#-parents.... I should make art for that again

[mercutio-the-velaryon]

Challengers Meljayvik AU Part I - slightly nsfw btw cause its challengers...

cow farm, there's gonna be cows outside

Part I

Mel Medarda, 18 in 2006 - 30 in 2018, former emerging tennis star and it girl, coming from an upperclass background with a renowned family name, she as the chosen heir of the Medardas, disgraced the family businness by persuing a career as an athlete from a young age - fortunately for her, her pursuit proved favourable for her mother's political and economic ventures so she was eventually completely supported by her family - Tashi Duncan Variant

Jayce Talis, 18 in 2006 - 30 in 2018, humble boy from even humbler beginnings, Jayce's love for tennis started young, he'd watch the same set of matches over and over again until his parents finally cracked it and sent him to have lessons. It's there at 8 years old, he met Viktor, who was "volunteering" as the coach's assistant, by there early teens Jayce was being trained and coached solely by his best friend Viktor who had become an expert on the sport through mere observation - Patrick Zweig and Art Donaldson Variant

Viktor Reveck, 18 in 2006 - 30 in 2018, hailing from the Czech Republic, his working-class parents moved to the US for work and very soon regretted it, leading them to move back to their homeland once Viktor went to college. Viktor took a liking to tennis, because his parents found a box of VHS tapes in the attic of their new house when they first moved in and it was all they could afford to watch for a month or so because they'd spent all their savings on the move. His neighbour Sky was also interested in tennis and her father coached some pretty big names so Viktor started hanging around during his coaching lessons, after he and Sky became close friends - Art Donaldson and Patrick Zweig Variant.

Jayce met Mel first at his summer job, two years prior to the comp rhat brings them all together, part-timing at a country club. She approached him after he attempted to get some after-hours practice in on the courts. Mel pretended she was security, with a flashlight, yelled at him and scared the living daylights out of him. He had already known who she was prior because her face was plastered across all of the magazines he'd give out to club members. And he took very considerate but appropriate and not at all creepy notice of her frequently sunbathing by the pool every now and then. They friendly after that, but Jayce never built up the courage to ask her out. He tried to on his final day but she didn't show up.

At the Junior US Open (everyone is 18/19) Viktor makes Jayce come with him to watch Sky's match, but for the purpose of studying Mel, the most dominant player in the tournament. Jayce sits there pretending not to know Mel, but astonishment trumps his facade. He had seen her practice before at the country club but this was something else entirely, she was fierce and magnetic on the court and he was sitting there slack jawed, clutching on to Viktor's thigh, Viktor had also found himself distracted and entranced. Mel wins the match, ending it with a bellowing war cry. Viktor and Jayce are both hot and bothered, trying to play off how horny Mel Medarda had made them.

They find Sky after and console her. Jayce tries to catch Mel's eye from a distance to no avail, Viktor makes note of this attempt, scoffing at him but also somewhat troubled at the idea of Jayce and Mel potentially knowing each other because if they did it would be the first time ever Jayce kept something from him.

At the after party hosted by Mel's family, Sky leaves early a little downtrodden after her loss, Jayce and Viktor watch her leave, and see her bump in to Mel, and exchange pleasantries. Mel envelopes Sky in a hug, Sky melts and the two chuckle. Sky finally escapes and Mel makes her way to the dance floor. Viktor taps Jayce to signal that they should get a closer look. They stand a table with their drinks in hand eyes fixed on her movements. When she goes to her own table alone to take a sip of her drink, they approach with quickness.

"Hi, I'm Jayce Talis. I'm not sure, you remember," Viktor's eyes flicker over his best friend for a mere moment before taking a seat in front of Mel. "Viktor Reveck." Jayce stays standing.

"I remember, Jayce... and I know you, Viktor, your reputations proceed you, the ultimate best friend coach-athlete duo, they call you earth and moon, don't they?" Her gaze lingers on both of them.

Viktor sucks in a breath sharply as Jayce huffs in astonishment "I can't believe you know that,"

"So, who's who?" she asks, well aware of the answer.

Viktor, reeling from the adreneline of being known by the most dominant up and comer, finds his playful side and tilts his head to the side, "What do you think?"

She smiles, narrowing her eyes at them, pretending to assess but well aware of the answer.

Jayce interrupts unaware of the building tension, "You were incredible today,"

"Thank you" Mel offers politely.

"I mean it, Mel, you were fucking luminous, I've never seen anything like it, it didn't even feel like tennis... Sky is our friend though, we felt-feel bad for her," Jayce stumbles through his praise.

"She's quite lovely, but not lovely enough for me to pull my punches,"

"And what could make thee Mel Medarda pull her punches?" Viktor poses.

"Death," she says lightly, smirk etched on her features, as she sips her cocktail. Viktor laughs, snickering uncharacteristically.

"I'll be seeing you at Stanford, Viktor?"

"How do you know that I'm going to Stanford?"

"I keep my ear to the ground, when it comes to things of concern,"

"What are things of concern exactly?" Viktor bit his lip, anxiety looming.

"Things like wunderkind coaches with the potential to revolutionise the sport," she glances at the two, piercing them with her gaze.

Viktor felt even hotter in the face if that was possible. "Ah,"

"I'm taking a gap year," Jayce offered.

"What? Do you need time to figure out your life purpose? Something tells me it might be right in front of you," she meant tennis of course, but that didn't stop Jayce's heartbeat from thundering against his ribcage.

"Couldn't the same be said of you? You could go pro right now if you wanted why the buffering period with school?" Viktor says.

"Hmm, athletes burn bright but they also burn fast, I don't want my only skill to be hitting a ball with a racket"

Ambessa walks up to them, paying no mind to the two boys entertaining her daughter, and touching Mel's shoulder lightly"'Mel, they want photos" Mel bids the two farewell and they gaze after her longingly.

"Now what?" they say to each other simultaneously. They grin. Viktor's smile falls first. "Shouldn't we wait for her?" Jayce asks, Viktor grimaces, "Won't we seem too desperate?"

"You're right," Jayce nods.

"We should just go" Viktor says.

"Yes, let's go," Jayce agrees.

Neither of them move.

An hour later they're seated at the love seat. Viktor absently, rolling his cane between his hands and Jayce spreading dip on a cracker. Mel walks by. Viktor sees her and alerts Jayce hitting him with the bottom of the cane. "Hey" Jayce yells at the same time that Viktor yells "Hi".

She looks over at them and laughs a little, "Hi" she says back, approaching them. "You guys are still here,"

"Yeah" Jayce says standing, "great party by the way,"

"Thank you very much... but don't you have a final tomorrow , shouldn't you be preparing or resting?"

"We'll be okay," Viktor asserts not so kindly. Mel enjoys the traces of harshness in his words. It indicates more lies beneath the surface.

"I wanted to get your opinion on my technique,"

"My opinion?" Mel huffs, "Her opinion?" Viktor asks, no one had ever entrenched on his territory of coaching Jayce Talis before, it felt invasive. Not unpleasantly so.

Viktor's eyes rake down Mel doused in the shine of the moon and the fairy lights strung all around the area, what could he thing to say to a walking daydream "Do you smoke?" is all he can accomplish.

"Cigarettes? No not at all, do you?" her words we asked with no malice and yet suddenly both Viktor and Jayce felt ashamed of their habits.

"Yes" they say mournfully as if they were scolded.

Jayce suggests they go down to the beach, checking in on Viktor and if he could manage the walk, Mel shows them a more accessible route. They walk and talk about their homes and where they came from. When they get to the beach, Jayce and Viktor recline on some beach chairs and Mel perches herself on a rock. The waves crash serenely behind them.

The tendrils of smoke from their cigarettes float around Mel, dancing on the air around her, wisping past her nose. All she can feel are their eyes on her, all she can smell is ash and salt.

Viktor, brings up Mel being a phenomenon of the sport and expressing confusiona and shock at her not going pro immediately.

Mel laughs and cites her philosophy on tennis, one she claims, Viktor does not understand, "You're too motivated by ambition and single-handedness, there are so many moving parts and key factors in tennis, even when its not one on one, its as collaborative as team-based sport, more so even, the beautiful balance of trust and disdain with the person right across from you, its intense, there's only one force in the world it resembles,"

Viktor and Jayce edge forwards, as pulled as in as the tide.

She looks out at the sea and says "love... Sky and I, the world faded when it was just us, chained to each other, to a set rhythm, we disappeared into the rules of the game and so did everyone watching we were all drawn together,"

"You screamed," Viktor acknowledged quietly, Mel turned to face him. She remained silent, "When you hit the winner...I'd never heard anything like it"

She looks down, with a smile, Viktor watches her lashes touch her cheek as her eyes flutter.

Mel then says she has to leave and Jayce asks if she has a Facebook, Mel's unaware of what that is but Viktor clarifies by saying that Jayce is asking for her number and so is he.

"Are you asking as a set or separately?"

Jayce and Viktor stutter through their responses then finally affirm that they're offers are seperate.

Mel shakes her head and tells them she's not a homewrecker.

"We're not exclusive," Viktor jokes, "We even sleep in different beds now, you couldn't make it worse," Jayce adds, teeth gleaming.

Mel just hums in respone, Viktor suggests she come hang out with them in their hotel room later. She smiles at them and walks off.

Later in Viktor and Jayce's hotel room, they're strewn across their beds, in nothing but their shorts because of the summer heat - Viktor's recently removed both his back brace and leg brace with Jayce's assistance.

Viktor is now certain Mel isn't coming. Jayce is still holding out hope. They are both still smoking.

As the conditions start to irritate Viktor, he scoffs very bitterly "Mel isn't coming, Jayce" which temporarily shushes his partner.

But right then is when a knock resounds quiet enough for both of them to think they hallucinated it until resounds again much louder.

Jayce throw on a crumpled dress shirt and doesn't bother to button it up, leaving his torso on display, Viktor chucks on his stanford t-shirt, they chuck their cigarettes clumsily and they both attempt to make the room look a little presentable before clambering over to the door and opening it.

Mel who was leaning on the door listening in on their conversation and giggling, pulls back with a sharp gasp but neither of them seem to notice.

Jayce says a curt "Hi," and promptly swallows. Viktor offers a "hey" a moment later, leaning on the doorframe.

They end up drinking beer sitting on the ground, Jayce and Viktor reveal their backstories, Mel probes them about their relationship to each other. She asks them about any potential girlfriends. Viktor reveals he hasn't had any then goes on to reveal Jayce's several unhappy exes - which Jayce refutes then reveals that Viktor's absence of history is due to a lack of trying "people generally flock to him, if he wanted to do fine he could," Jayce says ruffling Viktors hair. Viktor slaps his hand away languidly.

"So..." Mel starts moving to sit on her knees and lean closer to them, her voice is an entrancing lull "How often does this happen... going after the same girl?" she licks her lips gazing at them.

"Not as often as you'd think," Jayce says. "We usually have different types," Viktor agrees.

"So, I should be flattered?" Mel caresses her chest dramatically.

"I mean... Aren't you everybody's type," Viktor hums, chewing on his thumb.

There's a beat, a moment of comfortable quiet.

"What about the two of you?" Mel asks

"What do you mean?" Jayce asks,

Jayce abruptly understands her meaning and vehemently denies, While Viktor stays quiet a look of deep contemplation on his face.

Mel turns to Viktor and asks him what the look is for.

Jayce disrupts Viktor's attempts to tell her what went down only making Mel more curious. Jayce finally relents and Viktor tells the story of them technically hooking up when they were sixteen after getting drunk for the first time, they didn't have sex, they did things next to each other.

Mel laughs at the absurdity of it finding it endearing, she then realizes that there's no beer left.

Jayce and Viktor fearing the beer was the only thing keeping her there, look at each other frightened.

Mel stands, towering over them, in their admiration, they take note of the shortness of her shorts, her silky skin, the way her velour jacket had ridden up and exposed her midriff.

She thinks for a moment, her hands on her hips as she meanders briefly before sitting on the on the edge of where the two beds have been pushed together.

"Come here," she says.

"Which one of us?" before the words could completely stumble out of Viktor's mouth, Jayce had gotten up in a flash and sat by Mel's side, Viktor quickly followed.

They're close, together, only a little space between them. Jayce and Viktor's gazes are fixed on Mel. She glances between them, slithering her head closer to Jayce, their lips so close their breaths mingle, just as Jayce goes to close in, Mel playfully curves away. Her half-shut eyes finding Viktor.

She leans in, bit by bit, looking in his eyes then at his lips over and over, she kisses him first, he reciprocates immediately but only with his mouth too scared to make any other moves. But when she draws him in closer with a hand at his neck, which quickly evolves into both hands cupping his jaw, he slides his hand over her thigh and rubs circles into the soft flesh. Mel pulls back. It takes a moment for Viktor to collect himself, his eyes cracking open slowly, his mouth still open.

Jayce is closer than he was before when Mel turns back to him, he's taller, peering down at her, she kisses him, cupping his face, he deepens it immediately, he gently places his hand at her cheek gently caressing over her hair, tentatively caressing over the curls, then resting his hand at her neck. Mel pulls away again and faces forward, pushing her hair behind her shoulders.

Viktor and Jayce move intuitively, holding Mel's hair back together, and pressing long and slow kisses into her neck with kisses. She huffs a laugh for no reason in particular, but as the sensation starts to get to her, her face grows stern from the pleasure, and her breaths become short and sharp. Viktor and jayce kiss up and down her neck, nuzzling into her collarbone too. They were there way back up biting her ears, whispering sweet nothings. They reach her cheeks and pepper sweet long kisses across, Mel encourages them closer lightly grabbing their jaws and bringing them closer to her lips.

When all their lips meet, Viktor and Jayce pull back and laugh it off, Mel laughs to but brings them back quickly. Nodding at them, she draws them back in slowly, and all their mouths meet. Mel's hands are frantic, at their jaws, sliding down their chests, in Viktor's hair, on Jayce's thigh. Jayce breaks away, trailing down Mel's neck again with open mouthed kisses as he trails back to her lips, Viktor trails down, from her cheek to her collarbone. Mel brings them all back again. A fervent heated display between the three commences once more, she escapes, leaving the men to their own devices watching as they inhale each other but glance at her as they do, deriving as much pleasure from watching her as she is from watching them.

"Okay, I have to go to bed," Mel says, getting up and suddenly everyone involved felt much colder.

"But wait what about your number?" Viktor asks.

"I told you, I'm not a homewrecker,"

"Please" Jayce says.

Mel, dedicated to fair play, offers an ultimatum, if Jayce loses tomorrow's match, Jayce gets Mel's number, if he wins, Viktor gets it.

"What? How does that work?" Jayce splutters.

"It doesn't really, pinning coach and pupil against each other, doesn't really work out, but if you win Jayce that'll be because of Viktor's efforts and if you lose it'll be because Viktor wasn't a good enough guide... take it or leave it"

They both look at her not willing to protest

"Good luck, gentlemen, put on a good show for me," she stalks out of the room.

"I could throw the game" Jayce hums leaping to his feet, his words laced with jest.

"Don't you fucking dare," Viktor seethes slapping Jayce's erection making the taller man keel over and land back on the bed. Jayce flicks Viktor's ear in agitation.

The next morning, Jayce loses the match, in a very close game.

To be continued...

[moraymoth]

 JAMES BLACKBURN HEADCANON AND NOTES BY DEVI MORAYMOTH

jorkfolfe hinted and tw for mean parent.

 Felix Wolfe really, really wants Blackburn in his gang, of course, probably because he knows he’s been going against Edward - however, what if there was more for it? This isn’t canon or anything, this is headcanons as a heads-up. I don’t mind if you disagree either.

James, of course, denies each and every time when Felix offers that odd thing and makes a scene; as said, James openly goes against Ed.

 So, what if, in the past - James and Felix used to be extremely close. Say throughout elementary up until 7th or 8th grade? They knew everything about each other, even if one was more melodramatic they would have got along and SOMEWHAT evened each others personalities out and James was relatively content and comfortable with this whole thing compared to how extreme or angry they act now. 

 So I’d say, like, middle school crushes type shit. You know?? That leads into a small idea I have of James’ family. I call James Jameson for this exact reason as well. Mr Blackburn, a short mean old man with a raspy voice and a flat expression. I’d say he’s homophobic, extremely homophobic - and with the two of them being middle school crushes and Mr Blackburn finding this out would make things absolutely horrible.

  Basically a, ‘if youre gay i’ll kill the both of you and you aren’t my son if you don’t follow in MY tracks’. Again, when I say Mr Blackburns short I mean like 5’0 short. 

 In return, James got so scared to the point he began to distance himself from Felix and get pretty pissed and angry overtime mainly at himself for doing something like that - which makes Felix more hopeless in his eyes, which since he was already acting out a bit in the past it gradually got even more extreme. Should probably throw in there, I feel like Felix and James are both seniors.

 Felix wants to befriend James again, and I can heavily think that he may already have an inverted letterman waiting for him somewhere on hand or in a bag or in his car. Since Felix would technically know where James lives(I see the idea here where only Felix knows since James may not bring the Basketball team over at all due to his fuckass dad and hes afraid for them) so Felix will stop by with gift baskets, in which James will only keep one or two things or throw the whole goddamn thing away as much as he wants to see that boy. Felix would also beg James’ parents to see him and talk to him again, which that’s actually pretty crazy to think about but what more do you expect from Felix? Either Demand and Beg or just demand it straightout with the door being shut completely on him.

 The Jameson name comes from the idea that’s his government name, and being called Jameson triggers something in his brain where he’s like don’t EVER call me that. It’s why everyone calls him James, or such as the basketball team may not know about the name all that much. The reason he hates it is because of his Dad naming him that. Jameson also means “Son of James” (Could be funny if his dads name was Jayson or James too but.)

 James has a hard time showing his care, obviously, and it’s probably affected him up in the basketball team as well since his home life (i.e mainly his dad…).

 I also feel like James’ family does magic shit or have demonic connections, more so than the Wolfes, mainly with the dark arts. They use blood to their advantage when doing it, since instead of a spellbook like Lous family or Felix using papers for it, or it being a supernatural powers - they can use the blood to make any spell although on the darker side of things with a few chants. If they do end up using books, it is written by the person who knows those things (Such as James having his own written one, called The Book of Shadows in a particular language and all the spells hand made by him) In which, that would be why Mr Blackburn and Mr Wolfe may have been close in the past as well (just not gay) to where their sons would have met, only for them to be torn apart by the same people who introduced them to eachother. (James would have done magic too then.) 

 James, on the dark magic end, used to do it as well. However, since then, he has not done it since he feels like it hurts people around him (such as something bad always happens after he does it and he regrets it heavily)

 James does not want to be like his dad at all, but he’s following in his steps because he’s afraid for the people around him, it’s why he shut Felix out. He didn’t want him to get harmed, nor did he want to think being gay was good (because of the thoughts Mr Blackburn injected into him.)

Jameson also has horribly bad anger, that much is obvious in IBVS all together - but this can be added on here. He bottles his anger up to a point he hurts anyone in his vicinity because he doesn’t know how to contain it or handle it at all. This leads into him accidentally punching one of his friends - regretting it and storming off out of fear they’ll hate him. 

 This could add into Felix wanting Ed to fuck off thinking he’s also causing grief upon James 

in which, he is unknowingly actually doing that with this whole change thing < will lead upon later

So, to that one poem in James’ redesigned reference sheet, to Felix, James is a star that got flew way too close (got caught) and now he feels he has to save him and all. ^ Relates to a song on the Jorkfolfe List (this post may also help you guys learn more about such songs on the jorkfolfe list.) Mr Blackburn has also cursed Mr Lopez to the point he has almost died, however Ms Lopez can keep him stable. Louis and Laurel are afr to scared to enter that room since they don’t want to see their father ill (he’s no longer on his death bed, just extremely sickly). ^ Mr Lopez is a really really good dad. He’s just sickly and his kids are scared to see their parent hurt.

Anything related to Felix that James may have was all mainly thrown away by Mr Blackburn while James was begging him not to do that at all. So, He had to hide very few things from his dad that he wanted to keep (a photo of him and felix hidden in a spot in his closet around 6th grade). A play on skeletons in his closet. Jameson also, as said, wouldn’t use Jameson in the basketball team at all. This gives Felixs reason a bit more depth and a bit more to James refusing to go with Felix, in which, in the end he may actually head off to his side any way.

A key point in one of the servers I was describing this to, was, ‘A fight between Xavier Jackson and Mr Blackburn would be great’.

I feel like James’ family also leans into the more gothic side of things, which would be a crazy change from the more normal looking parents (i.e antonio, janet, william, etc). His house probably has a spiked metal fence around it tucked deep into the darkest area of foxfield as well. Probably also a dead tree in their yard? ^ James’ room is likely similar, but I feel like he would have a lot of skulls that are real, or bones for that matter. Which would be extremely fun if anyone woul draw it (probably me if i do do that) where his room has shelves and stuff with plenty of skulls, and of course those volumes of dark spells tucked into it.

 He is greatly afraid of change, because he’s already had to make so much change between him and Felix so he doesn’t want to see himself forgotten by the basketball team nor have to distance himself. Since Edward may have helped him in some shape or form, which is highly likely that everyone in Edwards group has helped James in some way. When the group changes, even if it’s very little, he starts to grow a sudden dislike because of the worries he has stored away. However, it does rock back and forth in his head due to Mr Blackburns actions and how they have always affected him and his relationships. Whether for better or for worse the changing is, he’s scared. He thinks Isaac is going to change Edward(and his attitude makes him unbelievably mad), he thinks he’s going to lose Ed who will stop being friends with him just as he did with Felix (not because he likes ed unless you, the reader, portray it such as,) because of Isaac. It’s not just James’ interalized homophobia, it’s more than that.

If he does move onto Felixs side, he would have to fight his interalized homophobia further (I see felix being an absolute freak and kind of a flirt and it makes him EXTREMELY pissed off), but the even bigger change will drive him even more insane because of Felixs group (mainly evil justin… if you read his sheet, he’s EXTREMELY clingy.) and they could possibly bring out more bad then good in James (not ethan because ethan either switched sides and if he stayed is far too anxiety ridden or nervous to do so. Also hes probably the sweetest out of all of them.)

 A song I wanted to do with these two were, 

Tim, I wish you were born a girl by of Monteral   Which i still really want to do but it would be more exciting to do it with a surprise.

 Speaking with that member more, you know who you are, James definitely sucks at communication horribly and probably doesn’t want anyone to know whats going on with his dad at home. The day James cut Felix off was, he said (which is why people keep drawing it), ‘Felix… I wish you were born a girl.’ Before up and leaving that other boy there where he tried to tell him he had to leave in which Felix watched the other leave, saying- ‘jameson- wait–’ before James disappeared into the background. Of course Felix may still try and interact, but we know James would either avoid or lash out.

 One line that person said was, ‘not mr blackburn trying to mold james into him in the worst way’ James may really really want to go back to Felix, but he doesn’t want Felix (or himself) hurt in the process. 

 The scars upon James in the redesign is NOT from his father though, because James seems like the angry and blinded by rage type - he has had plenty of fights over things with other people at school. They would of course scab, in which James would pick at them either way making the other jocks try and stop him from picking at them however they still end up in scars.

 I wouldn’t think Mr Blackburn would put his hands on him (maybe a bit, but not often… probably a quick smack across the face or using a spatula. We don’t talk about the spatula part though getting his with a spatula hurts REALLY BAD.) but mainly yell and freak out on him, to the point he hits a wall or the table and freaks out further - in which James wouldn’t flinch anymore at it because he’s grown numb to it. If he does hurt him in a smaller fit of rage, he’s either grabbing him by the ear or yanking his earring which is why he’s missing one.

He’s likely attacked teachers too.

James has nothing but taking it out on the people around him, or buildings. He has a lot of rings on his hands I feel like, and he would punch the walls of the outdoor of a building until theyre bleeding and bruised.

 He hurts his friends too, but he regrets it heavily and doesn’t think before he does it - and he blames himself even after months have passed.

Obviously, his friends would understand this and would reassure him but it doesn’t make it okay because they did infact get hurt and he knows that.

 When James gets really upset or mad, the one who can probably hold him still and comfort him best is Cody - for one, because he’s basically the basketball players tank and can keep him still, and for two Cody is basically a big teddy bear (like ethan possibly is to the packe, who can calm Felix in perhaps the same manner?)

 Justin would have invited everyone to the group, except Louis inviting James. So basically it would go, in my eyes, Justin invited, Justin has been friends with Louis since they were little so Louis is invited, then Louis invites James, then Justin invites Cody. There. That’s how it goes in my opinion (and headcanons). I really like this idea in my head too I’ve teased on a few times. James takes care of crows and ravens, having fed them a lot. It’s probably one of his soft spots too. They tend to stick around him a lot because they know they can trust him. I saw this one thing of this crow waiting everyday for this little kid to get home from school, only let him pet it, and would always check on him. Which I find absolutely adorable in all manners. So, in my brain, it went, aww James would actually be really cute with birds similar to that.

 Some of these crows are blind, missing a limb such as a leg or a wing or maybe is deaf. He treats them.

The two I have in my head have names and personalities. The crow would be called Pestilence, a female crow who is extremely noisy and chaotic. She tends to curse, due to picking up on James’ constant swear words. She also torments people around James if she feels like it, but her favorite spot to hide or sleep is in James’ letterman hood. She likes to mock people around her, and she loves making noise when she gets gifts for James even if it’s as simple as a piece of wood. When Felix is around with James and shes there, she’ll stick her beak in his ear or peck his face and then laugh about it. James relies on her to speak about the way he is feeling sometimes, but sometimes she leaves for some time since she’s still technically a wild bird.

 The raven would be called Bionic, with a hand-made little leg though flimsy. She’s also pretty chaotic, but is a lot softer around the edges. Her favorite part is to sing songs that James may listen to - and she likes saying, ‘boop boop’. She also rests on his head, cleaning his hair even if he doesn’t need it. ^

May possibly update said post if I feel like it.

possible doodled designs below.

needed mentions : @moldieecheese (since you love jameson), @qhostpi22 (you wished to be tagged), @jamesblackburnn1fan @over-dvse

[eldragon-x-moved]

Being a Pacifica Northwest enjoyer is sad because the episode that develops her the most is such a good episode overall that sets up things for the next plot-heavy episodes but the next time she has a significant role it's in the series finale where she's just reverted to a snobby meangirl again as if all that didn't happen.

[bigeloo]

Studies

[meamiki]

5% of a color headcanon.... two versions since b&w emphasizes the dagger more i think but i still like the warm tones ASFSADA

i am not biased towards rainbow daggers whatsoever i promise (lie)

((also friend is streaming now and im there too!! bit more info linked here, its rated mature tho))

[liauditore]

BDUBS DAY! BDUBS DAY! BDUBS DAY! BDUBS DAY! BDUBS DAY! BDUBS DAY! BDUBS DAY! BDUBS DAY! BDUBS DAY! BDUBS DAY!

[random-autie-fangirl]

I drew another Chara- living with the Dreemurrs edition

"The King and Queen treated the human child as their own. The underground was filled with hope."

I don't like this as much as the last one but oh well... I ended up rambling a huge amount in the tag, so if you want details and headcanons about the actual drawing again, you'll have to look pretty far down this time, sorry (Also, I ran out of tags after a while. Tumblr is tired of me, lol. I might reblog this more tags later if I remember what I was going to say.)

[neversetyoufree]

Was reminded tonight that vnc volume 10 also had a special edition that came with an artbook, but I was way too broke to consider buying it at the time.

Bad realization to my make vis a vis international shipping charges.

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

How You Get The Girl

Contemporary romance

follows a basketball star who left the sport 8 years ago after an injury, who unexpectedly becomes the foster parents for her niece who she encourages to join the high school basketball team

and the team’s coach, who happens to have been a massive fan, and also needs a co-coach

they start to become friends, and when the latter reveals her insecurities about dating and relationships, the other offers to practice dating her so she can figure things out. but of course they start to fall for each other..

lesbian MC, questioning demisexual MC

[angered-box]

oooogh a girl is getting embarrassed about his art again

[always-a-slut-4-ghouls]

I have this tea cup I made in highschool (it’s really cute and was designed more like those Japanese ones without a handle than it was those fancy English style with even more elements to them) but I never actually asked if the glaze we used was food safe (we all used the same glaze on those cups specifically because the teacher glazed those ones in particular and I don’t remember checking. I glazed and painted every other project but only one of them was something you would use for food and that thing broke a few years ago and was honestly more decorative) and this has haunted me ever since. It’s a super cute cup and I adore it, but I have no idea if I can use it for its intended purpose and while I could buy a lead testing kit I’m not sure how I would check for anything else that might have been in that glaze. I know the color used but not the brand, so that’s not really a help either. The teacher I had left the district after that year because our school district paid art teachers a shit wage and we rotated through them like elementary school kids needing new shoes every year. I’m not entirely sure how I would contact her, but even if I did track her down (something not entirely impossible from what I know about her life outside of teaching us for a year, I would feel slightly weird about it though, even though she was my favorite art teacher) but I highly doubt she would remember something like the glaze she used on one project her students made at a school she taught at for one year. I’m not sure what other testing kits I would need besides lead to confidently say it’s safe enough for my personal use, and it’s annoyed me for several years now.

[phoenixiancrystallist]

Month 4, day 13

Did a lot today! Also did nothing else today lol. I have legit been at this for somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 to 8 hours. I don't remember when I started but I do remember checking the clock at around 5pm after I'd been at it for awhile, and it is now past 10:30pm. So... yeah. I had fun :D

This is the result of parts 2 and 3 of the tutorial series I'm following (I should probably link those more often). Also I made more trees from part 1 just because I could (and also I wanted the practice, but mostly because I could). I... may have been having too much fun modeling things. The second part of the tutorial was for the non-tree plants, and I did way more than the tutorial called for.

I have six trees, 11 grasses, 4 flowers, and 7 ferns (or whatever those plants are supposed to be). The tutorials only called for three trees, five grasses, four flowers, and six ferns. At least I got the number of flowers right? But, uh, I gave the flowers more colors than I was supposed to and set it up so the bundles of flowers are all different colors instead of all the same. So still did more than I should have :P

The third part of the tutorial series was setting up the environment and getting it ready to spread plants all over it. So we made the ground, the hills in the background, and the sky. The sky I'm most excited about making, because I plan to abuse my sky-making privileges when I go to make the swords finally >:D Actually pretty much everything I learned in these tutorials I'll be using in one way or another for the swords, but being able to make my own sky means I can get ~*fancy*~ with the environments I put the swords in :D

Cinta my beloved your sword is gonna be dope as fuck

[blackberryjambaby]

so angry at my mother that i'm revisiting an art board i started about this same situation three years ago

[saritawolff]

Phew. This one took, uh… a bit longer than expected due to other projects both irl and art-wise, but it’s finally here. The long-awaited domestic animal infographic! Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough space to cover every single domestic animal (I’m so sorry, reindeer and koi, my beloveds) but I tried to include as many of the “major ones” as possible.

I made this chart in response to a lot of the misunderstandings I hear concerning domestic animals, so I hope it’s helpful!

Further information I didn’t have any room to add or expand on:

🐈 “Breed” and “species” are not synonyms! Breeds are specific to domesticated animals. A Bengal Tiger is a species of tiger. A Siamese is a breed of domestic cat.

🐀 Different colors are also not what makes a breed. A breed is determined by having genetics that are unique to that breed. So a “bluenose pitbull” is not a different breed from a “rednose pitbull”, but an American Pitbull Terrier is a different breed from an American Bully! Animals that have been domesticated for longer tend to have more seperate breeds as these differing genetics have had time to develop.

🐕 It takes hundreds of generations for an animal to become domesticated. While the “domesticated fox experiment” had interesting results, there were not enough generations involved for the foxes to become truly domesticated and their differences from wild foxes were more due to epigenetics (heritable traits that do not change the DNA sequence but rather activate or deactivate parts of it; owed to the specific circumstances of its parents’ behavior and environment.)

🐎 Wild animals that are raised in human care are not domesticated, but they can be considered “tamed.” This means that they still have all their wild instincts, but are less inclined to attack or be frightened of humans. A wild animal that lives in the wild but near human settlements and is less afraid of humans is considered “habituated.” Tamed and habituated animals are not any less dangerous than wild animals, and should still be treated with the same respect. Foxes, otters, raccoons, servals, caracals, bush babies, opossums, owls, monkeys, alligators, and other wild animals can be tamed or habituated, but they have not undergone hundreds of generations of domestication, so they are not domesticated animals.

🐄 Also, as seen above, these animals have all been domesticated for a reason, be it food, transport, pest control, or otherwise, at a time when less practical options existed. There is no benefit to domesticating other species in the modern day, so if you’ve got a hankering for keeping a wild animal as a pet, instead try to find the domestic equivalent of that wild animal! There are several dog breeds that look and behave like wolves or foxes, pigeons and chickens can make great pet birds and have hundreds of colorful fancy breeds, rats can be just as intelligent and social as a small monkey (and less expensive and dangerous to boot,) and ferrets are pretty darn close to minks and otters! There’s no need to keep a wolf in a house when our ancestors have already spent 20,000+ years to make them house-compatible.

🐖 This was stated in the infographic, but I feel like I must again reiterate that domestic animals do not belong in the wild, and often become invasive when feral. Their genetics have been specifically altered in such a way that they depend on humans for optimal health. We are their habitat. This is why you only really see feral pigeons in cities, and feral cats around settlements. They are specifically adapted to live with humans, so they stay even when unwanted. However, this does not mean they should live in a way that doesn’t put their health and comfort as a top priority! If we are their world, it is our duty to make it as good as possible. Please research any pet you get before bringing them home!

[thingsidrawgohere]

Alright. I'm calling it done before it kills me. This is Second Head. It's an Art Book containing instances of the phrase "second head" in fanfics found on AO3. I'll explain much, MUCH more in the cut.

So when I say 'art book', I mean this is an intrinsic piece. I have no motivations aside from personal amusement and interest in outcome. A lot of money was lost/transmuted into free frustration in this project and I have no claims, obviously. I will prolly be the only person alive to read this.

THAT SAID. I have noticed in my years reading fanfic, there's a few linguistic shibboleths that arise in authors who also have experience in the mines. I think there's not a soul alive who hadn't wandered across a 'ministrations' when reading Narutos oral sexing. There's- Hold on. Here's some pix.

There's an impulse, I think, to in-group even when performing a creative act. A feeling that there are certain ways one Should go about the act, by virtue of seeing it performed that way. Especially so when 'training' at the act is often just Doing. Double Dog Especially when the act is exclusively for oneself with very little oversight. Which is to say, we make what we see and we make what we think we should make. At least, at first.

Now, I've been noticing 'grew a second head' (to insinuate surprise) in fanfic for some time. I've never seen it used Outside of fanfic. (Edit to add: I am not making the argument the phrase is from fanfic. Nor do I Believe it is from fanfic. Jesus Hopping Christ, people. That's not what this project is about.) That may speak to my own bad habits but it got me curious. So a friend and myself downloaded a mirror of AO3 from July of 2024. He did some code- Stuff to scan the mirror for "second head" and of the ~13 million works, ~70k (English) results were returned. That's a rounding error, honestly, but Far FAR more than I expected.

This book is 401 such examples that I personally selected for a variety of reasons. The number itself was arbitrarily chosen. Each page is separate fic, the roughly 300 words around our key phrase.

I don't think repetition or mirroring is a negative thing. I think it's quite charming. Nor do I think it's a sign of a 'bad' artist or 'bad' art. I think it's a signifier of personhood, of belonging, of enthusiasm. Of culture shared and wishing to share. I think it's real sweet. I always smile when I catch a 'grown a second head' in a work.

And it's really fucking funny when it's John Sherlock getting a sloppy toppy. Bless.

Edit: Fixed a very VERY funny error.

Edit: I am not making the argument that the phrase is exclusive to fanfic or, fucking forbid, FROM fanfic. I'm stating this Again because we skim here. Also- If you would like slamdunk my ass by stating the phrase predates the Internet or your GenX parents use it, please use 'sailboat' in your comment so I know you're specifically trying to kill me.

Edit Edit: You know what? Fine. I DO think this phrase came from fandom. I think ENGLISH came from fandom. I think YOU came from fandom. I think EVERYTHING came from fandom. The Sun, the Moon, the Seas- Fandom. Specifically Sonic Mpreg. The second head was Shadow the Hedgehog crowning. Congrats!

[ktempestbradford]

I have been on a Willy Wonkified journey today and I need y'all to come with me

It started so innocently. Scrolling Google News I come across this article on Ars Technica:

At first glance I thought what happened was parents saw AI-generated images of an event their kids were at and became concerned, then realized it was fake. The reality? Oh so much better.

On Saturday, event organizers shut down a Glasgow-based "Willy's Chocolate Experience" after customers complained that the unofficial Wonka-inspired event, which took place in a sparsely decorated venue, did not match the lush AI-generated images listed on its official website.... According to Sky News, police were called to the event, and "advice was given."

Thing is, the people who paid to go were obviously not expecting exactly this:

But I can see how they'd be a bit pissed upon arriving to this:

It gets worse.

"Tempest, how could it possibly--"

source of this video that also includes this charming description:

Made up a villain called The Unknown — 'an evil chocolate maker who lives in the walls'

There is already a meme.

Oh yes, the Wish.com Oompa Loompa:

Who has already done an interview!

As bad (and hilarious) as this all is, I got curious about the company that put on this event. Did they somehow overreach? Did the actors they hired back out at the last minute? (Or after they saw the script...) Oddly enough, it doesn't seem so!

Given what I found when poking around I'm legit surprised there was an event at all. Cuz this outfit seems to be 100% a scam.

The website for this specific event is here and it has many AI generated images on it, as stated. I don't think anyone who bought tickets looked very closely at these images, otherwise they might have been concerned about how much Catgacating their children would be exposed to.

Yes, Catgacating. You know, CATgacating!

I personally don't think anyone should serve exarserdray flavored lollipops in public spaces given how many people are allergic to it. And the sweet teats might not have been age appropriate.

Though the Twilight Tunnel looks pretty cool:

I'm not sure that Dim Tight Twdrding is safe. I've also been warned that Vivue Sounds are in that weird frequency range that makes you poop your pants upon hearing them.

Yes, Virginia, these folks used an AI image generator for everything on the website and used Chat GPT for some of the text! From the FAQ:

Q: I cannot go on the available days. Will you have more dates in the future? A: Should there be capacity when you arrive, then you will be able to enter without any problems. In the event that this is not the case, we may ask you to wait a bit.

Fear not, for this question is asked again a few lines down and the answer makes more sense.

Curious about the events company behind this disaster, I took myself over to the homepage of House of Illuminati and I was not disappointed.

I would 100% trust these people to plan my wedding.

This abomination of a website is a badly edited WordPress blog filled with AI art and just enough blog posts to make the casual viewer think that it's a legit business for about 0.0004 seconds.

Their attention to detail is stunning, from how they left up the default first post every WP blog gets to how they didn't bother changing the name on several images, thus revealing where they came from. Like this one:

With the lovely and compact filename "DALL·E-2024-01-30-09.50.54-Imagine-a-scene-where-fantasy-and-reality-merge-seamlessly.-In-the-foreground-a-grand-interactive-gala-is-taking-place-filled-with-elegant-guests-i.png"

"Concept.png" came from the same AI generator that gets text almost, but not quiiiiiite right:

There are a suspicious number of .webp images in the uploads, which makes me think they either stole them from other sites where AI "art" was uploaded or they didn't want to pay for the hi-res versions of some and just grabbed the preview image.

The real fun came when I noticed this filename: Before-and-After-Eventologists-Transformation-Edgbaston-Cricket-Ground-1024x1024-1.jpg and decided to do a Google image search. Friends, you will be shocked to hear that the image in question, found on this post touting how they can transform a boring warehouse into a fun event space, was stolen from this actual event planner.

Even better, this weirdly grainy image?

From a post that claims to be about the preparations for a "Willy Wonka" experience (we'll get to this in a minute), is not only NOT an actual image of anyone preparing anything for Illuminati's event, it is stolen from a YouTube thumbnail that's been chopped to remove the name of the company that actually made this. Here's the video.

If you actually read the blog posts they're all copypasta or some AI generated crap. To the point where this seems like not a real business at all. There's very specific business information at the bottom, but nothing else seems real.

As I said, I'm kinda surprised they put on an event at all. This has, "And then they ran off with all our money!" written all over it. I'm perplexed.

And also wondering when the copyright lawyers are gonna start calling, because...

This post explicitly says they're putting together a "Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory Experience" complete with golden tickets.

Somewhere along the line someone must have wised up, because the actual event was called "Willys Chocolate Experience" (note the lack of apostrophe) and the script they handed to the actors about 10 minutes before they were supposed to "perform" was about a "Willy McDuff" and his chocolate factory.

As I was going through this madness with friends in a chat, one pointed out that it took very little prompting to get the free Chat GPT to spit out an event description and such very similar to all this while avoiding copyrighted phrases. But he couldn't figure out where the McDuff came from since it wasn't the type of thing GPT would usually spit out...

Until he altered the prompt to include it would be happening in Glasgow, Scotland.

You cannot make this stuff up.

But truly, honestly, I do not even understand why they didn't take the money and run. Clearly this was all set up to be a scam. A lazy, AI generated scam.

Everything from the website to the event images to the copy to the "script" to the names of things was either stolen or AI generated (aka stolen). Hell, I'd be looking for some poor Japanese visitor wandering the streets of Glasgow, confused, after being jacked for his mascot costume.

HE LIVES IN THE WALLS, Y'ALL.