#Fun fact: I did not use the bucket tool

[that-one-weird-kid-from-school]

Ey yo, I just discovered something pretty cool.

So, I need to give a bit of context first.

I draw Jevil pretty regularly in a highlighter style drawing, I just have not posted any of the drawings yet, I plan to, but just not soon.

And in the highlighter universe, there are two Jevils, a neon Jevil and a pastel Jevil. Both of the Jevils use the polychromatic colour scheme, aka, they are drawn with all the available highlighter colours.

One day, when I was drawing neon Jevil, I was trying something new and wanted to see if there was a drawing of six Jevils and every Jevil was a different colour.

I tried that and I fell in love with the results.

(Oh, by the way, eyestrain warning, the whole rainbow is going to be here.)

This looks so fucking cool!

There are some mistakes, yes, but that doesn't take away from the fact that this looks so sick!

I want to make them a mainstay on the Jevilverse, and I'm gonna name them "the gummy gang Jevils", since they remind me of gummy bears.

But I don't want them to just stay in the highlighter art style, I want to make fanart out of them and post it this year.

Besides, "neon Jevil" is based on regular Jevil and "pastel Jevil" is based on the black and white Joker card, so the gummy gang Jevils must have a counterpart as well.

I redesigned them into my digital art style and you can do nothing about it.

I used the same gimmick of anchor colour, neighbouring colours plus opposite colour, but since we are not playing with highlighter markers, I can change the brightness and saturation values a bit, not too much, since I want everything to be nice and bring.

And I did it all on the same specific drawing that I use every single time to test colour schemes, I don't use any other one, always specifically this one.

And here are the results. 🙂

It looks so great, I love how they are different in the exact same way, yet they all have different personalities, I love it!

They don't remind me of gummy bears, so they shouldn't be called "the gummy gang Jevils", being rainbow is now much more unique to them, so the name should enforce that.

I'm thinking of "the little rainbow Jevils" or if you want you could call them "the rainbow six", "the rainbow mafia" or "the colour cult" just anything that has the rainbow as the highlight.

Anyway, I think that I have rambled for long enough, I can't wait to make art of the little rainbow Jevils, g'bye.

[imagineitdearies]

Hi Imogen,

Long time lurker, first time poster. I wanted to let you know how much I've been enjoying Perfect Slaughter. I think you do such an inspiring justice to with the sheer horror of abuse, comfort of connection, characterization and extension of the source material in your writing. I've never read a fanfic quite like what you have done and you deserve so much kudos for it!!

Since you have mentioned you're a D&D nerd (same!), I'm curious about your answers to 2 questions about mechanics:

1) Have you thought about the tool or material that could be used to create the inevitable back scars 😞 ? I've noticed in your writing how much you have highlighted how flawless the spawn are once they've fully healed. All I can think of is something relating to a silvered weapon or something made out of infernal iron. I also know you probably can't fully answer this without it being spoiler-y.

2) This is more a game question, but I've had a few back and forths with my "forever DM" partner on this. Does Cazador actually die in BG3? For all my experience playing, I have admittedly never fought a vamp lord on table top. But from what I understand, there are few ways to actually kill them (I know of breaking their resting place or trapping their mist form). If Astarion comes in with a knife during a vamp's healing phase, would that kill them for good? I feel like I'm missing something here.

Anyway thank you! Apologies if you already got this ask (I'm new to using Tumblr). I'm looking forward to Ch. 23!

-MafWaff

Hi MafWaff 🥰 Always glad to meet a fellow d&d nerd!

Haha I did get your previous ask and was actually sitting down to tackle my ask inbox after a crazy week (just moved to a different state), so you have impeccable timing! Thank you so so much for your kind words, I'm endlessly ecstatic to hear that the story is being enjoyed. To answer your questions:

Yes I have thought about this! In canon, Astarion says Cazador used 'his needle' to carve the runes. I indeed have my own fancanon as to how exactly Cazador got them to be permanent and it will come up in Perfect Slaughter!

From what I understand, what Astarion does in canon without any other explanation wouldn't, in fact, kill Cazador for good by dnd law 😂 but bg3 definitely plays hard and fast with the rules when it wants to, so we're left to justify why the vampire lord doesn't just mist form back into his coffin again! Breaking/destroying their resting place, trapping their mist form for two hours, or reducing them to 0 HP while they're in sunlight or running water--ie rivers/lakes/ocean, not a bucket, of course--so they can't go into mist form at all are all viable methods for dnd. If you stake them in their resting place, they're instead incapacitated/paralyzed for a millennia until the stake rots entirely away (or some idiot un-stakes them). Others are welcome to chime in if I've missed something!

Sometimes the gaps and discrepancies between dnd lore and bg3 can be a bit frustrating (and spark some tiresome debates online, lol) but these ones have honestly been fun for me to figure out! Sort of like a puzzle I get to shape the missing pieces into 😊

Anyways, I'm excited for you guys to see what I came up with in future chapters!

[anthologiemystika]

Weather Magic 101

One of the most common forms of magic, and the most fun, weather magic is found around the world in many forms and iterations. While not necessarily difficult, it is indeed an advanced form of magic. Here I will go over the basics of weather magic, how it works, and the difficulties surrounding it.

┈┈┈┈․° ☀️ °․┈┈┈┈

Basics of Weather Magic

Weather magic is based on the principle of controlling or manipulating the weather to suit your will. This can be anything from starting a small breeze, stopping blizzard, or bringing rain. That being said, weather magic is a very powerful form of magic. You are dealing with nature directly, and it’s laws, as such it is not so much about “controlling” the weather, it is more of a request for the weather to do what you wish it to. It is also unpredictable at best. You can cast the same spell for rain, with similar weather conditions, and the first time you might get a drizzle and other times you might get a deluge.

Weather magic surprisingly falls under the left hand path or magic. As it affects multiple people and multiple environments unwillingly, it is almost considered a type of compulsion spell. While many people are a bit confused by this, it is easy to forget that just because you want rain, doesn’t mean your neighbors do. Due to this, weather magic is usually not practiced by those who practice the threefold law due to its unpredictability in nature, and the fact that there is very little you can do to control it or stop it once it is in the works.

As weather magic relies on precise circumstances to work, it is also one of the most common types of magic to fail. Since magic relies on the belief of the user that it is going to work, it is not recommended for beginners as most beginners will get dismayed when it doesn’t work which can negatively impact their practice. When something in magic fails, we tend to think “what did I do wrong” or “maybe I am just not cut out for this”, however if weather magic fails the proper question you should ask yourself is “were the circumstances correct for this to work, or was I setting myself up for failure”?

┈┈┈┈․° 🌧 °․┈┈┈┈

How Weather Magic Works

The first thing to remember about weather magic is that, as all things are of nature, it follows its own laws that cannot be broken. For example, all the conditions need to be just right for it to even have a hope of succeeding. What this means is that you cannot summon snow in summer and you cannot call a wind on a calm day. That being said, if the conditions are right, nothing is more satisfying than calling up a wind or storm when it is needed. Indeed, even calling up a rain is a fun and worthwhile activity.

Almost all forms of weather magic fall under the category of sympathetic magic. Sympathetic magic is a type of magic where you use items, tools, or even movement to manipulate the energy and clearly describe how you want the energy to work and move. For example, in sympathetic magic you might take a bucket of water and dump it on the ground to help show that you want rain to fall. Sympathetic magic works by tying the energies together creating a relatable cause and effect mirroring scenario. In other words, “do what I am showing you”.

Once you have cast the spell or done the working, one of the most important things to remember is that weather is unpredictable by its very nature, as such it is not unusual to accidentally create something you did not want. Imagine that the air is a dam. One the one side you have an area of high pressure, and on the other side and area of low pressure. If you want to create a wind, you need to poke a small whole in the damn to give the air molecules a place to move from the area of high pressure to low pressure. However once you poke the whole in the damn, it could trickle out, come out in a stream, or the damn could burst. You have no control over this, for this is the way nature works, and also is what makes weather magic so unpredictable. You cannot control it, you can only start the process and let it run its course. And just like a dam, it will burst when it is good and ready, not any time sooner.

┈┈┈┈․° ❄️ °․┈┈┈┈

Difficulties With Weather Magic

So weather magic is not for beginners, by any means. On top of the likelihood of the spell failing and the inability to control what you want to happen and when, weather magic is deceptively easy which makes it dangerous. Most weather spells have few ingredients or supplies, have a few words, and an action. Mostly or the rituals can be done and completed within an hour at most, as such it is an easy draw for beginner witches. Besides, what beginner witch doesn’t want to make rain? That is part of the danger, the allure.

Weather magic, like most forms of magic, can backfire and have consequences. Unlike most forms of magic, weather magic affects an entire area as such, everyone in that area has to live with the consequences of your actions. Take for example the Australian wildfires. A few years ago, there were massive wildfires in Australia, some of the worst the country had ever seen. In a moment of solidarity, witches the world over did spells for rain. And guess what? It worked! Soon the area was inundated with rain which helped to put out the fires. But the rain didn’t stop when the fires were done, it kept raining. It rained record rainfall in an area that normally doesn’t get much rain, which resulted in massive flooding and destruction that rivaled the fire itself.

That is the biggest risk for weather magic, having to think about what could happen. The question isn’t COULD you do something, but SHOULD you do it? Would it be helpful to bring rain during a drought or stop a blizzard in its tracks? Of course. However what could you be affecting or changing with those actions? Whose lives are you affecting, and what could be the blowback for that?

┈┈┈┈․° ⚡️ °․┈┈┈┈

In Conclusion

Being a storm witch, a Tempestarii, or even just playing with the weather can be a fun and rewarding experience. But it also carries with it the responsibility that you are indeed playing with magic that can affect the lives on many others. Doing your research, understanding the principles and science of weather, and asking SHOULD you versus COULD you, will help to lead to practice the best type of weather magic there is. The safe kind.

***All Images were taken from Pinterest***

[depressedhatakekakashi]

trick or treat ! 🎃

Add’s one of these to your bucket 🥰🥰🥰

“Look!” Spinning his pumpkin around, Naruto grinned as both of his teammates leaned in to get a look at it. “Amazing, isn’t it?”

Sakura cringed. “Naruto, what is that?”

“It looks like a really bad Kunai,” Sasuke frowned. “Or a hand sign?”

The smile dropped off of Naruto’s face. “A bad Kunai!?” He argued. “Are you blind!? It’s clearly a bowl of ramen.”

Sasuke shook his head. “That is not a bowl of ramen.”

“Yes it is!”

“Where are the noddles?” Sakura asked. “Or the chopsticks?”

“Well, I-I’m not done yet!” Turning the pumpkin back toward himself, Naruto continued to work. “Just need to- and right here- oh and here.”

Shaking his head, Sasuke glared down at the pumpkin he’d been tasked to work on. It was the perfect carved pumpkin, with fangs on the mouth and little angry eyes, but he couldn’t help but feel like it looked a little emoty.

Devoid of life.

“It looks good,” Sakura insisted, invading his space for the seventh time since Kakashi had left them to work on their pumpkins. “I bet Kakashi-Sensei will put it at the front of the display. You’ll definitly win the competition.”

“Bo way!” Naruto’s head shot up suddenly. “I’m going to win!”

“With a bad kunai?” Snickering, Sakura returned to her own pumpkin. “Good luck.”

“Sakura…” Sasuke sighed. He never understood her insistence on making fun of Naruto, even if the loser’s pumpkin did look bad he didn’t need to be reminded of that fact.

“It’ll look like a bowl of ramen!” Naruto insisted. “Just you wait! I’ll blow everyone out of the water and win that first place prize!”

Sasuke shook his head and made his way around the table. “Here,” he held out a hand for the knife Naruto was using to carve.

“But, Kakashi-sensei said we can’t help each other,” Sakura argued. “If he finds out…”

“Who cares?” Sasuke huffed, though he knew Sakura was wrong. Just as he always did their Sensei had spoken about the rules, but he was the last person who was going to enforce them.

If he found out Sasuke had helped Naruto, he was more likely to congradulate him on good teamwork than he was to punish him for breaking the rules.

“Sasuke…”

“Just give me the tool,” he insisted. “And tell me what you want.”

The smile returned to Naruto’s face full for e, and without a seconds hesitation he handed over the carving knife and stepped aside. “A bowl of ramen,” he began explaining. “With prom, and green onion, oh and a fish cake!”

[pedropascalunofficial]

How proud you must be with Pedro being nominated for two Emmys! So glad those bad terrible fans who watched and shared Strange Way of Life didn’t jeopardize his chances of getting nominated.

AM I PROUD OF PEDRO?

Welcome to my Ted Talk.

Thank you for thinking about me and taking time out of your evidently busy schedule to ask me if I’m proud.

I am so fucking proud of Pedro I could squeeze him. I hope he knows how proud we are of him and I hope he’s proud of himself. He gave his all to his performance of Joel and it’s evident in the shows success. Fans have watched for years as he thrown himself fully into roles whether the roles he have been good or not, and people in the industry finally noticed. The fact Pedro got the part of Joel ahead of an A-list star (Matthew McConaughey) is a big moment for him so to have his work on The Last of Us be recognised at such a big event is really important for his career and for him personally.

His Emmy nods have been years in the making and on the way we’ve seen Pedro tick off some boxes on his bucket list.

• He wanted to be in a Broadway play and he did that playing alongside Glenda Jackson in King Lear.

• He’s always wanted to work with the Coen brothers and now he’s worked with Ethan Coen in Drive Away Dolls.

• He said he wanted to be in a videogame movie, and he starred in The Last of Us.

• El Mariachi was massive when we were young, so I’m sure working with Robert Rodriguez on both The Mandalorian and We Can Be Heroes was a dream come true (maybe not in roles though).

• He starred in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent with Nicholas Cage, who starred in one of his favourite movies while growing up Peggy Sue Got Married.

• One of his biggest dreams come true so far has been working with Pedro Almodóvar in Strange Way of Life alongside Ethan Hawke, which was shot on location in Spain where Sergio Leone, an inspiration for The Mandalorian, shot his movies. That’s insane.

I take issue with people in Pedro’s fandom sharing an independent film which was the life long dream of his, a dream he shared with his mother and family who are his whole world because I can see it means more to him than his other movies have in the past. He talked about that before the movies release. I was ashamed to be part of the fandom when so many people went on twitter to openly share the download of Strange Way of Life. You can say it was fans who were excited about the movie but all of the talk was about his ass. (If you’re going act like that then please have some class and do it on tumblr.) Most of these weren’t fans who will ever pay for a ticket or show the movie respect as a piece of art. It showed outsiders (and people who might want to work with Pedro someday) exactly what many of us see in this fandom, people who call themselves fans but have no real interest in supporting Pedro’s work. There are an awful lot of people in this fandom who take and take from “their fav” with zero remorse. People who don’t know Pedro’s work or want to. People who just see him as a tool to grow their social media following. A stepping stone in their long list of fixations they leached likes off. Can no one see that he has seen this and pushed fans away?! Or do they just choose to carry on regardless of the consequences because its “only a bit of fun”. Well jokes on you coz he fucking left. He saw what the fandom had become before all this and he bounced. Good for him.

He left because there are ppl like you who don't care that there is a human man just trying to work surrounded by all of this bullshit. One who has worked for years in a gruelling career to earn enough respect from his peers and against all odds he is landing roles has dreamt of. But with that career came fans, people who love his work and support it. They share it amongst each other and talk about it ad nauseam online because their real life friends can’t listen anymore. Then that fandom grew, a lot of people who cared came on board, but there were also fair weather soul suckers. Leaches that go from fandom to fandom trying to find their tribe by tearing things down in order to garner attention from others in order to gather likes.  You, my friend, are the latter. Your messages and your attitude are that of someone with zero regard for the artist who has to show up to work with a black cloud of a rabbid fandom following him. Do you care how that affects his career or how it affects how he views supporters? Nah, you don’t. Coz he’s your dancing monkey. A one dimensional fuck toy you choose to waste your time fawning over rather supporting HIS FUCKING WORK!!!!!! No one wants people like you here. You will not find your tribe by being a c*nt to the person you say you support. We’ve seen this before and it doesn’t end well so why not fuck off now and save all of us some time and energy.

People download movies early, shit happens, but most have the class to keep their mouths shut about it. Super classy people pay for a ticket in the theatre to atone for their sins. It’s not good, but it happens. Most people have the intelligence to keep their mouths shut about it, either out of respect for the artist they support or out of fear of being caught but not you or your soul sucker friends. The fandom that day was a fucking disgrace and no amount of coming into my inbox doubling down on your shitty behaviour will change that fact. Save it for someone who cares, maybe someone in your next fandom.

Welcome back by the way. You’re obviously keeping well if you’re finding the time to troll my inbox. However, I see you're still searching for some class but, don't worry, you'll get there. Either you'll find it yourself by gaining some self-awareness, or someday someone might just punch enough of it into your face that some of it sticks❤️ Judging by your attitude, you'll eventually get what you deserve.

And tell me you're a fair weather fan without saying you are. Pedro Pascal, you know, the man you pretend to care about was nominated for THREE Emmys! If you genuinely gave a shit you’d know that. If you would like any more help with numbers, may I recommend you watch some Sesame Street. You probably wouldn't watch it anyway since Pedro hasnt been on it with his ass out, but I wanted to help you out so i made a picture for your wall 😁

Have a great day!

[ramblinganthropologist]

Writober 22 - 10 (Demon)

Summary: Avery Hawke is pissed after her friends betray her in the Fade. To deal with that, she decides to mop the floor. Problem is, she’s very loud when she’s angry... enough to wake up a certain spirit. Time for a chat with Justice!

---

Nothing like a late night and a bucket full of dirty water to make a woman hate the entire fucking world.

“Those fuckers…”

Avery scowled as she threw her mop into the bucket, scowling as water splashed onto the floor she was trying to mop. The urge to break the damn thing in half and throw it was high, but she resisted the urge. After all, it wasn’t actually her mop, and the owner would be hard pressed to replace it. Instead, she took her frustration out on the floor as she stomped over to reclaim her lost tool.

She was supposed to be mopping the clinic floor for Anders. Instead, the half-elf was really just making a mess.

“I can’t believe they pulled that shit and just expected me to be ok with it.” Her scowl deepened as she mopped the floor. “So much for being friends, they sold me out to fucking demons for shit they couldn’t even get!”

In a sick way, that was satisfying. Not only had she gotten the chance to take her frustrations out of them, but they had been denied what they had tried to betray her for. If she thought of it that way, she came out the winner.

Problem was, Avery wasn’t thinking that way. Instead, every time she closed her eyes she could picture Isabela and Varric selling her out to the beings in the Fade. Then she had wound up needing to fight them – not fun. Her shoulder still hurt from taking one of Bianca’s bolts, even though there was no real injury to mark the fact she had been hit.

How courteous of the fade – all the damage was just between her ears.

“Remind me to knock both their fucking heads together later…” Avery’s snarl turned into a grumble as she continued to mop. Most of the floor was clean, but she still needed to get the far corner. At least that was something she could focus on as she worked towards getting the last bit clean.

Now it was ready to see patients again. With any luck, heavy bleeders wouldn’t show up for a few days and fuck up her mop job.

“Well, at least the floor is-“ Avery’s eyes widened as she realized that once again she had mopped herself into a corner. “Oh, come the fuck on… I did it again?!”

This was the fourth time…

Groaning, the half-elf glanced around. If she stretched, she could jump to the examination area and make her way to the door. However, if she fucked it up she’d knock a lot of messy things to the floor which would mean mopping again. She could of course wait until the floor dried… but that would take forever. She didn’t have the patience to sit there and wait.

Besides, this was supposed to be a surprise for Anders, a sort of thank you for not betraying her in the Fade like the others.

“You sure got yourself into it this time, Avery.” She sighed and swiped messy hair out of her face as she glanced around. “Now what are you going to do?”

“Perhaps ask for help?”

With those words, a warm feeling settled into her bones. Avery blinked as she realized she was floating free from the ground, surrounded by blue energy that was moving her towards the back of the clinic, the part that Anders slept in. As a matter of fact, if his mussed hair and lack of shirt was anything to go by, he had been there asleep the whole time and she just hadn’t noticed him due to her rage mopping.

Damn… her bad?

Avery offered the mage a sheepish smile as she touched down on dry ground. “Heh heh…. Sorry about that, Anders. I didn’t check to see if you were back here. Did I wake you up?”

“He is still sleeping.” The voice was layered, and she realized now that there were glowing cracks in his skin that centered around the bright blue lights that made up his eyes. It took her a second to realize that he hadn’t used his staff either.

More than that, levitation wasn’t part of his skillset…

She chuckled softly as she rubbed the back of her head. “Oh, hey, Justice. Thanks for the rescue. I would’ve had to wait for the floor to dry.”

The spirit nodded Anders’ head as they settled their shared body back on the bed. “It should be easier to wait here with more room to move. You do not enjoy sitting still.”

No, she didn’t…

Still, she cocked her eyebrow. “Can I ask why you’re in control right now? Usually you don’t come out unless Fade shit comes up. Something didn’t open up while I was mopping the floor, did it?”

Justice gave her what she assumed was a blank look – then again, that was the only way they ever looked at her. “You were loud enough to reach even me. If Anders was not exhausted from the Fade, he would have woken up as well.”

…

Ah.

Avery felt her face heat up as she glanced to the side. “Oh… yeah. Sorry… I was really just trying to mop the floor but then I got pissed off and… yeah.”

“You are still angry about you friends’ betrayal in the Fade.” Justice nodded as she sighed. “What are you going to do about it?”

What was she going to do about it?

Avery had to think about that one as she leaned against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest. Fade stuff to her was weird shit because she wasn’t a mage like the rest of her family. Most of it just went over her head if she listened in.

They had been warned about stuff like this before going in, but nobody had said anything about having to fight her friends…

“I mean, can I hold it against them? It wasn’t like they betrayed me in real life, it was the Fade.” She frowned. “Or does Fade stuff count? You know I’m not a mage, Justice, this shit gives me a headache if I think about it too long.”

Just saying it out loud made her feel stupid – a rather common feeling when this kind of thing came up. Avery was more than willing to admit in her bolder moments that she was stupid as shit, but in quieter times the hurt was still there. At least on the bright side Anders wasn’t there to hear it – he was off in dream land, unaware his girlfriend and body buddy were having a conversation.

Maybe that was for the best… she was going to need to get drunk to forget this ever happened. Shit though… Isabela and Varric were at the Hanged Man. Fuck.

The spirit gave her a long look, and it was impossible to read what they were thinking. That was partially because Justice was a little blank faced – even in the Fade she had picked that up when they had met. But also, she just couldn’t get a read on them. She assumed that was because of the whole spirit thing…

But again, that was magic shit. Not her specialty.

“You went into the Fade with your allies and they betrayed you for their own goals.” Justice’s voice made the air tingle. “How do you wish to deal with that?”

Avery’s response came with a sigh and the shake of her head. “Look… as mad as I am at them… I guess I get it? They got shit they want badly… I can’t say I’d betray my friends for that kind of thing, but if that demon had come to me when I was trying to pay for Kirkwall I don’t know what I would’ve done.”

Justice’s glow brightened. “You would not have accepted. It is not in your nature, Hawke. Your instinct is to claw your own throat out rather than take the easy way out.”

…

“Seriously, did you have to put it like that?” Avery found herself chuckling, a tension releasing in her shoulders. “Anders is already worried I’m going to wind up killing myself doing something stupid, let’s not put that in his head.”

The laughter did wonders to relax the crap that had built up in her stomach over the last few days. She wasn’t ready to forgive Isabela or Varric – not yet anyway – but at least it made things a little easier. Leave it to a Spirit of Justice to help her see the bright side of things.

It helped they were so bright.

“You seem more at ease.” Justice nodded. “Did the laughter help?”

Avery chuckled as she crossed the room to nudge Anders’ arm. “Always does, big guy. Er, spirit…”

She paused, grinning. “By the way, it was nice to see you in the Fade like that. We don’t get to work together normally and all, usually you just pop out for Moses.”

Add in the fact neither Anders nor Justice had tried to sell her up the river for power… and she could appreciate their help. Plus, the glowing had been pretty cool. Even though Avery wasn’t a mage, she could appreciate some glowing in her life when it wasn’t aiming a fireball at her head. What could she say, she was a simple woman.

“I find it easier to speak with Hawke.” Right, the whole mage thing… “Fighting with you reminded me of Senior Warden Tabris, though. No doubt this was due to the dragon’s blood you both consumed.”

Well, she’d take being compared to one of the heroes of the Blight as a compliment, especially coming from someone who had fought with the guy. Anders had certainly said the same once, though it had been in more of a resigned ‘not this shit again’ kind of way. Of course, that had been before they started fucking… so maybe she should touch base on that.

Later, though. He was sleeping.

“Nothing like a reaver to shake up the battlefield.” Avery chuckled, flashing her famous fanged grin when she finished. “Seriously, though, it was nice getting to be on the same footing. If we weren’t ass first in demon bullshit land, it could have been almost pleasant.”

Almost, because – you know, the whole Fade bullshit and betrayal thing. She could not overemphasize that no matter how many times she brought it up.

“Perhaps we will battle together again sometime.”

Maybe… but since the adrenaline rush of being angry was wearing off, Avery was starting to feel just how heavy her eyelids were. It had been quite a while since she had gotten a good night’s rest – thank you, reaver blood – and she forgot the last time she had taken a nap. She could feel a crash coming on.

And then she started to slump.

Those glowing arms caught her and directed her to lay down in the bed. She yawned as she rubbed her heavy eyes, staring up at the spirit in human form. Justice was now taking the chair, leaving the bed to her.

“Come on, Justice… you know Anders is gonna get a backache if you put him in the chair.”

The spirit cocked their borrowed head. “I could not ask you to take the chair, Hawke. You- “

She yawned, patting the bed next to her. “I’m not exactly massive, Justice. Just get his ass over here and we’ll figure it out in the morning.”

She half expected the spirit to fight her on this. Instead, as her eyelids grew heavy she heard the creaking of the floorboards and then the bed. The weight shifted and settled as Justice lay down next to her, still glowing and warm.

“How do you normally do this with Anders?”

Avery would have rolled her eyes if she wasn’t so tired. Instead, she pulled Anders’ body close, nuzzling her face into his neck. That close, she could feel both the beating of the host’s heart and the pulse of spiritual energy. It made her nose tickle, but she didn’t move.

“Like this, dummy.” Another yawn as she rested her face in the crook of Anders’ shoulder. “You going to power down or just stay there staring at the wall?”

Justice was still glowing… so talk about awkward.

“I will… return after I am sure you are at rest.” There was hesitation in the layered voice. “Pleasant rest, Hawke?”

Sure, she’d take that. Avery muttered something back as she yawned and felt her eyes close. Whatever sleep she got, it be better than nothing. Besides, Justice and Anders combined were pretty warm, and the healer’s natural energy was taking the soreness from her tired body. She definitely wasn’t going to complain about that as she drifted off.

It was going to be hell to explain in the morning, mind you. With any luck, Justice would fill Anders in before she woke up. If not… hopefully he would accept the freshly mopped floor as her apology for coming in while he slept.

…

Eh, she’d deal with that later. Her brain didn’t exactly work well tired.

[atths--twice]

Bored in Minnesota

Paperwork boring him, Mulder seeks a way to push thoughts of it to the side.

December 22, 1995 The Roadside Motel Minnesota

Sighing as he rolled his neck, Mulder looked down at the paperwork before him. God he hated it with a passion, but it had to be done. Taking a drink of the coffee beside him, he grimaced when he found that it had become cold.

He stood up and stretched, grabbing the mug and dumping it into the sink before rinsing it out. Walking back to the small coffee pot, he picked up the carafe, and was going to fill it up in the bathroom, when something thudded hard against his door.

He jumped back and set the carafe down quickly, walking to the door peephole and looking through it. Nothing could be seen and suddenly it happened again, causing him to jump back once more.  

“What in the hell?” he muttered, going to the window and pulling back the curtain cautiously.

Across the parking lot of the motel, was a large empty field, which was currently full of snow. A group of kids were heading toward it, running through the motel’s parking lot and throwing snowballs as they shouted to each other. He laughed as he watched them and made a quick decision.

The paperwork could wait. He needed to get out of the motel room for a bit, clear his head.

Putting on his boots he had thankfully brought with him, he quickly bundled up, and opened his door as he slid on his gloves. He grinned as he turned to the room beside him and knocked on Scully’s door.

She opened it, looking a bit irritated, and as he watched the snow falling from her door he realized they must have hit her door as well. Grinning again, he raised his eyebrows at her.

“You have to be just as bored as I am. Let’s take a break.”

“And join a snowball fight? Getting cold and wet from the snow? No, thank you,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m perfectly fine staying here where it’s warm and undisturbed. For the most part, anyway.” She gestured to the door and he shrugged.

“Come on, Scully,” he said. “Seeing as we’re stuck here for the night at least, let’s make the most of it. It’ll be fun.”

“No thank you, Mulder,” she said firmly. “You enjoy yourself. Hopefully there will be enough hot water for you when you come back near freezing.”

“I’ll be okay.”

“Hmm,” she hummed, crossing her arms and then reaching for the door handle. “See you later.”

She closed the door on him and he shook his head, waiting for a minute, hoping she would change her mind. When she did not, he shrugged and turned around, running past their car which was covered in snow.

He could hear the kids laughing, mostly teenagers from the size and sound of them, and he smiled as he joined in.

For nearly a half hour, a few created mounds of staggered snow walls with shovels and other tools, while others collected snowballs in buckets and on large plastic sleds, awaiting the battle that would commence. Words were shouted back and forth, challenges extended, and rogue snowballs flew across the space between them.

Happy and laughing more than he had in a while, not minding the fact that he was cold and his nose was running, Mulder gathered some snowballs, and glanced toward the motel, an idea beginning to form in his head.

“Hey, it’s Ashley, right?” he asked the girl closest to him and she nodded. “Great. I have a friend in the motel over there and I know she could use a break from her work she’s doing. Could you help me persuade her?”

“What did you have in mind?” she asked with a grin and he smiled back, telling her of his plan.

Soon four of them, plus him, were walking across to the motel armed with a bucket of snowballs. Mulder knew there was a fifty/fifty chance that the idea would work, but he was willing to take it.

Stuck there for the night, and with the possibility of more snow in the forecast, there was a strong chance they might be spending Christmas in the motel. With all that bearing down on them, they should at least be able to take time out for some fun.

“Okay, everyone ready?” he asked and they nodded as they stood by the back of their rental car, about twenty five feet from Scully’s motel room door, and armed themselves with a snowball each. “And go!”

They all threw the snowballs, every one of them hitting her door or the wall beside it. Another three rounds and the bucket was empty. They all waited, but nothing happened. She did not even appear at the door or the window to tell them to fuck off and go away.  

“What now?” Ashley asked as she looked at him, but he only sighed.

“Back to the fight, I suppose. Maybe she’s in the shower or something.”

“Maybe,” she agreed and they all walked back to the field, Mulder glancing back to see if Scully had happened to open the door, but there was still no movement.

Putting her from his mind, he continued readying for the battle. When it was all ready, the two groups lined up and instructions were given.

“A battle to the death!” A boy shouted. “You get hit, you’re out! Last man—”

“Or woman!” Ashley shouted and everyone laughed.

“Or woman,” he agreed with a nod. “Last person standing is the winner. Everybody ready?”

“Hell yes!” they shouted and Mulder laughed.

“Then let the battle begin!”

They all scattered, running to various snow wall locations and shouting to one another. Snowballs began to fly and laughter rang out as each side called insults and jokes, egging the others one. Mulder ducked behind a wall and lobbed snowballs wherever he could. He heard groans of defeat and those eliminated shouted encouragement to the ones left fighting.

Soon it was down to Mulder alone on his team and one on the other team. He could hear Ashley and her friends cheering for him and he hurried to a wall closer, hoping to hit the last person on the team.

Taking cover, he peeked over the top of the wall and waited. He saw a beanied head begin to rise up and he threw a snowball, hitting it on the top. His team cheered as the person wearing the hat fell out of sight.

Mulder stood up, arms in the air, and shouted, his head thrown back. Laughing, he spun to look at his teammates when he was hit from behind with a snowball.

Whipping around, he saw someone standing behind the wall of snow, and as they raised their head, he saw that it was Scully. Eyes sparkling, cheeks flushed pink, and holding a snowball in her gloved right hand, he knew in that moment that he had been duped.

“It’s not exactly right to attack a man from behind,” she said, rolling the snowball in her hand. “So I’m awfully glad you decided to turn around.”

Faster than he could think to move or say anything, she threw the snowball and it hit him square in the chest, exploding into a puff of snow and marking him as the loser of the battle.

Her team cheered loudly and as he looked up from glancing down at his chest, he saw her grinning at him. Shaking his head, he walked toward her and bowed his head with outstretched arms, accepting defeat as her laughter filled the air.

A rematch was called for, but Mulder and Scully declined the offer to play with them again.

“I’m choosing to go out as the undefeated champion,” she said and her team cheered again. “You have fun. Maybe we’ll see you later.”

Saying goodbye, they walked back towards the motel and he glanced at her. She looked at him and grinned with a shrug of her shoulders.

“After you left, I could hear you all and I thought about how much I do hate paperwork and getting it done in the next hour or two wouldn’t make a goddamn bit of difference in the grand scheme of things.”

“That’s the truth.”

“So I got dressed and as I was crossing over to the field, I saw you walking back with a group of kids, so I stopped to watch.”

“Saw that did ya?” he asked with a sheepish grin.

“Yup. And when I had seen enough, I headed straight to the other group, bound and determined to take… you… down.”

She raised her eyebrows at him as they reached the back of their car and stopped walking. He cleared his throat and licked his lips, fighting back a smile, but it was impossible. He laughed and nodded, watching her smile and nod in return.

“You certainly succeeded.”

“I did at that,” she said with another shrug and a smile.

“Next time we play, I want you on my team.”

She stepped closer to him and he took a step back, bumping into their car, which dislodged some of the snow. It fell down around him and he yelped. Not from the cold at first, but from the surprise.

“Yeah,” she said quietly. “Remember this feeling. Remember how it felt when you thought you had won and then I beat you. Think also of how I will again one day, because we will not be on the same team. It was far too much fun succeeding at taking… you… down.”

“You may have mentioned it already,” he laughed.

“And I will again. You better believe it.” She stepped back and he moved away from the car, now noticing how cold his backside was beginning to feel.

“Oh,” she said, turning around as she headed to her room. “I don’t think I heard one of the rules mentioned. The loser has to buy the winner hot chocolate and some dinner.”

“Is that right?” he asked.

“It is,” she stated and he nodded with a smile.

“Well, then I guess I need to pay up on my debts.”

She nodded and he gestured for her to go ahead, walking down the covered walkway of the motel that led to the diner diagonally across the street.

They entered and the warmth of the diner began to thaw them out. Warm mugs defrosted their cold fingers and food shared warmed them on the inside.

The snowball fight crew soon came into the diner and they all shifted to sit together, laughing at the fun they had.

For a little while, as they warmed up in a small diner in Minnesota, thoughts of paperwork and the worry of getting home in time for the holidays, took a much needed backseat.

[jinmukangwrites]

Whumptober 2021 - October 7th - Blindness

Gift fic for @sassydefendorflower

Fandom: Nightwing, Batman - All Media Types

AO3

Warnings: Head Injury, slight descriptions of blood

---

Slade dodges under the swinging blow of Blüdhaven’s newest sewer monster; born from whatever chemicals a rat has gotten into near some chemist-based super-villain’s old hideout. Now, while it’s not everyday Slade goes out of his way to take down various monsters across the ‘Haven, this time… he feels a little obligated to.

Yes, he is the reigning champion of being Nightwing’s least favorite and most powerful villain, but unfortunately Nightwing is Slade’s favorite and most interesting opponent. He came to the ‘Haven to give the kid a head’s up that he has a mark in the city; a regular challenge he likes to set for the kid to try and stop him. However, when he didn’t find Nightwing along any of his normal routes, nor in his apartment, he turned to the news to see if the kid had left for Gotham or some other city without him noticing; preparing to postpone this mark until he was back in his patron city and away from other bats.

It was then he noticed the breaking news that a giant, sewage themed rat was wreaking havoc under Blüdhaven’s streets in the downtown areas, near a major subway platform. Nightwing was spotted going in, telling people to stay out, and he hasn’t been seen since.

Of course, Slade went to the fight, and it’s a good thing he did. When he got there, he found Nightwing limp in the creature’s tail, held inches from it’s long and jagged front teeth. Blood trailed down the side of his skull in a steady flow. Slade knew immediately he was unconscious.

He took out one of his pistols and shot at the rat, but the monster was so large and feral it hardly did anything when it went into its arm. It dropped Nightwing like a sack of flour onto the ground, snarling as it turned to it’s newest threat, drool dripping down it’s snout. Slade pulled out his swords and faced it head on.

The creature, while lacking any intelligence, was fast and powerful. Even Slade had trouble ducking under its tail that it used like a club and avoiding its powerful legs and jaw. While it’s disappointing to see Nightwing taken down by a creature as low as this, he can’t exactly blame the kid when it takes himself several minutes to finally get his sword through the thing’s tail. He cuts off the appendage, then while the monster screeches in agony, he pierces its throat.

It goes down twitching and gurgling, its blood bubbling down into the sewer's already questionable streams of water. He whips his swords out, getting off a majority of the wretched blood, then heads over to his unconscious person of interest.

Nightwing doesn’t move as he kneels down beside him, in fact he’s still in the rather undignified position he had been dropped in. Frowning, Slade moves Nightwing into a better position that won't strain his spine and smacks his face lightly to wake him up. He doesn’t even twitch, causing Slade to frown more. His head is still bleeding, which is worrisome. He grabs a tube of smelling-salts from his pouch—usually used to wake up people he’s previously knocked out to get some information out of them—and firmly places it under Nightwing’s nose. A solid few seconds pass before Nightwing’s eyes shoot open under his domino mask; his hands fly out to his face to stifle coughs and he rocks forward so he’s sitting instead of laying down.

Slade doesn’t try to make conversation quite yet, more worried about that head injury. He holds Nightwing by the jaw to tilt his head and get a better look, but Nightwing reacts like the touch was electrified. He smacks Slade’s arms away and jumps to his feet, stumbling back and holding out a single escrima. Slade doesn’t know where the other one went.

“Sit back down,” Slade growls, “I’m not here to hurt you.”

Nightwing flinches at the initial sound of his voice, his mouth dropping open in shock before lowering his single weapon slightly.

“Slade?” he asks, his voice slurred.

Slade resists sighing, and lifts his eyebrow. Who else would it be? It’s not that dark here, even with Slade’s heightened senses. Nightwing doesn’t relax completely though, as if waiting for an answer. Not for the first time that night, another spike of worry rises in his chest.

“Kid, sit down or I’ll make you sit down.”

Nightwing almost goes boneless after that, breathing a single ”thank fuck” before sinking to his ass and putting his head in his hands with a groan.

Now Slade does sigh, even rolling his eyes as he does so, as he once again approaches Nightwing and grabs onto his face to look at the wound. Nightwing hisses and flinches out of his grasp.

“Don’t,” he says, “I already know how bad it is.”

Slade hums, folding his arms across his chest. “How bad is it then?”

Nightwing remains quiet for a moment, biting his lip, perhaps internally fighting with himself on whether or not it’s a good idea to tell one of his biggest enemies about how injured he is. Eventually, Nightwing makes the smart choice and speaks anyway, knowing Slade will find no pleasure in ending him if he's already down.

“Head feels like a war-drum. Feel like ‘m gonna throw up. Voice slurred… ears ringing… I-” Nightwing hesitates. Then sighs. “I can’t see.”

“You can’t see?” Slade repeats, kneeling down to once again take Nightwing’s face in his hands. Nightwing fights the grasp, but this time Slade holds strong and takes off the mask, revealing unfocused electric-blues.

“Nothing, it’s all black,” Nightwing whispers, a slight wobble in his voice that Slade is sure he’s trying to keep down.

He grabs a small flashlight from his tools and shines it in Nightwing’s eyes, frowning as there’s hardly any reaction in the pupils. He clicks off the light and releases Nightwing, thinking of options.

He’s sure the last thing the kid’ll want is to get dumped at the hospital, but Slade’s no medical expert, especially with something as fragile as a normal human’s brain.

He sighs, as only one option realistically reveals itself. The last thing Slade wants to do is risk Nightwing going home all on his own and possibly making this blindness permanent when there could be something that can be done to help him. Nightwing is a competent, talented young man, which is why he’s so intriguing to Slade—and while he has all the faith that Nightwing will find a way to fight even if his sight is forever gone, Slade also knows the loss of sense will be a major blow to the kid’s moral for months to come. He’s seen how far Nightwing can fall with helplessness and depression plaguing him, and honestly the thrill of fighting him leaves when his fire is replaced with a desperateness to prove to himself that he’s still worth something. He needs Nightwing to have a steady support system, and help for this injury.

Nightwing is going to hate him for a while after this, but Slade has no choice. He doesn’t fight against Nightwing to kill him, but because those fights are the only thing that brings a fun challenge. For how human Nightwing is, he fights like a beast, and Slade can’t lose that.

“Up,” he says while returning the kid’s mask; he grabs Nightwing by the arm and lifts him to his feet. Nightwing groans, but doesn’t fight too badly as Slade firmly wraps his arm around Slade’s shoulders. “Where is the best place to exit this place without being spotted?”

Nightwing, with the complexion of the inside of an avocado, talks him through on where to go. He looks one small fit of nausea away from throwing up all over Slade’s armor.

Luckily, he keeps it in his stomach—perhaps the discomfort in his body being something more desirable to deal with than a vomit covered Slade—and by the time they make it out of a small, boarded up and abandoned, exit to the subway line, Slade lets the kid take a break by the nearest dumpster. Nightwing, the poor thing, must have lost everything he’s eaten today in those fifteen minutes.

Now that he’s out below Blüdhaven’s night sky, he’s now the one in charge of leading the way. Nightwing stumbles along blindly—hah—never letting go of his weak grasp around Slade’s neck and shoulders.

Finally, they make it to where Slade has parked the car he had taken into the city. The windows are all tinted to near-illegal levels, but Slade still stuffs Nighting in the back-seats and hands him a bucket he had in the trunk that previously held a few hundred bullets from when he bought them in bulk.

“Throw up on the seats and I’m making you buy me a new car.”

“Bet this one was stolen anyway,” Nightwing mumbles, curled up in the backseats with the bucket touching his stomach like a flu-ridden child.

Slade scoffs and closes the door after reminding him to keep his head down but to stay awake. He takes off his Deathstroke mask, then the top bits of his armor, and shoves them in the truck. Then, after he gets in the driver's seat, they’re off.

Getting out of downtown Blüdhaven should be the hardest part of all of this; both for Slade’s navigation skills and for Nightwing’s gag-reflex. Eventually, however, they make it out of the twists and turns of downtown and eventually make it onto the main roads of the city—still crowded with cars coming too and from various ass-awful shifts of work. Nightwing remains quite agreeable in the backseats, responding that he’s awake every time Slade calls for a status report (about every five-ten minutes), and groaning at every turn no matter how slow Slade takes them.

However, that agreeableness quickly leaves the boy when Slade enters the on-ramp connecting to the north-south interstate.

Kid almost makes himself throw up by how quickly he scrambles to a sitting position; ignoring Slade's commands to lay back down.

“Turn around,” Nightwing growls. And it’s a strong growl too, reminds Slade of a chihuahua. Shaking and all.

“You’re currently blind, you have no idea where-”

“I know the roads of my city, Slade. And you’re leaving it.”

Slade sighs and merges into traffic, then uses one hand to shove Nightwing back town onto the seats. “Keep down, a cop will see you.”

“Where are you taking me?”

Slade remains silent.

“Tell me it’s a secret mansion somewhere and you have your own personal doctor that can help. Or you know a guy that happens to be down south. Or-”

“I’m taking you to Gotham,” Slade says, ripping off the band-aid.

Nightwing looks all sorts of emotions in the span of a few seconds. The one he settles on, however, is anger.

“No.”

“Batman gets injured all the time,” Slade begins to explain, but Nightwing looks frantic now.

“No, don’t take me back- I’ve worked so hard to get him to see that I can do things without him- and he has a new kid now and-”

“Suck it up,” Slade growls. “Deal with it. I’m not like you, kid. I don’t know how to take care of a normal human, and I definitely don’t know anyone who can because I have no need to. What you need is a doctor that can treat you off the record, who knows about your nightlife. Batman has that, doesn’t he.”

It’s not a question, but Nightwing’s silence is still an answer.

“Whatever your old man thinks of you for coming back injured doesn’t matter in the end. Nor does the new kid. What you should worry more about is what I think of you after this. You’re not fighting Batman, you’re fighting me.”

“What if he doesn’t let me fight after this?” Nightwing… Dick whispers as he finally lays back down on the seats. He’s taken his mask off and is rubbing his eyes, perhaps quelling tears or a headache. Perhaps both. “What if my sight doesn’t come back? What if he retires me?”

Slade remains silent for a second, then answers as firmly as he can. “I’ve known plenty of formidable enemies who are missing a sense. You’ll find a way to get back up, and if he doesn’t let you then I’ll just have to break in, kidnap you, and train you myself.”

That startles a laugh out of Dick. “I thought you were no longer trying to get me to be your apprentice.”

Slade shrugs, allowing a smile on his lips, selfishly comforted that Dick couldn’t see it. “You have a lot of potential, kid, I’d rather you use it against me than not at all. I’ll train you and release you like the bird you are, and we can get back to the same ol’ dance we have.”

Dick takes a deep breath. “Yeah. Yeah… okay. I’ll hold you to that.”

-o-o-o-o-

Slade parks the car in an old neighborhood in Gotham that has a considerable drop in crime compared to the rest of the city. All things considered. Though, the sun is beginning to rise and Slade’s positive the Bat knew he was in his city the second he drove into it. Dick knows this too, as he’s telling Slade to hurry up and get out of here despite the boy still looking green around the gills. Slade grabs his mask and armor, then turns to the stolen car he’s about to abandon and opens the back door near Dick’s face.

Suddenly, and rather embarrassingly, he doesn’t know what to say. Thankfully, Dick is a freaky empath sometimes and gives an exhausted smile.

“Don’t worry,” he says, “I’ll get through this.”

“Good,” Slade replies. “I won't let you quit.”

His grin widens. “Never.”

Then Slade closes the door and takes off quickly, only pausing on a distant roof to watch a large black figure and a smaller red-and-yellow clad child approach the car and catch sight of the injured bird inside.

From there, Slade turns and leaves, not looking back.

He’ll see Nightwing on the battlefield again. No matter what, Slade will make sure of it.

[sobbingdistantnoises]

ohh i didn't know you did digital art, i'd love to see it when you finish it! i'm pretty interested in that, not like i wanna learn to do it myself, it's just that if it's something of your interest then i'll like to hear you talking about it if you wanna. and also, i love to see people's art!

I actually haven't done any in a while, which is part of the reason I'm really excited to finish. I'll definitely post it when done though!

I have a couple wips/experimental stuff that I'll hopefully someday finish, but I'm not sure, dhjska

Here's an experimental one of James, done using the water color brush + the smudge tool thing. I basically just color bucketed colors from the photo and directly put it onto the photo, essentially tracing it but in blocks of color, dhjsk. In the variation, I used the smudge tool to mix up some of the colors and make them a bit more connected

Below are the couple things that I eventually want to finish but have just been sitting there for a while, hdjskjd

The left most is supposed to be Kirk, he's just the one I randomly started sketching so I worked with it. The hand will definitely be redrawn, and the hair has to be tweaked, but I do like the drawing

The middle is Dave Murray from Iron Maiden. My main goal of it at first was to emulate the facial expression of the emoji thing, but I kinda threw that out the window and just made him scared, lol

The third is a WIP of the album cover for my fictional band (aka a bunch of OCs of mine who are in a band together). I'm really not sure what I'm gonna do with the really sketchy line style. I do like it, but I also don't know how coloring it is gonna work at all, so it might have to go. Here's a couple fun facts about the creature thing in the cover because I can't resist talking about it though: it's called The Thing, and it can preform photosynthesis because that's obviously what all flesh eating monsters do

Here's some of my old stuff though! It's from around mid 2020, and it's probably my best digital stuff, dhjska

I still like how the lines are of different thickness. I started doing it because I couldn't keep the line perfectly straight, and I was thinking about how Lavendertowne (digital art YouTuber) used line thickness, so it kind of worked out. I don't have any in the piece I'm working on right now, but I may add it in later, lol

This turned out longer than expected, but I enjoyed typing it up. Thanks for asking about it! <3

[pl-panda]

The vines that bind us - Chapter 9

Chapter 1 || Previous || Next

------

She opened the window and picked a pencil. With deadly precision she tossed it. The wooden tool sailed through the air until it hit the binoculars and broke one side of them. She huffed and closed the window before pulling the curtains closed. How rude.

Jason cursed under his breath. Any other day he would probably avoid the projectile, but it caught him completely by surprise. By all accounts, it was physically impossible to use a pencil with such precision and force to destroy military-grade night-vision binoculars. At least the memory card was safe so he could give it to replacement later on for analysis.

Still in bad mood after having his gear ruined, Jason zipped to Dupain-Cheng’s window and gave a light knock. No response. Another knock. Still no response. Finally, after the third knock, the blinders opened and the window itself followed, revealing a very angry girl. Jason finally had a chance to get a better look at her. She did, in fact, have blue hair and now that he’d seen it close, he would bet half his paycheque that it was somehow a natural color. The purple too. She must have had her hair dyed for the first day of work. Her eyes were another part that he memorized. They were blue and iridescent green at the same time, giving a slight unnatural aura. Or maybe it was just that she looked ready to murder him.

“Are you done staring?” She asked, clearly annoyed. “You are not my type and much too old. And the stalker routine is plain creepy. Get lost old guy.”

She was about to close the window when he started speaking.

“I actually came to apologize. I did not ‘stalk’ you, thank you very much. I was just checking on you, miss. You do realize that you single-handedly kicked Riddler’s ass and got quite a bit of publicity.”

“Suuure. You do that for every brave citizen?” She asked with a raised eyebrow and a small grin. “You would be really short-staffed. I hope that overgrown furry does pay you for the overtime.” Any traces of amusement disappeared from her face. “Now get lost before I sic Chloe on you. She recently started dating Damian Wayne and the two seem to bond over ruining people. I’m sure you would make a decent target.” Without further ado, Mari closed the window and put the blinders back in place, completely cutting him off. 

Jason didn’t protest. He was too busy processing the fact that Demon Spawn apparently started dating someone. Oh, he would have so much fun teasing the little menace. 

----------------

When the motorbike entered the Batcave, Jason expected to meet perhaps the Replacement or Demon Spawn. He definitely did not expect to see the entire family sans B and Alfred. 

“Do you want to perhaps explain why dad received an angry call about ‘some idiot in red bucket’ stalking her through the window?” Barbara asked. frowning deeply. 

“Or at least why were you stalking her?” Dick added.

“Or where you hid my coffee?” Tim joined.

“Timothy!” Several of them shouted.

“What? It’s important!”

“Back to the matter at hand.” Dick turned back to Jason. “What exactly were you thinking?!” He screamed.

“Geez. You thought about joining some opera?”

“Tt. Answer the question.” Damian interrupted.

“That reminds me. Did you know Demon Spawn got himself a girlfriend?” Jason asked, trying to deflect. He really did not like how they jumped at him.

“Not… important.” Cass stared daggers at him. “Talk.”

“Fine!” he threw hands in the air. “I followed a hunch. And I was right. She is a meta!” He procured his destroyed binoculars. “There is no human way to destroy military-grade equipment like that with just a pencil.”

Tim picked it up and quickly tossed it onto the table nearby. A blue light scanned the products and the bat-computer started to display the scan plus introductory analysis.

“Well, he is right. There is no way that a simple pencil could destroy it.” He pressed some buttons and recording from the last seconds of the item’s life played. They could clearly see her throw a pencil at it and then everything went black. “Or I was wrong.” Tim started to do a series of calculations. 

“Bucket-head might be onto something. With her muscle mass, it would be impossible to throw a pen with enough force. Actually, it’s almost impossible to make that throw. Not with human muscle density…”

Barbara rolled over to him and the two started to work side by side. “But that’s also not probable since the body is not…” 

“She would probably…” 

“Plant fibers have a similar structure, but she would…” 

“Maybe… Unless she is not strong and instead…”

“Um… earth to nerd corner. Can you explain?”

“Jason might have hit the bullseye.” Tim grinned and several groans could’ve been heard. “She is definitely a meta. It still doesn’t explain why you stalked her.”

“Is that not reason enough?” Red Hood asked. He immediately regretted it when Duke stared daggers at him. 

“You do realize, that metahumans are not as rare as it was believed at the beginning?” Tim asked.

“What?”

“Roughly ten percent of humans are born with dormant meta-gene and the number is increasing each year. And about one in twenty people have an active meta-gene. They just don’t go around wrecking everything or don a cape and run around beating people.” Tim spoke in a matter-of-factly tone. 

“What?”

“Yeah. Eidetic memory, or perfect recall for our uneducated bucket-head,” Tim snickered while Jason grumbled.

“I hate that name.”

“I think it will stay for a while.” Stephanie was smiling. “She does have a way with nicknames. First an overgrown furry, then red Buckethead…” She was on the verge of laughing. “I wonder what she does next?”

“As I was saying,” Tim regained the control of the conversation, “eidetic memory is actually one of the earliest forms of registered active meta-ability.”

“What?”

“The gene tends to activate under extreme duress, but, as we learned, the definition of extreme duress varies from person to person.”

“So what? A guy afraid of failing an exam might accidentally unlock super memory?” Jason dismissed it.

“More like if someone lived in years under pressure and is about to crack.” Dick pointed. “I mean there was even this large awareness campaign about four years ago led by Beast Boy. Where were you?”

“Dead.” Jason deadpanned. “I was dead.”

“Oh… I guess you didn’t see Garfield’s movies then?” Steph asked, being the first to break through the heavy atmosphere.

“She is still a meta.” Jason tried to fight, but his arguments were wavering. 

“Which changes nothing. You will go to her tomorrow and apologize.” Tim said categorically. 

“Ugh! Fine. But I got one more interesting fact: Demon Spawn got himself a girlfriend.” He grinned and turned to Damian. Everyone followed his gaze.

“Tt. I have no idea what you are talking about Todd.” 

“That blonde! Charlie saw you two sitting and eating pastries together! She is the new intern!” Dick had a big fat smile on his face and his eyes were almost glittering. “Who is she? How did you two meet?”

“Blonde?” Tim suddenly paled considerably. “There is only one blonde intern. Please tell me you aren’t dating Chloe Bourgeoise of all people!” He squeaked.

Damian wanted to deny it further, but seeing the Replacement’s reaction he changed his mind. The grin that formed on his face was borderline malicious before turning back to the emotionless mask he wore every day. “Yes. She finally admitted that I was not at fault for the cake incident. She is actually tolerable now.” 

“What cake incident?” Steph asked, smelling some juicy story about her ex. That kind of story was the best.

“Tt. When we were at this gala in Paris two years ago, Replacement attacked me and we fell into the birthday cake.”

“It doesn’t sound…” Dick started, but Damian interrupted him.

“The cake had six levels and was about as tall as I am now. Mayor Bourgeoise was not happy that we ruined his precious princess’s birthday.”

“So that’s why we no longer go to Paris?”

“Tt. No. That’s because Jason almost trashed the Louvre.” 

“Right…” Tim mumbled while his eyes closed. In just a moment, he was snoring away on the chair.

“Damn. I thought it would work faster.” Barbara complained while peeling the near-invisible sticker away from his neck. 

-----

Thursday actually passed without any trouble for Marinette. The class finally got it through their collective single brain cell that she had the power to end their trip with two words. She was slowly getting the grip on the work and after some talk with Penny, where the woman practically forced Mari to listen to some additional advice. She was actually offended that the girl didn’t call her immediately. 

She did have to practically drag her barely conscious boss to a meeting in the afternoon, but he didn’t put up much of a fight after she gave him a Tikki Special Coffee. The small goddess giggled inside her pocket the entire time as the boy begged on his knees.

After work, she and Chloe went to the Gotham Zoological Garden. At first, she wanted to go to the Botanic Garden first, but their class was supposed to visit there after work, so the girls went to Zoo instead. Gotham had a much broader collection of birds than Paris did. And the less chance of running into their classmates, the better.

“...He did what?” Chloe asked louder than necessary, but nobody paid the two girls in smart outfits any attention.

“Yeah. But don’t worry. I gave him a piece of my mind.” Mari dismissed it.

“It’s still creepy.”

“I know. That’s why I sicced the police at him.”

“That’s my girl!” 

“Well, I threatened to send you and Damian after him, but I decided it would be too cruel.” She smiled. “Besides, I’ve seen that Red Buckethead is trending already.” She pulled out her phone and showed a post there was a picture of Red Hood next to a reversed red bucket.

FashionMari @QueenGoldie Someone in a red bucket was stalking me. I was torn between calling the police and criticizing their fashion choice. In the end, I did both. 

“Only you Goldie. Only you…”

--------

Friday was press conference day. For once, Mari woke up earlier and got dressed in record time. Chloe watched from the side-lines as the girl moved around like a tornado, preparing everything and triple-checking all arrangements. She changed outfits four times before finally the blonde grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to sit down. 

“Goldie! You know I love you and I would kill for you,” She started, “but if you don’t calm down I will tie you up and leave you here for the day.”

“But…!” Bluenette tried to protest, but Chloe cut her off.

“No buts. We are only sixteen. I for one came here to learn a bit and maybe meet someone. You are supposed to be learning. Nobody said anything about getting a full-time job.”

“The deal…”

“So what if they fire you?” Chloe raised her hands over her head. “Ridiculous! Utterly Ridiculous! You have Gabriel Agreste and Audrey Bourgeoise fighting over who will get you while Jagged Stone is willing to fly over half the world just to give your references in person. You run a very successful flower shop and even more successful boutique.”

“But…” She tried to muster a weak protest, but Chloe’s angry gaze made her wither. 

“I will not let you run yourself dry!” The blonde stated firmly. “So either you take a step back and breathe or I will call your uncle.”

“Not uncle Jagged! he already banned me from drinking coffee!”

“So you will behave?” Chloe asked with a smirk. 

“Fiiiinneee!” Mari couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks, Queenie. I needed this. I’m glad I have you as my friend. And sister.” 

“Well of course you needed me! Everyone needs me!” She huffed before her expression became more gentle and she pulled Mari into a hug. 

Downstairs the class was waiting for them. Probably they finally gathered the courage to confront her about Alya’s fate. The girl shouldn’t have lied while filing for promotion. Mari and Chloe stormed past them not even sparing them a glance. Outside, Adrien was already waiting inside the limousine with Gerard at the driver’s seat. 

“I’m glad your driver is finally here.”

“Me too!” The blond boy was practically beaming. “I’m free from Lila’s clutches.”

“Could you drop us at… No. 2 Twine Street?” Mari asked the gorilla, who only grunted in response.

“Um… We should be going to Wayne Tower.”

“Nope.” Mari popped the ‘p’. “You,” she pointed at Adrien, “are an intern in PR. I asked for you to be present at the press conference to help move stuff around and so on.” 

“And me?” Chloe asked. “If you expect me to…” 

“You’re there to support your boyfriend. He was the one that practically demanded that I get you there. He hates publicity.”

“Oh… Good then. Let’s go.”

“Boyfriend?” Adrien asked curiously. “You mean Wayne?”

“Yeah. Apparently Chloe found herself a partner in scheming.”

“I bet that their dates are filled with planning to take over the world.”

“We could’ve taken the world over by lunch if we wanted.” Chloe looked almost offended. “The question is what way would be the most suitable one.” 

All three of them broke into laughter as the car rode through the city of crime.

----

About fifteen minutes before the press conference was scheduled to start, Tim Drake was still not there. None of the Waynes were there in fact. She sent about fifteen angry messages to Mr. Drake and he was still not here, which only fueled her stress and anger. 

The press had no idea so far and they were eagerly awaiting whatever news the company wanted to present. She bit her lower lips. Chloe was on the phone, trying to reach her boyfriend.

“If that idiot doesn’t get here in the next ten minutes, I’m going to consider stabbing him.” 

“Damian?!” Chloe shouted into her phone. 

“Tt. What do you want?”

“First of all, that’s not how you talk to your girlfriend. Second of all, where in the world is your excuse of a brother?! Mari is an inch from going ballistic!”

“Tt. He’s asleep.” Damian answered in an impassionate tone.

Mari leaped over and wrestled the phone from Chloe. “You go to him right this moment or I swear to all that’s holy and…”

“I get it.” He interrupted her, showing signs of irritation. There were some static and the camera blurred for a moment from the fast motion. When it returned, she saw barely awake Tim Drake wearing blue onesies. 

“wah…”

“Get yourself cleaned up and into a suit in the next three minutes!” She shouted. God bless the soundproof backstage.

“Um… But I will never make…”

“I’m certain you have a great webcam somewhere in this big mansion of yours. Set it in the library and call me in the next few minutes. I so hope you were not supposed to be the model because gods help me…” She took a look at his terrified face. “Of course you were…” 

“In my defense…”

“Shut up. Get going!” She hanged up and turned to Adrien and Chloe, who were looking at her with a mixture of fear and awe. “What are you waiting for?!” She tossed a package to the boy. “You get dressed in the new product.” She pushed him outside and into the janitor’s closet on the other side. “And you’re coming with me!” She dragged Chloe toward the main room. The blonde was sent to the technics room to get the feed started while Mari stepped on the scene. The chatter died quickly and all reporters turned to her.

“Hi. Please forgive us for the slight delay. We have minor technical difficulties that are being solved as we speak. In the meantime, you are free to take the seats. The conference is about to start.” 

Behind her, a screen slowly descended. She saw Adrien leaning from the doors leading backstage and smiling at her. 

“Without further ado, I present you Tim Drake, CEO of Wayne Enterprises.”

The image of the teen with black hair appeared on the screen and he waved everyone. He was holding a red cup of coffee with black polka dots, the same Tikki summoned for him the first time. 

Satisfied with herself, Marinette allowed herself a moment of rest. The conference was going well and after a minute of silence for the dead in the recent attack, the presentation began. Adrien was a natural model so it all went great. Wayne Tech in co-operation with Gabriel brand was introducing a new line of ‘smart’ fabric that could withstand medium stress and was almost impossible to dirty or stain. She had to admit it was quite amazing. Apparently, it was partially how Mr. Agreste got her class internship. Granted, Adrien was not supposed to be the model but you don’t look a gifted horse in the mouth. 

Everything was going great until the doors to the room were kicked open and several goons barged in, followed by none other than Two-face. Everyone immediately fell onto the floor. Mari couldn’t help but sigh exasperatedly. Why did it have to go wrong at every turn?

Ignoring the terrified stares, she stormed toward the intruders. “Excuse me, sir?” She asked with an emotionless face.

“What?” The man looked clearly irritated.

“I don’t see your name on the guest list. Did you remember to call in advance?”

“Of course not! Do I look like…” The criminal was clearly angry. 

“Then I apologize, but I must ask you to leave now.” 

“Do you have any idea who I am?” Two-face pulled his gun.

“I’m sorry, sir, but if you are not on on the list, I can’t let you stay.” She said in an emotionless voice. Mari was honestly too tired to care at this point. Maybe at least the evening would be better.

“I’m not sure you get the situation, miss. I’m not here for the interviews. Everyone pull out your wallets and drop them in the sacks!” He shouted while his men started to walk around.

“Hm… That won’t do.” She said. After muttering something under her breath, Mari tossed her clipboard. The spinning board hit one of the mooks in the head, knocking him cold, before bouncing and hitting the next one. After that, it returned to her hand. 

That was enough for Two-Face. He aimed his gun at her, but she moved faster than he anticipated. Within seconds, she grabbed his wrist and pushed it up so he was aiming at the ceiling. She squeezed it hard enough to make him drop the gun right into her other waiting hand. The girl let go of his wrist and disassembled the gun into pieces in what could become record time. 

Now irritated, Mari grabbed Two-face by his tie and pulled him down until they were at the same eye-level. 

“I was trying to do it peacefully sir. I am now ordering you to leave. Otherwise, I will actually have to hurt you.” She leaned closer until she was able to whisper. “And don’t make mistakes, Dent. I can and will hurt you.” For a moment her eyes lost the blue coloring and became entirely iridescent green, glowing slightly. 

Harvey Dent rarely felt fear. His life was more often than not guided by the toss of a coin. Now though, he stared in the eyes of Poison Ivy, except ten times scarier. He was already afraid of that woman after she almost fed him to her ‘precious’.

“I… I am deeply sorry madame.” He spoke carefully. “Men! We are moving out. Leave the bags!” And with that, they were all gone. 

Most of the reporters gave Mari big applause. There was only one angry old man that stared daggers at the girl. 

“You let that scum go away!” He shouted. “He was a criminal.”

“Sir. You are free to go after him if that’s your wish. I’m at work and my job description never included chasing after criminals.”

“But… But…” 

“Anyway, we were in the middle of the press conference if I’m not mistaken.”

-------

NEXT

[alderaani]

hi, could you do 34 from the '50 ways to say i love you' with rex please? i love your writing with all my heart, have a nice day ❤️

Hello anon, thank you so much, I hope you are having the best day! This is a somewhat loose interpretation of your prompt, but I really hope you like it! It’s 1:30 on a work day where I am, so this is rough af and unbeta’d, but I had great fun writing it! 

“Mending an item of their clothing that was ripped” - from here

“Fives,” you hissed into your commlink. “What’s your status?”

The line crackled a little bit, like Fives had pulled his comm out of his sleeve. “This is Shriek-Hawk 1 to Squad Leader. Target is still in medical, I bribed Kix three bags of kavasa sweets to perform another concussion check.”

“Three? Fives, I told you I only have two!”

“Yeah, well, he told me to stick that up my shebs. I had to barter him down from five.”

You sighed and went to scrub a hand over your face before remembering the oil smeared across it. You were going to have to pull in a lot of favours to make this work. Like, so many. Maybe it was their upbringing on nutritional paste or just something inherent to Fett genes, but you hadn’t met a single trooper who didn’t have a raging sweet tooth. Trying to separate them from their contraband was about as easy as making a deal with a Sith.

“Hey don’t sweat it,” Echo said from the floor, tongue poking out just the tiniest bit as he fiddled with the inner wiring of the helmet wedged between his knees. “Risk still owes me big for that last mission on Cato Nemoidia. I can get us a bag for his royal highness and a bag to split, no problem.”

“Excellent, Shriek-Hawk 2. See? Nothin’ to worry about.”

Echo rolled his eyes. “Why do I gotta be Shriek-Hawk 2? I was decanted first.”

“Cause I’m takin’ point, di’kut. You nearly done over there? The Captain sounds like he’s gonna climb the walls.”

You scoffed at that. “That’s nothing new, he’s been halfway up ‘em for days.”

There had been an odd, hushed silence when Torrent had come back off the surface of Pijal, the weird kind that always meant someone important wasn’t coming back the same way they left. Your stomach had sunk when you’d seen a familiar blond head on a stretcher; Rex’s face had been pale, and he’d been so small and still. It had lasted for all of five minutes, of course. The second he’d woken up and gotten his bearings he’d been trying to persuade you to ‘break him out of the brig’. You’d threatened to sit on him. Gallingly, he’d been more upset about his ruined helmet than the fact that he’d nearly ruined his own head.

At first, you’d just been mad at him. But he’d looked so desperately disappointed when he’d seen the cracked and twisted remains of his old bucket, so lovingly modified, that despite your best efforts you’d been suckered. Again.

Gods, you were so pathetically gone on him. The biggest hit to your ego was that it was news to literally nobody except for General Skywalker, who wouldn’t have noticed a brick hitting him in the face unless it looked like Senator Amidala. It was one of the galaxy’s greatest mysteries, how he could be so damn good on a battlefield, but so damn oblivious. The only person more oblivious was the stupid object of your affections himself.

“Say, how did you even get these parts, anyway? I haven’t seen a Phase 1 bucket around here for months. Thought they’d all been recalled.”

You grunted, pushing up off the wall you’d been leaning on and dropping down next to Echo as he deftly screwed up the last wiring panel.

“The mechies are hoarders, trust me, you ever want a trip down memory lane you just go look in one of their footlockers.”

“You say that like you’re not one of ‘em.” Echo pointed out, putting down the screwdriver and flexing his fingers. He passed the helmet to you, finished now apart from the infamous visor that Rex had so painstakingly welded onto his last bucket himself. The new parts were all laid out carefully on your bench, freshly separated from the old Phase 1 shell and ready to go.

“Good job Shriek-Hawk 2,” you said, smoothing your hands admiringly over the sleek plastoid. Echo really did know his stuff. “And yeah, I’m just as bad. I actually had most of the parts already, was just the visor that was the problem. Did you know Rex is a bit of a celebrity these days? Makes these bad boys a bit of a commodity, Tirin bled me dry.”

Echo winced. “How bad?”

You sighed gustily and stood up to pop the bucket on the bench, connecting up your welding gear with a series of quick, familiar clicks. “Pretty awful. He cleared out my engine brew stash and I had to trade to nights for the next month.”

There was a sympathetic noise from over the comms. “Damn, you go to all this trouble to seduce the man and you won’t even get to reap the rewards.”

You made a mournful noise of agreement and flipped your face shield down, then paused just before you flicked the flame on.

“Hey Echo, you might wanna face the wall. The light can cause eye damage if you look it straight on.”

It was quick work to weld the old Phase 1 visor to the new helmet, the familiar form coming into being under your steady hands. All it was missing now was the paint, but you knew how important it was to the clones to do that bit themselves, and the whole of Torrent would want to touch up theirs together, to reassure themselves that Rex was really okay.

Just as you flicked the torch off, there was a crackle over the comm again and then Fives’ frantic voice.

“Shriek-Hawk 1 to Squad leader. The Starbird is landing, I repeat, the Starbird is –”

Fives let out a squeak, your only warning before Rex’s rumbling voice was turning you into jelly.

“- the kriff are you talking about, Fives?”

You grinned, putting the torch down and inspecting your handiwork. It was some of your best, if you did say so yourself, and in a mechanic’s language, it was practically a love letter. The seams were so neat you might as well have carved I am burning hot for you directly into the plastoid.

“Hey Captain! Come to the storage cupboard on the third floor. Me’n Echo have got a surprise for you.”

There was an uncertain pause before Rex said your name.

You rolled your eyes, then remembered he couldn’t see it. “Who else? Just come on. It’ll be good, promise.”

“Trust me Captain, you don’t wanna miss this one.”

There was another pause, before Rex said, wryly. “Your endorsement doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence, Fives. But sure, I’ll bite, stay there.”

You looked at Echo, matching his blinding grin with one of your own. The look on his face was going to be beautiful. You both paced the small space together impatiently, tossing tools and little twists of metal into your open bag as you waited for Rex to arrive.

Finally there were voices outside, one eager, one bewildered. The storage cupboard door hissed open, and there Rex was, tall and whole and armoured and beautiful.

“Hey Rex, think fast!” You chucked the helmet at him, ignoring Echo’s shriek of distress.

Rex fumbled, caught it, then stared down at the new helmet in his hands. Over his shoulder, Fives beamed at you. The look of slow joy breaking over Rex’s face like a sunrise made all the bartering worth it.

“You okay, Captain?”

For the first time (but definitely not the last), you’d made him speechless.

[tloujm]

Part XXIV: Teeth and All

Author’s Notes: This one’s a lengthy one at 3232 words. I was very happy with this one and its following chapters; I was on a roll  when typing ‘em all out which, with WIP’s, is a very successful feeling. I hope you guys enjoy reading as much as I did writing it! This is part one if you will of the aforementioned canon inspired chapters. 

Genre: A six piece bucket of fluff with a side of angst

Summary: You and Joel convince the new kid to break out her comfort zone by going on a scavenging trip. You want it to be at the science museum because of it’s agriculture collection and because it’s kid friendly. The car that the three of you ride in breaks down, but that doesn’t stop you guys. The museum is a surprise for the kid and needless to say, she opens up more from the fun of it all. 

Ship: Joel Miller x Fem!reader “It’s gettin’ late.” Joel huffed as he looked down at the deflated tire on the passenger side. “Our destination is only a block out; we have just enough daylight to make it. I say we head there on foot,” He sighed again. “and make camp, then we can scavenge tomorrow.”

“Sounds good.” You nodded before slamming your door shut. Kiddo did the same as she left the back seat. 

“Hopefully the place got a tool box somewhere. Maybe in the maintenance closet or somethin’. Matter-a-fact, I’ll walk back while y’all start scavengin’ and change the tire out, then I’ll drive up and meet y’all.” All three of you took your gear from the trunk and set out.

One day, Joel had the idea of taking Kiddo on a little scavenging trip to see what she was comfortable with. While all of the other kids played and learned skills, she still seemed withdrawn. He figured after a few months of her settling into Jackson, she would be okay with going back out into the world again. The two of you were going to be by her side the whole time and you reminded her of that every so often.

Joel arranged for the three of you to ride in a pick up truck just in case any one of you found something big to scavenge. The destination was a museum of science and natural history. He didn’t see the point of going to a museum, but you recommended the spot because of its possible collection of agricultural resources as well as the fact that Kiddo might find it interesting. 

You were in the passenger seat reading the map for him while she was in the back reading a comic book when all of a sudden the car swerved on its own. He was able to quickly gain back control of it, but he was just as confused as you were as to why it happened. He pulled over and slowed the vehicle to a stop before asking if the two of you were ok. He looked back to watch Kiddo nod. During the following silence, the two of you figured out what was wrong. Air hissed from the back passenger side and if you stayed still long enough, you could feel the car dipping as well. Joel got out and walked around until he found the culprit. It was nearing the end of summer, but it was still hot, so you swung the door open to let in some air and watched as he assessed the damage.

His fists were placed steady on his hips. “Good news is that this is the only tire with a leak. Also good news is that we have a spare and a jack in the bed.”

“You can fix it so we can get there, right? I swear, this couldn’t have happened in like 5 more minutes ‘cause the place is like a half a mile down the road.”

“I know, I know it is. The bad news, though, is that I ain’t got any tools. Now, how am I supposed to get these lugnuts off?”

“Oh, you can’t just twist them off?” You offered, already knowing the answer.

He shook his head with a gentle smile. “It don’t quite work like that, darlin’.” 

******

“Hey, darlin’, come look at this,” Joel whispered in a deep yet soft voice. “Where’s Kiddo?” He crouched down before looking back to find you two. Quietly he beckoned you forward. She followed suit and crouched down right next to him. “See it? Just through there. Look.” He pointed to a particularly lush section of the wooded area that the three of you were walking on the outskirts of. “Ya see it?” He looked down and asked her. He watched as Kiddo’s face transform from confusion to astonishment. He knew that she had finally seen it. “You ever seen a whole family of deer like that before?” She shook her head, eyes still focused on them. There were 3 baby deer, 2 does and 2 bucks. They were all lazily grazing. 

 “Let’s cut through here,” You began in a hushed tone with the map unfolded in your hands. “It’ll take us to the back end of the property, but we’ll get there a little quicker.”

Joel looked up at the sun growing closer to the horizon. “Alright.”

******

According to the map, the three of you were going to be approaching the museum’s garden any minute now. You assumed it was going to be hiding in plain sight given the garden’s overgrowth and its proximity to the woods. Your eyes were glued to the outstretched paper when you heard a loud gasp. You immediately knew it was from Kiddo. You followed her gaze only for your eyes to meet a life size rendition of a tyrannosaurus rex.

“Well I’ll be. Won’t you look at that.” Joel exclaimed.

You folded your map and put it away. “We’re here.”

A smile broke across Kiddo’s face as she ran up to the statue. It was hauntingly beautiful. Vines of leaves grew along the legs and wrapped itself up around its body. It stood in the middle of a large, deep fountain of water. The statue was nearly as tall as the trees surrounding it. A giggle even escaped her mouth as she ran up to get a closer look. Joel yelled out for her to be careful. His gaze scouted the area to make sure they were alone. You walked up to the information plaque next to the dinosaur.

“King of the tyrant lizards.” You read. 

Joel walked up behind you. “That’s a big boy alright.” You continued to read more when Kiddo started to casually climb the T-Rex from its tail. “Hey now, what are you gettin’ up to?” She didn’t respond to him. “Kiddo, be careful! It’s gettin’ darker out. I need you to watch your step!” He shouted up at her as she quickly reached it’s neck. He was hoping that this verbal realization would compel her to turn around and get off, but she continued to walk closer to the head. You heard your husband let out an exasperated sigh. “Can you talk to her?”

“She’s already up there. I trust that she’ll be careful. Besides, what am I gonna say that you haven’t already?” You reasoned. Joel was beginning to get annoyed with your lack of worry and still wished that you’d say something. Maybe she’d listen to you. He looked back up at the girl with a backdrop of an orange and purple sky behind her. “Just don’t die up there, ok?” Was all he could think to say. He had meant for it to come out casual and lighthearted, but his voice broke at the beginning. He sensed a cloud of melancholy impeding as his chest began to tighten.

“Joel?” He looked back down and saw you place your hand on his chest.

“I’m alright.” He meant it, or at least he wanted to. He tried his best to push away the sad memories but he knew it was easier said than done. A childish bellow snatched his attention away from you as he looked back up to find Kiddo now standing on the dino’s head. She was smiling, teeth and all. You could only imagine how liberated she felt in that moment.

“She’s a courageous one, I’ll give you that.” You said proudly of her.

“You better not be thinkin’ about jumping. Just climb back down. I’ll meet you at the tail.” He requested. Even from that distance, the two held each other’s gaze. He was pleading and anxious; she was testing and teasing. 

“Rooooaaaarrrrr!” She screamed out as she jumped from the T-Rex’s head.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Joel yelled out. The two of you could do nothing but watch and wait. Admittedly, you did not think she would go so far as to jump. Suddenly, her head popped up over the surface of the vaguely green water. She gulped in a deep breath before smiling. Joel finally let out a breath that he hadn’t known he was holding. She climbed out the fountain dripping wet and laughing to which he just shook his head and walked away toward the entrance. 

“I give that dive a 10 out of 10, love.” You said to her in a hushed tone. He still heard you as you condoned the behaviour. 

The three of you entered through the busted glass doors of the back entrance. The area was dilapidated and almost bare. To your left, however, you found a rack with a single hat on it. It was a wide brimmed, brown hat similar to what Indiana Jones wore. You doubted she knew who that was. Still, you called her over and dusted the hat off before placing it on her head. She gifted you with another smile. Joel took a look at her with it on and grunted before walking on by. You watched as she ran off into a certain direction before going up to him.

“Are you jealous?” You questioned lightheartedly.

“Hmm?”

“Of the hat? If you ask nice enough, I’m sure she’ll let you try it on.”

“I don’t want to try on the hat.” He responded matter of factly. He turned to you. “We need to sweep the place before we can lay our heads down anywhere tonight.”

“I agree.”

There was a bout of silence before he continued again. “What was that back there?” Joel asked.

“What do you mean?” You brows furrowed.

“Her climbing and jumping, you being so...nonchalant about it. We’re lucky she didn’t break anything, (Y/N).”

“I didn’t think she was going to jump, so yes we are lucky with that.”

“She could have slipped, (Y/N)! What would you have done if she died, huh? Her body just...just laying there in your arms.” He looked down at his own arms as the memories replayed in his head. It was too late for him to stop them. His adams apple moved as he gulped. “You gave me such a hard time about going camping because you were so fearful of the outside world---”

“That was not fear, that was caution!” You firmly asserted.

“Well, where was that caution a few moments ago? She was yelling at the top of her lungs. That could have attracted hunters and infected and Lord knows what else.”

“You were yelling too!” You brought up.

“For her to get off!” He countered. He took a moment to inhale and exhale. “The difference between the camping trip and here is that I planned it out. I chose the area, I checked the area, I prepped the area. I did it all not only to be safe, but to give you peace of mind. This area is new to us. We need to treat it as such.” He reprimanded you and, while logically you knew he was justified, you hated it. You decided to hold your tongue, however, until you got back home. You didn’t want to hash it out in a potentially triggering environment for him, especially with the kid around.

He shook his head while avoiding eye contact with you. “Maybe you were right, maybe you’re not ready.”

“Ready for what?” Your brows furrowed even deeper. You suspected what he had meant. “Ready for what, Joel?”

“Ready to be a parent.” He responded simply. You were taken aback at this point. 

“You didn’t seem to think I wasn’t ready all those times you came inside me. You knew what you were doing!” Your voice raised slightly causing Joel to scan the room and see if Kiddo was of earshot. 

“Where is she?” He heard you take in a breath to say more, but he cut you off.

“I saw her go that way a few minutes ago.” You began walking in said direction. You rounded the corner only to find two doorways and a dead end.

A scuffling sound emitted out of one of them. The two of you exchanged glances and silently agreed to respectively sweep each room. Your hand hovered over the gun tucked in the waist of your pants as you entered. They fell limp to your side when you saw that she was the source of the sounds. As soon as Joel was done with his sweep, he met up with you in the other room only to pause behind you. The two of you watched on as she made faces in the mirror with the hat on. He leaned against the threshold and watched on with a small smile on his face. He thought back to the times when he would beg Sarah to get out the bathroom so he could use it just because she wanted to make faces at herself in the mirror above the sink. It was at that point, he invested in a wall mirror to go on the back of her bedroom door for which both of them were grateful. 

Joel beckoned them to leave the restroom. At this point, the sun was hanging very low in the sky allowing for a minimal amount of light to enter through the windows. The three of you broke out your flashlights and continued to sweep the building together. While you and Joel stealthily scoured the large exhibition room, Kiddo stopped to admire another rendition of a dinosaur. She flashed her light over its name displayed on the wall behind it: ‘Stegosaurus’. She walked up to the fenced display and placed her hat on its head. She stood back to proudly admire what she had done.

“What’s that there?” Joel flashed his light on her and the dinosaur. You followed suit.

“It’s exactly what it looks like.” You said flatly.

“Well, it looks like a hat on a dinosaur.” 

“It’s a hat-o-saur obviously.” You responded just as flatly despite feeding into Kiddo’s playfulness. She smiled as she hopped up to retrieve her hat. His light followed her as she moved on to a triceratops. The stature of the animal was larger, so she climbed the short fence and placed her hat on its head as well. 

“Hey, is this gonna be a thing?” He asked her, knowing she wouldn’t respond. “Please don’t let it be a thing…” He mumbled to himself. He watched as she began to climb the fence again and raced to meet her at the display. Being much taller, he simply reached over and slid the hat off the dino’s head. “Whoa, don’t wanna be on the business end of those horns.” She reached up to him to take it, but he laid it on top of his head instead. He gave her a smug smirk. “Mine now, Kiddo.” The three of you walked on into an adjoining exhibition room that displayed nothing but dinosaur skulls.

“My God, look how thick this one’s skull is.” You said under your breath. Still, Joel heard you.

He walked up next to you and shined his light on it at different angles. “Catch it in the right light and…boom! Tommy!” You stifled a laugh.

“I’m telling him you said that too.” You teased, trying to maintain a flat tone. 

“Please don’t.”

“You’re his big brother, what is he gonna do?” You teased again.

“Exactly, he’s my younger brother, so he has more energy to beat me up over it.” 

You decided to sweep a small room off to the side. It looked administrative. As soon as you gave it the all clear, a light bulb went off in your head. If he wanted to all of a sudden be playful and act like he didn’t just insult your maturity a few minutes ago, so could you. Silently, you beckoned Kiddo to sit on your lap as you sat at the desk. It didn’t take long for Joel to follow. As soon as his head peaked past the doorway, you picked up the long dead phone.

“Oh, hello. Sorry, the dinosaurs are busy right now.” You feigned a conversation.

“What are you doing?” He crossed his arms.

“Oh, wait! One of the dinosaurs just arrived.” You took the phone away from your ear and laid it against your chest. “Joel, it’s for you.” You smiled smugly. 

“Very funny.” He said flatly. You couldn’t tell if it was his normal dry humor or if he really didn’t like the joke. 

You giggled. “It was pretty funny, actually.” He watched as Kiddo doubled over in laughter before leaving the room. “Did you get it?” You asked him. “I know you got it.” You said to her. 

“Oh, I get it.” His voice echoed in a playful tone that gave your mind a little bit of ease. The two of you moved on to the next room looking for him only to find a set of stairs. At the top, you saw him in the distance gazing at something beyond the fence he was standing by. You walked closer to reveal his line of sight. It was a part of the brachiosaurus display. The dinosaur was so tall that its head reached the second floor. Without looking back at you, he spoke. “Kinda looks like a giraffe, don’t it?”

“It does.” You agreed softly. In that moment, you found it incredibly hard to be mad at him. 

The two of you were in Utah, just miles away from the hospital, from the Fireflies. You guys were inside this building, you couldn’t remember why anymore, but all of a sudden, you saw a giraffe staring at you through a window. A giraffe! You had to do a double take. What you did remember was Joel being upset that you didn’t respond to him when he asked if you were alright. You couldn’t help but be entranced by the colossal beast chewing on the leaves that grew alongside the building. You finally came to and asked him if he saw what you had. His eyes were full of astonishment the same way Kiddo’s were when she saw the T-Rex. He bravely approached the edge of the building, where the wall was no longer there, to pet it. He promised you that he would not scare it away and he kept his word. You remembered him telling you that it was alright as he motioned for you to join him. His large hand ghosted yours and guided it onto the giraffe's neck. It was the most intimate you had been with him. Your back was damn near pressed up against his chest as he continued to pet as well. Your eyes glanced at the sharp teeth of the dino and it made you think back to when the giraffe stuck out it’s tongue; it was so long. You laughed and looked back at him. He was smiling too, smiling at you, teeth and all. 

He finally looked back at you to read your face. He could tell you were reliving the same memory as he. Kiddo’s approaching footsteps attracted his attention to her. He took the hat off and placed it back on her head. She let it sit there for a moment before giving it back to him with a friendly smile. Without words, he thanked her. He let his hands roam over the material for a moment before gently tossing it onto the Brachiosaurus’ head. It landed perfectly. 

“I see the appeal.” His deep voice muttered.

[votederpycausemufins]

Alright. another chapter. Last one had a lot of focus on Jrum, this time it’s Grum. and not only and I tagging @petrichormeraki, i’m also tagging @helleborusangel because i love their rambles and they deserve to be tagged.

When Jrum next fully woke up, Grum was nowhere to be seen. In his place, however, was someone currently doing their best to sit in a chair that was better fit for the bots. They were wearing a black cloak with white accents and a hood that hid most of their face. Based on Jrum’s readings, they were also nine and a half feet tall. There was also the fact that they were currently staring right at Jrum. “Uh… h-hello?”

“Hi! I’m glad to see you’re awake again!” Jrum instantly recognized the voice. Even though he had been low on battery most of the time, he could still recall it as the voice of the person who had helped him.

“Uh… hi. Thanks for helping me earlier… and stuff…”

“Oh it was no trouble! I was just surprised to find you and you didn’t look like you were doing so well so I of course was going to help!”

“Well thank you… I’m Jrum-” Jrum hesitated, almost saying the second half of his name, but decided against it. “-and uh… I guess you already met my brother Grum… What’s your name?”

“I’m BadBoyHalo, but most people just call me Bad. And wait, you said brother? Really? What was that about?”

Jrum looked away, finding the blanket of his bed and wrapping himself in it. “I don’t know. I guess he just hates me now. He just… he called me stupid because I’m only really good at redstone, and then he called what I like stupid and just said that I c-can’t do anything on m-my own a-and…”

“Hey, I’m sure whatever he was saying wasn’t true!”

“But part of it was… W-We’ve been here s-so long a-and our d-dads haven’t shown up. Dad should’ve f-found us already… but he hasn’t. G- My brother and I were… b-built… s-so maybe our dads just replaced us… and… th-they don’t… l-love us anymore.”

“Well, I haven’t known you very long and I think you’re okay. I’m sure if your dads think that, then they weren’t the best dads in the first place.”

Jrum nodded a little. Hearing someone say that about his dads sort of hurt, but he had sort of been thinking that way anyway. And now Grum acting like he was was just making everything feel worse. Obviously his brother didn’t like him, but also thought he couldn’t do anything by himself. So Jrum was just going to have to prove him wrong.

The younger bot lumped out of bed and went over to the chests where he had put all his resources. Trying to fit everything in his inventory was a little tricky, but if he left a few unnecessary items that he could get elsewhere or craft again later, he was able to grab everything. He then remembered the clay he had cooking earlier and ran over to the furnace, glad to see it full of bricks which he crafted into pots, leaving an extra brick that he hadn’t used in a chest.

Jrum had gotten so caught up in what he was doing, he had completely forgotten the guest until running into them. “Ah! I’m sorry! I forgot you were still here!”

“Aww, no. It’s alright. What are you doing?”

“My brother said he thinks I can’t do anything by myself, so I’m going to show him he’s wrong! I don’t need to build some fancy place like this! A box with windows works just as well! Who cares if he thinks it looks ugly! And… And I’ll fill it with redstone and plants! That’ll show him! He’ll come visit me and he’ll be sad he isn’t as cool as me!”

“Yeah! I’m sure that will show him.”

“In fact! I can move into the cave and live there!”

“Ye- wait, you mean where the Egg is?” Bad asked, confusing Jrum.

“Egg? You mean the big plant in the cave where you found me?”

“Yeah! That’s the egg! I’m guessing you like it?”

“Well, it is really pretty. And I dunno… it feels safe being near it.”

“Oh, I have got to show you to Ant. In fact, until you have a new place to stay, you can live with me for a bit!”

Jrum smiled. “You’d be okay with that?”

“Uh, yeah! I’m the one offering!”

“Then…” Jrum thought it over. Bad did seem really nice, and it could take a day to build his charger and home. And he really was offering. “I guess that sounds good!”

It was a little odd as they were leaving, Bad needing to hunch over to get through the doors and then continuing to walk that way as he took Jrum’s hand even though the little bot was perfectly fine with just holding onto his cloak. They didn’t get far before Jrum stopped them and instead held his arms up, something that was quickly interpreted and Jrum was lifted up into the air and into Bad’s arms, making the travel much quicker.

Grum watched as his brother was put back in bed by their guest. Even though he had built the place, the glares from the person were not fun to be around, especially because it seemed that whoever this was seemed to be slowly shifting into a more monstrous form from anger. So, not wanting to stay around, Grum stood up and grabbed some tools before leaving. Hopefully once he returned, they would be gone, possibly also with his brother.

He wanted to make sure he had supplies, so mining would be a good idea right now. The thing was, this place was obviously populated and likely devoid of resources. And if it was anything like [:)], then he would need to travel out a bit. It would be easy with elytra, but it wasn’t like there seemed to be a place to buy any, and if he was going to go get any, he would need at the very least some diamond gear.

With everyone being a bit of a mess, Grum walked down the main path, a sign labeling it the ‘Prime Path’. It seemed to lead all the way to a place with crafting tables making up the floor which Grum was trying his best to ignore. It wasn’t his build and he didn’t even have anything to replace it with on him at the moment. From there he went around a large castle and kept on going. And going. And going. He eventually ended up boating further until he found a pillager outpost. It didn’t look looted from what he could tell, so Grum made sure to get a bit of distance from it before making a small area of himself to start mining down at.

He wasn’t going to go that far, but then something caught Grum’s eye. A mountain. And not just any mountain. Grum tilted his back to look up at it, the land continuing skyward. This didn’t look natural. It wasn’t like he had much experience from places other than [:)], but this looked like it was from an exemplified world, not a regular one. And it piqued Grum’s interest. His mind was suddenly coming up with ideas for a mega base. He would need to make a path through the nether with how far out this was, but it wouldn’t be too terribly bad. Maybe it would be a city like how [:)] or [:)] made. Or possibly it could be reminiscent of his [:)]’s base. Perhaps something entirely new. 

Grum was curious just how far up it really went. That would help him plan how it would look. So he started climbing. A large waterfall adorned the place which Grum used to get most of the way up, but from there it was mainly mining into the cliffside and placing blocks. When Grum finally reached the top, he paused to look at the skyline, shadows slowly growing longer in the evening. This was perfect. Jrum could keep the house for all he cared, - he cared he really did - this was where he was going to live. Perhaps he would make another starter base right… where the lodestone was?

Grum was surprised. Why was there a lodestone here of all places? Was it just someone marking this place down because they found it cool like him? But then why make a lodestone and not a map. You would likely remember the general direction and follow the map from there. Why waste netherite on this? Maybe it was some sort of minigame like [:)] would make? But there wasn’t anything else up here. Unless it was underground? Grum looked at the various statistics. It did look like there was some cave system below if the C value was correct. Perhaps that was it.

Grum started to staircase down. He nearly fell when it opened to a curve in the mountain where there was nothing below, making Grum use a water bucket and jumping into the water that flowed down. He looked around at the opening, still finding no sign of anything remarkable, before going to one of the faces of the cliff to continue going down. 

Just before the stone broke, Grum paused. Stone, stone, more stone. It was like the entire cliff face was just stone. There wasn’t any granite or andesite or diorite. No coal ore patched on the wall. And it was pristine. There weren’t any pockets where those things would have been mined or cobble blocking those areas up. And the wall was perfectly flat. Compared to another cliff face a bit to Grum’s left which did have what was normally there, it was unnatural. And sure, the mountain in and of itself was unnatural, but this was even more so.

Grum realized it. This was what the lodestone was for. To guide someone here. Trick someone into looking above and not below. At a glance it would probably look natural enough, but Grum had noticed it. So he broke unto the wall. Right on the other side was a hollow area. Ahead was the natural land of the mountain with dirt, diorite and granite. The walls were lined with an almost unnecessary amount of torches. And right in the center of it all was a platform of blackstone and obsidian.

Grum stepped onto the platform and found there was a hole in the middle. The hole led down an obsidian tube that opened up to a cavern that went all the way down to bedrock based on the ground down there. Someone had filled in the gaps that would have been various types of stone and instead placed blackstone bricks and redstone lamps, giving an eerie vibe. And then, if Grum angled his head just right, he could see what looked to be giant posters featuring music discs.

The bot didn’t know what was down there, but based on the fact that it seemed to be some sort of redstone machine that was used to go up and down, someone was likely already down there. While he could use water, that would be extremely noticeable and by the time he reached the bottom, whoever was down there would be ready to attack or something. But there was one other way down. 

Grum stepped back, making sure he was nine blocks away from the center of the hole. He then placed down a small tower of four scaffolding pieces on the block in front of him, climbing on top of it. He then started extending the scaffolding, until it was six blocks ahead, then seven, and finally the eighth piece was put down and the rest of the structure couldn’t hold it, leaving the piece to fall all the way to the bottom. Grum let two more pieces fall before breaking the rest of his scaffolding and putting it back in his inventory. Then he jumped into the hole.

Grum braced himself as he aimed for the scaffolding. If he missed, he would definitely take too much fall damage. If he didn’t catch the scaffolding right, it would be the safe fate. But Grum managed to grab onto the bamboo structure and slow himself down just enough that he was left unharmed.

Mentally, Grum took a sigh of relief before carefully breaking the scaffolding. He could hear someone moving around as well as- was that a cow? It sounded like it. And there was also the sound of a sheep. Grum started sneaking, slowly moving towards the noises. While this seemed to be a main room with a nether portal at the end between the disc posters, there was also a hallway which is where the sounds were coming from.

Once Grum had gotten close enough, he peeked around the corner. There were a number of empty item frames as singular fence posts. At the far end were the cow and sheep he had heard, penned up in some other fences. Then, placing what seemed to be a bucket with a fish in it into an item frame, was the admin. 

Immediately Grum regretted breaking in. This was the admin’s base and he had broken in. He was definitely going to get in trouble for this. This guy wasn’t like [:)] and obviously it was supposed to be a secret, only available to those with a special compass. Grum thought about going back the way he came, but he was pretty sure he didn’t have enough scaffolding and the redstone elevator would be extremely loud. He could try booking it to the portal, but that risked going out in the open for the admin to see him. 

Grum shook his head. It was the only option. Building up or breaking out were unlikely options as he didn’t know how far this place really went. But in the nether, the admin wouldn’t be able to see him, and it would just be a second or two he was in view. Grum took a few steps back to give himself just a little more time to build up speed. He started running and was watching the admin who looked extremely busy. There was no way Dream would be able to even turn in time to look, even if he did hear Grum. He was perfectly-

Blacklist check. Attempting Entry: Cubfan. Assigned roles: Hermittown member, Acknowledged associate family, Convex, Operator. Banned roles: Hermittown member. Acknowledged associate family. Continue blacklist.

Blacklist check activated. Increase displacement by 1%. Displacing. Displacement complete. Displacement at 42.5% total.

Grum was face first on the floor. Had he tripped? There wasn’t anything to trip on, the floor was perfectly flat. Grum started to look around to see if there had been any tripwires, but he didn’t see anything. Instead he saw the boots of someone’s armor. Slowly, Grum looked up and was face to face with the admin.

“How’d you manage to find this place?”

Grum was taken aback by the calm tone. The admin didn’t sound angry, just curious. “I… I was looking for a place to mine. I wanted to go far enough out that I knew I would find an unused area. I found a pillager outpost that hadn’t been looted, so I was going to start digging there. Then I noticed the large mountain. It looked like a cool place to build a base, so I was checking it out and found a lodestone. I started exploring more and found the entrance to this place. It wasn’t exactly hidden the best, but not the worst. If anyone was passing by, they wouldn’t have noticed it, but the moment you look closer it’s obvious.”

Dream nodded. “Obvious, how so?”

It was still in the calm level tone, making Grum wonder if maybe they were like [:)]. “The wall you built, I assume you’re the one who built it, to hide the entrance was entirely made of stone and too flat. I’m not a terraformer like bzzt, but even I could do better than that.”

“Like who?” The admin asked, and Grum answered again. Again the man asked for clarification and Grum assumed he wanted the full name.

“Like bzztbzzt. He’s bzzt bzzt with bzzt and bzzt bzzzzt.” Grum hoped that would be enough information.

“...I see. Well, I’m hoping you won’t tell anyone about this.”

“No. This seems to be a secret place of yours. While it’s not underneath anything, this still should fall under bzzt bzzt code.”

“Right…” The masked man replied slowly. He sounded confused, but Grum assumed that was because of the lack of context.

“Since I am here anyway, may I be allowed to know what this place is?”

“Yes. This is a bit of a vault. Everyone on this server has something they care about. I’m trying to gather the most important things and put them here.”

Grum nodded and looked at the walls. Empty item frames and fence posts were labeled with what was going to go there. Axe of Peace, shulker, bedrock, Enderchest, Squeeks - Grum paused at the iron bars labeled Skeppy, but seeing as how it was in the section of fence posts, that was likely for a creature that couldn’t be leaded.

“Maybe also a museum as well as a vault?” Grum asked. “Though I suppose if few people know about it, it would really just be a vault.”

“Correct. I don’t quite have one for everyone on the server yet, but it’s just a matter of time.”

Grum looked around. That was right. He and his brother were still rather new, so there was nothing labeled for them yet. Dream seemed to tell what he was thinking and spoke up. “You know, I’m sure you know yourself and your brother best. You probably know what should be put here, in case it ever needs protecting.”

Protecting. Of course. He was making a place no one would know about so that way if someone was worried about leaving something so special, they could take it to the admin who would hide it. It was a little strange since there was always the option of the enderchest, but then again, that likely wouldn’t apply for living creatures.

Grum watched as the admin shifted things around, making space right for either an item frame, or a post. He handed Grum some items, and then the bot felt like he was moving almost on autopilot. He wasn’t sure which to choose for his brother, so Grum placed two item frames right next to each other. Under one, he placed a sign with the label ‘Electric Razor’ and under the other was ‘Diamond Plush 1’. Then, Grum took a few steps to the side. He placed another item frame and sign combo and carefully wrote on the sigh before stepping back.

‘ᒲ⚍ᒲʖ𝙹 ⎓𝙹∷ ᒲᔑ||𝙹∷ ᓭ⍑╎∷ℸ ̣’ Wait. What? No, Grum knew he had written it down correctly. He broke the sign and tried again, but it was just the same. Was something broken? He broke one of the signs for Jrum’s items and tried there. No, it came out just fine. So Grum tried again. ‘ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷᓭᒷ ᔑ∷ᒷリ'ℸ ̣  ᓭᔑ⎓ᒷ. ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ||'∷ᒷ ᓭℸ ̣ 𝙹ꖎᒷリ.’ And again. ‘↸𝙹リℸ ̣ ' ꖎᒷℸ ̣  ⍑╎ᒲ ꖌリ𝙹∴.’ And again! ‘ℸ ̣ ⚍∷リ ||𝙹⚍∷ᓭᒷꖎ⎓ 𝙹⎓⎓.’

Finally, Grum backed away to see something legible on the sign. ‘M4M shirt’. He wasn’t sure why it had been so hard to write just a few short words, but at least it finally worked.

“What’s M four M?” Dream asked, and Grum winced at realizing the admin had seen all that.

“Oh, it’s bzzt bzzt bzzt. It’s what I bzzt bzzzzt. Since my bzzt was bzzzt bzzzzzzt.”

“I see. I’m guessing that’s back at your base.”

Grum had no reason to lie. It was currently still with him. He hadn’t built an ender chest for it yet and was worried that it could get damaged if it were just left in a random chest. But for whatever reason, he didn’t say that. “Yeah, I put it in one of the chests. Hopefully Jrum won’t mess with it.”

The admin nodded. “Good to know. We could go pick it up to bring it here. We wouldn’t want it to get damaged or anything, now would we?”

Grum nodded and then followed the admin into the nether portal. They started walking in the direction of spawn, not really saying much, just making sure neither of them got killed by skeletons, ghasts or piglins. They were doing rather well, though the admin was managing to take care of most of the monsters himself. They finally got to a bit of a safe clearing to pause and rest for a bit, Grum mining up some nearby quartz for a snack, when Dream seemed ready to strike up a conversation.

“Oh, hey Grumbot?”

“I’d prefer just Grum, but yes?”

“How many minutes do you think it’s been since we entered the nether?”

Grum paused, calculating their speed and their starting and current coordinated. He adjusted for the fact that there was no way to just go straight in the nether, and then he had his answer. “At this point it’s been around seven or eight minutes. Why do you ask?”

“Iskall.”

And Grum passed out.

When he next came to, the bot was back at home in bed and charging. He racked his brain to remember what happened and remembered meeting with Dream. They had just started into the nether when it all went dark. Based on his current situation, Dream must have-

Blacklist check. Attempting Entry: GoodtimeswithScar. Assigned roles: Hermittown member, Acknowledged associate family, Convex. Banned roles: Hermittown member. Acknowledged associate family. Continue blacklist.

Blacklist check activated. Increase displacement by .5%. Displacing. Displacement complete. Displacement at 43% total.

-taken Grum back home after he powered off. Grum hadn’t been paying attention to his power level, but he must have gotten distracted by the odd place. He had probably used a lot of his charge getting out that far, and it wasn’t like he had filled his battery recently with Jrum having been using it. And now he was very much completely charged based on his full battery level and the fact he half felt like he was vibrating. Well, at the very least, now seemed like a good time to finish up the starter base. Grum put away his tools and pulled out his blocks, climbing into the roof and working on building it. Night wasn’t the best time to be working, but it wasn’t like Grum could really sleep through it, so he made sure to bow down any mobs giving him trouble.

Grum was glad when it was finally finished, and he was surprisingly down to 67% already. He supposed he lost track of time, but the moon in the sky told him otherwise. Grum climbed down from the roof and went inside to put his things away before sitting on his bed and opening his task manager. System of course was open. If it weren’t he would be off. Status was also on, allowing him to see his health and whatnot. Microphones speakers and cameras were also there of course, those letting him to hear and speak and look around. But then two programs he didn’t recognize caught his eye as well as one that normally was never open.

DSMP Console was a new one, obvious from its name. Grum wasn’t extremely surprised at that. It was probably just something from this world, that was all. There were however sub programs on it, which Grum looked into. Those were much more surprising. Time Displacement, Blacklist Check, Blacklist Roles, Lives Count, Player Coordinates, the list went on surprisingly long. There were so many sub programs, Grum was more surprised his battery wasn’t lower.

Grum attempted to close some of the sub programs, but they immediately turned themselves back on. He almost attempted to close the main program, but for a moment, he was scared. What if something on that huge list was extremely essential, and if he closed it, it would break or kill him. So reluctantly, Grum decided against it.

Grum stopped looking at the list of sub programs for the first main program to instead look at the third. That was the QHHBP combat program. That didn’t really make sense to have open at this time, but possibly it was from all the mobs outside, so he forced it closed, immediately finding himself relaxing a bit, not realizing how tense he had been moments ago.

Then, the last of the three files. The second one he hadn’t seen before. The third program vaguely made sense. The first was new, but again, the name made sense other than the sub programs, but this was almost entirely new. KGADOOHM. That was it. That was the name. KGADOOHM. He knew his [:)] had made the K[:)]OO[:)]R, but what was this supposed to stand for? Keep [:)] and… something… out of… something my? But that didn’t make any sense. The M would likely be something else, but there were so many other options for the letter M. Plus what was the letter D for? The A could even stand for something other than ‘and’ in the long run. 

Grum started to think of ideas, but then realized there were also sub programs for that. Password Check, HM Folder, and HJTHJ. Great, another jumble of letters he didn’t know the meaning to. Grum flopped onto his back, closing the task manager. What was all this? The DSMP program he could see showing up when they arrived, but how long had that other program been there. And what did it mean? 

Blacklist check. Attempting Entry: CatType:9,Invulnerable:1,CustomName:"\"Jellie\"". Assigned roles: Hermittown member, Acknowledged associate family, Convex, Higher Being of Unknown Origin. Banned roles: Hermittown member. Acknowledged associate family. Continue blacklist.

Blacklist check activated. Increase displacement by 2%. Displacing. Displacement complete. Displacement at 45% total.

Grum paused. He had just zoned out, didn’t he? He quickly opened task manager back up, just in time to see the power and memory usage dropping for the DSMP Console program. He wasn’t quick enough to look into the sub programs and see what had been used, but it was still new information.

The bot quickly got back up from his bed and started looking around. It took a bit, but he was able to find some sugarcane and a piece of leather for a book. A feather was also easy to find, but Grum had to go out and find a squid for an ink sac. As soon as it was all put together, Grum started writing in the book. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but just to be safe, putting things in physical form could help. Especially if he needed to quickly share with anyone.

Once everything was written down for now, Grum fanned the ink with his hand to quickly dry it, then closed it up and put it in the special part of his inventory. There were five slots there for his [:)] program, though one needed to be kept open for a diamond. Currently though, there was only one other thing there. His [:)] shirt. 

For a moment, Grum’s mind was back in the vault, putting those signs up. Sure, the items could be there, but now he and Jrum knew that it was the safest place of all. It wasn’t an ender chest, which you couldn’t always access, and it wasn’t a regular inventory, so the items wouldn’t drop upon death. Grum was going to figure out what was going on. No matter how long it took.

[chaggle]

Cyd, if I have asked this before, smite me, but what's your favourite piece of art that you've ever created? I hope that question makes sense, my english is failing me today. If I HAVE asked that already then Hi you're great o7 o7 o7 - 🌻

don't worry, sunflower anon, this is the first time you sent this question :]

oh man,,, my favorite piece?? my indecisiveness will make this take forever adnfksbjia

but if i gotta choose one? i would definitely be biased towards a piece where i was super ambitious and was able to push my limits in terms of perspective and backgrounds or lighting,,

hmmm

i gonna do top 4 because i just cant choose 1 sksbs:

My Zedeath and Grimdog Halloween piece from last year - (its my banner for a reason sjdbwj) One, orange and green are my favorite colors (just look at my blog lmao) and what better way to include these colors in a fall-themed illustration? Two, idk i just really like how the leaves came out lol. Fun fact: i finished that piece 6 days before it was Halloween and i was struggling so hard not to post it early because I was just too excited sjdbsj

Xb inspired eye thingy from Sphor's TMA au - Fun fact: i made this one sitting, no my back and neck was not ok at the time i worked on this 5-6 hours straight on my bed while my sibling was using my desk (don't do what I did sjdbsj). I just really like the vibes :]

Steampunk Cave of Contraptions with steampunk Zed and Tango - Ah, machineary my beloathed <3 It took me about 6-8 hours to do the line art only? Absolutely love how it came out tho, especially with the glowy effects. Also!! Drawing fan art of other's people creations/design/ideas is really fun, suprise a local artist/writer/content creater by making fan art for them, because you can yell at them about how great their content is and make their day (its the best)

Hel's kitchen - I gotta say, 2 point perspective with interiors is incredibly fun if you're fine with around 6 hours of lineart (which i am) lol. Funnily enough, it was the flat coloring that took longer because procreate has a shit paint bucket tool, but MAN i am so proud of how it came out :D

[im-the-punk-who]

----

@rnmmarchformeta​ Day 1: Tonight’s theme is: Themes

Malex and Music: Tracing a relationship through music used in the show - Part 1

----

Given that both Michael and Alex have a personal connection to music, I wanted to go over some of the intricacies of what the music choices and lyrics/stories behind the songs used might tell us about Malex. The music choices in Roswell New Mexico are deliberate and often incredibly pointed. Particularly in the case of Michael and Alex there are elements of their relationship that are not so much underlined as written about only in the lyrical choices that play under their scenes. This choice for me made rewatching the series a lot of fun because as I discovered the lyrics to some of the more obscure song choices I kept discovering new intricacies and motivations for each of their decisions. Below the cut for length.

(Author’s note circa 2007:  (rawr xD) I’m focusing specifically on the parts of these songs that play over or in direct correlation to scenes where Michael and Alex are both present. I would love to explore this theme in the wider context of the whole show and how their interactions with other characters might change some of these but...this is already like 6k and that’s just how the peas and carrots cooked. That said I will be referencing other characters and relationships as relevant, particularly, I will be talking at some length about Milexa and the airstream scenes in 2x06. I personally have a favorable reading of the scenes and what they mean for Michael and Alex. I also talk briefly about Milexa in a few other spots - they’ve been marked as ‘Milexa’ or ‘Miluca’ if you wish to skip them, although I don’t know if this will make sense as a whole without them. But, should you wish. Proceed accordingly. <3)

----

Posted on AO3 here.

Sedona - Houndstooth (1x01)

The first song we hear in relation to Malex is ‘Sedona’ by Houndstooth. The song plays during the reunion as we see Alex confront Michael about the chemicals found around his airstream. The verse that plays underneath the scene references how, due to its scenic beauty, the town of Sedona was once a highly sought after filming location but had fallen into obscurity when cowboy movies went out of style in the late 70′s.

Similarly, Alex tells Michael that he is ‘wasting his life.’

“Does the macho cowboy swagger thing ever get old for you?”

“Did it get old for you?”

For me, this scene is as much an introduction to the past between these two as their present. Gone but not forgotten, their interactions are a ‘script’ that the two of them play off of. In other words, Michael and Alex don’t so much interact as play off of what the other expects from the other. This becomes especially clear when in 2x05 we learn that Alex has at least once before warned Michael about ‘wasting his life.’

When The Truth Hunts You Down - Sam Tinnesz (1x01)

The next scene is this one, in which we see Alex contemplating an old picture of himself. We then see Michael watching him.

Later, the last line is overlaid with Jesse telling Kyle about the existence of aliens.

The truth about Michael’s alienness is quiet literally hunting them, but so is something about Alex’s past. As we get to know him, we learn just how much his father is interconnected with all of the worst moments in his life and everrything he has buried and tried to run from in order to avoid it. Michael, Roswell itself - Alex ran halfway across the world to try to run away from the trauma of his youth, and yet here he is.

“Nostalgia’s a bitch, huh?”

“You know I thought when I got back from Iraq you would be long gone.”

“Is that what you want?”

“We’re not kids anymore. What I want doesn't matter.” 

We also find out something of the nature of his and Michael’s relationship and that there are clearly still feelings between them - no matter how much Alex is trying to deny it.

Give Me The Night - Des Rocs (1x02)

This is one of my personal faves from the Malex soundtracks. It just *slaps* okay?

Aside from the obvious nod to Michael’s alienness, this song underscores the divide still between Michael and Alex despite the passionate kiss they shared at the reunion. Michael is initially flirtatious and full of swagger - until Alex shuts him down.

The fallacy of Alex’s rebuke and his dismissal of the feelings behind the kiss are underscored by his refusal to even look Michael in the eye as they talk. Even if he tries to deny them, the truth of his feelings hunts and haunts him because he feels he can never act on his own desires. And in turn when presented with the about face, Michael turns bitter as the push-pull is reinitiated. Michael falls back to the script they’ve been rehashing to save his feelings - ‘puts on a show’ as it were, and Alex falls for it hook, line, and sinker. He is still unwilling or unable to see the truth that lies beneath the surface.

“Isn’t there some law about building on a historical site?”

“A historical - oh you mean because the UFO crashed here? Yeah, we’re not supposed to build on Santa’s workshop either.”

For Michael, who at least to me was obviously hoping things would change this time around, this must feel like a bucket of cold water, especially in the face of Liz Ortecho’s knowledge and seeming easy acceptance of the aliens’ existence. While Max might get his happy ending, Michael is left to keep hiding from the person he loves, never being seen and wondering if Alex’s feelings are even real. 

Two Princes - Spin Doctors (1x02) (Miluca)

In rapid fire we have the next three songs as Michael and Alex spend some time at the Wild Pony. This verse plays under the interaction when Alex comes in the bar and spots Michael.

“Though he got kinda hot. In a ‘sex in a truck, smells like a river, never introduce him to your mama’ kind of way.”

“I hadn’t noticed.”

My boy. My child. My bluntest instrument in the tool kit. Has no one ever told Alex Manes that saying you hadn’t noticed an objectively hot guy is hot is basically code for ‘I haven’t stopped staring at him since I walked in and my brain is not functioning at a high enough level to mask that fact’? Son, please, this is a drunk Wendy’s.

(Also this is huge foreshadowing for Miluca - Michael and Maria don’t have sex *in* a truck but it’s pretty close, we find out later that Michael/the aliens smell like rain, and she tells him he’s not meeting her mother at one point. The angle of this shot is also, for me at least, a hint that Michael is going to become the object of these two ‘princes’ affections, at some point.)

Anyway this is basically poking fun at Alex Manes, repressed disaster, for having no clue what love is and trying to express his affection through like, everything except anything anyone would understand as romantic love. (And we will see this in the flashbacks as well as present day - that Alex mostly uses his station or advantages as a way to show the people he loves he loves them, rather than using words. When he offers Michael the shed, brings him the guitar, uses his military connections to find out about Michel’s mom, hacks into Maria’s computer...listen I got more.) But that isn’t enough, as we’re learning. If only there were some way Alex could also learn that lesson.

And seriously, “This one said he wants to buy you rockets?”

How’s It Going To Be? - Stephen Edwards (1x02)

“Is there really nobody in this world that you wouldn’t risk everything to save? Sad.”

Oh Isobel, if only you knew.

So, aside from returning the kiss Michael initiated at the reunion, Alex has soundly rejected every advance Michael has made for a relationship. Despite that Michael seems to have been harboring some hope that things might be different not that Alex is back more permanently. But now with Isobel bringing into question what he’s willing to sacrifice, I think he might be realizing that toll has been extremely steep already.

(Also truly obsessed with how both Alex and Michael have positioned themselves so that they can casually glance over at each other without arousing suspicion. *Boys*. It’s not that complicated what is this middle school?)

We know that Michael doesn’t like having to keep secrets, and again I have to wonder if he’s regretting not telling Alex he’s an alien, or wondering how that conversation would have gone.

From the previous scenes we can tell something in their relationship is coming to a head - maybe Michael is hoping it’s that he can finally stop keeping secrets from Alex and show Alex who he really is - that Alex will stop misreading him. That Alex will change.

But there is also the expectation that if that happens, Alex will likely leave again. Not just because that’s what Alex’s trauma makes him do, but also because that is how Michael frames all of his relationships. As ‘until you leaves’. He is shown to have a habit of catastrophizing because he doesn’t believe himself to ‘belong’ anywhere(HA) and this is one of those times we’re shown that.

Come With Me - Gold Star (1x02)

“Home can be a person.”

And here we have Alex “thinking about who he was” as Maria closes up the bar. Given where this scene leads with him and Michael, I think the rest of the lyrics to the song are incredibly poignant.

Tell me what were you dreaming? Tell me who were you trying to reach? Gimme something real to believe in Or gimme a reason to leave So i left her standing under shining stars in the Silver moonlight by old Borough Hall - whoever you are

We know that after this evening Alex attempts to rekindle his relationship with Michael, still thinking about who he was, and maybe for the first time trying not to run from what he wants. He’ll be unsuccessful this time, but it’s the first clue that Alex is attempting to break a pattern that has held him in place for ten years.

While he may have been misreading Michael’s stunted growth, we’re starting to see Alex contemplate change in himself. This is the start of Alex’s two season long journey to break out of the fortress he’s built around himself. To ‘put his weapons down’ in an effort to be with Michael.

(She lets her guard down on her way back//to close her eyes and fall asleep - “It was late....I was tired.”)

God of Wine - Third Eye Blind

So clearly the writers were like ‘how can we hurt Milo specifically’ because these lyrics are *so good* as we hear malex talk about the way they view their relationship for the first time in the show.

The music starts just as Michael picks up the old photographs, first of the pod squad, then of himself and Alex playing guitars in the desert. As he packs up the airstream to move it off Foster’s Ranch, Michael is also thinking about the past.

Throughout the series, we’re given a bunch of musical lines about how Michael and Alex can’t go back to what they were, that they have to move forward. And it’s true - as we’ll see over and over again the dynamic they’ve had has been incredibly unhealthy for both of them. But they also cannot avoid the other’s orbit. And when Alex comes to talk to Michael it’s the first time we see him actually decide to initiate - to try and take what he himself wants, rather than waiting or hiding from it. But it is also very much Alex falling back into the ‘madness that holds a truth he can’t erase’ of Michael’s really, very, super, incredibly obvious feelings for him. Our boy is not subtle.

But Alex is still hunted by the past - before we know his history we assume that when Alex references ‘who he was before he went to war’ he means Iraq. But Alex’s war is his father. As much as combat can absolutely be a traumatizing experience, for Alex I never really read that as his main source. As he’ll tell Forrest later - “My PTSD triggers are a little more complicated”.

And so when he tells Michael he’s been thinking about who he was “before he went to war” for me that’s more a callback to who he was before Jesse found the two of them in the toolshed. “When this started.”

As Michael tells him “From where I stand nothing’s changed”  the words “I know, I know, I know” repeat in the background because WE KNOW. We all know, except Alex.

“And that’s a problem for me, Guerin.”

And the siren’s song that is your madness

“Because every time you look at me, I’m seventeen all over again.”

holds a truth I can’t erase

“- and I forget that the last ten years even happened. And then you look away and I remember all over again. And it almost kills me every time.”

All alone on your face

“I never look away. Not really.”

For Michael this is basically confirmation of what he’s been realizing over the last few days - that Alex has been totally misreading him and that yes, Michael, you’re going to have to use your words on this one. 

To which we see Alex’s brain 404-blue-screen for a minute as he realizes what Michael means. Which I personally really appreciate.

And especially since we’ve just learned that a lyric of this song was written on Rosa’s hand the night she died, I can’t believe it’s a coincidence in this being the song that plays underneath this scene - where Alex says he was thinking about who he was before. Everything changed that day for everyone - including Michael and Alex. Michael had gained a terrible secret he couldn’t share, that meant he changed his whole life and started needing to hide and lie and act out, and Alex - not knowing the truth - assumed that it was Michael’s way of trying to push him away and end the relationship. Which leads to the decades long miscommunication of Alex seeing Michael do that over and over again.

For the last ten years, Alex has been seeing Michael as the boy who looks away, then looks back. A Michael whose focus shifts to and away from him and who he sees as wasting his life; directionless and aimless. But as he realizes what Michael is saying he has to recalibrate everything he’s thought their relationship is.

This is possibly the first time Alex has realized that his view of Michael has been wrong. That he really doesn’t know Michael at all.

And we know this interaction has a profound impact on Alex in terms of how he views their relationship. I feel like this is one of those things that becomes a mantra for Alex, later down the line. He repeats it to Michael at Caulfield, and in his song as well, “You never looked away, now I won’t look away” to express his commitment to breaking down the walls he has built up for himself. 

Even though we know the relationship is doomed at this point, it’s the first time a stone falls from the walls Alex has built around himself in a decade.

Here - Chance Peña - 1x03 (Alternate title: “Home”)

Okay I would like to petition to make it illegal to have unreleased songs in episodes, Chance Peña help a bitch out. I had to watch a *fish show* to hear the full lyrics because they’re edited in the show! ( I will also note the next lyric is ‘goodbye, my dear’ which. rude.)

Anyway, we’re given these lyrics as Michael wakes up to seeing Alex has stayed the night. I took the editing, with the previous song choices, to be a reaffirmation of this being something new to Alex, but not necessarily to Michael. Michael knows what he wants from a relationship with Alex - even if he’s put the hope aside from time to time the want is always clear.

For Alex though, a relationship with Michael is something that scares him because of his fear that it can be taken away. (”I just thought that I could be happy, and not be afraid that if I loved anything my dad would destroy it.”) He is trying to make it work - “drawing near” to Michael - but he knows that in order to do that he is going to need to be uncomfortable. To face the fears that have held him back and kept him in comfortable limbo for so long.

I’m also going to flail about how, while RNM has the song listed as ‘Here’, the producer of the other show(Battlefish) identified the song as ‘Home’. I hope I don’t have to yell at y’all, other Roswell New Mexico fans, about how often that word has snuck up on me and knifed me in the back regarding malex. Especially since Alex *is* currently - well, here. With his home. Kill me please it would be kinder.

But then of course we see the old insecurities pop up again as Isobel arrives. Even if he is trying - Alex is nowhere near ready to jump out of the closet yet.

Fast Aint Good Enough - Inkwell Echo (1x06)

I debated adding this one because it’s a little bit reachy, but I thought it was significant in that even when they were seventeen, the thing Alex is ‘afraid of’ is his feelings for Michael - not necessarily of being gay but of what people like Kyle and his father do with information like that.

Wish I’d found the words when we were seventeen-

Kyle asks

“What are you so afraid of?”

-just as Alex catches sight of Michael.

(“I wanted to be the kind of person who won battles. It felt good.”)

Aside from Alex’s general need to protect Michael in any and all situations, I feel like the lyrics of this song - about the singer’s attempt to leave an abusive relationship - underscore that even before the toolshed, Alex was fighting. Even before the toolshed, he has been fighting to this cycle he is trapped in.

While he and Michael build their relationship he starts thinking seriously about leaving and not just surviving but he will ultimately choose to trap himself for years in order to hide his love for Michael.

Like so many gay kids, Alex is fighting a system that deems him guilty of sin - and takes his fighting back as a sign of his guilt. And in order to actually be able to love Michael, he is going to have to figure out how to put down the weapons and the hurt and break the cycle.

First Day Of My Life - Bright Eyes (1x06)

Are they serious right now I swear to god.

So obviously, we’ve got the origins for everything we’re told about Michael and Alex’s lives changing based on their feelings for each other in like two and a half verses of song. Forget the entire second season we have everything we need right here.

“It was the first time I liked our hometown, though.”

-

“Alex made me believe there was a place for me here.”

We know that for both of them this is really a moment of self discovery as much as it is a discovery about each other. 

For Michael in particular, who doesn’t know why he’s here or who he really is, and who previously had no plans besides leaving the planet, this is the moment that he realizes what he wants - to be with Alex.

And for Alex, to me, this moment is a brief glimpse into what his life could be like. We don’t have any confirmation if Michael is his first kiss with a boy or not, but we do know that this moment is significant in that it’s the first that makes Roswell feel like a place he enjoys being.

And as he is realizing that, the lyrics echo it -

But I realized that I need you // And I wondered if I could come home

(Screeching from the background: WOULD YOU COME HOME)

But of course, as the song says, these things take forever because...well....

(It’s because Alex is dumb. My poor dumb emotionally stunted child. Please go to therapy.)

In essence, this is the moment that sets Michael and Alex on their entwined path. The path that Alex will have to fight to get back to - the path Michael will lose faith in before he later starts to regain the hope that it exists. I also like to think about the link between the last lines:

Remember the time you drove all night // Just to meet me in the morning?

and the line from ‘Would You Come Home’

Would you meet me in the middle // Could we both stop keeping score?

I like to think about the parallel here, about meeting people where they’re at, and the love and care and effort it takes to be willing to drive all night to meet someone. Listen a bitch is soft and gay don’t look at me.

You Can’t Love Me - Novi & Tyler Blackburn (1x12)

(*Whispers and rocks back and forth* this is fine it’s all fine)

Once again we have a song whose lyrics give us a tailor made road map to Malex, and will pop up later in ‘Would You Come Home’. We’ve already seen the implosion of the way Michael and Alex have been orbiting each other for a decade, but now that Alex knows the truth, he actually has the ability to understand Michael in ways he hasn’t been able to before. (Something we’ll see later in Season 2 when he talks with Maria.)

And because of that, we see the true beginning of the journey of Michael and Alex back to one another in a healthier way.

But part of that journey is going to be realizing that what they’ve been doing and the way they have loved each other in the past isn’t sustainable - and maybe isn’t even the way they want to love each other.

“They’re my family, Alex!”

“Alright, maybe! But you are mine. I don’t look away, Guerin.”

“No. We’ve been holding onto this thing. And it’s gotten us nowhere. Just let it go.”

Even though the words are said in anger, there is some truth to what Michael says. Their relationship so far hasn’t been a good one. Where Alex is trying to repeat the words that Michael said to him that made such an impact on him, Michael is (well, a, trying to save his dumb boyfriend from getting flambayed) using the opportunity to reveal how little faith he has in their relationship. To say that no, this doesn’t feel like love.

But as much as the song lyrics are about loving someone who isn’t good for you, they’re also about changing and growing, and about a commitment to be better.

(Sound familiar? Brb, I’m gonna go jump off a cliff.)

Love is messy, and especially for Michael and Alex, love has always been something that hurts. “Home is where the hurt is” - and a really important part of their journey is realizing that, and realizing there is a different way of loving each other.

Additionally for Alex, this is when he starts to realize the full extent of his family’s involvement in hunting and hurting Michael’s family. It isn’t just his dad - his entire family line has been involved in this since before Alex was born. And still is. This is really where he starts realizing the roots of the guilt and shame he’s going to have to deal with in order to be anything to Michael - not even a partner but a friend.

This is the first step in that journey. Not just the commitment that yes - I want to build a home for you - but that first, I don’t know, maybe I need to put down these weapons and pick up a different set of tools?

ON TO SEASON TWO

[cecelianonymous22]

Creep | Expensive Headphones Full Comic + commentary

Just click on the panels if you don’t wanna see all the commentary.

This was actually the first time I did a perspective like this. I found a reference for hoodies and used a back-facing one similar to the panel

First time I’ve done this pose. I got the reference from here. Also look at that crushing man!

I honestly don’t know where I was going with the angel wings. Like- I thought I was gonna add more visuals like that but I kinda..didn’t?

Kinda don’t like this bc it looks wonky. But yeah, point is, bullies succ

I have a thing where like- my side profiles are inconsistent to my normal style?? Idk, its fuckin stupid sometimes but im working on it.

Also I kept forgetting Michael’s headphones hA-

This one was kind of a pain in the ass tbh. Bc I didn’t copy and past anything like I should’ve. And also because I had an inefficient way of using the bucket tool so i had to fill in all the edges

This wasn’t an original idea but I can’t find the original post. All I know is that it’s somewhere on Tumblr

ASHLEEEY! SQUIP MOOOOM! 

Sorry, I love her lmao. My friend Evan created this specific design for Rich’s mom/Squip and I kinda took it as gospel because it just Makes sense

ft. me remembering that Rich has tattoos 

(btw! the undercut and the natural hair are slightly different colors. fun trivia for ya)

Lmao I hated the hand in the last frame so I just kinda..cut it out..

Also I had drawn the spark thing as green for some reason. The reason it’s a slightly different blue than Ashley is bc i was too lazy to go back over it so i just changed the hue

I know this looks like ass but I never really draw with perspective like this

Like, the podium looks good

But RIch? Eh...

(Btw, i used a thing call 3D viewer on my laptop to figure out the podium)

I would just like to note that there’s a little scene transition between this panel and the next one.

I just

Didn’t realize how it would look together

ft. me remembering Michael’s headphones

Funky silhouettes  

Funky backgrounds

This looked way worse than I originally had planned

But hey, look at that hand! The expressions are garbage but that hand!

ft. my art cooperating with me for once (minus Michael’s hand smh)

Btw, this whole scene is after Michael’s breakdown, which is why he’s trying to get out in the last panel

In this panel, Rich is pretty much just trying to persuade Michael

now kith

the arm sucks but yeah thats a lighter

also i probably mentioned this in the part i posted it in but

i highkey kinda hc that they hooked up in this time frame

and thats how Rich stole Michael’s lighter

but im not fucking drawing that so

just know ig

ew inconsistent side perspectives

ew inconsistent door

ft. hickeys ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

The most detailed panel of the entire comic

CINNABUN

CINNABUN

CINNAB-

yo look at that

a side perspective thats not ASS

fun fact

Jeremy and Michael’s hair are both messed up for the same reason ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Except in Jeremy’s situation it wasnt exactly consensual but..go off ig..

lowkey dont like this but yk

it works

back at it again with the bad side views

btw i almost forgot his burns! 

or well

i did forget and then went back to edit them in

the 

bisexual epiphany

ft. Michael overhearing and getting flustered bc Halloween

Alright that’s all the boyfs content yall are getting, sorry /lh, g

Oh but this was a first too! For hugs n shit. Here’s the reference I used

ft. me getting better with expressions!!

this little scene is honestly just, Michael cracking a joke or some kinda comment and Rich being all :)) about it

happy bois

starting to catch a little bit of feels

and the get well soon bear :))

But there you have it! There’s my comic

I’m really happy that I was able to finish it! Especially considering I started it in August, I think

Normally I lose motivation for that kinda shit but nope! Not this time! :))

Also I just think we need to overthrow the Boyfs supremacy so

I’m trying to do that with Expensive Headphones content 

But yeah! Thanks to everyone who enjoys this comic! You all make my day!