Girlfriend”. You are falling for her fucking ruse. Please. Please. Please recognize that her entire character is about internalized misogyny, and being forced to overcompensate for misogyny in gaming circles as a gamer who happens to be a woman. Please. I’m begging.

KURLOZ MAKARA

His character is not that deep, it’s mostly just a string of events he is mysteriously, inexplicably involved with. The Makaras are extremely Function Over Form- their characters practically do not exist, they're mostly just plot devices that exist to push the story along. I'm sorry to Makara fans. You just invented a guy in your mind and decided he was real. He is also not that soft, though, and his relationships with both Meulin AND Mituna are not healthy. Hard to stop people from ascribing cutesy squishy lovey dynamics to random men who happened to have looked at each other once, though. Some people truly haven't graduated from 2012.

HORUSS ZAHHAK

I am begging people to consider that maybe the biggest issue here is not that he is “Bad Otherkin/Therian Representation” and is in fact maybe the fact that Hussie was actually making fun of Systems when he was writing Horuss. Because Horuss is canonically a system. He uses the word system. He uses the word switching. He uses the word host. He literally talks about his Plurality at length in extremely upfront, plain terms. I don’t know how him being “Bad Otherkin Representation” was and still is the main discourse about him. It makes me insane. That is a commentary that truly writes itself. Talk about having your priorities out of wack, honestly...

PORRIM MARYAM

No, she is not a MRA, she’s just a regular feminist who happens to live on a different planet with different politics and social hierarchies from Our Real World Earth’s USA. Whatever argument you’re about to pull out of your ass to say that she sucks is bad. She already explained what she meant by that, in more detail, very clearly, and she was right. Half the time she’s literally just giving you factual information about what Beforus was like, and literal plot synopses. She isn’t saying anything insane. She’s literally normal. I don’t know why people cannot handle or process this. Porrim has not ever said anything controversial. If you disagree with this you’re either misconstruing her on purpose or you fell for Kankri’s bait, and that’s just fucking sad at that point.

Also, she’s more than a sex object, and her tits are not huge. Honestly, half the shit she was saying was just “I am more than my sex life”, and so many people took that and made her main character trait her sex life. Just pathetic.

RUFIOH NITRAM

This man is a fucking war criminal and I will stop at nothing until he is behind bars for his crimes against Damara. Raging misogynist. Total fucking cunt. Just the worst. If I talk any more about this, this part will be 1,000 paragraphs long. But also, I’m begging people to recognize his relationship with disability, too. He was similar to Meulin in the sense that he didn’t mind his disability, and his biggest gripe with it was the way that Horuss tried to “fix” it… Which is an interesting way to expand upon how Beforus’s culling system is not only very explicitly ableist, but mimicking real world systemic ableism. I also want people to recognize that Hussie is actively having a conversation about the reclamation of slurs with Rufioh’s character, and how not letting people reclaim such language is doing nothing but giving the word power against them while stripping away their own personal agency. Rufioh’s a complicated guy, and he’s interesting and also the worst, and I am really tired of how he gets watered down to nothing but “Pretty Boy Victim Of His Inexplicably Psycho Ex”.

MITUNA CAPTOR

Holy Fucking Shit, You Guys Are Ableist.

KANKRI VANTAS

To this day I see people saying he was just Hussie making fun of SJWs. To this day. To this day people think Hussie was trying to make Every Tumblr Leftist look bad, and that he hates them Because They Are Leftists. When will people recognize him as a bootlicker to the oppressive class and the violently bigoted. When will people recognize that. When will people recognize that this is more of a commentary on the legitimate real flaws of Tumblr’s politics at the time. When. When.

When will people stop portraying him as a lovey-dovey Catholic Whore. I’m going to stab my fucking eyes out and then kill everyone in this building. Me when it's based and cool to ship an aroace character with a sexual predator. I GUESS.

CRONUS AMPORA

I say this with every ounce of sincerity I can possibly muster as a person: What the literal actual fuck.

[thescarletnargacuga]

CHRYSALIS

Kinger oneshot

Inspired by this comic by @knick-knackisdonefor

WARNING: angst, feelings of isolation and loneliness, abstraction

~~~

Kinger collected another pillow for his fort. Today was a good one, it was sturdy and cozy and the perfect igloo shape. Nothing would bother him in his fort. He placed the last pillow and crawled inside. The dim light and muted colors inside the fort were always calming to him. The vibrant world outside could feel so overwhelming, it was nice to have the retreat.

He rocked himself alone in the peaceful silence until voices outside gave him pause. These voices were from familiar friends. He poked his head out just enough to peek Jax and Ragatha walking by having a lively conversation. She pushed him after he said a quirky one liner and they laughed as he put his arm around her shoulders.

Kinger watched until they were out of sight. He sat back down and looked at his empty fort. The last person to use the fort with him was Queenie. They would hide from the world and make their own, they'd be the rulers of their own little kingdom. They'd tell stories and sing songs and...He held his knee tighter to his chest.

More voices from outside derailed his thoughts. Caine's distinct, booming voice carried through the circus like a strong wind. Kinger didn't look but by how many times Caine said "my dear", he knew Pomni was with him. They were going on an adventure. Just the two of them. The chime of a portal was heard, and the voices were gone.

Kinger closed his eyes. The once protective shell felt cold and constricting. He couldn't breathe. He was suffocating in the oppressive silence. The shadowed walls of his fort were looking at him. Eyes of pinks and yellows and blue revolve in their sockets wildly.

More voices. More friends. Gangle and Zooble were just outside. He could cry out. He could call for help. But he had no mouth. How would he scream? No one would hear. No one would come. He was alone.

The eyes taunted him. Laughing. Screeching, evil laughter rang in his head. SHE'S DOWN HERE WITH US! JOIN US! YOU'LL NEVER BE ALONE AGAIN! Inky shifting hands came out of the walls, grabbing at his robe. He glitched from their touch, jagged bolts of pain shot through him. He was everywhere and nowhere and everything and nothing.

JOIN US! JOIN US! JOIN US! YOUR QUEEN AWAITS! The voices were coming from inside of him now. His robe shredded and glitched, it meant nothing to him now. "Queenie..." Was his final coherent thought.

His form broke apart and expanded out into a large black mass of static and eyes. The fort collapsed and pillows scattered across the floor. Screams of terror came from unfamiliar faces. He only knew pain. Existence was agony. He must inflict it.

No matter how many times anyone called his name. No matter what was said. No matter what was done. Nothing mattered anymore. The king was dead. Long live the abstraction.

[the-starlight-project]

First of all I LOVE THIS, AAAAHHHHH THIS IS SO GOOD!!!!!!❤❤❤❤❤❤

Second of all I've been seeing people saying "oh god sonic had to watch people die but it actuality it was acting" but I see no one asking "how the fuck did he go super?" And "what about being a werehog?" And all the other form transformation that he has done over the years and also " HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN HIS FUCKING OWN DEATH TO HIM"

Like with the death one, did they put him I a forced coma? Did they tranquilise him? So many thoughts are going on it my head

On a other thought, what is he going to do now he knows that everything is 'fake'? Like he was no clue if sonic's world was real or not cause even tho we know there is no interdimensional interference going on we can't rule out that what happen to sonic was real, whether as an act or it actually happen, cause we know that in the games sonic fort a god(s) and won, and if those god(s) where real what is going on? Are all the actors playing roles that have no clue they are playing? Is sonic the only one who is in the right to believe everything is fake? Is chaos energy real or was it special effects? Is sonic like PROJECT SHADOW? Is sonic a GOD????????? (I'm twicking, or am I 🤔)

We have no clue what is real or not cause we are only the spectators. We are like sonic, we are seeing the things sonic is seeing and making theorys that sonic himself might have not even be thinking about cause our main man is going through like 30 intenal mental breakdowns in like 30 minutes, having an existential crisis and all that.

What is really going on cause it seems like 'shadow' also did not know that sonic had no idea about how they were actors in the beginning of the comic and now he is coming to terms that maybe everything he knew was a lie as well, cause we see reaction to sonic doing a spindash at the wall is when he really started to think the sonic is more then the main character of the story but an actual person who is in the dark and when 'shadow' was bring up all these things from the past we start seeing him get nervous cause he probably is thinking "oh fuck what is happening? I thought he was a actor like I am" and in reality is not

I have rambled a lot cause I love this and with The Truman Show being something I am actively studying for school my mind is going haywire

"Thank you for listening to my Ted talk"/ref

Okay, first of all, massive pretense - there are so many questions in this ask that I cannot (and will not) answer all of them.

HOWEVER.

A lot of these questions are very important, very well thought-out and certainly should not be forgotten - and rest assured, several things you ask about do indeed have answers to them (I'd go so far as to say that about 95% have answers to them, actually). I had a hell of a time reading through this with SB on a discord call and it was SUCH a doozy /pos

The problem with asks like this is that I literally can't say anything without accidentally spoiling the whole comic BUT! I will endeavor to say as much as I can!

Chaos Energy is very much a real force, but it's not universal. In fact, it's pretty much localized. Very localized.

Shamdow may have been acting with Sonic for a long time, but when you're running a long-standing show, you have sets, budgets and effects that reach well into the millions. He had no real reason to question Sonic because surely, it was all just effects. (It was not, in fact, all effects)

Sonic shares some similarities with the concept of Project Shadow, but not all - most notably, he's not an alien or a robot or whatever else Shadow has gone through when trying to figure out what he is in the games. He's not the product of science, he's very much natural.

[maljaws]

@thenoeyebunnynobunsusmaingallery inspired me to post my own

Wilbur Whateley HCs

In my version, Lavinia Whateley/his mom died in childbirth, leaving their occult obsessed, half-insane grandfather as their sole guardian

Also he doesn't shoot dogs, bc I said so

He's a very isolated man and only goes into Dunwich or generally off his property when he needs to, the people there aren't very kind to him after all Most food he can grow, water he has a well

This can lead to downright comical interactions of him looking in his 40s-ish but not knowing how to hail a cab Just, standing there until he manages to figure it out Which wouldn't be too long, he's a clever man, but far longer than it'd take for somebody who's been doing this their whole life

^ Someone take him to see a single film he's never been

If you've seen/played What Remains Of Edith Finch, the inside of the Whateley home has a similar aura to it's house. Scattered books on set in bookshelves, and old wall paper, dotted with paintings and photos from many many generations before him

He has no electricity, plumbing nor a proper stove for the time, so all old-fashioned And he doesn't care to change that anytime soon

When he's soaked, he smells like just a wet dog

Due to no bones, he works on octopus logic! If his teeth, beak, and any hard accessories fit through a gap he can squeeze his entire body through ^ Same goes with Oscar

Man relies on tools, though he has some degree of physical strength its far from his forte If he were to need to strangle somebody, it'd be by rope In a fight with no set up? He's gonna crumple quickly without a gun to defend himself Traps on the Whateley property help a lot to deal with any intruders

He's a really good cook! Though his tastes are tailored to himself and Oscar (The Dunwich Horror itself) so it may be odd

Man is SURROUNDED by books, its his dedication in life right now Also, one of few forms of entertainment

Next to, of course, taking care of his brother. They play Chess a lot, though their board is one of those giant sets so Oscar can actually see and control the pieces That was a primary decompressing activity when he was younger

He is still 15, so he still has some kid-like tendencies and wants, although since his grandfather's passed he's had to take up everything and functionally be the adult

He's very very busy. Afterall he's a farmer, a scholar, and the caretaker for Oscar He'll rest when reality is dead

Moon and inky cap motif hell yeah

I have so many of these and may've even forgotten some, apologies for how unorganized this is

[thatoneaceinthecorner]

RQG Art Masterpost

Hey guys! So recently I've had a wave of notes on some of my old rqg art, and a few new followers. I got really nostalgic about rqg and decided I wanted an easier way to access my rqg-related art (other than the dumpster fire that is tumblr's tagging system), and I wanted other people who are just finding my art to have an easy way of looking at the rest, if they want to. So I dug through everything and made a masterpost! This post contains links to all the rqg art I've ever posted on tumblr, as well as a couple images that I couldn't find the original posts for, despite all the digging. It's loosely organized, emphasis on loosely, but I hope it should be fun to look through if anyone ever feels like it. Spoiler warning for the whole show, just in case anyone new isn’t done with their first listen. There's also stuff in here that's pretty old and that I don't necessarily love anymore, but seeing how my skills progressed over time is still pretty neat. This is a long post, so I've put all the links under the cut. Enjoy!

My top three pieces and why they're my favorites

General:

Shoin's sketch of London

RQG Inktober: Scars

Resurrection Ritual in the Ursan Village

Zolf Smith, cleric of what comes next (comic)

Alex's horrible Barret Monster with knife arms

Ada and Tesla in their lab with the Babbage brain

"Why didn't you do more" (it's all your fault comic)

Blue-veined arm in Other London

Zolf and Azu hear the hivemind

Sasha and Cicero leave Rome behind them

Apophis in human form

Party camping outside the Garden of Yerlik

Kantu!! Because I thought they were cute

Also these two drawings, the ones I couldn't find the original posts for. Azu giving Hamid a piggy-back, and a really old drawing of Azu in Carter's mind museum.

Sasha Racket:

Sasha hangs out with gargoyles (and sphinxes)

Sasha portrait

Goodbye, Brock

Goodbye, Grizzop

If Grizzop had lived and helped raised Sasha's kids

Sasha deserves bat wings, as a treat

"I so wish you could meet them"

My very first drawing of Sasha, post-Kafka fight

Wilde:

Wilde masterpost (yes he has his own)

"We're all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars"

His brain might've popped

Wilde looking pretty (plus bonus shitpost sketch)

"Oh Wilde, you must have been so scared"

Wilde with blue veins

Wilde gets his magic back (first time I ever drew him)

Zoscar:

Wild and Zolf in the rain, epilogue

"We've got this" "Yeah, we've got this" aka Parallels

Breath of Life

Wilde's first death

Peace and comfort (for once)

Actually some more peace and comfort

And a little more

Aaand back to some angst

RQG Zine Art:

The End of the World As We Know It

How Little He Matters

Rome Is Where the Heart Is

Animatics/Animations/Videos:

Hamimatic - Immature

Zolf is the sand guardian, guardian of the sand

Wilde and Zolf in the rain but animated this time

Sasha protecting Wilde in Paris

Time lapse of some of the "Breath of Life" drawing

Ben Meredith quoting Jenna Marbles (starring Toothbrush Zolf)

Doodles, sketches, and requests:

Messy busts of the whole party (plus Wilde, obviously)

Azu and Grizzop outfit/deity swap

Never wake a sleeping Barnes (comic)

Toothbrush Zolf

Azu caring for undead Sasha

Ada mourning Babbage AU

Fun sketch page of various PCs

Domestic Zolf and Wilde

Canon-compliant under-dressed Zolf (look he's posing like the coppertone baby from that one brand of sunscreen, i thought it was funny)

Sasha and Wilde bonding time

If Sasha and Cel met each other

Sasha and Zolf, amputee buddies

Wilde in a flower crown (Everyone Liked That)

More domestic Zolf and Wilde

Sasha playing with Hamid's twin brothers

Sasha looking after Grizzop's kids

Zolf and Wilde hugging

Sasha and Skraak, dynamic duo

Barnes and Carter hugging

Kobold in the kitchen with Zolf

Ada holding down the fort

Happy Hamid

Cel and Grag

Wilde and Hamid high-five

[webbywatcheshorror]

Webby Reviews Horror: Ink (2009)

Ink is a movie about extraplanar entities, invisible to our plane, who visit us at night and deliver dreams (or nightmares). One night, a young girl's soul is kidnapped, leaving her waking body comatose. Allel, a Dreamgiver, must hunt down the creature who stole her before it's too late.

Ink is another movie that I love dearly! I love the worldbuilding, the characters, the use of music and lighting.

It's not a very well-known movie, which is a shame, because I feel like it could have a fairly strong following if more people got to see it.

So let's talk about it! Review under the cut, and as always, SPOILERS ahead!

Alright, STRICTLY SPEAKING, Ink is not a horror movie. It's more of a fantasy with some elements of horror and suspense. But this is my review blog and I do what I want.

The movie opens up with a scene of a little girl (Emma) and her father (John) spending time together one morning. She wants to play pretend, but Dad is awkward, like he's not sure how playing pretend works, but he gives in and tries anyway, leaping out of his comfort zone and into her world of pretend beasties and forts they must defend. it's really cute, if a little too brightly lit.

Then we are introduced to a core concept of the movie- the Dreamgivers. As the neighborhood falls asleep, dozens of individuals literally POP into existence and slip into their homes, where they deliver sweet dreams through a gentle touch. It is weirdly shot in some places, though, reminding me of a medication commercial, but I suppose that can be the nature of dreams.

The Dreamgivers just look like regular people, in contrast to their opposites, the Incubi, who are dressed in black shiny trenchcoats and have their faces projected onto a screen like a mask. The Incubi deliver nightmares, as you might expect, though not through touch- they simply sidle up to a sleeper and whisper negativity that influences the dreams.

I like how differently the two factions are portrayed- the Dreamgivers are warm, personal, almost loving in their duties, while the Incubi are cold and impersonal, projecting fears and insecurities on their victims from afar.

In this world, however, there are more than just Dreamgivers and Incubi, and we meet our primary antagonist, Ink, when he POPs into existence and steals Emma, who is living with her grandparents. Except, he has stolen her on This side of reality- the Dreamers' side- leaving her physical body there without a soul.

Our Dreamgiver protag Allel tries to fight Ink off, and is backed up by some of her compatriots, giving us a really cool detail about the Dreamside World. When objects are damaged, such as furniture, it reverses itself back into its normal state moments later. It's a really cool visual and helps to establish the fact that Dreamsiders can't affect the real world.

Ink kicks everyone's ass and manages to escape with Emma's soul by playing a funky lil beat on a hand drum, which opens a gateway they vanish into. That, in itself, is a cool ass concept. Let me just play a little ditty and get gone.

Ink (the character) is a tragic figure. During the course of the movie, we learn his goal is to become an Incubus- detached, unfeeling, perfectly formed. We are told that his entry into the Dreamside was painful, and when we get a face reveal, we see he is covered in scars, with an almost comically enlarged nose (think close to Adam Maitland's character transformation in Beetlejuice for a comparison) and only a few long thin strands of hair on his otherwise bald, scarred head. he intends to deliver Emma's soul in exchange for this new status.

See, the Dreamside is implied to be the Afterlife. There are angelic figures like Liev the Storyteller; demonic figures like the Incubus Prince; drifters, like Ink, who used to be human but never settled into one side or the other; and Pathfinders who can hear the beat of the world and actually influence it.

The Pathfinder we meet is a blind man named Jacob who serves as a guide and comedic relief from some of the dramatic tension, and is also my second favorite character behind Emma. He seems deeply unserious, but he's dedicated to the task at hand- saving Emma's soul before her body expires. He's just gonna give Allel shit about it the whole time. ("What are we supposed to do when we find Emma on the other side?" "SHAKE THE SHIT OUT OF HER.")

His ability to affect the world gives us my absolute favorite sequence in the movie- he opens his little case he's been carrying and through it, emits a soft little gust of wind that sets off a chain reaction eventually culminating in a car wreck that sends Emma's father to the same hospital she's in. (Even if you don't want to watch this entire movie I do highly recommend looking up that scene on Youtube!)

This movie is an artistic one, utilizing light and environmental storytelling to provide a lot of the details- for example, when John is actively being influenced by an Incubus, the world around him dims, then darkens considerably, showing just how alone he feels in his misery and anger. During the first Flashback sequence, he is shown to be (literally) in the spotlight at work, over and over, congratulated for his business sense and smart dealings, while at home the light is dim as his wife pleads for him to stop working such long hours and spending so much time away from the family.

The movie also uses color to signify which layer of reality we're in- the real world is often overly bright, but colorful, where the Dreamside is mostly gray and muted. I like visual cues that communicate to the viewer details like that, helps me keep track of what's going on and where we are.

The Twist of the movie is decently set up and can be figured out if you're paying attention, but don't feel bad if you don't, since there is some timey wimey bullshit going on. Alternate Worlds love having time work differently than the real one, and while it may be a cliche, it's a fun story element that opens up more possibilities.

Ink is John. Or, at least, a version of him that could be, if he keeps on the path he's on right now. Ink is what happens when John ignores his daughter's condition and continues to work and do coke and withdraw from the only family he has left, resulting in Emma's death. Ink is what happens when John gets so low he takes his own life.

The Final Battle is a fantastic scene- on the Dreamside, we have a handful of Dreamgivers fighting to keep the Incubi who are swarming the hospital at bay and away from John so he can make his own choice; on the reality side of things, we have a normal day in a hospital, with John wandering down the halls in search of Emma. There's a sense of urgency and a rapidly approaching time limit on the Dreamside, but in the real world it's peaceful, almost dreamlike.

Ink/John's journey to recovery parallels how hard it is to come back from the darkness in our own world. How the promise of relief from your pain can be so seductive that you'd give up anything, everything, just to be free. How hard it is to let go of your resentment and admit when you're wrong, when you need help. How even a hand extended in friendship can seem like a threat.

This movie ends on a good note, leaving me with a sense of relief and satisfaction. As I said before, it's not so much a true horror movie as it is a fantasy with some horror elements, so that's probably why it has such a happy ending, but I digress.

I give this one ten ghosts outta ten, because I love the story, the worldbuilding, the visual effects, and the characters a hell of a lot. And because Jacob is right, sometimes you really do just gotta shake the shit outta people. (Maybe don't orchestrate a car accident as your first option though.)

[duskforged]

State of the Author: January 2024

Normally, I wouldn't do a thing like this. However, because I have not actually updated y'all on my WIPs in a while, I thought I might as well!

We'll start with the thing most of you followed me for: long-form fiction. And I call it that since all of these will be over 15k words (hopefully). There are three novels I'm currently focusing on.

LONG-FORM FICTION

Lodestar is currently stuck in a worldbuilding spiral, since it's a near-future humanity in space. While I do love sci-fi, science and math are not especially my forte. I hope to start drafting by the end of the summer, around September.

Vespertine has started on the first draft, though I'm also outlining still - something of a combined process. I am excited to share more of it with you, though it may be tough since most of it still lives in my head. Such is the woe of the artist.

Unto Summer Kings is in the first draft and currently hovering around 15k words! So far it's the longest I've gotten on a novel, and if I stay on track I could start my second draft by May, and begin beta reading by August.

LONG-FORM FANFICTION

I hesitate a little to touch on this one, just because. However, for the pure self indulgence I will. I have three major fanfics currently posted on my AO3, all of them multichaptered.

The Hanged Man is a Naruto SI!OC as Hatake Sakumo, immediately before his death. I currently have 8 chapters out and the main beats of the fic are fully outlined as of this month, which marks a major turning point in the fic's planning.

The Ever-Growing Gloaming is another self insert, this time into the events of Baldur's Gate 3. Vespere, the main character, whose name is subject to change, has been plucked from August 2023 and has not played the game since early access March 2023. Therefore they know less than you might expect.

Finally I have my Supernatural series, For Want of a Broken Nail (Broken Nail Verse). And I know what you're going to say, it's super meta to have a self insert in that fandom, you're writing SPN fanfic in 2024 what is wrong with you, etc etc. But the concept seized me full on by the balls and I already have the first 5 seasons outlined. Sorry, not sorry? No one is obligated to read it anyhow.

I also have a billion ideas on the backburner, ranging from fandoms like Game of Thrones and the MCU (for some reason) to Avatar: the Last Airbender and Star Wars. I'll post 'em when I post 'em!

ART PROJECTS

Wolf in Shepherd's Clothing is a comic of humanity's first lycanthrope, taking place in ancient Mesopotamia, in what is modern day Iran. The main character, Lahar, is gender neutral/ambiguous. So far, I'm stuck in outlining and drafting but hopefully soonTM.

Witchboy (title wip) is a story I'm working on with my partner @fallenorpheus based on various YA novels we read growing up. So far we aren't super set on the story, but it's definitely about a boy who is (accidentally) a witch, his best friend, his adoring father, and his estranged mother.

Dame-Errant (title wip) is a story that, instead of in comic form, is a story that is illustration snapshots, accompanied by short story prose. It is about a butch knight, Dame Johana Talon, who is tasked by Queen Atossa to find her missing son, Prince Khosrow. Typical 'prince(ss) in the tower shenanigans' but then, politics. And boy does Jo hate politics.

I have other webcomic ideas (mtf vs bbeg accidentally breaking a prophecy, team of bipoc/minority characters getting thrown into a fantasy world for an adventure, etc) so feel free to ask.

PERSONAL

I hesitate to touch on this, really, since it's not something that just anyone needs to know, but I've been struggling to find a good name for myself. Hesperos is a good name, but doesn't necessarily feel like 'me' these days. I do enjoy the h/e sounds... I've considered Ezra, but that's just the name of an OC and I'd rather not get quite that meta.

Ah well, sure it'll sort itself out eventually.

THE END

Anyway, thanks for reading! I know that's quite a lot for this one post to cover, but you stuck til the very end. Not sure when I'll start posting again in earnest but I hope sooner rather than later!

[mann-walter]

My Thoughts on Napoleon (2023)

Please note that walking into the studio and sitting down, a comically large box of popcorn in hand, I had no idea what the movie was going to be about. Oh aye, I heard Joaquin Phoenix and Ridley Scott, I heard of the historical inaccuracies and all, but never read about them. By-and-large, I was blind. Please also note that I know very little of Napoleon and the Napoleonic Wars. Sure, I know about his wife, the battles, all those emperor stuff, and I certainly know about the Waterloo squares, but only on a surface level, and that's the end to that. That's why I will:

Not comment on historical accuracy

Treat the material as a biopic or historical fiction

I will only be commenting on what I understood from what I saw.

The movie was alright, a solid 3/5 and no more. Maybe I would have been much harsher, like many on this site, if I were more knowledgeable. Alas, I'm not. My biggest gripe with it would be how kernel-like it was. The best allegory I can provide is a good presentation material: condensed, consisting of somewhat disjointed points. It could've been a great presentation. Sadly, the brilliant storyteller who should've presented it got killed in an accident and never showed up.

I don't know what sort of Napoleon it tried to portray (certainly not the glorious one); it's possible that they aimed for a power-hungry, borderline-mad megalomaniac. But, if that was so, then they've kind of failed. However, if what they were going for was an extremely emotionally dependent man, uncertain, chasing after others' validation, guidance, and assurance, then I won't demand my money returned.

The whole of it not being precisely a struck of brilliance doesn't mean it has no brilliant side to it. Again, if they were treading the small, insecure man route, they did it well. Please observe the scenes in which the focus is on Napoleon or him and his closest female family members (Josephine, his mother), contrast that to scenes of battle and relatively public settings where he is not the sole center of attention. Napoleon was much more fierce, a little brutish even, and generally grander and more dangerous in the latter. While in the former, he... wilts.

I really like how they showed it, too, how he's a human with fear of death after all. Take Tulon, for example. When they were climbing up the fort, there was a moment—quite long—when the fighting was relegated to background visuals and audio, and Napoleon was just wading through it; they added in his breathing. It gave how, like anybody else there and in many other battles, he was near-pissing-himself afraid, overwhelmed, and uncertain of what will come of it. Yet, above all, what struck me most about that scene was how similar it was to the battle scenes in All Quiet on the Western Front both in form and the emotional result.

However, my favorite scenes still rest on Austerlitz. They took the time to present the tragic chaos of the soldiers, many wounded, frantically trying not to sink into the icy water. Keep in mind that winter gears were heavy and would be made heavier by soaking, acting as a weight. The image was interspersed with Napoleon looking down at them. To me, it was like a puncture to the gut.

[bassdaily]

March wrap up

Me and my hairspiracy theories...

I had a few other thoughts, but wanted to keep my initial write up a little more focused.

- Blues’ radical hairstyle change. Capcom did that in MM8. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Most adaptions went with his original MM3 hair and Archie comics went with the MM8 pompadour, both are technically game canon.

- As far as the Wilys all having the same hair color. This is a great headcanon! It’s cute! And I never want to discourage anyone’s preferences. I just don’t think it’s good evidence for actual canon. Aside from the fact that Zero and Bass as brothers is really a fanon thing... the Light siblings have different hair colors?

- I’m dying to see if the Rockman-chan manga will give us Forte hair. They already teased it by showing him take his helmet off. (…only to put on a far sillier helmet.)

That said, Rockman-chan doesn’t always stick to canon designs. Lookin’ at you, Blues. On the other hand… it’s like the only media that really gets that Forte is supposed to be an edgy recolor DeviantArt OC do not steal, and would be around the same age and build as Rock.

- FWIW, my personal preference and headcanon is purple hair, which is not and never will be game canon. These days I’ve come to accept the short manga style, but for a very long time I was a very strong proponent of medium shoulder length hair.

- As far as I’m concerned NetNavis don’t have hair or anything under their “helmets”, the infamous AutoNavi included.

- Fun stats! Here’s a breakdown of haircolors/styles reblogged here as of the end of March:

team raven locks black: 76   +team chestnut waves brunet: 4 team flaxen mane blond: 64   +team ginger redhead: 1 team awesome hair purple: 27 team snowy tresses white/silver: 24 multicolor: 13 unknown: 45

short hair: 186 medium hair: 28 long hair: 27 mohawk/undercut: 16 curly: 14 braids/dreads: 4 bald: 5

“Multicolor” needed to be evenly split (ie: 50/50), anything less was counted as the dominant color. Purple skews high due to moderator bias, white skews low on account of a large portion of white-haired Bass is ship art, which I try to limit, so idk what to say man. That is a form of moderator bias as well, I suppose.

Not counted: text posts, 2nd round reblogs, anything in the hairnalysis posts.

- Poll results!

[overlooked-gems]

A Look At Stuff You Probably Never Heard Of: Eternal Sonata (Manga)

I was going to take a look at something else, what with it being New Year’s, but I ran into some trouble. But in its place, I’ll be taking a look at a manga adaptation of my favorite game, which I also took A Look At on January when I first started this series. Today, we’ll be taking a look at the Eternal Sonata manga!

The manga adaptation of Eternal Sonata was released somewhere between September and December of 2008, with only one volume and ten chapters within that volume. Both the art and story were done by Kuroi Mimei, who also did the art for “The iDOLM@STER: Cinderella Girls Comic Anthology - cute“.

As stated earlier, this manga adapts the game. Much like the game, the plot is set in the dream world of famed Polish pianist Frédéric François Chopin as he lays on his deathbed. In his dream, he meets Polka, a young girl from Tenuto Village with an incurable illness that allows her to use magic. She’s unable to sell a medicine known as Floral Powder because Mineral Powder is so beneficial and the only thing not being taxed. The two travel to Forte City to speak with Count Waltz, hoping to come to an agreement so Polka can make her living.

At the same time, two street urchins from Ritardando named Allegretto and Beat have to steal food to feed themselves and the kids living in the sewers. Frustrated with the high taxes on everything except Mineral Powder, the two friends travel to Forte City to speak with Count Waltz. Along the way, the two pairs meet and decide to travel together.

Due to the game’s plot being compressed into 10 chapters, much of said plot has been trimmed down and as a result, the other playable characters are relegated to brief, one-off appearances and don’t normally accompany the main four for long, if at all.

As for the art, a lot of work has gone into the details. Everything from the characters’ hair, to injuries, to even the backgrounds. But at the same time, character faces can look a little... off. As noted by the cover.

Another year, another Final Recommendation Never Let Go Of It||Get It||Hold Onto It||Try It||Consider It||Stay Away From It

As stated earlier, the manga heavily compresses the events of the game and the other playable characters are relegated to glorified cameos. Heck, Claves, Viola, and Falsetto are completely absent with no mention of them. March and Salsa show up briefly, and Jazz accompanies the group for a short while.

And when I said “heavily compressed”, I mean “HEAVILY compressed”! Chapter 3 has Beat and Allegretto meet Polka’s mom in Tenuto, then it cuts to the four in Agogo Forest, where they set up camp for the night, only for Fugue to find them and threaten them while Frederic is elsewhere. The very next chapter has Polka waking up in Salsa and March’s house, with the fight happening between chapters; the group was heavily beaten and nearly killed until Frederic shows up and singlehandedly beats Fugue. And while leaving Agogo Forest, they meet Jazz (who is just a traveler, rather than a member of Andantino, which isn’t even mentioned), who takes them all the way to Baroque Castle, which, according to this map, is VERY far from Agogo Forest.

In fact, the whole plot about Count Waltz exploiting Mt. Rock and turning his citizens into mindless, magic-using soldiers is completely absent. I don’t even think the negative side effects of Mineral Powder are even mentioned. And by Chapter 9, the group arrives at Castle Forte, where they meet Count Walt, where he consumes a drink containing a Glowing Agogo and transforms into a monster that doesn’t even look like the Ruined Body. Polka uses her magic to return Waltz to his human form, but Allegretto is fatally wounded by a pole while protecting Polka. Somehow, the two use magic to help Polka recover, but she’s unable to use her magic to save him because her mysterious illness is gone. Wanting to save Allegretto and still convinced the world he’s in is a dream, Frederic uses his magic to revive and heal Allegretto before mysteriously vanishing, leaving only his hat. And no, I didn’t skip over anything.

And the manga does also differ from the game as how the plot unfolds (obviously). Like in the game, you only find March in Agogo Village and she asks you to look for her sister at Forte City because she forgot her iconic hat (Salsa isn’t wearing a hat in the manga) and hasn’t returned for a few days. Salsa was thrown in prison and you break out with her. In the manga, Salsa is present in Agogo Village and doesn’t leave for Forte City.

There’s also this minor subplot about Allegretto feeling weak in comparison to Frederic and Jazz.

If you wanna check it out, go ahead. It’s not awful, just very bizarre. But if you want the best experience, just get the game. PS3 version.

[mystical-imagine]

ooo ok, im a 19 year old girlie :3 im in second year of game design rn and i love itttt.

< Skills include: shit code, drawing cute girls and hugging robots >

I have a cat and her name is nova (supernova long form cuz she is a superhero who saves the universe >:D ) I have blue eyes, pink hair that I dye frequently but its naturally dark brownnnn. I thrive in chaos and am pretty hyper most of the time. But I'm also really scatterbrained. That, and my various mental health issues like depression and BPD but I don't let it stop me from being happy and cool :)

I used to struggle a lot with mental health but have found a nice balance in life and think positively and optimistically a lot of the time.

In my spare time I like to make sci-fi comics, watch sailor moon (and I've been obsessed with Bee and Puppycat) and be a silly little guy.

This week I built an Arduino game thing for school in a week!! And I bought star lights from Amazon to hang in my dorm room (secretly for blanket forts)

I dont know what else to add here, so I hope this is enough ahh

fank uuuu

hiii, sorry for the long wait!!! and thanks for being patient! i hope you like your matchup!!!

i´d match you with Saeyoung!

Saeyoung would love that you have a love for computers and robots in common and would def. try his best to help you and give tips. those convos would probably often get derailed into how to get away with cyber crime, but ya know, its the thought that counts. also im sorry to everyone but that man is a genius and does not understand how other people learn. he has the patience and would try and gently help you, but he would absolutely suck at explaining anything.

would love to build robots of your game characters once you get to develop games (you might already be doing that, idk much about it and its been awhile since you sent in this ask :)). and would def build robots of your characters in your comics!!

(is supernova named after the book series btw?) would love to help you dye your hair and be part of the process of choosing colours. would help both you and saeran dye your hair haha.

its a good thing you thrive in chaos because that man has been without guidance since like age 14 and has no structure in his life, no proper sleep schedule or good eating habits either. obv. youre not gonna be his mother, youre just going to have to figure out something that works for both of you together!!

Saeran would be diagnosed with some stuff after getting out of mint eye too, and having you around, whos been through the system and sorta knows how it works would be a big reassurance. youd be able to support Saeyoung so well and he you, when you over extend yourself.

your optimism would be such a bright thing for Saeyoung. Saeyoung also tries his best to be optimistic and he also knows how sometimes youre being too optimistic to hide that youre struggling. Hed be able to recognize when your smile is a bit strained and reassure you that its okay to not always be happy and optimistic. no one is , and he and your friends wont tire of you for reaching out for help.

sci-fi is probably Saeyoungs favourite genre! hed never tire of you talking about the universe youve created and the stories within that universe. Bee and puppycat would be right up his alley haha.

knowing saeyoung the moment he discovers your love for blanket forts hed probably build one wayy too big for you to cuddle up together in.

i really hope you like your matchup and once again, sorry for the long wait!

[vulpiximisa]

so i finally finished chapter 0 and if the rest of the cases are going to be like this i low key wanna die

the mystery labyrinth is sooooooo long???? at first glance it looks super cool but then you realize youre just making yuma walk down a long corridor while him and shinigami talk. And he cant even run any faster

and like, how many modes/mini games are there???? the reasoning death match yeah, okay valid. interesting to see yuma literally dodging the verbal assaults, i like the sword over bullets but whatever

then you chose between door options, not sure if theres a DR equivalent of that but okay, but must we see yuma getting slashed every single time

then theres the “reinvestigate the mind crime scene” like uhhhhh sure. I personally hate these kinds of “lets replicate the crime scene” types (AAI Kay’s Little Thief) because its like, how Valid are these clues anyway if youre physically not there

then theres the minecart which is mind logic, fine, i guess

shinigami beach barrel is... a better version of hangmans gambit but not too much better. I like her eye beams. 

GOD gami is.... the idea is funny but iunno why we needed it (their version of the bullet time battle i think?)

AND WE STILL RECREATE THE CRIME IN A COMIC FORM but its in the death note book. ????????? like i get that the wrap up is is necessary but was the comic book format the only way? The stills are very nice though but it loses the charm from DR where it had a different overall style from the rest of the game

like my take away from this first case (its not even the first case its case 0 and now im on the prologue???????) is the graphics are nice but that labyrinth went on for waaaay too long and i dont know if the dialogue is just not for me anymore but it just being yuma and gami is already tiring.

Theres a lot of just talking sequences and yeah in the end of the day its supposed to be a little more than a visual novel but it just feels so slow sometimes?

rip those detectives in the first case, what a waste of characters. i mean, maybe we will re open the case or see mentions of them later but iunno, somehow doubt

Okay so i had already deduced Zilch as the culprit, knowing he used Aphex’s body as a duplicate. (Nice call back to DR1-5). I knew Car 1 and 5 were swapped but I guess I didn’t understand the world enough because of the existence of Shinigami and the “Fortes” so I was under the impression that Zilch’s real Forte was to make things swap and he was lying about the animals. The fact that they explained the whole train car swap logically made me feel like i was thinking too far like a professor layton mystery lmfao.

My dumb ass did not remember the names of the characters so i was having a ball during the minecart mind logic part

anyway on to the prologue, i know as hell that yakou is a fan favorite. everybody loves a scruffy gintoki voiced by koyasu. (not me, but i know ppl like older 20s/young 30s year old “dads”)

[art-of-tek]

Another installment in my endless "redesigning old OCs" series. Crow (left) and Vana (right).

Crow is an old character who originated in my Balto II Nava prequel fan-comic I made when I was 11. It wasn't a good comic and never got finished, but I do still have some of the OCs which originated in it. Crow was Nava's father in the comic, and an overbearing one at that. He later died alongside most of his pack, but to be honest I don't remember his cause of death anymore since the comic is from so long ago.

In this reboot he's an original character (no longer a fan-character) and I'm possibly going to use him in my book!

Much like Crow, Vana also originated from my Balto II Nava backstory fan-comic. Despite resembling Nava, Vana was actually an unrelated wolf from a different pack who took in a teenage depressed Nava after his old pack got slaughtered. Vana was the leader of said pack and very much like Nava how he appears in the movie (old, wise, in tune with nature and the spirits). He basically gave young Nava a purpose in life again after he was very lonely and depressed after the loss of his old pack, hence why Nava eventually became his protege and took on a lot of his mannerisms.

Despite being unrelated I liked the idea of Vana somewhat resembling Nava's older form, hence why he's designed after him. There also was originally going to be a plot beat in the comic where Nava (originally going by another name) would rename himself after Vana, but ultimately I scrapped this element but kept Vana's name. So their names are just weirdly similar for no reason lmao

I'm not sure in what OC (non-Balto) universe of mine I'm going shove this modern redesign into, if any. But at least I got to draw a scruffy old wolf which is my forte.

ID below the cut.

[ID: Two digitally drawn fullbodies of wolves. On the left is a dark gray wolf with a slightly paler muzzle, throat, chest and lower part of his tail. He has gray eyes, is in a standing pose and he has a serious expression. The background is blue. The other character is a scruffy elderly wolf with a light tan coat with a paler muzzle, throat, stomach and paws. He has large gray eyebrows, bags below his green eyes and a snaggletooth. HIs left ear is torn. His muzzle is graying and he has a slouching posture. He, too, is in a standing position. End ID.]

[iriemorning]

return to sender

fluency in words comes with great expectations. as i was widely read since young, people hang on to what i say and so i often feel that looming pressure on my shoulder whenever i speak out and inform. in contrast, ideas breeze to me like petals in spring. i see all these foods for thought and i am a mere basket catching all of them. but whenever it's time for me to present them into something people can digest, my words don't come out easily—both written and orally.

analyzing literature pieces and academic papers are relatively easier, since you already have a source material to relate to (which is what my current degree is all about) the key there is finding twisted connections. you're not creating concepts out of thin air, unlike writing fiction. it is one of the most soul-sucking practice a human can ever do, so fermenting my ideas for a long period of time is a must. there are a lot of stories in my roster gathering dust for years, waiting for the miracle when i would finally have the time of day to write their first draft. but alas, i'm a chronic procrastinator; very much in love with outlining and daydreaming scenes more than actually putting the work to churn out words on the blank page.

nowadays i'm working on that weakness by writing a page everyday. it's a snail pace but i hope i can make it a habit in the long run.

there are fortunate times wherein i catch fully ripe fruits in my basket. my expertise is putting together various petals from different flowers altogether, creating a new, unique flower. ripe fruits though, is the quintessence of art in its absolute form. they come in my all-time favorites [TV shows and movies, animangas, comics, books, music videos, albums, paintings] and what im striving to make someday; to have a complete opus with my style and trademark.

but there are also terrible times wherein i receive unripe ones from the mail. my former colleagues, for example, have asked me for advice about their unfinished pieces. some even prompted me to revise the entire manuscript itself (that's like giving away free labor, being an editor is not for the weak), or changing the entire plot based on my suggestions. like woah, why would you trust me that much?

which is why i always walk on eggshells when giving out constructive criticism, or making offhanded remarks, because it might make or break someone's morale and negatively affect how they make their artwork. that's the last thing i want. i am a firm believer that we should all maintain creative autonomy on our own works, and how we live our life in general

so here is a big disclaimer: please treat whatever i say here in my blog (experiences, tips, realizations) with a grain of salt. they're rather N of 1 trials: i am a lifeseeking-researcher but i am also my own sole test subject, always putting myself in this microscopic stance with the rest of the world as a petri dish. i cannot guarantee that whatever works for me will also work for you. and just because i make direct eye contacts with the sun doesn't mean you'd also follow me and make yourself blind. the world is in constant flux, our cells are always regenerating, the energies are always changing. i grow everyday, and some epiphanies i get may not be applicable anymore the day after tomorrow, or a year later.

only take whatever seems useful for you in my basket of confectionery then leave the rest, at your own discretion; maybe even pass it on to the next person.

and there's more: ever heard of unwanted deliveries? annoying calls from unregistered numbers masking themselves as urgent? there are times when i receive these rotten fruits; situations that seemingly require my immediate attention and action but doesnt really fit my forte in life. i am just like any other twenty-something-year-old-woman, living my normal college life, having silly little crushes, spending my teensy-weensy outdoor moments reflecting because i didn't do that when i was young (i was just like any other rebellious teen too, not so special). so i could have been any of you. i am not a superhero, a mad scientist, nor an aspiring cult-leader. just a creatively-constipated storyteller

if you still wanna stick around, then welcome to my humble abode (maybe even cure my word constipation... is that a yes?)

but if i receive unwarranted energies, trust that i will send it back to your address

with love, xx

[illicitlimerence-writes]

close friends | t. holland

pairing: tom holland x fem!reader word count: 3.1k warnings: some language, some angst if u squint. otherwise it's just fluff and tom being tom. didn't proofread this. a/n: so tumblr decided to be a little bitch and deleted this t w i c e. so i had to write this t h r e e times. this came up in my head after i got like three notifications that tom posted something on his ig story, and then it turned out he deleted them. as always, english isn't my first language so i'm sorry if this gets confusing bye. also, i was listening to cardigan by taylor swift as i wrote this.

my masterlist

so we all know tom sucks at instagram. that's a surprise to literally no one. no matter how many times you tried to teach him he still doesn't get it, and it was only a matter of time before he finally posted something he shouldn't have.

it was just one of those days, you missed him like hell. he was away filming the third spiderman, and you had to stay behind because of work.

naturally, you relied on face time and texts to survive and fill the void he left behind. you loved talking to him, listening as he rambled on and on about his adventures on set. a love-struck look on your face as you tried your hardest to stay awake despite the urge to close your eyes.

eventually, sleep took over you, and you drifted off with the sound of his voice lulling you to sleep. he stopped talking abruptly when he didn't hear your soft chuckling in reply to the story he was telling.

instead, he saw your sleeping figure, long steady breaths moving your chest up and down. and he cursed himself for making you stay up so late for him. he took one last look at you, taking a screenshot of your sleeping form.

he quickly hung up the video call and opened instagram instead, uploading the screenshot to his story,

'missing my favorite girl, thank you so much for everything you do for me. x @yourusername'

the next morning you woke up to the sound of your phone buzzing. at first, thought someone had died as one notification after another filled your screen. most of them came from instagram, so you opened that app first.

thousands upon thousands of mentions, tags and new followers. you frowned, and suddenly a text from your friend popped up at the top of your screen.

'omg just saw his story. so happy for u both'

who's story? what was going on?

you refreshed your timeline, and tom's icon appeared, a colorful circle around it. an odd feeling sank in your stomach. you tapped his icon and suddenly your screen was full of... you.

a picture of you, sleeping. tom's smiling form in a small rectangle on the bottom right corner.

oh god. you read the words he wrote, over and over again. your heart pounding in your chest, and a sudden wave of fear ran through your body. but then you read his words once more, and all you could feel was love. pure, unconditional affection.

sure, your families and closest friends knew about you, but you hadn't talked about making your relationship public yet, but there was nothing you could do now.

you sighed, leaning back on your pillows. a small chuckle left your throat.

you grabbed your phone once again, quickly facetiming tom. you knew he had an early call today, and you hoped you could catch him while he was still in his hotel.

it ran once, twice, and then you saw him, hair all over the place, bare chest. hands rubbing sleep off of his face.

"mornin', darling." he said, his raspy morning voice making you smile.

"hi, baby. did i wake you?" you asked, sitting up and crossing your legs.

"yeah but it's fine, princess. i did keep you up last night so it's only fair."

"i'm sorry about falling asleep on you, that was a really nice picture you took last night," you lifted one eyebrow, and watched as he smiled at you sheepishly.

"i thought you looked really pretty, you always look pretty," he said, grabbing the water bottle on his nightstand and taking a swing.

"thanks, i hope the whole world thinks so, too," you declared. leaning your chin on your fist, watching him expectantly.

he did not react like you had expected him to.

his breath hitched as he sipped his water, and suddenly all you could see was the cream-colored ceiling, as you heard him spitting out and coughing.

"tom! oh, my god! are you okay?" you asked, getting on your knees and holding your phone up to your face, "tommy?" you repeated when he finally stopped coughing, you could now hear his heavy breaths.

at last, you saw his curls appear from the bottom of the screen.

"wh-what did you just say?" his voice was rough, his chest heaving.

"are you okay?" you asked again.

"ye-yeah i'm fine. babe, what did you mean by 'the whole world'? did something happen?" he asked, frowning. you echoed his expression, watching him for a second.

“you posted a picture to your story,” you repeated, and he nodded.

“yeah, i posted it to my close friends, i-” he stopped mid-sentence, eyes growing comically wide. “oh shit, did i-” he caught himself off as he threw the phone to one side, you heard him fumbling around for his laptop and you snorted. “shit, baby, don’t tell me i posted it… fuck!” you couldn’t keep it in any longer, you broke out laughing.

“of course this is how the world finds out about us!” you continued giggling until your stomach hurt.

“fuck, princess i’m so sorry, i didn’t mean to, i swear i- why are you laughing!?”

“tommy, tommy! it’s okay, baby, don’t worry. i’m not mad,” you stopped once you noticed his pouting. “it’s fine, my love, i don’t mind. sure it’s unexpected, and a little sudden but i wouldn’t have it any other way. i knew what i was getting into when we started dating,” you told him honestly, wishing you were there to give him a hug and kiss him all over.

“darling, i’m really, really sorry. i swear i thought i tapped the green button like you told me to” he continued his sulking, nervous eyes glancing back and forth from his laptop screen to you.

“i know, baby, i know this is not your forte, and i really appreciate the sweet gesture, honestly. i love you so much,” you told him as you bit your lip. folding your legs to your chest, wrapping one around them.

“god, i love you. i swear i’ll make it up to you,” he ran his hand through his hair, giving you a quick peek of his bare chest.

“i’ll hold you to it,” you chuckled, you glanced to the clock on your nightstand, sighing when you saw the time. “i’ve gotta go,” you said as you stood up and stretched. a wicked idea ran through you head. “i’ve got like five meetings today, so i’ll probably be busy most of the day. just in case i don’t reply or something,” you made up you lie quickly. grabbing your laptop and opening a new tab.

“oh, okay. i’ll be on set until like 1 am, so we’ll talk tomorrow?” he asked, eyes bright. you nodded, biting your lip.

“definitely. i love you,” you blew him a kiss. he smiled, and you felt your heart swelling.

“i love you, too. good luck today!” he said as you reluctantly hung up the call.

you immediately got to work, calling your assistant and telling her you were taking a few personal weeks, and to email you in case of emergencies. next, you texted harry, asking him to call you once tom was busy on set.

you waited for the page to load, and once you had bought your one-way ticket to atlanta you hurriedly threw some pre-planned outfits into two suitcases, just in case. your phone rang and harry’s face popped up on your screen. you quickly answered the call, and let him know of your out-of-the-blue plan. he agreed to meet you at the airport and drive you to set. and because of your recent and sudden rise to fame, he suggested you wear all black and a cap. you followed his advice, throwing on some sunglasses as well, as you had seen tom do many times before.

once you reached the airport and checked-in, you bought some coffee and breakfast, as well as some food for the flight. you opened instagram, seeing all the messages and comments. you had seen how the fans reacted when their favorite celebrities announced a relationship, and you knew to expect the meanest comments, and even death threats. for your own sake and peace of mind, you allowed yourself to scroll until you read three of those, and closed the app.

once the plane took off, you tried to catch some sleep, preparing for the inevitable jet lag, but your mind kept buzzing from one scenario to another. so you took out your book and tried to read some chapters, putting in your earbuds, music playing quietly.

when you finally, finally landed, you stretched your legs and grabbed your bags, putting on the cap and sunglasses again, you spotted a familiar head of wild curls. you quickly approached harry.

“what happened to all black and a cap to go unnoticed?” you asked as he took one of your bags in his hands.

“think about it, two kids wearing black, a cap and sunglasses? people would think we’re up to no good.” he gave you a tight hug, you’d missed him almost as much as you’d missed tom.

he caught you up on everything he and tom had been doing these past months, you shifted in your seat in excitement, the sleep that was slowly taking over you on the plane had now disappeared from your body.

in what was probably a 15 -but to you felt like five- minute drive, you got to the hotel to leave your bags and take a quick shower. harry left you alone in tom’s room, making his way to his own room next door. he said he’d order something for you to eat whilst you got ready to see tom.

you took the quickest shower ever known to humankind, and when you walked out of the bathroom after using tom’s shampoo and conditioner, -you’d missed his smell all over you. the few forgotten hoodies and shirts that were once drenched in the smell of his soap and cologne, were now very faint.- you wrapped a bathrobe around your body, rummaging through tom’s clothes until you found one of his shirts.

you pulled it close to your face, sighing at the familiar scent you’d missed so much. you got dressed quickly, grabbing your now fully-charged phone and the key to tom’s room that harry had left on a coffee table. you knocked on harry’s door and he let you in.

“i just texted tom, he says they’ve got like three hours left.” you sat next to him on the couch, the table in front of you filled with food waiting to be devoured.

“my poor baby, they overwork him,” you pouted, reaching for one of the plates.

“it was his idea, said he’ll do anything that helps finish filming sooner.” you stopped chewing your food.

“wait, really?” you asked in disbelief, you knew tom loved his job, and you found it odd that he wanted to cut his time on set short.

“yeah, it’s been rough for him. not having you around, i mean, after he spent months with you. he’s been pretty distracted lately. messing up lines, he’s been waking up late and missing early calls...” your heart sank at the words. you ate the rest of your food with a knot in your stomach, cursing yourself for not getting there sooner. soon enough, you were back in the car, your leg bouncing up and down. you fell asleep on your way to set, waking up when harry parked the car and nudged your shoulder.

you stepped out carefully, your head turning back every few steps you took, in fear that tom might catch you. once you reached the stage where tom was filming, you flashed the visitor badge harry had given you to the guard and he let you both in. you walked in as you leaned down, your forehead against harry’s back, shielding you from the curious stares. harry told you to hide behind a giant box where they kept some lights whilst he spoke to the director.

although the box was big and tall enough to cover you completely, you crouched down, straining your ears for nearing footsteps. you heard two sets of feet approaching, your heartbeat racing.

you were met with your accomplice, a friendly-looking man behind him. you stood up as they approached you.

“this the girl?” the man asked, and harry nodded, “nice to meetcha, i’m jon.” you shook his hand, “okay, so we’ve cleared tom’s schedule for one week, we’ll need him back fully recharged and ready to work like it’s his first day on set, you’re welcome to stay as long as you like, if it means he’ll work better if you’re here you can stay until we're done. i really don’t mind, i just need my guy back.” you blinked at his words, nodding slowly. “we’ve got a couple hours left tonight, i’m all up for some cheesy reunion, but it’ll have to be when we’re finished, i can barely keep him focused as it is.”

with that he left, and harry led you to tom’s trailer, where you caught some sleep while you waited. like that morning, you woke up to your phone buzzing. you reached for it, sleep leaving your body as you read the text.

‘just finished filming for the night, i’m exhausted. miss u, love you. x.’

all rational thoughts left your head, you opened the door to tom’s trailer and sprinted out of there until you reached the set. your eyes finally, finally met his figure, and tears filled your eyes.

your legs moved on their own accord, you mumbled apologies as you crashed into people, but you didn’t care. tom had his back to you, and even though he wasn’t wearing the spiderman costume, you’d recognize that ass anywhere.

“tom!” you called out, stopping a few feet away from him. you saw him whipping his head around, eyes scanning the sea of people. you made your way up to him, “tommy!” you repeated, and he finally turned around.

his mouth wide opened in disbelief, arms twitching, feet running towards you as you did the same. you crashed into each other, your legs wrapping around him, arms around his neck, fingers curling on his soft hair. his hands running all over your back, your hair. pulling you as close as humanly possible.

whispers of ‘i love you’, ‘god, i missed you’, ‘never leave me again’, and ‘i promise’ were exchanged. you tightened your hold on his hair, pulling back to look at him.

“hi,” you whispered, your nose brushing his.

“hey,” he replied, burying his face on your neck again, pressing small kisses anywhere he could reach. his hands settled on the back of your thighs as he spun you two. you giggled, sniffling as a few tears escaped your eyes.

you could not care less about the people around you, all you could think about was the boy wrapped all over you, your favorite boy. tom led you back to his trailer, where you finally untangled yourself from him. he settled you down and you immediately wrapped your arms around his waist, pulling him close to you again.

you had been starved of his touch for so long, there was no way you were letting him go anytime soon.

after many kisses, touches, tears, promises and more kisses, you left for the hotel. harry had already left, getting a ride from another cast member to leave you two alone. at that moment you swore you’d make him godfather of your firstborn child.

as you waited for tom to step out of the shower -you would’ve joined him, but three showers in a day seemed kind of excessive-, you laid down on the bed, throwing the covers over your body, tom's scent engulfing you. you breathed in happily. you tapped on your phone, replying to some work emails when you received a text from harry.

‘i believe the ball is in your court. you’re welcome.’

next, you received a picture of you and tom. harry must’ve taken the picture when you and tom were too lost in each other to even notice anyone around you. in the picture, your legs are around tom, bodies pressed closed together, your noses touching as you stare lovingly into each other’s eyes. it was a beautiful picture. and the black and white filter harry had applied to it made it seem like one of those old pictures of wives reuniting with their spouses after the war.

you smiled, heart swelling with emotion as you contemplated your options. you hummed quietly, tapping the instagram logo and waiting for the app to load.

you quickly uploaded the picture harry sent you tagging both him and tom and adding a quick caption before you shut down your phone. you were drifting off to sleep when you felt familiar arms around you.

you leaned into tom’s touch, your back resting against his chest, legs tangling with his as he interlocked his fingers with your own.

“thank you so much for being here, my love. i love you,” tom whispered into your ear, pressing a kiss to your cheek.

“i’ll be here whenever you need me. i’ll always come back to you.” you turned around, facing him. you kissed the corner of his lips, and he cupped your cheek, his lips meeting yours in a slow kiss, filled with emotion. your fingers played with his fingers as you moved to straddle his waist. “i love you,” you broke the kiss reluctantly. as much as you both wanted to make love that night, you’d made it your top priority that tom took his time off to rest as much as he could, and that included that first night.

you gave him one last kiss, going back to your previous position. the familiar and comfortable weight of his arms around you, the feeling of his lips on your neck, his chest rising and falling against your back, you couldn’t ask for anything better.

the peaceful environment you had created suddenly burst like a bubble as tom’s phone pinged over and over again. you heard him grunting, arms reluctantly leaving you.

tom chuckled, putting his phone on do-not-disturb and throwing it somewhere on the bed.

“you’re perfect for me, my favorite girl.” you smiled, leaning into his touch as he kissed you all over. sleep quickly taking over both of you.

tom swore his heart stopped when he’d seen the picture you posted. you’d never looked more beautiful than when you were staring up at him, your bottom lip between your teeth. the words you wrote as a caption were the last thing on his brain as he finally succumbed to sleep.

‘i said, “i bet you can’t keep this a secret for five months.” he said, “darling, i won’t make it past three.” @ tomholland2013 it’s been 10 months, who won?’

edit: i just saw henry cavill's ig post and omg what is my life. pls respect celebrities' privacy and relationships.