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yiga-hellhole · 8 months ago

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TFTK BONUS CHAPTER 5: DEPICTION OF THE DEMON LORD

sorry for the hold-up! i totally forgot to make a teaser illustration. anyway, a little bonus chapter to keep you all company while i work on the behemoth that is chapter 20. this one takes place between the events of chapters 11 and 13. say, didn't yuga promise a little someone else he'd get a portrait too..? the descriptions in this chapter are based on this BEAUTIFUL portrait by @renthehuman . keep it in mind as you read!!

thanks again to @bulgariansumo and @orfeoarte for betareading!!!

ao3 mirror

Potent jealousy was festering in the Demon Lord since the portrait of his co-lieutenant was finished. It was beautiful, indeed, but he hadn’t missed one crucial detail. When first meeting Yuga, it was him she flocked to instantly, singing praises of his beauty, and urging for him to be painted. And though indeed, he was the first to be sketched, the first full-fledged painting was not in his honor.

Nevertheless, this affront was soothed most thoroughly by the spoiling he received after. Zant’s portrait had hardly been framed or manicured fingers were already rapping on his door, urging him to join him in his workspace for his next masterpiece. Yuga felt the urge to paint like she did hunger or fatigue and to be deprived of it turned her jittery and ravenous.

Of course, Ghirahim did not keep him waiting. He spent hours under the watchful, yet manic eye of the Lorian sorcerer, his form dancing across pages upon pages of sketching paper. After feeling like they had become properly acquainted (though, really, it felt far more like an excuse to spend more time ogling), Yuga set up her backdrop, and the two sussed out their composition.

Said brainstorming did not take long. Yuga wanted, most wholeheartedly, to capture beauty. In her eyes, beauty had uncountable forms. Pertaining to himself, Ghirahim thoroughly agreed with his definitions, but often, Yuga’s judgment over beauty and hideosity seemed… Haphazard. Loosey-goosey, if one would. Her fussiness over their backdrop was most apparent in this. They would only be stationed here in clear skies when the heavens were a vast, clear blue.

Deciding on a subject was not particularly difficult. His reputation as a warrior was thoroughly known, in the flesh and through legend. In fact, it was all his previous portraiture, crude as it was, would focus on. Truly, the carnage he caused was beautiful, but his being – be it his sword or his scabbard, could not be excluded from this pride. Never had it been done justice before. In this portrait, the sensual, perfect form of Demon Lord Ghirahim, would be clear as day.

Perhaps a little too clear. Motivated partially by the desert heat, but mostly a drive to accentuate every fold of fat or muscle he had, they decided he would be depicted without even a shred of clothing.

There he lay, splayed alluringly on a fainting couch crowded by cushions, the dry desert heat wafting past his skin through the window behind him. Across him in the atelier was Yuga, half-seated on a wooden stool behind her canvas, her pencil scraping delicately, yet decisively, on parchment and canvas.

Just as the gentle sounds of graphite lulled him into a bit of comforting system maintenance, Yuga pulled him out of his haze with a clear of the throat. “So…”

Ghirahim turned his head to look at her, but quickly adjusted, remembering he was posing. “So?”

“I do hope you did not expect to spend the next few hours simply sitting in silence. Do you happen to be in the vein for a bit of a chat?”

Ghirahim met the playful smirk that peeked past the canvas with a cock of his brow. “You intend to wring information from a demon? Bold. I’ll have you know, I could have your soul for that.”

Yuga rolled her eyes in response, slinking back behind the easel. “Then, say, you do snatch my soul from me. Who will paint you?”

Such an air of light bantering was impossible to pass on. He knew it well from his time at this court, and precisely how fine the line was between playful snipping and a threat upon one’s life. A line he fondly trampled. But with a woman like Yuga, whose well-groomed talons were as blood-drenched as his own, true peerdom nestled comfortably.

He could say whatever the Hell he wanted. “I suppose I can afford to spare you until it’s finished.”

Shrieking laughter emitted from the Lorian. “Oh, wonderful! I’m being held hostage. Hanging around you lot becomes more and more quaint by the day!”

Ghirahim joined her in her amusement. Taking a moment to fiddle with the pearls ‘round his neck, he considered Yuga’s offer. He had a fickle generosity with his candor, preferring to either keep still or prattle on and on about the endless intrigue he’s accumulated in his many years of wandering the Surface. With those he had no ulterior motives for, he preferred to be silent. Still, he mused on. Wouldn’t it be boring to simply lay here for hours? He did plenty of that with their other lieutenant.

Yuga wasn’t the most trustworthy person, but… “Alright, then. I’ll bite. How can I sate your curiosities?”

“Ah, yes. I did not expect your secrecy to win over your ever-so-vain self, and I adore you this way!” Her face emerged from the side of the canvas once more, wagging the blunt end of her pencil at him in emphasis. “If you’ll allow me to ask, Demon Lord. It is precisely the matters related to your title that interest me. The Demon King you served before our Master, what was your life under him like? Anywhere near as luxurious as your current dwellings?”

Ghirahim squinted. Indeed, Gerudo Palace was a comfortable, sophisticated place. Yet, he felt a stab concealed in Yuga’s question. Did she assume that, millennia in the past, Demise’s dwelling was less grandiose? Forbid it all, did she insinuate she thought them primitive? “I don’t like the implications your question carries.”

Yuga gasped, waving a panicked hand under the canvas. “Forgive me! None were intended.”

His eyes wandered as his temper fizzled out. The atelier was as cluttered and stamp full of colors as he imagined the inside of Yuga’s mind to be. He took the new awkward silence as meditative and traced the colorful patterns on the ceiling frescoes, marking complete and total perfection. Not a single tile was off-size. How very typical.

Though painting was the Lorian’s forte – a practice by all means best done in silence – Ghirahim could tell the quiet was making her anxious. He decided to shake his grievances off. “Let me reminisce, nonetheless. Hmm…” A smirk returned to his face as he saw a curl-framed face peep excitedly at him. “Though loyal to my King I may be, I can’t really speak on His rule beyond the rift. I am strictly a Surface demon, you see. The Palace built above the rift through which we entered was grand, for certain. Oh, how it eclipsed the sun from every angle! Though lacking in the pointless, indulgent little comforts I have now, life there was truly paradise.”

It was then that Yuga rose, quietly hovering toward him to assess him from up close. Ghirahim’s eyes fluttered shut as soft, well-groomed hands found his chin, turning his face to marvel at his angles. He allowed her.

“My Master left me to my whims, to go wherever I pleased, do as I pleased, so long as I returned to His hand when the time for battle came. Perhaps I didn’t have the world in silks and jewels, nor an artisan to paint my portrait,” he smiled, peeking past his lashes to the woman hovering over him in close inspection. Nails scraped past his skin when Yuga’s hand retracted. “But I could truly be myself under His rule. After He fell… Oh, it was below me, truly. How many thousands of years I spent wandering, trying to keep patchwork tribes from tearing each other apart! Though I grew used to such a bare lifestyle, never did I enjoy it. Yes, this indulgence is a welcome change.”

In his wallowing, Yuga returned to her place, gliding graphite past her canvas. Sharp eyes met, and his painter pressed the end of her brush on a sore spot. “There remains something you miss, doesn’t there?”

“Of course. I am a Blade, Yuga. I am meant to be wielded. And now I am not.”

The lines of her brows raised, Yuga spoke in praise, gesturing to his form across her. “Yet you’ve made quite the image for yourself, standing here as a man!”

“I know, my friend,” he spoke with a sigh, rubbing his legs together in a bit of a tic. “I can only afford to show myself as pure perfection. But this scabbard is a mere hobby compared to my true self. I do wish Master could show you soon, the true glory of me, my edges carving through sunbeams and veins alike.”

Hands clasped together, Yuga smiled with delight. Her eyes then shot back open, besieged by another burst of energy that she immediately directed to her canvas. “Oh! I can hardly wait.”

Another day was reserved for the careful study of his facial features, as he’d done with Zant. Eyes bored into him stiffly enough to make the hair at the back of his neck stand on end. Somewhere, he suspected this session was less about actual study, and moreso to tingle the Sorcerer’s endless appetite for otherworldly beauty. Hylian physiques must have started to bore him.

Yuga sat in front of him atop a footstool, hunched over a sketchbook with a curvature to his spine inadvisable for anyone his age (and decades younger, for that matter). Ghirahim would have found his sheer concentration offputting, were he not well and truly drunk on the delicacy of admiration.

For both their sakes, though, he ought to snap the Lorian out of it before he lost his marbles. Taking advantage of a break where Yuga was more fixated on his sketches than his model, Ghirahim spoke. “You say I am to sit still for this part, but surely, I can lend an ear.”

Roused immediately by the lilt of his silvery voice, Yuga looked up to him with a playful grimace. “Devilish thing. Is it safe for me to impart more than simple small-talk on you?”

Ghirahim scoffed. Was more persuasion truly in order? “I told you of life at my own Court. Won’t you share some of yours?”

Having lost some of his feverish drive, Yuga lowered his gaze to his sketchbook, scribbling away. “Oh, I suppose it’s harmless enough.”

His eyes calmly lidded, Yuga settled into a more lighthearted pace. Juggling the weaving of a tale and sketching a model seemingly lulled him into a more pleasant mood. Or, perhaps, a smothered one, only staving off an inevitable explosion of creative impulse. Whether his delight to talk about himself would keep that mess at bay remained to be seen – but, Ghirahim knew, their egos were of nigh equal size. He had an idea that it would hold.

So, Yuga recollected his life’s tale, for as far as he wished to share it.“My usurpation was a slow one… If it was one at all. I thought to stretch out my time as an advisor until little Hilda rose to the throne, and I am thoroughly satisfied with my decision.”

Ghirahim made a further inquiry with a glance and a subtle rise of the brow, but even movement so small got him a scolding. One flick on his sitter’s bare skin later, Yuga resumed his tale. “It’s not like my home in Sakusa was lacking in any way, but it was less… Indulgent. And by far more egalitarian! A world where your every need is accounted for by servants was fully alien to me, and I took to it readily. I do so enjoy to preen, and be preened, as you know.”

Ghirahim responded with a loaded hum, bringing a smile to Yuga’s face. “Times were drastic, with monsters running rampant and more and more pieces of our land falling to the void. But the Court was a realm all of its own, where I could mingle with courtiers, advisors, and scholars all I pleased. It was hard work, certainly – I juggled jobs from royal portraiture to the young Lady’s education, but tasks outside my contract took far more of my time, I reckon. Gossip is never mere gossip in a Palace, as you know. It is veritable politics!”

Chewing oh-so-undignified, absentmindedly on the blunt end of his pencil, Yuga hummed, mulling on his earlier confidence. “No, I took to simply enjoying my time until the ruling King and Queen, so fortunately, passed on early. My poor, beautiful Hilda, only fourteen winters she’d lived before her orphaning. Of course, a ruler so young needed a regent… How lucky I was! I hadn’t even plotted their demise, yet I benefited from it, all the more,” Yuga cackled to himself, before a more manic spark lit in his eye. Graphite crumbled under the pressure of his pushing against the canvas. Each wild stroke of his pencil rushed forebodingly against the paper, interrupted only by the grating squeaks of scrawling. “And how satisfying it was to gaze down at those who glared at me with judging eyes. One so lowly, marshes-born, now puppeteering their Princess at the throne.”

Paper wore underneath the unrelenting push of his straining, bony hands, and Yuga snapped back to focus with a gasp. “... Oh, look at me! I’ve gotten your jawline all wrong. I’ll need another page…”

For once, the lamentless Lorian seemed embarrassed about his burst of anger, in how hastily he cowered by his supply cabinet. After the rustling of paper died out, Ghirahim addressed him carefully. “I take it your fortune, too, did not last, then.”

“No, it did not,” Yuga sighed, again taking his seat beside him. His expression softened, then, an overcast sky clearing out into white puffy clouds, the sun concealed behind them. “But under this King… I don’t know, Ghirahim. I have a good feeling. Apart we may be, though it pains me, I feel just as confident by his side.”

Apart. Yuga had not divulged the full details, but his bond with the Master was a peculiar one, in his time. A soul-bond, not unlike his own with Demise… And though he could see it pained Yuga to cast its possibility aside, he made peace with it, somehow. A bond he once lived for, now reduced to a nostalgic daydream, and compromised through mere company. Ghirahim was perplexed. How could anyone manage such a thing?

Surely, he would not have to.

That following day was once again one of scolding. A crackled bruise, perilously just barely concealed by the strap of his top, besmirched his collarbone. Of course, he could rid himself of such petty ailments in an instant, but he had a bit of a weak spot for such souvenirs of affection.

Yuga did not share the sentiment. The second he laid his bare body on the swooning couch, the Lorian let out a scandalized cry and demanded he get rid of it. Ghirahim obeyed his request, mostly because he feared the bulging vein at his painter’s neck would burst if he didn’t.

With everything once again perfectly going according to Yuga’s wishes, their usual lighthearted chatter resumed. Ghirahim shimmied comfortably into the pillows. Frankly, Yuga wasn’t the only one intently studying an object of interest. With so much eye contact, Ghirahim took the opportunity to get a good look at his painter. He was aged, certainly, but not thoroughly so. Careful maintenance of his skin resulted in a rich sheen, but even that could not stave off the tellings of papery wrinkles at his eyes and nose. Above all, Yuga was excessively flashy, adorning himself with different colors each day. Today, a fresh gradient of lime-green and blue seemed to be his idea of ‘tasteful’.

Something else caught his eye, though. A little something that has irked him nearly every time they met. “You know, Yuga, something has been bothering me.”

Yuga laughed, his words dripping with sarcasm. “Have mercy, no!”

“It concerns your choice of accessories,” Ghirahim replied, snagging his curious gaze with a squint of his eyes. “I daresay, either I’m as much of a trendsetter as I expected to be, or you think to steal my thunder.”

For a moment, Yuga seemed confused. His eyes similarly squinted, bringing more and more of those flashy cosmetics on his lids to light. Realization struck, and he exclaimed a laugh. “The earrings, you mean? I thought it was a funny coincidence myself,” he snickered, prodding at the cyan gem dangling from his earlobe. “I assure you, I’ve owned these years before meeting your lovely acquaintance.”

Ghirahim puckered his lips, pondering. “And yet, I don’t consider the two of us close enough companions to start matching our looks.”

Yuga quickly retreated behind his canvas. “Don’t be so drastic, dear boy,” he chimed, waving a clawed hand past the canvas to pacify him. “Besides, they’re not entirely similar. Yours are perfect diamonds, whereas mine are more teardrop-shaped.”

“Not everyone has your painter’s eye, Yuga, the layfolk won’t notice such details,” Ghirahim sighed, now more playful than making any serious demands. Really, he just wanted to confirm the coincidence… But Yuga always had a habit of running away with his every word, out of sheer fondness of his company. At least, he could only assume. Still. in that fondness, blunders arose. Ghirahim wanted this one corrected post-haste. “Speaking of. You seem to be making quite a few assumptions about my age.”

Yuga’s hiding was quickly cut short. Red curls bounced into view as he quickly peeked past the canvas, his mouth tight with embarrassment. “Am I? You must beg my pardon, but if you are my senior, then I must ask you to refer me to whoever blends your cosmetics.”

Ghirahim hummed, idly observing his pearlescent nails. He truly did prefer being in control of the conversation! “I assume you are no older than… Give or take, fifteen-thousand. Are you?” He drawled, cocking his brow with a smirk.

Yuga’s eyes widened, a gasp escaping him as he hurried back to his painting. If the revealing of his age seemed to motivate him into a burst of inspiration… Well, it was a worrying idea. Ever-astounded, Yuga continued to babble. “My! Demon lifespans, of course. No, I regret to say I’ve not even walked this life for a century. I must seem positively juvenile to you!”

Dropping back into his practiced pose, Ghirahim let out a laugh. “No comment,” he said at last, bullying his companion into an effective silence.

With the campaign for Death Mountain on the horizon, their free hours grew fewer and fewer, as did the opportunities to meet up during Yuga’s preferred hours of lighting. That day was one of rare fortune where they had three hours to spend under the bright afternoon sun – and not a minute more. Major qualms arose that day when Ghirahim made a last-minute adjustment to his accessory; a gift, he claimed. Yuga cared absolutely none for it. He was too proud of the rendering on his trademark blue diamond earring and refused to paint over it for simple pearls and larimars.

And so, the sword spirit lay there huffing and grumbling, leaving his portraitist to work on everything except the insufferable pout he was giving him.

To make matters worse, Ghirahim interjected with another inconvenience. “Ah, yes. My apologies, I forgot to tell you. I’ve gotten a little tangled up and double-booked. Zant might drop by for a visit.”

Not looking up from his canvas, Yuga smeared more purples together on his palette. “So long as you stay still, you can invite the whole palace over, for all I care.”

As foretold, an hour into their appointment, a knock at the door caught them both by surprise. After the chime of Yuga’s response, the door opened, and Zant slipped through.

… Who immediately gasped in scandal over the scene before him. “Ghirahim,” he exclaimed, approaching the canvas timidly to hide from him, finding his depiction easier to shelter with. “I understood that you were to model for your portrait, but… A nude!? ”

“Indeed,” Ghirahim laughed, tilting his head coquettishly. “Yuga and I decided extravagant clothing would only distract from my features. This form is far more representative of me, no?”

Zant seemingly mustered up the courage to face him, as he stepped out into the open. What a calf! They’ve bedded before, what was the issue now? “Well! Such a portrait is made to be viewed, is it not? Would you have yourself displayed in such a way, for others to see?”

Ghirahim was now more amused by his bugging than annoyed. This was no standard prudishness, there was a weakness somewhere. A soft underbelly just begging to be jabbed into. “If I did not, I wouldn’t be lying here as we speak. I have the feeling you have an issue with it, though.”

And there was the reaction he hoped for! Zant’s cheeks flushed instantly, a stammer rising from his throat. His hands retreated quickly in his sleeves, a tassel or two yanked inside each for nervous fingers to fiddle with. “Issues? No, no strict objections! I simply… If you were to, say, bare yourself, before those outside of me, I would at least wish to hear about it beforehand!”

Unimpressed, but committed to his bullying, Ghirahim cocked a brow. “Mm. And, were I to tell you, would you forbid me from doing as I wish? Do you demand such strict monogamy from me?”

“You are too hasty! Now, of course, as your companion, I would have certain… Inhibitions, about,” Zant rambled anxiously, until he suddenly remembered his whereabouts. His helmet quickly clattered to cover his face. “Must we do this in front of Yuga?”

Yuga responded with great nonchalance, perfectly masking his intrigue with the carefree dapping of his brush. “Oh, pretend I’m not here.”

Immediately Zant whipped around, highly agitated. “As if! Gossiping fiend you are, Lord of Lorule!” Crossing his arms with a huff, Zant seemed to take a moment to cool down. Perhaps the sun bothered him – it was noon, after all, and the room far too bright for his Twilit complexion. “Fine. Paint away, it is no concern of mine. Ghira and I will resume this conversation at a later time.”

Ghirahim smirked, endeared by the nickname that slipped his tongue. “I have all the time in the world now.”

His tranquility from seconds ago faded very quickly. “Your distaste for privacy never fails to baffle me!”

Feeling victorious, Ghirahim finally released him from his teasing and sunk back comfortably into the sofa. “Of course. Well, what did you need me for, anyway?”

With a bit of a whine, Zant composed himself. His arms dropped back down to his sides in an effort to seem calm, and he approached. “I was hoping to pen myself into your schedule – We’ll need an entire day, after all. And, well, I will be more than happy to enjoy your company after we settle this…”

Yuga hummed with great intrigue. “Planning something big, now, are you?”

Ghirahim leaned his head to try and peep past the canvas blocking the Lorian from his view. “Whatever happened to ‘not being here’, Lord Yuga?”

Pretending that exchange never happened, Zant continued. “As I said. I shall have my preparations done by to-morrow. Would the day after suit your schedule?”

His inner calendar visualized behind his eyelids, Ghirahim pondered. “Not a chance, I’m afraid,” Ghirahim shook his head. “Captain Imanu requested my presence on the training fields that noon.”

Their squabble to find a single day they could spend was challenging. The available dates were, after all, incredibly limited, and their time was short. In the end, he would have to shuffle around a few appointments to clear this single day… But none of his underlings would dare lift a finger to disagree with him, either way. Less enthused he was about divulging his agenda to both of them at once.

Zant seemed pleased by the end of it, though. Invigorated by the chance to show his forte, his confidence returned to him. Spinning on his heels, he turned to the mass of painting behind him. “With that out of the way… Yuga, you would not mind I have a proper glance at your work, would you? I am most curious.”

Engrossed in his work, Yuga scoffed, his brush halting for not even a second. Grasping its chewed end between his ring and pinky finger, he momentarily removed the spare brush held in his mouth to speak. “My permission matters little, I believe. You’d sneak a peek either way. It’s hardly a subtle canvas.”

Taking his defeated tone as a ‘yes’, Zant eagerly cantered over to join Yuga’s side behind the canvas, leaving nothing visible but his black trousers and gaudy slippers. He gasped, cooed, and hummed, watching his machinations intently. “Words escape me, Yuga. You truly depict him well.” The Lorian’s reply was one of smug satisfaction, but soon, cahoots bloomed. A bit more hushed, Zant leaned closer and pulled him along in his schemes. “But you must not forget to sculpt the bridge of his nose more delicately. It is one of his finer features, in his words and mine, after all.”

Yuga took to this bout of accolades with great enthusiasm. Words of praise poured from him with the same ease as he breathed. Zant was more discreet, then, taking to admiring him through the proxy of his portrait. But Ghirahim knew his intentions, and he struggled to conceal the flush it brought to his cheeks. To be admired so thoroughly by two at once, both with drastically different intentions… How intoxicating! How addictive! He was beauty incarnate, he was a lover. Moonbeam, stars, and sun; pearls and silver shimmers in the heat of the desert. He was art . The next hour-and-a-half would be torture on his composure, he could see it already.

Days flew by, hours to paint snuck between sessions of diplomacy and military training. Just when Ghirahim thought the painting to be finished, it seemed last-minute adjustments were in order. Yuga announced his displeasure with a shrill grunt, steam nearly spouting from his nostrils. “I have made up my mind!”

Never did Ghirahim think he could tire of lounging in such a comfortable pose. Thus he refused to do so, sitting straight in his usual spot. Arms folded, he watched Yuga lug around vase after vase to place them wherever he desired. “Whatever could be buzzing about in that skull of yours this time?”

Petals caught in his curls, Yuga looked disheveled as if he’d gotten caught in a rose bush. “Flowers! I need more of them. Far more!”

Oh, if only that clown could decide on where he wanted those vases already. The grinding of stone on stone was starting to grate Ghirahim’s ears. “Am I to develop a pollen allergy?”

Yuga snapped at him, dropping another armful of bouquets into a brass ewer. “I’ll make you develop rust if you don’t keep your snide little comments to yourself. Just let me work! ”

Wreathed in the cloud penstemons and marigolds, Ghirahim luxuriated for his final sitting. No matter if those flowers were like chains keeping him tied to this sofa. Yuga simply wasn’t the type of man you said no to. For now, he’d amuse himself with the gaunt shape hunched by the supply closet, mumbling and grumbling about running low on red pigments…

At long last, the painting was finished. His physique was intricately captured in warm tones, a picture so vivid the desert sun could be felt from its canvas alone, even in the chill of evening. Candles flickered against the just-dried varnish, the golden glow disturbed only by the shadows of the two men before it. Ghirahim had thrown his arms around Yuga’s shoulder in a side-hug, giddy as he was about the massive stroking of his ego. Even now, Yuga stood cooing and complimenting him, fiddling with his hair and rubbing over his gloves.

Yet he unlatched himself very quickly when the door creaked open, an unlikely, massive form ducking through. King Ganondorf Dragmire stood at the doorway, his expression gruff, but with a light spark of intrigue.

“I heard tell of another portrait,” he said, causing Ghirahim’s core to drop heavily in his chest.

Yuga, on the other hand, was nothing but excessively fair-tempered. “Ah, Milord! Perfect timing. I just had it framed!”

“Master Ganondorf,” he stammered. Ghirahim found a sudden heat rise in his chest. Embarrassed, he could never be, but suddenly, he found himself worried about such a depiction. Already he was uncertain how the Demon King would approve of such a vain subject as portraiture… But one so revealing? Among the audience of his form, displayed so lavishly, he hadn’t expected his Master. At least, not until he could estimate his reaction!

The redness in his cheeks made his life that much more miserable when, concealed behind Ganondorf’s massive form, Zant slipped into the atelier, his hands folded at his back. Ghirahim gritted his teeth, pointedly avoiding the Twili’s gaze. He could still turn this around! “How honored I am to meet you at this unveiling! It’s a gorgeous painting, wouldn’t you say?”

“Indeed,” Ganondorf rumbled, marching over to stand by his side. The first hints of a smile tugged at the corners of his lips as his eyes explored the painting, drinking in its sandy yellows and warm purples. With one blink of heavy lids, his eyes turned to the blade beside him. “It suits you, Ghirahim.”

It suited him. That it did! But how intimately did his Master understand? How his sensuality was within his reach, if only he would call upon it? His head turned to a misty whirlpool all on its own, swimming with thoughts of past affections and potential ones in the future. Now Ganondorf not only acknowledged but praised this side of him. They viewed this masterpiece in joint silence, and Ghirahim thought to keep it that way, lest he fumbled any future chances at intimacy.

A clear of the throat immediately snapped Ghirahim back to reality. His co-lieutenants seemed similarly affected. Though Ganondorf’s expression darkened, it looked almost like compensation… Did he imagine the darkened red over his ears and nose? A trick of the candlelight? No, Master. You cannot hide any temperature rises from this sword.

Yet any smugness was quickly stifled by the Demon King’s words. “I am aware Lord Yuga performs his best when I leave him to vent his creative pursuits. However, Blade, do not let me notice this… Side project, burdening the upcoming campaign.”

Ghirahim quickly shook his head, appeasing him with a bow. “I would not dream of it, Master.”

Ganondorf seemed satisfied with the answer. He took one last look at the painting, then at the men responsible for it, and with a curt nod, turned to make his leave.

They stood in a polite line before the painting, all half-bowing to salute their King farewell. With Ganondorf now halfway down the hall, the concept of decorum became entirely alien to Ghirahim. He yanked Zant down by the sleeve, prompting him to shriek, as he hissed with equal ire and mirth into his ear. “You brought him here, didn’t you, you villain?”

Zant’s fear quickly turned to amusement. “What a mischief-maker you take me for! I only mentioned off-handedly that your portrait was finished, and his curiosity took him for a walk on his own accord!”

“Mmmh… How convenient that would be for me!” Ghirahim snarled, baring his teeth. Zant yelped once more when his ear was tugged. “Such praise and interest from my Master, unprovoked? You try to sell dreams to me.”

Shaking himself free, Zant responded to his ramblings with a grin, his teeth like spikes jutting out from his gums with a meaty shk. He loomed toward him, pressing his lips to where Ghirahim’s hair draped between his ear and his temple and crooned. “I could pinch you, and see if you wake…”

A subtle gesture of his head toward Yuga served to remind Zant they were not alone, his irrepressible affections once again making him forget all about his sense of honor. The shrill laughter that followed almost drowned out the mechanical whirring of a helmet, hastily assembled over a flushing face.

Almost.

#ghirahim #yuga #zant #yuga albw #hyrule warriors #ghirazant #<- its subtle but in there #ganondorf #tftk #bearwrites #beararts #doodlies

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the-forests-blessing · 2 months ago

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Chapter 6

When Lukas and Dewey make it back to their hotel for the evening, Lukas stops in front of the open entryway that leads into his dark, silent room. The only light he left on in his hotel room is the small table lamp on his work desk. Its dim orange light brings nothing but a sense of peace, as well as a feeling of familiar loneliness. Lukas makes his entry into the room slowly, feeling like he’s being drained of his energy with every heavy step. Dewey trots into the room without a second thought and hops up onto the bed, sniffing around the neat covers, most likely catching the scent of housekeeping.

Lukas sets his bag on top of the desk and pulls the chair back before plopping down into its hardwood seat. He drags it back towards the table with a tired sigh and reaches into his satchel for his notebook. Opening the fancy black leather cover, he quickly flips through the pages until he reaches his little sketch of the forest entity.

Taking up his quill, he dabs its thin tip in ink before hesitating above the blank page. His attention briefly flicks back to his shadowy sketch. The drawing shifted his mind, teleporting him back to the moment he tripped over the tree root. The way his heartbeat skyrocketed in his chest when he made eye contact with the shadows brooding glare. The strange glow of those illuminated irises followed his mind just as they followed him through the heart of the dark forest. His hand twitches at the picture his mind paints and, with no further hesitation, he quickly writes the title of this passage, “The Admin”.

After he’s reached that point, he’s stumped again. Lukas rests his cheek in his palm, gazing down at his sketch once more. There’s so many questions racing in his mind, all of them revolving around the mysterious entity that apparently prefers to hide within the forest's darkest shadows. He wonders how long this man has lived there. If he’s truly human at all or in fact some sort of ancient mob. Whatever he is, Lukas is dying to know more about him, and the history of his existence. Why the town apparently fears him, yet an Allay, a being of pure radiance, seemingly adores him…

Lukas can’t get over the way the little blue creature fluttered around the Admin’s unmoving form with a happy trill. It seemed excited to see him, yet the Admin himself stood there, unfazed by his Allay’s bubbly actions. Lukas barely had a chance to blink at him before he was being teleported out of the forest and landing into the dirt outside the tree line. He’s still confused as to the whereabouts of his sweet berries and Dewey’s mouse toy. He suspects, by the way the little Allay played with the fake mouse, that perhaps it is within the happy little spirit’s possession. The thought makes Lukas smile, so he goes back a few pages in his notebook and doodles the Allay holding Dewey’s play toy.

He takes a careful glance back at his now sleeping ocelot, smirking at the sound of a quiet snore coming from the large spotted cat who resides on the bed. I’ll see if I can get it back for him.

Lukas goes to bed just before midnight that night. With his head in the pillows, he lay on his side, eyeing the distant tree tops through the open windows. The stars flicker in the night sky, their glow drawing his memory back to the glowing eyes in the woods, and how badly he wishes to see them again. The memories keep him awake. When his eyes are drawn closed, he sees them in the darkness. The glow of the Admin and his Allay is the last thing Lukas sees before finally falling asleep.

The dawn of the new day brings Lukas back to the trees once more. He doesn’t look at the signs anymore, finding the warnings to be nothing more than a useless waste of materials. That, and they’re ugly. The adventurer walks right past them, his expression strong with determination. He walks through the forest without looking back.

Before bed, he’d spent his last remaining hours devising a new plan while he sketched in his journal. He’s going to walk into the Admin’s woods and demand (ask politely) the man to grant him access to explore this uncharted part of the forest. Even if that just looks like him speaking nonsense to a bunch of trees for a while, it's still worth a shot. He’ll walk in and speak his heart out. Surely this Admin person will be more inclined to hear him out if he’s aware of Lukas’ true intentions?

Logically, it should work. Unless the Admin doesn’t understand speech. Lukas isn’t quite sure. He’s yet to get a real chance to utter a full sentence to the entity.

The blond walks across the forest floor, this time without paying any attention to the birds, plants, or any other forms of life that could be residing within the shrub layer and canopies. His well rested gaze is glued to his path ahead of him, keeping a calm and collected mind as he travels closer and closer to the thick blanket of fog. For the first time in days, he decided to take the first route he familiarized himself with. The fallen log, the large mossy rock, and soon enough, the blanket of fog.

He stops before he gets to that point. Grasping his satchel’s strap, the blond lifts his head up, gazing upon the thick, dense layer of eerie mist. The forest waits in silent anticipation for its intruder to make a decision. The fog lay at its heaviest, completely shrouding the mighty conifers that reside within its protective layer. He took the day off from visiting the forest yesterday in hopes that the woodland and its shadowy resident would perhaps calm and give him a real chance. But… the entire forest has fallen still. It’s been waiting for his return. The silence an invitation, beckoning his ocelot curiosity further into the fog.

Radar’s words echo in his mind, “Why are you going in there? Don’t you know how dangerous it is?”

Lukas scoffs at the reminder. Radar is a kind fellow, one of the few BeaconTown offers, but Lukas can hardly see any reason to take his warnings seriously. Either these people are making up some wild stories regarding the “danger” they say there is, or Lukas is having a completely different experience here in Beacon’s forest. That being something Lukas has a hard time believing, because what on earth would make him so special? He wishes he got more information from Radar, but considering the scholar's overall anxious demeanor, he doubts he would have gotten more out of him. At least not without a full on interrogation which Lukas definitely isn't the type to commit.

Okay. No more hesitating.

The fog is all encompassing. Lukas’ eyes narrow as he eases his way through, attempting to focus on his surroundings the best he can. Surprisingly, he finds himself running into trees; stopping and turning him around and then again- confusing the author and making him second guess his directions. Okay… it definitely wasn't like this before, he thinks as he twists his body, looking all around him, struggling to find his way forward. The fog is thicker than it ever has been, purposefully misleading him in some sort of twisted game. He continues to run into trees or large shrubs that block his path. Frustration claws at his mind, the blond now walking at a much quicker pace. Tree after tree, he grits his teeth and huffs. “Where is it…” he whispers, searching for the entrance.

He spends a good three minutes wandering through the fog, confused and most definitely becoming distraught the longer he spends lost. He finally comes to a stop and looks around, really considering his options here. Then, something catches his eye. The blond walks over and squats down by a tree, gazing upon a mossy patch that climbs its trunk. The moss on one side has little specks of glowing white in it, almost reminiscent of dew drops being touched by the sun, except there is no sun here. That, and the rest of the moss on the tree looks just like any ordinary moss. Lukas looks from the mystical side and onward, noticing more of the speckly flora on trees or laying on the forest floor.

Lukas is quick to follow it. Keeping his guard up as he follows the path of moss. Eventually the fog layer begins to darken and, in a matter of seconds, Lukas can begin to make out the shadowy shapes of trees returning to his vision, no longer ghosted over by the dense layer of mist. He exits the fog and finally finds himself standing within the heart of the ancient woodland.

Darkness shrouds the forest. The ever present fog now lingers in the depths of the trees in a much thinner, easily manageable layer.

Lukas sighs his relief. Finally back on track.

Now all that’s left to do is put his plan into action.

The novelist takes a few big steps into the Admin’s forest and, with a deep breath, forces himself to find the confidence.

“Hello?” He calls out, then immediately cringes. He quickly recalls he’d made the same mistake searching for the Allay, that exact thing being one of the mistakes that landed him back out on the tree line. Lukas quickly shakes his head and takes another step forward. “I uh– Don’t exactly know how to communicate this to you but,” he begins, looking around the shadowy trees. “I just wanted to ask if I can explore these woods? I really want to study this place.” He continues to look around, especially making sure to twist himself around to his backside just to make sure he isn’t being watched from behind.

Nothing yet…

Lukas scratches awkwardly at the back of his head, unsure if he should continue speaking or simply just wait. Choosing to stay silent brings an uneasy tension that Lukas can’t feel comfortable with, so he continues to say, “Well… I guess if you haven’t teleported me out yet, then that must mean it’s okay–” he says as he takes one measly step forward.

Poof!

Lukas falls face first into the dirt on the outskirts of the forest. Immediately this ocelot is pulling himself up and baring his teeth. “That’s IT!” The bristling blond makes no hesitation to storm back into the woods. He doesn’t even take the time to brush the dirt off his hands and knees. His usually pale face has turned bright pink with frustration and embarrassment, fuming his way back through the trees. “I am not giving up that easily. Nuh-uh. Nope. Not me.” He grumbles with his temper boiling over. Albeit a bit out of control as he storms past the tree line, no longer thinking of consequences. The leaves nor the pine cones beneath his heavy feet stand a chance and once he arrives at it, neither does the fog.

Lukas makes his way into the dense fog layer, surging through it with little to no issue, almost as though the density of its presence earlier were just a test. A test to see how daring he is to return. When Lukas bursts through the fog, he immediately snaps at the forest around him.

“What’s your problem!? Huh!? You keep throwing me out and for what!? What did I do? Ever since I’ve come to this stupid town it's been nothing but bad encounters left and right! Yet here I thought, oh, forests! I love forests! So I come in here to get away from all the craziness back in BeaconTown, just to find myself being teleported by some— some Admin guy or whatever, pushing me out of the same woodland that those weirdos back in town tell me I’ll die in if I enter! Well I’m waiting!” Lukas crosses his arms with an exaggerated huff. “You gonna live up to those ridiculous signs out at the tree line and kill me, or are you just going to teleport me back out without giving me a real chance!? B-because I’m not going to stop coming back just because those fools back in town tell me I have to. So they can deal with it, and– and you can deal with it too.”

While there is no reply, there is an eerie silence that suddenly surrounds him. The forest is completely still, as if in shock with Lukas’ outburst. The branches above him rustle with what little wind arrives. His indignation fades into caution, flicking his gaze around the trees; taking a single step back toward the wall of dense fog.

His body comes to a startling halt as he bumps into what couldn’t possibly be a tree. Lukas’ heart leaps up into his throat. He slowly looks down to the dirt, spotting what appears to be a massive shadow looming over him. His entire body freezes up, his eyes gleaming with a mix of skepticism and fear.

Slowly, Lukas turns and looks up.

Overshadowed, yet visible in the biome's dim daylight, stands the brooding entity that brings fear to the hearts of the local townspeople. The Admin’s glowing eyes glare down into his own, imposing and very unamused by the open challenge.

There is no motion, the Admin has finally revealed himself to our author.

A handful of seconds tick by, all Lukas can do is take in all that he sees in this single moment.

Round cheeks and dark facial hair speckled along his strong jawline and chin in a way most masculine. He bores a glare that could make the most sensitive hearts weep.

Only then his heart begins to race.

The Admin has pitch black sclera's and illuminated irises to match that deep, midnight blue of his skin. He spots a scar on his top lip, then another that splits his eyebrow. The more Lukas searches, he finds more than just those two scars. The Admin’s features are embellished by old nicks and poorly healed gashes, all of them a soft turquoise to stand out against his shadowy complexion. Dark freckles peek through the rough surface of the Admin’s skin. His hair is blue too, a few shades darker than his skin. He’s dressed like a wild man with a touch of humanity, sturdy and powerful with his massive, almost cozy looking shaul. His hair is an unkempt mess, yet glossy and healthy looking. He spots a twig, and a few tiny leaves of foliage he doesn't quite recognize.

The entity.. this.. Admin, is an unmoving wall between him and the town he’s visiting. Lukas fails to see now that he is completely at this creature's mercy. He’s confident in the fact he hasn't been teleported out, yet he’s worried for that same very reason. Perhaps he pushed too far?

The Admin glowers from above. Lukas backs away with a single step. He opens his mouth to speak, only to snap his lips shut as the Admin's massive form bends down to his eye level and glares only inches away from the trespasser's face. His gaze is trained on Lukas’ every subtle movement, only to initiate an invisible hold that keeps the man's arms down at his sides.

The Admin clenches his massive fists; his nose flares with a deep inhale, then a sharp huff. His expression gives nothing but a predator's aggression, though he’s silent. Their eyes remained locked, unwavering.

Lukas isn’t sure if it’s mysterious or creepy that nothing has been uttered.

To the Admin, all this is, is another human who has no idea what he’s dealing with.

Lukas’ voice shakes with uncertainty as he finally stammers out, “U-uh.. hi…” He speaks quietly as if there was a tightening pressure squeezing around his neck. The Admin's eyes only narrow further, the glare so cold and menacing, yet… strangely alluring. The author can't take his eyes off them. “What an incredible glow…” he speaks, mesmerized by the illuminating irises. “How do your eyes glow like that?”

He doesn't give much time for the Admin to respond before he's trailing his gaze down the rest of his massive, foreboding form. “And so tall…” Lukas uproots from his spot, curiosity building his confidence and carrying him to walk slowly around the forest entity, making a thorough examination of everything there is to him. The Admin turns with him, keeping his guard up and never allowing his back to be turned towards the trespasser. Lukas hardly seems to notice. “So many pouches and straps, what do you carry in those? And that armor..”

“Is it all made out of leather?” Lukas stops and asks, looking at the thick sturdy chest armor and shoulder pads. Lukas drops his gaze, examining an old, tattered dark flannel button-up shirt beneath all that hefty gear. Lower, there's all the extra pockets he keeps on him, oddly reminding Lukas of his own adventure gear. He wonders if he keeps specific things in those like Lukas himself does, yet the specifics in question tend to be extra inventory or snack space for the blond while he's scouting a biome. Surely a forest dwelling person would make use of extra pockets the same.

The author now looks down upon the legs and feet, noting the knee guards and the straps wrapped around his strong looking thighs, and the heavy steel-toed boots that look like they could use some replacing… He's got more of those leather straps holding them together. Lukas finally stops his analyzing and looks back up to the man’s continuously upset expression. Lukas tilts his head a little bit, waiting for the Admin to respond with an answer to any of his questions but… it never comes.

Instead, Lukas opens his mouth to speak again, only to interrupt himself with a sharp gasp as his entire body freezes, his arms being pinned and locked against his sides and his legs squeezed together whilst an invisible force clutches him, keeping him from moving. His heart rate escalates quickly as shock and uncertainty encompass him. The blond attempts any form of movement just to find himself entirely immobilized everywhere below his head. Instead, all he can do is look upward and watch as the Admin takes a heavy step closer, keeping him pinned beneath that sharp glare.

Okay… Maybe I shouldn't have challenged him.

Suddenly his satchel is peeled off his body, Lukas watching in mixing shock and awe as the Admin floats his belongings over to himself and begins to use his powers to pull one item after another out of his bag. Lukas is absolutely baffled. “H-hey wait! You can’t just-!” The Admin snaps his glare back to the author and immediately Lukas closes his mouth shut. Instead, he’s forced to watch the Admin shuffle through his belongings, starting with the few ecological study books he borrowed from the library.

The Admin flips through each one, seemingly taking his sweet time with it too because he takes breaks flipping through the pages to scan some, then flip through more. Lukas is… absolutely speechless at what he’s witnessing. The Admin’s form hasn’t budged at all since he took Lukas’ satchel off him without so much as lifting a finger. He’s got all of his belongings floating around him and is capable of flipping through individual pages of paper at the same time. “How are you doing that?” He can’t help but ask, yet he garners no response from the silent entity. The Admin ignores him, and all Lukas can do is stand there and digest the scene playing out in front of him.

The last book snaps shut loud enough to make Lukas flinch. The Admin flicks his gaze sharply back to him as he pulls another book over and lifts its cover. Lukas immediately interrupts, “Hey hold on a sec! Those are my private work journals. You can’t just-” The pages continue to flip without a care. Lukas would sulk if he could. “You know it’s not polite to just start… going through people’s belongings like this.” Lukas glances away with an annoyed expression when his jaw is suddenly grabbed and forced to look back in the Admin’s direction and–! Lukas’ head flinches back as an object is shoved in his face, his teal eyes blinking as they focus in and… recognize that leaf from a few days ago. The one he’d plucked from the stem and watched as the life inside it faded. He’d placed it back in his journal for safekeeping…

Lukas’ gaze falls, feeling hot with embarrassment at the hypocritical wording he’d chosen. “I.. Uhh.. I’m sorry about that.” He looks back up at the Admin with a look of guilt, finding the midnight blue man’s expression unchanged, looking as grumpy as ever… “I’m sorry, I just wasn’t expecting a full on inspection of all my personal belongings. I don’t know what you’re looking for, but I don’t think I have anything too incriminating; It’s just my work bag.” Lukas goes silent once again as he watches the Admin. The man finally moves, but only to reach down and open the pocket strapped to his thigh, floating the leaf in and shutting it away.

Lukas is once again met with something being shoved in his face, this time it being the journal itself. His eyes don’t linger on it, glancing away awkwardly and mumbling, “that’s you..” in regards to his messy sketch of the shadowy Admin. “I was going to dedicate this journal to the forest here, since it’s one of the last remaining biomes I need to study for the encyclopedia I’m working on.” He watches the Admin’s gaze narrow on him, this time staying trained on him in what Lukas assumes is an expectation for more explanation. “It’s my job. Or well, my dream too.”

The man in front of him doesn’t seem all that moved by his response.

Suddenly, Lukas feels something… strange. The blond tenses, his brows furrowing as he focuses on the uncomfortable feeling of having his inventory being searched. Searched, in a way that no human, monster, or animal could ever possibly do. The inventory is a subspace that each individual person has exclusive personal access to that could never be tampered with by any other person, unless the individual in question is killed and their inventory is exposed, with no one to belong to anymore. This is…

“H-how are you doing that?” Lukas blurts out again, becoming even more confused and desperate for understanding. “No person can look through another's inventory like that!” The blond protests, only to pause, his expression falling into a look of disbelief when he comes to an unbelievable realization. “Are you a god?” He slowly draws out, looking straight back into those glowing, turquoise eyes. “O-or some form of high deity? B-because this–” Lukas looks down to his still frozen form, “those powers-” he looks up to his floating belongings. His intrigued gaze returns to the massive man in front of him. “...What… exactly are you, Admin?”

The Admin, of course, makes no move to respond. Instead he stares at Lukas, his gaze unwavering and glued to the author’s own curious eyes. Lukas watches with piquing annoyance now as the Admin turns his head away and continues going through his belongings. Lukas is floored with this experience so far. Honestly? He feels rather ridiculous having not drawn to this conclusion sooner. There’s no way an entity of this stoic stature and powerful form, wielding magic no less, isn’t some sort of deity. Not even the world's most powerful mobs have powers of this particular caliber. And to be so reserved, showing little to no emotion while doing it.

But how is it possible? Are there more like him? …What's a god doing living in the forest like this?

Lukas is awestruck, all whilst he is still quite frustrated with his continuous lack of understanding.

Another object approaches him now. Another book, that of which Lukas immediately recognizes is his dictionary. The dictionary is held in front of his face, flipping through pages until it lands on one towards the back of the book. A blue glow locks into a specific word.

What.

More page flipping.

Are.

…

You.

…

Doing.

…

Here.

Lukas blinks at the page before the book is snapping shut and leaving, just to float back along with his other belongings, watching as all of them are piled back into the satchel and the bag is thrown. Lukas gasps as the hold on his body relents just in time for him to catch his book bag. “I-I just wanted to explore and.. And to research the forest here. I’ve been all over the world; fifty-six biomes and I’ve never seen- or heard of anything like this forest.” Lukas looks up to the Admin, searching his eyes for any shred of emotion… but there is none. Lukas’ eyes drop down to the forest floor, searching his mind for more words, yet he’s finding himself stuck on something. Why did the Admin use his dictionary to finally respond to him?

“You…” Lukas begins, slowly looking back up to the deity, clutching his bag close to his chest. “You don’t talk… do you?” He asks with a hint of curious worry in his tone. As expected, there is no response. The Admin just stares down at him; Lukas can feel the judgment which keeps him rooted to where he stands.

“I… I don’t understand.” Lukas rests his chilly hand against his forehead whilst he shakes his head, then draws it back into his styled hair, trying to wrap his mind around it all. “The hunters back in BeaconTown warned me about you. The signs warned me about you. I was told you were going to kill me, yet…” Lukas sighs heavily, clutching his satchel close. “You saved me.” He finally says, then looks back up at the deity who continues to bore an unhappy expression. “That’s also why I’m here, is to thank you for that.”

Lukas’ gaze rests on the Admin now. Finally having full control of his body again, he’s able to take a single step forward, only for the deity to take a single step back. Lukas stops, then hesitates.

There’s something… wrong here.

In the beginning, Lukas truly thought he’d over stepped his welcome by coming back to the Admin’s forest with a heated temper. The deity looked reasonably upset with him, which Lukas at the time figured was a response to his uncontrolled outburst, but now… He isn’t so sure that’s the case. The Admin’s expression hasn’t changed at all during this lengthy encounter. The deity is a blank slate, and Lukas is inclined to wonder why.

Even with such an intimidating exterior and stubborn attitude, Lukas doesn't feel threatened. If the Admin wanted him dead, he's confident the deity would have killed him by now. Instead, he keeps his distance, and part of Lukas feels as though the deity is just as uncertain about him as Lukas is for the Admin. So why is everyone scared of this guy?

The sound of a familiar happy trill sounds behind him. Lukas turns and the Admin looks up, both watching as a bright blue glow flutters through the trees and enters the trail the two men stand within. Lukas’ expression brightens immediately, holding his hands out to greet the Allay as the spirit flies over. “Hello there,” he says and the Allay, jovial as ever, approaches Lukas with a lively chime, fluttering around his form, then flutters to the Admin, lighting the shadowy man up.

Lukas watches the moment closely, this time really getting a look at the man’s otherworldly features. With the knowledge now that the Admin is a god of some sort, Lukas takes in his appearance in an entirely new light. The dark, shadowy blue skin. There’s a dark shade that permanently stains the upper half of his facial features, shadowing his eyes. The Admin makes no move to greet his Allay, but his eyes do briefly follow its movements around him, hardly moving his head to do so.

Lukas feels his cheeks warm the longer he stares, only for the warmth to strengthen when the forest deity snaps his eyes back to Lukas, causing the blond to tense and awkwardly avert his gaze. Lukas’ attention is caught by the Allay returning to him, appearing before him with one of the missing objects from the other day. The little spirit’s eyes close in a joyful gesture as it shakes Dewey’s rattle mouse in its tiny blue hand. Lukas smirks, amused. “So that’s where his toy went. I had wondered about that. What about the sweet berries? Did you take those too?” Lukas asks with a knowing tone.

The Allay opens its eyes and blinks before doing a gesture of what looks to be an awkward head scratch. Adorable, the author thinks to himself with a fond smile. “It’s okay if you did, just warn a guy next time alright? Then I can bring an extra bag for you too.” The Allay seems delighted by this response, doing a happy spin and nodding, holding Dewey’s toy mouse close.

Jeez… Lukas had intentions of getting Dewey’s toy back from the Admin, but now seeing where it's gone, Lukas doesn’t think he has the heart to take it from the little spirit. Not with how happy it looks. That and he can’t imagine there’s many toys to play with out in the forest. Not unless Admin is capable of conjuring up something like that from thin air.

Speaking of–

Lukas looks up and, to his dismay, notices now that the deity has turned and begun silently walking away into the trees. Lukas’ heart sinks just as he begins to quickly step forward. “H-hey wait! Where are you going?” He calls after him and before he could get another step closer–

Poof!

“Oh!” Lukas lands back on the other side of the fog. He stumbles a bit, but this teleportation has been far less clumsy than any of the others before. The blond asserts himself quickly, looking back at the fog from which he came. He didn't send me back to the tree line this time… The last time he was teleported, he felt nothing but frustration and anger fueling his drive to push back into the fog and give the Admin a real piece of his mind. This time though… He feels quite at peace with the progress he’s made today.

He finally got to interact with him. He’s learned so much! Yet… so little at the same time. If anything, he has more questions swarming his mind like restless bees now more than ever.

As for now… Lukas thinks it may be best to call it a day and to not push his limits. The way back to town through the woods is somewhat grueling though, especially with how regretful Lukas is with a major part missing from their first real interaction together. Lukas, the fool, never even introduced himself. The blond briefly cringes, holding his face in his hands as he walks over pine needles and cones back to the forest entrance. He’d been so caught up within the moment, he didn’t even think to properly introduce himself. To a god no less! No wonder the Admin was so guarded! Lukas couldn’t even spare him his own name, being too entranced in his prolonged moment of awe.

“I’m so��stupid,” he winces. “What kind of first impression was that? He must think I’m crazy.” Well… he wouldn't be wrong to think that if he did, considering Lukas lost his temper and shouted at a god. Of all things to lose his cool at, it just had to be him. Lukas sighs. Maybe tomorrow, he can make a proper, professional approach.

When he gets back to BeacInn, he greets Dewey with treats and loads of new information. The ocelot is relieved to finally hear some good news come from his owner, considering how much the world has been against him recently. Dewey purrs and kneads the blanket, bumping his head against Lukas’ in a proud show of affection.

After that, Lukas immediately sits at his work desk and busies himself in his writing, only to have his attention grabbed by a grumbling ocelot again. The jungle cat pawed at Lukas’ pants leg to get his attention and once he has it, he uses his nose to bump a treat towards the author, reminding the man that he too needs to eat before investing himself in his work for the rest of the day. Lukas sighs, knowing Dewey is right and gives him an appreciative head scratch. “Okay, okay you're right. Let's go find something to eat.”

It's amazing how little mind Lukas pays to the townspeople walking around. Socializing was something he'd hoped to better himself at when he got to BeaconTown, but for obvious reasons, that idea was of little importance and placed in the back of his mind. He's quiet and elusive when talking to others, keeping to himself in a way that fits him right in with the rest of the town's citizens. He doesn't want to last long out in the town's open streets. The last thing he wants right now is to risk a run-in with a nosy hunter.

Thankfully, that wasn't the case today. Lukas returns home and does the healthy life essentials like eating and bathing. After a short shower, he ends up staring at himself in the mirror, searching his complexion, thinking back to the Admin's own. All those scars on his face.. Lukas can't help but stare at the nick on his chin he got a few years back, right in the beginning of his adventures. Back when he was still so new to the world which awaited him. He gently runs his fingers over the scar, wondering how the Admin got his. There was too many to count. So many untold stories behind that silent deity. He wonders how he'll ever communicate properly with him, because dictionary use is a bit too time consuming.

Lukas lingers on the thought for quite some time. All the way back into the living space where he stands at the window and gazes out upon the trees.

After some extensive thinking… he thinks he knows how to approach the Admin with a conversation. He just hopes that the deity will be in a talking mood the next time he sees him.

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rogersideup · 2 years ago

Text

Late Night Talking

The Park Bench

Series Masterlist

Previous: Teddy Bears and Dinosaurs Next: Mighty Superhero

Word count: 6,600

Summary: Steve wasn't doing well, it took you a while to figure that out but you got there eventually. He was fine for a while, then when it really finally hit him that Tony was gone, he pushed everyone away.

Warnings: My blog is 18+ only. All minors or blogs without an age in bio will be blocked. Minors DNI. Descriptions of grief, mentions of death.

Sometimes, routines changed. By choice or not, you had to be okay with that.

Steve wasn't doing well, it took you a while to figure that out but you got there eventually. You would exchange texts throughout the day as per usual, but he never called. And when you tried to call him, he wouldn't pick up. The denied calls were always followed by an 'I'm so sorry' text, accompanied with a sad face and a heart.

At first, you were confused and concerned. For a few solid days you were worried that you had pushed your constant flirty banter a little too far, or maybe you had made him upset enough to not want to talk beyond friendly coworkers. Every time you thought about it a little too deeply you could feel your heart breaking a bit more each time.

However, at the one week mark post your last phone call, you noticed a lot more of the Avengers had returned back to the compound and you were placed in a new team group chat without him in it.

It was renamed to 'Operation Rogers’. The whole team speculated the sudden change in behavior. Bucky eventually revealed that when Steve's mom passed he reacted the same way.

He was fine for a while, then when it really finally hit him that she was gone, he pushed everyone away. It seemed like that's exactly what he was doing now.

Every time you quickly passed by his office, you could see him nose deep in work. Sometimes he would work until 2-3 in the morning just trying to keep his brain occupied by something other than overwhelming sadness. When he wasn't working or sleeping, you could see him sitting on the bench by the koi pond. Most of the times he had a book or a sketch pad with him, and he spent hours there.

But today... it was different.

You had woken up to your alarm, and just like every day your morning routine was unchanged. You rolled out of bed with a groan and a stretch, then immediately went to open your bedroom window so Eeyore could look outside.

A little smile spread on your face when you saw Steve sitting there already, but the closer you looked the more your smile fell.

He was dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt, which was really out of character for him. He was the type to never leave his room unless he was perfectly presentable. Then you noticed the lack of sketchbook, the redness around his eyes and nose, and the empty gaze into the water.

Your heart weeped seeing him like that. It felt like it was physically pulled out of your chest and stomped on a billion times.

You tried to cheer him up by putting Eeyore in the window and sending him a text telling him to look up.

You saw him read the text, lock his phone, then keep his eyes forward.

It was obvious that he was stuck in his head and needed to find clarity, so you texted him one more time letting him know that you loved him before starting the rest of your morning.

A cup of cold brew, some emails you could respond to from the comfort of your couch, a long shower, did your hair and got dressed.

You even made a quick run to drop off some paperwork and a cup of coffee to Happy before getting back to your place and eating lunch.

Then, you got some texts.

Operation Steve

Bucky: anyone see Steve this morning?

Wanda: I saw him leave at 6, but it didn't look like he had anywhere to be.

Sam: he skipped morning work out

You swiftly got up and looked out of your window, he was still on the bench. This time, his eyes and nose were even more red, and his posture slumped.

Your brain and body flooded with so much worry that your hands started shaking as they searched for your phone to tell them you knew where he was.

But before then, you really wanted to try to get through to him. So, your fingers moved faster than your brain could process and dialed his number while watching safely from the window.

He looked at his phone ringing on the bench and denied the call.

“Come on Steve.” You mumbled to yourself knowing the only way to ease your extreme anxiety over his well-being would be to talk to him. You just really needed him to pick up.

So, you called again.

This time, he hesitated. You could tell he was concerned about being called twice in a row, but he still didn't pick up.

Fuck.

You started anxiously pacing around your apartment while contemplating where to go from here. Your thoughts carried you to every possible way to help him feel better under the circumstances the two of you were in, but the distance was so frustrating it almost made you cry.

He was the glue that kept the team together, he listened to their problems and found the solutions, he comforted them through endless loss, guided them through battle, made difficult life or death choices with almost no time to think them through. He eased the deep pressure off his team that was more like family.

Yet no one reciprocated.

They all received without giving, and Steve never complained. He enjoyed looking after the people he loved, it felt like a role in his life that just fit him naturally. But now that he needed some guidance, extra care and a pressure lift, no one was there.

That's what made your stomach churn in sadness, and anxiety brood as physical red splotches on your chest.

You so desperately wanted to be there for him, you wanted to be that person who gave back everything he selflessly poured out into the world but you were always just an arms length away.

Right now you were just a text left on read, a denied phone call, an empty connection through a fucking park bench, a concerned best friend watching a breakdown from a window 7 floors up.

A terrible, selfish friend who couldn't put yourself aside for just a few minutes to give him the love he deserved.

A stupid, lousy, shitty, mentally unwell, fraud of a friend.

Fuck, Bucky was looking for him.

It was now 12;46 which means he's been out there for almost 7 hours.

Bucky would know what to do.

Your heart pounded out of your chest as you brought your phone to your ear one more time, and this time the other line actually picked up.

"Hey smiles" He spoke calmly. How could he be so calm?

"Hi, I'm really worried about Steve" you admitted right off the bat. "I see him right now. I've been able to see him from my window all morning, he hasn't left the koi pond since he got there 6 hours ago. He's not answering my phone calls, he's not responding to my texts."

"There's a koi pond?" Bucky asked.

"That was so not the point" You shook your head as you paced through your living-room. "He's not even drawing or reading. Is there anything you can do to help?"

"I've tried everything" Bucky sighed. "Literally everything, I don't even know what I can do."

"He doesn't even have a water bottle. No snacks."

"Steve hunger strikes when he's sad" Bucky explained. "Says eating makes him feel nauseous"

"Bucky" you complained, literally desperate for any situation in which your anxiety over Steve would ease up. "This isn't normal"

Knowing that Bucky wasn't going to do anything about Steve made your anxiety of not doing anything for him surpass the regular anxiety of meeting an Avenger and possibly having your identity leaked to the world.

"I know it's not." Bucky acknowledged. "But what I do know is that you sound just as distraught as he does. I know you mean a lot to him, and he means a lot to you. I know he cares about you so much that he would go to any length to keep your identity a secret, and I especially know that it would mean a lot to him just to see your face"

"I hate you so much right now, James" You slipped your shoes on.

"Oh god, that's scary" He cringed. "Why?"

"Because I know you're right"

You started walking before even thinking about where you were going or the gravity of where your actions we're about to lead you. If you thought about it for too long, you would quite honestly need a Xanax.

"I just heard a door close? Are you going to go see him?" Bucky asked.

"If I don't chicken out by the time I make it to the pond then yes" You told him, earning a screech in an octave so high you didn't even know it was possible.

"You'll be okay! He's going to be so happy, I promise. He's been day dreaming of this everyday like a teenage boy" Bucky reassured.

"What if he's so embarrassed that it makes him feel worse?" You questioned while running down the stairs.

You knew damn well the elevator would give you too much time to think. At this point you could barely hear Bucky over the blood pounding in your ears.

"He'll get over it. Good luck, let's hang out soon" He said quickly before hanging up.

"Buck-" aaaaaaand he was gone.

You slipped your phone into the pocket of your pants while running down the stairs. The anxiety was running so rampant now that it was buzzing under your skin, taking control of your nervous system as your hands shook and your legs trembled.

You can trust Steve. He's your guy. Let him in.

Tony's words repeated in your mind like a broken record as you pushed past the stairwell door and the light from the sun stung the anxious tears you tried to blink behind your eyes.

It all felt so much more real as you got closer and could see his figure. Back facing you, slumped and sad.

He's your guy. Let him in.

Let him in.

It's just Steve it's just Steve itsjuststeve

You blinked away the discomfort as your eyes adjusted to the new found light, and your legs carried you closer to him regardless of your knee's constant threat of buckling in on themselves.

As you approached the bench, all of your instincts fled the scene. They got you this far, but now you were on your own with no plan on how to approach the situation.

But at this point, he definitely knew someone was behind him so you couldn't linger like a weirdo.

Oh my god you had to do something.

You wished you could be as pretty as that girl in the elevator, or as big and brave as that girl who sat beside him for hours in the lobby. But right now, you just felt like...you. Tiny, scared, timid little you, even more scared that in just a few seconds you were going to break that illusion for him and he'd see you the same way you saw yourself.

Tiny, scared, timid.

Just hug him you creep. Your brain yelled at you through the thick anxious haze.

Hesitantly closing the gap, you stood right behind him and leaned over. Your arms wrapped around his chest, and your chin rested on his shoulder.

You squeezed your eyes shut in anticipation, waiting for his reaction. But instead, he nestled his head into yours, and his big warm hands held onto your forearms in full appreciation.

In that moment, he let out a deep sigh then recollected his emotions with a small sniffle.

The display of affection caught Steve off guard, but it was comforting and strangely familiar as if he had received hugs like these a million times in his life, possibly a billion in a past few.

You took that as permission to squeeze him just a little tighter and enjoy the moment that lingered on a lot longer than you thought it would last. However, his oblivion was doing nothing to help your extreme state of emotion. You silently prayed he couldn't feel you shaking like a leaf.

He was melting like an ice cube under your touch, it was like he had been craving something as simple as a hug all day and now that he finally had it, everything would be okay again.

You fully seized the opportunity to take him in. The cotton of his shirt was soft and his body was warm. He smelled inviting, and the frame of his shoulders felt more broad than they looked.

Your few moments of basking in his not-so-blissful ignorance was disrupted with one single question.

"Nat or Wanda?" He asked quietly. They were so close, there was no need to speak normally.

You didn't even know how to break it to him, maybe he would be disappointed in the lack of Nat or Wanda once he learned it was just you, but his raw voice, unfiltered straight from the source straight in your ear raised goosebumps on your skin.

Right in this moment, you saw two options. You could tell him to keep his eyes closed and just enjoy the moment, he'd know exactly why and allow you to keep up the illusion of being nothing but a mystery voice. Or, you could dig your grave and let him bury you in it.

"Those are the only two options?" You questioned. He stiffened and stilled in surprise, but it still wasn't really registering. Your voice wasn't ringing a bell, and the grave was now six feet deep.

You let go of him and looked down at the floor while walking to the right side of the bench to sit next to him. His gaze was burning a hole into the side of your head and heating your cheeks while you played with your fingers and worked up the courage to look at him.

When you did, he was painfully confused.

What a doofus.

"Oh, hi?" He quickly wiped the stray tear off his cheek and swiped a hand through his hair. You could tell it still wasn't clicking. "Didn't think you'd even remember me from the eleva- or the internet incide- Tony told me your name was Eva"

"Y/N" You corrected with a small chuckle.

Now he was nervous, and that almost made you ease up a bit.

"Y/N" He repeated. "That suits you better than Drunk"

You hummed contently in response and nodded.

"Are you alright? You seem a little... fidgety" He questioned, eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"I'm nervous- anxious actually" you admitted, now he was even more confused.

"What's wrong?"

"My best friend has been really down lately, not answering my calls. I've just been really worried about him" You wanted to see how long it would take him to piece together the puzzle.

"You sound like a great friend. What's his name?"

"Steve" You said bluntly, eyebrow raised while you watched his face. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out so closed it again. He cocked his head to the side like a puppy. "Rogers. Ever heard of him?"

"A couple times" He cautiously chuckled.

"He's actually not my best friend"

"I'm sorry, I'm so confused" Steve tried to maintain his signature level of high politeness.

"He's my husband" You told him.

His eyes narrowed and investigated your face, searching for a bluff. The wheels were obviously turning in his head, then, you could see the moment it clicked.

Steve's cheeks turned apple red and his big blue eyes became even bigger before covering his face with both his hands and letting out a groan of pure embarrassment. He could feel the heat flowing to his face and pooling under the skin, he could even feel his heart beating on the tips of his fingers.

He could not believe Smiles was the girl he had been crushing on for months, furthermore, he could not believe that you were included in any conversations about his stupid little crush on the prettiest girl he had ever seen.

And now you were here. In front of him. While he was crying in sweatpants.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you" you sheepishly apologized, worried that he would be mad. "There was no way to do it withou-"

"It's okay" He dramatically mumbled into his hands. "I'm just going to put myself back in the ice. 70 more years will do me good"

"Steve, don't even start" you couldn't help but to giggle at how quickly he reverted and made himself small. "I'm pretty sure everything you said about me without knowing is exactly the same things you've said over the phone. There's not really much of a difference, pretty baby"

You figured that joining in on the complements would ease his embarrassment and allow them to enjoy each other's company once you both got past the initial shock and your anxiety.

He peaked through his open fingers and let out another whimper. "You're so pretty"

"That sounds like a complaint" You noted, and he shook his head. "I'm having a not so mild panic attack, and you've been crying all day. Will you come out of your little turtle shell so we can hug? Remember? The ones we promised each other? Biggest one in the universe"

He cautiously removed his hands from his face and looked at you with a pout. It was only then he noticed your trembling frame, uneven red splotches littering your chest, and the tight clench in your jaw to keep it still from chattering jitters.

Steve opened his arms for you and you gladly accepted by pulling him in tightly for the long lasting hug you've both always day dreamed of.

"It's so nice to finally meet you" he firmly rubbed your back. Damn, he was a good hugger.

"I'm sorry I didn't do this sooner." You apologized.

"You have nothing to be sorry for" he reassured. "I completely understand. I know you're scared, but thank you for trusting me. I'm sorry for not answering your calls, I've just been-"

"I know, it's okay" you reciprocated the reassurance. "I'm not mad, I'm just worried about you"

"All we do is worry about each other" He sadly chuckled while you released him from the hug.

"To be fair, there is a lot to worry about at the moment" You reasoned. "And I told you I was good at sharing the bench so it was about time I put my money where my mouth is"

"You weren't lying when you said you shook my hand" He grinned and tried fixing his hair again. Each attempt was unsuccessful, and that amused you.

"I'm not saying I told you so buuuttt..."

"How do I make your hands stop shaking?" He questioned while reaching out and sandwiched your hands between his.

"They'll stop, I just need to calm down a bit." You explained. "How can I cheer you up?"

"I think you already did" Steve smiled. A genuine, lopsided smile. His big sparkly whites on display, smile lines crinkling the corners of his big blue eyes. "I know I don't seem very excited right now, but I promise I'm ecstatic on the inside"

"Everyone was concerned that they couldn't find you. I called Bucky since he was wondering where you were but he wasn't much help" You explained.

"Your first mistake is thinking that Bucky would be helpful in the first place" Steve let go of his gentle hold of your small hands. You instantly turned sideways towards him and brought your knees to your chest, feet planted firmly on the bench. "I really didn't mean to be so dramatic, I just- I love them but they're overwhelming sometimes. I needed some time away to process everything without them getting on my case"

"And yet they still got on your case" You sympathetically grinned.

"Funny how that works isn't it?" He questioned rhetorically. "There's no such thing as escaping their chaos. Bucky probably knew I wanted to be left alone which is why he wasn't much help."

His words made your heart sink and cheeks flush. Of course he wanted to be left alone you idoiot. That's why he wasn't picking up your calls or responding to your texts. He didn't want you here.

How could you possibly recover from that? How how could you crawl out of a grave you dug yourself? All you did was disrupt his peace.

Steve saw the slight fall in your confidence and the way your eyes averted then zoned out. He immediately felt awful knowing he chose the wrong words, and scrambled to try to control the damage. "But he also probably knew that I would do almost anything to be with you, so he sent you my way huh?"

Still not making eye contact, you nodded. It was almost shameful.

"Being with you is so much better than being alone, I'm happy you're here."

Smiles understood better than anyone that sometimes being alone was the only way to recharge the brain. You were even an advocate for some healthy alone time, but for some reason you were doubting your choice, and all the anxiety that had subsided since you two initially acquainted flooded back with vengeance.

Why the fuck did you do this? He doesn't even want you here, he's just too nice to tell you to leave.

This was a mistake.

Not even his words soothed your brain.

Steve heard of the concept of someone's brain running away, but he never quite understood until just now when he could physically see your thoughts running to a far off place. It was like you weren't even in your body anymore.

Having you with him but lacking the happy and bubbly personality he was so familiar with made him fill with conflicting emotions. He was gutted that actions as simple as talking to a friend made you feel like the earth was swallowing you whole, but it also touched him so deeply that you were willing to make yourself feel that way just for him.

Just so you could grant his wish of seeing the smile he's heard so much about, and even put a smile on his face.

It was a whole new level of love that he's never known.

"Where'd you go, sweetheart?" He questioned gently while placing a hand on your knee to snap you back into reality.

"Sorry, I probably shouldn't have bothered you. As long as you're okay I can just let everyone know that you're fine and leave you be"

"Well in that case, I'm awful. Absolutely downright terrible" He dramatically removed the hand from your knee and placed it over his chest while slumping further down the bench. "I need all the emotional support I could get. I probably shouldn't be left alone, and I especially shouldn't be left without my precious best friend"

God damn it. You couldn't even contain the giggle from within your chest regardless of the turmoil inside your head. How is he so good at that?

"I told you I already tried getting Bucky, he said no" you joked.

"Wow, you're so funny" He rolled his eyes. "Guess I'll have to settle for my other precious best friend"

"Want me to call Sam?"

"You think Sam is precious?" Steve raised an eyebrow, definitely questioning your judgment.

"I used to. But after he threw me over his shoulder like it was nothing, I'm a little scared of him" You explained only half joking. "But whatever floats your boat"

"I think I should've chosen my words more carefully" he flashed big, blue apologetic eyes at you. "I didn't want to be alone, but I wanted them to leave me alone. Being with you right now? That's a privilege I'm going to hold onto until you quite literally tell me to leave. I'm savoring every second of this"

He swore he could see the tiniest twinkle in your big doe eyes as the corners of your lips tugged upwards.

"Don't worry, this won't be the last time. You don't have to savor it too much" This time, his attempt at easing your tense disposition had worked. You felt your shoulders relax a bit as you started becoming accustomed to his physical form. "Do you want to talk about why you were crying, do you want a distraction, or do you want me to just sit with you for a bit?"

One thing you learned from your therapist that often came in handy was to give people choices rather than asking if they needed anything. It provided low pressure options rather than a high pressure choice when they couldn't express their needs properly.

Steve appreciated your approach.

"If I talk about it, I'm probably going to cry again" He warned, but earned a smile in response.

Between old fashioned gender stereotypes and the weight his title held for so many people, crying always felt like something he needed to hide. But with you, it felt safe. He felt safe.

"No judgement here. I cried last night because I read a tweet about a dog who lost his favorite toy in a river. I think it's safe to say we're all a mess right now" You confessed, hoping to make him more comfortable.

"My emotions have been very conflicting recently. I loved Tony a lot, I was even friends with his dad Howard way back in the day. But we always fought like cats and dogs, we were like night and day. I've been doubting pretty much every interaction I had with him wondering if I could've done better. Maybe I should've watched my temper a bit, kept my cool when I knew he was just trying to get under my skin." He stoped and took a deep breath to try and recollect himself as the gateways threatened to flood. "I guess I just feel like it's not my place to me moping around. Like I don't deserve to be grieving when half the time I spent with him was bickering about stuff that didn't even matter in the long run, regardless of how much he actually meant to me. So instead I've just been letting it all out when no one else is watching"

You didn't miss the way he bit the inside of his bottom lip to keep it from quivering.

"Tony loved you so much, Steve" You stated with all the confidence in the world. "That's a fact. I'm not even just saying that to make you feel better. Even though you guys got on each other's nerves he always told me about your arguments over dinner and how he appreciated that you challenged him. He even told me that sometimes he would walk you right into an argument just to pick your brain apart."

"I knew it" Steve shook his head and let a sad giggle escape.

"You wanna know what his last words were to me?" You questioned, but he didn't have an option. "He told me to trust you and to let you into my life. He said that you're my guy, he saved my file and gave it to you. Tony treated me way better than I ever deserved, like I was some sort of crowned jewel or prized possession. Do you really think he would trust someone he didn't like with something so important to him? Would he use his last words to me to speak about you if he didn't love you just as much as you love him?"

"Probably not" Steve mumbled and wiped a rogue tear off his cheek.

"This whole situation sucks. There's no right or wrong way to grieve, and there will always be something we could've done differently. But regardless of how we spent our time with him, we were his family. There is no doubt in my mind that he didn't love the absolute shit out of you"

"Happy told me that Tony thought of you as a daughter, so hearing it straight from your mouth gives me reason to actually believe it"

This time, you reached out and used your thumb to swipe a tear off his beautifully soft and chiseled face.

"I think I've proven that I wouldn't lie to you.... Well- beyond the obvious" you smiled, and he hummed in agreement. "We're all so lucky to have you. You're the glue that keeps us all from falling apart, but that doesn't mean you have to skip out on receiving a little love sometimes."

"Thank you" It came out as more of a whisper than he intended. "For sharing your spot, coming down here to see me- treating me like a human being"

"I'm actually really glad you came here" You admitted. "This is where I come when I'm sad or anxious. Tony made me this bench, cleaned up the pond, added the plants and the fish just to make it a nicer place for me. It cheers me up every single time. I think it's a good reminder that everything he's done is still all around us, even after death he's helping me cope. It's a beautiful way to stay connected with him"

"Really? He did all of this for you?" Steve questioned taking in a good look at the beautiful landscaping and atmosphere.

"I told you, he treated better than I deserved. He even had me pick out the fish"

"Oh you definitely deserved this" Steve shut down your statement. "Are you kidding me? You deserve a pond the size of the ocean"

"Oh? You're gunna do this too huh? Maybe you and Tony had more in common than you think" You denied his claim.

"...all seven oceans. Put together."

"That's seventy one percent of the world. I don't think we have enough fishies for that" You giggled.

"You're right, we're going to need more fishies" he agreed. Something about Captain America saying the word 'fishies' tickled your brain. Before you could even form a response back to him, he was already on a new topic. "I can't believe Sam an Bucky knew and didn't say anything"

"I'm actually really impressed" You nodded in agreement as you felt a new wave of calmness wash over you. "They were egging you on, weren't they?"

"A week an a half of encouraging me to ask yo-" he stopped mid sentence. "Nope. I've said too much"

That earned a real laugh from you, and allowed him to get a good look at your face. He swore you were a real life angel.

Your features were soft and timeless. A supple jaw, adorable nose, a dusting of freckles and permanently pink cheeks. You looked like you were straight from a fairytale. Your soul was old but your style was modern, favoring towards neutrals with a pop of statement.

Where he was strong and sharp, you were smooth and rounded. There was no doubt that you complemented each other like Yin and Yang. You've always been complementary and interconnected, even just as two voices on a phone line.

The moment your laugh sounded in his ears he felt like he had known you forever, maybe even in a past life or two. You were humble and grounded, obviously deeply rooted into the ground while your head didn't even come near the sky.

Steve swore his heart skipped so many beats he might've been having a heart attack.

"Personally, I don't think you've said enough" You teased him earning the flash of a warning glare in his eyes. "Feeling better?"

"A lot better" he confirmed with a grin.

"I'm glad" You grinned.

"Are you feeling better?" He reciprocated the concern. "Let's see those hands"

You raised your hands and tried to keep them steady, but there was still a slight tremor. "I think that's from the two cups of cold brew I had today because I'm a whole lot calmer than I was before"

"Do you need your emotional support Eeyore?" Steve questioned jokingly as he turned around to see Eeyore was still watching him from your window.

"Do you need my emotional support Eeyore?" You interrogated right back. "He provides emotional support for the low fee of one treat per hour"

"I kind've feel like he hates me" Steve admitted with a chuckle as he continued to look up at breathing fuzz ball seven floors up.

"You could ask him yourself, you know?"

"You'd let me meet your son?!" Steve's face lit up.

"Of course! We could go right now if you wanted to" You shrugged with a smile.

"What are you waiting for?!?!" He shot up off the bench and his long legs carried him faster than you could even process. "Come on let's go!"

"You don't even know where you're going, wait up" you laughed while getting up and jogging to catch up with him.

He slowed down and walked backwards to watch you catch up, and he abruptly broke out in a giggle fit. "Holy moly you're short"

"My little legs can only carry me so far, and you're the size of a giraffe"

"No wonder why Sam picked you up" He observed as you walked past him and he turned around to face forward.

"Oh no!" you squealed and slipped past him as he tried to catch you in attempts to copy Sam. "Don't you dare!"

You busted out into a fit of giggles as you tried to avoid his attempts the whole way to your apartment. Obviously, he was letting you win, but it was worth every second of the heavenly sound escaping your lips.

Just as expected, Eeyore was in love with Steve. He flirtatiously followed him around and rubbed all over his legs before plopping down in front of his feet every time Steve stood up. And when he was sitting? Eeyore insisted that Steve's lap was the most comfortable and luxurious bed in the world.

Surrounded by your place of comfort, calmness finally overtook your anxiety flooded brain and allowed the familiarity of who you were with finally settle in. You felt more than comfortable around him.

Much like your phone calls, time together dragged on for hours with no regard to passing time. Five hours felt like five minutes and the only evidence of the day turning to night, and night growing to early hours of the day was both of your endless yawns and heavy eyelids. Oh, and a couple texts from Bucky that were unintentionally ignored due to a very distracting super soldier in your living room.

'Hello??!! Did you survive Steve???'

'Did Steve survive you? Are either of you alive? Are you okay?'

'I'm convinced he fell so deeply in love with you that he kidnapped you and is holding you hostage in the middle of the woods. Text back if you need help'

'Or he's so embarrassed that he died on the spot and you're hiding the body???'

After lots and lots of protesting, perhaps even being convinced that both of their butts were super glued to her couch, Steve had to go home at around one in the morning. Cause, you know, apparently work and saving lives was more important than shenanigans with his best friend.

Not long after Steve's betrayal, which is what you claimed he did by leaving to get some real sleep, Bucky called and interrupted you while cleaning up the evidence of your time spent with Steve.

Chinese takeout containers, a bottle of beer or two, and every perfectly rolled and fluffed blanket was now spread and piled across the sectional.

"What's up, Barnes?" You put the phone on speaker and tossed it onto the coffee table while you fought Eeyore for custody over the blanket pile.

"What the fuck did you do to Steve?" He questioned, definitely accusing you of an unspoken crime.

"What do you mean?" You giggled. "I invited him over? He played with my cat and we got food?"

"That's... all you did?" Still accusatory.

"I don't like the accusation. What are you getting at?" You pried.

"Why is he walking around like he just had the best most mind blowing sex of his life? What did you to do him?"

"Oh my god!" You screeched. "I didn't- we didn't"

"Smiles........"

"......James"

"He waltzed in here looking like a love drunk puppy."

"Way to call out your best friend" You blushed at the idea of Steve actually having a little high school crush on you even after he knew the truth. You never would've imagined ever having a chance with anyone in his league.

"My best friendSsssss. Emphasis on the multiple." He corrected. "Both of you. Just tell me."

"I pinky promise, nothing romantic happened. He's my friend, just like you are. Did you and I have mind blowing sex?"

"No" He grumbled. "But the difference is he was in love with you when you when you were just a voice and he was in love with you when you were a random drunk girl in an elevator. Combine the two and I just know he's bursting from the inside out"

"Steve is a terrible liar, if you don't believe me then ask him. You'll get the truth regardless of what he says"

"Are you in love with him too?"

"Of course I love him. I love all of you guys" You reasoned, dancing around the answer he was looking for.

You couldn't deny the way he made you feel every night. Steve made you feel warm and fuzzy, loved and safe just by speaking into his phone. However, you'd be naïve to ever say that was genuine romantic love. Most of the time, relationships that translate over the phone could be a rough and bumpy road in real life. The two of you never talked about what you really were, so you always stayed on the safe side of the caution tape and assumed you always had been and always will be friends.

"You know damn well that's not what I just asked"

"These are some very invasive questions" You scolded.

"And your lack of answer is telling me everything I need to know" He pushed earning a sigh from you.

"He's so far out of my league I don't even let myself think that far." You answered honestly.

"Oh you're so wrong" Bucky laughed at the ridiculousness of your statement.

"Bucky, he's like the jock that all the girls fight over in high school and I have no chance of even saying hi to him in the hallway."

"Didn't I just tell you about the whole love drunk puppy thing?"

"Yes. I know you know him better than anyone, but that doesn't make me feel any more suitable for him."

"You're both Avengers. Even Tony said you two would be cute together" Bucky pushed.

"If Steve wants to explore that love drunk puppy thing you were talking about, then I'll certainly give him the chance. But until then, I'm just going to continue thinking that he's way too cool and beautiful for me"

"You're just as ridiculous as he is, and I hate you both for it" He stated bluntly.

"Goodnight, James" You teased. "Love you lots"

"Goodnight, whatever your real name is." He teased you back. "Love you too"

"Y/N, you dipshit" You finally let him have it.

"Goodnight, Y/N You Dipshit"

"I hate you so bad" You rolled your eyes with a smile before hanging up.

Next: Mighty Superhero

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the-cu-genswap-au · 11 months ago

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Behind the scenes post #2

continuing where we left off

#4. Production trivia #3: a tip for making comics: I want to talk about this random shot of the wall here

- In comics, when you have a scene with two characters talking to each other, it gets really boring when the entire scene just keeps cutting back and forth between the two over and over for the entire conversation. You want the scene to feel dynamic, like these are two people moving and existing in a fleshed out world.

- My strategy for this is usually to cut away to an important object within the same scene, or something in the background, just to avoid making the scene feel monotonous. You can see the same thing in this panel

- The problem, though, is that sometimes this strategy doesn't always work as well

- With the random wall panel, I only added it in because I knew I wanted to cut away from the characters for a bit, but the setting they were talking in (random empty alley behind the playground) didn't have a lot of interesting background elements to switch over to. So, I settled for the wall behind them. Admittedly it's not the most visually interesting thing to cut to, but I'd rather have this than keep cutting back and forth between the characters.

#5. Real world influence:

- This shot of the playground was partially inspired by the playground at my own elementary school! I remember we had a fenced-in basketball court that faced out towards the park outside the school, and the entire fence was surrounded by trees and bushes. It made a nice shady spot to sit down and read in during recess.

- I draw a lot from my own elementary school experiences for this AU. I threw in a reference to Jerry Spinelli because we had to read a lot of his books in fourth grade, and a lot of smaller props the characters use are based on ones I remember using back then.

#6. Recurring detail:

- Sometimes I like to shade Melvin in a way that's meant to evoke Melvinborg. Not because Melvinborg is relevant to the AU, but because I just think it looks cool :)

#7. Complaining about my own handiwork: this is a really quick personal gripe I wanted to get off my chest

- Out of all the environments, vehicles, perspective shots, and crowd shots I've had to do so far for this comic, the hardest thing to draw by far.... has been George's arm in this panel.

- I don't know what happened here! Anatomy is usually so much easier to draw in the CU art style but this arm just didn't want to work for me! I genuinely spent hours trying to make this arm look good! Here's the sketch:

And here is where I considered giving up and drawing him a completely different arm position I thought might be easier to draw:

Ultimately I did go back to the original pose, though. It just felt a little more dynamic, and the scene really needed more dynamicism.

#8. Another little detail:

These two panels actually have some foreshadowing in them :) :). This will make sense later.

#all there in the manual #i like to be cheeky

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irisbleufic · 1 year ago

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So, I spent the last 5 days of sitting around with this serious arm injury rereading the very first epic fic series I ever wrote. Although the posting dates on the below chapters are all 18 November 2013, the reality is that these were originally posted as individual stories on LiveJournal throughout the entirety of 2004 and into the spring of 2005. Those were my junior and senior years of college. This series was the last thing I relocated from LJ to AO3, and I was too exhausted to do a proper comb-through for typos and minor formatting issues.

Well, that state of things is no more. I cleaned up all of the editorial issues during this week’s rewatch-the-film-and-reread-my-fic binge. I also changed the names of a few of the chapters (they’re really stories strung together), although not drastically. The chapter called “Clippings” used to be called “Business,” “Spiral” used to be called “You Must Listen to Me Now,” and “Closer to Fine” used to be called “The Middle of Things.”

I had an ask a few days ago along the lines of: What the hell is Toy Soldiers, anyway? On the surface, it’s a 1991 action movie/teen drama. It stars a young Sean Astin and Wil Wheaton as Billy Tepper and Joey Trotta, the central protagonists among the cast of younger characters. At the time I saw it in early 2004, I had only ever seen Sean Astin in The Lord of the Rings. And, incredibly, I didn’t even know who Wil Wheaton was.

That might be one reason I was able to take this film to heart so earnestly (i.e. I completely lacked knowledge of Wesley Crusher, Wheaton’s Star Trek character from around that time who it was traditional to mock, although I still don’t get why). However, the primary reason this film wrecked the back end of my 2004 spring break was that I had watched The Celluloid Closet for the first time only days before watching Toy Soldiers.

I challenge any queer person to watch this documentary (about the Hays Code and the horrible fate met by queer-coded and queer characters in cinema) and this under-appreciated action film back to back and come out of it without feeling devastated and furious about what happens to Billy and Joey. Especially to Joey. And now, in an era of rampant school shootings and hostage situations, Toy Soldiers hits with even more gravity than it did in the 1990s and early 2000s.

These boys are where it started for me. Every every horrific canon media ending that has ever made me furious, every hundreds-of-thousands-of-words long fix-it series I’ve written in the past 19 years, can be traced back to this moment. This string of stories was what I wrote before I ever wrote the likes of Crown of Thorns (Good Omens), Anthology (Pacific Rim), and Delicate, Dangerous, Obsessed (Gotham). Hell, one of my instrumental original characters in CoT appeared for the first time at the end of Book of Hours before I ever thought to use her in a Good Omens context.

This story has meant the world to me even though the fandom around it at the time of writing, and even now, was never more than about 20 people. Most of those people are still with me, the dearest friends I could ever hope to have 💙

Chapter Index for The Series / Book of Hours by irisbleufic

1. Stereotypical (2013-11-18)

2. Persuasion (2013-11-18)

3. Taste Testing (2013-11-18)

4. Leaving a Mark (2013-11-18)

5. Trick or Treat (2013-11-18)

6. Omerta (2013-11-18)

7. Translation (2013-11-18)

8. Sketches (2013-11-18)

9. Falling (2013-11-18)

10. Caught (2013-11-18)

11. What It Takes (2013-11-18)

12. Noteworthy (2013-11-18)

13. These Shadows Have Offended (2013-11-18)

14. Love Never Did Run Smooth (2013-11-18)

15. Within Reason (2013-11-18)

16. Composure (2013-11-18)

17. Clippings (2013-11-18)

18. Without End (2013-11-18)

19. Prologue: Every Hour (2013-11-18)

20. Book of Hours: Part 1 (2013-11-18)

21. Book of Hours: Part 2 (2013-11-18)

22. Flashback: Spiral (2013-11-18)

23. Flashback: Silver (2013-11-18)

24. The Orchids (2013-11-18)

25. Closer to Fine (2013-11-18)

#toy soldiers #fanfiction #wil wheaton #sean astin #good omens #pacific rim #gotham #fandom history #meta #billy tepper x joey trotta

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antisepticcrayon · 1 year ago

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Posting here too! Just so I can give a longer explanation a bit for the few pieces I've been able to scramble for Sean.

Now I'm not the best at drawing people so it's very rare that I get to try to draw fanart for Sean and the community but I'll share the few I've been able to do!

Starting with the spring banner I made for Sean's server! Has to be one of my favorites becos I loved how it turned out and the fact that I somehow won the banner contest. It's always such a funny shock to go onto the server and see my art there. I've never been so proud of an accomplishment like that.

Next up is the Chase brody youtooz plush concept. Now I did this for kicks and giggles (/hj. Please Sean. We need sad dad plushies.) But it was pretty funny that that reference sheet got way more attention than I thought. And at the time of iris being fairly new was also so funny to me. He looks so sad. I need 17 of them.

King of the daisies portrait! My one piece of fanart that got the most recognition from the community! I spent a grueling 5-6 hours on this piece. It was during a time of art block so I wanted to try drawing realism for a month (didn't go exactly a month but I tried!) And this was my second attempt of the month and it came out so well. I absolutely adore it. And the inspiration came from when Sean announced that white daisies were his favorite flowers. So of course to honor the flow3r king, I did that for him. (Also another reason the banner, he's wearing a daisy crown!)

And finally the anti portrait. This one I made at work actually right before I was contacted for winning a meet and greet ticket to face time Sean through moment house. And to calm my nerves for the next couple days, I worked on this piece. (I referenced an art piece done by turquoise magpie I believe for this one!) But also another part of my month realism challenge!

The 2 realistic portraits hold a special place in my heart. Becos even through the horrendous wifi (and my uncontrollable anxiety) and cutting out during my meet and greet, I had the chance to show him them. I just didn't get to hear or see his reactions properly but the fact I showed him at all for him to see was more than enough.

Annnd then these last art pieces (I'm frankly TERRIFIED of showing. Unsure if it counts as fanart buttt)

These first 2 photos are reference pieces for my "JJ" inspired OC/Fursona. He is considered my comfort character who I tend to draw and doodle whenever I'm feeling down or having a bad day. Jameson (and chase) are my favorite egos and I find comfort in them. Not sure why, but I do. I feel like they just came at times I was struggling the most and brought joy to me though. Just Sean in general has done as such.

And the last photo is a book cover I created for a short story I'm writing with my self insert OC and chase Brody (along with the other egos).

The short story takes part of a community I'm in that surrounds giant/smalls/humans folklore and certain cultures surrounding a time of creatures big and small, Aka G/T! Think of any fairy tales like jack and beanstalk or even japenese animes like the secret world of ariety or movies and books like "The borrowers". (Another comfort for me. I find writing helpful as well for bad days and to also center and express myself again)

Anyways one of my favorite human pieces I've ever completed on my own through lots of practice and failed sketches (my good friend zora rendered and shaded it for me! Actual drawing, linework and coloring done by me!)

Anyways, I hope I'm not overstaying my welcome so I'll cut it off here!

I thank you both for doing this revival! I was never able to participate truely with "septicart" but I'm glad I can right now through this :)

Thanks for reading!

- Dj💜

(I apologize if my wording is wacky! ADHD and dyslexia isn't a fun combination when trying to write and explain things ack)

@turquoisemagpie @rogue-of-broken-time

#SepticartRevival2023 #septicart #jacksepticeye fanart #jacksepticeye

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my-own-au-my-way · 16 days ago

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Mechanic-Sukuna part 6

Indeed, he showed her his latest project. Tossing the empty lemonade can in the trash bin nearby, she admires the motorbike. In awe of how It was flawless in physical appearance, no scratches and the colour was just so beautiful.

"Custom paintjob?." She asked while circling the motorbike, taking in every angle.

Sukuna while sitting on the ground, polishing the last few parts of the motorbikes outer shell simply nods. Then once he was done glanced up at Y/n,"Im yet to add some art of my own here. On the sidelines I tend to do sketches before painting the images onto my projects.

Y/n then stopped next to him, watching him work with such confidence and efficiency. Without realizing It, she noticed how toned he was. Every muscle flexed with each movement he made, she had to stop herself from staring and looked up to find piles of his sketches. This was the best distraction she could find, to take her racing mind off how damn sexy he looked.

Picking up the first pad of paper, starts flipping through them."Woah, you sketched all of these?. Im thinking I have a long way to go with artistic talent."

Feeling a rather intense gaze on her, she turned slightly and saw him looking over his shoulder with that unreadable look again. Forcing herself to look away, not wanting him to see her blushing started to try smooth things over.

"I-I mean yeah I have a little bit of artistic talent, but yours Is unique! Maybe you could teach me sometime!." She couldn't help but chuckle sheepishly due to her social anxiety that acts up at times.

He simply hummed in aknowledgement then continues with his project. Oh how Y/n's heart was racing, It felt like It was ready to burst from been in the same room as Sukuna. Was this just a fleeting moment?, maybe It was just that she had not been around a guy in ages. Whatever this was that she felt, she couldn't figure It out yet.

She needed time to figure out what was going on, perhaps after just talking with him every now and again her feelings will become clearer.

Y/n spent over an hour with Sukuna, talking with him about her job and what she fixes most of the times. He even gave her a few tips when dealing with stubborn parts, like he could read her mind. That or It was from her fingers that end up injured from striggling so much with those parts.

Next thing It was sunset, hours had passed and yet Sukuna on the extremely rare times tolerated a visitor.

Y/n noted the setting sun the sighed,"Well the sun Is setting, looks like I need to get going. I really do not want to deal with the dark before getting home."

Looking back to Sukuna, she noticed a look that was rather foreign to him even for her."Huh? Is something wrong Sukuna?."

He shakes his head while threading his fingers through his hair, sighing In what could be either exasperation or uncertainty."Well I could walk you back to your place, rather not have to worry about you getting targeted at night."

He didn't even give her room to protest,"Just wait a moment, need to shower real quick then I will escort you back to your place."

Just like that, Y/n watched him walk upstairs to what seemed to be where he lived to go get showered. Covering her face with both hands, she could only scream internally. He was so hot!, yet she knew he would not be interested as he made It known to the world. However a sliver of herself still hoped that maybe, just maybe he could be her first friend who happens to be a guy.

For once she has her best friend Jessica to thank for setting her up.

@gojos-version

#jjk sukuna #jjk fics #jjk au #my oc in writing

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cactuseri · 3 months ago

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saw this and wanted to make my own post real quick bc i’ve gotten some questions abt my art before & now that i feel a bit more secure in my style i thought i’d give a few tips to anyone who wanted that :)

first i have to address how the submission is phrased: i'm sorry & i know no one wants to hear this but “keep practicing” is not a platitude that is always going to be the best advice 😭 the real question is:

how do you make practice fun?

1. challenge yourself in a way you find enjoyable/fulfilling :)

i liked doing things like art prompts from inktobers, and to draw comics of the stories i wrote, but mostly the answer for me was “set random number goal, meet random number goal, inject the validation from completed goal directly into my bloodstream, repeat.”

i worked on things kind of systematically, which just made my brain happy; i spent one summer when i was 14 doing nothing but drawing 10 full bodies a day, all with references of course. did the same throughout the fall with hands, then eyes, then expressions, then clothes, etc etc. it always had to be 10 diff angles and positions.

i did a repeat of this 10-drawings-of-10-angles rule throughout quarantine in 2020. failed all my online classes cuz i was drawing 6-10 hours every day and ignoring my homework but still passed the year in the end 💀 i got the idea from yumeii-art; it's been over 7 years since, so idk if i remember right, but she had given a similar rule of thumb as a response to someone's question about drawing without a reference, i think.

is this the Best path? probably not, idk. and it definitely lead to awkward phases where i was much better at drawing bodies than faces, for example — but it worked for me. i liked breaking things down like that, it felt more manageable.

the other number goal was. in 9th grade i saw this post:

and i was like. y’know what? yeah. i keep feeling bad abt my art, how about i put that feeling on pause until after i’ve filled 14 sketch book. i hope this user knows i owe all my achievements to the phrase “fill 14 sketch book” powering me through years of depression and art block.

so i did fill 14 sketch book!

i met that goal between ages 14 and 19. obv this doesnt include the doodles on my homework, on other random surfaces, or the ~150 digital artworks i’d done in that time, so maybe it was more like 16 sketch book? but that doesnt matter, i had 14 labeled & organized sketchbooks that were full, and i did feel better about my art by then. this was my anime training montage. this was 90% of my improvement. this was the best art advice i’d ever gotten.

so i guess what made art the most fun to me was numbers? which sounds lame but i guess since i’m competitive & love competing against myself the most, it just worked for me.

comparisons, with 2016 on the left and 2020 on the right:

(the new sketches are still rough and lack some detail ofc but i have terrible ADHD and always found it hard to sit down and keep working on a sketch once it was “done enough” — for some reason i dont rlly have the same impatience with digital art & have less of a problem completing pieces on my ipad now) (the point is. 14 sketch book level complete. 1000% worth it)

then my 2021-2024 improvement, when i had bought my own ipad and again spent most days drawing instead of doing my schoolwork (i.. did end up failing that first year of uni):

2. try out different mediums aimlessly!

what i mean is just go ham with some charcoal or whatever you have on hand, without the determination to Make It Good. i can’t say if this helped my actual art get better but what it did do was keep the joy of it alive & i had fun which lead to more practice & therefore improvement. color pencils weirdly were my favorite. hell, my school had us do a project with linoleum printing (is that how u spell it idk) and it gave me months’ worth of art inspo.

i also recently got a gift card for a stationery store and got some nice markers and those also gave me a ton of motivation. markers r good

3. if u do digital art, find ur fave brush; it will be ur familiar ur trusted companion ur lover in a past life

for lineart i mostly use the IGB office pack, favorite ballpoint. you’ll have to buy & download it online tho i think it was like $7? but yea it was worth it. (i did a lot of work with the gesinski ink brush in past years but i think it’s a bit too “sharp” now)

but also go crazy try them all it’s fun!

4. in my opinion it’s fine to do redraws of ur fave artist’s work now and then — as long as u keep it to urself and dont take credit for it

i’ve had ppl ask to use my art as a ref and my answer is always Not Sure Why You’d Want To Bc It’s Not All That, But Yes Of Course. as u can see most of my 2021 work was redrawing panels of the “gangsta.” manga; it didn’t even end up influencing my style much, my style was already based on all the manga shit i drew at 13, but it was the only thing i was motivated enough to draw at the time, and it was valuable practice.

art teachers still stress that the best reference is to draw from life & yeah thats true maybe but idc sometimes ur just not feeling that! so mix it up, whatever works. obviously respect it if an artist says not to reference their work and don’t only reference ur art from one artist but generally i think it’s harmless.

especially when there’s a specific thing an artist does very well that’s hard to find other examples of; personally i was fighting for my life trying to find how to best translate references of dynamic movement into art of dynamic movement. and i think the bnha mangaka does this wonderfully so i often referenced thise action panels as practice. and i think it helped loosen up my art style. (and… i was extremely ridiculously mentally ill about hawks so that…. contributed…. my fave ask to date is still the person who clocked hawks as my old fave character based purely on how i draw eyes 😭😭)

tracing is a diff conversation and my advice there is it is not actually helpful and it's. idk it feels very Against Artist Code. sometimes, and i havent done it in a couple years, but if a piece REALLY isnt working i've done the thing where u trace the general movement of a pose then go from there but i've never posted completed works where i used that method bc it felt wrong. but yeah that's a separate thing that i don't wanna go too deep into

5. another fun thing that motivated me to practice was doing speedpaints!

if you draw on procreate, it's probably set up automatically already. i don't have the storage to record everything, but when i do have it on, the knowledge that i'll have a speedpaint of the finished piece pushes me to put the last necessary touches on it. (if you'd like to see some of my speedpaints i have a few on my instagram)

some more technical advice:

1. flip your canvas flip your canvas flip your goddamn canvas i KNOW it hurts i KNOW it’s like ripping off a bandaid that’s superglued to ur skin i know but YOU HAVE TO FLIP YOUR CANVAS

(when i didn’t have an ipad i’d do this by taking a picture of the drawing on my phone and flipping the image in the photo app)

IT IS THE WORST THING IN THE WORLD AND IM NOT ASHAMED TO ADMIT I’VE RAGE QUIT SOME PIECES OVER SEEING THE CANVAS FLIPPED BUT LOOK AT THIS ART BEFORE AND AFTER I’D FLIPPED IT AND FIXED HOW WONKY IT WAS: desaturated so tht the colors dont distract so much

like it's the BEST and honestly often the ONLY way you're going to catch things that were off/out of proportion/etc. flipping your canvas gives your brain a "new eye" and it's invaluable.

2. until you have color theory figured out…. i honestly depend on adding layers and setting them to color dodge, divide, multiply, overlay, etc…. i am cheating, perhaps, but it works

3. this is how i draw front-facing noses because it's what a czech woman in an extremely bad mood taught me in a cramped overheated stuffy classroom in germany when i was 12

it was our only meeting but she changed my life. i do not know how common this method is but it's possibly the only thing i can concretely give you a tutorial for. after a few times you won't need to do step 1 anymore

anddd i think that's all the advice i have that wouldn't be a repeat of every other art advice thing you've seen. i do know it boils down to "keep practicing" but again you won't get around that, and i just hope that concretely showing what's motivated me might help motivate someone else.

as an ending note, please take this sentence that motivated me just as much as the 14 sketch book rule: (via graveweaver, author of the webtoon "i'm the grim reaper")

#seri.txt #art advice #realized i rarely see “i did xyz” when it comes to art advice and idk maybe this can help someone

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welcomehomerandomness · 1 year ago

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Welcome Home Website Update Reaction Notes (7/22/2023) Part 1 (SPOILERS)

Hey guys! Today I'm gonna show you my reactions to the Welcome Home website via my notes on Google Docs. I wrote 5 pages and spent around 5 or 6 hours exploring the website lol. Hope you enjoy it! Here's Part 1!

NEW HOME ART

The little Home doodle is so cute omg

FRANK AND BARNABY’S VOICES IN “ANSWER” OMG

Barnaby’s voice is honestly like a mix of Rowlf and Fozzie from the Muppets which matches well with his personality

Frank’s voice is like a mix of Gonzo from the Muppets and Gyro from DuckTales (the 2017 one)

THERE’S A GLITCH AT THE END WHAT

The Frank and Julie sprites on the FAQ page is so cute

THE STICKERS ARE SO CUTE

THE SEASONAL BANNERS

Wally and Barnaby (Winter), Frank and Eddie (Spring), Sally and Julie (Summer), and Howdy and Poppy (Fall/Autumn)

I just realized the golden flowers on Home’s sticker give me Undertale vibes

The Frank and Julie sprites on the News page is so cute too

Question Answerer seems sus

THE NEIGHBORS HAVE AUDIO WITH TEXT TRANSCRIPTS I REPEAT THE NEIGHBORS HAVE AUDIO WITH TEXT TRANSCRIPTS

“That’s the most!” Awww Wally

The drumroll on Barnaby’s audio and his little awkward laugh I love him

Yes Julie let’s play a game with a pogo stick, a bowl of pasta, and a pair of roller skates and cause chaos in the Neighborhood lol

I swear I will be depresso if Frank, Eddie, and Howdy get hurt or die…Those three are on my top 3 favorite WH characters (in no specific order) :(

I should make a list of favorite Welcome Home neighbors lol

Anyways

YES FRANK YOU ARE PERFECT JUST THE WAY YOU ARE

I love Eddie’s Southern accent and the way he talks sorta reminds me of Launchpad from DuckTales (the 2017 one)

Awww Eddie is scared of a bug and he wants Frank’s help awww

Eddie doesn’t want his paper chains to be ruined :(

I realized the Frank and Eddie one is also called “answer” and so far the two videos mention bugs and Frank is in each video

HOWDY’S VOICE

He definitely sounds like one of those people working on radio stations

I feel like if he’s not a shopkeeper, he would definitely work on a radio station

Howdy’s Radio Podcast when???

Sally’s voice is so dramatic and I love it

*insert scared Poppy chicken/bird noise*

Also is Poppy alright? I’m kinda worried :(

The voices of the neighbors are fantastic so far the voice actors did really great in their roles :D

Poppy and Frank = best cooking/baking duo

I wonder what those seed things taste like…They probably taste good

Frank mentions Wally eating with his eyes

The third “answer” video with Poppy and Frank mentioning butterflies

I love the Sally and Howdy sprites on the Merchandise page

The “duet” page with Wally on the phone is kinda eerie

Wally sounds dead inside

I love you too Wally lol

The rimshot and horn honk on Barnaby’s phone audio lol

Don’t worry Barnaby your jokes always make me laugh

I love Barnaby’s little “Buh bye!”

I reread "It's-For-You!" Talking Telephone Toy page, I thought it said “Mario, Inc.” instead of “Marlo, Inc.”

Super Mario is canon in this universe jk

Julie’s voice is freaking adorable

I wanna listen to Frank’s bug facts everyday

Frank freaking slanders Barnaby

I love Eddie’s jingle

I wanna get some school supplies from Eddie now lol

I love Howdy’s laughs lol

Protect Howdy at all costs

I love the “ta-da!” jingle from Sally

“…I said ‘Hellooo!’ That’s your cue!” Sally radiates theater kid energy and I love her

Poor Poppy doesn’t know how a phone works :(

*insert more scared Poppy chicken/bird noises*

Howdy’s and Frank’s letters to Wally are so wholesome

I love the insect sketches

Sally calls Julie “Juliet” that’s a cute name

Eddie is the most OP character lol

But can Eddie beat Goku tho???

I think Howdy is OP too but who knows

Julie asking Eddie to catch him is basically the “If I run and leap at Terry” scene from Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Also I actually don’t watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine btw I just know the memes

Anyways

When Frank said “Oh my”, I imagine them blushing asdfghjkl

I forgot to put this here but I love when Frank calls Eddie “Mr. Dear” that’s so cute

I love Julie and Frank’s besties dynamic in the “answer” video

PUPPET WALLY’S REFLECTION ON ONE OF THE RECORDS

I wanna buy every single merch if they are real lol

The live interview reminds me of those Muppet and Sesame Street interviews and it’s quite charming ngl

“Oh no, I don’t know. I love everyone. I love my friends.” Wally poly confirmed???

The interviewer’s name is Rick (and Morty asdfghjkl)

Miss Beagle is mentioned!!!

“I tell ya, we got a neighbor who's got an arm like a professional baseball player! It’s not easy!” Is Barnaby talking about Julie or Eddie?

I want to watch the "Julie-rella" segment so bad

Also Fairy "Dog"-mother lmao

Hopscotch To The Max wtf hahaha

“It took us an hour to get you down off Howdy's roof, and we still don’t know where the green chalk went…” Julie, you played hopscotch on Howdy’s roof???

I love Frank’s and Julie’s singing voices

I love how Barnaby just barges in and Frank is like “wtf”

I love Barnaby’s singing voice too

“Aw. I wanted to learn the colors.” Awww Wally is so adorable

“Wally, don’t look! He’s INDECENT!” That actually made me laugh even as I’m rereading the transcript and typing this down

A wild Howdy appears! *insert Pokemon battle music*

Also some of the “Just So” song demo seems to be distorted…That’s sus

The concept art of Julie’s “Just So” Bowling Dress is so cute

I also love how Frank and Julie wear outfits that match the games they play that’s so wholesome

Howdy’s laughs cure my depression

I love Howdy slapping the countertop when he laughs

Sole and Lyco awww

Awww Frank’s little “thank you”

“I’m sorry, I’ll see what I can do.” AWWW

I love when Julie translates to what Frank’s plants are saying it’s so wholesome

Eddie: *talks about the entire plot of Jack and the Beanstalk which involves Jack climbing up the beanstalk, encountering a giant, and cutting down the beanstalk with a big ax*

Poppy who is dressed as the beanstalk: Haha. I’m in danger.

Wally’s puppet hands are holding some yarn in “answer” but he seems that he’s not moving…

I can barely hear Poppy and Howdy’s dialogue in the videeo since I don’t have headphones on but I assume it’s a friendly conversation as usual since I can hear Howdy’s laugh lol

Wally’s hand trying to grab the cup of tea??? coffee??? in “answer”

Poppy and Sally talking about plays as usual lol

A human hand??? With a glove???

I don’t know who this human is but I’m pretty sure she’s a Howdy fan lol

I’m answering the Welcome Home worksheet because why not lol

1) Barnaby 2) Sally 3) Poppy 4) Julie 5) Wally

Now where’s my prize/j

I’m guessing that Wally replica puppet is going to come to life lol

I wanna go to this exhibition so bad if this is real lol

Awww the Poppy and Barnaby sprites…

I accidentally clicked the “Hello” doodle on the Guestbook and I’m scared

The page is called “Find”